The GIants got bad news today that Brian Wilson has evidence of damage in his elbow that will likely require surgery. On the field, Barry Zito gave them a Quality Start and the offense scored at least 4 runs for the 7'th consecutive game to open the season winning this one on a walkoff error. Key Lines:
Angel Pagan- 2 for 4, 3B, BB, SB(1). BA= .161. Pagan seems to be seeing the ball better and making more solid contact. Think 2010 Andres Torres for his upside.
Hector Sanchez- 1 for 4. BA= .286. Sanchez and Zito teamed up well again as battery mates. The Hector singled to lead off the second inning and scored ahead of Nate's triple. He ran the bases really well until the last 10 feet or so before reaching home plate when he looked like he might collapse before reaching it. Good thing there were no outs at that point which gave him time to recover before having to put the gear back on.
Nate Schierholtz- 2 for 4, 2B, 3B. BA= .353. Nate seems to be close to locking down the starting RF job. That forces Melky to LF which chokes off an outlet for Huff/Belt. I think the writing is on the wall for Giraffe. The missus might want to start apartment hunting in Fresno.
Brandon Crawford- 1 for 4. BA= .233. The one error notwithstanding, Crawford's D won this game as he made several acrobatic, magical plays. I don't think there is anyone better at charging and barehanding the slow roller. Nice baserunning to take the exrra base on Burriss' single to center even though it didn't end up leading to a run.
Emmanuel Burriss- 2 for 4. BA= .333. Burriss' speed was decisive in scoring the walkoff run. With the bases loaded and no outs, Melky hit a sharp grounder to Barmes who was playing in. It should have been an easy force at the plate or even a DP, but Burriss' speed forced Barmes to hurry the throw and he skipped it to the catcher who bobbled it. Game over!
Ryan Theriot- 1 for 1. BA= .176. Brandon Belt was on deck behind Burriss in the 9'th. He would have been the batter had Burriss made an out, but when Burriss singled, Bochy pulled Belt back and sent up Theriot to bunt. Failing twice at that, Theriot worked the count to 3-2. With Burriss running on the 3-2 pitch, Theriot punched one past the first baseman for a perfect hit-and-run setting up the winning play. There were actually people in the Twitter Universe claiming to be Giants fans who were openly rooting for Theriot to make an out just to prove that Bochy made the wrong decision. Look, people! Players do not put themselves above the team. Fans do not put their favorite player above the team! Bruce Bochy made the right call in that situation!
Barry Zito- 7 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 1.13. Zito looked terrific for the first 2 batters of the game, then gave up 2 runs with 2 out. He looked distracted and lost. He clearly had lost his release point and was wild. He managed to pull it back together in time and settled down to pitch a 7 inning QS. If he keeps pitching like that, the Giants are gonna be alright.
Santiago Casilla- 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 0.00. Casilla had nasty stuff and was hitting 95 MPH on the radar gun. As the game unfolded, there was not going to be a Save situation so I wouldn't read too much into him coming into the game in the 8'th inning. I"m sure Bochy will do some mixing and matching, but Casilla is the obvious choice for the bulk of the Save Opps, at least until Hembree is ready.
As mentioned above, Brian Wilson had an MRI on his elbow that revealed structural damage that the Giants medical staff thinks will need surgery. Presumably we're talking Tommy John here. This injury likely spells the end of Brian Wilson's career as a San Francisco Giant for several reasons. First of all, this would be his second TJ surgery. TJ redos tend to not have as positive results as the first one. Secondly, Wilson is in the second year of a 2 year contract and is eligible for 1 more year of arbitration. No way are the Giants offering arbitration this offseason if he has a second TJ. I suppose they might be able to re-sign him at a lower $$ amount as a FA, but it's more likely some other team will be willing to spend more to take that chance.
Whoever takes over as closer, and I think it will be Casilla, will be a placeholder until the Heath Hembree era begins.
Ryan Vogelsong makes his 2012 debut tomorrow afternoon. Everybody expected Dan Otero to get sent out to make room for Vogey on the 25 man roster, but now he will likely take Brian Wilson's place with BWeezy going on the DL.
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I had the same thought that this might be the end of the Beard era in SF, but did not have any medical facts until now. There was also talk that there could be another issue besides TJS, do not recall where I read it, maybe Baggs.
ReplyDeleteNice gutty performance by Zito, after that first inning. Still low walks, impressive! Yeah, Nate is coming up big so far, been rooting for him for a long time. Belt really needs to once and for all nip this K-bug that he has badly in AAA, and get back to us and hit better.
If it's true there is more than just TJS going on with Wilson, I would say the prognosis is not even as good as a second TJ. I would presume, from the dire projections that he is likely done for the season that whatever it is, it's more than can be fixed by a simple cleanup procedure.
Deleteits sad if this is the way it ends
ReplyDeletetoo much like nen
huff can not be in the 4 hole...they pitch him differently and he doesnt adjust well
pablo is fat again, he isnt moving well...he needs the same threats every year to get motivated
craw will win multiple gold gloves....this post will be repeated numerous times over the season
wish i could figure out nate...he has a great work ethic, yet it seems he has a brain freeze every spring up until the season starts...its now like he wants them to challenge him for the starting role
im sick of the belt adulation. was one thing when many of us were screaming that they play the kids over the worthless vets...but this is different. they are playing the kids and the vets on the team are not broken down and worthless...and belt has yet to prove that he can consistently hit mlb pitching. the guy has two huge holes. and bochy was right...it was a bunting situation and riot can bunt (just not tonite) but he did what a vet knows how to do..he worked the count and got a good pitch to hit.
the belt hero worship is just downright strange, and shows the power of that frickin tv. take away last season's showtime series and no one would give 2 squats about the kid...they sure as hell didnt when it was really time for nate to come up...it was just me, yelling at my walls.
seems that durty is still a frickin head case...but maybe in kc, thats a good thing as it will fill seats with people waiting for him to implode or start a fight. 7 years of watching the guy play and for the life of me, i cant figure out why a guy with all that talent, wouldnt want to figure out what his problem is.
nuff rant...positive things
runzler is hitting 96 on the gun an is starting rehab in sj...
i like melky
they say vin is coming back tomorrow...hope so...sounds like more than just a simple cold
i like melky
wheeler k'd 9 in 6....i know he isnt a giant anymore, i just want the guys who say he will never be in the show to shut up
i like melky
You know Bacci, I can't speak for others on Belt. I think he has major league talent. Will he have the head for it? I don't know. I hope so. We'll see.
ReplyDeleteMy problem is the handling of Belt. There is a problem if the Giants couldn't find the holes in Spring Training. Or in Winter League. Or in 2011. If Belt is not ready, he shouldn't be on the Giants. Agreed.
But, then if that's the case, why was he the starting 1st Baseman on Opening Day?
Giants couldn't figure out that Belt doesn't belong BEFORE the season?
It's the Giants that have stoked all the Belt mania. The anoint him as a future star. They tell the fans, watch this kid. They get Will Clark in front of the media and say this kid's swing is as sweet as his. Sabean was SALIVATING over Belt going into 2011. And then, nope, nevermind.
So, you'd think they learned from 2011. Don't set expectations too high. Don't place Belt on the roster unless he plays. And that lasted 3 games.
Don't blame the fans for wanting to see Belt play. Yes the Showtime thing has something to do with the fan-love. But the bottom line is the Giants are mishandling this.
Doc got all over me (and anyone) who suggested that the Giants were jerking Belt around last year. But, really, what is the excuse this season? Sorry, we forgot that Huff can't begin to cover ground in left field? We didn't think pitchers could find the holes in Belt's swing so quickly?
The Giants are not blatantly mishandling Belt, I think. I would have sent him to AAA to fix his hole that even AAA pitchers can find, let alone MLB pitchers. I think they played up to the fans by bringing Belt up as the starting platoon 1B, hoping to fix his holes while up here. Then he goes and strikes out 5 times in 10 ABs, looking silly enough doing that to get benched, feeling that he's pressing, even the Giants couldn't have seen that one coming. So if you think they should have, well, you have greater belief in human repeatability and insight into a young hitters mind than I do.
DeleteIs it better to keep the mistake going on, especially after losing your first three games to our division rivals? Or to cut the losses quickly and move on? The latter I say.
I think they will keep him around for a while more, working on his holes, and if no progress is made by EOM, then I expect him to be sent to AAA to get more ABs to fix his swing.
OGC, you think Belt will be around until the end of May? Bochy said last night he's starting Belt today. Which means Belt, at the moment, is on a bus to San Jose.
DeleteLet's be clear. This is not about Belt's talent, or lack of it. It's about the mistakeS the Giants are making regarding his development. I have no problem with Belt starting the season in Fresno and never, ever, ever making the big club again. I have a big, huge problem with Giants assessment of Belt at the end of ST: "You're our starting 1B kid. Congrats. Oh, BTW, you're renting week-to-week, right?"
Just compare Belt to Crawford. Tell me it doesn't make a difference that the Giants handed SS to Crawford without any real viable fallback in house. Which is not to say that the Giants wouldn't replace Crawford if he does not perform. But Crawford pretty much knows he has more than 3 games to prove himself.
The Giants handling of this has been comically poor. I begrudgingly gave them the benefit of the doubt last year. But anyone's defense of the Giants based on Belt's performance completely misses the problem: The Giants are short-sighted and absurdly reactive.
I predict Brandon Belt will have a fine, even great, MLB career despite the atrocious unthinkable abuse he has taken at the hands of Giants management.
DeleteYou know, we've all buried Belt now, at least in terms of what we think Bochy is thinking. BTW, I love that. We all think we know what's going on in that big melon. Anyway, how long ago was it that we all had Nate either traded or released and look at him now! Don't be shocked if Huff has a couple of 0-fers in a row and Belt is suddenly back in the lineup. It may be capricious and it may be a crapshoot, but when you are a rook, or close to it, you have to grab your opportunities by the throat. Nate didn't for a long time but it looks like he is now. Belt will need to do the same at some point.
ReplyDeleteC'mon Doc. Belt started the first 3 games, performed miserably, and sat for the next 5. I don't really need an in-depth analysis to figure out what Bochy is thinking, do I?
DeleteAnd you hit the nail on the head there, BTW. Huff has a couple of 0-fers and he's out. THAT is the problem.
It's one thing to have platoon/rotation where you PLAN to get Huff, Belt, Nate & Blanco all get around 400 ABs. But, reactively benching guys after a few bad games MAKES guys press. It doesn't make sense to set up a culture where players feel that their playing time (and future in the game) come down to a few ABs.
We'll see how it plays out. So far, the Giants offense is going good. The pitching seems to be coming around. I think it's going to be a good season.
DeleteThey say the game is mostly mental.
DeleteWhen the manager says publicly that we are not here to 'get people ready,' that works for those who repsond to 'sink or swim' and doesn't work for those who could use some encouragement.
And life is that. The great ones know each human being is different and will adjust accordingly.
Yes Doc, I totally agree with that. There are two things (probably a lot more) going on here.
Delete1. What is best for the Giants to win right now, this year. And yes, Belt looked bad and was not helping them win.
2. What is best for the Giants to win down the road. For me, that's at the core of the Belt debate. If Belt develops, we have a potential serious bat that will be cost-controlled for 5-6 years. That's the store I don't think the Giants are minding.
BuyLow, that's kind of my thinking. Obviously you don't baby players. But some players need a bit of encouragement. And that doesn't seem to be taken into account by the Giants.
Reminds of the scene from Moneyball where Beane (Pitt) instructed Brand (Johah Hill) on how to tell a Carlos Pena he'd been traded. Very cold. No thank yous or appreciate your hard works. Just simply, "Call the Traveling Secretary and, oh, don't let the door hit your backside on your way out."
What is it, something like 15 out of 25 roster spots are filled with homegrown players? How is that not minding the store for the future?
DeleteWilson injury is a big bummer. He is such a stubborn tough guy. Shades of Nen, but also Foppert, not talking about the injury early.
ReplyDeleteWith Huff on a 0-4 and our ol buddy Kevin Correia on the mound, I bet Belt is getting a shot today. Better come correct, or it's Fresno... I can't stand the fans rooting for the giants to fail during a game. I also think the giants plan is pretty short sighted. It's more than just the showtime series, people tend to pay more attention to the minors these days, especially with the giants run of drafting.
Panda and Pablito both need to pay more attention to conditioning. Would it be that much more money to have a nutritionist and a personal trainer bird dogging them?
Those are the scrappy ABs we signed the riot for, good job. And good job Zito showing some mental toughness there with the QS. Avoid the walks, mix your pitches and don't be a mental midget.
Bacci wheeler did his k'ing topping out at 98...
I think I'm more amazed by two starts with 0 and 1 walks, than I am by two QS.
Deleteif you see zito with more than a couple of walks...it wont be a quality start...cuz that is when he gets into trouble
DeleteJust have to give Craw a second shout out. Wow it is beautiful seeing him save games with his defensive gems. Run prevention wins games! Defense let's your pitchers pitch to contact. Look at the last two games. You think Zito and Cain didn't love seeing balls trickle past them and at the last second Craw barehands the ball for the out.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Wheeler won't make the show... he just throws nasty 98.
ReplyDeleteCrawford won't win or lose many games at the plate, but he sure has the range and cannon arm to win games from short. His calm demeanor (don't get your panties in a bunch) reminds me a little bit of Omar, although Omar probably had more flair, a bit more range and a weaker arm.
Pablo is a fatty. Honestly, if he swings the bat, I don't really mind, I just don't get people's thinking. This is the same as the Prince Fielder scenario in my mind. I truly think if either guy weighed thirty pounds less, they'd not only be doing their career a favor for longevities sake, but the big boys with the big money would be more interested in spending it on them.
Yeah, unfortunately Pablo is never really going to work on his weight unless his back is against the wall. Giants threaten to send him down, he worked 2 winters ago.
DeleteThis past off-season, he knew he the big 3-year-year contract in place, and you see the results. It's too bad. While it's tough to draw a direct correlation, his fielding really suffers when he's heavier.