Yesterday's line score of the Giants/Royals game:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
SF 2 3 1 0 4 0 0 0 0 10 16 2
KC 0 0 2 1 2 5 1 0 X 11 14 2
When starter Tim Lincecum left the game after pitching a long 5 innings it was left up to the law firm of: Yabu, Taschner and Chulk. And when Yabu failed to get a single out it was apparent the Giants would be in trouble. Taschner managed an out but got the hook from Manager Bruce Bochy in favor of Vinnie "BoomBah" Chulk and he got the batter to hit a liner right at Emmanuel Burriss. But the kid doesn't have the ability to scan the field, the way years of playing have taught Omar Visquel (one of the game's best students), and he was unable to spot the runner way off third base, choosing instead to go the short route to second base and that runner was able to get back in time. Vinnie made the pitch but the play was not executed.
Now, Vinnie "BoomBah" was the only reliever getting outs. Why didn't the Giants' brain trust leave him in there to start the 7th inning? Yabu was useless, getting none of the four batters (he faced) out. Yabu served no purpose other than to fuel Kansas City's fire, at which point the Giants' coaches should have treated that as if a reliever got injured (before the game). Because they were a reliever short, since Yabu stoked (or was it stroked) the Royals without retiring a single batter.
Instead they bring in rookie Alex Hinshaw and he had to deal with the tight strike zone of Bill Welke. A bad combination. Young Alex got tossed-his first time- as he was removed from the game and complained about the ump's lack of a strike zone. It should have never happened because the better move would have been to leave Vinnie Chulk in the game. He's still on the roster because he absorbs innings by getting outs. Sure, the ball may go out of the ballpark, hence the name BoomBah (sound ball makes off the bat), but yesterday was Vinnie's game to win or lose.
At least one bad coaching decision and a no-show by Yabu cost the Giants a win. Here's a couple of quotes (one in the Comments section) to take your mind off of yesterday's brutal Yabu Dabble Do .
Walk tall as the trees
live strong as the mountains
be gentle as the spring winds
keep the warmth of summer in your heart,
and the great spirit will always be with you. - American Indian proverb, "unknown tribe"
Unknown tribe? Immediately I flashed on the Unknown comic. The guy with the paper bag on his head and eye-holes cut out. Why? Because I just learned that George Carlin passed away.
His characters Biff Barf or the hippy-dippy weatherman Al Sleet were classic. Or how about the Seven Words That Can Never Be Said on Television? He was arrested 7 times-how apropos is that- because he refused to drop the bit. He was a man with a high degree of intelligence and he served us well. As do all people who put smiles on our faces and make us gasp for air- and grasp for the chair we just fell out of- so that we can continue to breathe another day. Then we can gag once more as these gifted people push our buttons in a way that makes us laugh again.
Kevin Marquez
|