I'm going out of town tonight for a few days (woo, Bahamas!), but I wanted to get out a quick blog before I left.
The Giants have been playing great. 8-2 in their last ten games, now only four games behind the Dodgers. A season-high seven games over .500. No errors so far this month. Brandon Crawford has really started to emerge as the great defensive shortstop that we knew he could be. And, as much as I love my boy Schierholtz, Gregor Blanco has really solidified himself as a great right fielder and lead-off man.
But, here's my biggest issue with the last few games...why isn't Brandon Belt starting every single one? Bochy finally came out and said that Belt would see a lot more playing time over the next few weeks, but he's only started two of the last six games (and he's starting today, so I guess three of the last seven). I know that Bochy is trying to get Brett Pill in there and likes to start Pill against left-handed pitchers for the lefty-righty match-up. And Pill has three homeruns to Belts zero. But Belt has 15 RBIs to Pills 9 and they have almost the exact same average (Belt at .226, Pill at .227). While the stats are not overwhelmingly in Belt's favor, he still needs to be starting almost every day, even against lefties. If Belt is your first baseman of the future and you believe that he will be out there every day, he needs to be out there every day. When he's struggling, stick with him. Bochy needs to boost his confidence and let him know that he believes in Belt. It's cheesy, but it's true.
We'll see if he gets more playing time this weekend. I'll be rooting for it from the beach. #freeBelt
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
one-two punch
Let's just talk about the Giants three-four hitters really quickly.
They have been unbelieveable.
There's no denying that Melky Cabrera has been a bit of a surprise with how he's been performing this season so far. Earlier in tonight's game, he tied a little player by the name of Willie Mays for most hits in the month of May by a Giant. Ever. Oh, and May isn't over. (As I'm typing this, Melky slaps a single into right field for his 50th hit of the month, surpassing Willie Mays. Wow). His .376 average is second-best in majors, and his OBP of .414 (not including his three hits tonight) is seventh.
Not to be outdone, Buster Posey is showing just why he's batting clean-up. Posey's .302 average has him ranked 5th among MLB catchers. He's got two RBIs for the Giants tonight and leads the team with 27. He also leads the Giants with six homeruns. And when Posey needs a day off, Hector Sanchez is there to pick up the slack. He and Posey have a combined 44-RBIs on the season, the most of any combination of catchers on a single team so far this year.
And if all of that terrifying enough for a pitcher, Angel Pagan is hitting 5th, batting .313 and has hit safely in 24 or 26 games in the month of May. He's third on the team with 19 RBIs (behind Posey and Cabrera with 25). And after having a talk with mamager Bruce Bochy a few days ago, Brandon Belt has seemed to find a little bit of an offensive stride. In his first start since his chat with Bochy, Belt went 2-4 yesterday, blasting the ball for an RBI triple in the first inning. Even though he's only batting .240, after two walks tonight, Belt is 5th on the team with a .359 on-base percentage.
Maybe none of these stats are overly impressive by themselves (except for Melky's), all together they make for a pretty impressive May for the Giants. It's been a group effort, but the team is now four games over .500, a season high. After opening the month with four straight losses, they've won three in a row to (almost) close out the month. Fingers crossed that, tomorrow, they can get another win and that Melky can scratch out another hit.
They have been unbelieveable.
There's no denying that Melky Cabrera has been a bit of a surprise with how he's been performing this season so far. Earlier in tonight's game, he tied a little player by the name of Willie Mays for most hits in the month of May by a Giant. Ever. Oh, and May isn't over. (As I'm typing this, Melky slaps a single into right field for his 50th hit of the month, surpassing Willie Mays. Wow). His .376 average is second-best in majors, and his OBP of .414 (not including his three hits tonight) is seventh.
Not to be outdone, Buster Posey is showing just why he's batting clean-up. Posey's .302 average has him ranked 5th among MLB catchers. He's got two RBIs for the Giants tonight and leads the team with 27. He also leads the Giants with six homeruns. And when Posey needs a day off, Hector Sanchez is there to pick up the slack. He and Posey have a combined 44-RBIs on the season, the most of any combination of catchers on a single team so far this year.
And if all of that terrifying enough for a pitcher, Angel Pagan is hitting 5th, batting .313 and has hit safely in 24 or 26 games in the month of May. He's third on the team with 19 RBIs (behind Posey and Cabrera with 25). And after having a talk with mamager Bruce Bochy a few days ago, Brandon Belt has seemed to find a little bit of an offensive stride. In his first start since his chat with Bochy, Belt went 2-4 yesterday, blasting the ball for an RBI triple in the first inning. Even though he's only batting .240, after two walks tonight, Belt is 5th on the team with a .359 on-base percentage.
Maybe none of these stats are overly impressive by themselves (except for Melky's), all together they make for a pretty impressive May for the Giants. It's been a group effort, but the team is now four games over .500, a season high. After opening the month with four straight losses, they've won three in a row to (almost) close out the month. Fingers crossed that, tomorrow, they can get another win and that Melky can scratch out another hit.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
not so fast
Just a quick thought after the Giants longest game of the season so far. Let's all just calm down a quick second.
Now, normally I'm the first one to panic or to point out who in the Giants line-up should be benched or traded or who's not going to cut it in the big leagues. But, listening to and reading peoples reactions to tonight's game (a win, by the way), really shocked me. How fickle have we become as fans? Tonight, the Giants improved to 22-20. They haven't been more than two games over .500 all season and were last at this mark on April 29 against San Diego. Bumgarner pitched great, with his one mistake to the
MVP Ryan Braun in the 8th. And while I'm normally the first to jump on the blame-Bochy bandwagon, I'll give him a pass for not putting Romo in tonight to face Braun. Bumgarner had 10 Ks on the night and had struck out Braun in the first. Yes, hindsight is 20/20, and Romo has had success against Braun in the past, but the Giants pulled out the win, so let's just remember that.
People are also ready to throw in the towel on the Brandons. Yes, Crawford made a costly error tonight. His defense has been inconsistent at best and, at times, he looks pretty uncomfortable at shortstop. However, he's only 24. It's his first full major league season. He's got a cannon for an arm. I think he needs a year under his belt to be fully comfortable out there and, despite his struggles, he's shown promise of being the great shortstop that he's projected to be.
People are also ready to write-off Belt. Yes, he's batting .238 with no homeruns so far, but he, like Crawford, has the skill to be great. He plays a great defensive first base, and we saw his power last year, albeit briefly. He's in his first season as the primary first baseman for the Giants, although his playing time has been a big inconsistent. With consistency and more at-bats, the Brandons will be just fine.
Finally, there were even some fans saying that the Giants should trade Lincecum. This seems like an extreme reaction to a guy who's simply struggling on the mound for, wait for it, oh yeah, just two months. Two months! Of a long season. If Timmy is 2-17 in August, with an ERA over six and he continues to over-analyze himself start after start after start, then maybe it's something to look into. But, considering there were no Lincecum trade rumors prior to his start against the A's, this all just seems like a knee-jerk reaction to a guy who's been an amazing asset to this team for the last five years.
Yes, tonight's game had some low-points, but at the end of it, the Giants came away with a win. If we want to, we can always look for the bad parts of a game, but maybe we should just enjoy the good things while we can.
Now, normally I'm the first one to panic or to point out who in the Giants line-up should be benched or traded or who's not going to cut it in the big leagues. But, listening to and reading peoples reactions to tonight's game (a win, by the way), really shocked me. How fickle have we become as fans? Tonight, the Giants improved to 22-20. They haven't been more than two games over .500 all season and were last at this mark on April 29 against San Diego. Bumgarner pitched great, with his one mistake to the
MVP Ryan Braun in the 8th. And while I'm normally the first to jump on the blame-Bochy bandwagon, I'll give him a pass for not putting Romo in tonight to face Braun. Bumgarner had 10 Ks on the night and had struck out Braun in the first. Yes, hindsight is 20/20, and Romo has had success against Braun in the past, but the Giants pulled out the win, so let's just remember that.
People are also ready to throw in the towel on the Brandons. Yes, Crawford made a costly error tonight. His defense has been inconsistent at best and, at times, he looks pretty uncomfortable at shortstop. However, he's only 24. It's his first full major league season. He's got a cannon for an arm. I think he needs a year under his belt to be fully comfortable out there and, despite his struggles, he's shown promise of being the great shortstop that he's projected to be.
People are also ready to write-off Belt. Yes, he's batting .238 with no homeruns so far, but he, like Crawford, has the skill to be great. He plays a great defensive first base, and we saw his power last year, albeit briefly. He's in his first season as the primary first baseman for the Giants, although his playing time has been a big inconsistent. With consistency and more at-bats, the Brandons will be just fine.
Finally, there were even some fans saying that the Giants should trade Lincecum. This seems like an extreme reaction to a guy who's simply struggling on the mound for, wait for it, oh yeah, just two months. Two months! Of a long season. If Timmy is 2-17 in August, with an ERA over six and he continues to over-analyze himself start after start after start, then maybe it's something to look into. But, considering there were no Lincecum trade rumors prior to his start against the A's, this all just seems like a knee-jerk reaction to a guy who's been an amazing asset to this team for the last five years.
Yes, tonight's game had some low-points, but at the end of it, the Giants came away with a win. If we want to, we can always look for the bad parts of a game, but maybe we should just enjoy the good things while we can.
Monday, May 21, 2012
pretty positive
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.
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.
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?
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