PoBO Posey

When I first heard the news I only caught the part about Farhan Zaidi being let go. I wasn't happy. I wasn't surprised, but I felt that continuity was important. And the FZ & Co. draft picks were finally coming of age and that, it seemed to me, would be a better criterion for judgment. But this is pro sports and results are what matters. And other than the 2021 NL West title this club has not produced the results during FZ's tenure.

Then I found out that they were naming franchise legend (and part owner) BUSTER POSEY to be the new President of Baseball Operations.

Now THAT is operating on an entirely new level! What's next, Brandon Crawford gets BoMel's job? Just kidding. Seriously, this is a big deal. All that talk about Buster wanting to spend more time with his family, yadda-yadda-yadda, and it turns out his competitive fires are still burning. He will get to spend more time with his family, sure. But he will be under enormous scrutiny. This is a high-profile gig, man. And the expectations will be off-the-charts. It's Buster Fucking Posey! Phenom. RoY. MVP. World Series Champion. It's quite a resume and it is all in orange-and-black.

Slick move by ownership. A+ rating for energizing the fanbase.

What say you, Giants fans?

--M.C.

p.s. this was so important I had to post even though I'm still "away from my desk"

80

SF 6  STL 5

Until this afternoon's victory the Giants were 0-4 against the Cardinals. They blew a 5-2 lead but recovered to win with the help of a throwing error by St. Louis reliever Matthew Liberatore. Two straight losses before today pushed their total to 81 so the best they can do is .500 with a win tomorrow. It's a disappointing season, that's for sure. I really felt like they had a more competitive roster this year. I do agree with Farhan Zaidi that the Giants have an excellent group of youngsters for 2025.

Matt Chapman got the obviously well-deserved Willie Mac Award. Blake Snell bailed out of today's start in favor of rookie Tristan Beck but he said lots of nice things about the Giants. I think they should sign him--it's just money, after all. What else is there to spend it on?

I'm going to be "away from my desk" for a week or so. Then we can start talking about next year. Tomorrow's finale is 12:05 and Hayden Birdsong gets the call.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Giants power-stomp Snakes

SF 11  ARI 0

Not only did the Giants claw their way back to .500 (79-79) with last night's thumping win they also pushed their run difference into positive territory (+7). Five home runs from the lineup and six scoreless frames from Logan Webb were too much for the Diamondbacks. Arizona might be watching its Wild Card chances slip away. This game was over in the 3rd inning. Tristan Beck threw a scoreless 7th and Austin Warren got the last six outs.

The Giants have won five straight scoring thirty runs and allowing only four. Mason Black gets the start tonight.

Let's get a sweep!

--M.C.

Spoiler Alert

SF 6  ARI 3

The Giants messed things up for the Kansas City Royals and they put the same hurt on the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight in Phoenix. Who are these guys? Why didn't they play like this last month? Anyway, the Giants played another good game and backed up Hayden Birdsong (5 IP, 2 R, 6 K) and annoyed the Arizona fan base. The New York Mets are now 1/2 game ahead for the final Wild Card spot in the NL. Matt Chapman drove in half the the runs with an inside-the-park homer (he really is fast!) and a triple. The bullpen did another stellar job to nail down the victory.

Logan Webb goes tomorrow. In his last five starts he's gone a mere (by his standards) 26 innings and allowed a whopping (by his standards) 19 runs. Mason Black is listed for Wednesday. There's an off-day on Thursday and I expect Blake Snell will get a start on the weekend series against the Cardinals. It looks like they may not bring back Webb at all and finish out with another start from Birdsong and perhaps Landon Roupp. Webb needs 1-1/3 IP to reach 200 for the second season in a row.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Road Warriors

The Giants are playing their best baseball of the season on this final road trip. It started with an emphatic 10-0 win in Baltimore on Tuesday. Blake Snell threw six shutout innings allowing one hit and whiffing twelve. Hayden Birdsong and the bullpen toughed out a 5-3 win the next day behind homers from Mike Yastrzemski and Michael Conforto. Logan Webb started the finale but the Orioles edged out a win and the Giants had to be content with a series victory.

In Kansas City the Giants small-balled past the Royals in a nail-biting 2-1 win on Friday. Mason Black got his first "W" with five scoreless frames. Heliot Ramos had a single, a double, and a triple. He scored one of the runs and drove in the other. Camilo Doval got a pulse-pounding save. On Saturday the Giants put on a show much like the one in Baltimore, thumping the Royals 9-0. Both Matt Chapman and LaMonte Wade, Jr. hit two homers. Landen Roupp threw five scoreless and Spencer Bivens and Tristan Beck added two scoreless innings apiece.

In the finale today the Giants got their sweep behind Blake Snell's six scoreless (two hits, nine strikeouts). Sean Hjelle, Tyler Rogers, and Ryan Walker were unscored upon in the final three innings and the Giants had a tidy 2-0 victory. That Snell guy is pretty good and I think the Giants should give him a bazillion dollars.

It's too bad we didn't see this version of the team a few months ago. Nonetheless there is something to play for--a .500 finish. They are 77-79 with six games left. There are three in Arizona the next three nights (6:40 PT start times). Thursday is the last off-day and then there is the weekend series at home against the Cardinals. They have to go 4-2 and that seems very doable.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

17-hit attack subdues Brewers

SF 13  MIL 2

The tally included seven doubles and three homers. The Giants had an 8-0 lead after two innings. The most runs they've scored this season was 14, that was in a 14-4 win over the Rockies in May. Last night's margin of victory--11 runs--was the year's biggest. They did lose 17-1 to the Diamondbacks (a Snell start) in April, and 14-3 to the Phillies in May.

Jerar Encarnacion hit an opposite-field home to RF. That's pretty rare for a right-hander in San Francisco. Everyone in the linuep had a hit except Heliot Ramos, but he did walk and score. Austin Warren was recalled from the minors and pitched in relief.

Hayden Birdsong tonight (6:45 PT).

Go Giants!

--M.C.

8th inning: 8-10

1st inning: 7-11

2nd inning: 8-10

3rd inning: 12-6

4th inning: 8-10

5th inning: 9-9

6th inning: 9-9 

7th inning: 10-8 

8th inning: 8-10

That puts them at 71-73 (.493) over 144 games or 8/9 of the season.

The homer-happy Giants pounded out a big 7-1 lead over the Padres this afternoon but almost let it get away before hanging on to win 7-6. Taylor Rogers and Camilo Doval were the late-inning relievers who gave up five runs but they got some help. Rookie infielders Tyler Fitzgerald and Marco Luciano collided on a routine pop-up to keep a rally going. That's what happens with rookies. Luciano is new to second base as well. Those two need to learn to communicate!

Matt Chapman, Jerar Encarnacion, Luis Matos, and Curt Casali all homered for the Giants.They got seven straight hits in the 4th off Joe Musgrove and scored six runs. Giants starter Spencer Bivens wasn't scored upon until the 5th, he left with one out and one run in. That was a big effort in an emergency-start situation.

Tomorrow is an off-day. They are then home for six games: three against the Brewers and three more against the Padres. The website hasn't listed a starter for Tuesday night (6:45 Pacific) but it lines up to be Hayden Birdsong.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

McCray leads the way

SF 6  SD 3

Rookie Grant McCray had a big night: two homers and five runs batted in to power the Giants past the Padres. Logan Webb had to really work as San Diego's potent lineup tagged him for ten hits in his six frames but he held the line and managed a quality start. Sterling relief work from Tyler Rogers, Camilo Doval, and Ryan Walker nailed it down.

It didn't look good in the 1st when the Padres jumped on Webb for a quick two but the Giants responded with three of their own from the bottom of the lineup. A hit by Patrick Bailey, another by Brett Wisely, and then McCray got his first crack at glory and launched a two-out three-run bomb to take the lead. He got another chance with the bases loaded in the 4th but could only manage a no-RBI double-play grounder that upped the lead to 4-2.

San Diego dinged Webb for another in the 5th but he put up a zero in the 6th. It was a tight contest until the 9th when McCray, again with two outs, hit a homer, this time driving in Bailey who had walked. It was a sweet moment for the 23-year-old and for the ballclub. This is just the kind of thing the Giants need to see--the young players in the system "serving notice" for 2025!

Grant McCray is the son of Rodney McCray who had a "cuppa coffee" in the early 90s. He was a 3rd-round pick in 2019. The 4th-round pick was Tyler Fitzgerald.

Spencer Bivens is listed on the website as tomorrow's starter (1:10 PT). Kyle Harrison went on the 15-day IL. His season is likely over.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Walk-off win snaps skid

SF 3  ARI 2

The Giants got their first September win in grand walk-off style. Tyler Fitzgerald led off the bottom of the 9th with a single, stole second, and was doubled home by Patrick Bailey. Youth movement, baby. Speaking of youth, how about Landen Roupp? That was a game-saving long-relief performance (4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 W, 5 K) from the 25-year-old rookie. Blake Snell left after an ugly 42-pitch 1st inning and Roupp gave the Giants a chance to come back. And they did thanks to a two-run single from Bailey in the 4th. Erik Miller and Tyler Rogers handled the 6th and 7th but Camilo Doval had to be bailed out in the 8th by Ryan Walker, who also took care of the 9th.

Wins will be just as tough to come by this weekend as the Giants go to San Diego. The website has not listed the starters but it looks like Black-Webb-Harrison. Monday is an off-day.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Chapman extension

From MLBTR:

The Giants made a major splash overnight, announcing that they’ve extended the contract of third baseman Matt Chapman. The deal guarantees Chapman $151MM over six years and runs from 2025 to 2030, with a $25MM annual salary and a $1MM signing bonus paid out in 2025. According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Chapman’s deal contains a no-trade clause.

No surprise here. I could see this one coming. Chapman has 150 more PAs than anyone else on the team! He's been a rock--clearly the club MVP. FanGraphs credits him with 4.5 WAR, Baseball-Reference says 6.0 WAR.

It's a risk signing a ballplayer to an extension at his age (he's 32 next year). But the Giants need some building blocks. Logan Webb and Jung Hoo Lee are the only other players with long-term deals (through 2028). Robbie Ray and Jordan Hicks are both signed through 2026. Now we have to find out if any of the youngsters are going to stick!

It's Blake Snell today at 12:45 PT.

Go Giants!

--M.C.