Zack Greinke is the toughest starting pitcher to score off of in MLB this year. The Giants went up against him with a lineup that featured a leadoff hitter in his first game back from an extended DL stint, a cleanup hitter who caught 14 innings the night before, two guys acquired in waiver wire trades in August, and good field/no stick backup SS who batted 9'th in a non-DH game. The rest of this game was quite predictable based on that information alone. Key Lines:
Madison Bumgarner- 7 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 8 K's. ERA= 2.96. That is certainly pitching well enough to win. The difference in the game being an inexplicable HR give up off the bat of a struggling rookie LH hitter.
Zack Greinke- 7.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 1.59. Not sure what needs to be done to increase offense, maybe not anything, but there are too many pitchers right now who are close to untouchable. Zack Greinke leads the list and he can opt out of his contract at the end of the season and become a FA. Hmmmm…….
The Loss drops the Giants to 5.5 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West and we won't even track the Wild Card until/unless the Giants can close the gap on the Cubs.
Mike Leake tries to salvage a win out of the series tomorrow, but has a tall task as he opposes Clayton Kershaw.
Justin Maxwell was DFA'd to make room on the 40 man roster for….Nick Noonan? OK, then. I guess Nick Noonan will spell Matt Duffy at 3B here and there before he melts in a puddle somewhere near the 3B bag.
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MadBum did about all he could do. Very good stat line. Chock this one up to injuries and an opposing pitcher having a monster year. This should be a huge message to the FO. The Giants cannot go into next season with the same amount of question marks as this year. Cain, Hudson and Lincecum were all question marks this offseason. If you just replace some of Hudsons and Vogeys starts this season with a guy like Leake from the beginning, I think we would have been up towards the Pirates in wins and probably first place in the NL West. They thought they could roll the dice and it worked decently but it might not be enough unless we have an excellent September. Probably going to need 18+ wins this month and win at least 3 against the Dodgers next time we see them. Don't give up hope. Stranger things have happened.
ReplyDeleteCain, Hudson, and Lincecum were question marks under contract before the offseason began, for ca. $50M. What would you have had the FO do, other than try to add one star pitcher to the rotation, which is what they did do with Lester and Shields? Where there were other question marks, at 3B and LF, the problems got solved; but there the Giants didn't have the problem of convincing a first-rate player to sign when they could not promise him an appropriate slot--the question marks under contract might have worked out, after all.
DeleteYou are 100% right. I was trying to say that this offseason we can do something about it and we shouldn't go into the season with so many question marks. Last year their hands were tied. We need 2 starting pitchers with one being a legitimate #2. Peavy and Heston could be a decent #4 and #5. So that leaves 2 and 3. I think Cueto and Gallardo is a good combo there. Leake is a number 3 in my opinion so that just leaves a big hole at the 2 spot and you will spend probably $85MM+ on him. CF is the next question mark. Can Pagan stay healthy? I doubt it. One of the beat writers thinks he will be shopped this offseason. It doesn't sound like they have faith either.
DeleteAll we need is a good winning streak and be in place before the 4 game vs the dodgers at&t park i believe we can do this.
ReplyDeleteI personally am not sweating it. I would love for the Giants to make the playoffs but it is not the end of the world if they don't. The way I see it is that we have made progress which should carry into next year. Our infield of Panik, Belt, Duffy and Crawford are all NL top 5 in their respective positions in my opinion which is a huge upgrade from last year. We have seen vast improvements from minor leaguers in the lower levels which should solidify the upper levels in 1-2 years. Slater, Cole, Arroyo, Vizcaino, Williamson, Shaw, Gomez, J. Johnson, C. Johnson, Bickford, Suarez, Beede, Blackburn and many more. With a few acquisitions in the offseason we will be right back next year. I am thinking Cueto and a third tier guy like Gallardo. We need one decent bat in the OF. Cespedes I think is the best for the money because of his defense and ability to play CF. Upton and Heyward should be more $$ and may not provide better results than Cespedes. Aoki is a no brainer for the depth.
ReplyDeleteLets go and fight to the last inning of the regular season. We just need either the Cubs or Dodgers to have a few bad weeks and it is very doable.
Cespedes is at 5.9 fWAR this year, so as a free agent at $5M per WAR, he should be looking for a long contract at . . .? Cueto ditto, though he's at only 4 fWAR so far; he's a premium SP, though, who won't cost a draft pick (as Cespedes won't). I can't say that any of the third-tier pitchers listed the other day by DrB has 2015 stats that excite me: Fister has been mediocre for the Nats after being splendid for Detroit; Gallardo has had worsening peripherals; etc. My point is that unless we are to emulate the Dodgers in flinging money about like King Midas on PEDs, we will have a hard time doing what we plainly need to, so as to anticipate the possible flops of our question marks.
DeleteI agree wholeheartedly with your rosiness about our IF and improving farm, Roger, and I believe that if we sign Leake and can also go after Price or some other top-notch SP, even at the cost of a draft pick, we should reasonably hope for a great year in 2016. We also need to make sumptuous burnt offerings to every god in the medical pantheon, from Aesculapius to Dr Mayo, for a healthy lineup! (I trust DrB to be on our side now, with no roasted ox needed.)
I like the idea of David Price. First, he wouldn't require a draft pick and also he is a LHP. Most of the Dodgers lineup is left handed. The Giants were supposedly interested in him at the trade deadline so maybe there is a chance.
ReplyDeleteI think most of us agree there is something wrong with Cain. Will he need surgery? Either way it doesn't look like he is coming back to his prior performance. The Giants need to land one of the top aces. Not to just keep up with the Dodgers because that is a game we will lose. They need to spend wisely whereas the Dodgers seem to spend money like never before.