The Giants rolled out their possible, even likely, Opening Day lineup in Scottsdale and rolled to a easy win. Key Lines:
Jung Hoo Lee CF- 1 for 3, HR(2). BA= .400. Lee hit the first of 4 HR's in the game for the Giants. His apparent good health and success at the plate seems like a great reason for optimism for the upcoming season.
Matt Chapman 3B- 2 for 3, 2 HR(3). BA= .462. Chapman drove in the Giants first run with a home run in the second inning and then went B2B with Lee in the 3'rd inning becoming the first Giants batter to homer 3 times this spring. Chapman has had some good seasons but is he primed for a career year?
Wilmer Flores DH- 1 for 3. BA= .278. A healthy Wilmer Flores is probably a better DH option than Jerar Encarnacion. If Wilmer DH's on days he does not play 1B, is Jerar redundant on the roster?
Mike Yastrzemski RF- 2 for 2, HR(2), HBP. BA= .222. Talking about unsustainable stats, YtY is sporting a .897 OPS with a .222 BA and .286 OBP. His HR was the Giants fourth of the game.
Christian Koss SS- 1 for 1. BA= .333. Koss continues his strong spring.
Grant McCray CF- 1 for 1, 2 SB(3). BA= .238. McCray is probably the Giants best defensive CF and might be their best basestealer, although Patrick Bailey C might have something to say about that(Bailey stole a base today and is 5 for 5 during the regular season as a Giant at the MLB level).
Justin Verlander RHP- 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 3.00. Getting more bullish on Verlander's season. Giants have a long history of getting value out of star players late in their careers.
Sean Hjelle RHP, Tyler Rogers RHP, Camilo Doval RHP and Joey Lucchesi LHP each recorded a scoreless inning.
Enny Romero LHP- 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 0 K. ERA= 5.40. Enny my man! This is not how you win a roster spot!
Keaton Winn RHP gets the start tomorrow on the road against the Reds.
Trevor McDonald RHP was optioned to AAA Sacramento.
Carson Whisenhunt LHP was reassigned to minor league camp.
Your man gave up a 1-out, 4-pitch walk to sub in his only, late inning AB, then a home run to a minor leaguer who started the AB with 2 strikes.
ReplyDeletePossibly can chalk that one to bad luck.
We can hope.
Christian Koss can b/u 3 infield positions, but can he hit? 321 AAA PAs
ReplyDelete.249/.313/.390 — is that better than Schmitt? 390 PAs for SF:
.219/.264/.369 and in 568 AAA PAs:
.286/.343/.460
Koss would have to be added to the 40-man roster whereas Schmitt and Wisely do not so the odds are against him right there.
Delete....but maybe Christian can show enough to get traded to a team that needs a backup infielder?
DeleteKoss has appeared in more games than anyone this spring, and has an OPS of 1.067. He may be aced out on opening day, but I think he is a valuable asset and will get called up this season. On the mid-week Audiocasts, FP Santangelo said people are paying attention to his excellent performance this spring. Still my Dark Horse candidate to contribute this year.
DeleteOther than LH relief, I am kinda liking this team.
ReplyDeleteGood stuff about the Pitching..again..Loving what I am seeing from the starters ..That can go a long way..I still worry big time about LHRP, the OF after Lee, and 1B and want to see these guys do something consistent at the plate pretty soon.
ReplyDeleteSteveVA
Well, at least the list of positions to worry about is getting smaller. Matos and Meckler are having solid springs so we can already see a backup plan for OF. I still think LHRP will work itself out....or not. I am sure you remember the Angels won a World Series in 2002 with no LHRP's. On the other hand, the Giants would probably still be looking for their first championship without Affeldt and Javier Lopez so it's a mixed bag. Back up catcher is extremely thin but at least Huff has stepped up and looks like a viable option. This team is so settled compared to pretty much every spring under FZ. It might be a bit much to expect that every single position and back up position is rock solid.
DeleteDR. B, well, one can hope right!.. Hey, spring is always a time for hope but also concern if you want a team good enough to be fighting for the POs!!
Delete..I've already decided to let 2B go ad Hope Fitz/Schmidt/Wisley will be good enough and they just might....The entire OF, including Ramos and Yaz still concens me..Doesn't mean it can't be good if Lee stays healthy and Ramos is as good as his better days last year and the rest contribute..I'm hoping this is the year MATOS can put it together consistenlty..And i like MECKLER...Just doesn't stop me from being concerned about the group.....Also not convinced by Flores/Wade/Encarnacion but it may be likely that one has a good year
SteveVA
I guess I have stopped worrying about whether they are going to make the playoffs or not. Some of that is out of their control. I like where the team is, currently and in the future and how it's looked so far this spring. I will be happy if they stabilize a new core and are prepared to add to it next offseason. Even though it's still spring training and the games don't count, I find the team fun to watch again and can't wait to see what the next game brings. Maybe I won't feel that way in August but I'll worry about that in August.
Delete....and I'll bet the fans of pretty much every team but the Dodgers have at least a position or two they fret about.
DeleteDOC--I always want the team to be as good as possible with the POs being a by product of that. .I like a bunch of things about the team and what i have seen this spring, just not sure bout the job Buster and GMZM (if he does anything) with 1B, OF, and LHRP to that end and can't shake it....Anyways, different strokes for different folks! And because i have concerns doesn't mean I am not pulling for the Giants any less then anybody else. Go Giants!!!
DeletesteveVA
I'm thinking the Dodgers might have concerns about a couple of positions and soon.
DeleteGiven the roster crunch for the Giants at the big league level, the River Cats will be fun to watch, too … they might have a stacked lineup that could rival a lot of teams in the majors, including the Sacramento A’s (or whatever they’re calling themselves this season).
ReplyDeleteThe A's won't make the playoffs nor reach .500, but they are not at the hapless level and will be interesting to watch.
ReplyDelete2024 had a 19-win increase and a .500 second half.
They spent a lot of money this off-season.
Mid-70's wins is not out of reach, and Brent Rooker will hit a LOT of HR's, maybe 40 in Sacramento.
With grass seating in the outfields, they might draw a million, first time since 2019.
Anyone know why the game was cancelled on Friday? Never saw an explanation.
ReplyDeleteRained out.
DeleteQuestion: since McCray has tremendous speed — he beat out an infield "nubber" Saturday — but he strikes out very much too much, would he be more valuable to the Giants to try to sacrifice some power for contact, or is that even possible?
ReplyDeleteThat's probably what they would coach him to do about 30 years ago. Nowadays nobody coaches slap-and-dash baseball. Maybe Buster has a different idea?
Delete