by
Greek Giant
It was a joyful, sunny dream. I was in the front row at some fan gathering with Hunter Pence seated near me. He was on stage listening to speeches, wearing his jersey and for some reason he could tell I was the Greek Giant. He starts chatting:
Hunter Pence: So Greek, I need to ask you something. Are all Greek women a little nutso? I love my wife Alexis. She is wonderful but sometimes I find her a little over the top, in a fun way mostly.
Greek Giant: Hunter, How is your hamstring?
HP: Dude, really, I need your input on Greek women!
GG: Listen, I am full on Greek, both parents but I have never dated a Greek girl. Let me tell you why that is. Not only can they be a little princessy (Greek-American Princess), but they don’t get baseball. Some of them are pretty hot though..
HP: Tell me about it! You know how much time it took me to convince Alex baseball is cool?
GG: How is your oblique?
HP: Bro, enough with the health questions! I feel great. I am ready to let ‘er rip this year. I’ve had some bad luck the past two season and now people are trying to call me “injury-prone”. Give me a break man. I was the iron man for so much of my career! Now Boch is telling me he wants to baby me in Spring Training and make sure that I ease into the season. I am ready baby! Marriage has taught me one thing to be sure: Be sure to never to go bed angry and with any muscle stiffness…
GG: They say that with your wild and crazy full throttle style of play and your beautifully powerful demolition style of swinging the baseball bat that you are more prone to injury than other players.. Do you think any of this is true? Do you think you should change your style of play a bit and tone it down?
HP: Are you kidding me? Does Batman tone down his cape? Does MadBum tone down his horse riding? Please… Come on man! Come on GG… You know better than to ask me that!
GG: Cool, listen, Buster is now giving his speech, let’s hang later.
HP: Cool. Tell the gang at Together We’re Giants that I’m going to play 150 games this year. Tell them I said so and tell them to go easy on the political comments… They make my brain hurt. It’s all about baseball baby!
GG: Uhmmmhhgj… ok.
So, yes, last night I dreamt about chatting with Hunter Pence and worrying about his health. When I read yesterday that he has a mild “tweak” on his oblique it immediately set into motion some serious sub-conscious worrying in my world… So much so that I tossed and turned. The Giants do not have much margin for error in their line up. Hunter Pence is one of the central components of their offensive production. After all the games he missed due to injury the past two seasons and with the news of another injury concern going into the first day of Spring Training…. well, I just don’t want to think about it.
Please Hunter, be healthy and play a full season!
The news about Pence “having to slow down his workouts after receiving treatment on his side” (which Pence brushed aside as no big deal) has the feel of here-we-go-again. I’m not expecting Pence to make it through this year, or next year for that matter, without an injury or two and significant time missed. Pence seems incapable of pacing himself.
I suppose it’s like Timmy – you can’t expect a player to give up his body to such an extent year-after-year. It’s just not realistic.
Bravado brush-offs from Pence and Cain about genuine concerns are beyond tiresome.
But, dgg, imagine the internal stress they are going through as they fight to keep/regain their place in the ultra competitive job they have. Then imagine getting asked constantly about it – I don’t blame the reporters for asking, but also realize the player has no real idea how their body will react. They are nervous…a little scared…none of us have those constant questions thrown at us…
Just trying to understand why they are a bit brush-offish
You make a good point. The beat writers have articles to write. There isn’t much drama other than LF and fifth starter, and obviously with Cain’s history, it’s a good story.
As for Pence…sighhhhhh
Pence and Cain being asked legitimate questions about possible injuries and/or their job performance happens to be a part of their job. As Brisbee stated, “Cain’s 2016 campaign was filled with “I don’t get it. The stuff looks fine.” Cain said this over and over again in his post-performance interviews last year.
Ugh, he certainly did. “I felt good out there. I liked the way the ball was coming out of my hand.” I’m more interested in the way the ball sailed over the fence.
What did you want him to say? He’s an ultra competitor looking for answers
Word. We all act like this is more important for us than it is for them. All this fan angst on day one of spring training? R-E-L-A-X.
Last year in early spring training it was his hamstring barking at him. We know how that turned out.
We sure do.
Thanks for the morning laugh, Brother…awesome
This Brisbee is a splash of cold water. At least it’s ONLY Cain, and not Cain and Peavy this year.
http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2017/2/13/14601356/matt-cain-sf-giants-fifth-starter-ty-blach
I think he’s right, and I find this incredibly upsetting.
I read this last night around midnight, and thought damn, Brisbee is right. His analysis includes the salient point that spring training for pitchers is about “going through the order once” and therefore, won’t tell the Giants what they need to know about Cain’s capacity to pitch three solid innings or more in the regular season. Brisbee talks about what Cain showed us last year:
“Cain would be cruising, only to hit a nasty pothole the second or third time through the orders. It was entirely predictable. And guess what spring training is all about? Going through the order once. More toward the end of spring, but it’s not like you see a lot of complete games in March.”
Blach, Stratton, Blackburn, (and other hotshots such as Conrood) must hope for a trade to another organization. More dead wood than the Feather River right now.
I mistakenly believed the 5th spot was Blach’s to lose. But no. Let’s just trot out Cain one more time. Cain’s not the horse he once was.
Ken Rosenthal reports that the Giants have signed RH reliever David Hernandez to a minor league contract. Grant Brisbee followed up quickly with a detailed report:
http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2017/2/14/14610042/sf-giants-david-hernandez-bullpen
TWG ST Scout Schedule … Please correct this as needed.
Feb. 20-23 … Cabbie and Bapah
March 14-17 … DrLefty
March 23-25 … HaakAway & Sons
March 26-28 … JustPeachy
We’ll be at the March 10-12 games.
Also, I think Rob Deer will be there a few days before us.
Thanks for both edits … done.
This is so great. Thanks, HaakAway and our great Giants fans. Maybe one day soon I can take that trip as well. Looking forward to that.
I have not been for 12 years or so and it is a special event for me so I am enjoying the talk about it all. I have a friend to stay with in the area and that is big in budgeting for me.
I knew that as soon as I posted this reply to Lefty’s comment in the previous thread it would immediately move to a new one. Here’s her first para.
“It’s a little unclear how many of his post-surgery problems are due to the physical condition of his arm. His velocity is still there–his command is not.”
On the basis of the veracity of your first (this) paragraph, I’d say that the chance of Matt regaining his old form is, at least, possible. I base this on his history of throwing well while having a lot bad going on with his arm.
Throwing, and more importantly, pitching is governed and controlled by motor programs. Motor programs (MPs) are what most people call (the non-existent) “muscle memory”. MPs are developed from a feed-back loop with the motor cortex and the somatosensory cortex in the brain to the muscles executing the particular movements desired by the program.
His old MPs are not going to work with a “new” arm and we’ve seen what both a bad arm and the old MPs can do to a once-good pitcher.
Now, with a supposedly healthy arm, Cain will have to develop (learn) new MPs for THIS arm and not use MPs that were built for the “old” arm. They just won’t work! If he is able to do that (a very difficult and tedious process) he will be successful. If not, we’ll have to suffer through his learning curve and a bad #5. I’m hopeful he can do this, but having worked with the process of training complex MPs, I’m a realist too. (Of course, I was training apes and not adult humans) I have also spent several years training young humans and it is a slow process. Matt Cain is in neither of these groups.
Consequently, I’m hopeful, but not optimistic, Cain can return to form. He’s a smart guy. “It could happen”.
I’d say “supposedly healthy arm” is a key phrase. He’s had two arm injuries AFTER the bone chips were removed.
I understand wanting to be optimistic, but I’ve just seen too many pitchers suddenly or gradually lose it to believe that someone who hasn’t been good since 2012 is suddenly going to find himself in 2017. I kept hoping for Timmy, too…it just becomes too sad after awhile.
I kept hoping for Timmy too, and I learned my lesson. I was hoping for Cain’s 2017 spring performance to be clear-cut, one way or the other, but after reading Brisbee’s article and thinking about the reality of spring training, that’s not going to happen. Cain’s comeback saga will continue into the regular season.
Timmy was a lot better, just insanely inconsistent, either Great start, are awful start, he even had stretches of great months at a time, had ERA of .200 lowest of any Giants starters in late May 2015.
I agree. TL contributed more, even in his down years, than Cain has in his.
Cain’s total WAR post-2012 is 1.0. He was 1.5 in 2013 and has been negative ever since.
sure he pitched well for extremely brief moments, but the emphasis needs to be on the “brief”.
Like it or not, the Giants wasted a roster spot on Lincecum for two seasons plus. I’ve called the team going to 13 man pitching staff as the “Lincecum effect”, necessitating a 13 man staff to make up for one guy who they have no idea what he will bring to the table when he is no longer a starter, a long reliever nor a closer.
Cain is basically going to keep the Lincecum effect going on this team. It’s amazing that the prospect of a 13 man staff for THREE years straight looks like a real possibility.
19-13, was his record, in 2014 and 2015, that was not brief, the haters just will hate, and Cain gets way more leash by the beat writers and this blog then Timmy did, I have no reason why that is.
I don’t either. The Giants should turn a page and be more cutthroat, just call it lost money and move on. Cain will be a drag.
And I know you disagree but TL was a drag too, knowing full well he was never going to produce anywhere near his previous capabilities.
Do you think he is NOT in any camp this spring because of some collusion by MLB teams. He just can’t do it any more. People really need to let go.
Go Ty Blach! Show ’em what you got!
From Schulman’s piece yesterday:
Fresher in everyone’s mind is Blach, 26, shutting out the Dodgers for eight innings in his second big-league start on the penultimate day of the 2016 regular season, and two scoreless relief appearances in the Division Series against the Cubs.
If it seems weird for Cain to fight kids for a rotation spot, imagine Blach’s perspective. He is competing against a mentor and one of the most popular San Francisco Giants ever.
“It’ll be fun no matter what happens,” Blach said. “Cainer is an awesome guy. He’s helped me so much coming up through the minor leagues. I’ve spent a lot of time with him in big-league spring training and last fall.”
————-
The fact that Blach is a fine young man is yet another reason to root for him. Great attitude for a guy who’s probably getting the short end of the stick.
If Cain hasn’t got it, I hope he does the right thing and steps aside.
I don’t like anything about this David Hernandez signing. He’s been in a steady decline following the 2012 season and had TJ in 2014. He’s been a walk and HR machine. The beat writers are providing quotes like “the team wants young guys to have competition.”
“Young guys”? Well, let’s review. Melancon’s the big-money closer. Strickland is out of options. Gearrin and Kontos were signed to actual guaranteed money. The only “young guy” who could get to sent to the minors to make room for Hernandez is Derek Law…you know, the best reliever on the team last year?
SMH. The excuse for this is the bullpen is “young” and doesn’t have much “experience.” Nope. Melancon and Will Smith have plenty of experience. Kontos made his major league debut in 2012, and Gearrin in 2011. Strickland first came up in 2014. Even Osich came up in 2015. The only truly inexperienced guys are Law and Okert, and Law put in a pretty good year of work in 2016. I get that this isn’t a group of grizzled veterans like the Core Four, but it’s not a group of raw rookies, either.
Law is here to stay.
Hernandez is here to give up an 8-spot to the Mariners at Ho-Ho-Kam on a random March Wednesday split squad game
I’m fine with the idea that he’s a Sacramento native and they’ll park him in AAA for an emergency. Why not? I just have trust issues when it comes to the Giants preferring ANY veteran, no matter how washed up, over a guy they developed. That’s why the name “Jimmy Rollins” immediately makes me suspicious.
Oh, I hear ya…totally.
It still seems that Bochy and Sabean (and now Evans) sit around in their office, drinking wine, and watching Cocoon for the 472nd time and get all giddy.
I hope Law is, but Strickland drives me crazy that if he can’t be consistent enough: trade bait.
Strickland’s 2015 numbers were great. He regressed in 2016–ERA still good, but WHIP inflated with both walks and hits up. He seemed to be going for strikeouts and would eventually groove one and give up a hit.
and that’s what irks me with this guy. He has so much potential but he’s always looking to get a batter to swing and miss to get an out.
He seems to be one of those guys you have to use exactly right to get the most out of him. He’s not plug-and-play, as we learned in the handful of situations when Bochy tried him out to close a game.
I think Hernandez is a look-see, and minor league depth. We need to trust Evans’s vision.
I don’t like it because the Giants already have Strickland if they like seeing opposing team’s HRs reach the stratosphere so much.
Zing
Strickland has a career HR rate of 0.6/9.
2014: 0
2015: 4
2016: 4
I know the 2014 postseason was a nightmare, but he actually hasn’t been a gopher ball guy, relatively speaking. By comparison:
Casilla 2016: HR/9 1.2 (career 0.8)
Romo 2016: 1.5 (career 0.8)
Kontos 2016: 0.5 (career 0.8)
Law 2016: 0.5
I don’t remember the Giants ever signing this many seemingly washed up guys who have big league experience. There are usually a couple in spring training, but it seems like they have a whole team of them this year. Given Bochy’s preferences, it doesn’t look like this a good year for a young guy trying to make the team.
You’re probably blocking out the late-Bonds years in the 00’s. In that era, it was good the Giants trained in Scottsdale with all the senior citizens amenities and hospitals there.
I go back to 2009 as well. So many at bats that year given to the Rich Aurelia’s(?!?!) of the team. Playoffs were a real possibility for that team.
Yes, if they’d had the second wild card at that point, they would have made the playoffs with 88 wins. Cy Timmy, one of Cain’s best seasons, Zito had a good year, Brian Wilson was good, Sanchez threw a no-hitter…
“Gotta get Aurelia going”… “Rowand’s a warrior”…”Winny’s a pro”…the bad old days.
Michael Tucker, Ray Ray, Viizquel…
Yep, you remember.
It’s pretty clear to me that Bruce has a serious case of Bullpen Amorphism….and, it’s weird. To me, it’s getting worse with age. For better or worse, this pen looked totally set: shed Casilla, Romo, Lopez and add – for good – Melancon, Smith, Law…keep Kontos, Strickland,Gearrin and Okert. All set. Bruce has his guys, he can set the innings. We’re good.
But he appears far from set.
Does Evans have any power? He supplied Bruce with everything he could (pitcher wise) late last season…and we saw how that went. He seemed to have set things up well for this season….
But, here comes the Casilla Tribute Band for a set at Black Oak Casino
Totally agree on all of this. You and I may not see eye-to-eye on politics, but this comment is 100% spot on.
Add to what you said: There’s even depth already. If Cain does, in fact, get the fifth starter spot, you have Blach and Suarez in the minors as depth. Whichever of Okert and Osich doesn’t get the LOOGY spot, too. Stratton pitched out of the Giants’ bullpen last year.
They have TWENTY-FIVE PITCHERS on the 40-man roster!
25 pitchers? That’s ridiculous. Hope we’re all over-reacting to this…
And they’ve invited 11 more to camp–before Hernandez.
TILT! Something way wrong with that…sigh.
For the last year, I’ve felt that it’s just about time for Ron to step behind the wheel. I’m often frustrated by Bochy’s left-over resentments from his playing days.
The Giants are the only team in the league that would view this bullpen as young and inexperienced in need of ‘veteran’ presence.
Right?! They’re so used to having guys on the wrong side of 35 that 31-32-year-olds like Kontos and Gearrin are wet behind the ears to them.
Melancon (32)
Kontos (going on 32)
Gearrin (going on 31)
Strickland (28)
Osich (28)
Smith (27)
Law (26)
Okert (25)
Not exactly escapees from fourth-period geometry here.
Look at innings pitched in MLB.
No, I get that. But just because Hernandez has a lot more MLB innings under his belt doesn’t mean he’s a better choice than any of those guys. His record over the last couple of years would predict otherwise.
Look below … did I get it right that you are the one going to pre-ST workouts?
Yup! I’m definitely going to a game or two as well, just not sure when yet.
Yeah … my memory can still pull one out now and then. I think you got Bapah interested too so you might try to connect in person there. He really knows the Process and would be fun to “hang around the batting cage” with.
You know it’s baseball season when Pavlovic is being interviewed and just the sound of his voice will put you to sleep.
Play ball!
Andrew Baggarly quoting Bobby 45min ago:
GM Evans said club has targeted Hernandez most of the winter. Wanted more RHRP experience. “Everybody’s got to earn their way.”
My Beauty is the BOMB! What a great Valentine’s Day gift!!!
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b84e50a56c4a15aae8a5eb37b3119d94d1a50cd40e7a3294f186cf5af8e2318c.jpg
Keep the tissues handy when you read some of those chapters. I even wrote an Amazon review of that book!
Aaaah…Let’s all celebrate Jose Valentin Day!
I am about half way through this book. Got it for Christmas.
You hadn’t already read it!? Enjoy, bro. I think you–like me–will be reading various chapters multiple times. Great book. Man can write, that’s for sure.
The chapter about the opening of the park…the chapter about the Ishikawa HR…the “Fire on the Mountain” chapter about Bumgarner in 2014…just great. Some of the 2010 stuff was a bit derivative of his earlier book, but the chapters before and after 2010 were wonderful.
I’ll also read a chapter or two of Band of Misfits from time to time. Timmy chapter was especially well written.
Me too. I like the Timmy chapter and “Hail to the Buster,” and “Forever Yungo,” and…
Good Pitchers Get Their Chance
2010 … Giants rotation coming out of ST was Zito, Cain, TL, Jonathan and …. Todd Wellemeyer
Todd got 11 starts and had a 5.61 ERA.
June 26 a kids from AAA came up to replace Wellemeyer and got 18 starts and then 3 starts in the post-season.
Not claiming these are all parallels to today but an example of how things change during the season.
Cain will start as #5 but he will not stay if he cannot win.
Yes…but we did that LAST year with him. Games in April and May count, too. And I wonder if Peavy and Cain routinely blowing up the first couple of months had an effect on how bad the bullpen ended up being…and how Bum and Cueto seemed to run out of gas in July. It’s all connected.
If my memory serves, Wellemeyer was more of a time-out for Bumgarner, who was expected to claim that fifth spot in 2010 after making his debut in September 2009. Bum got married that offseason and came to camp out of shape.
Maybe that is the back story.
I just looked at the stats and game logs.
Dropping Cain for Blach is at another level in several ways versus dumping Wellemeyer for Bum.. It does make you wish guys can admit to themselves that their careers are over and graciously step down. I have to think Cain is facing that in the opening two months of this season. But rightfully so he is taking one last try at his Comeback that has never come back.
Bum and Cueto ran out of gas because they were throwing way too much early in the season. Bochy was like a kid with a new toy. They and Smarge pitched so much early in the season that the total number of bullpen innings wasn’t the problem. The bullpen was just too old.
What’s frustrating to me sometimes is the apparent double standard.
Someone like Cain can toss a few stink bombs, but then cobble together 3-4 competent innings and that guarantees him more starts.
For Ty Blach’s of the world its the opposite. They might have multiple good starts in a row, but then if they run into some bad innings “well, maybe they need a tune up in Sacramento”. Its got to be frustrating for the young guys- knowing that you need to string together a run of perfection in order to stick around, while Matt Cain can show the occasional flashback and that guarantees him a permanent spot.
I don’t think Blach’s arbitration-eligible “clock” has started yet, so this decision may be as easy as “All things being equal (Cain and Blach’s performance), we’re paying Cain and will use him…while also keeping Blach control intact for another year”.
The question is how long Cain will stay in the rotation. How long will it take the Giants to make the decision to pull Cain? Because there is no indication that Cain will recognize his stuff isn’t fine.
That could be a MyCainGuyEnd™ in itself.
How long will they go with Matt if he does not have his stuff?
I even see three clear starts he gets to open the season as #5 and then the doggers come into town and Cainer might feel a strain somewhere and Blach rides into town to move the doggers down?
Haak, I’m not pulling for Cain “to regain his old performance level and be a Giant for years to come.” Cain’s current contract has a vesting player option worth $21 MILLION! for 2018. The option gets activated if he meets specific performance standards in 2017. It’s not just the money. Cain is the weak link in the rotation.
Where do you draw a line?
If Cain has an ERA of 3.50, 175 IP and goes 13-7 do you keep him? Or how good does he have to be? Maybe there is a middle road of re-signing him at a lower pay if they give him an extension? 3 years at $15M?
Can you expect to win when he takes the mound? If you can, he’s worth keeping. If you can’t, he’s been a great Giant and you have to say goodbye. What his real value is will depend on how he does, of course, but if he went, as you suggest, 13-7, I would think that he would be very valuable.
I was speculating on what “Good Matt” would look like to me. As usual with baseball we do have to put a stat on it and sometimes that keeps us objective.
ClutchUp often reminds us, rightly so, that the Giants coaching staff is a team that consults before all decisions, both in game and roster. Bruce asks Raggs and Gardy if a certain guy looks good. He asks Wotus if Nunez is OK for 3rd base, etc.
But this Hernandez signing has resulted in my familiar facial tics. So did the Rollins signing. The Beckham signing….
Is this coaching staff nothing more than The Reince Preibus All Stars? Yes men? “We agree, Bruce….Smith looked bad against that one guy…let’s YANK him”…”No, Law is too immature…let’s go with Hernandez”
ARGHHHHHHH
First of all, how would you know if Clutch has insider information on how the Giants conduct internal business? How would anyone on this blog. And I’m asking not to be a jerk, but really, no one hear has the inside knowledge to ANY of this. It’s all just talk and conjecture in the end.
I also think that the recent signings are just to have bodies around. The Giants have seen injuries slow their momentum the past few seasons, having to search for bodies to plug in (as when Panik went out last year). It does not mean these payers HAVE to or WILL be on the team.
It could also mean, and hear me out, that the team does not have enough farm talent ready to help the big team. There is talent but at the lower level of the minors, maybe a couple of years away. They may need these veterans to jump in and help.
No need to read too much into it.
I think there are about 87 bodies set to be in camp…they don’t need any more.
The issue to me is that Evans is acting like Bruce’s crack dealer. You tempt Bruce, and we know what happens,
As for ClutchUp, he HAS coached more and at a higher level than any of us. He has contacts with the organization that would give him more inside knowledge than us…I’m not saying he is in team meetings. But: he’s like George Clooney – he knows a guy that knows a guy
O K
Cue The Oracle
The Bochy-Evans dynamic is at the very least interesting. If you’re Bobby Evans you have to of been frustrated with the way some of your moves were utilized last year. Will Smith being the most obvious one, or shuffling Nunez further down the order. Wonder if Bruce and Evans didn’t go through some couples therapy in the offseason, and this slew of vet signings is Evans olive branch.
It did seem pretty clear that Smith was Evans’ choice and Bochy was determined to avoid using him in any important situations no matter what the options or consequences were.
How can he remind us of something he really knows nothing about?
Way to stay in complete character Malloy.
The Giants have a history of signing veterans and coming up with a nugget or two…when other teams wouldn’t even consider signing the guys.
I know some of you fear Bochy is being given more veterans to block younger players, but I wouldn’t worry about that until the team breaks camp (and these names somehow end up in SF). In the mean time, just look at these signings as a Flea Market excursion and maybe they’ll find someone that can miraculously help the Giants’ 2017 quest to get back to the WS.
I know. Trust issues.
Sports teams are like romantic attachments. I love the Warriors and they’re fun to watch, but I’m not over what happened last June. I love the Giants and always will, but I’m not over what a disappointment the second half of 2016 (and the playoffs) were.
I’ll see what I can do to get Bochy, Kerr, and you some group counseling :-))
Had you had the honor or detriment of ‘playing’ on a real tough team (some kind of team) growing up – it would now be ingrained in your professorial DNA.
However for those of us that it is – it is a double-X’d sword. One that I wish I did not have on occasion. Whichever MY teams have been down through the years – Youth – HS – College – Coaching – As a Fan – I have never left rooting for them because of some disappointment or bad actor on the roster.
If teams played only against themselves vs others trying to accomplish the same thing as “my” team – and they did bad things – had bad actors on the team and were essentially only scrimmaging each other – than – YES – I would never get over anything.
OK, anyone know the ins and outs of 40-man rosters?
Here’s my question. Andrew Suarez is now listed on the Giants’ 40-man roster. I don’t remember him being added to the roster back in November when the others were, and there’s no real reason why he should be–he was only drafted in 2015, so they don’t need to protect him from Rule 5 yet. He’s not listed as a non-roster invitee with guys like Duggar and Slater and Arroyo and Beede.
The “Transactions” section of the roster says he was “assigned to the San Francisco Giants” on Feb. 1. Does anyone know what that means?
http://m.giants.mlb.com/sf/roster/transactions/
The Cardinals’ top pitching prospect, Alex Reyes, is out for the season. Sounds like TJ surgery.
http://www.mlbdailydish.com/2017/2/14/14613332/cardinals-alex-reyes-injury-tommy-john
Wow. That is a big blow to them. He sure looked like the real deal in his big league stint last year.
Yep. Really big blow.
Not to sound like a vulture, but they got anything we need? We seem to have a surplus of major league ready starters. Not studs like Reyes, of course, but serviceable.
Piscotty. Never happen, but a fan can dream…
I second THAT emotion, tf.
I like the way your thinking.
I’ve stated that the starters in AAA who are getting older and don’t have an opportunity on this team may start looking extremely attractive to teams who need starters.
This is terrible news Dr. Lefty. No one wants to hear about their star pitchers having a “silent spring” because of Tommy John. Scout was of the mind that Reyes should be the #1 overall, top stud prospect, because he has true ace potential. But you know the story about pitching prospects and the massive inherent risk they carry. I sincerely hope that your fellows on the farm, Beede and Blach, are in good health and that their UCL’s have structural integrity.
Best wishes.
The ‘Stros #1 prospect worries me more. Will he hold up for this season and get them over the top?
Mr. Haak, I have heard that Frances Martes is a top notch prospect; ranked #29 overall by John Sickels. While on one hand it is exciting to imagine the potential of the best hurlers in the minor leagues, the utter volatility and injury risk must be balanced on the other. Perhaps a pitcher that doesn’t rely on high velocity, like Ty Blach, but rather relies on command of the zone, has a better chance of avoiding significant injury and is less volatile.
I thought the same positive thought with Non-Fire-Baller-Blach but suspect that breaking balls put their own kind of strain on body parts.
Rough year so far and I have three friends in various stages of cancer and chemo.
How is your mom?
Did you like my “Reince Preibus All Stars” quip?!
I must confess that I did not see this. Assuredly it was a funny remark as you are undoubtedly blessed with a keen mind for comedy. While comedy avails to our need to feel lighter and to act as an antidote to the insidious forces that are larger than ourselves, it is important that we not become overly distracted while engaging in the lampoons of the very agents of the insidious forces which degrade the liberty of our society and the viability of the planet which we call home. To this end, laughter, like all antidotes, is best in moderation. We must be ever vigilant and prepared for action, we must be ever ready to find common cause with the diversity of life on planet earth.
We’re all going to be OK. Not sure you needed to be as ready over the Daschle fiasco in ’09. Don’t fall for the chaos headlines. It isn’t as bad as you think.
Holy Horseradish, Rachel, that was a heap of horseradish, if I ever heard one.
Agreed. I’m always bummed to hear about a young guy going through this, no matter what team he’s on.
Rachel, glad to hear from you. Spring was a Silent in your absence.
Seeing the picture of Cody Ross back in a Giants uni as a special instructor brings back some warm and fuzzies. Despite his short stint as a Giant he was one of the biggest reasons the first title was brought home to SF. He’ll always be one of my favorite Giants regardless of the fact that his regular season contributions were relatively minimal.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/616783a0fee47d98d696f8b2540af3c0db506487368488429176b788d215154a.jpg
Wonder if they are talking about the “9th” ?
This is craving a Caption https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8a27472071652c9f5035d5311e6c4fa98cf872ac8655a86308f2a40ca28f4e49.jpg
Holy Mackerel – Nothing Wrong Here!
It may be official. Derek Law IS related to the Jim Nabors Family. (Hello Gomer)
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/019600aa967fe7090fbaf9e980f548087dd3d5538767fcd51c5befd087e5b5ea.jpg
No, he has too much Cool in him.
Did you see his MoonWalk at Fanfest?
Different gene pool.
Long Lost Cousin perhaps. Gomer Pyle was dorky. Jim Nabors was also cool.
Hunterpence is officially Weird. In a good way.
I KNEW it. I knew this David Hernandez thing was no good. From Alex’s piece:
“Any time you can get an experienced pitcher with his stuff, now he’s definitely in the picture as we start to make up this bullpen,” Bochy said. “We lost half the bullpen or close to it with Casilla and Javi and Romo. David is a guy that’s been around. He has great stuff and he could be part of this bullpen now.”
“…a guy who’s been around.”–and there you have it. Alex goes on to say that it’s not so bad to have talented young arms in AAA, but again, who are we talking about? The only righty with options is Law.
On one hand, Evans make statements that seem to express polite disapproval with the way Bochy handled things last season. On the other hand, there are the acquisitions of guys like Hernandez, which play right into Bochy’s weakness for veterans. It makes we wonder how the power is divided within the organization. Yes, Evans has the title of GM, but Sabean, close friend of Bochy, is still there as well, and no doubt wields significant power.
Yes , seems Evans is not doing what he said he was going to do in his year ending press conference last year, give his young players a chance to help the team, why develop players and then not use them .
…..”no doubt wields significant power.”
How would you know?
He’s “Executive Vice-President of Baseball Operations” and has been involved in running the team for two decades, most of that time as GM. Do you think he just sits in his office, working on the Jumble?
Never mind – your right hand man answered before you. I will friend you on your Facebook Account so you can feel better now that you and Mr. Johnson quoted the same phrase – EVPBO.
I don’t have a Facebook, but I appreciate the offer.
He is above the GM, he got upgraded upstairs, Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations .
Maybe Since DH is from the Sacto area – he will volunteer to cut the grass at the Rivercats Park.
Also maybe there is a secret contest among MLB GM’s to see who can sign (only sign) the most ML pitching castoffs.
Let’s not get our panties all in a twist till we see how things play out come opening day. Hernandez is simply a cheap insurance option and I am sure Bochy’s quote is motivational and not to be taken literally… At least I hope so.
Did you just make the suggestion of going Commando?
I think he’s warning of the discomfort of pantyknots.
There is a national preference or so I am told….
“High tops or Low tops” ?
There are guys on here who would not hesitate to say: “Let’s not get our panties all in a twist” to the top woman commenter/reporter (for years) on this blog. I never thought you would be one of them.
It’s not necessarily a sexist comment. Some men wear panties as well. In fact, our own Scout Foothills Ryan Finch came out as Rachel this week.
It’s a repulsive thing to say, to anybody.
Maybe they will be the first team to carry 14 pitchers. They have someone to pitch the ninth now, but that would allow Bochy to use 4 pitchers in the 7th and 4 more pitchers in the 8th to bridge the gap.
The move struck me as a little odd but I was relieved to read Bochy say he’s viewed as more of a 7th inning guy than a set up. So he’ll be competing with Gearrin, for the most part. Let it shake out. Now excuse me while I untwist my thong.
Un-knot your knickers?
Un-bunch my crabs?
A 7th inning guy? Don’t the Giants have 4 or 5 of those already?
Considering the struggles of our pen last year, I don’t think throwing another arm into the competition is a bad thing. But I understand the start of ST is a time for everyone to be alarmed about everything.
I view it the other way around. The struggles of the pen last year were to a large extent the product of Bochy insisting on going with old pitchers who didn’t have it any more, and Hernandez may just give him another excuse to do this.
While we all got insanely frustrated with Bochy and his use of the pen last year, he’s been a virtuoso in that regard pretty much throughout his career. I don’t see the addition of Hernandez upsetting the Pennant-winning applecart. But, again, if we want to go straight to Defcon-4 because of this move, go right ahead. I love TWG at D-4.
I was wondering what dates you will be at ST?
I will be there March 23-25.
I’m there the first week of March.
Thanks … somehow TWG has good coverage at ST then. Be sure to send in some observations.
Bingo.
Except that Kontos is already signed for $1.75 mil this year. He’s not going anywhere. Gearrin is signed for $1.05 mil.–I suppose they could eat that if they were really that fired up about Hernandez, but the only guy who could be optioned to AAA to make room for Hernandez is Law. Strickland, Kontos, or Gearrin would have to go through waivers and the Giants would probably lose them.
What Bochy says in public should be ignored. We all should all know that. We have years of evidence to back that up. This guy makes the team if Bochy carries like 17 pitchers.
Very Affeldt-like, maybe it’s related to being a KC pitcher:
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/18685525/brian-flynn-kansas-city-royals-injured-falling-barn-roof
I am more excited about Ellis Burks than SSory_doc
http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2017/2/14/14613012/san-francisco-giants-spring-training-cody-ross-ellis-burks
I dreamed Pence was made chairman of the NSC. He was asked to bring the biggest bat he has.
KD’s Mom http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/02/14/kevin-durants-mom-fires-back-at-thunder-fans/
Klay’s Dad tweeted that if KD is a cupcake, he wants a dozen to go!
BTW…it shows how tight this team is (including KD), when he chuckled in the post-game interview…after hearing Steph and Draymond came out wearing the Cupcake T-Shirts.
The ‘axe handle bat’ seems to be drawing some interest after Mookie Betts with the Red Sox switched and just exploded above the expectations.
http://www.hardballtimes.com/the-case-for-human-intelligence/
I wasn’t even aware they were MLB legal. It does force hitters to use “opposing palms” when swinging and prevents regression to something else by the less-dedicated.
I really thought they were used as a training aid only. It didn’t seem to ripple the tradition waters all that much, I guess.
It seems a big deal for the few hitters who’ve tried it.
Bochy repeated today what Lefty said right after the Super Bowl:
“It seems like when the Super Bowl ends that that’s the trigger of, ‘We’re on. For a manager you’re always thinking about things, but that’s where you say ‘it’s our time.’”
More David H
http://aroundthefoghorn.com/2017/02/14/san-francisco-giants-david-hernandez-brought-fold/
He hardly competes with his BB/9
Yeah — he was good in 2011 and 2012. A 1.5 WHIP in 2016 for a reliever is awful. Also BB’s in front of HRs are deadly.
He is just a minor league signing and should likely stay that way unless there are injuries. The wildcard is that Bochy may think it is still 2012 and want him on the 25 man roster.
So he walks a lot of guys and gives up a lot of homers. I can see why they spent all winter pursuing him and why Bochy is so excited about getting him.
“That’s the Ticket” – Now we’re tawkin.
You could make it into a Jeopardy Question
Well it’s started, the weird Afeldt injuries… a Royal’s pitch fell through his barn roof, a Braves SS got a chicken bone stuck in his throat. Jobu is in transit.
What kind of an idiotic thing is this for Bobby Evans to say? I’m so disappointed in the Giants’ leadership right now. This is what he said to Gary and Larry on KNBR about Parker and Williamson. Just horrible.
“Yeah, I don’t know that I want both of them to be on this club,” Evans said. “I really would rather one guy take the job and then maybe one of the veteran guys or other non-roster invites to manage so that he’s the second part to the puzzle. In the case of Williamson, he can go down to Triple-A. If Williamson makes the club as the every day guy, then Parker would either have to make the club and be a backup — not necessarily a platoon but a backup — or you’d have to put him through waivers and I don’t see him getting through waivers. I really need him to step up and make this club.”
http://www.knbr.com/2017/02/14/evans-on-williamson-and-parker-i-dont-know-that-i-want-both-of-them-to-be-on-this-club/
It’s all Bochy’s doing.
What isn’t?
The price of pork bellys?
Seriously–WHAT kind of thing is that to say?! What if Parker and Williamson are both raking and look great in spring training? What if they’re the best two guys for those outfield spots? It sounds like Evans is actively rooting against them. Homegrown guys who’ve been in the system for years, and he’d rather Justin Ruggiano or whoever beat them out?
Hey, I thought Evans as an innocent bystander, not the boss.
You need to Maintain your equilibrium so that your March Trip to Scottsdale is enlightening.
And what is the over / under drinking game as to how many times you’ve said: I’m so disappointed in the Giants’ leadership right now….”
This is not about me. This is about Evans’s horrible quote. I really feel sorry for Mac and Parker. Their own GM is rooting for one of them to fail and openly musing about Mac going to AAA or Parker being waived. They haven’t even reported to camp yet. Shame on him.
I think he’s saying only one of them makes the 25-man. I think I agree. I hope it’s Mac. I’m over Parker.
I am sure Bobby is quivering since you deemed his quote horrible and you used the shame word. Maybe Evans will get sanctioned by the top of the top brass if you continue to objectify all his comments so far this spring. As a very Christian man I am sure he’d be interested in constructive criticism that was not punitive in nature.
Oh, yes, I’m sure Bobby won’t sleep tonight. 🙂
Not sure what bothers you?
Odd phrase of “I don’t know…” But then he goes on to say what he wants them to be.
He is pointing out that Mac has options and Parker does not.
He does reject the platoon idea and that is good.
Neither of them have played much CF so that is the veteran part I would think.
I don’t see what’s wrong with one of them being the everyday LF and the other being one of the backup OFs. Gorkys or Ruggiano could be the other backup OF, since both can play CF. Mac can play either corner just fine and Parker has played all three OF positions.
It was the “I don’t know…” statement that I was objecting to. It’s negative and makes it sound like he’s not pulling for them. I’m fine with an open competition among those two guys, Gorkys, and the guys they’ve signed.
But I think it’s a shame that Evans keeps saying things that make it sound like he’s playing favorites (the Cain comment) or that he’s made up his mind. Let it play out, and keep your preferences to yourself for now. I just think it has to be awfully discouraging for guys like Blach, Parker, and Williamson to read quotes from the GM that he’s rooting against them and for someone else. It doesn’t seem fair.
Not only fair. For the chemistry of the team POV it is STUPID.
All he should say is that spring training is starting, we have a lot of guys competing for spots, and may the best man win.
That would certainly make it easier to hang it on Bochy, whatever ‘it’ came along.
Exactly.
Maybe he’s not sure Mac is a man yet…?
It’s not the best public statement (and should not have been), but… each of these guys needs to know from the gitgo that the dynamic is different this year and Mac is going to have to step up and take the spot or… death in Sacto Town and that Jared needs to make the team or he goes somewhere else (where he’ll likely thrive). Not much difference from last year. I think Bobby talks too much.
I’m not sure what “the dynamic is different this year” means in this case. Last year the “dynamic” was that Span and Pagan played everyday and Parker and Williamson were on the bench or in the minors. Williamson went back and forth from AAA five(!) times last year.
Considering that Pence hasn’t been able to stay on the field since 2014 and that he’s already nursing an injury before position players have even reported, I especially don’t want to hear about putting Parker through waivers or wasting Mac’s season like they did last year by jerking him around so that he never gets steady playing time anywhere. It’s very shortsighted. You need these guys ready to go when there are injuries.
The Giants told us all winter that the reason they didn’t sign or trade for a LF is that Parker and Williamson deserved a chance. Now Evans is saying he only wants one of them?
‘The dynamic is different’ in this context means ‘Pagan isn’t here’. That doesn’t seem complicated.
Did anybody sign him?
“Yeah, I don’t know that I want both of them [Mac Williamson and Jarrett Parker] to be on this club.” What?!
Bobby Evans position with the Giants…and your opinion on what he said aside…I don’t want both of them on this club, either. One of them needs to win this job and the other needs to be demoted or traded (if it’s Parker that loses out). It does neither of them any good if they both tread water and get platooned.
This has been my position on this LF competition for quite some time. As others on this blog and in the press have stated…the LFer may not even be on the roster yet, so there’s that too.
Count me shocked. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a GM throw player(s) under the bus like that. Before they even report to camp. Nice touch, Booby.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzPXozDgvYs
David Hernandez has a frigging minor league deal and this guy has almost no chance of making the team unless about 3 guys die between now and early April. There are better things to bitch about- and one thing is for sure- we’ll all be doing it. See- I’m rounding into form early, bitching about the bitching.
Are you hardball bitcher?
I was bitching right out of the womb. The doctor had to slap me 6 times to get me to shut the hell up.
Some say I was an alarmist, but the proof is in the pudding, and the puddingheads.
Hey, you are now talking to Chicken Licken, Rachel.
You’re gonna be just fine. We’re all gonna be just fine. Hang in there
Kellyanne to Michael Flynn yesterday afternoon:
“You’re gonna be just fine. We’re all gonna be just fine. Hang in there”
Barack to Tom Daschle in ’09
“You’re gonna be just fine….”😜
You really do think that this the same thing, don’t you?
I think there are serious early issues in this admin…but I find the absolute focus on things like this, and the deportations that are screamed with banners across the media while there was total silence by those same during the past 8 years is an example of the ridiculous hysteria that folks are buying into way too much. Do you think all the dangerous lies from the prior SOS are somehow less dangerous? I don’t . We will never agree on this, and we need to be cool with it. I am if you are…but Mr. Drama …wait…Ms.? Can’t keep up with the names… whatever.
You have buried your head so far in the swamp that you really can’t see what’s going on. You must not even follow what nearly every intelligence officer from past Republican and Democrat administrations are telling us- our country’s national security has been compromised by the Trump administration. And it’s not just that his group are dangerous, they are also incompetent, and that makes these clowns even more dangerous. Any comparison with ANY prior administration is asinine. Nice talking to you. It’s the last time.
my issue is not that terrible isn’t happening…it’s that it happened for the last 20 years, and you ignored it until this guy got in. You don’t think national security wasn’t compromised in the last administration? Constantly? You don’t think mass unfair deportations weren’t occurring? You don’t think innocents were being killed by drones? You don’t think – even though you were tired of hearing it – private servers, Benghazi, the Iran deal, etc…weren’t dangerous?
My point is that it isn’t any worse than before, but the media is finally butt hurt. So, they are finally reporting it. Trump is an uncontrolled fool. But anyone who thinks we’ve been such an honorable, safe, kind nation before hasn’t been watching
Incompetence is putting a nice face on it.
They are virtually all ‘so-called’ – it’s a frightening situation when a dunce like Mike Pence is hoped-for solution.
I won’t change a single guy like Scout for a gazillion guys like you. NEVER.
Tomorrow’s NYT may shake that opinion. What a mess.
Because the NYT is the great predictor of societies future! As bad as DJT is, they are in lock step of zaniness.
Well, might as well mute the alarm until more water (or pudding) passes under the bridge. If anybody shoots themselves in the foot, you can un-mute. More likely is Fearless Leader or his minions will shoot themselves in the mouth. You’ll want to be ready and not tire before any possible storm. Just have your gear packed. For now, just move along.
“….unless three guys die”….
Note: Every ML Clubhouse now has 5 Defib’s close by for such cases.
Does Bochy pack heat?
He’s thinking about it.
Just like Deer Hunter…”3 bullets”
More like The Deerslayer.
Did you see that movie? Great DeNiro scene….disturbing stuff…” three bullets!! Three bullets!”
My nice Boss Move of the Day: I let my best Account Manager work from home so she and her bf could go do this today https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/12453003109985a316d7e8f3467fd410d58baeb3711f46bacfa73d38502d576b.jpg
Why are all your photos sideways? Is it you or the software?
Eff if I know..That’s what you’re here for, Mr. Fix It!!!!
You can rotate your photos with practically any Photo Editing Software. PAINT is included with all Microsoft operating systems, I’m sure that Apple has a program, too. Google has
https://photos.google.com
It works on Macs and PCs, or you can get an app for your phone.
Thanks Techie!
If you screw anything up, don’t call me. I’m a hardware man, for software help, call a nerdy slappy twerp.
It really is not the fact that we don’t know how to post photos. Something is often amiss with this stupid Disqus app. and their procedures. I successfully rotated Matt’s photo and then tried to re-post it below his photo. Disqus rotated it again. I cancelled that post and went through the process 5 more times. After the first time, it refused to accept any attempt to repost that photo. It’s not as simple as you might think. I’ve done the same substitution several times. This time nothing would work.
I loathe Disqus.
I just made a suggestion . I don’t post photos here . Have you tried shrinking a photo? Or checking out Disqus forums? Or looking at it with your head rotated? 3 more suggestions, free of charge.
Both the Cubs championship and the orientation of this photo make me want to hurl.
The quid pro quo must be free beers at Wrigley May 22-25?
Great stuff there, GG! As always!
GNight all. Sleep well. Donald is protecting you.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/14/opinion/the-missing-pieces-in-the-flynn-story.html?_r=0
And even after ST starts we *still* have regular posters violating GG’s request to keep politics out of our blog. Well, at least one anyway.
The claim to keep out politics from sport is a political act par excellence, usually used by conservative and right-wing politicians to avoid discussions that would put them in difficulty and which would disclose their responsibilities in a specific social situation.
Well, then I am a committee of one. If GG has a problem with it, he can contact me, ban me, whatever he wants to do. In any case, it’s none of your frigging business.
Count me on your side, Mike. A committee of TWO.
It’s beyond politics now.
Way.
I think GG should create a new website called “Together We Hate Trump” where everyone could go to post links about Giants baseball!
Now, that was truly Sarcastic. Well done.
It’s beginning to seem more like real life than (party) politics. This is no longer simple politics.
(CNN)”Republican Sen. Roy Blunt, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, on Tuesday called for an exhaustive investigation into connections between President Donald Trump and Russia and said the Intelligence Committee should immediately speak with former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.”
Wow. That dude is not exactly Sam Ervin.
It is official , baseball season is on, MLB.com sent me my bill for MLBTV!!!!
Yeah, me too.
Me three. I was looking for my link to archived games. We should still have access to all 2016 games, at least regular season, through MLB-TV archives, I think.
Add me to that list
TWG Spring Training Scout Schedule … Updated but please correct this as needed.
Feb. 20-23 … Cabbie and Bapah
March 1-7 … RobDeer
March 10-12 … DrLefty
March 23-25 … HaakAway & Sons
March 26-28 … JustPeachy
Uh-oh, Just Peachy is going to Scottsdale, all the players wives just booked flights too, gotta keep eyes on their men!
March 10-14…standardstarboard
Thanks for the information.
I suspect you and Lefty have compared notes.
Take some of your cold-brew coffee with you and let her sample the best coffee on earth.
I have been on this blog and its predecessor since, I think, 2008. Clutch Up might correct me. He is the only one who remains from the time when there were usually about 30 comments here. Baggerly let me post essays about everything to my hearts content. Some commenters said that was why they visited.
This is my last post here. A lady tried to have me banned from here a while ago for some frivolous reason. Dgg, bless her heart, came to my defense saying I had done nothing wrong. The lady, confronted by an adult, did what any child would do. She lied. She said I had called her a fascist. I had never called her a name in our long relationship, and she knew it.
I didn’t know what to do. I am old, 86, facing my 42nd chemotherapy, being harassed by the DMV, and then this came up. I finally decided to do this, post my final comment here and move over to Baggerly. Almost everyone is welcome to join me. I still have more stories to tell.
I didn’t lie. You absolutely did call me a fascist and you absolutely did say I had suggested/supported violence against Trump supporters. When I pushed back, you said that I deserved to be “called out” for what I’d (according to you) promoted. Several other commenters jumped in and said they never remembered me saying anything like that, ever. One even went back through my comments for the previous couple of months.
That said, I did not “try to have you banned.” I didn’t email GG tattling on you (I’ve never done that about anything to anyone, for the record). If you want to leave the blog, fine, but don’t do it on my account. I can co-exist with you.
I am many things, some good and some bad, but a liar is not one of them.
Walter has posted that citizens should be able to shoot gang members on sight.
A non-response is the best condemnation of ridiculous statements like that about gang members. But that is just my choice.
I hope things like links with one sentence [your parting NYTimes link] are tolerated here. You did not belabor the point and it is merely an option that requires someone to choose to read it. Seems pretty harmless to me.
Haak, I agree.
I also think counterpoints (if done in adult fashion) are harmless. Not sure everyone agrees, because counterpoints are when most of the vitriolic responses emerge in my experience
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbwcI2oeIoA
Pauvracito!
Very, very interesting piece by Baggarly on last year’s bullpen train wreck and how it might affect this year’s approach. The reference to “last year’s consternation and constant meetings about bullpen roles” is telling.
Baggarly’s take seems to paint Bochy as being a bit conflicted: he knows things didn’t work last year, he knows the relievers were unhappy, he’s sort of committed to changing things this year, but he also seems to be reserving the right to backtrack.
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/02/14/bruce-bochy-confident-giants-bullpen-has-the-pieces-but-how-far-will-his-trust-go/
Evans gave him the deck chairs…Bruce needs to set them up, and leave them alone for awhile
I always thought last year’s bullpen problems were a chicken/egg thing. Bochy didn’t trust the younger guys so they were pitching scared so he didn’t trust them.
In other words, what Evans needs to tell Bochy is “trust the process” and let these guys pitch a full inning.
That’s a start, from the Bay area media point of view , even hinting Bochy is not a God , that is, sick of him getting a pass by the Bay area media, the problem was mostly him last year .
It’s pretty clear that Bochy has ‘his guys’- those that he trusts, and that, contrary to what might be happening on the field, he’s prone to give lots and lots of rope to. Its an approach that works out just fine when his guys are kicking ass, as they did much of the first part of the decade, but once there were problems, he simply didn’t know how to adjust.
I’m no Joe Maddon super-fan, but this is one area where to me he is successful because of how quickly he adapts. Do you think Bochy in a million years downgrades Arrieta when he was struggling the way Maddon did? Not a chance. Maybe its all those years in Tampa Bay where he didn’t have to deal with veteran egos and what not.
Some people get lots of rope, some get zero. If you’re Denard Span and you go 1-for-50 the first week or two of September, you just kept getting written in on top of the lineup. If you’re Mac Williamson and you strike out while pinch-hitting in your first AB in a week, well, it’s back to the bench or the minors for you.
If you’re Santiago Casilla and you keep serving up HRs to Jake Lamb, you get to pitch to him in September. If you’re Derek Law and you give up a seeing-eye grounder for a single, you get the hook.
Pardon the expression, ‘fkn-a.’
Maddon adjusted because Hendricks and Lester were pitching incredibly well. It doesn’t require a lot of nerve to upgrade someone who’s leading the league in ERA.
Maddon had a saying: “don’t be a freaking fan”. Meaning he didn’t care about salary, stature or seniority. Only results. Bochy needs a dose of this.
I think the bullpen will be fine this year. In fact I’ll think they’ll be one of the strengths. The Giants added a critical piece to the pen (Melancon) and then had addition by subtraction. Let’s face it, Lopez was downright awful last year. He was a great Giant critical to the three championships and he’ll be a great broadcaster but he needed to go. While Romo was ok for the most part, I think Law is substantially better at this stage. Also having a full year of Smith will be a huge help too. IMO Strickland is more of a 7th, occasional 8th inning guy, he’s not a true high leverage guy because he doesn’t have the movement, secondary pitches and most importantly the temperament to handle high leverage late inning spots. But I think Strickland can be very productive as a 7th inning guy with three better RPs behind him to bail him out if he gets into trouble.
I’m probably a bit too optimistic on the pen this year but I think it will be a good pen. I think Gearrin and Okert could also be very helpful pieces as well. And, the pressure should be off of Osich. The Giants have their top LHRP locked and ready so maybe now Osich can relax a bit. His stuff is nasty if he throws enough strikes. So, we’ll see, but I don’t have anywhere near the concerns about the pen that many others have. I have as many or more concerns about the offense and it’s incessant need to string together multiple hits if they’re going to score. The second half bullpen collapse was painful, but the anemic offense was just as painful IMO.
I’m very optimistic about the bullpen, too, for the same reasons: the addition of Melancon and the addition-by-subtraction, allowing other guys to step up and have better defined roles. At least we hope so.
There’s a lot of depth, too, as I mentioned yesterday–with 25 pitchers on the 40-man roster, the Giants have additional options beyond the obvious ones, if someone’s injured or falters. They can always use guys like Suarez, Blach, or Stratton out of the bullpen if there isn’t room for them in the rotation.
It isn’t just addition by subtraction, it’s another year of maturity for the young guys.
Yes, good point.
A full year of Will Smith will be a big plus, especially if Bochy will let him pitch an entire inning. He struggled a bit early, and Bochy pigeonholed him into the LOOGY role. Give him a shot to fill the Affeldt role.
The bullpen situation this year is going to be completely different from last year, and not just because of Melancon. Casilla and Romo were much better against righties than lefties. Lopez was also but that was a fluke and Bochy used him as he traditionally has, as an anti-lefty specialist. Osich had a significant role as an anti-lefty specialist in the first half of the season. This was part of the reason for Bochy’s constant switching. Now Casilla, Romo, and Lopez are gone, Osich probably won’t have much of role, and other than Strickland the relievers have very little in the way of platoon splits. Relievers will generally be in for an inning at a time.
This is a ridiculously cute video of Brandon Crawford bringing his little girls roses for Valentine’s Day–so cute, in fact, that MLB.com picked it up.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQgg4ZpD30S/
Nice touch with the little dog in its sweater in the background too. Lol.
I’m heartened that pitchers, catchers, and a bunch of hard working position dudes reported…mostly because this blog needs baseball in the worst way.
TGISP
Brisbee has a poll on the Gints’ offseason:
http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2017/2/14/14527274/sf-giants-offseason-grade
(I really fail to understand why Nuñez always gets thrown under the bus. Until his oblique he hit very well, ran the bases like a bat-out-of-hell, and was a pleasant surprise @ 3B. With a cannon. So why is he not the third baseman in 2017?)
I don’t get it either. After his early hiccups his defense was spectacular. He’s one of the few dynamic athletes the Giants have with game changing speed. He has power. So, I’m not sure why many people are down on Nunez. Barring extremely rapid progression Arroyo is not ready IMO and Nunez is unquestionably the starting 3B. I would lead him off. But we all know a certain CF will be occupying that spot.
Oh gawd I forgot about that CFer. With the arm like a noodle.
His DRS after the ASB, was plus one.
Like that’s a real stat?
Yes it is, probably the most useful stat to measure defense. He was poor in the first half, but he improved as the season went on. Which makes sense taking into account the injury that he was still recovering from.
Numbers based on judgements and estimations aren’t truly statistics.
The ever reliable “eye test stat” works, as well. Anyway, DRS was the “stat” used to measure his defense when it was subpar, so it’s fair to use it when he improved,
The Arm ,will never improve, and giving up 90 extra feet to base runners eventually leads to giving up lots of extra runs .
“giving up 90 extra feet to base runners ”
Prove that.
I think you watched enough last year to see the merry-go-round reaction to base runners when balls were hit to him…he has a waffle arm. I don’t think anyone is personally against the guy…and he DID improve in the second half. But….he can’t throw. Can. Not . Throw
Worse than Mickey Rivers. Also Johnny Damon, who (as you know), threw like the Virgin Mary.
Mary would like a word…
Hay-zoos Kristos, the league ran wild on him. Do you have a stat for that?
That’s not true.
Actually,Nunez fits best in the 6 slot.
I’m not all that picky about it so long as he’s the starting 3B and in the lineup nearly every day. I just want to make sure the leadoff spot, whoever occupies it, is more productive than last year.
Well, since Span will be leading off, we can only hope he will be better. I think that he will. But we’ll see soon enough. As to Nunez, I’m a huge fan.
It’s pretty cleat to me that they should abolish the lead-off spot altogether. That would quell the debate.
Not on a team that used Denard Span as a lead off hitter.
Nunez’s speed fits better in the 6. I hope I don’t need to explain that to you. And the 6 is a good RBI slot.
Feel free to explain it to me, but please try to avoid the use of words with multiple syllables. If you could draw a picture, that would be great. I’m really interested to find why you wouldn’t want a legitimate base stealing threat at the top of your lineup.
He needs to be in an RBI slot, and in the 6, his SB abilty gives the 7 and 8 hitters a much better shot at driving in a run.
http://content.mycutegraphics.com/graphics/reading/kid-reading-a-big-book.png
And to think how baseball got it so wrong for all those years. Henderson, Brock and Wills should’ve all batted sixth.
Now we are doing comps with HOFers? I gave you two valid reasons why Nunez would be better in the 6, but If Span doesn’t do well in the 1, I have no problem if Bochy gives Nunez a try at it.
It’s like arguing with a knot hole, just send him to the contact numbers and leave it there.
Thanks for asking; I did not follow that either.
I see a SB useful there but also it is ruled out when the #8 hitter is up with two outs; it invites the INT BB so they get the pitcher instead.
Good point.
I could explain it more but this is less about Nunez than it is about the fact that once a whipping boy always a whipping boy. Span was recovering from an injury and as I said, he was better as the year wore on.If you prefer to forget about the base stealing issue in the 6, the RBI potential for Nunez in the 6 more than justifies using him there.Span in the 9 and Nunez in the 1 also works. Do we an explanation for that one?
I suspect Bochy knows Span was feeling better and playing better in the end and will keep him in the #1 spot.
Nunez likes to swing; Span has the better eye.
I think both are being placed in the batting order mostly based on that.
So, Nuñez won’t do in the lead-off, because Durwood Span was a ‘whipping boy.’
Makes sense.
I told you why that Nunez should bat 6th.
That would be, “guffaw.”
I agree. He has too much power to lead off. It doesn’t make sense.
I agree and I never understood why he wasn’t leading off after they traded for him. In fact, I assumed that was one of the reasons they did trade for him, because Span wasn’t great in the leadoff spot.
(And yes, I know Span was better overall in the second half and in the postseason, but the fact remains that out of the leadoff spot, Span wasn’t very good last year: In 129 plate appearances leading off a game, he went .200/.287/.313/.600. Nunez led off 77 games, I assume mostly with the Twins, and hit .276 with an .812 OPS. That’s not setting the house on fire, but it’s better than Span did, and Nunez had 40 stolen bases to Span’s 12.)
Out of curiosity what are the odds of Span improving on last year? There’s hope that he was recovering from hip surgery last year and will get better this year. But, holy hell, if he *doesn’t* improve on last year Bochy *has* to platoon him at some point, right? RIGHT?! I mean he was bad last year. 637 PAs, slugged .381 and got caught stealing in 7 of his 19 attempts. The Giants cannot afford to have a leadoff hitter perform that poorly next year. They just can’t.
Well, Bochy DID platoon him at the end of the season and even in the playoffs (with Gorkys Hernandez). Then there’s him being a defensive liability, too. Hopefully if Mac gets the LF job, the effect will be lessened. Having Span AND Pagan out there every day was brutal. Teams started taking extra bases in spring training and never stopped. Gruesome.
Could Span do better this year? Sure, it’s possible. It was a down year for him compared to most of his career. On the other hand, he’s about to turn 33, and it is what it is.
It’s what it was.
I’m not expecting great things from Span this year. On the basis of what we saw last year I’d be happy to see him platooning with Hernandez. He was pretty decent against righties, hit .289, OBP .353, slugging .428, that isn’t bad at all.
People seem to expecting a lot from Gorkys. His history doesn’t really support those expectations. He looked good last year and we all hope that will continue.
We just like saying ‘Gorkys’. It’s fun.
Alek Gorkys is a Russian Council of Ministers member………..not really.
He had 39.5% hard-hit balls last year. That’s Kris Bryant territory. It may have been a fluke that he hit the ball hard so often, but it wasn’t a fluke where they landed, in fact he was unlucky.
He was fine in his short stay here. But he is a .205 hitter in about 200 AB’S. Not exactly Kris Bryant territory.I hope that he’s just a late bloomer but 54 ABs last year is hardly enough to be counting on him to be a major contributor.
I’m not very optimistic about his hitting either. But (1) It’s more encouraging that he really hit the ball well in a limited number of ABs than it would be if he hit badly and the ball happened to find holes, (2) he really does look capable of being an above-average defensive center-fielder, and (3) my expectations for center-field are in any case pretty low.
Yep. Honestly, I’d be happy if Ruggiano made the team. He can play CF (has started 160 major league games there) and he actually hits lefties well (just ask Bumgarner) and has some power. Gorkys was great defensively in a small sample, but as you said, “history doesn’t support” higher expectations, especially at the plate.
And we’re stuck with Span’s contract for the next two years.
A problem with Nunez leading off was that when they got him IIRC he had more homers that anyone else on the team.
Correct- Nunez should be in a good RBI slot.
It seemed like he was a .300 hitter when SFG got him and he was never anything near a .300 hitter after he arrived. He had early defensive problems, and he struck out a lot. His defense improved.
Nunez was getting lucky on BABIP in the first half of the season and then got quite unlucky on ?BABIP after the Giants got him. Plus he went from a hitters’ park to a pitchers’ park. Overall he was pretty much the same with the Twins and the Giants. I like him but I also like Gillaspie.
He was also trying to learn a new league.
Target Field is not a hitters park under any stretch of the imagination. It would probably be worse than AT&T if AT&T didn’t have the asinine triples alley that’s about 800 ft. in right center. That said, the BABIP analysis I’m sure was a factor in his second half numbers.
Baggarly’s tweeted bullpen videos…which are being filmed in the bushes…are kind of creeping me out. Gives me an impression that he’s had previous experience taking videos in bushes…if you know what I mean. :-/
He doesn’t have bullpen access or something?
I had the same thought: What’s he doing filming through the bushes?
First time you noticed this, I thought you had great memory, those bullpen mounds are hard to get to, this is a yearly ritual .
I have a great memory but I don’t always notice stuff. If I notice it, I remember it. 🙂
Hank and Alex also have had video on those same mounds, The main field does not have enough mounds, so they go to the back fields with multiple mounds, and they are not as open to the public .
Thanks.
Every year he does this, and other beat reporters as well, do not have access to those mounds in back .
OK…slightly less creepy now 🙂
“Hey, Josh….want some candy?”
Alex filmed the same bullpen session yesterday with Bumgarner and Melancon throwing. There was a fence in the foreground but no bushes.
I saw that…and it started my “this is creepy” feeling. 🙂
I saw Baggarly’s video first, then I went to Alex’s twitter timeline to see if had filmed a video. In Alex’s video, you could clearly see the two pitchers pitching.
Alex must have better equipment, maybe a zoom lense .
You’re probably right, Peter.
Question, does a zoom lense have… common sense?
I thought he was French
And a stool
Well aren’t we all sort of watching from the bushes?
Some call that “lurking”. I prefer to think it as “auditing the conversation.”
OK, Children. It’s time for all to play nice. We’re a family and there’s no reason to give up before the season starts. Some will probably decide to take a break, but when the season starts we all need to come back all wearing the same Uni.
as long as it isn’t those ChiSox ones with coulottes , I’m in
He right, let’s see if we can’t take those hair triggers to the barber, no need for reactionary knee-jerk BS. “It’s just as easy to remember winning as it is losing.”
“It’s time for all to play nice”
Do you have a really good reason for that?
I guess Jimmy Rollins will be taking over the entire infield. I’m not enthused about this. At all.
Andrew Beggarly 2hr ago:
Rollins said he made the wrong decision to sign w/White Sox over Giants last year. Eager to get work at 3B/2B in addition to SS.
He has to make the team first. And if he can’t play all 3 positions, he won’t make the make the team. They can’t carry a reserve infielder who can only play one position.
Give us your tired, your old, your aching right-handers.
Span is left handed, so please stop discriminating
Proposed 30-Second Replay Time Limit Under Review
http://www.closecallsports.com/2017/02/proposed-30-second-replay-time-limit.html
I don’t know why Mafred is so freaked out about game length…I mean, Weiss DID get fired, after all.
But Bochy, Girardi and Maddon are still managing their teams…..
New Post: http://fe0.84e.myftpupload.com/2017-giants-offseason-news/dominican-republic-to-face-team-usa-in-world-baseball-classic-first-round/
For those of you who are complety down on Span, remember that in game 3 of the nlds, when Bumgarner had given up a 3-run homer to Arrieta and the Giants were down 2-0 in games and 3-0 in the game, Span is the one who kept them in the game with a double and a triple off Arrieta and two runs scored, setting up the 8-inning comeback, and he got 2 more hits in game 4 (and a run and RBI). If the Giants had held on on the 9th inning of the 4th game and won the 5th, Span would have been the one who led the comeback.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJNguru0qzI