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Say, it's kind of tough to do one of these eight hours after the game ends. Makes you realize how quickly you stop caring about one game and start worrying about the next one. But the Giants dragooned the Braves on Saturday, and they did it so handily that it made me look in a thesaurus for a synonym for "bludgeoned." Dragooned 'em. So it deserves at least a truncated post-game-thread for posterity. Or contractual obligations.
Madison Bumgarner had one of his best outings of the year, which is kind of impressive considering he was already on a start-the-All-Star-Game pace. There are a lot of pitchers on a start-the-All-Star-Game pace, but only Bumgarner a) plays for the manager who gets to pick the All-Star starter, and b) is likely to be voted in as an outfielder by ballot-stuffing Giants fans. It wasn't just one of the best outings of his career; it was one of the best of his career. Turns out he's pretty good!
Because I don't have any analysis to provide other than good pitcher pitch good, maybe I'll just blockquote some MLB Trade Rumors quotes from the last five years:
The Brewers asked the Giants for Jonathan Sanchez or Madison Bumgarner in exchange for Corey Hart, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). Giants GM Brian Sabean is understandably hesitant to deal either pitcher.
Olney doesn't see the Giants and Brewers matching up in a Prince Fielder trade. Matt Cain is a deal breaker given Tim Lincecum's recent struggles, and Jonathan Sanchez or Madison Bumgarner won't be enough.
The Giants have been one of the most outspoken suitors for Dan Uggla, but the Marlins have asked for Madison Bumgarner in any deal for Uggla. The Giants top pitching prospect is a hefty price to pay, and could lead the Giants to pursue other avenues to add some thunder.
All of those were from 2010, by the way. Imagine the Giants trading Bumgarner for Corey Hart, who doesn't hit Roy Halladay in the NLCS. That would have ruined more seasons than Gaylord Perry for Sam McDowell and George Foster for Frank Duffy put together.
If you're not in the mood to revisit how lucky we are to have Bumgarner, I have only one more thing for you: the box score from the last time the Giants scored 10 runs or more against the Braves:
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omar Vizquel SS | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Steve Finley CF | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Moises Alou RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Barry Bonds LF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Jason Ellison PR-RF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Sweeney 1B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Randy Winn PH-LF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Pedro Feliz 3B | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Todd Greene C | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jose Vizcaino 2B | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Jamey Wright P | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lance Niekro 1B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 35 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 3 |
Well, yeah, of course that lineup is going to dominate. Just like it did on Saturday, when the Giants won a game so handily that it led to Bumgarner-for-Uggla and Todd Greene mentions.