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Greek Giant
This also could have been called: “Rock the Vogt Day” but the story was Johnny Cueto’s successful return and win against the Pirates, who by the way, are one of the best hitting teams on the road. Senor Johnny Beisbol was outstanding in his return from Tommy John surgery, taking command of the strike zone, mixing speeds on the same pitches, locating curveballs, changeups and shimmyballs… and basically being Johnny Cueto.
“That’s my game. Every time I pitch I just want to have fun.”
Johnny Cueto returned to the mound at Oracle Park for the first time in 2019 on Tuesday. At the end of a 13-month recovery process, Cueto and the #SFGiants had fun.https://t.co/iNDl5T8y9j
— Kerry Crowley (@KO_Crowley) September 11, 2019
The final Cueto line of five innings pitched, one walk, one hit, ZERO runs and and four strikeouts is impressive in itself. What adds to the warm and fuzzy glow of Dia de Cueto was the weak contact the Giant righty initiated when he was not getting swings and misses. His swagger is back too and this makes for one impressive debut, exceeding the expectations of even the most optimistic Giants fans and coaches I would imagine.
Rock the Vogt
Now about Steven Vogt. Forget his positive, serene and upbeat nature. Forget his maturity on the field and his ability to handle a pitching staff. Steven Vogt has proven himself to be a valuable piece of this Giants team. Last night Mr. Vogt had himself a ballgame with a home run and a two-run single, driving in four and getting two hits while also scoring two runs.
Interestingly, Shaun Anderson picked up the save after a rocky eighth inning that saw the Pirates plate four runs and make things a little too interesting.
Mauricio Dubon lead off and went 2-4 with a run himself. This was the prototypical Giants championship baseball victory and it was much needed with the Giants floundering at Willie Mays Field in recent games.
The Box
Giants Scouting Department Shake-Up
In other news the Giants announced a major shake-up in their scouting department, firing or not renewing contracts on eight of their 20-person team. This is one of the key components of regime change in baseball and it marks an important step for Farhan Zaidi as he searches for a new manager and a General Manager, both of which should be announced by November.
Farahn Zaidi’s comments about upgrades and more emphasis on scouting in the Arizona Fall League and the Dominican League were especially interesting.
We Shall Never Forget
Today marks the 18th anniversary of a national tragedy.
We shall not forget. pic.twitter.com/HH9OCGkmyb
— MLB (@MLB) September 11, 2019