Barry Zito pitched another sparkling quality start, the Giants played sensational defense, and Buster Posey supplied the big blow with an opposite field 2 run dinger in an exciting, well played game in Arizona. Key Lines:
Angel Pagan- 2 for 4, 3B(13). BA= .289. Pagan led off the game with a triple to set a SF Giants record for triples in 1 season. That led to the Giants first run. He later paid homage to Willie Mays with a running basket catch in deep right-centerfield. Mays still holds the franchise record with 20 set in the Giants last season in New York in 1957.
Marco Scutaro- 2 for 4. BA= .296. Scooter continues his sensational hitting.
Buster Posey- 3 for 4, 2B, HR(22). BA= .333. Hail to the Buster! MVP! They opened the roof of the stadium just before Buster's dinger. Not sure it would have been out with the roof closed.
Hector Sanchez- 0 for 4. BA= .262. You wouldn't know it from his batting line but Hector played a sensational game. In addition to calling a great game for Zito and the relievers, he made two absolutely perfect throws to nail basestealers including one from his knees to nail former Giants farmhand Tyler Graham who isn't slow. Both throws were as on the money as you can possible get as Scoots was able to simultaneously catch the ball and apply the tag. Both catches were made with his glove resting on the baserunner.
I'll add here that Crawford's play from deep short to end the game was as good as it gets too.
Barry Zito- 6.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 4.21. Zito has been so good that I'm starting to develop expectations of him, which I don't think is necessarily a good thing. Just have to enjoy it while it lasts. If Bochy were to choose his playoff rotation tonight, I'm pretty sure Zito would be on it.
Sergio Romo- 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(11). ERA= 1.99. Romo allowed a couple of hits but managed to keep runs off the board and close it out. Hector's sensational throw to nail Graham for the first out of the 9'th inning helped a lot. Things could have gotten ugly had Graham successfully stolen the bag.
The Dodgers came from behind for a walk-off 4-3 win over the Cards in LA so the Giants lead in the NL West remained 7.5 games. The D'Backs slipped to 12 games behind the Giants.
17 games to go. Magic number is 10. Ryan Vogelsong takes the mound tomorrow facing yet another lefty in Patrick Corbin.
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My handy, dandy media guide says that the franchise record is 27 by George Davis in 1893. After the live ball era, 20 is the leader, but apparently there are 5 tied.
ReplyDeleteOK, found them, http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/SFG/leaders_bat.shtml says that Bill Terry had 20 in 1931. All the rest were in the dead-ball era, including Roger Connor, the guy who held the career HR record for a long time until the live ball era and Babe Ruth came along. The career home run record was held by a Giants player for a large percentage of NL history, and in MLB history as well, though obviously Ruth was the leader there, then Aaron. Long, proud history of homerun hitters.
Well, thanks for the history lesson there, OGC. I was just going off Kruk and Kuip's trivia question from the TV broadcast. A couple of names I thought of when they asked who holds the franchise record for triples were Bill Terry and Mel Ott. Mays was the only name they put up though.
DeleteDon't know if Timmy could use Barry's offseason pitching coach, but Zito's commitment to improve himself sets a good example.
ReplyDeleteTake what you have and improve it - that is the name of the game. Think about improving your own vacant lot instead of eyeing your neighbor's remodeled house that's for sale now. Hope to see improved Timmy and Pablo next year.
zito used house, who is a genius by totally messed zito up
Deletesomehow, in one week, zito made adjustments using raggs suggestions and keeping a tiny bit of what house taught him and for the most part, it has worked
timmy's issues are conditioning...plain and simple
guys over at the merc were all over posey and hector's jocks...some people are just not satisfied
to me, having posey and hector is a wealth of riches...like having montana and young as his backup...in my lifetime the giants have not had it this good from guys behind the dish
how in the hell does someone get 27 triples in the dead ball era?
doesnt anyone think the relationship between mays and pagan would make it easier to resign him? seems angel worships him even more than we do
guys, this season's post is a total crapshoot and next season, getting to the post is totally stacked against the giants with that totally messed up schedule
so lets enjoy this as long as we can
There are several possible things you could point to that might account for his improved play this year. He certainly did seem like he had reached the end of his career in Spring Training, then came out and threw that terrific game in Coors to save the Giants season from going down the tubes before it really started.
DeleteWhen he first signed with the Giants he was pretty much a 2 pitch pitcher. He's gradually added a cutter and a changeup to his arsenal and only throws the 4 seam slowball in spots where it takes the hitter by surprise and looks at least 5 mph faster than it is. Maybe he's just finally put his full repertoire of secondary stuff together so he has the weapons to get hitters out.
It's pretty clear that he has developed a special relationship with Hector Sanchez and feels comfortable with Hector's game calling. From my perspective, it does look like Hector calls a heckuva game too. I'm sure Hector ability to call a game has evolved and matured as the season has gone on and he finds out what works at the MLB level and what doesn't.
Don't underestimate the impact of having a missus to come home to every night. You get more and better sleep. You don't have to be always be thinking about getting a date and impressing her. There's some accountability and support waiting for you at home after a tough day on the job.
Maybe Rags just said something that clicked.
Who knows? I do know that Zito's performance in a down year from Timmy has saved the season several times over.
I do think if the Giants make a reasonable long term offer to Pagan they have a chance to re-sign him in the pre-FA window.
DeleteOn the other hand, Pagan's market is one of the more difficult to get a handle on and his advisors would probably be negligent not to advise him to test the market.
Angel has been talking about wanting to resign with the Giants since the early season, way before Melky got suspended, and at that point, Melky was clearly the one who should be resigned. I think a fair offer would get him signed on easily, I don't imagine he's looking for top dollar based on the way he has spoken glowingly about the Giants and their organization, and while the agents might tell him to wait for free agency, I think he would sign as long as he thinks it is a fair deal, I think he understands that the extra money is not worth leaving a good organization, the way he spoke about the difference between the Mets and Giants, early in the season, made an impression upon me.
DeleteAs DrB has noted a number of times here, Lincecum just needs to work with a professional fitness trainer and nutritionist so that he's in better shape for the 2013 season, his up and down from 2010 to 2011 to 2012 took its toll on him, his mechanics, and his body.
I think Zito has a different way of looking at things and thus finds that a lot of people don't "get" him. Hector apparently gets him and to DrB's point, having a wife who gets him too helps his confidence, which I think is key to him performing well. You can kind of see that in the interviews about the two of them, Hector is full of confidence of what Zito can do, and that probably gives Zito a placebo-like confidence boost. Posey is probably too straight and bland for Zito, I would guess, relative to Hector almost-fawning respect he gives Zito.
That game showcased why the Giants are headed to the playoffs this year...
ReplyDeleteMan, now that was some serious D on display today, by both sides.
Hector's dead-on throw from his knees to nail Graham was just jaw-dropping. If I'm on the pitchers mound, I would be pointing up to the heavens too. Unreal!
Posey, Pagan, Scoots are key.
Zito brought his country curveball to the game. Can-O-Beets, I call it.
BTW, Brandon Crawford's Fangraphs WAR is all the way up to 2.0! Wow!
ReplyDeleteCrawford's UZR is up to 8.1 which places him at #5 among all MLB SS's on defense. His WAR ranking puts him at #13 in MLB overall.
DeleteI have to admit that Crawford has been impressing the hell out of me lately. Same thing with Belt, it has taken over half the season for them to come into their own but they are finally showing some of their potential. Along with Arias and Hector it is a pleasant surprise to see us finally have some young offensive talent.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I would break the bank on Pagan until I found out what his value was compared to Michael Bourne's. If Pagan is going to sign for 10+ a year and 3+ years then Bourne may come cheaper and is a better pure leadoff hitter anyway. Scutaro is another who I wouldn't overpay for. Both of these guys could make a combined 50+ million over the next 3 years and it might take 25 million to sign Bourne for 3 years. Arias and Theriot could hold down 2B and Arias at least would be an upgrade over Scutaro defensively. Dr. B suggested resigning Melky and he could fill in for Scutaro in the 2 hole in the lineup.
Instead of dreaming of high priced free agents this offseason I think this is the most realistic option and could actually save a little money while upgrading the offense overall. Compare the top 2 hitters we have right now to what it would be next season after these moves and it sure seems like something Sabean would try to pull off.
Pagan now or Bourne next year - Bourne is the safer bet to have a better season at leadoff next year
Scutaro now or Melky next year - Melky is younger, faster, and has more pop then a 38 year old Scutaro
Panda
Posey
Pence
Belt
Arias
Crawford
With guys like Theriot, Sanchez, and Blanco on the bench, the offense would be set going into next year with room for another move or two but nothing else major would need to be done. Just looking at the FA's for next year I have to think that Pagan is going to be heavily overpaid and Scutaro as well because of their performances at the end of this year. I would rather not be committed to either of those guys long term especially since there are other options that are more affordable and could end up being more productive.
I can't believe Bourne is not going to get more $$$ than Pagan. I would think of the two, Pagan will be the better value.
DeleteThere is no way that Pagan will get more money than Bourn. Bourn is a born leadoff guy, speed to burn, gets on-base better than Pagan has, has led the NL in SB for 3 seasons and leads this season, and he's been doing it longer too, and he's younger to boot. And he has been a full-time starter for 5 seasons now, Pagan is just one season past one where he was a part-timer with the lowly Mets. If this happens, either Bourn's agents need to be fired, Pagan's agents should be awarded agent of the year, or both.
DeleteStill, I've seen some people rumor that the Giants would pursue Bourn in the off-season, and we really don't have a good 3rd OF even if we sign Pagan, so maybe the Giants sign both of them? Pagan in LF, Bourn in CF, Pence in RF? Though, looking at how badly Pence is being rated defensively for the Giants, a move to LF does seem probable, even necessary, as he's hardly been with us and yet he's already cost us nearly half a win just on a month and a half of defense - pro-rated over a season, that's roughly 2.5 wins lost because of his defense.
I don't see how Scutaro would get more money than his current contract, he's much older now, and not hitting that well for the season - just for the Giants. I think everyone is aware of how old he is, plus outsiders will look at his overall stats, not his stats just with the Giants, and for the season it is very average for his career. I would be shocked to see him get a lot more than 2 years and $12M ($6M per year). Maybe $6-7M range at best.
And I would be shocked and stunned if the Giants resign Melky. Not that I couldn't live with it, I'm more sanguine about his cheating, but more that all the media reports that the Giants are not welcoming back Melky with open arms, and therefore they are unlikely to resign him. I think he's seen his last day in a Giants uni. So you can compare Scutaro with Melky all you want, but Marco will win every time because the Giants will consider resigning him, whereas it is very unlikely Melky will return.
I wouldn't make Arias a starter. He doesn't hit RHP well at all, he's Neifi-like in his ineptitude in hitting RHP, both this season and for his career. He'll be great in a platoon with a lefty-hitting 2B. Though I guess if you are batting him 7th, he would not be terrible there. But I would prefer Blanco in the lineup over Arias, if I had my druthers. I mean, look at his monthly production, horrible most months that he played significant time, just really hot in August, the Giants saw that too, his usage went down from May to June to July. No thanks, I want better production than that, Bochy rightly rode the hot hand, but he's at best a bench utility guy.