by
Dr Lefty
Today’s Game: Twins (32-26) at Giants (25-39), 1:05 p.m. at AT & T Park
Nik Turley (0-0, — ERA) vs. Matt Cain (3-5, 4.87 ERA)
So what can we say about this game today, this series, and this season? Yesterday’s game was typical: a starting pitcher is OK, not great, not terrible–and it’s not enough. The offense musters a few scoring opportunities–and the run-producing part of the order can’t cash them in. The opposing pitcher looks like the sure Cy Young winner for his league. Yep. Check, check, check. If you really want to look at the box score, here it is.
Oh, there was a splash hit. Those are kind of fun. With this one, Brandon Belt ties Pablo Sandoval for #2 on the all-time list with 7 (only 28 behind Bonds!). The photo above is of the iconic McCovey Cove Dave, who retrieved Belt’s ball yesterday.
And Jeff Samardzija deserves some credit for what he’s accomplishing. Yes, the two long balls killed him, but his strikeout-walk ratio since the beginning of May is epic and getting national writers’ attention now. (Peter Gammons of ESPN had a feature on him yesterday, but I can’t link it due to the paywall.) Yesterday’s start was another one: 6 strikeouts to only 1 walk, and a WHIP of under 1 (4 H, 1 BB) in his 6 innings.
I was texting with Greek Giant this morning about blog business and he asked me:
What are we going to do about the Giants?
I said, only half-jokingly:
They should let TWG run the team.
So: as a thought experiment, I’m letting you all run the team. Give us your best shot. Pick ONE (1) thing you would do, either immediately, at the trade deadline, or before next season, to “fix” the Giants. I’ll set a low bar for “fix,” too–you don’t have to get them to the 2018 World Series, but you have to at least get them competitive and interesting, not boring, flat, and frustrating to watch. Pick the most important thing, not low-hanging fruit like “DFA Gorkys Hernandez” or “Don’t pick up Matt Cain’s 2018 option.” Those things are very likely happening anyway.
If you’re looking for ideas (or a reality check), here’s some food for thought from Jerry Crasnik of ESPN.com. It’s kind of depressing, though.
Here are the lineups. Hey–Kelby! Hey–still Aaron Hill!
Breckeroni says it’s amazing Pachulia didn’t get a flagrant foul after actually connecting with a Cavs’ player’s crotch.
Unlike Green a year ago. Considering Green never connected.
One thing???? Genie, my one thing is 10 more things
I figured if we crowd-sourced it, we could come up with quite a list.
Draft like the wind is what they can do. My Giants draft primer:
Those primo picks are reserved for the failed teams the year before. Giants looking to cash in next year. For somebody at the top of the draft this year, the 2 way stud from Louisville is intriguing. Brenday McCay is a southpaw with 90-94 and a 1B that hit .343 with 17 HRs. Can he maintain both at the MLB caliber of play?
As for the Giants this year, I think they have to go with the best college bat available. Don’t be tempted to grab the next Tyler Beede, don’t do it. Get a bat that can be here in 2 years. There could be the HS OFer from Puerto Rico or the HS catcher from Georgia, but sooner seems better with Posey, Crawford and Bum where they are.
So who could be the next Giant?
Outfielder seems preferable, but the ideal guy whose skill set encompasses both sides of play may not be there. Dig these possibilities that may or may not be around when Giants pick (they are not anticipated to go in Top 10):
I think Evan White 1B/OF out of Kentucky is the guy that fits best and could really be a killer pick (does have good amount of helium). He batted .368/.450/.627 with 9 HRs this year, his JR season. His athleticism is highly touted, could be a premium 1B or a very solid corner OF. Power is not his calling card, but a 6-3 21 y.o. should have plenty of room for growth. Scouts really like his right handed level swing – could have plenty of gap power and RH bats play better at AT&T.
The best collegiate bat, Keston Hiura out of UC Irvine (Anteaters!), has some elbow issues that may necessitate surgergy, although he is getting some platelet/plasma work done. But Hiura can hit (RH) : .442/.567/.693 with 24 doubles and 8 Homers. Geez, talk about tough out. Probably not much defensively, and LF would be the spot for him, but if the elbow gets healed or surgically repaired, he could still be banging in MLB in 2.5 years.
Jake Burger has been connected to the Giants via the rumor mill. I gather he’s not the best bodied 3B you’ll see, but scouts believe he can get it done with quick step and strong arm. Some have drawn Hunter Pence parallel with lack of swing orthodoxy, but gets it done with strong man stroke. Righty hitter hit ..332/.445/.656 with 22 HRs for Missouri State. This is the power bat the Giants are looking for. Deal with 3B glut later. Heck, Arroyo could move to 2B.
Here is the typical Giants pick, a collegiate SS, from UNC, Logan Warmouth (RH) hit .336/.404/.554 with 10 HR and 18/21 SBs for Tarheels. I can see this pick happening. They trust their instincts with middle infielders and he seems Giants solid.
Another name seen in a mock draft to the Giants that would require some droppage would be Pavin Smith, 1B Virginia (L-L). He hit .342/.427/.570 with 13 big flies for the Cavaliers.
Some names to keep in mind on draft day. Round two, I say they need to look at catching prospects or more outfielders! Here are some catching names:
http://www.minorleagueball….
Adams or Whatley are the collegiates of interest and Campusano is the HS talent with the buzz.
Make it a draft to remember Bobby Evans and Co, this could be your last!
Trade Cueto, Melancon, and Nunez for the best young outfielder they can get. Don’t even think about getting yet another infielder. I don’t care if the Giants are better at identifying good infielders than identifying good outfielders, at some point they have to actually get outfielders. Hire someone who can identify good outfielders if necessary.
Nat’s Glover blew a save, 3 run lead variety, yesterday. The more of those the better. They need Melancon, they need Melancon…
Giants sure as heck don’t
Hopefully they won’t notice that he’s been lousy.
I’ll drive him to the airport. Heck, I’ll drive their moving truck across country.
Need Melancon even more now since Glover just went on the DL.
I’ll go with: make the best possible trades of players who are expendable and will bring return. Nunez and Moore will bring meaningful players in return.
Our vaunted infield: do not trade Crawford or Panik. Keep Belt all season, get his numbers back where they belong, and see what he will bring.
Here’s mine: Cut every washed-up veteran and journeyman on the roster and play younger guys for the rest of the season. That both takes a look at possible talent for the future and provides some immediate interest for the fans.
Sorry, Bobby, but no one wants to pay $100 for tickets, $40 for parking, $20 for a crab sandwich, and $16 for a beer to go watch Aaron Hill. Or even Mike Morse.
I forgot to put Mike Morse in my diatribe, but yeah. Kind of a tough thing to do to a guy who took a head shot for his team. But he’s just in the way of the kids.
Unfortunately that means cut Pence.
And Span, I’d say.
Yes but it’s more painful to think of cutting Pence.
Way more painful. Span can be in my airport shuttle with Melancon.
Just one thing? It’s a toss up between getting rid of the entire bullpen or the entire OF between now and next season. I think there’s some salvageable bullpen parts so it’s the OF. Since the Giants haven’t had a homegrown OF of consequence since 1983, I don’t presume there’s one in their system now so that means bring in by trade and free agency. Ok, keep one or two, perhaps, if there’s some bench value. Hoping here that Will Smith comes back healthy next year and Melancon returns to his former self (I think questionable at this point). How to do this? Since I have a pathological avoidance of proposing/entertaining hypothetical trades, I won’t go there. Plus, I don’t want to generate any blowback regarding one certain player who has lots of “family” in here.
The outfield as a collective is a good pick. Saw a graphic on Twitter today of the “Wins Above Average” per team, for every position. The Giants were dead last in the majors at all three outfield positions and as an outfield unit. The bullpen actually wasn’t that bad–in the top half, I’d say.
I think I’m more peeved that rookies/younger players like Slater, Mac, and Hwang aren’t getting longer looks, and vets like Hill and Morse are being allowed to have their lack of production spoil and stink passed their expiration date.
There is no immediate interest for any team of newbie’s. DL, you are simply not an archetype of ‘the fan’.
Maybe, but consider the long list of rapidly declining or beyond players that have graced the 25-man this year. That is diametrically opposite the current trend in MLB.
You really think the fans at AT & T are excited to go watch guys like Hill, Morse, Ruggiano, Gorkys Hernandez, and Stubbs? They almost brought in Jimmy Rollins, too, and they may still bring in Melvin Upton Jr.
If I’m going to watch a bad team, I at least want to watch scrappy, energetic young guys who are fighting for a future. That’s entertaining. I still remember a game in 2008 that we went to–and that was a BAD team–where Eugenio Velez hit a walk-off to beat the Dodgers. That was fun–and I still remember it.
A big trade, such as Moore, Cueto, Belt, Nunez (or all four of them). Some OF who can play for the next three years a priority. Could we get Duffy back for Moore? Tampa might be tricked into that, since Duffy has hardly played for them.
Out with all the people who won’t be here next year (not including Cain), such as Hill and G. Hernandez and even Conor Gillaspie. In with all the kids.
That means call Arroyo or Hwang up, so that IF backups are Tomlinson and one of those two. Play the backups pretty often. One thing I approve of in this year’s thinking is more off-days. Pence to play only five times a week the rest of the season. Parker to come back up when he’s healthy, Williamson to be traded away if anyone would take him. Play Slater a lot, maybe bring Calixte back if his bat recovers in Sacramento. Or try Ruggiano again in the time before Parker gets his shot or an outfielder comes in by trade – need 5 OFers on the roster. No Hill in the OF, or the IF.
Very short term, but if Panik’s thumb won’t let him play today, put him on the DL and play a kid for the rest of the week. It would be good for Kelby’s spirits.
I’m not so good at bullpen stuff, but I like going outside for Morris and Dyson – the latter was more or less for free, but the former may be more useful. Just encourage Bochy to experiment, keep Melancon working even if non-save, and don’t ever let him have more than 12 pitchers. Strickland has outlived his usefulness in several ways, however: bye bye.
For starters, Bumgarner has to pitch a little bit, but I’d really limit his usage other than both he and the team finding out what’s left of his shoulder. Instead, in August or so, bring in Beede to get him acquainted with the big leagues.
This probably isn’t coherent, and has almost nothing about who to trade for in it. But it was cathartic to type madly.
You’re completely wrong about Strickland. He’s pitching quite well (ERA 1.99, FIP 2.51).
In spite of Casilla’s numerous failings last year, his Win Probability Added was actually not that horrendous (+0.93). Yes he had 9 blown saves but he also had 31 saves, tied for 14th in the majors. This year, on the other hand, Melancon has a negative WPA (-0.17). 8 saves vs. 3 blown saves. That’s a worse ratio than Casilla’s last year.
Before offering a solution to this underwhelming performance, I have to answer, what is the primary question. What happened last summer, at the All-Star break, to turn the winningest team in the League to the worst team (or damned near it) a few days later?
If we can answer that, perhaps a solution is maybe possible. The problem is we aren’t close enough to the players and management to be able to reasonably answer that, so we’ll have to extrapolate from performance alone and offer guesses.
I just have no idea what happened that could have made this team so good and so bad.
Pretty good question, Big B. I do think part of the first half last year was a mirage, subs in the IF playing for a brief spell over their heads. But your point is really valid.
Actually the most important move is to replace Bochy as manager. All of the suggestions we’re making are incompatible with keeping Bochy as manager. What’s the point in trading for youth when the manager refuses to play young players?
In order
FIRE EVANS!
Trade Pence, Cueto, Belt, Samarg, Nunez, Melachon, Strickland and load back up!
I like the first order….very much.
You talk like ‘loading up’ was a trip to the corner drugstore. It’s not.
Is this the article referenced above on Samardzija’s amazing strikeout/walk streak? It was posted to ESPN yesterday, in the “free” section. I was going to post it here yesterday but forgot:
Jeff Samardzija has decided to stop walking batters
Jun 10, 2017
David Schoenfield
ESPN Senior Writer
http://www.espn.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/80297/giants-jeff-samardzija-has-decided-to-stop-walking-batters
Bapah, I’ve been thinking about that (what changed after the All-Star break) a lot and I’ve come to the conclusion that there is no objective answer. Yes the Brandons cooled off after the All-Star break. Yes Bumgarner and Cueto threw too many innings earlier in the season and ran out of gas. But something else went out of the team around then, they just stopped playing like winners.
I am now considering the untestable theory that the Duffy trade was very bad for the team psychologically. It’s true that Duffy was injured before the trade and was traded after the cold streak started (2 weeks after), but maybe they would have snapped out of it faster.
The Duffy trade was just a very un-Giants thing to do. It was an emotional kick in the gut even for the fans, let alone the players. Yes, there was a reason for it, a good objective reason, but it wasn’t the kind of thing that the Giants do. Maybe it played with their heads and made them feel different and play different.
I really don’t know. I just can’t see what else it could have been. Objectively there just wasn’t that much of a change in the quality of the team. Something else changed.
You like stats a lot. Perhaps, a meta-analysis of these same stats may offer a hint. I’m suggesting something more than a listing of those poor stats, but finding something buried in statistics that offers a hint as to something underlying their apparent demise.
I do like stats a lot and believe me I’ve tried to figure out what happened from a statistical perspective. Bumgarner and Cueto’s ERAs went up a lot, no question about that, and I thought at the time that it was because they’d thrown so many innings earlier in the season and they were just tired. But on the other hand Span was hitting better, Moore certainly improved the rotation, Nunez was helping a lot, and Pence was back from his injuries, so you could point to positive statistical things too. If you looked at every game, it was clear that something else was going on, they were just playing like losers (until the last week of the regular season).
Sort of proves a winning team is more than the sum of its parts.
The fact that I like stats a lot doesn’t mean that I don’t recognize that they have their limitations. When I look at something like this and the stats don’t explain it, I recognize that the answer must be elsewhere.
I’m not knowledgeable in statistics, but I have witnessed things learned from the meta-analysis of data and statistics that showed things not apparent by other means.
Well believe me I’ve tried. There have been general Giants’ statistical trends over the years, for example swinging at fewer pitches, but they didn’t show a significant change over the course of last year from the first half of the season to the second half.
I loved Duffy. Great team player. I wholeheartedly believe that trade did hurt the team. They should’ve never given up on him because of knowledge of an impending foot injury, or a need to bolster starting pitching. He was one of those guys that you rarely find these days. A gamer. Willing to do anything to win. You never trade guys like Matt Duffy. The Duffy Curse is real.
The only problem with that is the timing. Perhaps it was more punctuation than causal.
I just didn’t like the message it sent. Dude fights through all kinds of bias being a low round draft pick, not a blue blood, and becomes a ROY runner-up. So you trade that? I think there’s some lingering bitterness in that dugout bc of that trade. How do you trade a runner up ROY starting 3B? An infield cornerstone? Terrible move.
Maybe, but even though we were slumping badly we were still in contention and we desperately needed another starter. Moore was highly rated with team control for multiple seasons. We all hated losing Duffy but we wouldn’t have been in the postseason without Moore.
At the time of the trade the situation wasn’t so dire. It got worse in the next month and a half.
Maybe, but in the long-term in practice, and team-psyche, it was a bad trade. Duffy was a rare breed and was a solid teammate. Jettisoning him just was a really bad idea.
And was reassured the day before the trade that he wouldn’t be traded. And then was traded ( this is according to both Evans and Duffy)
That speaks volumes. I think much of this nosedive has been attributable to Bochy, and whatever he has lost managing-wise, or an inability to change his philosophy with a changing team. But, now, more than ever, I’m starting to see why you think much of this is on Evans.
Poorly handled, no doubt. I was a huge Duffy fan, especially after he won the Willie Mac as a rookie. If you’re dyed in the wool Giants fans like most here, you know that has significant meaning. I hated seeing him go.
That being said, we had NONE chance of postseason play if we didn’t add a legit middle of the rotation guy, and Moore is that. The fact Duffy began to break down made it a good trade and simultaneously broke my heart.
This probably was a factor in the decline of the second half, but we had already been playing poor baseball, and looking bad doing it, for more than two weeks.
I miss Duffy, and we should trade Moore. Oh, the irony.
There’s no Santa! I can’t go on.
Try harder. That one was weak
As is trying to blame their record on the emotional devastation of the Duffy trade.
My God, our selective comprehension is as brutally bad as your “facts” claims.
The cold streak started July 15 and Duffy was traded August 1. they played 15 games during that time and won 4. That’s pretty bad but it is only 15 games (they’d had a 1-8 streak in April and snapped out of it), they could have turned it around and in past years they DID turned it around in similar situations. We all expected them to snap out of it but they didn’t, it just went on and on, basically until the last week of the season.
I’m not suggesting it’s a curse, I’m suggesting that it took a big hit on the team psychologically.
In those days we were all in a panic over the fact that 2 of 5 starts were Cain (much worse than this year) and Peavy and shouting that management should do something about it. But they could have promoted Blach faster, and any case, you can win a World Series with lousy 4/5 starters.
What smelled to me even more was the idea that they were doing it because they had the idea that Arroyo was going to be the 3rd baseman so Duffy was expendable. It was crazy. Duffy was the #23 everyday player in the major leagues in WAR in 2015 and one of the best defensive 3rd basemen in the major leagues, and you trade him because of a 21-year-old kid who doesn’t even play 3rd base?
i suspect a few of the players saw it for what it was, just plain dumb.
Totally stupid. They had a true team core with Duffy in that dugout.
I wouldn’t call it dumb. From an objective and rational point of view, it wasn’t dumb. It was if anything over-calculated. It was insensitive to the spirit of the team.
I do think trading a runner-up ROY starting 3B is absolutely dumb. His defense was getting borderline elite. This from a guy that never really played 3B. Shows his baseball acumen. Who knows what else he would’ve rapidly learned on the job? You don’t trade guys like that.
But look, in practice you can’t say objectively that the trade hurt the Giants. Duffy hasn’t even been playing. It’s the psychological impact that I’m talking about.
I understand what you’re saying, but I do believe it’s both. In practice and mentally. The only way I can see it not hurting the Giants in practice is in the fact that he hasn’t played due to injury. But Moore hasn’t lived up to expectations at all. Too inconsistent. Trading Duffy was way too short-sighted.
What has happened post trade isn’t germaine, IMO, to player perception at the time of the trade. They aren’t third party observers. A team like the Giants is all psychological. IMO, if one believes that for years this team hasn’t been playing above its talent on paper, I suspect that person is not be reasonable.
In the postseason obviously it has. The question is why.
Correct. Duffy was tough as nails too. Who knows how long he was playing with a bad foot. Actually, scoring from 2nd base on a WP in an LCS game to tie it in late innings before his rookie season? That sold me, pal.
They interviewed Duffy in a Fangraphs article about is approach to hitting, and those were not the thoughts and insights of some dopey joe, but someone who had a real clue about the sweet science. Anyone who wants to search it up will be surprised, IMO, about the content.
Absolutely had serious baseball instincts and a sharp mind. You just don’t trade that.
I think it had more to do with Skeeter than Duffy.
#TheCurseofSkeeter
Watch out. TO condescendingly ridiculed me when I stated here that I thought the Duffy trade left some kind of mark of undetermined level. But, perhaps he did that to me because of his level of personal obsession.
The idea to me is this: whether you’re a multimillionaire or minimum wage, you do build relationships through the years. Evans either “changed his mind” or “lied” to Duffy according to both men’s first hand accounts of the trade deadline discussions. Losing a coworker AND finding out management “misled” that coworker will have some effect.
However, there are MANY other factors, and to me they include:
1) 2016 early season results were fools gold…the team wasn’t as good as the record showed
2) injuries
3) Bochy’s bullpen mismanagement AND bullpen pitchers underperforming
4) this offseason and the thought that the outfield could survive with really old guys and really unproven old-young guys
5) this offseason and thinking Hill, Rollins, Ruggiano, Morse were legitimate answers
6) Will Smith
7) roster aging…another season, one day closer to death
There are other reasons. These are my Hot Mess List leaders
(1)–The team wasn’t as good as they played in the first half of 2016 but they aren’t nearly as bad they played in the second half of 2016 or this year. Something other than quality has changed.
(2) and (6)–They actually had more injuries when they were playing well last year than when they were playing badly. Smith and Bumgarner being out is a problem but let’s face it, it’s the hitting which has been disastrous.
(3)–The bullpen wasn’t that terrific in the first half of 2016 either, and they added on Smith in the second half.
(4), (5), and (7)–yes but something pushed them over the edge. They didn’t suddenly age faster.
I know you pointed to the subs playing better than the injured starters they replaced…it’s my opinion that those were unsustainable samples. Grant Green was going the way of the Dodo Hicks, and so on.
As for aging, there doesn’t have to be “something” beyond natural order to push any player towards obsolescence. We all age at different rates, and any specific issue can have profound effects. For instance: Pence.
To me, Pence must not have great eyesight. His recognition is weak. He used to overcome it with raw physical dominance. But his aging body doesn’t allow that physicality to hide his pitch recognition weakness any longer.
Span: injuries to both upper and lower body has robbed him of speed and strength. He battles, and has moments. But he looks old and plays old.
Posey : power comes from legs. Legs for catchers tend to weaken. He’s a special case because of having one of those legs destroyed. He came back amazingly well. When it rains, my left ankle aches…it didn’t for the first few years after my injury…so, Posey may well be having delayed onset injury issues.
Guesses, but just for thought and discussion
Presumably Green was unsustainable but who knows what would have happened if Williamson and Parker had been kept around? The whole mentality was wrong, especially with an aging team.
Yes, they are as bad. This hasn’t been a trick.
But do you really think with their roster talent, they are worst team in baseball bad? I don’t think they have that bad a team, personnel wise. Payroll is 4th in the league? Not sure on that, but it is close. Definitely not as poorly as they have played since the AS Break last year. If they were this bad, how did they, saving a complete bullpen meltdown in Game 4 of the LDS last year, nearly push the Cubs, the World Champions, to an elimination game?
I don’t think they have that much talent, and nearly all of the better players may have already had their best seasons. Span isn’t what he once was, and Pence has fallen off dramatically. Crawford will likely never match the season he had two years ago and Panik doesn’t appear to be the hitter everyone thought he was. Belt has been a .240 hitter for almost a full season now. Posey has hit for average, but he can’t carry a team. They’re so lacking in talent that Gorkys has been on the roster all season. The bullpen is nothing like it was in the glory years. It’s just a bad team.
Fair enough. Bad OF, bad bullpen. Those are two major glaring spots. But I can’t get past the notion that the rest of em really aren’t playing for much. There is a mental approach to this, and I think this is more the issue. In past championship years, there wasn’t really an overall talent superiority thing going on Obviously this isn’t a championship team, roster wise, but they’re also not the worst team in baseball type.
It’s been this way since the start of the season. They’re not playing for much because that’s where their play has taken them.
I would say it’s been this way since the AS Break last season, and the horrible W-L dating back to then supports this. And they had plenty to play for then. But didn’t. That’s where I disagree.
Here’s some food for thought:
Aaron Judge, who is likely to win the AL ROY and MVP this year, hit .179 (15-84) last year with 4HR and 10RBIs.
And he started 2-for-15 at the plate this season. Yanks stuck with him. Now he’s batting .332 (68-205) with 19HR & 44RBIs
Note to Giants: Stick with Slater, and give Mac a legitimate shot for the rest of the season.
I remember last year when Pence was on the DL, Mac kept the team afloat with clutch hits game after game.
Then, when Pence came back, the Giants nonsensibly optioned him back to AAA. As much as it pains me to say this, Pence is not our long-term solution at RF anymore. He’s on the DL more often than not and he’s simply…. not reliable anymore.
I agree with some of the posts below. Play the young guys everyday and let them establish themselves.
Put Slater in CF, Mac in LF or RF. Let Span and Pence to mentor them from the bench. Bring up Hwang- Giants need to make a decision on him soon. Call up Beede and have him make a start in place of either Cain or Moore. Replace Bam Bam and/or Steve Decker. Trade Nuñez and Cueto for prospects.
There are so many things that can be done to change the outlook for the rest of the season and beyond. In times like this, FO needs to be proactive, but because we have been successful and won championships before by keeping the same stubborn baseball philosophies, Evans, Sabean, Baer and Co. seem rather tentative to make a change. They need to adapt to the way successful organizations (Cubs, Dodgers, Yankees, Cardinals) are run nowadays and let go of the old approach.
Baseball is a young man’s game. Accumulate as much young talent as possible for sustainable success because it’s not too late to get back on the winning track. This team already has a core and just needs a blend of young talent just like the Dodgers have in Seager and Bellinger surrounding vets like AdGon, Justin Turner and Utley.
Bingo.
I can see a Giants outfield of Slater, Parker, Mac or Shaw, along with Span and Pence; the latter being mentors like you said.
Yeah, but everybody in the starting 8, I think, has a wOBA above the major league average. Judge is at the tip of a pretty sharp spear that can afford his learning curve. I think everybody on the Giants but Belt and Posey is below the major league average wOBA. We’re more like a wet noodle as a spear.
Following up on Hoona’s comment, this is related to the comment I made below about the Duffy trade. During the time last year that the Giants were beating everyone, they had a lot of injuries and brought in a lot of players who generally played very well, remember all of them? Then when the injuries ending, the regulars came back and the Giants who had been playing well were basically all dumped, and the team fell apart. The Plan was to go back to the regulars and dump the new guys, and they stuck with it without caring that the new guys were in fact playing better than the regulars, and not only that but in the outfield at least that would have long-term ramifications because the regulars were just plain old. The Duffy trade was just a more extreme version of this–The Plan at 3rd was Arroyo, and to managements’ thinking, Duffy was only playing 3rd base because Arroyo wasn’t ready yet. What made the whole thing even more bizarre was that Arroyo wasn’t even a 3rd baseman, but that was nevertheless The Plan.
Blog Explosion Lineup!
Alex called it the ” No Lefties”, but I think it’s the “Troll Lefty”
In the 3 hole, Aaron “The Art of Not Hitting” Hill!!!!!!!!!
I edited the post with the lineups above–if everyone refreshes, you’ll see it.
Hill batting third. They should give every fan who bought tickets for today their money back, and it ought to come out of Bochy’s salary. Hill batting third is unfair to the home crowd, and it shows Bochy doesn’t give AF. He’s not even trying.
You didn’t let me down!
Is this a “wash the car for 3 hours” day then?
He loaded up with RHB.
That lineup screams “Spring Training Split-Squad”
It screams back to basics to me. I was wondering if Posey goes behind the plate, and the pinch hit Belt at the appearance of a RHP.
Must’ve been reading my mind after I posted my comment. That’s quite possible.
LOL. Sorry for eavesdropping, but you were screaming.
No worries. I’ll whisper next time. Just frustrated with Bochy’s decisions with this lineup.
With this team, there is no rational assignment of LUs based on current performance. My guess, you load up against a RHP and see what happens. It’s a coin flip. They do have the best team speed near the top, maybe that says something to say about what options are played today. More to the point, I suspect Cain will be ‘tested’ today. The LU may frankly be irrelevant.
He’s loaded up with blanks.
Along with shitstinks, you have any other less than obvious insights.
Right. Because of the fearsome Clayton Kershaw. I mean, Nik Turley, a career minor leaguer, making his major league debut.
And we know how the Giants roll when they face a pitcher making his MLB debut.
If the Giants have never seen a pitcher, they got problems.
He had a FIP around 2 last year, and one of .42 year before. He’s been averaging 10+ K/9 for 3 years. Minor league for sure, but he jumped from a K/9 of 5-6 or so, to 12 last year. He’s added a pitch I suspect, and I’d bet it was a changeup, with the Giants luck.
From FG Fringe Five minor league assessment..
Nik Turley, LHP, Minnesota (Profile)
Last Friday, Turley appeared among the Five for the third time this year on the strength both of a strong week and very strong overall season. He appears here now because, in the meantime, he’s produced what is possibly the best start of all the minor leagues this year. Facing the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate, Turley recorded a 15:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio against 24 batters over 6.0 innings, allowing just four hits and zero runs in the process(box) .
Turley appears to continue having success when he throws his fastball at the top of the zone and curveball at the bottom of it. Both sorts of pitches are featured in what follows — namely, video footage documenting some of Gleyber Torres‘s whiffs against the very tall left-hander on Tuesday.
He’s trying all right. Trying to get canned.
It’s incompetent managing, that’s for sure. But he’s a Hall of Famer we’re told.
The key to making the Giants post-season competitive again is accepting the fact that the problems are real and significant, are part of a natural cycle, and cannot be solved by next season. Thinking otherwise will only result in making things worse.
in other words, fire Bochy ‘Don’t Accept the Fact’ Bochy.
I think the team should get younger and Bochy should go, but Bochy isn’t what makes this a bad team.
I call, BS, he will never bench a player like Pence, regardless of production, but if a young player does not hit right away he is benched are sent down .
True, but this would still be a bad team, no matter who was managing.
We don’t know how bad. One of the young players might be producing significantly if Bochy gave him a chance.
That’s some thin soup. That’s a prayer.
There’s no excuse for playing Gorkys.
If you say enough prayers, one of them will probably come true. Bochy isn’t saying any.
Plus he’s put 8th in the order and pinch-hit for if an important situation comes us.
Good call today on Pence.
I agree, but you have to start somewhere. What’s the first or most important thing you would do to start moving back in the right direction, however long it might take?
Goodbye Bochy, hopefully done in a dignified way. As I said, the problems are much larger than him, but he’s not the manager for trying to get younger.
Is that a passage from Gregg Popovich’s autobiography “You Cannot Sustain Greatness”?
So, accepting the fact that there is a problem is the first step in recovery. Check.
You ever work as a grief counselor? Not bad, not bad at all.
…uses the Ron Ermey method
I was think hospice.
I dont have an answer, b ut I don’t think it’s part of a natural cycle. Too many players on this roster SHOULD be in the primes, but can no longer compete. Why?
Dr. Lefty brought up a point below regarding fans, and their right to be upset by lineups like today.
My take is different from hers. Of course, we pay big money and want to be rewarded with “proper” entertainment. But, a manager playing a lineup of “fan preferred” or “younger” ( during a transition season, or losing season) isn’t what all fans want, and certainly not what fans are owed.
Every manager of every team ever is criticized for lineups, pitching changes and rosters. Because the Giants are playing poorly, Bochy is having a Microscope Season. He’s had quite a few of those…though not as bad a season, the team in 2010 was 49-48 and he was getting destroyed (for example)
We’re entitled, in my opinion, one thing: effort. Not results. I can be somewhat disheartened by players not starting that day, but every ticket I have every bought to every game forever is a risk I’m either willing to take…or I don’t buy them.
I’m going Wednesday. It’s a day game. I’ve been to about 15 of those in the last 5 years. Posey sits often. I’d rather see him. But, I’ve seen some random guys do amazing things in those games. It’s not a theater ticket to a repeat performance that I bought. It’s a ticket to an unwritten novel, and I immerse myself in the drama as it writes itself on the fly.
At a macro level, I want them to always build a roster to compete and win. Bit my ticket is micro level. And I know the risks
My view on this is more nuanced if the team is in contention. Sometimes the manager makes an unpopular choice because, for example, the guy he put in the lineup has good stats against the opposing pitcher. He’s trying to win the game. Or maybe someone just needs a day off because they’re dinged up or tired.
Today, though, no one has any track record against Nik Turley. And fans coming today have to watch Gorkys Hernandez, Nick Hundley, and Aaron Hill. No Belt, no Crawford, no Panik. Why? Well, Panik’s dinged up, so OK. But it’s because Bochy has a deranged obsession with starting all righties against a lefty starter. He’s been that way for years. I still remember the horrendous lineups Tim Lincecum had against Kershaw in 2011 when the two faced off something like five times. Lincecum had a 1.29 ERA vs. Kershaw’s Dodgers that year and didn’t win a single game. And OK, Kershaw’s a VERY tough lefty. But Nik Turley? The lineup gets the Kershaw treatment because of NIK TURLEY?
Bochy should be trying to get younger guys playing time, and absent those options (because Gorkys, Hill, Span, and Pence are still on the team), he should at least try to give the fans a good show. He’s not trying to win, he’s not trying to develop younger guys, and he’s not trying to provide fans with their money’s worth. He’s doing nothing. This team is not in contention, so the priorities change.
I’m with you on your last paragraph. Bochy really has nothing to lose. Play the kids. Go young. Reboot.
I agree, but the odds are that the kids aren’t very good.
BS, never will know with Bochy as Manager .
Bochy has always seen himself as removed from the success of the offense. He makes a lineup and they either hit or they don’t. It’s not his job, as he sees it, to do anything to help the offense. If the players don’t want to play aggressively or opportunistically … well, he just has to get them going. It’s never said exactly what he plans to do to get them going. It’s just supposed to happen.
That was also his attitude with the bullpen last year. He figured if he had a righty pitcher against a righty batter and a lefty pitcher against a lefty batter, then it was ‘set up’ and he had done his job. It didn’t matter if the pitchers he chose were pitching badly, it didn’t matter if they had pitched a few innings the day before, if the lefty-righty matchups were as they should be, it wasn’t his fault if things went wrong.
He is doing something. He’s making sure that young players don’t get a serious shot.
What young players?
For those of you who are saying that the Giants this year are simple a bad team, I give you the following Fangraphs article. It was written on April 24, after the Giants had gotten off to a disastrous 6-13 start and after Bumgarner’s injury. Dave Cameron, who absolutely detests the Giants, wrote, and I quote: ‘There is enough talent here to get back to 85-90 wins if some things break right.’
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-giants-shouldnt-punt-just-yet/
They’re playing like a much worse team than they actually are.
Well if Dave Cameron says so…
The Fangraphs people on this blog , are over the top .
Well if TO says so….
TO has reality on his side.
Dave Cameron hates the Giants with a passion. He’s always looking for an excuse to trash them.
That doesn’t give what he says any extra credence, and Dave himself might have a different opinion now that they’ve played an additional 45 games of bad baseball.
It gives it extra credence if it’s positive.
Lineup, all righty:
Kelby SS
Nunez 3B
Hill 2B
Posey 1B
Pence RF
Hundley C
Slater LF
Gorkys CF
Cain P
Yeah , Belt was the best hitter in Yesterdays game , and the only Lefty he has trouble with is Kershaw, when a hitter is hot do not give him a day off .
Some of that, but also Belt was about due for a day, and this gets Posey out from behind the plate. Brandons coming off the bench late could be good, too.
Whole team is off Tomorrow , Belt had a HR just missed another one, a single and a walk, he does not need a day ,In Posey’s day off Thursday in an extra inning game , he still did not PH .
Agree.
Current player use almost seems like deliberate to mute player momentum.
Hill in the 3 spot is a bad joke.
Bochy has lost what it takes to successfully manage the Giants and should be replaced.
The young talent should get experience and opportunity.
Playing (actually having them on the 25 man roster) the retreads is a waste of playing and development time and boring.
Young talent? hahahahaha.
Maybe few or even none of the current young Giants will turn out to be a serviceable starting mlb player but no one will ever know unless they are given a chance and they aren’t going to be any worse than the retreads and never weres.
You were probably all in on Calixte.
No.
Calixte is a career minor league player that is a cast off from another organization nor a Giant draftee who has moved up through the system.
Calixte has more in common with Gorkys than say Slater or Williamson or Shaw.
What young “talenr” is that? Anyone shown they could play in the big leagues. Name even 1
They get 2 starts in row at most to prove it, unless they are Arroyo a #1 pick .
When given consistent playing time last season, Williamson showed promise.
.223 in 2016. Lower this year at 161. Lifetiime .211 in the bigs. Negative WAR. Struck out 13 times in 34 ab’s this season.Hardly tearing up AAA either. That’s promise? Stange definition.
Lefty laid it all out previously. I’m not saying Williamson is necessarily the answer, but he did play pretty well when he was out there consistently. Like others, your admiration of Bochy gets in the way of objectivity.
This has nothing to do with Bochy. It has to do with performance. What does thinking that Bochy knows more baseball than all of us combined have to do with it?
Strange definition of playing well. He was 3 for his last 30 at bats in his 2017 stay– half of Hernandez’s average which isn’t exactly Babe Ruth. Plus I think 1 for September in 2016. At some point you can’t whine about not playing when you don’t produce. At what point do you say he hasnt produced? .211 lifetime average in almost 200 big league at bats.
Exactly whom should Williamson be playing instead of and at what position?
Slater? Pence? Cant pkay center so cant be be center.
I must be missing something. What young talent is sitting today?
Belt, and Pence is playing despite looking like crap yesterday .
Belt is no longer a “kid”
The kids were sent down by Bochy already, so he can play his over 30 vets .
He’s playing Slater and Tomlinson.
Wow.
We’ll never know.
You’re consistent. Dumb that is.
Regarding the claim that the Giants had to trade for Moore to make the playoffs, that really could not have been the thinking at the time. Here are the standings on August 1, 2016, the day the trade was made. Notice that the Giants were in first place by 2 games, with a cushion of 5 games for making the playoffs. They had won only 4 of their last 10 games, not great but not terrible (none of the other leading teams were better than 6-4 in their last 10 games). There was every indication that if the Giants just kept doing what they’d been doing, they’d make the playoffs without much problem. The problem wasn’t the situation the Giants were in, the problem was that they played badly for the next 7 weeks.
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/standings/index.jsp#20160801
This Duffy crap is old, the Giants were lucky to get Moore, Duffy was damaged goods and his career might be over, he does not seem to be getting healthy .
There was discussion below about the Duffy trade causing morale problems in the clubhouse.
I have another theory. The problem was and is Bochy. His mistakes have caused the players to stop trusting him. I could go on and on about the myriad ways he mishandled the team last year, but I’ll stick with just three examples, all from July when the downward spiral began.
1) Everything to do with Casilla. The other relievers were frustrated (per the beat writers) about how they were used, yet Casilla got a ridiculous, unending leash. The slide started July 15. On July 16, Casilla blew a save by absolutely imploding on the mound, ending with balking in the winning run. And it went on and on, including him blowing five saves in the first two weeks of September to knock them out of NL West contention, ending only when the fans at AT & T understandably and justifiably booed him and Bochy off the field.
2) Pulling younger, productive players for veterans, against all logic. The hallmark example of this was him pulling Williamson for Blanco at Fenway Park. Blanco was having a terrible year, Williamson was the only hot hitter on the team, and he had already hit a three-run homer in his previous AB. I was at that game, and it was like the air had been let out of a balloon. That was in late July.
3) Rushing Matt Cain back into the rotation when Suarez had been doing a nice job of filling in. Same series at Fenway. Cain had been out nearly two months with a hamstring injury and had pitched very poorly in a couple of minor league rehab starts. He gave up nine runs in four innings in an A-ball game, so Evans and Bochy decided he was ready to face the best hitting team in baseball on the road, a scant five days later. Cain lasted less than a month back in the rotation before he was benched for the duration in favor of Suarez and later Ty Blach.
Perhaps the July 31/Aug 1 trades exacerbated the situation, but I think Bochy lost the clubhouse with those kinds of moves. Players became painfully aware that he was more about seniority than merit and more about keeping the veterans’ egos soothed than winning. That would make me lose confidence in a boss, too.
I agree, but at the same time I’ll always be grateful that all of that led up to the greatest moment in Giants blog history: Casilla blowing a save by falling off the mound, immediately followed by the very angry Chris telling all of us how much his recently departed and very angry mom hated Casilla.
That was awesome. I love the visual of Chris’s mom shaking her first at Casilla from her deathbed. In my imagination, she’s cursing in Italian. It’s like a scene from The Godfather.
This is also something I’ve thought of. The question is–did Bochy start to manage significantly worse around the All-Star game last year? This goes to the second comment I made about this below (in reply to what Noona wrote), about the transition from the ‘replacements’ to the ‘regulars’ when the team got healthy. The idea would be that Bochy did this it an automatic and unthinking way which not only lost particularly games but also damaged team morale.
Yep–the team was playing well with the subs. It reminds me of 2011, when the Giants traded for Beltran and Orlando Cabrera and demoted all the young guys who’d been sparking the team (they were in first place by 4.5 games the day they traded for Beltran). The team went into an immediate tailspin and were buried by the end of August.
I agree with your three points. That was well put. And while it’s easy to side with that, as a player, at any level, you never want to use the manager as an excuse for poor performance. I understand his moves with Cassila, playing not productive vets, and rushing back Cain, were moves that cost games. I also know the lack of trust between players and manager/coaches can equate to crap performance. It permeates the clubhouse. Spoken or unspoken. I just get unsettled when players buy into it as an excuse. It’s real and I get it. And it takes a mentally tough player to overcome it. And that’s why I liked Flann there. He was a players coach who could talk to a player one on one. I’m a Bochy fan but it has become apparent he’s too patient, favors vets when they don’t produce, has made some real boneheaded moves, etc. and has other issues, like his health.
Bochy is now just 18 games over .500 for his career.
Looking up (2), that was a classic. Giants had trailed 8-0 and made a furious comeback, featuring Williamson’s 3-run HR, to make it 8-7, and loaded the bases with no outs in the 6th. Blanco (5 hits and 1 RBI in his last 34 ABs) pinch-hits for Williamson and hits into a double play, the Giants don’t score in the inning and lose 11-7.
http://www.espn.com/mlb/playbyplay?gameId=360720102
Yep, we were on vacation and at the game. It was stunning when he didn’t let Mac hit. Mac’s three-run homer was what got that seven-run rally started after Peavy had put them in that huge hole.
Regarding point (1), though, there wasn’t anyone else to take Casilla’s place as closer after the July 16 disaster. Romo had only been off the DL for 12 days. Strickland had given up 5 hits, 3 walks, and 4 runs in his last 3.1 innings (in 4 games), and he gave up another HR in the next game. Law was pitching well (aside from the June 30 game against Oakland) but it’s pretty rough to make someone a closer who’s only been in the majors for 3 months.
Interesting speculation, as long as you identify as such, and yours.
I said it was a “theory.” The facts are what they are. Anything about how the players feel is absolutely speculation.
Harsh. And spot on.
Amazing. Whatever the question the answer is It’s Bochy’s fault. He is also responsible for global warming, you know.
And for you, nothing is ever Bochy’s fault, which I find just as amazing.
Last time I looked he wasnt batting, pitching or fielding
So why do they pay anybody to be the manager, since he has the power to affect so little?
Seriously? Since according to most on this site basically every move that he makes is stupid, there are only two solutions: (1) Ask Bochy what he would do, and do the opposite or (2) leave it up to the geniuses in their living rooms–who clearly do know the right move.
True. So by the same logic, he gets zero credit for anything that’s gone well because he wasn’t batting, pitching, or fielding. Can’t have it both ways. If the players get all the blame, then the players get all the credit.
Bochy always talks about the need to “get guys going.” I didn’t see yesterday’s game but it sounds as though Belt was good, leave him in there and see if he can get hot. Crawford sitting, OK, he’s struggling terribly. Put Belt in LF and move Slater to CF, we know what Hernandez can’t and can’t do. And Hill batting third? Hahahahahaha….
Belt in LF, Slater in RF, Hernandez actually had 3 hits in his last start, Pence is awful right now .
Hey…I just noticed something….
Did Peachy and Deer elope?
You think we’d be invited to the wedding. How ’bout we give them a crockpot?
Insta-Pot.
DRUGGIE!
Oh, sorry. Had a guest post moment
Aaron Hill’s gonna get a 2 RBI hit here, and the blog will apologize to the HOF manager!
I was that close….
Gotta leave something for Buster to do…
That kid covered some ground. I thought that was a double off the bat.
As my drill sergent used to say” close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades”
RBI outs. It’s a start.
Miller said that Bochy said in his pre-game show that there was a team meeting today. Bochy wouldn’t discuss what was said other than he pointed out that some guys with good career numbers are struggling so bad now.
Buxton was quoted as saying “For Ryan!”
Aaugh!
Is ” Shut Up inning” the opposite of shut down inning?
Now we know why they are rushing Bumgarner back.
I so hope not. One of my theories of what went wrong last year was when he threw 9 innings before the All Star break and then pitched the first game of the San Diego series. Granted, it was 5 days later, but I doubt the All Star festivities were all that relaxing for him. That loss seemed to start the spiral.
I can’t even have a half inning of satisfaction???? What a season
Apparently that is quite evident.
My sis from NY just texted me ….” batting practice”
Surprisingly, she is right handed
Com’on Gorkys.
Mendoza?!?!
Atta babe Gorkys!
Mom bailed on her own kid there….?
Need to see it again in slo-mo. I thought she was giving up her back doing a body protection. I could be wrong. Happened way to fast.
Brian Dozier is drooling like a dog ….
This doesn’t look good…
Kelby, looking like a contributor.
They’re auctioning off Giants wives?!?!?! I’m bidding on Chelsea Cain.
I’m in
Doubt you could measure up
Not in bank accounts, but I’m wayyyyyy cuter
Neither one is what I was referring to.
Sick man
Good job Hundley.
Nice Slater.
I should stop to do the dishes more often: Hunter sitting on second when I got back, and promptly scored. Apparently that was Pence’s 3rd double of the season. Surely we have a lot of players who are due for an upturn towards their normals? Surely?
you would think.
Probably, not surely
Makes a pretty big difference when Pence gets a hit
Whoa we’re back without sneaking through the back door! I should do drugs more often (turns out, I do have a fractured rib).
Ouch! Get well soon.
Some kind of cyberDodger hacking has been averted by GG now.
fractured ribs are no fun but drugs are.
I had hiccups this morning and almost bit off my tongue from pain.
that doesn’t sound like fun.
Oh no, take care. What happened? Were you too upset about the giants playing that you threw yourself against your TV, or something?!
Haha, not quite. Developed a violent cough from a sinus infection a month ago and for the last couple weeks thought maybe I had just pulled a chest muscle or something, but turns out I did actually crack my rib from all the coughing. And now it hurts even more to cough. Moral of the story, don’t get a really bad sinus infection and if you do, rest as much as you can, work be damned.
Ugh, that’s awful.
It is awful! Get better quickly! And yes, if resting was that easy with work and the great sick leave policies in this country.
Thanks! I should be back to normal in another 6-8 weeks.
“I have another theory. The problem was and is Bochy. His mistakes have caused the players to stop trusting him.”
What a load of bunk. About as asinine as they were too distraught over Duffy leaving. Grown men paid millions now too upset to play up to their potential. Sophormoronic nonsense.
Umpire has the delayed called strike going. Those guys drive me nuts.
I like Slater. He’s gonna be alright.
A bit premature to say that. Arroyo was similarly annointed before he went into a hopeless tailspin
Yeah. Better sit him because he’s due to start making more outs. They need to get back to playing the proven vets…like Gorkys. Bochy knows best.
Last time I looked he was playing
But as soon as he goes 0-8, he’ll be written off by you and Bochy. This is a lost season. It may turn into several lost seasons. You’re right that the odds are against Williamson and Slater turning into competent big league regulars, but at this point it’s idiotic to play vets that have zero chance at being part of the long term solution over younger guys who might have at least a small chance.
Speak the truth Oracle!!
Surf already wrote him off after his first 8 at bats, and has been weirdly quiet about Slater since his production kicked in.
A Tailspin suggests that there was some serious altitude before the dive. It is more like he climbed to the springboard and jumped and sank.
Austin Piscotty? Stephen Slater?
Aaron Hill hitting 3rd in the majors is something only Bochy would do.
Ridiculous. Remember when Ruggiano hit fifth and was DFA’d several days later? That was just a couple weeks ago.
5 for 15 since coming off the DL and singlehandedly won two games this week. Anyone else besides Nunez and Posey doing that lately?
Still hitting .174.
dipped almost to 0.100 just after leaving the DL, so he’s doing oddly well the last few days. I am not sure if I should root for or against him?
“singlehandedly” is such a silly thing to say about a baseball player contributing to a win.
Will we see Dyson today?
Gonna see quite a bit of the bull pen before this is over. Might be smarter for Dyson to work on the side with the coaches about his issues, than toss him into the fire?
Thunder, lightning, rain and hail in my hood. This could trash some crops.
Here too. Wild. My dog doesn’t like it.
Stranding runners on 2nd & 3rd comes back to bite us. Should’ve just pinch hit for Cain.
Again, hindsight is 20/20.
Always does.
I would rather that a PH be put in for Cain too and some sort of a double switch.
Cain appears to be regressing towards what was expected by many at TWG.
This isn’t the Giants and Giants fans year.
Kontos is a human grease fire in allowing inherited runners to score.
Well there’s a surprise
You called that one correct.
Why does Kontos still get to pitch?
That is a good question. He has been horrible this year. Don’t know how many inherited runners he allowed to score this year but it has been an alarming percentage
Why are there still players batting under .200 for the season still starting games and on the team?
Aaron Judge is just hitting bombs. My lord!! He almost hit a retired Yankee number today.
Next week half of Linden will be in Oakland to watch their new favorite son Judge. Of course that only takes up a section or two.
Kontos would definitely be on the list of useless veterans the Giants should cut immediately. It’s a long list.
Top of my list
You said we could not pick “Don’t pick up Matt Cain’s 2018 option” but we’ve got to lower payroll with so many no-trade clauses in effect or rumored to be coming. Second thing I would do is trade Belt for nothing but high-ranking prospect(s).
I highly doubt they’re going to pick up the option at $21 mil next year, but they have to pay him $7.5 for the buyout, anyway–the Zito clause.
They will not pick up Matt Cain’s option, if they do his salary actually goes up, Belt gets a 13.2 Million dollar raise starting next year, he is not going to get traded he is not the problem, but at that salary he will not be a player another team would trade for with his production at a production position .
Just my $0.02 but I think Belt’s “raise” is a big problem and his production is hugely streaky. He’s going to strike out 150 times this year. One extra-team weakness is our MiLB system and we need to start shoring it up NOW.
Re-tool, re-build, re-boot, re-load, off-load, re-vamp, re-stock, resign, retire, just anything.
Bobby Evans, given the keys to the organization, shows how he can’t put together a playoff-caliber team and makes the poorest decisions.
They made the playoffs last year .
Thanks. I slept through all of last year.
Yes but he didn’t do much of anything to shore up a bullpen that was running on empty. The bullpen got them eliminated from the playoffs.
Meanwhile, Gorkys couldn’t do anything with runners at 2nd and 3rd and one out and later threw to the wrong base, costing Cain a run.
I don’t say this often, but I’d rather see Denard Span out there. Why Gorkys is on the roster, let alone gets regular playing time, is one of the stranger things about this bizarre season.
You’re fired up today.
It’s Greek Giant’s fault. He got me thinking.
He hit a shot, and has 4 hits in his last game + 2 at bats today.
In all reality, there is a very long list of players not playing up to capabilities: Moore, Cain, Cueto, Pence, Crawford, Panik, Span, Kontos, Melancon, Hill, and the injured list of Bumgarner, Gillaspie, Parker, Morse.
So, we can concentrate on a 5th outfielder. That’s fine. But the issues are MUCH bigger with the high dollar stars and players than with a minimum wage filler.
Post of the year, but the core players never get blamed , by some posters , even on the radio, people still think all the Giants need is a LF, the propaganda is strong .
True. The weakness of our MiLB bring-ups is a future problem but our current problem is that you can’t sustain winning with Buster and Nunez having very good years and the rest of the team in a slump. Our pitching is middling but we’re paying good money for it.
The fact that Hernandez is on the roster at all is a very relevant symptom of the bigger problem.
Yes, but the problem is more the players making more then 10 x to 40 x the money he is making .
It may be “relevant” ( not “very relevant”) but. – of course – you are ignoring the point I made. Which is about level of relevance. You’re obsessed with Gorkys, yourself….
A 5th outfielder hitting near .200 is a tiny fraction of this team’s overall issues…not “very relevant”.
And the “problem” is our MiLB system. Seems to be working out over the last year and a half that our long term problem is a lack of prospects. Thus, that long list of expendable veterans is backed up by … very little.
Oh I think Cain is playing about what he is right now — a 5+ ERA starter. Kind of what he has been for years.
Nobody wanted Hill he was a minor league FA so he is playing as expected.
Cueto’s peripherals are good.
Melancon only pitches once a week and has been decent.
Span is also playing to about expectations.
Moore has been inconsistent, Pence has been awful, Panik and Crawford definitely hitting below their capabilities.
Heston is coming in.
I really love the Astros current uniforms. Finally they have some good ones.
Nothing better than Jose Cruz/ JR Richards rainbow jerseys tho!
My top Five Uniforms in Baseball.
1. Giants
2. Yankees
3. Cardinals
4. Dodgers
5. Red Sox
Should of pinch hit Craw for Hill. KT can play second. No reason not to.
Another RBI opportunity for Buster
Nice
Delivers. He’s become an RBI machine
Kontos is 0-2 and 3 blown saves in 3 save opportunities. Now allowed 6 of 16 inherited runners to score 37.5 %.
And walked Adrianza on four pitches. That’s hard to do.
Here’s a question for anyone. How many current Giants will ever play baseball again after they are finally released?
Well there are so many AAAA level player in the roster it’s hard to say. Not many 25 man roster players tho.
Heston is a nightmare matchup for Pence.
He’s gonna gonna pull 2 obliques, 2 hammies, and a neck muscle trying to hold up
Held my breath watching that AB. Whew
I kinda wish Adrianza had started at SS for the twins right now.
Tomlinson appears back in stride
KT has to play in our next game. Did Joe go onto the DL?
No hopes to be back Tuesday– off day tomorrow
t/y
The bigger Hernandez issue is Angel, not Gorkys
a good start to this inning.
No DP, no DP, no DP…..
Atta babe, Bruce
Can Hill bunt?
He did 5 years ago! ( per Krukow)
The Giants trail the league in infield hits with 30-35. Nunez has 1/2 of them. Pence has really slooowed down.
I guess we should be happy….
No
Happy now?
Yes, but I guess Matthew was right a bunt would have lead to a Walk to Posey and Pence up with bases loaded, so bunt might have been bad after all .
Yes!
read below
yes.
RBI MACHINE!!!!!!!!
Bustah!!
Nice Buster — 3 RBIs in a game.
Hill turning into Uggla although he is better defensively.
4 RBIs this game.
Nice!
Here comes Inspector Gadget
Even Pence gets a hit —
2 doubles today
Looked like he might pull a muscle on his flail on that first pitch.
Uh, he has 2
LOL
Get hot and Stay hot Pence
Pence doesn’t look clueless today. About time.
In 2009 – if somebody had offered Giants fans and Giants fanatics (they’re is a huge difference by the way) a future baseball menu that guaranteed WS Championships in years 2010 – 2012 and 2014 as well as disappointing and sometimes disgusting years of play – would “you” sign on for the deal.
* For me there is no waver of saying I would sign on for two big reasons. (1) Obviously getting to any WS is huge but to get there for three years with one year in between and WINNING each time is almost unheard of.
(2) Growing up I saw the teams with HOF players battle and continue to battle but not win a WS, having come close in 1962. (2002 does not count toward the old timers)
I feel sorry for anybody that says they are tired of spending (any kind of money) to watch a game at Willie Mays Field at ATT Park because I have always gone to EVERY game wanting to watch the skills and talents of the opposing team and hoping ‘my’ team comes out on top. Rudyard Kipling calls “winning and losing” – Impostors and that it all lies in competing with your teammates to get a Win. When the Mets came to town back in the day I would study Gregg Jefferies of the Mets because he went to my HS and really had NO business playing pro ball except for his dedication – drive and work ethic. The same goes for every other NL team that came through Candlestick. We’d travel to the Oakland Coliseum to see great players from other AL teams that were playing the A’s.
Anyway, I think you all know that none of the Giants past General Managers except RIP Al Rosen are not going to pull a John Mozeliak out of his hat. Mozeliak has NO emotional dedication to any player that has worn the Cardinal uniform. Sabean and Evans have a SF Giants LLC Work Model for which they are going to try to adhere to unless the inevitable keeps happening.
The feeling I had at the first and best parade in 2010 having heard Kuiper say “for the first time in 52 years the Giants have won the World Series”, I immediately thought about my mom and dad, life long fans as well as other relatives who never saw what “we” experienced.
So, with that I can’t help to hope for the best and grimace when it doesn’t go their way. A grimace is all I can muster UNLESS they loaf or continue to throw to the wrong base and then I will muster a G-Dammit and wait for the next experience which of course – in baseball – happens every day that there is not a day off.
Well said.
Atta babe…kinda matches my “effort” post earlier
Mozeliak is definitely emotionally dedicated to Yadier. And they attempted to sign Pujols but there was no way they should have attempted to match LA’s offer.
There is nothing wrong with DFA’ing a veteran that cannot produce anymore — even Sabean and company finally admitted their mistake with Rowand.
Absolutely the right call. Sign me up for the 1– much less 3 WS– each one more improbable than the last. This is the golden era of being s Giants fans and I have been a fanatic for more thsn 60 years. How quickly we forget those who have been responsible for that success. What have you done for me lately? As the alumni said to the football coach– we support you win or tie is the attitude of too many here
2010 really was a special year. We broke the hex and with some very young players (Timmy, Buster, Bum) in very high stress situations. For some reason the Renteria homer in the WS made me “high”.
Nice job Slater.
Austin Slater the Instigator!!
He acts like he knows there’s a job opening in left. Nice day for the kid.
He at least seems to have a chance to get a hit — unlike LF most of the year.
That opposite fields single upped his stock more than a HR. You can sustain that kind of play over the long run. Fingers crossed.
Austin Slater Piscotty!
The Aaron Hill at bat – had a shade of Japanese baseball attached to it – since he failed to bunt – and then popped out to their catcher. In Japan they have a favorite expression that boggles the mind because here in the mainland one would never utter a pre-negative-comment to a hitter as he’s going up to the plate… and that is “if you think you are going to hit into a double play – then – strikeout”
Never forget Krukow throwing Belt under the bus for striking out and not advancing a runner in 2014, only to praise Morse that same game for striking out to strategically avoid the double play. “Morse has been rolling over balls today, best to just take the K and avoid further damage.”
Krukow is a spinmeister.
Bochy will sit Slater the next 3 games.
Wanna bet?
Can’t wait for the postgame wrap where Krukow praises Cain for “keeping them in the game”.
make it a bigger inning Kelby.
oh well. 4 runs is nice though.
Can anyone remember the last time the Giants batted around?
Hit here and even Melancon cant blow it
He wouldn’t get the chance to. A 16 million dollar pitcher can only be used with a 3 run lead, not 4.
Hasnt pitched in days– needs work– snd an off day tomorrow. I suspect he will pitch even if we have more thsn a three run lead
Are you practicing your Nose Typing again?
LOL
yes, this inning.
They did it in 3 innings on Friday night!
You know how to make me laugh out loud sometimes.
Technically speaking , it TOOK 3 innings
2013?
HEY! How was the honeymoon?
Did I get married? I really need to quit drinking.
Peach Schnapps. That shit leaves a mark
Makes the rice thrown at you stick. Not pretty.
😮
Good news is that Kontos has already pitched
I love that new first name.
Strick’s 1.99 ERA has to be the most misleading ERA of all time.
?? Strickland has pitched well this year, and has for several seasons now.
Yes, yes. He’s having a fine season.
And if you disagree, he might just hit you.
Leads MLB in TKO’s
True dat– 7-16 inherited runners scored– even worse thsn Kontos
Not all inherited runners are created equal. How many times has Kontos been brought in with a man on 1st, versus Strickland with men on 2nd or 3rd?
They look the same on the scoreboard. I give up he’s been great
Oy vhey
Foster Brooks lives!!!!!
He’s pickled
In Surf, that’s spelled “pychleed”. Get it right
covyheyhe?
My BowHunter! He’s getting back in my good graces.
I’m not ready to give up on him. Matt Moore, on the other hand… Of all the frustrations in a season full of them, he might get my prize.
Moore’s like a lab puppy that piddles in the corner when he’s nervous
Sure didn’t piddle in the playoffs last year.
You can have him.
You are just pining over the injured Duffy. I guarantee the Giants pick up his option unless he gets hurt. He has been pitching decently his last 6 starts. He still has good stuff. He was great against the Dodgers down the stretch last year as well when they needed every win to make the playoffs.
That last start was all on Span — there is no way that lazy flyball by the pitcher should not have been caught. If Span makes that catch 5 out of 6 Moore’s last starts would have been quality starts.
Ummmm… Without looking it up, I’m gonna refute that.
If Span makes that catch he would have pitched 6 innings and given up 1 run — QS
June 4 — Awful
May 29 — Nationals — 7 IP and only 2 ER — the only starter to compete against the Nationals = QS
May 24 — Cubs — 6 IP — 3 ER = QS
May 19 — St. Louis 6 IP — 2 ER = QS
May 13 — Cincy 7 and 1/3 IP — 1 ER = QS
I guess the two walks in front of it added to the “quality”
You should walk the 8 hitter with runners on base to get to the pitcher — come on now.
He’s 2-7 with a 658.75 ERA.
I was talking about 5 of his last 6 starts. The Giants OF defense cost him three runs against the Twins — just like the OF defense has inflated Shark’s ERA.
I’m just not on the Moore Train, giantc…I see huge regression and a bad mental toughness on the hill. Hope he changes my mind
All RH lineup old and new produced. In Bochy they trust.
Nunez scores three times. He’s one of two veterans who’s not having an off year.
Turning into a nice trade piece. I would think Boston might want him.
We’re going to turn it around. Keep him.
Remember he’s going to be an FA at year’s end. If he keeps performing at or above current levels he’s going to ask for a lot of moolah.
Today is a nice game but this team is not going anywhere (3-7 over the last 10 games). I can enjoy individual games, but they need to do everything they can to rebuild the bare farm system. Let’s hope Nunez stays hot into July so they can get something for him. Need Cueto to pitch better as well so he becomes tradeable.
“The bare farm system” … indeed.
Slater proving you wrong .
I am pleased that Slater is up — but they need more.
Ryder Jones is having a great year, Arroyo, Shaw, give them a chance, and they might surprise you , others were never given a chance by Bochy ..
Weeks ago I called for Slater to get 200 ABs and if he doesn’t do anything then bring up Shaw for the next 200 ABs. You have to use these off years to evaluate your young talent during the meat of the season not just in September when you face a lot of other team with minor leaguers playing.
Angel taking over!!!
This ump is suddenly shrinking the zone on Strick
Hill CRUSHED that!
vote Hill for the ASG.
A 6 RBI day would work.
Weak
CHOKE!!!
Nice.
Okay Pence, okay. I see you!
That will do
Kuiper is one funny dude
The reported team meeting lit a fire under Hunter.
We win 20 in a row. Unless we win 21.
Check that. We win 22 in a row.
I am guessing he’s one guy who never ever ever needs a fire lit.
Facing really bad pitching might have something to do with it.
No one pisses on food trays like The Oracle
Wow, is it great to see Pence driving the ball like that.
Makes a pretty big difference without one less black hole in the lineup
more doubles today than the entire season. baseball is strange stuff.
Com’on Austin.
Who are these guys?
Can’t think of anything funny, but yeah, who are they?
12 runs!
Atta babe Austin!
I think we have a left fielder, folks.
Our MyGuy!!!!!
Easy Lefty
You want Melvin JR.
Ha!!
Its a couple of games. Im hoping but its a couple of games.
Baseball is the leading cause of bipolar disease
He hates 20 somethings .
The kid has hit at every level. That’s why he is here. Let’s give him a chance unless you want Gorky out there?
Surf is predictably reacting to Slater the same way Bochy is.
I’ve been seen many players be hot and fsil– and vice versa. I’m hoping, but John Bowker was at one time the next great player. Give it time. A few days ago many were calling for his head. A solid week is just too small a sample– yet way better to be hot than not.
Pretty sure literally only you were calling for his head, after 9 PA. I can’t think of one other person on here who was disparaging him.
Not so. 9 ab’s is no test of anyone. Not is it ideal however. Shdre is ghd credit to Bochy fir playing him– he wss criticized for dittinb himms vouple of days
Somebody call either 911 or the FBI. Surf is either having a stroke or speaking Russian.
Ghot himm!!
A few days ago the blog was down, so…
He’s brought a quiet little spark with him and looks like he’s settling in just fine.
Have a day, Kid
Save some runs for tomorrow. Unless we do this again tomorrow. Then save it for next next game
Off day tomorrow.
Oh, then pour it on!!!
Tomorrow is an off day
Another wretched or otherwise amusing dream last night up here in Kanuck land was that the Giants FO had and in house secret lottery concerning bringing up various minor-leaguers.
Slade Heathcott was/is next on the secret lottery.
Heck, don’t just let Belt hit, let him pitch.
Post of the Day
Must be Bochy’s meeting
Note to the phrase “They All Score” (Jon Miller)
With the bags juiced on Slater’s triple – Slater does NOT have to score for Millers’ “they all score” to be accurate and correct.
“They All Score” not being about Slater ultimately scoring shows that Miller can predict the past but he cannot predict the future. 🙂
As Sgbssfg said below – for the bottom of the 9th on the mound:
* Batter one – Posey
* Batter two – Belt
* Batter three – Dyson
By the way, what a crappy line-up today.
This would be a nice spot for Dyson’s debut
No antibiotics, ever.
Huh?
You’ve never seen a Dyson commercial?
the vacuum cleaner?
Don’t pick nit. Nobody ever remembers which is which.
I got my wish
Someone have a beer for me!
I’M HAVING RIBS!!!!!
(too far?)
Oh you.
I hope you don’t choke on any.
Dyson!
Melancon still has a save opportunity!!!!
HE STOLE JAVI’S UNI!!!!!!
and stretched it out.
Remember when this Lineup was posted earlier today?!? And many of those who are actually hoping for more poor play from the Giants….well, it is not the name posted ON the lineup card – it is what THAT person does that is posted on the card.
https://twitter.com/hankschulman/status/873954897770577920
Kelby .308, Nunez .300, Posey .347, Slater .320. We’re an offensive juggernaut!!
And Trevor Brown may end up like Gary Brown.
If Dyson can hold the Twins to one run over one inning he would lower his ERA — you can do it.
“Get Heem”
Crawls (groan) Runner heading for third must have distracted him.
I love 13-11 games.
no no nononoooooooo!
If this lead gets blown even I am giving up
Nuke LaDyson
Dyson is pitching like he’s protecting a 2 run lead. This game is a blowout!!! Geez
He has no idea where it is going — probably why he was DFA’d.
I will one up Matthew – 13 to 12
I see that bet and say 14-13 in 12.
No way Jose
14 innings?
Shhh
What is the over and under on how long they will allow runs to score…. 6-7-8-9 ?
8 runs
Buuuk, buk, buk, buk, buk, buk, buk,
Who was that Amy Upgrade????
She’s the Twins Amy G.
Pouring rain and thunder right overhead right now–66 miles from San Francisco. My dog is not dealing well with this.
Not the thunder. Its Dyson
Rescue Remedy. We deal with that a lot in the winter. And the 4th of July.
And a cold, hard wind.
To be fair, the defense isn’t helping him out much either. Should have recorded 2 outs.
Dyson’s face looks like an emoji. But the pants look good on him.
Dyson didn’t have great command but he should have gotten two outs.
Morris in, then Law, then Melancon.
Melancon may end up getting a save opportunity after all
Mel Kiperthew nailed it.
Dyson was quoted as saying “GOLD GLOVES MY ASS”
Buster: CATCHER. I got a Gold Glove for playing CATCHER.
AND FIRST BASE!!
Melancon should be pitching, regardless of whether it’s a save situation. He needs the work and they have a day off tomorrow. It’s kind of hard to be sharp if you rarely get into a game.
He will
He’s next in line. Bochy might be holding onto him for a save situation.
An example of Bochy’s overly rigid thinking.
Thank God you’ aren’t that way
I’m pretty happy about it.
You should market The Mirror Workout
It might help if you had an example.
I love your honestly and self awareness. I only wish I could be as consistent.
Didn’t think you had one.
Seriously? It’s Sunday night, we won…and you needing peoof of who you are is literally last on my to-do list. Stay pliable, my friend
Yeah, like the lineup, huh.
Washington’s scouts need to see him work!
More to the point.
Bryan Mariano Morris!!!
0-2 waste pitch. Not a fan of that.
Whose guy is Dyson. Looks like the real deal!
How bad is our bullpen?
Right now, record setting.
One home run away from a save situation
Ball game!!!!
Our bullpen has been utter shit since last year. This is just disgusting. FIX THIS EVANS YOU PIECE OF GARBAGE!!
Stole Dyson from the Rangers, what do you want?
How can someone be stolen when he was DFA’d and then subsequently traded? Rangers didn’t want him after his horrible 2017 in the first 2 months.
It is known as sarcasm.. However thd thinking was that at one time he had great stuff. Could eventually turn into a steal– today not so much to say the least
I can’t tell sarcasm sometimes over the Internet, so you’ll have to excuse me.
He’s a dumpster fire. That’s why he was DFA’d!! Typical Giants grabbing washed up trash from other teams.
In breaking news, a blogger named pacman68 has declared all 3 Giants World Champion seasons null and void.
Buster’s recommendation got him on the team. We’ll see. Not impressive today.
And Tony sings!
“🎼I left my pennnnn….in 2015🎤”
12 runs scored by both teams from the seventh inning on
Lost the u/o. I had the Twins finishing with 8 runs. Sorry for the lack of confidence in the bullpen
In good news, it looks like you found all of your fingers again!
Iphone, stubby fingers, and autocorrect turned off
Bodes well for Bochy that the team responded so resoundingly after the team meeting.
Especially the big bats. Pence & Posey. 6 hits and 6 RBIs between those two guys.
Well maybe they should have a team meeting before every game then.
They should, if they can play like this every time
That…is a big If.
Every inning!
They won a game in which the Twins started a career minor leaguer, followed him up with a guy that’s been dumped by three teams in two years, and then went to Matt Belisle, who had an ERA of over 7 when the game began.
It shouldn’t count
It obviously counts, but there’s no reason to believe that anything has changed.
No reason? You don’t think Pence got better today? Kelby with a solid game out of the lead off spot? Slater seeing the ball well and hitting it hard, and has a great day?
Yeah, no reason to believe.
Way too early to say that Pence “is back.” Nevertheless it does seem likely that he and Crawford, Belt and Panik will revert to their prior levels–though I love Panik, he’s less likely simply because of a shorter track record, but here’s hoping.
What has changed? Are they now a good team with a bright future? As I’ve pointed out, they went up against some exceptionally bad pitching today. The most dangerous thing that could happen would be for the decision makers to adopt the same view of things you have.
The Giants won today. Buster with 4 RBI, Pence with 3 doubles, Slater and Tomlinson with nice days too. Lots better than most days. Enjoy, just a little?
I’m not going to get excited about winning a game during a losing season. I’m also not going to be bothered by the the losses. A nice game from Slater is encouraging, but I do have a problem with the false hope that this game has somehow changed the tide.
Thank god, that’s a relief.
You are such a pompous ass. They had a good day. Two young players gained some confidence. A struggling veteran maybe breaks out of it.
No one said anything about “good team” or “bright future”. Maybe they got a little better today. I know that would rain on your negativity parade.
Bochy wasn’t going to call a team meeting before they faced Kershaw. A smart manager always calls the meeting when they are going to face some meatball pitcher — then it looks like the meeting did something. 😀
McCovey Cove Dave sold some cheap ass knock-offs of the Mad Bum undies after the 2014 season.
Dyson’s ERA with the Giants is 11.88. How is that calculated? Shouldn’t it be infinity? 🙂 He gave up 3 runs and never got an out. Is MLB including his stats from the Rangers too? They didn’t used to do that when a guy switched leagues but maybe in this day of interleague play they do. I guess I’ll have to wait till tomorrow to see what Baseball Reference says after they update.
That includes his Rangers stats. His 10.80 ERA somehow went UP in his one (and what should be his final) Giants appearance.
How about that Austin Slater? A viable LFer emerges !!
Should I be watching the Stanley Cup Finals or Red Sox v Tigers?
What’s the rule on double blue line passes these days?
There’s lots more grass in the baseball game.
Have you been in the stands lately?
Lord have mercy, you mean marijuana?
No, I meant bats and balls and green grass underneath the fielders. Hard to go wrong with that.
Here’s a rule on the double blue line thing Footy:
r offside rules in other sports, see Offside (sport).
In ice hockey, a play is offside if a player on the attacking team enters the offensive zonebefore the puck, unless the puck is sent or carried there by a defending player. When an offside violation occurs, a linesman will stop play. A faceoff is then held at a neutral ice spot closest to the infraction to restart play. In the event the puck carrier’s feet cross the blue line while the puck remains outside the blue line, the attacking team’s players can enter the zone and be considered onside
thanks
House of Cards …it’s more fun!
Seems too real, too immediate, but I do respect Frank’s intelligence. And didn’t they jump the shark anyway. Actor that plays Remy is sure cool and talented.
The First Lady being also Vice President seems too real?? That’s ridiculous!
Egads, you’re right. Such is the state of American politics.
Well…that actually happened in the late 90’s
But she wasn’t literally the Vice President.
Remy was a hoopster at St. Mary’s…go Gaels
Can he give us some CF? Can’t be much worse than Span.
In a pinch, but Span definitely a better CF. Tommy could be better than Slater in CF, not sure, but maybe. We’ll take Viable Left Fielder for 500, Alex.
Let’s see what Bochy can do to destroy his confidence. The man is very creative.
Beautiful box score today!
Just don’t look at Sam Dyson’s numbers.
By the way, after all the pregame grousing, how’d that line up work out?
Like a ptarmigan.
Like a charm. Just give it up for the Boch. You know you want to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jFwdGho1IA
Ugh, ruffed grouses. When I lived in PA as a kid, I had to do an extensive report on those silly birds since they were the state bird, and there wasn’t enough about them in encyclopedias.
I’ve always wanted to more about grouses. Is there anything interesting about them? Are they water or land birds? Where do they live?
I used to see these in the early fall in a wooded park in Minnesota – very cool birds. I think it had to do with mating season making them more interested in being visible to other grouse than in hiding. It always seemed odd to me they were in the pine forests. Now that I think about it, maybe they were out on the prairies earlier in the year? Dunno.
In that same park, there was once a pileated woodpecker flying a few trees at a time down a hiking trail in front of me. That’s the “holy crap” bird sighting of my lifetime.
Yah! Seen one here before, called him Woody. Mostly the other woodpeckers and sapsuckers rule here among the house pecking kind, those and all the sparrows and hawks and scrub jays and meadowlarks and bushtits…
learn something new about you every day. Ain’t no peach fuzz about it, you are traveled.
This peach makes it a priority in life to get around. Literally.
Our state bird is big ol’ finger
Can’t win: If they lose, it’s his fault. If they win, he had nothing to do with it.
So it seems. TWG has inertia, get from between it and the cliff. I sometime wonder if people didn’t have someone to blame, they’d sell all their mirrors.
You have it backwards. If they win, Bochy gets the credit. If they lose, it’s the fault of the players, right?
After all the grousing, how’s the season working out?
You’re such a mutt. A single minded one, at that.
What would you call someone who tries to be smug about one win in a very bad season?
I’m just appreciating a single event, you and others were critical of, that led to the best offensive performance of the season. You seem to be more interested in putting your personal tootsie roll in the punch bowl.
My main pre-game complaint was Hill in the 3 spot.
The line up did work today. Good to see Pence, Slater, Posey, Nunez, and Tomilson all have good days and the Giants win despite a poor start by Cain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRIgvtQYEmA
Nightall. Fun baseball today. Clownish, but fun. Poor Dyson couldn’t manage that little sphere.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Fa_MLOQyMI
That one I get. Bapah’s antibiotic remark, not so much.
Good God, Man, don’t be so literal.
Altogether – All Together
Accept – Except
Dyson – Tyson
Of all people to not understand moronic references.
Or more close to home, then – than.
Usually I get you, whereas Footy and Matthew sometimes go over my head. I’m culturally challenged.
You HAVE seen the Tyson commercial I was referencing, haven’t you?
I don’t think so, I’d rather read a book than watch much TV. But your point finally clicked: http://www.tysonfoods.com/media/position-statements/antibiotic-use.aspx
Matthew drops things over my head all the time. I have to Google things like EEOC and Doleaza and some other funny things.
I’m glad Muelens told them to go out and get hits and score runs today. Drives me CRAZY how the hitting coach usually tells them to take terrible approaches and avoid scoring.
And don’t forget he tells them to swing at pitches they can’t hit.
Giants won today in spite of 1/3, or 33% of their starting lineup on the bench. And a rookie in his first home stand series. That would be 44% greenhorn out there today. Toss in Gorkys and that’d be about 55% of a lineup that may not crack another MLB team. And then there was the backup catcher so let’s make that 67% of the starting lineup was off the bench. And they banged out 17 hits. Go figure.
Superboy might get a starting gig for a team or two in the league.
You mean Clark Kents love child? Yeah. I could see that.
The other team’s pitcher sucks.
Is that Cory Gerrain with long hair and a beard pitching for Boston? Looks just like him and he’s about 32 seconds between pitches thrown.
Heath Hembree? Former Giant farmhand?
Yeah. Don’t you think he looks, throws, and takes forever between pitches just like CG?
I can’t talk about that in an open setting.
I think this is one of Matthew Doleaza’s favorite bands…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAEphHf0P-c
Great day from KT. Love his spark. He’s a gamer. So many people have been so wrong about KT since he made his MLB debut. Chief among them, Bruce Bochy and the Giants front office. But, all he does when he plays is do his job well and sometimes has clutch hits, clutch defensive plays, and walkoff hits. Would really love to see him do this on a daily basis, but the only place you will see this is on another team.
Dude, he’s a perfect little utility player. Won’t you take him by the hand?
I think he could start, do well, go back, Jack, and do it again and again.
He’d have to keep hitting .300 playing every day.
You mean, like everybody else in the Giants lineup? Makes sense…
Ha ha! Kelby-O-Meter…
.308/.341/.308
The double standard for him is a joke. Speed, good D, high average, a spark at the top of the lineup.
Exactly what Denard Span or Gorkys is not. But being wrong about a player is much more important than admitting fault.
Tomlinson is the heir apparent to Belt in here once Belt gets traded…if you get my drift.
I do. But they’re close already. Completely unwarranted.
Many would think it’s completely warranted. Both are very different players but somehow similarly polarizing.
Tomlinson is the posterboy for a line drive contact hitter, you know, slappy.
He is. I think beyond thinking he’s really not a front line player, there’s the thought that whatever success he’s had up to this point isn’t sustainable. He is actually good at his role as a utility guy. He’s someone who can come in and play well for a few games – even a month or two. After all, isnt that what a good utility player is? – someone who does a good job when called upon – not to be confused with sustaining his success as a long term starter or as good or better than the guy he replaced. Duffy was getting some of that treatment/skepticism. To cross over sports (and for the lack of a better example off hand) kind of Steve Bono-esque.
I’d like to think that until he proves otherwise, why not go with a lifetime .298 hitter with speed at the top of the lineup?
I was anticipating that question….given how the season has gone, I think just about anything including giving KT a lengthier audition of sorts, can certainly be in play. I’m sure both sides of the KT debate would be confident of the outcome.
True. But he hit .300 in almost 200 AB at the end of the 2015 season. I mean, when did this one stop shopping attitude in baseball start? You know, gotta hit with some power, gotta drive in runs, gotta have a .800 OPS? Not everyone is gonna do that. There is still a place for guys who hit for above average and not for power. And on a team like the Giants, who do not hit a ton of HR, isn’t there a place for a guy who consistently gets on base? And again, to your point, just who the hell has outshined KT in the leadoff role? This constant burial of him defies any kind of rational explanation.
Those stats are what his proponents are hanging their hats on. It may be more that KT outshining other leadoff hitters says more about the Giant’s leadoff hitters than it does about KT. And his stats do suggest he’s a reserve player as per his WAR numbers up to now.
I understand he hasn’t done it over the course of a full season, but just where did a career .300 hitter ever be labeled a reserve player? A career .300 hitter with above average D, and a penchant for clutch hits?
Superb analysis
Yes. Because you can clearly predict KT’s success is completely unsustainable. It’s so obvious. But more so… Because KT, a possible starting IF, would have every bit as much impact on the outcome of the game as Steve Bono, a starting QB.
Well, I liked it.
You’re so easy, you blog trollop.
With a keen eye for spaghetti on the wall, Eddie.
Well, I liked that.
Again, a complete double standard, since we are so not replete with titan power hitters and RBI assassins. Perhaps with a guy who hits .300 consistently at the top of the lineup those RBI chances would increase. Not this absurd, revolving door of underachievers and head scratchers. And KT’s D is solid. Just a ridiculous sweeping under the rug of a very deserving hitter. A lifetime .298 hitter. Not enough, though.
I agree. It’s contact, IMO, across a ML lineup that yields a winning team, not power. I’m not discounting the value of power, just recognizing how rare it is.
Any reason to think he couldn’t? That’s what he’s been hitting playing part-time. Normally people do at least as well when they’re playing every day.
He played everyday for the last two months of 2015 and hit .300.
to maintain wRC+’s around 100 he needs keep hitting around .300 because he has no ISO and he does not draw Beltian rate of walks.
He’s a career .298 hitter right now.
Additionally…Where does he stand in the intangible department? Is there a stat for that?
Hey, alright, he’s super, I got it.
Maybe they draft another Kelby over the next couple days. Tomlinson was taken in the 12th round out of Texas Tech in the 2011 draft.
He could be a starter on many teams. He’s a career .298 hitter. The reason that many Giants’ fans don’t realize this is that the Giants have very high standards for infielders.
What about simply being on the roster?? As a backup? Or a converted OF? In one of the handful of starts KT got in the OF, he threw out a runner at the plate, with a way above average velocity on the throw.
Nah…Aaron Hill, please. With a side of Chris Marrero.
Super utility guy, perfect for SuperKelby.
In this age of leakers and leakage, why can’t somebody leak the Giants draft board?
I’d love to see who’s on top of their board and how they have the rest of the board ranked. After going with collegiate hitter in the first, can they get this guy in the 2nd, or best catching prospect available?
http://www.minorleagueball.com/2017/6/11/15776432/2017-mlb-draft-profile-riley-adams-c-university-of-san-diego
It’s the MLB draft, no one really cares since it’s pretty much a crap shoot.
That’s a weak attitude, man. Every pick matters for this org!
He’ll notice the ethnicity of the picks. The quality is irrelevant.
I might also, but just about every name I’ve popped is a white dude except for Keston Hiura
I’m impressed you know their race. I’m not even sure where I would look, if I cared
What’s in a name?
Kelby Tomlinson? Kirby Puckett? Who knew?!?!?!
it does, but don’t pretend you have some keen eye for talent professional scouts don’t. You’re basically throwing names out there like throwing darts on a wall.
It will eventually hit something and you will claim you called it.
Nothing more than that I’m sure.
That’s it.
You see this already?
http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2017/6/11/15777802/the-prospect-and-pre-draft-roundup
That’s a great link. Thank you.
Rerhaps the guy from the Cardinals can hack in.
Good call, now he’s only got several hours to get in and get out.
Good article that describes the mindset you need, IMO, to build a good baseball team. Not baseball, but…
https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-theory-of-reality-as-more-than-the-sum-of-its-parts-20170601/
Does it really look like starting Kelby and trading Joey B. for a promising outfielder would be a ridiculous thing to do?
Joe Panik is a stellar defensive infielder. But it’s going on two years now since the last time Panik was really a consistent impact hitter. If he hits like he did between 2014-15, yes, he’s better than Kelby. Way.
Big picture, though: If they trade, it should be from surplus, and when you consider the upper minors as well, there are a lot of infielders–Kelby, Hwang, Arroyo, Ryder Jones (over .900 OPS in AAA this year), Miguel Gomez, hitting over .320 in Richmond.
It is not hard to imagine Arroyo or Gomez being the 2B of the future if Panik were traded, with Jones or Hwang playing 3B. Kelby should be a super-utility guy, and they should use him and Slater being on the roster to finally cut Gorkys Hernandez. Both played some CF in Sacramento, and maybe they’re not really cut out for it, but from what I’ve seen, neither is Gorkys.
Today left a mark, I see.
With all due respect, Kelby is a fine singles hitting backup, and I don’t think he will ever be an everyday major leaguer.
I support this analysis. But maybe sincere is right and Kelby is a career. 300 hitter in the waiting. That’s one of the reasons we love this game!
If he becomes a multi year starter in the majors, I’ll eat your organically manufactured hemp hat, grown from sustainable products including Foothills compost, using collected rainwater and recycled hay for moisture retention.
I think you’ll actually have to eat sinceres guitar cables and Lefty’s books. Me too! All I do is talk him down and he makes me look worse than Efrains putdowns.
I’m sick of the KT disrespect!!! It’s a joke! But I’ll always love ya, Scout Footy A-Rye-O.
I’m a little bit country, I’m a little bit Peter Johnson.
I have a feeling PJ likes AC DC. He’s loud like Angus.
BTW, did your penguins win?
“My” Penguins? Lol…dude I haven’t rooted for em since ’92 when all my best friends were trumpeting the Lemieux banner. And yes, they won. My hockey teams are Canadian, across the board. All I want is a Canadian team to win the cup.
Nashville wuz robbed
Would you move north if you could? I know they’d take you as faculty at school of Rock.
HELL YES. I love Toronto when I visited. But I think Montreal or Quebec City is more my speed. I saw this demo 4K video on Quebec City that is BREATHTAKING.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPp9WB4IstQ
Same height, same pants
Yeah, I can just see it now. You’ve been…
POWERSTRUCKKKK
Yeah it’s alright
We’re doing fine!
I almost got Thunderstruck in weird storm earlier
Dude…I am deathly afraid of lightning. The bedroom in which I currently type, was struck by lightning in ’86 when I was visiting my Dad instead of sleeping here. It was a last minute visit. I could’ve been absolutely crushed if I had slept here that night. It’s my Gram and Pap’s house. I took care of my Gram until her dying day. So I was willed the house by my aunts and uncles. That’s why I’m here. Plus there was a cherry tree that was split to the bone right down the middle by lightning in the backyard back in the day. This place has an ominous history of direct lightning strikes.
But…aside from that…Back in ’83ish, my Mom and I were in Latrobe at Steelers training camp. A HORRIFIC thunderstorm just mauled us. It was so bad, the whole crowd had to take refuge under a tree, which is the worst place to be in a thunderstorm. I love how people are so careless around lightning. When with one bolt, it’s all over.
Whoa. Crazy interesting life stories
I could see you and Footy drinking cans of Iron City playing LP’s of Hawkwind and Max Webster….
Hawkwind and Max Webster. Damn, dude that’s some impressive references. Yeah we need to hang out. Me, you and Footy at the former military bunker on the Marin County side of the Golden Gate at the top of the hill overlooking the bridge. One of my favorite memories in SF.
I like fort funston dog park!
Is this the same place I’m talking about?
He should be getting more starts at all three IF positions and in the OF as well. Last time they sent him down he played a lot of OF, including CF. Since coming back up, no OF at all. He can play anywhere. Give him a chance to do so.
It’s been the same story since 2015 for KT. Just a waste. Like much of everything since 2015. An overall waste of baseball seasons. Really hard to support this team right now. Actually for a year. So many bonehead moves.
A career .300 hitter with good D, speed, and a penchant for clutch hits and one big defensive play in a position he played maybe once.
Never will be a starter. Well we’ll never know anyway, will we?
Let me put it this way: as a frustrated and impatient fan ( you and me both), do you think Kelby is a starter on a winning team?
Didn’t think so.
Great kid. Not a starter. And…in place of Panik? WTF? Thank God this blog isn’t in Evans chair….it would be even worse.
Fair enough. But let ME put it this way. If all this is true, then why doesn’t he at LEAST have a lock on a roster spot? What have all these head scratchers (WAYY too many to list) done to deserve roster spots over KT, who has, ever since he was ever given a chance, produced? Consistently. In an inconsistent and tenuous role?
Sorry for the caps.
I’m down with “roster spot”.
At least in that capacity, we could actually see more of what he’s capable of producing, or if he’s capable of continuing to produce (and YES, he has produced in every stint he’s had). And the opponents of this stance have the worst record in baseball with the 4th highest payroll in baseball to torpedo their opinion.
He’s earning a lock for utility in 2018, imo
Hitting .300 in roughly 200 AB at the end of the 2015 season, his first call-up, should’ve cemented a utility spot in 2016. But lazy roster politics are always more important than winning when you have three rings in 5 years.
Is he the Joel Youngblood of this generation?
It’s more like ‘every time Kelby plays leaves a mark.’
There are plenty of teams who would be happy to have a .300 singles hitter playing 2nd base.
This kid is going to be really good.
http://usatodayhss.com/2017/hunter-greene-mlb-baseball-draft-potential-first-pick
Twins or Reds sure hope so.
https://twitter.com/hunterpence/status/874110779242434560
Now to convince him to do a one flap down…
Enough about Kelby, what did Austin lock down today? He’s one of my guys, will defend him to the bitter end.
Seasons in the abyss with Austin Slayer!
Slater’s going to get a nice run for a couple weeks at least, and that’s a good thing. They need to stop with the revolving door and let somebody play.
Just please tell me that Bochy doesn’t call him Slatey!
How about “Slates”?
His Pre-Upton performance is rock solid!!!
In my happy place, there will never be any Upton.
Not if Bochy has any say.
Austin has earned a shot at playing once in a while until Bochy can find some washed-up veteran to play instead of him on the basis of things he did years ago.
I’m trying to write the chapters for the last 12 months strictly from a blog consensus. These are the working chapter titles and epilogues:
1) Gillaspie Is Terrible …..I Love Conor
2) Trevor Brown Should Start!…. Dude, Where’s My Arm?
3) Matt Moore And His Million Dollar Arm!…. The Story of the 10 Cent Brain!
4) Mac Is A Star!….Swing And A Miss!
5) Cain Is Done!….Cain Is Our Best Starter!…Cain Is Done!
6) Nunez Sucks!…Nunez Rocks!
7) Arroyo! The Natural!… Arroyohhh nooooo!
8) Bring Up Calixte!!….. Send Down Calixte!!!
9) Slaterookie Of The Year!!….to be continued
Trevor Brown has really fallen off a cliff. Fed-Ex is the clear next in line. For some reason, I thought he was older, but he’s only 29.
His legs are 73
FedEx? Don’t introduce him to Ryan Braun.
What about Aramis Garcia? High draft pick, took a shot to the face last year, but I thought recovering nicely? He was MyGuy 2016 Richmond.
You forgot Panik.
The book isn’t “John Myhill’s Tin Hat Ideas”…it’s blog consensus
I don’t think there are too many consensuses about anything here.
A+. We are hypocrites….But the worst kind, the kind that never admits we are wrong
So we all have the Alex Pavlovic Syndrome?
(1) I was enthusiastic about Gillaspie last year even when his average was low once I checked his batted ball data (around July as I remember it). It was clear he was hitting the ball well but getting unlucky.
(2) I was never enthusiastic about Brown.
(3) I appear to have been wrong about Moore. He’s been horrendous this year. About the least bad thing I can say about my assessment was that I always thought Samardzija should be officially the 3rd starter rather than Moore.
(4) I still think Mac should be given a serious shot (he also got very unlucky last year), but for now I think it’s better to give Slater a serious shot. I am not yet at the point where I would want to give him his serious shot if it means benching Pence.
(5) I thought Cain should be given a chance to be the 5th starter this year although I thought he would lose the job faster than he did.
(6) I have never been particularly positive or negative about Nunez. If he were younger and/or if he could play the outfield reasonably well and/or if Arroyo didn’t exist and/or if the team were in contention this year, I could see keeping him in a starting role for the time being, but that isn’t the situation so it’s better to trade him.
(7) I was enthusiastic about Arroyo more because I was so glad to see Bochy taking any young player seriously than because of how he actually played.
(8) Same with Calixte although obviously less enthusiastic.
Laugh-in had a segment called “the fickle finger of fate”. Well…
To answer my question below, yes, Dyson’s ERA with the Giants is infinity:
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b91bf65a81b49b0ef62c4e82c5416cde301399f2f604554598b09edb81949538.png
Could Kelby start for a contending team?
Last year he would have been a clear upgrade for the Dodgers over Utley. This year, the Brewers, the Rays, and the Cubs all have serious problems and no real solutions at 2nd. Baez can’t field, Robertson and Zobrist can’t hit, and Miller and Villar can’t do either.
He would help any of those teams a lot.
Baez can’t field?? The Cubs, or anyone, would prefer Tomlinson over Baez??? You’ve gone a bit off the rails on this one.
Check out the stats and read Cubs’ fansites if you don’t believe me. Defensively 25th out of 32 among 2nd basemen with 200 innings played. His hitting is lousy too (OBP .285 with 25% strikeouts, Off of -.2.8, and it isn’t a fluke, Steamer projected him to have an Off of -3.5 and an OBP of .300, and last year he was -0.5 with an OBP of .314). You got a completely misleading impression of him from the NLDS. He’s so bad they’re playing Zobrist at 2nd almost half the time, even though he’s 36 and batting .228.
You apparently have a completely misleading impression of Tomlinson’s worth. There isn’t a team in baseball that would prefer him over Baez.
And you’ve watched Baez for what, 4 games? The guy sucks, there’s no reason to believe anything else, other than his homer against Cueto. A career negative hitter and one of the worst fielding 2bmen around. As I said, just check out what Cubs fans are writing if you don’t believe me.
Time to put some Kenny Rogers on your 8-track
Would he be an upgrade over Utley this year? Utley has wRC+ of 115 and a .176 ISO with positive UZR. Tommy is at 82 wRC+ and .000 ISO. That Utley never dies!
But you could be right, he could be an upgrade over a marginal talent on several teams. What would they trade for him? Anything immediately useful? An outfield version of Kelby? Or is Kelby also an OF version of Kelby. Maybe he can be an Ultra-Lite version of Ben Zobrist for the Giants – an entirely useful guy off the bench.
An OF version of Kelby is the obvious answer. There must be something like that somewhere on a team without much at 2nd base.
Taking up on Lefty’s point yesterday about Bochy’s failings contributing to the collapse of the team after the All-Star break last year, I agree that his handling of the relievers was definitely a factor in changing the mood on the team, but I think that it was not so much his handling of Casilla but rather his insistence on changing relievers at every possible opportunity to get lefties pitching to lefties and righties pitching to righties regardless of other considerations which was more destructive. As many saves as Casilla blew, he generally scattered his blown saves until the end of the season (Apr. 9 and 18, May 11, June 1, July 16, Aug. 14, Sept. 4, 9, and 17). Until September, Casilla wasn’t pitching badly enough and there were no other obvious candidates to replace him, especially considering Romo’s injury and Law being very inexperienced early in the season and late in the end of the season, so that wasn’t the reason for the post-All-Star game collapse.
Bochy’s constant switching was a different matter. It went on all season and was a source of general disgruntlement among the relievers. It wasn’t just a matter of it unsettling the pitchers, it was completely inappropriate given what the team had. As the season went on, it became more and more apparent that the team simply didn’t have an anti-lefty specialist, because both Lopez and Osich were pitching terribly. But Bochy just didn’t care. That was his plan and he was going to stick with it. Aside from general accumulation of dissatisfaction with this strategy over the course of time, especially as it became clear that neither Lopez nor Osich were at all dependable, it seems likely that the Smith trade at the trade deadline and Bochy’s reaction to it pushed things over the edge in terms of team morale. The team clearly needed relief help, but somehow the relief pitcher they got at the trade deadline didn’t help them in any way, considering how Bochy was managing. Smith was only not an established closer, he was not someone who Bochy would consider putting at closer no matter how desperate the situation was and no matter how well he was pitching (and in mis-September the situation was incredibly desperate and Smith was pitching incredibly well). But even beyond this, he wasn’t an anti-lefty specialist either–but Bochy nevertheless continued to push his constant switching, with absolutely no regard to the makeup of the team or general dissatisfaction on the part of the relievers. After the Smith trade, the relief situation was effectively dysfunctional, not just with regard to the closer position but in general, and that had to be devastating to team morale.
James Michener ain’t got nuthin’ on you
I wish I cared enough about 2016 to still feel this emotional about it… but I don’t.
http://insider.espn.com/blog/buster-olney/post/_/id/16831/olney-why-greg-holland-was-the-best-free-agent-signing-of-the-offseason
http://es.pn/2rZckEl
Gee where is Malancon on the list?! 🤔😏😂
Throwing all the money at Melancon was purely to placate the fanbase after what happened last year. There were folks at the time who thought it was an overreaction, but we didn’t know that they wouldn’t do anything about the outfield after signing him. Now we can see how devastating that “strategy” has been to the whole picture.
It reminds me a bit of them overpaying Zito (the story was they were bidding against themselves and got played by Scott Boras) because they knew the Bonds era was ending and knew they needed someone to market. And overpaying Aaron Rowand after one good season because free agent hitters won’t come here. Etc.
It was to placate Bochy also.
Bochy spent most of his Padres career with a Hall of Fame closer (Trevor Hoffman) who was money in the bank. He’s been looking for that ever since. Brian Wilson was the closest, I guess, but that didn’t last long.
Immediately after the Giants’ ignominious exit from the playoffs, I was so disgusted by Bochy’s mismanagement of the bullpen that I refused to acknowledge that there was more of a need to get an established closer than to improve the outfield, so my posts called Bochy a spoiled brat whose terrible performance was the equivalent of a temper tantrum demanding that his parents buy him a new toy (in this case a closer) and saying they shouldn’t go along with it. After they signed Melancon, and the whole thing was farther away, I changed my position and rationalized it by saying that the way he’d mismanaged the bullpen, they could never will a championship without an established closer, so they may as well go along with him–that is, I reckoned that given the fact that they weren’t going to fire Bochy, they had to give him what he wanted. Now that we can all see the results of this, I’ve progressed to the next stage, which is saying openly that he should be fired.
All Warriors fans:
Check this out. I think you’ll enjoy it!
https://mavobooks.com/2017/06/a-little-dubs-love/
Go Dubs!!
Chris
Awesome! I’ve shared here before that when I was growing up in the Bay Area, my dad’s company had season seats to the Warriors, so I got to go to games a few times a year. In the 1975 playoffs, I got to go to at least one game every round and to Game 2 of the Finals, which actually was in the Cow Palace because the Oakland Coliseum Arena had been booked for months for the Ice Capades or something. I was 14 and a freshman in high school, and I still remember my dad springing me from school early to go to the game.
Great! I remember the game 2 was at the Cow Palace. Unfortunately I didn’t make any playoff games. But later on I sat with Pam Barry and her three sons in those seats! Two of them later played in the NBA like their dad. Great memories! I hope the Warriors can finish off a phenomenal season tonight! We’ll be watching!
Go Dubs!!!
Mavo
🏀🏀🏀
Great memories…I remember the little high pitched “Whooo, whooo” Wilkes would yell out when he found himself open and wanted the ball….and who can forget the very FIRST Dubs Dunk Heard Round The World when Phil slammed it in Hayes’ face in the finals??? Good times
I remember Wilks doing that too!
Great game tonight and they finished it on home court! They should be really good for years too!
Did you check out my book yet? If so, what did you think of it?
Dude! It is AWESOME!!! You are a Bay Area sports treasure
Also for all Warriors fans – a bit different than MyGuy Mavo’s great stuff:
The Warriors are 0-4 in last 2 finals when Mike Callahan is the ref and 6-1 when he isn’t. The Cavs have won the last 12 playoffs game officiated by Callahan
“Never attribute to malice what is adequately explained by stupidity. And if fans of both teams are convinced the refs were rigging the game against them, maybe the refs were just really, really bad.”
https://theringer.com/nba-finals-game-4-refereeing-mistakes-5585cc641968
The article misses on several things:
1) “spectacular 1st quarter”. Mostly true. 22 free throws and setting the tone that EVERY Cavs drive would result in a foul while no Warriors drives would led to “spectacular”
2) “That’s when things got weird”. Not close. Things got weird at tip off and stayed that way
It was a chippy, sloppy, awfully officiated game as usual. The hype machine spins on and on.
Absolutely. All those first-quarter foul calls changed everything–both rotations and how the Dubs could play defense. Anyone who suggests otherwise (“It was just the Cavs’ brilliance, don’t make excuses”) isn’t seeing the big picture.
All true, but how do you account for the Cavs hitting almost every three-pointer? The whole game? And the Warriors missing so many? Those percentages shift just even a little, and even as poorly officiated as it was, it could have been a much closer game.
The perimeter defense was not good. They’ll need to make some adjustments.
That was mostly on the Dubs, (and the cavs GREAT shooting) no doubt…BUT the Dubs became very passive on face up defense, as well as fighting through screens, AND man defense after the early whistles. I personally cannot overstate the way that referees set the tone of NBA games. That’s exactly what they did from tipoff in #4. I expect tonight to be dramatically different
With big corporations like the NBA with so much money up for grabs and so much at stake, I quite firmly always believe in the opposite:
“Never attribute to stupidity what is adequately explained by malice.”
Power entities would rather you believe them stupid than evil. Gets less blood boiling in the injured parties, and they can get away with more.
Works for politicians, too.
My suggestion for Steve Kerr. Leave Draymond out until the 2nd Quarter. The refs will get in to the flow of the game and avoid mystery foul calls. Iguodala can handle it.
This crew is solid…You can’t leave draymond on the bench at the start. My preference: Go Death Lineup out of the gate with Iguodala instead of Zaza…yes, you risk Tristan Thompson grabbing rebounds, but his tongue would be dragging after 3 minutes.
The Zaza problem is costing too many points and creating Cleveland momentum spurts
Fortunately where Tristan is concerned, we have the Kardashian curse working for us.
And hope we have the highly professional refs.
Should be no issues in that regard tonite – a very good crew. Those who follow these things knew there was a potential ref problem going into game 4. They did not disappoint.
Who is reffing tonight?
Update — I just looked Crawford, Malloy and Stafford.
What do you think of that crew?
Honestly , as good as it gets with Crawford (the absolute best there is) and Malloy (a close 2nd). Stafford can get a little wonky.
But a HUUUUGE upgrade over the crew of Callahan, Davis (incompetent with attitude) and Gobel (intimidated by the moment)
Good — the first quarter of game 4 was just bizzare and it didn’t keep the game from getting out of control.
I just read about a poll given to players and coaches last year and while Danny Crawford was rated the best ref, both Scott Foster and Davis were rated among the bottom three refs in the league. Seems crazy that both are in the rotation for the finals.
Now I know that no one really cares about the MLB draft because it’s such a crap shoot, but HAPPY DRAFT DAY anyway! Enjoy the splendor, enjoy the unpredictability, enjoy some boy’s dreams coming true!
Speaking of recently drafted talent, I was unable to put my keen eye to the test at Visalia this weekend, but here’s how how the mini-Giants fared:
San Jose 8, Visalia 4 (woohoo, sweet taste of victory!)
Ryan Howard 2 for 5, .322 avg
Bryan Reynolds 1 for 5, .300 avg
Heath Quinn 1 for 5, HR (7th in 101 PAs, good god), 2 K – .309 avg
Jonah Arenado 3 for 5, HR (5), K – .254 avg
For Richmond, not much to see there, Miguel Gomez 1 for 4 – .323 avg
For Sac, Arroyo 1 for 5, Ryder Jones 1 for 1 with BB and 2 RBI – .292 avg
Mac Williamson 0 for 4 with hat trick – .242 avg.
Big Dan Slania moves to 0-8 with 7.82 ERA.
Crap shoot is right, but shake em up, shake em up, shake em. No whammies, big bucks, no snake eyes or crapping out either, hit the line every time!
Efrain can speak for himself. I’ll be watching, at least until the basketball game comes on.
and here I thought Efrain spoke for everyone, cool voice of reason that he is.
http://www.rickross.com/wp-content/uploads/hotrollcraps.jpg
It can be a crap shoot even after they have been in the minors a spell. Lot of potholes between Augusta and SF.
Unfortunately, Slania is a MyGuy for me.
You’re right, the MLB draft is a crapshoot. Hopefully the Giants can find their next Posey or BCraw or Panik type player.
People should care about it.
You get a bum rap sometimes, but you’re alright.
What’s wrong with Slania? I thought he had a bright future?
Roll ’em in a circle of Giants and watch me break ’em.
I don’t know the lingo, but I like the poetry!
The Mighty Quinn!
Ryder Jones’ over-.900 OPS in AAA is worth keeping an eye on. Still just 22 years old.
History:
Arroyo was a 25
Seager was an 18
Stroman was a 22
So having a #19 puts you in the mix.
Has there been a Haak sighting since the blog went down and back up? Haaaaak, where are you? Hope all is well. We got a weird thunderstorm last night and I had to run out in the rain and lightning and cover the tent with a tarp. Nothing to measure, but maybe you got something. Temp in the low 40’s this morning. Bizarre. Triple digits just around the corner. I think Haak has some enthusiasm for the draft. The MyGuy breeding grounds.
Your residence heroism beats the heck out of mine…I had to cover Beauty’s designer pillows she places out on her patio furniture.
Thanks … catching up after getting out of the habit.
MyGuyOfTheWeekend™ … Slater
Picked by … AHS, Anti-Lasorda, Crawnik, DrLefty, Matthew, PandaPuffs, Sarcastic
He finished last year at AAA with wRC+ of 137 and is now sitting at an MLB wRC+ of 163. We give him a 40% Bonus for jumping up to the MLB level so his score is 228; improved 91 points over the 137 for a 67% improvement which is how he gets ranked among all the prospects in MyGuy™.
A bright spot in a dark season but only a spark that has a long way to go to see who he is.
Welcome back, and excellent Slater assessment.
Can’t start a fire without a spark,
this comes from higher.
Even if you’re just dancing in the dark (with Courtney Cox)
..
The Warriors need to take care of this tonight, and Durant obviously can’t do it by himself. A loss in game 5 would inspire even more talk about last year’s collapse and ramp up the pressure on them.
I think they realize this and will take care of business. I really like David West’s presence. He is a bit underrated.
The Cavs are desperate, and the Warriors are going to have to execute at a very high level to beat them. Gotta protect the ball, keep Thompson off the glass, and make a good percentage of their shots. To me, those are the obvious keys.
Pavin Smith the latest of about 2 dozen possible picks for G’s.
http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2017/6/9/15772778/mlb-draft-2017-giants-pavin-smith-mock-baseball-america
Sounds great – more HRs than K’s! That’s truly amazing, like Ted Williams amazing. Don’t see how he falls to 19, but when it’s a crap shoot, anything can happen!
I was looking at defensive stats, and good God, the Giants’ centerfielders are awful. There are 36 centerfielders with 150+ innings at that position this year. Sorted by defensive runs saved, Span is #31 at -7 DRS, and Hernandez is #35 at -9. What’s really notable is that Gorkys has amassed those numbers in only about half as many innings as other CFs.
This is not just Gorkys (and Span) bashing, though. The Giants have two guys, Slater and Tomlinson, who have played CF this season in AAA. The Giants ostensibly keep Gorkys for the sole reason that they need a backup for Span. It’s certainly not for his bat. But, even assuming that neither Tomlinson nor Slater is any great shakes in CF, how much worse could they be than -9 DRS in not even 180 innings? I actually believe that KT could get pretty good out there with some reps, due to his speed. I saw him play two games out there in Sacramento a few weeks ago and thought he looked fine–decent jumps, had a clue out there.
I listened to the whole Saturday game in the car on the way home from Monterey. It struck me how repeatedly disparaging Jon Miller was about Gorkys’ defense. It was clear to me that Miller doesn’t think he’s competent.
Gillaspie’s coming back and Strickland’s about to start his suspension (his hearing is tomorrow, and it’s a matter of how long, not if). The assumption is that KT gets demoted again, but I think they should dump Gorkys and keep Kelby.
http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=cf&stats=fld&lg=all&qual=150&type=1&season=2017&month=0&season1=2017&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&sort=10,d&page=2_30
How Gorkys Hernandez continues to hold a job is one of the great mysteries of our time.
He’s the worst CF in the majors (100+ ABs)
http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=cf&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=100&type=8&season=2017&month=0&season1=2017&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&page=2_30
I’d also be willing to put him up against all CFs with less than 100 ABs.
I have said many times that his presence on the roster is proof that Bochy’s goal is neither to win games now or to develop players for the future but something else.
Oracle brings up a valid point, but your ongoing overstatement of acting as if Bochy doesn’t want to win just shows you to be so incredibly stubborn on the anti-Bochy rants, you lose effect. Because you act like you mean it…and if you do, then you have no credibility. .
Hernandez is borderline 5th outfielder, at best. We get it. His playing does NOT prove that Bochy’s goal is “neither to win games now …” or anything that follows.
Be frustrated. But quit claiming that Bochy wants to lose.
For the millionth time, I am not claiming that Bochy wants to lose. I’m claiming that he is primarily concerned with the Giants shelling out big bucks for a headline outfielder so he wants to make sure that no internal prospects are developed. That isn’t the same thing at all. As I’ve said before, if you have another theory as to why Gorkys is on the roster, let’s hear it. He isn’t borderline 5th outfielder. That’s ridiculous. He isn’t even borderline 6th or 7th.
Read what you wrote. I didn’t say it…you did….for the millionth time, at that
Gorkys on the roster, because Bochy believes in his reputation as a great defensive outfielder, even if this year’s metrics are bad, reputation is hard to change, most Gold glovers in the past won based on reputation .
It isn’t the the metrics which are bad this year in the field. He’s just obviously awful out there. You don’t need any statistics to see that. What you need is some special blinders NOT to see it.
Bochy wears those special blinders .
You’re still insisting that Hernandez is a “borderline” big leaguer? I believe your borders are askew.
But, there are no borders any more. I’ve seen the light
ATTABABE!!!
We are the diaspora from Africa, from The Caucasus, from Java, from Plymouth Rock, from Alpha Centauri!
Exactly. The argument that Bochy is managing rationally is dependent on having hallucinations about Gorkys.
Yes – you’ve said it many, many times
Just remember, each time KT comes up and gets sent back down, he gets closer to running out of options, and since the Giants’ management’s basic goal is not to develop young players but rather to make sure that no one else develops them and makes the Giants look bad, this means that KT will be closer to getting a serious shot.
That’s not exactly how it works. Options are by the year, not the bus ride. So KT (or whoever) could go back and forth 17 times this year, and it counts as one option year.
But he should be out of options after this year (they get three, starting with the year they’re added to the 40-man roster). He came up in 2015, so this should be #3.
I see. Thanks for the explanation. But in any case, it means next year they have to give him a serious shot. When he’ll turn 28 in June. Sigh.
Yep.
They won’t listen to me, but the suspension’s missing man should not come out of the position players. If they do split that 12-12, KT should not be the one to go. It probably should be Aaron Hill rather than Gorkys, though, as Kelby is able to spell three of the IFs once a week, and take a day in the OF too. I’m not so sure I’d commit immediately to Kelby in the OF regularly, as is implied by sending Gorkys away.
Just my opinion, but more of Kelby Tomlinson would help this team.
Kelby seems like a very useful backup, who might even play his way into a starting job in another year or so. I don’t think that’s guaranteed, but I like his ability to play defense at a number of spots.
I’m just wondering what KT has to do? Seems like he always makes solid contact and has hit well despite being shuffled around like crazy.
He has to run out of options.
Exactly. The Giants have to be afraid to be called stupid if they lose him. That’s what’s really motivating them.
and according to Roster Resource he has 2 left – so 1 next year!
Oh crap, so he doesn’t get a real shot until he’s 28??
Two words: Ronnie Jebavy
MyGuy last year!
What’s in a name. He’s been hittin’ real well since coming back this year. Coming back is something Steven Duggar has yet to do. Jebavy drafted one round ahead of Duggar in ’15 (5th & 6th, or 4th and 5th, IIRC).
Good thing you didn’t look at wrc+ you’d really be upset by those guys (and Evans)
A few years ago, Eric Sogard (2nd round pick ’07) was voted Face of MLB. Man, he was tearing up the Giants in Milwaukee. Could Kelby (12th round, ’11) be the next face of MLB…
http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Kelby+Tomlinson+iRomCoH2GSCm.jpg
Great pic, Foothills Hy-per-bol-e!
i’m serious. Oakland voters hacked the system like Giants fans did for All Star game several years ago. Funny stuff.
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/images/players/head_shot/519299.jpg
He actually lost the face of MLB finals to David Wright, and it was fixed vote, Sogard had a huge lead , but some how Wright passed him in the last hour of the vote .
I don’t like your alternative facts.
I use to follow that , Posey won the next year .
Here’s a list of major leaguers with over 300 ABs in 2015-2017. #1 out of 425 hitters in line-drive% (28.3%, the next highest is Freddie Freeman with 27.8%) is…Kelby Tomlinson.
http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=300&type=2&season=2017&month=0&season1=2015&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&sort=5,d
Here’s another list of the infield hit% of the same 425 batters. #39 out of 425 is…Kelby Tomlinson.
http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=300&type=2&season=2017&month=0&season1=2015&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&sort=11,d&page=2_30
These are two completely separate categories (the infield hit% is all ground balls). It’s no fluke that this guy is a .300 career hitter.
and no fluke he has a .000 ISO through 42 PAs this year and .038 in 120 last year.
Dude swings with a pepper stroke. Hit line drive up the middle or to right side. That’s his game. Very little swing – strives for that line drive contact, never tries to do much with the ball – yet he has still K’d 19% of PAs.
That’s CC’s perfect swing, Homeruns are accidents remember .
But hey man, if you aren’t built strength wise to hit it 496 feet like Aaron Judge or 460 like Austin Slater, have to adapt to a style of play that fits your skill set. Props to the Kelbster. He represents something of the everyman on the MLB field and I think that’s why his cheering section gets vociferous!
That isn’t it for me. For one thing, he’s just plain fast, really fast, that isn’t everyman at all. He’s just a good ballplayer.
Also true. And it’s gotten him an Off rating of 6.6 in 355 plate appearances (Off is a conglomerate statistic combining all offensive statistics). That’s the 3rd best ratio on the team behind Posey and Belt:
http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=300&type=8&season=2017&month=0&season1=2015&ind=0&team=30&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0
wow! Maybe he should be playing every day!
Oh , great…Today is the unedited version of “Kelby Should Start” by John Myhill.
How compelling.
This blog thinks he is Babe Ruth, the Slappy blog never fails me .
Maybe Bochy’s decision making in this area of been thrown off by the emotional devastation wrought by the Duffy trade.
I think Evans should call Epstein and offer Tomlinson straight up for Baez.
John loves him some Kelby Tomlinson. The Cubs might need to sweeten the deal, though.
Well, they could throw in some guy with lousy line drive % like Rizzo
Actually my post was more about Baez sucks that about Kelby being good. OBP of .285, 25% strikeouts, and one of the worst fielding 2bmen in baseball.
Did Orchard have a special on shovels?
9 HRs, 27 RBIs, and if you really think he’s one of the worst fielding second basemen in baseball, you need to push yourself away from the advanced stats table.
Ask Cubs’ fans if you don’t believe the stats. Why do you think they’re playing Zobrist at 2nd almost half the time even though he’s 36 and batting .228?
There is NO more compelling argument than “ask Cubs fans”!!!
Well you don’t believe any of the stats. All you know is he hit a homer to beat Cueto so he must be great.
You are laughably upside down on this one, John. That is far from “all I know”
So what’s any good about Baez? That he’s hit 9HRs in 182 plate appearances this year? Big deal, Williamson hit 6 in 127 PAs last year and I don’t see you making a case for him being great. And Baez’ career strikeout % is even higher than Williamson’s. Or is it that Baez has past your eye test based on the NLDS last year (I guess you didn’t see the World Series)? C’mon, let’s hear your evidence that Baez is any good.
You apparently think “evidence” is simply your twisted stats…Evidence? Find me ONE person in baseball that thinks Baez is not a good MLB player, and better yet, find one human other than you that think Kelby and Baez are remotely comparable.
In other words, you have no argument, data, or knowledge at all. Not even going to try?
Oh my God…seriously? Your data is absurd. Find me ONE, John… you can’t. One. You’re on an island, convinced your ‘argument, data, and knowledge” are somehow legitimate. They aren’t
106 vs. 83 career wRC+ just doesn’t mean anything to you, does it? Your knowledge is beyond mere statistics, it’s based on rumors.
The guy’s career wRC+ is 83, you find that impressive? Kelby’s is 106. Baez’ career average is .245. He’s struck out 29% of the time.
throw in Arrieta!
..and a player to be named later?
Okay, here’s another Kelby stat. Off is a conglomerate statistic combining all of a players offensive stats. Since 2015, the Giants’ top three players in terms of Off per plate appearance are Posey, Belt, and Tomlinson:
http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=300&type=8&season=2017&month=0&season1=2015&ind=0&team=30&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0
I don’t know how I’ve ever been able to watch baseball before becoming aware, as I have this morning, of the “Off” stat.
Live and learn. It’s the most comprehensive Offensive stat I know of.
I eagerly await the new Michael Lewis follow up book Statyball
“Okay, here’s another Kelby stat” should be your signature line
Well, I only have one thing to say on this beautiful Kelby Stat Monday:
Go Dubs
Today is snarky, smarmy, sarcastic, statistics day!
It’s also Draft Day!!
You only live once. Don’t blow it.
If John Myhill has a son, I predict the boy will be named Kelby Tomlinson Myhill.
I predict he will have a head circumference of 18.356 inches, above league average, and his IBR (Infancy Barf Rate) will make him a better prospect than Aaron Judge Jr.
Kelby leads the majors in every stat among players named Kelby.
All this Kelby talk is as rediculous as was all the Duffy affection. He is not an everyday major leaguer. Good bench kid, that’s about it. And the most preposterous mention is to put him in CF, just because the Giants gave no one and played him there a couple of times in the minors does not make him a ML level CF. GEESH
BUT HE’S BETTER THAN BAEZ!!!!!
I think the idea is that he should be on the 25-man roster instead of Gorkys, and the ostensible reason for keeping Gorkys on the 25-man roster is that he can supposedly play centerfield. So to clarify your position, do you think that Gorkys SHOULD be on the 25-man roster? If not, who else besides Span should be able to play center?
I’m with you on that one.
But this is the entire argument. Everyone who is arguing against Kelby is in effect arguing for Gorkys.
Untrue. Those aren’t the only two options in life. You’ve already told us you wanted to trade Panik, too.
I didn’t say that. I suggested it as a possibility as part of a discussion about how the Giants might get a good outfielder, and I challenged people hear to come up with a better suggestion. As I recall, you couldn’t think of anything else.
Dude…there are ways, but you aren’t getting a good outfielder unless you get one for a top line pitcher like Cueto. You don’t “challenge people”. you throw crazy ideas and then when we disagree, you claim we have “no ideas” to solve some end of the world crisis you overcook.
Read and post those stats. Bask Bochy, the guy trying to lose. Start Kelby. Convince us Nunez is a lucky hack. Enjoy your own strange ball yard
We’ve been through this. A half year of Cueto isn’t going to get much. In 2015 the Reds got Brandon Finnegan, John Lamb and Cody Reed for a half year of Cueto. Next idea?
A viable CF prospect could be had for Cueto. I’d hope they could get Derek Fisher from Houston or Clint Frazier from NYY if they bid against each other.
It isn’t Cueto, it’s a half-season of Cueto. I’m very skeptical that anyone would be that stupid, we’ll see.
I think I’m mostly right. The market will pay accordingly for the best 1,2, or 3 best starting pitchers available to help get to the promised land.
A young controllable starter can bring 4 prospects with two of them being premium. Cueto should bring one that is sub-premium, but quite enticing.
Then how do you explain the uselessness of the reds’ haul for cueto?
Agree.
Two things that limit the value of Cueto for the Giants or any acquiring team are his age and the term and amount of his remaining contract. That said, Cueto is about as good a wager for getting value and service out of an aging starter on the market.
I am torn between wanting Cueto to remain a Giant.
I hope you’re right, but I seriously doubt it.
In terms of the 25th place on the roster, it looks like those are the two options. Or do you think someone else will go down?
Thank you for chiming in. The blog needed your cool, reflective expertise on the matter.
What is your opinion of Austin Slater? Should we temper any enthusiasm? What’s your breakdown of his swing?
Thanks in advance.
Not long enough of a sample size yet, looks to have power but can he consistently hit is the question. Doesn’t look to have that high of a ceiling but perhaps he can play D and hit well enough to stay on the field more so than Parker / Mac.
Let’s just say he doesn’t have much competition so it’s up to him to stay on the field.
Good take!
I’m assuming that you were joking, asking for Efrain to actually demonstrate knowledge of baseball, and he took you seriously, right?
It took the league a week to find gaping holes in Arroyo….let’s see if Slater can avoid that
One of Arroyo’s deals is swingitis, swinging at pitchers’ pitches. And then something happened in his mechanics, extra head movement perhaps, where he stopped barreling up ball.
I say let’s find out about CF. He can’t be worse than Span. And I mean for a game or two, when Bochy decides to stack the lineup with righty hitters.
You know that most of us here see him as a valuable utility bench guy, not an everyday starter.
Nice Duffy troll attempt, though.
He can be worse than Span. He’s can’t be worse than Gorkys.
Websters Dictionary has officially listed Kelbyholism as a new word on June 12th, 2017
Lol who on the blog said Kelby was better than Baez?! Hahahhahah
😂😂😂😂
In what world?
Hey now, let’s not make a mountain out of a Myhill 😉
Maybe Kelby is a better SS than Lindor!!! Cleveland should trade us Miller and a young OF and put Kelby at SS QUICK!!!
🤔😏😂
Efrain being Efrain.
Moving on.
I’m with him on this absurdity today, TF
Efrain, take a guess, what’s Baez’ career wRC+? What’s his strikeout %? His batting average?
Hey pal, the universe orbits via wRC+…where have you been?!?!?!
Force = mass times wRC+: Sir Isaac Newton’s beta test Principia.
…although nobody does the Clark Kent/Big Bang Theory nerdism thing as well as he does. The “F” is missing on his Giants undershirt.
I have to hand it to Evans, Baer and the Giants PR team 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
15 games back, 13 outta 3rd place, and they have the fans deliberating about guys like Kelby, Slater and Gorkys instead of calling for their heads.
Kudos 👍🏼
Fell outta my chair laughing on that one, E
I’m deliberating but also calling for their heads. One does not exclude the other.
Players who were not of any question preseason are not executing. That’s baseball.
Pick your poison. Could be going nego on certain players or lauding the Rockies, Dodgers, and DBacks, or could be applauding an unheralded scrappy player. Viva Kelby and his 82 wRC+ !
I presume you mean the heads of Evans, Baer, et al
Good one. Save Gorkys’ head for The Oracle.
It’s tough to fire an owner, so I’d say Baer is pretty safe. I think the organization views Evans as a key part of the 3 titles so I don’t see him being fired despite some fairly epic roster mismanagement over the last few years. I think as much as anything the FO just totally miscalculated the offensive production of their “core” guys. They thought Crawford and Panik (and to a degree Pence) could be relied upon for major production on offense. Instead, they are painfully realizing those guys are good players (Pence is looking like his better days are well behind him), but not offensive cornerstones that can be counted on to provide top level offensive production.
IMO that line of miscalculation about the infield offensive production led them to believe they could go in-house in LF, which has backfired spectacularly (although hopefully they have something in Slater). I have no idea what they were thinking regarding Span (and as stated above, Pence) because to essentially have no backup plan for them was crazy. Finally, the bullpen, despite the addition of Melancon, has been mostly terrible. There is a lot of deadwood and the “keepers” are erratic (Melancon, Law, Strickland, Osich?, Okert?) or injured (Smith). Oh, and for good measure, Moore has taken a major step backwards and has been terrible.
All of this has led to a massive failure of a season. But the ownership’s line of thinking will likely not lead to a massive overhaul. I just hope the organization has the wherewithal to trade Cueto, Nunez and (hopefully) Melancon. At least that’s a start and would be much better than thinking a band-aid will fix all that ails this team.
Didn’t they fire Neucomb as Managing General Partner?