Does Belt Finally Stick? If so, WHERE?
Yesterday was a breath of fresh air from a team with an offense that is bad at, really, everything. With Beltran still out, it shouldn’t be hard to find Belt regular playing time. He’ll play left field, Ross in center and Nate in right. I have to believe that the end of the road, outside of pinch hitting duty, has finally come for our *good friend* Aaron Rowand. Our offense is so bad, Rowand’s recent failures have gone largely under the radar. I just looked up his split stats and was pretty surprised at what I saw.
For the entire month of August:
RBI’s: 0
Runs scored: also 0
Walks taken: hasn’t had a walk since July 5th!!!!!!!!!!
OPS: .455
That is really a shocking failure at every offensive level…..
When (if) Beltran comes back, then there will be a decision to make and it will come down to 2 questions: Is Belt hitting? Is Nate hitting? If Belt is hitting and Nate isn’t (and really, he hasn’t been. I think that it’s quite clear to everyone that Nate is best used as a secret weapon off the bench) then Belt might find a regular spot in RF….. I suppose if Nate and Belt are both crushing the ball and Huff is in a deep slump, Belt *could* get more playing time at first base. But Huff has been quite good lately, hitting .333 in August with an excellent OPS of .925. I don’t see Ross leaving the LU or center field (or leadoff) unless he’s completely useless. In fact, that’s probably Rowand’s best chance to start regularly again.
Belt has somewhat of an opportunity here. Bochy HAS to play him while Beltran is out. Really, Bochy has to play ANYONE who is exhibiting signs of human life at the plate. Showing up and banging 2 hr’s in your first game back is the right way to start…..
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
Sly Flav . . . He wants Belt to play because he consummated a mega-deal with the Orb of Wisdom (Flav receiving Belt as part of the deal).
We’re wise to your nefarious ways.
By the by, the Flap league is down (as well as all Yahoo leagues) for a 10 hour upgrade. If you didn’t set your line-up already, it’s probably too late for today/evening games.
At least Ferretball can’t sink any lower.
that sucks, I didn’t set my LU. I got tired of watching Gio G walk people (so I got Greinke) and I don’t really need saves anymore so Hanrahan becomes expendable. And with Lee on the DL and Guzman injured with a bad elbow I needed someone to play 1st (Belt). Plus, I’m rooting for the kid and the only Giant I have on any of my 4 teams is Sandoval (on 2 of them). I don’t need saves anymore in my ESPN league either. Last night I traded Hanrahan and Nunez for Longoria…..
Yeah, saves are becoming irrelevant for me too, since it’s doubtful I will be able to catch Ferret at the next level. However, I can’t get rid of my “save” guys, Marmol and Walden because I still have to maintain my point spread with the person below me (I think Crazy).
I should have proposed a deal for one of my 2nd baseman . . . I have 3 good ones (Walker, Kipnus, and Ackley). Anywho, next stop is 5th place (yes, Giant Head is irrelevant now in 7th place . . . grin).
I was lucky about my lineups, since I set both of my teams before the scheduled maintenance. It’s a travel day anyway Flav, so not as many games on the calendar. Enjoy your day my man 🙂
I think Twin is right about Bochy having more to deal with this season, and it being harder to keep his team where it is considering unde performance of so many trusted hitters. Going in, Belt was a starter, plus torres/nate/full season of ross plus Huff/Burrell/Ford. We’ve all seen the results, and even after picking up the highly prized Beltran, offense remains at the bottom of the league stats.
I think having seen what he has, Sabes makes moves off season (if not before) to clear out the dead weight and go in a different direction. I doubt he goes all in on the kids, but either picks up someone with definite pop to hit in the middle (preferably RH) or a speed/OB guy at top of the LU that can cover ground in the OF. Maybe he still gets something out of tejada/font/cabrera/hall, but I think the old fart vet replacement strategy takes a back seat to getting someone he won’t have to worry about, costly as it may be.
With the pitching SF has, they can hang with anyone, even this season. Oh, and ATL bullpen blew two different save ops last night vs. the Cubs, at home. Should be interesting.
WillieD, I agree, I am so tired of seeing the over 35 players get signed to this team. It is time to look at the farm system and do some hard evaluating. Please dump those guys and think about 30 and younger.
They have and few can do the job. Hitting in Fresno or San Jose is not the answer to the parent club’s problems.
and the answer would be???
Funny thing is, Sabes figured he had a full season of Posey and Ross, plus returning vets FS, Huff, burell, and torres to anchor the LU The biggest ? was Pablo. blogosphere in general and particularly here, where he was vilified and thought should be either sent to the minors or dumped altogether, regarded a rebound as highly unlikely. Instead, he has been the shining light, and 3b has been the least of worries as long as he has been healthy.
That’s why I don’t bother with projections…you can’t dream up what has happened to SF this season.
You kinda have to have have kids ready to play in the bigs, Kevin. And for all- they do know their farm system and evaluate regularly. There is more nonsense about “playing the kids” than any other fucking topic.What kids might even conceivably be ready to play everyday next year? Belt, Crawford if he can hit .230 or so, Maybe Hector Sanchez as a back up.That’s it except Gillaspie ,who better learn to play a different position.
The Posey’s had twins Saturday night- and as Henry says, fans already prefer the younger one..
It is just frustrating watching the Giants sign a 37 year old SS and basing the signing on his carreer stats, not based on “what have you done for me lately”?
hahahahaha
The younger twin, twin?
boffo: already an ‘age before beauty’ kiddo.
Just read Jeff Passan’s feature on outspoken, sound-off players and picked up a tidbit on Logan Morrison which hadn’t registered before, or perhaps had never entered my awareness. After the nasty hit by Cousins on Posey, Sabean made some noise about it and caught general hell from the presstitutes AND Logan Morrison. So even though the outspoken outfielder happens to be on Larry Beinfest’s shitlist right now, there is little chance the transplanted New Yokker would touch him with a ten-foot dildo. So there goes another spurma the moment bright idea.
Passan noted that baseball is the most buttoned-down of all the major sports and that characters in general and boat-rockers in particular are very close to persona non grata in the game. Too bad for that as in the first half of the 20th Century baseball was chockablock with characters AND character. Picking up steam in the latter half of the Century and now rebarred in concrete in the 21st, baseball tends more and more towards banker rules and P.R. hacks and the Larry Baers of this world.
Beltran has a lot to prove in this final year of his contract….I am sure he and Boras are consulting as to what to do…Take a chance on playing right away before he’s ready and if he struggles or worsens the injury he’s fucked….Likewise, if he goes the route of the DL, comes back and the Giants are too far behind to make the PS, he’s fucked even worse…Best option is he goes to the DL, comes back just in time for the PS and goes on a tear like in 2004, he will look like the next coming of the messiah…Sabean will give in and offer a ridiculous 4 year contract, thus winning the bidding war.
Don’t see the point now of not putting Beltran on the DL retroactively. Why play down a man against a tough team like the Braves waiting for this wrist to heal? Bite the bullet if the wrist is that uncertain, DL him, and get somebody up with some speed to add flexibility late. Ford on the pine ready to run late or play D on a switch, if needed, is better than a a wasted spot waiting for a balky wrist.to calm down…
He had a fantastic year going before he came to the giants. Boras will sell that to whatever team ultimately over pays for him. If he comes back and does shit boras will just blame it on the wrist–it heals this winter, presto, another 100 million dollar deal.
As far as I’m concerned, the Giants should never deal with Boras again on a player not already in the organization. The Zito thing is just too painful…
I’d be beyond shocked if Beltran was bid on by the Giants regardless of what he does.
Agree . . . Hey, as I have stated before, Sabes took a chance and thus far it hasn’t worked out. AT LEAST HE WAS PRO-ACTIVE AND THAT’S ALL YOU CAN ASK.
However, just like Edgar Renteria – who was absolutely, unequivocally useless during most of his contract – if he gets the key hit that gets them into the playoffs, World Series, or something else spectacular in the playoffs/WS, then he was worth giving up Wheeler . . . Shit, if he does something like that – he will be part of SF Giants lore forever. Umm . . . plus, give him the key to the city. Wait! If he is instrumental in winning the World Series, then give him a life time pass to SF old timers games and pay for his hookers while in town.
I was with you up to the hookers part. He can pay for his own Goddamn hookers
Don’t be sanctimonious Ted. At least give him a few hundred dollars so he can go to his favorite strip club and “panty stuff” the dancers.
I only wish I knew what ‘panty stuffing’ means
Huff knew what it meant last season, but he forgot this season…
I’m not expecting miracles from Belt, but he says he’s ready to stay. Good. because what he provides is what the other OFers haven’t done — a good eye, takes walks, yet can really drive the ball. The HR off the lefty yesterday, who had never given up an MLB HR against 151 LH batters, is telling. Unlikely Gamer would hit a dinger on a nasty 3-2 slider from a tough RHP. That’s a K ready to happen. If Belt has a hiccup at the plate for a coupla games, so what? The upside into September is way better than what’s sitting on the bench. The thing a little concerning is if they play him mostly in LF, he’s got minimal experience out there. He’s athletic, should be fine on routine stuff, but we may see some awkward plays on tough balls hit out there…
Anyone know what’s going on with Tejada? I certainly couldn’t mind a platoon of him and O-Cab
They both hit RHed. What is the upside of platooning them — Cabrera is better on the D, maybe, maybe Tejada is a bit better at the plate, but barely, and he’d be rusty. Having 2 SSs that are both pretty crappy is unfortunate. I’d just DFA Tejada, he’s a vestigial organ right now, the only place he really can help much is to spell at 3b, but Panda’s only going to come out maybe once every two weeks for a day off…
Due to the pitching matchups this series with Atlanta looks like an even split. If Beltran cannot start in two of the four, he goes on the D.L. cause the need for him will not be so great vs Houston. So who gets the call? Damned if i know.
If Felipe Alou has said Gary Brown is ready for The Show, maybe he could make the jump clear from San Jose to the Bigs. He could be quite useful in the Darren Ford role as pinch-runner and late-inning defensive replacement ~ and maybe more apt than Ford to get a hit. On the other hand there’s always Brandon Crawford, as neither Cabrera nor Tejada seems to have added a ++ offensively at SS, while their D. is wooden at best. Crawford has been hitting at Fresno BTW.
He’s a longshot but what about Adrian Gonzalez’s brother?
Stix, your analysis is usually on target, but your statement, “Due to the pitching matchups this series with Atlanta looks like an even split” is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much “homerism.” Giants are playing on the road and they are not hitting, i.e., if pitching is even or even a slight edge to the G-Men, the Braves are favored overwhelmingly. Consequently, a split will be fortunate indeed.
Blade, I would take a split right now and get outta town. Hudson and his sinker have been like kryptonite on the Giants. If they somehow beat him tonite, that would be huge…
Exactly . . . I’m hoping that we avoid a sweep. Couple their pitching with Freeman at the top of my list for ROY; Uggla, McCann, and Freeman have 27, 18, and 16 HRs, respectively; and the same trio has 62, 58, and 55 RBI, respectively. In short, this could get ugly.
Give Rowand credit for being able to hit the ball directly to the thirdbaseman so often. He’s making it look easy.
He should switch to First base, just to keep us guessing
There is a bit of “playing to the level of the competition” to this year’s g’s. They know they will probably have to face the b’s in the post season. so i suspect we’ll see some good ball this week. they may get crushed in one game (see sanchez’s start) but they should be competitive in the other three. The key could very well be mad-bum getting a w tonight. don’t you just love this time of year as the playoff race heats up?
My bookie is giving 3 of 4 for the G’s. Hasn’t missed a call since the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor.
that is one bookie with a history
Atl has hitters, but the Giants have proven that they can shut down the best of them.
It comes down to scoring runs. 4 runs can win most of these games.
Mr. Clean’s start being the possible exception.
The Philly series in Philly wasn’t THAT long ago. 2 of 3 in that band box?
3-4 is certainly possible in Atl . . .
Been watching a lot of the Dbacks lately. They seem to be have a swagger about them, that scares the hell out of me. Like not being afraid once they fall behind. Everyone seems to be having a lot of fun in that dugout. Wouldn’t be surprised to see them win this upcoming series in Philly…Even with a sweep against Houston, Giants could come home 4 or 5 back.
Joe, Ed-Go is a definte possibiliy in September, as is Miggy, even just as a pinch hitter. His numbers his last 2-3 weeks beat anybody but Panda- and not “lite” numbers, either. If you look at the “kids” eligible for recall, the vets offer a much better alternative for the stretch.Some 40 man maneuvering would have to be done, but Hall, Gonzales, Eldred would give them more than the whippersnappers..
Actually, the clearest pitching edges against Atlanta are Dirty and Timmy. Jurrjens has the edge on Cain, Hudson very slight on MadBum.
Ross CF, Keppinger 2B, Sandoval 3B, Huff 1B, Schierholtz RF, Belt LF, Cabrera SS, Whiteside C, Bumgarner P
This was a total fucking no brainer
Who’s better?
2011 Diamondbacks or 2010 Padres?
2010 Giants and 2011 Giants..
Nice!
Keeping Bourn off the bags is key in the series.
If he gets on, he’s going to run wild…
AZ has a harder schedule than the Giants. And they haven’t been in a pennant race for a while, so they could very easily pucker up come crunch time.
Curious why Stewart isn’t catching more. He plays much better defense than Grayie . . .
re: “why Stewart isn’t…” According to Bochy (from a Schulman interview last week), “He’s been here longer,” manager Bruce Bochy said of Whiteside. “Overall, he was swinging the bat a little better. I like the way both of them are handling the staff. Whitey gives us a little more of a threat. That’s not a knock on Stew. But if I had a tough decision on a certain day, I’d lean on Eli.”
Yes, El Presidente has the edge in offense, if you can call it that.
Stew has the better D, we all know that. Bochy is doing it right, Stew catches guys that throw tough to handle stuff, and is better if the oppo can really steal bags. Otherwise, Whiteside gets the call due to offense.
There’s no good solution here, except get a better backup catcher — last offseason…
BA, OBP, OPS, ABs, Passed balls, stolen base %
Eli .223, .301, .663, 166, 7, .745
Stew .214, .287, .583, 98, 2, .606
MadBum is slow to the plate but he has a very good move. If Bourn gets on, wouldn’t surprise to see him picked off.
I think stopping the other O from running is more important than hoping for Grayie to run into a hit or 2.
Agreed.
With Bourn on the paths this series, I’d go with Stewie as much as possible…
Bourn runs on everyone. But he will have a harder time getting on base than our catchers will have throwing him out. Keep him off 1st, you’re all good.
With Belt and Huff both playing, and Rowand out, attention turns to: Eli or Stew? Just as Whitey’s defense took a turn for the worse when he got some regular time, I’d suspect that Stewart’s would as well. And remember, Eli was gettin’ a lotta love here when Bengie was the starter. Neither of the boys are MLB starter caliber, using them part time is obviously the way to go. IMO.
Right again
Various injury/rehab stuff from Shea (filling in for Schulman):
“…Beltran would go on DL if he (Bochy) thought Giants are hurting with a player short. He said they’re not there yet… Giants hoping for big improvement from Beltran or DL is possible, as early as tomorrow.”
“Wilson available tonight, but Bochy said Romo might need to go on DL.”
“Burrell (foot strain) can hit but continues to have trouble running. Resting and hopes to help Giants in September.”
“Miguel Tejada to begin rehab assignment with AA Richmond as early as tomorrow.”
Q: How can you have a crap hitting squad and NOT be hurting more when you’re a man short?
A: The guys that might fill the space are not ready, or crap, too…
It is definitely a mystery why bochy wouldn’t want ford or burriss coming off the bench to steal a bag or two in the late innings.
Yeah, I just don’t get that. I volunteered Ford yesterday as a top candidate for a quick visit just to throw some speed onto the 25. How can you be down a man for a week waiting for a funky wrist, and say it’s not hurting the team? Oh wait, they’ve got DeRosa, it’s all good…
Oops, I said Ford earlier today…
Agreed…I think either guy gives you a helluva lot more than the chance, I repeat chance that DeRosa gets a late inning at bat against a LH.
Anytime an issue like Beltran’s drags on, we get the Web Doctors chiming in. It’s not an easy decision whether to DL or not. If I have to explain that, I’ll need a stoopid question deposit.
Romo might be going to the DL, BTW.
I could see the Giants waiting to see how Sanchez does tomorrow before they make a move…If he struggles, I would put Sanchez in the pen and call up Surkamp to replace Romo on the roster and Sanchez in the rotation…The last time Dirrty went to the bullpen, well we all know how he responded when he made it back to the rotation.
Ford and/or Burriss will be up in at most 2 weeks regardless. If DeRosa is released, he’s gone. Bochy undoubtedly feels that DeRosa’s experience will be an asset down the stretch and postseason. He’s right, of course.
Having said that, they’ll probably cut Mark tonight..
Kevin and Bozo, if you guys are around – check your flap league mail, I have trade proposals for you (wondering why the trade deadline has been extended by Yahoo – I thought yesterday was the final day).
Bumgarner should have a large contigent of friends and family at tonights game…Same should hold true when Belt gets to Houston…Belt of course went to my Alma mater (University of Texas) and played HS ball about an hour north of Houston.
Glad to see the boyos on TV (ESPN), even tho’ I’m already unimpressed w/ the announcers. Can’t stand Sutcliffe’s uphill, strenuous-sounding asides.
I sure don’t like Sergio being hurt.
And, whoa!, that is one big usher behind the plate. She mad large.
Great hustle by Kepp.
holyshit, Pablo went down like a sack of wet potatoes…Gawd, i hope he is okay
What happened to pablo?
Just saw Belt pop out . . . Did Pablo dive/fall/trip?
fouled ball of foot.
Font in at 3B for Pablo. Now we’re rally fucked.
Pablo really looks hurt; whew. Hope it is not as bad as it looks.
Feck. A HR. We HAD to score w/ the bases full.
Pablo was having a hard time putting wait on that foot… Does not look good.
I know you’re all looking for my diagnosis, sorry. There are about 3 million bones in the foot, though. Cross your fingers.
Whitey comes through with the DP there — surprise.
If Panda’s out for an extended time, the Giants are screwed. Hope it’s just a bruise…
pedroia broke his foot at ATT the same way– stay in game too, came out later– missed 2 months
I was thinking the same thing.
As Kruk said, Eli hit the ball hard. Actually, it was the hardest hit ball they’ve had. Whitey sucks, but you gotta pick yoiur shots.
Panda goes down, Costanza gets a hit..OMG
Ross shouldn’t have been anywhere near Belt.
Never have I seen the Giants sustain so many critical injuries in one year….Panda’s injury may sink whatever steam these guys have left in their sails.
wins the Mixed Metaphor of the Day (MMOTD)
Belt can hit, but there’s the OF awkwardness. Luckily it didn’t hurt from the extra 90′ to the runners…
Ross shouldn’t have been near him. He almost set a screen.
I was thinking Matt Williams . . . fuck. I’ll never forget Kruk and Kuip yukking it up until they later said he was going on the DL . . .
Big old drag . . .
Shit, these guys are seeing Bummie well . . .
Unambiguous prediction: We win this game, we win the division. Period.
Some good hitting there..
Flannery would send Nate anyway, with the pitcher due, but it helps that Bourn has no arm
I can’t stand watching these games on espn. That view from behind the plate is worthless….you can’t see where the ball is going.
Nate crushed that ball. A beauty in the Georgian sky. (But why do you always look scared, Nate?)
Nice to see Nate pick it back up the last week or so. If he can maintain it, it would be huge down the stretch.
Congrats to Jim Thome on number 600.
Wow, nice play by Cabrera on Bourn’s shot. I dunno if Tejada makes that play. Atlanta mgr. is going to get asked about Hudson’s AB — weird move with a guy on 3rd and one out. Nate has got it going…
Any word on Panda?
x-rays negative; a good sign
I’ll check my Twitterverse.
How’s that for timing on Thome’s HR? My only problem: idiots at ESPN could have at muthafuckin least put our game on small screen. No respect for the game at hand. Eejits.
And now running for Madison Bumgarner- Bengie Molina!!!
X rays negative on #48; of course, that’s not always definitive. But here’s hoping he’s back in a few days. Better than ever.
Good, I can breathe again.
It is easy to underestimate Keppinger’s importance. He’s been steady in the field, has some power, and good ABs. Very key pickup.
Only the keenest of baseball minds were onto him…
Nice quick inning by Bum…That’s gotta be it though…Another very solid effort.
1. McCann and Cody: separated at birth.
2. Somebody: why have DeRosa if we never use him? Tell me.
3. I appreciate Bochy more every day. Steady captain. An anchor, to continue the sea-faring theme.
Good thing we DFA’ed Fontenot…
Where did you have Pablo this year?
In a size 60 Florida Marlin uniform….
Nope. Minor Leagues.
That was last year. Over the winter I had him in a package for Hanley. Now stop being contentious, or I’ll tell everybody who you weren’t willing to trade for Ryan Braun in 2007.
The minor leagues is where he fucking belonged this time last year, dumbfuck
That’s where he wanted him this year, asswipe
A little insurance from Panda’s spot in the order…Font!
Son of a bitch, I released that fucker this morning…
he’s owned by less than one tenth of one percent in the espn/yahoo/nfbc leagues. Those guys would be perfect for you, you could snap them all up and start a team full of shit……
Never thought it’d clear the fence. Sutcliffe just quoted me w/o hearing me. Reminds me of whose HR in the Series, Nelson Cruz?
Hey, I’ll take 21 more solo HRs; in one week.
I’ve never liked the Braves or their front-runner fans. Of course, why would you like the Braves and their stupid chant? Besides, I prefer PEPSI to Coke, Atlanta.
Did you know Ty Cobb made a lot of money on Coke? Pretty sure. Guy I know, went to minor league game with him Friday (remember the name of soon-to-be Nationals pitcher Brad Peacock), wrote to Cobb as a kid. Cobb wrote back scolding the kid for not sending a SASE. Kid tore up the autographed letter.
ESPN guys: white shirts? You look like Republican-accountant-engineer-undertakers.
So did Dave Parker…
Parker a) preferred Pepsi b) made money on Coke c) liked coke d) dressed like a Republican-accountant-engineer-undertaker?
Pirates sued him and should have won..
He had what a Jamaican friend calls “rompus [sp?] eyes.”