Was Paul Goldschmidt's 3-run dinger or Brandon Crawford's baserunning error that was the difference in this game? Key Lines:
Brandon Crawford SS- 3 for 4, 2 2B. BA= .241. The first 4 batters in the lineup went a combined 1 for 16. The 5, 6 and 7 batters went a combined 6 for 11. Crawford, hitting 5'th, ran his hit streak to 9 games and is 14 for 31 in that span. On the other hand, he badly lost a mental battle with Zack Greinke when he broke for 3'rd with 1 out and runners on first and second before Greinke made a move to to the plate and go hung out to dry. Nick Hundley doubled in the same AB driving in Pabs from 1B, so Crawford's baserunning mistake almost surely cost the Giants at least 1 run.
Pablo Sandoval 3B- 2 for 4. BA= .242. I'm going to start a Pablo Scale with rates his chances of being the Giants starting 3B to open the 2018 season. On August 17, 8 games ago, it was about a 2 on a scale of 0-10 when his BA as a Giant stood at .200. Since then, he's 11 for 26 in 7 games and I'd put it at about a 6. Only reason it's not higher....is it just me or has Pablo already gained at least 20 lbs since re-joining the Giants?
Nick Hundley C- 1 for 3, 2B. BA= .267. Hundley drove in the first run with that double, but got thrown out on the play while trying to protect Pabs who was scoring from 1B. Hundley later drove in a second run with a FC groundout in which he barely beat the throw to first on the relay.
Ty Blach LHP- 5 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 6.75. Blach had one bad inning and it wasn't all his fault. Denard Span let a single get past him which put runners on 2'nd and 3'rd with 1 out in the 2'nd inning. The first run scored on an IF single that glanced off Pablo's glove. Blach might have been thinking about those 2 plays when served up a hanging changeup that actually fooled Paul Goldschmidt, but Goldy just flicked it out of the yard with a flat-footed swing. He was probably the only guy in the game who could do that.
Albert Suarez RHP- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA= 6.25. Good Albert showed up today.
Josh Osich LHP- 0.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K. ERA= 6.14. Osich was asked to get 2 LH batters out. He gave up a walk and a single to put runners at 1'st and 3'rd with 1 out.
Kyle Crick RHP- 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 2.70. This was an impressive piece of work. Cricky came in to clean up Osich's mess and was throwing 97 mph heat and overpowering hitters. He struck out Chris Iannetta for the big second out of the inning and then got AJ Pollack to pop up. Cricky showed closer quality stuff there.
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Madison Bumgarner tries to even the series today against Taijuan Walker.
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Sandoval: You're right, his stomach has gotten bigger. I looked at a Red Sox picture from May of this year. He was in good shape. Then with the Giants in early July, he was still in good shape. Now, he definitely has a some gut going on...
ReplyDeleteSandoval looks fatter. Maybe the Giants didn't think the rest of the season was worth wrestling with his weight or that he would mend his ways after the Red Sox gave him a BIG FAT contract that he matched in weight. Haha.
ReplyDeleteHe will always be a liability against LHP and there are LOTS of them -- that should not allow his odds to reach 8, or even 7.
Don't the Giants already have the 3 for-sure IFers and Span and probably Parker who are LHB only?
Plus LHBs Jones and Shaw and Moncrief and Duggar and Heathcott and Gillaspie and the ever-beloved Caleb Gindl?
There are only 4 or 5 slots left after Posey and his backup, Pence, 3 LHB IFers, Span, and Parker for the likes of Arroyo, Slater, Tomlinson, Hernandez, Williamson, Caliste, Hwang (?), and some long shots like Dillon Davis and the myriad hangers-on the Giants paraded through the lineup this year.
He would have to be the FA RH power bat they ought to sign.
My guess: 4-5 if he continues what he's doing and 6-7 if he starts hitting HRs prodigiously.
I'm probably just really cynical, but I don't think it will matter how fat Sandoval is or how poorly he performs, he's a 10 for the '18 opening day roster and as high as 8-9 for starting 3B on opening day. Sentimentality seems to rule supreme with Larry Baer and others.
ReplyDeleteI give it an 8 they bring him back. He's very cheap to them, has shown to have potential to be very good and even at a not very good Pablo, his price makes him worth it. He also gives them flexibility in that they can trade Panik and slot Arroyo to 2nd. Even if he doesn't start, he'd be a good piece to have off the bench at the price.
ReplyDeleteBilly Baseball
i think sandoval and arroyo will likely platoon to start next season
ReplyDeleteDr. B,
ReplyDeleteSandoval is a chubster, but man, the Giants uniforms don't seem like they do the guy any favors either! Back in the Bay he knows all the hot spot eateries, so not surprise he's packing on the LB's. Just makes no sense to me or anyone else, which is why I think Pablo's weight concerns are much more than simply "he needs to get his act together" - I think he likely has an eating disorder that needs more than just a trainer and nutritionist. When he's right, he is a threat with anything near the strike zone, but when he's too fat, his bat is just a bit too slow to expand the zone like he loves to do.
Hope he gets some things ironed out and ends with a mended relationship with Giants & teammates and the twilight of his career is a success.
Cheers
Andy in OC