Sunday, August 31, 2014

San Francisco Giants Month in Review - August

With consecutive sub .500 win percentages for the San Francisco Giants in June and July, Bruce Bochy's ball club would need to step it up in the month of August if they planned on making a true playoff push down the stretch. Backed by stellar starting pitching and a hint of explosive offense demonstrated in their three game sweep at the end of the month versus the visiting Milwaukee Brewers, the Giants did just that, posting an overall record of 16-13 to round out the month of August. With most of San Francisco's success coming on the road as of late, it was their home of AT&T Park which witnessed the G-Men close out the last full month of the MLB calendar on a strong note.

Aside from splitting a short two-game series vs the Chicago White Sox, the Giants won all three series in the city by the bay, taking two of three against the Phillies and three of four from the Rockies before completing a three game sweep of the Brew Crew to win 9 of 12 games at Home. Their time spent away from home wasn't as successful, however, as San Francisco dropped two of three in both Milwaukee and Washington while being on the receiving end of a three-game sweep at the hands of Kansas City. Splitting four games in Queens against the Mets and four on the north side of Chicago vs the Cubbies resulted in a 7-10 record on the road for the orange and black. But the Giants of the last week or so has looked a lot more like the team that jumped out to a 9 1/2 game division lead back in May with both pitching and timely hitting clicking on all cylinders. 
The Giants, who currently stand at 74-62 closed out the month of August winners of six straight and right back in the hunt for the NL West crown, only 2.5 games back of the rival Dodgers who they'll get to play six more times this season. After falling as many as 5 games back in the division, a red-hot Buster Posey at the plate and Madison Bumgarner on the mound has helped lead the Giants in climbing right back into the thick of things and close the gap while maintaining sole possession of the number one wild card spot. Collectively, the Giants starting pitching staff has been sensational as of late, boasting a 1.22 ERA, 0.60 WHIP and a 42 to 3 strikeout to walk ratio over their last five games heading into the weekend. Leading the way once again was Giants ace Madison Bumgarner who posted a league best in strikeouts for the month with 56 and 1.57 ERA while finishing 4-1 in six starts. MadBum even flirted with history when he took a no-hitter into the 8th inning. And though Bumgarner made a strong case to likely win his second NL Pitcher of the Month Award this season, he isn't the only one in a Giants uniform who's been dealing lately.

Jake Peavy who the Giants acquired near last month's trade deadline, has won 3 of his last 4 starts after logging only one win in 20 starts with Boston and has a 1.26 ERA in that span. It wasn't pure dominance for everyone, however, as arguably the Giants' most popular hurler saw a demotion to the bullpen. After appearing to have found his groove again, making several consecutive strong starts following his historic feat in June when he tossed his second career no-hitter, Tim Lincecum would be moved to the relief corps after struggling with an ERA over 9 in his last six starts. But that's not to discredit the man who was awarded Lincecum's spot in the rotation as Yusmeiro Petit who filled in at times for the injured Matt Cain, has pitched brilliantly of late, setting a Major League record by retiring 46 consecutive batters. In his latest outing, Petit retired the first eight Colorado Rockies batters he faced, surpassing the previous mark of 45 consecutive batters retired held by Mark Buehrle in 2009.
August wasn't all about pitching, though, as Bruce Bochy saw his ball club put up double-digits three times in the month, including twice over the weekend vs Milwaukee after failing to hit the double-digit mark in both June and July. The month of August also saw one of the true rarities in baseball when a game in Chicago against the Cubs was halted due to mother nature, causing a four-hour rain delay. But it's what the Wrigley Field grounds crew was unable to do that caught the attention of Giants skipper Bruce Bochy who decided to protest the game that was eventually called and ruled a 2-0 win for the Cubs after 5 1/2 innings. The Wrigley Field grounds crew mishandled the tarp when trying to save the field from getting drenched in the downpour and did little afterwards to try and make the field playable. This would result in only the second successful protest in MLB to be upheld since 1986. And though the Giants would eventually lose the game by a score of 2-1, it's an incident that won't be forgotten anytime soon for Giants fans.

As usual this time of year in baseball, the month of September is sure to be a treat with teams making call-ups and the down to the wire pennant races that are sure to unfold. With a pair of series on the road against the Colorado Rockies and Detroit Tigers respectively to kick off the month of September, the Giants will return home to face the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers. A nine-game road trip within the division versus the D-Backs, Padres and Dodgers will round out the last of the Giants' regular season games away from San Francisco before finishing the season at home against San Diego. All in all, the upcoming month is a favorable one for the Giants and could help propel them back into the top spot out west in preparation for the Postseason.


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Saturday, August 2, 2014

San Francisco Giants Month in Review - July

With the San Francisco Giants struggling to maintain the dominance they opened the season with for the first time in June, the month of July saw much of the same. Though they would finish the dog days of July by going 12-14, winning two more games than they did the previous month, manager Bruce Bochy would witness his ball club boast a sub .500 record for a second consecutive month. However, the team would continue their winning ways on the road where the Giants have clearly been more productive at the plate, winning 7 of 12 games. As for the friendly confines of AT&T Park, the Giants' home would be anything but friendly to the orange and black as they finished with 5-wins and 9-losses.

After stumbling into the All-Star break with series losses against the St. Louis Cardinals and Oakland A's and wins against two of their mediocre division rivals in San Diego and Arizona, the Giants bounced back by highlighting a successful road trip out east with two wins in three games in Miami and by taking three of four in Philly. But the G-Men would fail to bring that magic back home with them as they were swept at AT&T against the archrival Dodgers in a three-game series before avoiding nearly being swept by Pittsburgh. The sluggish home stand resulted in the Giants falling as many as three games behind L.A. in the NL West. And with injuries to Matt Cain and Joe Panik as well as the uncertainty revolving veteran second baseman Marco Scutaro, Giants general manager Brian Sabean was forced to make a move.
Hoping one team's trash would be another team's treasure, Sabean signed second baseman Dan Uggla to a Minor League deal. But Uggla, who was released earlier this year by the Atlanta Braves, would be called up much earlier than anticipated as Panik went down with an injury. The acquisition would prove to be a short lived experiment as Uggla failed to log a single hit in his 11 at-bats while also committing a handful of errors. With Matt Cain likely to undergo surgery to remove bone chips in his throwing elbow which would sideline him for the remainder of the season, Sabean went out and acquired Jake Peavy from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for Minor League pitchers Heath Hembree and Edwin Escobar. Having spent the better half of his eight seasons with the San Diego Padres under Giants skipper Bruce Bochy, few pitchers in the game today know the NL West as well as Peavy where he won the NL Cy Young Award in 2007 as a Triple Crown winner.

Peavy, a victim of little to no run support this season (received two runs or fewer in support in each of his last 8 starts) while with the Red Sox, went 1-9 with the defending World Series champs this year while posting a 4.72 ERA. But returning to pitch in the division he grew up in and had plenty of success, could result in a second half rebound. The 33-year old Peavy is a 3-time All-Star that plays with his emotions on his sleeve and will supply a fiery mentality while providing stability to the rotation. Perhaps the most important note of all is that he's been known as a Dodger killer throughout his career with a record of 14-2 and an ERA of 2.21 against L.A. That wouldn't be the case in his Giants debut, however, as the Dodgers tagged him for three runs in six innings in a losing effort.
Many thought San Francisco would be a bit more active at this year's July 31st trade deadline but instead the Giants braintrust decided to stay put following the acquisition for Peavy while adding that, "Bad deals were to be made." And while Sabean has been known as somewhat of a genius for making key deals at or near the deadline, only time will tell whether or not the same could be said regarding his latest transaction. Perhaps the highlight of the month just because of its rarity would belong to Tim Lincecum who stole the spotlight as the Giants' headline for the month of June as well. After continuing his brilliance with a stellar first half of July, the Freak treated fans to a bizarre sighting they aren't used to seeing as Timmy recorded his first career save, becoming only the 9th pitcher since 1969 with a no-hitter and a save in the same season. With ugly outings in each of his last two starts, Timmy and the rest of his pitching mates will be counted on to pick it up the rest of the way if the Giants plan to fend off the rival Dodgers for the top spot in the West. The Giants' bullpen, meanwhile, was lights out in the month of July, boasting the best ERA and opponent average against in the NL.

The Giants will kick off a 10-game road trip to begin the month of August with a trip to New York to face the Mets and stops at Milwaukee and Kansas City as the NL Central division leading Brewers and playoff hopeful Royals look to make a push for the postseason. A homestand vs the White Sox and Phillies will take place before the G-Men hit the road again to meet with the Cubs and Nationals before returning home and rounding out the month of August with a series vs the Rockies and Brewers at AT&T Park.


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Friday, August 1, 2014

USA Men's Basketball takes a Blow

What was supposed to be a showcasing of some of the best talent the world has to offer on Friday at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, soon turned into an event in a state of shock as one of the game's best young stars was hauled out onto a stretcher. During the fourth quarter of the USA Men's Basketball Team's Blue vs White scrimmage, fans and players witnessed one of the most horrific sports injuries in recent memory when Paul George of the Indiana Pacers tried making a play on a fastbreak layup by Houston's James Harden. With all of his momentum on his right leg, George came down hard at an angle as his foot met with the stanchion near the bottom of the basket, leaving his leg nowhere to go but down as footage of the gruesome injury showed. Footage of the injury left us turning our heads and looking elsewhere, reminiscent of those suffered by such athletes as Joe Theismann, Shaun Livingston, Kevin Ware and more recently Anderson Silva of the UFC.

George suffered a compound fracture to the tibia and fibula in his right leg and was rushed to a nearby hospital. Being in the building to watch the game and witnessing the injury firsthand gave a different picture opposed to what fans may have seen watching the game on television. With my seats being in the upper deck and everything happening all at once, it was hard to immediately make out exactly what had happened and to who. But the immediate reaction from the fans sitting courtside and the players on the bench, many of which were hiding their faces in towels, gave you an idea that it was something serious. With the game being delayed for several minutes as members of the coaching staff and medical personnel rushed to the scene, any hopes we had of a player just being shaken up were erased once the stretcher came rolling out. As a majority of the arena was left still wondering who had gotten hurt, I began questioning why an instant replay of the incident had not been shown on the jumbotron and after later seeing the footage in slow-motion, I now know why. And in case you've yet to see the footage, I suggest you do so with caution if you're easily squeamish.
With chants of "U.S.A" being poured onto the court by fans showing their support, it wasn't long before players and coaches from both benches met near mid-court for prayer which coach Mike Krzyzewski then followed by addressing the fans that the exhibition game had come to an end despite the 9 minutes and 33 seconds remaining on the game clock. It would be a classy move by Coach K and one that all of the fans that I came in contact with fully understood which was ultimately the right decision in respect for George and his family. With players and fans all taking to Twitter after the incident to express their sympathy and wish him a speedy recovery, George himself took to the social media site a few hours later just before undergoing surgery to thank all those that have wished him well and said he'd be back and better than ever.

Rapid Reaction - While the injury to Paul George is very unfortunate, there's no denying that it'll change the way players look at competing at the international level and even more so in exhibition games like the one that took place tonight. Not to mention the team owners and general managers who cringe at the thought of these exhibition games players decide to play in after being signed to multi-Million dollar contracts. Could this be the beginning of the end for USA Basketball and the NBA's brightest stars that choose to play or is the privilege of playing for their country a big enough honor to keep the game's biggest names interested? 
Though there's no denying the injury is a freak accident, it's obvious how unsafe the base of the basket is at Thomas & Mack where the UNLV Basketball team calls home. With the stanchion of the basket being several feet closer to the baseline than those that players in the NBA are used to, how it passed inspection and was cleared for use is beyond me. What's sad is that it takes something like this to occur before we can question whether or not the base of the basket is safe. In other words, it was an accident waiting to happen and it just so happened to take place on one of the biggest stages.

The game was also supposed to serve as somewhat of a welcome back party for Bulls star point guard Derrick Rose who's endured a number of injuries of his own over the last several seasons and is expected to be at full strength this year. And had it not been for the injury to George, the story of the game at least in my eyes was D.Rose. Rose made a number of turnovers during a stretche where it appeared he was trying to do too much at times, but overall he looked good and displayed the explosiveness that we've all grown to love and expect from the 2011 league MVP when he made a dazzling layup on one play before slamming home a dunk on another. And though it was just a small sample size of what we saw from D.Rose in the limited action he saw on the court, it was enough to convince me that the Chicago Bulls will be serious contenders to win the Eastern Conference this year assuming he stays healthy. It may be a bold statement but with Paul George most likely out for the season in Indiana, the Knicks still being in a mess, the Cavs adjusting to life with LeBron again and Miami now without their best player of the last four seasons, the Bulls can very much contend for a title if D.Rose resembles anything like the 3-time All-Star that dominated his first three seasons in the league from 2010-12.


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