Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner created an historic day at AT&T Park by hitting grand slam home runs 1 inning apart to break open a close game and go into the All-Star Break on a winning note. Key Lines:
Pablo Sandoval- 3 for 4, BB. BA= .272. Pablo is now hitting .311/.366/.478 since April. Yeah, the Giants need to keep him if they are serious about making a run for the playoffs.
Buster Posey- 1 for 5, HR(10). BA= .275. Posey has been slumping a bit. He hit the ball hard all day long, but only one went for a hit. It was a big fly with the bases juiced, though, the very definition of a cleanup hitter.
Madison Bumgarner- 2 for 3, 2B, HR(3). BA= .275. This was the first time in MLB history that a pitcher-catcher battery hit grand slams in the same game. It was just the second time in MLB history that a pitcher has hit 2 GSHR's in one season. The first? Tony Cloninger hit 2 in one game against the Giants in 1966, a game I listened to on the radio as a 10 year old kid. it was just the 3'rd time in SF Giants history that they have hit 2 GSHR's in one game. On top of that, Bummy has become a major force at the plate and should probably be their #1 PH option off the bench when he is not the starting pitcher. They might even consider using him as the DH in interleague play!
Madison Bumgarner- 6.1 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 3.47. Bummy allowed just 1 run over 6 IP, then seemed to be out of gas to start the 7'th which was the inning following is dinger and which went on for several more batters after he cleared the bases.
Sergio Romo- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 4.86. 3'rd appearance in a row that Romo has seemed to have his good stuff back.
The Win allowed the Giants to keep pace with the NL West leading Dodgers who blanked the Padres 1-0 for the second game in a row. Durn Padres!
We now get 3 days off for the All-Star Break with Hunter Pence, Madison Bumgarner and Tim Hudson representing the Giants. Bummy won't pitch due to pitching today. I don't think he would trade today for appearing in the All-Star Game!
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maddy has to learn how to play lft field....that bat need to be in lineup every day
ReplyDeletei think sergio had to be moved out of the closer role to get his head together
and bochy just announced the new rotation order
maddy, hudson, timmy, vogey, cain
insists that nothing wrong with the horse....but maybe something is going on they aint telling us?
hope all the guys take advantage of the 3 days off and rest their minds
its the real grind coming up
bacci
The season saved, by two mighty swings? Who knows, but it sure didn't hurt the cause.
ReplyDeleteI would still love to see this team work out a deal for a Prado/Zobrist type during the All-Star break, but I don't for one second believe all of these guys will continue to slump for the rest of the season. An extra established hitter can't hurt things at all, and Zobrist would be able to play SS and spell Crawford from time to time as well.
My only request is that Arias does not start anymore, just as DrB was talking about in yesterday's recap. He really is a special defensive player, but the Giants seem to be covered in the infield at the moment. To me, it doesn't really seem like there's a need for him anymore. I'd much rather have Duvall's power bat on the bench than Arias' light-hitting stick.
Have a good break all! Here's to some good vibes in the meantime.
Keeping Sandoval: sure, if the team is, as it probably is, in contention; unless trading Sandoval and acquiring an equally useful player would serve a good purpose. Sandoval this year has a +109 wRC+ and 1.9 fWAR so far. He will be an expensive free agent at the end of the year: we pay him big bucks or content ourselves with a draft pick off a QO. If we were to trade him for players or prospects that we could use to get Zobrist, we would (a) spare ourselves from losing several good prospects from the farm, and (b) acquire a far more versatile player who is Sandoval's equal (at least). Z has a somewhat better wRC+ than S, +116 to S's +109, and a distinctly better fWAR, 2.7 to S's 1.9. He is not a 2014 rental, and though he is tellingly older than Sandoval, he doesn't raise the same fears about conditioning and post-contract professionalism. Keeping Sandoval is simpler, and more in tune with Sabean's m.o.; but--IF a deal such as I have in mind is feasible--I suggest that the Giants would be better off for 2014 and 2015. Of course one or both of these players may break a leg or come down with bubonic plague, thus putting this calculation into the realm of the incalculable. But one can't take such contingencies into account.
ReplyDeleteThe site Rays Colored Glasses supposes that the Giants could get Zobrist for Panik and Blackburn. That would obviate any need to trade Sandoval on this account, though Shankbone's argument still remains, that we might get more for Sandoval now--and without hurting our playoff chances-- than if we see him into overpriced free agency, as ours or as someone else's (draft pick for us if we make him a QO).
DeleteWe have seen the best this team can do, and now we know they can slump. If the Giants are ending a slump that dropped them one game back, quite possibly the Giants get back on the trail, in time for the Dodger slump. Like someone said " a half empty glass is also a half full glass"... It will be interesting the 2nd half...
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