The Giants completed a 4-game ransacking of Coors Field and......wait a minute, have they ever done that before? The Giants offense continued to pound away picking up Shaun Anderson who got a bit roughed up in his start. Key Lines:
Brandon Belt 1B- 3 for 6. BA= .243. Belt played pepper again and is playing the leadoff role to perfection. I still say it's no coincidence the Giants offense found another gear when Belt moved into the role.
Austin Slater RF- 2 for 5, 2B, BB. BA= .344. OK, we'll chalk up Slater's rough start to the series to whatever illness he was suffering from. He picked the pace back up today.
Steven Vogt C- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(4). BA= .271. What a great road trip for Steven Vogt! 6 for 15 with 3 2B, 2 HR. He's really taking the pressure off Buster who needs to give his legs rest more often to be effective.
Mike Yastrzemski LF- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .257. 9 for 20 with 3 2B, 2 HR in the 4-game series. I guess he like Coor's Field!
Donovan Solano SS- 4 for 5, 2 2B, HR(2). BA= .337. Solano ain't gonna hit .337 forever, but keep him out there till he cools off! Again, in past year's Crawford has obviously struggled when he was overworked. Solano gives him a chance to rest the legs here and there. Panik is probably better with strategic rest too.
Shaun Anderson RHP- 4.1 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 1 K. ERA= 4.87. We'll chalk it up to Coors Field and he didn't get blown out.
Derek Holland LHP- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 5.51. Holland is contributing. 1.04 ERA in 8.1 IP over last 7 games and 2.66 in 20.1 IP over his last 15 games.
Mark Melancon RHP- 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, Save(1). ERA= 4.02. A one out Save, his first of the season. I'm going to take a guess that it won't be his last, either.
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The Win was the Giants 5'th in a row and 11'th in 13 games in July. They now trail the Brewers by 2.5 games in the Wild Card race and the Phillies, Cardinals and D'Backs by 2.0 games.
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The Giants return home to start a 4-game series against the Mets with Madison Bumgarner taking on Thor in the opener tomorrow night.
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Trade Deadline pressure is building. ESPN's Jeff Passan and sfgiants.com's Manny Randhawa both seem to have inside information that Farhan is committed to selling, but Farhan himself is much cagier with his words implying he may do both! If the Giants are buyers, they still need a RH bopper for the OF and at least 1 reliable SP.
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Was it Z or Boch who put Belt at Lead Off?
ReplyDeleteHas there ever been a regular Lead Off Hitter who was a 1B?
I'm glad you mentioned HOLLAND..I was thinking about writing about him, but you covered it..I think he kinda sulked when initially demoted to reliever and he was a disaster, but somehow he got past it...He hasn't been in high leverage situations but, man, has he turned his season around and given the Giants another strong LH out of the bullpen..Credit to Holland and credit to Farhan and Bochy for sticking with him...
ReplyDeleteSo right about the depth players making the starters better...and the Belt to leadoff impact...Can all this continue?
One little downer is ANdersson..perhaps he can go back to SAC and work on things and they bring back DROD..???
SteveVA
i'd maybe use an opener for anderson's next start
DeleteCan SF trade Bumgarner and still compete? Or get anywhere in the the playoffs with out him? They would always get something for him, at least a fairly high draft pick if he leaves as an FA, or perhaps the Giants sign him to lead the resurgence of the '20s?
ReplyDeleteWhat a homestand going up! 4 with the Mets -- 3-1 gets the Giants over 500! -- then 3 with the Cubs pitching Anderson, Bumgarner (again), and Beede.
After that, they finish the month on the road with 2 days off in SD and Philly, when the decision must be made.
Ha, no one is calling for FZ's head anymore!
Dickerson, Pillar, Vogt, Yaz, Solano, Austin, Gott, and resigning Pablo makes one forget Reed and Joe, although Pommeranz hangs around. Signing Holland is probably a net postive. Plus there are a few bright lights FZ aquired in Sacramento: Rickard, Green, Abad, Selman, Jerez who might contribute this year.
On a sad note, both Mac and Parker, once the future of the Giants, were both DFA'd.
I believe this Team can still Win without Bum, Smith, Sandoval, Pillar and what they can in return should help insure this Team continues to get better.
DeleteDon't lose focus on this Team needing to get younger to help with the long term health of the SF Giants.
They probably can continue doing well enough to win without Bum. But if they make it to the playoffs, Bum has to be on the top of the list of who you want on the team to give them the best chance to advance. If he's kept, how deep would the Giants have to go for the fanbase to accept that it was worthwhile not to trade to improve the team next year and beyond?
DeleteTeam playing like 1993 - new heroes every day - amazing turnaround, to grab the 2nd WC would make this Cinderella season.
ReplyDeletepanik is looking like he will be non-tendered this offseason. i'd maybe try an opener for anderson's next start.
ReplyDeleteI would try and trade Panik before the Break or throw him in to try and sweeten the Deal.
DeleteOne thing I wonder about as we consider possible trades is do the Giants know who they want as the next manager? Because whatever prospects we get will be playing for someone different, it might be nice to know what the next managerial style will be.
ReplyDelete(Yes, talent is talent, but it helps if the talent fits the plans).
Can the Giants compete in the playoffs without Bumgarner? You need to win that Wild Card game so you've got Johnny Cueto, then hopefully you've identified your two other hot starters (Samardjiza and Beede?) and a quality pen. The hitting is awesome right now, hope it stays forever. I can see SF hanging onto Bumgarner and trading only Watson and Smith, moving Holland, Bergen or Pomeranz into the back-end roles. Panik is OK with Solano giving rest, do NOT trade Vogt, he might be the key to it all.
ReplyDeleteBuy or sell? How many home games are left and what is the difference in revenue if the stadium is full as opposed to half full? The fans will come back to support this team if they make a push and if the prices for MadBum and Smith are low than the market is right for buying. If you have to sell then trade Smith and maybe one more bullpen arm and still go for it. This is getting exciting which is really all we could have hoped for
ReplyDeleteWhy Jerez and not Selman ..who has been lights ot everywhere? options??
ReplyDelete