Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – September 3, 2014

Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports

Was the Jon Lester trade a mistake?

Do they desperately need Yoenis Cespedes?

Or would they be in worse shape relying on a slumping Sonny Gray or Scott Kazmir at this point?

And what does this have to do with the beef stroganoff recipe by comedian Ritch Duncan?

It all makes sense (or maybe it doesn’t) in this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.

Buster Posey, Jose Altuve, Clayton Kershaw, James Paxton, Giancarlo Stanton, Gordon Beckham, Wade Miley and Derek Holland all added to their totals for Who Owns Baseball?

Can the Giants actually WIN this thing (meaning the West)?

AP Photo: Jack Dempsey

Back on August 26th, I said on the podcast that the Giants should stop thinking about the NL West and focus on winning 88 games.

I felt 88 wins would get at the very least the second Wild Card spot and would make the season a success. They were coming off a 1 run loss to the Rockies and looked frustrated.

They needed to go 19-12 in their final 31 games to pull that off.

Since that loss? The Giants are 7-1, with the one loss being a blown lead in Colorado. And they made up for that last night in a game where they trailed 6-0 after 3 innings. Buster Posey and company went absolutely ape and took the game 12-7.

Keeping the eye on the ball, winning 88 games for the Giants would require them going 12-11 the rest of the way… a modest goal.

But look at the Dodgers. In a night where Clayton Kershaw was his typical dominant self, L.A. merely held their ground which is 2 games.

The Giants are in control of the Wild Card. If they play 3 games better than the Dodgers over the final 23, they would win the West.

Who saw THAT coming?

Not me!

Time to update the Dodged Bullet/Teeth Grinder tally.

An explanation of what this is all about can be found HERE.

 

GIANTS DODGED BULLET – TEETH GRINDER Tally

The Rockies jumped ahead to a 6-0 lead. But Buster Posey led a charge where the Giants scored 3 in the 6th and 6th in the 7th and pulled ahead to a 12-7 victory. DODGED BULLET

52 Dodged Bullets 47 Teeth Grinders

TOTAL: +5

 

A’S DODGED BULLET – TEETH GRINDER Tally

The A’s fell behind early 6-0, but they rallied including a ground rule double by Craig Gentry. But the Mariners held on for dear life to win 6-5. TEETH GRINDER

49 Dodged Bullets 46 Teeth Grinders

TOTAL: +3

 

 

RED SOX DODGED BULLET – TEETH GRINDER Tally

The Red Sox took an early 7-1 lead but the Yankees rallied in the 5th. A strange baserunning mistake kept the Yankees from scoring more and ultimately the Red Sox won a 9-4 laugher. DODGED BULLET

Dodged Bullets 59 Teeth Grinders 71

TOTAL: -12

 

Giants have passed the A’s in Dodged Bullet/Teeth Grinder. Who would have thought that?