Whom do you blame in the ninth inning? The sequence:
Ryan Braun hit a single through the hole. Prince Fielder chopped a ball to short, but Brandon Crawford was covering second because Braun was running, resulting in an infield single. Yuniesky Betancourt was intentionally walked for the seventh time in his career. The Brewers catcher came off the bench and laid down a perfect squeeze.
So if a scapegoat is necessary -- and they always are -- which Giant do you pick? Trick question, but you probably got it right. The offense. The entire stinky offense. Score runs, you goofballs. Get better. Stop being all terrible and stuff.
Bulleit Points after the jump (sponsorship opportunities are available):
- Aaron Rowand helped win some games earlier in the season, and that was swell. Really, really swell. But he’s broken. He has a K/BB ratio of 40/6 in 157 at-bats which is something you’d expect from J.R. Phillips. Ha ha, just kidding. It’s far worse than what Phillips did in his career. He is a fifth outfielder, but only if a team is desperate. He should never start another game. And if he does, Sabean needs to vinny the crap out of him, all Towers-like.
- Pablo Sandoval needs to get healthy.
- Buster Posey needs to reverse the rotation of the Earth and not get hurt.
- Brandon Belt needs to play, even if that means Huff sits.
- Sergio Romo is the best reliever on the team, and he should be treated as such. He was almost used properly today, and that’s a start. Can’t complain about Mota taking what should have been Romo’s second inning, though. He did okay, considering.
- Jonathan Sanchez is good except for when he isn't. His entire career is a frustrating zen koan.
- Loading the bases intentionally is almost always a bad idea. Against a hacker like Betancourt, you see if he chases. If he walks, he walks. If he gets himself out on a pitch outside of the strike zone, fantastic. Any advantage gained by having a force at any base is completely lost if the reliever falls behind in the count. Didn’t make a difference today, really, but it’s worth putting on a 3x5 index card and stapling to Bochy’s desk. Or forehead. Make it a 4x6 card, then.
According to STATSOUTOFMYBUTT Inc., that was the first game in history to have both a ground-ball homer and a bases-loaded squeeze. I guess you can’t complain too much about losing a game like that. Just wish I had recorded it and my DVR screwed up.