SAN FRANCISCO -- Giants pitcher Jeremy Accardo knows the most helpful "skill" a reliever can have is short-term memory loss.
When something bad happens, you delete it from your hard drive and move on.
He has done that successfully -- he had a quick, scoreless inning vs. Milwaukee on Tuesday night after a blown save on Sunday against Philadelphia -- but another facet of learning the bullpen game is learning about yourself as well.
Accardo (1-3, 4.99 ERA) is only 24 and loves to pitch, but after great success earlier in the season, logging a 2.11 ERA in 16 appearances from April 25-June 4, he hit a rough patch, and there were concerns the hard thrower might be wearing down.
Over his last 18 outings, he's had a disappointing 8.44 ERA (15 runs in 16 innings) and that forced Accardo to not take his young, strong body for granted.
"I had to take some time off," he said, "and the All-Star break was good. It helped me work out some kinks. It's just me not knowing my body. Sometimes, I don't need to throw before a game -- I can just throw during it and save my pitches for the game."
Accardo says his arm can tire sometimes after pitching on consecutive days, and while it feels good, there's no oomph behind his throw, no real snap. Then, you have to ask for a day off.
"I think it's not so much overwork as not being in shape," said Accardo. "Once you get tired, you can start developing bad habits, get stuff in your shoulder or elbow.
"But I'm learning how to manager my body, noticing I may need to run for 30 minutes. You have to learn what your body can do and can't do."
Emergency man: Outfielder Steve Finley is way down the list as the "third left-handed first baseman," according to manager Felipe Alou, but the veteran Gold Glover admits he's been practicing "a lot" at the position.
Just in case. With Lance Niekro back in the Minors, rookie Chad Santos is the backup to utility man Mark Sweeney. In case of injury, though, Finley might play there.
"The hardest thing over there is picking up low throws and stretching off the bag at the right angles, and waiting long enough to put yourself into position to catch the ball," said Finley.
"But practicing and playing in a game are two different things," he said.
Linden at leadoff? Alou decided Wednesday afternoon's contest against the Brewers was the perfect time to let Todd Linden get a start, but it's the first time the outfielder batted first for the Giants.
"Get on base and score a run -- that's the plan," said Linden. "I figured with the day game today, the guys need a rest and I'd be in there against a left-hander [Milwaukee's Doug Davis]. When I saw I was at leadoff, I had a grin on my face."
Alou said normal leadoff batter Randy Winn needed a rest, so Linden got the call.
"Maybe he'll go 4-for-4," said Alou. "I had Winn playing, but one of the coaches told me it would be a good day to play Todd. We needed to give him a game to keep him sharp."
In his first at-bat on Wednesday, Linden drilled a single to center, went to third on Omar Vizquel's base hit and scored on Finley's sacrifice fly.
Link sausage: When you're a little guy racing against the big fellas, you gotta get a jump on things -- that's what Brendan Fallon did in Tuesday night's race against a hot dog, a bratwurst and Polish and Italian sausages after the sixth inning at AT&T Park.
The competition, featuring people dressed in the culinary specialties, is a tradition in Milwaukee, but the racing sausages also go on the road.
The costumed, pint-sized Fallon, termed a "weenie" by the KNBR broadcast crew, took off from the starting line a bit early, much to the dismay of the considerably larger hot dog, who caught up and passed Fallon at the finish line, swerving to cut him off.
"I tried to lunge for the tape, then fell," laughed Fallon, an AT&T Park parking attendant who still raised his arms in triumph after the, uh, competition.
Coming up: Left-hander Noah Lowry (4-6, 4.58) takes the hill for the start of a crucial four-game divisional clash against the San Diego Padres at 7:15 p.m. PT on Thursday night at AT&T Park. He'll be opposed by Friars right-hander Chan Ho Park (6-5, 4.49).