Giants belt their way to 2-0 series lead

Brandon Belt crushed a Tanner Roark pitch into the upper deck at Nationals Park in the top of the 18th inning to give the San Francisco Giants a
2-1 win over the Washington Nationals and lifted the Giants to a 2-0 series in the NLDS.
Yusmeiro Petit was the winning pitcher with Hunter Strickland nailing the game down with the save.
The Giants return to San Francisco on Monday to attempt to clinch the series in game three with Madison Bumgarner on the hill against Doug Fister for Washington....

Giant Steps

1) Washington fans and media are slaughtering Matt Williams for taking Jordan Zimmermann out with two outs in the ninth after walking Joe Panik.
I would have stuck with Zimmermann,I think,but Buster Posey was the batter and I can see wanting the fresh guy (Drew Storen in this case),but Zimmermann had dominated the game and I think I might have stayed there for one more batter.

2) This game lasted so long that I finished the game at work,but since that happened, I watched the Nationals post game show,which I NEVER would have done if I was at home.
The whining about this game from a bunch that had one close call in the game that went their way about umpiring was ridiculous.
Ray Knight mentioned umpiring as a reason for the loss when he wasn't pummeling Matt Williams like Larry Holmes against Marvis Frazier,but the worst was F.P.Santangelo,who actually blamed the umpires for the loss because "they didn't give Jordan Zimmermann any calls when he walked a ROOKIE in Joe Panik".
Santangelo must have complained for well over a minute on this.
That's a ridiculous premise to begin with as the umpiring was just fine earlier in the game.
F.P used to be on the Giants pregame crew before moving to Washington and he used to do the same thing in the Bay Area.
Just a ridiculous statement.

3) What a fun game to watch if you like pitching duels.
Aging veteran Tim Hudson against in his prime Jordan Zimmermann.
Both guys were sharp and sharp enough that they rarely had to work their way out of jams.
Zimmermann really didn't have any and Hudson worked his way out of the one inning that the Nationals did score that could have been far worse,but was smooth otherwise.
I like pitchers and tight scoring games that every at bat matters much more than a 11-10 slugfest,although those are fun too.
However,give me a tough low scoring game every time..

4) The one close play at the plate went Washington's way and I still hear grumbling from Washington fans.
I spent the whole game on Twitter and nothing but grumbling.
I thought Buster Posey was safe at the plate,but I'll concede that the play was razor close and was the type of call that was going to stick with the result called on the field.
It was that close and I didn't have an issue with it not being overturned.

5) I thought Brandon Belt was the Giants best chance of an extra base hit later in the game due to the lefty vs righty matchups coming,but I didn't expect an upper deck homer for sure.
Tanner Roark made one mistake and Belt was ready.
Brandon struggled with injuries this season,but a healthy Brandon Belt has the potential to be an All-Star level player.

6) Yusmeiro Petit deserved this win with six scoreless innings in relief in the most pressure packed situation-postseason on the road..
Think about the rules for a "Quality Start" six innings and less than three runs.
So the Giants received TWO quality starts in the same game.

7) Longest game ever in the postseason-six hours and twenty three minutes.
That ran from four and a half hours at home,the drive to work and then another ninety minutes of so at the road office.
I tweeted during the game-If I invest this kind of time in a game for a loss-I'm going to be ticked!!

8) Asdrubal Cabrera ejected and Matt Williams too?
Cabrera deserved to go as soon as he slammed the helmet to the ground.
You aren't going to show an umpire up like that and stay in the game.
Williams didn't seem to be too out of control,so I'll reserve judgement on his case...

9) Matt Williams denied this,but the single pitch that may have made his decision to pull Jordan Zimmermann was not ball four to Joe Panik.
It very well may have been the long fly ball by Panik that just missed smacking the foul pole.
Panik pulling that ball may have triggered that thought.

10) I'm not crowing yet.
I remember the 2012 Giants being down 2-0 to the Reds and grabbed three in a row to win the series.
This series is not over and until the Giants win another game,no screaming from me....

Ohio State tramples the Terrapins 52-24

Much of was made of Maryland's first home conference game since joining the Big 10 and Terrapins fans did sell out Byrd Stadium for the visiting Ohio State Buckeyes.
However,it didn't take long for Maryland to realize that this wasn't Indiana (who they beat in their first conference game) and the game was never competitive as Ohio State left with a 52-24 victory at College Park.
J.T Barrett threw for 267 yards and four touchdowns while Ezekiel Elliott was the top rusher with 139 yards.
The now 4-1 Buckeyes (1-0 Big Ten) take a week off before returning home against the other conference newcomer in Rutgers.

1) Fair warning,this has been a long day and I got a few hours of sleep before the Giants-Nationals (which is still going on as of this writing) game once Ohio State got a lead that I felt comfortable with in the third quarter.
When I hit the hay,the score was 38-10,so I missed the final two touchdowns by each team...

2) J.T, Barrett is looking more and more comfortable in the pocket and his passing accuracy is improving as well.
Chris Spielman mentioned on the broadcast that some rumors are flying that Braxton Miller may transfer for his final year since he would be immediately eligible,much like Russell Wilson left N.C.State for Wisconsin.
I suppose that could happen,but I'm kinda doubtful of that happening.

3) Ezekiel Elliott continues maturation as a running back to be counted on.
Elliott reminds me of Carlos Hyde and if he winds up being close to that level,I'd be thrilled/.
Breakaway speed isn't the best and he is never going to be that,but he will put the shoulder down and run with toughness.

4) Joey Bosa gets raves every week,so I'm not going to rehash the same things,
However,I'll say this-at the rate that Bosa crushes QB's,he won't be in Columbus for his whole term,

5) I missed this since I was in bed,but highly touted linebacker Raekown McMillan picked off a pass and returned it for a touchdown,
Each week,we see more McMillan and less of senior Curtis Grant and I like the move.
Grant is a senior,but frankly is not the better player,McMillan,on the other hand,might be the next OSU linebacking star.

6) I worried about the OSU secondary after being scorched by Cincinnati and Maryland having super target Stevon Diggs,who was heavily recruited by Ohio State.
Diggs was kept somewhat under control and the secondary was much improved.

7) Maryland appeared to be in a position of having a chance late in the first half,having scored to cut the lead 24-10 and then a stop of the Buckeyes gave them the ball back deep in their own territory with a little over a minute to play.
You would think kneel down,get the ball to start the second half and have some momentum going into the locker room.
Not to Maryland coach Randy Edsall,who calls a pass,which is blown up by Joey Bosa,pass is rushed,picked off by Darron Lee and Ohio State scores shortly thereafter.
Momentum broken and game over..

8) If Maryland is going to mature in this league,Randy Edsall is going to have to go.
Edsall is walking off the field at the half and is asked about the pass play.
Edsall said WE made a poor decision.
Who is WE and who makes those decisions?
My buddy Kendall  Morris says that it is pure Edsall and that this stuff happens all the time.
Zero accountability.

9) The Maryland helmets?
Just awful.
Beyond terrible...

10) Best quote of the day;Joey Bosa on the Maryland crowd.
"It's a big game for us every week,Apparently the biggest game in Maryland history or whatever they were saying and we're Ohio State,we come in and every game's a big game for us".

11) Finally this-I remember a character in the movie Serenity,where he kills another and tries to do so gently.
He said "there's no joy in this for me,not at all".
There is no joy in winning over Maryland for me.
I've been a Terrapin fan forever and frankly I hated them entering the league.
This game could have been a one point win or a hundred point victory,I wouldn't have had a great feeling.
Maybe it'll come in time,but I'm more morose about what's gone instead of being happy about winning.
After all,I still have a Maryland football helmet lamp beside my couch,but as Chad and Jeremy once sang-that was yesterday and yesterday's gone...

Giants hang on,take Game One of NLDS

Jake Peavy gave the San Francisco Giants what they needed in his five and two third innings of shutout baseball and the Giant bullpen hung on with outs when they were needed as the Giants stunned starter Stephen Strasburg and his Washington Nationals 3-2 at Nationals Park in Washington..
The Giants used run scoring singles in each of the 3rd,4th and 7th innings to build a 3-0 lead before two solo blasts off Hunter Strickland brought Washington to within a run in the seventh inning,but no closer.
Santiago Casilla slammed the door with a flawless ninth inning to end the game.
Game two is tomorrow in Washington with veteran Tim Hudson for the Giants and Jordan Zimmerman for the home Nationals.

Giant Steps

1) Ten singles among twelve hits for the Giants,who just nickled and dimed their way around the Washington staff.
This teams doesn't have an abundance of power or speed and their pitching is good,not great,but they find a way to get things done.

2) I've made my opinion on Bryce Harper well known,but man,did he just punish Hunter Strickland's fastball into the upper deck in right field?
The ball was measured at just under 120 miles per off the bat.
Simple physics that all hard throwers discover on occasion-a ball thrown hard that is struck quickly and solidly tends to leave parks immediately.

3) I will say this despite the two solo homers that Hunter Strickland allowed,he showed the arm that if he has the head to go with it will eventually make him the closer for the Giants.
His four pitches that blew Ian Desmond away with runners on in the 6th measured (in no particular order) 98,98,99,100.
For a guy that was in Richmond a few weeks ago,that's serious gas....

4) I really like Joe Panik,who doesn't do anything special,he just gets the job finished.
Not a ton of power or speed,Panik has enough of both to be a solid player for years to come.
Panik's triple to lead off the seventh looked innocent enough at the time,but Buster Posey's infield single that scored Panik was the game winning run and considering the Giants issue with the second base position most of the season before Panik's arrival,a real argument can be made that Panik's solidifying might have saved the Giants season.

5) Jake Peavy may not be the Cy Young winner of his youth at the age of 33,but he's become crafty enough to survive and yesterday's 100+ plus pitch outing in under six innings may have lacked artistic flair.
However,Peavy's grown as a pitcher in the way that you hope dominant throwers in their 20's change enough to be productive in their 30's.
Peavy's numbers were lousy in Boston,but at this stage of his career-a park like AT&T Park suits a flyball pitcher perfectly and I think Peavy could win 15 games next season pitching in San Francisco rather than a small hitters park as he had in Boston.

6) Not giving this series to the Giants by any part,but a split in Washington goes a long way towards the chances of doing so.
The only thing that is guaranteed is this-either the Giants win the series in 3 or the one of the two best ball parks in baseball gets two games in the postseason.
I don't care which one you pick as number one,the two best parks in baseball reside in Pittsburgh and San Francisco.

Pigskin Picking Machine

Another short and sweet one as I have to get the Giants win over the Nationals in the first game of the NLDS up and posted..

College

Ohio State over Maryland 42-30
Bowling Green over Buffalo 28-19
Kansas State over Texas Tech 36-29
Boise State over Nevada 28-23

Game of the Week
Alabama over Ole Miss 28-21

Pro

Browns over Titans 24-14
Saints over Buccaneers 35-17

Game of the Week
Colts over Ravens 27-17

Last Week: 4-3
Overall: 26-11

Bumgarner is Giant in Wild Card win

Madison Bumgarner just needed his offense to score one run.Brandon Crawford took care of that and more with one swing  and Bumgarner took care of the rest with a four hit shutout as the San Francisco Giants silenced a loud crowd at PNC Park with a 8-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Crawford's fourth inning grand slam off Edinson Volquez  ripped a scoreless game wide open and there was no looking back after that.

The Giants would continue to add to the lead in the sixth,seventh and eighth innings as they would plate four more runs in the rout.
The Giants move onto Washington Friday for a NLDS showdown with the Washington Nationals.

Wild Card Wonderings

1) I wrote yesterday that if the Giants and Pirates played a five game series,I'd pick the Buccos,but in a one game matchup,I liked the Giants due to Madison Bumgarner and he was dynamite.
10 strikeouts and the wideout slider baffled the Bucs all evening.
Madison Bumgarner may not be the best pitcher in the game or even his own division (Clayton Kershaw unfortunately resides there),but at 25 years of age,I might pick him to pitch a big game over anyone else...

2) I have never heard a crowd that loud go quiet that fast in all my years of watching sports.
When Brandon Crawford's homer disappeared over the right field wall,the crowd sounded like someone had muted the entire stadium.
A very unusual sound or lack thereof.

3) In all the years of postseason baseball,Brandon Crawford's grand slam was the first ever hit by a shortstop.
I would have never guessed that fact...

4) Pablo Sandoval showed his surprising athletic ability at 245 pounds with his catch of a Russell Martin popup that saw him tumble over the rail and into the Pirate dugout.
Sandoval then landed on his feet as he turned himself in mid air.
Quite a feat for a big man!

5) I did have concern in left field as former Hagerstown Sun Travis Ishikawa started in left for the Giants.
Ishikawa had played 29 innings in his career in left field and PNC Park is noted for its tough left field on defensive outfielders.
There weren't any difficult plays for Ishikawa to make,so the Bruce Bochy gamble paid off.

6) I planned on a mixed post,but the Pirates just didn't offer much to write in a shutout that saw them never even truly threaten to score.

7) Wrapping up,the Giants travel to Washington and the waiting Nationals.
Washington won five of the seven games between them this season and will only have to face Bumgarner once.
My prediction? Nationals in four.
But-Go Giants.

Happy 18th to Rachel

My daughter turns 18 today.
It's a day for celebrations,yet a melancholy day as well.

The miracle baby has grown into a young woman that has overcome challenges and yet has become one of the best people I know by working through them.

Everyone that Rachel says that she has so much of my personality (To my future son in law-wherever you are,I sincerely apologize) and as frustrating as that can be in dealing with someone so like yourself,Rachel has a pureness of spirit that makes her special.

Rachel has a heart that is pure like her mom and those two are the best people that I know and I'm very proud to have her as my daughter.
Her creative skills with her crafts and videos are beyond anything that I could do and someone out there is going to be very lucky someday to have her in their life.
Her work with dogs with the much missed Teddy and currently with Ed is a special touch and I wish that people could see how well she works with animals.

I look back at my children and I am quite proud of both,but we had to go through so much more to bring Rachel into this world,so naturally she is very special to me.
I have had three various parenting runs and each have been different.
Nine years with Ryan in my twenties cemented a relationship that saw Ryan grow up as I did.
The years in the middle having Ryan develop into a teenager and adult with Rachel being in her developing years and the final one right now after Ryan left home with Rachel becoming a young woman have all had their interesting times,but the last few years might be the best of my life.

I'd wasn't fortunate enough to have a sister in my life growing up (my sister died when I was one).so living with a young lady has been a new experience for me,but being taken care of the ladies in my life has easily been the best time for me.
My life is stress-free  as far as the home life goes and when I hear friends of mine talking about this or that,I'm often clueless because I just don't have any of that.
Trust me,they can keep it too!

I wound up almost smashing a mailman on the day Rachel was born and I look back at the person that I was 18 years (I was 28) ago and compare to the person that I am today,the difference is stunning.
Not physically,although that's been a change too,but I've grown up more too,although many would wonder about that!
I've been fortunate enough to have raised my children without any of the crazy things that can happen to any child these days and while some of that has been simply luck,Cherie and I have raised two pretty good people.

Today is a day that makes you tear up a bit,but it's a good tear.
My little girl has now grown into a official adult,but no matter how good or bad the times of her life will be-she'll always be my little girl and have daddy waiting for her call whenever he's needed......

Giants vs Pirates preview

Today's National League Wild Card game has a lot of ground to go to match the excitement of the American League and it matches the two NL teams that I root for in the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants..

I'm not thrilled about that or the one game and out format,but it is what it is as they say and here is a look at the matchup.
The Pirates held the edge in the season winning the series 4 games to 2.

The Pirates will send righthander Edinson Volquez (13-7 3.04 ERA) as the latest in the Pirates reclamation projects to the mound against the Giants and their ace lefty tosser Madison Bumgarner (18-10 2.98 ERA) .

On the surface,this is a huge edge for the Giants,although Volquez has always had a quality arm,his consistency always was a question.
Bumgarner has developed into quite a top of the rotation starter and his slider ranks with the best in the game.
At the age of 25,Bumgarner has pitched in plenty of big games and won't be shaken by the environment,so the Giants have the edge there.
The bullpens are pretty equal from closers Mark Melancon for Pittsburgh to San Francisco's Santiago Casilla to the long relievers.

The Pirates are the much better hitting team with bats all around the field,while the Giants pretty much revolve around Buster Posey,Pablo Sandoval and Hunter Pence.

If this was a five games series,I'd like the Pirates in four.
The better hitting team and the Giants weakened by injuries,Pittsburgh would be a heavy favorite.
However,this is one night and in a one night knockout round,I like the team with the better pitching and even though the staffs are close,no one has anyone like Madison Bumgarner.
I hate picking these games,but that's what I get paid for.

Giants 3-2.....