Brewers @ Giants, Opening Day Running Diary

Just a little insight on what is going on in the season opener today between the Milwaukee Brewers and San Francisco Giants:

3:05 pm - Okay here we go, I have to watch this on MLB.tv, and I have already had issues with it today. I tune in just in time to watch the Giants introduce everyone on their entire team. Who cares about Jeremy Affeldt's first regular season game as a Giant?

3:15 pm - Taylor Hicks is singing the National Anthem, this is probably his biggest crowd and performance since leaving American Idol.

3:25 pm - Mind you, the game was supposed to start 20 minutes ago, however the Giants are allowing longtime fan and American hero Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger who landed an airliner safely in the Hudson River in New York, saving 155 lives, to throw out the opening pitch. His effort is respectable.

3:29 pm - Now we are underway, Rickie Weeks promptly leads off the season with a walk. Continuing to build on his reputation for having a good OBP, but failing to be a good hitter at all.

3:36 pm - Braun vs. Lincecum, Round 1. Lincecum brushes him off the plate, fearing Braun's dominant numbers against him, and then decides to bean him later in the at-bat. Brewers end up stranding a few in scoring position, without any hits in the inning.

3:45 pm - Brewers fans couldn't help but get excited when they heard Jeff Suppan named the opening day starter. He looks awful in the first, throwing balls all over the place. For being a control pitcher, his control looks like it may be off today.

3:54 pm - Travis Ishikawa smacks a full-count, 2-out triple with the bases loaded. Off to a great start, 3-0 Giants after one.

4:03 pm - With Mike Cameron proceeding to 3rd base, Bill Hall deciding to strike out, Kendall grounds out, now Suppan comes up to bat. What does he do? Doubles down the 3rd base line scoring a run. Aw, I can't stay mad at you Jeff! Brewers down 3-2 in the 2nd inning after Rickie plates Suppan.

4:11 pm - Burriss (yeah, the Giants have a lot of unknowns) is hit by a pitch, so Lincecum comes to the plate. I feel fairly safe, but Suppan serves up a single to Timmy, prompting the San Francisco announcers to say, "This game is weird". Giants pick up a run, lead 4-2 heading into the 3rd inning.

4:16 pm - Brewers fans are spotted by the cameraman, they show a girl drinking two beers with both her hands. The announcers label this "double-fisting", showing just how in tune they are with the younger college aged crowd. As for the Brewers female with two beers, go you...

4:19 pm - Braun vs. Lincecum Round 2. Timmy not giving him much to hit, but manages to make the count full. He gives him just one to hit, and Braun ropes a single to left. For those keeping score, it's Braun = 2, Lincecum = 0.

4:21 pm - A heckler is yelling cheeseburger comments at Fielder, I wonder how often he gets that?

4:26 pm - Braun steals a base, continues owning Lincecum. Lincecum's pitch count in the middle of the 3rd inning is 66, looks like this may be a short outing for him. Mike Cameron plates a run with an infield single. Giants up 4-3 going to the bottom half of the third.

4:37 pm - Pablo Sandoval looks more shapely than Prince Fielder, so go eat another cheeseburger Pablo. Jeff Suppan makes quick work of the Giants going into the 4th inning, on only six pitches.

4:40 pm - I open up a bag of Alexia's Natural Onion Strips, this is probably the best thing I have ever snacked on. Oh yeah, and Lincecum only completes 3 innings in his first start of the year, Joe Martinez takes over for him.

Tim Lincecum: 3.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K's

4:43 pm - Rickie Weeks gets hit by a pitch, reaching base all three times this game so far. Although, he hasn't managed a hit yet.

4:47 pm - Brewers tie the game on a throwing error (via Fred Lewis) off a base hit from Corey Hart, pitcher Joe Martinez (a rookie) looks lost right now.

4:51 pm - Fielder follows Braun's base hit with one of his own, plating Hart. Brewers take the lead 5-4, but sadly there is no more Braun vs. Lincecum.

4:59 pm - Aaron Rowand take Suppan yard for a 2-run shot, Suppan goes back in my Dog[shit] house. And unlike my fellow blogger, I will continue to hate Rowand, he just looks like a douche. Giants lead 6-5.

Side Note: Why is Suppan owned in even 4.4% of standard mixed fantasy baseball leagues?

5:09 pm - Suppan's day is done, a good 4 innings of 6-run ball against him. Seth McClung will take over, and if it weren't for Suppan's ridiculous contract, McClung probably would take his spot in the rotation.

5:12 pm - The Giants don't have their names on the backs of their home jerseys, out of all teams in baseball to this, the Giants would benefit the most from changing it up. It's apparent that sometimes even the announcers have issues with names, not to mention the fans.

5:20 pm - Brad Nelson pinch-hits for Milwaukee, and grounds out in an uneventful half-inning. Nelson is 6-2 266 lbs., meaning he also enjoys eating cheeseburgers.

5:27 pm - McClung looks terrible, almost gives up a 2-run HR to Bengie Molina. It's going to be a long year with most of these pitchers. Then he walks in a run. Giants up 7-5 going into the 6th inning. I lost interest for most of that inning, wasting time watching Andrew Zimmern eat lizards.

5:42 pm - Giants color announcer Mike Krukow refers to Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo as "the Harvard of the West". This was followed by a long awkward silence, and then a correction of "isn't that Stanford?" Braun then strikes out, allowing them to start a new knowledgeless conversation after commercial.

5:48 pm - The sun finally comes out giving McClung a better opportunity to find the strike-zone, it doesn't seem to help. He wills his way through the inning, off to the 7th inning with the score still 7-5.

5:58 pm - Fielder legs out a lead-off double to the start the inning, giving him his much needed exercise on the day. Also noticed, the ballboys for the Giants seem to be about 60 years old. This doesn't seem to be the most effective way to snag balls.

6:02 pm - Bill Hall grounds into a frustrating double play to end the Brewers' half of the inning. I sit and ponder when the last time I cheered for Bill Hall was...

6:06 pm - Dave Bush in the game, also looking terrible, gives up a solo-shot to a Molina. I question why Ken Macha would bring in Bush in a winnable game that was still close.

6:11 pm - The umpires absolutely blow a call resulting in the Giants 9th run of the game. Aaron Rowand ropes a ball down the third base line, foul, and he stands there. Then he takes off when he realizes it has been called fair. Replay shows the ball is clearly foul, and the Brewers get screwed over in the bottom of the 7th inning. Giants now up 9-5.

6:19 pm - Craig Counsell is pinch-hitting now, and he's playing on a torn meniscus in his knee. He misses hitting a homerun in to McCovey Cove by about 10 feet. That would have made him the weakest player ever to hit a ball into McCovey Cove.

6:22 pm - Pablo Sandoval is NOT athletic enough to play 3rd base, at all.

6:28 pm - I am cutting this blog short with one full inning left, things not looking good for the Brew Crew. I am a college student, and really need to do some classwork.

Thanks for reading!

Update: Brewers end up losing 10-6, pitching was terrible, no real game-changing hits. A pretty ugly opening day, however the pitching can only get better.