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On performance so far, this is the baseball equivalent of fox-hunting - which Oscar Wilde once described as "the unspeakable pursuing the inedible." I'll leave it up to you, dear reader, to work out who's who in that figure of speech, because our performances thus far have been both unspeakable and pretty inedible - I certainly don't like the taste left by three successive series defeats at home.
Tonight, can we please get Dan Haren some frickin' run support? He has pitched quite beautifully in his first two starts, but ended up with the fuzzy end of the lollipop on both occasions, because we have scored a total of exactly one run for him over the two games. He's been, comfortably, the best pitcher in the rotation - but his W/L record does not reflect that. This evening, facing a pitcher who was wild and not effective in his last start [Sanchez allowed five walks in 4.1 innings, albeit with seven K's], you'd think we should do better. Emphasis on 'think and 'should', since the gap between expectation and actuality, has been so cavernous thus far, that it's in danger of being designated a national park.
Winning this contest is almost essential, since the pitching matchups in the remaining two are less favorable to Arizona - at least potentially, if not necessarily based on recent numbers. This is the one where we need to grab the Giants and place our foot firmly on their throat, knowing full well that they will be looking to do just the same to us. While the Giants have been clawing their way out of the cellar of my dislike since the departure of Bonds, there's no room for sympathy this weekend. Let's see more Giants slain than in a Tarantino-directed version of Norse Mythology for Beginners.
I may be late to this one. The SnakePitette is luring us over to the Auld Dubliner on 97th and Northern, where she works, with the promise of fish and chips as a delayed birthday treat. Who am I to refuse? I'm sure there'll be TVs there, but I doubt a wi-fi connection and laptop will be ahead of beer-battered cod, crisp fries and tartare sauce on my priority list for a bit! Please start without me...
Lineup
- Lopez 2B
- Drew SS
- Jackson 1B
- Reynolds 3B
- Young CF
- Byrnes LF
- Upton RF
- Snyder C
- Haren P