The Giants held a huge retirement party for Bruce Bochy at Oracle Park with a veritable parade of family, friends and coworkers, past and present......Oh! You mean there was a game played too? Not that it was much of a game.... RHP Dereck Rodriquez got blown up for 5 runs in the first inning and the route was on. No point in trying to find some Key Lines here. We'll just call it a wrap on a long season. This offseason should be a lot more interesting than the last week or two of games.
********************************************************************************
No game tomorrow or the next day. Game Wraps will resume in the spring.
*********************************************************************************
The Giants have the 13'th pick in next year's amateur draft.
*********************************************************************************
I might take a few days off from posting....or I might not. The offseason rule is I write what I feel like, when I feel like it. That usually works out to at least 1 post everyday, but I might get busy with other things or have a day or two of writer's block here and there. As always, I appreciate the people who come here to read my thoughts on Giants baseball and welcome thoughtful, constructive comments.
Sunday, September 29, 2019
Down on the Farm: Richmond Flying Squirrels 2019 Season Review
Giants hitting prospects face a double whammy upon arrival in AA level Richmond. First, AA is considered one of the bigger jumps in competition across the board. Two, the Eastern League, with the exception of Reading, is generally a friendly environment for pitchers and Richmond is the most pitcher-friendly yard in the league. Historically, it's been where hitting prospects hit the wall, never to be heard from again. The target player demographic for AA is HS draftees in their 3'rd full season and college draftees in their second with an age range of 20-23.
2019 was no exception for hitting challenges. It's just that the Flying Squirrels also did not get their usually strong pitching performances and the team struggled to the worst overall record in the EL by a significant margin finishing 55-84.
One bright spot was OF/1B Chris Shaw who took on the challenge of a disappointing assignment and played his way to a midseason promotion to AAA, .288/.368/.500, 7 HR, 160 AB. Another was the late season promotions of top prospects C Joey Bart and OF Heliot Ramos. Bart had struggled a bit after returning from a hand fracture in San Jose, but got the promotion anyway. His bat really took off with a .316/.412/.544 with 4 HR in 79 AB. Ramos was still just 19 yo when he arrived from San Jose. He managed to hold his own with a .242/.321/.421 line with 3 HR's in 95 AB.
2B Jalen Miller(22 yo) got of to a promising start but ground down as the season wore on finishing with a .216 BA. He did manage to hit 11 HR's and steal 27 bases. Hopefully he gets another season to try to get over the Richmond hump. OF Johneshwy Fargas(24 yo) hit just .249 but stole 50 bases. Unfortunately, he also had 223 CS. IF Ryan Howard(25 yo) and OF Jacob Heyward(24 yo) suffered rather severe regressions with BA's of .223 and .209 respectively.
The pitching side was a bit better. RHP Logan Webb(22 yo) started strong, but was hit with a PED suspension. He managed to come back and pitch well enough to get promoted first to AAA then the Giants. His Richmond record was 1-4, 2.18, 41.1 IP, 12 BB, 47 K. LHP Conner Menez(24 yo) also earned promos with a line of 3-3, 2.72, 59.2 IP, 20 BB, 70 K's. He also finished the season in San Francisco. LHP Caleb Baragar(25 yo) and LHP Garrett Williams(25 yo) continued to have control/command issues producing mixed results. Baragar pitched well in the AAA PCL playoffs after a late promotion. RHP Sean Hjelle struggled to an ERA of 6.04 after a late promotion from San Jose. RHP Melvin Adon(25 yo) adjusted to the Closer role with 14 saves, ERA= 2.60. RHP Tyler Cyr(26 yo), RHP Sam Wolff(28 yo) and LHP Sam Moll(27 yo) also showed promise out of the bullpen.
Team Leaders:
BA(100 AB): Shaw- .288, Fargas- .249, Bryce Johnson- .243.
HR: Gio Brusa- 12, Miller- 11, Heyward- 10, Zach Houchins- 10.
SB: Fargas- 50, Miller- 27, Heyward- 10.
Wins: Alfred Gutierrez- 9, Williams-7, Baragar- 5, Brandon Lawson- 5.
K's: Gutierrez- 120, Williams- 108, Baragar- 107.
Saves: Adon- 14, Cyr- 5, Raffi Vizcaino- 4.
2019 was no exception for hitting challenges. It's just that the Flying Squirrels also did not get their usually strong pitching performances and the team struggled to the worst overall record in the EL by a significant margin finishing 55-84.
One bright spot was OF/1B Chris Shaw who took on the challenge of a disappointing assignment and played his way to a midseason promotion to AAA, .288/.368/.500, 7 HR, 160 AB. Another was the late season promotions of top prospects C Joey Bart and OF Heliot Ramos. Bart had struggled a bit after returning from a hand fracture in San Jose, but got the promotion anyway. His bat really took off with a .316/.412/.544 with 4 HR in 79 AB. Ramos was still just 19 yo when he arrived from San Jose. He managed to hold his own with a .242/.321/.421 line with 3 HR's in 95 AB.
2B Jalen Miller(22 yo) got of to a promising start but ground down as the season wore on finishing with a .216 BA. He did manage to hit 11 HR's and steal 27 bases. Hopefully he gets another season to try to get over the Richmond hump. OF Johneshwy Fargas(24 yo) hit just .249 but stole 50 bases. Unfortunately, he also had 223 CS. IF Ryan Howard(25 yo) and OF Jacob Heyward(24 yo) suffered rather severe regressions with BA's of .223 and .209 respectively.
The pitching side was a bit better. RHP Logan Webb(22 yo) started strong, but was hit with a PED suspension. He managed to come back and pitch well enough to get promoted first to AAA then the Giants. His Richmond record was 1-4, 2.18, 41.1 IP, 12 BB, 47 K. LHP Conner Menez(24 yo) also earned promos with a line of 3-3, 2.72, 59.2 IP, 20 BB, 70 K's. He also finished the season in San Francisco. LHP Caleb Baragar(25 yo) and LHP Garrett Williams(25 yo) continued to have control/command issues producing mixed results. Baragar pitched well in the AAA PCL playoffs after a late promotion. RHP Sean Hjelle struggled to an ERA of 6.04 after a late promotion from San Jose. RHP Melvin Adon(25 yo) adjusted to the Closer role with 14 saves, ERA= 2.60. RHP Tyler Cyr(26 yo), RHP Sam Wolff(28 yo) and LHP Sam Moll(27 yo) also showed promise out of the bullpen.
Team Leaders:
BA(100 AB): Shaw- .288, Fargas- .249, Bryce Johnson- .243.
HR: Gio Brusa- 12, Miller- 11, Heyward- 10, Zach Houchins- 10.
SB: Fargas- 50, Miller- 27, Heyward- 10.
Wins: Alfred Gutierrez- 9, Williams-7, Baragar- 5, Brandon Lawson- 5.
K's: Gutierrez- 120, Williams- 108, Baragar- 107.
Saves: Adon- 14, Cyr- 5, Raffi Vizcaino- 4.
Saturday, September 28, 2019
Game Wrap 9/28/2019: Dodgers 2 Giants 0
Logan Webb stated his case to start next season in the Giants rotation, but it wasn't enough to overcome the ineptness of the Giants offense against Hyun-Jin Ryu, who is very good when he's healthy. Key Lines:
Logan Webb RHP- 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 5.22. Webb did not appear to have his best command, but battled one of the best lineups in baseball to a Quality Start. Over his last two starts against the Braves and Dodgers he allowed 3 ER in 12 IP. Add in the start in Boston, another good lineup and hitter's park, he allowed 6 ER in 17 IP over his last 3 starts. Take out one disaster start where he gave up 7 ER in 2.2 IP and his ERA is otherwise 3.87 which is about his xFIP. On top of all that, he retains his prospect and rookie status for next season. Solid!
Tyler Rogers RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 1.08. Also a solid pro debut for Tyler Rogers, a longtime blog favorite. Gotta think he's penciled into Zaidi's 2020 roster.
Hyun-Jin Ryu LHP(Dodgers)- 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 2.32. Ryu is in the conversation for NL Cy Young. He's a free agent after the season. Zaidi has shown a tendency to sign players he has a history with. The main rap on Ryu is injury history, but he's thrown 182.2 IP this season and Zaidi has tended to look at injury history as a value opportunity. He also clearly loves to stockpile LHP's. We'll see.
*********************************************************************************
Madison Bumgarner won't start the season finale tomorrow. Dereck Rodriguez will start what is likely to be a bullpen game. LHP Rich Hill gets the call for the Dodgers.
*********************************************************************************
Re. Comments: I have not heard or read Pat Burrell's comments regarding The Brandons, but if that's what he said, it passes my eye test. Re. whether Zaidi is truly the new sheriff in town, I'll say that remains to be seen. This is a big offseason for him. He's got to show he is doing more than spinning his wheels in the sluice box. It will be disappointing to me if both Brandons are in the 2020 Opening Day lineup.
Logan Webb RHP- 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 5.22. Webb did not appear to have his best command, but battled one of the best lineups in baseball to a Quality Start. Over his last two starts against the Braves and Dodgers he allowed 3 ER in 12 IP. Add in the start in Boston, another good lineup and hitter's park, he allowed 6 ER in 17 IP over his last 3 starts. Take out one disaster start where he gave up 7 ER in 2.2 IP and his ERA is otherwise 3.87 which is about his xFIP. On top of all that, he retains his prospect and rookie status for next season. Solid!
Tyler Rogers RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 1.08. Also a solid pro debut for Tyler Rogers, a longtime blog favorite. Gotta think he's penciled into Zaidi's 2020 roster.
Hyun-Jin Ryu LHP(Dodgers)- 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 2.32. Ryu is in the conversation for NL Cy Young. He's a free agent after the season. Zaidi has shown a tendency to sign players he has a history with. The main rap on Ryu is injury history, but he's thrown 182.2 IP this season and Zaidi has tended to look at injury history as a value opportunity. He also clearly loves to stockpile LHP's. We'll see.
*********************************************************************************
Madison Bumgarner won't start the season finale tomorrow. Dereck Rodriguez will start what is likely to be a bullpen game. LHP Rich Hill gets the call for the Dodgers.
*********************************************************************************
Re. Comments: I have not heard or read Pat Burrell's comments regarding The Brandons, but if that's what he said, it passes my eye test. Re. whether Zaidi is truly the new sheriff in town, I'll say that remains to be seen. This is a big offseason for him. He's got to show he is doing more than spinning his wheels in the sluice box. It will be disappointing to me if both Brandons are in the 2020 Opening Day lineup.
Down on the Farm: San Jose Giants 2019 Season Review
The San Jose Giants play in the A+ level California League. Target player demographic is college draftees in their first full pro seasons and HS draftees graduating from Low A ball for their second full pro seasons. That puts the target age range at 20-22. The Cal league is widely known as being extremely hitter-friendly but the SJ Giants home park is close to neutral.
The 2019 SJ Giants had the Giants top 2 rated prospects, Joey Bart and Heliot Ramos to start the season. Both missed time with injuries and got early promotions to AA, but still managed to leave their mark with the team. I was fortunate enough to see both of them play in a game in San Bernardino just before their promotions so I will always be able to say I saw them play when they were in A ball!
The Giants got off to a sluggish start with a 30-39 first half, partly because Bart and Ramos both went out early with injuries that kept them out for about 6 weeks. They were over .500 at 36-34 in the second half and won 10 of their final 12 regular season games to make the Cal League playoffs as a Wild Card. They then lost to the Visalia Rawhide 3 games to 0 in the first round. The Giants W-L record has an interesting subplot. It's extremely rare for a midseason managerial change in the minor leagues, but Bill Hayes abruptly resigned on July 13 a couple of days after giving a bizarre pregame interview the Voice of the San Jose Giants, Joe Rizzo, in which he came off as extremely critical of Joey Bart. There had been rumors of discord between him and Bart, which have been denied on all sides, but that interview would suggest there was some fire under that smoke. Back to the W-L record: The Giants overall record stood at 39-53 when Hayes resigned. They went 25-19 under replacement Hector Borg. You've got to think Borg is now a name to watch as a potential future MLB manager.
As for on-field performance, Heliot Ramos was electric when healthy posting a .306/.385/.500 slash line with 13 HR's in .294 AB at age 19. Joey Bart seemed to struggle a bit after returning from fractured hand from a HBP posting a ..265/.315/.479 with 12 HR's in 234 AB. Offensive mainstays for the full season included SS Manuel Geraldo- .255/.298/.371 with 18 SB's, 3B David Villar- .262/.334/.421 with 13 HR's, 2B Kyle McPherson- .254/.328/.332 with 13 SB's and OF Courtney Hawkins- .256/.314/.497 with 21 HR's.
On the pitching side, RHP Jose Marte was the Opening Day SP but missed time with injury. He finished the season with an impressive 80 K's in 74 IP, but battled control issues with 44 walks resulting in a disappointing 5.59 ERA. The Giants conservatively assigned 2018 second round draft pick, Sean Hjelle to Augusta to start the season. He put up a line of 5-5, 2.78, 77.2 IP, 19 BB, 74 K with the SJ Giants before moving on up to AA. I was hoping to see the 6'11" RHP in person, but just missed him in San Bernardino before his promotion. RHP Matt Frisbee also started the season in Augusta but dominated at both levels and emerged as a kind of sleeper prospect, 9-8, 3.17, 116.1 IP, 22 BB, 131 K. 2018 third round draft pick, RHP Jake Wong, had mixed results after his promotion to SJ- 3-2, 4.98, 72.1 IP, 24 BB, 67 K. RHP Tristan Beck was a late addition after the trade deadline. I saw him pitch in person and came away impressed- 3-2, 2.27, 35.2 IP, 13 BB, 37 K. RHP Camilo Doval pitched exclusively out of the bullpen. Like last season in Augusta, he got knocked around in his first few appearances but dazzled with a triple-digit FB ended up with 80 K's in 56.1 IP
Team Leaders:
BA: Ramos- .306, Heath Quinn- .289, Sandro Fabian- .287.
HR: Hawkins- 21, Ramos- 13, Villar 13, Bart- 12.
SB: Geraldo- 18, Bryce Johnson- 18, McPherson- 13.
Wins: Frisbee- 9, Aaron Phillips- 8, Olbis Parra- 6.
K's: Frisbee- 131, Phillips- 101, John Gavin- 87.
Saves: Frank Rubio- 7, Parra- 3, Raffi Vizcaino- 3.
The 2019 SJ Giants had the Giants top 2 rated prospects, Joey Bart and Heliot Ramos to start the season. Both missed time with injuries and got early promotions to AA, but still managed to leave their mark with the team. I was fortunate enough to see both of them play in a game in San Bernardino just before their promotions so I will always be able to say I saw them play when they were in A ball!
The Giants got off to a sluggish start with a 30-39 first half, partly because Bart and Ramos both went out early with injuries that kept them out for about 6 weeks. They were over .500 at 36-34 in the second half and won 10 of their final 12 regular season games to make the Cal League playoffs as a Wild Card. They then lost to the Visalia Rawhide 3 games to 0 in the first round. The Giants W-L record has an interesting subplot. It's extremely rare for a midseason managerial change in the minor leagues, but Bill Hayes abruptly resigned on July 13 a couple of days after giving a bizarre pregame interview the Voice of the San Jose Giants, Joe Rizzo, in which he came off as extremely critical of Joey Bart. There had been rumors of discord between him and Bart, which have been denied on all sides, but that interview would suggest there was some fire under that smoke. Back to the W-L record: The Giants overall record stood at 39-53 when Hayes resigned. They went 25-19 under replacement Hector Borg. You've got to think Borg is now a name to watch as a potential future MLB manager.
As for on-field performance, Heliot Ramos was electric when healthy posting a .306/.385/.500 slash line with 13 HR's in .294 AB at age 19. Joey Bart seemed to struggle a bit after returning from fractured hand from a HBP posting a ..265/.315/.479 with 12 HR's in 234 AB. Offensive mainstays for the full season included SS Manuel Geraldo- .255/.298/.371 with 18 SB's, 3B David Villar- .262/.334/.421 with 13 HR's, 2B Kyle McPherson- .254/.328/.332 with 13 SB's and OF Courtney Hawkins- .256/.314/.497 with 21 HR's.
On the pitching side, RHP Jose Marte was the Opening Day SP but missed time with injury. He finished the season with an impressive 80 K's in 74 IP, but battled control issues with 44 walks resulting in a disappointing 5.59 ERA. The Giants conservatively assigned 2018 second round draft pick, Sean Hjelle to Augusta to start the season. He put up a line of 5-5, 2.78, 77.2 IP, 19 BB, 74 K with the SJ Giants before moving on up to AA. I was hoping to see the 6'11" RHP in person, but just missed him in San Bernardino before his promotion. RHP Matt Frisbee also started the season in Augusta but dominated at both levels and emerged as a kind of sleeper prospect, 9-8, 3.17, 116.1 IP, 22 BB, 131 K. 2018 third round draft pick, RHP Jake Wong, had mixed results after his promotion to SJ- 3-2, 4.98, 72.1 IP, 24 BB, 67 K. RHP Tristan Beck was a late addition after the trade deadline. I saw him pitch in person and came away impressed- 3-2, 2.27, 35.2 IP, 13 BB, 37 K. RHP Camilo Doval pitched exclusively out of the bullpen. Like last season in Augusta, he got knocked around in his first few appearances but dazzled with a triple-digit FB ended up with 80 K's in 56.1 IP
Team Leaders:
BA: Ramos- .306, Heath Quinn- .289, Sandro Fabian- .287.
HR: Hawkins- 21, Ramos- 13, Villar 13, Bart- 12.
SB: Geraldo- 18, Bryce Johnson- 18, McPherson- 13.
Wins: Frisbee- 9, Aaron Phillips- 8, Olbis Parra- 6.
K's: Frisbee- 131, Phillips- 101, John Gavin- 87.
Saves: Frank Rubio- 7, Parra- 3, Raffi Vizcaino- 3.
Game Wrap 9/27/2019: Dodgers 9 Giants 2
Johnny Cueto got knocked around by the Dodgers in his final 2019 start. Key Lines:
Johnny Cueto RHP- 2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 2 K's, 3 HR. ERA= 5.06. Hopefully between a full offseason and spring training, we'll see a fully recovered Johnny Cueto next season.
*********************************************************************************
Logan Webb gets a last chance to impress for next season today facing Hyun-Jin Ryu.
*********************************************************************************
Kevin Pillar won the Willie Mac award. He is as deserving as anyone on this year's team and more than most.
Johnny Cueto RHP- 2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 2 K's, 3 HR. ERA= 5.06. Hopefully between a full offseason and spring training, we'll see a fully recovered Johnny Cueto next season.
*********************************************************************************
Logan Webb gets a last chance to impress for next season today facing Hyun-Jin Ryu.
*********************************************************************************
Kevin Pillar won the Willie Mac award. He is as deserving as anyone on this year's team and more than most.
Friday, September 27, 2019
Down on the Farm: Augusta Greenjackets 2019 Season Review
The South Atlantic League's target player demographic is players drafted out of high school the previous summer entering their first full pro season. Typical age for these players is 18-19 yo. You will also see some lower round college draftees from the previous summer and a few JC draftees. The SAL is generally pitcher friendly and Augusta has been an extremely difficult environment for hitters, although not quite as severely so since moving into the new stadium last season.
The 2019 Augusta Greenjackets had a strong season finishing in first place overall in the Southern Division(3'rd place in the first half) with a record of 77-61. They then lost out in the first round of the playoffs to the Lexington Legends.
OF Diego Rincones(20 yo) was the top hitting performer with a slash line of .295/.346/.415. He tied with 3B/1B Jacob Gonzalez to lead the team in doubles with 25. Gonzalez(21 yo) was repeating the level and struggled to a .679 OPS up a tick from his .627 in 2018. 20 yo OF Ismael Munguia(20 yo) showed off his scrappiness all season with a .286/.343/.376 line adding 13 SB's but with 5 CS. 20 yo C Ricardo Genoves was a late add who hit .292 with 2 HR's in 65 AB. 1B Frankie Tostado(21 yo) led the team in HR's with 18 on a .259 BA. Several 2019 draftees reached the level in their first summer of pro experience, all from the college ranks including 1B Logan Wyatt(.233), SS Tyler Fitzgerald(.264) and IF Simon Whiteman(.269, 16 SB).
On the pitching side, the big story is LHP Seth Corry(20 yo) who had a breakout season after getting his command issues under control. He went 9-3, 1.76, 122.2 IP, 58 BB, 172 K's. The Giants were conservative with their 2018 college pitching draftees and assigned them to the Greenjackets to begin the season. RHP Sean Hjelle(1-2, 2.66, 40.2 IP, 9 BB, 44 K's) and RHP Jake Wong(2-1, 1.99, 40.2 IP, 11 BB, 34 K) were eventually promoted to A+ San Jose. Converted C RHP Jesus Tona(23 yo) was the closer for the first half of the season and garnered 16 Saves and 60 K's in 42 IP. RHP Kai-Wei Teng(20 yo), a big kid from Taiwan made a splash after being acquired in trade(3-0, 1.55, 29 IP, 7 BB, 39 K).
Team Leaders:
BA: Rincones .295, Munguia .286, Tostado .259.
HR: Tostado 18, Gonzalez 10, Aaron Bond/Shane Matheny 7.
SB: Whiteman 16, Munguia 13, Bond 8.
Wins: Corry 9, Keaton Winn 7, JJ Santa Cruz 6.
K's: Corry 172, Winn 99, Adam Oller 93.
Saves: Tona 16, Sandro Cabrera 8, Ryan Walker 7.
The 2019 Augusta Greenjackets had a strong season finishing in first place overall in the Southern Division(3'rd place in the first half) with a record of 77-61. They then lost out in the first round of the playoffs to the Lexington Legends.
OF Diego Rincones(20 yo) was the top hitting performer with a slash line of .295/.346/.415. He tied with 3B/1B Jacob Gonzalez to lead the team in doubles with 25. Gonzalez(21 yo) was repeating the level and struggled to a .679 OPS up a tick from his .627 in 2018. 20 yo OF Ismael Munguia(20 yo) showed off his scrappiness all season with a .286/.343/.376 line adding 13 SB's but with 5 CS. 20 yo C Ricardo Genoves was a late add who hit .292 with 2 HR's in 65 AB. 1B Frankie Tostado(21 yo) led the team in HR's with 18 on a .259 BA. Several 2019 draftees reached the level in their first summer of pro experience, all from the college ranks including 1B Logan Wyatt(.233), SS Tyler Fitzgerald(.264) and IF Simon Whiteman(.269, 16 SB).
On the pitching side, the big story is LHP Seth Corry(20 yo) who had a breakout season after getting his command issues under control. He went 9-3, 1.76, 122.2 IP, 58 BB, 172 K's. The Giants were conservative with their 2018 college pitching draftees and assigned them to the Greenjackets to begin the season. RHP Sean Hjelle(1-2, 2.66, 40.2 IP, 9 BB, 44 K's) and RHP Jake Wong(2-1, 1.99, 40.2 IP, 11 BB, 34 K) were eventually promoted to A+ San Jose. Converted C RHP Jesus Tona(23 yo) was the closer for the first half of the season and garnered 16 Saves and 60 K's in 42 IP. RHP Kai-Wei Teng(20 yo), a big kid from Taiwan made a splash after being acquired in trade(3-0, 1.55, 29 IP, 7 BB, 39 K).
Team Leaders:
BA: Rincones .295, Munguia .286, Tostado .259.
HR: Tostado 18, Gonzalez 10, Aaron Bond/Shane Matheny 7.
SB: Whiteman 16, Munguia 13, Bond 8.
Wins: Corry 9, Keaton Winn 7, JJ Santa Cruz 6.
K's: Corry 172, Winn 99, Adam Oller 93.
Saves: Tona 16, Sandro Cabrera 8, Ryan Walker 7.
Game Wrap 9/26/2019: Giants 8 Rockies 3
Tyler Beede had a dominant start cut short by an injury, but Mauricio Dubon led a sustained offensive attack to a series win. Key Lines:
Mauricio Dubon SS- 3 for 4, 2B, HR(4). BA= .280. Dubon went 5 for 7 over his last 2 games to raise his BA from .244. I'm still a bit of a skeptic on the bat but the ceiling is so high, the Giants need to give him the chance to reach it. Starting 2B Opening Day 2020!
Kevin Pillar CF- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .260. Pillar has just 1 year of control left. He's had a career year for HR's and is finally getting credit for above replacement D, but fWAR hates his low OBP.
Mike Yastrzemski PH/LF/RF- 2 for 3, 2B, HR(21). BA= .274. The HR was a bomb that landed on top of the wall above Triples alley. The double should have been an out for a good CF. Again, I'm a still a bit of a skeptic on YtY's sustainability but let's see if we can get a few years out of that sweet swing.
Cristhian Adames 2B- 1 for 2, 2B, 2 BB. BA= .350. On second thought, can Farhan find a way out of Crawford's contract and go into next season with Dubon at SS and Adames at 2B? Come on, Farhan! Do something that impresses me!
Tyler Beede RHP- 3.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 5.08. When I saw this line I feared the worst, but it was his final start of the season anyway and the oblique strain should not be a factor next spring.
*********************************************************************************
Giants start their final series of the season with Johnny Cueto facing the Dodgers and RHP Walker Buehler.
Mauricio Dubon SS- 3 for 4, 2B, HR(4). BA= .280. Dubon went 5 for 7 over his last 2 games to raise his BA from .244. I'm still a bit of a skeptic on the bat but the ceiling is so high, the Giants need to give him the chance to reach it. Starting 2B Opening Day 2020!
Kevin Pillar CF- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .260. Pillar has just 1 year of control left. He's had a career year for HR's and is finally getting credit for above replacement D, but fWAR hates his low OBP.
Mike Yastrzemski PH/LF/RF- 2 for 3, 2B, HR(21). BA= .274. The HR was a bomb that landed on top of the wall above Triples alley. The double should have been an out for a good CF. Again, I'm a still a bit of a skeptic on YtY's sustainability but let's see if we can get a few years out of that sweet swing.
Cristhian Adames 2B- 1 for 2, 2B, 2 BB. BA= .350. On second thought, can Farhan find a way out of Crawford's contract and go into next season with Dubon at SS and Adames at 2B? Come on, Farhan! Do something that impresses me!
Tyler Beede RHP- 3.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 5.08. When I saw this line I feared the worst, but it was his final start of the season anyway and the oblique strain should not be a factor next spring.
*********************************************************************************
Giants start their final series of the season with Johnny Cueto facing the Dodgers and RHP Walker Buehler.
Thursday, September 26, 2019
Game Wrap 9/25/2019: Giants 2 Rockies 1
Jaylin Davis hit a walk-off HR in the 9'th inning, his first major league HR, to give the Giants the win. Key Lines:
Steven Vogt C- 2 for 4, 2 2B(3). BA= .264. Vogt is a 34 yo catcher stealing 2 bases on 2 different plays against 2 different pitches in one game. He can play a passable LF when needed. Farhan might want to keep him around for next season. Oh, he didn't figure in the scoring for this game.
Jaylin Davis RF- 2 for 4, HR(1). BA= .152. The other hit was an IF hit, but the got all of the HR that was well out in straightaway CF. Hopefully this gets the monkey off his back and he finishes the season with a flourish to set him up to compete for a roster spot next spring. This kid has the athleticism, speed and minor league stats to make me believe he has a high ceiling. He just needs to prove he can make consistent hard contact at this level.
Mauricio Dubon 2B- 2 for 3. BA= .258. 2 hits and a nifty fielding play. Scary moment after a collision with a baserunner, but just had the wind knocked out of him.
Jeff Samardzija RHP- 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 3.52. If Zaidi is looking to shed payroll this offseason, Shark is one of the few Giants with a large salary who also has trade value after a very nice comeback season. Do they still give out an award for Comeback Player of the Year?
Will Smith LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's, W(6-0). ERA= 2.76. Between the 6 W's and 34 Saves, Will Smith has been officially credited in 40 of the Giants 76 Wins. If Zaidi has a green light to spend up to the CBT threshold, there are worse ways he could do that than giving Smith a QO and having him accept.
*********************************************************************************
Tyler Beede gets a final chance to make his case for next year's rotation tonight facing LHP Kyle Freeland.
Steven Vogt C- 2 for 4, 2 2B(3). BA= .264. Vogt is a 34 yo catcher stealing 2 bases on 2 different plays against 2 different pitches in one game. He can play a passable LF when needed. Farhan might want to keep him around for next season. Oh, he didn't figure in the scoring for this game.
Jaylin Davis RF- 2 for 4, HR(1). BA= .152. The other hit was an IF hit, but the got all of the HR that was well out in straightaway CF. Hopefully this gets the monkey off his back and he finishes the season with a flourish to set him up to compete for a roster spot next spring. This kid has the athleticism, speed and minor league stats to make me believe he has a high ceiling. He just needs to prove he can make consistent hard contact at this level.
Mauricio Dubon 2B- 2 for 3. BA= .258. 2 hits and a nifty fielding play. Scary moment after a collision with a baserunner, but just had the wind knocked out of him.
Jeff Samardzija RHP- 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 3.52. If Zaidi is looking to shed payroll this offseason, Shark is one of the few Giants with a large salary who also has trade value after a very nice comeback season. Do they still give out an award for Comeback Player of the Year?
Will Smith LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's, W(6-0). ERA= 2.76. Between the 6 W's and 34 Saves, Will Smith has been officially credited in 40 of the Giants 76 Wins. If Zaidi has a green light to spend up to the CBT threshold, there are worse ways he could do that than giving Smith a QO and having him accept.
*********************************************************************************
Tyler Beede gets a final chance to make his case for next year's rotation tonight facing LHP Kyle Freeland.
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Game Wrap 9/24/2019: Rockies 8 Giants 5
There needs to be a mercy rule that allows for ties, or something, that prevents two teams who are mathematically eliminated from postseason contention from playing 16 innings in a night game, or maybe any game. Maybe the smaller September rosters next season will help? The Giants used 30 players including 13 pitchers in an extra-inning loss that I turned off after 6 innings because I was bored. Dereck Rodriguez finally took the loss after Charlie Blackmon hit a 3-run HR in the top of the 16'th. Ugh! Key Lines:
Buster Posey C- 2 for 5, HR(7), BB. BA= .256. The ball was carrying with a game time temp of 78 degrees F. Buster pulled a high inside pitch down the line and into the emergency runway. It was his first blast since July 20, or was it June 20? Anyway, it had been 256 AB's or PA's or something since he last hit one. Hopefully Buster's repaired hip has survived the rigors of the season and he can work on his legs and core strength over the offseason.
Evan Longoria 3B- 1 for 4, HR(20), 2 BB, SF. BA= .255. Busy stat line for Longo who became the 3'rd Giants player to hit 20 HR's this season.
Madison Bumgarner LHP- 1 for 2, HR(2). BA= .129. The homer friendly conditions worked against Bummy on the mound but helped him get his 2'nd HR of the season, 19'th of his career.
Madison Bumgarner LHP- 7 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 9 K's, 3 HR's. ERA= 3.90. Juiced ball? 78 degrees? This should be a Quality Start.
I don't think anyone cares what the bullpen did for the next 9 innings.
*********************************************************************************
Jeff Samardzija goes against AAA journeyman Tim Melville tonight. That should be interesting, unless the weather changes.
*********************************************************************************
Look, you all know I'm a huge admirer of Bruce Bochy and have long advocated for his HOF credentials, but gotta say I'm going to be happy when all the gushing is over. If I have to listen to Amy G do one more of her Farewell Boch pieces, I think I'll just hit the button on the TV and call it a season.
*********************************************************************************
Take a look at the comments under yesterday's Feeling the Churn post. I believe all 5 disagree with my take. I employ the Jim Rome rule when moderating comments: Have a take, don't $#&@. If your comment didn't get posted, it's not because you didn't agree with me. It's because you $#&@!
Buster Posey C- 2 for 5, HR(7), BB. BA= .256. The ball was carrying with a game time temp of 78 degrees F. Buster pulled a high inside pitch down the line and into the emergency runway. It was his first blast since July 20, or was it June 20? Anyway, it had been 256 AB's or PA's or something since he last hit one. Hopefully Buster's repaired hip has survived the rigors of the season and he can work on his legs and core strength over the offseason.
Evan Longoria 3B- 1 for 4, HR(20), 2 BB, SF. BA= .255. Busy stat line for Longo who became the 3'rd Giants player to hit 20 HR's this season.
Madison Bumgarner LHP- 1 for 2, HR(2). BA= .129. The homer friendly conditions worked against Bummy on the mound but helped him get his 2'nd HR of the season, 19'th of his career.
Madison Bumgarner LHP- 7 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 9 K's, 3 HR's. ERA= 3.90. Juiced ball? 78 degrees? This should be a Quality Start.
I don't think anyone cares what the bullpen did for the next 9 innings.
*********************************************************************************
Jeff Samardzija goes against AAA journeyman Tim Melville tonight. That should be interesting, unless the weather changes.
*********************************************************************************
Look, you all know I'm a huge admirer of Bruce Bochy and have long advocated for his HOF credentials, but gotta say I'm going to be happy when all the gushing is over. If I have to listen to Amy G do one more of her Farewell Boch pieces, I think I'll just hit the button on the TV and call it a season.
*********************************************************************************
Take a look at the comments under yesterday's Feeling the Churn post. I believe all 5 disagree with my take. I employ the Jim Rome rule when moderating comments: Have a take, don't $#&@. If your comment didn't get posted, it's not because you didn't agree with me. It's because you $#&@!
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Armchair GM: Are You Feeling the Churn?
I've been reading comments around the internet about how much progress the Giants have made under Farhan Zaidi's leadership. I've seen a few of those comments here too. Q: Are the Giants better off today than they were on this date in 2018? Let's break it down.
Farhan so far has eschewed big splashes in favor of a "sluice box" approach to talent acquisition wherein he signs practically every released player available, gives them a few games to show something and moves on if they don't. The "Sluice Box" has indeed turned up a few very nice nuggets, but pile of tailings is a veritable mountain. There's nothing wrong with that except the mountain of tailings represents a whole lot of unproductive PA's and IP all with a attached opportunity cost. After almost a full calendar year of sluicing, here's a list of acquired players currently on the 40 man roster:
LHP Fernando Abad
RHP Kyle Barraclough
RHP Jandel Gustave
LHP Wandy Peralta
LHP Sam Selman
RHP Burch Smith
C Steven Vogt
IF Cristhian Adames
IF Mauricio Dubon
IF Donovan Solano
OF Jaylin Davis
OF Alex Dickerson
OF Mike Gerber
OF Kevin Pillar
OF Joey Rickard
OF Mike Yastrzemski
Mike Yastrzemski is clearly the biggest shiniest nugget in the bunch. He's had a fantastic season and has been a great story. He has 5 more years of control on his contract, but will be age 34 by the final season of control. He may have turned the corner on his career bigly, but there's a reason why he's a 29 yo rookie.
Kevin Pillar is putting the finishing touches on his likely career year. He has one more year of arbitration eligibility left. How likely is it for him to repeat his performance or even come close next season?
Alex Dickerson may have almost singlehandedly turned the Giants season around, but he also lived up to his reputation for injury proneness and his future looks very uncertain.
Donovan Solano and Steven Vogt have had great seasons but are both free agents in a week.
Mauricio Dubon and Jaylin Davis appear to have significant upside, but it remains to be seen if their bats will play at this level.
Jandel Gustave may be in the mix for Closer next season and Barraclough may be in the mix for a setup job.
I think we can all agree that the rest of the names on the list are replacement players at best.
The process of acquiring this mother lode of talent came with a significant opportunity cost. Don't forget the first 2 lost months of the season when corner OF's were coming and going on a daily basis. That put the team in a hole they almost dug themselves out of, but not quite, which probably had the ripple effect of prompting a sell at the trade deadline rather than a buy.
Just for fun, I looked up all of the OF free agents who signed 1 year contracts this past offseason: Here are a couple of names: 1. Avisail Garcia- 1 yr/$3 M. 2. Adam Jones- 1 yr/$3 M. Then there is my fave Domingo Santana who was acquired by Mariners in trade for close to nothing. He's admittedly tailed off badly here at the end of he season, but that start sure would have made a difference in the first 2 months! Sure, I don't know if Farhan had a shot at any of those players, but teams did acquire them at those prices. Those players were producing for those teams while the Giants hit rock bottom sluicing for the few gold nuggets they found, as shiny as they were.
Let's also compare Farhan's trade deadline with what his old employer, the A's did. They acquired RHP Homer Bailey, RHP Tanner Roark and LHP Jake Diekman. They gave up 0 top prospects to land those pitchers who have made a huge difference in the A's playoff-bound stretch run. Again, we'll never know if those deals were open to Farhan, but the A's managed to pull them off.
None of those names came at a cost of either money or prospects the Giants could not afford. What's more, none of those acquisitions would have precluded them from also acquiring YtY, Pillar, Solano, Vogt, Dubon or Davis. They would also not have precluded Farhan from trading off Mark Melancon's contract, which right now isn't looking so bad for the Braves.
Meanwhile, Madison Bumgarner, Will Smith, Tony Watson, Donovan Solano and Steven Vogt will be free agents in another week. They along with the Melancon contract Farhan was able to dump gives the Giants significant room to spend money this offseason, but on what? I, for one, am not convinced Farhan's roster churning aka sluice boxing has really moved the needle all that much and may have cost the Giants a postseason berth. We'll have to hope Farhan is better prepared for this offseason than last.
*********************************************************************************
To GYM: How can you say the Giants were never going to be contenders this year when they actually were contenders until they sold at the trade deadline?
Farhan so far has eschewed big splashes in favor of a "sluice box" approach to talent acquisition wherein he signs practically every released player available, gives them a few games to show something and moves on if they don't. The "Sluice Box" has indeed turned up a few very nice nuggets, but pile of tailings is a veritable mountain. There's nothing wrong with that except the mountain of tailings represents a whole lot of unproductive PA's and IP all with a attached opportunity cost. After almost a full calendar year of sluicing, here's a list of acquired players currently on the 40 man roster:
LHP Fernando Abad
RHP Kyle Barraclough
RHP Jandel Gustave
LHP Wandy Peralta
LHP Sam Selman
RHP Burch Smith
C Steven Vogt
IF Cristhian Adames
IF Mauricio Dubon
IF Donovan Solano
OF Jaylin Davis
OF Alex Dickerson
OF Mike Gerber
OF Kevin Pillar
OF Joey Rickard
OF Mike Yastrzemski
Mike Yastrzemski is clearly the biggest shiniest nugget in the bunch. He's had a fantastic season and has been a great story. He has 5 more years of control on his contract, but will be age 34 by the final season of control. He may have turned the corner on his career bigly, but there's a reason why he's a 29 yo rookie.
Kevin Pillar is putting the finishing touches on his likely career year. He has one more year of arbitration eligibility left. How likely is it for him to repeat his performance or even come close next season?
Alex Dickerson may have almost singlehandedly turned the Giants season around, but he also lived up to his reputation for injury proneness and his future looks very uncertain.
Donovan Solano and Steven Vogt have had great seasons but are both free agents in a week.
Mauricio Dubon and Jaylin Davis appear to have significant upside, but it remains to be seen if their bats will play at this level.
Jandel Gustave may be in the mix for Closer next season and Barraclough may be in the mix for a setup job.
I think we can all agree that the rest of the names on the list are replacement players at best.
The process of acquiring this mother lode of talent came with a significant opportunity cost. Don't forget the first 2 lost months of the season when corner OF's were coming and going on a daily basis. That put the team in a hole they almost dug themselves out of, but not quite, which probably had the ripple effect of prompting a sell at the trade deadline rather than a buy.
Just for fun, I looked up all of the OF free agents who signed 1 year contracts this past offseason: Here are a couple of names: 1. Avisail Garcia- 1 yr/$3 M. 2. Adam Jones- 1 yr/$3 M. Then there is my fave Domingo Santana who was acquired by Mariners in trade for close to nothing. He's admittedly tailed off badly here at the end of he season, but that start sure would have made a difference in the first 2 months! Sure, I don't know if Farhan had a shot at any of those players, but teams did acquire them at those prices. Those players were producing for those teams while the Giants hit rock bottom sluicing for the few gold nuggets they found, as shiny as they were.
Let's also compare Farhan's trade deadline with what his old employer, the A's did. They acquired RHP Homer Bailey, RHP Tanner Roark and LHP Jake Diekman. They gave up 0 top prospects to land those pitchers who have made a huge difference in the A's playoff-bound stretch run. Again, we'll never know if those deals were open to Farhan, but the A's managed to pull them off.
None of those names came at a cost of either money or prospects the Giants could not afford. What's more, none of those acquisitions would have precluded them from also acquiring YtY, Pillar, Solano, Vogt, Dubon or Davis. They would also not have precluded Farhan from trading off Mark Melancon's contract, which right now isn't looking so bad for the Braves.
Meanwhile, Madison Bumgarner, Will Smith, Tony Watson, Donovan Solano and Steven Vogt will be free agents in another week. They along with the Melancon contract Farhan was able to dump gives the Giants significant room to spend money this offseason, but on what? I, for one, am not convinced Farhan's roster churning aka sluice boxing has really moved the needle all that much and may have cost the Giants a postseason berth. We'll have to hope Farhan is better prepared for this offseason than last.
*********************************************************************************
To GYM: How can you say the Giants were never going to be contenders this year when they actually were contenders until they sold at the trade deadline?
Monday, September 23, 2019
Down on the Farm: Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 2019 Season Review
The Salem-Keizer Volcanoes play in the Short Season Northwest League. The NWL's player target is college draftees who are generally in the 21-22 yo age range. You will also see an assortment of rookie league graduates, full season washouts and rehabbing players. The NWL tends to be a hitter-friendly environment. The Volcanoes got off to a hot start and won the first half of their season. They finished second to the Hillsboro Hops in the second half, then got swept out of a best of 3 playoff series against the Hops.
The biggest story of the Volcanoes season was 19 yo OF Alexander Canario who was initially reassigned to the AZL where he crushed it. He kept right on hitting after his promotion hitting .301 with 9 HR's in 193 AB's. He is widely reported to have the fastest bat speed in the Giants organization. OF Franklin Labour(21 yo) hit .307 with 14 HR's before in 166 AB before a promotion to Augusta. 3B Sean Roby(21 yo) raked for a .338 BA in 161 AB. The top performing 2019 draftee was OF Armani Smith who hit .307 with 4 HR in 163 AB. SS Tyler Fitzgerald hit .284 in 102 AB's. SS Simon Whiteman hit .279 with 15 SB's in his pro debut. The top 2 draftees arrived late so had very small sample sizes. OF Hunter Bishop continued his 3 true outcomes approach with a .227/.427/.400 slash line with 4 HR's in 85 AB. 1B/OF Logan Wyatt slashed .284/.385/.403 in 67 AB.
RHP Kervin Castro(20 yo) was the outstanding pitcher, 5-3, 2.66, 67.2 IP, 13 BB, 61 K. LHP Jacob Lopez(21 yo) went 2-3, 3.02, 41.2 IP, 7 BB, 39 K before the Giants traded him for AAA OF Joe McCarthy. I probably would not have made that trade, but we'll see how it turns out. Most likely a wash.
Team Leaders:
AB: Jeff Houghtby 204, Yorlis Rodriguez 195, Canario 193.
BA(150 AB): Roby .338, Labour .307, Smith .307.
2B: Canario 17, Houghtby 16, Harrison Freed 12.
3B: Smith 3, 4 tied with 2.
HR: Labour 14, Canario 9, Tyler Flores 7, Ricardo Genoves 7.
SB: Whiteman 15, Adkins 10, Bishop 6.
IP: Castro 67.2, Travis Perry 63.2, Lopez 41.2.
Wins: Castro 5, Perry 5, Jesus Ozoria 4.
K's: Castro 61, Perry 47, Clay Helvey 41.
Saves: Israel Cruz 5, Helvey 4, Bryce Tucker 4.
The biggest story of the Volcanoes season was 19 yo OF Alexander Canario who was initially reassigned to the AZL where he crushed it. He kept right on hitting after his promotion hitting .301 with 9 HR's in 193 AB's. He is widely reported to have the fastest bat speed in the Giants organization. OF Franklin Labour(21 yo) hit .307 with 14 HR's before in 166 AB before a promotion to Augusta. 3B Sean Roby(21 yo) raked for a .338 BA in 161 AB. The top performing 2019 draftee was OF Armani Smith who hit .307 with 4 HR in 163 AB. SS Tyler Fitzgerald hit .284 in 102 AB's. SS Simon Whiteman hit .279 with 15 SB's in his pro debut. The top 2 draftees arrived late so had very small sample sizes. OF Hunter Bishop continued his 3 true outcomes approach with a .227/.427/.400 slash line with 4 HR's in 85 AB. 1B/OF Logan Wyatt slashed .284/.385/.403 in 67 AB.
RHP Kervin Castro(20 yo) was the outstanding pitcher, 5-3, 2.66, 67.2 IP, 13 BB, 61 K. LHP Jacob Lopez(21 yo) went 2-3, 3.02, 41.2 IP, 7 BB, 39 K before the Giants traded him for AAA OF Joe McCarthy. I probably would not have made that trade, but we'll see how it turns out. Most likely a wash.
Team Leaders:
AB: Jeff Houghtby 204, Yorlis Rodriguez 195, Canario 193.
BA(150 AB): Roby .338, Labour .307, Smith .307.
2B: Canario 17, Houghtby 16, Harrison Freed 12.
3B: Smith 3, 4 tied with 2.
HR: Labour 14, Canario 9, Tyler Flores 7, Ricardo Genoves 7.
SB: Whiteman 15, Adkins 10, Bishop 6.
IP: Castro 67.2, Travis Perry 63.2, Lopez 41.2.
Wins: Castro 5, Perry 5, Jesus Ozoria 4.
K's: Castro 61, Perry 47, Clay Helvey 41.
Saves: Israel Cruz 5, Helvey 4, Bryce Tucker 4.
Sunday, September 22, 2019
Game Wrap 9/22/2019: Giants 4 Braves 1
Logan Webb may well have been pitching for a shot at next year's starting rotation. He came through bigly with some help from the offense and the bullpen as the Giants salvaged the finale of the 3-game series and a split of their 6-game road trip. Key Lines:
Mauricio Dubon 2B- 1 for 5, SB(3). BA= .247. Dubon's bat has been flagging a bit, but he created an insurance run in the 7'th with a leadoff single, SB, took 3B on a dropped 3'rd strike which force the catcher to throw to 1B, then came home on Longo's single to CF.
Mike Yastrzemski RF/LF- 2 for 4, 2B, BB. BA= .275. YtY did not figure in the scoring, but had a nice road trip going 9 for 21, 3 2B, HR, 3 BB.
Evan Longoria 3B- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .255. Longo broke out of month-long September slump to drive in 2 runs.
Joey Rickard LF- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .228. Rickard also drove in 2 runs. Hopefully Zaidi's sluice box will uncover an upgrade for RH OF platoon bat for next season, although his .773 OPS split vs RHP could be worse.
Logan Webb RHP- 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 5.61. Webb commanded his pitches except for 2 walks in the 5th inning, but he righted his ship with 2 K's to end the inning. He should get one more chance to audition for next spring before the season ends.
Tyler Rogers RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 1.23. Rogers' magic submarine was working again. I would think he is definitely penciled into next season's bullpen on the strength of his performance since being called up, and I couldn't be happier.
Will Smith LHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(34). ERA= 2.84. I can't imagine Farhan Zaidi giving Smith a QO, so he's likely just padding his stat line for free agency, but he sure has been a pleasure to watch over the last 2 seasons.
*********************************************************************************
Giants get a travel day before starting their final homestand. Madison Bumgarner starts Tuesday evening against the Rockies and RHP Jeff Hoffman.
Mauricio Dubon 2B- 1 for 5, SB(3). BA= .247. Dubon's bat has been flagging a bit, but he created an insurance run in the 7'th with a leadoff single, SB, took 3B on a dropped 3'rd strike which force the catcher to throw to 1B, then came home on Longo's single to CF.
Mike Yastrzemski RF/LF- 2 for 4, 2B, BB. BA= .275. YtY did not figure in the scoring, but had a nice road trip going 9 for 21, 3 2B, HR, 3 BB.
Evan Longoria 3B- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .255. Longo broke out of month-long September slump to drive in 2 runs.
Joey Rickard LF- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .228. Rickard also drove in 2 runs. Hopefully Zaidi's sluice box will uncover an upgrade for RH OF platoon bat for next season, although his .773 OPS split vs RHP could be worse.
Logan Webb RHP- 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 5.61. Webb commanded his pitches except for 2 walks in the 5th inning, but he righted his ship with 2 K's to end the inning. He should get one more chance to audition for next spring before the season ends.
Tyler Rogers RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 1.23. Rogers' magic submarine was working again. I would think he is definitely penciled into next season's bullpen on the strength of his performance since being called up, and I couldn't be happier.
Will Smith LHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(34). ERA= 2.84. I can't imagine Farhan Zaidi giving Smith a QO, so he's likely just padding his stat line for free agency, but he sure has been a pleasure to watch over the last 2 seasons.
*********************************************************************************
Giants get a travel day before starting their final homestand. Madison Bumgarner starts Tuesday evening against the Rockies and RHP Jeff Hoffman.
Down on the Farm: AZL Giants Orange 2019 Season Review
We reviewed the demographics of the AZL in the AZL Giants Black review so won't bore you with a repeat of the details. Giants Orange finished first in their AZL East division in both the first and second halves of the season and of course had the best overall record. A roster depleted by promotions then lost a single elimination playoff game to a wild card Rangers team.
Much like the DSL and Giants Black, Giants Orange had one player who stood out above all the others. Marco Luciano got the largest signing bonus out of the 2018 July 2 international class. The Giants had him skip the DSL and go straight to Arizona at age 17. Boy! Did he ever not disappoint! He really was too good for the level with a line of .322/.438/.616, 9 2B, 2 3B, 10 HR, 8 SB, 146 AB. He was backed up by DSL graduate Luis Toribio, .297/.436/.459, 15 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR, 185 AB. Connor Cannon was a slugging college draftee who hung around abusing AZL pitching for 132 AB. He hit 13 HR's while batting .326. Alexander Canario hit .395 with 7 HR in just 43 AB after being sent back to the AZL to start the season. He was quickly promoted to Salem-Keizer where he also performed well. Najee Gaskins, a speedster out of a small college program, hit .340 with 19 SB's. First round draft pick, Hunter Bishop, made a quick stop with the Giants Orange before moving on to Salem-Keizer and put up an extreme line of .250/.483/.550 with 3 HR's in 29 PA's. Small sample size? He put up a very similar line in over 100 PA's for S-K.
The pitching was again not up to par with the hitting, but two 18 yo DSL graduates had strong showings. LHP Juan Sanchez went 7-1, 3.77, 57.1 IP, 27 BB, 53 K. LHP Jesus Gomez went 4-1, 3.83, 54 IP, 22 BB, 63 K.
Team Leaders:
BA: Luciano .322, Toribio .297, Abdiel Layer .292.
HR: Cannon 13, Luciano 10, Canario 7.
SB: Gaskins 19, Javeyon Williams 18, Patrick Hilson 13.
Wins: Sanchez 7, Gomez 4, Jordan Scott 4.
K's: Gomez 63, Sanchez 53, Wilkelma Castillo 48.
Saves: Jorge Labrador 3, Jamie Callahan 2, Alex Dubord 2.
Much like the DSL and Giants Black, Giants Orange had one player who stood out above all the others. Marco Luciano got the largest signing bonus out of the 2018 July 2 international class. The Giants had him skip the DSL and go straight to Arizona at age 17. Boy! Did he ever not disappoint! He really was too good for the level with a line of .322/.438/.616, 9 2B, 2 3B, 10 HR, 8 SB, 146 AB. He was backed up by DSL graduate Luis Toribio, .297/.436/.459, 15 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR, 185 AB. Connor Cannon was a slugging college draftee who hung around abusing AZL pitching for 132 AB. He hit 13 HR's while batting .326. Alexander Canario hit .395 with 7 HR in just 43 AB after being sent back to the AZL to start the season. He was quickly promoted to Salem-Keizer where he also performed well. Najee Gaskins, a speedster out of a small college program, hit .340 with 19 SB's. First round draft pick, Hunter Bishop, made a quick stop with the Giants Orange before moving on to Salem-Keizer and put up an extreme line of .250/.483/.550 with 3 HR's in 29 PA's. Small sample size? He put up a very similar line in over 100 PA's for S-K.
The pitching was again not up to par with the hitting, but two 18 yo DSL graduates had strong showings. LHP Juan Sanchez went 7-1, 3.77, 57.1 IP, 27 BB, 53 K. LHP Jesus Gomez went 4-1, 3.83, 54 IP, 22 BB, 63 K.
Team Leaders:
BA: Luciano .322, Toribio .297, Abdiel Layer .292.
HR: Cannon 13, Luciano 10, Canario 7.
SB: Gaskins 19, Javeyon Williams 18, Patrick Hilson 13.
Wins: Sanchez 7, Gomez 4, Jordan Scott 4.
K's: Gomez 63, Sanchez 53, Wilkelma Castillo 48.
Saves: Jorge Labrador 3, Jamie Callahan 2, Alex Dubord 2.
Saturday, September 21, 2019
Game Wrap 9/21/2019: Braves 8 Giants 1
The Giants played their second non-competitive game in a row against the NL East Champion Braves. Key Lines:
Johnny Cueto RHP- 4 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 5 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 2.57. Only two hits allowed but the uncharacteristic walks obviously hurt and hurt badly. Not that it would have made any difference in the final outcome with a moribund offense. The Giants offense mustered 7 singles and 0 BB's. No XBH's. That won't get it done!
*********************************************************************************
Logan Webb will try to recapture the magic of his first and third starts and avoid a sweep facing LHP Dallas Keuchel in and early game tomorrow.
*********************************************************************************
The Padres fired their manager, Andy Green, with 2 years left on his contract. They are reportedly looking for a "name" manager with Bruce Bochy an obvious subject for the rumor mill. For his part, Boch did not even come close to a denial of interest in the position saying he is concentrating on doing his current job and hasn't even thought about it.
Johnny Cueto RHP- 4 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 5 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 2.57. Only two hits allowed but the uncharacteristic walks obviously hurt and hurt badly. Not that it would have made any difference in the final outcome with a moribund offense. The Giants offense mustered 7 singles and 0 BB's. No XBH's. That won't get it done!
*********************************************************************************
Logan Webb will try to recapture the magic of his first and third starts and avoid a sweep facing LHP Dallas Keuchel in and early game tomorrow.
*********************************************************************************
The Padres fired their manager, Andy Green, with 2 years left on his contract. They are reportedly looking for a "name" manager with Bruce Bochy an obvious subject for the rumor mill. For his part, Boch did not even come close to a denial of interest in the position saying he is concentrating on doing his current job and hasn't even thought about it.
Down on the Farm: AZL Giants Black 2019 Season Review
The Arizona League is a "rookie" league designed as an entry level experience into pro baseball for players drafted out of high school and for DSL graduates. The target age, so to speak, for the league is 18 yo(compared to 17 yo for the DSL). Over the past several years, the Giants and many other organizations also send their college draftees there for a few PA's or IP before sending them up to Salem-Keizer and the Northwest League which targets college draftees for their first pro experience. The AZL tends to be very hitter friendly and a tough environment for pitchers.
For the past 2 seasons, the Giants have fielded two AZL teams dubbed Orange and Black. This season, Giants Black was the less successful of the two finishing 6'th place overall in the AZL East. Again, the point of all this is not to win minor league championships but to develop players for the MLB team and Giants Black had several interesting young players to dream on. Giants Black had their share of passing-throughs including OF Harrison Freed(25 AB), 1B/OF Logan Wyatt(24 AB), SS Tyler Fitzgerald(11 AB), IF Carter Aldrete(66 AB), OF Tyler Wyatt(58 AB), C Brandon Martorano(21 AB) and OF Armani Smith(19 AB). We'll talk about them more in the Salem-Keizer review.
OF Jairo Pomares, one of the "big 3" July 2, 2018 international signings was in his age 18 season(turned 19 yo on 8/4). He started the short season with a 12 game hit streak and ended with a stat line of .368/.401/.542, 10 2B, 4 3B, 3 HR, 5 SB. He got a late season promotion to Salem-Keizer where he had more modest numbers in a very small sample. OF Grant McCray(18 yo) was the Giants 3'rd round draft pick. He started off slow with a .114 BA in June but then came on strong with a .292 in July and .321 in August. He hit .400 over his last 10 games. His final line was a respectable .270/.379/.335, 5 2B, 2 3B, HR, 17 SB. He showed strong plate discipline with a 13.6% walk rate. 1B Garrett Frechette(18 yo) was the Giants 5'th round draft pick. He showed a sweet swing and put up a respectable .290/.364/.366, 7 2B, 2 3B line. IF Ghordy Santos(20 yo) struggled in 2 DSL seasons but had no trouble in the AZL slashing .314/.398/.430 but his season was cut short on July 27. No word on why. Finally, SS Dilan Rosario(18 yo) was the Giants 6'th round pick. He showed some speed and pop with 5 HR and 9 SB but struggled to make contact with a .214 BA.
Much like the DSL Giants, Giants Black struggled mainly due to poor pitching. The most effective SP for the Black was RHP Jasier Herrera(21yo) with a line of 6-1, 1.99, 54.1 IP, 8 BB, 48 K. LHP Sonny Vargas(18 yo) struck out 57 batters in 53.2 IP, but with an ERA of 5.03.
Team Leaders:
BA: Pomares(.368), Frechette(.290), McCray(.270).
HR: Rosario(5), George Bell(3), Pomares(3).
SB: McCray(17), Santos(10), Rosario(9).
Wins: Herrera(6), Ben Strahm(3), Jose Cruz(2).
K's: Vargas(57), Herrera(48), Cruz(45).
Saves: Brooks Crawford(3), Randy Rodriguez(2), Strahm(2).
For the past 2 seasons, the Giants have fielded two AZL teams dubbed Orange and Black. This season, Giants Black was the less successful of the two finishing 6'th place overall in the AZL East. Again, the point of all this is not to win minor league championships but to develop players for the MLB team and Giants Black had several interesting young players to dream on. Giants Black had their share of passing-throughs including OF Harrison Freed(25 AB), 1B/OF Logan Wyatt(24 AB), SS Tyler Fitzgerald(11 AB), IF Carter Aldrete(66 AB), OF Tyler Wyatt(58 AB), C Brandon Martorano(21 AB) and OF Armani Smith(19 AB). We'll talk about them more in the Salem-Keizer review.
OF Jairo Pomares, one of the "big 3" July 2, 2018 international signings was in his age 18 season(turned 19 yo on 8/4). He started the short season with a 12 game hit streak and ended with a stat line of .368/.401/.542, 10 2B, 4 3B, 3 HR, 5 SB. He got a late season promotion to Salem-Keizer where he had more modest numbers in a very small sample. OF Grant McCray(18 yo) was the Giants 3'rd round draft pick. He started off slow with a .114 BA in June but then came on strong with a .292 in July and .321 in August. He hit .400 over his last 10 games. His final line was a respectable .270/.379/.335, 5 2B, 2 3B, HR, 17 SB. He showed strong plate discipline with a 13.6% walk rate. 1B Garrett Frechette(18 yo) was the Giants 5'th round draft pick. He showed a sweet swing and put up a respectable .290/.364/.366, 7 2B, 2 3B line. IF Ghordy Santos(20 yo) struggled in 2 DSL seasons but had no trouble in the AZL slashing .314/.398/.430 but his season was cut short on July 27. No word on why. Finally, SS Dilan Rosario(18 yo) was the Giants 6'th round pick. He showed some speed and pop with 5 HR and 9 SB but struggled to make contact with a .214 BA.
Much like the DSL Giants, Giants Black struggled mainly due to poor pitching. The most effective SP for the Black was RHP Jasier Herrera(21yo) with a line of 6-1, 1.99, 54.1 IP, 8 BB, 48 K. LHP Sonny Vargas(18 yo) struck out 57 batters in 53.2 IP, but with an ERA of 5.03.
Team Leaders:
BA: Pomares(.368), Frechette(.290), McCray(.270).
HR: Rosario(5), George Bell(3), Pomares(3).
SB: McCray(17), Santos(10), Rosario(9).
Wins: Herrera(6), Ben Strahm(3), Jose Cruz(2).
K's: Vargas(57), Herrera(48), Cruz(45).
Saves: Brooks Crawford(3), Randy Rodriguez(2), Strahm(2).
Friday, September 20, 2019
Game Wrap 9/20/2019: Braves 6 Giants 0
Tyler Beede was a gamer but the Braves lineup was too much to handle. Mike Yastrzemski was a gamer but got no help from the rest of the lineup. Braves easily clinch the NL East championship. Key Lines:
Mike Yastrzemski RF-CF- 3 for 4, 2B. BA= .272. YtY is now 7 for 17 on the road trip with 2 doubles a HR and 2 walks. He is hitting .302 for September.
Tyler Beede RHP- 6 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 5.23. Other than not being able to contain Ronald Acuna Jr and Ozzie Albies at the top of the Braves lineup, Beede actually pitched pretty well. And it's not like other pitchers in the league have exactly shut Acuna Jr down.
*********************************************************************************
Johnny Cueto tries to even the series tomorrow evening facing LHP Max Fried.
Mike Yastrzemski RF-CF- 3 for 4, 2B. BA= .272. YtY is now 7 for 17 on the road trip with 2 doubles a HR and 2 walks. He is hitting .302 for September.
Tyler Beede RHP- 6 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 5.23. Other than not being able to contain Ronald Acuna Jr and Ozzie Albies at the top of the Braves lineup, Beede actually pitched pretty well. And it's not like other pitchers in the league have exactly shut Acuna Jr down.
*********************************************************************************
Johnny Cueto tries to even the series tomorrow evening facing LHP Max Fried.
Thoughts on Bruce Bochy
Bruce Bochy's remarkable managerial career is winding down. The honors and gifts from opposing teams are rolling in. The 2000 Win milestone gives him another achievement accomplished only by MLB managers who are members of the Hall of Fame. With his farewell season nearing an end, it seems like a good time to reflect on his remarkable career and his place in the history of baseball in general and the Giants in particular. I write this off the top of my head, so bear with me if I get a detail or two not quite right.
My first recollections of Bruce Bochy were from his days as a catcher for the Padres. His playing career and early managerial career is so tied to the Padres in my mind, I did not realize he started his MLB career with the Astros and also played for the Mets before coming to the Padres. When he took over as manager of the Padres, I recall him having a massive physical presence in the dugout and an incredible level of intensity. His teams always seemed to have great bullpens, although he had the luxury of having Trevor Hoffman for the ninth inning the whole time he was in San Diego. Somewhere along the line he developed a reputation for being overly loyal to washed up veteran players. I seem to recall an issue with Vinny Castilla at 3B being the flashpoint for that, but in looking up Padres stats from those days, I don't really see any great young players Castilla was blocking.
After the Felipe Alou era, the last thing I wanted to see managing the Giants was another old school, out of touch guy who was going to stick with washed up veterans. I wanted someone like Ron Wotus or Wendell Kim who had paid their dues managing in the minor leagues and who might have an appreciation for younger players. Steve Decker seemed like the type of manager who would advocate for and develop from the farm system. I was not happy when instead, Brian Sabean hired Bruce Bochy. I did not want a recycled veteran hating manager and I wanted Brian Sabean fired. I am happy to say I was wrong on both counts and boy, was I ever wrong!
Bochy's first two seasons, 2007 and 2008 were tough for Giants fans used to the glories of the Bonds era. Giants oriented bloggers and message boards were almost unanimously calling for a complete regime change. Derogatory terms like "Melonhead" and "Bochylism" were part of the daily discourse. I don't recall exactly when I started to change my mind about Bochy and Sabean. With Sabean, it was about the time Pablo Sandoval broke out and I could see Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner coming up in the minors to eventually join the core of Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum and Pablo Sandoval. With Bochy, it was more they way he zeroed in on Brian Wilson for the Closer role and nurtured Sergio Romo's career. I recalled how Bochy put together the Padres bullpens and said to myself, "hey! This guy has a way with putting together pitching staffs!" I also caught a building sense that players trusted Bochy and liked playing for him which was 180 degrees opposite from the Felipe Alou era.
As the homegrown core came together, Bochy proved adept at not only bringing rookies on board but finding critical roles for castoffs from other organizations. Andres Torres, Juan Uribe, Gregor Blanco, Ryan Vogelsong, Pat Burrell, Michal Morse are just some of the names that come to mind. Not only did he give playing time to rookies and young players, he took the initiative to go to the veteran players and convince them it was in their own best interest to not only eschew hazing but to mentor the young guys because their success was necessary if the vets wanted to win.
MLB Managers basically have to do two things: 1. Keep 25 guys focused on the game instead of killing each other in the clubhouse and 2. Manage the pitching staff. Bruce Bochy did both of those as well or better than any manager in baseball history. Giants "clubhouse chemistry" was legendary during his tenure and he absolutely got the most out of his pitching anyone could possibly get. He seemed to have a 6'th sense about when pitchers were getting overused and when they weren't being used enough. He nurtured his pitching through entire seasons and with remarkably few injuries. Time and again I saw him outmaneuver opposing managers to get the matchups he wanted including fellow Hall of Famers Bobby Cox and Joe Torre. His use of his LHP's in the 2010 NLCS to neutralize Chase Utley and Ryan Howard were the difference in my mind.
Many things contributed to the Giants 3 championships during Bruce Bochy's managing tenure, but nobody should underestimate the brilliance of his managing as a difference maker. In almost every postseason series, he clearly outmaneuvered the opposing managers. They made mistakes. He didn't. He got the matchups he wanted. They didn't. Of course, he couldn't have done that without Brian Sabean going out and getting the lefty relievers Bochy needed to get those matchups, but given the resources, Bochy got the most out of them.
I'm not sure the timing of Bochy's retirement was entirely his choice, but to his credit, he seems to have embraced it and even used it as a motivating factor for the team. Some of the early griping from fans has resurfaced and many are happy to see him go. Every career comes to an end and this seems like the right time for Bochy to end his, but for those who can't wait for another manager, all I have to say is be careful what you wish for. Bruce Bochy is not going to be easy to replace!
My first recollections of Bruce Bochy were from his days as a catcher for the Padres. His playing career and early managerial career is so tied to the Padres in my mind, I did not realize he started his MLB career with the Astros and also played for the Mets before coming to the Padres. When he took over as manager of the Padres, I recall him having a massive physical presence in the dugout and an incredible level of intensity. His teams always seemed to have great bullpens, although he had the luxury of having Trevor Hoffman for the ninth inning the whole time he was in San Diego. Somewhere along the line he developed a reputation for being overly loyal to washed up veteran players. I seem to recall an issue with Vinny Castilla at 3B being the flashpoint for that, but in looking up Padres stats from those days, I don't really see any great young players Castilla was blocking.
After the Felipe Alou era, the last thing I wanted to see managing the Giants was another old school, out of touch guy who was going to stick with washed up veterans. I wanted someone like Ron Wotus or Wendell Kim who had paid their dues managing in the minor leagues and who might have an appreciation for younger players. Steve Decker seemed like the type of manager who would advocate for and develop from the farm system. I was not happy when instead, Brian Sabean hired Bruce Bochy. I did not want a recycled veteran hating manager and I wanted Brian Sabean fired. I am happy to say I was wrong on both counts and boy, was I ever wrong!
Bochy's first two seasons, 2007 and 2008 were tough for Giants fans used to the glories of the Bonds era. Giants oriented bloggers and message boards were almost unanimously calling for a complete regime change. Derogatory terms like "Melonhead" and "Bochylism" were part of the daily discourse. I don't recall exactly when I started to change my mind about Bochy and Sabean. With Sabean, it was about the time Pablo Sandoval broke out and I could see Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner coming up in the minors to eventually join the core of Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum and Pablo Sandoval. With Bochy, it was more they way he zeroed in on Brian Wilson for the Closer role and nurtured Sergio Romo's career. I recalled how Bochy put together the Padres bullpens and said to myself, "hey! This guy has a way with putting together pitching staffs!" I also caught a building sense that players trusted Bochy and liked playing for him which was 180 degrees opposite from the Felipe Alou era.
As the homegrown core came together, Bochy proved adept at not only bringing rookies on board but finding critical roles for castoffs from other organizations. Andres Torres, Juan Uribe, Gregor Blanco, Ryan Vogelsong, Pat Burrell, Michal Morse are just some of the names that come to mind. Not only did he give playing time to rookies and young players, he took the initiative to go to the veteran players and convince them it was in their own best interest to not only eschew hazing but to mentor the young guys because their success was necessary if the vets wanted to win.
MLB Managers basically have to do two things: 1. Keep 25 guys focused on the game instead of killing each other in the clubhouse and 2. Manage the pitching staff. Bruce Bochy did both of those as well or better than any manager in baseball history. Giants "clubhouse chemistry" was legendary during his tenure and he absolutely got the most out of his pitching anyone could possibly get. He seemed to have a 6'th sense about when pitchers were getting overused and when they weren't being used enough. He nurtured his pitching through entire seasons and with remarkably few injuries. Time and again I saw him outmaneuver opposing managers to get the matchups he wanted including fellow Hall of Famers Bobby Cox and Joe Torre. His use of his LHP's in the 2010 NLCS to neutralize Chase Utley and Ryan Howard were the difference in my mind.
Many things contributed to the Giants 3 championships during Bruce Bochy's managing tenure, but nobody should underestimate the brilliance of his managing as a difference maker. In almost every postseason series, he clearly outmaneuvered the opposing managers. They made mistakes. He didn't. He got the matchups he wanted. They didn't. Of course, he couldn't have done that without Brian Sabean going out and getting the lefty relievers Bochy needed to get those matchups, but given the resources, Bochy got the most out of them.
I'm not sure the timing of Bochy's retirement was entirely his choice, but to his credit, he seems to have embraced it and even used it as a motivating factor for the team. Some of the early griping from fans has resurfaced and many are happy to see him go. Every career comes to an end and this seems like the right time for Bochy to end his, but for those who can't wait for another manager, all I have to say is be careful what you wish for. Bruce Bochy is not going to be easy to replace!
Thursday, September 19, 2019
Game Wrap 9/19/2019: Red Sox 5 Giants 4
Madison Bumgarner ran afoul of the BABIP gods and fell behind early. A late rally by the Giants came up short. Key Lines:
Mauricio Dubon SS 1 for 2, 2 BB. BA= .275. Nice game for Dubon who moved over to SS with Cristhian Adames taking 2B against the LHP. Not sure I would have pinch-hit with Crawford in the 9'th even against the RHP Workman.
Mike Yastrzemski PH/LF- 1 for 2. BA= .267. Quite a series for YtY. Amidst all the legacy hoopla, 4 for 13, 2B, HR, 2 BB.
Kevin Pillar CF- 1 for 4, 2B, BB. BA= .261. Pillar doubled in 2 runs in the 8'th and another with a bases-loaded walk in the 9'th.
Madison Bumgarner LHP- 5 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 3.86. They say if you live by BABIP, you die by BABIP, but with 7 K's, Bummy wasn't tempting the BABIP gods. They just didn't like him today. 7 of the 9 hits came in the first two innings and produced all 5 Red Sox runs. Maybe 1 of them was hit hard.
*********************************************************************************
Gotta say, I like that the Giants battled back to a 1 run loss. This team has maintained a fighting spirit in September, unlike the 2018 team.
*********************************************************************************
Tyler Beede takes on the Braves and Mike Foltynewicz tomorrow evening in game 1 of a 3-game weekend set in Atlanta.
*********************************************************************************
Joey Bart is off to a sizzling start in the Arizona Fall League. After hitting 2 HR's last night, he backed that up with a 2 for 3, 2B, 2 BB line through 8 innings tonight.
Mauricio Dubon SS 1 for 2, 2 BB. BA= .275. Nice game for Dubon who moved over to SS with Cristhian Adames taking 2B against the LHP. Not sure I would have pinch-hit with Crawford in the 9'th even against the RHP Workman.
Mike Yastrzemski PH/LF- 1 for 2. BA= .267. Quite a series for YtY. Amidst all the legacy hoopla, 4 for 13, 2B, HR, 2 BB.
Kevin Pillar CF- 1 for 4, 2B, BB. BA= .261. Pillar doubled in 2 runs in the 8'th and another with a bases-loaded walk in the 9'th.
Madison Bumgarner LHP- 5 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 3.86. They say if you live by BABIP, you die by BABIP, but with 7 K's, Bummy wasn't tempting the BABIP gods. They just didn't like him today. 7 of the 9 hits came in the first two innings and produced all 5 Red Sox runs. Maybe 1 of them was hit hard.
*********************************************************************************
Gotta say, I like that the Giants battled back to a 1 run loss. This team has maintained a fighting spirit in September, unlike the 2018 team.
*********************************************************************************
Tyler Beede takes on the Braves and Mike Foltynewicz tomorrow evening in game 1 of a 3-game weekend set in Atlanta.
*********************************************************************************
Joey Bart is off to a sizzling start in the Arizona Fall League. After hitting 2 HR's last night, he backed that up with a 2 for 3, 2B, 2 BB line through 8 innings tonight.
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
Game Wrap 9/18/2019: Giants 11 Red Sox 3
The Giants gave Hall of Fame Manager Bruce Bochy a chance to sit back and enjoy his 2000'th career win in a runaway game in Fenway Park. Key Lines:
Mike Yastrzemski RF- 1 for 4, BB. BA= .265. YtE(Yaz the Elder) threw out the first pitch and stuck around for the game. YtY(Yaz the Younger) continued to do the Hall of Fame proud leading off the game with a walk and scoring the Giants first run of the game. He singled in a run later in the game and came around to score a second time himself.
Brandon Belt 1B- 2 for 5, 2B. BA- .238. Belt is on an extended hot streak hitting .345 over his last 7 games, .296 over his last 15 and .280 over his last 30.
Kevin Pillar CF- 3 for 5, SB(12). BA= .261. Top 3 hitters in the Giants lineup reached base 7 times in 15 PA's and scored 6 runs.
Steven Vogt DH- 1 for 3, HR(10), BB. BA= .263. Vogt's HR was a line drive that barreled up Pesky's Pole and caromed straight back down the RF line. One of the darndest HR's I've ever seen!
Brandon Crawford SS- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .236. Crawford is making a lat bid to come within hailing distance of his career averages. He's hitting .417 over his last 7 games, .271 over his last 15 and .289 over his last 30.
Cristhian Adames 3B- 3 for 5. BA= .500. This was a nice game for padding the stat line and Adames took advantage of the opportunity.
Jeff Samardzija RHP- 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 2 K's, GO/AO= 8/3. ERA= 3.64. Shark took a no-hitter into the 6'th inning and ended up with a nice QS. The 4 walks are ugly, but I guess we can say he was effectively wild?
Enderson Franco RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 9.00. You could see Bochy's eyes light up when Franco came in throwing 97 MPH heat. Then Jackie Bradley Jr lifted one onto the top of the Green Monster for a pop fly HR. Hopefully we'll see more of Franco and his FB before the season is over. Just the velocity along makes him a candidate to be the Giants Closer next year.
*********************************************************************************
Madison Bumgarner goes for the sweeeeep in Fenway tomorrow afternoon(morning out here) facing the Red Sox most effective SP LHP Eduardo Rodriguez.
*********************************************************************************
AFL Opener still in progress but Joey Bart has homered twice.
Mike Yastrzemski RF- 1 for 4, BB. BA= .265. YtE(Yaz the Elder) threw out the first pitch and stuck around for the game. YtY(Yaz the Younger) continued to do the Hall of Fame proud leading off the game with a walk and scoring the Giants first run of the game. He singled in a run later in the game and came around to score a second time himself.
Brandon Belt 1B- 2 for 5, 2B. BA- .238. Belt is on an extended hot streak hitting .345 over his last 7 games, .296 over his last 15 and .280 over his last 30.
Kevin Pillar CF- 3 for 5, SB(12). BA= .261. Top 3 hitters in the Giants lineup reached base 7 times in 15 PA's and scored 6 runs.
Steven Vogt DH- 1 for 3, HR(10), BB. BA= .263. Vogt's HR was a line drive that barreled up Pesky's Pole and caromed straight back down the RF line. One of the darndest HR's I've ever seen!
Brandon Crawford SS- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .236. Crawford is making a lat bid to come within hailing distance of his career averages. He's hitting .417 over his last 7 games, .271 over his last 15 and .289 over his last 30.
Cristhian Adames 3B- 3 for 5. BA= .500. This was a nice game for padding the stat line and Adames took advantage of the opportunity.
Jeff Samardzija RHP- 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 2 K's, GO/AO= 8/3. ERA= 3.64. Shark took a no-hitter into the 6'th inning and ended up with a nice QS. The 4 walks are ugly, but I guess we can say he was effectively wild?
Enderson Franco RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 9.00. You could see Bochy's eyes light up when Franco came in throwing 97 MPH heat. Then Jackie Bradley Jr lifted one onto the top of the Green Monster for a pop fly HR. Hopefully we'll see more of Franco and his FB before the season is over. Just the velocity along makes him a candidate to be the Giants Closer next year.
*********************************************************************************
Madison Bumgarner goes for the sweeeeep in Fenway tomorrow afternoon(morning out here) facing the Red Sox most effective SP LHP Eduardo Rodriguez.
*********************************************************************************
AFL Opener still in progress but Joey Bart has homered twice.
Down on the FarmL. 9/17/2019
AAA Championship Game Sacramento River Cats Blanked the Columbus Clippers 4-0:
Abiatal Avelino SS- 3 for 4.
Levi Michael 3B- 3 for 4, 2B.
Peter Maris 2B- 1 for 3.
Caleb Baragar LHP- 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.
Reynel Pinto RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.
Melvin Adon RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.
Steven Okert LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.
Will Abiatal Avelino finally get his September callup? Caleb Baragar had a great postseason. He is Rule 5 Draft eligible this winter.
Abiatal Avelino SS- 3 for 4.
Levi Michael 3B- 3 for 4, 2B.
Peter Maris 2B- 1 for 3.
Caleb Baragar LHP- 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.
Reynel Pinto RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.
Melvin Adon RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.
Steven Okert LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.
Will Abiatal Avelino finally get his September callup? Caleb Baragar had a great postseason. He is Rule 5 Draft eligible this winter.
Game Wrap 9/17/2019: Giants 7 Red Sox 6(15 innings)
The Giants gave up a 5-1 lead in the 6'th inning. 9 innings later, they pushed across a run to make it 7-6 and hung on for the extra-inning win. But the game was overshadowed by a Yastrzemski starting in LF for the first time since 1983 after Mike, the grandson of HOF'er Carl, walked the OF of Fenway Park with the great one before the game. Mike rose to the occasion with a solo HR, walk and ground-rule double in 8 PA's. Key Lines:
Mike Yastrzemski LF- 2 for 7, 2B, HR(20), BB. BA= .266. YtY has had a flair for the dramatic in his rookie season and he did not disappoint in a dramatic torch passing moment as his HOF Grandfather, Carl Yastrzemski, watched him play in front of the Green Monster where he had played for 23 seasons albeit for a visiting team. YtY twisted his ankle on the follow through swing on his ground-rule double in the 14'th and appeared to pull up lame at 2B, but he stayed in the game.
Brandon Belt 1B- 1 for 6, HR(17), BB. BA= .236. These long extra-inning games play havoc with batting lines because the reason the game keeps going is that nobody is scoring runs. He did pop one over the Green Monster in the first inning and you've got to wonder what Belt would do if he played half his games in this yard.
Logan Webb RHP- 5 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 9/0. ERA= 6.51. 3 of the 4 walks came in the 2'nd inning but Webb recovered to stay in for 5 innings. He gave up a triple to start the 6'th and that run eventually scored to close out the final line.
Bullpen- 9 IP, 11 H, 3 R, 6 BB, 11 K's. A mixed bag here. Standout performances by Shaun Anderson and Dereck Rodriguez who both pitched 2 scoreless frames and 1 scoreless inning for Jandel Gustave. The Giants used 13 pitchers in the game along with 12 position players.
*********************************************************************************
Jeff Samardzija takes the Fenway Park mound tonight facing journeyman RHP Jhoulys Chacin.
*********************************************************************************
OF/1B/DH Chris Shaw who grew up in the Boston area and went to Boston College also started the game as the DH but went 0 for 3 with 2 K's.
IF Pablo Sandoval who is recovering from TJ surgery did not make the trip to the site of some very unhappy times in his life and career.
Mike Yastrzemski LF- 2 for 7, 2B, HR(20), BB. BA= .266. YtY has had a flair for the dramatic in his rookie season and he did not disappoint in a dramatic torch passing moment as his HOF Grandfather, Carl Yastrzemski, watched him play in front of the Green Monster where he had played for 23 seasons albeit for a visiting team. YtY twisted his ankle on the follow through swing on his ground-rule double in the 14'th and appeared to pull up lame at 2B, but he stayed in the game.
Brandon Belt 1B- 1 for 6, HR(17), BB. BA= .236. These long extra-inning games play havoc with batting lines because the reason the game keeps going is that nobody is scoring runs. He did pop one over the Green Monster in the first inning and you've got to wonder what Belt would do if he played half his games in this yard.
Logan Webb RHP- 5 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 9/0. ERA= 6.51. 3 of the 4 walks came in the 2'nd inning but Webb recovered to stay in for 5 innings. He gave up a triple to start the 6'th and that run eventually scored to close out the final line.
Bullpen- 9 IP, 11 H, 3 R, 6 BB, 11 K's. A mixed bag here. Standout performances by Shaun Anderson and Dereck Rodriguez who both pitched 2 scoreless frames and 1 scoreless inning for Jandel Gustave. The Giants used 13 pitchers in the game along with 12 position players.
*********************************************************************************
Jeff Samardzija takes the Fenway Park mound tonight facing journeyman RHP Jhoulys Chacin.
*********************************************************************************
OF/1B/DH Chris Shaw who grew up in the Boston area and went to Boston College also started the game as the DH but went 0 for 3 with 2 K's.
IF Pablo Sandoval who is recovering from TJ surgery did not make the trip to the site of some very unhappy times in his life and career.
Tuesday, September 17, 2019
Scouting the Hot Stove League: Giants Should Pursue FA LHP Drew Pomeranz
One of the bigger nuggets Farhan Zaidi uncovered in his sluicebox roster is IF Mauricio Dubon who is cementing a presumptive starting job on next year's roster. But let's review the chain of events that led to Farhan getting his hands on Dubon's contract rights and dream about how that chain may not yet be broken. It all started with an under-the-radar signing of another player Zaidi had worked with in the past, LHP Drew Pomeranz who was coming off a terrible season with the Boston Red Sox. Zaidi signed Pomeranz to a 1 yr/$1.5 M base salary with multiple incentive bonuses. At the All-Star Break, the Pomeranz signing looked like a bust as he achieved several of the bonuses but got knocked around for a 2-9 record with a 6.42 ERA as a SP.
After the break, Pomeranz moved to the bullpen and turned in some dominant innings which was enough to create some trade deadline interest. Zaidi was able to flip him to to the Brewers by adding Ray Black to the mix and got back a blocked, but highly regarded IF prospect in Dubon. Of course we all know how impressive Dubon has been since his late-season call up.
Now, I have long suspected that Zaidi was lying in the weeds to re-sign Pomeranz in the upcoming Hot Stove League, throw him back into the sluice box and see what other nuggets work their way to the top of the gravel, but I have to admit I did not pay much attention to what Pomeranz was doing for the BrewCrew after the trade, so I have to give credit to Dan S of Fangraphs for an article yesterday entitled Future Closers? In it, Dan looked at some of the most dominant relievers in baseball and guess whose name appears at the top of the list? If you guessed Drew Pomeranz, you are better at this than I. Here's what Pomeranz's second half pitching line: 0-1, 2.12, 29.2 IP, 10 BB, 44 K's. And here's what he's done since the trade to Milwaukee: 0-1, 2.79, 19.1 IP, 8 BB, 32 K.
Now, Pomeranz' FA value may be on a steep upward trajectory and Dan S may have blown Farhan Zaidi's cover here. We'll probably have to pray that Josh Hader stays healthy and Pomeranz gets no further Save Opportunities after converting on 9/11/2019, but he should still be a relative bargain on the free agent market compared to, say, Will Smith. He's versatile and could probably still be a "five and dive" SP if needed or a long lefty reliever or even a Closer. Zaidi loves to sign guys he knows and he definitely knows Drew Pomeranz who has turned himself into a very interesting offseason FA target.
Fun Fact: Did you know Drew Pomeranz' great grandfather, Garland Buckeye, played MLB mostly for the Cleveland Indians and put up a record of 30-39 with a 3.91 ERA between 1918 and 1928?
After the break, Pomeranz moved to the bullpen and turned in some dominant innings which was enough to create some trade deadline interest. Zaidi was able to flip him to to the Brewers by adding Ray Black to the mix and got back a blocked, but highly regarded IF prospect in Dubon. Of course we all know how impressive Dubon has been since his late-season call up.
Now, I have long suspected that Zaidi was lying in the weeds to re-sign Pomeranz in the upcoming Hot Stove League, throw him back into the sluice box and see what other nuggets work their way to the top of the gravel, but I have to admit I did not pay much attention to what Pomeranz was doing for the BrewCrew after the trade, so I have to give credit to Dan S of Fangraphs for an article yesterday entitled Future Closers? In it, Dan looked at some of the most dominant relievers in baseball and guess whose name appears at the top of the list? If you guessed Drew Pomeranz, you are better at this than I. Here's what Pomeranz's second half pitching line: 0-1, 2.12, 29.2 IP, 10 BB, 44 K's. And here's what he's done since the trade to Milwaukee: 0-1, 2.79, 19.1 IP, 8 BB, 32 K.
Now, Pomeranz' FA value may be on a steep upward trajectory and Dan S may have blown Farhan Zaidi's cover here. We'll probably have to pray that Josh Hader stays healthy and Pomeranz gets no further Save Opportunities after converting on 9/11/2019, but he should still be a relative bargain on the free agent market compared to, say, Will Smith. He's versatile and could probably still be a "five and dive" SP if needed or a long lefty reliever or even a Closer. Zaidi loves to sign guys he knows and he definitely knows Drew Pomeranz who has turned himself into a very interesting offseason FA target.
Fun Fact: Did you know Drew Pomeranz' great grandfather, Garland Buckeye, played MLB mostly for the Cleveland Indians and put up a record of 30-39 with a 3.91 ERA between 1918 and 1928?
Sunday, September 15, 2019
Down on the Farm: DSL Giants 2019 Season Review
With the minor league season all but over, we'll get started with some season reviews before kicking it up a notch in the postseason.
The 2019 DSL Giants were not a very good team, finishing with a 31-41 record good for 4'th place in the DSL Northeast division. Fortunately, while it is nice to see our minor league affiliates win, that's not the point and this year's DSL Giants featured some pretty darn exciting players. Age is a critical factor in the DSL, more so than at higher minor league levels. The kids you want to pay attention to are the 17 year olds, maybe 18. By 19 years old, they are most likely just organizational players. A successful 16 year old is definitely someone who stands out. Most of the prospect buzz from this year's team came from the offensive side of the ball, which is one big reason why the team record was not better. The pitching was the weakest I can recall since I have followed the DSL.
The standout player was 17 yo OF Luis Matos. He was the ohbytheway 3'rd top signing from what is looking like a massive talent haul from the 2018 international signing period. While SS Marco Luciano and OF Jairo Pomares were sent directly to Arizona for their pro debuts, Matos started his pro career in the DSL but quickly proved he deserved to be in Arizona too with a dominating offensive performance from beginning to end. He finally got his promotion late in the season and performed well in Arizona too.
There were several other outstanding young offensive players on this year's DSL squad. 17 yo 1B/OF Victor Bericoto hit all season long and got promoted to Arizona along with Matos in August. Then there was C/1B Rayner Santana who played most of the season at age 16. All he did was lead the team in HR's with 10. C Ronaldo Flores(17 yo) and IF Jose Peralta(turned 18 yo on July 4) are two more names to remember.
There is not much to get excited about on the pitching side, but you might want to remember Luis Castillo, a LHP who did not turn 17 until August 24 and struck out 52 batters in 53.1 IP.
Team Leaders:
BA: Luis Matos- .362. Victor Bericoto- .344. Ronoldo Flores- .325.
HR: Rayner Santana- 10. Luis Matos- 7. Victor Bericoto- 5.
SB: Luis Matos- 20. Adolfo Valdez- 17. Carlos Cuevas- 12.
Luis Matos also led the entire DSL in doubles with 24.
There were no pitching Qualifiers. In addition to the aforementioned Luis Castillo, RHP Jose Mullings(19 yo) led the team with 66 K's in 53.1 IP. BTW, age is not as critical for pitchers as for hitters in the DSL.
The 2019 DSL Giants were not a very good team, finishing with a 31-41 record good for 4'th place in the DSL Northeast division. Fortunately, while it is nice to see our minor league affiliates win, that's not the point and this year's DSL Giants featured some pretty darn exciting players. Age is a critical factor in the DSL, more so than at higher minor league levels. The kids you want to pay attention to are the 17 year olds, maybe 18. By 19 years old, they are most likely just organizational players. A successful 16 year old is definitely someone who stands out. Most of the prospect buzz from this year's team came from the offensive side of the ball, which is one big reason why the team record was not better. The pitching was the weakest I can recall since I have followed the DSL.
The standout player was 17 yo OF Luis Matos. He was the ohbytheway 3'rd top signing from what is looking like a massive talent haul from the 2018 international signing period. While SS Marco Luciano and OF Jairo Pomares were sent directly to Arizona for their pro debuts, Matos started his pro career in the DSL but quickly proved he deserved to be in Arizona too with a dominating offensive performance from beginning to end. He finally got his promotion late in the season and performed well in Arizona too.
There were several other outstanding young offensive players on this year's DSL squad. 17 yo 1B/OF Victor Bericoto hit all season long and got promoted to Arizona along with Matos in August. Then there was C/1B Rayner Santana who played most of the season at age 16. All he did was lead the team in HR's with 10. C Ronaldo Flores(17 yo) and IF Jose Peralta(turned 18 yo on July 4) are two more names to remember.
There is not much to get excited about on the pitching side, but you might want to remember Luis Castillo, a LHP who did not turn 17 until August 24 and struck out 52 batters in 53.1 IP.
Team Leaders:
BA: Luis Matos- .362. Victor Bericoto- .344. Ronoldo Flores- .325.
HR: Rayner Santana- 10. Luis Matos- 7. Victor Bericoto- 5.
SB: Luis Matos- 20. Adolfo Valdez- 17. Carlos Cuevas- 12.
Luis Matos also led the entire DSL in doubles with 24.
There were no pitching Qualifiers. In addition to the aforementioned Luis Castillo, RHP Jose Mullings(19 yo) led the team with 66 K's in 53.1 IP. BTW, age is not as critical for pitchers as for hitters in the DSL.
Game Wrap 9/15/2019: Giants 2 Marlins 1
Mike Yastrzemski dove home on a wild pitch to break the tie in the bottom of the 8'th inning and Will Smith came back from a short absence due to back issues to record the Save. Key Lines:
Mauricio Dubon 2B- 1 for 3, HR(3). BA= .291. Here's what has impressed me about Dubon(other than his obvious athleticism, defense and game awareness): He seems to be equally adept at going the other way when he needs to, but can still turn on a mistake on the inner half and pull it down the line. If this is an audition for next season, which it appears to be, I'd say Dubon has passed with flying colors and should be the presumptive starter at 2B going in.
Johnny Cueto RHP- 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 0.00. Cueto was not as dominant as his first start and really had to dig deep in a long 4'th inning, but he battled through that and came back with a quick 5'th to preserve his scoreless innings streak.
Tyler Rogers RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 1.59. Those of you who are longtime readers know I've been irrationally exuberant about Tyler Rogers pretty close to forever. He has not disappointed me in his MLB debut. One less bullpen spot for Farhan Zaidi to worry about over the winter.
Will Smith LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, Save(33). ERA= 2.95. Good to see Smith not miss a beat after a back pain issue. $18 M question: Do the Giants give him a QO? Does he accept or reject?
*********************************************************************************
Notes from the Sluice Box: Giants added RHP Enderson Franco to the 40 man roster. He was a meh SP all season for the River Cats but kicked it up several notches when he became the Closer. I've seen reports of him consistently hitting the high 90's and was lights out in the PCL playoffs. The corresponding move was placing LHP Tony Watson on the 60-day IL.
Mauricio Dubon 2B- 1 for 3, HR(3). BA= .291. Here's what has impressed me about Dubon(other than his obvious athleticism, defense and game awareness): He seems to be equally adept at going the other way when he needs to, but can still turn on a mistake on the inner half and pull it down the line. If this is an audition for next season, which it appears to be, I'd say Dubon has passed with flying colors and should be the presumptive starter at 2B going in.
Johnny Cueto RHP- 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 0.00. Cueto was not as dominant as his first start and really had to dig deep in a long 4'th inning, but he battled through that and came back with a quick 5'th to preserve his scoreless innings streak.
Tyler Rogers RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 1.59. Those of you who are longtime readers know I've been irrationally exuberant about Tyler Rogers pretty close to forever. He has not disappointed me in his MLB debut. One less bullpen spot for Farhan Zaidi to worry about over the winter.
Will Smith LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, Save(33). ERA= 2.95. Good to see Smith not miss a beat after a back pain issue. $18 M question: Do the Giants give him a QO? Does he accept or reject?
*********************************************************************************
Notes from the Sluice Box: Giants added RHP Enderson Franco to the 40 man roster. He was a meh SP all season for the River Cats but kicked it up several notches when he became the Closer. I've seen reports of him consistently hitting the high 90's and was lights out in the PCL playoffs. The corresponding move was placing LHP Tony Watson on the 60-day IL.
Game Wrap 9/14/2019: Marlins 4 Giants 2
Madison Bumgarner battled the home plate ump and poor run support and came away with a QS and No Decision in another uninspiring loss. Key Lines:
Brandon Crawford SS- 2 for 3, BB. BA= .230. Crawford is 4 for 9 with 2 BB's over his last 3 games. He started the Giants only scoring rally in the 7'th with a single.
Mauricio Dubon 2B- 3 for 4, 2B. BA= .288. Dubon had been in a mini-slump going 0 for 9 in his previous 3 games. His double set up the Giants only scoring of the night in the 7'th.
Donovan Solano 2B- 1 for 1, 3B. BA= .333. Solano tripled in Crawford and Dubon in the 7'th to pick up Bumgarner who had fallen behind in the top of the inning. The triple put Solano at 3B with just 1 out. Of course, he was left standing there which ended the Giants scoring for the night.
Madison Bumgarner LHP- 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 3.73. Bummy took a 2-hit shutout into the 7'th inning only to fall behind on a gargantuan 2-run blast by Jorge Alfaro. His battle with the home plate ump was actually a more interesting story line than the game itself. It started with with a called ball early in the game that was a fairly egregious mistake. Bummy kept staring and chirping from the mound which caused the ump to step in front of the plate gesturing and Buster to start walking out between them. Bummy turned his back just in time. In two later AB's, Bummy took obvious exception to borderline calls and appeared to be this close to getting tossed. In the end, he stayed in for a full 7 innings. I thought Bumgarner had a legitimate beef on the first disputed call, but the ump was probably right on the second two and Bum kept the theatrics going too long which he has been known to do.
Shaun Anderson RHP- 0.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA= 5.26. Not sure why Boch brought in Anderson in the 8'th the day after he got a Save and in a tie game. If the idea was to see if Anderson could go back-to-back games, well, it didn't go well as he had neither the velocity or command he displayed the night before.
Kruk and Kuip- Kuip didn't have a good game as he made a couple of pretty glaring mistakes. I'm forgetting the first one myself, but on the second one, he appeared to mentally put the Giants ahead after Solano's triple and exclaimed that Bumgarner could only win the game at that point. Kruk had to point out that a No Decision was still in play, which it would have been even if the Giants had taken the lead. They did give me a LOL moment after YtY got hit on the toe and hit the deck in obvious pain. As Yaz was walking it off, Kuip said "if I see Mike after the game, I'll tell him that 40 years from now, he'll still feel that." Kruk: "Well yeah, the whole time he was on the ground, you were rubbing your foot!" Maybe that wasn't as funny as it seemed at the time, but just the way he said it had me doubled over.
*********************************************************************************
Johnny Cueto tries to close out the homestand with a W this afternoon facing RHP Elieser Hernandez.
*********************************************************************************
Sluice Box Notes: IF Corban Joseph was released and OF Mike Gerber and IF Cristhian Adames were called up. IF Abiatal Avelino is apparently still in the doghouse from his baserunning error and did not get called up.
Brandon Crawford SS- 2 for 3, BB. BA= .230. Crawford is 4 for 9 with 2 BB's over his last 3 games. He started the Giants only scoring rally in the 7'th with a single.
Mauricio Dubon 2B- 3 for 4, 2B. BA= .288. Dubon had been in a mini-slump going 0 for 9 in his previous 3 games. His double set up the Giants only scoring of the night in the 7'th.
Donovan Solano 2B- 1 for 1, 3B. BA= .333. Solano tripled in Crawford and Dubon in the 7'th to pick up Bumgarner who had fallen behind in the top of the inning. The triple put Solano at 3B with just 1 out. Of course, he was left standing there which ended the Giants scoring for the night.
Madison Bumgarner LHP- 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 3.73. Bummy took a 2-hit shutout into the 7'th inning only to fall behind on a gargantuan 2-run blast by Jorge Alfaro. His battle with the home plate ump was actually a more interesting story line than the game itself. It started with with a called ball early in the game that was a fairly egregious mistake. Bummy kept staring and chirping from the mound which caused the ump to step in front of the plate gesturing and Buster to start walking out between them. Bummy turned his back just in time. In two later AB's, Bummy took obvious exception to borderline calls and appeared to be this close to getting tossed. In the end, he stayed in for a full 7 innings. I thought Bumgarner had a legitimate beef on the first disputed call, but the ump was probably right on the second two and Bum kept the theatrics going too long which he has been known to do.
Shaun Anderson RHP- 0.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA= 5.26. Not sure why Boch brought in Anderson in the 8'th the day after he got a Save and in a tie game. If the idea was to see if Anderson could go back-to-back games, well, it didn't go well as he had neither the velocity or command he displayed the night before.
Kruk and Kuip- Kuip didn't have a good game as he made a couple of pretty glaring mistakes. I'm forgetting the first one myself, but on the second one, he appeared to mentally put the Giants ahead after Solano's triple and exclaimed that Bumgarner could only win the game at that point. Kruk had to point out that a No Decision was still in play, which it would have been even if the Giants had taken the lead. They did give me a LOL moment after YtY got hit on the toe and hit the deck in obvious pain. As Yaz was walking it off, Kuip said "if I see Mike after the game, I'll tell him that 40 years from now, he'll still feel that." Kruk: "Well yeah, the whole time he was on the ground, you were rubbing your foot!" Maybe that wasn't as funny as it seemed at the time, but just the way he said it had me doubled over.
*********************************************************************************
Johnny Cueto tries to close out the homestand with a W this afternoon facing RHP Elieser Hernandez.
*********************************************************************************
Sluice Box Notes: IF Corban Joseph was released and OF Mike Gerber and IF Cristhian Adames were called up. IF Abiatal Avelino is apparently still in the doghouse from his baserunning error and did not get called up.
Saturday, September 14, 2019
Down on the Farm(Postseason Edition): 9/13/2019
AAA Sacramento River Cats outscored the Round Rock Express 7-5:
Abiatal Avelino SS- 2 for 4, BB, SB.
Sam Wolff RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.
Enderson Franco RHP- 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save.
The River Cats completed a sweep of the 5 game PCL Championship series. It was the first time a Giants AAA affiliate has won a championship in over 40 years. Gotta say, the way they ran players in and out this year, if they give rings to everyone who was on the roster at any point, they are going to be giving out a whole lot of rings!
And that closes out the 2019 minor league season. Arizona Fall League starts on Sept. 18.
Abiatal Avelino SS- 2 for 4, BB, SB.
Sam Wolff RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.
Enderson Franco RHP- 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save.
The River Cats completed a sweep of the 5 game PCL Championship series. It was the first time a Giants AAA affiliate has won a championship in over 40 years. Gotta say, the way they ran players in and out this year, if they give rings to everyone who was on the roster at any point, they are going to be giving out a whole lot of rings!
And that closes out the 2019 minor league season. Arizona Fall League starts on Sept. 18.
Game Wrap 9/13/2019: Giants 1 Marlins 0
The Giants mustered just 1 run but Tyler Beede pitched like the ace they hope he will be and shut out the Marlins with some help from the bullpen. Key Lines:
Brandon Belt 1B- 3 for 4, 2 2B. BA= .235. Terrific game from Belt but he did not figure in the scoring.
Steven Vogt LF- 2 for 3, 2B. BA= .275. Vogt scored the only Giants run when he doubled in the 6'th inning, advanced to 3B on a groundout and came home on Buster Posey's chopper through the left side of the IF. Vogt is a free agent at the end of the season. Giants might want to try to re-sign him.
Tyler Beede RHP- 6.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 5.02. Beede had command of 3 excellent pitches: A 2-stage FB, as Kruk put it, a hard curveball and a fading changeup. He cruised into he 7'th inning but fell behind Magneuris Sierra and gave up a single. He then fell behind the next batter, but Buster Posey threw a strike to 2B to nail Sierra on a SB attempt on a play that was overturned on replay. Beede worked his way back to a 3-2 count to Harold Ramirez but lost him on a very close curveball. That's when Boch decided it was Time for a Change.
Tyler Rogers RHP- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 1.74. Not only does Rogers come at hitters from a completely different angle than they are used to seeing, he also varies the tempo of his delivery to disrupt timing. He also economizes pitches with just 12.1/IP which enables him to stay out there for more than 3 outs at a time. He got one K on a frisbee curve that brought back memories of Sergio Romo's no-dot slider.
Shaun Anderson RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(2). ERA= 5.09. Anderson ticks up the velocity by 2-3 MPH when he's relieving while retaining his SP repertoire. You don't have to squint to see next year's setup/closer team in Tyler Rogers and Shaun Anderson.
*********************************************************************************
Madison Bumgarner will try to pass Matt Cain for most Wins at Oracle Park tonight facing RHP Robert Dugger.
Brandon Belt 1B- 3 for 4, 2 2B. BA= .235. Terrific game from Belt but he did not figure in the scoring.
Steven Vogt LF- 2 for 3, 2B. BA= .275. Vogt scored the only Giants run when he doubled in the 6'th inning, advanced to 3B on a groundout and came home on Buster Posey's chopper through the left side of the IF. Vogt is a free agent at the end of the season. Giants might want to try to re-sign him.
Tyler Beede RHP- 6.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 5.02. Beede had command of 3 excellent pitches: A 2-stage FB, as Kruk put it, a hard curveball and a fading changeup. He cruised into he 7'th inning but fell behind Magneuris Sierra and gave up a single. He then fell behind the next batter, but Buster Posey threw a strike to 2B to nail Sierra on a SB attempt on a play that was overturned on replay. Beede worked his way back to a 3-2 count to Harold Ramirez but lost him on a very close curveball. That's when Boch decided it was Time for a Change.
Tyler Rogers RHP- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 1.74. Not only does Rogers come at hitters from a completely different angle than they are used to seeing, he also varies the tempo of his delivery to disrupt timing. He also economizes pitches with just 12.1/IP which enables him to stay out there for more than 3 outs at a time. He got one K on a frisbee curve that brought back memories of Sergio Romo's no-dot slider.
Shaun Anderson RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(2). ERA= 5.09. Anderson ticks up the velocity by 2-3 MPH when he's relieving while retaining his SP repertoire. You don't have to squint to see next year's setup/closer team in Tyler Rogers and Shaun Anderson.
*********************************************************************************
Madison Bumgarner will try to pass Matt Cain for most Wins at Oracle Park tonight facing RHP Robert Dugger.
Friday, September 13, 2019
Game Wrap 9/12/2019: Pirates 4 Giants 2
The Giants may not be winning, but they sure are boring....wait, what? Evan Longoria's 2-run HR in the 6'th was the only sign of life in the Giants offense while Jeff Samardzija blew a Quality Start in the 7'th inning. Key Lines:
Evan Longoria 3B- 1 for 4, HR(19). BA= .259. Longo's longball inches him closer to 20 on the season. Kevin Pillar leads with 21 and YtY also has 19 to give the Giants a shot at having 3 players top the 20 mark.
Jeff Samardzija RHP- 6.1 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 2 K's. It's not just that the Giants are losing right now, it's the way they are losing. This is a boring pitching line from a boring boxscore.
Andrew Suarez LHP- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, GO/AO= 3/0. ERA= 6.11. In his last 11 appearances dating back to August 2, Suarez has a 2.34 ERA in 15.1 IP making a case for a lefty reliever role next season.
Burch Smith RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 6.06. It was a mathematical inevitability that the well travelled Smith would pass through Farhan Zaidi's sluice box of a roster. So far, he's pitched 3.2 scoreless innings in 4 appearances.
********************************************************************************
All this losing and the Giants are still stuck with the 13'th overall draft pick for 2020.
*********************************************************************************
The Marlin come to town for a 3-game weekender with Tyler Beede starting game 1 vs Sandy Atlantara tonight. BTW, Alcantara has a 2.77 ERA over his last 7 Starts.
*********************************************************************************
Despite a pretty good run in the middle of the season, I'm not convinced this team is any closer to contending than it was on Opening Day. In fact, between a the probable loss of Bummy, Will Smith and Tony Watson to free agency plus Kevin Pillar and YtY likely having peak seasons I would argue they are farther away than on Opening Day. Farhan needs to spend all or most of the $90 M between him and the CBT threshold or else do a total tank for next season and probably the next after that.
*********************************************************************************
In response to the first comment: I agree. They should have either been all in or all out. I personally favored buying, adding a SP or 2 and possibly a bat. But if they were not going to be buyers, they should have sold off everything including Smith and Bummy. What they actually did was a partial sell, but that took a team with a long shot chance and turned it into a team with no chance. And again, you can go back and check my posts at the time.
Evan Longoria 3B- 1 for 4, HR(19). BA= .259. Longo's longball inches him closer to 20 on the season. Kevin Pillar leads with 21 and YtY also has 19 to give the Giants a shot at having 3 players top the 20 mark.
Jeff Samardzija RHP- 6.1 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 2 K's. It's not just that the Giants are losing right now, it's the way they are losing. This is a boring pitching line from a boring boxscore.
Andrew Suarez LHP- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, GO/AO= 3/0. ERA= 6.11. In his last 11 appearances dating back to August 2, Suarez has a 2.34 ERA in 15.1 IP making a case for a lefty reliever role next season.
Burch Smith RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 6.06. It was a mathematical inevitability that the well travelled Smith would pass through Farhan Zaidi's sluice box of a roster. So far, he's pitched 3.2 scoreless innings in 4 appearances.
********************************************************************************
All this losing and the Giants are still stuck with the 13'th overall draft pick for 2020.
*********************************************************************************
The Marlin come to town for a 3-game weekender with Tyler Beede starting game 1 vs Sandy Atlantara tonight. BTW, Alcantara has a 2.77 ERA over his last 7 Starts.
*********************************************************************************
Despite a pretty good run in the middle of the season, I'm not convinced this team is any closer to contending than it was on Opening Day. In fact, between a the probable loss of Bummy, Will Smith and Tony Watson to free agency plus Kevin Pillar and YtY likely having peak seasons I would argue they are farther away than on Opening Day. Farhan needs to spend all or most of the $90 M between him and the CBT threshold or else do a total tank for next season and probably the next after that.
*********************************************************************************
In response to the first comment: I agree. They should have either been all in or all out. I personally favored buying, adding a SP or 2 and possibly a bat. But if they were not going to be buyers, they should have sold off everything including Smith and Bummy. What they actually did was a partial sell, but that took a team with a long shot chance and turned it into a team with no chance. And again, you can go back and check my posts at the time.
Thursday, September 12, 2019
Down on the Farm(Postseason): 9/11/2019
AAA Sacramento River Cats defeated the Round Rock Express 4-2:
Cristhian Adames 3B- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(1).
Chase Johnson RHP- 5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 1.59.
River Cats are within a win of taking the PCL championship.
Cristhian Adames 3B- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(1).
Chase Johnson RHP- 5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 1.59.
River Cats are within a win of taking the PCL championship.
Game Wrap 9/11/2019: Pirates 6 Giants 3
As they have done so often against rookie pitchers with high ERA's, the Giants offense struggled with just 1 hit in the first 4 innings. When they did break through in the 5'th it was with an IF single, walk, single, FC/Error, walk, walk. Things were looking up with Brandon Belt and Steven Vogt coming up, but they both made outs and the Giants were no-hit the rest of the way. Key Lines:
Logan Webb RHP- 4.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 4 K's, GO/AO= 5/2. ERA= 6.75. Webb made some really good looking pitches, but his command was wildly inconsistent and it cost him. It looked like he was trying to do too much out there at times and needs to learn to stay within himself.
Kyle Barraclough RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 6.44. Giants are obviously auditioning bullpen roles for next season. How about this one? Barraclough started the inning with a walk, bunt single, Sac/Error, walk. Then he struck out the next 3 batters in a row.
Conner Menez LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 6.00. The Giants need to find replacements for Will Smith and Tony Watson for next season. Menez is making his case with a line of 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K's over 3 bullpen appearances.
*********************************************************************************
Jeff Samardzija closes out the 4-game series this afternoon facing RHP Joe Musgrove.
Logan Webb RHP- 4.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 4 K's, GO/AO= 5/2. ERA= 6.75. Webb made some really good looking pitches, but his command was wildly inconsistent and it cost him. It looked like he was trying to do too much out there at times and needs to learn to stay within himself.
Kyle Barraclough RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 6.44. Giants are obviously auditioning bullpen roles for next season. How about this one? Barraclough started the inning with a walk, bunt single, Sac/Error, walk. Then he struck out the next 3 batters in a row.
Conner Menez LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 6.00. The Giants need to find replacements for Will Smith and Tony Watson for next season. Menez is making his case with a line of 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K's over 3 bullpen appearances.
*********************************************************************************
Jeff Samardzija closes out the 4-game series this afternoon facing RHP Joe Musgrove.
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Down on the Farm: 9/10/2019
AAA(Championship Series) Sacramento River Cats outscored the Round Rock Express 8-7:
Abiatal Avelino SS- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .400.
Francisco Pena DH- 4 for 4, HR.
Jacob Heyward LF- 2 for 4, 2B.
Levi Michael 2B- 1 for 3, HR, BB. BA= .333.
Avelino has been particularly productive as the Cats leadoff hitter in the postseason.
Abiatal Avelino SS- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .400.
Francisco Pena DH- 4 for 4, HR.
Jacob Heyward LF- 2 for 4, 2B.
Levi Michael 2B- 1 for 3, HR, BB. BA= .333.
Avelino has been particularly productive as the Cats leadoff hitter in the postseason.
Game Wrap 9/10/2019: Giants 5 Pirates 4
Johnny Cueto shimmied and shook and quick pitched his way to a 5-0 lead after 5 innings and the Giants makeshift bullpen staved off disaster to hold on for the win. Key Lines:
Mauricio Dubon 2B- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .308. Dubon, who has pulled the ball for most of his hits, showed he could go the other way leading off the bottom of the first inning with a single through the hole in right side to start a 3-run rally. He later doubled on another groundball to the right side.
Steven Vogt C- 2 for 4, HR(9). BA= .274. Vogt's HR added on 2 runs in the 5'th inning which proved to be the difference in the ballgame. Vogt is a FA after this season at age 35.
Johnny Cueto RHP- 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's, GO/AO= 8/3. ERA= 0.00. Cueto had all his signature moves going plus a few non-signature ones. His FB topped out a 93 MPH which is back to pre-2018 levels. He left to a huge cheer from the crowd of 27 K. When was the last time Bumgarner, Cueto and Shark were all healthy at the same time?
Andrew Suarez LHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 6.49. Suarez has had a rough season, but his ERA is 3.12 over his last 7 appearances, 8.1 IP. The Giants are clearly auditioning LHP's for next season's bullpen and Suarez make a good impression here. He inherited 2 runners with no outs in the 6'th and added 1 more to load the bases. He got out of it with a pop up and a GIDP against none other than Josh Bell for the final 2 outs.
Wandy Peralta LHP- 0.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA= 6.55. Speaking of auditions......
Shaun Anderson RHP- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's, Save(1). ERA= 5.14. Speaking of auditions.....the Giants are likely going to have a new Closer next season. As someone pointed out, Anderson was a Closer in college. He's since polished up a SP repertoire and gains a couple MPH on the FB out of the bullpen.
*********************************************************************************
Logan Webb tries to recover from his disaster start last appearance facing RHP Dario Agrazal in the series finale tonight.
*********************************************************************************
The Giants DFA'd LHP Williams Jerez to make room for Johnny Cueto on the 40 man roster and to make room for Wandy Peralta's audition.
*********************************************************************************
The Giants fired 8 of 20 full-time scouts including several recognizable names such as Matt Nerland, Bob Mariano and Andy Skeels. Farhan Zaidi stated he plans to hire additional scouts, but was vague about how many and for what assignments. He did say that on-demand video has changed scouting needs but the Giants will continue to send scouts to see players in person. He also talked about placing more emphasis on scouting the lower minors, which is something I agree is needed.
*********************************************************************************
Christian Yelich fouled a ball off his patella and fractured it, ending his season. I am in severe pain just thinking about what that must feel like.
*********************************************************************************
For those of you who still think the Giants window for contention closed forever when they traded away Kyle Crick, he required surgery to repair a tendon in his index finger from an injury suffered in a fistfight with Pirates Closer Felipe Vazquez who one report had throwing the first punch and reportedly had obvious swelling and bandages on his nose. This gets really ugly when you consider Crick reportedly got into it in the past with Bullpen Coach Euclides Rojas who Crick accused of giving Vazquez preferential treatment. It's not clear what "preferential treatment" entails, but it might have something to do with Vazquez' 26 Saves and 1.71 ERA and Crick's own 4.96 ERA? The Pirates have also reportedly experience clubhouse violence issues involving RHP Keone Kela who seems to also have issues with Vazquez. Wow!
Mauricio Dubon 2B- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .308. Dubon, who has pulled the ball for most of his hits, showed he could go the other way leading off the bottom of the first inning with a single through the hole in right side to start a 3-run rally. He later doubled on another groundball to the right side.
Steven Vogt C- 2 for 4, HR(9). BA= .274. Vogt's HR added on 2 runs in the 5'th inning which proved to be the difference in the ballgame. Vogt is a FA after this season at age 35.
Johnny Cueto RHP- 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's, GO/AO= 8/3. ERA= 0.00. Cueto had all his signature moves going plus a few non-signature ones. His FB topped out a 93 MPH which is back to pre-2018 levels. He left to a huge cheer from the crowd of 27 K. When was the last time Bumgarner, Cueto and Shark were all healthy at the same time?
Andrew Suarez LHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 6.49. Suarez has had a rough season, but his ERA is 3.12 over his last 7 appearances, 8.1 IP. The Giants are clearly auditioning LHP's for next season's bullpen and Suarez make a good impression here. He inherited 2 runners with no outs in the 6'th and added 1 more to load the bases. He got out of it with a pop up and a GIDP against none other than Josh Bell for the final 2 outs.
Wandy Peralta LHP- 0.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA= 6.55. Speaking of auditions......
Shaun Anderson RHP- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's, Save(1). ERA= 5.14. Speaking of auditions.....the Giants are likely going to have a new Closer next season. As someone pointed out, Anderson was a Closer in college. He's since polished up a SP repertoire and gains a couple MPH on the FB out of the bullpen.
*********************************************************************************
Logan Webb tries to recover from his disaster start last appearance facing RHP Dario Agrazal in the series finale tonight.
*********************************************************************************
The Giants DFA'd LHP Williams Jerez to make room for Johnny Cueto on the 40 man roster and to make room for Wandy Peralta's audition.
*********************************************************************************
The Giants fired 8 of 20 full-time scouts including several recognizable names such as Matt Nerland, Bob Mariano and Andy Skeels. Farhan Zaidi stated he plans to hire additional scouts, but was vague about how many and for what assignments. He did say that on-demand video has changed scouting needs but the Giants will continue to send scouts to see players in person. He also talked about placing more emphasis on scouting the lower minors, which is something I agree is needed.
*********************************************************************************
Christian Yelich fouled a ball off his patella and fractured it, ending his season. I am in severe pain just thinking about what that must feel like.
*********************************************************************************
For those of you who still think the Giants window for contention closed forever when they traded away Kyle Crick, he required surgery to repair a tendon in his index finger from an injury suffered in a fistfight with Pirates Closer Felipe Vazquez who one report had throwing the first punch and reportedly had obvious swelling and bandages on his nose. This gets really ugly when you consider Crick reportedly got into it in the past with Bullpen Coach Euclides Rojas who Crick accused of giving Vazquez preferential treatment. It's not clear what "preferential treatment" entails, but it might have something to do with Vazquez' 26 Saves and 1.71 ERA and Crick's own 4.96 ERA? The Pirates have also reportedly experience clubhouse violence issues involving RHP Keone Kela who seems to also have issues with Vazquez. Wow!
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Game Wrap 9/9/2019: Pirates 6 Giants 4
The Giants and their fans got a stark reminder of what it's like to go into the 9'th inning in a Save situation without a reliable Closer and why you can't hand that job to just any random waiver wire pickup or rookie with a funky delivery. Key Lines:
Mike Yastrzemski LF- 0 for 2, 2 BB, SB(2). BA= .269. 2 walks and 2 Runs Scored out of the leadoff position.
Brandon Belt 1B- 3 for 4, 2B. BA= .231. Belt came through with a 2-out, 2-run double in the 5'th to drive in 2 to give the Giants a 2-run lead after the Pirates had tied the game at 1 in the top of the inning.
Madison Bumgarner LHP- 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 3.77. The Pirates fielded a RH heavy lineup including 3 switch-hitters but interestingly left their best switch-hitter, Josh Bell, on the bench. Bummy dominated for 7 innings of work and left the game with a nice 4-2 lead.
Bullpen- 2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 0 K. Tyler Rogers and his submaweenie pitched a perfect 8'th with 2 GB outs and a pop-up. Q: Why does he get mostly GB outs when it looks like most of his pitches are rising? Anyway, with Will Smith unavailable due to back tightness, Rogers came back out for the 9'th only to have the BABIP gods give a groundball single to the leadoff batter. That brought in LHP Fernando Abad to make Cole Tucker bat RH. He grounded out. Abad stayed in to make PH Josh Bell bat RH and he walked semi-intentionally. PH Elias Diaz then hit a rocket off the L-CF wall that went directly over YtY's glove and bounced right back into the glove to make it look like the ball was caught, which made the lead runner stop at 3B and everybody else scramble back to a base. Bochy then summoned provisional Closer Jandel Gustave who gave up 2 singles to to tie the game then lost it on a FC/Error by Dubon and a Sac Fly. This 9'th inning was a grim reminder of what the last 3 seasons were like without a reliable Closer.
*********************************************************************************
The Loss leaves the Giants with the 13'th worst record in MLB for those keeping track of potential draft position.
*********************************************************************************
Johnny Cueto makes his return from Tommy John surgery tonight facing rookie RHP Mitch Keller.
*********************************************************************************
Reyes Moronta will undergo surgery to repair his torn labrum by the same surgeon who successfully repaired labrums for Dodger LHP's Julio Urias and Hyun-Jin Ryu.
Turns out LHP Tony Watson has a fracture in his left wrist and will likely miss the rest of the season.
Mike Yastrzemski LF- 0 for 2, 2 BB, SB(2). BA= .269. 2 walks and 2 Runs Scored out of the leadoff position.
Brandon Belt 1B- 3 for 4, 2B. BA= .231. Belt came through with a 2-out, 2-run double in the 5'th to drive in 2 to give the Giants a 2-run lead after the Pirates had tied the game at 1 in the top of the inning.
Madison Bumgarner LHP- 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 3.77. The Pirates fielded a RH heavy lineup including 3 switch-hitters but interestingly left their best switch-hitter, Josh Bell, on the bench. Bummy dominated for 7 innings of work and left the game with a nice 4-2 lead.
Bullpen- 2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 0 K. Tyler Rogers and his submaweenie pitched a perfect 8'th with 2 GB outs and a pop-up. Q: Why does he get mostly GB outs when it looks like most of his pitches are rising? Anyway, with Will Smith unavailable due to back tightness, Rogers came back out for the 9'th only to have the BABIP gods give a groundball single to the leadoff batter. That brought in LHP Fernando Abad to make Cole Tucker bat RH. He grounded out. Abad stayed in to make PH Josh Bell bat RH and he walked semi-intentionally. PH Elias Diaz then hit a rocket off the L-CF wall that went directly over YtY's glove and bounced right back into the glove to make it look like the ball was caught, which made the lead runner stop at 3B and everybody else scramble back to a base. Bochy then summoned provisional Closer Jandel Gustave who gave up 2 singles to to tie the game then lost it on a FC/Error by Dubon and a Sac Fly. This 9'th inning was a grim reminder of what the last 3 seasons were like without a reliable Closer.
*********************************************************************************
The Loss leaves the Giants with the 13'th worst record in MLB for those keeping track of potential draft position.
*********************************************************************************
Johnny Cueto makes his return from Tommy John surgery tonight facing rookie RHP Mitch Keller.
*********************************************************************************
Reyes Moronta will undergo surgery to repair his torn labrum by the same surgeon who successfully repaired labrums for Dodger LHP's Julio Urias and Hyun-Jin Ryu.
Turns out LHP Tony Watson has a fracture in his left wrist and will likely miss the rest of the season.
Monday, September 9, 2019
Down on the Farm: 9/8/2019
AAA Sacramento River Cats brought down the Las Vegas Aviators 7-3:
Abiatal Avelino SS- 1 for 4, HR, BB.
Cristhian Adames 3B- 2 for 4, 3B.
Joe McCarthy 1B- 1 for 3, HR, BB.
Zach Houchins 1B- 2 for 4, HR.
Caleb Baragar LHP- 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 8 K's.
The River Cats advance to the PCL championship series against the Round Rock Express who are led by former Giant OF Drew Ferguson.
Abiatal Avelino SS- 1 for 4, HR, BB.
Cristhian Adames 3B- 2 for 4, 3B.
Joe McCarthy 1B- 1 for 3, HR, BB.
Zach Houchins 1B- 2 for 4, HR.
Caleb Baragar LHP- 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 8 K's.
The River Cats advance to the PCL championship series against the Round Rock Express who are led by former Giant OF Drew Ferguson.
Game Wrap 9/8/2019: Dodgers 5 Giants 0
A 2-run home run and another 3-run shot set up by a fielding error ruined an otherwise fine day by Dereck Rodriguez who got no support from the Giants offense that managed just 4 singles in a shellacking at Chavez Ravine. Key Lines:
Dereck Rodriguez RHP- 4.2 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K's, GO/AO= 7/1. ERA= 5.09. DRod struck out the side in the first inning and otherwise kept the ball on the ground. A 2-out walk, a 2-out error and a couple of hanging changeups were the prevailing story of the game. Will he get more chances this season with Johnny Cueto coming back?
*********************************************************************************
The Giants return to Oracle Park to face the Pirates tonight with Madison Bumgarner facing RHP Trevor Williams.
*********************************************************************************
What a difference a year makes. Less than 1 year after leading the Red Sox to a World Series win over the Dodgers, Dave Dombrowski was fired from his position as President of Baseball Operations. Dombrowski is an "old school" GM who believes in signing talented veterans to big free agent contracts and using his farm system to trade for other veteran players. The Red Sox had brought him in to do make just those kinds of moves which paid off in a championship run in 2018. This year, the BoSox showed why it's so hard to repeat a championship in this league, especially in the top-heavy AL where a record of 76-67 has them 8 games out in the Wild Card race, farther back than the Giants 69-74 in the NL. The record might not have caused the firing as much as a couple of big money investments in SP's Nate Eovaldi(4 years/$68 M) and Chris Sale(5 years/$145 M) which already appear to be sunk costs going forward. Who will replace Dombrowski and what that means for the direction the Red Sox will take should be a headline story heading into the postseason and offseason.
Dereck Rodriguez RHP- 4.2 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K's, GO/AO= 7/1. ERA= 5.09. DRod struck out the side in the first inning and otherwise kept the ball on the ground. A 2-out walk, a 2-out error and a couple of hanging changeups were the prevailing story of the game. Will he get more chances this season with Johnny Cueto coming back?
*********************************************************************************
The Giants return to Oracle Park to face the Pirates tonight with Madison Bumgarner facing RHP Trevor Williams.
*********************************************************************************
What a difference a year makes. Less than 1 year after leading the Red Sox to a World Series win over the Dodgers, Dave Dombrowski was fired from his position as President of Baseball Operations. Dombrowski is an "old school" GM who believes in signing talented veterans to big free agent contracts and using his farm system to trade for other veteran players. The Red Sox had brought him in to do make just those kinds of moves which paid off in a championship run in 2018. This year, the BoSox showed why it's so hard to repeat a championship in this league, especially in the top-heavy AL where a record of 76-67 has them 8 games out in the Wild Card race, farther back than the Giants 69-74 in the NL. The record might not have caused the firing as much as a couple of big money investments in SP's Nate Eovaldi(4 years/$68 M) and Chris Sale(5 years/$145 M) which already appear to be sunk costs going forward. Who will replace Dombrowski and what that means for the direction the Red Sox will take should be a headline story heading into the postseason and offseason.
Sunday, September 8, 2019
Down on the Farm: 9/7/2019
AAA Sacramento River Cats defeated the Las Vegas Aviators 5-3:
Abiatal Avelino SS- 2 for 5.
Mike Gerber CF- 2 for 4, 2B.
Cristhian Adames 3B- 1 for 4, HR
Zach Houchins 1B- 2 for 4, HR.
Carlos Navas RHP- 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 7/2.
Dan Winkler RHP- 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 K's.
Williams Jerez LHP- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.
Enderson Franco RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save.
Ha! I think I've been calling them the Las Vegas 51's the last 3 games. Old habits die hard. 5'th game of the 5-game series today. Cats SP TBD.
Abiatal Avelino SS- 2 for 5.
Mike Gerber CF- 2 for 4, 2B.
Cristhian Adames 3B- 1 for 4, HR
Zach Houchins 1B- 2 for 4, HR.
Carlos Navas RHP- 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 7/2.
Dan Winkler RHP- 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 K's.
Williams Jerez LHP- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.
Enderson Franco RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save.
Ha! I think I've been calling them the Las Vegas 51's the last 3 games. Old habits die hard. 5'th game of the 5-game series today. Cats SP TBD.
Game Wrap 9/7/2019: Giants 1 Dodgers 0
A bloop single, a walk, a trapped liner and a groundout produced a run for the Giants in the first inning. That was all Tyler Beede and a makeshift bullpen needed to secure a series win agains the Hated Ones. Key Lines:
Mike Yastrzemski LF- 1 for 3, 2 BB. BA= .270. YtY led off the game with a bloop single and eventually scored the only run of the game. Oh, and I guess I'm late to the party, but Pablo Sandoval reportedly had trouble pronouncing YtY's last name so started calling him "Glass of Whiskey" and it stuck. There's a Glass of Whiskey T-shirt with YtY's image on it. I think I'll stick with Yaz the Younger.
Tyler Beede RHP- 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 5.33. Beede had pretty good command of a very good 95 MPH fastball and it got him through 5 innings. I couldn't believe it when Boch left him in to face Cody Bellinger with 2 outs, the bases loaded and a LHP warmed up in the bullpen in the 5'th inning. Bochy's faith was rewarded with a pop-up to LF to end the inning. I guess at this point in the season, the outcome of the game doesn't matter except to us Dodger Haters and Boch needed to try to instill some fortitude in the kid, which is very unselfish of Bochy since he isn't going to be around next season and is going for 2000 career wins.
Shaun Anderson RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 5.22. I can see Shaun Anderson being a better RP than SP. He was throwing 95 MPH heat which is 2-3 MPH harder than when he starts.
Tyler Rogers RHP- 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, GO/AO= 2/0. ERA= 1.23. Tyler Rogers is doing his thing at the MLB level with a GB/FB of 4.33 which is darn awesome in the launch angle/4-seam FB era.
Jandel Gustave RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, Save(1). ERA= 1.86. Jandel Gustave has to be on the short list of favorites to be the Giants Closer next season.
*********************************************************************************
Dereck Rodriguez goes for the sweeeeep today facing LHP Julio Urias.
Mike Yastrzemski LF- 1 for 3, 2 BB. BA= .270. YtY led off the game with a bloop single and eventually scored the only run of the game. Oh, and I guess I'm late to the party, but Pablo Sandoval reportedly had trouble pronouncing YtY's last name so started calling him "Glass of Whiskey" and it stuck. There's a Glass of Whiskey T-shirt with YtY's image on it. I think I'll stick with Yaz the Younger.
Tyler Beede RHP- 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 5.33. Beede had pretty good command of a very good 95 MPH fastball and it got him through 5 innings. I couldn't believe it when Boch left him in to face Cody Bellinger with 2 outs, the bases loaded and a LHP warmed up in the bullpen in the 5'th inning. Bochy's faith was rewarded with a pop-up to LF to end the inning. I guess at this point in the season, the outcome of the game doesn't matter except to us Dodger Haters and Boch needed to try to instill some fortitude in the kid, which is very unselfish of Bochy since he isn't going to be around next season and is going for 2000 career wins.
Shaun Anderson RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 5.22. I can see Shaun Anderson being a better RP than SP. He was throwing 95 MPH heat which is 2-3 MPH harder than when he starts.
Tyler Rogers RHP- 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, GO/AO= 2/0. ERA= 1.23. Tyler Rogers is doing his thing at the MLB level with a GB/FB of 4.33 which is darn awesome in the launch angle/4-seam FB era.
Jandel Gustave RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, Save(1). ERA= 1.86. Jandel Gustave has to be on the short list of favorites to be the Giants Closer next season.
*********************************************************************************
Dereck Rodriguez goes for the sweeeeep today facing LHP Julio Urias.
Saturday, September 7, 2019
Down on the Farm: 9/6/2019(Postseason)
AAA Las Vegas 51's pounded the Sacramento River Cats 11-4:
Abiatal Avelino SS- 1 for 5, HR.
Crishian Adames 3B- 2 for 3, BB.
Joe McCarthy RF- 1 for 3, 2B, BB.
River Cats fall behind in the best of five 2-1.
*********************************************************************************
A+ Visalia Rawhide whipped the San Jose Giants 13-6:
Diego Rincones DH- 3 for 4, BB.
David Villar 3B- 2 for 4, HR, BB.
Aaron Bond LF- 1 for 4, HR.
Solomon Bates RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.
I believe this loss eliminates the SJ Giants from the postseason.
*********************************************************************************
A Lexington Legends defeated the Augusta Greenjackets 4-2:
Kai-Wei Teng RHP- 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 2 K's.
Blake Rivera RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.
I believe this loss eliminates the GJ's from the SAL playoffs.
Abiatal Avelino SS- 1 for 5, HR.
Crishian Adames 3B- 2 for 3, BB.
Joe McCarthy RF- 1 for 3, 2B, BB.
River Cats fall behind in the best of five 2-1.
*********************************************************************************
A+ Visalia Rawhide whipped the San Jose Giants 13-6:
Diego Rincones DH- 3 for 4, BB.
David Villar 3B- 2 for 4, HR, BB.
Aaron Bond LF- 1 for 4, HR.
Solomon Bates RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.
I believe this loss eliminates the SJ Giants from the postseason.
*********************************************************************************
A Lexington Legends defeated the Augusta Greenjackets 4-2:
Kai-Wei Teng RHP- 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 2 K's.
Blake Rivera RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.
I believe this loss eliminates the GJ's from the SAL playoffs.
Game Wrap 9/6/2019: Giants 5 Dodgers 4
Mauricio Dubon had a night most ballplayers can only dream about and the Giants held off the Dodgers to take the first game of the weekend series in LA. Key Lines:
Mike Yastrzemski PH/LF- 1 for 2, 2B. BA= .269. YtY gave the Giants their first lead in the 5'th with a bases-loaded double that hit the base of the wall in R-CF. He is 6 for 20 over his last 7 games. He's definitely been one of the great storylines from this season.
Mauricio Dubon SS- 3 for 4, 2B, HR(2). BA= .320. Dubon doubled and homered off none other than Clayton Kershaw which would have been a night in itself, but he later singled in 2 runs which proved to be the difference in the ballgame. He had 3 RBI's in all. He pulled an inside cutter that was up and caught too much of the plate for the HR ball. It hooked sharply at the end but caught the LF foul pole. The kid seems to know how to turn on a pitch. We'll see what happens when pitchers catch on to that.
Jeff Samardzija RHP- 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 3.64. Shark couldn't keep AJ Pollock in the yard, but it was a QS and considering the team he was facing and the fact he outpitched Kershaw, we'll take it.
Clayton Kershaw LHP- 4 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 3.06. It's always fun to see a Dodger get frustrated. When Dave Roberts came out to get him in the 5'th with 2 on 0 outs, Kershaw had thrown 99 pitches, so it was the right move. Kershaw didn't seem to see it that way and asked why he was being taken out, then tried to break his foot on an ice chest in the dugout on the way to the clubhouse.
*********************************************************************************
Tyler Beede tries to get his season back on track tonight facing RHP Tony Gonsolin.
Mike Yastrzemski PH/LF- 1 for 2, 2B. BA= .269. YtY gave the Giants their first lead in the 5'th with a bases-loaded double that hit the base of the wall in R-CF. He is 6 for 20 over his last 7 games. He's definitely been one of the great storylines from this season.
Mauricio Dubon SS- 3 for 4, 2B, HR(2). BA= .320. Dubon doubled and homered off none other than Clayton Kershaw which would have been a night in itself, but he later singled in 2 runs which proved to be the difference in the ballgame. He had 3 RBI's in all. He pulled an inside cutter that was up and caught too much of the plate for the HR ball. It hooked sharply at the end but caught the LF foul pole. The kid seems to know how to turn on a pitch. We'll see what happens when pitchers catch on to that.
Jeff Samardzija RHP- 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 3.64. Shark couldn't keep AJ Pollock in the yard, but it was a QS and considering the team he was facing and the fact he outpitched Kershaw, we'll take it.
Clayton Kershaw LHP- 4 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 3.06. It's always fun to see a Dodger get frustrated. When Dave Roberts came out to get him in the 5'th with 2 on 0 outs, Kershaw had thrown 99 pitches, so it was the right move. Kershaw didn't seem to see it that way and asked why he was being taken out, then tried to break his foot on an ice chest in the dugout on the way to the clubhouse.
*********************************************************************************
Tyler Beede tries to get his season back on track tonight facing RHP Tony Gonsolin.
Thursday, September 5, 2019
Down on the Farm: 9/5/2019(Postseason)
AAA Sacramento River Cats outscored the Las Vegas 51's 8-6:
Abiatal Avelino SS- 2 for 5.
Cristhian Adames 3B- 1 for 4, HR.
Francisco Pena DH- 1 for 2, 2 BB.
Joe McCarthy RF- 3 for 4, 2B.
Zach Houchins 1B- 2 for 2, BB.
Chase Johnson RHP- 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.
Dan Winkler RHP- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.
River Cats even the series at 1 game apiece.
*********************************************************************************
A+ Visalia Rawhide whipped the San Jose Giants 5-3:
David Villar 2 for 5.
Matt Frisbee RHP- 6 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K's.
Giants now trail the Rawhide in the best of 5 series 2-0.
*********************************************************************************
Short Season Hillsboro Hops topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 6-3:
Tyler Flores 1B- 1 for 3, 2B, BB. BA= .333.
Harrison Freed DH- 2 for 4, HR.
Jeff Houghtby SS- 1 for 3, 2B, BB.
Caleb Kilian RHP- 4 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K's.
Ben Madison RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.
This Loss eliminates the Volcanoes from the postseason.
*********************************************************************************
I apologize for an inappropriate choice of words in responding to a comment about Evan Longoria. I went back and edited my response with more appropriate wording. I do still strongly disagree with the comment and have to say I am frustrated by what seems to be a prevalent attitude toward Longo which I believe is demonstrably untrue and unfair to him. fWAR is not a perfect metric for either offense or defense but it's a whole lot better than judging defense on one play of questionable difficulty. In addition, my own eyeball test agrees with fWAR that Longo is a good defensive 3B for whom it would be extremely difficult to find a better replacement. I still believe the comment was a cheap shot which is why it drew such a strong reaction which I now regret.
Look, I am not crazy about his contract either, especially the length. If Zaidi can trade him over the winter, he probably should but if not, Bobby Evans was able to whittle the contract down enough in the trade that it's not even close to being an albatross contract and never will be. Longo has arguably been the Giants best player this season and continues to be one of the top defensive 3B in baseball. I will not allow my blog to become a forum for bashing any player let alone one who might be the best player on the roster.
Abiatal Avelino SS- 2 for 5.
Cristhian Adames 3B- 1 for 4, HR.
Francisco Pena DH- 1 for 2, 2 BB.
Joe McCarthy RF- 3 for 4, 2B.
Zach Houchins 1B- 2 for 2, BB.
Chase Johnson RHP- 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.
Dan Winkler RHP- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.
River Cats even the series at 1 game apiece.
*********************************************************************************
A+ Visalia Rawhide whipped the San Jose Giants 5-3:
David Villar 2 for 5.
Matt Frisbee RHP- 6 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K's.
Giants now trail the Rawhide in the best of 5 series 2-0.
*********************************************************************************
Short Season Hillsboro Hops topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 6-3:
Tyler Flores 1B- 1 for 3, 2B, BB. BA= .333.
Harrison Freed DH- 2 for 4, HR.
Jeff Houghtby SS- 1 for 3, 2B, BB.
Caleb Kilian RHP- 4 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K's.
Ben Madison RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.
This Loss eliminates the Volcanoes from the postseason.
*********************************************************************************
I apologize for an inappropriate choice of words in responding to a comment about Evan Longoria. I went back and edited my response with more appropriate wording. I do still strongly disagree with the comment and have to say I am frustrated by what seems to be a prevalent attitude toward Longo which I believe is demonstrably untrue and unfair to him. fWAR is not a perfect metric for either offense or defense but it's a whole lot better than judging defense on one play of questionable difficulty. In addition, my own eyeball test agrees with fWAR that Longo is a good defensive 3B for whom it would be extremely difficult to find a better replacement. I still believe the comment was a cheap shot which is why it drew such a strong reaction which I now regret.
Look, I am not crazy about his contract either, especially the length. If Zaidi can trade him over the winter, he probably should but if not, Bobby Evans was able to whittle the contract down enough in the trade that it's not even close to being an albatross contract and never will be. Longo has arguably been the Giants best player this season and continues to be one of the top defensive 3B in baseball. I will not allow my blog to become a forum for bashing any player let alone one who might be the best player on the roster.
Game Wrap 9/5/2019: Cardinals 11 Giants 0
Welp! THAT wasn't good! Logan Webb was savaged for 8 runs(7 earned) in 2.2 IP while the Giants lineup managed just 4 singles in a brutal beatdown. Key Lines: None. There is just nothing more to day about this game. Hope for better times in LA.
*********************************************************************************
Someone posted an unfortunate comment about a play Evan Longoria supposedly didn't field cleanly and said they want a "clean fielding" 3B next year. You do realize, don't you, that Evan Longoria has the 5'th highest defensive fWAR in all of MLB and that has accumulated in more than 20 fewer games than 3 of the top 4? As AOC would say, "try to keep up!"
*********************************************************************************
Someone posted an unfortunate comment about a play Evan Longoria supposedly didn't field cleanly and said they want a "clean fielding" 3B next year. You do realize, don't you, that Evan Longoria has the 5'th highest defensive fWAR in all of MLB and that has accumulated in more than 20 fewer games than 3 of the top 4? As AOC would say, "try to keep up!"
Down on the Farm: 9/4/2019(Postseason)
AAA Las Vegas 51's pounded the Sacramento River Cats 9-3:
Mike Gerber CF- 3 for 5.
Francisco Pena C- 2 for 5, 2B.
Sam Wolff RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K.
*********************************************************************************
AA Visalia Rawhide whipped the San Jose Giants 3-1:
Aaron Phillips RHP- 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 4.50.
*********************************************************************************
A Lexington Legends edged out the Augusta Greenjackets 2-1:
Tyler Fitzgerald SS- 1 for 4, HR.
Norwith Gudino RHP- 5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K's.
Fitz' HR was the only hit in the game for the GJ's.
*********************************************************************************
Short Season Hillsboro Hops topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 2-1:
Yorlis Rodriguez 2B- 1 for 4, HR.
Kervin Castro RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.
Travis Perry RHP- 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.
YoRod's HR was the only hit in the game for the Volcanoes.
Mike Gerber CF- 3 for 5.
Francisco Pena C- 2 for 5, 2B.
Sam Wolff RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K.
*********************************************************************************
AA Visalia Rawhide whipped the San Jose Giants 3-1:
Aaron Phillips RHP- 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 4.50.
*********************************************************************************
A Lexington Legends edged out the Augusta Greenjackets 2-1:
Tyler Fitzgerald SS- 1 for 4, HR.
Norwith Gudino RHP- 5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K's.
Fitz' HR was the only hit in the game for the GJ's.
*********************************************************************************
Short Season Hillsboro Hops topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 2-1:
Yorlis Rodriguez 2B- 1 for 4, HR.
Kervin Castro RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.
Travis Perry RHP- 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.
YoRod's HR was the only hit in the game for the Volcanoes.
Game Wrap 9/4/2019: Giants 9 Cardinals 8
Madison Bumgarner got knocked around for 6 runs in 5 innings and the bullpen faltered again, but Kevin Pillar capped a prodigious offense with a gargantuan blast to LF in the 8'th inning and Will Smith held on to save the game. I gotta say, just the fact this Giants team is capable of winning games like this with some regularity make this season a lot of fun to watch. Key Lines:
Mike Yastrzemski LF/RF- 2 for 5, 2B, HR(19). BA= .271. YtY is riding another hot streak hitting .333 with 2 HR's in his last 7 games. He is 4'th in OPS among NL Rookies with more than 300 PA's.
Buster Posey C- 3 for 4, 2 BB. BA= .257. Buster reaches base 5 times and scores one run. He is hitting .300 with 9 singles in 30 AB over his last 7 games.
Brandon Crawford SS- 1 for 4, HR(11), BB. BA= .229. Crawford's 3-run dinger gave the Giants a short-lived 7-4 lead in the 6'th inning. Despite the HR, he's hitting just .143 over his last 7 games, but .292 over his last 15.
Kevin Pillar CF- 4 for 5, HR(21). BA= .262. Pillar continues his career year in front of our eyes. When he came to the plate with a runner on in the 8'th and the Giants trailing by a run, I was actually pretty confident he was going to hit a HR. He's been that good in the clutch this season.
Jaylin Davis RF- 1 for 3, BB. BA= .333. A successful MLB debut for Jaylin Davis who got the call up earlier in the day. His first career hit was the IF variety, but I'm sure he's very pleased with it.
Madison Bumgarner LHP- 5 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 1 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 3.81. When I looked up Gameday as I left work, I was Bummy was perfect through 6 innings but had 0 K's. I've learned that is not a good sign ever since I listened to a game in the 60's where Juan Marichal was perfect through 6 innings but with 0 K's then got shelled for something like 6 runs in the 7'th inning.
Tyler Rogers RHP- 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA= 1.59. Rogers gave up a 2-run double to Paul Goldschmidt upon entering the game in the 6'th but then got through the 7'th without any further damage. His GO/AO is 4.0 through his first 5 MLB appearances.
Tony Watson LHP- 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA= 4.33. Watson bruised his left wrist making a diving tag on Kolton Wong at 1B in the 8'th inning. No word on X-ray results.
Will Smith LHP- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K's, Save(31). ERA= 2.90. Smith gets the 4-out Save, the 3'rd time he has gone more than 1 IP this season out of 57 appearances.
*********************************************************************************
Logan Webb takes on fellow rookie Dakota Hudson, who has been around a bit longer, trying to salvage a tie in the 4-game series today.
Mike Yastrzemski LF/RF- 2 for 5, 2B, HR(19). BA= .271. YtY is riding another hot streak hitting .333 with 2 HR's in his last 7 games. He is 4'th in OPS among NL Rookies with more than 300 PA's.
Buster Posey C- 3 for 4, 2 BB. BA= .257. Buster reaches base 5 times and scores one run. He is hitting .300 with 9 singles in 30 AB over his last 7 games.
Brandon Crawford SS- 1 for 4, HR(11), BB. BA= .229. Crawford's 3-run dinger gave the Giants a short-lived 7-4 lead in the 6'th inning. Despite the HR, he's hitting just .143 over his last 7 games, but .292 over his last 15.
Kevin Pillar CF- 4 for 5, HR(21). BA= .262. Pillar continues his career year in front of our eyes. When he came to the plate with a runner on in the 8'th and the Giants trailing by a run, I was actually pretty confident he was going to hit a HR. He's been that good in the clutch this season.
Jaylin Davis RF- 1 for 3, BB. BA= .333. A successful MLB debut for Jaylin Davis who got the call up earlier in the day. His first career hit was the IF variety, but I'm sure he's very pleased with it.
Madison Bumgarner LHP- 5 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 1 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 3.81. When I looked up Gameday as I left work, I was Bummy was perfect through 6 innings but had 0 K's. I've learned that is not a good sign ever since I listened to a game in the 60's where Juan Marichal was perfect through 6 innings but with 0 K's then got shelled for something like 6 runs in the 7'th inning.
Tyler Rogers RHP- 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA= 1.59. Rogers gave up a 2-run double to Paul Goldschmidt upon entering the game in the 6'th but then got through the 7'th without any further damage. His GO/AO is 4.0 through his first 5 MLB appearances.
Tony Watson LHP- 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA= 4.33. Watson bruised his left wrist making a diving tag on Kolton Wong at 1B in the 8'th inning. No word on X-ray results.
Will Smith LHP- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K's, Save(31). ERA= 2.90. Smith gets the 4-out Save, the 3'rd time he has gone more than 1 IP this season out of 57 appearances.
*********************************************************************************
Logan Webb takes on fellow rookie Dakota Hudson, who has been around a bit longer, trying to salvage a tie in the 4-game series today.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
