The Giants cruised into the ninth ininng with a 4-0 lead before a 6-run eruption by the lineup blew the game open as 4 relievers backed Blake Snell to share a shutout of one of the better teams in MLB. Key Lines:
Mike Yastrzemski RF- 2 for 4, HR(16), BB. BA= .237. YtY has hit 3 HR's in his last 7 games, 5 in his last 15 and 7 in his last 30. He doesn't hit for much of an average but draws walks and ends up eith a solid OPS. In a vacuum he is worth tendering a contract for his final arbitration year but that depends on what other offseason plans the Giants may have.
Lamonte Wade Jr. 1B- 2 for 5. BA= .268. LMWJ is batting .381 over his last 7 games but just .250 over his last 15 and .212 over his last 30. Like YtY he's someone you want back in a vacuum but much depends on other offseaon moves. He seems like more than an adequate bridge to when Bryce Eldridge is ready to take over 1B.
Grant McCray CF- 2 for 2, 2 BB, 2 SB(5). BA= .239. That's a line to dream on. Do the Giants have the patience to let him develop?
Donovan Walton 2B- 1 for 2, 2 BB. BA= .222. Walton is 2 for 5 with a HR and 2 BB over his last 2 games. Reminder his batted .306/.380/.441 in AAA this season.
Brett Wisely 3B- 0 for 2, SF, Sac, R, 2 RBI. BA= .227. This is the kind of "small ball" line you want to see from your #9 hitter. The Sac was a squeeze play that drove in a run.
Blake Snell LHP- 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 12 K's. ERA= 3.31. If Buster wants to jump into a contract extension negotiation with Snell he has my support.
Hayden Birdsong RHP tries to secure a series win tomorrow facing Dean Kremer RHP.
Churn Watch:
Matt Chapman 3B goes on paternity leave. Casey Schmitt IF gets the call up.
There was more fallout from Baggs article about FZ and Buster Posey taking over the Chapman negotiations. First off, Chronicle beat reporters, Susan Slusser and John Shea, revealed there is more to the story as apparently FZ has had medical issues requiring 2 separate hospitalizations. No indication of what those issues were/are but you don't get admitted to the hospital these days for the common cold. Scott Boras also pushed back on Baggs story although he has reason to push back on the impression Buster and Chapman cut him out of the negotiation. The Chronicle Report did say that ownership wants to see how the season plays out before making a decision on FZ's future.
IDK if Steve Adams of MLBTR knew about these reports when he hosted a chat today. I submitted a question asking if Baggs report was the beginning of the end for FZ or much ado about nothing. Adams did not answer my question but I was apparently not the only reader who asked it. He responded with a 3-part answer: I encourage everyone here to look it up for themselves. My summary: He thinks Zaidi is in some trouble with Giants ownership.
They beat former Giant Albert Suarez today. He wasn't so great when he was with the Giants. Hope he enjoys pitching in the playoffs this season.
ReplyDeleteRag tag Giants lineup has a good spring training inning against KImbrel...
ReplyDeleteAny chance that SNELL remains a Giant and comes back for another year? Doubtful in my eyes,,He's pitched himself into a big multi-year big buck contract...
So, Donovan Walton and no Lucianno...MATOS sent down to AAA..Two more prospects the FZ regime has pissed away with the Churn and Yo-Yo strategy he has employed, hospitalizations or not
SteveVA
Matos born Jan 28, 2002 signed Jul 2, 2018 @ 16 yo
DeleteLuciano born Sep 10, 2001 signed Jul 2, 2018 @ 16 yo
Born in Venezuela and Dominican Republic, respectively, they came to the US while they were still high school age.
They made their US debuts in 2019 @ 17 yo
They missed the 2020 season due to the Pandemic.
They were playing in AAA Sacramento this year @ 22 yo, 4.7 years below the league average.
They played for SF, 6.3 years below the league average.
Just what did you expect? They aren't Juan Soto.
They may not ever be MLB stars.
They are prospects who got the opportunity to debut at 21 yo which was before they were ready. They aren't ready yet.
Is that FZ's regime "pissing" them away?
Ramos was drafted in 2019 @ 17 yo, he debuted @ 22 yo, he wasn't ready until he was 24 yo. He's not Juan Soto either but he looks to be a good major leaguer.
Fitzgerald wasn't ready until he was 26. He looks good, too.
Get some perspective. The Giants have some good young players and there are more coming.
This year might not be a success record-wise, because, for the most part, the Free Agents didn't produce, but it is very successful in player development.
And if Luciano and Matos "grow" as Ramos did, we'll have something to cheer, not disparage.
Good point, since we've all been screaming for the kids to get a solid chance in the show - can't have it both ways
DeleteIf Farhan wasn’t able to work out a good deal with Snell after a cy young winning season where no one else wanted him and he was a free agent until deep into spring training, then why would we expect Farhan to make a good deal with Snell after an injury prone season?
ReplyDeleteYTY is a back up outfielder. A good back up outfielder
ReplyDeleteLuciano and Matos are 22 years old.
ReplyDeleteIn all MLB, only 17 players, including the Giants' Kyle Harrison, were on Opening Day rosters this year, out of 780 major leaguers.
The Giants have 4 22-year-old players on their 40-man plus 2 who are 23 years old.
Birdsong and Harrison, 22 years old, are in the rotation. McCray, 23 years old, is playing every day.
Donovan Walton, 30 years old, earned his chance playing 100 games for Sacramento and being ready to help. In a very SSS, his OPS is .939, tops on the Giants.
22 players 26 years old and younger have played for the Giants this year.
A contributing part of the Giants this year are young, and they are getting younger. Only 8 of next years likely 40-man roster are over 29 (Chapman, Wade, YtY, Ray, Murphy, Bivens, and the Taylors).
I agree that FZ is in some trouble. He has to be based on the last three seasons and how, IMO, he has mismanaged prospects like Luciano and Matos.
ReplyDeleteWhen he was brought it in the hope was that he’d develop the farm system into something much stronger and more comparable to the best in baseball. While it has improved, it has not taken the leap forward that was hoped. His contract negotiating ability also has increasingly come under fire. To me, he lacks the innovation/flexibility that the best baseball OPs personnel in MLB have.
All that said, I think it’s time for a change, which appears to be the growing consensus among fans, journalists, and commentators. Ownership may give him one more season, but without significant improvement in 2025, FZ will be gone.
-TK
The problem with FZ is that 2021 happened. Lightning in a bottle that ultimately was nowhere near as good as the final record. He's been cruising on those vapors ever since.
ReplyDelete