Nova-CAIN

Matt Cain must have used some novacaine on the Astros, because he made their bats numb. A perfect game for Matt Cain. The fifth no hitter (not including the Mariners' combined no hitter) of the 2012 season and the second perfect game. The Giants' right hander struck out 14 batters and didn't give up a hit or a walk over 9 innings pitched.

Not only did Matt Cain dominate the Astros he also got a hit and scored a run. This guy can do it all. Congrats to Matt Cain and the San Francisco Giants.

Cain also got a little help from his defense with 3 defensive plays that were almost hits. To view all 27 outs and the amazing plays click HERE

Start of the Week

Matt Cain making another appearance on this blog. 

This weeks start of the week goes to Matt Cain. No not Matt Cain's shutout against The Phillies, but his Shutout against The Pirates. One week ago today Matt Cain pitched a complete game shutout against The Pittsburgh Pirates.

On April 13, 2012 Matt Cain's performance was the best of the season so far. He gave up only 1 hit and 0 walks while striking out 11 batters. The one hit came from the opposing pitcher. Matt Cain's next start should be against The Reds.

A Good Ol' Pitching Duel

In San Francisco last night 2 aces went head to head. Cliff Lee and Matt Cain are both racking up the big bucks now, but who will come out on top. Cliff Lee came into the game coming off a rocky outing against The Mets in his past. Matt Cain is coming into the game to follow up a shutout against The Pirates.

Matt Cain was going hard giving up just 2 hits and 1 walk while racking up 4 strikeouts. He did the preceding over 9 innings of scoreless ball. As for Cliff Lee what could I say about his performance? Lee gave up 7 hits but no walks and collected 7 strikeouts over 10 scoreless innings of work. Yes you read it correctly; a 10 inning shutout. Both pitchers would get a no decision, but The Giants would win in the 11th inning on a walk off single by Melky Cabrera scoring Brandon Belt.

The Giants win 1-0 in a great game!

Extensions, Extensions, Extensions

On Monday Matt Cain and Joey Votto signed extensions with their teams. Joey Votto's extension was colossal, a 10 year 225 million dollar extension. Matt Cain's deal was 5 years 112.5 million dollars with a club option for 2013.

Matt Cain has pitched effectively for The Giants over his 6 complete seasons. He averages 212 innings every season with an average ERA of 3.39. Although he pitches a lot of innings and gives up few runs he has a losing record due to The Giants' ineffective offense. This contract will have Matt Cain signed through the prime of his career. His average war by season is 3.9. If you put 5 million dollars per win Matt Cain is earning just about what he deserves. Through the years where he is expected to be at his best The Giants win with this contract.

Joey Votto will be playing with The Reds for a very long time. Votto has 2 all star appearances an MVP award and a Gold Glove Award in just four full seasons in the MLB. Votto is destined to be a star. With a 152 OPS+ over that time period Votto is in a category with players like Prince Fielder, Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard and Adrian Gonzalez. In recent years Votto's WAR has been through the roof, with a 6.5 WAR last year and a 5.9 WAR in 2010. Votto will be signed until he is in his late 30's. He will be signed through the prime of his career, but also well after that. Will Votto be effective later in his career we don't know, but most likely he wont be. The important part is The Reds have a player locked up for a long time like Barry Larkin.