The Giants offense struck early and often in support of Tim Hudson's stalwart pitching for an easy wire-to-wire win. Key Lines:
Angel Pagan- 2 for 3, 2B, BB. BA= .441. Pagan was once again the tablesetter getting on base and scoring 2 runs in the first 3 innings. Kruk showed a nice graphic demonstrating Pagan's intense early season pitch selection and control of the strike zone.
Brandon Belt- 2 for 4, HR(5). BA= .343. Belt continued his early season power display with a first inning dinger in AT&T Park. He's tied with Mark Trumbo for the MLB lead.
Michael Morse- 2 for 3, 2B. BA= .391. Morse is so much more than a HR hitter. It is obvious he is extending this lineup and a terrific all-around hitter. The only question regarding his contribution to the team is health.
Brandon Crawford- 2 for 4. BA= .261. Crawford is quietly having an excellent season at the plate so far with an OBP over .400.
Tim Hudson- 8 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, GO/AO= 10/5. ERA= 1.15. A very workmanlike start for Huddy. The Giants need him to get deep into games. He did that an more today. One thing I've noticed about Huddy so far: He is not just a groundball pitcher. He can get you out on pitches up in the zone and can get a K when he needs it.
The Win ups the Giants record to 6-2 on the season and pushes the D'Backs further into the cellar at 2-8, 5 games off the pace. The rest of the division is playing tonight.
Tim Lincecum takes the hill facing Bronson Arroyo tomorrow evening in Game 2 of the series.
Around the League:
LHP Matt Moore, TB Rays, another very hard thrower, came out of last night's game with elbow pain after visibly wincing on his last pitch.
Remember Ryan Braun and not being able to feel his thumb? He musta been feelin' it today! 3 dingers! At this point, I'm not sure you can believe anything this guy says, but since he's on my fantasy team, I'll hope he stays healthy all season and has some more games like this.
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Gotta love our health offense.
ReplyDeleteLook forward to witnessing Timmy's evolution tomorrow.
I know they play different positions, but Morse may have an impact on what the Giants do with Pablo. If Morse has a big year and can stay healthy, where do you put your efforts and money? Do you try to lock up Morse with a perhaps more favorable contract then what Pablo wants? Do you need Pablo if Morse produces?Can they keep both?
ReplyDeleteI don't think Pablo and Morse's contract situations have anything to do with each other.
DeleteSay Morse hits .280 and 25-30 HR's wouldn't he need to be paid to keep around? So if you give Pablo what he wants, reportedly more than $90M over 5 years, would you just let Morse walk then? I can't see them paying them both.
DeleteMorse is a one year mercenary trying to prove he can still hit to get a fat DH contract. We made a lot of sense for him because Blanco and Perez can limit his damage in the outfield, and he'll still get plenty of ABs to satisfy suitors in the OS.
DeletePersonally, I expect both to be gone after the season with two QO coming our way. Sabean has pretty much said Panda aint getting Pences deal, and I don't think a return to 2009/2011 form is gonna change that. Mainly because 2010, 2012, and 2013 happened. He was rewarded with security once and he pissed on us for the most part. Doubt they let it happen again.
Yup. Does not matter one iota what Morse does. His and Pablo's situations are in no way related.
DeleteI hadn't really though much about QOs for either player. The Giants don't quite line up the way most teams do on the QO, but I have to imagine they'd consider it a tad. If Morse plays well and stays healthy, they'ld give him a 2/20 easy though, but Panda will find his value a tad hamstrung if he doesn't end up signed.
DeleteI can see Pablo pressing and not putting up the numbers he wants. Frankly, I don't care that much about long term on a hitter with the other ones in the crew: Posey, Pence, Pagan and Belt. Will the Giants suffer at 3B? Yup. Will they suffer a lot? Not quite sure about that one yet.
What if Susac has a monster year at AAA do the Giants try and convert either Posey or him to 3B?
DeleteSuffice to say, if the Giants are less dependent on Pablo for his power, then Sabean has less motivation to bite the bullet. You can talk about Morse, or Belt, and if they put up Pablo like numbers, then there's no void to fill. Sabean can field Arias and it wouldn't matter. No way Pablo gets extended beyond 4 if they really plan to move Posey.
DeleteWe have to remember, Sabes probably still thinks Pence was an overpay, and rewarded for his intangibles as a team leader.
Also it's hard to tell, but it looks like Pablo's slimming down was a bit of a mirage.
Then there is The Hector who has completely disappeared because Bochy does not want to burn up his reserve catcher early in the game, if at all. He's good enough to be a starting catcher for some team right now, IMO.
DeleteI wish people would stop talking about Posey moving to 3B like it's a foregone conclusion. Sabes was quite emphatic that Buster is the catcher for now and the future and Sabes generally tells it like it is. If Pablo re-signs before mid-season, and it seems both sides want that to happen, one of Hector and Susac will end up as a backup catcher and the other will likely get traded.
I agree that Pablo's weight loss has been exaggerated based on my eyeball estimation.
on farewell to the stick night on thursday, they are giving out scarves
ReplyDeleteit should be parkas
or better yet, croix de candlestick buttons
snakes are all messed up
im not sure how morse has anything to do with pablo...morse will not get a longterm....no matter what
huddy fits in great with the belle
just imagine how many cy youngs he couldve won had he and not zito, been the guy peter went after
not gonna get all that excited by the offense yet...ill wait till middle of may
but winning sure beats losing
was nice that the giants had batkid throw out the first ball
didnt get to watch or hear game, so i got a one day reprieve from ear bleed amy
GO GIANTS
bacci
Do we have some demolition derby coming? Is Evil K Jr showing up? What's the happs?
DeleteI like Amy G! I even drove up to Petaluma from Sausalito to get an Amer The Gamer sandwich. It was a good sandwich too!
DeleteBacci called it for me - the best part of Opening Day 2014: "Batkid" Miles Scott throwing out the First Pitch to Captain Cain!
ReplyDeleteAll is well with the world today!
Here's a link for those like me that couldn't see it in person:
http://blog.sfgate.com/giants/2014/04/08/batkid-throws-out-sf-giants-first-pitch-on-opening-day/#22282101=0
Agree also on the Croix de Candelstix! Driving down tomorrow - hope to break free from obligations long enough to catch the Stick farewell in person!
Angel, Belt, Craw, Morse doing well. Cannot wait till the Panda & Kale-Man start hitting their strides as well.
Huddy showed Timmah the Way - let's get another win tomorrow!!!
NWGiantsFan
DtF!!!
Streaking players are fun to watch and follow on radio. You just know they are going to hit the ball hard. Pagan and Belt are very much on streaks. Pence and Sandoval coming around slowly and everyone else is steady in a positive way. I'm thinking the offense is mostly taking advantage of poor pitching, but take it when you can get it. Arizona could be buried after this stand. What kind of fortitude do they have early in the season?
ReplyDeleteNo doubt Hudson knows how to pitch to all parts of the strike zone. Sabean went out and picked up a Grade A pitcher.
ReplyDeleteI also like seeing Hudson posting winning records against all NL West teams according to today's telecast. Padres 6 wins 1 loss, Rockies 5 wins 2 losses, Dodgers 6 wins 4 losses, and we know he dominates the Dbacks.
DeleteLG
Interesting to note that Belt has yet to draw a walk. I hope he can maintain this power surge.
ReplyDeleteIf they're throwing it where you can hit it, why wait?
DeleteAgree with the second Anon here. Belt has proven he can take a walk. What he had not proven was that he could consistently jump on a good pitch and rake it. That's what he is doing now. No point in letting a good pitch go by if you can hit it for a HR. Posts that fret about walks when a hitter is raking annoy me.
DeleteSAY GOODBYE TO FAT PANDA
ReplyDeletehttp://www.csnbayarea.com/giants/sabean-giants-cut-contract-talks-pablo-sandoval
ive heard sabean angry before....i have never heard him say the above during negotiations
only issue i have is that he kinda kills his negotiating abilities re a trade
but what the heck....sabean said what had to be said
bacci
Sabes did not say anything that closes the door. If I had just 1% of every contract that got done within a week of a team saying they were breaking off negotiations, I could quit my day job and work on this blog 24/7.
DeleteI think the concern/focus on Panda (v Posey) is who plays 3b if we don't sign him. Morse may be easier to handle. First, maybe easier to sign short term. Second, maybe Parker is the real deal. Third, maybe you could free up Belt (who didn't appear unwilling to move) and put Hector at first base with Susac at the back up (assuming we don't move Posey).
ReplyDeleteBut do we have anyone credible in the pipe at 3b? If not, we better trade him mid season for a boat load rather than letting him walk for free (which I doubt happens if we are in contention).
PiLamBear
Putting one of the catchers at 3B if Pablo leaves is a very viable option, maybe even the best one. I don't think it's a given that it would be Buster, though. I do not see LF in Belt's future at all!
DeleteThanks Dr. B. I wasn't suggesting that we do that, more that it is a more palatable option. I've always been high on Belt, and I'm not even that surprised by his progression. It seemed like at every stage he struggled a bit then something kicked in an he went nuts. While it has taken longer, it is consistent with his overall plan. And he's a damn good defensive 1B too, so I agree that isn't the first option. Frankly, I'm hoping Parker is the answer given his relative strong showing in spring training and his start at Richmond (which you always say is a hard place to play).
ReplyDeletePiLamBear
Didn't get to see/hear the game. Was under for a colonoscopy. Loved the results though, for both opening days.
ReplyDelete