On Tim Lincecum day, you expect great pitching, and mind boggling performances from our long haired freak. What you don't expect is a 5 run cushion before he hits the mound.
That's exactly what happened yesterday thanks to Pat Burrell finally hitting a home run with men on base, and Nate Schierholtz blasting off to a planet only 1 other Giants player has been before... Mr. Barry (I didn't 'knowingly' take steroids) Bonds. Of the 3 triple decker home runs at Coors Field, 2 of them are by Barry.
To add to the great story, Extra Baggs reported that Nate's little brother Vai who is in Colorado for the Air Force actually went to the game, and was sitting just 10 feet from where the ball landed. A friend of his actually bought the ball from the guy who caught it for $25.
Nate ended up going 3 for 5 with a home run and RBI single. Yet another hero pulled off the scrap heap for Bruce Bochy who said he started Nate due to the size of right field.
It also came at a very opportune time for Nate who might've been a candidate for the Giants to release once Ross comes back today off the 15 day DL. Seeing as they both play right field and Brandon Belt is the 1st baseman of the future it wouldn't have taken much more than a couple 0 for 4's from Nate to allow them to part ways.
Instead Brandon will most likely be sent down to AAA today to get some more minor league seasoning before coming back to the big league club. Another option could be to send down Darren Ford who was called up after Torres got hurt, but his value off the bench as a pinch runner probably trumps Belt's .200 average so far in the big leagues.
Its see you next time for Brandon Belt, but don't worry we'll see him back up soon enough. Meanwhile put Nate back in the lineup today and see what he can do against Ubaldo Jimenez.
Lincecum's Almost No-No
Never before has Timmy taken a No-No into the 7th inning which is actually pretty surprising coming from a guy who has 2 Cy Young awards and a World Series ring now.
The last time Timmy took a No-hitter that far was to the 6th inning against the padres. The next day, Jonathan Sanchez pitched his No-hitter at AT&T Park... Hmm...
Laws of the Day
Nate Shierholtz's homer went an estimated 467 feet into the triple deck of Coors Field. In the history of Coors Field only 31 balls have reached the triple deck including the days before the humidor.
you fail to mention that Shierholtz owes his awesomeness to the fact that he and I share the same area code.
ReplyDeleteBut he wasn't born there...
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