The Giants brought their hitting shoes to Surprise, AZ to win a slugfest. Key Lines:
Tyler Fitzgerald CF- 2 for 4, 2B, 3B, SF. BA= .200. Fitz has struggled to make contact with a 40% K rate but 3 of his 5 hits have gone for extra bases and his walk rate is almost 20%. Just 32 PA's though.
Luis Matos RF- 1 for 3, 2B, BB. BA= .250. 6 of Matos' 7 hits have gone for extra bases. He's only walked once but also only struck out 3 times in 30 PA's.
Casey Schmitt 3B- 1 for 4, HR(1). BA= .133. Schmitt seems to have improved his approach at the plate but it hasn't translated into results. He hit one out today. Again, SSS.
David Villar 1B- 2 for 3, 2B, HR(1), BB. BA= .292. Villar is quietly having a fine spring. Hard to see where he fits in the organization right now. I think he does have an option.
Joey Bart DH- 3 for 4. BA= .474. Bart is getting lots of PA's. Are Giants showcasing him? Patrick Bailey was the DH for Alex Cobb's live BP session today and reportedly hit one off the batting eye. Most likely they are showcasing him for a trade but I still think there is a non-zero chance he's on the Opening Day active roster. I guess you can call me a Joey Bart die-hard.
Wade Meckler LF- 3 for 4, 2 2B. BA= .440. Meck is stating his case at the plate but has struggled in the field making his 3'rd error of the spring today. Another guy who doesn't seem to quite fit in, especially since he has a similar profile as Jung Hoo Lee who is not going anywhere for several years.
Otto Lopez 2B- 1 for 2, 2 BB. BA= .235. I tend to believe Lopez is the frontrunner for a backup MI roster spot. He did make his second error of the spring today.
Logan Webb RHP- 3.1 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, GO/AO- 3/4. ERA= 10.03. Not a typical Logan Webb line in any way but I am sure he's just building his pitch count with strict instructions to not hurt himself.
Daulton Jefferies RHP- 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 2.57. I'm thinking Jefferies is the frontrunner for the 5'th starter slot to start the season.
Spencer Bivens RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 1.69. Feel good story of the spring. Is it enough to make the Opening Day roster?
Giants play the Dodgers tomorrow afternoon in Glendale, AZ with Blaine Enlow RHP toeing the rubber in the first inning facing Tyler Glasnow RHP
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J. D. Davis was officially released today after he cleared waivers and the fallout just keeps descending with his agent accusing the Giants of not negotiating a contract in good faith pre-arbitration and FZ punching back to the press. It sure looks like the Giants intentionally set him up to file for arbitration and win so they would have this out in case they signed Chapman. Not sure they could have scripted it out like that but I wouldn't be shocked if they did. There seems to be some vague language in the CBA regarding under what circumstances the team can dump a player-winning arbitration salary. I feel a grievance coming on from both J. D. and the MLBPA. On one level the FZ and the Giants showed some savvy maneuvering here but on another level it adds one more example to a growing list of needlessly callous treatment of players. Not a good look!
The 11 waivers and releases today included Miller. Is there a lefty sleeper in the system, or does Farhan plan on going with just one left hander in the bullpen?
ReplyDeleteDoc I'm just hoping that whatever happens to Joey Bart will benefit his career whether it's being traded or staying with the Giants.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading about the JD Davis situation a little more, wow this sucks for J.D. Davis. I still don't think the Giants did anything wrong.. What sucks most of all for the player is the clause in the cba that his arbitration winning contract is not guaranteed if he is waived and not picked up Austin Slater said the players tried to get rid of it but the owners wanted to keep it. The Giants may have known about the clause, but didn't JD Davis know that the Giants were interested in signing Matt Chapman before he went to arbitration? He probably didn't expect to be waived. Did his agent know about the clause? Heard a funny story that Timmy brought his 2 Cy young awards to his arbitration hearing, lol. The Giants were not going to waive him. Once Matt Chapman was signed what choice did the Giants have? In hoping a Baggs or Susan Slusser comes on KNBR to answer questions since FZ and the agent are giving 2 slightly different versions. I think JD Davis will hook on with a team but for a lesser salary unfortunately.
"looks like the Giants intentionally set him up to file for arbitration and win"
DeleteMaybe so, but it seems they'd have come in quite a bit lower if that was the strategy.
I think both things can be true. J. D. and his agent were naive and the Giants were shady dealers. How many of us are satisfied thinking we got a good deal on a car or some other merchandise or even a job offer only to find out it's a bad deal buried somewhere in the fine print. Yes, we should have read every word. Yes, we should have consulted a savvy contract lawyer before we signed it, but how many of us do?
DeleteI agree that the Giants might have been shady too trying to save a buck. My understanding of arbitration is the salary becomes non guaranteed once the arbitration hearing takes place? Should Davis's agent have settled with the Giants $6.4 mil which meant Davis salary would be guaranteed instead of trying for $6.9 mil non guaranteed knowing that the Giants were interested in signing Matt Chapman at the time it seems like his agent made a big mistake going thru with the hearing so Davis has to pay for it. Not good for Davis and the Giants. We will see if more details come out
DeleteThe JD Davis case is another data point in FZ being a slimeball. And it's not like they're a successful small market team pinching pennies. Just a big budget loser.
ReplyDeleteThis is the way the optics look.
DeleteI think there is some language in this legal stuff concerning the performance/non-performance of the player entering into what he is owed by the club, but it means little to me....Because all this heinous treatment, even if legal, of JD Davis is just more evidence of the weasel FZ trying to show everybody how smart he thinks he is (yeah, it's all "legal") and with little results to back anything up and just more fodder for prospective players not to choose the Giants organization. Well, unless You are a rotting, decaying 3B bat that nobody else wants except FZ and an old school manager not being loyal but living in the past.
ReplyDeleteAnd all the while, the pitching staff is still in ruins as was seen by many 2 months go with ZERO LHRP (oh, I am sure FZ will keep trying one reclamation project, one FZ is smarter than everybody case after another) and a rotation with 50,000 questions and the potential of ruining Young arms. Would SNELL or MONTY or LORENZEN even want to consider the Giants?
SteveVA
I'm just waiting for a respected former player, Brandon Crawford, Brandon Belt, Sergio Romo, Tim Flannery, maybe even Logan Webb to go off and really publicly call out the FZ/Greg Johnson regime for the way they treat players. We might be able to find a way to rationalize each situation but the list of disgruntled former players keeps growing which is disturbing coming out of an organization which seemed to err on the side of being overly generous and overly honest and fair to players under the Sabes/Larry Baer regime.
DeleteDOC - put much better than my fan emotions allowed me!
DeleteHave things actually changed now that GJ has taken more of the visible face of ownership? Larry is still there and I assume is still doing his day job in the background. It seems that GJ has just taken the job as the face of ownership.
DeleteI assume him and his father were always making decisions in the background? I can’t tell.
- Fan
Giants are desperate in many places, SP, LHRP, SS..Do they pick up LHRP Justin Wilson who opted out of his contract with the DODGERS???
ReplyDeleteSteveVA