This was a game the Giants probably had no business winning anyway after being completely dominated by Sandy Alcantara RHP for the first 6 innings. But after a 5-run outburst in the 7'th inning started by Brandon Belt 1B's HR and capped by Austin Slater PH/CF's 3-run blast to straightaway CF, it should have been a cruise to the finish. It wasn't because the Giants Closer is a one-dimensional pitcher and it caught up with him in the 9'th inning.
Jake McGee has a very good fastball which he throws over 90% of the time. I'm not saying he shouldn't. He's a lot more successful than most pitchers with it and very likely more successful with that approach than if he threw it less. Before today's game he's been able to simply blow it by hitters with location and movement. What was different today was the Marlins lineup which is full of young, fast-twitch hitters who were sitting "dead red" and knew they didn't need to worry about being crossed up. Add in a bit of just slightly subpar command and boom! A two-run lead disappears.
Maybe McGee just had an off day or maybe he's going to have to make an adjustment it's not apparent he is capable of making now that hitters around the league are lying in wait for the FB.
That was a brutal loss. McGee will be fine, my concern is the rest of the bullpen having so many left-handers and having a 3 batter minimum each has to pitch to, makes it tough on Kap to manage. Marte beat them the other night with a 3 run homer against Peralta, a lefty. Maybe Bochy would have difficulty managing this pen too? I thought FZ would sign a right hander with closer experience also, but it never happened for whatever reason. Miami signed a right handed reliever with closer experience who already lost the closer job - Anthony Bass. The bullpen construction is a crapshoot. Hope for better things ahead. Go Giants!
ReplyDeleteThree batter minimum definitely creates strategic challenges Boch did not have to deal with. I actually kind of like the rule but oh my! When you bring in a pitcher and it's obvious he doesn't have it facing the first batter, it's a helpless feeling!
DeleteI like the 3 batter minimum rule too. Too many pitching changes in the late innings slows down the game. I think the Giants need more right handed relief help in the late innings to face tough right handed hitters like Manny Machado, Mookie Betts, Trevor Story. Nice debut by Camilo Doval and I'll add in Alex Wood!
DeleteSeveral observations.
ReplyDelete1. Wisler is awful and shouldn't be on this team.
2. If McGee is as one dimensional as you say, he shouldn't be closing as good hitting teams will eat him up.
3. I know that Posey was hit earlier. But he ran the bases and was pulled the next inning. Unless he literally couldn't squat, this was a bad move. In the late innings, they NEED him catching to lead the pitchers. No way that Casali is even close to the same league as our future HOFer, in this respect. Also, since Posey has been pulled, we had Disco pinch hitting in a critical spot in the tenth. By contrast, the Marlins had a real hitter in their half of the inning. Thankfully, Belt was able to key a rally. But that didn't last because.
5. Garcia is equally as horrible as Wisler.
This game was lost by Kapler and, by extension, FZ. If this is what we are to expect, it'll be a long rest of the season.
1. Based on what we've see so far, gotta agree on Wisler. I was yelling at the TV for Kap to bring in Camilo Doval. 2. Two reasons why McGee is probably not an ideal Closer: Lefty with one pitch. 3. Gotta think Posey would have stayed in if at all possible. Not going to criticize that move. 4. Jarlin Garcia has been awful but at least appears to have the tools to get back on track, unlike Wisler who apparently can only throw a mediocre looking slider.
DeleteKapler uses up pitchers like they're Kleenex
ReplyDeleteThat's how Kap, FZ and The Churn roll. When they burn out one arm, they just bring in another one.
DeleteAllowing for 1 bad outing for McGee and Garcia being overmatched, Giants pitching has been generally good.
ReplyDeleteIt has made up for a lot of hitting failures with SF pretty bad overall compounded by questionable use by Kapler and his obsession for "matchups" rather than "hot hands."
RH or LH lineups only gets you so far when the opposition can switch the pitching handedness more readily than Kapler can match batters – there's just a beginning and a change for the offense.
Some Giants are not hitting, but some are. In each player's last 7 games there are bright spots:
La Stella .389
Solano .357
Longoria .304
Posey .273
And the next 4 are not horrible:
Belt .235
Slater .222
Craw .217
Yaz .217
And still, the Giants field a lineup with just 2 batters above 1 for 4.
I also have a problem with the 'need' to platoon players. Whoever you start does NOT need to be immediately pinch hit for once the lefty/ righty advantage goes against them, on paper. The bench can be preserved until the end of the game.
ReplyDelete