Who Knew

April 12, 2005: The Giants score 5 runs in the first inning and are up 8-5 going into the 9th inning at Dodger Stadium. As a result of costly errors and Armando Benitez, the Giants lose the game after the Dodgers score 4 runs in the 9th; A game most Giants fans would like to forget in my opinion. Since that horrendous collapse of the Giant's bullpen though, it's been lights out. Since that fateful game, the bullpen's ERA is at an astounding 1.07 mark. They've surrendered just 4 runs in the last 33 2/3 innings. With all the bad press surrounding the Giant's starting rotation and slumping offense, no one seems to have noticed just how good their bullpen has been. Today's game against the Brewers was a shining example of bullpen excellence and to top it all off, Armando Benitez is back. Although physically he didn't go anywhere, his stuff up until today hasn't been there. His splitter has been flat and he hasn't had a lot of control over his 95 plus fastball. Today he was untouchable. His fastball was on the corners with movement, and his splitter made Geoff Jenkins look like he'd never swung a bat before in his life. The only baserunner Benitez allowed in 1 2/3 innings of work was a walk and that never amounted to anything. First pitch strikes are key for Benitez with his recent lack of control, and he threw strike one right out of the blocks to all 6 hitters he faced.

The Giants finally scored some runs for Tomko. In the 6 1/3 innings he pitched, they scored 5 runs. Previous to this start, the Giants have scored 1 run in the 17 1/3 pitched by Brett. Today Tomko took matters into his own hands today with a clutch hit driving in 2 runs. Right off the bat, he had no clue that he had hit it in fair territory. As he hit it, he was looking down the third base line as the ball sailed into right field for an RBI knock.


Torcato Gone, Niekro stays
The Giants sent outfielder Tony Torcato down to Fresno after activating Moises Alou from the disabled list Friday. Due to his recent performances, Lance Niekro has earned himself a spot at the major league level for now. He will definitely be a valuable bat off the bench, and a spot starter for J.T. against lefties and on getaway days. Unbeknownst to many, Snow is 37 and needs days off every once in a while. I still maintain that Niekro has one of the better power swings I've seen, but right now he needs to learn to lay off the high fastball or else that's all he going to be getting a steady diet of in the next month. Now that the pressure's off to replace Alou, Niekro can relax as he doesn't have a pair of shoes to fill.


Fonzie's Leveled Off
Well it was nice while it lasted seeing Edgardo Alfonzo's name atop the major league leaders in batting average. As expected, he's come back down to Earth for the time being. I'm expecting him to level off around .300-.315 by the end of May. He's done more than his part in filling in for Barry's absence during this hot streak of his. Don't get me wrong, Fonzie's still batting .393 but at this point in the season, if you get out once, your average goes down 15 points and vice versa for when you get on base. Edgardo has chosen the right time to return to Earth, just as the pitching staff is beginning to come around. All the Giants need to do now is put all the pieces together and get hot offensively and on the pitching side at the same time. For a team without the best player of all time (Bonds), the Giants have faired very well with various players stepping up and Alfonzo is no exception.


Jerome Williams squares off tomorrow against Gary Glover. I'll be at that game so i'll be able to get into pretty good detail with my next entry. Until then, pray that I haven't jinxed the Giant's bullpen.