Weekend Wrap: A Series Win Over the Red Sox the Hard Way

Jul 31, 2023 | 2023 Season, Latest Post, Weekend Wrap

by
Johnny Black
Happy Monday, Giants fans. Yes, it is a happy day. The Giants won a brutally frustrating and difficult game and series thanks to a Joc Pederson single in the bottom of the 11th inning against the Red Sox yesterday.

It was a good day, despite a strange series of wasted opportunities in which the Giants left men on base, hit into very hard luck with balls right at Red Sox defenders, and were playing short-handed. How beautifully, I mean BEAUTIFULLY ironic that the Giants beat the RED SAWX from BAHSTON on a hard smash through a drawn-in infield. It was kind of poetic justice

I do not want to go into the entire game because my golf buddies are literally texting me angry faces. I am late for my tee time. However, I want to mention that Ross Stripling pitched great. Yes, read that right. He pitched really well, with a curve and a slider on the black and on the parts of the strike zone that did not find Boston bats. He was beautiful. that’s our keyword of the day.

MEMO to Farhan: Trade Stripling now that his stock is as high as it has ever been as a GIANT!!!!!

Saturday’s Game

J. D. did this:


and that was all she wrote for the Red Sox!!!!
I hate it when the opposing team’s fans are louder than the Giants fans. I literally heard more “Let’s go Red Sox” chants on the radio broadcast than chants by the good guys. It burns my bagel. Come on Giants fans! Speak Up! Cheer up!

Player Psychological Profiles Based on Walk-Up Songs

The Giants releases a list of walk-up songs.

Happy Birthday Gabe Kapler

Brandon Crawford started a nice double play.

Anthony Desclafani Back to the IL

 

Hmmmm. My first thought is to say “That’s not good folks”. But, maybe, must maybe the Giants will spring a deal at the deadline for a new pitcher or free up space in the rotation for some young arms to get a real chance (not just one or two starts) at succeeding. Think Keaton Winn or Kyle Harrison. The Giants pitching rotation, the starters, that is, are at a cross roads. We could say that it is no small feat for the Giants to be in this position at this point of the season with a two-man pitching rotation. We could say that. Yes, we could.

Black Monday Weekend Wrap

So, I took a hard look at the standings in the National League yesterday and discovered this: The NL is now getting more and more mean. I mean this: the teams are regressing to the mean (see Dodgers and DBacks) and teams are progressing to the mean (see Cubs, Phillies, Marlins). The Giants are now somewhere in between the third-best record in the Senior Circuit at 58-48, good for second place and two games behind the struggling Dodgers.

Teams that started out in disastrous fashion are now making a late season surge while teams with early leads are now going through some funk. The Giants have held tight and are in decent shape in the standings despite all the injuries and lack of offensive power. The Giants have the second fewest runs scored in the ML in the past 30 days. They have one of the lowest OPS and many other sad sack stats for the past six weeks. Despite it all they are at a respectable place in the standings and in good shape for a playoff run. The question is how long can they win with smoke, mirrors, and a great bullpen?

Will a trade deadline deal be made today? I don’t see Zaidi making any big splash moves for the simple fact that impact players require too big an asking price and the Giants are not going for any more Kris Bryant rental deals. I see the best hope for the team in a push of new blood in the rotation and Casey Schmitt getting out of his slump, which he appears to be doing. I see Luciano and Matos maturing in front of our eyes and the rest of the team playing ok. If anyone gets dealt from the Giants I think it will be Wilmer Flores. That’s just my guess.

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