Giants

I went to the Giants game tonight, which Pedro Feliz won in the 11th. To his credit, Bonds played all 11 innings and scored the winning run (though it wasn't close).

It was cool to see Lincecum. He's got electric stuff, striking out the side in the top of the first. But not such great control (four walks and 115 pitches in 7 innings). There were plenty of 95 mile-per-hour balls way high out of the strike zone.

The Giants need to make some smart decisions this winter. Next year, with no Bonds and no All Star game, attendance will drop even more.

It must have been Costume Night tonight. Many members of the (announced) crowd of 41,140 came dressed as empty seats.

Baseball Players

It's not news that baseball players aren't brain surgeons. They're also great at spewing out a lot of garbage in interviews.

But still. When Jeter was asked about the possibility of Clemens getting career win 350 yesterday (he lost to Colorado, though he pitched well) he said the following:

"It's longevity and consistency, I don't think you'll see anyone else get to that number."


Ehhhhh, Derek ol' buddy, ever heard of a guy named Maddux? You may be interested to learn that he's won 339 games in his career. It's pretty reasonable to think that he'll have a chance at "that number", assuming he stays healthy.....

Giants

I went to the Giants game on Tuesday. It was not a very interesting game, which is surprising considering the storied rivaly between the Giants and the Blue Jays (have I mentioned that I hate interleague play?).

However, when one is at the game, and when one sees the Giants play, one is struck by how poor their hitters are. Seriously, look at the starting lineup; it stinks.

Roberts........222
Schierholtz...250
Klesko..........315
Bonds...........287
Durham........250
Molina.........303
Feliz.............256
Vizquel.........231
Lowry..........074

I know, I know, batting average isn't a great measure of offense. But the numbers are similarly grim for on base percentage and slugging percentage. The Giants have one good hitter, Bonds. Benjie Molina and Ryan Klesko aren't bad, but that's it. Dave Roberts, who I love (sorry Schlamp), should not be leading off, and it only gets worse at the bottom of the lineup.

As I've previously noted, it's a shame because the Giants pitching, especially their staff, is terrific. Arguably the best in baseball.

Clemens-Unit

I was talking with someone about my earlier post about the win differential between Clemens and Maddux, and how that may have influenced Clemens to come back again. (I'm keeping track; the gap is at 11 after Clemens' win yesterday.)

I learned that another legacy Clemens is perhaps thinking about is strikeouts. Turns out that Randy Johnson recently tied him in career strikeouts, although Clemens went back ahead of him with his win yesterday. Assuming everyone stays healthy, it'll be tougher for Clemens to stay ahead of Johnson. Clemens just isn't a strikeout pitcher anymore. It looks like he made an adjustment in 1999 when he signed with the Yankees and his strikeouts dropped. He's been losing ground every year since 1997, except for 2003, when Johnson only made 18 starts.

The numbers:


Note: Nolan Ryan is still waaaaaaay ahead at 5714. He's got nothing to worry about.

Whoo-hoo!

Of course, I support all Michigan sports teams. Today in baseball Michigan beat #1 Vanderbilt 4-3 in the 10th. The losing pitcher for Vandy was David Price. I happened to read about him this morning--according to Sports Illustrated he'll be the first player taken in the baseball draft.