by
Greek Giant
“I thought it was his best stuff of the year, by a pretty wide margin.”
-Bob Melvin on Justin Verlander’s performance in yesterday’s 13-0 loss to Philadelphia
The good news about yesterday’s 13-0 shellacking of the Giants at the hands of the Philadelphians? There was none. But, to find a silver lining I checked the other scores and saw that the Dodgers lost again!. So there’s that. Plus, let’s remember that the Giants stole the series win against the Phillies thanks to Patrick Bailey’s immortal inside-the-parker on Tuesday night. Yesterday’s 13-0 loss was a bit deceptive. I watched most of the game, from the beginning up to the sixth inning when motorcycle maintenance was calling my name and I came away with three observations: Justin Verlander pitched well enough to win, again, this game was winnable for the Giants, until it wasn’t, and Jesus Luzardo, the Phillies starting pitcher, looked like a Cy Young candidate after his seven innings, no runs, three hits performance. He was simply dominant and the Giants had no answer for him. In fact, the matchup of Luzardo versus Verlander was a mismatch but one we can only realize while it is happening. Coming into the game Luzardo had an ERA of over 4.50 and appeared to be beatable, if you check his numbers. But numbers don’t tell the full story of a player’s ability or luck. Just ask Justin Verlander.
Soooo
This all means that Verlander’s losing streak and winless streak as a Giant are in tact. I know that for many current fans and afficionados of baseball wins and losses for a pitcher’s record are meaningless. This is not the case for me. They mean something. I also guarantee you this is not the case for actual, you know, real life Major League pitchers who take the mound: They want their wins and they matter, a whole lot. The Verlander situation is a strange one because he does deserve better. The Giants have coughed up three games when he was winning. Plus, like yesterday, the Giants defense has failed him. To make matters even worse, the run support the Giants have provided Verlander, has been a problem, a recurring issue and it is time for a heart-to-heart talk between Verlander/Melvin and the rest of the Giants squad. At the beginning of the season I was for DFA’ing Verlander, the future First Ballot Hall of Famer. Now I have changed my mind. I watched him pitch yesterday and his stuff is good enough for a fifth starter. It’s just that when your defense fails you, like yesterday, and your team does not score runs for you, like yesterday AND you face a top notch, dominant pitching performance, like yesterday… well, you get results, like yesterday’s.
I have written many times before that the Commissioner needs to step in and change the rules so that no player other than a pitcher can ever take the mound, except in an emergency when all other resources are exhausted. Watching position players pitch in blowouts is a travesty to the game and puts such player in harm’s way. It’s not what fans came to see. I would much rather see a player get some needed innings, work, and experience in a blowout than the debacle we saw in yesterday’s game. It’s just terrible. Shame on Melvin for doing it.
The Giants are off today.
The Dodgers come to town tomorrow night for a three-game series before the All Star Break.
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