SF 13 SD 2
Jeff Samardzija had his best start of the season (8 IP 5 H 2 R) and the lineup blasted 14 hits including nine that went for extra bases. That's what I call a convincing win. The Giants scored in five straight innings: the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th. Austin Slater, newly returned to the big club, had a triple and a homer. Donovan Solano played shortstop and hit leadoff and had two hits in six tries. His .294/.329/.338 slash line is semi-respectable, let's hope he can hit like a major-leaguer at some point. He'll need to add some pop: 17 of his 20 hits are singles. Buster Posey had two more hits as did Evan Longoria. Every time the team has a big offensive day I think "this is when they'll turn it around" but that's just fan-talk. Brandon Belt leads the club in OBP at .359 and that puts him at 47th among qualified regulars, just behind Corey Seager and Alex Verdugo. The Dodgers have three other guys ahead of them. It's best to savor these outbursts, they are few and far between. Giants are undefeated in July!
Tyler Beede goes tonight at 7:10 Pacific.
--M.C.
3 comments:
Thinking about MadBum again: he's going to be a rental for two months if he is indeed traded. That means he could return to the Giants as a free agent. If he is traded any option to give him a QO goes away and he becomes a FA after the World Series. It seems unlikely, but not impossible he could be back in orange-and-black.
It is usually not wise to sign pitchers who have hit the 30-year old mark. Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke are exceptions. Greinke is a goddamn circus freak, and one of the most cerebral ballplayers out there. Verlander, apparently at his wife's suggestion and direction, rebuilt his career by changing his workout regime. (I'll bet supermodels know more about fitness than most folks.) I suspect that Bum could still be a stud later in his career but that it would require him to do things differently. Youth fades fast in this game.
There is no reason Madbum cannot pitch into his 40's. He has a smooth delivery, is built to be a pitcher (strong through the thighs) and has been able to adjust since his youth. He doesn't overpower with fastballs now, he does it by changing things enough to keep hitters off balance and keeping out of the middle of the plate (usually).
I thought the same thing about Matt Cain but he was done by age 30. He was big, thick through the butt and thighs, had a standard delivery (unlike Timmy), and like Bum was a HS pick who made the bigs by age 20. I think it is impossible to know how a player will age. Did anyone think Hunter Pence would rebuild his swing and be an All-Star after two injury-plagued seasons in which he performed at his lowest-ever level?
In Bum's case I suspect he has to be willing to learn some new things in order to adjust to the ravages of time. How willing is he to adapt and evolve? I have no idea. That's the key to having a long career, other than the obvious one (avoiding injury). Cain pitched 2085 innings, Bum is at 1748. There are about 600 guys ahead of him on the all-time IP list. Recent pitchers ahead of Bum include Peavy (2377) and Zito (2576)> Both of those guys were done at 35. I think that is a more realistic age. Rick Reuschel (3548) was effective at age 40, but he's pretty unusual.
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