The Giants bounced back from last night's 5-1 loss with a well-played 4-1 win this afternoon to take two of the three games from the Braves. Carlos Rodón started and was his usual dominant self. What was unusual was that he was pulled after five innings and only 71 pitches (2 H, 1 R, 0 W, 8 K). Apparently they are just being careful with him--there was no report of injury or other physical issue. The Giants led 2-1 at that point due mostly to the bottom of the lineup. Austin Wynns got a two-out hit to plate the first run in the 2nd and David Villar and J.D. Davis had back-to-back doubles in the 4th for the second run. Solid relief pitching from Tyler Rogers and Scott Alexander kept the Braves off the board in the 6th and 7th. Meanwhile the Giants got two more in the bottom of the 6th on another clutch hit from Wynns. John Brebbia took care of the 8th and that left the 9th for Camilo Doval.
He did not disappoint. The young flamethrower was overpowering and whiffed the three batters he faced on twelve pitches. Doval has the stuff to be one of the best late-inning pitchers in MLB. Let's hope he continues to grow and refine his game.
The Braves are a good team. They are the defending champs and they've been really hot after the All-Star Break. Taking a series from that club is a bright moment in a dark season! The Giants are off tomorrow and then the Dodgers come to town for three starting Friday night at 7:15 Pacific. Logan Webb will get the start.
Go Giants!
--M.C.
4 comments:
I forgot to mention that Cole Waites did indeed make his MLB debut. That was in the loss last night. He walked Ehire Adrianza to open his career! He put two on with no out but worked his way to a clean sheet. No whiffs, but more important, no runs. So, welcome to The Show, Cole!
I think we need to keep an eye on Waites. Not many guys jump all the levels in one season.
And you probably saw the story about Zach Littell. He and Kap had a beef when he got pulled on Friday's win, but he said all the right things afterwards. The skipper wasn't too happy about the whole thing and then Littell was sent down. Kap has a way of saying it's not about the behavior and it is at the same time. Funny thing, he's right. Littell was struggling and not at all near last year's strong performance. He's been on the bubble for a while.
And Rodon had a blister, that's why he was pulled.
Maybe no one here want to speculate, but what do folks think the odds are that the giants sign Rodon after this season? It seems to me once you have a guy like that, you do not let him go while he is in his prime. Unless the Dodgers or the Yankees make such a high bid that it cannot be matched.
Rodon (b. 12/92) is a year younger than Gausman (b. 1/91) age-wise but you can see it is more like 23 months. Perhaps that makes him more interesting to the Giants. They never really showed interest in Gausman and knew he'd get a $100M somewhere and they did not pursue him.
It will take $100M+ to sign Rodon. I'd like to see another high AAV deal for a shorter term with opt-outs. Carlos Correa makes $35M/year but he can choose to move on from Minnesota if he wants after each season. I wonder if Rodon would do something like that?
There's a good chance some club will pony up $150-200M for 5-6 years. I'd be surprised if it's the Giants! I get the sense they are gun-shy about 5+ year deals for pitchers after the Samardzija and Cueto deals went sour. In the end the Giants got three solid seasons (32 starts, 2+ to 3+ WAR) from Smardj and two lost ones. Cueto gave them one spectacular season, one mediocre season, and four mostly lost ones. It's not a good track record.
That being said there is an increasingly loud fan contingent that will demand big-splash FA signings. They want the team to spend big money. Rodon is in the right place at the right time in that respect.
Scherzer gets $43M/yr. Cole gets $36M. Verlander $33M. Strasburg, Greinke, Kershaw, and Price all make over $30M per year.
I have no clue what the Giants are going to do with Rodon. If they give him a 6-year, $220M package I'll be shocked. I'm guessing they will try to do $110M for 3-years with opt-out provisions and hope he will be enticed as it is similar to how they got him in the first place (2 years, $21M/year, opt-out).
Think about what it would take to sign, say, Trea Turner. He's six months younger than Rodon and plays a premium position and can pretty much do it all. If Correa gets $35M/yr, what's Turner worth? And would the Giants give him five years and $150+M?? That's the kind of player that the fans want the Giants to acquire, an established stud who can make an impact immediately.
I guess my answer to your question is "I have no f'ing clue!"
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