Friday, March 28, 2014

Spring Training Game Wrap 3/27/2014: A's 4 Giants 0

The fans did not get their money's worth at AT&T Park for the opener of the Bay Bridge Series as the Giants sleepwalked through the game while everybody else just went to sleep.  Key Lines:

Hunter Pence- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .371.  You might figure that Pence was the only guy who looked like he wanted to be out there.  Well, maybe Pablo Sandoval too, but he was too busy diving for screamers down the 3B line.  More on that later.

Michael Morse- 1 for 3, BB.  BA= .303.  Giants fans got an eyeful of the dark side of having Morse's bat in the lineup as he misplayed a ball in the corner, dropped a short flyball and whiffed on a sinking liner.  I suppose I should cut him some slack like everybody else seems to be doing because of his lack of experience playing LF in AT&T, but man, that was brutal!  In the end, he probably only gave the A's 1 extra run and 1 run was not the difference in this game, but it could have been more and if you give up 1 extra run every night, it's going to put a dent in the W-L.

Tim Hudson- 6 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 6 K.  ERA= 4.26.  Not all BABIP's are created equal.  When Huddy tried to hit the inside corner against RH batters, they were waiting for it, dropped the bat head and sent one screamer after another down the 3B line.  Poor Pablo must have felt like a shooting range target out there!  Huddy's a veteran and a competitor so he was able to limit the damage until Reddick got all of one with a runner on base and hit it off the top of a flagpole that sits up on the arcade.  Still a big improvement over what we got from Zito last year.

David Huff, JC Gutierrez, Erik Cordier- 1 IP, 0 R each.  Huff almost certainly has the team made.  I'm picking JC over Law, but the Giants seem to really want Law to make the team, so who knows? Cordier's FB is truly impressive!  Kind of barely hung on to his command of it, though.  He could be back later in the season if he can get his command ironed out a bit more in Fresno.

Scott Kazmir(A's)- 5.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 1.62.  Kazmir spent the night pitching backwards off a very good changeup.  He typically started the hitters off with 2-3 off speed pitches then zip in a 92-93 MPH FB which would either freeze them or induce a late swing.  The only guy who had success against him, Pence, sat off speed early in the counts.

Around the League:

Miguel Cabrera gets an enormous extension from the Detroit Tigers which, combined with his current deal gives him the largest 10 year payout in MLB history.  Miggy turns 31 early this season so that takes him to age 41.  I fully understand just how great a player Miggy is, but man, it sure seems to me that MLB teams are almost desperately trying to give away their money right now, and enormous amounts of it!

Speaking of, everybody thought the Fielder and Fister trades were salary dumps so the Tigers could re-sign Max Scherzer, but this kind of makes a mockery of that theory.  At any rate, after a terrible spring training, Fister will start the season on the DL for the Nationals with a strained oblique.

16 comments:

  1. How did Gutierrez' stuff look? How's the movement and what did secondary pitches look like?

    Interesting pitching matchup last night as both Kaz and Huddy received similar 2/20ish deals. Sounds like Kaz looked pretty good last night, but will his arm still be attached in a couple months?

    As for Fister, I knew something was amiss for the Tiger's GM to unload Fister for a very modest return. But maybe he's just got a screw loose. That's a lot of money tied up in one guy.

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    1. Gutierrez throws mostly hard two seam FB's in the 93-95 MPH range. Gets a lot of GB's. Didn't get a good look at any secondary pitches last night.

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    2. I really didn't pay much attention to his secondary stuff, but the fastball was cruising at no slower than 95 with good life. I, too think he gets the final spot. Of all the guys that entered camp this spring, I never would have considered him a favorite for a spot!

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    3. Gutierrez sounds a bit like a poor man's Guillermo Mota. Might as well give him a run and save Law for later.

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    4. That might be a decent comp. He certainly wasn't very good in his stint as a closer in AZ, so maybe the middle-relief job will suit him a little better.

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    5. I really think Law can use some time in AAA. He pitched mostly A+ last year, let the kid adjust and face some tougher competition! Also, he's pushing out other talent that may be almost equal, and at the same price. Why push the kid so fast right now?

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  2. Scott Kazmir looked good last night for the A's. I'm not sure what it is, but the Giants lineup always seems to struggle against Oakland pitching, no matter who is on the hill. Hudson is fun to watch, but the locations mistakes he made were eaten up, just as you alluded to. I'm really trying not to make too much out of one exhibition game, but I'll tell you I got a sinking feeling when Morse dropped that flyball. Didn't look like much more than a routine play. I think he'll iron things out a bit, but he'll certainly be a liability out there. Gregor Blanco is going to see a lot of playing time, that's for sure.

    Not really much else to talk about in this one. Hopefully the offense will come alive tonight!

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  3. More cuts this morning. I have a soft heart for those guys.

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    1. Any idea who?

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    2. Haven't seen any announcements, but Fitzgerald and Haney tweeted their goodbyes. I have a feeling we'll see quite a few more names in that AA/AA pitcher and veteran MIF mold. Just too many young players coming up to keep them all. Fitzgerald is a guy who might catch on with another team. Haney looks like he might have a career in writing (already has a published book). Wonder when they'll make an announcement... as well as the full-season rosters.

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  4. Besides Haney, around 6 others, mostly older guys. Harrold, a reliever from SJ, is one.

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  5. Morse made me long for Aubrey Huff in the outfield! Wow, he did not look good, especially for a guy that used to play shortstop. Normally they are athletic and he looked anything but. Blanco is going to see a lot of playing time I believe.

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    1. I think we knew his mediocre-at-best-defense already, but he should be not as atrocious as last night, though, given 1. he has played defense that much in the spring training and 2. he's new or fairly new to the park.

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    2. Hopefully Morse's D last night was his low point for the season.

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  6. BLSL,

    Thanks for your support. I appreciate everybody who reads the blog and comments. I know you have lots of other options out there. I apologize for deleting your comment of support, but I felt it was not fair to leave up a comment about a deleted comment when that comment isn't around for folks to see any more. Perhaps it is time for me to make a general post about my commenting policy(or lack thereof).

    Anyway, keep 'em coming!

    Dr B

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    1. I agree with you. Thanks!

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