The Giants came up short trying to sweep the Phillies due in no small part to some bad luck and questionable decision making in the pivotal 7'th inning. More on that later. Key Lines:
Joe Panik- 3 for 5, 2B. BA= .316. Panik is the Energizer Bunny who continues to defy predictions of a regression. Going into today's game, he was tied for 5'th in fWAR for MLB 2B with Kolton Wong at 1.9 which puts him on pace for about 5.5+ over a full season. If those analysts who keep confidently predicting a regression for "Joltin' Joe"would must do a little more, you know, analyzing, they would see that his batting style is structured for high BABIP's. While there is room for some regression, he may well not go all the way down to league average. In addition, as I predicted last year, his walk rate is up to his minor league averages as he has gotten more comfortable at the plate, and some power has emerged. Both of those developments support a better than adequate OPS for a middle infielder even with some BABIP regression. So, hopefully Joe From New York does not go into a huge slump and make me look like an idiot here(furiously knocks on wood).
Angel Pagan- 1 for 4, 2B, BB. BA= .292. Top 3 batters in the lineup reached base 6 out of 15 PA's for a .400 OBP. They scored a total of 3 runs but you might hope for more, especially with the 2 doubles.
Matt Duffy- 1 for 3, 2B, BB. BA= .282. When Bochy was asked about his promise to start Casey McGehee in one game this series, he reportedly threw up his hands and basically said Duffy is playing too well to take him out of the lineup. Matt Duffy!
Ryan Vogelsong- 6.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 4.52. Vogey pitched a lot better than the line would indicate. He went into the 7'th with a QS and the game tied at 3. After a leadoff hit, the next batter popped up a sac bunt. Vogey charged, only to have the ball go over his head and land behind him where nobody could field it. He then got a GIDP to get 2 outs with a runner at 3B. Boch let him pitch to Ben Revere who he had retired 3 times already. Revere has a wet noodle for a bat and should never, ever walk. He walked! Vogey hit the showers and Javier Lopez came in to face the LH hitting Odubel Herrera, which led to……
Bruce Bochy- Bochy may have anticipated that Ryne Sandberg would bring in a RH batter to pinch-hit for Herrera. There was a base open and Lopez was reportedly ordered to pitch around Jeff Francoeur, who is quickly turning into one of the worst Giants of all time., with Chase Utley and Ryan Howard coming up. Whether Lopez actually tried to pitch around him is debatable as the hung changeup Francouer hit into the corner to drive in 2 runs was at least the second pitch he saw in the strike zone. Anyway, both Bochy's decisionmaking and Lopez' pitching have been major factors in the Giants success over the last 5 years, so they are both deserving of the benefit of the doubt, but throwing pitches over the plate to a RH batter in that situation was probably not the smartest thing to do, whoever made that decision.
The Loss left the Giants 1 full game behind the NL West leading Dodgers pending the Dodgers-Cards game this evening.
The Giants now get a day off in the Big Apple before Chris Heston takes on fireballer Noah Syndergaard in the first game of a series against the Mets on Tuesday.
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The decision making in that 7th inning was odd. Don't understand why Frenchie wasn't intentionally walked in that situation? Posey didn't come through today in some key situations with 5 runners LOB..
ReplyDeleteDodgers lose, so the Giants remain 0.5 games behind in the NL West.
ReplyDeleteDoc,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your assertions on Panik. This is an extreme example of how stats, even the very best are misleading, but there have been a small handful of players throughout history and quite visibly had incredible bat control. Tony Gwynn comes to mind, of course. While he may have hit most balls into play and many on the ground, I think modern statisticians would have said every single season that Tony was due for "regression," because that BABIP just couldn't possibly remain so darn high...
Panik has glimpses of the human element of bat control and situational hitting that probably boosts his average 30 points or so on an average player. Giants keeping the eye test as a key tool in scouting and it works.
Andy in San Diego
Yes Vogelsong had some bad luck in the 7th, but couldn't BB be happy with 6 innings and an off day tomorrow? Vogey was ok, even good, but, it seemed it was only a matter of time. And Lopez pitching to the RHB with 2 outs? Oh well, give a mulligan but put it in the memory bank.
ReplyDeleteIt was funny in the 9th that Buster would make his line look a little better after a truly miserable day at the plate. He gets a mulligan, too.
After smacking a loud double, Craw chased some really bad pitches and didn't help (at the plate) after that.
Little surprised at Susac PHing when Maxwell was available. In addition to the "maturity" aspect, why burn your backup catcher?
Is this infield awesome or what? Including Posey, the two old men of the 5 are just 28.