StL 5 SF 2
Matt Cain was tonight's emergency starter as Madison Bumgarner was a late scratch due to illness ("flu-like symptoms"). He gave an adequate performance, lasting five innings with only two runs allowed on seven hits. Each time he takes the ball I think "this could be the last." At some point--the end of the season I suppose--the team will cut ties with their longest-tenured player. Alas, the Giants had a hard time scoring runs. Imagine that! They did get a rally going in the bottom of the 9th, but it was too little, too late, not to mention farcical. Some douche interfered with a Brandon Crawford homer after a Buster Posey double and turned it into another double, thus turning a 5-3 game into a 5-2 game. Duane Kuiper, rightly I think, complained on the broadcast about the delay on the video ruling. It really should take less time, but that's just one of those things to file for later. Meanwhile the Giants got some clutch hitting from Buster Posey and Brandon Crawford, that's nice, let's get some more of that.
Giants match their May record by going 13-16 in August. It's not much, a .448 win percentage, but it beats the sub-.400 months of April (.346), June (.333), and July (.360). Twenty-six games left--can they win ten of them?
Johnny Cueto is slated for tomorrow night. Parsons, you're up!
--M.C.
Thursday, August 31, 2017
.167 Road Trip
1 win in 6 games. The Giants went to Arizona and San Diego, two NL West division rivals and they had to throw a complete game shutout to get a win. The final loss, in San Diego, assured them of a losing record for the season. It was their 83rd loss of the year. They could sweep September and still not crack .500.
Ty Blach threw the rubber match in San Diego yesterday. He threw 5 2/3 innings, 99 pitches, and gave up 3 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks. 2 of those hits were home runs, including 1 to Travis Wood, San Diego's pitcher. The Giants lost 5 - 0. Kyle Crick allowed an inherited runner to score and Josh Osich allowed an unearned run in the 8th.
Although I have argued and will still argue that the Giants biggest pressing need is relief pitching, this road trip highlights their second biggest need, one that is harder to fix, offense. Buster Posey has been out a couple games, and was clearly injured before that, and Brandon Belt has been out, but: 1 for 10 yesterday with runners in scoring position. The Giants got 6 hits and 6 walks. Ty Blach got 2 of those hits. No one scored. 3 for 21 on the series, and 4 for 33 on the road trip. 4 for 33. That's not good. The Giants got shut out 3 times in 6 games. They scored only 10 runs in 6 games.
Buster Posey and Brandon Belt notwithstanding, the Giants have to do better than that to compete in the major leagues. Plenty of time to discuss particulars once the blessed offseason finally gets here. At this point, I don't even know why it upsets me so much to have this kind of performance out of this team. I should expect it, or at least be numb to it by now.
Ty Blach threw the rubber match in San Diego yesterday. He threw 5 2/3 innings, 99 pitches, and gave up 3 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks. 2 of those hits were home runs, including 1 to Travis Wood, San Diego's pitcher. The Giants lost 5 - 0. Kyle Crick allowed an inherited runner to score and Josh Osich allowed an unearned run in the 8th.
Although I have argued and will still argue that the Giants biggest pressing need is relief pitching, this road trip highlights their second biggest need, one that is harder to fix, offense. Buster Posey has been out a couple games, and was clearly injured before that, and Brandon Belt has been out, but: 1 for 10 yesterday with runners in scoring position. The Giants got 6 hits and 6 walks. Ty Blach got 2 of those hits. No one scored. 3 for 21 on the series, and 4 for 33 on the road trip. 4 for 33. That's not good. The Giants got shut out 3 times in 6 games. They scored only 10 runs in 6 games.
Buster Posey and Brandon Belt notwithstanding, the Giants have to do better than that to compete in the major leagues. Plenty of time to discuss particulars once the blessed offseason finally gets here. At this point, I don't even know why it upsets me so much to have this kind of performance out of this team. I should expect it, or at least be numb to it by now.
Tuesday, August 29, 2017
Shark Shutout
SF 3 SD 0
Giants starter Jeff Samardzija threw his first complete game of the season and his second in a Giants uniform. His sterling three-hitter last night was the fourth shutout of his career. One way to overcome bullpen woes is to not use the relief corps at all, I suppose. The Giants were locked in a tight 1-0 contest but Joe Panik's late homer made it 3-0 and that helped The Shark finish it out. I'm happy to see Brandon Crawford looking more like his old self at the plate. If anyone is a candidate for a bounce-back next season it's the Giants stellar shortstop. But the night belonged to the big righty who put together a good start against the Padres after two stinkers last month.
Samardzija cleared waivers, it should be noted, which means he could be traded. I'm not sure there will be takers, and he has some no-trade rights, but he is now a potential piece for a pitching-depleted playoff team. I'm not sure the Giants could get all that much for him other than salary relief. FanGraphs rates his season so far at 3.6 WAR which is pretty damn good (12th in baseball) and that production would have to come from somewhere next season. fWAR is not the end-all and be-all of stats by any means, and we know Samardzija gives up a lot of hard contact, but he makes himself valuable with his strikeouts, low walk totals, and durability.
--M.C.
Giants starter Jeff Samardzija threw his first complete game of the season and his second in a Giants uniform. His sterling three-hitter last night was the fourth shutout of his career. One way to overcome bullpen woes is to not use the relief corps at all, I suppose. The Giants were locked in a tight 1-0 contest but Joe Panik's late homer made it 3-0 and that helped The Shark finish it out. I'm happy to see Brandon Crawford looking more like his old self at the plate. If anyone is a candidate for a bounce-back next season it's the Giants stellar shortstop. But the night belonged to the big righty who put together a good start against the Padres after two stinkers last month.
Samardzija cleared waivers, it should be noted, which means he could be traded. I'm not sure there will be takers, and he has some no-trade rights, but he is now a potential piece for a pitching-depleted playoff team. I'm not sure the Giants could get all that much for him other than salary relief. FanGraphs rates his season so far at 3.6 WAR which is pretty damn good (12th in baseball) and that production would have to come from somewhere next season. fWAR is not the end-all and be-all of stats by any means, and we know Samardzija gives up a lot of hard contact, but he makes himself valuable with his strikeouts, low walk totals, and durability.
--M.C.
Sunday, August 27, 2017
Strat gets Cained
AZ 11 SF 0
Chris Stratton had another excellent start but the Giants were both shut out and swept by the Diamondbacks. It was a close game until the 8th when Matt Cain (2/3 IP, 8 R) had perhaps his worst appearance ever. If not the worst, then close, and that's saying a lot considering he's been in the bigs since 2005 and has logged over 2000 innings. But that's not really important. For all his career accomplishments in orange-and-black Matt Cain is not a part of the future. It makes me sad to say that but it happens to all players, and he leaves behind an outstanding body of work. The only thing we can be interested in at this point in this wretched season is next season and the season after that, etc. The present is intolerable; the future has a chance to be better. Chris Stratton is showing some major-league moxie and I'm excited by that. Even if his ceiling is only as a fifth-starter (and it may not be), the Giants still need choices for that role, and he's serving notice that he should be in the mix. Good for him. Let's see more guys bang on the door and say "put me in coach, I'm ready to play."
Next stop is San Diego tomorrow night. Jeff Samardzija gets the ball.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
p.s. The uniforms the Giants sported this weekend were the most clownish I've ever seen them in and it is fitting that they played poorly while looking like a beer-league slo-pitch team. Some promotions really are cringe-worthy--this was one of them.
Chris Stratton had another excellent start but the Giants were both shut out and swept by the Diamondbacks. It was a close game until the 8th when Matt Cain (2/3 IP, 8 R) had perhaps his worst appearance ever. If not the worst, then close, and that's saying a lot considering he's been in the bigs since 2005 and has logged over 2000 innings. But that's not really important. For all his career accomplishments in orange-and-black Matt Cain is not a part of the future. It makes me sad to say that but it happens to all players, and he leaves behind an outstanding body of work. The only thing we can be interested in at this point in this wretched season is next season and the season after that, etc. The present is intolerable; the future has a chance to be better. Chris Stratton is showing some major-league moxie and I'm excited by that. Even if his ceiling is only as a fifth-starter (and it may not be), the Giants still need choices for that role, and he's serving notice that he should be in the mix. Good for him. Let's see more guys bang on the door and say "put me in coach, I'm ready to play."
Next stop is San Diego tomorrow night. Jeff Samardzija gets the ball.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
p.s. The uniforms the Giants sported this weekend were the most clownish I've ever seen them in and it is fitting that they played poorly while looking like a beer-league slo-pitch team. Some promotions really are cringe-worthy--this was one of them.
Saturday, August 26, 2017
Ty Tired, Bum Bummed
Ty and Madison on the mound to start our season-concluding push against the western division. That is where titles, and playoff spots are often won and lost. Neither will be the case this year for the Giants, but there is something on the line. That is: pride. If they are going to compete next year, they are going to have to win against the Western Division. There is no way around that inevitable truth. And, if the Giants are going to compete next year, they are going to do it with much the same cast that they have today. Not entirely, that can't happen, but probably most of them. And among those guys, 2 of the ones you want on the list to actually be here next year are Ty Blach and Madison Bumgarner.
Ty Blach threw his third game in a row where he was not effective. You could say that he was better than his previous 2 starts - 6 earned runs against both Miami and Philadelphia is 6 and 5 1/3 innings, respectively. And in fact, he pitched pretty well, with one exception. That was to Paul Goldschmidt in the 3rd inning with 1 run in and 2 runners on base. That made the score 4 - 1 in favor of the dbacks. After that, the Giants chipped away. Chip, chip, chip. But the best they could come up with was 3 for their 78th loss of the year and a final score of 4 - 3. The thing is, in Arizona, you have to be able to put runs on the board. Like in Colorado. Dink-ball doesn't do it when one mistake to Goldschmidt can ruin your shit. Brandon Crawford, was good though, getting 3 hits and scoring twice. It is time to ask whether Ty is pooping out on the season. That would be understandable, he has given us 144 1/3 innings, is not quite 27 and this is his first season in the major leagues (except for his most auspicious debut last year). Still, as much as I am sure Bochy & Co. would like to see him get a full season in, but with Matt Cain available and Johnny Cueto rehabbing, his starts may be numbered.
Saturday: Put your ace on the mound and chalk up your 79th loss of the season. I wouldn't put any money on the Giants NOT losing 100 games this season. The 3 runs the Giants scored yesterday would have been plenty, but today they couldn't muster that. In Arizona. They lost, 2 -1. To some guy named Tai-Wheezy. Christ. The player nickname promotion stinks of a MLB marketing guy who hasn't done anything but bullshit around the water cooler since he was hired 3 years ago until his manager finally caught on and was told to come up with something or lose his job. Half the players don't even have nicknames, so they have to make them up for this shit. It's terrible, as was the Giants offense. Madbum went 7, struck out 7, gave up 5 hits and walked 1. 2 of those hits were home runs, with no baserunners. That happens in Arizona. It used to happen more when the Giants batted. Jarrett Parker hit one, too, with no one on, and that, of course, was the extent of the Giants' offense. Buster Posey is 0 for Arizona, and frankly, has looked bad doing it. In fact, the top 4 hitters in the Giants line-up have 3 hits. For 2 games. Parker had 2 of them today and the other one came last night. Crawford had a hit, now that he finally seems to have figured out his swing, Posey can't see the ball.
Taijuan Walker is new on the dbacks this year, so of course he befuddled the Giants. If I were another team in the western division, I would just call up some minor leaguers the Giants have never seen before for September to face us. It probably doesn't even matter if they are really pitchers or not. I am so sick of getting beat by new/minor league/mediocre pitchers. We do better against Greinke than against Tai-fucking-Wheezy. The Giants washed out creamsickle-colored orange jerseys look. Like. Shit. I'll give Joe Panik some credit, the nickname he put on his jersey is Panik. Why would you want to mess with a name like that? Ty actually is already a nickname. So is Buster. As much as I want to see someone, anyone, knock the cubs out of the NL Central lead, let's just can the season now, shall we?
Ty Blach threw his third game in a row where he was not effective. You could say that he was better than his previous 2 starts - 6 earned runs against both Miami and Philadelphia is 6 and 5 1/3 innings, respectively. And in fact, he pitched pretty well, with one exception. That was to Paul Goldschmidt in the 3rd inning with 1 run in and 2 runners on base. That made the score 4 - 1 in favor of the dbacks. After that, the Giants chipped away. Chip, chip, chip. But the best they could come up with was 3 for their 78th loss of the year and a final score of 4 - 3. The thing is, in Arizona, you have to be able to put runs on the board. Like in Colorado. Dink-ball doesn't do it when one mistake to Goldschmidt can ruin your shit. Brandon Crawford, was good though, getting 3 hits and scoring twice. It is time to ask whether Ty is pooping out on the season. That would be understandable, he has given us 144 1/3 innings, is not quite 27 and this is his first season in the major leagues (except for his most auspicious debut last year). Still, as much as I am sure Bochy & Co. would like to see him get a full season in, but with Matt Cain available and Johnny Cueto rehabbing, his starts may be numbered.
Saturday: Put your ace on the mound and chalk up your 79th loss of the season. I wouldn't put any money on the Giants NOT losing 100 games this season. The 3 runs the Giants scored yesterday would have been plenty, but today they couldn't muster that. In Arizona. They lost, 2 -1. To some guy named Tai-Wheezy. Christ. The player nickname promotion stinks of a MLB marketing guy who hasn't done anything but bullshit around the water cooler since he was hired 3 years ago until his manager finally caught on and was told to come up with something or lose his job. Half the players don't even have nicknames, so they have to make them up for this shit. It's terrible, as was the Giants offense. Madbum went 7, struck out 7, gave up 5 hits and walked 1. 2 of those hits were home runs, with no baserunners. That happens in Arizona. It used to happen more when the Giants batted. Jarrett Parker hit one, too, with no one on, and that, of course, was the extent of the Giants' offense. Buster Posey is 0 for Arizona, and frankly, has looked bad doing it. In fact, the top 4 hitters in the Giants line-up have 3 hits. For 2 games. Parker had 2 of them today and the other one came last night. Crawford had a hit, now that he finally seems to have figured out his swing, Posey can't see the ball.
Taijuan Walker is new on the dbacks this year, so of course he befuddled the Giants. If I were another team in the western division, I would just call up some minor leaguers the Giants have never seen before for September to face us. It probably doesn't even matter if they are really pitchers or not. I am so sick of getting beat by new/minor league/mediocre pitchers. We do better against Greinke than against Tai-fucking-Wheezy. The Giants washed out creamsickle-colored orange jerseys look. Like. Shit. I'll give Joe Panik some credit, the nickname he put on his jersey is Panik. Why would you want to mess with a name like that? Ty actually is already a nickname. So is Buster. As much as I want to see someone, anyone, knock the cubs out of the NL Central lead, let's just can the season now, shall we?
Thursday, August 24, 2017
7th inning: 9-9
I'm a little late, I know. Got home yesterday after a week on the road. We camped in the mountains for five of the seven nights. We had a great time and got an excellent view of the eclipse (which was amazing). I missed a lot of baseball so you folks will have to fill in the details.
1st inning: 6-12
2nd inning: 6-12
3rd inning: 10-8
4th inning: 4-14
5th inning: 8-10
6th inning: 7-11
7th inning: 9-9
On Sunday the Giants were 50-76 for a .397 win percentage. They've since taken two of three from the Brewers and bumped up to 52-77 for that elusive .400 mark (actually .403). In a world where the Dodgers are playing .712 ball and streaking toward perhaps the single-season win record it doesn't seem like much. But any improvement is a good thing.
It will only take eleven more wins to reach 63 and avoid 100 losses. There are 33 games left to play, I think the Giants will pull it off. I know, it's a jinx to say it, let alone post it, but I think we'll be saved the ignominy of recapitulating 1985. They have twelve wins in the month of August, the only month that they've scored more runs (so far) than they've allowed. That needs to continue. I'm encouraged that Matt Moore is looking better. And Johnny Cueto should be back soon, that will be nice to see.
Looks like our super southpaws are up next, I'll let the Mystic One do his thing for those games and I'll be back on Sunday for Chris Stratton's start.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
p.s. I'll be working up some posts over the next few days on my other blog about the eclipse and our adventure if any of you are interested.
1st inning: 6-12
2nd inning: 6-12
3rd inning: 10-8
4th inning: 4-14
5th inning: 8-10
6th inning: 7-11
7th inning: 9-9
On Sunday the Giants were 50-76 for a .397 win percentage. They've since taken two of three from the Brewers and bumped up to 52-77 for that elusive .400 mark (actually .403). In a world where the Dodgers are playing .712 ball and streaking toward perhaps the single-season win record it doesn't seem like much. But any improvement is a good thing.
It will only take eleven more wins to reach 63 and avoid 100 losses. There are 33 games left to play, I think the Giants will pull it off. I know, it's a jinx to say it, let alone post it, but I think we'll be saved the ignominy of recapitulating 1985. They have twelve wins in the month of August, the only month that they've scored more runs (so far) than they've allowed. That needs to continue. I'm encouraged that Matt Moore is looking better. And Johnny Cueto should be back soon, that will be nice to see.
Looks like our super southpaws are up next, I'll let the Mystic One do his thing for those games and I'll be back on Sunday for Chris Stratton's start.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
p.s. I'll be working up some posts over the next few days on my other blog about the eclipse and our adventure if any of you are interested.
Sunday, August 20, 2017
Really? The Best the Giants Could Manage Was a Split Against the Phillies?
Wait, let me guess. Relief pitching? Of course. So with two wins in the books and our two best pitchers (Ty Blach and Madison Bumgarner) on the mound we lose both games? Against the team with the worst record in the major leagues? And lack of offense to boot (today, anyway)? How positively 2017.
Ty Blach on the mound Saturday against the Phillies. Ty was not his sharp self. He gave up 1 in the 2nd, allowing Philly to tie the game at 1 each, and 3 in the 3rd, allowing Philly to take a 4 - 3 lead after Span's rbi single scored Jones and Tomlinson for a 3 - 1 lead. The Giants tied the game at 4 all in the 5th, then gave it up in the 6th. Blach got the first out, allowed a double and a single for a run and was replaced by Osich. Gearrin relieved Osich later that inning and by the time it was the bottom of the 6th, the Giants were behind 11 - 4. They staged a rally in the 9th, but fell by a final score of 12 - 9. That wasted a Denard Span first inning lead off inside-the-park home run, the first by the Giants since 1945. That was exciting. The final score, not so much. Suarez threw the final 3, allowing 1 and looking pretty good.
Madison Bumgarner on the hill Sunday. Madison threw 6, struck out 7, gave up 1 run on 4 hits and 1 walk. A Buster Posey single scored Tomlinson in the 4th, and Madison Bumgarner scorched a single in the 5th to score Ryder Jones and stake the Giants to a 2 - 1 lead. Mark Melancon took the 7th, gave up 2 hits and struck out 2 but allowed no runs. Hunter Strickland was a different story. He made it through the 8th, but gave up 6 hits and 3 runs. Kyle Crick gave up 1 more in the 9th. The final score was 5 - 2. We are 3 - 4 against the Philadelphia Phillies this year. We have games left against St. Louis and Milwaukee, both of whom are fighting for a playoff berth, the White Sox, and the NL West. We're back under .400, where, apparently, we belong.
Ty Blach on the mound Saturday against the Phillies. Ty was not his sharp self. He gave up 1 in the 2nd, allowing Philly to tie the game at 1 each, and 3 in the 3rd, allowing Philly to take a 4 - 3 lead after Span's rbi single scored Jones and Tomlinson for a 3 - 1 lead. The Giants tied the game at 4 all in the 5th, then gave it up in the 6th. Blach got the first out, allowed a double and a single for a run and was replaced by Osich. Gearrin relieved Osich later that inning and by the time it was the bottom of the 6th, the Giants were behind 11 - 4. They staged a rally in the 9th, but fell by a final score of 12 - 9. That wasted a Denard Span first inning lead off inside-the-park home run, the first by the Giants since 1945. That was exciting. The final score, not so much. Suarez threw the final 3, allowing 1 and looking pretty good.
Madison Bumgarner on the hill Sunday. Madison threw 6, struck out 7, gave up 1 run on 4 hits and 1 walk. A Buster Posey single scored Tomlinson in the 4th, and Madison Bumgarner scorched a single in the 5th to score Ryder Jones and stake the Giants to a 2 - 1 lead. Mark Melancon took the 7th, gave up 2 hits and struck out 2 but allowed no runs. Hunter Strickland was a different story. He made it through the 8th, but gave up 6 hits and 3 runs. Kyle Crick gave up 1 more in the 9th. The final score was 5 - 2. We are 3 - 4 against the Philadelphia Phillies this year. We have games left against St. Louis and Milwaukee, both of whom are fighting for a playoff berth, the White Sox, and the NL West. We're back under .400, where, apparently, we belong.
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