That's Right Baby

Angel Pagan is excited. And damnit, he should be. Bruce Bochy gave the ball to Barry Zito yesterday, and He did his best to throw the game away (Although Bruce can now claim that the Giants have won Zito's last 12 starts when he calls upon him for the next elimination game). In the fourth inning after Jose Mijares struck out Joey Votto, Bochy brought in The Freak. Lincecum came in and promptly struck out Ryan Ludwick to end the fourth, then would pitch four more innings, striking out six and allowing only one run. Looks like someone felt like they had a point to make.

Giants turn to Barry Zito to Save Season

Down two games to one in the NLDS against the Reds, the Giants are turning to their most trusted pitcher, Barry Zito? OK, so maybe not their most trusted pitcher, but when you are 11-0 in any pitchers last 11 starts, superstition tends to get the best of you. What is surprising is that the Giants are leaving their formerly Ace baker, I mean pitcher, Tim Lincecum in the bullpen. Not that Timmy has been any good this year. Or has he?

Baby Giraffe Meets Brandon Belt, Or Vice Versa

In a story so sickeningly adorable I actually threw up in a pink Red Sox hat, Brandon Belt recently took pictures with the baby giraffe named after him. While the Giants rookie first baseman isn't enjoying the ROY caliber season many of us expected, Belt did become the recipient of a nickname spreading in popularity just as quickly as teammate Pablo Sandoval's "Kung-Fu Panda" did. Announcer Duane Kuiper bestowed the nickname "Baby Giraffe" upon Belt due to his, let's say, lack of grace in the outfield.

The fans like it and so does Six Flags Animal Kingdom which named a giraffe born last Friday after the Giant. The giraffe Brandon, 6'2, is already closing in on the real Brandon, 6'5. All right, get ready to be nauseated by cuteness. Here are the pictures of the two meeting thanks to The Veteran and the Rook blog...


Brandon explaining,"Opulence, I has it."


Baby Giraffe caught looking at an 0-2 off speed pitch.


Tim Lincecum is going to be so pissed Brandon Belt fed that to a giraffe.

Shot Of The Night

Shot Of The Night is Off Base Percentage's toast to a player who had an exceptionally good or bad night. There's always a reason to drink.

Tonight's shot of the night is a SoCo Giant: 1/2 Southern Comfort® peach liqueur, 1/2 Red Bull® energy drink, splash of soda. Splash of soda? You can check your purse at the door, thank you. Real baseball is back after Bud Selig's little National League-American League play date. If you didn't pay attention because you had ESPY fever, the NL totally wet-willied the AL this year. The first time since George Costanza was in charge of Steinbrenner's calzones. I think. Anyway, the shot of the night is in honor of Tim Lincecum.

The reigning, repeat NL Cy Young award winner threw a complete game shutout. He gave up 6 hits and a walk while striking out 5. The Johnson, Jimenez, Halladay trio are quite formidable but I have a hard time counting Tim out for the Cy Young. Carlos Beltran returned for the Mets and went 1-4. He's now hitting .250/.250/.250 for the season. I figured that was a sign and put $20 on 250 at the roulette table at the Treasure Chest and lost. Apparently roulette doesn't go to 250 and I was betting on a square of carpet.

Honorable Mention: Ryan Howard
Howard went 3-5 with 2 home runs and 2 strikeouts. The Phillies still got rocked by the Cubs 12-6. This would never happen if Chase Utley wasn't hurt. And Chase Utley wouldn't be hurt if more people voted for him for MVP. I have an entire thesis based on that. Unfortunately, Dave Cameron doesn't respond to my emails.