You have got to be balking killing me!!!!

SAN FRANCISCO -- Giants manager Bruce Bochy was perturbed enough to get ejected for arguing a seventh-inning balk call that generated what proved to be the Colorado Rockies' winning run.
But overall, Bochy probably felt more upset over the Giants' poor baserunning that offset their 10 hits, including four for extra bases, in a 3-2 loss Tuesday night.
"This is one that we probably let get away from us," Bochy said.
The Giants' evening unraveled in both halves of the seventh. Tim Lincecum (4-1), bidding to become the only Giants pitcher in the team's San Francisco history other than John Burkett (1993) to start 5-0 in the season's first month, was trying to preserve a 2-2 tie when matters turned unusual.
Chris Iannetta doubled leading off and moved to third base on Clint Barmes' sacrifice bunt. As Lincecum prepared to throw a 1-0 pitch to Yorvit Torrealba, catcher Bengie Molina threw up his arms to signal a request for time out. Plate umpire Gary Darling responded by also waving his arms calling a balk on Lincecum, enabling Iannetta to score. Bochy argued with Darling and was ejected after a three-minute harangue.
"Lincecum flinched," Darling told a pool reporter. "Bengie was giving him the signs, then he started, stopped. Bengie tried to cover for his starting and stopping, called time. I went time with Bengie and then enforced the balk from starting and stopping."
It never occurred to Lincecum that he did anything that might be interpreted as a balk. All he knew was he saw a bunch of hands flailing behind home plate.
"It was almost simultaneous," Lincecum said. "Bengie started to get up and that's when the umpire called time out. It was right when I took my step back. I wasn't even into my motion yet."
Said a relatively calm Bochy, "I still don't understand it."
Bochy pressed for an explanation from Darling just a little too hard.
"He wanted me to get together with the crew and there was no reason to get together with the crew," Darling said. "I said, 'You've had your say' and blah blah blah. He didn't curse me or anything. It was a big enough play that he thought he needed to get run, I guess."
The Giants' baserunning lapses in the bottom of the inning were just as significant.
Facing Rockies starter Aaron Cook (4-1), pinch-hitter Randy Winn lined a leadoff double off the right-field wall. But Winn was thrown out trying to advance to third on Fred Lewis' grounder to shortstop Clint Barmes.
"He just didn't get a good read on that ball," Bochy said.
Winn claimed that he was trying to be aggressive.
"In hindsight, I wouldn't have gone, but I didn't have that luxury at the time," he said. "I tried to get a good secondary [lead], the ball was hit kind of at me, a little bit to my left, and usually that's a ball that you try to go on. But the ball was well-hit by Freddie. Barmes came up and made a good throw. He had to kind of throw it over me and he did."
Lewis stole second base and moved to third on Eugenio Velez's single to left field, renewing the Giants' hopes. Then Velez was picked off first base. Cook struck out Ray Durham to end the inning, hastening the end of Colorado's four-game losing streak.
"We can't get picked off in that situation," Bochy said, referring to Velez's gaffe.
That wasn't all. The Giants scored twice in the first inning but might have enjoyed a more fruitful output had Lewis not been thrown out at home on an ill-advised double-steal attempt with Velez dashing from first base.
"Freddie broke late there," said Bochy, who confirmed that the play was not planned.
Lincecum lacked his electric stuff -- he struck out only four in seven innings after entering the game with 36 in 29 1/3 innings -- but muted the Rockies with the help of three double plays. His primary nemesis was Ianetta, the backup catcher who made his first Major League appearance at third base after shortstop Troy Tulowitzki strained his left quadriceps, forcing multiple infield moves. Ianetta homered in the second inning besides igniting Colorado's seventh.
"That kid pitched well enough to win tonight," Bochy said of Lincecum. "We had our chances. We had a couple of mistakes and didn't execute well. That's the difference in a game like that."



I love baseball. It's my all time favorite sport to watch, except when home plate umps have their head's shoved so far up their rears.
It's pretty easy- it's a time out or a balk- NOT goddamnfothermuckingsomeofaturding both!!!!!! I haven't ever wished a pitcher to slip and hit an ump in the head with a 95 mph fast ball before in my life, but last night that was something I yelled at the tv!

Figure it out guys- I wanna see killer fair baseball!

So you tell me what you think....

and I love this tank- go Bengie!!!