The Dodgers dominated the Giants in all phases of the game in another embarrassing beatdown at the hands of the Hated Ones. Key Lines:
Marco Luciano SS- 1 for 3, 2B. BA= .333. Luciano's double was an opposite-field laser shot over the Mookie Betts to the base of the RF wall. Marco hitt the ball hard! Gotta be the presumptive starting SS next season.
Luis Matos RF- 0 for 1, 2 BB. BA= .256. Tyler Fitzgerald's audition in CF enabled Matos to move to RF where he might be more comfortable. He also made a nice diving catch of a sinking liner to rob his counter part Mookie Betts of a hit.
Overall, the Giants managed just 2 hits and 5 baserunners in the game. Shawn Estes and Carlos Ramirez made a point that resonated with me on Postgame Live. They were discussing a called strike 3 that was out of the strike zone per automated strike zone. Estes made a big point that a major part of the Giants hitting philosophy is to take borderline pitches, particularly on 3-2 pitches with the idea that it gives them a 50% chance of reaching base. In other words, an OBP of .500 on those pitches. A corollary he mentioned is they do not believe in protecting the strike zone with 2 strikes. They maintain the same approach throughout the PA looking for a pitch to rake and "do damage with" while taking borderline pitchers or pitches they can't drive. Basically the Brandon Belt approach(my take). You may recall the the Belt Wars? He may have been the most polarizing Giants player I can remember in my lifetime.
Carlos Ramirez jumped all over Estes' take saying that if that's their approach it's not working, or at least whatever they are doing is not working. Estes did not seem convinced asking Carlos, "so you think they need to be more aggressive?" Carlos said "yes". That exchange made me think of a recent comment Kuip made about Mike Yastrzemski when he called up his grandpa Carl to wish him a happy birthday. The first words out of Carl's mouth were "you're taking too many pitches!" YtY took those words to heart, got more aggressive and went on a tear. Just from the way Kuip said it, I got the idea he was sending a message to someone other than YtY.
One last thought. If it seems like the Giants have been on the short end of inconsistent umpiring this season which seems to be backed up by data, it may be a consequence of their approach. I think it is entirely possible the umps have noticed they take borderline pitches and resent it and tend to call more of them strikes than they might for a more aggressive team. Yet another argument for automated strike zones to eliminate that bias.
Yet another last thought. A huge complaint from fans is how boring the Giants games have become. A lot of that is just from the frustration of watching them not score runs but let's face it, taking borderline pitches to the extreme they take them is boring to watch.
Ryan Walker RHP is the Opener tomorrow at 4:10 PM facing Lance Lynn RHP as the Giants try to split the series.
Churn Watch: Scott Alexander LHP goes on the IL with a hammy and Heliot Ramos OF gets called up. BTW, Jake Junis RHP left tonight's game with a stiff neck.
I'd add kai-wei teng to the 40-man roster if junis is shut down
ReplyDeleteIf Pederson and Crawford are not signed and Conforto opps-out, the DH opens up for Flores – unless the DH must be "opposite hand" to the starting pitcher which is modus operandi for Manager Kapler..
ReplyDeleteWith the trio gone, the Giants LHBs drop to Wade, YtY, and Bailey (who hits RHP far worse than Flores) plus Sabol and Meckler.
If Bailey and Sabol are the Giants' catchers in 2024, the C position becomes Mendoza-minus against LHP. Bart is not a solution, although @ .195, he is better than the others.
Ahhh, where is Posey when you need him: .322/.389/.527/.916 against LHP...
The Giants need to add or keep a lefty bat or two. Flores is much better against LHP's.
DeleteThe two best hitters on the FA market, Ohtani and Bellinger both hit LH but they will be expensive with lots of competition for signing them. The Beats are saying the Giants are willing to trade from a surplus of young pitching to get a bat or two.
DeleteIf Bellinger gets his contract based solely on 2023, it will be humongous, maybe $30M/year (?), but his not very good 2020-2022 seasons should hedge that bet to anyone who is not playing with monopoly money.
DeleteOTOH, the 2024 market is weak and only one team will get Ohtani. Bellinger and Boras won't go low or fast, and everyone who loses will be, like the 2023 Giants, empty handed, bidding on what's left.
$200M, or more, over however many years to make it work? Bid high early and move on? Probably won't work with Boras – might end up with him and Conforto after Ohtani and Bellinger are gone.
Yuk.
Your take on the borderline pitches and the umpire calls seems spot on to me.
ReplyDeleteThere is also something spirit – deadening about taking all those pitches.
I think I agree overall with the Borderline Pitch philosophy. However if the whole team engages in the strategy I wonder if it allows the pitcher to exploit that. I do think the team lacks lineup variety because Zaidi has “his guys”
ReplyDeleteI totally agree, the passive approach is boring. And the umps could be getting to feel, "I'm not going to reward you for passivity on a pitch that I could call either way." Still, players have a right to be pissed at these lousy calls.
ReplyDeleteIt used to be fun to see the Giants run up the pitch count on the other SP - seems like they would foul off close pitches until they either got one to hit or drew the walk, getting 20+ pitches per inning, and you knew they'd get to the bullpen soon....
ReplyDeleteWhy didn't they load the bases with the winning run on 3rd and 1 out?
ReplyDeleteGood question.
DeleteWonder if anyone asked Kap after the game...
DeleteThere is an answer from Baggs today in TheAthletic:
Delete"If you’re wondering why Kapler didn’t walk the bases loaded with one out and a runner on third base in the 10th, he said Taylor was a better matchup than either of the next two lefty hitters, Jason Heyward and David Peralta."
LOL, perhaps Kapler saved the Giants from losing by 4 runs:
Although LHB's actually have a lower BA against Doval than RHB, they hit more HRs.
OTOH, Taylor has much higher BA against RHP than LHP this year: .254 v .213 – does that matter?
Peralta, although a LHB, hits LHP better than RHP (this year) and doesn't hit well with the bases loaded. He also, this year, has hit more ground balls than into the air.
So, depending on how deep one digs into matchups, being able to get a force-out at the plate rules. Usually.
And, what about an unintentional intentional walk?