Game Wrap 7/30/2020: Padres 12 Giants 7(10 Innings)

For the second night in a row, the Giants mounted a furious comeback to tie the score at 6-6 in the eighth inning.  This time there was no walkoff magic as the Giants bullpen melted down and took manager Gabe Kapler down with it.  Key Lines:

Mike Yastrzemski CF- 2 for 4, 3B, 2 BB.  BA= .423.  YtY is on fire!  He sent one up Triples Alley in the 8'th inning to drive in a run then scored to tie the game.  

Donovan Solano 2B- 4 for 5, 3 2B, SF.  BA= .500.  Speaking of en fuego!  Donny Barrels is earning his nickname on a daily basis.  Don't forget he hit .330 last year!

Kevin Gausman RHP- 4.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 5.40.  How does a pitcher strike out 8 batters in 4.1 IP and also give up hits in bunches?  Every metric I know of says those K and BB ratios will be very successful over a large sample size but Gausman has always been a guy whose peripherals outperform his ERA.

Gabe Kapler Mgr- Early in his first season managing the Phillies, Kapler drew widespread scorn for bringing in a pitcher from the bullpen who wasn't warmed up.  He made another gaffe in this game when he sent his pitching coach out to delay the game and forgot there is a new rule forcing the pitcher to pitch to at least one more batter after a mound visit.  That's what most fans are going to remember about this game but the real gaffe was that Tyler Rogers was still out there after pitching a full inning in the 9'th, then going walk, single, HBP, single, single to start the 10'th and all that after Trent Grisham started the inning at 2B per the new extra-innings rule.  I'm pretty sure that would not have happened on Bruce Bochy's watch! I also thought Kapler's management of Caleb Baragar earlier in the game was very questionable too.

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The Loss drops the Giants record to 3-4 and leaves them in a 3-way tie for the 8'th best record in the NL.  Eight teams make the playoffs.

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The Giants start a new series against the Rangers this evening with Mike Minor LHP starting for the Rangers and TBD for the Giants.  

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Churn Watch:  As I predicted, Jaylin Davis OF was optioned to the offsite camp while Dany Jimenez RHP as DFA'd meaning he will either be picked up by another team or be offered back to the Blue Jays. These moves made room for Evan Longoria 3B and Brandon Belt 1B to come off the IL. Joe McCarthy OF was also optioned back to camp and Steven Duggar OF called up.

Game Wrap 6/29/2020: Giants 7 Padres 6

The Giants finally found their hitting shoes and hit four HR's on the way to a win on a walkoff HR by Mike Yastrzemski.  Key Lines:

Mike Yastrzemski CF- 3 for 5, 2 HR(2).  BA= .409.  YtY led off the 3'rd inning by pulling one to RF that skipped of the top of the arcade and landed in McCovey Cove.  That was not a Splash Hit.  He led off again in the 9'th inning against a tough LHP in Matt Strahm.  He jumped on a high-inside FB pulling it to the exact same spot except this one carried all the way into The Cove on the fly.  Splash Hit!  Walkoff HR!  2 HR game!  YtY appears to be beating the sophomore jinx and growing into a star before our very eyes!

Alex Dickerson LF- 2 for 4, 3B, HR(2), BB.  BA= .308.  I've wondered is Dick's side might still be bothering him as he seemed to be stretching a lot after swings and misses, but he looked fine tonight.  His solo HR to CF cut the Padres lead to 6-3 and set up Solano's 3-run blast which set up YtY's walkoff.

Brandon Crawford SS- 3 for 4.  BA= .235.  The hits finally started dropping for Crawford whose 2-out single set up Solano's game-tying HR.

Donovan Solano 3B- 2 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .400.  Donny barreled one up with 2 outs and 2 runners on in the 8'th to tie it up and against a tough RHP.  Not sure I'm that excited for Longo to come back.

Chadwick Tromp C- 0 for 4, 3 K.  BA= .000.  Tromp looked pretty much lost at the plate in his MLB debut.  Gotta think he's a bridge to the Joey Bart era.

Johnny Cueto RHP- 3.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 5.87.  Cueto looked good for 2.2 IP, although his velocity seemed to be down a tick from Opening Day.  Then, on a 3-2 pitch to Trent Grisham, Cueto ran very hard for a long way trying to catch a pop up near the Giants dugout.  He took a looooong time getting ready for the next pitch and walked Grisham.  Manny Machado then homered to CF.  Cueto came out of the game in the 4'th inning after allowing a second baserunner.  Unfortunately, Shaun Anderson came in and gave up a 3 run jack to Grisham and the Giants were looking at a replay of game 1 of the series with a 6-2 deficit.  Cueto looks like he is in great shape so gotta wonder if he hurt something running after that pop-up.

Tyler Anderson LHP- 3.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.38.  Anderson got roughed up as an Opener in game 2 of the season.  He did two things different in this one:  1.  He kept the ball in the yard.  2.  He picked off two runners in one inning.  The game appeared out of reach for this weak hitting Giants team but credit Anderson with preventing further damage and Solano took care of the rest.  It really is a team sport!

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The Win left the Giants record even again at 3-3 which leaves them tied with 2 other teams for the 7'th best record in the NL.

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The Giants close out the 3 game series agains the Padres tonight with Kevin Gausman RHP announced as the traditional starter facing hard-throwing Dinelson Lamet RHP. 

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Speaking of velocity....remember when some of us were upset when the Giants did not vigorously pursue Madison Bumgarner in free agency?  He's made two starts for the D'Backs and his average FB velocity is down from 91.4 MPH to 87.9.  Wow!  Imagine how we would be feeling if he was doing that with the Giants right now!

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Evan Longoria and Brandon Belt due to come off IL today. Who gets dropped from the 30 man?  My candidates would be Hunter Pence and Pablo Sandoval but it's more likely Jaylin Davis and maybe a pitcher?

Game Wrap 7/28/2020: Padres 5 Giants 3

Jeff Samardzija gave up five runs on two bombs while the Giants offense continued to scratch out runs without benefit of the long ball.  Key Lines:

Mike Yastrzemski CF/LF- 2 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .353.  The Giants offense is really struggling to make hard contact.  They managed two doubles in this game but YtY's was a blooper down the LF line and Dubon's was a soft liner down the line that died about 2/3 of the way to the wall.  Statcast comfirms the impression of hard-hit futility as the Giants rank #37 out of 30 teams in average exit velocity, #30 in Hard Hit % and #29 in Barrel %. 

Jeff Samardzija RHP- 4 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 2 HR.  ERA= 11.25.  Shark is gonna give up his dingers.  He's usually able to limit the damage with a low WHIP, but sequencing bit him hard in this game as all 5 baserunners he allowed scored on the 2 HR's he gave up.  Oh, and his FB topped out at 90 MPH and sat high 80's.  He's a couple of MPH off last year's average but Kap said it was improved from preseason.

Conner Menez LHP- 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.50.  Menez got knocked around for 2 runs in 1 IP on Opening day, but was lights out for 3 innings while saving the bullpen for when the Giants get a lead.  He actually kept the Giants in this game enough to make you think they had a chance until the end.  I"m pretty sure this performance bought Menez at least a couple more.

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Johnny Cueto tries to get the Giants back on the winning track tonight in his second start of the season facing RHP Chris Paddack.

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The Giants designated Rob Brantly C for assignment and called up Chadwick Tromp C.  Tyler Heineman has emerged as the starting C and he's a switch-hitter, so it makes sense to have the second catcher hit RH with a little more pop than the redundant LH hitter.  Of course, this is all just placeholding until the Joey Bart era begins.

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The Dodgers went to Houston, a current epicenter of the COVID pandemic.  As anticipated, Joe Kelly forced a couple of Astros hitters to dodge pitches then let them know what he thought in an extended jawing exercise as he walked off the field.  Also predictably, both benches emptied and they had a massive COVID exchange around home plate.  Look for the Dodgers and Astros to get shut down next which should pretty much shut down the whole season.

Blogger's Note: Format Change, Ugh!

Sorry, team! Blogger suddenly went to a new interface and I'm having trouble formatting my posts. I'll try to get it figured out, but it may make for harder reading until I do. As always, thanks for reading and commenting. DrB

Game Wrap 7/26/2020: Giants 3 Dodgers 1

The Giants scratched out 3 runs and a parade of hard throwing pitchers held the Dodgers at bay to give the Giants a split in the 4-game opening series in LA. Key Lines: 

 Darin Ruf 1B/LF- 2 for 4, BB, SB(1). BA= .375.  Ruf was brought in to mash lefty pitchers, but so far he's been a singles hitter, but in key situations. He drove in a run with a single in this game then surprisingly stole 2B to set up another run. Later he made a nice running catch against the bullpen gate in LF which busted open with Ruf almost tumbling inside. 

  Donovan Solano 3B- 2 for 4. BA= .300.  So far, "Donny Barrels" has picked up where he left off last year when he hit .330. He had 2 of the Giants 9 hits, all singles, while adding a Run and RBI. 

  Mauricio Dubon CF- 2 for 4. BA= .143.  Dubon broke out of an 0 for 10 slump with a pair of hits. There was one defensive play where he appeared to get crossed up with YtY in left-CF, but otherwise looked like a CF out there. 

  Drew Smyly LHP- 3.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 2.08.  Smyly's FB/Curve combo reminds me a lot of Will Smith. He seems to be a "bulk innings" guy in Gabe Kapler's scheme but may shuttle between starting and long relief and we may not see him more than once through lineups. 

Bullpen- 5.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K's.  Shaun Anderson(97), Wandy Peralta(95), Rico Garcia(96), Sam Coonrod(98) and Trevor Gott(94) all threw their FB's mid-90's or above. Velocity like that is something that has been missing from the Giants bullpen in the last few Bochy years. Tyler Rogers added an inning and he's a whole different story, but you can definitely see a bullpen taking shape here. Shaun Anderson has perhaps been the biggest revelation so far with a high 90's hater and a devastating 90 MPH slider, but Rico Garcia has been equally as impressive and surprising.  Coonrod made a nice recovery from a disastrous first appearance.  Gott appears to be the Closer for now. 

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The Giants get a day off before their home opener against the Padres. Wow! What a difference 2 days makes. After getting blown out in the first two games in LA and looking like a great candidate for the worst record in MLB, the Giants now find themselves even after what might be their toughest series of the season.  They have to be feeling darn good about that! They are still going to have to find some pop in the lineup somewhere, but you can see the pitching staff and Gabe Kapler's management of it starting to come into focus. I think we all realize the Dodgers are not a great matchup for Jeff Samardzija. Apparently Gabe Kapler and the coaching staff felt the same way. Credit Kap with sticking to his guns and holding Shark out. Now Shark gets to start the Home Opener against the RH heavy Padres lineup followed by Johnny Cueto in what should be another more favorable matchup. I'm excited!

Game Wrap 7/25/2020: Giants 5 Dodgers 4

The Giants got some key hits early along with some solid pitching from several of their younger pitchers then held on for their first W of the season and the first W of the Gabe Kapler era.  Key Lines:

Austin Slater LF- 0 for 1, 3 BB.  BA= .000.  Slater did exactly what he was supposed to do at the top of the linup, which is get on base.  Unfortunately a pattern of getting injured just as he seems to be getting traction on his career continued, and that may not be totally due to bad luck.  Slater kept getting himself turned every which way but loose tracking drives in his direction.  It cost him on one as he recovered to make the catch but slammed into the wall and suffered a hip contusion.  He's now DTD.  I seem to recall Slater's oblique strain his first season was on an awkward catch due to a bad route in LF too.

Donovan Solano 3B- 1 for 5, 2B.  BA= .167. Solano had the big blow in the fourth inning that gave the Giants a 5-1 lead.  He also made a throwing error in the 8'th that led to 2 runs for the Dodgers closing the gap to 5-3.  Wilmer Flores had problems with throws from 3B and now Solano.  Who's next?  Pablo?

Wilmer Flores 2B- 1 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .333.  Flores has been one of the Giants better bats through the first 3 games.  He appears to be much more comfortable playing 2B than on the left side of the IF.  He made a nice snag of a Corey Seager line drive in short RF that Justin Turner totally thought went through and easily doubled Turner off 2B while Turner was face-first into 3B.  Ha ha! That was fun!

Mike Yastrzemski CF/LF-  2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .364.  YtY led off the second inning against the LHP Alex Wood by slapping the ball down the 3B line beating the shift for a double.  He came around to score the Giants second run. He's been pretty easily the Giants best hitter through 3 games.

Logan Webb RHP- 4 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K, HBP(Muncy).  ERA= 2.25.  After giving up a run in the first, Webb found himself with the bases loaded in the second on a catcher interference, walk and HBP.  He got out of it in a can-of-corn flyball out to Mookie Betts.  The third inning was 1, 2, 3.  The Dodgers helped Webb through the 4'th inning with some interesting baserunning.  Jaylin Davis showed off his arm from RF nailing Chris Taylor trying to go from first to third on a single.  Then Joc Pederson was wandering around off 1B on a pop fly to CF and YtY doubled him off 1B.  Webb went out for the 5'th inning, but you knew he was on a short leash and came out after giving up a leadoff single to Austin Barnes.  All-in- all, a nice first game of the season for the young hurler.  Oh, and have I ever said how much I hate Max Muncy?.....as a Dodger of course, not as a person.

Caleb Baragar LHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.  Like Logan Webb, Baragar benefitted from some nice fielding and bad baserunning by the Dodgers but had impressive command of a 92 MPH fastball to both sides of the plate and gave Kap 2 shutout innings to get the game to the 7'th inning.

Shaun Anderson RHP- 1IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.  I have to confess I had mentally written off Shaun Anderson but what an impressive appearance he had here!  FB up to 97 MPH and a wicked slider.  Walked the leadoff batter but then struck out the side.

Trevor Gott RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K, Save(1).  ERA= 9.00.  Gott was into the torture thing as he gave up a leadoff HR to cut the lead to 1 but then worked his way through the next 3 batters to record the Giants first Save of the season.  So, Gott gets the first Save opportunity and converts.  I guess he's the Closer for now?

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The Giants close out the 4 game series in LA with a chance for a split.  They face Julio Urias LHP while their SP is TBD.  Will it be Shark, and what does that mean for Shark if it isn't?

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As some expected, the Giants signed Chris Herrman C to a minor league contract and will assign him to the remote camp after a brief stint on the taxi squad.

Game Wrap 7/24/2020: Dodgers 9 Giants 1

These Game Wraps try to highlight positive performances by Giants players even in losses.  This game is tough to write about because there was exactly one positive performance in the game.  One!  I think I'll have to get used to it because I'm getting the feeling there are more games like this coming down the road. 

The Giants lineup mustered just 4 hits, the fielders made 4 errors and every pitcher gave up at least one run, well Rico Garcia wasn't charged with a run but he gave up the hit that drove one in.  So what was the one positive?  An opposite field HR by Jaylin Davis which will make readers who are Jaylin Davis fans like me very happy.  Key Lines:

Jaylin Davis RF- 1 for 3, HR(1).  BA= .333.  IMO, Davis needs to be out there in RF every day against both RHP and LHP.  Gabe Kapler's explanation?  Davis has a reverse split and Dodger SP Ross Stripling also has a reverse split.  OK then.  If Jaylin Davis emerges as a "keeper" this season, it will be a successful season in my book no matter what the W-L record ends up as.

Tyler Anderson LHP- 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 3 BB,  0 K.  ERA= 10.80.  Was Anderson a starter or an opener?  A bulk inning guy or a one-plus?  Maybe the plan was to tandem start him and Kevin Gausman but the plan got derailed by poor pitching from Anderson?  Using an opener to try to force the Dodgers into an unfavorable lineup against a "bulk" pitcher seems a bit futile since the Dodgers are able to alternate R-L through their whole lineup and their hitters don't have big splits.  That's exactly what they did and the Giants had no answer.  The only concession Dave Roberts had to make was moving the RH hitting Mookie Betts to the top of the order when he got the official word late in the afternoon.  Moving Mookie Betts is not exactly a negative for Roberts.

Kevin Gausman RHP- 4 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.50.  Here's another problem with the bulk-innings role:  Gausman entered the game in the third inning trailing 2-1.  I wondered how he felt about that.  Wouldn't he much rather start the game in the first inning when the score is at least tied?  Presumably your bulk innings guys are also your best pitchers.  If not, why would you not want your best pitchers getting the most innings?  Statistically in MLB the team that scores first wins 70% of the time, so bringing in one of your bulk pitchers after you've fallen behind seems like less than optimal use of player resources.

Max Muncy 1B(Dodgers)- 3 for 4, 2B, 2 HR(2).  BA= .500.  It's really, really hard to express how much I hate Max Muncy.....as a Dodgers player of course, not as a person.  Then again, maybe he's also not a good person after the way he taunted MadBum about fishing the ball out of the water or whatever he said a couple of years ago.  But hate is a strong word, so no, I won't say I hate him as a person.  As a Dodgers player though?  Yeah I really really hate Max Muncy!

Ross Stripling RHP(Dodgers)- 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 1.29.  Stripling was supposed to be in an Angels uniform this season and would have been were it not for a busted trade.  He resurfaces as the Dodgers SP in game 2 of the season and totally dominated.  The Giants hitters didn't do much to make it a harder assignment. I lost track of how many high fastballs well above the strike zone they swung and missed at.  And what's with the Giants thinking they can't get more than 4 innings out of their bulk guys this early?  There were a whole bunch of quality starts across baseball yesterday with Kyle Hendricks of the Cubs pitching a Complete Game on 103 pitches.

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The Giants will break out their vs Lefty platoon this afternoon against Alex Wood.  The Giants starter/opener is TBD, but Jeff Samardzija is about the only "bulk innings" guy they have left and I'm not sure how on board he is with this whole scheme.  Maybe the fun part of this season is trying to guess which Giants pitcher will show up on the mound in the first inning of each game?

Thoughts on Sam Coonrod and Kneeling For Black Lives Matter

Before last night's Opening Day game at Dodger Stadium, the two teams lined up on each side of home plate up the foul lines with all of the players and coaches kneeling while holding a long black cloth or fabric that stretched the full length of the two teams.  I have to confess I missed exactly what the cloth represented but I assumed it was related to Black Lives Matter and represented some sort of common thread theme?  There was one player who remained standing along the line, Sam Coonrod, a young pitcher on the Giants roster.  OK, I mean, at least he was out there, but was that some sort of protest of his own AGAINST Black Lives Matter?  I guess it's his right to do that and we could have been left wondering about his motivation, but then he opened his mouth.  This is what came out:

"As a Christian, I can't kneel before anything besides God."  He added, "I'm a Christian, like I said, and I just can't get on board with a couple of things that I have read about Black Lives Matter, how they lean toward Marxism and they've said some negative things about the nuclear family.  I just can't get on board with that."

There is a lot to unpack here.  Let me first say, I respect Sam Coonrod's right to believe, do and say what he wants as long as he is not infringing on someone else's rights in the process, but I also believe some of the things he said here deserve some pushback and from a Christian perspective.  As someone who comes from a Christian background and works in a faith-based environment, I find it deeply disturbing that Christianity has become virtually synonymous with a particular segment of the political spectrum.  In fact, based on my upbringing and reading of the Judeo-Christian Bible, I believe Jesus Christ himself would be more at home with those who are trying to bring about more racial and economic equality than those who currently conflate their religion with a more radical right wing, and even reactionary, political approach.  BTW, I refuse to call the current prevailing political philosophy we see in the Republican Party "conservative".  The root word of conservative is conserve and there is nothing conserving about that political brand right now.  The prevailing philosophy in the current Republican Party is extreme, radical and reactionary, not conservative.

Anyway, sorry for the digression.  Back to Sam Coonrod's statements:

"I can't kneel before anyone besides God." 

OK, speaking for myself and what I was taught growing up in a Christian household, yes, I was taught to kneel and close my eyes WHEN POSSIBLE when "talking to God", otherwise called praying, as a sign of respect.  But I was also taught that we could communicate with God at any time, in any place and that God would still hear our prayers in whatever condition and situation we found ourselves in.  I was never taught that I couldn't kneel at other times for other reasons.  I also fail to see how kneeling in support of Black Lives Matter is mutually exclusive to "kneeling before God."  I'm pretty sure God cares about Black Lives too, and there is nothing wrong with bringing that concern to Him/Her/It on a ballfield where players are coming together out of concern for a very spiritual concept, that a black life is worth just as much as a white life, that too many members of a particular ethnic group are losing their lives for no good reason and should not be killed by police in disproportionate numbers to other ethnic groups.  So, based on my experience and understanding, I see no reason why a Christian could not kneel along with the other players, many of whom I am pretty sure are Christian themselves.  I would also point out that a major part of Jesus' ministry involved defending people who were despised and oppressed by the religious and political establishment at the time.  It is not hard to imagine Jesus supporting people who are being needlessly killed by police because of the color of their skin.

"I have read about Black Lives Matter, how they lean toward Marxism and they've said negative things about the nuclear family."

Based on a fact-check article linked by Andy Baggarly of the Athletic, one of the three women who founded Black Lives Matter described herself and one of the others as "trained Marxists."  However, there is nothing in the Black Lives Matter mission statements espousing Marxism and the movement has grown to include people of diverse political and religious orientation.  At this point, dismissing the entire BLM movement as Marxist seem disingenuous at best.  By the way, growing up as a Christian and then reading about Marxism, I never quite understood why Marx insisted on linking atheism with socialism or communism anyway, because it seemed to me that a lot of what Jesus taught involved transferring wealth from the rich to the poor and actually served as the basis for a lot of socialistic ideas.  Maybe Marx just saw that religion had been too often misused to justify persecution and oppression and just wanted to get that out of the way?  I don't know.  Also by the way, I am not a Marxist nor a communist.  I believe in the principles of free enterprise and private property ownership, but that those rights need to be regulated to prevent monopoly by a few ultra-successful oligarchs which ends up being no different than monopoly by government.

As for the statement of the BLM founder regarding the nuclear family, my reading does not see it as a condemnation of the nuclear family, but a recognition that people need the support of a larger community than just the nuclear family.  Here is the actual statement:  "We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure REQUIREMENTS by supporting each other as extended families and 'villages' that collectively care for one another, especially our children, TO THE DEGREE THAT MOTHERS, PARENTS AND CHILDREN ARE COMFORTABLE."  Again, speaking for myself, I do not see an attack on the nuclear family there, only a recognition we are not required to be part of a nuclear family to be supported and any additional support is only up to the point of what a given nuclear family is comfortable with.

So again, Sam Coonrod has the right to say and do what he wants and believes as long as he is not infringing on the rights of others, but his statements were misleading and misrepresenting of both Christianity and Black Lives Matter, and stand to be corrected.

Opening Day Game Wrap 7/23/2020: Dodgers 8 Giants 1

Welp, that didn't go well!  The Giants and their fans felt good going to the bottom of the 7'th inning tied 1-1 and Tyler Rogers on the mound.  Then the wheels fell off.  Bad pitching and poor defensive decisonmaking gave the Dodgers 7 unanswered runs in the 7'th and 8'th innings and they ran away with it.  Key Lines:

Mike Yastrzemski CF- 2 for 4.  BA= .500.  YtY reached base 3 times, once on an error.  Giants got their leadoff batter on base in the first, third, fifth and ninth innings.  They only got one of them home.

Alex Dickerson LF- 2 for 4.  BA= .500.  Giants had 8 hits, all singles.  Dick also made a nice running catch down in the LF corner.

Joe McCarthy RF- 0 for 4.  BA= .000.  OK, I get the whole matchup/opportunity thing, but there is nothing in Joe McCarthy's minor league track record to suggest he is the best guy to put out there or that the Giants need to find out something about him.  He looked completely overmatched at the plate and unimpressive in the field.  Michael Reed was the starting RF on Opening Day in 2019.  Just sayin'.  I submit the Giants need to find out what Jaylin Davis can do against good RH pitching more than they need McCarthy's platoon bat in RF.  Just callin' it like I see it.

Tyler Heineman C- 2 for 3.  BA= .667.  Heineman led off the 3'rd inning with a nice bunt single.  He came around to score the Giants only run on a SF by Pabs after the Giants loaded the bases with no outs.  With the RHP on the mound for the Dodgers, it would appear Heineman is the Giants primary catcher.

Johnny Cueto RHP- 4 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K.  ERA= 2.25.  Cueto looked sharp.  FB 92 MPH, shimmyin' and shakin'.  Cueto didn't like coming out after 4 innings but was starting to look tired in the fourth when he gave up his only run.

Drew Smyly LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.  It was a bit of a surprise to see Smyly enter the game in the 5'th inning.  Isn't he supposed to be one of the top 4 SP's?  OK, maybe he's a tandem starter and Kap really, really wants to win the opener?  He only went one inning!  Still scratching my head on that one.

Rico Garcia RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 0.00.  Garcia showed a nice mid-90's FB and and solid changeup that kept Dodgers hitters off balance.  I'd like to see more of that.

Tyler Rogers RHP- 0.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 54.00.  Uh oh!  Rogers was supposed to be the do it all reliever.  The beat writers seem to think Kap intended to have him work the 7'th and 8'th innings and give the Giants a chance to win.  After giving up 2 loud hits to lead off the inning, he got the groundballs he wanted but Mookie Betts beat a throw home and a poorly executed rundown play put runners at 2'nd and 3'rd who both scored on a single by the ubiquitous Kike Hernandez who as a Giants fan, I really hate!  The Giants bullpen needs Tyler Rogers to be good.  We'll have to hope this was Opening Day jitters against a very good team.

Dany Jimenez RHP- 0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 27.00.  It took Jimenez 5 batters to get the last out of the 7'th inning.  He threw a lot of nice downward breaking curveballs that the Dodger batters picked up and let them drop out of the strike zone.  Kap finally came out with the interpreter and told Dany to establish the heater.  To his credit, Jimenez did just that and got the bases-loaded K to finally end the inning.

Enrique Hernandez 2B(Dodgers)- 4 for 5, HR(1).  BA= .800.  I looked up Hernandez career splits because it sure seems like he kills the Giants.  His OPS against them is right at his overall career average, so no, he does not kill the Giants.  It just seems that way. He certainly did in this game with 5 of the Dodgers 8 RBI's.

Dustin May RHP(Dodgers)- 4.1 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.08.  Clayton Kershaw was a late scratch for back stiffness.  May's FB was in the high 90's and he threw one pitch that hit 100 on the TV gun, but he was hittable.  The Giants just couldn't muster an XBH or a walk and played station-to-station baseball.

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The Giants will face Ross Stripling, who was almost traded to the Angels in the offseason, tonight.  Kap has no idea who the Giants SP is going to be, or at least is not saying.

Spring Training Wrap: The Bucket List?

We've finally made it to Opening Day and the Giants have some huge decisions to make.  Now, you would think the decisions would be a lot easier with active rosters expanded from 26 to 30 players, but the Giants have such a huge logjam of players with a case to be made for inclusion in one role or another, the decisions are going to be agonizing in some cases.  Hanging over all this is the 40 man roster which for some reason is still operative.  For every non-roster invitee who the Giants want to add to the 30 man roster, someone is going to get cut from the 40 man.  Ugh!

Part of what makes it difficult for ordinary fans like me to do the rosterbation thing without heads exploding is Manager Gabe Kapler who has freed his mind of the time-honored categories and quaint notions like regular players vs bench players or utility players and starting pitchers vs relief pitchers vs closers.  In Gabe Kapler's perfect world, he would field a roster of 16 position players with 8 who hit RH and 8 who hit LH, but yet each of those 16 position players could play at least 3 positions.  Then there are the switch-hitters but yet most switch-hitters have a dominant side.

Now Kap gives us a peek into his thinking about pitching roles in an article by Alex P of NBC Sports Bay Area and I think he sheds a whole new light on why maybe the Giants weren't eager to re-sign Madison Bumgarner and he was not eager to stick around.  Forget about starters, relievers and closers.  Kap divides his pitchers into "buckets" with the 3 "buckets" being Bulk Innings, One-Plus and Sprinters.  Here's how Kap defines these roles:

Bulk Innings- Most of these guys would be considered Starters by the old school.  Guys who can go 3 to 6 innings per appearance.(I think the notion of a starting pitcher trying to go at least 7 innings is mostly passe and the Complete Game has gone from rare to nonexistent).  These "bulk innings" will likely mostly come at the beginning of games, but not necessarily. They might enter the game in the second, third or 5'th innings after an Opener or after another Bulk Innings guy.  Guys in this category would include the 5 old-school SP's Cueto, Shark, Gausman, Smyly and Webb but also Tyler Anderson and maybe Trevor Cahill(currently injured), Dereck Rodriguez, Andrew Suarez and Conner Menez.

One-Plus- these are guys who can go at least a full inning up to two, but probably not more than 2 in most cases.  Tyler Rogers would be the classic guy here, but also Cahill, Menez, Suarez, Andrew Triggs and maybe Sam Coonrod, Jarlin Garcia and Sam Selman, guys who are currently relievers but have started in the minors.

Sprinters- Guys in this category would seem to include Tony Watson, Dany Jimenez, Wandy Peralta, Trevor Gott and Sam Wolff.  Bruce Bochy liked to have at least 7 of these guys with just one or two "One-Plus" guys.  I'm pretty sure Kap's preferred balance has more One-Plus guys and fewer Sprinters.  The capper to all this is any of the pitchers in any of these buckets might appear at any point in the game.

Whether it be in the daily lineups or the rhythms of the pitching staff, if nothing else, this season should be interesting to see how Gabe Kapler juggles his roster to get the matchups he wants. There is a long list of people who will likely hate it:  Official scorekeeper for one, sportwriters who depend on traditional stats for their story lines for another, fantasy baseball players looking for categories like Wins, RBI's and Quality Starts and sports agents who use Saves and Wins to argue their clients cases.  On the other hand, if Gabe Kapler's approach leads to more wins, it will quickly become the wave of the future and the new normal in MLB.

Preseason Game Wrap: Giants 4 Athletics 2

I guess the Giants and A's have played the Bay Bridge Series fairly even over the years.  Coming into 2020, the A's led 64-60.  Maybe I just remember the losses for the Giants, but it sure doesn't feel that even.  This may be the high point for the Giants 2020 season, but it sure feels nice to beat the A's twice in a home-and-home series.  The Giants got another big game from their leadoff hitter, this time Mike Yastrzemski, and from Alex Dickerson, and they again used 9 pitchers to squelch the A's potent lineup.  Key Lines:

Mike Yastrzemski CF- 2 for 2, HR, BB.  YtY led off the bottom of the first inning with HR into the bleachers above Triples Alley to get the Giants off to a great start.  He followed up with a walk and bloop single to CF and looks ready to start the season.  Will he be the starting CF or RF?

Alex Dickerson RF/LF- 3 for 4, HR.  Dick led off the second inning with a HR to left-CF and later added a couple more hits.  Imagine what might have been last season if Dickerson had stayed healthy all season.

Pablo Sandoval DH- 1 for 2, 2B, BB.  Panda looked like a Panda out there, but looked surprisingly agile on the basepaths while taking 3B on a single to RF by Tyler Heineman and scoring on a relatively shallow SF but Donovan Solano.  He did kind of roll across home plate.

Tyler Rogers was the 1-inning Opener and struck out 2 batters.  Conner Menez followed with a rough second inning allowing both the A's runs.  The 7 Giants pitchers who followed all pitched shutout innings with impressive velocity from Sam Coonrod and Sam Wolff.  I missed Dany Jimenez' inning.

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The Giants have some roster decisions to make on a day off before heading to LA to take on the Dodgers in a 4-game opening series.  Johnny Cueto gets the call on Opening Night facing Clayton Kershaw.  It looks like we're going to actually have a season!

Preseason Game Wrap: Giants 6 Athletics 2

Austin Slater was the offensive hero and 9 Giants pitchers threw 1 inning each in a win over their cross-bay rivals.  Key Lines:

Austin Slater LF- 3 for 4, 2 2B.  This seems like a make or break year for Slater.  He sure made a statement tonight that he's ready to stake his claim to a roster spot.  At least the RH half of a platoon or a super-utility role.  His 3 hits drove in 5 runs out of the leadoff spot in the lineup.

Jaylin Davis RF- 1 for 2, BB.  Davis is fighting for a roster spot.  He's a guy the Giants need to find out about this year.

Chadwick Tromp- 2 for 3, 2B.  Tromp has stated his case but is in a tough spot with Tyler Heineman a potential RH bat apparently ahead of him on the depth chart and Joey Bart coming up fast from below.

Kevin Gausman and Drew Smyly looked sharp for one inning each in their final tuneups.  Rico Garcia, Tony Watson, Shaun Anderson, Trevor Gott and Carlos Navas all added scoreless frames.  Tyler Anderson gave up a solo HR to Steven Piscotty in the second inning while Caleb Baragar got touched up for a run in the 4'th inning.

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Gabe Kapler announced that Tyler Rogers would be the Opener for tomorrow's final preseason game against the A's.  That should be fun.

Fantasy Focus: Dollar Options

So, my fantasy league finally showed up and we're going to draft Monday night.  We have an auction draft.  One really important part of auction drafting is to keep a list of rosterable players you are pretty sure you can get for $1 which then allows you more confidence for more aggressive bidding at the top of the draft.  I try to list at least 2-3 players for each position as other managers are likely playing the same game.  Here's my current list based on average Yahoo auction price(listed at less than $2):

Catcher:  Omar Narvaez Brewers, Carson Kelly D'Backs, Sean Murphy A's.  Narvaez hit 22 HR's last year for the Mariners. He'll be the main man for the BrewCrew in a more hitter-friendly home stadium.  Kelly and Murphy are young catchers looking to break out.

First Base:  Renato Nunez Orioles.  You will probably want to bid aggressively for a stud hitter for 1B, but 1B is a strong source for IF/UT/DH positions too.  Nunez flies under the radar because he plays for a terrible team in a smaller market, but he hit 31 HR's last year.  He also has 3B eligibility.

Second Base:  Kolton Wong Cardinals, Starlin Castro Nationals, Ian Happ Cubs.  Wong scored double digits in HR's(11) and Steals(24) last year.  Castro hit 22 HR's in a tough park and also has 3B eligibility.  Happ has had trouble finding traction on his MLB career, but could be primed for a breakout.  He also has 3B and OF eligibility.

Third Base:  Brian Anderson Marlins, Gio Urshula Yankees, Yandy Diaz Rays.  Anderson is not going to singlehandedly win you any categories but puts up solid numbers across the board.  He also has OF eligibility.  Urshula hit 21 HR's in 442 AB last year.  Diaz was hurt a lot but is a solid hitter with some power when healthy.

Shortstop:  Dansby Swanson Braves, Niko Goodrum Tigers, Willy Adames Rays, Carter Kieboom Nationals.  Swanson's MLB career started slowly, but he's improved each season and could be ready for a breakout.  Goodrum gives double digit HR's and Steals and has eligibility at 2B, 1B and OF too.  Kieboom is a rook, but is being given the full time starting 3B job for the Nationals and has SS eligibility.

Outfield:  Alex Verdugo Red Sox, Ryan Braun Brewers, Hunter Dozier Royals, Hunter Renfroe Rays, Randall Grichuk Blue Jays, Teoscar Hernandez Blue Jays, Sam Hilliard Rockies, Austin Hays Orioles, Kole Calhoun D'Backs.  Renfroe, Grichuk and Calhoun won't help your BA, but are a cheap source of HR's and all the good things that come along with them.  Hilliard and Hays are breakout candidates.

Starting Pitcher:  Joey Lucchesi Padres, Caleb Smith Marlins, Joe Musgrove Pirates, Yonny Chirinos Rays, Jon Gray Rockies, Adrian Houser Brewers, Garrett Richards Angels, Nate Eovaldi Red Sox, Kevin Gausman Giants, Drew Smyly Giants, Logan Webb Giants.  Richards and Eovaldi are coming off injuries.  They are both risky but hey, if you can snag them for $1, why not?  There are no rosterable Giants hitters in standard 10-12 team leagues, but their pitching offers some bargain opportunities. 

Not going to bother with RP's.  In our league, you will overpay for Saves, but can really help yourself in the ERA, K and WHIP categories by drafting multi-inning relievers and setup men who are almost always available for $1 if they get drafted at all.

Again, you don't want a roster of only $1 players but having several on your team frees up money to spend on elite players at the top of the draft.

Preseason Update: Menez Stretches Out

The headline on sfgiants.com was Tony Watson LHP made his is preseason re-debut after rehabbing a left shoulder injury.  He threw a scoreless inning with 2 K's, but his FB topped out at 88 MPH.  Yikes!  Starting the season in less than a week as the Closer might be a tad optimistic.

 A much bigger story in my mind was Conner Menez LHP going a full 3 innings with 5 K's.  Right now, he would make a really nice second half of a tandem starter combo, which is what it appears he is being groomed for.  His 3 innings followed 3 by Jeff Samardzija  RHP in this game.

Joey Bart and Hunter Pence hit B2B HR's off Andrew Suarez LHP, who is also a candidate to be a back-end tandem starter. Wow!  The drumbeat for Joey Bart to make the team just keeps getting louder and louder!

Preseason Update: Another Lefty Shines

The Giants have an intriguing stable of lefthanded pitchers in camp who could find roles on an expanded roster.  Drew Smyly, Andrew Suarez and Conner Menez have had strong multi-inning outings so far.  Now add in the name Caleb Baragar to the mix.  He struck out 3 batters and allowed just one hit in 2 IP.  YtY, who was one of his strikeout victims, said "The ball explodes out of his hand."   Baragar has been quietly working his way up the organizational ladder.  He's a big lefty at 6'3", 215 lbs who spent the bulk of last year as a SP at AA and pitched to a 3.45 ERA over 120 IP.  Maybe his FB gains a couple of ticks in shorter outings?

Hunter Pence and Wilmer Flores homered in the intrasquad game.

Joey Bart threw out Will Wilson trying to steal 2B.

Now the bad news:  Evan Longoria is out with an oblique strain and could miss Opening Day.  The good news?  If Longoria is out, it opens an opportunity for one of many Giants infielders in camp.

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The Padres made another inneresting trade sending Franchy Cordero OF and a pitching prospect to the Royals for Tim Hill LHP.   A couple of years ago, the Padres had a whole bunch of very promising young OF's breaking into the major leagues.  Since then, they have sent out Manuel Margot, Franmil Reyes, Travis Jankowski, Jose Pirela, Hunter Renfroe and now Cordero.  Their starting OF now consists of Tommy Pham, Trent Grisham and Wil Myers with Josh Naylor as a fourth OF with Taylor Trammell still in the minors.  That's it!  All the others are gone, gone, gone! Very strange!

Preseason Notes: Bart Continues to State His Case

The Giants played a 7 inning intrasquad game today.  Once again, the standout performance was from Joey Bart who doubled to left-center then threw out YtY stealing....or on a busted hit-and-run.  The throw out was helped by a nifty tag by Luis Toribio who was getting some work at 2B.  Still think Joey Bart should be #4 on the Giants catching depth chart, but that position is getting harder and harder to defend.  Bart is probably their best catching option right now and MLB is the only place he's going to see competition level pitching this season, so he can argue his case from both a current value and player development angle.

Check out the video (NBC Sports Bay Area) of Mauricio Dubon getting a huge break on a ball hit to the CF wall in front of the new bullpens then climb that wall ot make the grab. Dubon also got some time at SS.

Carlos Navas threw 2.1 IP, with 5 K's and an IF single by Heliot Ramos.  With Trevor Cahill not expected to recover from his fingernail problem in time for Opening Day, Navas would seem to be a candidate for a tandem starter or long reliever role.

Preseason Update: Puig Out

Some Giants fans are disappointed while others are celebrating that we won't see Yasiel Puig in a Giants uniform this season.  He signed with the Braves yesterday.  They probably had room after Nick Markakis opted out of the season.  I am actually a Yasiel Puig fan.  Although some of his behavior is outrageous, he brings excitement to the game and does things that make people pay attention to the game and talk baseball.  While he probably would have been an upgrade of at least one position for the Giants for this year, he would have gotten in the way of what I believe the Giants need to accomplish this season which is evaluate some young players whose careers are nearing a crossroads.  So, I am happy Yasiel found a place to play and I am happy he's not going to be clouding the picture for the Giants future.

Johnny Cueto was renamed the Giants SP for Opening Day.  No surprise there.

Intrasquad action:

Alex Dickerson OF homered over the RF wall off Shaun Anderson.

Tyler Heineman C stole 3B for the second time in a week.

Steven Duggar hit a triple up....Triples Alley!

Joey Bart seems to be going to RF almost exclusively.  That can come back to bite if pitchers figure out you can't pull the inside pitch.  Not saying Bart can't but it's something to watch.

On the injury front, Brandon Belt is out of his walking boot.  Tony Watson threw a live BP session.

Giants added Jose Siri, signed as a minor league FA, to the 60 man player pool.  He is another toolsy OF with some upside who hasn't found traction on his career yet.

Preseason Update: Menez Deals

The Giants played another intrasquad game on Monday with Conner Menez  LHP looking sharp for the Black squad for two innings retiring all 6 batters he faced while striking out 3.  Menez credited the work of the new pitching coaches with cleaning up his delivery to get better execution on his pitches.

Dereck Rodriguez RHP was not as sharp for the Orange squad retiring just 3 of 9 batters faced while allowing the only 2 runs of the game.  Black scoring plays included an RBI double by Joey Bart C and an RBI single by Steven Duggar OF(yeah, apparently Duggar is still hanging around).

Andrew Suarez LHP Followed DRod with  2 scoreless frames.  I was pretty high on Suarez back in March as a long-reliever/swingman and he should get even more opportunity to shine in that role now.  Sam Wolff RHP and Caleb Baragar LHP both threw scoreless frames.  Tyler Cyr RHP took a shot off the bat of Heliot Ramos to the knee suffering a contusion which ended his day early.

Oh!  And Trevor Cahill RHP is out with a reported fingernail issue.

DrB's Post-Draft Giants Top 30 Prospects

You asked for it, you got it.  Here is my revised Giants Top 30 Prospects list post draft.  IMO, 3 of the 7 picks deserve inclusion in the new Top 30:  First rounder Patrick Bailey, Compensation Pick #67 Nick Swiney and third rounder/bonus baby Kyle Harrison.  Here's how it shakes out:

1.  Joey Bart C
2.  Heliot Ramos OF
3.  Marco Luciano SS
4.  Patrick Bailey C
5.  Hunter Bishop OF
6.  Logan Webb RHP
7.  Mauricio Dubon IF/OF
8.  Will Wilson IF.
9.  Seth Corry LHP
10. Alexander Canario OF
11.  Jairo Pomares OF
12.  Luis Matos OF
13.  Luis Toribio 3B
14.  Tyler Rogers RHP
15.  Sean Hjelle RHP
16.  Kyle Harrison LHP
17.  Nick Swiney LHP
18.  Jaylin Davis OF
19.  Dany Jimenez RHP
20.  Camilo Doval RHP
21.  Melvin Adon RHP
22.  Gregory Santos RHP
23.  Jake Wong RHP
24.  Chris Shaw OF/1B
25.  Conner Menez LHP
26. Caleb Baragar LHP
27.  Aramis Garcia C
28.  David Villar 3B
29.  Logan Wyatt 1B
30.  Sandro Fabian OF.

Some folks may be surprised with Patrick Bailey at #4 ahead of Hunter Bishop.  I actually am more of a believer in Bailey's bat than Bishop's.  While Bishop is a great athlete, he's not a lock to play CF and I don't know if he has enough bat for a corner.  Bailey has a better shot at the premium position.

As for Harrison and Swiney, it seemed like there was a natural tier break right behind Hjelle at #14.  Swiney has the higher floor due to his college pedigree, but we've got to believe the Giants think Harrison has the higher ceiling and by a pretty big margin.

I would likely put Casey Schmitt somewhere in the #31-50 range with Jimmy Glowenke, RJ Dabovich and Ryan Murphy would be Honorable Mentions until we see them play which won't be until 2021 if we are lucky.

Preseason Update: Chadwick Tromps

The "Black" squad whitewashed the "Orange" squad in yesterday's simulated game with Chadwick Tromp loudly stating his case to be on the 30 man Opening Day roster with 2 booming HR's off Jeff Samardzija and Sam Selman.  Chadwick who?  Just make sure it's spelled with an O and not a U!

The Giants signed Chadwick Tromp as a minor league free agent over the winter after he showed off a power breakout in a SSS for AAA Louisville last year hitting 7 HR's in 77 AB.  He is 25 years old.  Tromp may have something going for him here.  While Tyler Heineman can fill the RH half of a C platoon, he is a switch-hitter while Tromp is strictly a RH battter.  RH is usually the weaker half of switch-hitting splits.  Both Heineman and Tromp have AAA experience.

Drew Smyly and Kevin Gausman combined to pitch 4.2 innings of 1 hit ball.  I am pretty excited by those two.  Were this a standard season, they would be candidates to bring back a nice haul at the trade deadline. They still might be or the Giants may be able to sign them to reasonable longer term deals.  Not surprisingly, Shark didn't look sharp and was just getting his work in. Will Wilson doubled off him.

Marco Luciano continued to impress with an IF single and a double to RF.

8 Days to the first of two exhibitions against the A's and 11 days to Opening Day against the Dodgers.

Blogger's Note: What Next?

We have completed our "State of..." series.  We still have 2 weeks before the season starts, if it starts at all.  Even when the season starts we won't have Down on the Farm this year because there is no farm this year!  I am soliciting suggestions for a new series.  I am thinking we could do a team-by-team review of the 2020 draft?  Anything else out there we haven't covered?

I want to hear from you!

State of the Rays

Our last installment in the "State of" series goes to the Tampa Bay Rays.  The Rays are an expansion franchise joining the AL in 1998.  They have struggled as a franchise with poor field performance for the first 10 years of existence as well as a chronically poor stadium situation leading to subpar revenues and payrolls.  Brilliant baseball management over the past 12 years has allowed them surprising on-field success out of proportion franchise fundamentals.

Ownership:

The team is owned by Stuart Sternberg who made his stash in securities trading with Goldman-Sachs.  He's been a mixed bag as an owner:  Good judgment in hiring of baseball management.  Investing in improvements to a bad ballpark.  Frequently threatening to move the team or become a 2-city team paired up with Montreal.  Consistently among the lowest payrolls in MLB.  Rumored desire to sell the team and buy the Mets, which is not going to happen now but may or may not have been true at one time(he lives in NY and is a Mets season ticket holder).

Grade D.

Management:

The Rays have a long and deep history of cutting edge baseball management starting with the tenure of Andrew Friedman and the export of multiple brilliant executives to other teams. Current GM is Eric Neander who works with a large team of highly analytical baseball executives at every level of the organization.

Kevin Cash succeeded Joe Maddon as field manager in 2014 and has continued the tradition of innovative lineup and in-game strategies.  How much those innovations vs roster talent have contributed to the Rays on-field success during this time is unclear but it makes for interesting discussion among fans and analysts.

Grade A.

Current Roster:

Starting Nine:  Mike Zunino C, Ji-Man Choi 1B, Brandon Lowe 2B, Yandy Diaz 3B, Willy Adames SS, Hunter Renfroe LF, Kevin Kiermeier CF, Austin Meadows RF, Jose Martinez DH.

Bench:  Michael Perez C, Yoshitomo Tsutsugo 3B/OF, Joey Wendle IF, Manuel Margo OF.

Starting Rotation:  Blake Snell LHP, Tyler Glasnow RHP, Charlie Morton RHP, Yonny Chirinos RHP, Ryan Yarbrough LHP.

Bullpen:  Nick Anderson RHP, Diego Castillo, Colin Poche LHP, Oliver Drake RHP, Jose Alvarado LHP, Chaz Roe RHP, Andrew Kittredge RHP, Jalen Beeks LHP.

This is a young, talented, deep and versatile roster on both sides of the plate.  Standard pitching roles are blurred although Kevin Cash has said he is looking for a more traditional starting rotation in 2020(which may have been blown up by the the shutdown and shortened season).

Grade B+

Farm System:

The Rays have the consensus top prospect in all of MLB in SS Wander Franco.  They also have impressive depth down to #10 with Greg Jones, another SS prospect.  In between they balance out the positional talent with pitchers Brendan McKay LHP, Shane Baz RHP, Brent Honeywell RHP and Shane McClanahan LHP.

Grade A

Spring Training Update: Buster Posey Opts Out

It was increasingly obvious that Buster Posey was probably not going to be playing this season.  The only question was why and what else was going on.  Now we know.  Buster and Kristen Posey are adopting identical twin girls who are currently in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.  Buster evaluated the epidemiology landscape, particularly as it pertains to MLB and decided to put the health and safety of his family first.  We can't not support that.  Wish the Posey family health had happiness.

It seems almost sacrilegious(wow!  That is not an intuitive spelling of that word) to immediately talk about how Buster's decision impacts the roster, but when he is the only catcher on the 40 man roster, it does raise some interesting questions.  He was not the only catcher in preseason camp, so the situation is not dire, but the Giants currently have no catcher in their organization with significant MLB starting experience.

The two guys who were competing for a reserve catcher role, Rob Brantly and Tyler Heineman both have intriguing credentials and could pleasantly surprise but they could also be the catching equivalent of Conner Joe and Michael Reed.  Beyond that, there is Joey Bart, who a lot of Giants fans are understandably excited about but who has played only a handful of games above A ball, and 2020 first round draft pick Patrick Bailey, who has yet to play a professional game. Available catchers on the market include Russell Martin and Jose Lobatan. 

With the entire season in serious doubt to any rational observer, I'll guess FZ sits tight and goes into the season with Brantly and Heineman.  They could be surprisingly good. If not, he might then consider bringing Bart up or going on the market for a veteran.

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The Giants played a simulated game yesterday.  Since you want to know, a simulated game is somehow different than modified batting practice which is what the Giants did the day before.  Johnny Cueto reportedly looked sharp in 2 innings of work inducing lots of groundballs.  Joey Bart tagged him for a double to RF.  Evan Longoria hit a long HR to straightaway CF. 

State of the Orioles

The Orioles are a legacy AL franchise founded in 1901 as the Milwaukee Brewers morphing into the St Louis Browns in 1902.  The team moved to Baltimore and was renamed the Orioles in 1953.  They were an elite franchise from 1966-1983 but have fallen on mostly hard times in the years since.  At this time, they appear to be (hopefully) near the bottom of a long term rebuild.

Ownership:

Principle owner Peter Angelos is 91 years old.  He has been a controversial owner with a reputation for meddling in baseball decisions.  He made his stash as a trial lawyer representing plaintiffs in big time product liability cases.  Politically he is a Democrat.  Almost immediately after purchasing the team in 1993, Angelos infuriated his fellow owners for refusing to take a hard line against the MLBPA and for refusing to hire replacement players if the strike was prolonged into 1995.  To what extent he is to blame for the team's extended run of on-field futility is probably open for debate, but when futility runs that long, you have to take a hard look at the top guy.  He's been willing to spend money on players,  maybe to a fault, but he's tended to spend it on the wrong players which may be related to not taking advice from his baseball management staff.

Grade D.

Management:

GM Mike Elias is a protege of Jeff Luhnow, first as a scout for the Cardinals, then as Director of Amateur Scouting and Assistant GM for the Astros.  The Orioles hired him in 2018.  Elias brought along Sig Mejdal from the Astros who is versed in sabermetrics.

Brandon Hyde is entering his second season as field manager.  His debut season did not go well with a 54-108 record, but he didn't have a lot of talent to work with.

Grade C(could go up or down depending on how next 2-3 seasons go).

Current Roster:

Starting Nine:  Pedro Severino C, Chris Davis 1B, Hanser Alberto 2B, Rio Ruiz 3B, Jose Iglesias SS, Anthony Santander LF, Austin Hays CF, DJ Stewart RF, Renato Nunez DH.

Bench:  Chance Sisco C, Richie Martin IF, Andrew Velasquez IF, Dwight Smith OF.

Starting Rotation:  John Means LHP, Alex Cobb RHP, Asher Wojciechowski RHP, Wade LeBlanc LHP, Kohl Stewart RHP.

Bullpen:  Mychal Givens RHP, Hunter Harvey RHP, Shawn Armstrong RHP, Miguel Castro RHP, Richard Bleier LHP, Paul Fry LHP, Tommy Milone LHP, Hector Velasquez RHP.

An already bad roster took a huge hit when Trey Mancini was diagnosed and treated for Colon Cancer.  Gotta wish him a complete recovery!  Wow!  Hard to believe the O's couldn't find a way to give Mike Yastrzemski a chance before letting him go to the Giants.  The Orioles would seem to be a few more drafts away from contention and headed for another top 5 draft pick if not #1 overall.

Grade F

Farm System:

Adley Rutschman is the clear cut #1 prospect.  I'ts a reasonably deep system with Zac Lowther who is a better than decent pitching prospect at #10.  Analysts are polarized over how much the 2020 draft will help as they appeared to go under slot with Heston Kjerstad at #2 overall, with some analysts underwhelmed by the overslot target, Coby Mayo, in round 4.

Grade C+

Preseason Update: Mixed Signals

The Giants preseason camp seemed to take a new step forward with a simulated game(I guess it was technically a Modified Live Batting Practice, but it all still comes down to pitching, hitting and catching a little white ball) while questions swirled around absent players.

Per Maria Guardado of sfgiants.com, Kevin Gausman and Drew Smyly looked especially sharp with Gausman striking out 4 of 7 batters he faced in 2 innings while Smyly struck out 3 in 2 inning while allowing 1 hit.

Speaking of that one hit off Smyly, it was by Donovan Solano who had 3 hits in 4 AB's plus reached on an error.  Solano spent time at both SS and 2B while in the field.

Buster Posey, whose intermittent absences from camp along with less than enthusiastic language about playing the season at all, is becoming increasingly mysterious.  Only explanation we have comes from Gabe Kapler who only says Buster is working through some personal issues, but the implication seems to be that those personal issues involve a decision whether to proceed with the season or opt out.

In Buster's absence, Joey Bart, Patrick Bailey and Chadwick Tromp handled the catching duties in the sim game with Tromp reportedly throwing out Brandon Crawford on a SB attempt.

Brandon Belt remains in a walking boot for a bad case of heel pain.  We are 14 days until Opening Day, so Belt's foot is going to have to get well very soon to start the season.  If Belt is on the shelf, it may open up a role for Darren Ruf who hit two doubles in the sim game.  I could be wrong, but I really don't see a defensive role for Pabs based on photo evidence.

LHP Jarlin Garcia and OF Billy Hamilton who have been missing from camp, presumably for COVID-related issues were placed on the medical IL today.  Again, they better get well soon if they want to start the season on the 30 man active roster.  I had high hopes for Jarlin Garcia before the shutdown and was really looking forward to seeing him pitch for the Giants.  I am less enthusiastic about BHam.  I'm OK with a novelty role in a 30 man roster but do not want to see him take a roster spot or playing time away from guys like Mauricio Dubon, Jaylin Davis and Austin Slater who need enough AB's to allow the Giants to make an informed decision about their longterm futures with the team.

State of the Blue Jays

The Blue Jays are on expansion franchise founded in 1977.  They won B2B World Series in 1992 and 1993.  Since then, they have been intermittently competitive but have not added any rings.

Ownership:

The Blue Jays are owned by Rogers Communications since 2000.  Long time baseball executive Mark Shapiro is the President and CEO.  The most recent Forbes valuation of the franchise is approximately $1.6 B.  I don't really follow the Blue Jays closely and cannot find any strong opinions regarding ownership one way or the other.

Grade B.

Management:

GM is Ross Atkins who took over when Alex Anthopoulos left after Mark Shapiro became President and CEO.

Charlie Montoyo is the field Manager.

Grade C.

Current Roster:

Starting Nine:  Danny Jansen C, Travis Shaw 1B, Cavan Biggio 2B, Vladimir Guerrero 3B, Bo Bichette SS, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. LF, Teoscar Hernandez CF, Randal Grichuk RF, Rowdy Tellez DH.

Bench:  Reese McGuire C, Brandon Drury IF, Derek Fisher OF, Anthony Alford OF.

Starting Rotation:  Hyun-Jin Ryu LHP, Tanner Roark RHP, Chase Anderson RHP, Matt Shoemaker RHP, Shun Yamaguchi RHP.

Bullpen:  Ken Giles RHP(Closer), Wilmer Font RHP, Anthony Bass RHP, Rafael Dolis RHP, Sam Gaviglio RHP, Jake Petricka RHP, Brian Moran LHP, AJ Cole RHP.

Vlad Jr and Bo Bichette come from legacy families and are two of the better young players in the game.  Beyond that, the roster still has significant holes and the bullpen is particularly thin and weak.

Grade C-

Farm System:

RHP Nate Pearson is #1 and has a lot of people excited by a flaming fastball.  Jordan Groshans SS, Simeon Woods Richardson RHP and Alek Manoah RHP are the next 3.  After that, I don't recognize any names. 

Grade C.

Preseason Update: More Fear and Loathing(of Coronavirus) in Oracle Park

Anyone who was optimistic about the upcoming baseball season actually taking place got a rude wakeup call today as the Giants had to cancel practice at Oracle Park due to delays in getting results from test samples obtained over the weekend.  That is pretty much a microcosm of the entire country right now.  On top of that, there are reports of positive tests keep piling up with up to 10 players missing from some training camps with speculation it is due to positive tests.

I think i'll start taking over/under's for how many more days we have before MLB shuts down again.

Preseason Update: Fear and Loathing(of Coronavirus) in Oracle Park

The Coronavirus Pandemic continued to elbow baseball out of the way of preseason reporting both in Oracle Park and around the league.

The Giants announced that 2 more players tested positive.  I have not seen the names of those players, which leaves us wondering......

Johnny Cueto is, as always, in the best shape of his life.  That's great and all, but I want to know if his ARM is in the best shape of its life! Cueto reportedly pitched live batting practice to his friend, Eduardo Nunez, regularly during the shutdown to stay in game shape. Cueto says Nunez hit nothing but foul balls off him the whole time.

Brandon Belt, who really does look like he is in the best shape of his life, is diggin' the new dimensions at Oracle Park.

Poor Gabe Kapler felt obliged to come to Pablo Sandoval's defense for....ahem....not being in the best shape of his life.  Kap said the only thing he cares about is performance and talked about the universal DH.  Fact is, Pablo's historical on-field performance, including at the plate, is inversely proportional to his weight.

Ooh, a storm is threatening
My very life today
If I don't get some shelter
Ooh yeah, I'm gonna fade away....

Rolling Stones

State of the Red Sox

For 86 years after the sale of Babe Ruth to the Yankees and the legendary "Curse of the Bambino" the Red Sox built a cult following among baseball fans waiting for the spell to be broken.  It was in 2004 and the BoSox have won 3 more World Series Championships since.  They currently appear to be in a a rebuild mode after trading Mookie Betts and David Price to the Dodgers for Alex Verdugo and prospects.

Ownership:  

The Red Sox are owned by Fenway Sports Group, Inc headed by billionaire John Henry and Tom Werner.  Henry made his stash trading commodities futures using a proprietary formula he developed.  Werner made his in television production. They have owned the team since 2002.  Although they seem to be in a pullback mode with payroll and in a rebuild phase, you really can't argue with the success of 4 World Series Wins under their ownership after 86 years of futility.

Grade A.

Management:  

Less than a year after winning the World Series, the Red Sox inexplicably fired Dave Dombrowski, who was all about raiding the farm system to win now, in favor the analytical approach of Chaim Bloom who they hired away from the Rays.  World Series winning Manager, Alex Cora, was let go in response to his role in the sign stealing scandal with the Astros.  The Red Sox had sign stealing issues of their own but less harsh penalties.  Ron Roenicke is the new manager. He is a veteran MLB manager and coach.

Grade B.

Current Roster:

Starting Nine:  Christian Vazquez C, Mitch Moreland 1B, Jose Peraza 2B, Rafael Devers 3B, Xander Bogaerts SS, Andrew Benintendi LF, Jackie Bradley Jr CF, Alex Verdugo RF, J.D. Martinez DH.

Bench:  Kevin Plawecki C, Michael Chavis IF, Kevin Pillar OF, Dustin Pedroia 2B.

Starting Rotation:  Eduardo Rodriguez LHP, Nathan Eovaldi RHP, Martin Perez LHP, Ryan Weber RHP, Colin McHugh RHP. (Ace Chris Sale is out for the season with TJ surgery).

Bullpen:  Brandon Workman RHP(Closer), Matthew Barnes RHP, Darwinzon Hernandez LHP, Josh Taylor LHP, Marcus Walden RHP, Ryan Brasier RHP, Heath Hembree RHP, Brian Johnson LHP.

This does not appear to be a contending roster even if Chris Sale was healthy.  He's not and this is no better than a .500 team.

Grade C.

Farm System:  

Jeter Downs SS heads MLB's list. I am a fan but don't see him as a #1 talent.  He is followed by Triston Casas 1B and Bobby Dalbec 3B/1B.  Bloom needs some more drafts and trades to build this up.

Grade C.

Spring Training Update: Pablo Sandoval COVID Concerns

Spring(or Summer) Training resumption day #2.

Pablo Sandoval....a picture is worth a thousand words and I don't know how to post pictures on this blog but....well.....let's just say Pablo does not appear to be in the best shape of his life, and that is putting it gently.  After seeing that picture, I would say I will be surprised if Pablo makes the 30-man Opening Day roster.

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On a happier note, Brandon Belt appears to be.....yep, in the best shape of his life.  Gabe Kapler appears to be a much bigger Brandon Belt fan than Bruce Bochy was and maybe Brandon responds better to positive feedback?  Is a breakout season still possible?

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Logan Webb threw live batting practice and reports say his stuff was electric.

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MLB is already struggling with mounting numbers of players and personnel testing positive for Coronavirus as well as more players deciding to opt out.  The big bombshell today was David Price who announced he was opting out, which is not good news for the Dodgers.  Then our own Buster Posey arrived at camp a day late expressing grave reservations about the wisdom of playing.  He's in for now but says he will monitor the situation both nationally and within MLB.  Catcher is an "Achilles heel" position as he has to squat within the range of every batter's respiratory droplet cloud as well as that of the umpire standing behind him.

Mike Trout, who has a pregnant wife at home, is also expressing discomfort with the whole situation.  Pregnant women are known to harbor the virus without symptoms but are also more likely to develop complications.  Gotta think the season is in a lot of trouble if the best player in the game opts out.

Spring Training Update: Setting Up The Pitching

It seems the one and only reason for normal spring trainings to be six weeks long, well, other than making money on exhibition games, is for the starting pitchers to ramp up their innings and relievers to appear in consecutive games before the season starts.  After more than a three month layoff and a summer training compressed to three weeks, that's not going to happen for the 2020 season.  So far, nobody seems to have a firm plan on how to adjust.  Ideas floating out there include 6-man rotations, tandem starters and more liberal use of openers.  All of these ideas require more arms than the usual 12-13 man staffs.  While teams my end up with 6-man rotations after starters are ramped up and rosters are cut down to 26, they don't help stretch the staff when starters are on pitch counts in the 50-60 range.  Openers just "rob Peter to pay Paul" by stealing bullpen arms from the late innings and burning them early.  That is why the tandem starter idea seems the most logical to me, at least for the first 2 weeks of the season. 

Teams often go with a 4 man rotation early in spring training when the starters are on low pitch counts then add the 5'th starter as the season approaches.  What this means is 8 pitchers could be allocated to 4 tandem starter pairs.  If each of the 8 tandem starters is allowed 60 pitches, the total SP pitch count would be 120 which should get you at least through the 6'th inning and possibly through the 7'th for most games and even a tandem CG here and there! Add 10 pitches each time through the rotation and you quickly get to 160 pitches allowed. This would allow a 6-7 member bullpen for the late innings.  As pitch counts ramp up you gradually shift to a Starter-long relief team and you may add a fifth or even sixth starter for the second two weeks when rosters are cut down to 28.  When rosters get down to 26 after 4 weeks, teams will have a choice of using the extra roster spot on a 6'th starter, extra bullpen arm or a specialty position like a full time DH or a designated runner for extra inning games.

So how doest this plan shake out for the Giants?  Well, actually very well!  The Giants may not have a clear ace at the top of the rotation but they have a deep roster of pitchers with starting experience.  They are even set up well to change up the matchups by pairing a lefty and righty for at least 3 of the 4 tandems.  Here's how I would pair them up:

Johnny Cueto-Tyler Anderson
Jeff Samardzija-Andrew Suarez
Kevin Gausman-Trevor Cahill
Drew Smyly-Logan Webb

If you limit yourself to 12 position players which is what a lot of teams did with 25 man rosters, you could carry 18 pitchers on a 30-man roster.  Most teams will likely carry at least 16.  The Giants have such a big roster crunch on the position side and so many ideas for specialty players, Alex P speculated that they may go with as few as 14 pitchers to start the season.  Is a 6-man bullpen enough to support 4 sets of tandem starters?  It could create a problem if one of the starters gets lit up early, but maybe that's where Pablo and Brandon Belt come in?  LOL!

Here is what I have for the bullpen depth chart in this scenario.  I'll list the top 6 and then add 4 more in case of a 10 man bullpen then 4 more depth pieces for the Taxi Squad(there will be more than 4 pitchers on the Taxi Squad).

Tony Watson LHP
Tyler Rogers RHP
Trevor Gott RHP
Jarlin Garcia LHP
Dany Jimenez RHP
Reyes Moronta RHP(if healthy)

Shaun Anderson RHP
Sam Coonrod RHP
Wandy Peralta LHP
Rico Garcia RHP

Tyler Cyr RHP
Jerry Blevins LHP
Trevor Oaks RHP
Carlos Navas RHP

How do you think the pitching staff gets set up?

State of the Yankees

The Yankees are the elite franchise in major league baseball, home to the game's first superstar, Babe Ruth, and a long string of Hall of Fame players and World Series Championships.  2019 marked the end of just the second decade since the 1910's in which the they failed to win a World Series Championship.  The 2010's were a period of relative spending restraint which impacted on-field performance.  Yankees fans are hoping the signing of Gerrit Cole brings back the tradition of sparing no expense and World Series Championships.

Ownership:

Harold Steinbrenner has been the principle owner of the Yankees since 2007 when his father, George Steinbrenner stepped back due to failing health.  Hal co-owned the team with his more outspoken brother, Hank, until Hank's death earlier this year.  The Steinbrenner family made their stash on shipping grain and ore on the Great Lakes going all the way back to Hal's great-great grandfather.  George Steinbrenner and his sons have been notorious hands-on owners which has been widely criticized but you can't really argue with the success. Their willingness to spend any amount of money to win drove up player salaries and drove MLB to create rules to promote competitive balance all of which led to an era of unprecedented wealth in the game for both owners and players.

Grade A-

Management: 

Brian Cashman has been the GM seemingly forever.  It is not easy to evaluated Cashman's impact on team performance as the Yankees are extremely ownership driven and Cashman has never had to deal with severe payroll restrictions.  Although the farm system has produced it's share of star players for the Yankees, Cashman also relies heavily on free agent talent and use of the farm system to trade for veteran talent.

Aaron Boone has been the Field Manager since 2018.  His teams won 100+ games but lost the ALCS in both 2018 and 2019.  Again, managing acumen is difficult to evaluate for Yankee managers due to the level of talent they have to work with.  On a side note, Boone is married to former Playboy Playmate Laura Cover. They have 4 children.

Grade B

Current Roster: 

Starting Nine:  Gary Sanchez C, Luke Voit 1B, DJ LeMahieu 2B, Gio Urshula 3B, Gleyber Torres SS, Giancarlo Stanton LF, Brett Gardner CF, Aaron Judge RF, Miguel Andujar DH.

Bench:  Kyle Higashioka C, Mike Ford 1B, Tyler Wade IF, Aaron Hicks OF.

Starting Rotation:  Gerrit Cole RHP, Mashiro Tanaka RHP, James Paxton LHP, JA Happ LHP, Jordan Montgomery LHP.

Bullpen:  Aroldis Chapman LHP, Zack Britton LHP, Luis Cessa RHP, Chad Green RHP, Jonathan Holder RHP, Tommy Kahnle RHP, Adam Ottavino RHP, Jonathan Loaisiga RHP.

When fully healthy, this is a stacked roster, although maybe a bit thin in the starting rotation.  The problem for the Yankees has been keeping their stars healthy.

Grade A-.

Farm System:

The Yankees have an elite international prospect, Jasson Dominguez OF, at the top of their prospect rankings.  RHP Clarke Schmidt and RHP Deivi Garcia could help at the MLB level this season.  I don't recognize many names after that.  Chances are most of them will eventually be sent to other teams in trades for veteran talent.

Grade B.

Spring Training Update: Where Will Mauricio Dubon Play?

I have to confess to fretting a bit about Mauricio Dubon.  For a quick recap, Dubon is the young infielder who came over from the Brewers in the Drew Pomeranz flip trade last year.  He tore up the PCL with Sacramento and played with aplomb after a late callup, mostly at 2B.  Not only does the kid look great in a baseball uniform, he hit 4 HR's and stole 3 bases in 109 PA and played in the field veteran savvy.  So, he's the presumptive starting 2B for 2020, right?  Not so fast there, pardner. 

Early on around the Hot Stove, Farhan Zaidi started spinning stories about giving Dubon reps in CF.  Then he went out and signed Wilmer Flores to a 2 yr/$6 M contract.  What is Flores' main position?  2B!  But FZ was not done.  As the Hot Stove was cooling down, he went out and signed Yolmer Sanchez, who was the starting 2B. for the White Sox last year.  It was a minor league deal but it's become increasingly likely that FZ wants Sanchez to make the team, for some reason.  Add in Donovan Solano who has a guaranteed contract and might not make the team at all and that pretty much buries Mauricio Dubon on the depth chart at 2B. 

What about shortstop?  He played there a few innings last year and didn't look half bad.  Once upon a time, Brandon Crawford was a better shortstop than Mauricio Dubon will ever be, but I'm not so sure Crawford is better now and Dubon is the guy with upside here.  Still, I don't see the Giants benching Brandon Crawford for Mauricio Dubon this season. 

That brings us to FZ's Hot Stove talking points.  Dubon to CF.  Hmm....if he can play the position defeinsively, and he seems to have the athleticism for it, if not the experience(reports of his prior experience in CF were greatly exaggerated).  Steven Dugger probably needs to prove out at AAA to get another shot and YtY is probably more of a corner OF.  Then FZ went out and signed Billy Hamilton to a minor league deal, but again it looks like he really wants BHam to make the team and he's a CF.  Now, if the Giants sign Yasiel Puig, and they may not, but if they do, he'll either play CF or he'll play RF while YtY slides over to CF.  Again, Mauricio Dubon is the odd man out.

Maybe Dubon plays all three positions part time and accumulates the equivalent of a starting job while splitting his time.  It probably makes the most sense for him to sub in against LHP's at all 3 positions but LHP's account for about 25% of IP and Dubon can only play one position at a time.

It's also possible that FZ is not as in love with Dubon as he seems to be.  The kid does not take many walks and you can tell from the draft picks that FZ is a classic old school Moneyballer who values walks highly.

Mauricio Dubon is going to the one of the more interesting story lines of the season and I'm not that confident he isn't going to get shoved aside in The Churn.