Bad umpiring and a bullpen meltdown conspired to ruin a pretty good start by Kyle Harrison and ended in an extremely disappointing loss. Key Lines:
Thairo Estrada 2B- 1 for 3, 3B, HBP. Estrada's triple in the second inning staked Harrison to a 2-0 lead. Harrison made it stand up for 5 innings. Estrada was HBP on the right wrist in the 4'th inning causing some anxiety over a possible fracture. After a thorough on-field examination by the trainer, he stayed in the game.
Brett Wisely SS- 1 for 4. BA= .287. His line should have been a lot better. After Estrada's HBP put runners on first and second with 1 out, Wisely hit a scorcher down the 1B line that was headed for at least a double and at least 1 RBI. Instead the ball hit the bag changing directions slightly then hit the ump and ricocheted directly to Michael Toglia 1B, who beat Wisely to the bag with a slide. So, instead of at least one run in with runners at 2'nd and 3'rd with 1 out, the Giants were stuck with runners a 2'nd and 3'rd and 2 outs. Of course, the runners were stranded. A key turning point in the game.
Kyle Harrison LHP- 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 3.86. Harrison showed his familiar combination of elite stuff and inconsistent command. The result was 5 shutout innings with 93 pitches thrown. I will say many of the non-strikes were not at all close and he was helped by a ridiculously wide strike zone by the ump.
Bullpen- The bullpen needed the rest over the All-Star Break but coming out, 3 relievers gave up 7 runs in 3 IP including 3 given up by Tyler Rogers who recorded just 1 out. It was not a good scene!
Umpires- The home plate ump had a ridiculously wide strike zone that had Dave Fleming fuming from the broadcast booth. Although he called several obvious balls strikes, he seemed to do it more for Rockies SP Cal Quantrill which really put a damper on the Giants lineup in some key spots. Then there was Wisely's ball that hit the 1B ump turning a double into an out. That ball took a weird path and ate the ump up. Probably just a bad break for the Giants but Bob Melvin was shaking his head in the dugout.
The Giants and their fans were banking on the 4 days of rest, returning SP's from the IL and a softer schedule to start the second half on an optimistic note. This game was the exact opposite and very disheartening. Despite the loss they remain 3 games out of the final Wild Card playoff spot.
Logan Webb RHP tries to get the team back on track after a disastrous All-Star Game performance facing Kyle Freeland LHP who always seems to be tough on the Giants.
Congrats on writing this F-Up mess so well
ReplyDeleteHope you do as well today!
DeleteGood luck!
Thank you for the kind words. Sometimes I have to dig deep to find the motivation to write up games like this.
DeleteDave Fleming has become a constant source of complaints towards the umpires. I get it that they are bad but he points it out almost every game like it’s a ready to go excuse for the Giants struggles. He loves to talk about the injuries too like any of the guys that were injured were doing well before they left. Not like we lost Betts and Yamamoto!
ReplyDeleteIt’s hard to have a good take on what the Giants should do now and going forward. I have preached that you have to get worse to get better and by trading anyone and everyone we could effectively take a huge leap in kick starting a rebuild this year. Is it time to fire Farhan and what about Melvin who looks really lost most nights? Something has to change there is no doubt.
I have another idea that could work to kick start the rebuild possibly saving the Giants a couple years of the process and potentially save Farhan and Melvin’s jobs. It would take some keen moves over the next 10 days but could set the system and the big team up for a rebuild that would only last 2 years after this year setting us up for competing in 2027. Farhan and Melvin’s contracts only run through 2026 so you would give them those years to bring the plan to fruition which would depend greatly on the following:
1. Don’t trade any meaningful pieces to the Dodgers - we do not help that team win no matter what the return
2. Anyone is fair game including Webb, Bailey, and Ramos - if we are putting all chips in for 2027 we need any returns we can get that bring us players who will be in that wave of talent and we don’t want to win for a year or two either so why hold on to these guys?
3. Win the trade deadline - Farhan and the crew need to pull all nighters until the deadline to leverage all teams and get the best haul for anyone they can. Gut this team and whatever is left next year we build around it. I would fully expect that Snell, Ray, Webb, Doval, Rodgers’s, Conforto, Chapman, Soler, Yaz, Bailey, Ramos, Estrada, Wade, even Hicks would all be somewhat attractive players for playoff hopeful teams.
4. Tank this year and next and be okay with it - get a couple high draft picks after this year and next while evaluating our current crop of talent.
5. Give Melvin and Farhan a chance to do what they do best - manage prospects and young players on bad teams and build a farm without the pressure to win. If they don’t show they can make the transition after 2026 you replace them both.
A sell off is looking better after that meltdown!
DeletePay the Dodgers to take Soler, Flores, Conforto, and Chapman!
DeleteWhatever it takes!
Giants should draft and develop pitchers – they're good at that – and trade them for hitters – they're not so good at drafting them and cannot sign them without a Giant overpay!
DeleteGiants are very close to needing to go into full sell mode and if they do, I think it's finally time to sent FZ and his crew packing.
DeleteJust because some umpires just cannot call balls & strikes doesn't mean they are bad umpires – it means they shouldn't be calling balls & strikes.
ReplyDeleteSome are very good. Seems it would be easy to have 2 "good" B & S umpires on each crew that rotate between home plate and a base and pay them more, rather than having to put up with this nonsense.
Things do not always even out, and even if they did, a bad call in the 9th inning can determine a game, to wit, the infamous 3rd strike in the last AB of the 2021 NLDS.
Innovative idea, but...no. C'mon, if you can't call the zone, move on...seriously. I could be an umpire if I didn't have to call a the zone. It's absurd to adjust their responsibilities because they can't fulfill the job criteria.
DeleteThat said, umpiring, overall is not that bad. Really, it's not. It's that box on the TV screen. Makes us insane automatons. I hate this thing. Used to love to watch a game on TV. See how the ump was calling the zone, and how pitchers and batters were adjusting. It was a thing of beauty. Now, all we see is a box. And all we do is glance and rage if the umps call doesn't match what's in the box. Just sad.
Bring in the AAA challenge system. It's a great compromise between robo umps and the current set up.
I agree the umpiring is mostly very good and the TV box, which might not even be the correct zone, makes us viewers hypercritical.
DeleteWell, they better show up tonight, or it O-V-E-R
ReplyDeleteAnd we can watch Soler strike out in the 1st.
Again!
Okay, but they call games for everyone — so it’s a league wide problem. Giants announcers (and fans) droning on about it sounds like sour grapes. This team isn’t losing because of poor umpiring. It’s flailing because its leaders are falling short in too many clutch situations. But what would this team be like with a full training camp for Snell, a healthy starting rotation where Harrison and Hicks could be eased in and an earlier call up for Birdsong? (And no Soler hogging a DH role.)
ReplyDelete