When I was hoping this Giants team would make history this season the 12- and 13-run innings were not what I had in mind. The Rockies had their highest-scoring inning ever last night; you may recall the Mets had their highest-scoring inning ever just short of a week ago. That's 25 runs in two frames which is about 1/6 of the team total in runs allowed (153) for the year so far. Matt Cain was the starter last night, Jake Peavy was the starter in New York. Both guys are pitching about as poorly as it is possible to pitch. Matty's line is 44 hits (including 6 HR) in 31 innings with 29 runs scored. There's no way to make that pretty. He's had one good start--his first--in six chances. Peavy's line is scarily similar, 47 hits (including 6 HR) in 29 innings with 29 runs scored. He's had one good start in six chances.
"We're standing behind these guys," Bochy said of Cain and the struggling Jake Peavy. "These are guys who are capable of getting back on track. They have been around. They have the experience."
Well, god bless him, that's why I love Bochy. Mr. Positive. I don't know how long the team can afford to have two starters that are among the worst in all of baseball. If you sort by FIP you might be surprised to see that there are A LOT of guys worse--Shelby Miller, Jorge de la Rosa, Jon Niese, Doug Fister, Colby Lewis, just to name a few. Peavy is still striking guys out and Cain has kept his walks down, I imagine those help a bit. Cain is rated at -0.1 fWAR while Peavy is 0.0, the worst is the aforementioned Miller at -0.5, the best being of course Kershaw at 1.9. Sorting by xFIP Cain's 4.98 puts him at 14th-worst (of all 142 pitchers with min. 20 IP) and Peavy's 4.74 makes him 27th-worst.
So it there light at the end of the tunnel? I can hear the distant clamor of "Timmy, Timmy, Timmy" growing slowly as we get closer and closer to the much-hyped showcase (supposedly today). Alas, I don't think the Giants are making any moves soon. They're our guys and we are sticking with them!
MadBum tonight. GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
8 comments:
'Our guys' suck, & Peavy even more than Cain, &, apparently, the potential minor league replacements even more than Peavy & Cain. This verbal dance that they have been playing regarding Lincecum needs to stop - in other words, if he looks decent today, they need to sign him. They are not dishonoring 'their guys' by signing Lincecum - they are buying some time for them to get their act together. Obviously, even if he is blazing 95 mph fastballs & gnarly breaking balls, Lincecum has not faced any live batters & is several weeks away from joining an ML rotation. So, sign Lincecum, give 'our guys' a few more weeks to improve, but, if there is no improvement & Lincecum is getting batters out at the minor league level, promote him to the ML rotation. Explain all of this ahead of time to Lincecum - he'll get it. He wants to be here, so he'll be OK with that plan.
Personal note: Aside from a few good weeks when we first acquired him & one decent start in the NLDS, Peavy has been garbage for us (including when it really mattered in the NLCS & WS). I feel no allegiance to Peavy. Obviously, I do to Matt & am rooting harder for him to turn things around.
All they have to be is Barry Zito. And Peavy, until this year, has been that. Certainly not "garbage" as he was positive WAR in both 2014-15. That's waaaaayyyyyy more than Cain (who he ostensibly was replacing). I know you hate the guy, but give credit where credit is due. He had a superb September last season, for example. Yeah I know we want everyone to be Madison Bumgarner but there's only one of that guy. Sure, he may be "done" (I hope not!) but he's contributed. Cain actually looks more lost to me. He's younger, but has fallen further. And has not been the anything close to himself since the end of 2012. I still think that he has a better chance to turn it around, given that his arm has fewer miles on it. But as much as I love Cain I love the Giants more, and I'll root for anyone in orange-and-black who can deliver, be they homegrown or mercenary talent. But we can't dump either guy until we have a replacement!
It would surprise me if Timmy took a minor-league deal. He wants to start, or so he says. So unless the Giants DL Peavy or Cain they won't sign him as a starter, or so they say. They've said they envision him in long relief. If Timmy gets an offer to start from some other team it would surprise me if he didn't take it. Team "loyalty" only goes so far. (And I have no problem with that. I love Timmy, but he's a grownup and can do what he wants and doesn't owe me or the club anything!)
In 2015, Peavy missed a big chunk of the Season & 'came through' w/ a few decent performances after we were essentially eliminated. Not impressed, & we need much more.
Right now, the wheels are coming off in a number of ways, especially injuries. Luckily, no one else in our Division seems to want to take control, so we have a big opportunity to pull things back together & take over.
Regarding Lincecum, I don't understand how any guy who has not faced a live hitter for this long & is coming off of a major surgery can possibly figure that he will immediately move into an ML starting rotation. I'm not suggesting a minor league deal, but, at least a deal that starts w/ a rehab assignment to get tuned-up for game situations. And, good money should be offered.
The impetus for Timmy comes not from Peavy and Cain, but from the fact that Heston was sent to the minors because he couldn't make it as long relief, and gave no indication that he could, therefore, make it as a spot starter. Peavy and/or Cain might be close to being unusable, but the Giants are just not quite there yet. But they need a long reliever. From the print media, they are being honest about that, especially with Tim. Realistically, though, it is easy to foresee a scenario where Tim is signed as a long reliever, but then has to start soon enough.
In Matt's first three starts, he did not allow a run in the first 3 innings. Since then, he has allowed 10 runs in innings 1 - 4 in his last 3 starts. In the 5th and 6th, Matt has allowed 17 earned runs (6 innings total). Jake has given us 29 runs (all earned) in 29 innings. The collective era at the top of the rotation, now that everyone has had 6 starts: 3.34. Jake and Matt combined: 8.4.
I don't believe "the wheels are coming off." There's too much talent and leadership in the organization. Rough patch, sure. But there's lots of baseball left. And we will probably always disagree on value. I tend to put ANY guy who contributed ANY positive to our three titles up on a pedestal. I mean Joaquin Arias, Eli Whiteside, Aaron Rowand, Jose Mijares, Brandon Hicks, Tyler Colvin, Manny Burriss, Brett Pill, you name it. Even Todd Freakin' Wellmeyer and Eugenio Velez. It's a team game. It takes a whole team to get to the post-season and a whole team to win it. Even if they only added one shovelful to the pile, they are OK in my book.
And I'm only taking Tim at what he said. He wants to start. That's what he said. Maybe he is full of shit, but that's what it is. If some team offers him a rotation spot I think he'll take it. It remains to be seen of course if he can sufficiently impress anyone in the showcase.
I did say 'Right now, the wheels are coming off ... '. This can turn around quickly (like tonight), although the mounting injuries are worrisome.
If we win this year, Vin Mazzaro will be on your pedestal! He's already gone (DFA). I definitely have pedestal spots for Arias, Whiteside, Mijares, Pill, & Velez (especially Arias) - the rest are questionable.
Still waiting for news about 'The Showcase' (very Lebron-esque). Hope that he looked great; hoped that the Giants signed him up on-the-spot. Maybe, he'll make a rehab start in Salem-Keizer - anyone up for a road trip?
McCovey Chronicles has supposed video of 'The Showcase' - it's sort of weird to see, but interesting.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/05/notes-on-tim-lincecum-showcase.html
MLBTR covers the Lincecum showcase. And people thought Barry Bonds was a media circus!
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