It was not a pretty opening weekend for the orange-and-black. A lackluster effort on Friday wasted a strong start from Alex Cobb (7 IP, 2 R, 0 W, 6 K), and an ugly collapse yesterday wasted a fine effort from Sean Manaea (6 IP, 1 R, 1 W, 8 K). The Giants looked dead for most of today despite quality work from Anthony DeSclafani (6-1/3 IP, 1 R, 0 W, 7 K) and trailed 1-0 in the bottom of the 8th. But it was Easter Sunday and they found a way to rise up and save the day. Rookie Bryce Johnson got on with a wind-and-sun aided popup and scored the tying run on a double from Wilmer Flores that caromed at just the right spot. Johnson was going on the pitch and was deked at second and slid into the base but was still able to score. Wilmer's hit was just out of reach for the left fielder and it took him a while to get the throw off. Johnson was lucky but he's also really fast so it worked out for the Giants. Michael Conforto then hit a two-run homer to make it 3-1 San Francisco and that's how it finished.
I was happy with the road trip. I thought getting a win in Yankee Stadium was a big accomplishment and the homer barrage against the White Sox in Chicago was a lot of fun. Coming home with a 3-3 record felt like a positive sign despite the erratic play. But the back-to-back losses at home were quite deflating and put a dent in my outlook. Thank goodness they won today. I am much cheered up. In fact, I liked the formula: a tough start, solid relief, and a clutch rally. I think the Giants will get a lot of quality starts this season. Logan Webb will come around—there's nothing wrong with his pitches, he just has to adjust like every other player. He's got the goods to stay on top of the league and I've no doubt he'll be there soon. Bullpens are always hard to gauge. I was happy that Taylor Rogers looked better. Let's hope Sean Hjelle finds his mojo soon.
The catching situation remains fluid. Roberto Pérez goes to the 60-day IL. That's a real bummer. He seemed to fit in well and was giving the Giants what they needed. Blake Sabol is an exciting experiment but he's much too inexperienced. Austin Wynns was called up today. He was a dependable backup last year. Joey Bart is starting his rehab in Sacramento. The Giants also have Gary Sánchez at AAA. They picked him up on a minors deal. He was once a regular with the Yankees and the Twins.
Austin Slater and FNG Mitch Haniger are still out with injuries. I think those additions to the lineup might smooth out some of the variation. The run totals (0, 7, 0, 12, 3, 16, 1, 5, 3) are all over the place. Of course it is only nine games. That's nine DAY games. Weird stuff! The Giants really ought to be 5-4 but they are instead 4-5. The Dodgers come to town tomorrow night with Webb taking on Julio Urías (6:45 PT).
Go Giants!
Beat LA!
--M.C.
9 comments:
The Giants also brought up Heliot Ramos, played him in left. They sent Matt Beaty down to Sac. I don't know why, I'd rather see Beaty on the mound than Stripling. Hjelle is, IMO, fine.
This season will be different. Opening day in Yankee Stadium was the first clue. The rule changes are still being internalized by the players. When they stop thinking about it, things will improve. I have been a fan my entire life so my expectations are low. Three years out of more than sixty isn’t enough to make me feel entitled to a championship level team. But I do enjoy the show.
I like the new rules. The pace-of-play is soooooooo much better! It would not surprise me to see them tweak the times, like upping the 15 sec to 20 secs for example, but overall I think MLB has improved the viewing experience.
This team has a lot of talent. It could be really good. They are relying on bulk, on depth, as they don't have superstar players (like the Dodgers), and that's a harder way to go but I don't see any other path. The farm system has yet to produce enough homegrown talent so they have to collect their talent elsewhere.
It takes a long time to re-build a franchise. Just look at the Padres. It has taken them a decade to assemble their team. I'm not sure Giants fans have the patience for that. If FZ & Kap don't get another winning team this year or next fans will give up on them, if they haven't already.
But I can't worry about that stuff. I like baseball and I like the Giants and that's about it. I'm not going anywhere.
Tonight should be a great matchup. I hope Webb has his killer stuff!!
Joey Bart is back.
Austin Wynns DFAd. They have a week to trade him or he will have to pass through waivers to stay with the organization.
Well, that was hideous.
Let's hope they do better tonight.
The giants are striking out way too much. Their fielding has not been great either, despite the fact that Davis and Villar so far have not been the problem. I do not like the pitch clock. I do not care if the game is a little longer and a tad slower. It is baseball, not speed dating. With all the interleague games, which I also do not like, I wonder why we would have individual league stats for Batting Avg. Home runs, ERA. wins. They can all be bunched into one league. The MVP of the national league plays almost a third of his games in the A.L. Do we look at the stats in his N.L. games, vs. his A.L. games. Having league winners of these various awards seems less meaningful. Also, with all the interleague games, do we really need an all star game? If baseball is going to make changes. let's see them through all the way.
I think the WBC should replace the ASB. Take two weeks off in July and play the tournament. All the best players will be represented. It will be more fun and more meaningful than the current exhibition.
Officially, MLB records are considered as part of the team and/or the player, not the opponent. If Logan Webb gives up a HR to an AL-hitter it is part of his record, regardless of how his stats are sorted (MLB vs NL). The same goes for the hitter. He gets credit for his action. If he leads the AL in homers the ones against NL foes are of course counted. Aaron Judge hit 10 HR in 20 inter-league games last year. They were part of the 62.
The new schedule is the final culmination of the decades-long decay of the NL/AL distinction. 1997 (first inter-league game) was 26 years ago! After the universal DH there is no reason (other than tradition) to have "leagues" in anything but name.
I suppose I'm fine with the changes as I've anticipated many of them. It seemed obvious that inter-league play was popular and that it would only increase over time. Now it is fully part of the game. Same with pace-of-play. People have been talking about it for a long time and once it got tried out in the minors it was, in my view, inevitable. The TTO phenomenon has been endlessly discussed, and ways to increase action and balls-in-play have been debated for a long time.
I suspect the rule changes themselves will undergo changes in the off-seasons!
I would rather the giants play more games against their division rivals, than watch them play the Royals, the Tigers, the Twins, the White Sox etc. How a team in the N.L. plays against the A. L. could be the key factor getting them into the N.L. playoffs. An A.L. team can knock out an N.L. team from making the playoffs and the reverse is true. If you live in N.Y. Chicago. or L.A. you get to see the giants play vs. teams in both leagues. Although I watched the giants games early in the season, I just could not get as excited for the games against the Royals and the Sox. Nothing like the atmosphere of playing the Bums. I guess some people like it, more folks I talk to in real life, do not.
The Giants lead the Major Leagues in strikeouts, with 11.5 per game, as of the start of the Tuesday game. The other teams with at least 100 K's all have played 11 games.
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