Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Then again...


The Giants just shut out the Dodgers in back-to-back games at home since 1987.

The defense has been great and all of the potential all-stars are busy making their various cases for why they should be voted in. Buster Posey is hitting .307 in June, with four homeruns and 13 RBIs. Over his last ten starts, Ryan Vogelsong has gone 6-1 and owns a 1.79 ERA. Tonight gave him his 13th quality start of the year, which ties him for the Major League lead with R.A. Dickey and Yovani Gallardo. Matt Cain...well, tonight he got the keys to San Francisco and had June 13th declared Matt Cain day. So, there's really not much more to be said about why he should, not only be an all-star, but start in Kansas City this July.

However, tonight, the biggest impact was made by Melky Cabrera. The Melk Man is batting .352 on the season, which is 4th in the Majors. He's added three more homeruns in June, bringing his season total to seven, which is 2nd on the Giants. He leads the Giants in on-base percentage by far (he's at .352, Sandoval is 2nd at .314). And tonight, Cabrera gave Vogelsong the only run that he'd need. He's been clutch all season, providing a spark at the plate and some great defense in the field. Plus, he deserves, perhaps more than anyone, to be an all-start on that field in Kansas City. He hit .305 in 2011, with 18 homeruns and 87 RBIs. He also had 201 hits last season. He currently has seven homeruns and 37 RBIs for the Giants. More impressively, less than halfway through this season, he already has 105 hits. If anyone deserves to return to the place that traded him, it's Melky Cabrera. He's currently in 4th place to be an all-star outfielder, which wouldn't make him a starter. At least, let's be honest, Matt Kemp (who's currently in 1st place in NL outfielter voting) probably won't be making that start.

Speaking of Giants outfielders, I've got to say really quick that Gregor Blanco could use a break. Not that Blanco hasn't been a great right fielder and lead-off man for the Giants (and they have spent lots of time searching for a solid lead-off guy), but now might be a good time to put Schierholtz in for a game or two. On the season, Gregor is batting .258 with four homeruns and 17 RBIs on the season. He saved Matt Cain's perfect game with an unbelievable catch in the 7th inning of that game. He's got a decent OBP of .350 and his 29 walks are second on the team (second to Belt's 31, look who's OBP is quietly on the rise...).

However,

Over the last month, Blanco is batting .221 with seven RBIs and seven walks. His on-base percentage in June is much lower at .282. And over the last ten games, Gregor is 6-40. He's batting a measley .150, and 11 of his 51 strikeouts on the season have come over this stretch.

For the season, Nate Schierholtz is batting a mere .244. He's got three homeruns to Blanco's four. He hasn't been impressive at the plate. But Schierholtz is always a solid defensive guy in right field at AT&T park. Maybe he shouldn't be starting every day, but it's pretty apparent that Gregor Blanco could use a break. And I just happen to know a guy who could use a day in right field.

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