If the Giants aren't going to finish in first place then I want second place, goddammit. No late season death spirals that drop the team into mediocrity, thank you very much. It's a small thing, I know, but I'd like to see the lads finish strong, proudly displaying their World Series Champion shoulder patches for another few weeks. No shame in coming up short, especially with all the injuries and assorted bad things that have beset the 2011 club. And more of the Brandons, please. I want to see Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford every day for the rest of the year. We know what the old guys can do, let's give the young 'uns all the reps they can handle, whaddya say? I'd love to see both Brandons as the starters next season, but we know that's a bit of a problem for Boch & Sabes. Aubrey Huff, unless Belt hits .600 in the spring, will get the nod at first base to start the season. As he fades the youngster will take over and be the everyday guy in the second half. Or something like that. These stories are already written, aren't they? Nothing new here. Crawford is on the fast track, they are going to send him to the Fall League for more playing time, but whether they will plug him to the full-time 2012 job with an under-developed bat seems unlikely. I say bat him 8th and let him save runs with his glove, but the team is absolutely stocked with 8th-place hitters and the pressure on the Brian Trust to improve the wretched offense will be extra-huge this off-season. They can always scrape another Miguel Tejada or Orlando Cabrera off the scrap heap, and they just might do that if Crawford isn't ready. Yuck. No thanks. No more of that, please. Get ready, Brandon, I can't take another season of tortoises in a hare's position.
Madison Bumgarner had another great game today. FanGraphs says he's second on the club with 4.7 WAR. Damn. The Giants have Tim and Matt and MadBum. Damn! (And Dirty and Vogie, too.) The Phillies may have the best pitching in baseball this season, but the Giants are going to be the best next season (just like they were in 2010). And you know something? I'm already salivating over a Posey-Panda 3-4 punch. Pablo Sandoval is putting it all back together after last year's struggles and this year's injuries. He just turned 25 and has over 1800 ML PAs. I think this kid has a bright future, don't you? The news from Camp Buster is all good, too. Can't wait to see him back behind the plate again. In the meantime, let us appreciate what a rare gem we have with our super sophomore southpaw. He goes all Steve Carlton on you with the fastball and the strikeouts, then he throws in a little Jamie Moyer lefty-slurvy shite, too, adding to the batters' befuddlement. He's only 22 and will just top 50 career starts by the end of this season. Did I say "bright future" somewhere in this post?
Happy Labor Day!
--M.C.
5 comments:
Madbum was superb. Such an long, effortless delivery. What do you think are the possibilities of signing Carlos Beltran for next year? You say you like the idea of Posey/Panda. How about Beltran/Posey/Panda? Maybe too expensive. Maybe not, I do not know. Did you see the man hit in the first two Arizona games? Yeah, Belt needs to play, Crawford needs to play, Stewart needs to play, and Torres needs to play - still trying to figure out if last year was real for him or a fluke. I like Keppinger as backup/alternate at short.
Torres needs to play both righty and lefty to see if he can get it together. In his first year as a giant he hit better righty. We also need to see if Pill can hit major league pitching. We also could have Surkamp ready and able next year. That could push Sanchez to the pen. He was really nasty when he came up as a reliever. Bumgarner is going to be the true Ace. He will be the giants Clayton Kershaw. He is getting stronger in the second half. Koufax did not find his stuff at 21 or 22. Could Keppinger play shortstop next year if Crawford cannot hit? Not sure if Keppinger is really as slow as he has been lately or if he is playing with a leg injury. Torres, Freddie Sanchez, Sandoval, Posey Beltran, Belt, Huff, Keppinger and pitcher. Cf, 2nd,
3rd, catcher, right left, first, short. Of interest Brandon Crawford has a nice approach at the plate, but he still cannot hit. I think Belt will be good, umps have given Belt and Huff a hard time with their calls of balls and strikes lately. Schierholtz or Ross can be on the team, as always injuries abound, we could use either Beltran or an equivalent. The padres gave Guzman a chance to play everyday and he started hitting. Lets let Belt play everyday.
I would go with Beltran if he was willing to move to LF. Too old, really, for anything more than a 2-year deal. He's a great player but past his prime and an injury risk. I just don't see him playing enough games over the next 3-4 years to make it worth the big bucks. He's going to want a lot and a 3rd/4th year guaranteed.
Torres is the key. Can we get an everyday player back in 2012? If so, he gets the job in CF, Nate in RF, and LF up for grabs.
Cain got Cained once again. The giants toss out Jesus Guzman got to him, after the ump called a pitch with a 2-0 count ball three which was strike one. Then on a 3-0 slider, a decent pitch, former giant Guzman beat him. A bunch of close plays all went to the Pads. I think Ross was safe in the ninth. Some knee high pitches by Cain were balls but even lower pitches were strikes for Harang. Also Harang and later for their closer some high inside pitches were called strikes. The Pads did come up big on defense in the first by Maybin, and later a perfect throw by Venable. Why was Crawford not playing short? Cabrera tries hard, but he is kind of worse than Tejeda. Cain now goes to 68 and 72, or in Yankee terms he would be about 100 and 40. I hope he will stay with the giants when he is a free agent, but I guess that will be up to Sabes to get an offense and to make a good offer.
Post a Comment