Hard to believe, but Santiago Casilla got booed tonight as he came into the game in the top of the 9th in a save situation, then blew yet another save.
Fans can be pretty stupid but sometimes they're actually geniuses collectively. Fans who know the game and follow the Giants closely KNOW that something is not right with Casilla. He simply isn't reliable any more. It's frustrating that Bochy and Righetti believe he's still a viable option.
Come on, Bruce and Dave -- you have a dozen options out there. Let Romo finish, bring in Derek Law, Joe Nathan, Osich, Gearin, Kontos. Stop trying to make Casilla be something that he isn't anymore.
Here's John Shea's story from the SF Chron --
If the Giants reach the playoffs, their rotation seems set. If only manager Bruce Bochy could say the same about his bullpen.
Jeff Samardzija put the Giants in position to win Saturday night’s game, and Santiago Casilla put them in position to lose it.
Giants fans don’t often boo their own, especially in the wake of three championships since 2010, but Casilla was booed off the mound after blowing another save opportunity in a 3-2 loss to the Cardinals.
The Giants are five games behind the first-place Dodgers and fell into a tie with the Mets for the wild-card lead. The Cardinals are two back.
The Giants were one out from securing their third straight win over St. Louis, but the ninth inning provided another disaster. Manager Bruce Bochy began the inning with Sergio Romo but replaced him with Casilla after Jedd Gyorko’s one-out single.
Before the game, Bochy provided support for Casilla in the wake of a scoreless eighth inning Friday. “He’s in the mix,” Bochy said, “including closing.”
Casilla got booed as he jogged from the bullpen, and his relationship with the crowd didn’t improve when pinch-runner Tommy Pham stole second and Yadier Molina walked. Fans let out a collective groan when Randal Grichuk hit a tie-breaking single.
That was all for Casilla, who walked off the field and, amid the boos, began to jog and clap into his glove. Something that isn’t seen out of the long-time Giants reliever.
Matt Reynolds replaced Casilla, and Kolten Wong hit a sacrifice fly to break the tie.
Jeff Samardzija, who yielded one run in 6 2/3 innings, was denied his 12th win. He surrendered Brandon Moss’ first-inning homer and departed after 104 pitches. His ERA in his past eight starts is 2.74.
Without on-field batting practice for a third straight day, the Giants did just enough offensively for their third straight victory, at least through eight innings.
Hunter Pence singled to extend his hit streak to 11 games and scored on Brandon Belt’s double to center. It was Pence’s 15th run of September. He’s the Giants’ best hitter this month, batting .377 with four homers, 10 RBIs.
Mike Leake, a Giant the last two months of last season, got into trouble again in the fifth when Eduardo Nunez opened with a single and stole second base, beating Molina’s throw.
Nunez tried to steal third, but Denard Span, the leadoff hitter turned No. 8 hitter, singled to right. Unaware of what Span did, Nunez wasn’t able to push himself off the ground in time to score. Still, the Giants had runners at the corners with no outs.
Samardzija squared to bunt, and then he pulled back. On Leake’s second pitch, Samardzija hit a fly to medium-deep right field, far enough to score Nunez. Span was caught in a rundown on the play.
The Giants won’t have batting practice Sunday, either, but that’s because it’s a day game following a night game. Their next scheduled BP is Monday night at Dodger Stadium.
