It was nice to see the Giants put together an 11-run game filled with dunks, bloops, and singles. It would be nicer to see them put together an 11-run game filled with 450-foot home runs, but now we're just complaining that Ingrid Bergman's eyebrows were too thick. The amazing thing about Jason Schmidt is that we all saw him become The Incredibly Awesome Jason Schmidt, but we didn't even notice. At that point, he was the average Pirates starter who just happened to be pitching well for us.
Now comes the first off day of the year. The horrible, horrible off day. It's a day that forces you to "interact" with your "family" and "loved ones". Why, oh why, aren't the minor-league games on television for these reverse-Christmases? With no game to write about, it's time for a fill-in-the-blanks trivia contest. Fill in the blanks for these quotes, ripped straight from the Giants section of Stats, Inc.'s The Scouting Notebook 2001, in what I've judged to be increasing difficulty.
The first person to get a perfect score gets access to the password for the McCovey Chronicles user name of "Brian Sabean", which can be used for both good and evil. If no perfect scores are to be had, then the first person with the best score gets the prize.
Note: I am definitely not above using trick questions.
- Judging by his stuff, it's hard to figure out how _________ retires hitters.
- There is always the hope in San Francisco that _________ will fully harness his physical talents and become one of the best starting pitchers in baseball.
- Although _________ has an accurate arm in the outfield, his routes are inconsistent and he doesn't have the raw speed to make up for his mistakes.
- In fact, _________ provided virtually the same RBI per at-bat as teammates Barry Bonds, Burks and Jeff Kent.
- _________ was especially effective during the second half of last season and overmatched lefthanded hitters.
- _________'s 37 doubles provide a glimpse of what is expected to develop into home-run power down the line.
- Scouts noticed that __________ seemed to fear tough situations far less than most rookie pitchers.
- __________ was the Giants' fastest player down the first-base line last season.
- __________'s production against lefthanded pitchers has slipped to near-pedestrian levels.
- Since signing as a nondrafted free agent in 1999, __________ quietly has made his presence felt by overmatching older competition.