Sunday, May 30, 2004

 

Where's That Blasted Towel?

I admit it. I threw in the towel on the Giants a couple of weeks ago. Now, after an unlikely 8-game winning streak, I'm tearing the hamper apart looking for the towel. As Douglas Adams liked to say, no intergalactic hitchhiker should ever be without his towel. And the Giants seem to be on a real Space Odyssey, or maybe Oddity.

Somehow, the pitching staff found its stuff, all at once. Since Jason Schmidt threw that one-hitter in Chicago, it's been a whole different staff. The team's ERA has plummeted from 5.10 to 4.50. Even Tomko and Reuter are looking like different people out there. The pitching has kept the team in every game.

The hitters have hit just enough to win 8 in a row. It's not really convincing, even though the team OPS has risen 20 points during this winning streak. But it's enough.

This, I think, is how Sabean envisioned the team before the season. Lots of low-scoring games, lots of pitching, just enough hitting and defense to win. No doubt, this team still needs another big bat if it's going to go anywhere. But 24-24 sure feels a heck of lot better than 16-24.

Jefferson 1:52 PM

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