Well, well, well. The calendar turns and the Giants decide to score some runs. I was doubtful, still am. If you'll recall, this was my quote two days ago, "Right now, I'd say they have a 23% chance of making the playoffs".
That percentage has gone up but not a whole lot. But I'll tell you what, they have planted that seed in the Diamondbacks head. Everything was puppy dogs and ice cream for ARZ in August. They played loose and free but playoff baseball is different. Now it's time for the stretch run and we will see if they have what the Giants had last year.
The positives were plenty last night. Los finally did what we thought he'd do when we gave up Wheeler 6 weeks ago. He's can be the centerpiece of an offense but he needs help. CoRo may have figured something out. It's one game but he looked different last night and that was plain to see. Cain was very good as usual. Nobody talks about him, he's not super flashy but when it's his turn, you always no you've got a very good shot at winning. And as usual, Keppinger came up with a knock. It's going to be fun to see a guy who's never been on a winning team actually play meaningful games. I've said he's a better version of Freddy Sanchez and he hasn't let me down yet. Him at SS and Freddy at 2B next year ain't looking so bad.
Now, the negatives. Cabrera...still a steaming pile of worthlessness. Huff hasn't figured it out yet and our catcher (Whiteside last night) took another 0-4. Your 6-7-8 can't all be auto-outs. It shows you the balls Bochy has to consistently put those guys out there day after day. He's confident that they'll figure it out (they won't, and pretty much everyone knows it) and you have to, in someway, admire that about him. I love that Burrell (and yes, he does wear his shower shoes inside of his cleats) is back and he did walk twice but he can't be the 5 starts-a-week LF down the stretch. Now that the younger guys got a taste of playoff caliber baseball, give em shot Bochy.
Make no mistake about it, that was a playoff game last night. You could feel it in the park. Even through the TV you could tell. The Giants haven't done much right this year (other than pitch), but we all know from last year that they can man up when needed. If/when they win tonight, the D'Backs will feel that grip tighten on their throats. Yes, the Giants did it last year but don't be mistaken, the D'Backs are not the Padres. They are a much better team with an actual offense so the road is much tougher this year. But with another couple W's, the Giants go from 23% to a dead heat for the playoffs.
Prediction for tonight.....G Men win 3-1. Lincecum throws 7 and pitches out of trouble all night. Huff and Panda factor in some way and it's my sincere hope that Crawford starts and comes up with a Vizquel-like play to save a run. I leave you with a few B Weezy quotes:
-Kaboom! You're getting this
-Chuck Norris has been known to throw a baseball 100 mph. I've been known to throw Chuck Norris 100 mph
-I’m a certified ninja. It happened in a dream. Normally it takes a lifetime, but I did it in 12 minutes
-Got Heeeeeem!
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