[quote]PB Andy wrote:
Sweet, you guys stopped bickering. OK, basebell in 20 minutes, eek very excited. I’m even skipping lifting for this, haha![/quote]
No your a towel!
I don’t know why people keep saying the Giants are simply doing well because they’re hot. That isn’t giving them enough credit for how good they are. They are executing in all aspects of the game better than the Rangers are and better than any of their other opponents in the postseason. I wouldn’t call that hot, I’d call it simply playing better baseball. In a way, the Giants reinforce my previous argument that NL-style ball is superior. The Giants’ ability to move runners over w/ bunts, grounders and fly balls, their ability to get timely hits and Bochy’s use of the pen and the double-switch has been far superior to their opponents. Sure, they have a couple guys getting hot at the right time, but they are still executing the basics of the game much better than the Ranger, Phils or Braves did and this is the mark of a very, very good team more than a hot team.
Live by the three run homer in a park with small power alleys. This stuff is too easy to predict
SFGs in 6.
I really hope it goes 7 to make it an interesting series. Are the Rangers doing the right thing pitching Tommy Hunter for game 4 instead of Cliff Lee. I know Lee struggled in the first game but it basically means that will be the last game he starts.
I agree on Lee, he’s a great pitcher and the Rangers could use another win, but it’s better to not take a chance and let him rest up.
[quote]strungoutboy21 wrote:
I really hope it goes 7 to make it an interesting series. Are the Rangers doing the right thing pitching Tommy Hunter for game 4 instead of Cliff Lee. I know Lee struggled in the first game but it basically means that will be the last game he starts.[/quote]
Cliff Lee did not offer to pitch. He has never in his career pitched on that little rest and apparently isn’t inspired by the world series to put himself out to his manager as an option. And sye, we can hit off Hunter and we’d better get to it. Tomorrow is huge. I say Shierholtz in right move Ross to left, Ish on first, Huff DH. Move around the order move Posey down in the order Put Ross @ Cleanup. Can’t wait to see if/how Bochy mixes this up.
Yea we need to get Burrell out of there, he looked awful last night. It’s also pretty disappointing to see Sanchez crack under the pressure of the World Series. I know he’s always been a hot or cold pitcher, but he was on fire for the final month of the regular season and now it seems like he just flamed out.
It’s got me pretty anxious about who we would throw on the mound for a game 7 if it came down to that.
Also interesting that every run last night was the result of a home run.
[quote]WestCoast7 wrote:
Yea we need to get Burrell out of there, he looked awful last night. It’s also pretty disappointing to see Sanchez crack under the pressure of the World Series. I know he’s always been a hot or cold pitcher, but he was on fire for the final month of the regular season and now it seems like he just flamed out.
It’s got me pretty anxious about who we would throw on the mound for a game 7 if it came down to that.
Also interesting that every run last night was the result of a home run.[/quote]
I think Sanchez is fatigued more than cracking. Yeah, Game 6 in Philly was ugly, but overall I think he’s just tiring. He’s thrown probably 20 or 30 more innings this year than ever before and you could see last night his velocity never cracked 90 after the 1st or 2nd inning. If Bumgarner looks very, very good tonight and it comes down to it, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get the ball instead of Sanchez. Actually, I would be surprised because this Series isn’t going 7.
And Cliff Lee is a two-balled bitch, plain and simple. He’s not throwing on 3 days rest tonight for one reason: money. He isn’t going to do one thing to damage his big payday this winter. I wish he would throw today though because I think the Giants can still score more runs off of him.
[quote]Hallowed wrote:
[quote]strungoutboy21 wrote:
I really hope it goes 7 to make it an interesting series. Are the Rangers doing the right thing pitching Tommy Hunter for game 4 instead of Cliff Lee. I know Lee struggled in the first game but it basically means that will be the last game he starts.[/quote]
Cliff Lee did not offer to pitch. He has never in his career pitched on that little rest and apparently isn’t inspired by the world series to put himself out to his manager as an option. And sye, we can hit off Hunter and we’d better get to it. Tomorrow is huge. I say Shierholtz in right move Ross to left, Ish on first, Huff DH. Move around the order move Posey down in the order Put Ross @ Cleanup. Can’t wait to see if/how Bochy mixes this up.[/quote]
Aside from the fact that Schierholtz couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat, I like these changes. Burrell is struggling, yes. But he has two attributes that most of the Giants lack on offense: power and patience. I’d like to see him dropped down in the order, but I wouldn’t remove him for Schierholtz. And he’s not so bad in the outfield that he needs to be replaced. I think the Giants are going to have to dance with who they brought.
What I think the lineup will be:
Torres CF
Sanchez 2B
Posey C
Huff DH
Ross RF
Burrell LF
Uribe 3B
Ishikawa 1B
Renteria SS
RE Sanchez cracking under pressure… I’m not sure thats it. I agree with DB I think he’s tired. He’s a good pitcher. He’s a good kid. Shit, we raised him from a pup. He’s had a long season though. That pitch he threw to Moreland was a bad choice absolutely and he paid a high price for it. Wasn’t the mental meltdown we saw against Phily though.
[quote]DBCooper wrote:
[quote]Hallowed wrote:
[quote]strungoutboy21 wrote:
I really hope it goes 7 to make it an interesting series. Are the Rangers doing the right thing pitching Tommy Hunter for game 4 instead of Cliff Lee. I know Lee struggled in the first game but it basically means that will be the last game he starts.[/quote]
Cliff Lee did not offer to pitch. He has never in his career pitched on that little rest and apparently isn’t inspired by the world series to put himself out to his manager as an option. And sye, we can hit off Hunter and we’d better get to it. Tomorrow is huge. I say Shierholtz in right move Ross to left, Ish on first, Huff DH. Move around the order move Posey down in the order Put Ross @ Cleanup. Can’t wait to see if/how Bochy mixes this up.[/quote]
Aside from the fact that Schierholtz couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat, I like these changes. Burrell is struggling, yes. But he has two attributes that most of the Giants lack on offense: power and patience. I’d like to see him dropped down in the order, but I wouldn’t remove him for Schierholtz. And he’s not so bad in the outfield that he needs to be replaced. I think the Giants are going to have to dance with who they brought.
What I think the lineup will be:
Torres CF
Sanchez 2B
Posey C
Huff DH
Ross RF
Burrell LF
Uribe 3B
Ishikawa 1B
Renteria SS[/quote]
But just look at how Burell has been swinging. God knows I love that man he’s like the Clark Kent of baseball he just LOOKS RIGHT… He’s pulling up though and looking at third base his swing is off. It happened to Torres and Bochy benched him one game and he came back out hitting again. Just sit Burrell one game. I think the stats are 8 strike outs last nine at bats.
You’re right Shierholtz is a hitter of minimal accomplishments I’m suggesting it more for a mix up.
As as your line up flip Ross & Posey in that order and I’d like it even more.
Wait, why would you want Cliff Lee to pitch on 3 days rest when they’re only down 2-1?
[quote]therajraj wrote:
Wait, why would you want Cliff Lee to pitch on 3 days rest when they’re only down 2-1?
[/quote]
Its been put out there because the Ranger’s game four pitcher Hunter is arguably their worst starter. He’s had a very rough post-season so far I think ERA over 6. His regular season ERA much better under 4. Its got to be a clutch performance I think there’s alot more confidence Lee could deliver in this situation. Its just a one sided suggestion of course with the flip being they’ve got a well rested and ready Lee in game 5.
I think Hunters in trouble. I think we can hit the fuck out of him. He throws alot of strikes and the Giant’s like to swing the bat.
A couple of kids on the mound today!
[quote]Hallowed wrote:
RE Sanchez cracking under pressure… I’m not sure thats it. I agree with DB I think he’s tired. He’s a good pitcher. He’s a good kid. Shit, we raised him from a pup. He’s had a long season though. That pitch he threw to Moreland was a bad choice absolutely and he paid a high price for it. Wasn’t the mental meltdown we saw against Phily though.
[quote]DBCooper wrote:
[quote]Hallowed wrote:
[quote]strungoutboy21 wrote:
I really hope it goes 7 to make it an interesting series. Are the Rangers doing the right thing pitching Tommy Hunter for game 4 instead of Cliff Lee. I know Lee struggled in the first game but it basically means that will be the last game he starts.[/quote]
Cliff Lee did not offer to pitch. He has never in his career pitched on that little rest and apparently isn’t inspired by the world series to put himself out to his manager as an option. And sye, we can hit off Hunter and we’d better get to it. Tomorrow is huge. I say Shierholtz in right move Ross to left, Ish on first, Huff DH. Move around the order move Posey down in the order Put Ross @ Cleanup. Can’t wait to see if/how Bochy mixes this up.[/quote]
Aside from the fact that Schierholtz couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat, I like these changes. Burrell is struggling, yes. But he has two attributes that most of the Giants lack on offense: power and patience. I’d like to see him dropped down in the order, but I wouldn’t remove him for Schierholtz. And he’s not so bad in the outfield that he needs to be replaced. I think the Giants are going to have to dance with who they brought.
What I think the lineup will be:
Torres CF
Sanchez 2B
Posey C
Huff DH
Ross RF
Burrell LF
Uribe 3B
Ishikawa 1B
Renteria SS[/quote]
But just look at how Burell has been swinging. God knows I love that man he’s like the Clark Kent of baseball he just LOOKS RIGHT… He’s pulling up though and looking at third base his swing is off. It happened to Torres and Bochy benched him one game and he came back out hitting again. Just sit Burrell one game. I think the stats are 8 strike outs last nine at bats.
You’re right Shierholtz is a hitter of minimal accomplishments I’m suggesting it more for a mix up.
As as your line up flip Ross & Posey in that order and I’d like it even more.[/quote]
I understand your points, but I think that one thing to consider is that hitters hit differently in various parts of the lineup sometimes, especially when putting a guy like Ross in the 3/4 spot. He has typically batted everywhere in the lineup throughout his career except in the middle of it. He’s hot, but I think he does much better down in the lineup, especially a lineup like the Giants. I put him 5th but it’s a stretch and is more a testament to the Giants offensive deficiencies than Ross’ offensive abilities.
Ross is a hacker, through and through. He does well in the bottom of the order because he doesn’t give the pitcher a chance to pitch around him. With the pitcher batting 9th (and in the Giants case they frequently have some piss-poor hitter in the 8 spot too) pitchers aren’t going to give in to Ross when he’s ahead in the count, but they’ll go right after him until they do fall behind. With hackers like Uribe, Ross and even Renteria, they fare much better in the bottom of the order because they can expand the zone to prevent the pitcher from pitching around them in a 2-1, 3-1 count to get to the 8 or 9 spot and they also aren’t going to find themselves down in the count from taking cockshot strikes either. Ross just isn’t a cleanup or 3rd-type of hitter. Those spots require more patience and the ability to work the count, especially with runners on base.
Ross doesn’t have those attributes, but Burrell does. Ideally, Burrell would bat 6th or 7th on a good offensive team, if at all. But this isn’t ideal, so he has to bat where his attributes suit him. The middle of the lineup requires a hitter with power, but also patience, a discerning eye and a generally more disciplined approach than Ross brings. Same with Uribe. Shit, we’ve seen firsthand for a couple years now that Uribe has a lot of power, but he swings at pretty much anything near the strike zone. When a pitcher has a runner on first and third and one out and the cleanup hitter in the box, a first-pitch out is huge for him. Burrell won’t give up at-bats in one pitch (unless it’s a real cockshot right down the middle and he doesn’t get all of it) but Ross and Uribe are very likely to at least offer at the first pitch in the strike zone. Otherwise they would have to drastically change the approach that got them to the bigs in the first place.
That being said Hallowed, I still think it’s more important to have Burrell in the lineup, even if it’s down in the order, than out of it. The Giants just don’t have a hitter who brings his patience and approach, other than Posey. They need him in there if for no other reason than he CAN hit the long ball and he offers something other than a free-swinger up there. Even when he makes outs, he usually gets several pitches out of the at-bat and he can still get on base when he’s struggling because he doesn’t chase. The thing about guys like Ross is that if they struggle, not only does their batting avg take a huge nose-dive, but their on-base % does as well.
Burrell shouldnt be dropped down just yet. He’s got 3 at bats against a scrub to straighten his swing out if he bats high in the order. AND theyre still up a game. Bat him lower and he’ll likely get 1 fewer at bat against Hunter. Hunter is the type of guy that slumping hitters love to see. He’s not going to overpower anyone with his fastball and doesnt have a devastating strikeout pitch.
I dont know whos doing the plate tonight but if he has a small strikezone I see Burrell having a better game. Ill predict he goes 1-3 with a walk and 2 rbi.
Have I mentioned that I like Burrell? I do but this isn’t going to sound like it. Here’s facts:
Four strikeouts last night. The most by a Giant in any post season game in a hundred years.
0 for 9 with a walk and eight strikeouts in the Series.
2 for 10 two walks, four strikeouts, and a home run in the National League Division Series
4 for 19 with four walks and seven strikeouts in the National League Championship Series.
So sure he’s “patient” and can get some walks. He really hasn’t been getting on base though and he hasn’t put the ball in play.
His 2008 post-season was barely better going 10-for-44 with 13 strikeouts.
Its hard to put into context with his clutch performances late in the regular season.
Shierholtz is a vastly superior fielder but Burrell holds his own he had a pretty spectacular catch last night and that one he dropped was almost unavoidable he hit the ground so fucking hard going for it. Its the hitting. He’s off. WAY off.
Cannot wait to see where Bochy goes.
[quote]BONEZ217 wrote:
Burrell shouldnt be dropped down just yet. He’s got 3 at bats against a scrub to straighten his swing out if he bats high in the order. AND theyre still up a game. Bat him lower and he’ll likely get 1 fewer at bat against Hunter. Hunter is the type of guy that slumping hitters love to see. He’s not going to overpower anyone with his fastball and doesnt have a devastating strikeout pitch.
I dont know whos doing the plate tonight but if he has a small strikezone I see Burrell having a better game. Ill predict he goes 1-3 with a walk and 2 rbi. [/quote]
I don’t think Bochy is looking at this as still a game up. I think this is a must win because Sanchez is so shaky for game seven. It could go either way really though I did hear Bochy say that Burrell’s timing is off in a post game interview. The one thing that makes me lean towards him actually pulling him out this game.
[quote]Hallowed wrote:
[quote]therajraj wrote:
Wait, why would you want Cliff Lee to pitch on 3 days rest when they’re only down 2-1?
[/quote]
Its been put out there because the Ranger’s game four pitcher Hunter is arguably their worst starter. He’s had a very rough post-season so far I think ERA over 6. His regular season ERA much better under 4. Its got to be a clutch performance I think there’s alot more confidence Lee could deliver in this situation. Its just a one sided suggestion of course with the flip being they’ve got a well rested and ready Lee in game 5.
I think Hunters in trouble. I think we can hit the fuck out of him. He throws alot of strikes and the Giant’s like to swing the bat.
A couple of kids on the mound today!
[/quote]
I don’t like it because it would mean CJ Wilson would also have to pitch on short rest. Also Cliff stated he would pitch on 3 days rest if Ron Washington asked him to.
EDIT:
His quotes:
"I’m willing to do whatever they want me to do,‘’ Lee said. "If they think it will help the team win, I’ll do it, whether it’s short rest, extra rest, whatever. When they want me to pitch, I’ll be ready, go out there and try to give the team a chance to win.‘’
Also don’t get the logic with pitching on short rest hurting his off season pay day. He’s pitched well all season and has a stellar career post season stats even if he gets raped next outing.