The Giants staked Tim Lincecum to a 5-0 lead before he took the mound in the first inning and went on to win this one wire-to-wire. Key Lines:
Gregor Blanco- 2 for 5, 3B, SB(22). BA= .242. Blanco is hitting .333 over his last 10 games. He also made a sensational catch against the CF fence on a drive by Willin Rosario with a runner on base that, at the time, preserved a 6-3 Giants lead. And, how many sensational catches has Blanco made this year?
Marco Scutaro- 3 for 5, SB(9). BA= .293. Scooter is inching toward .300.
Hector Sanchez- 2 for 4. BA= .267. Hector is one tough hombre. He took a leg protector to the chest from Rosario on a play at the plate that had to hurt. He stayed in the game.
Brandon Crawford- 2 for 4, 2 2B. BA= .246. Crawford got the start against the LHP with Arias covering 3B in place of Pablo. 2 run double in the game wining rally in the first inning. He added another double later in the game. I'm pretty sure his WAR rating went up again tonight. Did anyone catch Grant's mea culpa on Crawford over on MCC?
Joaquin Arias- 2 for 4, SF. BA= .279. Pretty hard to argue this isn't an upgrade on Pablo at 3B, at least for now.
Tim Lincecum- 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 8 K. ERA= 5.09. Timmy battled his Command Demons again in this one, but it's easier to pitch downhill and he hung in there for 6 innings earning the QS.
Bullpen- 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's. Bochy used 7 pitchers to get through the last 3 innings. I think he might have been doing some of this just for the fun of it. Maybe to tweak the Rockies on their crazy pitching scheme? Kruk and Kuip were practically rolling on the floor at some inside joke that I didn't get. Maybe a commenter can get me up to speed on it? Anyway, whatever it was, it worked!
The Dodgers scored 2 runs in the first inning of their game against the D'Backs then just laid down and died. 3-2 loss for the Dodgers dropping them 7 games behind the NL West leading San Francisco Giants with 19 to go. The D'Backs continued to be the 10'Backs.
The Giants get a day off then start a 3 game weekend set against the D'Backs in Arizona. Matt Cain starts game 1 Friday facing rookie Tyler Skaggs.
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I'm playing on Team Bench for Pablo. You lost your slot, dude. Now you can wait for Arias to give it up. Ask Theriot how that can turn out.
ReplyDeleteI know, all harsh on Pablo. And the hamate bones and the hammy. But, dude, c'mon. Get serious. A gig on an MLB team, that has a shot at a World Championship...a rare opportunity. And he doesn't seem to get it. He's thinking, "Wait till next year, I'll really get in shape then."
But he may never sniff a playoff team again. You never know.
Anyway, good for the G-men. 7-game lead is unbelievable. I'm shaking my head, smiling. Really hoping for some cushion into the playoffs.
Arias had definitely earned more PT with his play. Right now he's an upgrade both offensively and defensively at 3B. I say the job should be his until he puts together 3 or 4 0'fers in a row.
DeleteIt's like Kuiper said this morning about Bochy's handling of Sandoval: if we want to do well in the playoffs, a performing Panda would greatly help with that. I don't think Arias could do as well. So hopefully it is as Kuiper said, Bochy gave Sandoval a hug and will start him on Friday.
DeleteAs I said on the other post, .900+ OPS hitters don't fall off the treee, we need to get him going soon and contributing during the playoffs. We are far enough ahead right now that we should be focused on getting Panda returned (and I think people are being harsh on Pablo, he was fine earlier in the season, though not ideal, and he probably couldn't exercise as much during his DL for the hamstring pull) and hitting like he can.
I was just thinking the other day that we have an advantage over other teams in the playoffs, should we get in. When a great pitcher is on, he can shut down most offenses, most hitters. But I was just thinking that hitters like Sandoval, Sanchez, and now Pence, who seems simmilar, who can square up pitches out of the strikezone, might be able to do better in spite of how good the pitcher might be doing. Does that make sense to anyone, or am I off?
No, Arias can't do as well as Panda. Nor could Uribe do as well as Panda in '10. And that's the thing. And that's why the reaction. Pablo has an incredible amount of talent, but won't work for it. So, yeah, for the 2nd time in 3 years the Giants have to seriously consider benching a player of Pablo's talent for the playoffs and hoping an inferior talent can get hot and fill in. That is frustrating.
DeleteIs it much, much harder to cardio-exercise with a hamstring problem? Yes. Can it be done? Absolutely.
Pablo, being in this position again is a fool-me-twice situation. I think fans are frustrated. It will always be like this for Pablo.
I hear what you're saying about bad-ball hitters vs. good pitching. Incredible vision and eye-hand coordination go a long way. While that might result decent individual performances, I don't know if that translates into runs and wins.
Beating pitchers means stringing multiple hits together. Usually the pitcher is making mistakes, creating opportunities for a series of hitters. It's far more unlikely for multiple bad-ball hitters to force the issue.
Also, I think good pitchers know where and how to leave the strike zone. Hunter can chase, and crush, out-of-zone fastballs. But, oh, man, that off-speed stuff out-of-zone kills him. Smart, good pitchers know and use this.
I am curious how much of the Crawford hate was actually generated by Grant over at MCC. I have had a few Crawford silly discussions there and ahem other places on the interwebz, the point that I always have is that the position is a wasteland. He is young, he has great defense, the ability to adjust with the bat is just the cherry on top. ESPN has WAR values now, and he compares with Alexei Ramirez this year, 15th in the majors. He has outperformed or got close to a few of the big name FAs. Furcal for sure. Rollins minus the dingerz. Jose Reyes is at 277/341/427 with 11 HRs and 35/44 SBs. That is valuable but is it 100MM plus valuable? His WAR value quoted on ESPN is 2.4 WAR. Crawford is at 2.1, slumming it at 246/306/349. 4 HRS and 1/6 SBs. Ian Desmond and Jeter are the only 2 SS with OPS over 800. There are a dozen SS with SLG over 400 and double digit HRs, so the OPS look in isn't the whole story. But it looks like a pretty flawed position offensively across the majors to me.
ReplyDeleteNice to have a day off now. I don't know how I feel about Pablo. I do want him to shape up of course, but I'm not sure I like all the trade talk. The Gints are doing quite nicely with what they have going. The defense part is what worries me, but it seems like Bochy is intent on doing the shuffle like in 2010. Pablo might have to be careful, Arias might just Juan Uribe him. Pablo is obviously the much more talented of the two, but if you can't make the plays, you will get bounced. He already went through it once, he should have learned.
Good time for Blanco to get heated up. His defense is stellar, and the ability to steal a base late is key. I guess I should look up our record since Melkygate but I know its just a nice smoov number, don't know if I'll bother. Maybe I'll go look up the Bums record since The Trade instead, and chuckle a bit.
I believe Fangraphs WAR doesn't like Crawford quite as much as some of these other ones, but he's solidly middle of the pack there too. Given the cost of obtaining a middle of the pack SS these days, the Giants decision to go with Crawford is looking golden.
DeleteMy stance since Crawford came up and did well with his contact rate as well as walk to K ratio has been that it was a matter of time before he figures things out with the bat. But of course, not everyone with that succeeds (see Burriss).
DeleteWhen he came up, I thought the Giants jumped him too much and too fast given his minors stats, but he clearly (by his contact rate and walk/K ratio) knew the strike zone and was able to make contact, but just not for enough damage (i.e. hits). But as his homer in his first AB showed, it is there waiting for him to tap into it. Overall, I've been very hopeful, particularly after he had a burst of success late in 2011 season then AFL, though his slow start this season did get my dauber down.
I've been tracking his contact rate all season and he has really been putting it together over the past month or so, as his contact rate at 10, 15, 20 and 30 games have all risen to roughly the 85% contact rate that the best players reach or beat. Since Aug. 7th, he has a 83% contact rate and 0.7 BB/K rate (10 BB, 14 K, 84 AB) with a batting line of .310/.379/.429/.808, which is great for any position player and stupendous for a SS and ginormous for an 8th place hitter.
If he can keep that up - and I'm cautiously hopeful he can - the Giants lineup will support the pitching as much as the pitching would lead us to the World Series, over the coming years.
With the successes of the young hitters, I think it will become clearer and clearer that the concensus crowd at MCC who thought that Sabean wouldn't know a hitter if it bit him (i.e., the ones who told me off) were wrong. I think it is as I explained it to them back 5 years ago, that if you have a pitching oriented focus on the draft, you can't develop hitters at the same time, but once they got the pitching in place (once Lincecum and Cain made a great pair), they could focus more of their primo draft bullets on the hitting side of the roster equation. Patience (and an undertsanding of the rebuilding life-cyle of an MLB team) is the key to understanding the Giants developmental arc and enjoying the team over the past 5 seasons.
I once felt sad for them, unable to enjoy the riches of this new goldern era as it unfolded (I've been saying that the Giants can be the team of the 2010 decade for a number of years now there), but after my dust-up with them in 2010 and the vitriol that came out from them there, I kind of realized that they are much like a cult, and anyone who does not toe the line gets excommunicated and shunned. I didn't feel the need to save them from their folly no longer, I would rather bask in the sunlight of our team.
I think you the nail on the head OGC. Crawford was moved along too quickly. His minor league numbers never supported a starting MLB role. When a hitter has to learn his craft at the Major League level, with the added difficulty of hitting 8th, it makes it extremely tough.
DeleteThe failure of Sabean is not in believing that Belt and Crawford can hit. It was (hindsight 20/20 and all) the signing Renteria, Tejada & Huff Pt. 2. These are the guys that should have been performing at the MLB level while Craw and Belt were honing their skills in the minors.
OGC, don't get down about Grant and the crew being all cultish. This is the blogosphere. I mean, it is the land of wild, unsubstantiated opinion. God forbid facts would creep in. And you are all about facts. Numbers. Calculation. It's no wonder that the MCC crew would abhor that. They value witty snark above all else. Think about how people who subscribe to that are going to act and react.
Grant has been edging toward a balanced view of Crawford for some time, actually, unlike some of his McCronies. Maybe more of them may be moved by the observations of Haft and Baggs to the effect that Crawford is the best defensive SS in the league, bar none, and by his upward trend at the plate.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure Crawford is the best defensive SS bar none. THAT might be going a bit far in the other direction. He is very good though, easily top 10 and probably top 5.
DeleteMaybe Opshuns can chime in here, but he and I watched Crawford play up in High Desert a couple or three years ago. I think I can speak for him and myself and say we were amazed at how much ground he could cover and by his arm strength. It's a good feeling to see our scouting acumen supported by his performance in the majors.
DeleteI've been pleased, and mildly surprised, by the organization's plan to put Crawford at SS and concentrate on spending their money fixing other postional problems. That was what I thought they should do, and lo and behold that's what they've done!
DeleteCrawford's defense sets him apart - he's better, to my eye, than any SF shortstop I've ever seen, and I can dimly remember back to Hal Lanier days (although I never saw him play, just relied on Russ and Lon to describe the action). Any offense you get from Brandon is a plus, and he shows signs that he can develop into a decent hitter. Ozzie Smith improved his hitting while in the majors, so it can be done. And I think he'll do it.
Crawford at shortstop is the least of our problems - and I mean that literally, because I'm more concerned with the normal abuse that Posey receives at the catcher position than I am with Crawford at SS.
I like the Larry Bowa comp too - Larry was overpowered early and learned to scrap along. I come in on the lemaster years, I think I have to vote Uribe for best ss. And I think Crawford is better from both sides on that front.
DeleteNot that I think he can turn into him, but Robin Yount started out horrible too (but that was understandable, he was only 18 when thrown to the MLB wolves). Took him about 6 years to figure it out, and when he did, boy!
DeleteI started out with Chris Speier's first season, so I was spoiled by that. It has been mostly downhill (or down) since then, except for Uribe (but that period was like an oasis in many ways). Same for C, so it is nice having both Posey and Crawford together on the same team, as they are probably the best at their position in the time I've been following the Giants (and Crawford isn't there yet, I'm projecting).
And Belt, this might be blasphemous, he could be better than Will Clark if he can continue to develop, as I think he has more power plus can steal bases.
And there has been no 3B like Sandoval ever on the Giants I've been following, what, Chris Brown maybe, oh, Kevin Mitchell perhaps but he ended up in LF.
And I think Brown could come up and be the best CF, if he can attain the potential that I see.
So this is developing into not only a golden era for starting pitching, but arguably for the lineup as well, though there is still some time and development needed before we can say that definitively.
Say, has Grant finally edged towards a more balanced view that perhaps he and the rest of the MCC crowd was wrong in saying that Sabean was stupid for selecting Posey instead of Smoak? What a disaster that would have been for us, had we gotten Smoak instead.
DeleteCrawford is a solid defender. I'm not sure he's an elite defender.
DeleteI was watching Stephen Drew dive into the hole the other day and just bounce up and whip a throw to 2nd to force a runner. It required a level of quickness (moving the body with great speed and fluidity) that I don't think Crawford could have matched.
That's not to say that Crawford can't cover a ton of ground. In this case, quickness and speed are different things.
I'm not trying to denigrate Craw. But, I am trying to get a real idea of his defense, what his strengths and limitations are. I'm thinking he's in the top 1/3 of MLB SS.
OGC, there was a kid who played 3B in the late 80's, early 90's. I forget his name, though... :)
DeleteOn a completely unrelated note, I can't wait to see Matty on the field this weekend, even if he is wearing the wrong uni...
Oops, shame on me for forgetting Matty!!! I still think he would have reach 61 first if not for the strike.
DeleteAll I can say is that my memory has been degraded by my hitting my head on concrete ground, sigh...
I have this theory about these guys that come up to the majors and learn from the best, as to the prospects that spend time to get their skills up to supposedly par at each level. How many big stars spend a year at AAA? Some just learn faster than others with the majors.
ReplyDeleteYes, it does take patience but, it is lucky the Giants have Sabean. I believe Sabean picked up some new skills after all high price flops or maybe the money makers told him to do it on the cheaps. Build within...
Crawford.... Wow! He is slowly getting back to the San Jose Giants mentality. The kid plays the game out of love. Crawford has gotten better while batting eighth in front of a pretty sure out. Brian as learned to pick his pitches instead of trying to make something out of nothing - then came the walks He seems to be better when he is at the 0 - 2 count and seems to be more at handling pressure. Buster is the king of pressure but Crawford has that kind of ice in his veins. I think that is why they have handled the majors. I like Crawford to the Cabrera in Cleveland, minus Asdrubal's 2011 stats. Will he have a better average? By the way he is picking up the offensive part of the game - YES. No, I don't believe he is a constant .300 guy, but he will be respectable. I believe he has got more power than the scouts are giving him credit for.
Didn't mean to get carried away, but the defensive side of baseball means a lot more to me than banging the ball out of the park. I like the station to station offense, but I am not sure anything is as nice as that Brandon to Brandon to Brandon DP. I like the players/team that keeps me glued to the seats regardless of the amount of beers Crawford is a highlight reel... That 2009 SJ team was quite a collection of young good players.
TBox
I relate "reaction" to quick, and "range" to fast. I have always felt that Aparicio, Ozzie and Omar were the best ever at "quick and fast". But from watching Crawford the last 3 years, I am not ashame to say I think he is in the second tier of the forementioned...
ReplyDeletebums lose to cards, fall half game behnd giants, 2 full behind cards for second wc spot
ReplyDeletebums learning the hard way, what i hope sabean learned last season...cant make a ton of deadline trades and expect the team to gel, no matter what the talent level
lots more games to play, but if by sunday, lead is 7 or 8, bochy, sabes and coaches need to sit to figure out how they will use staff in the final two weeks
they will also need to decide how to judge who is gonna be in post season rotation
lds does not need 5 starters, but it would be a damn shame if either zito or vogey had left off the team...really, that would go for the lcs as well
would also be a bummer if one was sent to pen
as for craw, eff grant and his belated, "i was wrong...kind of" the d was always there and because of that, the kid never had to hit much above 250 with some pop. he has improved at the plate as the year has progressed.
the fact that grant and the idiots who populate that site used last years stats as a baseline was idiocy. kid was supposed to be in fresno getting reps, got injured in st, was in sj for rehab and was an er callup...and impressed and then, like everyone in the league, they found his holes and the team traded for cabrera, who was not an upgrade
team is now using arias and craw judiciously and this seems to be a good combo for next season too
Lots of great comments here. I appreciate everybody who reads and comments.
ReplyDeleteDodgers are in free-fall. No offense. At the time of The Trade, I said I wasn't sure why they would look at the smoldering ruins of the Boston Red Sox and think bringing over the main suspects in the firebombings would help the Dodgers. Looks like these guys weren't satisfied with sabotaging one team, they had to do it again in LA.
One more thing, I doubt it will change many minds out there, but maybe what's happening to the Dodgers imports will make people appreciate just how tough the pitching is in the NL West.
and how the teams play in pitchers parks
ReplyDeletebeckett has thrown pretty well since coming over and should help their rotation next season
the great equalizer in the west are the ballparks...except for coors
I think I agree with Opshuns, regarding getting talent to the bigs and letting them learn there. It won't work for everyone, but I'd bet if Brandon Crawford were still in the minors, he'd still be a C+ to B prospect, with plenty of comments reflecting what we know about him: athletic, patient, great defender. But he'd ave mediocre offensive numbers and would "have to prove it at the next level".
ReplyDeleteNow, fast promotions don't work for everyone, especially if they are going to be jerked around. I'm thinking about Bocock, and Burriss amongst others. But the chances given to Panda, Crawford, Sanchez and Posey show that sometimes the adjustments need to be made to the Major League Level. I hope we can throw Belt into this group too, although it seems he's struggled with adjustments at times - so it is taking him longer to reach his higher ceiling. I think Sanchez and Crawford are going to keep getting incrementally better in the bigs for a while. From Bocock to Crawford, you can see that the Giants have been experimenting with players that are "ready" defensively, and have a bat that needs to adjust to league level. Since the ultimate level is the bigs, see if they can make the adjustments there rather than wait for a 101OPS+ in AA and 99OPS+ AAA.
But lets not kid ourselves. Crawford has to contribute to the offense. When we say any offensive contribution is gravy, we mean anything above X, say 220/260/300 or replacement or something. If he was batting 190/230/230, he wouldn't be on the team.
I think many blogospheres are being too rough on Panda. Even Zimmerman boots a ball sometimes. Confirmation bias. People seem always waiting to jump on the anti-fat bandwagon. Obviously, the manager and the FO want him fitter. We all do. I think they want to use his slump to inspire him to more off-season conditioning. That's fine. But he isn't the only guy in the league with a power outage or a groin injury. When Kemp went down with a groin injury, and then it wasn't fat this and fat that. David Wright, the "rightful" All-Star 3b starter has one home run since July in far more at bats and not struggling with an injury and layoff.
Agreed on Panda. You have to have some balance to the criticism. A productive Sandoval would be a huge boon in the playoffs. It's just that time to get him going is running out fast. How long do you keep hoping?
DeleteIt won't be as long as Timmy or Vogelsong because there is an adequate alternative...
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