Johnny Cueto had some command issues early in the game but settled down to retire, at one point, 13 in a row. The Giants had a 1-0 lead thanks to an Alex Dickerson homer in the 1st but did not get another hit until the 8th inning. Meanwhile the Diamondbacks tied it up in the bottom of the 6th with a solo shot of their own. Cueto delivered a splendid 6-2/3 yielding three hits and three walks on 106 pitches. Fine bullpen work from Tony Watson, Tyler Rogers, and Sam Coonrod (who closed it) gave the Giants a chance. They responded with four hits in the top of the 8th to plate three runs and come away with a tidy win. The Giants improve to 8-11 on the road and 17-19 overall.
So far no news from Giants HQ regarding the trade deadline which is 4 p.m. ET tomorrow.
Monday is an off-day and then the Giants go to Colorado for two, with Tuesday at 5:40 and Wednesday 12:10 (p.m. PDT).
--M.C.
9 comments:
Which basically proves the point, that a good bullpen is key to victory.
And having the starters go deep into games so the 'pen doesn't pitch five innings every night!
Early in the season the bullpen roles were still getting organized. Then the starters weren't pulling their weight and the relievers got over-worked. Now it seems like the rotation is more stable and the guys are sorting themselves out.
Nice to see Coonrod bringing the big heat!
Dereck Rodriguez was claimed by the Tigers (the Giants had waived him). I'm happy he's getting another chance. He sure was a fun surprise in 2018 but he just couldn't find that level of performance again, at least in a Giants uniform. Perhaps the scenery change will work.
I'm reminded again how hard it is to achieve in MLB. There are a LOT of pro ballplayers, guys who are already elite athletes, but only a few get to The Show and only a few of them make careers out it.
Evan Longoria came into the league as the wunderkind. Rookie of the Year, then back-to-back MVP-caliber seasons, he looked like The Goddamn Natural. Now he works his ass off just to stay above average! Being an "average" ML player is damn difficult.
Longo was a #3 pick, and is by far the best position player of that class (2006). That year the Dodgers took Kershaw at #7 and the Diamondbacks took Scherzer at #11. The Giants of course took Timmeh at #10 and I think we are all happy how that turned out!
Giants supposedly acquire another lefty pitcher this time Anthony Banda from the Rays.
That's all I have so far.
AmyG confirms the deal, the Giants did not send a player, just "cash considerations."
This looks like a "stand pat" deadline for the Giants. Maybe they'll pick up another few pieces but I don't see a big trade lining up.
Certainly the Giants could use more pitching, especially a starter. And they could use an outfielder who can hit AND stay on the field! (Btw Joey Rickard goes on the IL.) But they are also looking up at two really strong teams (LA and SD) and I think they can only realistically compete with AZ and CO the rest of the way. The Padres went crazy and dealt a lot of young talent away to fill holes RIGHT NOW in order to make a post-season run. That's the right move for that team. Giants have too may holes. They have a post-season shot if they can whip on Colorado, Arizona, and Seattle and don't get too creamed by Oakland and San Diego.
I think Alex Pavlovic at NBC Sports Bay Area summed up the Giants position nicely:
Kevin Gausman theoretically could have helped someone else. But Gausman isn't that dissimilar to Robbie Ray, the Arizona Diamondbacks lefty who was sent to the Toronto
Blue Jays. Ray has had a horrible year because he walks a batter an inning, but it's a huge arm that can play in a rotation or bullpen. He's had more past success than Gausman, and all the Diamondbacks got in return was Travis Bergen. If that name sounds familiar, it should. The Giants had Bergen as a Rule 5 pick last year and sent him back to the Blue Jays.
Lance Lynn stayed in Texas, and the A's didn't give up much for Mike Minor. Even the cost of Mike Clevinger was much less than you would expect in a normal year.
It wasn't a good year to be selling, so the front office honored the wishes of the clubhouse, giving a veteran group a chance to try and win a playoff spot over the next 24 games.
Fans are always selling high. "We should trade so-and-so for a bunch of prospects!!" We tend to over-value our own players, and assume another organization will too. These days with all the information and analytics it is really hard to pull a fast one on another team. Ideally, a trade helps both clubs and neither side is a clear winner. Unless teams are in fire-sale mode, it is hard to find quality without giving up quality. And MLB (and MLBPA) should do everything they can to prevent fire sales and tanking.
In the end the Giants are sticking with who they have and seeing what they can do.
In spite of the Giants recent on-field success, the Giants are not a team that was designed for the post season. The fact that they may qualify for it says more about the absurdity of having eight teams from each league in the playoffs rather than the relative strength of the Giants. We will see teams in the playoffs that do not even have a winning record. Hello, NBA where no one cares about the regular season. FZ's #1 chore was to repair, stock and improve the pipeline. He seems to have made a credible start to doing that. In the meantime, he has filled the team with replacement parts. There is no one on the team that is really a keeper, Joey Bart excluded, although there have been some pleasant surprises, like Yaz, and maybe Solano if he can figure out what that funny hand-shaped thing at the end of his arm is for. The Giants are building, or perhaps, still kicking around in the foundations or maybe still in the demolition phase. Smardjy's gone after this year. Crawford, Belt, Buster and Cueto are done after 2021. We might see Cueto in 22 (club option) depending on the state of pitching, in the market, farm system and on the team. I wouldn't be surprised to see Buster with the club in the future, but my guess is that he will be in the management ranks and I would not be surprised to see him finish his playing career mentoring catchers on another club. I saw articles, "the Giants should be buyers this year" but FZ should be credited for not giving in to the rantings of the lunatic fringe, because we simply cannot give up the few prospects we now have in the pipeline to expect some sort of fairy dust to carry us through God knows how many rounds of playoffs this year. And, as you say, those players they could have sold wouldn't fetch much.
I don't know if there is such a things as "designed for the post-season" that is different from "hella good." Giants are not hella good, but they have been competitive and they have an outside shot at being a little better than that. In 2020, that can get you a post-season shot. That's OK by me.
I did not figure the Giants to do much and it is OK by me that they kept their collective cool. If Gausman could have fetched a prize they might have done that but I doubt he was that attractive. I think he might be a good candidate to re-sign for 2021.
The young stars in the system are not quite ready for prime time, but we knew that going in to this season. I also think the F.O. has done well to keep the pipeline flowing and bringing in more talent. Plus players like Solano and Yaz have been super fun and the old guys like Belt and Longo have played well lately. Let's hope Cueto can be a solid starter the rest of this season and be healthy for all of 2021.
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