I decided to look up the definition of torture. I found it in Webster's Dictionary.
Torture: Watching Tyler Clippard pitch the 8'th inning of a 1-0 game.
That's it. The official definition right there! My god! If the game had been moving any slower at that point, it would have been going backwards!
Oh, and how useless are the Padres? And whatthehell happened to them anyway? Can't believe there won't be a complete top-to-bottom management cleanout there when this is over.
I went to bed thinking I would be writing about a 3-game lead with 4 to play. We'll have to settle for two.
Bum vs Kazmir today. And yeah, the Giants are probably going to have to win 3 of 4 to hold off the Dodgers.
I wanted to know if you have put together an updated top prospect list. Also I noticed that Ricardo Genoves is now playing at Sacramento and is hitting 477 in limited time. I really like Genoves and Bailey as the future of Giant catching. I am still not entirely sold on Bart. What are your thoughts on Giants future
ReplyDeleteEd Silver
Thanks for asking. I will take a look at that after the season is over. It's a lot of work and for some reason life has only gotten busier over time. At least we have a full season of minor league games to help evaluate. I am sure I will do something with prospects over the offseason. It might not be an old-time Top 50 list though.
DeleteRight now, I'm thinking about doing some positional depth charts first up.
DeleteI was at the Tuesday night game(I agree with you Doc that the Posey AB in 1st inning changed the game-great at bat). Tuesday's game was slow. Giants left 12 men on base. Then Tyler Clippard came out and my friend and I were laughing at how slow he works. At one point I was wondering when he would stop staring at home and throw the ball and then I realized that he had not even started his windup. Out of all the rule changes that are being considered, speeding up the time a pitcher needs to throw the ball should be a priority. I would like to see these changes:
ReplyDelete1) Speed up pitch time
2) Rules against the shift (2 fielders on each side of 2nd base)
3) Robot umpire calling balls and strikes
Baseball strategists, after 100 plus a lot of years, have finally applied the Ted Williams defense to neutralize the HUGE advantage that LH batters have.
DeleteWhy shouldn't a defense put the fielders where the hitters hit the ball?
Who ordained 3 OFers and 4 IFers? It's NOT a rule.
Outfielders shift, infielders are brought in, double plays are set up, pitchers locate to batters' disadvantage, and smart hitters "hit 'em where they ain't"!
Learn to beat the shift, Lefties.
I totally agree. When batters start using the bunt to devalue the infield shift, the offense can turn the shift into a (nearly) automatic runner on first. More nuances could come after that is established, but for now it's up to the offense to take advantage of the shift. Stop whining about it and beat it.
DeleteBy the way, it's criminal how bad Giants pitchers are with bunting -- and it's been this way for years. Pitchers should be masters at bunting so they can help themselves as much as possible. I'd also go further and say that the main goal of a pitcher's at-bat, if not to bunt over a runner, should be to eat pitches. In other words, no need to swing, just play pepper and foul off as many balls as you can. An at-bat of a pitcher who is good at fouling off pitch after pitch could be a real asset for the team.
RE:Changing rules on the shift
DeleteI agree with you both (above comments) in theory and would like to see hitters start to bunt more, but I think the reality is the power hitters who are have the most extreme shifts put on them are still going to swing away and not bunt. Who else besides Brandon Belt tries to bunt? Look what happened to him. So we can continue to see the shift for years to come or change the rules to open up the field.
There are a variety of ways to beat the shift. Brandon Belt bunts some, but more importantly has figured out how to hit everything in the air. The shift doesn't do the D much good if the ball goes over their heads. Brandon Crawford is getting a lot better at placing hits to the opposite field. I've seen several AB's where he just sees a hole in the D and places the ball right there. And he's done that while having the best power year of his career. You want to beat the shift? Hit 'em where they ain't!
DeleteWill Milwaukee go into the playoffs with losing streaks to 2 fellow post season teams?
ReplyDeleteSandwiched around beating up the hapless Mets the Brewers lost 6 of 7 to the #2 Wild Card — will they get swept by the Dodgers?
How will Craig Counsell handle 4 of the best starting pitchers in MLB: Lauer, Burnes, Woodruff, and Peralta in the final 3 games?
After Sunday, Brewers are off until Friday — rest is good but their very able 6-man rotation has not taxed their studs.
Will he wait and use Atlanta to get his rotation ready for fire? He'll not likely find the Braves quite as easy to roll over as the Mets. Atlanta has won 10 of 11 since losing a pair to the Giants.
Buck it up, Brewers, show what got you to the NL #2 seed — try to beat a very good team, something you've not done since sweeping SF at the end of August.