What Happened to The Cubs?
I look at their line up and up and down they have better, younger, more exciting players than we have. And somehow, they are only 6 games over .500. And we could easily be 2-0 vs them in this series instead of 1-1. I could see a World Series hangover to start the season, we’re talking about young players who probably partied more and gave up more of their time than had they been also-rans. But we are into August and they still seem to be just spinning their wheels.
….baseball is hard.
…just ask Matt Moore. Did he learn anything from watching Blach pitch last night? Maybe he should bunk with Blach on the road. Do players still split rooms or did that stop 40 years ago?
Bumgarner goes for win #2 this afternoon. It’s August 9th.
…..baseball is hard.
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
Their fans sure made a lot of noise last night.
They did have one off season from Fowler, and the pitching has dropped off too.
Only time I’d pull for them would be vs. LA.
Fun fact: vs. LHP coming into last night they were 19-7 best in league.
I was exaggerating about the Dodgers-May, but it sure seems like it.
Cubs have looked sloppy in the field, a couple misplays in the outfield on Monday and then a couple more by the infielders last night. Yeah, something’s not quite right with the champs, and yet they’re atop that mediocre division. With the Brew Crew fading, can the Cards or Pirates make a run at ’em?
i didn’t look it up but I completely believed it. With the Dodgers going 40-5 or whatever it was and us losing 2 out of every 2 for a long time I figured that would be completely plausible. I’ll take that out of the main thread now, lol
As for Nunez, Chron posted a stat showing he hit 4 HRs for Giants in 4 months/380 ABs, and then 4 for Red Sox in little over 2 weeks.
He also had a bunch during his “All Star” half season with Twins.
Hard to believe park factor doesn’t have a lot to do with it. He said he loved playing for Giants and would have been up to stick around. The 0 triples still hard to believe; just couldn’t drive ball far enough to right part of the yard I guess.
I would not count out the cubbies. We all know from our “Three in Five” run that it is all about punching your ticket to the dance, and then getting hot at the right time. Lots of ball left before the post-season.
Get the split today and that’s two series wins in a row, against teams that are currently in the hunt for the post-season. Sure would be nice to see our boys rattle-off a little win streak.
Bryant has been downright pedestrian this year, after most had him penciled in for the HoF last year. I think some of the Cubs’ woes come down to Maddon, the most overrated manager in baseball. I’ve harped on this before but he just doesn’t impress me. I think he loves getting his mug on camera and flexing his muscles in the dugout, but I think his on-field managing leaves a lot to be desired. He was damn lucky to win the Series last year. There’s probably some WS hangover, reference the Giants in 2011, 2013 and 2015.
The G’s looked good last night and Blach continues to impress. He was called mediocre last night, but I believe he will continue to be a solid part of this rotation. Not a #1, but definitely a 3 or 4. When he’s on he’s tough and I like his demeanor on the mound. He works quickly, throws strikes and is pretty much the lone pitching bright spot this year. Let’s see if Bum can get it done today and give the Giants a nice series win. Tough roadie coming up.
Yeah, baseball is hard.
I agree with you about Maddon but those are fightin’ words if Kokonuts reads this. Also, there is no reason Blach can’t keep being successful. Kirk Reuter made a career, a very good career, out of being a smart pitcher. Matt Moore, in contrast, is the dumbest pitcher on our staff.
It looks like July 2 was the last time the Giants gained on the Dodgers, moving to 22 games out after a 5-3 win at Pittsburgh and the Dodgers’ 5-3 loss at San Diego.
Coincidentally that was dang near Buster’s last hr till he he one last night
I met up with Pawlie at Stella’s Diner in Syracuse that day.
i wonder if there’s a *then* pic to compare to now? Like, do you guys look noticeably older? Long beards? Grayer hair?
I’m just glad to see Blue Line Pizza lead to a compromise in the Pizza Wars of 2017.
The Giants have not spent a single day above .500 this season.
…baseball is hard.
yes. I slept soundly last night knowing that Flap Nation came together long enough to compromise on pizza.
Mediocrity was probably a little harsh for Blach. End of rotation starter is a bit kinder. Reuter was in the bigs when he was 22, Blach is a rookie at age 26. Reuter had 3 pretty good years scattered among his 10 total with SF. For the most part, he was a beneficiary of that long lost offense.
and that’s fine. What we can’t have is incompetence in the starting rotation like Moore and Cain. We’re not gonna have a staff of #1’s. I’d take Blach next year and the year after if he keeps pitching good enough to give the team a chance to win.
Crazy Joey Gallo stat: He just hit his 32nd HR — and has 67 hits overall!
that is crazy. That makes Rob Deer look like a patient, thoughtful hitter. He used to have ratios like that but not that extreme.
He has 14 singles in 365 or so PAs, 15 doubles and triples. That’s a single every 7 games.
The ultimate OPS experiment: a team of 8 players like Gallo, which would easily score over 1000 runs for the season. All while stumbling onto about a dozen “productive outs” for the year. Hey, he does have 6 SB’s!
obviously a team of 8 Gallo’s couldn’t win. But I would settle for ONE Gallo on our team. Shit, besides leading our team in HR’s by a country mile he would be 2nd on the team in SB’s. Sign me up for ONE Gallo.
Just keep him away from Umberto’s…
Better said: a team of 8 starters who hit like Gallo would lead the league in runs scored. If you assume adequate defense, and good pitching, you’d pile up a lot of wins. SF’s 2000 team had a team OPS of 857 excluding the pitchers. They scored 925 runs. Gallo’s OPS is 879 coming in today.
Are you kidding me? There would never be anyone on base. Just a bunch of solo home runs and long stretches of nothing. Can’t win that way.
The team would hit 350 HRs. There would be runners on base for 110 of those HRs. An 879 OPS will score a shitload of runs. It doesn’t matter how you compile the OPS. Update: more like 90-95 HRs would be with runners on, assuming the back ups of the team also have a 320 OBP. The other thing to keep in mind is that the distribution of runners and HRs would not be equal over 162 games. There would be more games with 3 or more HRS than there are those with zero.
thx for doing the math on that
Posey’s now tied with are lead off hitter old man Span with 5 tied for 4th…
Let’s get it on…
1. Denard Span (L) CF
2. Ryder Jones (L) 1B
3. Jarrett Parker (L) LF
4. Buster Posey (R) C
5. Pablo Sandoval (S) 3B
6. Hunter Pence (R) RF
7. Brandon Crawford (L) SS
8. Joe Panik (L) 2B
9. Madison Bumgarner (R) P
Awesome, Loo. Love me some Marvin Gaye…
You guys see this?:
Players are actually going to be wearing that crap during real games :
http://m.mlb.com/news/article/247233346/mlb-to-celebrate-players-weekend/
Stealing from He Hate Me.
What’s amazing is how much of the XFL has made it’s way into the NFL.
Cameras everywhere, in-game coach and player interviews, sky-cams being the most obvious.
I saw this, Rooster. Another marketing ploy to make more money, but the one (at least what I could see) redeeming quality of this is:
“Game-worn Players Weekend jerseys will be up for bidding at MLB.com/auctions with all net proceeds donated to the MLB-MLBPA Youth Development Foundation, a joint effort established in July 2015 by MLB and the MLBPA with an initial commitment of $30 million focused on improving the caliber, effectiveness and availability of amateur baseball and softball programs across the U.S. and Canada.”
MLB is also hoping it jazzes things up for young fans, as MLB continues to chase the mythical “young fan.”
Agree, Zumiee – and getting youth excited about baseball again is a great goal.
The problem with a team full of Joey Gallo’s is that they can be beaten in the playoffs with stellar pitching. Great sluggers can disappear in a short series, when low-scoring, pitching-oriented games are the norm.
That’s true for any team, as we’ve seen when other balanced high octane offenses have been shut down by starters number 1 and 2. And if Joey’s team also has stellar pitching, then it’s a wash.
The Giants won three titles doing just that. Both the offensively loaded Rangers and Tigers were heavily favored to beat the G’s. Their offenses vanished in the Series.
Joe Don’t Panik…
Shit. That lead did not last for long.
Did you see the stat they just put up? Giant catchers have 46 XBH – it’s the breakdown that’s surprising:
Posey – 25 / Hundley – 21
Whatever happened to the Giants announcer auditions from earlier this season?
Strange broadcast of the game on MLB Network, showing Giants feed but with four commentators, including Mark DeRosa, from their studio. So when there’s the in-between-pitches shots of the crowd, etc., the announcers are talking about something completely different. And the chatter is non-stop.
It was billed as some kind of special broadcast devoted to saber- something or other stats, Mac…
They just had a pretty lengthy interview with Wotus.
Affeldt is making crab sandwiches in the outfield food court these days.
How about that Panda!
Nice play by Sandoval there!
I tend to agree that Maddon is overrated but one thing is for sure, Bochy wouldn’t bat a guy lead off just because of some silly “ownage” stat.
Baseball is definitely hard for Ryder Jones – approaching hologram status…
When I go to the batting cages, after hacking at the 85, if I switch to the slow pitch softball, I swing and miss 2-3 times before making contact. It’s ridiculous.
I hope they let Panda face the lefty.
What’s the fuckin’ difference when you’re 90 GB?
The opposing team At&t’d for once.
7 LOB so far for this sad sack lineup.
Kyle Schwarber is a poor man’s Joey Gallo.
Awful read by Span as usual…
My man Parker!
Span somehow rounds the bases in spite of himself.
I’d bet the Giants ground into double plays during batting practice.
Joey Gallo has grounded into one DP in his 155 game career.
he either misses it or knocks it over the fence, that’s not too surprising.
Yep, it’s also one of the reasons lots of Ks are not a big deal. It balances the lack of productive outs.
Panda looking smooth at 3rd today…
Lou Keurig???
Win #2 for MadBum!
At his current pace, it would take Joey Gallo 160 years to match Pete Rose’s baseball record 3,215 singles.
Ha! That’s awesome
the Cubs have no excuse for losing 2 of three to us. Shit, they could easily have been swept! Sure, they probably get in and we know anything can happen. But if I was a Cubs fan looking at all the legit talent they have up and down the line up I’d be shaking my head thinking “What is going on here????”
Cubs fans have no need to worry – the Brew crew can’t get out of it’s own way – they’ve lost 3 in a row and already down 2-0 to the twins early. What a shit division that is.
You’re the one that has no need to worry, Roooster.
How do you plan to celebrate?
Will this be your first one, or were you a fan in 1988?
I’ve seen ’em win it twice, Loo. I was 14 when they won it in ’81 against the Yanks – that really solidified it for me becoming a lifetime baseball fan. My Dad started taking me to games years before that season, so I was already well on my way. Beating the Yanks was sweet after losing it to them back-to-back in ’77 and ’78.
yes, yes, nothing to worry about at all, Rooster. In fact, I bet there are some early bird deals on some 2017 WS win shirts. If it were me, I’d invest. Maybe a hat, too. Muhuhahahahaha!!!!!!!!
Lol, BF – been around long enough to know no guarantees in MLB playoffs.
“What’s that? Ah — Playoffs?!! Don’t talk about — playoffs?!! You kidding me?! Playoffs?!!! I just hope we can win a game! Another game!.”
it’s called a “post season” in baseball
Yeah, have another slice of cheese with your sip of wine while you’re at it
I’m just trying to help you. If you somehow make it back to and win the World Series, something I will go to my grave knowing you won’t do until you do it, you’re going to need to know what to call it. You’re welcome.
BF – if you go to mlb.com and search “playoffs” you will see tons of articles, with managers and players all calling it playoffs – I know you thought you were being cute – but the fact is “playoffs” and “post season” are pretty much interchangeable in MLB. Nice try, though. Better luck next time.
I’m still counting that one as a win for me. And just FYI, baseball is the only major sport that calls it the *post season*. Again, you’re welcome.
And they are one of many that call it the Playoffs.
DIdn’t SD win the west with a losing record? Or 82-80 or some shit?
Maybe, Chuck. I know Willie & the ’73 Mets won the East at 82-79…
Yeah, the Padres won the division with an 82-80 record. Bochy may have been the manager.
Cards won division at 83-78 in 2006, then won the World Series.
Jay Bruce traded to the Indians. I’m smelling something and it’s the Pablo Sandoval hot stove heating up!!!!! Wahoo!!!!!! Let’s go Booby, make it happen!!!!!!!
Bruce must be thrilled. You could tell he really wanted out of here, although he put up a good front.
It was probably the traffic that drove him nuts. The trade deadline doesn’t matter so much anymore..
I’ve heard of Guam, but wouldn’t have a clue where to find it on a map…
Neither will anyone else in a little while.
Baseball has been hard for some guys playing CF so it’s not gonna be easy position for Giants to fill . Here’s stats on 2 that started yesterday…IDs to follow:
A: BA .256 OB.326 SLG .325 OPS .650 WAR -1.0
B: BA .251 OB .299 SLG .340 OPS .640 WAR 0.9
Player A would be Gorks
Player B would be Billy Hamilton
One of ’em is certainly B-Ham. I’m guessing his legs are keeping him above replacement level.
.
Mets get a Single A relief pitcher who was a 30th round pick in exchange for Bruce.
The key is that the Indians pick up the remainder of his 2017 salary – about $ 5 million.
That’s what these deals will all be about…
I’m surprised a cheapskate org like that took on Bruce and the rest of his salary when their bullpen is the area that needs the help. If Miller doesn’t come back 100% and if they can’t get the back end of their BP shaped up it won’t matter how many dongs they dong.
Pence and Span combined probably have close to $40 million coming to them thru next season.
Even a year from now it’s hard to imagine anyone taking on very much of that…
I noticed during the game today that the Giants TV station has now incorporated Gorky into their commercial that shows those serious looking shots of various players.
Sweet dreams…
Great day to be at the park. Very big actual crowd, including many cubs fans; Giants fans persistently and unanimously ignored the scoreboard commands to “make some noise” during tense two-strike moments. People seemed interested in baseball. Sandoval got a huge roar when he laid out for that good stop and then threw from his knees. Cubs fans started for the exits in the 8th inning.
As to Guam, I got this note from a newsletter called WTF Just Happened Today (Day 202):
“The Pentagon has prepared a plan for a preemptive strike on North Korea’s missile sites should Trump order an attack. The plan calls for B-1B heavy bombers originating from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam to attack approximately two-dozen North Korean missile-launch sites, testing grounds, and support facilities. The B-1 bomber plan is one of several options under consideration. (NBC News)”
the other thing I know about that little US territory is that Hawaii had no snakes until some hitchhiked in on planes from Guam
Maybe the next generation of baseball adds in more players and there are multiple Joey Gallos in the lineup but Billy Hamilton takes his defensive position and runs for him when he gets on base without hitting a HR.
Finley had a guy on the A’s named Allan Lewis called the “Panamanian Express” by Monte Moore, who only entered a game as pinch runner. I think he did it later with another guy named Herb Washington.