This game reminded me of the old saying, "Don’t let Eli Whiteside beat you," which is saying that has been around for as long as this sentence. If you’re going to give up a home run to Whiteside, don’t compound the mistake by pretending he’s anything but a backup catcher. By walking Whiteside to load the bases, the Nationals:
- took every last scrap of flexibility away from John Lannan, making 1-0 and 2-1 fastball counts against a fastball hitter
- didn’t realize that Whiteside is a career .155/.197/.207 hitter against lefties. If you’re worried about small samples there, you could also note that Eli Whiteside is Eli Whiteside.
And that’s the story of how the Giants won a game they had no business winning. Well that, and the super-dominant super-pitching limiting the Nationals to only two hits. I mean, this was the linescore, right?
IP: 9
H: 2
SO: 11
ER: 0
Like a collective Roy Halladay, they were. Yep. Nooooo additional context needed on that one. The only real question was why Bochy removed Jonathan Sanchez after pitching a two-hit masterpiece. Let him play! Let him play!
Ahem.
So that was the ugliest game of Sanchez’s career in some respects, with six walks and two hit-by-pitches, but last season he had 12 starts with four or more walks. His ERA in those starts: 2.30. Maybe he’s just effectively wild. Maybe he’s the luckiest pitcher in the world. Whichever one is correct: stop it, Jonathan. Stop walking people. I’m too old for that.
But it really doesn’t mean a whole lot, does it? With Pablo Sandoval out, you can stop the jokes about the 2008 Giants -- they’re not funny any more. Pablo is going to be a mid-season addition again. While it was right to wonder if his April meant as much as last April in the grand scheme of things, it sure felt like he was back. What a punch to the newly firmed gut.
The only thing worse than watching the Giants win a sloppy game on the same day they lost their best hitter would have been to watch them lose that sloppy game. Still not worried about Brian Wilson in the big picture, but now it looks as if we’ll have to worry about him in the small picture with every outing. Makes you appreciate last year.
Well, empty soda cans make me appreciate last year, but you know what I mean.