Perfecto

Where do I begin? Matt Cain... I mean MATT CAIN! Wow. Last night's game is almost beyond words. How special was last nights game?

• It was the 22nd perfect game in MLB history.
• Cain tied Sandy Koufax for most K's in a perfecto with 14.
• The sometimes anemic Giants offense scored 10 runs, the most ever in a perfect game.
• It was the first ever for the Giants in the 128 year history of the ball club.
• The home plate umpire Ted Barrett also called David Cone's perfect game in 1999, making him the only home plate umpire to call two perfect games.
• Matt Cain never shook off a call from his catcher Buster Posey in 125 pitches.
• According to Bill James Game Score (which assigns a point value to a pitchers performance) it was the 2nd highest score in MLB history with a score of 101. Tied with Koufax and trailing only Kerry Wood's 105 in 1998.

Random Thoughts

Is there any way we can get both Kuiper's to call the upcoming Oakland game together? Duane and Glen are both broadcasters in the Bay Area (Duane for the Giants, Glen for the A's). I love Kruk (Mike Krukow) and Kuip (Duane) as a broadcast team, but how great would it be to throw the brothers out there for some good-natured shit-talking? Adding on to that thought: is there any other team that can trot out 4 of the best broadcasters in the business? Kruk, Kuip, Jon Miller, and Dave Flemming are phenominal and can mix and match without missing a beat.

We need to start taking over-unders on Bumgarner's snot rockets. What is his record? 20+ would not surprise me in the least.

Did this last week teach Bochy a lesson about the value of a consistent lineup?

How much are we paying Dave Righetti? Did we draft 75 pitchers in the 2012 draft to make him happy? Seriously, anything we can do to keep him is worth its weight in gold. I'd give him the gold too just to make sure he stays.

Did Brian Sabean decide after Huff's horrendous 2011 that he's better off picking up random guys from other teams cut lists? He's hit the nail on the head in one of the most astounding runs for a GM ever. He gets a lot of well deserved crap, but he has also gotten us Torres, Vogey, Arias and Blanco. Wow.

Romo HAS to be an all-star. Nobody can make a professional hitter look more foolish that Romo and his no-dot slider. They know its coming and they still hack like an overmatched little-leaguer.

Who would you start if the Giants had to win one game? Cain? Bumgarner? Vogelsong? Zito? Lincecum? With the new wild-card rules I'd hate to face the Giants if I was a fan of any other franchise.

Crawford can't throw

The following is an actual conversation (mostly) after Crawford's throwing error in the 3rd inning .

Emika: 57 errors!??!?! Fifty Seven! Fifty-fucking seven? I would have thought like 30!
Me (laughing): No we had like 30 in mid May. Crawford now has 11 to lead the majors this season.
Emika: Oh, I thought they said Crawford had 57 errors.
Me: And you thought a conservative estimate was 30?
Emika: Well, ok... but he has played like crap for someone who can't hit.

It's a sad sign for a "defensive stalwart" to lead the league in errors. Its even worse for someone to believe that it is possible for him to average more than an error per inning. Also, Bumgarner is a stud and I take back everything bad I said about Theriot... until he gets cold again.

Gregor Blanco - Priest Killer

I decided not to watch the game today and instead try and focus on getting my intellect on! With Ray Bradbury's passing yesterday I decided to re-read Illustrated man. That is one hell of a book. So I finish reading and I look up the box score to find that the Giants are finally starting to put it all together offensively. One of the things that has bothered me about the boys in black is that they have way too many games where they get to a starter early for 3-4 runs and then don't add another run all game. Mike Krukow pretty much said the same thing yesterday on the broadcast. With Blanco at the plate in the 5th inning Krukow predicted that the score would stay 3-2 for the ball game. He literally didn't finish his sentence before Blanco launched a rocket over the right field fence. And that's the thing, the past few years the score would have remained 3-2 on a good day, or if we were playing San Diego in 2010 or Arizona last year we would have lost 4-3 in agonizing fashion. But we're finally adding runs! I like runs, they make everyone all happy and fuzzy inside... maybe not fuzzy that makes me think I've got weird fruit mold growing in my organs. Never mind. So back to my point, we're finally getting it done at the plate enough to put teams away and stretch the lead far enough that our pitchers don't have to walk a tightrope every damned time they go out there.

Romo's got nothing to be embarrassed about

If you haven't seen Romo's over-cooked bobble head, here it is in all it's glory:

Pretty bad. But not nearly as bad as the bobbleheads you can find here:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1208454-the-worst-bobbleheads-in-sports-history

1/3 Awards

We've officially hit the 1/3 mark of the season so it's awards time!

Most Valuable Player: Romo, duh! Oh, I know there are those of you out there who are crazy for Melky but tough titties.

Biggest Surprise: Zito if you are a "glass half full" type person, Lincecum if you are more of a "holy shit, what the fuck is happening" person.

Biggest Dissapointment: The in-stadium music choices. They at least got rid of "What a Wonderful World" ... as far as I know. I have also yet to see "fist-pump grandma" which is a blessing because that sounds like a horribly disgusting porn site and was sadly a real thing at the stadium last year. Things that could make the stadium 100 times better in no particular order:
Bring back the Carlton Cam
Awesome classical music like "Ride of the Valkyries" and the overtures of William Tell and 1812
Taze fans who run on the field.
Start at bat and pump up songs further in so we get to the epic part sooner!

Best Addition (non-trade category): Gregor Blanco. He was the missing ingredient to forming our first "3 Amigos" outfield since the Alou brothers.

Best Addition (via trade): Got Melk?

Best Addition by subtraction: This award will henceforth be known as "The Rowand Award"

Best Facial Expressions: I love when Pagan gets pissed and goes all bug eyed. Coming in a close second is Buster Posey when disagreeing with a ball or strike. Haven't seen it? It pretty much looks like he just saw his dog piss all over the carpet and knock over the trash can. 3rd place to Vogelsong when he exits a game.

Current News: Tonights game was full of surprises... Timmy coming back after he shat the bed in the 2nd inning, the offense clawing its way out of a 4-0 deficet in San Diego (which it seems like next to impossible at Petco), and then our bullpen snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Damn.

A Year and Half Recap

This entry will attempt to capture the Giants journey from the end of 2010 through the first 1/3 of the 2012 season. Some people may not have been following the G-men on a daily basis (I'm looking at you Dad) and need to be caught up on some of the major story lines since the misfits and castoffs won it all. For the other two people who read this feel free to skip the 2011 section... no sense in risking injury by throwing things.