I'm not sure what the Giants can do at this point other than get their collective shit together and start winning some goddamn games. No one wants Dan Uggla starting at second base, but three second baseman on the roster out with injury and the other (Joaquin Arias) having his worst season with the bat EVER doesn't leave the team a lot of options. Sure, it would be nice to sit Mike Morse down for some needed rest, but who plays in his place? He's one of the few guys who CAN play every day! I'd love to have Jake Peavy alongside Matt Cain not instead of him. Not much the team can do in that department. Maybe Cain will go under the knife sooner rather than later and be 100% for 2015. That's assuming that's what he needs, of course. Even if it is just arthroscopic surgery you can understand any athlete's reluctance to have doctors poking around inside. I had my knee 'scoped a few years back (torn meniscus) and despite it all working out just fine I must admit to trepidation about the whole concept. I like doctors better when they aren't probing and cutting--I'll bet most folks feel the same way.
Are the Giants done dealing? Supposedly they are still interested in Ben Zobrist who would be a terrific addition, but it seems what they really need is David Price, who would probably be unaffordable. When you look at the cost of Jake Peavy, Price would probably require twice that much, and the Giants would likely have to give up a major-leaguer as well. Who do we dangle? Brandon Belt? I don't see it happening. I think the team is what the team is and we have to hope they get healthy and get back to playing good baseball.
The Pirates are in town for three this week, games 106, 107 and 108 to finish the month of July and the sixth seasonal inning. I'll post something on Thursday--I hope it is joy after a sweep, or at least tempered excitement after seeing two wins out of three. August has 28 games scheduled and September 25, but the Giants have a suspended game to make up as well and that's your final 54. Six of those are against the Dodgers so it's not like they won't have their chances. And a 1-1/2 game deficit is nothing. If you had told me in March that the team would be neck-and-neck with the $230M boys in blue at the end of July I'd have been happy. So why ain't I happy? Maybe it's this:
77 divided by 23 is 3.35 and 79 divided by 23 is 3.43. I may be a retired schoolteacher but I can still tell you that 3.35 < 3.43 and that usually correlates to W < L.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
4 comments:
I'm so f-ing sick of how good Dee Gordon has suddenly become - we really didn't need that development. I also hate Greinke. With Kershaw, it's more like 'what a Pitcher ... I wish that he was a Giant." With Greinke, it's like 'what a whiny mercenary' - guy who kept bouncing from team to team, getting rich. I don't like him. (I also don't like the way that his cap always looks way too big for his head - sort of a reverse Bochy.)
When the highlight of a 3-game home series against LA is seeing one of your Friends make a good play on a foul ball, then get the slow-motion replay, then the close-up of him & his Wife in the stands, you know that it was a terrible series.
Morse is a bad player. He is slow to the ball in the field, has a terrible throwing arm, has a ridiculously big looping swing with a million holes in it, & has now been re-figured out by every Pitcher & Catcher in the NL. We would do well to bring in another OF with some pop, so that Morse can become a part-time OF / 1B / PH.
Uggla is a total mess right now - his fielding resembles Atlanta's 2B in the 2010 playoffs. He can't hit. Is he any better than Brandon Hicks (who sucked, but not this much)?
We shouldn't give up quality for a rental, so various people are out-of-the-question. But, I think that there may still be a few reasonable deals out there for people who would help us - Lord knows, anything positive would help.
Peavy was pretty good - he was unnecessarily in pressure situations every inning he was out there due to someone's mis-play. I have a reasonable feeling that he will help us a lot.
Morse isn't a bad player, he's a limited player. He's got the 2nd best OPS on the team behind Pence. I thought we'd get more out of Blanco and Morse would have more down time. Alas, Blanco has only started to hit lately and Belt's injury forced Morse to first and thus in the lineup more. I always liked the "semi-starter" role, like a 3/4 position, not quite full-time. Morse seems suited to that, like a lot of limited players, and Boch is good at mixing and matching. Injuries have forced the team to jury-rig and guys like Blanco and Morse have to be more than they are. Blanco is also a limited player--a great 4th OF but not a starter. Useful, though, if used in the right role.
I always like Gordon. I thought the Dodgers were fools to get a shortstop, it seemed like they already had one. Who knew he was a second baseman? Maybe that position switch was just what he needed, or maybe he finally just matured enough (age 26) and put his game together. You never know who's got those breakout skills. Gordon did steal 60 bases in 143 games in his first two half-seasons so you knew he was fast. It's the rest of the game we had not seen.
I'd like a magical OF-with-pop, too, like every other fan of every other team besides the Dodgers who have OFs to burn. Alex Rios is supposedly available. That's the kind of player we are talking about--would he be an upgrade?
Alex Rios would definitely be an upgrade. Then, neither Blanco nor Colvin would have to play against LHP's. He is on the big & lumbering side, but he does have speed (unlike Morse). I would be fine with Rios / Pagan / Pence in a few weeks, with Morse spot-starting at either OF or 1B + PH-ing. I don't think that the price for Rios is going to be as high as others (like Willingham, even though Rios is probably more valuable). On the other hand, Zobrist solves many other problems - but, would have a higher cost + the Rays still think that are in the playoff picture, so I don't know what their plans are.
Even though we swept you goys there is somet postive that can be taken from the series. If you guys get healthy these games could have been closer and it was not like any if them were major blowouts. Lot of baseball left and better to only be down 2 games then the rest of our division who are pretty much out of it.
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