The Giants didn't do much at the trade deadline. I think Zo summed things up nicely in the comments. They are, at this point, a middling team and made some middling moves. Not very exciting. Not that I was expecting much. I did notice that the first three names in the lineup last night were Fitzgerald, Schmitt, and Ramos, all rookies. The Youth Movement is officially underway. They went 1-for-10 with five whiffs, but hey, anyone can have a bad night.
I will miss Alex Cobb. He pitched really well in orange-and-black. He'll be 37 in October and is recovering from hip surgery so I can understand why the Giants moved on. Jorge Soler had a rough start to the year but is otherwise a solid DH. Though with youngsters in the wings and $32M on the books for '25-'26 it's not surprising they opted for a trade. I suppose getting anything for a pitcher who has yet to throw this year and an aging hitter (Soler's 33 next season) with limited defensive value is a bit of a coup. FZ likes to work the margins. Swinging for the fences (Harper, Judge, Ohtani) hasn't worked out.
This season will come down to the existing ace (Logan Webb) getting back to his ace-like ways. He hasn't looked good lately. Blake Snell and Robbie Ray have to perform like veteran studs. Rookies Kyle Harrison and Hayden Birdsong have to keep it up--both have been impressive. Birdsong has only 169-2/3 innings of minor league ball under his belt. Plus a some college (73 IP). Harrison as we know came straight from HS. His minors IP tally was 279-1/3. Contrast that to Tim Lincecum's 113-2/3! Timmy did spend three full seasons at UW racking up 342 IP.
On the hitting side, you gotta like these kids because we will get a steady diet of them. I'm happy about that, actually. It's time to see if the system can produce quality major-leaguers. This 2024 club has yet to gel and it's not certain it will gel at all. But they will creep around the periphery of the race and keep us tantalized.
Logan Webb tonight (6:45 PT). Go Giants!
--M.C.
p.s. In my absence I missed Game 108 or the end of the sixth seasonal inning. They were a desultory 9-9. Last night's loss brings their record to 53-56. They are five back in the Wild Card.
1 comment:
I've been helping my 92-year-old mother these last several months. That's why I've missed so much RMC time. We moved her to assisted living. It's a good thing. She will be better off. And she is eager for a new adventure. We're all happy with the change.
Going forward I should not have to travel so much! More time for the blog.
Now if the Giants would just get their shit together and go on a damn winning streak I'd be really happy.
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