Kevin Pillar CF- 1 for 4, HR(2). BA= .140. Pillar hit his second dinger and drove in his 9'th run in 3 games. That was the only scoring for the Giants in this game.
Dereck Rodriguez RHP- 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K', GO/AO= 10/2. ERA= 4.15. A strong start any way you measure it. It wasn't enough as is so often the case with this offense.
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The Dodgers suddenly don't look so invincible after losing their 3'rd in a row to the Cardinals, so the Giants remain 4 games off the pace in the NL West despite the Loss. The Win put the Padres in a first place tie with the Dodgers at 8-5.
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The Giants start a 4-game series against the Rockies tomorrow with Jeff Samardzija facing Jon Gray.
I'm not getting all dreamy-eyed for Pillar, but he does make a good impression. He's busts his ass hustling and plays with emotion. I know he's not going to hit like this for long, but he's enjoyable to watch right now.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the deal with Kratz? Doesn't want to get dirty? Reminds me of that scene in "The Natural" where a reporter was asking Bump Bailey why he didn't slide: "I had a dollar cigar in my back pocket!"
Garcia should be in Kratz spot, another hustle guy who with Pillar might help wake up The Core. Longo and Craw needs someone pushing them for playing time too.
ReplyDelete1st and 3rd, 1 out, double play ball behind him -- where was Duggar? The on-deck batter is supposed to be signalling!
ReplyDeletePillar does hit LHP better than RH.
2019 Giants war cry: WE HAVEN'T BEEN SWEPT!
Thought about that too, Duggar getting to the plate to signal. But, did he have time to get over there. He's coming from the 3rd base side on deck circle, he's got to put his back to the play, get over there, turn, re-asses, and then signal. I don't think he had time.
DeleteA Giants reality moment. I drafted Buster for my fantasy team. I may need to drop him..........and who would pick him up?
ReplyDeleteGarcia :)
DeleteDoes anyone on this team have any real trade value? The Marlins, Rays, and Pirates didn’t get much when they dumped their trade chips over the last few years. Those were names like Stanton, Yelich, Gordon, Ozuna, Cole, Cutch, and Longo and you could argue that Cutch and Longo had higher trade value at the time than anyone right now on the Giants. So what could the Giants possibly expect in return at this point for MadBum or Posey or even Smith or Watson?
ReplyDeleteI just heard on the radio that the Giants are the 5th most valuable MLB franchise worth 3 billion according to Forbes and they generate more average revenue than any other team in the MLB at $183 per fan. With seemingly no hope in site as far as prospects close to helping at MLB level, trade prospects, and effort to improve via free agency, are we on the verge of seeing this franchise collapse? I really dont think I’m overreacting either just reading the tea leaves and making an educated observation. For how long will fans show up and spend $183 a piece to watch a team that isn’t trying to win?
SF Mgmt. fell asleep after 2014 WS Win or just became complacent now they are seeing empty seats because of this.
Delete$183 per fan. Let's take a second to consider that. What a money-printing machine! (Not to mention them becoming major property developers.) They had to beg investors at the 11th hour to invest in this in '92. Times have changed.
DeleteI don't think SF management became complacent. They were actually aggressive at extending their young core at reasonable prices. I'm not buying the frontrunners and hindsighters who now claim they could see this coming from back then. Maybe we have a different population of commenters, but the vast majority who were commenting back then were all for the extensions and would have been quite apoplectic if the Giants traded them out for prospects a year or two before free agency like the A's have been doing for about 20 years.
DeleteI have outlined what went wrong in past posts but it was a combination of injuries, possibly rapid aging, mileage on arms and an league-wide offensive explosion that left the old pitching and defense formula in the dust.
The Giants have several players with significant trade value. Tough choices need to be made. It is my belief that management blocked the baseball people from doing what needed to be done as far back as 2016. The Giants won three World Series titles following the 'the whole is greater than the sum of its' parts' road map - it worked. Ultimately however, talent prevails, and the Giants are short on talent throughout the organization. Farhan is a good choice to rebuild the organization.
ReplyDeleteWhat the Giants need to do: 1) hit on the draft this year and next, 2) find a diamond in the rough, or two or three, among players in the system (example Logan Webb), 3) win on guys in the system through player development (example Sean Hjelle), 4) show patience and not rush guys like Bart and Ramos, and 5) get aggressive in the trade market. While it's too early to know for sure, it's very likely the Bumgarner will have significant value to a World Series contender looking to get over the top. Both Will Smith and Tony Watson could be very attractive to a contender who loses a closer to injury. Two other guys who could have value to a contender needing a left handed arm down the stretch are Derek Holland and Drew Pomeranz.
Make no mistake, there is much work to be done. But, I am betting next year at this time the team is looking younger, more athletic and showing promise. Now, as fans we need to figure out how to make it through 2019 and 2020 with a win total in the 130 to 140 range.
The Rays traded Chris Archer last year to the Bucs for 2 good young pieces; Tyler Glasnow(sp) and Austin Meadows (of). I think Bum should have more value then Archer, but if the Giants could get a similar return in a potenfial trade, that would be very nice.
DeleteYou might be right about the 130-140 2 year win total, but it wouldn't be a surprise if they try for a quick turn around in 2020. Ownership is willing to spend $$.
DeleteI am not aware of a shred of evidence that anyone blocked anyone in Giants management and I see no objective evidence so far that Farhan Zaidi is a good choice to rebuild the organization.
DeleteSpeaking of rebuild, I have no idea why people keep referring to a rebuild when their has yet to be anything resembling a rebuilding move. In fact, when Zaidi himself commented on why they couldn't give Conner Joe a longer look, he listed 3 reasons, one of which is they are not currently in a rebuild.
Part of it might be when beat writers like Schulman has reported the Giants are in a "Zaidi rebuild", and Zaidi says no rebuild, no one really knows for sure! Hey, I just want to enjoy the season! Not disagreeing with you Doc, but Pavs wrote yesterday that they kept the core in tact not necessarily by choice. I took it to mean that Zaidi tried to trade core players for maybe younger pieces but was unsuccessful because their contracts were hard to move. Like I said just speculation. Zaidi also said he doesn't believe in splashy moves in his opening press conference, but he goes after Brice Harper 3 months later. I wouldn't believe everything he says.
DeleteEverybody knows that no matter what happens or who is calling the shots, there will be almost a complete turnover of personnel on this team by 2022. That part is inevitable and would be if Evans/Sabean were still in charge. That's just the way the contracts are structured. So, in that sense, of course there is going to be a rebuild, but that was the plan all along, not some big change in direction or philosophy.
DeleteI may be misinterpreting, but from many comments I've read, a sizable part of the fan community that visits this site thinks Zaidi was brought in to substantially accelerate that timeline. That is the part I see no evidence of so far and contradicts several statements from Zaidi himself.
So what was he brought in to do? I actually think ownership was thinking more long term when they hired Zaidi. Maybe through use of analytics they will draft different players or have a more robust international operation or sign different free agents or make different trades or have a different philosophy of player development or even in-game decisionmaking. That's all good, but it's not the same thing as thinking we're going to see an accelerated, full-blown, firesale level rebuild.
Winning starts at the Top, with New Management at the Top this Team has taken the first and most important step to rebuilding the SF Giants. I plan on enjoying the Process as painful and embarrassing as it may be.
ReplyDeleteAgain, what evidence can you point that demonstrates any evidence of a rebuild and what has Zaidi done so far to make you think he's the guy to do it? Zaidi himself is on record as saying there is no rebuild!
DeleteIt's doubtful that anyone with a contract has any excess value, except perhaps Crawford, and some would have to waive their no-trade clause. Not gonna get much for anyone over 30 nor much salary relief.
ReplyDeleteThe veterans, those who we California Dreamers envisioned would rebound are realizing these guys are not fine wine, they are not aging well.
The good news is, the "bad" contracts don't really hurt -- the Giants are enough below tax threshold, to add or could go over with good buys. But are there any? Would Harper have helped: another LHB to see more LHP?
It's probable that Posey, Belt, Longoria, Samardzija, Melancon, and probably Crawford and Bumgarner have peaked. The Giants have benefited from most of them, some have earned their future pay, but it will take time for the system to work itself out. It won't get better soon and there's nothing that can be done short of buying the immediate future and not trading anyone who has future value.
Dear Mr. Bochy,
ReplyDeleteIn case you haven't watched the first 13 games, news flash: Buster is not a top 5 hitter in the lineup no more.
He's an 8.
Good D, no O.
Great team guy, no O, .205 is not a clean up.
Wake up little Suzie.
Love from a fan who pays attention.
Buster still doesn't seem right physically, which is not a big surprise. He may never be physically sound again.
DeleteBart hit another HR for San Jose tonight. Sure seems like Bart will in SF either this year or next - and where is Posey (I almost said Poseur) going to go? That limp bat of his can't play First. Would he be the back-up to Bart? the Kratz?
DeleteOK, before we start ragging on Posey and start calling him mean nicknames, just consider that if he were to retire tomorrow, he would have more than earned back the entirety of his contract through his on-field performances. Everybody knew that his performance was likely to have surplus value in the first few years and negative value in the out years.
DeleteI love them all, I'm old enough to remember 1951. And 1954.
ReplyDeleteBut the 30+ guys are toast.
Move on.
Either overpay for overage guys to fill until the reinforcements are ready, or just give up. This is ridiculous.
The Giants are the laughing stock of the major leagues, not because they're the worst, but because they are paying more per win than any team, ever!
Dear Whoever is in Charge:
This team is not worth watching.
You'll be giving away tickets before June.
Or free food.
The 1994 Giants were more interesting.
No one pays for ineptitude.
Long lost loser.
The revenue is why they have the resources to turn this around quickly and should have done much better this offseason. There were strong upgrades to be had that did not require long term contracts and would not have blocked anyone.
DeleteI think management is paralyzed - what are they going to do with Longo and Posey?? If Belt does not start hitting please add him to this list. Posey is an Icon - I get that - ROY, MVP. three rings yes I know. The large contracts plus no trade clauses plus lack of production means choices are limited.
DeleteThe Giants are pretty bad but Flemming is insufferable.
ReplyDeleteDoes he know anything about playing baseball?
Please, Dave fans, tell me why.
To me, he's an empty uniform.
Got no creds.
I like Dave Fleming. He and Jon Miller make a great team on the radio side.
DeleteDear Bruce,
ReplyDeleteNo matter what you want, no matter what you got, in no matter is Steve Duggar your lead off guy.
It ain't working. .231 is not a good OBP.
Try Posey --he's not a clean up guy any more.
Try something -- it ain't Duggar.
TEN Giants have better OBP!
Recall, Eddie Stanly.
C'mon, Bruce, this ain't rocket science!
Duggar's not your leadoff guy.
Think with your brain not your gut. That han't worked since 2016.
And that wasn't a great finish.
Signed,
A Fan
AFan,
DeleteYou have heard of something called Sample Size? Duggar has had double digit BB%'s throughout his minor league career and his Preseason ZIPS had him at 9%. Even now, his ROS projections are at 8%. Bochy and Farhan may be looking at those numbers instead of his 51 PA sample size.