A Gross of Games

I'm very happy with a series win in San Francisco.

Game 142 Unfair Loss Shares ( Giants )

Cain -- 1
Valdez -- 1
Sandoval -- 1

Cain is having a great year, even with his struggles against the Dodgers. And Billingsley is struggling, as we all know. But I'd still rather have Billingsley than Cain for next year and beyond.

I've always associated Billingsley with Cain, the same way I associate Kershaw with Lincecum. Billingsley and Cain came up around the same time, those who wrote about prospects often compared the two. Both pitchers were first round picks, Cain 25th in 2002, Billingsley 24th a year later. The Dodgers could have picked Cain with the 19th pick in 2002, but instead chose another pitcher, James Loney.


Game 142 Unfair Win Shares ( Dodgers )

Loney -- 1
Blake -- 1
Kuroda -- 1

The Dodgers chose to make Loney a first baseman instead of a pitcher, of course, thinking he would make a better future hitter than pitcher. I sometimes wonder what would have happened if Loney had continued as a pitcher instead, but certainly this weekend Loney the hitter was very valuable. Loney was one of the hitting heroes Friday night. The final score was 10-3, so a two-run rally in the first inning might not seem crucial, but I think it was. Loney's two-out double to drive in two made sure the Dodgers wouldn't end up frustrated and empty-handed even as they were hitting Cain pretty hard.

Cain went on to show some filthy stuff in the third inning, when he made Kemp and Ethier look silly on strikeouts. But he couldn't sustain his success. The Dodgers kept punishing every little mistake he made, and Blake finished him off with a two-run home run that combined with Kuroda's dominance put the game away.


Game 143 Unfair Loss Shares ( Giants )

Velez -- 1
Renteria -- 1
Sanchez -- 1

The Giants only won once they got Abe Lincoln look-a-like Eugenio Velez out of the lineup on Sunday. Velez was 0-4 on Friday, and then on Saturday he was also 0-4, with 4 men left on base. And he also had an error. One score and seven years ago, a mediocre hitter was born. Between Velez and Pierre I think I'd rather have Pierre, unless you want to bring up contracts.


Game 143 Unfair Win Shares ( Dodgers )

Padilla -- 1
Loney -- 1
Martin -- 1

Two of these names I thought I'd be seeing under the unfair win shares a lot more this season. The other one I thought the Dodgers were crazy to acquire.


Game 144 Unfair Loss Shares ( Dodgers )

Belliard -- 1
Blake -- 1
Billingsley -- 1

Neither Belliard nor Blake could get the big hit against Penny with men on base, and Billingsley couldn't stop from giving up the big hit often enough. Billingsley struck out 6 and walked none in 4 innings, which is pretty good. Everything else was not good.


Game 144 Unfair Win Shares ( Giants )

Penny -- 1
Uribe -- 1
Sanchez -- 1

Penny struck out two, walked two, and gave up a home run in seven innings. That's not really very good, but it was good enough Sunday for Penny to get his revenge on the Dodgers.