tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941261488380355005.post8203715798868313887..comments2024-03-27T10:29:44.159-07:00Comments on Raising Matt Cain: 4th inning: 4-14M.C. O'Connorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12258035192484655635noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941261488380355005.post-78773705954816777512017-06-22T11:57:42.542-07:002017-06-22T11:57:42.542-07:00The ball-in-play offense worked for the Giants, an...The ball-in-play offense worked for the Giants, and suited the times. It's not working now, but these are different times. I did not mean to imply one way was superior to another, just that the team is built one way and it's not in concert with league trends. The last few years have seen a huge spike in homers, something the team has not emphasized, probably because of the park and the superior pitching and defense they had. Look at Cueto--17 homers allowed so far, only 15 last year, 21 and 22 before that. The ball is flying out of the yard. Also the Giants have aged, guys like Pence (Mr. Ball-in-Play) are really showing it. I'm worried we've seen the offensive peak of BCraw, for example. He is still the best in the field, but his contemporaries (Seager, Correa, Lindor, Cozart) are all slugging over or near .500; that's the new reality. Dodgers and Yankees both have rookies (Bellinger and Judge) who are leading the league in homers. No one in the Giants pipeline has that kind of pop.<br /><br />M.C. O'Connorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12258035192484655635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941261488380355005.post-65233135756447018672017-06-22T10:55:43.039-07:002017-06-22T10:55:43.039-07:00It is not clear to me that a Balls In Play offense...It is not clear to me that a Balls In Play offense is inherently superior to a TTO offense. However, 40 quality starts and less than (quite a few less than) 40 wins seems pretty obvious, that is that our relief pitching is far from adequate, and not just at closer.Zonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941261488380355005.post-42897858323141334542017-06-22T07:59:53.905-07:002017-06-22T07:59:53.905-07:00Interesting (also brief and easy reading) take on ...<a href="https://www.si.com/mlb/2017/06/20/standstill-pace-play-cody-bellinger-clayton-kershaw" rel="nofollow">Interesting (also brief and easy reading) take on the 2017 State of the Game by SI writer Tom Verducci.</a> Synopsis: it's all about the Three True Outcomes or TTO to the saber-types. Homers, strikeouts, and walks are all up. As is scoring. But balls-in-play are continuing to drop. The Giants won three WS titles with a ball-in-play offense that de-emphasized homers and instead relied on doubles, good baserunning, and a "keep-the-line-moving" philosophy. Sort of like the game we watched in the 1970s! That is almost quaint right now. Homers are the new currency. The Giants have 60 HR, the Astros have 115, the league average is 91. Both the Indians and Colorado are very average in the HR dept (90 and 89) but they are still winning, so you don't have to dinger your way to the top. But you obviously have to "get with the program". The Giants are second to the Nationals with 40 Quality Starts. Second! Just goes to show it is still a team game, I guess. You need all the parts, esp a bullpen.<br /><br />Anyway, this decline in balls-in-play is making for a very different game, and seems to me would take away an important advantage the winning Giants clubs had these last few years and that's defense. You can't defend against homers.<br />M.C. O'Connorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12258035192484655635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941261488380355005.post-47742346584701756132017-06-20T20:49:32.558-07:002017-06-20T20:49:32.558-07:00the cure is a big winning streak.
the cure is a big winning streak.<br />nomisnalahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08297640472949764321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941261488380355005.post-2536794340105901452017-06-20T19:02:46.033-07:002017-06-20T19:02:46.033-07:00Expectations are a bitch, no doubt. This team had ...Expectations are a bitch, no doubt. This team had its weak spots, and some of the things that happened were predictable, but it seems like Murphy's Law kicked in and there was just a cascade of one bad event after another. And now they are a mess and there isn't much they can do about it.<br /><br />M.C. O'Connorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12258035192484655635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941261488380355005.post-73668195510029107392017-06-20T11:32:17.335-07:002017-06-20T11:32:17.335-07:00I think that our disappointment is exacerbated by ...I think that our disappointment is exacerbated by the fact that the expectations were so high for this sub-.400 team. We expected to reach the playoffs. It would have been a disappointment not to. It would have been a disappointment not to finish first or second in the West. It would have been a huge disappointment to be one of the mediocre, also ran teams. Now, even that looks like an unattainable goal. That's not just disappointing, that's a shock to the system. The vast Trove of statistics tells us that players tend towards their statistically based expectations, and thus, so do teams. The Giants are defying those trends. I keep watching in hopes to see a win, then a couple, then a bit of momentum. Last night, Belt hit a double, slid in well before the tag, was called out and denied on the replay review. He was clearly, decisively safe. The Giants can't even get a bit of momentum from a fair call. Really, it tears at the gut. Zonoreply@blogger.com