The Giants were done after that bone-crushing loss in the final inning on Friday night. Yesterday they showed some spunk but not enough to challenge for a win, and today they fought back gamely but could not conjure up the victory they needed. They had some fine individual efforts over the last two days, but they did not have the team-wide x-factor they needed to finish strong, especially against a much more talented club. I had one goal for this team: improve. But, I had a yardstick: play .500 ball. They didn't measure up, but they certainly improved. I think FZ, Kap, and the players deserve a lot of credit for exceeding expectations and playing meaningful games until the bitter end.
And it was a bitter end. On Wednesday the Giants found themselves in an unexpected place: in charge of their post-season destiny. I didn't write much about the team's post-season chances because even at their highest point I considered them slim, and I viewed a seeding in the tournament as a bonus, not a goal. Alas, they really were close--they really did have a strong chance. In fact, all the other teams helped them out today--a win would have assured them a playoff spot! But that loss on Thursday set them back. Despite a great effort in the double-header on Friday they came out with another brutal defeat, a real shoulda-coulda-woulda kinda game. As I said at the top, I think that finished them.
The Giants had to play 26 games against three of the best teams in baseball this year, the A's, the Dodgers, and the Padres. They were 7-19 against them, a .269 percentage! They were 22-12 (.647) against the rest of their opponents and finish 29-31 or a .483 mark. That's better than 2019 (.475), 2018 (.451), and 2017 (.395) Those were full 162-game campaigns so I know it's not an entirely fair comparison, but I'm looking for improvement.
If you want to be a good team, you have to play better against other good teams, and that's an obvious goal for next year. But we'll talk about next season later. This season was weird, of course, but I'm really happy we got to have a season at all. Sports without fans in the stands is bizarre, but I'll enjoy the post-season even if I won't follow it too closely. I'll certainly watch the World Series.
I suspect lots of things will be different about baseball going forward. I suspect we'll have lots to talk about in the coming months. As always,
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
13 comments:
The 2020 Giants went 26 - 23 (.531), with 5 ties and 6 incomplete games.
A seven-inning game in a double-header is a lot more legit than a five-inning rain-shortened game, and there are plenty of those on the books.
Well, that sucked. After Friday nights game, I found myself deflated as well. The Giants played some very good and exciting baseball this year, which gave me hope that they would at least make it to the playoff round and put forth a good showing. Alas, not this year. The A's, Padres and Fodgers just had our number this year. I guess being a Bay Area native, I'll root for the A's to take it all. Not sure about cardboard cut outs at the World Series, but at least we're still playing ball. C'est la vie! I was impressed with the Giants new lineup and hope they'll be able to keep this group intact and inspired for next season. Perhaps a new starting pitcher? More or better bullpen arms? Get Buster back? We shall see. Thanks you Giants for some great moments and thrills this year and I look forward to attending a game or more next season. Na Zdoroye!
The giants last loss to Colorado, and the walk-off loss to San Diego were both brutal. The loss to the Pads, was especially tough, as no one understood the reason why he put a tired Coonrod into finish the game. After facing 3 batters and having no control whatsoever, it seemed wise to replace him. Also once Crawford cannot make a play late in the game, the team always seems to fall apart. Nevertheless they came into Sunday's game with an absolute chance to get a spot in the post season with a win. One will never know that if the game was competently umpired behind the plate if the giants would have won or not. But with at least 5 At bats, and some in key situations taken away from giants hitters on horrific calls, their chances were thwarted. Usually on some of the giants sites, there is little agreement about umpire complaints. But this particular game, there has been outrage on the ineptitude of the calls. The poorly called and one sided calls were not even acceptable for the little league. He made up for it once with a called strike for Gausman that was clearly a ball, but in key situations, multiple times, he took the bat out of the hands of the giants hitters on what were insanely poor calls. Again, giants may have still lost the game, but their fans would not feel as if the chance to win was taken away from them. This game not only needs to be reviewed by the usual umpire review process, but MLB needs to take a good look.
Maybe they were in a hurry to get it over with! It is only a matter of time before the robot umps start taking over, for better or for worse. People are losing faith in the human ability to call balls and strikes.
Or perhaps the likelihood of error seems like an anachronism in these days of precise data as to spin rate, launch angle, and techniques for greater plate discipline. If one’s play is guided by Driveline, why should official judgments about it be ruled by Abner Doubleday standards?
I think that's it. When everyone in the stands and at home can see a replay showing the mistake and the people playing the game are subject to the results of the mistake but can't do anything about it then something has to give. Either you ban the tech from the game entirely or you embrace it.
I'm not sure how I feel about robot umps, but I can tell you I hate customized strike zones. Krukow is always going on about how this guy "gives you the corners" or this guy "gives you the high strike" or whatnot. He loves to talk about how the zone evolves over the course of the game! I say "B.S." to all that. There was a time, before TV, when the strike zone was a negotiation between the ump, the catcher, and the pitcher. That time is no more.
I'm skeptical that robot umps will be ready and relatively fool-proof any time soon. I don't think the tech is quite there, yet. But MLB will probably introduce it before then, figuring a few percentage points of failure over the course of a season beats the overly-personalized strike zones we have now.
I’m with you! And I won’t miss the new stat of catcher “framing,” the art of deliberately inducing umpire error by sleight of hand. Some forms of “cheating” scandalize the public, some (corked bats, for instance) are distinct no-nos, some (spitballs, for instance) are pretty OK, and some (framing, for instance) are actively applauded. I don’t get it.
Krukow seems to think that umpire idiosyncrasy and ineptitude is like wind or fog or sun in an outfielder’s eyes, I guess, for the savvy player to identify and compensate for. Is that what differentiates it from using scuffed, stained baseballs, or leaving stray pebbles in the infield so as to provide more surprising paths for grounders?
They overturn plays on the bases, and overturn home run calls, but there are plays they wont look at. I do remember years ago on a 2-2 count to Andres Galarrhaga, Livan tossed a pitch right down the middle, taken for what should have been a called strike 3 with two outs, and the giants holding on to a one run lead. The bases were loaded. Livan should have been out of the inning. The ump completely missed the call. The next pitch, Grand Slam. Can one pitch make a difference? It sure can. In that case a 4 run difference. In game 60 for the giants the home plate ump only had an accuracy on balls in strikes in the mid to low 80's. Just like today's fast ball, today's game lives in the mid to high 90's in ball and strike accuracy and in fast ball speed. If an ump can no longer cut it, he needs to be replaced by one who can. The speed of the game may have surpassed some of the umpires. Or, vision checks should be given more often. All that is assuming that there was no foul play.
"Catcher framing" is just another way to say "gotcha!" We all know it means "faking out the umpire by pretending to catch the ball in the strike zone."
I get that everything--like the weather--can't be standardized and I have no issue with that. But balls and strikes are so central to the game that something will change.
Posey is known to be a good be a good framer but I found that the one pitch that he had trouble with the backfoot slider from lefties thrown to right handed hitters, and I think it affected Bumgarner's strike percentage on that pitch. Some catchers seem to sweep their glove from the inside to the middle of the plate, perhaps stealing a few calls. Posey often moved his glove in the direction of that pitch moving from over the plate to the inside. It perhaps kept him from having more passed balls which is a good thing, but I think it cost our pitchers some key strikes. Other than that, Posey seems to be a rather elite pitch framer. It obviously is his choice, and I am sure he has his reasons that make perfect sense. I think Posey would have been worth one or two wins more than the current catching core we had this year, and they may have just been enough to put us in the post season. I did want to see more of Jaylin Davis, and Stephen Duggar this year, I wonder if they were hurt or the brass just did not see them as the best option for part of the season.
Agreed. Catching was a black hole for much of the season. That being said, it was fun to see Chadwick Tromp and he just might carve out a niche role for himself. We got to see Joey Bart and even though he struggled it was good to get a look at him. Nothing wrong with needing a little more seasoning in the minors! Posey's presence will be a huge improvement next year. Look at how the other oldsters like BCraw and Belt looked rejuvenated. I think that's a real positive this year and it speaks to better coaching and better preparation and better matchups (like Belt sitting against lefties).
The Giants should get Aramis Garcia back from surgery and they've got some depth perhaps with Fabina Pena (AA likely) and Ricardo Genovese (NRI but only 22) and of course they drafted a catcher (Patrick Bailey). Such an important position, you really need all the backstops you can get!
Duggar got some opportunities late in the season because he was a lefty and they like his glove and speed, but Davis was stuck in the "alternate" site. Not sure why, I'm with you, I want to see him.
I suppose we will have to wait and see how may minor league teams there will be and if Spring Training will be more like normal. There is currently an Instructional League in Arizona that runs through October and ends on Nov 8th. Giants have 65 players there. Melissa Lockard on The Athletic did a nice breakdown of the prospects. IL is for the youngest guys in the system just starting their pro careers but some more experienced prospects will be there this year because the pandemic cut short their minor league time.
Let's hope 2021 will be a lot better and we can get a lot more baseball!!
Of interest, I agree that both Brandon's seemed to be rejuvenated. I went to several sites, to look at the rating of MLB shortstops this year. To my surprise, Brandon Crawford rated toward the bottom no matter what site or system was used. What am I missing. He may not be the top shortstop in the league anymore, but rating him toward the bottom of the league also makes no sense to me.
Post a Comment