You would not expect a team coming off a game in which they struck out 12 times against Mike Leake to put up much of a fight against Johnny Cueto……and the Giants indeed did not put up much of a fight and went quietly into the night. Key Lines:
Madison Bumgarner- 6 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 2.90. It was probably not a good sign that the first two batters of the game were retired on pickoffs after singling. Just wasn't Bummy's night.
Johnny Cueto- 8.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO=15/4. ERA= 1.88. I suspect Cueto was not at his best in this game, but he didn't have to be as lame as the Giants offense is these days.
Despite the Loss, the Giants remained 2 games ahead of the Dodgers in the NL West after the Bad Guys lost to the Cardinals 3-1.
Matt Cain tries to get himself and the Giants back on track facing ex-Giants farmhand Alfredo Simon today.
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If anyone is surprised about how this team is playing right now can I offer you an I told you so? Everything from the hot start before coming down to Earth to the offense completely shutting down without Pagan at the top of the lineup. Did I also put forth a very good argument for signing Nelson Cruz and Jose Abreu... yes I'm pretty sure I did.
ReplyDeleteReally though, it all boils down to Pagan not being in the lineup more than anything else. He is the one isolated variable that affects this teams success more than any other factor. I think my point about Blanco has also been proven. If I recall, Dr. B and I went back and forth a few times on this one and I think we can safely say that Blanco is not a better option than Morse. I can't imagine where this team would be right now if they had decided not to sign Morse and go with Blanco and Juan Perez in LF!! Seriously, there were more than a few people here that would have been OK with that.
So now that we are looking more like the team I expected, I think it is time for Sabean to unload the farm and do whatever it takes to upgrade. If we don't have enough to land Price or Samardja, go after someone like Justin Masterson who is having a bad year in his last year and could be had on the cheap. A change of scenery could be all he needs. We also need a 2B who can bat 2nd and potentially leadoff if needed. Daniel Murphy is making more and more sense here. Those would be my top 2 priorities with another bullpen arm a close 3rd.
Each of the last 2 world series runs we had help from outside the organization midseason and with a few key moves and Pagan coming back, we still have a chance. The last 2 weeks have been a huge slap in the face but there is still plenty of time to turn this around. I actually have confidence that Sabean will make the right moves and won't be afraid to trade some of our top prospects to get the help this team needs.
Morse was a good, low risk signing. I said so at the time of the signing. Abreu cost $90 M over what, 5-6 years? The Giants already have a ton of commitments and weren't going to take on another of that magnitude. Cruz? That would have been a PR disaster due to the steroids connection. The Giants were never going to consider it.
DeleteI think it is well-established opinion on this site that the Giants need a healthy Angel Pagan to win.
So Pato, before you break your arm patting yourself on the back, let's get the history straight.
I would add that I believe Cruz came with a draft pick penalty and the Giants were very clear they were not going to give up the pick to sign a FA.
DeleteIf I don't pat myself on the back then nobody will! You may have been OK with the Morse signing but you were also more than OK with a Blanco/Perez platoon if you really want to get your history right. We won't know how not signing either Cruz or Abreu turns out for a few years after we see if the draft pick pans out or not. A PR nightmare?? Leading the league in homers will cure any PR problem.
DeleteI said I was all in favor of upgrading LF, but it would be a lot harder than most people think. As of right now, Morse has a fWAR of 0.9 in 287 AB while Blanco has a 0.3 fWAR in 168 AB. So, normalizing for equal playing time, Morse has a marginal added value over Blanco, but Morse definitely gives something away on defense that most people simply overlook.
DeleteI also said I thought there was a pretty good chance that Blanco, or at least someone other than Morse, ends up as the starting LF by the end of the season. That seemed ridiculous a couple of weeks ago, but with Morse's wonky back, it's not so farfetched anymore.
I often, I must admit, have slight trouble in suffering Pato gladly; but here I'm also puzzled by his bravado. Wouldn't getting Cruz or Abreu have precluded getting Morse, Abreu by having Belt move to left, given that the team had only one OF position open? If so, the team did what Ducky wanted, that is, get a power-hitting LF. As I recall, he was very enthused about Morse.
DeleteJust because I was right about Cruz and Abreu doesn't mean I wasn't also right about Morse! My point is that I'm right about a lot of shit. Morse has been great but for the same amount of money we could have had a guy who is leading the league in homers and is much less likely to have a season ending injury at any frickin moment like my boy Morse. What was the last thing you were right about Campi?
DeleteThe other thing to remember is that Cruz and Abreu are both playing in bandboxes. I'm not saying they wouldn't also hit homers in the west coast ballparks, but you cannot just translate their numbers over from where they are currently playing to what they would do with the Giants.
DeleteYes, Campanari,
Getting either Cruz or Abreu would have precluded Morse, and Morse was a heckuva lot cheaper. The Giants made the right moves in the offseason and their current struggles are unrelated to the moves they made in the offseason.
We are not going anywhere with Madison giving up 5 R in 6 IP.
ReplyDeleteThey have to get a Pagan clone, somehow! Force bunting and swatting on Blanco for now or move Pence to leadoff... July can't come soon enough. Is the power reputation making the Giants think they are more of a power team than they aren't? C'mon Giants, please, at least one more before I have to go to the happy hunting grounds...
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