Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Game Wrap 8/1/2017: Giants 10 A's 4

The Giants offense came to life in support of Jeff Samardzija for a runaway win in Oakland.  Key Lines:

Gorkys Hernandez CF- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .260.  Here are Gorkys' BABIP's by month:  .211, .250, .452, .393.

Kelby Tomlinson LF- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .261.  Kelby gets a start in LF which is good for his versatility.  Unfortunately, he does not give the type of power the Giants need at the position long term.

Brandon Belt 1B- 2 for 5, 2B, HR(17).  BA= .242.  Belt is within 1 HR of his career high.

Buster Posey C- 3 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .333.  Kruk and Kuip mentioned that Buster could win another batting title.  He currently holds the #3 BA in MLB, but seems unlikely to pass Justin Turner at .355 and Jose Altuve at .365.

Hunter Pence RF- 1 for 3, HR(8).  BA= .243.  A lot of the Giants problems would be solved with a strong final 2 months from Pence and then a fully healthy season next year, the final year of his contract.

Nick Hundley C- 2 for 5, 2B, HR(5).  BA- .262.  Disappointing that Hundley was not traded before the non-waiver deadline.  Could he still be a waiver deal candidate?

Jeff Samardzija RHP- 8 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.77.  Not his strongest start, but hey, look what a little run support will do for you!

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The home and home 4 game series now moves to AT&T Park with Matt Moore facing Daniel Gossett in the first game there.

6 comments:

  1. It was nice to see the Giants string some hits together. Samardzija's throw to Crawford was disgusting. Agree with you about Pence seeing how he was the Giants main power bat and would like to add Crawford, Panik ( Is this who Joe Panik is or is he the 2014-15 Panik?), Cueto, Moore, Shark, Melancon, Osich, Okert, and Law. All have underperformed, regardless of injury or not.

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    1. Before yesterdays' game, Samardzija had more quality starts (12) than the top QS performer on 8 different pitching staffs. He has an equal number of QS to the top pitcher in 8 more pitching staffs. He would be 2nd in QS on 6 more staffs. That's Top, tied for top or #2 on 24 teams not including the Giants where he's, despite the erraticness of his pitching, #1. Of the remaining 5 clubs (not including the Giants obviously) he'd be #3 on 4 and the #4 on one.

      It'd be nicer if, when things start going bad for him, the 'going bad' wouldn't 'go to 11,' (Spinal Tap reference there) but it does, hence the big ERA. But the fact that he gives the Giants a very solid chance to win for being the #4 pitcher in the rotation. Or let's put it this way, he's performing as well as at half the #2 pitchers in baseball and better than many of the #1.

      So, that's my two-cents on Samardzija. Erratic, yes. But he's performing very well for his slot #4 and would be credible #3 on a well performing staff.

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    2. @MosesZD I do not, for one, think that the problem was that Shark was down. I think that the problem may have been, that there was a Stonehenge monument on the stage that was in danger of being crushed by a dwarf. Alright? That tended to understate the hugeness of the object.

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  2. Jeff Samardzija without his best control tough'ed out 8 innings plus a lob for a Crawford dunk at 2nd. At just 6'2" he couldn't reach the ball.
    Shark should stick to baseball assists -- not try for one basketball style!
    Osh-t would have had us puckering in the 9th without a 6-run lead.
    FREE DEREK LAW!

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  3. Tomlinson - Kelby is certainly not a candidate for an everyday outfield position or for any other position at this point. But how valuable is it to have someone who can play LF one night, and either 2B, SS, or 3B another night? I believe that will be his ticket to a more lengthy MLB career.

    I'd like to see him give Craw a night off this series. It seems like it's been forever since he's gotten time off.

    Belt - When will people realize his value? As you pointed out, he's one HR away from his career best. I just don't get all the hate.

    Gorkys - This guy has been a great story. There's nothing about his game that has not improved. My only concern is whether he could perform as well at the plate without playing every day. That's obviously when things started picking up for him.

    Pence - A decent showing last night, but I'm still not convinced that a parting of the ways is not in order. He seems to be becoming a platoon guy at best.

    Hundley - He's been a good addition to this club, but Fedex is doing well enough in Sac it seems that he could be a suitable backup for the last little bit of the season.

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  4. After dumping on Hundley yesterday and eating crow with the results, tonight it's Conor Gillaspie's turn: there is NO reason on earth for his being on the 25-man active roster at this point, much less the 40-man. He's a defensive liability and his timely HRs hardly cover his general ineptitude on offense.

    The nice streak that Denard Span had going to get his average up to .289 is now well into the past: his slash for the last 10 games is .179/.238/.256 accompanied by 1 RBI. His defense, stellar 5 years ago is in steep decline and he should NOT be in CF. His play almost makes Gorkys look good and he too is a negative fielder. Span leads the Giants with NO assists in 675 innings, and it's not because the opposition isn't running.

    Hunter Pence: nice HR last night, let's forget that he's having the worst season of his 11-year career, including his rookie season, his injured season, his traded season. His defense, however hyped, has never been good and is just bad this year. His amiability can only go so far in this cruel business: he and Denard to the tune of $29.5 million are toast and are 2/3's of next year's outfield. Another $4 million can be added to that for Span's buyout in 2019.

    To end this on a positive note: the Brandons make highlight film every night!

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