Christmas comes early for the Giants
In an unbelievable season, today's 3-2 vic at Atlanta was the single most stunning game of the year. Brooks Conrad, a guy you never heard of until last week, personally gift-wrapped Game 3 of the NLDS to the Orange and Black thanks to three -- count 'em, three -- egregious errors. That's what you get, Braves fans, for all those years of doing the stupid Tomahawk Chop.
There are some guys who really can't handle the pressure of the playoffs, like Conrad and Byung Hyung-Kim and George Frazier. Just to be on the safe side, I'm hoping that Bochy decides to not let Sergio Romo go for a trifecta of implosions to this particular Braves lineup.
Henry Schulman's game story places Conrad on a short list of multiple error games that led to losses in the postseason, joining Mike Andrews and two Dodgers -- Willie Davis and Rafael Furcal.
Lefty Malo says that Romo has been pretty much unhittable this fall except for the last two games, and notes that purported "genius" Bobby Cox had a huge hand in both Braves losses --.
And I suspect Bochy will maneuver like hell to avoid matching up Romo and power lefties for the rest of the post-season. But you don't toss aside a guy with spectacular bullpen numbers just because of three bad pitches made over two bad outings (and boy oh boy was that slider to Hinske a bad pitch). Unless Romo is injured or clearly unready mentally to handle the playoffs -- poppycock, I say -- Bochy would be foolish to bury such a weapon in the bullpen. Please note that after the home run, Romo bore down and got two more outs. They kept him out there, which stunned me, but I'll bet next time he takes the mound -- perhaps even Monday night -- Romo will be grateful for the extra pitches. The Giants need him to be right.
What would you have done? Give Sanchez one more batter? Bring in a different righty, Casilla perhaps? Hit it to Conrad?
The real spotlight -- more like the bare bulb in the interrogation room -- should really be centered on Bobby Cox, who has now made two hugely questionable moves: walking Pablo Sandoval to get to Cody Ross in Game 1, and not subbing his all-glove, no-bat reserve infielder Diory Hernandez for the all-bat, no-glove Conrad to start the ninth.
There are some guys who really can't handle the pressure of the playoffs, like Conrad and Byung Hyung-Kim and George Frazier. Just to be on the safe side, I'm hoping that Bochy decides to not let Sergio Romo go for a trifecta of implosions to this particular Braves lineup.
Henry Schulman's game story places Conrad on a short list of multiple error games that led to losses in the postseason, joining Mike Andrews and two Dodgers -- Willie Davis and Rafael Furcal.
Lefty Malo says that Romo has been pretty much unhittable this fall except for the last two games, and notes that purported "genius" Bobby Cox had a huge hand in both Braves losses --.
And I suspect Bochy will maneuver like hell to avoid matching up Romo and power lefties for the rest of the post-season. But you don't toss aside a guy with spectacular bullpen numbers just because of three bad pitches made over two bad outings (and boy oh boy was that slider to Hinske a bad pitch). Unless Romo is injured or clearly unready mentally to handle the playoffs -- poppycock, I say -- Bochy would be foolish to bury such a weapon in the bullpen. Please note that after the home run, Romo bore down and got two more outs. They kept him out there, which stunned me, but I'll bet next time he takes the mound -- perhaps even Monday night -- Romo will be grateful for the extra pitches. The Giants need him to be right.
What would you have done? Give Sanchez one more batter? Bring in a different righty, Casilla perhaps? Hit it to Conrad?
The real spotlight -- more like the bare bulb in the interrogation room -- should really be centered on Bobby Cox, who has now made two hugely questionable moves: walking Pablo Sandoval to get to Cody Ross in Game 1, and not subbing his all-glove, no-bat reserve infielder Diory Hernandez for the all-bat, no-glove Conrad to start the ninth.
posted by Big D at 12:19 AM
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