The Giants fan in me, and probably all of us, likes to do a little bit of wallowing. With this gift comes the tendency to reject a modicum of success like a baboon heart kept at room temperature. Yes, the Giants won last night. And we're all very, very proud of the little scamps. Now, the huzzahs and nitpicks:
- The approach taken against Russ Ortiz was amazing. It was like he was just signed out of the Mexican Leagues, and nobody knew what to expect. Ortiz walked the first batter of the game, and that should have set off some alarms. Oh, Russ Ortiz. The guy who has lead the National League in walks multiple times. The guy who prays a broad side of a barn never hits a batter on the Diamondbacks with a pitch, because it would be just too tough for Ortiz to retaliate. Maybe we should change our wacky swing-at-anything approach.
Nope. Someone was passing out the coupons for free swinging, and the Giants looked like the fun-to-laugh-at bad teams who would face Ortiz when he was a Giant.
- The bullpen has been much better. When Tyler Walker retires, then I will stop believing he has a chance to be a good middle reliever. Until then, he has fallen into my personal Crazy Reasonless Realm of Confidence. He's been there since April of last year, and I can't explain it.
And I don't know what's worse: Jeff Fassero coming into the eighth inning, or me applauding the move. I'm gettin' soft....
- Why Lance Niekro was never a real prospect, in ascending order of importance: Somewhat positionless, lacks power, injury-prone, poor patience. After last year's AAA extra-base hit barrage, and the couple of plenty-to-spare shots so far this year, it is pretty safe to cross off the power problem. He looks like he can jerk a hanging breaking ball out of any park. There is only so much you can do aside from crossing your fingers with regards to the injury tendencies, so all that's left is for Niekro to learn to wait for his pitch. Which will likely never happen, as this description holds true for 500 other players, but the developing power has, at the very least, made him somewhat interesting.
- I'm going to watch Up for Grabs, the documentary about the 73rd home run ball nuttiness, tonight and report back. The TomatoMeter has been kind, so I'm expecting good things.