The Giants jumped on an apparently ailing Hyun-Jin Ryu for 4 runs in the first inning and took the first game of the big weekend series with the archrival Dodgers in dominating fashion. Key Lines:
Buster Posey- 2 for 4, 2B, BB. BA= .310. Buster Posey continues to state his case for MVP. He probably needs to win the batting title to have a chance. He trails Josh Harrison(.318), Justin Morneau(.315) and Andrew McCutchen(.311).
Hunter Pence- 2 for 5. BA= .295. Speaking of MVP candidates, Pence is currently tied with Buster in fWAR at 5.3. Pence and Posey are currently tied for 6'th in fWAR with Jason Heyward. Jonathan Lucroy continues to lead the pack.
Joaquin Arias- 2 for 4. BA= .243. There were some commenters on Extra Giants who did not like Arias starting at 1B, but he has been hot was 3 for 8 against Ryu coming in. Hey, ownage is ownage!
Brandon Crawford- 2 for 3, 2B, HR(9), BB. BA= .238. Crawford has come to life in September hitting .414 after hitting .173 and .193 in July and August.
Travis Ishikawa- 1 for 1, HR(3). BA= .276. I'm not sure I want Brandon Belt back at this point. Over the course of a full season? Yes. Coming off a prolonged stint on the DL in the thick of a pennant race? I'll take the guy who's been getting it done and has his timing down.
Madison Bumgarner- 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K's. ERA= 2.91. The Giants gave Bummy the luxury of a big lead by the second inning and he cruised. There was one tense moment in the 6'th with the score still 4-0 when Justin Turner walked to load the bases after 11 pitches, but Bummy got AGone on a flyout to CF on just 3 more pitches to end the threat. 2 BB's is a lot for Bumgarner, so it was probably not on purpose, but you have to wonder about him hitting Hanley Ramirez after HanRam had doubled off him in the 2'nd, then striking out Van Slyke.
Hyun-Jin Ryu(Dodgers)- 1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 3.38. Ryu didn't look too comfortable out there and did not come back out for the second inning. The report was a sore shoulder.
The Win brought the Giants to 1 game behind the NL West leading Dodgers. The Giants continue to lead the Pirates by 4 games for the home field advantage in the Wild Card Play-In game. The lead the Brewers by 5.5 games and the Braves by 7.
Tim Hudson tries to clinch a series win tonight facing Zach Greinke.
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As frustrating as it's been to watch Crawford struggle this year, and also intriguing to think of the possibilities in Duffy and/or Adrianza, a couple things should be considered:
ReplyDelete- His defense has not appeared to be up to snuff, but we know he's a superior defensive SS.
- While his BA is at a three-year low, and leaving much to be desired, his OBP and Slugging are both at career highs. In fact, career progression, both his OBP and Slugging have increased each year. OBP, 2011-14: .288, .304, .311, and now .320. Slg%, 2011-14: .296, .349, .363, and now .381. That's what you want to see in a player, and it makes me much more optimistic going into next year if he holds on to the job.
Lucky
Crawford probably needs more games off in the middle of the season to keep his legs from wearing down. He also has a career long tendency to slip into bad mechanical habits at the plate. He is fun to watch when he is healthy and hitting well.
DeleteHis D has crossed into positive territory in recent weeks. Right now, he sits at #13 in fWAR among MLB SS's, #12 on defense and amazingly, #10 on offense. He is what he has been the last couple of seasons, a league average SS, which is a lot better than what the Giants had before he came along.
craw is hitting close to 350 in sept.
Deletemost of his e's during the year have happened when he tried to do too much
i agree, he may need more days off during the middle of the season
great game last night....hopefully the giants can break greinke and kershaw too
bacci
C is fourth on the team in RBI (62 in 514 PA; Sandoval 69 in 583 PA), despite being near the bottom of the lineup, and his rWAR matches his previous high at 2.4. That suggests that he's been productive at the plate with a lengthened lineup. In terms of rWAR he ranks fifth on the team, behind Posey, Pence, Sandoval, and Bumgarner.
DeleteGood points on OBP and SLG, and another example why we always need to look beyond just AVG. He's also a homer away from a setting a new career high - and then all those triples!
Delete315 OBP + 10 homers a year from shortstop? I'll take it.
Somehow almost all the complaints this year seem to be falling by the wayside right now, when the Giants need to perform their best.
ReplyDeleteCrawford, see Lucky above.
Help from the 'Nucular Wasteland' Farm system, see Panik, Susac, Duffy, Strickland.
Weak Bench, see Ishi, Duffy, Susac, Brown (?)
2B, see Panik
#2 hitter, see Panik
Cain, see Peavy
Timmy, see Petit
LF, see Blanco
Pagan DL stint, see leadoff fire starter late
Romo, see Casilla + Bochy juggling
Posey mediocre early, see MVP
Pence, see Pence everyday
Okay we still got Belt and Morse and 1B to bitch about. But this is a pretty short list compared to even one month ago.
Proof of the "it's a long season" argument to dispel said complaints early in the year.
DeleteThings change, ebb and flow, and somehow work themselves out...or not. In the case of the Giants, they're working things out at the right time.
Lucky
I trust Bochy to do the right thing with the line up but not sure we need either Morse or Belt right now. Nice to have them in our back pocket if need by but we have the right mix out there now and I don't want to mess with the mojo!
ReplyDeleteThought for sure he was going to get his son out there last night too, would have been a good opportunity to but makes you know that Bruce is still looking at the big prize.
Everyone gets hot and goes cold. Giants have taken that to an extreme, but certainly makes for fun. I've been saying for two weeks now "win each series, and play one game better than the dodgers otherwise". At this point, the Giants really control their own destiny, and the Dodgers are reeling--Puig is becoming a problem, pitching staff with bandaids. In the meantime, Bochy has us doing the right things, and Panik/Peavy have been the spark plugs. Don't know where we finish out, but you have to like what is happening.
ReplyDeleteAs for Belt v. Ish, I think you try to get Belt ready for the 25 man. Play him late in games where we are ahead (like last night). Give him pinch hits (make him the first guy off the bench). Whether he starts we can deal with but having his bat would help, especially on the playoff roster where we likely go a little heavy in batters. Having said that, I would not have Morse on the 25 man. He's a defensive liability and we just can't afford that. Especially if we're getting production from Panik, Crawford and 1b.
As for next year, I'm more and more coming around to thinking Crawford is still the guy. His defense can be spectacular. He's got a good bat. What becomes the problem is the lack of breaks. I really think he took a lot on early when he was hot, 2b was a black hole and Belt went out. I think now with those issues resolved, he will be fine. I get everyone loves Duffy (what is his defense like?) and EA (unproven but potential), but Crawford when he's good is very, very good (and I think above average--its that he's averaging as average). Kind of like Posey in the sense that when he gets tired, he's not what we've come to expect. I think next year the starters are Panda (I hope), Crawford, Panik and Belt, with back ups EA and Arias. Duffy goes to AAA to be ready, learns more 1b and maybe 3b. Susac is our back up Catcher (no duh there). LF then becomes the question (Blanco +1 as a reserve, Horan in AAA too get ready with Parker). Frankly, if it meant starting Blanco to get Panda, I'd do that in a heartbeat. Lovin Peavy too. Wonder how tough to sign him.