It was an ugly game at the end of an ugly road trip, but you know what? The Giants won and survived the most difficult stretch of their schedule with only a 1.5 game deficit to show for it. In the process, a few bright spots are starting to shine through the darkness. Key Lines:
Pablo Sandoval- 2 for 6, HR(15). BA= .310. Pablo is banged up but playing his heart out. He deserves consideration for the Willie Mac Award, although Vogelsong continues to be the frontrunner. The 2 run dinger was a huge game winner to left-of-center >404 ft.
Aubrey Huff- 1 for 3, 2B, 2 BB. BA= .248. While practically everyone has been calling for him to be benched, Huff has been hot for awhile. He was on base 3 times in 5 PA's today.
Brandon Belt- 4 for 5, HR(5). BA= .230. OK, I'm ready to say it. Belt is ready to be a starting player in the major leagues! The dinger was an inside fastball that he pulled his arms in for, turned on it and drove it off the facing of the second deck in RF while his parents, wifey and extended family cheered him on. He pulled another inside pitch into RF for a single, went the other way on an outside pitch and pulled yet another one on the outer half of the plate to right-center. He's closed up the holes in his swing and is comfortable enough to be more aggressive. He now has 5 dingers in 100 AB's. That projects to 30 dingers over 600 AB's in a full season as an every day starter. His OBP is 100 pts higher than his BA. Yeah, he's ready! When Beltran comes back, I think the Giants need to put him in CF, Nate in RF and Belt in LF. Maybe, maybe platoon Ross and Belt. Belt has to be the starting LF next year if Huff is still around, starting 1B if not.
Dan Runzler- 1.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 7.77. Well, that didn't go so well! Runzler had a chance to get out of the second inning with just 1 run allowed after inducing a DP grounder with the bases loaded. He then walked the pitcher, Sosa and Altuve made him pay, as expected. Bochy was clearly steamed in the dugout. I'm thinking we won't be seeing Runzler again any time soon.
Bullpen- 9.1 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K's. Mota took a couple of batters to settle in but after that, the bullpen was nails as usual in these kinds of games. I'll single out Steve Edlefsen: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. I'm thinking the cool climes of AT&T Park may help his sinker and slider work better than it did in the PCL.
The Braves completed a sweep of the D'Backs in ATL 1-0 allowing the Giants to creep up to 1.5 games behind in the NL West.
The Giants now get a travel day off before starting a 12 game homestand which also starts a stretch of 18 home games out of their next 21. Their season will depend on how they do in this stretch. This is their big schedule advantage for the season. They have to do it now!
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runzler confuses me in the same way durty does
ReplyDeletenasty stuff, but serious control issues when it comes to his best pitch...the slider
they are gonna have to think of a way to get surkamp on the 40 man
It's not exactly a novel concept that some pitchers with great velocity and great stuff have trouble controlling it.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking we might be seeing a waiver wire pickup or trade in the next week or two.
ReplyDeleteoh, and jwill may become the al version of vsong
ReplyDeletewent 7 strong tonite against the o's
6 ks, only one run...solo dinger
Awesome to see Belt play a big game infront on his family and friends. Hope Runzler figures it out, impressive arm for a lefthander.. Mota has saved them several times in middle relief. Frustrating game to listen to blowing many scoring chances, glad the G's came out on top. Hope Beltran comes back soon.. That would be ideal if he could play CF.. We'll see.. Enjoyed watching Jwill on TV today, great job by him
ReplyDeleteIs it just me, or does it seem like Panda gained some weight back?
ReplyDeletePablo Sandoval is not small! I think he has definitely gained weight back.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your description of Belt's hits, DrB. You have convinced me that he's ready for a starting job, at minimum a platoon in LF with Ross, maybe more if Ross continues to struggle.
ReplyDeleteHe has been striking out horribly even in this latest call-up, so it is hard to see through the stats when he is actually having good at bats or just getting lucky. This is where scouting eyes help a lot.
I am thinking the Giants will be look for MI talent on the waiver wire right now, plus maybe a starting pitcher to help them get over the hump on Dirty and Zito being injured.
I would give Panda a break on his weight right now. He is probably too injured lately to work out properly, he needs to rest right now, and that will result in added weight because he can't exercise.
Given our CF's problems, I would be upset if Beltran is still playing RF and forcing Nate to play out of position. He's played CF all his career, it should be no adjustment. I understand why they put him in RF to start, they haf nobody to leadoff, and were hoping that Torres/Ross could do the job.
Now, both are clearly not doing it in CF, the Giants should just put somebody there (I would nominate Nate) who can put the bat on the ball, get on a decent amount of the time with some speed, and he's probably the fastest in the starting lineup now.
Heck, I would be OK batting Belt leadoff, he would make more sense. He gets on base a lot, hitting leadoff might get him out of swinging for the fences (and striking out a lot) and focus more on getting on base, which he needs to figure out first before he can hit homers for us in the future. He is also a good baserunner, though not speedy, and that is useful up top as well.
Belt, Keppinger, Sandoval, Beltran, Huff, Schierholtz, Tejada, C would not be too bad a starting lineup.
I don't see Jerome being a Vogelsong doppelganger in the AL.
ReplyDeleteHis stats in AAA are not that impressive at all. Vogelsong was just dominating in the minors, Williams was just OK.
I have fond and wistful memories of Jerome, he was suppose to be the core of our starting staff way back when, whereas I never had such feelings and hopes for Vogelsong, and I wish Puka Shells all the best, particularly since he isn't pitching for the Dodgers now.
But I just don't see how he will dominate in the majors like Vogelsong has when he could not even dominate AAA hitters.