Matt Cain pitched one of the best games of his already substantial career, if not THE best. The Giants offense kept producing. This game was never in doubt from the bottom of the first on. When you look at the Giants lineup and their pitchers, this is the type of game you envision them cranking out 3 out of every 5 or so. Key lines:
Melky Cabrera- 2 for 3, BB, SB(1). BA= .414. Melky continues to lead the way.
Buster Posey- 1 for 3, 2B, BB. BA= .300. Great moment when Buster got a standing O his first AB then crushed one off the CF wall for a RBI double.
Aubrey Huff- 2 for 3, HR(1), BB. BA= .278. There was a tremendous outpouring of vitriol on the internets when it was announced Huff was starting over Belt. All that looks pretty stupid now, huh? I fully understand the desire to let Belt get MLB experience, but it's not as easy a decision as the internet CW is making it out to be.
Nate Schierholtz- 2 for 4. BA= .308. Wait! Nate is hitting .308? He hit at least one other ball hard.
Matt Cain- 9 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 11 K's. ERA= 3.00. Is that about the prettiest pitching line you'll ever see, or what? Shame that the perfecto was lost on a hit by the opposing pitcher. Cain is looking more and more like a harder throwing version of Greg Maddux all the time.
Barry Zito tries to prove that his last start was not a fluke tomorrow evening.
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Cain looked really good. The greatest quality about Cainer is his steely demeanor. After he gave up the hit, he lifted his cap, wiped his forehead, rubbed up the new baseball and went right back to work. Posey really called a good game too... kept the pace fairly quick and was calling any pitch at any time.
ReplyDeleteOne of Nate's hits was probably an error on McCutchen. He broke back on a blooper that should have been caught.
Great game by Matty, I had thought that he would be the next Giants pitcher with a no hitter, still think he will.
ReplyDeleteWhat about Huff? That is one for the haters!
Zito did have a fluke, that is all one can say when it is something he has not done in ten years or so. But we do not need another shutout, though that would be nice, we just need a game where he keeps the game close for our team to try to win it. That is life in the back of the rotation. If he can just deliver a 4-Ish ERA in 2012, that would be great from a #5 starter, which is what he would have been had Vogie not hurt his back. And he did it for us in 2009 and 2010.
Great game to listen to at work with no stressful innings.. Great starting pitching today.. Once Timmy gets on track, the starting pitching should be more consistent.. I'm concerned about Brian Wilson.. After reading Baggs column, it sounds like Belt is no longer the starting 1st baseman and Bochy is even questioning if he's ready for the majors.. We'll see what happens, but it seems like the Giants are mismanaging Belt again by bringing him up before he's ready.. Bochy has no choice but to play Huff if he wants to put the best offensive lineup out there.. Its nice to see Crawford and Sanchez getting RBI hits.. I'm hoping Zito pitches a decent game tomorrow to give the team a chance to win..
ReplyDeleteFor all you draft followers, I watched the Hawaii vs St Mary's game on TV tonight and got to see (RHP) Martin Agosta pitch. His line was 7 IP 2 ER 4 hits 2W 8KS 120+ pitches.. Agosta has a fastball in mid 90's range, good slider, and a changeup.. His pitching line looks good, but I thought he struggled thru the 1st 5 innings throwing a lot of pitches and several pitches in the dirt on the 1st base side of home plate which were tough for the catcher to backhand. But to his credit, 5 of his strikeouts came in the 6th and 7th innings.. I was surprised we threw over 120 pitches but learned he's gone 7+ innings in 7 out of his 8 starts.. It would be nice if the Giants drafted him because he is also a Giants fan.
LG
Agosta and patrick wisdom are both interesting. Love for the giants to look to them in the 2/3. Don't think they are quite first round talent but wouldn't bs hugely upset at a reach either. I trust the giants to evaluate pitching. The hitting is coming along as well, but not quite at trust levels yet.
DeleteI'm just done with the Belt situation.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if Bochy really has lost faith in Belt (again). But to make a pretty bold statement after 3 starts (here's the bench for the next 4 games), then the Giants have absolutely no plan.
If Belt isn't ready, what is he doing here? I don't care about his monster ST.
And if Belt is ready, in their opinion, then he deserves more than 3 starts to prove himself.
Lunacy.
I think it's pretty clear that Sabes wants Belt to be up and playing and Bochy doesn't think he's ready. Now THIS could get interesting. If Huff starts going good, it might open up the option for Sabes to trade him during the season. Would he pull the trigger on that? Most likely outcome is Sabes gets the message from Boch that Belt is not going to play and finally accedes and sends him down to get regular AB's.
DeleteNice call DocB. Maybe send Belt down and pull a "Molina" in June. Let Belt get his ABs in Fresno. Get value for Huff when he is going good - might need a 2B or 5th starter help by then. Bring up Belt and make Belt/Pill/Posey the 1B mix n match. Win WS.
DeleteCAIN, CAIN, CAIN. Today every $$$,$$$,$$$ was worth it.
I think you are right on DrB, for the 2nd straight year belt is getting the push pull. Last year it was bochy doing the pulling and this year it looks like sabean. While I don't like their PR on this, I do take the long view that like matt Williams eventually belt will be in the lineup. It's a better problem to have to try to get people pt than not have enough warm bodies.
DeleteKelly,
DeleteAccording to an earlier article by Baggs, Bochy met with Belt after the Dbacks series and Belt admitted that he was pressing.. Bochy also commented that what separates the good and great hitters is how they handle adversity.. Maybe this meeting had something to do with Bochy's statement, who knows.. This gave me a red flag for some reason because it seems like Belt is pressing too much after only 3 games.. I don't remember ever reading something where a player is pressing after only 3 games..
I'm also concerned that Belt only had a BA of .308 at Fresno with 8 hrs in 165 abs and a ton of K's.. Manny Burris did hit .292 himself at Fresno..
LG
I am not a Huff hater. Huff will always have a warm spot in Giants history. The rally thong is a true classic. And, Huff had a nice day yesterday. I am not rooting against him. However, don't be expecting Huff circa 2010 again. That ship has sailed.
ReplyDeleteThe Giants are a better team with Belt at 1B. Aside from the upside he offers (yesterday notwithstanding, Huff offers very little upside), Belt is a vastly superior defender and base runner. Stop jerking Belt around, give him 20 starts over a 25 game span, and the Giants offense gets better and the team gets more athletic. Eleven stinking at bats, knowing the whole time his manager (despite his dishonest public drivel to the contrary) was not committed to him, and he gets sent to the bench. Unwise!
Come July, Aubrey will be Aubrey - .240 to .250 with very limited run production and offering very little else - and Giant fans will be wishing that Bochy did a better job of bringing Belt along.
There are definitely two sides to the argument of Huff vs Belt. What I don't get is how people can just state that "the Giants are a better team with Belt at 1B" like it's an established fact. What is there about Belt's performance at the MLB level that proves any such thing?
DeleteLet's start with defense and base running, factors that come into play in close games. Belt is significantly superior to Huff in both areas, on that I think it is fair to say there is general agreement.
DeleteThen let's go to the numbers. Look at Huff's last 500 at bats - arguably the weakest numbers of ANY first baseman in the majors over that period. Then take Belts 200 plus at bats and prorate them. Without even accounting for the way he was jerked around and how that had to effect his performance, Belt's numbers are better in every area but batting average. Belt's ability to take walks results in a near identical OBP to Huff. And, Belt has upside - I believe it is fair to assume he will grow offensively given regular playing time.
I don't think it's even a close call.
Let me add one more thought. It's easy to forget the angst that Giants management (and Giant fans for that matter) went through with Matt Williams. His early years were marked with not-so-great numbers (see 1987, 1988 and 1989).......until the Giants simply put his name in the lineup and let it ride.
DeleteI would take issue with some of your premises here:
Delete1. Huff's last 500 AB's mostly occured last year which was one of his worst years. He does have a history of bouncing back from bad seasons. He last 500 AB's are probably not predictive of his next 500.
2. Although I do it sometimes to illustrate possibilities, prorating AB's has not been shown to be a valid way of projecting the future. Sure, his 9 HR's last year might mean that it's possible for Belt to hit .220 and still hit 27 HR's or it may mean that if he hits .270 he might hit 35, but that's hardly a basis for a statement that "the Giants are a better team with Belt in the lineup."
3. Belt might have more range at 1B and be a bit faster on the bases, but I've seen him make a few "giraffy" looking plays. He's a bit tentative out there both on the field and basepaths as he is at the plate. Huff is not a terrible fielder at 1B and while he is not fast, he doesn't make a lot of baserunning mistakes.
I accept that Belt has enormous potential for the future. I also accept that he needs MLB experience to reach that potential. I don't accept that the Giants are a better team right now with Belt in the lineup. That's the conundrum.
I'm pretty vocal Belt proponent. I don't have any axe to grind against Huff. And has been said, "Muchas Gracias Huffy, for 2010."
DeleteAnd it should be noted that Bochy seems to be going to go with the hot hand a little more this season. He's got a lot of flexibility, especially in the outfield.
That being considered, it still doesn't make sense what the Giants are doing to "develop" a potential plus player. Who here did not agree that Belt needs to play every day in 2012? The question was always, where should he play every day. The worst case scenario was for him to sit on the bench and pinch hit. And, here we are.
Of course the Giants will not let Belt sit forever. So, if Huff plays acceptably, Belt will be demoted. Again. The Giants do not seem to have a plan.
It's not the end of the world for Belt to go down. But someone explain the message of "You're our 1st Baseman...unless you perform poorly for 11 ABs."
The plan is to try to win a World Series THIS year! That may or may not include Belt. Right now, it looks to me like Belt will be going down to Fresno soon.
Deletebelt is gone when freddy gets back
Deletehe would be going down on sunday, but the zito injury changes that
bochy is gonna want to carry a bigger pen all season, manny has shown he can finally hit, need pill as backup first baseman and power rt bat off the bench and the riot needs to stay for the vet presence thing
thats just the way things play out now, with wilson being done
I think you mean the Wilson injury.
DeleteDoc, respectfully, I've got a better plan: Win the World Series EVERY year.
Delete(Sorry, couldn't help it.)
I don't care if Belt goes to Fresno. But if that's where he belongs, he damn well should have started the season there. The Giants look unbelievably reactive and short-sighted if Belt is demoted 2 weeks into the season. Kinda makes me miss the halcyon days of 2011 when Belt had a whole month to make the grade.
Scott,
DeleteI do remember Matt Williams struggles at the plate for a couple of years because he was one of my favorites.. The Giants sent him down midseason in 1989 with a .202 BA 18 hrs 50 rbis. Something must have clicked because he hit .320 BA with 26 hrs 60 rbis in AAA.. That was enough for Matt to get called back up again and help the team during their NL Pennent winning run.. You're right in 1990 Matt put up monster #'s and the rest is history..
I don't care if Belt goes to Fresno, if thats whats best for him and the team wins.. It might do his confidence a lot of good if he goes back to Fresno and has a great year.. He didn't set the PCL on fire last year either hitting .309 BA 8hrs 32rbis 165 abs..
LG
'We are trying to win, not get people ready.' - from the man in charge of Veteran Entitlement Program.
ReplyDeleteHe may be right...for one day.
But his propaganda department is not ready.
After 3 games, Huff was batting .182.
After 7 games, he is batting .278.
How do you know a player is ready (or has lost it) or not at any given time? He was not going to say that after the first 3 games about Huff being ready.
Talent evaluation is more art than science, let's be frank.
Against James MacDonald, maybe Belt would have had a break out game (people would have said, he was ready) - we will never know.
Pagan's OBP as of today: .172.
Blance's: .308.
Who is readier, sorry, more ready? Who do you go with if you are trying to win?
Not a hater. Don't care how we get there, just win baby! Frankly, way more troubled by Pagan than Huff v. Belt. We need to figure out if Blanco can stick at CF and if not, maybe play Melky at CF. Frankly, if it came to that, it would open up LF for Huff and Belt to both play. We also need to give Burress a real shot. He was on fire in spring, Theriot sucked then and still sucks, so don't get that one at all. It will work out; remember all the cries for Posey to take over for Molina.
DeleteBTW, someone OT, love the kids performing in the minors.
we were all correct....breaking news.....wilson to undergo surgery and be out for the year
ReplyDeletelooks like otero aint going anywhere and hembree better finish up getting those secondary pitches done in a hurry
I love Hembree, but here's a vote for Bochy establishing and communicating to Santiago Casilla that he will be the closer until he proves he can't do it. With all the antics of Wilson and the straight wickedness of Romo, people forget just how nasty Santiago Casilla is. I don't know about his temperament on the mound, but his stuff screams closer to me.
ReplyDeleteI think Casilla should be and will be the guy, especially after the stuff he showed tonight.
DeleteCasilla better get to work growing his beard. He's going to need it.
ReplyDelete