The Giants turned the tables on the Rockies, roaring back from a 6-0 deficit to win going away. Key Lines:
Angel Pagan- 1 for 4, BB, HBP. BA= .303. Pagan reached base in half of his 6 PA's. The top 3 batters for the Giants reached base 9 out of 16 PA's. They scored 6 of the Giants 12 runs.
Joe Panik- 2 for 4, 2B, BB. BA= .314. Panik has solidified the 2B position as well as the #2 slot in the lineup, enabling a perfectly good #2 hitter, Hunter Pence, but one with more power, to move further down the lineup into better RBI situations.
Buster Posey- 3 for 5, 2 2B, HR(19). BA= .302. Buster crosses the .300 BA mark. He played 1B in this one and scored 3 runs while driving in 4. Just a monster game at the plate, which has become his norm in the last 2 weeks.
Hunter Pence- 2 for 5, SB(12). BA= .296. Greg Papa was pushing Buster Posey for MVP last night, but Pence deserves to be in the discussion too.
Gregor Blanco- 3 for 5, 2B. BA= .257. Who did I say would be the starting LF by the end of the season? Blanco is hitting .316/.400/.456 in 42 games since the All-Star Break. He is hitting .276 since May 1. His fWAR is up to 1.6.
Andrew Susac- 2 for 5, 2B, HR(3). BA= .288. With 2 strikes and 2 outs in the 6'th inning and a runner on base, Susac fouled a pitch on the outside corner straight back leading Kruk to comment on his up-the-middle approach on 2-strike counts. The next pitch was middle-in and landed half way up the bleachers in LF. It was crushed! In his next AB, Susac drove a liner over the head of the CF for a 2 run double. He hit another ball that Charlie Blackmon picked off the top of the fence in right-center. Just a ferocious hitter! I'm going to say Mike Napoli with much better catcher defense. How's that? With Morse on the shelf for at least a week and probably longer with an oblique strain, Isn't the Giants best lineup Posey at first with Susac catching against any pitcher? Oh, and Susac is BIG!
Yusmeiro Petit- 4 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 1 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 3.89. The Rockies' LH batters appeared to be laying in the weeds for Petit's FB on the outside corner and were taking him the opposite way for XBH's down the LF line. That's what happens when you face a good hitting team twice in such a short period of time with the second time being in their, hitter-friendly park.
George Kontos- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 2.84. Kontos finally stopped the bleeding and gave the Giants a chance to come back.
The Win kept the Giants 2 games behind the Dodgers who topped the Nationals 4-1. The Cardinals are now on top of the NL Central and the Giants lead the Brewers by 2.5 games for the first Wild Card playoff spot. They lead the Braves by 4 games and the Pirates by 4.5.
Ryan Vogelsong tries for a series win this afternoon facing RHP Christian Bergman.
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Did anyone feel that 7-2 was going to be the final score?
ReplyDeletePetit needs to be in a Southwest Airlines ad at Coors. "Need to get away?"
Kontos, well we found one pitcher who can get outs at Coors. Maybe that's all you need with this offense.
Panik, Susac, just so damn impressive. Fearless, disciplined, take charge rooks. What farm system did they come from again?
Oh, and F@#! Dinger, Sitting in front Giants fans, just to block their view. I want to take a plastic bat to Coors and beat the snot out of that Barney spawn.
DeleteI believe Panik and Susac emerged from a "nuclear wasteland" of a farm system.
DeletePanik literally the next day! What's a poor curmudgeon to do anyways?
DeleteI love the idea that the Giants farm system is a nuclear wasteland ....
DeleteI mean we can see what exposition to Giant's Gamma rays produced !!!
By the way I just realize that Dr B was an alias for Doctor Banner ...
Every pieces fall in the right place ;-)
Go Giants !!!
GIP
I'll just say, I doubt that anyone who reads this site regularly is the least bit surprised by the success of Panik and Susac whereas a lot of readers of another site that recently ran a featured article proclaiming the farm system a "nuclear wasteland" can't believe what they are seeing and still think there must be something fluky about it. I'll let you all decide which site gives you better information about the farm system.
DeleteThis site gets my vote.
DeleteI hope more fans would visit here.
And a good way is to attract those now visiting other sites, posting what is essentially preaching to the choir stuff over there.
Doc, you have been doing a fantastic job of keeping us informed. Great stuff. Thanks again. You are first thing in the morning reading with my first cup of coffee.
ReplyDeletePanik, Susac Wow!!
Lets lets the unwashed masses who claim to be knowledgeable continue to declare the "nuclear wasteland" is what the Giants farm system is.
The Giants need not apologize for how the are building the future. Bright lights continue into the foreseeable future.
Go Giants.
Richard in Winnipeg.
Player development is not easy and never certain.
DeleteYou will have your good days and bad days.
It's wonderful to see them come up and contribute. The Giants management knows this is more art than science, and they tend not to pay attention to the outside world, good days or bad days.
This year, they made a call at the trading deadline and afterwards - we are keeping our kids, except the Peavy trade, and we are not trading Sandoval. That was a gutsy call...perhaps in a different year, they'd do it differently.
And deep down, I believe Sabean is probably ticked off about the 'nuclear wasteland' comment as he was about the Lunatic Fringe, but at least this time, I don't think he will let it bother him publicly. Probably better off channeling his energy elsewhere.
Tidrow's comment quoted by Baggs tells me the Giants front office is very aware of he criticism of the farm system and is letting off a little "I told you so" steam.
DeleteYou are right. Still, it's a bit too early, in one sense - there are still games to be played.
DeleteAnd it's too late in another sense - at this time, the best 'I told you so' is non-verbal...actions speak louder than words.
Tidrow even got in on commenting on the farm: “I’ll keep saying it: It’s not that bad a farm system,” said Tidrow, the organization’s longtime pitching and development guru. “We always have what we need." - more over at Baggs, especially on Susac. Who apparently was asked about early and often, and contributed (much like Matt Cain did back in the day) to not many trades happening...
ReplyDeleteSusac and Panik are putting big smiles on me face. Playing like they belong.
Think of all the big name prospects out there who have gotten called up this year: Polanco, Bogaerts, Betts, etc, etc. Who is making the most impact for their teams right now? Panik and Susac! And it's not like Panik and Susac are complete unknown flukes. They were just flat out underrated by most prospect analysts, that's all!
DeleteAnother big one is Taveras. Known for being a natural hitter. 224/268/292 in 205 PAs in the show.
DeleteConcur with our Manitoban friend - first place to read in the AM. Thanks again for your public service here. Great job by the GMen - gotta love the emergence of Panik in the 2 hole and Susac's power. Way to come back on these guys. Sounds like Dinger jinxed his team with his less than hospitable actions towards the visiting fans. Let's Go Giants! 2 games back!
ReplyDeleteNWGiantsFan
DtF!!!
There were a lot of bad vibes coming out of that Dinger costume last night. Even when he was signing autographs for some kids, he did not have happy body language.
DeleteThanks to everybody for reading every day and for the kind comments. I'd happily write up the minor league highlights every day if nobody read, but it is gratifying to know so many people like it. As always, it's a labor of love.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great game. The rooks are doing great especially in the sense that they weren't suppose to be ready until next year at the earliest. Great job Dr. B! Susac is pushing Belt to LF or trade bait. Is it too late for Panik to get into NL Rookie of the Year consideration?
ReplyDeleteI'll have to try and figure out what NL rookies are out there who might have been up all season, but yeah, I definitely think Panik is a candidate.
DeleteBilly Hamilton has like 55 stolen bases, but an OBP barely at 300 and a wRC+ below 100. The Mets DeGrom has 100+ innings pitched at very high levels. If Panik continues to produce as he has he should catch them in WAR numbers, but he won't match counting stats like gaudy 60+ SBs or 10 wins if they continue to produce as they have.
DeletePanik - like Scutaro and Freddy Sanchez before him - will be an underrated All-Star second baseman for the Giants.
DeleteI think I prefer it that way....rest of baseball just seems to scratch their heads at the end of the day while San Francisco raises flags.
I kinda like the idea of trading Belt for a SP in the offseason and rotating Posey and Susac between 1B and C to keep them fresh and reduce the foul tips off the mask for each.
DeleteThere was a precedent for trading surplus (Sanchez) for need (Melky).
DeleteThere was also a precedent for trading an expensive player (Matt Williams) for cheaper players.
We will see if they trade Belt or letting Sandoval go for a pick (trade not likely now).
Not sure Belt has any value until he's proved he is fully recovered from the concussion.
DeleteI'd prefer to put Belt in LF, Posey at 1B and go with Susac and Sanchez at C. Posey is at least as good a defensive 1b, and I can't imagine Belt being worse than Morse. Susac appears ready and his try out might be now. Of course, you could just keep Posey at Catcher next year, give Susac one more season and then let Belt walk or ink him to a longer deal in LF if he plays well enough there. That might make sense, especially since Parker put together a decent run in OF for Fresno on his short stint, and that would give us a chance to see if he's for real. But I don't see any real need to trade him for SP; better to sign Peavy for a reasonable deal (and I think we can get there).
Deleteps, anyone want to see what Heston can do? He's only 25/26, had a pretty nice year and if he could stick, you'd have him able to be the 5th with Timmy going into the Pen. I don't see Petit as a starter--he never seems to do all that well in that role for more than the first game.
Not sure why people keep putting Belt in LF without a shred of evidence that he can actually play the position. To say he can't be worse than Morse is faint praise indeed. If I have to sacrifice defense at the position for a bat, I prefer Morse's bat to Belt's.
DeleteI assume the Giants know Belt well, and that if they won't have him in LF except under extraordinary circumstances (= signing Jose Abreu this past offseason), they know what they're doing. Maybe they feel Belt's streaky hitting is such that he needs not to have the distraction of a new position. Maybe they have made a judgment from the little they've seen him in the OF. But I have faith in them.
DeleteIf some evidence exists to show that Posey is defensively equal to Belt at first base, I would like to be shown it. If there isn't such evidence, then one oughtn't to claim that he is. Belt is defensively excellent.
Or, by my self-professed standards I should say that Belt has the reputation of being an excellent defender at first (as vs his .949 fielding pct in 270 innings as an outfielder), although his defensive fWAR doesn't offer good support for what the eyes of the beats and the broadcasters, they say, tell them.
DeleteBy UZR, Posey is a better fielding first baseman than Brandon Belt albeit in a small sample size.
DeleteJake Peavy n Tim Earl Flannery (Tulsa, Ok) pic'n it...in the stairwell at Coors.
ReplyDeletehttp://youtu.be/c3xUTWRYedk
The Giants got some vibe going on...enjoy! Oh, and I'm resigning Peavy just for this.
Not wild about Peavy's phrasing, but he has a good voice.
DeleteMuch as McCovey Chronicles serves as a deserved bête noire and/ or laughing stock for many of us, I think all will be pleased by Grant's piece, "Are the Giants secretly good at hitting." He shows that if one takes park factors into account, the Giants have for the last three years had one of the top offenses in the league. That's 2012, 2013, and this year that they have been among the best.
ReplyDeleteThat is hilarious! Grant and his minions have been clinging desperately to the notion that the Giants don't understand hitting for years. He's got a rep as a funny guy, well... his writing is a complete joke. There is a cold saber with an inflexible mind at the heart of all that funny guy "I don't know nothing about nothing" prose.
DeleteI'll stick to MCC as laughingstock. Being bitter and petty as the Giants roll tide deserves one thing and only one thing: banishment from the fan base. They all should go root for the team their fandome, "analysis" and commentary deserve: The Padres.
Actually, the Padres might be too good for them. Maybe the Diamondbacks. Those guys do the boneheaded decisions that Grant & Co keep expecting from the Greybeards. Who have supervised the best era of Giants baseball with a little divebomb in the late two thousand oughts which might just be more attributed to ownership meddling than actual bad judgement.
Yeah, if you read that piece carefully, Grant is still putting down the Giants offense while he's showing those stats. Kinda like, there must be something wrong with the stats because this can't be right.
DeleteI think we are all better off just ignoring him completely, and talk about the stuff we want to talk about.
DeleteI contribute to minor league ball. I've ignored MCC for...165 articles and counting, at least that's what the new article icon is telling me.
DeleteThere are only so many places on the interwebz to look at prospects, and to specifically look at Giants prospects. There are also a limited number of viewers/posters who are into this stuff. So it goes. As I've got more into this I'm amused by how set in their ways the guys at the SBN site are, they have a ton invested in throwing bombs at Sabean. At this point, its pure comedy how wrong they are. But they're also wrong about how the Giants approach advanced stats. And we've been proving that on these pages and OGC/my joint for a while now.
I visited MCC, I think, 4 or 5 years, for a brief time, like a few months, though never commented there.
DeleteIt wasn't for me. I moved on and found DrB's blog and have enjoyed it very much since then.
Thanks, guys. Much appreciated!
DeleteDo the guys at MCC (Grant included) even find any joy from Panik and Susac's emergence, or is it all about finding ways to discredit the front office for their development? That's my biggest question. To be honest, I could care less about how that side views things. I know that I'm enjoying the hell out of this run. Panik's bat last month may have saved the season from the brink of disaster, and Susac already looks like a veteran both offensively and defensively. So much fun to watch!
ReplyDeleteAll I know is there isn't a more well-informed or realistic crew than the group that hangs around here. It's so cool to see your farm pay off like this during the stretch run, especially when said farm was obliterated by the majority of the "experts" out there. I guess that's why they keep playing the games on the field...
Hard to tell. I'm sure on one level they enjoy it. Grant made his name as a blogger playing up the futility of being a Giants fan and he seems to have never completely shaken that mindset. A significant block of commenters over there seem to be convinced that the 2 World Series wins were almost entirely the result of luck whereas 2011 and 2013 represent the organization's true talent. There is a strong belief among many of the commenters that the Giants management has no idea how put together an offense, they don't draft well and the farm system is one of the weakest in baseball(a "nuclear wasteland" if you will).
DeleteSo I don't know. I am sure if you asked them they would tell you they were deliriously happy the the Giants won the World Series but I'm not sure how you can feel completely satisfied with that result if you also cling to a belief that they won, not just one, but twice in 3 years due to blind luck and not due to talent.
I hope I am not misrepresenting the site, but I don't think I am the only one who gets this impression from reading it.
I said that the first time I posted on that site a good many years ago. But I don't believe it. I think that their clientele is a bunch of adolescents, of a variety of actual biological ages, who enjoy being snide, snarky, superior smartasses. They get lots of reinforcement in the manner of social media exchanges, and in fact they spend lots of time chatting about what they ate, drank, saw, etc. other than baseball. Their way of being cool is to scoff.
DeleteNonetheless, I believe that there are loads of ardent Giants fans on that site, a good number of whom are knowledgeable, and many of whom insistent on arguing with facts and stats when these are available. The tone of the site I often find repellant, and the rigor of many of the arguments I find admirable. When the Giants do well, there is real jubilation on MCC, even if in the aftermath of it some posters try to keep group respect by pointing out that after all they were right about something that the Giant FO got woefully wrong.
Should be "repellent."
DeleteTo DrB and Blanco as left fielder shd be added that Blanco led all NL outfielders in errorless chances, by a very considerable margin, before what was called an error today. This obv isn't because he lacks range to go after difficult shots to the OF.