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The "Rap" .......
About Baseball & More......
by Tom Cole
© 2005
September 10, 2005
Raising Cain in SF As Street Sweats in Texas
| The future may be now in SF, as Matt Cain proved to dominant against the Chicago Cubs. Though not a powerhouse team, the Cubs more than proved their point the previous evening, vanquishing the home team 5-3. With names like current triple crown threat, Derek Lee, and former AL batting champ, Nomar Garciaparra, in the line up, they are certainly not a pushover. Though their record indicates an underachieving team, the myth that any team in the major leagues is an easy win is sadly mistaken. Just ask the Yankees about their season series with the Devil Rays. | Though Giants tv analyst and former pitcher, Mike Krudow, stalwartly declared Cain to be a “fly ball pitcher”, his ratio of ground outs to flyball outs was more balanced, 10 outs on the ground and 10 in the air. One of those flyballs was impossible to catch, Derek Lee's 41st HR of the season. But aside from that, Cain was untouchable, mixing in a hard curve, and a change up with his fastball, one of which was clocked at a big league 98mph. |
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Matt Cain dominated the Cubs in SF, throwing a 2 hitter. at SBC Park in San Francisco
(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) |
| Opposed by a former Giant phenom, Jerome Williams, the game moved along at a brisk pace, completed in just over two hours, as both pitchers worked efficiently as well as very effectively. Williams yielded seven hits and two walks in seven innings while Cain was more stingy, giving up Lee's fourth inning hr and a leadoff ninth inning single to Jerry Hairston, | walking only one and striking out a career high eight batters. Surprisingly, Alou allowed Cain to finish,needing only three additional pitches to record the final three outs of the game. The lack of patience displayed by the Cubs lineup was surprising, given Cain's lack of experience. |
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to wonder why he was dispatched so quickly given the problems with the rotation this year..
(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
| The A's trek to Texas, Cleveland and Boston on this roadtrip could be termed a make it or break it series of games. Texas, always tough at home and threatening the all time club record for home runs in a season, field a lineup of much more than just power hitters. Michael Young, ss, leads the league in batting average while 1b Mark Texeira is batting .292 in addition to his 37 home runs and 120 rbi's. Zito steeled himself for the task and pitched well, but carefully and not completely efficiently through seven innings (111 pitches probably contributing to his exit more than the opposition), allowing only five hits and only two walks, but allowed four runs in the process yielding a home run to former Brave utility man, Mark DeRosa in the 4th inning. | The usually reliable bullpen, though, made it more exciting than either Zito, mgr. Ken Macha or Billy Beane cared to see. No one really got the job done, and Street found himself facing Texeira in the ninth, with two runners on base, courtesy of lefty specialist Ricardo Rinco and Kiko Calero. Texeira greeted Street with a three run homer, closing the gap to a 9-8 deficit. Unshaken and belying his tender age of 22, he retired Alfonso Soriano on a routine flyball to rightfield, with Nick Swisher squeezing the last out safely in his glove. |
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(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
| Compare these stellar rookie performances with that of David Wells, 40 yr old pitcher for the Red Sox. Wells, coming off a suspension for confronting an umpire on the field, displayed the body language that all pitchers, at ANY LEVEL, are urged to refrain from practicing. Clearly upset with the strike zone of home plate umpire, Bill Miller, Wells glared at Miller and waved his hand in a derisory, dismissive manner after Alex Rodrigues homered to right in the 3rd inning. In the sixth, the Yankees | struck for four more resulting in the removal from Wells from the mound with a very unflattering line, having yielded nine hits and five earned runs in only 5 2/3 innings. There is a very dramatic changing of the “guard” occurring in major league baseball with some hall of fame potential young players just beginning to find the comfort zone and producing in clutch situations. The tired act that Wells has exhibited for years now grows old, as he not very gracefully ages too. |
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after Rodriguez' home run in the 3rd inning.
(AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)
| Huston Street is perhaps the most savvy and impressive rookie pitcher to appear in a very long time, reminiscent of the mastery that Fernando Valezuela displayed in his rookie season. Cain, though essentially a September call up and officially a rookie next year, has the potential to compete at a high level if he keeps his head, continues to learn the art of pitching and stays healthy. The future is now on both sides of the Bay even if the post season proves to be elusive this year |