It was fourteen degrees Fahrenheit this morning according to the outdoor thermometer on my patio. I have a rule about such temperatures: I am in favor of them only if accompanied by precipitation. Alas, that's not been this winter's pattern. We've so little snow here that neither of our local ski parks are open. I don't hibernate in the winter--it's my active season. This year however I'm suffering only from grumpiness and have no nagging skiing injuries to report. Oh, how I wish my knees were aching and my quads were sore!
Perhaps when the rest of the world is flocking to Arizona and Florida for early-season baseball we'll get that snowfall we've been expecting. And I'll be a skiing fool for a few weeks and miss all the excitement. And there ought to be some excitement, don't you think? The Giants were just a hair short of being the worst team in the league last summer and all of us want to get rid of that horrid taste in our mouths. 2018 has to be better, am I right?
At least the organization did a few things to improve the odds. The everyday lineup has a new look what with veteran stalwarts like Andrew McCutchen, Evan Longoria, and Austin Jackson donning the orange-and-black. That should help the team on both sides of the ball. Obviously pitching is the most important thing and this year it is addition-by-not-subtraction. That is, they didn't bring in anyone new, they are just hoping the guys who missed all or part of last season will be able to pitch this season. Murphy's Law was the theme for 2017. Everything that could have gone wrong obviously did, and at the worst possible times. Do the Giants get a break from that? Only the gods can know for sure and they aren't telling.
I'm excited about the 2018 Giants. Then again I'm always excited when Spring Training starts. Hoping for the best is what fans do, and this is the time for it. I'm not ready yet for analysis, projections, or roster-bation. Those will come in due time. For now just the fact that the guys will be suiting up and tossing the ball around is good enough.
--M.C.
8 comments:
Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome non-roster invitees #71 Madison Younginer and #72 Justin O'Conner (although #85 D.J. Snelten has the inside track for All-Name Team).
The word on Timmy.
As to the pitching, the Giants have brought in someone new, and very good, as of today: Tony Watson, the consensus best available lefty reliever. He and, in May, Will Smith should be pretty formidable in the bullpen. In addition, Watson is experienced as a closer, so as to add another degree of depth there along with Dyson and Melancon..
I like this much more than gambling on Lincecum for the pen, and I’m guessing that the Giants will get more out of the available starters, including Derek Holland, than Lincecum is going to provide whoever offers him a contract. I’m skeptical and unsentimental.
This seems like a good move. Not sure how the giants remained under the cap. We just do not know what Lincecum would bring to the table. Could he end up being a winning started again? could he be a decent short inning, or long inning reliever? Seems as if most teams view the situation as too early to tell. If he does show signs of making a real comeback, then he could add value to most teams including the giants. The safest way for any team to deal with this is to sign him to a minor league contract. I suppose a team desperate for pitching could sign him to a major league contract, but at this time, it does not seem to be the prudent move.
I think this is a great move. Lefty relievers are gold. This guy has a great track record. (Lots of ex-Pirates on the 2018 Giants.) Good stuff from the Giants re CBT, this contract does not hurt them this year.
Giants played their first 9 inning spring training game today. They gave up 0 earned runs. They lost to the Brewers 6 - 5.
The guys who made the errors—SIX of them, as in (appropriately) six geese a-laying, in the Xmas song—will none of them be very likely to be on the Opening Day roster. And Blach, Suarez, and Skelton pitched pretty ably.
“Skelton” in my previous post is helpful autocorrect’s post-game error for *Snelten.*
And today, the first of a long train of consecutive humiliations-to-be over the forces of evil in Loss Angeles.
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