Mike Yastrzemski's solo HR gave the Giants the lead in the 6'th inning and Alex Dickerson added on with a 3-run shot in the 7'th to pace the Giants to a sweeeep of the D'Backs. Key Lines:
Mike Yastrzemski RF- 1 for 4, HR(7). BA= .309. The legend keeps growing. This HR came on his 30'th birthday. Duane Kuiper asked "are there 24 guys on the Orioles roster who are better than Mike Yastrzemski?" He should have asked if there is one! I think we have our Max Muncy!
Alex Dickerson LF- 1 for 4, HR(3). BA= .211. Dick had been scuffling at the plate but kept his arms in on an inside pitch and pulled it down the RF line for a short-porch HR. Not sure why we don't see that more often. Darrell Evans would have feasted in this park!
Brandon Belt 1B- 3 for 3, 2 2B, BB. BA= .274. An extended hot streak has Belt's season line in respectable territory.
Joey Bart C- 1 for 4. BA= .333. Bart got his first MLB single....after 3 doubles. He also ran almost to 3B to track down a pop up with a diving catch. Let's see: He's hitting as expected. He seems to have already made the pitching staff better and he's playing great D. The Joey Bart era is here!
Trevor Cahill RHP- 5.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 8 K's. ERA= 1.64. Cahill was dealing with excellent command of a 91 MPH FB, a sharp downward breaking curveball and an effective changeup. Hey! The Giants have themselves a rotation!
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The Win brings the Giants to the halfway point on their schedule with a 14-16 record, riding a 6 game win streak and in 7'th place in the NL West with the top 8 teams eligible for the playoffs.
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The Giants get the day off tomorrow before starting a 3-game home series with the Dodgers on Tuesday. Johnny Cueto RHP faces Julio Urias LHP in game 1.
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Not sure if we've seen the last of Hunter Pence in a Giants uniform but it's a major possibility after he was DFA to make room for Daniel Robertson IF who the Giants traded for with the Rays for cash or a PTBNL. Sam Coonrod also returns from the DL to give the Giants another RHP in the bullpen.
Yaz- Wow great catch at the right field archway on Saturday on his grand dad Carl's 81th birthday. Hits go ahead homer today on his 30th birthday. Kruk is right, Yaz seizes the moment! Dickerson- it's time for him to get on a hot streak like last year. Doc- yes I think you're right about Darrell "Howdy Doody" Evans hitting lots of dingers down the right field line. Joey Bart- I'm excited that he's up and making a contribution! Like to see Heliot Ramos come up if he's ready.
ReplyDeleteTrade deadline - Wouldn't mind seeing a little buying and selling. Important for Zaidi to acquire young pieces for the future. Team playing good baseball, record still 2 games below 500, Giants in the playoff hunt, don't have a strong feeling about whether Zaidi/Harris should go for it, or sell..
Know this view is not popular with many who follow Doc's great blog, and I know this stuff is not easy. But, here I go. The Giants are simply not a very good team that happens to be playing well. That is undeniable. But, the realities of the under-talented roster should guide decision making.
ReplyDeleteAfter the 2017 season the Giants had decisions to make on the direction of the franchise. I think it is fair to say that off season had the potential to be an inflection point. There was an opportunity to evaluate the roster, look at the performance trajectory of key players, and make tough decisions. The front office punted and made the move to take on the contract of Evan Longoria. Had the Giants made the decision in that off season to maximize the value of the assets they had (most notably Bumgarner) and begin the rebuild, the Giants would be in great, or at least very good shape today. Their payroll situation would be very flexible.
Too late for that now. It is not too late, however, to look realistically at the Giants' current roster and acknowledge there is a lot more work to be done. The Giants current winning streak gives them leverage going into the deadline. I say don't squander the opportunity if there are aggressive buyers willing to provide good prospects for Giants assets. This could be another inflection point for the franchise.
Contrary to popular opinion, payroll flexibility is far from the Giants biggest challenge. They actually have plenty of payroll flexibility and have it right now.
DeleteAs for the trade deadline, I think it is highly unlikely that there would be enough value coming back to justify throwing in the towel on a season in which anything can happen. I guess I could see him moving Cueto if he could offload a big portion of his remaining salary, but I also think that is unlikely.
I am not alone in these opinions. Check out MLBTR chat transcript from yesterday.
Agree 100%, payroll flexibility is not the Giants' biggest challenge. However, enhancing payroll flexibility could have great value. Over the next six days, things could change a great deal......or, they may not change at all. We are in completely uncharted territory. We just don't know how other organizations might behave, possibly looking at the 2020 playoff as an opportunity to grab a WS championship (asterisked as it might be).
DeleteI fully understand the take that there might not be any aggressive buyers at the deadline, and if that is how it plays out, standing pat is the way to go. However, I think it's better than 50/50 that things get interesting over the next six days. I think Gausman could have real value. I think someone might see Solano or Flores as a bat that could help. And yes, if Cueto has another good start, someone might take the route the Braves took with Melancon and swallow a sizable portion of Cueto's remaining money.
I could sure be wrong, and the deadline may come and go with nobody stepping up and offering the Giants anything of value. But, my point is, if they do the Giants should be prepared to make a deal. The Giants should not fall into "well maybe we can do it" trap. The organization is on the cusp of a very big turnaround. Adding a couple prospects, even if they are lottery ticket arms, and creating more payroll flexibility, could make a difference. Just one guy's opinion.
Good points on both sides.Zaidi was hired to rebuild the team, make tough choices that previous regime couldn't make. I don't blame previous regime since the team experienced so much success together, maybe they couldn't evaluate things objectively. While Zaidi should continue to try and acquire younger pieces, he shouldn't ignore that they have a chance at a playoff spot too.
ReplyDelete