Monday, May 17, 2010
Another Day, Another Workmanlike Loss To the Padres
This is getting ridiculous. If it weren't for the blasted Padres, the Giants would be the best team in the National League. The Dodgers are hated, the Rockies are annoying, but the Padres are just becoming a sort of Boogeyman, a constant antagonist like this scary bastard. I've never disliked the Pads, and they're seen as a sort of grudging ally in the NL West, but give me a break. The pathetic thing is, other than Adrian Gonzalez, there doesn't seem to be a guy in their lineup who should beat you. And yet they do...every single time.
Tonight's game encapsulated, once again, everything that is frustrating about being an opponent in Petco Park, and why the Giants seemingly haven't won there since 2006. Hard hit smash that looks destined to be ten rows deep in the bleachers? Watch it nestle into Kyle Blanks's glove ten feet short of the warning track. The Giants get a runner on second base finally? Watch him stand there deserted as three straight batters pop out to end the threat. Two drunk morons run out onto the field during the ninth inning as Heath Bell's arm starts to ice? Don't worry. Eugenio Velez is here to whiff feebly and ensure that no damage will come of it.
When I learned today that the series in San Diego was just a two-gamer, it was the best news I'd heard all day (sorry, BP). If the Giants somehow beat Cy Latos tomorrow to split the series it'll be more impressive than Dallas Braden's perfect game, because it's just that unlikely. Frankly, at this point, I don't care. Just get tomorrow's game over with and, to paraphrase Douglas Quaid, get your ass to Arizona.
--Good thing the Giants scrapped worthless old Fred Lewis. What's that lousy good-for-nothing doing these days? Oh, right. Lewis isn't setting the world on fire with Toronto, exactly, but his .796 OPS wouldn't look too bad in the Giants' outfield right now, especially now that Mark Derosa might be gone for a long time. Remember that every time you have to endure another hopeless Velez at bat.
Tonight's game encapsulated, once again, everything that is frustrating about being an opponent in Petco Park, and why the Giants seemingly haven't won there since 2006. Hard hit smash that looks destined to be ten rows deep in the bleachers? Watch it nestle into Kyle Blanks's glove ten feet short of the warning track. The Giants get a runner on second base finally? Watch him stand there deserted as three straight batters pop out to end the threat. Two drunk morons run out onto the field during the ninth inning as Heath Bell's arm starts to ice? Don't worry. Eugenio Velez is here to whiff feebly and ensure that no damage will come of it.
When I learned today that the series in San Diego was just a two-gamer, it was the best news I'd heard all day (sorry, BP). If the Giants somehow beat Cy Latos tomorrow to split the series it'll be more impressive than Dallas Braden's perfect game, because it's just that unlikely. Frankly, at this point, I don't care. Just get tomorrow's game over with and, to paraphrase Douglas Quaid, get your ass to Arizona.
--Good thing the Giants scrapped worthless old Fred Lewis. What's that lousy good-for-nothing doing these days? Oh, right. Lewis isn't setting the world on fire with Toronto, exactly, but his .796 OPS wouldn't look too bad in the Giants' outfield right now, especially now that Mark Derosa might be gone for a long time. Remember that every time you have to endure another hopeless Velez at bat.
