The Giants wrapped up the regular season with Win and a boxscore that looked more like it was from spring training. Key Lines:
Gregor Blanco- 1 for 3, BB, SF. BA= .260. First 3 batters went 1 for 12 yesterday. Blanco led the way with a better looking line today.
Joe Panik- 2 for 5. BA= .305. 2-Hit Joe does his thing again. He's the Giants 2B for at least the next 6 seasons.
Buster Posey- 1 for 2, HR(22). BA= .311. Buster will fall just a bit short of his second MVP, but close enough. Very nice bounceback season for The Buster who turned it on in the second half instead of wearing down.
Andrew Susac- 1 for 3, 2B. BA= .273. I didn't see it, but the double was reportedly a mammoth shot off the bricks in right-center. Baggs seems to think Bochy will carry Quiroz in the postseason roster so he can use Susac's bat off the bench. Wait a minute! How many postseason roster spots are there anyway?!
Gary Brown- 1 for 1. BA= .429. Brownie has certainly made the most of his meager opportunities. Will he make the Wild Card roster with a couple of SP's likely being left off?
Joaquin Arias- 1 for 2, 2B. BA= .254. Arias hit .351 in the second half, .188 in the first half. He hit .305 against LHP's and just .186 against RHP's.
Brandon Belt- 1 for 2, 2B, BB. BA= .243. Belt went 8 for 21 over his last 6 games of the season. Belt one into the river, Brandon! Oh, and there's a wind tunnel to RF in Washington!
Matt Duffy- 1 for 1. BA= .267. Duffy continues to have a magical bat off the bench, 6 for 15 in a PH role to be exact. With Ishikawa likely starting in LF, Duffy becomes the best PH on the team, by far.
Adam Duvall- 1 for 1, HR(3). BA= .192. Duvall had his moments and his struggles. What does the future hold for him?
Chris Heston- 4 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 5.06. So-so start for Hesto-Presto. Again, an uncertain future lies ahead for him.
Tim Lincecum- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA= 4.74. Looks like Timmy was effectively pitching to contact. Does he make the postseason roster?
Erik Cordier- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 1.50. Do both he and Strickland make the Wild Card roster with a couple of SP's being left off? Can the Giants bend the rules that much?
In a development that the Giants had no control over, they learned that they will be flying to Pittsburgh for the Wild Card do or die play-in game. Madison Bumgarner will face Edinson Volquez who has been one of the hottest pitchers in baseball over his last 12 starts. Of course, Bumgarner is no slouch himself and would certainly get serious consideration for the Clayton Kershaw ineligible Cy Young Award voting. Game time has been set at 8:07 PM EDT or 5:07 PM PDT which means I will get to see most of it after work. We'll talk a bit more about Keys to the Game in another post, but if the score is still 0-0 or better for the Giants by the time I can tune in, I like their chances.
Matt Cain had arthroscopic surgery to remove a bone spur from his ankle. It will not delay his recovery from elbow surgery. Figured he might as well get it taken care of in this window so as to not miss more time down the road.
Around the League: Jordan Zimmermann of the Nationals pitched a no-hitter on the final day of the regular season.
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heston will probably be the long reliever/emergency starter role next season
ReplyDeleteI do not see that in the cards for Heston. Too many in line ahead of him to fill that role.
DeleteProblem is Heston doesn't bring anything special to the Bigs. Heat - no, Control - no, Out Pitch - no, v LHH or RHH - no. Just good enough for AAA, with nothing special that will get him to the Show. Glad he got his start, though.
DeleteBased out of camp Sacramento.
DeleteWhen I was a kid in the 60's my older sister was a Beatles fan. I asked her which one she liked the best. "Ringo." Why Ringo? I asked her. "Well all of the other ones are spoken for - so I can have Ringo all for myself." I get it - I like the underdog, the dark horse also, which makes me pull for Gary Brown.
ReplyDeleteI like pulling for him also. I pull for all the Cal State Fullerton players because I was born and raised in Fullerton.
DeleteWho is second fiddle to Kershaw in the Cy? Cueto? Wainwright?
ReplyDeleteThe first inning may be the difference in the game. Does one pitcher get jumped on before he settles in?
I think the Pirates may be vulnerable in the pen. Otherwise they are a very strong team and worthy competitor.
Flip a coin on this one.
First inning is the biggest key to this game, IMO. More on that later.
DeleteWell if Pence has anything to say about the outcome, ha … he is well rested and pumped. i'm curious if he has a big game and makes the difference
Deletelook forward to your keys to the game post. I think Strickland is a better option then Gutierrez and Kontos so hopefully they find a way to get him on the roster. Don't understand why they waited till Sept 1 to call him up.. Gary Brown is speedy and could be valuable as a late inning pinch runner/defensive replacement. The Pirates seem to be doing a great job of turning pitchers careers around. Edison Volquez, Francisco Liriano, A.J Burnett, and Charlie Morton are some examples that come to mind.. Their pitching coach Ray Searage must be doing a great job over there..
ReplyDeleteLG