MLBeat

Tactical error by Bud Black ended this one: with runners on the corners in a tie game in the bottom of the tenth, Trevor Hoffman ran the count full to Jose Castillo with one out. Randy Winn had good speed at first so you knew he was going to be running on the pitch, and yet the Padres did not draw the infield in from double-play depth, a critical mistake Black may not have realized until Castillo hit a routine grounder to short that Edgar Gonzalez had no choice but to eat while the winning run scored.

This game was notable for its quick, clean tenor and the abrupt change thereof in the final inning. Lincecum and Randy Wolf tossed the kind of pitcher's duel that seemed to have more to do with the ineptitude of the offenses involved than with anyone's blazing stuff (Franchise tallied only two Ks in seven mostly easy innings). The Giants in particular did not appear likely to be able to muster more than one run at any point, but when Hoffman came in to protect a two-run lead in the tenth the base hits started coming faster than I could write them down. The gun never read higher than 85 for any of Hoffman's pitches. I wonder if Petco Park's traditional playing of "Hell's Bells" in the ninth these days is just sad in that wistfully nostalgic sort of way. If the Padres were in contention they would have probably found a way to end this particular death march by now.

Oh and one final note: I have no idea who Brian Horwitz and Alex Hinshaw are. Nobody else in the park did either. But this game will go down as a lifelong memory for both of them.

Labels: game reports, san diego padres, san francisco giants, tim lincecum

We all know that haters wanna hate, but there is actually quite a bit to like about Giants baseball in 2008:

• The weather can actually be quite beautiful for daytime games.
• The games will be fast. The Giants' lineup was already prone to the 1-2-3 inning before Bonds left. On this day six of their nine frames lasted the minimum. Only because of starter Matt Cain's control woes did this game eclipse the three-hour mark.
  
• While beer prices may have (unconscionably) risen again, a contraband flask of Jim Beam costs exactly the same as before, which is to say less than one ballpark beer.
• To go to a Giants game this year is not to attend one open-and-shut contest, but rather to see a snippet of an endless, undulating string of losing. Hey, wanna go watch the Giants lose for a little while? Today it's to the Padres. It's like asking them to come toss a football in the park.
• Everyone in the crowd showed up to the home opener already knowing this. They cheered effort and booed the lack thereof, and beyond that were just there to have a good time. One of the saddest things is a city that really believes its team can win when anyone with eyes can tell you that's not true. But in 2008? This is not that city.
• It goes without saying, but good seats are available all season long.
• Because sometimes you show up for a game not really thinking about the opposing team and who plays for them this year, and then you show up to the park halfway through the first inning (Giants already down 2-0) because sometimes cabs are inexplicably few and far between in this city and you look up and there's your old friend Greg Maddux, getting ready to take the hill. About to turn 42 and not cracking 85 on the radar gun, he's already hinted that 2008 will be his final turn. Today he mostly seemed bored, possibly because he was facing an SF lineup that featured Bengie Molina at cleanup. I'll let the San Jose Mercury-News take it: "He retired 19 of the last 20 batters he faced to pick up the 348th victory of his career. At one point, Maddux faced 17 consecutive batters without allowing a ball to leave the infield." Tidy little game score of 70 and an easy career win #348.
• The game is still the game, and someone needs to be out there paying attention because official scorers cannot be trusted. I simply cannot let transgressions like this go. Jose Castillo hit a fourth-inning Baltimore chop that Khalil Greene was slow to attack, and the short hop ate him up. Should have been an easy play, instead they scored it a base hit. Not in this book they didn't.

Halfway through the game Warms left his seat, returning after about two whole innings with a brand new Giants cap -- all black with the classic SF logo. He comes from Mariners and I come from Braves, but to the surprise of both of us it looked right. If ever there was a year to get in on the ground floor to support a new team with complete immunity from being accused of bandwagonnery, this is that year. I'm going back on Sunday to see them lose to my last adopted team, the Cardinals. I think my own Giants hat awaits me on one of those racks.

Labels: greg maddux, opening day, san diego padres, san francisco giants