I was away for a bit, but am now back.
I have been highly amused by Sergio Romo and the reaction to the fact that he was used to start a game rather than relieve a starter. He pitched an inning twice against the Angels recently because the Angels start with 3 right handed hitters in a row and Sergio has been effective against those kind of guys lately. So the idea being that they get past the first, the starter doesn't start off with the lead off hitters, and maybe goes an inning longer and the lead off hitters don't get to see him a third time. But because there is more Sports News than there are sports these days, the media is all over this. When he did it twice (he has now done so 3 times, and was not as successful on the third time) the media was already asking if it was the new trend. Of course, as soon as they were, Officious Baseball Commentator Types were all over it as an abomination. I can see Bruce Jenkin's column now: Analytical Types, Who Have Never Seen A Game And Live In Their Mother's Basements (he still thinks this is funny) Are Idiots And If They Would Watch A Game Like I Do They Would Know That This Is Fundamentally Wrong-Headed And Will Lead To The Downfall Of The Noble Game. So what happens next is that once everyone piles on about how detrimental the practice is, no one will notice that it is not a practice at all - just a team trying to use some of their limited resources to win a couple games. Unless the Rays win the World Series, of course, then every team will be trotting out 1 inning starters.
What to do about Hunter Pence? Apparently, he has been scalding the ball in Sacramento, but the Giants really want Mac Williamson on the team. And Gorkys Hernandez isn't going anywhere, he is the team's best hitter, or nearly so, lately. And Gregor Blanco hasn't done poorly enough to release. And McCutcheon is McCutcheon. And Austin Jackson hasn't done much lately, but he is supposed to be pretty good. So Hunter Pence racks up at-bats in Sac. Maybe the Giants management doesn't trust that he is actually good again. Maybe they are waiting for the day when they need fewer relievers. I'm not sure. But eventually they will have to figure something out. But, good news! Madison Bumgarner is probably about to rejoin the team.
The game tonight was a fucking mess. The Giants scored 3 in the 1st inning off of former Rockie Tyler Chatwood. Then Ty Blach was just as bad, giving the runs back. The Giants loaded the bases with no outs in the 2nd, but did not score. They loaded the bases in the 3rd and did not score. Ty walked the first 3 Cubs in the 3rd, but got out of it unscathed. In the 4th, Ty walked Randy Rosario, who had replaced Chatwood. Rosario was in the AL and minors, he never has had a hit. A 3 run homer followed, then some more scoring as the Giants slowly faded in the rear view mirror. The final was 8 - 3. The Giants have won 1 game so far on this road trip out of 5. They go into Colorado for tomorrow's game. The Giants have had serious trouble with Colorado for years, and are 2 - 2 against them so far this year in one series at ATT. Colorado is now in first in the NL West.
8 comments:
Weird game. Very weird.
So, who goes down when Bum rejoins the team? And, I am in favor of Gorkys Hernandez and Mac Williamson. Let's see what they can do. There is, I'm afraid, no more Hunter Pence. He's a free agent in 2019 and that will make $18.5M available to spend. He may be able to play a bit more this year, but at 35 this is the end, I expect. Now I love Hunter Pence and wish him all the best, but I have to face reality, and so do the Giants. He'll get a grand sendoff, I'm sure.
Pence played in every game in both '13 and '14 but he hasn't been the same since. I think the way he plays all-out all the time, plus the ironman thing, led to a somewhat premature burnout. That doesn't detract from his wonderfulness. He will always be in the Pantheon of the Gods of our Golden Era.
35 is not premature. That's old in baseball years. Lots of guys are out of the game before 35. About half of the first-year players never make it to five years. He's had an amazing career--over 1500 games!
And I mentioned the Romo thing in the comments when it happened. Doesn't seem to have made much of an impression. I say "do what works." If nine guys throwing an inning each works better, fine. If you think about it, the first inning is the only time a manager can be sure that his leadoff guys get to lead off. So if you can counter that with an "opener" it just might become an effective tactic.
It is somewhat amazing to me that the Giants have seemed to go one step forward, a step-and-a-half back, but they are now within 3 games of first. The Giants are 3 - 7 in their last 10, which sounds bad, but Arizona has gone 1 - 9 while Colorado has only gone 5 - 5. LA is 8 - 2 and right behind. An assertive team that takes a couple victories in Colorado would be great. A well pitched game from Smardjy would be just the thing.
Hear, hear.
Dereck Rodriguez, son of Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez, is now on the ML roster, a RH pitcher from the Twins system. He signed a minors deal with the Giants last year.
Hunter Pence's 6447 PA is 547th of all time, tied with John Mayberry and an old guy from the 50s named Billy Goodman.
Thinking more about Hunter Pence, he debuted in 2007 (same as Timmy). He was one of 211 players to debut that season. About half of them achieved 1.0 or more career WAR (according to B-R), and thus the other half were zero or negative for their careers (which means they didn't last long). Of that group, only five (Joey Votto, Ryan Braun, Alex Gordon, Justin Upton, and Jacoby Ellsbury) have more than Pence's 29.9 career WAR. So compared to his contemporaries he was an elite player. Lincecum rates at 14th with 19.7 WAR. What are the odds that he adds to that?
We were fortunate to watch two fine players at their peaks winning championships in orange and black!
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