The Padres dominated the Giants in all phases of the game whose outcome was never really in doubt.
Alex Wood LHP had a couple of pitches on the edge of the strike zone called balls early in the first inning. He didn't show much emotion over it but it got Kruk and Kuip's attention and it seemed to affect Wood's confidence and command of his pitches. That is no good when you are facing Manny Machado 3B who seems to have found another gear and is the current frontrunner for NL MVP.
Machado savaged Wood and the Giants relievers for 3 doubles and a triple plus an IBB in 5 PA's.
A few years ago, Mackenzie Gore was widely considered the top pitching prospect in baseball. He struggled at higher levels though still young and his stock fell off a cliff. Now all of a sudden he's in the big leagues and looking like an emerging ace. After shutting down the Giants today his line stands at 3-1, 2.06, 35 IP, 11 BB, 38 K's. He backed up a 96 MPH FB with effective secondary pitches and a deceptive arm angle.
The Padres are showing how much difference a seasoned, knowledgeable Manager can make to a team. This is essentially the same Padres team that everybody thought would be the one to challenge the Dodgers last season. Except last season they had an untested manager who seemed to lose the confidence and control of the team and the negatives snowballed. With Bob Melvin standing on the dugout steps, they are doing when they were expected to do last year. I would say the biggest factor in their collapse last year and their success this year is management of the pitching staff which is like night and day.
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It doesn't get any easier with the Padres leaving town as the Mets move in with Alex Cobb RHP trying to stop the bleeding facing David Peterson LHP.
It is gut check time for the Giants and their management. Expectations were set high last year and with very little significant moves other than Rodon on what will be a one year contract, the critics are going to start to chirp about why didn’t they do more? You could argue that not one of the big name free agents available in the off-season is living up to their contracts but would they be better than the minor leaguers that keep getting starts in this lineup? The injuries are predictable so can’t blame it on that. The farm is looking weaker than it has in 3 years as prospects start to reach the age where they need to take the next step and none seem ready to help at the MLB level anytime soon. Owners are enjoying a payroll that is $100 million less than it was 10 years ago and fans are going to stop paying top 5 revenue team prices to see this product. Four years ago I didn’t want to go through a rebuild and Baer promised that this team never would but here we are smack dab in the middle of what looks an awful lot like a rebuilding team with another 3-4 years to go…
ReplyDeleteIf the season ended today, the Giants would be in the postseason so It's way too early to be calling this a rebuilding team. Take a look around the league at teams like the Reds and Pirates and be thankful we're not their fans.
DeleteJust look at Mackenzie Gore. He's living proof that the path to the major leagues even for the very best prospects is not always a smooth ride.
DeleteYou speak the truth and they are much better than they were 4 years ago no doubt. Problem is that once they get to the playoffs it will be next to impossible to advance as we can’t beat any good teams apparently with this roster. This next series with the Mets could be another reality check and this team could very well end up just like the 2020 team. Both teams not coincidentally without Posey or an adequate replacement for his bat and leadership. It would be stupid of me to say they should have signed this guy or kept that guy as we all have 20/20 hindsight but not doing almost anything over the last 3 years to add quality major league talent to this roster is clearly showing. Resigning Crawford and Belt to contracts that were poo poo’d when Evans and Sabes did it 5 years ago is looking about as good as it looked back then and Evans lost his job for it. The season is young and we all love to overreact which is exactly what I hope I am doing now. Time will tell
DeleteA lot of things went right last year for a team that won 107 games. That's 107! After that, I'm happy to give this year's team some rope. So far this year a lot of things seem to be going wrong. Injuries are piling up and recurring. Last I checked the Giants led all of MLB in hard-hit balls that end up as outs and in soft hits for opposing batters that go for hits. I think a realistic goal for this year's team is to make the postseason. Beyond that, they are down to close to zero long term commitments. They still have their best prospects and a whole lot of payroll flexibility. There are a lot of fanbases out there who envy that situation as well they should.
DeleteI would add that if it all really goes south and the Giants drop out of contention for even a playoff spot by mid-July, they have a whole lot of potential deadline trade options, again good situation to be in.
DeleteI would say that it is way too early to panic. Yes, Giants got swept by a hot SD Padre team and did not look great. I would predict that this will not be the last time they get swept. The team has a lot of guys who are streaky hitters whose bats turned cold this weekend. When the full complement of hitters (La Stella, Wade, Yaz, Ruf) were back last week, they were hitting the ball well. If still in contention down the road, I would hope that management would pick up a rental bat like they did last year with Kris Bryant.
ReplyDeleteBaseball is a long season. We're only 1/4 thru the season. Even My friend who is a big Padres fan told me the Padres always play good early and fade towards the end of the season. He pointed out the Giants are banged up and Pads were lucky they didn't have to face Webb. Long way to go enjoy the ride!
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