As the San Francisco Giants lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 this evening, the team looked like they had a case of the jitters tonight, especially in the field. The Giants committed three errors and had some snafus in the outfield that lead to some extra bases for the Dodgers, and even though I’m far from hitting the panic button yet, I still find it interesting that they essential lost the game with the mental mistakes made in the field.
Aubrey Huff struggled with some fly balls in the sun early in the game, and although he didn’t commit any errors, he just didn’t look too comfortable out there to me, and really makes me want to have Cody Ross back ASAP. Pat Burrell fumbled a ball in the second that allowed Tony Gwynn Jr. dig out a double, but made up for his error with a home run in the eighth. I’m OK with that, especially if it’s the slump-prone Pat the Bat.
The big ones for me were Miguel Tejada tossing a routine 6-4-3 double play ball into the outfield tonight, a mistake that made me say “Uribe would have had that easily.” Tejada also did not impress at the plate going 0-4, something I hopefully don’t see all year long. The other error was committed by Buster Posey as he threw an attempted pickoff to third into the outfield with the bases loaded and two out, allowing James Loney to score the eventual insurance run for L.A. I never thought I’d see the day that Buster makes a bonehead play, but that was it; he is human after all.
I know it’s only one game and I’m going to go ahead and attribute it to nerves, but it definitely wasn’t the confidence boosting begining that all teams want to start a season, especially the defending champs. Oh, well, better luck tomorrow.
INJURY UPDATE:
Brian Wilson felt good after throwing off a mound, and according to MLB beat writer Chris Haft, could throw a simulated game as early as Sunday.
Barry Zito was involved in 2 car traffic accident yesterday, but suffered only minor injuries and is confident he will make his first start of the season on Sunday. Zito said he felt some soreness and will have an MRI tomorrow, but is still optimistic about making his start.
And by the way, why do the champs start the season on the road anyway? Unacceptable.
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