This game unfolded along a familiar storyline: Promising start, defensive miscues and/or BAPIP luck give opponent the lead, late comeback falls short.
Lamonte Wade Jr RF led off the Giants half of the first inning with a HR to the deepest part of the field up and over Triples Alley. It was also Wade Jr's Bobblehead day.
One run looked like it might be enough for Logan Webb RHP as he sailed through 3 IP. Then this happened in the 4'th inning: IF single, FC/Error(Brandon Belt 1B), GO on chopper in front of plate(runners advance to 2'nd and 3'rd), Walk, LD double(Joc Pederson LF takes a step in then watches the ball sail over his head), GB single. Webb and Curt Casali C made a great play at home on another chopper in front of the plate for Out #2 followed finally by a GO. Whew! Now THAT is some kind of bad luck there!......except it's been happening all season.
Two more runs scored in the 6'th inning. Here is that sequence: LD single, GB double, HBP, K, Force Out(Throwing error by Donovan Walton SS, Fly Out.
Webb's final line was 6 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K's, GO/AO= 10/4. ERA= 3.13. I would argue that none of the 5 runs would have scored with better fielding.
Giants are just a mediocre team in every aspect it seems. Not really surprising when you look at the team on paper (projections were really down on the team).
ReplyDeleteIt's looking to me like the losses of Buster Posey and Kris Bryant is huge here.
DeleteIn addition to Posey and Bryant, several guys who contributed mightily last year aren't this year: Belt, Crawford, and to a lesser extent Wade.
DeleteLast year, winning 107 games, winning the division, winning the season series with the Dodgers — a great year until ...
ReplyDeleteThe 2021 NLDS was a microcosm for this year(* see note below):
inability to get runs home in losses (Team RISP: 1-8, 1-8, & 0-5 - Crawford and LaStella had 1 each in NLDS).
* Note: It is somewhat unfair to compare facing a plethora of pitching this year to facing the Dodgers pitching in the NLDS. The Dodgers had the best overall pitching in MLB last year in many categories.
Its time for Farhan to show he can do more than just sift through trash. He has accumulated enough prospects where he can afford to trade a few of them off for some immediate help. I see clear upgrades and complements all over the league that could help get the Giants back on track. One trade I would pull the trigger on if the Cubs were willing is Bart and Ramos for Contreras and Happ. There may be more we would have to throw in that wouldn’t include Luciano or Harrison but Happ can play anywhere on the infield and outfield and Contreras could be worth a long term investment once we get him. Both would immediately improve this offense and likely the defense as well.
ReplyDeleteRight now there are glaring holes at C, SS and LF. Maybe Crawford comes back from the IL rejuvenated. but had clearly lost a step or two before he went on. Estrada can pick it but is inconsistent and makes too many errors. At the moment, Walton is the only person on the team who can play the position at all and he is clearly not able to handle it. Luis Gonzalez was getting better defensively before he went on the IL, so maybe he helps when he gets back but Joc clearly is a defensive liability even in LF. As I've mentioned several times, Tommy La Stella is a nice utilty player but not a MLB caliber DH. They also need a frontline Closer to take pressure off Doval who I still think is going to be great but needs time to develop before putting him in the Closer role. Can they fill all those needs via deadline trades and do it before it's too late? This team is in free-fall right now.
DeleteNo trades of prospects for this year! Much, much better 2021 team couldn't get over the hump, this team is NOT a winner, just a possible pest to LA.
ReplyDeleteHang on to prospects - who knows is the next STAR? 5 new players could not make a Champion and what they have might make the Playoffs.
Don't waste your Reynolds or even your Dubons for nothing. This is not the Giants year, maybe the playoffs, but no Champs here - this is not even 2016.
Rodon and Joc both have significant deadline trade value. Teams are not giving up top 5 prospects for rentals these days but they should bring back a couple in the 5-10 range each. Alex Cobb has trade value too as does Jakob Junis if/when he come off the IL and continues to perform well. They might even be able to move Longo's contract. Time to clean house and jumpstart the rebuild.
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