Giants Gamelog: vs. SD, Game 3

{I see people doing it out there, so I'm going to try blogging the game, and see what comes up. Editor's note: Game written backwards, so to read chronologically, skip to the bottom.}

9:51 p.m.: Game. Look how happy Benitez looks, pointing to the sky when Cameron pops it up. It's hard to ride a guy for being emotional -- look at the smile on his face as Durham pockets it -- but it's like Krukow was saying about channeling your emotions. Yipe. Let's just lay off this topic and say Benitez aces the season.

Will this team hold true to its .333 record? Or will it hold to its recent one-game winning streak?

Only tomorrow will tell.

Tomorrow. Giants-Dodgers. Firday night. I'll be there.

What're you doing?

9:48 p.m.: Bard actually makes a key mistake, and gets away with it. For a headcase pitcher who enters with the lead and throws five balls in a row, if you swing, it'd better be exactly the pitch you were sitting on. But, karma being what it is, it drops anyway, and we're one hit from a barnburner.

9:47 p.m.: Ball one to Bard. He hasn't come close yet. I've just traded him to Kansas City for an A-ball left-fielder and future considerations.

9:46 p.m.: Walked on four pitches. Not even close.

Did I say dumb pitcher? A homerun is literally no worse than a walk in that situation. Fuck!

9:43 p.m.: I can't keep it to myself. That Bud Light ad is not only racist, not only a blatant ripoff of Cheech Marin in Born in East L.A. -- it's also exceedingly not funny.

OK. They're back. Let's end this thing. (Great, Gonzalez -- a smart hitter against a dumb pitcher. Luckily we're up four, and Gonzalez only makes three.)

9:36 p.m.: Wrong! Benitez was only trotting toward the bullpen, and won't be used unless Kline falters. And another boneheaded manager falls victim to the save statistic.

When Benitez blows a one run game in his first appearance, don't come crying to me.

9:34 p.m.: There it is. The first shot of Armando Benitez, fully warm, walking toward the dugout. The Giants being up by four right now might be one of the best things that happens to them all year -- seriously. It does a lot for Benitez's confidence, even if he drops a run or two. And, worst case scenario, if we've got a true disaster on our hands, we'll know now, instead of in six weeks.

My guess is, he's only lightly booed. San Francisco fans know their stuff, and must be aware not only of the painful hamstring comeback, but that the Giants really have no other relievers, and he had a great spring.

9:27 p.m.: That explains it -- Krukow says it's an all-new infield-outfield surface this year at the Phone Booth. I was wondering why Roberts, even before he made the diving catch, had dirt all down his jersey. You almost never see a major leaguer wearing the field.

For the rest of us, imagine playing on a field so nice that no matter how much you dive or slide, you don't get dirty.

9:20.m.: My setup man, Vinnie Chulk, throws to your cleanup hitter, Josh Bard. Whoopeedoo. Chulk's been all right since flying in from Toronto last summer. Is "Vinnie Chulk" Canadian for "Jim Brower?"

9:13 p.m.: I'm thinking that with a chance to come back, down in the count to a tough left-handed pitcher, Adrian Gonzalez looks ready to put something up the middle. Instead, he sees a filthy Jonathan Sanchez slider, one of the best pitches of the young season, and all he can do is hope it kills Molina on impact, so he can run to first base.

8:49 p.m.: Durham robs Adrian Gonzalez, snaring his liner and converting the one-hop throw. This is apparently Durham's game.

Two things here. One, if the announcers really want to laud Durham's defense for the young kids: he one-hopped the throw because it was either that or throw wildly, and if you throw wildly, you haven't given your first baseman a chance. The uncalled-for one-hop throw is an underrated, smart play.

And two, I still love Gonzalez's approach. Everthing hard off the bat, orientation always up the middle. A lot of what the Giants aren't, and don't.

8:43 p.m.: Back from the inevitable pitching change. You know, for popping up that meatball, Aurelia gets credited with a base hit and an RBI. Is the concept of a team error really so difficult?

8:38 p.m.: Aurelia pops up a fat one -- resulting in one of the weirdest plays you'll see. Kouzmanoff keeps backpedaling from third; Greene says nothing as he camps under it from short; and you can see it coming, and are just hoping the ball stays up long enough. Sure enough, they drop, and so does the ball. Another run scores, and the inning lives.

Klesko's RBI next is a given, I just didn't have time to write it. And the game has its personality.

This is too bad, in a way, because an opening sweep would mean available Dodgers tickets tomorrow night.

8:37 p.m.: Rayray laces one to right for two runs. There are plenty of knocks on Rayray, but I think everyone around here believes in him as a hitter.

8:34 p.m.: Rayray up with the bases loaded and two out, after a walk to Bonds. At 0-2, this is a good time for a "season in a nutshell" comment.

Incidently, it's fun to see a young pitcher -- and a rookie manager -- get rattled by a few ball-strike calls.

8:31 p.m.: Roberts absolutely eats up Hensley, five steps before Hensley releases the ball. I'm a big fan of the pre-pitch hip turn by a runner in his crouch, waiting to steal. The announcers are attributing it to Maury Wills.

I've heard Juan Pierre say it's one fewer thing you have to do before getting to full speed. Above all, of course, one must read the pitcher like the funnies. The holy grail for basestealers, though, is being able to push off your right (front) leg, instead of your left (trail) leg. Only someone extremely strong, like Rickey Henderson, can do that without leaning.

8:24 p.m.: Krukow says "anger really never helps a pitcher at all." I wonder if this is true. Granted, Krook is talking about channeling your emotions; presumably anger can be productive when channeled.

I think some guys -- say, Pedro -- can pitch better angry. Clemens, maybe; remember when he threw that broken bat at Piazza in the Series? In the moment, though, of a single pitch or two, I'd say it can only help if a pitcher is "trying to overthrow," when your batter's set up for a high-hard one, and the situation calls for a strikeout. Even then, you have to know what you're doing.

8:02 p.m.:I actually delay defrosting my dinner so I can watch Adrian Gonzalez hit. He's quickly becoming a favorite of mine: a hitter's hitter. Roberts looks mighty shaky camping under his fly. Or am I reading too much into all this?

7:48 p.m.: Matt Morris steps to the plate. I forgot to add the "bright side" part of my Sabean rant: Morris shaved the beard.

7:46 p.m.: Nice piece of hitting by Benjie Molina, who gets ahead of a slider. Is it possible the Giants have found a player who's slower than J. T. Snow?

7:32 p.m.: Bonds hits one off the B of A sign right of center. On a fly. That's 420 feet, and the ball simply doesn't carry here in April. What a monster shot -- and of course, as many great wrist hitters do, he looked like he was out on his front foot.

The spring after he broke the record, I saw Mark Kotsay, then of the Padres, catch not one, but two flies in the 421 crevice in the home opener. Most impressive outs you'll ever see. Probably not a lot of out-of-towners realize that Bonds should already be at 755.

7:25 p.m.: Incidently, I've been thinking. Why in the world is this the year Bonds hits third, instead of fourth? Aside, of course, from the obvious explanation that during Felipe's regime the G-men were unable to convince Bonds to do anything, and Felipe is now gone.

This is the one year you actually have two speed guys atop the lineup. So, what? One of them gets a walk or a single -- or they both do. Now you've got Bonds up, and if they run, it's first base open to walk Bonds. Meanwhile, your cleanup hitter is Ray Durham.

On the other hand, look around the National League. The regining Division Champs across the diamond feature Josh Bard batting cleanup; over in Saint Lou, the 0-3 World Champs are batting Yadier Molina fifth, and Molina had one of the worst seasons in baseball last year.

7:16 p.m.: Durham moves two steps to his right, somehow fails to set his feet in time, and since he is perpetually unable to bend over, the ball hits him in the leg. It doesn't bounce far, so he picks it up and throws to first in time.

In the booth, Krukow recommends that Little Leaguers watch Durham, who picked it up with his bare hand to make the throw.

7:07 p.m.: I'm thinking, what a weak lineup this is. They post the Giants defense first. The outfield involves a bad arm in right (Winn;) bad routes in center (Roberts;) and bad range in left (Bonds.) The right side of the infield -- Durham and Klesko tonight -- is brutal.

5:15 p.m.: It takes me a second to figure out that it's GM Brian Sabean being interviewed on talk radio. He's lamenting the lack of patience and poor situational hitting.

Gee, Brian, ya think? Yeah, it's about bat control.

This team is one Barry (whichever) away from being permanently sunk. Sabean, echoing the Chronicle's headline, describes Bonds as "frisky" on the bases.

-Zed

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"You see, you spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time."
-Jim Bouton