Congrats to Jonathan Sanchez
Written by MC Homer, Saturday July 11 2009
I've been pushing for respect for my Giants, well, here it is. July 10th marks the first time all season the over-achieving San Francisco Giants are the focal point of the league. With All-Stars Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum, followed by the ageless Randy Johnson, not to mention former Cy Young Award winner Barry Zito, the fifth man in the rotation, Jonathan Sanchez, was the last man anyone thought would have a shot at throwing a no-hitter for this club. With a little bit of luck and a lot of determination, Sanchez, with his father in attendance, not only has his first career no-hitter, but his first complete game and first career shutout to-boot. For the first time since 1976, a San Francisco Giant has thrown a no hitter, and first since '75 at home. That's a lot of firsts! Hopefully it's not the last.
Of the 1,288 games played this year, though Friday, only one no-hitter has been thrown. That one, came on the heels of Tim Lincecum's no-hit bid that was broken up by, of all people, Tony Gwynn, Jr. (whose Dad broke up three in his illustrious career) in the top of the seventh with no outs the night before. I was there on Thursday, and some beyond-stupid, poor-excuse-for-a-baseball-fan sitting two rows behind me, mentioned the no-no as Timmy was taking his warm up pitches to begin the top of the seventh. Sure enough, only a few pitches into the at bat, there it went, right out the window. For anyone who doesn't already know, when there is a no-hitter in progress, you don't freakin' talk about it! Mum's the word.
Never before has Jonathan Sanchez seen the 9th inning of a professional baseball game, from the field of play, of course. Besides four no-hitters in college, he had never thrown one in Little League or in the Giants minor league system. What is even more special, is his father and brother were able to bear witness. Having never seen his son start a Major League game (in person) prior to Friday night, Mr. Sanchez, or as we like to call him, Dad, flew in to San Francisco Thursday evening. After the final out, fittingly enough a strikeout looking on a back-door hook, his father was allowed into the dugout to congratulate his son. Yeah, I'll admit it, I got the chills. You could tell how much this meant to his father to be able to be there to give his son a hug after the last out. To say his father was proud, doesn't do it justice. Almost every kid, if not all, could only be so lucky to make his father be that proud of them.
After pitching 69 innings, going 2-8 with an ERA above five and a WHIP of almost 1.7 through his June 22nd start, Sanchez was replaced in the rotation by the Big Sadowski (an unknown rookie, but that's a whole different article). His confidence wavering, and getting no love from the hometown fans, he was relegated to the bullpen. When Randy Johnson went down with an injury a week ago, it was just the chance Sanchez needed to reclaim his spot in the starting rotation (and his only chance, probably). Dumb luck? Maybe. I'd be willing to bet that after throwing this no hitter, he'll be penciled in for his next start, scheduled for after the All-Star break.
Trade talks have been running rampant for at least a month about San Francisco acquiring a bat. A main cog, from the fans stand point at least, was, yes, was, Jonathan Sanchez along with a minor leaguer or two. I wouldn't be going very far out on the limb if I said he is officially off the trading block. I wonder how many teams are kicking themselves for not pulling the trigger on him when they had the chance? After seeing his potential come full circle, how many more calls do you think GM Brian Sabean will be fielding about this young lefty?
I'll be the first to admit, watching Sanchez pitch can be frustrating, well, on most nights prior to Friday. His stuff is electric and always has been, there is no debate there. He has always had a 'live' arm. His 94-96 mph fastball gets on a hitter faster than normal because of his lazy arm action (a very easy, ¾ release point, nearly sidearm). He also has a curve ball and slider that he showcased last night. His inability to find the strike zone has been his lone achilles heel. With his new and improved mechanics, if he can stay around the plate with his filthy array of pitches, and that's a big if, he could be the third head of the devastating duo that is Lincecum and Cain. Both Matt and Tim are only 24, Sanchez however? He's the village elder, celebrating his 27th birthday this coming November.
Two people lost in all of the hub-bub, but certainly not forgotten, are Giants pitching coach, Dave Righetti, who had a no-hitter on the 4th of July in 1983, and rookie (and backup) catcher, Eli Whiteside.
Righetti, known as 'Rags' in baseball circles, has spent countless hours with Sanchez during bullpen and side sessions, working on his windup and tweaking the mechanics to get his accuracy under control. Looking at a side by side comparison, it is a noticeable difference from his old windup. Sanchez stays 'cocked' more so than his previous starts, meaning he shows more of his back to the hitter (think a closed batting stance, like Edgar Renteria) prior to delivering his pitch. Repeating the same release point each and every pitch is the key to any and all pitchers in professional baseball.
Whiteside, who was not even supposed to play Friday, but because Bengie Molina was away from the team to be with his wife, who is expecting a child, Eli got the nod. What a game he called. Padres' hitters were off balance all night long save for Edgar Gonzalez' long flyball with one out in the ninth that Aaron Rowand caught as he slammed against the wall (for the second time in three days). Together, Whiteside and Sanchez were on the same page all night long, with Jonathan shaking off a pitch called by Eli only a couple of times. Whiteside even contributed in the batters box, going two for four, upping his season average to .286, adding an RBI and a run scored in the 8-0 victory.
Juan Uribe, poor guy. No one feels worse about this no hitter than him. Sanchez had a perfect game going into the eighth inning and one out. 22 up, 22 down. If it wasn't for the one-out error by Uribe, Sanchez could have been the 18th pitcher to throw a perfect game in baseball's long and storied history. We can't blame only Uribe for his blunder though. Bruce Bochy used Kevin Frandsen to pinch hit for the Kung Fu Panda, who had a mammoth homerun and three RBIs, in the sixth. Frandsen then went into the game at second base, which moved Uribe, who had been there, to third, where Sandoval played. Good job, way to go BruBochy (as TC would say). That said, the slowly-hit bouncer that short-hopped Uribe, was still a very playable ball.
I know I have played up this little piece of history quite a bit, but deservedly so. The Padres have the third worst record in baseball, and arguably the worst offense in the game, yet they still have Major League talent. Adrian Gonzalez is no joke. Granted, Peavy, Young and Giles are all hurt, but they have just as many All-Stars as the Giants do. You can downplay this feat all you want, but at the end of the day, facing only 28 hitters (should have been 27), and getting 27 of them out, is impressive at any level. Want to discredit this accomplishment? No one on your (insert team here) team has done it this year, not even against the Nationals, Indians, A's, or lowly Padres.
Taking this no-no with a grain of salt, I would have to admit that it is only one game. Sanchez hasn't looked great in any of his previous 13 starts this season. Not once has he pitched more than 6 innings and only twice did he walk fewer than three batters. His last two appearances, both coming out of the bullpen, he has been solid, throwing a combined three innings and allowing only one hit, four strikeouts coupled with no walks. Things seem to be looking up for this kid.
While Nolan Ryan's record of seven no-hitters is probably safe, the young, gun-slinging lefty has lots of time left. Go get'em kid.
Congratulations Jonathan Sanchez. Giants fans can only hope you have found your groove. As for the rest of the baseball world, the last thing they need is yet another dominant pitcher in San Francisco. Already sitting atop the NL Wild Card standings, if the G-Men continue their out-of-this-world roll, the Giants may be the last team anyone wants to face in the playoffs, simply because of their pitching. And if they add a bat...
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5 comments
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Chriso, I believe I said that this was only one game and that he had been anything but impressive in, let's see, um, every start prior. While it was an absolutely dominating performance, he does have the stuff to be that good more often than once a year, it's not like he pulled that fastball and slider out of a hat for that particular game. Along with the majority of athletes at the professional level, it is much more of a mental game for him. That is the biggest reason why signing Randy Johnson was a great move. Johnson's wisdom is almost more important than the 8 wins (so far) he has provided for the Giants. I am one of the few Giants fans who still believe they will find a way to spit this thing up, but that might be more because I don't want to be disappointed when they fail if I let my hopes get too high. If they make the playoffs though, there will not be a more dangerous team. Pitching and defense do not take days off. About the fan, it was a half-hearted joke (and I'm sure he wasn't the only one who said something, but he's the only one I heard). I do believe in the superstition of talking about it, at the same time, I may have gone a little overboard with my reaction, but not much (there is more to that specific supremely ignorant fan than just that story, but I didn't feel the need to write an entire article about it). I guess my expectations of baseball fans are too high. BTW, broadcasters, at least the Giants ones, take part in the superstition as well, believe me, I watched the game. It basically was a perfect game, the lone blemish was a routine short-hop. And after seeing the replay, he probably would have got him, but on the third bounce as Uribe reached down, the ball hit the lip of the grass and bounced a different direction. Thanks, Sykes.
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The Jonathan Sanchez no-hitter was almost more impressive than a perfect game...he got 28 hitters in a row. The whole night was just part of the "magic"... And Freddie Sanchez may be the only player in baseball who would fit the current structure (or lack thereof) of this team. The problem is who do we give up? All of the call-in GMs on local radio fear pulling the trigger on any deals now. Call it the Joe Nathan Syndrome. Great article, man.
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Do you really think about that fan in the Lincecum start or was that a joke? I think the superstition goes to players, not fans (or broadcasters, for that matter) ALSO be careful about falling in love after one no-hitter, kind of like falling in love after one date. See Clay Buchholz file on the Red Sox (no no in '07, big struggles in '08, dominating AAA in '09, starting first game after the break)
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Thanks, now could you drop Cain and Lincecum (not that they need it)? Maybe Bengie and Ishikawa too? And Winn, definately drop his sorry @$$.
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You're welcome MC Homer. I guaranteed this would happen by dropping Jonathan "Dirty" Sanchez in my fantasy baseball league. It's been that kind of year for my fantasy baseball teams.