Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Giants Rubber, Rockies Glue
Here's a quick list of the Giants' starting pitching options on Opening Day, ranked in order of how much confidence they instilled.
1) Tim Lincecum
2) Matt Cain
3) Barry Zito
4) Jonathan Sanchez
.
.
.
10) Madison Bumgarner
.
.
.
105) J.T. Snow inexplicably brought out of retirement again and throwing with his right hand.
.
.
.
278) Todd Wellemeyer
_____
Now here's a similar list that reflects the level of confidence I have in each pitcher as of this very moment.
1) Matt Cain
2) Madison Bumgarner
3) Jonathan Sanchez
4) Barry Zito
5) Tim Lincecum
.
.
.
2,758) Todd Wellemeyer
I never thought, in a million years, that I'd be jotting down a list like that (except for the Wellemeyer part). Lincecum at the bottom? Back at the start of the season, my retort to that thought would be something like this. That's right, other than Cain (who is basically the team's unquestioned ace at this point), there's no other pitcher I'd want on the mound for the Giants in a big game besides Bumgarner. That's ahead of the up-and-down Sanchez, and the suddenly awful Zito and Timmy. It's certainly a far cry from Spring Training, when fans were wringing their hands over the Mad Bum's missing velocity.
This isn't to say that I don't think Lincecum will start pitching well again (I do) or that Zito won't recover from his recent foibles (more iffy on that one), but as of now Bumgarner is the team's second best-pitcher, last week's blowup against the Reds notwithstanding. It also helps that he can rake, as his key double in tonight's game can attest.
The mood tonight stands in sharp contrast to this time yesterday, when I was pretty much on the brink of this level of madness. Now the Giants have crept back to within four games of the suddenly reeling Padres, and all seems well. What bad loss? I have no such knowledge. When Andres Torres is hitting bolts over the right field bricks and Buster Posey is gunning down runners with laser beam throws (hideous managerial decision by Jim Tracy, amazing throw by Posey), it helps erode a fan's short-term memory.
Kudos, too, to the players for coming out and playing well despite the totally demoralizing loss from the previous night. Just for a fan like me who sits in his boxers and throws Fruit Loops at the TV, a loss like that is enough to start drafting the 2010 season's eulogy. I can't even imagine what it's like for the players who have to go back out there the next night and pretend nothing happened. That's why they're the professionals.
1) Tim Lincecum
2) Matt Cain
3) Barry Zito
4) Jonathan Sanchez
.
.
.
10) Madison Bumgarner
.
.
.
105) J.T. Snow inexplicably brought out of retirement again and throwing with his right hand.
.
.
.
278) Todd Wellemeyer
_____
Now here's a similar list that reflects the level of confidence I have in each pitcher as of this very moment.
1) Matt Cain
2) Madison Bumgarner
3) Jonathan Sanchez
4) Barry Zito
5) Tim Lincecum
.
.
.
2,758) Todd Wellemeyer
I never thought, in a million years, that I'd be jotting down a list like that (except for the Wellemeyer part). Lincecum at the bottom? Back at the start of the season, my retort to that thought would be something like this. That's right, other than Cain (who is basically the team's unquestioned ace at this point), there's no other pitcher I'd want on the mound for the Giants in a big game besides Bumgarner. That's ahead of the up-and-down Sanchez, and the suddenly awful Zito and Timmy. It's certainly a far cry from Spring Training, when fans were wringing their hands over the Mad Bum's missing velocity.
This isn't to say that I don't think Lincecum will start pitching well again (I do) or that Zito won't recover from his recent foibles (more iffy on that one), but as of now Bumgarner is the team's second best-pitcher, last week's blowup against the Reds notwithstanding. It also helps that he can rake, as his key double in tonight's game can attest.
The mood tonight stands in sharp contrast to this time yesterday, when I was pretty much on the brink of this level of madness. Now the Giants have crept back to within four games of the suddenly reeling Padres, and all seems well. What bad loss? I have no such knowledge. When Andres Torres is hitting bolts over the right field bricks and Buster Posey is gunning down runners with laser beam throws (hideous managerial decision by Jim Tracy, amazing throw by Posey), it helps erode a fan's short-term memory.
Kudos, too, to the players for coming out and playing well despite the totally demoralizing loss from the previous night. Just for a fan like me who sits in his boxers and throws Fruit Loops at the TV, a loss like that is enough to start drafting the 2010 season's eulogy. I can't even imagine what it's like for the players who have to go back out there the next night and pretend nothing happened. That's why they're the professionals.
