The Giants and Lincecum won tonight

It was another solid win for the Giants tonight... they took 2 of 3 from the Cardinals and now won the first game from the 2 time defending NL Champion Phillies.

And their pitching has let up a total of 4 runs during those 4 games against some pretty potent bats and today Tim Lincecum got a big boost with the win.

Wait a second Sully, you say. Lincecum didn't pitch today. It was Jonathan Sanchez who got the win with a 5 inning effort that lowered his season ERA to 1.85.

Sure... but the Giants teed off on Roy Halladay, giving him his first blemish on his Phillies resume.

He got his first NL loss... and going into the game he had led up 3 earned runs in 33 innings pitched.

Tonight he let up 5 runs in 7 innings pitched.

Yeah it was his first blip... but Lincecum has yet to have a blip.

And as I wrote earlier, this NL Cy Young race has all the makings of a down to the wire staring contest... and each blink will count.

So has Lincecum taken the lead? Oh maybe.

Hey! At least the bats are back!

Seriously... when the Red Sox take an early 5-0 lead and put 13 runs on the board like they did tonight with Josh Beckett on the hill... then I should NOT be thinking about "Dodged Bullets" or "Teeth Grinding."

I should be thinking about "Man, some players get the day off.

When Varitek gets 4 RBI and 5 different Red Sox players get 3 hits apiece... you should be thinking "Man, what a whuppin'!"

Instead it was a nail biter to the end.

But hey! It's better to win ugly than lose with dignity.

(I wouldn't mind ONE stress free game every once in a while!)

Let's update the tally

DODGED A BULLET GAMES - 8

April 4 - 9-7 win against Yankees (On Opening Night, the Red Sox overcome a 5-1 Yankee lead with a game tying HR by Pedroia and a go ahead passed ball.)
April 10 - 8-3 win against Kansas City (Beckett out pitches Zack Greinke and nearly gets decapitated by a line drive.)
April 14 - 6-3 win in Minnesota. (Okajima gets Morneau to pop up with the bases loaded in the 7th and Papelbon wiggled out of a 9th inning jam.)
April 20 - 7-6 win against Texas. (Darnell McDonald introduces himself to Boston with an 8th inning game tying homer and a walk off hit in the 9th.)
April 21 - 8-7 win against Texas. (The Red Sox were down 4-0 early only to win it on Youk's 2 out 11th inning double.)
April 23 - 4-3 win against Baltimore. (The Sox blow a 3-0 lead but win it on Adrian Beltre's bases loaded walk.)

April 24 - 7-6 win against Baltimore. (The Red Sox score 6 in the 7th and hold off a late Baltimore comeback attempt.)
April 26 - 13-12 win at Toronto. (The Sox blow an early 5-0 lead but hang on for dear life in a slugfest.)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 6

April 6 - 6-4 loss against the Yankees. (Scutaro's error leads to the winning run.)
April 7 - 3-1 loss against the Yankees. (Sox leave the winning run on in the 9th only to lose on Granderson's 10th inning homer)
April 9 - 4-3 loss in Kansas City. (Bard coughs up the lead, denying Wakefield a win.)
April 17 - 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay. (The Sox can't score with the bases loaded and nobody out in the 11th... lost it in the 12th.)
April 17 - 6-5 loss to Tampa Bay. (The Red Sox comeback falls a run short, leaving two on in the 8th)
April 25 - 7-6 loss to Baltimore. (The Sox blow a 4-1 lead, leave the winning run on second in the 9th, let up 3 in the 10th and could only score 2 in the bottom of the 10th)

2 games up in the Dodged Bullet/Teeth Grinder tally... yet 2 UNDER in the standings.

In other words, this team could be a LOT worse.

Let's just try to win the series, which the Sox can do with a win tomorrow.

If Vazquez is a horse, you had better call the glue factory

Another game for Javy Vazquez… another day the Yankees bullpen needs to work in overtime.



The Yankees have 6 losses this year and three were thrown by Vazquez.



Remember him? The guy who people were saying was a horse. The guy people kept saying was a Cy Young candidate?



He has an ERA of 9.00 so far.

That’s an earned run an inning.

And he also averages 5 innings a start. Wasn’t he a bulldog innings eater?



As of this writing, an average Vazquez start is leaving after 5 innings with 5 runs on the board.



The Yankees needed to trade away Melky Cabrera and prospect Arodys Vizcaino for that? How could signing Jarrod Washburn be worse?



This trade stunk in December, it stunk in spring training and it stinks now for the Yankees.



And I get a certain amount of glee pointing that out.

2 runs in the bottom of the 10th should ALWAYS be a good thing!

Admit it... when Darnell McDonald got to second base with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th, you thought the game was over and the legend of Darnell McDonald was growing.

Instead it went to the 10th, where the Orioles scored 3 and the Sox only scored 2.
You've got to win games like this, fellas.

The Sox could use a sweep. Yeah winning the series was nice, but the Orioles got 1/3 of their total wins of the season today.

Let's update the tally.

DODGED A BULLET GAMES - 7

April 4 - 9-7 win against Yankees (On Opening Night, the Red Sox overcome a 5-1 Yankee lead with a game tying HR by Pedroia and a go ahead passed ball.)
April 10 - 8-3 win against Kansas City (Beckett out pitches Zack Greinke and nearly gets decapitated by a line drive.)
April 14 - 6-3 win in Minnesota. (Okajima gets Morneau to pop up with the bases loaded in the 7th and Papelbon wiggled out of a 9th inning jam.)
April 20 - 7-6 win against Texas. (Darnell McDonald introduces himself to Boston with an 8th inning game tying homer and a walk off hit in the 9th.)
April 21 - 8-7 win against Texas. (The Red Sox were down 4-0 early only to win it on Youk's 2 out 11th inning double.)
April 23 - 4-3 win against Baltimore. (The Sox blow a 3-0 lead but win it on Adrian Beltre's bases loaded walk.)

April 24 - 7-6 win against Baltimore. (The Red Sox score 6 in the 7th and hold off a late Baltimore comeback attempt.)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 6

April 6 - 6-4 loss against the Yankees. (Scutaro's error leads to the winning run.)
April 7 - 3-1 loss against the Yankees. (Sox leave the winning run on in the 9th only to lose on Granderson's 10th inning homer)
April 9 - 4-3 loss in Kansas City. (Bard coughs up the lead, denying Wakefield a win.)
April 17 - 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay. (The Sox can't score with the bases loaded and nobody out in the 11th... lost it in the 12th.)
April 17 - 6-5 loss to Tampa Bay. (The Red Sox comeback falls a run short, leaving two on in the 8th)
April 25 - 7-6 loss to Baltimore. (The Sox blow a 4-1 lead, leave the winning run on second in the 9th, let up 3 in the 10th and could only score 2 in the bottom of the 10th)

Down to Plus 1.

Going north of the border next week... let's hope that means another series win

Seriously... what does Dave Duncan know that we don't?

Under Dave Duncan's guidance, Dave Stewart, a career spot starter and long reliever, became a Cy Young contender and World Series MVP.

Dennis Eckersley became a Hall of Famer.

Chris Carpenter went from a broken down and forgotten piece from Toronto to a Cy Young winner in St. Louis.

Jeff Weaver went from being the Billy Bibbit of baseball to having ice water in his veins, winning the clinching game of the World Series.

Each year a new pitcher goes to St. Louis to see if Dave Duncan can do for them what the Cocoons did for Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley and Hume Cronyn.

Joel Pinero, Ryan Franklin, Kyle Loshe, Woody Williams, Garrett Stephenson and many more all saw their careers almost instantly improve when they put on the Cardinals uniform.


And now...

Brad Penny.

Yes the same Brad Penny who did his best to torpedo the Red Sox playoff chances last year before Theo waved the white flag.

Yeah, he pitched well for the Giants down the stretch, but today he shut them down, raising his record to 3-0 with a 0.94 ERA. He pitched into the 8th today and threw at least 7 innings in each of his 4 starts.

I refuse to put him in my NL Cy Young Award conversation just now.

Seriously... how does Dave Duncan do it?
Is he just smarter?
Or does he have a magic potion?

I would accept either answer.

Blink!

The other day I wondered if any of the Cy Young contenders was going to ever lose a game.

Roy Halladay, Tim Lincecum, Ubaldo Jimenez and Adam Wainwright all had perfect records.

Well Wainwright was the first to blink in this epic staring contest that is the 2010 NL Cy Young race.

And his line didn't exactly scream "loser!" He pitched a complete game and was throwing a shutout into the 8th and despite getting the loss still has a 1.69 ERA while averaging 8 innings a start.

But he ran into the buzzsaw known as Barry Zito, whose 3-0 record and a 1.32 ERA makes me think maybe... just maybe... the Giants will have a left handed and a right handed stud in their rotation headed by Lincecum and Zito.

Should Zito be included in the Cy Young talk?

I am not sure. All I do know is if you are a top notch pitcher in the NL with dreams of winning the Cy Young Award... get going and pile up some great numbers. This field is already crowded!

ROLL OF THUNDER, HEAR MY CRY!

I am not going to pretend to be an NBA expert.

I used to follow the NBA really closely, but a funny thing happens when you become a husband and a father:

You have to either become a casual sports fan or you need to pick one sport to become maniacal about and casually follow the rest.

So I don't have a blog called "Sully Basketball."

That being said, I am rooting for the Celtics and likewise want to see the Lakers flop.

And little did I realize that a floppero might happen in the first round, which is generally considered to be a formality.

I live in the middle of Laker country and I heard the build up to the playoffs being a return trip to the NBA Finals was a foregone conclusion. The 8 seed Thunder has a big star in Kevin Durant but he is too green. The Lakers were going to make quick work of them.

But even a casual observer can see this series could easily be 3-1 in the Thunder's favor.

I called my friend and great columnist for the Santa Monica Daily Press, Kenny Mack.

I asked him "Can the Thunder win a game in Los Angeles?"

He responded "The correct question is can the LAKERS win a game in Los Angeles? Game 5 won't technically be an elimination game, but it will be psychologically in the 4th quarter. If the fall 3-2 to the Thunder and have to play a do or die game in Oklahoma... where the Thunder would have absolutely nothing to lose."

I still think the Lakers are going to win this series... but MAN the Laker hater in me would love to see them get bounced in the first round!

And the ripple effect of the Thunder going 2-1 in the next three games is mind boggling.

First of all the remaining teams in the West will have an injection of purpose. The big bad Lakers would be gone and this would be one of the best chances in a while for one of these franchises to make the NBA Finals.

The Mavericks have some unfinished business from the 2006 NBA Finals. The Jazz, Nuggets and Suns are also seeking their first ever title. The Blazers could join the Thunder as the Cinderella story and all the Spurs want is title #5 in 12 seasons.

And the top teams in the East would be thinking the road to a potential title could be a lot easier without Kobe and company.

The Celtics are probably at the end of this run... but title #18 isn't out of the question.

The Magic may have been happy to be in the Finals last year, but without the Lakers in the mix... a first title in Orlando could be in the works.

And oh yeah... the urgency of LeBron... with no titles since the 1964 Browns in Cleveland and free agency looming for Cleveland's biggest star since Jim Brown... no pressure. They would cream any western opponent not named The Lakers.

The only people who would be pissed would be the ABC execs who have a series of great potential Finals match ups ratings wise, provided that the Lakers are in it.

Kobe...vs The Celtics.

Kobe... vs Howard in a rematch of 2009.

And the holy grail of match ups:

Kobe... vs. Lebron (with Shaq on the side!)

No offense to Dirk and Steve and Duncan and Durant... but combined they don't have the star power of Kobe.

And in terms of media markets, where would you rather canvas? Los Angeles, Oklahoma City, Portland, Salt Lake City of San Antonio.

But ABC's ratings can stink for all I care. I had to deal with both the Lakers AND the Yankees winning last year...

At least ONE of them needs to be eliminated early this year.

It's not enough that my teams advances... the other team must suffer.

I am a petty man.

Go Celtics!
And GO THUNDER!