Posted by Steve
I didn’t post after Yo’s start, mainly because I’ve been going to too many games. I ended up attending all three games of a series for the first time in my life, and lucky for me it happened to be a sweep.
I suppose I’ll go through each game individually.
Monday: Gallardo vs. Lowry
Yo was pretty much fantastic. He battled through a long first inning and then cruised. It was simply fun watching him pitch–he was under control the entire time and was very poised. Unlike Lincecum in his start, he consistently threw strikes and didn’t get rattled. He definitely did not seem like a 21-year old; you can see why the Brewers’ brass feel he is so advanced. Also the claims that he’s a pretty good hitting pitcher seem to be true. You don’t like to project too much off of just one start, but with his minor league track record, it seems pretty safe to say that Yo is going to be a really good pitcher.
Cordero did not have his slider working at all and made things way too interesting at the end. How he continues to save games in which the tying run is at third with one out is beyond me, but as long as he does I won’t care.
Tuesday: Sheets vs. Lincecum
This was an all-around great game for the Crew. Sheets was solid in a complete game effort (not as great as he’s been at times, but pretty darn good). As usual when Sheets pitched, the game was nice and quick.
Lincecum was another story. You can see why he carved up the minor leagues–his fastball is incredible. You can also see why he struggles quite a bit in the majors–he tries to strike everyone out, and when he’s missing his spots he has trouble settling down. The Brewers did a great job of being patient with him and letting him beat himself. Lincecum’s going to be great though.
Wednesday: Vargas vs. Zito
The Giants’ lineup today without Bonds was AAA caliber. The only reason they mustered five runs is because Claudio Vargas absolutely refuses to pitch deep into a game, and shockingly, did not work out of a bases loaded jam this time (Huh! Who ever thought that would eventually happen?). Through five innings I was thinking he’d at least get to the seventh, but no. I guess he is what he is, which happens to be good for a fifth starter. I still feel he’s the odd man out if you need to kick a current starter out of the rotation.
Zito, on the other hand, really just isn’t very good anymore. His contract was as bad as any in the last couple years. He’s not as bad as he’s been so far this season, but that isn’t saying all that much. The Giants appear to have paid $126 million for a league average pitcher.
Overall thoughts on the series
- The Giants have some solid starting pitching, but their offense is miserable. Outside of Bonds, their only decent hitters are Ray Durham, Ryan Klesko and Randy Winn. The Brewers did a good job against their pitchers, which resulted in the sweep.
- The Brewers pitched well against Bonds, as he only had one extra base hit in the series. He took his share of walks, which he always does, but the Crew didn’t let him beat them.
- Corey Hart just rocked it this series, again. He is a legit .900 OPS corner outfielder. I get angry thinking about the 50 ABs or so that Yost wasted on Mench and Gwynn over Hart. By the way, I have changed my fantasy baseball team name from “J.J. Freaking Hardy” to “Corey Freaking Hart.” I thought it fit well.
- Hall’s definitely out of any sort of slump, and Weeks had an impressive series off the D.L. Oh, and Prince Fielder is extremely good. The offense is rolling.
- I found it interesting that despite a lot of complaining about Yost using so many different lineups, the Brewers are actually tied for the seventh fewest lineups in the majors this season. Things aren’t always as bad as they seem.
- Don’t look now, but all of a sudden the Brewers are back to ten games over .500. With the Cubbies’ loss tonight, Milwaukee holds a cushy eight-game lead on Chicago and St. Louis. Considering the upcoming schedule, I expect the Brewers to be up at least eight games by the all-star break.
