It looked like there might be the makings of a 'pen a little earlier in the season, but the A's made it clear this weekend that the Giants relievers throw what amounts to batting practice. I remember writing before this series with Oakland that the Giants really needed better work from their starters. They got that. Unfortunately the bullpen imploded, collapsing upon itself in a firestorm of home runs.
We knew the Giants had a chance of playing even worse baseball in 2020 than they had from 2017 to 2019. We also held out hope they could get some surprise performances from the youngsters and some bounce-backs from the veterans and maybe take a run at a .500 record. Breaking even in the win-loss department would have been, in my mind, a terrific season.
Alas, the worst-case scenario has struck, and struck with a vengeance. The Giants don't have a bullpen. They have a reasonably effective lineup. They can score some runs. They are still a little weak, but they aren't useless. They are starting to show some effectiveness in the starting rotation. They might even get a front-line pitcher from the group, someone like today's starter Logan Webb. Johnny Cueto and Kevin Gausman are pitching like major-leaguers again. But they don't have a bullpen.
I don't know what they are going to do about it. This goofy season is getting goofier. I suppose the thing to do is treat it like a bad acid trip. I mean, once you gobble the tabs there's no going back, so you just have to ride it out. The team might be in a shit-hole right now, but there's always a shiny bauble to find now and again so you have to enjoy those moments when they happen.
Monday (6:40 p.m.) and Tuesday (1:10 p.m.) they are in Anaheim to take on the Angels.
Go Giants!
--M.C.
p.s. The A's are good. I'd like to see them knock off one of the big powerhouse teams (like the Yankees) this post-season. Assuming we get the full season in, of course. That's still an open question.
3 comments:
I liked the LSD analogy. It's aggravating when you team puts up some good starting pitching and a few clutch RBIs only to have it all blown apart like a peaceful Sunday morning in Hiroshima.
That series was an abomination. What happened to Gott is inconceivable. When Webb walked that guy in the 5th I said, "Here we go again." Little did I know. The inning from hell. Part of me hates the A's more than I hate the Doggers. '89 was personal to me.
On the positive side, I'm eager to see how long Solano can stay hot. It seems that only the FNG players are hitting. Yaz & Longo still feel like FNGs to me. The starters are usually doing pretty well. Except for a shocking shortages of W's.
Some wag called this season a "beta-test" version of the Giants. I kind of like that.
I remember saying not long ago that things could get way worse before they got better. Well, "that's what's up" as Sergio Romo would say.
The Giants have a lot of not-ready-for-prime-time guys. It's ugly, but at least we will get to see who makes the grade.
Gott, interestingly, has more experience than most of the guys--he had 130 G ML time over five seasons before this one.
Post a Comment