Aug. 23, 2011
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Well, thats another 200 minutes you, and the Giants, can never get back.
The momentary Era Of What The Hell Maybe This Wont Suck After All Feeling ended with a monumental thud Tuesdaywell, with a thud and balls bouncing all the acreageas the local nine (and barely nine at that) fell to the San Diego Padres, 7-5.
And todays lesson, fellow proles: Dont expect the Giants soft, gooey schedule to save you. They are someone elses soft, gooey schedule these days.
RECAP: Giants tie it, but Padres strike back for 7-5 victory
The loss, which manager Bruce Bochy stiff-upper-lipped into a tribute to the teams fight, was another one of those games that make a better box score than a show. Pitches from the normally reliable Matt Cain that were hittably up. Balls thrown hither and yon and not always with a sense of purpose. In many ways, a sloppy bit of work at the same time that the Arizonii (cq) were polishing off the earthquake-shattered Washingtons.
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We wanted to say earthquake-shattered because, geological snots that we are, we wanted to point out to our Atlantic brethren what cherries they actually were Tuesday.
But we digress.
The Giants most strident defenders point to their dog-eared, half-tattered pocket schedules and see Dodgers and Rockies and Padres and Astros and Cubs, and say, Oh my! And then they watch events like Tuesday and revert to Oh my God!
IN short, you cannot look ahead and predict the Giants future based on the likely futures of their scheduled foes. They have now needed 38 innings and more than 12 hours to beat two of the National Leagues worst teamsonce.
Giants Insider gallery: Ultimate high, to ultimate low
And as part of a greater whole, the shards of Giant baseball are proof that as enemies go, they need look no further than the fogged-up shower mirrors.
Bochy laughed at the suggestion that his team was better off a year ago when it was 6games behind the Padres than it is now, two games behind the Diamondbacks, and he is right to do so. Even an idiot can see that 4games of difference with 32 to play matter a pretty good deal.
On the other hand, the standings must be among this teams least nettlesome concerns. Oh, the rest of us and keep track of every Paul Goldschmidt at-bat and every J.J. Putz save opportunity, but more than ever before, the Giants issues are themselves, and therefore the only thing that should be gnawing at their souls.
When they pitch, they dont hit. When they hit, they dont catch. And when they play the NL East, theyre hopeless. If you want to feel good about your team and your world, they wont see another of those teams this year unless they reach the postseason.
But the Giants have bigger issues. There arent enough healthy ones. The ones that are semi-healthy are producing only sporadically. The dog days have been Rottweilers, and the Giants have been carrying a pork wallet.
In short, never mind the schedule. Keep your head down, and worry about whats in front of you. A team that is one run short of being the worst team in baseball, and is on a pace to score the 10th lowest number of runs, and third lowest in a season of 140 games or more IN TEAM HISTORY!
Worry about the disabled list, or the sudden error binge, or whatever you want. Just dont avert your gaze and start thinking that other teams will be of service to your team. This is a Giants problem, solely and completely. If they dont fix them, they neither will, nor should, reach October.
Ray Ratto is a columnist for CSNBayArea.com