SF 9 COL 4
Finally! The Giants break through today with 17 hits and overwhelm the Rockies to snap their three-game losing streak and creep back to within one game of a .500 record. Brandon Crawford was the hitting star with three hits (including a two-run homer) and four runs batted in. Brandon Belt continued his run of good work with two hits, a walk, a run scored, and a run batted in. Andrew McCutchen had three hits and two runs batted in. In fact all nine spots in the lineup had a hit, Austin Jackson getting a single in the 5th pinch-hitting for starter Chris Stratton (who also drove in a run with a ground out in the 2nd). Speaking of Stratton, he labored, facing 23 batters in his five innings (8 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks, 1 whiff), but two of the Rockies runs scored on double plays. He wasn't pretty but he held on and the lineup and bullpen did the rest. The Giants relief corps is increasingly impressive and that was no exception today with four hurlers (Will Smith, Pierce Johnson, Sam Dyson, Tony Watson) delivering a scoreless frame each with only one hit and one walk allowed versus five strikeouts. The 'pen looks like a team strength and the return of Mark Melancon (two weeks?) ought to only make it better.
Ty Blach gets the call tomorrow. Go Giants!
--M.C.
8 comments:
Sergio Romo will start a game!
Let's just write stuff when they win! Good idea! We have a weird team this year. There's a lot of talent. We have three potential HOF position players (Posey, McCutchen, Crawford) and plenty of other solid performers in the batting order and the field. The big question, as usual, is pitching, and the top half of our rotation is on the shelf, and our 3rd,4th,5th, 6th and 7th starters are mediocre. The bullpen is doing well. The long-awaited Will Smith is technically not a FNG but he sure feels like one. Now we're still waiting for the rumor of Melancon to come true.
Romo opened the game for TB v LAA yesterday and struck out three guys. Then he was done and the Rays later won. Some writer called Romo "the opener" as a bookend to "the closer." Is this the start of something new or just another goofy thing?
I think players should be appreciated for what they are doing NOW and not for whether those accomplishments will show up on a plaque in a museum. (And of the three only Posey has an outside chance of HOF enshrinement.)
All Posey needs for cinching the HOF is put in 5 more years without embarrassing himself. If Crawford puts in 5 more years at his current standard he'll be a slam dunk also. McC will need to play at or near MVP level for 5 more years. It will help if the Giants win a couple more WS in the meanwhile.
SF Giants history is littered with what I call ex-future-hall-of-famers, eg. Will Clark, or John Montefusco. I'm sure all teams have their examples. Longevity seems to be the key ingredient. Anyway, it's just one way of thinking about a player's relative value, since I'm still not sure what WAR means.
I think about it this way: if you want to know who the best players of all time are, look around. One of those 30 guys playing RIGHT NOW is the best--ever--at his position. It would be laughable to expect 1960s basketball teams or Olympic runners or weightlifters or anyone else to be as good as the athletes today. Plus, we benefit from what older athletes accomplished. (Jesse Owens tied a world record with a 10.3 100-yard dash, the CA HS record is 10.25 in the 100-METER dash!) Their knowledge spreads to the next generation and the cumulative knowledge of the game is increased. That includes scouts, coaches, talent evaluators, etc.
The HOF is a museum of baseball history. Wonderful stuff, but history, and history decided by committees of sports-writers. I just prefer living the history right now and enjoying the great players that come through.
I thought after 2014, Posey would be a slam dunk, but not so sure anymore. If he cannot produce more RBI production per opportunity when batting in premium spots, he may end up as one of those good fielding, 300 hitting catchers, with mediocre run production. Even though he is hitting over 300, it still feels as if he is in a slump just waiting to break out. At his current RBI rate he will produce 51 RBI on the season. If stats tend to even out, he needs a 20 game run soon, with at least 20 RBI during the time period. If he continues to hit with his current power numbers, he will hit about 7 home runs. He does not look hurt, but one has to wonder.
Just to mention it, a now healthy Duffy, is showing that he was not a fluke.
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