The Giants offense continued in high gear to overcame a subpar day from the pitching staff. Key Lines:
Angel Pagan- 1 for 4, SF. BA= .350. The bottom of the order got on base and the top of the order drove them in.
Brandon Crawford- 1 for 2, 2 BB, HBP. BA= .273. Crawford showed he could handle the 2-hole as he reached base 4 times out of 5 PA's. he drove in a run, but had no runs scored to show for it.
Pablo Sandoval- 1 for 4, 2B. BA= .333. Sandoval had the only XBH of the game for the Giants.
Nick Noonan- 3 for 5. BA= .455. Noonan has never stopped hitting since being called back from minor league camp.
Ryan Vogelsong- 0 for 1, BB, Sac. BA= .000. Another Giants pitcher shows he can handle a bat and help himself win. The 6-9 spots in the order went a combined 5 for 16 with 2 BB, scored 5 of the 7 runs and drove in 1.
Ryan Vogelsong- 6 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 7.15. Again, Vogie's peripheral stats look better than his ERA would indicate.
Sergio Romo- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(6). ERA= 0.00 Romo has been perfect so far.
The Win improved the Giants record to 7-3 and gained them a 0.5 game lead on the idle D'Backs. The Dodgers can move into a second place tie with a win over the Padres tonight. The idle Rockies fell to 1.5 games out and the Padres will be either 3.5 games behind or 4.5 depending on the outcome of their night game against the Dodgers.
Matt Cain takes the mound tomorrow facing former Giants farmhand Carlos Villanueva.
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Romo has been pitching out of his mind. Read an article recently about his pitches from the batter's eye all looking exactly the same. The late movement on his frisbee looks like a t-ball 89-90mph fastball and guys just start salivating and can't lay off. Then when hitters decide they'll lay off, he throws a FB (ala Miguel Cabrera game 4).
ReplyDeleteNow, i've followed your blog a bit over the years and here's my question: do you feel like Nick Noonan is a flash in the pan and the Giants are riding his hot streak out? He still seems a bit young to only play every 4th day with an occasional PH opp. I watched the game today and was impressed with his ability to stay back on the breaking stuff. Was he injured in the minors and this is just the healthy version or did he just get hot at the right time? Seems his ability to play 2B/3B and SS in a pinch is an awesome addition to our team.
-ANDY
I hope he continues to do well.
DeleteThere was s story about how his manager last year (or two years ago) asking him what was he good at when younger? He mentioned he was good at hitting the fastball. So, he relaxed and went back to concentrate on doing that part he was good at.
Something like that.
Stories like that make you wonder if stats have as much predictive value as we think, when then it's a game of inches, mentally taxing with constant adjustments and readjustments, liking changing your batting stance or developing a new pitch, not to mention the injury factor.
Oh the reason I mentioned your blog... Nick Noonan has never been hyped as a top candidate over the past few years. He seemed to have floundered a bit and was weak on hitting (I always just bulked him in with the Connor Gillispie's of the world).
ReplyDeleteWhere did he get this confidence to sit back, let the ball get deep and spray line drives all over the field?
Noonan was talented enough to be a first-round pick in 2007, at 18, but has been inconsistent enough in the years since then that people have rightly been very cautious about making projections for him. Hence little hype. But his inconsistency also keeps the lack of hype from indicating that the Giants blundered in drafting him so high. He may have learned enough by now to justify the organization's confidence, and to let his own confidence rise to the point where he isn't anxiously pressing at bat. I'm hopeful about him.
DeleteIf you were to go back and read what I've said about Noonan over the years, I don't think I've ever written him off. He's had to battle injuries and I've mentioned many times that he has always been relatively young for his league.
DeleteAs for what he's doing right now, he's obviously not going to hit .455 for his career. I do think he has a chance to turn this utility gig into something bigger. He can either have a long successful career as a utility IF who can play multiple positions, or he could parlay that into a starting gig, most likely at 2B. Just not sure it will be with the Giants.
One possible source of success: the Giants video system. Baggs mentioned it about a year ago on one of his briefs for BA. Same one that helped out Belt. I think Noonan had raw talent but its a steep curve. I'd go find the quote but the new BA site is pretty frustrating to deal with.
DeleteAs Krukow mentioned on the broadcast, Noonan has over 2,000 minor league at-bats, and has gained experience in the process. I recall seeing him in A+ ball - he had been striking out a lot and was swinging at the first decent pitch he saw so as to put it in play. Since then he has developed the confidence to wait for a good pitch and in yesterday's game hit a couple of line drives hard up the middle for base hits. He is fast on the bases and a decent fielder at numerous positions. It is good to see him succeed so far in the majors - hope he keeps it up. APGiantsfan
DeleteMan, what a great thing it would be if Noonan is the real deal. We have a hole at 2b in the organization (lots of prospects and people moving around) but no real heir apparent. Sure, we'd like to think it is Panik or maybe hope Jurica grooms into the position, but that is way different than knowing Posey was, or Crick, Blackburn, ... are X years away. If we can solve 2b, which is one of the hardest positions for our boys to solve since Robby T held that position, it would be fantastic. Crawford, to Noonan to Belt. That is (if Noonan is the guy) something that hangs with us for years. Not saying it will happen, but just how nice it would be if it did.
DeleteWill always be holes and "the next guys" but I do worry about 2b as I just wonder how long Scutaro can play it out and Panik still seems a work in progress.
ps, nice to see Duvall step it up. Having soem flexibility at 3b isn't bad either.
PiLamBear
APGiant - thanks for Krukow's point, I am a big fan of the 2K pro ABs and experience gained. The Giants definitely preach working the count to the hitters favor, and then looking for a pitch to hit. You hear that from Steve Decker, Will Clark, Bam-Bam. That goes straight back to the master himself, Ted Williams and his philosophy of hitting.
DeleteI like Noonan as a utility guy at the moment, maybe a sleeper for something more. Not sure he's a front line guy, but still, nice to see him handling himself.
I remember the quote, Shankbone, wondering at that time, how it helped Belt immediately, but not so much Noonan at that time.
DeleteI guess it's different for different people - we are all equal, the same, but special and unique.
Noonan might become a good under the radar story of 2013. Baggs mentioned either in a chat or twitter that a reliable source told him the A's asked about Noonan during last years trade deadline. Its a good sign when another team is interested in your player. He's only 23 years old and can play multiple positions. Maybe Noonan started figuring things out in AAA last year..
ReplyDeletehow about the brawl in sd. friars trying to supplant the giants as bums number one foe....
ReplyDeletea's destroy halos to win 8 in a row...scoscia may not lose his job at season's end, but a bunch of others may, including the gm, who didnt do enough to improve rotation and did nothing for the pen
vogey is a bit off. looks like the focus isnt exactly there and some mechanics need to be tweaked. his cutter isnt doing what
he wants it to do and he's catching too much of the plate.
nate has tweaked his stance. he is now in a semi crouch and has shortened his swing, so the hole on the inside pitch is gone. gonna need a new book on him. happy for him, he looks very comfortable in chitown. if he keeps it up, should be a good bet for the as game.
as for the giants...i like this team...they make me feel young
bacci
Hey now, Voggie battled through. I always compare Ryan to Mike Krukow. Gets the most of his stuff, pitches to the game, is an intense competitor. He didn't have his best stuff, but he kept us in the game and retired what, 10 straight at one point? I love pitchers who just don't give in. I think that's the main problem with Zito in previous years and Timmy in the past couple. They get flustered and then serve it up.
DeleteNice to see them overcome big deficits early in the year. Pagan's angry upside down cat quote? Scutaro's beanie? Posey being the rock? The Brandons and their smooth D? Pablo? I love this team.
On the Bums - hope Grienke can come back quick. Here's the active leaders in HBP:
Deletehttp://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/HBP_active.shtml
Great company Carlos keeps there - Utley, AJP, A-rod. Of note: he has 115 HBP with 8 years in the majors, 30 years old. Pretty much the only guy with a 15 HBP/year ratio (give or take). Only other guy who is close is Utley. You crowd the plate and make that your game, you should take your base like a man. Matt Kemp is right!
Scoscia will be gone before the GM. I think his time has run its course there. I am not a fan of the way he has managed recently. He's a big reason too that they made that awful Napoli trade due to his man-love for the weak hitting but good defense Jeff Mathis. I don't think Scoscia has evolved as a manager. 2002 was a long time ago.
ReplyDeleteOffense is carrying the SF Giants so far and not the pitching...this is gonna be a fun year. Hopefully the pitching can match the bats.
ReplyDelete