Across the Seams

The End (Giants 10, Dodgers 0)

No more games for the Giants. Congratulations, Jason Schmidt, for overtaking Juan Marichal for the strikeout record.

Elimination would have been easier to take had it happened a week ago. It was fun down the stretch, but it is annoying to realize that Barry Bonds once again put up one of the greatest seasons in the history of the game, and the Giants didn't even make the playoffs. Couldn't overtake two incredibly mediocre teams. To me, that's a colossal failure for the management team.

But anyway, what am I going to do?

Thanks, Barry, Jason, J.T, Noah, Ray, Pedro, Dustan, Edgardo, Brett, Woody, and Jerome for some good times this year.

Oh, and let's not forget Kruk, Kuip, Jon, and Phlegm.

Nada (Dodgers 7, Giants 3)

No bullpen, no defense.

Sorry Mr. Tomko, you deserved much better.

Cody Ransom, please take your contract elsewhere. Has there been a "defensive replacement" that has made more errors in fewer chances? I'm really angry right now, and it's not all Ransom's fault, he's just a convenient target.

Game on the line, division on the line, most likely the season on the line, and the 1-2 punch is Herges and Franklin. All the flaws, rising up when they are wanted least. So typical.

Giants are technically still alive, but I'm not putting much stock in the chance of Colorado winning a game in Houston, so I'm just acknowledging that it's a possibility.

Wayne Franklin ... remember when he wasn't good enough to pitch for the Brewers?

Anyway, go Rockies, go Giants.

Step 1 (Giants 4, Dodgers 2)

Another huge performance from the starter, and the Dodgers are hearing footsteps. Kirk Rueter was cruising most of the night, just like he seems to do in every big game he gets the call in. Just huge.

Big hit of the nightt was J.T.'s homer off Venafro. Funky pitchers like that grate on my sense of baseball propriety. If the rosters are 25 and not 40, do the Dodgers carry this guy, who's really ony good for facing lefties? Maybe. It's their right, and if he gets people out, fine. But having Snow homer off him felt a lot like justice.

Dustin Hermanson was great in the ninth, easily retiring Finley, Beltre, and Green to get the save. The setup job by Brower might have been even more impressive. The Giants aren't too bad with that formula: starter for seven, Brower, Hermanson.

The second inning was quite satisfying in that the Giants punished the Dodgers for leading off the inning by walking Bonds. Hernandez made a good play to get Snow's tweener, then Bonds got a great jump on a hit and run, moving to third on Cruz's single. Pierzynski hit a lame little fly to third, but at least it wasn't a double play. And with two outs and Rueter on deck, Grissom blasted a good curve ball to the gap, scoring two. Fantastic.

There's a reason Ray Durham doesn't want to play outfield: He has a tough time fielding fly balls. In the fourth, he overran Werth's popup, which he's done more than once this season. Sure it's a tough play, and it didn't hurt the Giants, but it's a reminder that nothing is automatic with this defense.

It's clear that the Giants aren't going to get any help from the Rockies -- six rooks in September October, give me a break -- so I'm ignoring that series the rest of the weekend.

Tomorrow the Dodgers are scrambling, sticking Dessens in the starter's slot. The Dodgers would also like to keep the ouchy Gagne on the bench, and I'm hoping the Giants can cooperate.

Jerome (Giants 4, Padres 1)

This game pretty much erases Salomon Torres for me. Jerome Williams, who hadn't pitched for months and who's all of 22 years old, delivers in an absolute must-win situation for the Giants. Fantastic.

Not only was it a clutch performance, it was a great outing by almost any measure. Seven innings, keeping the bullpen participation to a dull roar, four hits, one walk. Just wow. I just can't get over this guy's night. Who else played for the Giants? Oh yeah, Durham homered. Snow and Cruz delivered in the clutch. And did I mention Jerome Williams?

It's really hard for me to imagine a worse outfielder than Ryan Klesko right now. Snow hit his double on the screws, but I'm convinced that if Klesko actually looked at the ball at the end, he would have caught it. Instead, he was watching the wall, and the ball darn near beaned him on the way down.

As I write, the Dodgers and Rockies are going to the 11th tied, despite Gagne putting the Dodgers in a hole and Colorado not pitching Chacon. Hope they go 26.

Ouch (Padres 4, Giants 3)

What a tough way to lose both a game and a player. I've always been scared of those mounds at the ballpark, and this is the second Giant claimed by the bullpen this season (Snow before Mohr). It was a good catch, but it was foul. Miller on the TV said -- as it was happening -- that Mohr could let it drop, but it was way too close to the line for Mohr to make that decision. He never had time to figure out where he was in relation to the line. I think he had to catch it.

It really shouldn't have come to that, anyway, as the defense let the Giants down in the tenth. Annoying, but not surprising.

Full credit to David Wells, who did a good job taming the Giants. Even the two-run single by Feliz was fortunate for the Giants, as Wells had completely sawed him off. And Noah Lowry pitched a great game, too. Annoying that the guys that hurt the Giants were Richie and Hernandez (again), but really, it was just a tough, tough game to lose.

Krukow is very irate on the radio right now, as the Padres apparently had nothing set up to take injured players off the field. Mohr sat on the field for quite a while before the Padres finally emptied a grounds crew truck to get him off (according to Krukow). If that's true it's a joke.

Now the Giants are trailing the Astros in the wild card, and they have to win every game the rest of the way to have a chance at the division. (Actually, they'll guarantee a tie by winning all four.) So the rest of the season is huge, and the first guy up is Jerome Williams. Welcome back, kid. No pressure!

Whew (Giants 7, Padres 5)

Nails on a chalkboard, that one. Lots of hits, but in a strange distribution. Giants ripped for six runs in the fourth on seven hits. They got 10 hits in the eight other innings, but scored only one run in those innings. The big inning was enough.

Despite the hit parade, the Padres stayed within striking distance all night long. We're still not seeing the awesome Jason Schmidt we're used to seeing. I don't know whether it's the rust from the injury or if he's lost his release point or what. He doesn't seem to have that swagger right now, but that could simply be a function of being slapped around a bit. Two Ks, three walks is not the guy I'm used to.

Boy, is the bullpen hard to watch. If they aren't throwing balls off the plate, they're managing to get the ball past the catcher with runners on. Yeesh. Brower's cross-up of Pierzynski in the seventh was probably his fault, but if there's any catcher fully qualified to miss a fastball down the pipe, it's A.J. A passed ball in the second opened the door to two Padres runs.

Dustin, Dustin, Dustin. You're killing me!

Hats off to Milton Bradley!

UPDATE: It appears that Bradley had a partner in crime, some bonehead in the stands who threw a beer bottle (maybe plastic) at Bradley. Bradley was already a lit powder keg out there, so tossing the bottle was clearly the act of a moron.

@$%*&! I don't believe the Rockies. This cannot be serious.

Finale (Dodgers 7, Giants 4)

The defense failed to show up. The hitters left 11 runners on base. Brett Tomko had a bit of a regression. When the Giants really needed a win against the team they are chasing, the guys on the mound were named Franklin and Herges. I don't know whether to feel mad or resigned.

The defense has been trouble most of the year, but today it really hurt. Every mistake -- Durham's boot of an easy grounder on the first play of the game, Tucker's misplay of Beltre's single, and Grissom's drop of a fly ball -- directly turned into runs. The Giants have been sleeping with a snake under the pillow, and today it decided to strike. It wasn't a surprise.

Alou's handling of the pitching surprised me a bit. I don't know the state of the arms of the relief corps, healthwise, but having Franklin and Herges in there in such a crucial situation is, I don't know, a little crazy. Even then, it seemed that Alou felt the Giants had all day to come back in the game, as if it was really a nine-inning game. With Gagne and the crazy shadows looming, you knew the game was really a seven-inning affair. Whatever ... with this bullpen you roll the dice and I really don't have any better ideas. I did find it absurd to have Correia warming up in the pen.

The ninth was a perfect example of why Barry doesn't hustle on every ground ball. He came up gimpy after beating out a chopper and had to come out of the game. When it's important, he'll run. If not, it's not worth the risk. Hope he's OK.

I'm too bummed to figure out all the scenarios right now, but it's probably safest to assume the Giants need at least five wins to keep playing. I don't think four will be enough. But you never know. Go Rockies!

Very Happy (Giants 9, Dodgers 5)

Days like this are what make being a baseball fan a lot of fun. A little back and forth, some defense, a tight game, and the home team pulling out the win with a clutch, two-out homer.

Hennessey wasn't particularly effective, but he wasn't awful, either. Extra credit for his two-out RBI single. The bullpen came up big, except for Walker's mistake to Milton Bradley.

And in the seventh, after a wild pitch moved the runner to second with two out, the Giants and Jim Brower had a chance to bypass Beltre to work to Ventura, but declined to be intimidated. Brower struck out Beltre, a moment that had to energize the Giants and deflate the Dodgers.

Just as a counterpoint, the Dogs walked Bonds five times. The funniest being the first, as it seemed that Lima called for the intentional pass on his own, wildly gesturing to his catcher from the mound once the count got to three balls. He never scored. And the Giants scored nine runs.

Brazoban came into the game with an ERA under one. The kid has been money for the Dodgers down the stretch. But the Giants changed all that.

Tucker's leadoff, broken-bat single topped off his three-hit day. Dustan Mohr, who had looked absolutely awful at the plate put down a bunt to move Tucker over. Up came Ricky Ledee, who has been terrible as a Giant, but was in one of those situations where an otherwise unnotable player can etch himself in the fans' memories. OK, he didn't get a hit, but he did work a walk. Durham's at-bat was amazing. He worked it to 3-2 then fouled off a couple with Tucker and Ledee running wind sprints on the bases. The popup was disappointing, but it wasn't easy for Brazoban. Snow walked to load them up for Feliz.

One of the Dodgers fans in the row in front of us spent much of the inning burying his head in his hands, clearly preparing for the worst. I sort of felt sorry for him, as I'd been spending much of the game with similar thoughts. When I couldn't bear it anymore, I'd slouch in my seat and not watch the pitcher or the batter. I'd watch Ray Durham at second and listen.

And then Yhency threw a fastball to one of the best fastball hitters in the league. Bang, not a doubt. It was loud in the yard, though I'm not sure it was louder than when Alfonzo slammed the Red Sox. I know I was yelling louder then. What fun.

Let's hope Tomko keeps his momentum going tomorrow.

Odealing (Dodgers 3, Giants 2)

The Giants simply couldn't hit Odalis Perez. Again.

Bonds' homer didn't go far, but it was one of the hardest-hit balls I've seen. It seemed to be rising on its way out.

The Dodgers really should have been hammering the Giants by a wide margin, but they couldn't come up with the big hit or managed to line into a double play. The Giants bullpen wasn't impressive, but they did manage to walk the tightrope and not give up any runs. It wasn't fun to watch, but the results were good. Didn't boost my confidence though.

The wild card has become incidental. It's pretty much the division or nothing for the Giants, thanks to the way the schedule plays out. And thanks to this loss, the margin for error has dropped to practically nil. So Hennessey takes to the mound tomorrow. I don't know whether to laugh or to cry. For all the Giants brass' talk about veteran ballplayers, blah blah blah, the guy entrusted with the most important game of the season -- a loss and the Giants are 3.5 out with 7 to play -- is 24 with 30 innings pitched in the show. Hey, it may work, but where are Sabean's vets? (Rhetorical)

Who's the MVP? Ask Jim Tracy. Ask Eric Gagne. They tell you Adrian Beltre, they are bald-faced liars.

More Bull (Astros 7, Giants 3)

It was a brutal, simple lesson. Keep the bullpen out of it.

One minute the team is right behind the Dodgers, leading the wild card, about to deal a death blow to the Astros. Three batters later the whole thing has disintegrated, and the Giants find themselves on the wrong end in all the races.

Quick hits ... Houston's run in the seventh was an absolute gift from Schmidt. A mortal-sin leadoff walk followed by two of the easiest stolen bases you'll ever see had Beltran on third with no outs. ... The warnings to the benches after Backe threw at Bonds was sad. Dumbest rule in sports. Well, dumbest I can think of right now. If the umps thought Backe was throwing at Bonds, you toss the guy. Simple. Instead, they gave the Astros a free shot at Bonds and took the inside away from Schmidt. BS. ... Berkman is brutal in right. ... The Giants left six runners in scoring position. ... Michael Tucker has looked absolutely awful at the plate in September. ... Ricky Ledee pinch hit in the ninth, capping the night perfectly with a strikeout. Nice way for Alou to remind us that the Giants weakened an already shaky bullpen to get this guy. ... Mr. Team Guy came in and gave up a hit to the only batter he faced.

A sweep against L.A. will put them in first place, but there's a little hitch ... Alou still doesn't know who will start Saturday. This should be good. Two fatally flawed teams going at it for six games, may the less-worse team win. The Giants have the advantage if they can keep the starters on the hill. The Dodgers need to find miracles to get to the sixth with a lead. I give the edge to the Giants, as they have fewer holes to cover (bullpen vs. starting rotation and weak lineup).