This was a game that still had promise as late as the 6'th inning. Then the wheels came off in flurry of defensive mistakes and the Dodgers cruised to the Win. Key Lines:
Joc Pederson DH- 1 for 4, HR(16). BA= .245. Joc homered off a lefty to briefly tie the score in the top of the 6'th inning. Joc should definitely not be back at the same salary price he's on this season but do you bring him back at any price?
Marco Luciano SS- 1 for 3, BB. BA= .286. As long as he's healthy, Luciano should be the starting SS next season.
Tyler Fitzgerald CF- 1 for 2, 2B, BB. BA= .500. A successful MLB debut game for Fitz. Is he the starting CF going into next season?
Kyle Harrison LHP- 5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 4.85. Harrison seems a little calmer, staying within himself, not trying to strike everybody out, letting letting his stuff do the work and keeping his pitch count down.
Despite the Loss, the Giants stayed 3 games off the Wild Card pace but time is rapidly running out to make gains.
Sean Manaea LHP gets the start tonight facing Caleb Ferguson LHP who is probably a Opener.
Churn Watch: A flurry of roster moves. Brandon Crawford SS goes on the 10-day IL which means he is eligible to come back for the final game of the season in Oracle Park. Might not want to miss that one. Tristan Beck RHP was recalled from AAA Sacramento and Tyler Fitzgerald IF/OF was selected from AAA Sacramento and added to to the 40-man roster. Sean Hjelle RHP was optioned to AAA Sacramento and Paul DeJong SS was placed on unconditional release waivers. Sad, but that needed to happen.
It's in the numbers, no?
ReplyDeleteSo many prospects with "reasonable" promise need protection from Rule 5 and so little was achieved with the veterans this year, is it time to look forward?
Another depressingly underperforming season by veterans at the bat AND in the field coupled with the loss of some "new-blooms" may doom him quicker than a youth movement – with which SF "only" needs to show "promise."
OTOH, would FZ risk his job by going all out with "kids"?
The failure of the veteran acquisitions (Conforto, Haniger, Manaea, Stripling) and resignee (Pederson) to even individually muster a bWAR above 0.8 or just a positive dWAR puts him on the hot seat – can he risk doubling down?
It will be interesting...
the "him" above in "may doom him quicker" is Zaidi
DeleteAnd, if we weren't feeling crappy enough, Alex Canario hit the first of what will probably be many homeruns for the Cubs.
ReplyDeleteCan't have it both ways. We can't rail against FZ standing pat and not acquiring star players and then turn around and rail about him trading away prospects.
DeleteKris Bryant did all he could to beat the Dodgers in the NLDS.
DeleteHe led the Giants in all offensive numbers in that series (OPS of 1.147) -- ONE more like him and the Giants may well have won. 8-17 and a walk: OBP .500.
In his 51 games with the Giants his oWAR was 1.3, suggesting they might have finished 2nd to LA in the NL West won by 1 game. He did play all 3 games against the Dodgers in September which SF won 2 games to 1.
It’s still mind boggling that a first round pick in Ramos is still not getting a shot from this team
ReplyDeleteProbably another guy who will make his mark, whatever it turns out to be, with another organization.
Deletekapler is going to be under a lot of scrutiny by ownership for the final week. if it looks like kapler has lost the clubhouse, we may have a managerial vacancy this offseason. greg johnson has to be really concerned about the state of the clubhouse right now.
ReplyDeleteI don't think ownership is scrutinizing anything. Greg Johnson already said both FZ and Kap's options have been picked up and they will be back next season.
Deletetrue, i've tried to hold off on firing kapler until 2024 and losing the clubhouse would be the only reason i would reverse course on kapler. in 2025 we might be able to get bob melvin if kapler ends up getting let go.
DeleteMelvin might be a good balance between traditional managing and analytics. Plus, he's a Forever Giant, no?
DeleteThat's certainly what Johnson says. But ownership has the luxury, or at least the prerogative, of changing their collective mind.
DeleteI think they should, at least in part. Zaidi clearly has some good ideas, and even Kapler come up with the positive notion of expanding the ML coaching staff. But it's not just that the on-field product this year has been virtually emetic. It's that after four years the future looks dubious. Not counting Eldridge, the best hitting prospects in the system (Luciano & Matos) came from the old regime. First and second round picks often have been squandered. This year's MLB signings seem too clever by half, and will leave the team with some bad contracts in '24 and maybe '25. It's not a record that inspires confidence.
My personal bias suggests that Zaidi and Kapler have been victimized by slavish devotion to the measurable. I would be content if Kapler were promoted to an administrative role and an old-timey manager hired and given more on-field control. I've suggested Wotus before, but I'm flexible. Wouldn't mind if John Barr were returned to the head of scouting. Sometimes senior management needs to be saved from itself. Moves like these would still align with Johnson's comments.
Sorry if I'm naive to any clubhouse news, but has there been any indication that Kap has lost, or is soon to loose, the clubhouse? To me, he seems like a good guy to have on your side if you can either play your spot or accept the role he finds for you if you're having "trouble" playing your spot. I've read some of the chirping by some players, but those players- to my eye, really struggled (Wood)... Ramos, Bart, etc., really struggled in more ways than one and were given plenty of opportunity, especially from a team semi-contending. From my eye, it looks just like any other team, if you're a rook and you struggle while the team is in contention, it's a short leash if there are others waiting to plug the hole. If you're a vet, that leash is long (and for a number of reasons beyond just performance). If a guy like Conforto is teary- not saying he actually is, about K&Z as he gets constantly sent out to ground out or hit warning track fly balls, he might want to think about another job.
DeletePlaying Bailey regularly is not loosing the clubhouse.
Rob in Vancouver
Well, I don't have a subscription but it looks like Baggs has an article up on the Athletic about "lack of accountability" in the clubhouse, whatever that means. But I basically agree with you. The root cause of all the churning and bullpen games is poor playing performances. I mean, how can Ross Stripling complain about his role in one breath and in the next say he hasn't pitched well enough to opt out of a relatively low paying contract?
DeleteWith their record now under .500, it's only a pipe dream to make the playoffs.
ReplyDeleteThe bigger danger is falling behind San Diego – the lead over them is down to 1 game with a 3-game series at home with the Padres, who are playing well now – a whole lot better than the Giants.
Fortunately, Colorado is out of reach!
In the Tankathon, SF's draft position is improving, 14 now, but could jump as high as 11, but that would require a little help from Boston (1 game lead) and Cleveland (3.5 game lead). San Diego is tied for 12th pick with Boston and has their fate in their own hands looking at a far easier schedule with the Cardinals and White Sox besides the Giants.
A real full-out tanking could get them as high as 7th as they are only 5 games ahead of the Mets.
Bring on the rest of the kids, including Ramos and Villar!