Madison Bumgarner seems to be developing a hot and cold reputation. He's either great or terrible depending on what game or what inning you are talking about. Tonight, the terrible version took the mound against a good hitting team and the results were not at all fun to watch as the Giants were knocked out of this one early and never recovered. Key Lines:
Carlos Beltran- 0 for 5. BA= .281. Still think it was a good trade but oh my, he sure has looked like a pumpkin so far.
Pablo Sandoval- 3 for 5, HR(11). BA= .308. Pablo is about the only person hitting on the team except maybe Keppinger.
Brandon Belt- 1 for 4, 2B. BA= .230. I may have just missed this in the past, but Belt was choking up about 3/4" on the bat. If this is new, or even if it isn't, I really like it a lot. Remember Barry Bonds choked up just a bit and he certainly knew a thing or two about hitting! Belt is a tall rangy guy. He can extend those arms and still cover the outside corner but this helps keep him from getting jammed inside too. We'll see how it works out. Crawford was choking up by about 1/2" which I hadn't noticed before either.
Madison Bumgarner- 4 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 3.80. Like I said, an ugly line from Bumgarner who gave up a 5 spot in the first innning barely getting out of it without a whole lot more. He did kind of settle down after that and his D betrayed him in the 4'th. By then, the game was long over.
After the game, word leaked out that the Giants traded Thomas Neal to Cleveland for Orlando Cabrera(MLBTR). As Kruk and Kuip mentioned on the broadcast, the Giants are desperate for a RH hitting SS, but I hate losing Neal and OCab is not what I think of as a difference maker. I have to admit that much as I like Neal as a player, it seemed like the injury bug came back to haunt him this year and Sabean has a long history of trading prospects who he thinks are injury prone, so I guess it shouldn't come as big surprise. The Giants are loaded with OF prospects and they seem to want to hang onto guys who are speedier than Neal anyway. I'm guessing Crawford gets sent down to make room for OCab. Burrell is probably now gone from the 40 man.
The D'Backs are trailing the Dodgers 4-2 in their game, so the Giants may once again not lose anything off their 4 game lead in the NL West. The Rockies threw in the towel by trading Ubaldo Jimenez to Cleveland for several pitching prospects. Now THAT is a surprise!
The Giants now have to hope that Barry Zito somehow finds the magic that won him 3 games after coming off the DL, but it would seem a sweep, as well as more work for an overworked bullpen may be staring them in the face. Johnny Cueto goes for the Reds and he can be a very tough customer even for good hitting teams.
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Neal was on the 40-man.
ReplyDeleteSo no need to DFA Burrell.... yet.
Yeah, you are right. Forgot about that.
ReplyDeleteCabera has been thru multiple pennent races which is good, and Crawford has not.. That might be his best quality. He's not the player he once was. I hope Neal gets his chance in the bigs with the Indians. The Indians have made some excellent trades for young players, Adzrubal Cabrera and Shin Su Choo from the Mariners, Carlos Santana from the Dodgers. Maybe Neal might be the next in line.
ReplyDeleteCrawford fell out of favor. Sabean went to get a replacement. Anyone. I wish they could have a waited a few wees, until Orlando or someone else was just released. Not a lot of value in Cabrera, IMO. Hopefully, he proves me wrong and plays an awesome SS.
ReplyDeleteKeppinger has been really impressive at the plate. Not sure if he's hot right now, or that's the way he does it, but the barrels up the ball damn squarely.
ReplyDeleteNot concerned about Beltran. The guy is solid when healthy. That's the only real concern.
Sorry to see Neal go. Wanted to give him a another year to see if the power came on. Was really hoping for Furcal. Just like the guy's intensity. When he's going right, he is a difference-maker. (Not sure, did the Cards end up landing him?) Cabrera's bat is pretty similar to Tejada's. So I guess we're picking up D and experience.
Not holding my breath for Zito magic.
I just assumed we could let Tejada play second when he came back (and/or hope Freddy makes it back), with Keppinger sliding over to SS. This would have allowed us to keep Neal, who probably could have replaced Ross next year.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how much more than Neal we would have had to offer to get Bourne. That would have been the real play...for now, and for the next couple years.
Lucky
My idea was to move Kepp over to SS with either Tejada or DeRosa playing 2B. I'm guessing Miggy's groin strain is going to keep him out awhile longer while the Giants don't trust DeRosa's wrist. They needed help now.
ReplyDeletePart of me still thinks they could have topped Philly's offer for Pence whose contract is controlled for 2 more years. Beltran is a better hitter in the short term although the next 2 months is such a small sample size, anything can happen.
It looks to me like ATL gave up quite a bit for Bourn. Everybody wants pitching and that's what the Giants are thinnest in. Wheeler was their one chip.