MIA 11 SF 3
Jeff Samardzija used to be a league-average pitcher who could give you 30+ starts and +/-200 innings. They weren't pretty innings, by any means, but they were reasonably effective. A league-average player is better than you think. A league-average pitcher who doesn't get hurt is a valuable guy. But the Giants over-valued what The Shark brought to the table and signed him for five years. Three would have been prudent, but the Bobby Evans-Brian Sabean-Larry Baer Triumvirate was known for paying top dollar. Hey, I was OK with it because I figured that a rich team would have youngsters--or at least other options--to step in if/when the big guy faltered. Jeff Samardzija is not that guy anymore and unfortunately the other options for the Giants aren't quite ready for prime time. I have no ill will for Smardj, it is not his fault that he is overpaid. He's 34 and thrown 1500 innings in the big leagues--that's a lot of mileage. Maybe he can bounce back and have a decent second half--I hope so. He's signed through next season ($19.8M) and is a free agent in 2021.
The Giants lost to the worst team in baseball. Actually, Baltimore is worse. Hey, that's the next place they play!
--M.C.
2 comments:
The marlins are the worst hitting team in baseball. By the end of this series that could change.
I tuned in mid-5th inning with the score 3 - 1 Marlins. Just in time to hear Flem talk about how the momentum, if the Giants could get 3 outs before either of Smardji's 2 baserunners could score, would shift to the Giants' dugout. In 5 minutes or so it was 7 - 1. Sigh.
Smardji did not look happy being pulled after 89, but he was putting too many pitches over the heart of the plate.
Post a Comment