This game was all about a chance for the fans to give Pablo Sandoval a moment. Not much else of significance happened. Key Lines:
Pablo Sandoval 3B- 1 for 2. BA= .250. Hard to believe this might be the end of the line for the Panda but it could well be, at least at the MLB level. Pabs says he intends to keep playing somewhere, even if in the minor leagues. New rules make it harder for teams for find room for mentoring vets at the minor league level, though. It think what Pablo really wants is a coaching or even managing career.
Wilmer Flores PH/DH- 2 for 2, 2B. BA= .381. Great spring for Flores. Much as we appreciate him, it's not a good sign if he's the best hitter on the team for the 3'rd straight season.
Patrick Bailey C- 0 for 2, 2 K, PB(2). BA= .130.
Joey Bart C- 1 for 2. BA= .414. Bart had the only RBI for the Giants in this game. Just my opinion FWIW, the Giants will regret it if they let Bart go while expecting Bailey to be the Bailey from early last season.
Ismael Munguia CF- 1 for 1. BA= .414. What a terrific spring for Munguia! Now he needs to go to Sacramento and prove he's more than a spring phenom.
Nick Ahmed SS and Marco Luciano SS both went 0 for 2. Tough roster choices coming today.
Spencer Howard RHP- 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K. ERA= 1.59. Howard has pitched well enough to make the team. The 40-man roster numbers are daunting. He came out of this one early as an apparent precaution after getting winged by comebacker.
Blaine Enlow RHP- 2.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA= 4.05. Enlow has had a good spring. Probably more AAA depth at this point, though.
Nick Avila RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 3.97. Avila has had a nice spring on the heels of winning 14 games out of the bullpen in Sacramento last season. Is this the year he finally makes a MLB roster?
That brings another spring training to a close. Because of Blake Snell's late signing and pitchers injuries, there will be some roster churning to start the season, but the long term pitching outlook is solid. I get the feeling this team is again going to struggle to score runs. Big roster decisions coming later today.
The Giants open the season Thursday afternoon March 28 in San Diego with Logan Webb RHP facing Yu Darvish RHP.
You forgot to mention who drove in the first run for the Athletics. It was an old friend of ours who might have a break out year for the As. He had a solid spring with them.
ReplyDeleteThe Diamondbacks and left-hander Jordan Montgomery are reportedly in agreement on a one-year, $25MM pact.
ReplyDeleteWC: 2 NL East and 3 NL West teams fight for the 3 spots as LAD & ATL & (Cinn/StL/CCubs/MIL) Central leader take the NL Divisions
Was saying all last year that people were overrating Bailey based off his defense, which also was overrated considering the dude nearly led the league in errors in less games played by the league leader. And that’s with Bailey not even being with the club all season. Bailey is not good at taking walks and he strikes out and he’s not proven in the minor leagues that he’s got offense. In fact, his minor league history shows a hitting deficiency.
ReplyDeleteI think it all still comes down to the Giants internal framing metrics and whether they think Bailey's is so elite it trumps all his other deficiencies. I have to say I have my doubts and would hate to see them give up on Bart to go all in on Bailey.
DeleteAs mentioned below I would be interested to see what Bob Melvin thinks about both catchers since he was a former MLB catcher himself
ReplyDeleteI thought it was cool moment for sure and I’m hard sell on these types of things. Didn’t even bother with the replay because I didn’t really want to know if that second baseman should have snared that drive. All that mattered was the Panda swung at everything and eventually got one.
ReplyDeleteGot to see him for the first time when San Jose came to Stockton (2008?). Based on Dr B’s and other prospect hounds posts, I leaned over to my dad and said, ‘I’ve been hearing great things about this Pablo Sandoval kid, keep an eye on him.’ He then hit a towering home run that soared right over the head of my two young kids and their mom while they were taking a break out on the right field lawn. Pretty sure it made its way to the river, too. We’ve been a fan ever since. Enjoy that XL Sunday, Panda!
Cool to see Bart at least attempt to step up. Until now, his body language, play, and swing never passed my eye test. Who do our pitchers want?
Rob in Vancouver