The Giants played another tight one against the Cardinals but came up short in the end when Hunter Strickland gave up a game winning HR to Yadier Molina. Key Lines:
Kelby Tomlinson- 2 for 4. BA= .355. Kelby got the first hit in the game for the Giants, and drove in the 3'rd run which gave the Giants a temporary lead in what I think was a fantastic AB against Steve Cishek. Kelby may occasionally show his inexperience on defense at 2B, but offensively he's been everything you would expect out of Joe Panik and then some.
Brandon Crawford- 2 for 3, HBP. BA= .272. Not much more to say about Crawford. He's having a great season.
Juan Perez- 1 for 3, BB. BA= .286. Perez had some good AB's and made what might be the catch of the year, a running, leaping basket catch up over the CF wall to take away a HR from Stephen Piscotty. Perez dedicated the catch to Willie Mays, which might be a bit presumptuous on Lil Juan's part, but from reading this social media postings, I think he means well.
Matt Cain- 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 5.66. This is more like the kind of start you would hope for from Cainer. Bochy is going to have a tough decision when Leake comes back.
Josh Osich- 0.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA= 1.50. Osich actually pitched better than this line makes it look like. The leadoff single was legit, but then Brandon Moss hit a swinging bunt that trickled past Osich for a hit. A sacrifice put runners at 2'nd and 3'rd with 1 out. Then, with the IF playing in, he got a groundball to 2B that just wasn't hit quite hard enough and Tomlinson didn't quite get his throw off quick enough and the throw was just not quite where it needed to be to get a tag on the runner at the plate. Just a tough luck inning for Osich.
The Loss kept the Giants 2 games behind the Dodgers who lost again to the Oakland A's in Oakland. The Giants also remain 3 games behind the Cubs in the Wild Card race after the Cubbies dropped another game to the Detroit Tigers.
The Giants now move on to Pittsburgh for a 4 game set against the Pirates with Jake Peavy facing Charlie Morton in game 1 tomorrow evening.
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Perez looked like Spider Man on that catch the way he scaled that wall.Just a great catch.
ReplyDeleteAnother tough loss. Looks like Aoki is coming back and will playing RF with Belt in LF. Should help the offense a bit but I doubt either of them make a catch like Perez makes!
Billy Baseball
That was the 13th game Crawford has had at least one hit. That is his longest streak of his career.
ReplyDeleteDoc, when you said, “Kelby may occasionally show his inexperience on defense at 2B, but offensively he's been everything you would expect out of Joe Panik and then some,” my curiosity was peaked, so I did some checking. Tomlinson has had 32 plate appearances as of 8/19/15, so I went back and looked at Joe’s first 32. The numbers prove you to be right . . . again.
ReplyDeletePANIK:
PA – 32
BA - .200
OBP - .273
SLG - .233
RBI – 0
XBH – 0
SO – 0
BB – 1
TOMLINSON:
PA – 32
BA - .355
OBP - .375
SLG - .516
RBI – 6
XBH – 3
SO – 7
BB – 1
After looking at the offensive numbers, I took a quick peek at some defensive numbers. Here they are.
PANIK:
INNINGS – 65
PO – 13
A – 25
E – 3
CH – 41
DP – 7
TOMLINSON:
INNINGS – 62
PO – 14
A – 14
E – 0
CH – 28
DP – 2
And because I don’t have anything better to do with my time, I decided to check out some comments posted on MCC from the time Panik was called up last year to the end of the WS. Here’s a few:
. . . and Panik is I think pretty sure to make for a useful UT infielder.
I’d also trade Panik of course. Susac and Panik along with Crick are probably the best trade chips right now.
I expect Pence and Morse and Sandoval and Posey and Belt (!) to carry the offense, and guys like Crawford, Panik, and Blanco to fill in and not stink.
As 2008 is etched in my memory as The Jose Castillo Year, 2014 seems likely to be filed away as The Year of All Those Horrible Backup Infielders. The number of words spilled trying to find meaningful distinctions among Arias, Adrianza, Hicks, Panik, and who knows who else beggars the imagination.
This year it’s Peavy and Petit whose natural abilities with the Giants we question,
along with unintended rookies Panik and Susac playing way above their heads.
. . . Panik has been this year, a BA heavy, gap hitter at 2b of no great defensive distinction.
So expectations were low for Crawford, Panik, Duffy, but they’ve grown into their roles.
Conclusion: Panik saved 2014, the postseason, and this off-season.
In the minds of some, Panik went from being “a useful UT infielder” to the savior of 2014. How can that be? He grew into his role.
What is true of Panik is true for any number of rookies. They all have to “grow into their role.” That means they’re going to show some “inexperience” on defense, and at the plate, and on the base paths. But with a little help from the coaching staff and their fellow teammates, consistent playing time, and a lot of turning a deaf ear and blind eye to their critics, these kids could really amount to something someday.
Very pleasing comment, Nutz--punning on your pseudonym to its German meaning, use(ful); and wonderfully revealing of that hive of complacency, never justifiable and almost always unjustified, that is the comments section of MCC.
DeleteI note that the Byrd trade has subtracted one from the Giants' rollcall of multiple Johnsons. I hope we're losing the one we can best afford to lose.