3-2 loss to LA
The Giants got another gem from JohnnyC but it came at a tough time. By that I mean at the end of an era of great SF Giants bullpens. Can we no longer count on quality relief? Is it time to do something?
Vlog #15 A Waste of Johnny
7 comments:
Awesome effort from Cueto. Wow. And any other team strikes out 13 times with no walks in 8 IP v. Kershaw would put up a zero. Very impressed by the guys tying the game after that bizarre 1st. And the balls Posey, Panik, and BCraw hit late were homers off the bat, I was sure, but they fell just short. The balk call was huge. It seemed like they thought he started towards the plate, then stopped and rocked back ever-so-slightly, then forward again. So that's a balk. But if you stop and then continue forward w/o the backwards part it's OK. Seemed pretty ticky-tack. Kuiper thought the umps had met before the game and agreed to look for that "infraction." Baggs' column has more details including quotes from the ump.
Anyway, I don't think Casilla is going anywhere soon. But the 'pen could certainly use an extra arm. Or two. I was talking to a Giants fan I know thinks they should make Strickland the closer. Casilla is 35, after all. Funny, his walks are down and strikeouts are up but so are the homers. Let's hope it's just June yips. He pitched great in April and May. But other than Gearrin who do you see closing? And to go out and get a guy, yikes, what would that take in trade? They are too thin right now to give up a major-leaguer, and who would they part with? No one. All the guys on the team are staying put (the trade-able ones, that is). That means "prospects" and it would be a heap, I expect. But some live arms to help the 'pen, that'd be nice. But I don't see a closer out there for the plucking.
The closer type that we are linked to is the Yankee, Miller, right? He is covered by Chapman and some one else so people think he will be moved. I have no idea what they want, a lot for sure, but our top prospects include a couple SS and a catcher. We always seem to be cash strong. So there might be some room for movement. I do not think that it happens however. Our prospects never seem to compare to some other contender.
I'm in favor of the Strickland chance at closer. Casilla is certainly not going anywhere, just out of big leverage spots for a while. No Romo is a big problem and it is a long time until the rosters bulge. We need help but I don't know what. It has been a while since the bullpen was this iffy. We have been spoiled.
I don't see Strickland as a long term solution at closer. He has got a lot of hop on his fastball, but not enough pitches to be a real closer. At least not yet. Spot duty, maybe. Our bullpen seems to look good, then all of a sudden someone implodes. Not always the same guy, though. And then, those implosions always seem to cost us the game. Casilla has had a rough season so far. I read yesterday that Chapman may be on offer by the Yankees. I don't see that working, though. Yesterday, we could not come back with a run against Jensen, but did hit the ball hard off of him. At worst, the Giants will still be in first place at the end of the weekend.
No idea how reliable this article is but it talks about Andrew Miller and the Giants. It's source is Ken Rosenthal.
Miller is absurdly good, and would be a great addition, but it is hard to imagine what it would take to land him and if the Giants were willing to meet that price. Put it this way, if you were the Yankees who would YOU want? I'd want to replace Starlin Castro at 2B or Chase Headley at 3B. That's who I'd want. And the Giants have two young studly World Champion infielders under team control. But no Giants fan (or we hope no Giants exec) will part with THOSE guys. Or perhaps a 1st round pick: Crick/Stratton/Beede/Bickford. No one else on the team is really trade-able for that kind of talent.
I don't know. Seems like a reach. I think we have to hope Casilla, is OK just going through a tough patch. Strickland may indeed be closer material, but he hasn't even pitched a 100 innings in the bigs! I think the Giants will look for some bullpen help but a marquee guy is a longshot. Like you say the club misses Romo. The important thing is to tough out the bad stretches, try to play .500 ball, don't have big losing streaks, yadda yadda yadda. Right the ship, get healthy, blah blah blah. They just had a ridiculous hot stretch, a little cooling off isn't surprising, just don't go stone cold.
Fox and Arroyo might be enough to draw attention but probably not enough compared to what other can give. And yes I would trage either or both for immediate help. I'm not so sure that Duffy is still all that hot a topic, he looks pretty good but has a lot to prove. Unlikely that he really fetches much. Panik is much harder to consider giving up and I don't think they would.
I'm glad you can keep up the confidence that we are a .500 team. With our current lineup and host of under performers, I think breaking even is quite optimistic. This doesn't feel like a "bump" that a good team will go through. This feels like injuries and key failures have made us a team on the verge of getting left behind. Our lead feels shakey at best. We have lame answers for huge questions, like Strickland as new closer, or Casilla will probably do better. We probably won't go tits up, too much raw talent left. However it takes 90 wins to get in the post season and if we lose one more part we are screwed. I will try to keep a good attitude but if the Shark continues his downward trend, I will definitely be scared. Long way to go, long way to go. Something good is bound to happen. Right?
Duffy is a massively valuable trade chip. Every team out there would inquire on him or Panik. Wouldn't you? Young, cost-controlled, nothing but upside, post-season experience. Sheesh, a slow start to a season does not suddenly make a guy undesirable. Major league GMs can see past that. But I don't think Duffy is going anywhere nor do I want him to.
Anyway the Giants just played .500 against two of the best pitchers in baseball. Two playoff caliber games against playoff caliber teams. I like that. I believed in this team last year, this off-season, and this season--I'm going to let a losing stretch change that tune? Not a chance.
Teams are measured by how they deal with adversity. I think this team has too much championship DNA to fall flat.
Not much in the Rosenthal article. It says the Giants "have talked about pursing Miller." Not "are pursuing", not "are talking to the Yankees", not even "have talked about and decided to pursue." I think the Giants are good at not panicking prematurely, which is one of those things that other teams can smell and will definitely take advantage of. I find it hard to believe that any one of our top pitching talents in the minor league would be enough for the Yankees to part with Miller, because they are still minor leaguers. Two of them, maybe.
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