Wednesday, July 15, 2020
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.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
My vote imho: let the kids play this short season to gain experience.
ReplyDeleteBecause he IS the Face and Soul of the Tiants, this is not to impune Buster in any sense but to use his heroic example to make the Giants better, sooner.
ReplyDeleteFollowing his decision after carefully weighing the impact to his family and to the Giants not to play because it was potentially dangerous to his family while well aware this would hurt the team.
Without Posey at least 2, or even 3, wins can become losses. If SF begins with a thud, what's so very wrong with foregoing the 1 or 2 wins that come with the other core Giants who are close to the end of their contracts?
Without a sparkling start by the rest of the "old stars" exceeding expectations and making up for the significant loss of their Leader, why not bench those who are not performing above Replacement Level and try different guys and discover another Yaz amongst the Connor Joes?
This does not advocate Tanking, but if falling flat on their collective faces out of the gate, might as well get a glimpse of the Future.
Buster Posey is a great Giant but let's get real. Buster has not been an essential Giants for a few years now. Let's not elevate him into some kind of a local deity that can't be replaced. There are other leaders on this team. Hunter Pence has always been a much more vocal leader than Buster. I think Evan Longoria is capable of filling that role. Event though they are young and just trying to make the team, Mauricio Dubon and Tyler Heineman are already showing leadership qualities. Nobody is indispensable. When a leader leaves, others take their place. That's just human nature, the way it's always been and always will be.
DeletePosey is not what he was but if he is fully recovered from his injuries and surgeries, he may have had a return to force this year. He had a quite good Spring and would be, if playing, a mentor for Bart.
DeleteI don't come to bury or praise Caesar, but to to recognize his strength in what could have been a transition year.
I doubt it will be the same next year.