Sunday, October 03, 2004

 

Two Down, One To...NOOOO!

It's been a bad day.

Seriously, since Felipe Alou moved Dustin Hermanson to the bullpen, the 'pen hasn't been nearly as bad. Since Alou greatly diminished the roles of Franklin, Herges, and Christiansen (the "Trifecta of Suck" as I lovingly called them), the bullpen has been a lot more reliable. Hermanson has been a good, albeit not great, closer. Jim Brower has been nails. Scott Eyre and the others have been at least acceptably good. Therefore, I had good reasons to think that the Giants could hold that three-run lead yesterday.

The problem was, Jim Brower had pitched way too many days in a row. Hermanson had pitched four days straight, which is already a lot to ask of any closer, let alone one not used to the role. So it was no great surprise that Hermanson's arm looked dead yesterday. It's not really his fault that he couldn't be effective on a fifth straight day. I give Alou credit for sticking with him during the ninth as long as he did. I mean, look at his alternatives--Brower wasn't available at all. But after Dustin walked the bases loaded, he had to bring in someone else. With one out, the game was still salvagable. Unfortunately, he turned to the Trifecta of Suck. And they turned an excruciating ninth inning into something only the Marquis de Sade (or a Dodgers fan) could love. The blowpen returned and delivered its all-time tour de force masterpiece. A farewell performance that we will always be able to point to and say, "really, they were SO bad that...."

Cody Ransom deserves a special mention. The error he made on that groundball did not cost the Giants the game. Let's face it, the Dodgers scored seven, and Ransom was only responsible for one of them. Yet after that play, you have to wonder why this guy has a uniform. He can't hit. He flat out can't hit to save his life. His only redeeming skill, the only thing that's kept him on the roster, is his allegedly stellar defense. If you ask me, if Ransom can't make that play in a crucial situation, he needs to be released.

I can't speak highly enough of the performance that Brett Tomko gave the team yesterday. Tomko is a man utterly transformed from the human gas can we saw early in the season. I don't know the name of the sports psychologist who has helped him find his inner ace, but he deserves a nice fat Xmas bonus. Come to think it, so does Tomko. How great has the starting pitching been this last month? I am very encouraged by the prospect of a starting rotation of Schmidt, Tomko, Lowry, Williams, Foppert and/or Rueter. As long as the bullpen sees come major improvement next year, this staff could be very formidable in 2005.

So we come down to the end of the season today, barring a miracle assist from the pathetic Colorado Rockies. We can see in these Giants a capable, frustrating, 90-win team that is oh so close to be a serious World Series contender. The offense is top-notch. With a couple of upgrades at catcher and outfield, it could become extremely scary, even if Bonds finally starts his decline phase. The starting rotation looks to be solid. The bullpen is where the major work remains.

So what am I saying here? That Sabean did another good job this year. In retrospect, the trade for A.J. Pierzynski was a mistake. But it was surprising that it was--Nathan was far better this year than most people expected, and A.J. sucked more than most people expected. Sabean's signing of Tomko and Cruz deserve to be applauded, and Mohr and Tucker were both brilliant for stretches of the season. He finally saw the light and released Perez, though he never should have signed him in the first place. The trade for Ledee, while it did absolutely nothing to improve the club short-term, removed a significant contract obligation for 2005. When I look at the clusterfucks underway in other organizations, I am glad that the Giants have a competent and capable management group.

Finally, if you love baseball you really have to applaud the incredible stretch run by the Houston Astros. To play .800 baseball over the last 50 games is a historic achievement. If I'm the rest of the league, I would not want to run into these guys in the playoffs. They're by far the hottest team on the planet, and they deserve special recognition.

There might be something else to talk about tonight, but we'll see.

Jefferson 9:00 AM

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