Matt Cain
Welcoming back The Horse today. My expectations are low. Even though he’s only 30 he’s got a ton of innings on that arm and when I think of him I think of a ghost more than the stud he once was. But we really don’t need him to be that guy anymore. Just be something hovering around a 3 or 4.
Sabean must look at his Cain and Zito deals and just want to punch himself in the face. Twice.
Speaking of getting hit in the face, is it time to consider Buster no longer catching? He seems like a pretty expensive target to set up behind the plate.
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
This 6 game roadie East isn’t fraught with the usual heat stroke risk. But, it seems there could be a risk of 1-5 or worse, as usual. I take it as a good sign. Don’t the Gyros usually do well in a season where they crater in an Eastern roadie?…
I’ve always wondered about that thing about Pitchers and Catchers, where after a well pitched start, the pitcher says “yeah, Buster and I were on the same page, I didn’t shake him off once”. What about well pitched games where the pitcher shakes the catcher off a lot, as in a vet pitcher and young catcher. I’m sure that’s happened fairly often. I think the vet catcher behind the dish is overblown, it depends on the staff. If you have a young staff, a vet catcher is needed. If you have a good, vet staff, you can put blade behind the dish, and the pitching turns out well. 😉 Trouble is, the Giants staff is going to get young real soon, ‘cuz Timmeh, Voggy and Huddy are gone next season. Posey could be needed even more next year than this year behind the dish…
No, blade doesn’t catch, much less does any athletic endeavors anymore, outside of Nintendo, PlayStation, and other electronic games. By the by, thinking how grateful I am that I only suffered a broken rib in football. 😉
Wait.
I thought you work out a lot and get athletic when you go to SE Asia?…
You reminded me of something I just read recently regarding your comment about us losing 3 pitchers next season and having to fill those slots. It will be quite expensive for us to fill one slot with a quality pitcher, much less 2 or 3 openings. Why? The premise of the column stated that pitching agents will KNOW we are desperate for pitching help and will take advantage of hosing us for every single penny they can get. Likewise, GMs will also be aware of our situation and get us into outrageous bidding situations. Wish I could find the column. It was excellent.
Well, some of those touted young arms in our system below, if they’re not traded, better be ready to step into the breach and fill some spots next year….
Ever since my bicep and shoulder injury in 2008, I have been circumspect about all sporting activities. I am a very good skier, and loved mountain biking . . . but those 2 activities I haven’t done since 2008. Softball? Shit, I throw like a girl now, i.e., that even pre-dates my bicep/shoulder surgery. Last softball game was in 2004 I think. I would usually start the season at SS, but by the end of the season, I would be at first base, catcher, or quit due to shoulder and/or pulled hammy injuries.
Somebody needs to do a study on how many foul tips are finding catchers’ masks these days compared to historical levels. Probably no EZ way, or way at all, to measure that. I’ve seen a surmise that there are more catchers getting concussed now because there are more strikeouts in this post steroid era, meaning more foul tips per game than there used to be. Plausible. Also, maybe these hockey type headgears are not truly that protective.. They need to find a way to transfer the shock of the ball hitting the mask somewhere other than directly into the skull. I wonder if there could be a system where the mask is attached to some kind of brace in the back where the shock of getting hit in the mask would transfer down into the back, not into the skull. The brace obviously would need to allow freedom of movement. Somebody’s probably looking into it…
If you were Posey and had $120 million in the bank when you retire from playing, would you get into managing? Not your money, but baseball. I might try it for a while, just to keep busy at something I knew and loved. He can always run for senator from Georgia, I suppose…
In baseball there is ONE position which has come to experience a fairly high level of concussions. Last night i read a piece in the New York Review of Books and learned a thing or two about the NFL. Virtually EVERY NFL player has concussion issues. The average shelf-life in pro football is a tad over three years. Average lifespan for an NFL veteran is about 18 years less than that of the random man in the street.
Americans are addicted to vicarious violence. Pro football is a somewhat less bloody exercise than those gladiatorial “contests” which exemplified the previous primary world-empire ~ post Republican Rome. Advertisers are massively addicted to NFL revenues.
The NFL is the sick archetypical symbol of a sick society.
Snarkk is spot on regarding everyone’s over-exceeding expectations on Belt. I remember following him as a Longhorn and though he was good, he wasn’t even close to being the best player on the team. He also didn’t have the power numbers that he had in the minors. He was a classic late bloomer. If I remember correctly, he played pitcher in high school and didn’t move to 1b until he transferred to UT from the local community college down the road. Even when the Giants drafted him, I thought his college rival and minor league teammate Roger Kieschnick was the superior hitter. At least at Texas Tech he (Kieschnick) certainly was. But Belt’s progression in the minors was not that of your typical Bowker gang banger. He quickly shot up the Giants and MLB’s prospect rankings. He comes up and quickly rakes, gets a cutesy nickname, and the next thing you know he is the second coming of Will the Thrill. Then He fell victim to Bochy’s preference of veteran bias, dealt with coaches tinkering with his grip, and had to hear about his dour demeanor and sluggish shoulders. Let’s not forget he married a heavy set woman, where baseball scouts have long held is a sure sign of a lack of confidence. Fortunately his team is a bi-annual World Series winner, so those lofty expectations take a backseat every even numbered year.
I really think we just need to realize that Belt is what he is. As Blade said, there is probably 10-12 first baseman with superior offensive numbers. I don’t expect Belt to have a “breakout” year. A career year, you bet. He is a slightly above average offensive hitter with superior defensive skills and a likeable teammate. Hell, I will take that all day long.
Good assessment Joe!
Agreed. Like the Texas local knowledge. I swear, if Belt goes to a Texas team he’s going to clean up. IMO Belt’s hesitance now at the plate in taking lots of called third strikes is that the dude has been confused by mixed signals from management from the get go. He initially took a lot of walks, had a high OBP, but, then Bochy tells him to get “aggressive” and swing for power. So, he swings at shit and K’s a lot swinging. Then, to back off that, he starts taking pitches again, and looks for the perfect pitch he can square up and get it out of the park or off the wall. His approach has not been consistent — from an on base guy, to a guy with power, to a guy looking for the perfect pitch that can’t pull the trigger on a close pitch when down two strikes. I think Belt would really benefit from a change of scenery and coaching staff, and a park that doesn’t kill LH power not named Bonds…
Actually, I think there is a good fit with the Yankees. Teixeira is having a somewhat a renaissance season, but he will be replaced IMO . . . Perhaps next season. However, I do agree that Belt would be a huge improvement over Carter with the Astros. Fielder is going nowhere, so that Texas team is out.
Has Sabes not been looking at the girlfriends of these outfield draft prospects over the years? Has he not been doing the slim/average/heavy set analysis for these chicks? Must be NO — so THAT explains why he’s sucked at developing outfielders! WilcoJoe, you’ve solved the mystery of the dearth of Giants home-grown OFers since the mid ’90s!. Now, I can sleep at night… 😉
I actually thought that was a pretty good “tell” insofar as indicator of confidence. Who knew? 😉
I thought baldness was an indicator of superior intelligence…
I wrote too quick . . . I meant confidence (per Joe’s post). LOL
I actually stole the “fat girfriiend” piece from the Moneyball movie. So unfortunately I can’t take credit for it. 😉
It’s not so important what WE think of Belt’s potential, we just need an AL team that thinks highly of him and we should be able to get something of value in return. and he does look like he has unfilled potential, especially in a better hitter’s park, so i have to imagine that someone out there would love to have him. I have to say that i really don’t expect any help for this year’s team, but if they could get a young outfielder or two or maybe some more young pitching, that could help down the road . . .
Giants drafted Chris Shaw, the 1b out of Boston College, LHed bat, in round 1, supposedly an HR power bat. Some have said that’s a sign they’re ready to trade Belt. I dunno. But, if I were running the Giants draft, I would draft RHed power bats for the corner IF and OF positions, since left field at ATT is fine in terms of hitting HRs, particularly day games. On the contrary, I would draft LHed speed and gap power bats at other positions to take advantage of the Death Valley in Rcenter field. IMO, drafting LH home run power is totally wrongheaded given the anti-LH power bat bias configuration of ATT Park…
Interesting info on the hitter/pitcher favoring AAA ballparks.
The River Cats play in the most pitcher friendly park in the PCL, by far. So, take the Giants pitchers’ performance down there with a bit of a grain of salt. And, as the article says on bottom, Duvall’s stats are really better than indicated considering he’s hitting in the best pitcher’s park in the PCL. The Fresno ballpark is pretty much the fairest to hitters and pitchers in the PCL…
http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20150703&content_id=134278096&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb&sid=milb
I agree Belt would be a perfect fit here in Houston. I would be shocked if Sabean and Luhnow haven’t discussed it for quite some time. Now with Springer out for possibly the rest of the year, Houston might overpay for an experienced bat like Belt’s. As I have said before, the high walk, high OPS Belt is exactly what Houston covets and the polar opposite of Chris “Special K” Carter.
Should have said high OBP not OPS.
Per Baggs:
Hudson to the 15-day DL, Peavy in.
Ishi DFA’d (gonna miss that great defense)
Ryan Lollis up from Sac as OFer.
Osich up, too.
Another move coming, not announced yet, to make room for Osich…
Another HR for Bour (Cubs), so at least the guy doesn’t hit ’em only against the Giants.
Morse has been Wally Pipped!
I just tweeted essentially the same point re Bour.
Just bought the 6/29 Sports Illustrated, Curry on the cover with the championship trophy. Great photo, and a pretty well- written article. Nothing super new in the article, but a fine tribute to that amazing player and team.
Today’s game is free on MLB TV and ESPN…
Regarding team chemistry (yesterday’s topic), it does matter. To that end, just today I read the intro essay by Jeremy Affeldt in the keepsake book “Champions Together,” or whatever it is called. He’s adent writer, and it is a lovely book. Affeldt says Bochy had a team meeting and put it under trust. You’ve gotta trust me. And if we get into the playoffs, trust me. Trust me thatr we may end up doing things differently than other organizations, but trust me. They did. They won.
Puig doesn’t bother me. I’d rather see a “bad boy” be overt, a la Dick Allen or insert a dozen other names. Better that than a sunny exterior masking a dark, disgruntled employee [insert name of a former SF third baseman here].
Orchestrating to move my mom, 98, from Connecticut to Syracuse. That’s one reason you haven’t seen much of me.
p.s. I am probably going to Pawsox at Chiefs tmrw. No Manny Burriss! He’s up!
Broadway back down to make room for Osich.
Brett Bochy DFA’d to make room on 40 man.
Wonder if papa Bochy made the call?…
Snarrk’s guess that the increased number of Ks have resulted in more foul tips reminded me of this article:
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/09/baseball-offensive-drought-and-camera-technology/379443/
Not sure if someone else has posted previously, but I came across it just recently and found it a little surprising, especially the stats on the umpires. Kruk sez “He’ll definitely give you the pitch around the knees.”
Interesting article. Well, if the umps call the low strike, that should, theoretically, speed up the game. That’s what MLB wants, supposedly. If they’re concerned about lack of offense, use cameras to enforce a new strike zone that starts at the knees, so no more low strikes. But, that’s not good for people like Heston and Hudson or guys with splitters…
yeah, good article. As to the steroid era, the best stat isn’t the total HRs per year, it’s the number of players per year who hit 40 or more HRs. Graph that stat and the steroid era rises like Mt. Shasta out of the valley.
new thread
Lotsa pitchers were using ‘roids, too in the Steroid Era. So, the drop in HRs tells me maybe the playing field isn’t as level as before in terms of PEDs — I’d guess there are still some pitchers using PEDs — hell, maybe a lot of ’em are…