Giants fall to Dodgers, 6-2

“That was a game the Giants weren’t supposed to win.”

- Mike Krukow

Yeah, that. You know coming into the season that even one of the very best teams in franchise history will lose at least 60 games. This was one of them. Also, this is probably not one of the very best teams in franchise history. But they are/were on something of a roll, so there’s that part of your brain that tricks you into thinking they’re the 2001 Mariners, and they’re never going to lose again. Then they have a game in which they can't get a hit with runners in scoring position. Frustrating. 

No, there will still be games where the ball falls in front of the outfielder, where the catcher just can’t quite hang on to the pop-up, where the relievers are less than perfect. Have more of the good games than the bad games, and you’re probably fine.

Doesn’t mean you don’t want that afternoon back, though.

★★★

Matt Cain didn’t have his upper-crust stuff today, but he wasn’t exactly loafing out there. His fastball was slicing through the air, and he threw the high cheese by a few people today, also putting some serious mustard on a few of those sliders. Cain at his wurst doesn’t know where the ball is going, and he’s toast after four innings, but lettuce be thankful that he looked okay. He allowed a few runners, but pitched his way out of the occasional jam, never allowing anything like a grand salami. Hopefully Cain will get on a roll soon, and he can spread those hits around more so he doesn’t get in a pickle in his last inning. He’s probably in the clubhouse giving some rye remarks right now, so he’s not worried, and certainly his next outing will go butter.

★★★

I almost want to learn code that makes this message pop up when you hover your mouse over the text of these little tidbits:

Look, I’m not blaming this player for the loss. He’s probably not solely responsible. If a teammate hits a well-timed homer, we’re not paying attention to this guy. If the pitcher throws a better game, we’re not paying attention to this guy. It’s just that he had a bad game, so I’m going to write about it, okay?

Considering that, I don’t think it’s unfair to note that we just watched the template for an awful Michael Morse game. His at-bat in the first was painful, just painful. It was a mitten filled with wasps, and you had to keep it on for a full minute. Then, in the sixth, his clomping was responsible for a first-and-third situation that eventually became a bases-loaded situation with no outs, and that eventually turned into a tie game that morphed into an unfortunate loss.

Happens. Even Posey had games like this in 2012. It’s still worth pointing out, though, because I thought we were going to watch a lot more of these games this year. And, lookie here, there are five months left in the season. Let’s not get too cocky about our dinger-spitting volcano just yet. We just watched the dark side.

★★★

Tim Lincecum and Michael Morse, riding on the same horse for days on end. They lie down to sleep, weary beyond words. Lincecum starts muttering under his breath. “Paul Goldschmidt. Ian Desmond. Chris Ianetta. Yasiel Puig …”

★★★

I was remarking to Eric Stephen the other day that I wished Clayton Kershaw and Mat Latos would switch personalities. Could you imagine if Latos were on the Dodgers and the most talented pitcher in the universe? Goodness, that would be some dandy theater. Alas, Kershaw would probably chase down oranges for you after your grocery bag broke in the parking lot, and that limits the fun. Latos would step on an orange and kick another one 30 yards.

Today, though, I realized I don’t have have any of those same compunctions with Zack Greinke. That dude’s okay to loathe. Can’t put my finger on exactly why, and it’s not like he’s done anything overt that bugs me. He just looks like the kind of kid who pulled the wings off butterflies, and now he’s on the other side. He bugs me.

He’s also a pitcher I never, ever expect the Giants to beat. Turns out 40 percent of the Dodgers’ rotation is like that. I have no idea how the Giants have done as well as they’ve done against the Dodgers over the last couple years, considering that. I wish the Yankees would have signed him, except they picked that one offseason to be weird and frugal. Good work, rich dorks. 

★★★

You want a good sign from Saturday? Buster Posey looked amazing. He can get weird at the plate, and those streaks are especially painful. Today, he looked like second-half Posey from 2012 and first-half Posey from 2013. That guy is totally cool.