Giants Fall Via The Longball

So, as I’m sitting, watching the game last night….something just doesn’t feel right. I don’t know what it is. I don’t know how to explain it. But either way, it just felt……..different when Brian McCann was up at the plate in the bottom of the 6th. Something about Tim Lincecum’s body language just struck me odd. So when McCann flied out to deep left field, I let out a deep sigh. Then as Eric Hinske came to the plate, riding an 0-17 slump, I still felt that way. I still don’t recall what it was or why it happened – it just felt like something bad was going to happen.

Crack.

A bomb over the fence in right-center field. Braves lead, 3-2. And that’s all they would need.

Lincecum wasn’t the Lincecum we’ve become accustom to. Stop me if you’ve heard that before. I don’t know what it is about him lately, but, I just get odd vibes. Like, he almost zones out for moments on the mound. From his lack of looking at runners to his random acts of getting himself in poor pitching counts, then needing to fight back, something just strikes me as it being more than “baseball” related. No, I don’t know what that means either…but Lincecum, despite his drop in velocity, still has some nasty stuff. The changeup should be downright illegal and when his breaking stuff is moving, he’s still as unhittable as ever. But his lack of command at times almost seems more mental than physical.

I don’t know what it is. I’m certainly not trying to put him on blast by any stretch – he’s still had an amazing season for any pitcher. His standards are held a bit higher for sure, but I just feel like he loses his focus out there on the mound at times. He wouldn’t be the first and he wont be the last great player in any sport to do that. Sometimes it can be so easy for them, the attention span drops for a few moments. Is that the case? Again, I’m not sure – but I most definitely catch myself going “what’s he doing…”

As for the rest of the game, the Giants struggled with the bats for a second consecutive game. However, this time it wasn’t a potential Cy Young winner that silenced their bats. The Giants had more than enough chances to get some runs on the board but simply couldn’t do so – nobody to blame but themselves. A real shame too, as the Giants blew a golden opportunity to come out victors in game one of the four game set.

One final note on Freddy Sanchez. Wow, he just looks so lost at the plate. Don’t get me wrong – I love all the little things Freddy does. From backing up plays to the solid defense, he’s definitively won a spot in my book for playing the right way. But at the plate, his scuffle is just awful. It’s magnified since he’s nothing more than a slap hitter as well, but ugh – it’s making my eyes bleed.

Zito takes the mound in the game two tilt. We’ll see how the muggy, humid conditions effect the break on the curve.