Today Was A Good Day: Sadowski's Dream Debut Lifts Giants

Have a debut, Ryan Sadowski. Ryan meet Map, Map meet Ryan The Big Sadowski... The kid, who looks more like a grown-up Malcolm in the Middle than The Dude, had himself a regular fairytale of a day at the yard on Sunday… the type of fantasy every long time minor leaguer harbors in the back of his mind in order to stay the course… a dreamy place his mind sometimes wanders to when gazing out the window on those long bus rides… On this day, Sadowski got to live that dream.
Kruk called it during pre-game: “Remember (when) they asked Willie Mays? The toughest pitcher he faced was the guy he didn’t know. Well, Bruce Bochy's counting on that to be the secret weapon...that is what is gonna neutralize the offense of the Milwaukee Brewers today…” Kuip quipped: “Bank on it.”
This lineup was one of Bochy's better works... for Boch…inspired. The rising superstar, the best hitter to come up through the system since Clark and Williams, the rare talent, the increasingly patient and suddenly very dangerous Pablo Sandoval, batting third. Appropriately.
As I’ve said, if Lewis is in there he has to be batting 2nd. When I look at the roster, Winn leading-off seems to make the most sense with Rowand off... And with Benji also taking a day off, the dialed-in Nate Schierholz --in full arrival-- gets a shot in the clean up spot...and he made his skipper look good...
I’d like to see Ish batting 7 ideally, 6th at best, not 5th, but with Molina out and no Bowker, it’s acceptable. Renty, I like at 6 or 7, even 8, but again 6 is ok for today.
7 is about right for Downs, with a ceiling of 6 if he starts getting some to fall.
Whiteside at 8 is perfect.
Sadowski starts off his career with a strike out of Mat Gamel. He first pitch was a running fastball away at 88. The ump threw the ball out to the dugout. “You don’t always see that,” pined Kruk. He gets a swing through on his second pitch with an 87mph slider...impressive. Kruk says, “he (Sadowski) calls it a cutter.” Kruk says it’s “an old time slider.” Strikes him out with 91 up… a two-seamer. His first +90 pitch of the AB… Second batter, JJ Hardy does him favor first-pitch swinging a ground out. The kid can relax…OK, Braun is up, but no one is on. He gets up to 92, but walks Braun on an inside fastball on 3-1. Up comes Fielder… hot as Hansel right now. Sado’s out of the stretch. Big moment early. 0-1 slap back up the middle that Sado narrowly dodges and Renteria scoops up… shades of Joe Martinez… Giants rookie hurlers—look out. No joke.
Nate leads off top2. He started the 9th inning rally last night, undaunted by KillaCam’s earlier robbery, and comes out Sunday slashing an oppo knock to start this inning. Ish works a 4-pitch pass. Bochy sends the runners and RentMoney drives a gapper that ground-rule doubles, saving Mil a run. After Downs K’s and Whiteside gets beaned, Sadowski comes up with the bases loaded…1 out. He Ks, which is better than a gidp. Not exactly storybook, but it works out in the end… Winn works a walk to plate Ish… Lewis goes back up the middle, Hardy stops it but can’t convert an out…3-0.
Sadowski puts two guys on with one out bot2, before inducing a ground ball that Panda lunges for, snapping up to start an epic DP. You get the sense the kid might have found Kirk Rueter’s charm in the locker room somewhere.
Bot4, after a Fielder single, McGehee lined a shot to left that Freddy let clank off his glove. Add that to his '09 blooper reel...brutal. 2nd and 3rd, 1 out…Kruk seething. Brewers make a base running error, as Pablo makes up for past grievances by throwing home on an infield in grounder. Sadowski gets a pop-out to end the inning, exonerating Fred. Sadowski earning points with team and fan base at the rate of a pinball machine…
Top5, Panda leads off…hitless so far, which is unimaginable. So he blasts one to the wall for a double. How good is this guy? No, I’m saying, exactly how good is he?
Nate shows his speed with an infield hit that really should have been a baseknock to center, but for the wizardry of JJ Hardy. Schierholz is squaring everything up. 1st and 3rd, TI picks up a big boy base knock Hardy can’t get to, plating Panda.
Bot5, Sadowski makes a nice athletic play, after almost getting blasted again, to get a tough out. He makes another decent play to cover first on a blast at Ishikawa.
Top6, Downs gets a hanger and bangs his first big league dinger into the second deck in left… on a 2-2 count.
Bot6…unbelievable. Braun lines one off Sadowski—hard. What is it with the rookie pitchers this year? They are snakebit… Somehow, Sado stays in the game and gets another freakin’ double play ball to get through 6. And that’s his line… 4H, 3BB, 2K, 0ER.
Howry came in for two of his best innings.
After a Whiteside single, Howry got an AB, calmly laying down a textbook sac bunt. Winn knocked in Eli and if Winner heats up, he can kinda/sorta carry a team. Let’s go, Ronday!
Top9, Nate reaches out and blasts one over the wall in right that Hart leaps for but can’t bring back…HR #3, for Nate. He’s had one inside-the-parker and one KillaCam-robbery, so that’s a fair 3. If Nate finds his pop…
Bot9, Jonathan Sanchez comes in out of the bullpen… Perfect timing, Boch. 9th inning of a blowout, ultimate clean-up duty. Sanchy being Sanchy, he beans Prince to start the frame. After the series Prince had and this being the 9th inning of the series’ last game, I kinda love this move by JS. Great eff-you move. Way to go, Jonny… earnied back a ton of points right here already. This guy may have a bullpen attitude, he’s nasty. Can't sustain it over 7 innings, maybe....
Fielder is pissssssed! He wants to take a muffuh OUT!
Sanchez breaks out the change-up --something we rarely see from him-- coming of the pen and still brings the loopy slider… Dude strikes out the side. Project/Operation Sanchez is off to an intriguing start. Maybe, this will wake up the slumbering giant, maybe he’s just meant for the pen…. We shall see…
The perfect day is finished by a textbook towel-pie in the face by Matt Cain right on cue as Kruk asks “How does it feel?”...Nothing, not even doing your first TV interview with a face full of shaving cream, could spoil this day... a day when hopes and daydreams became reality for Ryan Sadowski.

Kudos to the USA soccer squad for an amazing first half. They came out and stunned Brazil with two fantastic, well deserved goals by Dempsey and Donovan and rode some heroic keeping by Tim Howard, miraculous luck, and favorable reffing to a halftime lead that awoke the world… and unfortunately mighty Brazil as well…
Brazil came out in the second half mad as hell. They had their swagger back while the US fell back into their old tentative habits. Having never been to a FIFA final, I guess it was too much to imagine that they’d know how to protect a lead in such an event…
Sao Paolo native Luis Fabiano broke through with an immediate goal out of the halftime locker room, soon adding another to equalize.
Kaka was a catalyst for Brazil, really energizing the pace with aggressive skill.
Lucio banged in the winner off a cross giving BR the lead and all was right in the soccer universe.
Great match from the site of next year’s World Cup, South Africa. They simply HAVE TO ELIMINATE the horn blowing by the spectators… If you thought thunderstix were bad and whistles taboo, wait till you hear this. It’s kind of like a mosquito buzzing in your ear for two-and-a-half hours… Gotta fix that by twenty-ten.

Gamers: Sadowski, Schierholz, and yes, Tim Howard, Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan... something to build on, boys...

Next Up: Off to STL for 4 games... Pujols v Lincecum... Technically, G1 is Lincecum (7-2 2.57 124K) v. Brad Thompson (2-3 4.50 13K, but ya'll know wassup...