The Giants are headed to Milwaukee, and as they leave San Francisco, they take with them a lot of positive things from this homestand.
They went 4-3 in this last week (and have gone 3-1 since the last blog), and have showed signs of being the baseball team that we all (well, at least I) expected them to be this year.
Some of the good things to come out of this homestand:
Brandon Crawford. In the last week, Crawford has raised his average from .212 to .234. He had two RBIs on Thursday against the Cardinals (in a game that the Giants won by two runs). His defense has also been perfect, committing no errors on the homestand. Hopefully, by playing every day, he can carry this momentum over and continue to gain confidence in the field.
Playing small ball. The Giants finally seem to be doing the little things in a game. Even in the loss today against the A's, on the rare times that the Giants scored, they scored by playing small ball. Both RBIs today came on sac flies. Getting a runner home from third with less than two outs has been a struggle for this team, and even though the offense fizzled in the latter part of the game today, the start of something was there.
Along those lines, the bats have started to come alive a bit. The offense scratched out eight hits on Thursday, Friday, and today and had a whopping ten hits on Saturday. Melky Cabrera has been a leader for the hitters, going 7-16 in those four games, capping it off with a 4-4 game today. He now leads the National League with 59 hits and is 3rd with a .353 batting average almost two months into the season. It's hard to ask for much more than that.
The negative thing to take away from this homestand is obviously Tim Lincecum. To quote my good friend Jenn, "I never thought Timmy would be the one to worry about in the rotation." The Giants are now 2-7 in his starts this season. While Lincecum, like anyone, has had rough patches in his career (his 0-5 August of 2010 comes to mind, and we all remember how he finished that season and what he did in the post-season for the Giants), but this year's struggle has lasted longer than any previous ones. He's got to figure out a way to avoid that big inning. The possible good news is that the problem seems to be more mental than mechanical. And even though it's been a tough 2012 for him so far, Lincecum is nothing if not a tough competitor (just watch that collison with Cowgill at the plate today). I believe that we'll have our Timmy back.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Help!
Oh, how quickly things change!
In my last post, I was cautiously optimistic about where this young Giants team was headed. While I don't think it's time to panic (yet), there have been some major concerns that have become apparent in the last few weeks. The young guys who were going to provide some great defense in exchance for .225 batting averages have held up their end of the bargain offensively. Crawford and Burris have added some speed to the basepaths and have even provided the occasional spark at the plate. However, the questionable defense needs to end here. I loved that Bochy kept Crawford in at short even after his horrific defense game in LA. Boch was right, Crawford needs to learn to deal with games like that because they happen to everyone. Now Crawford needs to show us he can and will bounce back from that. Fewer mistakes need to happen up the middle.
There's not much to say after a lack-luster effort like tonight's game against St. Louis, but what I'm mostly hoping for in the next week is just consistency. Right now the Giants have a good problem (to me, anyway): too many young guys. They have young talent coming up everywhere for almost every position. They've run into a wall, however, trying to figure out exactly how good these guys can all be. For that to happen, there needs to be consistency. Bochy needs to pick a line-up (Blanco or Schierholtz, Belt or Pill, Posey or Sanchez, Arias or Burriss) and put those guys out there day in and day out. Let them show us what they can do when they know they have a spot. And if and when they slump, let them show if they can work their way out of it. Let's see some great defense by guys who are comfortable because they have played the same position every day.
I know there will be some days when guys need time off, or righty-lefty pitching match-ups that call for adjustment (although, with this offense, I'd probably just stick with whoever is hitting anything), but it's tough enough for guys to play on a major league level, without having to wonder every day whether or not their name is going to be on that line-up card.
Fingers crossed that, whetever happens, the Giants can take a couple from the reigning World Series champs this weekend.
In my last post, I was cautiously optimistic about where this young Giants team was headed. While I don't think it's time to panic (yet), there have been some major concerns that have become apparent in the last few weeks. The young guys who were going to provide some great defense in exchance for .225 batting averages have held up their end of the bargain offensively. Crawford and Burris have added some speed to the basepaths and have even provided the occasional spark at the plate. However, the questionable defense needs to end here. I loved that Bochy kept Crawford in at short even after his horrific defense game in LA. Boch was right, Crawford needs to learn to deal with games like that because they happen to everyone. Now Crawford needs to show us he can and will bounce back from that. Fewer mistakes need to happen up the middle.
There's not much to say after a lack-luster effort like tonight's game against St. Louis, but what I'm mostly hoping for in the next week is just consistency. Right now the Giants have a good problem (to me, anyway): too many young guys. They have young talent coming up everywhere for almost every position. They've run into a wall, however, trying to figure out exactly how good these guys can all be. For that to happen, there needs to be consistency. Bochy needs to pick a line-up (Blanco or Schierholtz, Belt or Pill, Posey or Sanchez, Arias or Burriss) and put those guys out there day in and day out. Let them show us what they can do when they know they have a spot. And if and when they slump, let them show if they can work their way out of it. Let's see some great defense by guys who are comfortable because they have played the same position every day.
I know there will be some days when guys need time off, or righty-lefty pitching match-ups that call for adjustment (although, with this offense, I'd probably just stick with whoever is hitting anything), but it's tough enough for guys to play on a major league level, without having to wonder every day whether or not their name is going to be on that line-up card.
Fingers crossed that, whetever happens, the Giants can take a couple from the reigning World Series champs this weekend.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
dream dream dream
This week has been a dream come true for me. At least, as a Giants fan.
Pagan
Cabrera
Sandoval
Posey
Schierholtz
Belt
Crawford
Burriss
Average age: 26.
Though the Giants went 4-3 over the past seven games, the young line-up showed a lot of potential and gave Giants fans much to look forward to (should they continue to get consistent playing time).
Let's start with the defense. In the first game of the double-header against the Mets on Monday, the up-the-middle combo of Emmanual Burriss and Brandon Crawford saved a run and help Tim Lincecum to relax on his way to his first win of the season. That good feeling carried over into Lincecum's start tonight. "Guys making great defensive plays is big," said Tim, "You know, lifts the spirits as well, and...like I said, can lift you up between innings to carry out the next one." Tonight, Melky Cabrera saved at least two hits with his great catches in left field. When the starting pitchers are taking notice and feeling more confident out on the mound because they can trust the defense behind them, you've got a good thing going.
And on the other side of the ball, the youth is finally getting a chance at the plate (on a side note, whatever is going on with Aubrey Huff, I hope he's doing well and is getting whatever help he needs). That being said, watching these young, homegrown players begin to develop with consistent time at the plate is promising. Burriss is batting .260; Posey appears to have found his stride lately, batting .378 with three HRs and six RBIs over the last ten games; Schierholtz has been consistent, batting .288; and, perhaps most encouraging, Belt is up to .278. When asked about Huff being gone and getting more playing time, Belt said, "When they give you that opportunity, you gotta take advantage of it. That's what I've been trying to do here lately. I've been playing every other day pretty routinely lately, so when I get in there I wanna do something to give myself the best chance to play every day."
Even though it's only been a week of this consistent, young line-up, and there's room for improvement, there are been a lot of good things to take away from the last few games. Fingers crossed that this is only the beginning.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Seriously?
My last post was about how Brandon Belt should start at first base over Aubrey Huff.
Well, here we are. Eight games into the season, and Huff has started seven games, while Belt has started four. The Giants are 4-4, and have won three games in a row. But I'm worried.
Like I said before, Belt needs to be starting at first base. Yes, it's true that Huff is batting .227 and Belt is only batting .091. Huff has one homerun and three RBIs, while Belt has none of the above. However, Huff has 22 at-bats, while Belt has only had 11.
The Giants are at .500, and their pitching is getting stonger as the season goes on (as expected). However, the position of first base is still up for grabs, and this fact alone concerns me a lot. When Bochy was pressed about why Belt wasn't starting at first base he said, "We're trying to win ballgames. ..It's not to get anybody ready." But, based on the season so far, why should we believe that Huff gives the Giants a better chance to win than Belt? And also, why isn't it part of Bochy's job to develop young talent into players that will lead this team into the future?
Tonight Huff went 0-4 and left three men on base. In a tight ballgame (the Giants won 4-3 on an error in the bottom of the ninth), Huff did nothing. He is 35 years old and has always been a very inconsistent hitter.
Tonight, Belt sat on the bench. Who was more effective?
Well, here we are. Eight games into the season, and Huff has started seven games, while Belt has started four. The Giants are 4-4, and have won three games in a row. But I'm worried.
Like I said before, Belt needs to be starting at first base. Yes, it's true that Huff is batting .227 and Belt is only batting .091. Huff has one homerun and three RBIs, while Belt has none of the above. However, Huff has 22 at-bats, while Belt has only had 11.
The Giants are at .500, and their pitching is getting stonger as the season goes on (as expected). However, the position of first base is still up for grabs, and this fact alone concerns me a lot. When Bochy was pressed about why Belt wasn't starting at first base he said, "We're trying to win ballgames. ..It's not to get anybody ready." But, based on the season so far, why should we believe that Huff gives the Giants a better chance to win than Belt? And also, why isn't it part of Bochy's job to develop young talent into players that will lead this team into the future?
Tonight Huff went 0-4 and left three men on base. In a tight ballgame (the Giants won 4-3 on an error in the bottom of the ninth), Huff did nothing. He is 35 years old and has always been a very inconsistent hitter.
Tonight, Belt sat on the bench. Who was more effective?
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Belt it out
As someone who has always criticized Brian Sabean, it almost pains me to admit that he's done a great job in the past couple years with the minor league system for the Giants. The Bonds era was so painful as a fan, to watch prospect after prospect get traded away for aging veterans who rarely produced (A.J. Pierzynski, Ryan Klesko, Ray Durham, Aaron Rowand). Even in recent seasons, with signings for Tejada and Beltran. As a fan, you always want to see homegrown, consistent players out there on the field and, for possibly the first time since I can remember, the Giants are young, homegrown, and are very likeable.
Oh, and they're predicted by "Sports Illustrated" to make it to the World Series this year. Coincidence?
Sabean showed great restraint in this off-season, no going after the big, expensive free agent, but choosing to fill some holes with quiet, young, consistent players. Melky Cabrera is 27 and coming off the best season of his career with the most games player (.305 avg, 155 games, 18 HR, 87 RBI). Angel Pagan is 30 and brings the Giants some much-needed speed (32 steals in 2011). Cabrera has thrived in the Spring, hitting .381 with 3 HR and 9 RBI. Pagan, though he's struggled a bit in Scottsdale, will provide solid defense in the big center field of AT&T park.
The spot on the field that I'm most concerned about? First base.
Brandon Belt needs to be the starting first baseman on April 5th. In Spring, he's batting .380 with 3 HR (tied for second on the team) in 17 games. Huff is batting .275 with 2 HR in 14 games. In 2011, Belt finished the season with 9 HR in 63 games, only 3 behind Huff, who hit 12 HR in 150 games last season. I know that Bruce Bochy tends to lean towards the veteran guys, but if the Giants want to win this year, Belt needs to finally get priority over Huff. Last season, Belt wasn't given any opportunity to get into a rhythm (my biggest complaint about how Bochy handles most young guys, including Schierholtz). Twice, Belt was benched the day after he hit a homerun. It didn't make sense. For a team that struggled so badly offensively last year, they cannot afford to keep Belt on the bench.
In keeping with the theme of a young, likeable, future-oriented team, the Giants and Bruce Bochy have to make a statement and put Brandon Belt at first base. They can't afford not to.
Oh, and they're predicted by "Sports Illustrated" to make it to the World Series this year. Coincidence?
Sabean showed great restraint in this off-season, no going after the big, expensive free agent, but choosing to fill some holes with quiet, young, consistent players. Melky Cabrera is 27 and coming off the best season of his career with the most games player (.305 avg, 155 games, 18 HR, 87 RBI). Angel Pagan is 30 and brings the Giants some much-needed speed (32 steals in 2011). Cabrera has thrived in the Spring, hitting .381 with 3 HR and 9 RBI. Pagan, though he's struggled a bit in Scottsdale, will provide solid defense in the big center field of AT&T park.
The spot on the field that I'm most concerned about? First base.
Brandon Belt needs to be the starting first baseman on April 5th. In Spring, he's batting .380 with 3 HR (tied for second on the team) in 17 games. Huff is batting .275 with 2 HR in 14 games. In 2011, Belt finished the season with 9 HR in 63 games, only 3 behind Huff, who hit 12 HR in 150 games last season. I know that Bruce Bochy tends to lean towards the veteran guys, but if the Giants want to win this year, Belt needs to finally get priority over Huff. Last season, Belt wasn't given any opportunity to get into a rhythm (my biggest complaint about how Bochy handles most young guys, including Schierholtz). Twice, Belt was benched the day after he hit a homerun. It didn't make sense. For a team that struggled so badly offensively last year, they cannot afford to keep Belt on the bench.
In keeping with the theme of a young, likeable, future-oriented team, the Giants and Bruce Bochy have to make a statement and put Brandon Belt at first base. They can't afford not to.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Good to be back
I'm so excited that baseball is back in 2012!
First of all, I already think that the Giants will be infinitely better this year than they were last year. Like I said in my last blog post (at the beginning of last year), 2011 was an old team that had a lot to worry about. Burrell, Ross, Rowand, Tejada all led to last year's team being very over the hill very fast. However, my greatest dream came true when Rowand and Tejada were released mid-season and Burrell and Ross weren't resigned for 2012. For the first time since I could remember, Nate Schierholtz was going to get a shot in right field. And boy, did he take advantage of the opportunity. He finished the season with a .269 batting average, but brought speed and a great arm to the right field position at AT&T park. He's also 28. Finally, an outfielder with a potential future.
The first spring training game I saw today only confirmed what I had previously thought. Schierholtz had an RBI and scored a run today. He also threw out a guy at home in the top of the 4th inning. His arm and timely hitting was definitely a factor in the Giants victory today (7-2 over the A's), and I believe he will continue to contribue to the 2012 Giants.
The other great positive that was taken away from today's game was Big Time Timmy Jim. He became the first Giants starter to go six innings this Spring. He moved to 2-0 this month with four strikeouts and, most impressive of all, no walks. Even though Lincecum gave up six hits, he looked dominating at times and had his strikeout pitches working for him from the first batter he faced (who he struck out, by the way).
While the defense is yet again a concern (two errors today, one of Fontenot that led to a run and one on Sandoval), there is definitely time this Spring to work that out.
All in all, baseball is back the Bay Area, and it's coming back strong.
First of all, I already think that the Giants will be infinitely better this year than they were last year. Like I said in my last blog post (at the beginning of last year), 2011 was an old team that had a lot to worry about. Burrell, Ross, Rowand, Tejada all led to last year's team being very over the hill very fast. However, my greatest dream came true when Rowand and Tejada were released mid-season and Burrell and Ross weren't resigned for 2012. For the first time since I could remember, Nate Schierholtz was going to get a shot in right field. And boy, did he take advantage of the opportunity. He finished the season with a .269 batting average, but brought speed and a great arm to the right field position at AT&T park. He's also 28. Finally, an outfielder with a potential future.
The first spring training game I saw today only confirmed what I had previously thought. Schierholtz had an RBI and scored a run today. He also threw out a guy at home in the top of the 4th inning. His arm and timely hitting was definitely a factor in the Giants victory today (7-2 over the A's), and I believe he will continue to contribue to the 2012 Giants.
The other great positive that was taken away from today's game was Big Time Timmy Jim. He became the first Giants starter to go six innings this Spring. He moved to 2-0 this month with four strikeouts and, most impressive of all, no walks. Even though Lincecum gave up six hits, he looked dominating at times and had his strikeout pitches working for him from the first batter he faced (who he struck out, by the way).
While the defense is yet again a concern (two errors today, one of Fontenot that led to a run and one on Sandoval), there is definitely time this Spring to work that out.
All in all, baseball is back the Bay Area, and it's coming back strong.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Too Soon?
It's been 23 games. The Giants are currently just a game under .500 (11-12) and only 5 games behind the NL West first place Rockies. Also, it's only April 27. Is it too soon to worry?
Maybe, but maybe we should anyway.
Today, I heard someone say that, despite their recent offensive struggles, the Giants will turn it around because everyone expects this year's team to be better offensively than last years. My immediate response was...What? Really? Followed quickly by...Why?
Looking at this Giants line-up of Rowand, F. Sanchez, Huff, Posey, Sandoval, Burrell, Ross, and Tejada does not exactly inspire confidence in the offense. It's the same group as last year, and now each player is a year older. The only big change came at shortstop, where Uribe was switched out for Tejada. The average age of this team is 31. Not exactly a team for the future.
Are the averages troubling? Yes. Even this early? Yes. Sandoval is currently the only Giants batting over .300 (.329). Freddy Sanchez is second in average with .283, and Rowand is third at .278. Ten days ago, Rowand was batting an amazing .359. For those of you counting at home, that's a difference of .081. Considering Rowand ended the 2010 season batting .230, his recent slide in average doesn't really bode well for the rest of his 2011.
The rest of the team, with the exception of Buster Posey, is visibly floundering. Posey hasn't had a hit on the road trip so far, which has knocked is average from .280 to .259 in the last two days, but nothing that's too worrisome. Yet. However, the same can't be said for Huff, Burrell, Tejada, and Ross. Tejada is batting .200 with one HR, Huff is batting .218 with two HR, Burrell is batting .261 with five HR (four of them coming in the first two weeks of the season), and Ross has come back from the DL with a rousing .227 average with 0 HR (so far). Ross can get a little leeway because he's only been back for a few days, but the other three guys are key for this team. Burrell helped propel the Giants into the playoffs last year, Tejada was the Giants big, off-season signing, and Huff was the heart and soul of the 2010 Giants team. If Bochy continues to start these three (which he will), and they continue to struggle, the Giants might not finish better than .500 (they still have that amazing pitching).
All in all, it's still a little too soon to panic, but the Giants should be too hesitant to possibly sit a struggle veteran (or two or three) for a younger player, just to switch things up and see what the young guys can do.
After all, the 2010 Giants were a .500 team with Molina until they traded him and brought up a certain young Rookie of the Year catcher....
Maybe, but maybe we should anyway.
Today, I heard someone say that, despite their recent offensive struggles, the Giants will turn it around because everyone expects this year's team to be better offensively than last years. My immediate response was...What? Really? Followed quickly by...Why?
Looking at this Giants line-up of Rowand, F. Sanchez, Huff, Posey, Sandoval, Burrell, Ross, and Tejada does not exactly inspire confidence in the offense. It's the same group as last year, and now each player is a year older. The only big change came at shortstop, where Uribe was switched out for Tejada. The average age of this team is 31. Not exactly a team for the future.
Are the averages troubling? Yes. Even this early? Yes. Sandoval is currently the only Giants batting over .300 (.329). Freddy Sanchez is second in average with .283, and Rowand is third at .278. Ten days ago, Rowand was batting an amazing .359. For those of you counting at home, that's a difference of .081. Considering Rowand ended the 2010 season batting .230, his recent slide in average doesn't really bode well for the rest of his 2011.
The rest of the team, with the exception of Buster Posey, is visibly floundering. Posey hasn't had a hit on the road trip so far, which has knocked is average from .280 to .259 in the last two days, but nothing that's too worrisome. Yet. However, the same can't be said for Huff, Burrell, Tejada, and Ross. Tejada is batting .200 with one HR, Huff is batting .218 with two HR, Burrell is batting .261 with five HR (four of them coming in the first two weeks of the season), and Ross has come back from the DL with a rousing .227 average with 0 HR (so far). Ross can get a little leeway because he's only been back for a few days, but the other three guys are key for this team. Burrell helped propel the Giants into the playoffs last year, Tejada was the Giants big, off-season signing, and Huff was the heart and soul of the 2010 Giants team. If Bochy continues to start these three (which he will), and they continue to struggle, the Giants might not finish better than .500 (they still have that amazing pitching).
All in all, it's still a little too soon to panic, but the Giants should be too hesitant to possibly sit a struggle veteran (or two or three) for a younger player, just to switch things up and see what the young guys can do.
After all, the 2010 Giants were a .500 team with Molina until they traded him and brought up a certain young Rookie of the Year catcher....
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