Off-Day Media Dump

[gp956]

Good stuff from Verducci.

On Holliday's crossblock:

....here is what you should know about the slide: It was dirty, but it wasn't intentionally dirty. There is a difference, and the difference might keep this episode from turning into something uglier.

By acceptable standards of the game, if not an actual rule, it is grossly wrong for a baserunner to "slide" so late that he hits the ground on the outfield side of second base. I believe second base umpire Greg Gibson should have called interference and called not just Holliday out (the throw to Scutaro beat him to the bag) but also the batter-runner, Allen Craig. Holliday's slide was that reckless.

On Bumgarner:

Bumgarner threw 38 of his first 41 pitches in the narrow range of 87-91 mph. In one sequence to David Freese, he threw pitches clocked at these speeds: 90, 88, 88, 88, 89, 90, 88. The last one, not surprisingly, was blasted for a home run.
Bumgarner's pitches have been so flat that it's hard to tell his slider from his fastball. The Giants insist he is healthy, though he has shown a noticeable drop in velocity after the first inning of his two postseason starts.

The Giants believe his problems are related to mechanics. They broke down video of his Game 1 start and compared it to other starts this year when he threw well. What they found was that his normal slingshot delivery had become even more of a side-to-side movement -- his hand moving like a carousel and less like a Ferris wheel. This rotational movement caused his arm to drag (slowing it, which effects ball velocity and spin rate) and his fingers to fall more to the side of the baseball than on top (causing him to lose movement and bite on his pitches).

 

[ColinCoby]

Good stuff from Verducci.

On Holliday's crossblock:



On Bumgarner:

Good stuff.

What I always wonder is how much is bad mechanics affected by dead arm/overuse? Could it be that Bum is simply mentally and/or physically burned out...and "healthy"?

 

[gp956]

Good stuff.

What I always wonder is how much is bad mechanics affected by dead arm/overuse? Could it be that Bum is simply mentally and/or physically burned out...and "healthy"?

Hard to say. He could have hit a wall, since this is his first full year with a post season. But he's still hitting 90mph, even if he's living at 88-89. That last time this occurred to Bum, many people that he was tired/injured/overworked, but it turned out to be a mechanical issue.

 

[gp956]

AP Twitter report:

Marco Scutaro traveled to St. Louis w/ #SFGiants late morning. Has left hip muscle strain. Status unclear for NLCS Game 3 Wed vs #Cardinals

 

[tzill]

Text from Noggin to Janie McCauley:

"Marco and Roberto are w/us and doing fine. Good chance Marco can go tomorrow."

Bochy: 'Good chance' Scutaro plays in Game 3

 

[calsnowskier]

I made a mention during the GDT yesterday about McCarver's time with the Giants in '02.

I was living in Michigan at the time, and the MLB app did not exist yet, so I did not follow the broadcasts in any fashion during that run.

For those of you who were in the area for that year, what role did he have? Was he as annoying then? Was he able to get ANY excitement going for the Giants at all, or did his disdain bleed through?

 

[gp956]

I made a mention during the GDT yesterday about McCarver's time with the Giants in '02.

I was living in Michigan at the time, and the MLB app did not exist yet, so I did not follow the broadcasts in any fashion during that run.

For those of you who were in the area for that year, what role did he have? Was he as annoying then? Was he able to get ANY excitement going for the Giants at all, or did his disdain bleed through?

I barely remember McCarver. I'm guessing that is the year my opinion on McCarver did a 180 towards the negative. He took Ted Robinson's place, right? I never liked Robinson either, so I think I was looking forward to McCarver replacing him. But, like I said, 2002 is haze for me.

 

[gp956]

Yankees turning into a train wreck.

Not only are the Yankees searching for their identity with a series deficit of 2-0 and three games beckoning in Detroit, their ravenously loyal fan base is revolting against an old, overmatched, passionless team.

"This is a very easy place to play now," Tigers outfielder Quintin Berry said. "Coming from Oakland, the fans there were so rowdy. It was easier to come here." Oakland Coliseum, where tarps cover the upper deck, more electric than Yankee Stadium.

Every other playoff stadium filled to capacity, and Yankee Stadium with entire sections empty, thousands of unsold tickets, even ones as cheap as $15 through resellers.

This is their comeuppance: a bloated team, another playoff flameout at hand with Justin Verlander primed to carve them up Tuesday in Game 3 and a fan base so disenchanted it spent far more time booing its own than its opposition.

Here's how far it has degenerated: Nick Swisher said some fans blamed him for Derek Jeter's broken ankle, suffered toward the end of Game 1 following a misplay in which Swisher lost a Delmon Young fly ball in the lights.

"That's the last thing I ever thought would be in this ballpark: that people would get on you that bad," Swisher said. "Especially your home, man, where your heart is, where you're battling and grinding all year long. It's just frustrating, man. You never want to be in that spot. It's not like you're trying to go out there and do bad on purpose.

"It hurts."

 

[msgkings322]

No matter who they face in the WS, Verlander's going to be formidable. You can just feel the guy decide he's going to dominate the postseason.

 

[gp956]

No matter who they face in the WS, Verlander's going to be formidable. You can just feel the guy decide he's going to dominate the postseason.

And if the Tigers win in less than seven, which is almost assured now, Verlander will be setup to pitch at least two games, including game one.

 

[msgkings322]

And if the Tigers win in less than seven, which is almost assured now, Verlander will be setup to pitch at least two games, including game one.

The dude is a horse, I could see him in game 1, 4, and 7 of the WS. It would depend on their situation, if down 0-3 (really unlikely) or 1-2 I bet they go short rest with him for game 4.

He just has that look, if we get that far of course it's SSS and randomness and the baseball gods, but pitching can reduce the randomness and a stud on a mission can win you a ring. The Rangers didn't have anyone like him in 2010, and that includes Cliff Lee.