8/15 – The Mets injury bug pretty much came full circle with David Wright’s beaning. Always scary when you see one of those incidents happen. But it’s good to hear he’s on the mend. I think Johan Santana got a little carried away with hitting Bengie Molina. Didn’t he learn his lesson when Pablo Sandoval homered after his brush-back pitch? Needless to say, Molina got his revenge in the 10th inning; homering for a 5-4 Giant win.
8/16 – Sunday afternoon’s Mike Pelfrey/Jonathan Sanchez pitchers duel felt like a tightly-contested playoff game. The unlikely hero was Luis Castillo; getting the Mets on the board with a 2-run homer. Pelfrey was sharp, and was backed by good defense. Sanchez had his typical control problems (walking four in seven innings), but pitched well for a no-decision.
8/17 – Monday night turned out to be a laugher with San Francisco busting out for a 10-1 victory. As expected, Livan Hernandez had another tough outing, but the Giants were seriously due for an offensive explosion. This was a game they needed. They were focused, ran the bases well, and played solid defense. Joe Martinez pitched well over five, giving up just one run. Despite their struggles on the road, hopefully this win (with everyone contributing) will carry over to a successful road trip in Cincinnati.
*I said I’d take two. So after this weekend, I’m a satisfied Giants fan.
No CommentsHow about that high-powered Giant offense, huh?
Last night was a typical scenario of the games I attend between the Mets and the Giants. Can my team just score one measly run? Can I get a get a Pablo Sandoval home run? –My God, I’ll take a well-struck double. Can Barry Zito actually earn his $120+ million? No, no and no.
All I get is four lousy hits that barely trickled past the infield. Bobby Parnell pitches like Sandy Koufax, with his fastball routinely in the 94-95 MPH range. And once once, the Mets –wearing their cream-colored 1908 NY Giants throwback uniforms– stuck it to the modern day version 3-0.
The game pretty much ended by the time I sat down, with Angel Pagan leading off with a home run. However, Parnell deserves a lot of credit. He was impressive; throwing six scoreless innings, striking out seven and walking none. I fully expect Johan Santana to pick up where the Mets left off; extending the Giants’ scoreless innings streak to a full eighteen.
No CommentsBeware, Mets fans. The San Francisco Giants are in town.
Worried yet? You shouldn’t be.
Since the All-Star break, the Giants are slowly but surely being exposed an an average team at best. While their starting pitching and bullpen rank among the best in the NL, their offense remains painfully weak and inconsistent. Let’s be honest, the only reason the Giants are even in contention is because of the stellar efforts of Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain. Without them, the Giants are easily a sub-.500 team.
Yes, Pablo Sandoval is having a fine sophomore season. But when Bengie Molina’s your clean-up hitter, your offense has serious issues. I liked the trade with Cleveland for Ryan Garko. But who knows if his power-hitting potential will ever come to fruition in a pitcher-friendly park like AT&T.
I have more reservations about the trade for Freddie Sanchez. Okay, the Giants got a quality-fielding second baseman with a solid OBP. He’s also injury-prone, and has little pop. Long term, I think Pittsburgh may have gotten the better end of the deal, especially if top prospect Tim Alderson lives up to expectations.
So Met fans, you dodged a bullet with Tim Lincecum being unavailable for this series. (Shame, I would’ve liked to have seen him at Citi.) Which is why I think the Mets will take 3 out of 4.
The marquee match-up is Saturday with Johan Santana facing Matt Cain. Considering the Giants’ offense, would anybody be surprised if Santana threw a 2-hit gem of a shutout?
The Giants best bet is probably Monday with Livan Hernandez against Joe Martinez. Livan’s struggled of late, and Martinez is an unknown factor against the Mets line-up. And the Mets often have trouble against starters they’ve never seen before.
Am I overreacting a bit as a Giant fan? Maybe. But the Giants poor road record speaks for itself. And I think it’s going to come back to bite them in the end. If they’re going to compete with the Rockies and the Cubs for the Wild Card, they have to play better away from the bay. Starting now.
No CommentsMy first trip out to Citi Field proved to be a historic one as the Mets won their first regular season game at the new ballpark, 7-2 over the San Diego Padres.
Despite the brisk conditions, Oliver Perez pitched six strong innings, surrendering only one run to the Padres. He walked two, and scattered several fly ball outs –a key to his success.
It wasn’t a pretty win. The Mets scored three of their runs on wild pitches. Starter Kevin Correia did a nice job of holding the Mets offense to only 2 runs through six innings, but the Mets took advantage of San Diego’s shaky bullpen with aggressive base-running.
The Mets did fail to capitalize on a golden opportunity in the 4th with bases loaded and nobody out. They did manage to score two; one on a Carlos Beltran single, and another forced in on Gary Sheffield’s double play grounder. But it could’ve been so much more.
Sheffield in particular seemed to be pressing. No doubt with the notion of hitting #500 on his mind.
Carlos Delgado contributed his second home run of the season; a shot off the Pepsi Porch (love that name).
As for the ballpark itself, I was very pleased by what I saw (and smelled. The aroma of sausages cooking was everywhere)
The general look, the layout, the overall feel–it was like a blend of the old and the new. In a way, it reminded me a bit of AT&T Park in San Francisco, where I’ve visited on occassion. Particularly with the brick facade, and the Met banners that decorated the exterior of the ballpark. I like the steel girders. The bridge beyond center-field. And just being able to walk around the entire building.
The Green seats — I like the universal color, rather than the rainbow scheme that identified each deck of Shea. That was a nod to the Polo Grounds.
If I have one gripe about the seats, its that the rows were to long. My brother and I were at Field Level, Left-field Reserved, seats 15 and 16, out of a row of 24 seats. That’s a lot of people to navigate around for a bathroom or snack break. Especially if you’re stuck in the middle. But I guess that’s something all fans will have to get used to, since virtually every section in the park is structured that way.
Some people have complained that there’s too many Citi advertisements (True) and not enough Met decor (also true), but I think those things will come in time. Adjustments will be made. Met fans just need to be a little patient.
Despite the new surroundings, I really did feel like I was at a Met game. The familiar PA announcer, the player intros, the rally music, the silly Kiss-cam nonsense, etc. I really did feel at home, and found the overall experience very enjoyable.
I didn’t do too much exploring. There’s a whole season ahead of us, and I want to discover different things as I go. And take in as many unique sight-lines as I can.
*Side note. I stepped into one of the team stores. Okay, there’s some vintage Dodger jerseys and clothes with the Brooklyn logo. I expected that. How about some New York Giant gear? Hats. Vintage jerseys. Give long-time Giant fans a little something.
1 CommentHow ’bout dem Padres?
Well, for a team that most insiders picked to be the doormat of the NL this year, the friars surprise play has opened more than a few eyes.
6-2? Pretty good. Do I expect it to last? No?
However, I have to commend the Padres, following their weekend sweep of the Giants at Petco Park. Despite a lackluster offense, they got timely hitting and solid starting pitching from Shawn Hill, Jake Peavy and Chris Young.
They’re playing aggressive baseball, chasing Tim Lincecum after 5 2/3 innings on Sunday, then again on Monday by outlasting the Mets 6-5 at Citi Field’s inaugural game.
Going into this series, I fully expected the Mets to take advantage of the back-end of San Diego’s rotation. Starter Walter Silva held the Mets at bay until David Wright’s 3-run home run tied the score in the 5th. But the Mets couldn’t capitalize beyond that. They should rebound against Kevin Correia on Wednesday night, but with Oliver Perez on the hill, it’s anyone’s guess.
Giants — They’re going to have their ups and downs this year. With all the new kids playing, they’re going to take their lumps. So I have to keep it in perspective.
Padres — David Eckstein. This is a good signing. Eckstein plays well wherever he goes. Tough, pesky hitter. He’s the sparkplug. If Eckstein stays healthy and productive, maybe SD makes things interesting.
Mets — Mike Pelfrey. After two starts, he just looks terribly uncomfortable on the mound. Tripping. Fingers to his mouth constantly. But please, don’t bring the pacifier –I mean, the mouthpiece back. Pelf’s got to settle in and find that groove he had last summer. –Also, the Mets have to tighten up that D. They’ve already blown two games in a row because of costly misplays.
1 CommentThe Giants 2009 campaign got off to a solid start as they won their first season series, crushing Milwaukee 7-1 at AT&T.
A rare laugher for Matt Cain, who looked sharp. 1 run over 7 innings with 5 K’s. (And for a change, he got some run support. Cain’s often been a tough luck pitcher). If this kid could ever gets his control down, watch out.
Nice to see the Giants bringing their hitting shoes in the early stages. Both youngsters and vets contributing. (Big day for Big Bengie –who has 4 RBIs.) However, E. Burriss needs to start hitting, or else Kevin Frandsen’s gonna be on the fasttrack.
Hope reliever Joe Martinez is okay. He took a line drive to the head off the bat of Mike Cameron. Scary moment.
*On a side note, thoughts and prayers to the family of Anaheim Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart, who died in a hit-and-run car accident. The guy made his season debut the previous night. What a terrible tragedy.
1 Comment2008 Cy Young Award-winner Tim Lincecum didn’t have his best stuff in the Giants home opener. Surprisingly, offense was the key in a 10-6 Giant victory.
(Hmm, Timmy goes 3 inn. and the Giants crush the ball. Go figure.)
From the clips I saw, his command was off. Rushing pitches. Overthrowing. –First day jitters, I suppose. Velocity looked good. Mid-90s consistently.
The line-up contributed twelve hits. Everyone got into the act except Burriss. Three RBIs apiece from Travis Ishikawa and Aaron Roward (man, they need him to produce big-time), including his first home run. Randy Winn and Bengie Molina also homered.
Bullpen-by-committee day. Six relievers used, with Brian Wilson closing it out. Rookie Joe Martinez gets the W. (Lot of new blood in this ‘09 edition. I love it)
Nice to see Rich Aurilia get a warm reception from the crowd during player introductions. The guy’s always been a classy Giant. (Hope he gets some quality ABs)
Tomorrow the Big Unit, Randy Johnson makes his Giants debut. (I like following Lincecum with a lefty as opposed to Cain)–Stay tuned.
1 CommentHello…I’m Richard Hohenrath…and I’m a San Francisco Giants fan.
Oh, and I live in New York.
Huh? Wha…? That’s usually the first response I get. That, or a bewildered expression. Maybe even a chuckle or two.
Yep. The Giants. The 3000-miles-away Giants.
Hey, I can’t help it. It runs in the family.
In short, the men in my New York-based brood have been Giant fans (baseball and football) for the better part of 100 years. My grandfather was a Giants fan. His grandfather was a Giants fan (Yeah, it goes that far back). But no system’s perfect. Somewhere in the mix it skips a generation. Horse racing factored in along the way. Go figure. So it’s anyone’s guess what team (or horse) my kid’s gonna root for.
Okay, so the G-Men left New York in 1957 and the Hohenraths eventually became Met fans. (Yankees were out of the question) Grandpa. Mets fan. Check… Dad. Mets fan. Check… Me?
Hmm, okay, I like the Mets. I really do. But hey, somebody’s got to be different. Someone’s got to keep the tradition alive. The torch lit. Endure another World Series loss.
So why am I telling you this? Just a little insight into me, cause…
I LOVE MY SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS!!!
And it’s Opening Day! Giants and Milwaukee Brewers!
The young Giants. Dare I say, upstart Giants?
Could they be an 82 win team? Flirt with a division title? I’m making no predictions. I’ve suffered through four straight losing seasons and a steroid scandal. (Here’s looking at you, #25)
No more Barry. No more Balco. 2009 is here! The era of Pablo Sandoval and Travis Ishikawa begins! –Okay, so they’re not household names yet. (keeping fingers crossed)
But Little Timmy’s on the hill. 4:05 Eastern time.
It’s on!!!
1 Comment
