He’s as cool as an evening at AT&T Park, as reliable as the Pacific tide. Bruce Bochy is a motivator, a moderator, and it should be apparent, one of the finest managers in baseball. He is someone with a relentless confidence in his players and a deep understanding of baseball.
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The great thing about the baseball season is the surprises, and the wonderful surprise that is Ryan Vogelsong has helped catapult the Giants back into the NL West race.
When Barry Zito, the $126 million mistake, went on the disabled list, the Giants called up Vogelsong to take his spot in the rotation.
Little was expected of him. Vogelsong was drafted by the Giants in the fifth round in 1998, but his greatest contribution had been as part of a trade to the Pittsburgh Pirates that brought Jason Schmidt to the Giants.
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Willie Mays, who turns 80 today, was a great natural athlete, but as I learned in an interview 15 years ago, much more thinking went into his play than was generally realized.
When the Giants played in New York, he was a pull hitter because the foul lines were short. When he had 30 homers by the All-Star break in 1954, pitchers started pitching him low and away, so he learned to hit the ball to right field.
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At least A’s manager Bob Geren hasn’t felt the need to say of his team, “We’re awful,” which is specifically what Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of his team’s offense of late, even though they are not.
What they are is disappointing. So are the A’s.
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Look up the word “sputtering” in the dictionary, and you’ll find a team picture of the 2011 Giants.
Over the first 24 games of .500 baseball, the Giants scored two runs or less eight times, and lost all eight games.
Runs have not been easy to come by, even by last year’s standard of torture.
Two dozen games into 2011, the Giants ranked among the bottom four teams in runs scored — along with Washington, Pittsburgh and San Diego, a trio of teams no franchise expecting to contend wants to be associated with.
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The Giants are showing cracks in the foundation of their success, namely pitching.
No, I’m not talking about Tim Lincecum, who had a bad outing on Saturday. It was just one of those days for Lincecum, who never really had command of his pitches. He’ll be back to his Cy Young form with his next start.
Madison Bumgarner is a much more legitimate concern. The second-year pitcher couldn’t get out of the third inning on Friday night against the Atlanta Braves. When I talked to Giants manager Bruce Bochy before Saturday’s game, he said he wasn’t worried about Bumgarner.
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Freddy Sanchez. Pablo Sandoval. Mark DeRosa. Aaron Rowand.
Every season, the first few weeks are when a team begins to cement its personality. It’s becoming obvious the Giants are going to rely on the quartet mentioned above if they are going to successfully defend their world championship.
After a shaky start with the Giants, Sanchez has turned out to be a pro’s pro. He proved it in the postseason, and he’s proving it again this year. He can hit. He plays hard. If his body holds up, he’ll be a key ingredient to the Giants’ success in 2011.
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San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey is visiting two Bank of America branches Thursday to hand out free tickets and promotional items.The event is a promotion by Bank of America to show customer appreciation, bank spokeswoman Gita Chandra said. Posey visited a bank branch at 345 Montgomery St. first, then planned to stop by a branch at 1640 Van Ness Ave. from 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.He is giving away two pairs of Giants tickets at each location, as well autographed Giants gear including hats, Chandra said.
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As I sit out on the back porch, looking out at the backside of Twin Peaks, my thoughts creep back to the trial of Barry Bonds.
I’ve been trying to come to grips with what was proven at the trial that last week found Bonds guilty of obstructing justice.
I rooted for Bonds. I took my son to root for him, and we rooted together. I don’t remember talking about drugs. We talked about baseball.
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By:
Bob Baum
04/16/11 8:24 PM
Freddy Sanchez doubled in the tying run in the sixth inning, then put San Francisco up for good with a two-run single in the seventh and the Giants won their fourth in a row by beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-3 on Saturday night.San Francisco starter Barry Zito sprained his right foot lunging for a bunt in the second inning and left the game. Replacement Guillermo Mota pitched a career-long 4 1-3 innings to get the victory. Mota (1-0) allowed one run on three hits, fanning four with no walks.
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URL: http://www.sfexaminer.com/archive/109/109?page=51%2C0%2C0%2C1
