Nats rally for 14-6 win, take series from Giants

When the Levee Breaks

This after building a 6-2 lead in the sixth inning. Twelve straight runs scored, eleven of them against the previously vaunted, now seemingly exhausted bullpen.

We actually had visions of beating a plus .500 team dancing in our heads. Something this team has seemingly not accomplished since the Carter Administration.

Now this team once again appears to be a team that will struggle to stay above .500 for the season. I know, let's blame Timmy, he won't mind, he likes it.

Sheesh, this team is ridiculous right now and bordering on free-falling.

from ESPN:

San Francisco Giants vs. Washington Nationals - Recap - August 24, 2014 - ESPN:

SKIPPING LINCECUM?
Bochy said he will consult with pitching coach Dave Righetti before deciding whether to skip struggling starter Tim Lincecum's next start, tentatively scheduled for Thursday.
The two-time Cy Young winner has failed to pitch through the fifth inning in four of his last six starts, going 1/3 with a 9.49 ERA in that stretch.
"We're at a point now where you have to do what you can to win every game," Bochy said. "When you are talking about that game it's who gives us our best chance to win. That is call-up time, too."

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If it keeps on rainin', levee's goin' to break, [X2]When The Levee Breaks I'll have no place to stay. 

Mean old levee taught me to weep and moan, [X2]Got what it takes to make a mountain man leave his home, Oh, well, oh, well, oh, well. 

Don't it make you feel bad When you're tryin' to find your way home, You don't know which way to go? If you're goin' down South They go no work to do, If you don't know about Chicago. 

Cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do you no good, Now, cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do you no good, When the levee breaks, mama, you got to move. 

All last night sat on the levee and moaned, [X2]Thinkin' about me baby and my happy home. Going, going to Chicago... Going to Chicago... Sorry but I can't take you... Going down... going down now... going down....

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/ledzeppelin/whentheleveebreaks.html

So, what does Bochy think of moving Posey to another position down the road? - Giants Extra

The numbers below don't lie. Small sample size is a given for the simple reason that they don't give him that many nights off from behind the dish, but the overall numbers are still very revealing. I didn't realize there was this much of a differential between the C Buster Posey and the 1B Buster Posey as a hitter. It just speaks to how stressful catching is on a hitter and how much it saps  his overall offensive potential.

from Giants Extra:
So, what does Bochy think of moving Posey to another position down the road? - Giants Extra:

What if Posey didn’t have to catch? What if he didn’t have to take time off — three games this year, Bochy said — to deal with the hip tightness, or the occasionally sore back, or the other dings and dents that come with being an MLB catcher. Manager Bruce Bochy acknowledged Friday that Posey can be a different hitter when he gets to play first base, something the numbers back up. 

Posey is hitting .265 with a .425 slugging percentage in 332 at-bats as a catcher this season. He is hitting .385 and slugging .526 in 78 at-bats as a first baseman. It’s a small sample size, but Posey has had similar splits in past years.

“It does affect him,” Bochy said. “You can tell with the way he swings the bat. I do think it’s easier on the body playing first base. It takes you away from the mental grind of catching every day. It’s a a little bit easier and it does make sense if a guy is comfortable at first and has no stress at first, that he should hit a little bit more.”

 Bochy said that if Posey does eventually move, it would be to first base, not third. He thinks Posey has the arm and hands to handle the hot corner, but there are plays that are much more difficult on that side of the diamond. It would take “a lot of work” to get Posey comfortable with slow rollers and other such plays at third base, Bochy said.

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To me, you lose the guy at least 10% of the time just in terms of lost AB's (the numbers below reveal that) from giving him the entire day off. If you lose another 10% of the guy just due to the cumulative stresses of catching, your basically getting 80% out of your best hitting asset on a daily basis. Unless Posey is significantly more valuable behind the dish than your next best option, I think you have to make the move ASAP.

Buster Posey	116	427	52	122	22	1	15	61	40	57	0	1	.286	.345	.447	.793
Pablo Sandoval	124	464	57	132	24	2	14	59	31	67	0	0	.284	.328	.435	.763
Michael Morse	122	410	46	116	29	2	16	57	28	113	0	0	.283	.339	.480	.819
Hunter Pence	128	525	86	148	26	9	17	55	38	100	11	5	.282	.333	.463	.796
Madison Bumgarner	26	55	9	15	2	0	3	13	2	23	0	0	.273	.305	.473	.778

With Susac developing into a guy who could handle the grind 120-130 times a year, who knows? He looks like he might be OK behind the dish, better if he stops stabbing at balls in the dirt and starts blocking more often. Offensively, he looks like he handle the bat well enough to give you a .250 average +/- 20 points. That would be fine with the occasional pop that comes with it.

Interesting to see they have made up their minds that it will be 1B rather than 3B. Good news for Pablo, maybe worse news for Michael Morse and / or Brandon Belt.

Now, if the brain trust can only figure out why Brandon Crawford, who should be hitting .275 continues to languish as .225, we may have something to cheer about.

Giants lose Belt and Sanchez to concussion

Posey to 3B in 2015. You cannot play Russian Roulette with the face of the franchise.



Period!!!



Warning shot one was the whole Cousins - Poset Rule debacle. Hector Sanchez concussion symptoms is now warning shot number two. How many more warning shots do you need?



Sorry Panda.



After visiting with specialist, Belt's season could be over | CSN Bay Area: 4

CHICAGO – The Giants haven’t received a complete report following Brandon Belt’s examination in Pitsburgh, but they know it will be a minimum of two to three weeks before he is cleared to resume any physical activity. 

And looking at the calendar, it’s possible that both Belt and catcher Hector Sanchez could be out for the remainder of the season.

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Giants post a Baseball America Pitcher of the Day!!!

PITCHER OF THE DAY: Clayton Blackburn, rhp — Double-A Richmond (Giants)
Blackburn, who ranked ninth on the Giants' Midseason Prospect Update, set a career high with 11 strikeouts and gave up only three hits over eight innings, although he got a no-decision as Portland ended up beating Richmond 1-0 in 10 innings. In a season that's gone sideways for several Giants prospects, especially pitchers, Blackburn's has a solid season (3-5, 2.87 at Richmond). He's not striking out as many batters as previous seasons, but his control has been better. With a relative lack of velocity—he can touch 93, but sits 87-90—Blackburn needs command to succeed.

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"Experimental" rule key to unlock Giants offensive high

The Giants find the secret to offensive success!! 

• Find a loophole in a rule, like MLB Rule 7.13 perhaps...
• Delay game due to replay 10 minutes
• Listen to Hawk Harrelson slippery slope snap analysis about players wearing skirts
• Watch opponent fall apart at seams 

Maybe the WSox shouldn't have walked a .196 hitter on four pitches, or turned Pagan around to the left side where he's a much better hitter and maybe you get out of the inning with AT WORST, a tie game. From there you force the Giants to score another whole run by their own selves, which they have struggled to do lately in case you haven't noticed.

The way this game was going the Gigantes wouldn't have scored on the Sox lefty if they extended the game until Sunday.

BWDIK?? 

MERCY!!!!

POSTGAME NOTES: Giants, White Sox react to play at the plate; Peavy gets first win as a Giant - Giants Extra

				POSTGAME NOTES: Giants, White Sox react to play at th... Bruce Bochy pushed hard for this rule, but this isn’t exactly what he had in mind. Bochy, a former catcher, wanted to keep catchers from getting blown up a...
				View on blogs.mercurynews...	Preview by Yahoo

Bruce Bochy pushed hard for this rule, but this isn’t exactly what he had in mind. Bochy, a former catcher, wanted to keep catchers from getting blown up at the plate. Major League Baseball did the right thing, presenting a rule that’s supposed to protect guys who have little chance on bang-bang plays. But it’s vague, and there are loopholes, and we saw one of them today.

By the letter of the law, Gregor Blanco was safe. But Blanco didn’t think he was safe. He slid across the plate and then walked slowly back to the dugout, squinting as he looked back at the scoreboard. He didn’t know the plate had been blocked until he went back to the clubhouse to watch the replay. Bochy didn’t think Blanco was safe. He dropped his head and looked down at the seeds at his feet. And then …

It's nicknamed "The Buster Posey Rule" but it should be more aptly named "The Eliminate Egregious Collisions at Home Plate Rule". That just doesn't roll off the tongue as well, so I see why they they named it after Buster.

This is what the rule change was supposed to take out of the game. 

 

It shouldn't have necessitated an "experimental" rule change, which allowed a committee to go to work and make decisions. A committee of one should have decided this and "experimental" should only refer to drug use. 

Somebody must have been smoking weed before they introduced this rule change on Major League Baseball

So a backup OF for the Marlins is still deciding the outcome of games and the fortunes of teams seasons many years down the road. Way to go Scott Cousins!!!

As for Hawk Harrelson's analysis, if the Hawk thinks putting a skirt on players is going to dampen interest then perhaps he hasn't watched A League of their Own. Mercy!!!

Giants post a Baseball America Hitter of the Day!!

HITTER OF THE DAY: Christian Arroyo, ss, short-season Salem-Keizer (Giants)

The 2013 first-rounder reached low Class A Augusta after a strong pro debut, but struggled to the point of being sent back to short-season ball. A thumb injury sidelined him for a time, but the Giants felt as though the demotion would help him rebuild his confidence and it has shown, at least at bat. Arroyo doubled and homered Monday night and with Salem-Keizer he's slashing .323/.371/.452. His bat will have to carry as one evaluator said Arroyo's defense is shaky, even at second base.

Jonny Gomes says something interesting about chemistry | HardballTalk

And Jonny Gomes would know. He is after all, Mr. Chemistry.

from Hardball Talk:
Jonny Gomes says something interesting about chemistry | HardballTalk:

Jonny Gomes is a guy many have pointed to as a “CHEMISTRY guy.” Someone who people point to as being greater than the sum of his parts. Maybe that’s true — intangibles are, by definition, intangible — but Gomes said something today about his leaving the Red Sox for the A’s suggesting that, while some may say his chemistry-adding goodness means everything, he knows better:

OF COURSE, if he plays on a regular basis for the A’s and they win the World Series, I have this feeling people will credit the icing he brings more than the cake Jon Lester and the rest of the talented A’s roster does, but we’ll deal with THAT when it happens.

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Giants KO'd in KC

The Giants are 5-22 in their last 27 games against teams OVER .500. (AP) 

This statistic explains the Giants in a nutshell. They tease you and struggle to beat the bad teams, the good teams expose them. This has all the makings of a team that will struggle to finish plus .500 rather than a competitive playoff team. 

The revolving door that is the trainers room / DL is not a good sign either. On good teams, players find the lineup and avoid the trainers room. On bad teams, players find the trainers room and avoid the lineup. The trainers room has turned into an oasis for this team, which explains the mirage that is the Giants current record and playoff hopes. 

from CSN Bay Area:

Rewind: Giants a cascade of disappointments in KC | CSN Bay Area:

In this dire hour, when the Giants’ deficit in the NL West is at a season-high 4 ½ games, when they have played two whole months without capturing a series or even looking remotely competitive against a team with a winning record, when they limp HOME after a 7-4 loss to the Royals to complete a three-game brooming in Kansas City as well as a disappointing a 4-6 road trip only to be reminded that, with Chris Sale awaiting them on Tuesday, they are 7-21 at home since June 9, and when it’s become clear that, no, Angel Pagan is not the second coming of Rickey Henderson …

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Baseball America Prospect Report

A good day for Giants prospects after the big club lost the series to the Brew crew. Ty Blach continues his march to the big league rotation, Tyler Beede continues showing his stuff which should vault him to the tippy top of future Giants top prospect lists. Sam Coonrod is going to be an interesting prospect to watch, seemingly made for the Giants organizational pitcher fixer uppers.

Among the hitters, Joe Panik solidifies his hold on 2B. Andrew Susac is probably not ready as a hitter, but we knew that going in. He is showing a solid presence behind the plate handling the pitchers. The Christian Arroyo / Ryder Jones rehab continues. 

Baseball America Prospect Report

SF		AA		Blach, Ty		7		5		0		0		4		5		3.25
SF		LoA		Johnson, Chase		5.2		8		8		6		3		6		4.93
SF		R		Beede, Tyler		2		1		0		0		1		3		0.00
SF		R		Coonrod, Sam		3		4		1		1		0		4		3.38		W (1-0)
SF		SS		Mella, Keury		1		0		0		0		0		1		0.00

SF		AAA		Brown, Gary CF		6		4		4		1		.270		2B (18), HR (9), 2 SB (30)
SF		MAJ		Panik, Joe 2B		4		0		1		0		.261
SF		MAJ		Susac, Andrew C		4		0		1		0		.125
SF		SS		Arroyo, Christian SS		5		2		2		2		.310		2 2B (6), SB (5)
SF		SS		Jones, Ryder 3B		5		1		2		2		.194		HR (1)

If nothing else the Milwaukee series shows that the Giants are fortunate to be in the NL West as opposed to the NL Central after getting pasted by both the Pirates and the Brewers recently.

Washington, Milwaukee and the Dodgers are establishing themselves as divisional leaders. 

The Giants, Cardinals, Pirates, Braves and perhaps the Reds will battle down the stretch for wild-card supremacy. 

Comfort Dog Ministry launches program to help vets - DailyHerald.com

Great story.

This clearly illustrates the old saw about dogs being man's best friend. The article explains why the program is important and how it works in two short paragraphs. Great life lessons to be learned here. courtesy of dogs.

from the DailyHerald.com
Comfort Dog Ministry launches program to help vets - DailyHerald.com:

"But the thing that pushed me over the edge was when I learned that 22 veterans commit suicide every day. That's a Sandy Hook, every day," Hetzner said, referring to the Connecticut school shooting in 2012.

 One of its founders, retired Maj. Gen. James Mukoyama of Chicago, spoke at the convention, in particular about the needs of veterans.

"Part of the healing process from moral injury and post-traumatic stress disorder is to feel loved and valued," Mukoyama said. "The comfort dogs give off a type of peace -- and unconditional love."

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