.500 Ball That Felt Like .005 Ball
If you had told me before the series that we were going to get a split I would have taken that and been happy. But man, not like that. That didn’t feel like no split. And I don’t want to hear Bochy or anyone else in the org lecturing us on what great pitching the Dodgers have. They aren’t a 0.50 staff, are they? Who’s that good?
The 3 new guys were bound to have an adjustment period but that was ridiculous. The two main acquisitions hit 48 bombs last year. The way they hit this series I’d be happy if they hit 48 moderately deep fly balls this year.
Bright side: We scored 2 runs in 4 games and split the series. That’s hilarious.
One more thing: I am putting the call out for Dugger. The Giants look predictably tired already. A level-headed veteran team will tend to look like that when they aren’t hitting. With no sense of urgency I’ll take a spark like Dugger and A-Jax can head back to the bench and continue with his stoic gaze…..
After Bum went down, makes no sense not to give Duggar the CF job. Bye Gorkys and AJ is the 4th OF who can start CF against lefties…
Yikes. Back away from the panic button fellas. It has been 4 fucking games. Those guys are gonna hit and I don’t give a crap about their body language as they get through this rough patch.
As for Duggar…he’s a mid level prospect who played A ball last year. He’d get chewed up like a brisket sando from The Goose if they brought him up now. Re-lax—this team is gonna score some runs.
Good post, dog.
Biggest concern going in, esp given injuries coming out of ST, was starting pitching. All 4 acquitted themselves quite well vs. one of top hitting teams in NL. Pen guys had held LA down til last night with quality work from Watson and Strick.
Goal is to get out of April at .500…which is exactly where they’re at after 4 tough games at LA.
At least Jackson cracked a few smiles over the weekend. To borrow from zumie’s quote said, it would be nice to see some guys look like they enjoy playing the sport.
More from Bryan Murphy:
“they’ve tied the 1988 Orioles for fewest runs scored in the first four games of a season. That team finished 54-107 and featured a 32-year old Eddie Murray and 27-year old Cal Ripken Jr. It also, famously, began the season 0-21. Still, the Giants are leaving Los Angeles with a split.”
yeah, that guy needs to chill. I am fully aware we are only 4 games into this season. That doesn’t stop me from being exasperated with the at bats from the new guys. I actually thought Posey and Belt swung the bat pretty well this trip.
Buster swung the bat well—how surprising!!!
Only took you 4 days to get in your first Posey dig of the year. Not bad.
how’s that a dig on Posey? I said he swung the bat well.
I think the “Buster is super slow” from yesterday counts as a dig. 🙂
i mean, he’s the slowest major leaguer in baseball. That’s not a dig, that’s a fact
Maybe it’s me just being sensitive about the frequent Buster bashing on here, but it sounded like the type of comment someone would say about Mike Sadek or Marc Hill—not a former batting champ who hit .320 last year.
Posey was great, especially the last two games. I’m not worried about him at all. He hit the ball hard most of the weekend. The defensive lapses are concerning, a couple of them of the truly boneheaded variety. But like sandog said, the bats should come around and they’ll need to. This team is going to need to score quite a few runs, even with the decent pitching this weekend.
I agree LJ. The errors are more concerning for me at this point. For example, the one on Panik during the rundown last night should never happen.
I can’t see point of Duggar either…yet. Even AAA pitching will be at higher level than he’s ever seen.
AJ has at least seen and hit successfully off ML pitching for years and did so quite well as recently as last season with Tribe. Cutch got off to slow start last year too (.220 BA for first 2 full months) before picking it up to tune of .859 OPS. Don’t want to see that, but Giants are gonna need all the .800+ OPS guy they can get in LU.
And I can attest that smoked brisket sando at Goose quite enjoyable.
The starting pitching was outstanding and yesterday’s game withstanding, so was the bullpen…I was shocked to hear that Longoria has never played at AT&T before. If he thought LA weather was tough to hit in, he ain’t seen nothing yet.
I think it’s normal for these American League guys (Longo and A-Jax) to have some adjustment time as well as McCutchen who is adjusting to a new team but 2-43 is a joke. That’s not *adjusting* that’s flat choking.
I get the “stiff upper lip” and other positive comments about it being only 4 games. However, we are last in the NL in runs, rbis, batting average (.192), OBP (.239), and OPS (.516). That’s reality. Offense, sans Panik, Posey, and Pence, to a lesser extent – doesn’t have a pulse.
Pitching has been outstanding, even more impressive when you consider that the staff and pen went into these games not having their leaders – MadBum, Smarg, and Melanoma. In short, I’m still waiting until the end of the month/mid May before knowing for certain that my preseason concerns are spot on or fantasy.
“Longoria has never played at AT&T before.”
This is one of the indictments of interleague that some have mentioned. Fluky uneven things like this.
The dodgers are bums but they’re still the NL champs and won over 100 games last year- they’ve got a good club. Going into the opening series I thought 1 win a reasonable expectation. Getting a split is great and how they got the W or L isn’t important in my mind.
That run-down debacle last night started because Seager ran on Pence’s arm. Pence threw a high weak rainbow toward 3d that Crawford wisely leapt to cut, to try to nail Puig. A lower better throw to 3d probably would’ve given Crawford just enough of an advantage to get the rundown going more quickly. As Baggarly quietly noted in his game story today, obviously Seager reads the scouting reports. Pence’s arm now is weak.
I disagree Xoot even though the throw was cap high Crawford’s saw how far dipshit Puig rounded 1st made the right play it was Panik who screwed up double pumped his throw to Belt they easily had him he just hesitated to long..
If our LF had a cannon Seager probably would not have tagged and run. That’s what Baggarly says, impliedly, in his game story today and that’s what I thought last night. Panik’s mistake was complicated. Looks like he thought he should tag Puig to be sure Seager’s run didn’t score before the out, then he had to reboot when Puig shot away from him and back toward the bag. He definitely could’ve had Puig with a timely toss. I never saw video comparing the actual play at first with Seager crossing the plate. I don’t know if the run would’ve counted on a tiimely toss to first.
Unca pointed out several times what a terrible effort Pence made on the Berlinger home run. If that’s as high as he can jump, he needs to just pack it in. That was beyond pathetic.
The Twins were pissed Sunday after an Orioles player bunted against the shift trailing by seven in the ninth inning. Twins employ a strategy and then get butt hurt when the other team exploits it. Whiners.
What’s the other team supposed to do? Hit into the shift as if everything is normal? I wish our players (talking to you Belt) would do this when the other team goes into a shift defense. Let the other team whine about it afterwards. Who gives 2 shits . . .
It makes zero sense why Belt and others don’t drop a bunt down when this occurs. It’s the only way to combat the shift. I can count on one hand how many times the Astros have been burned on the shift. And it’s probably only been once or twice. Yet more often than not, the shift (especially when they do the 4 OF thing) fucks with the opposing hitters head and not only do they make outs, they make ugly, unproductive outs. I absolutely love it.
McCovey bunted a double down the left field line on national TV around 1969…
The Twins bitching about the O’s hitter bunting against the shift is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard. The guy’s team is trailing in the 9th and he’s trying to get on, because, you know, teams have come back from large deficits to win in the 9th inning, and the Twinkies are squawking about it? The O’s subsequently loaded the bases and were a homer away from making things interesting.
What else is he supposed to do?! WTF. Pretty pathetic. What’d the guy say, it’s not good for baseball? LOL
Totally agree about the Twins being butthurt. I could never understand why more teams didn’t do exactly what that Orioles player did. Now, I find it’s because of an “unwritten rule” I’ve never heard of before? Nonsense. That’s as dumbass an unwritten rule as there ever was one.
Yeah, totally retarded. Don’t shift if you don’t want guys trying to find ways to beat it.
Loo, Cano did the same thing to the Red Sox and got a double out of it. Watch the entire video.
https://www.mlb.com/video/cano-bunts-for-a-double/c-30569961
I’m more interested in the baseball games tonight than the NCAA men’s final. I just don’t have a rooting interest in the NCAA game. Duke and Nor Carolina are out, cool. That was about the extent of my rooting interest.
The women’s game had an awesome ending, but I wasn’t caring which team won. UConn had been eliminated, cool.
Loo, is this it?
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SFN/SFN197005032.shtml
I guess it must be. I used to pick up all the Philly games on WCAU so maybe I heard it rather than saw it.
Long, long time ago…
After Puig inexplicably tagged up and took off for 2nd on that play that led to the Dodgers first run last night, Bellinger later jokingly told Puig, “Thanks for being an idiot.” LOL
And after Puig got thrown out at 2nd I like what Arod said:Man Puig most of drank to much Cuban coffee before the game..
I’ve seen enough of Josh Osich (or Oshit). He’s 29 years old, with career stats of 4.75 ERA and 1.45 WHIP (10.80 and 1.80 this season alone). He’s had 150 games and 110 innings pitched going back to 2015 to prove himself and hasn’t. Last night’s 2 run bomb to Cody Bellinger was the last straw for me.
Any other Flappers going to be at tomorrow’s game?
As the memory banks fade so not postive,
Didn’t McCovey go 4-4 off of Robin Roberts
with 2 triples &2 doubles?
In his major league debut..
Yes he did, sir. Good recall. Talk about starting out with a bang, a day like that off a HoF pitcher.
Looks like it was two triples and two singles. He finished his rookie year with a slash line of .354/13 hr/38 rbi in 52 games. A portend of the greatness to come.
I do get the point that as the stench from the last two games fades out a bit over the course of the Giants day off today, there’s still going to be two wins in the standings that they got over the weekend which is cool. But those last two games were reminders of last season, and we don’t want any of those reminders.
Maybe it’s just me but having the home opener against an AL club is sort of annoying.
I’m done with interleague play. It was a fun novelty when it started and I’d be down with like one week a year where everyone does it at the same time, but I agree, how stupid and haphazard is it to have Seattle kicking off opening day?????
2012 playoffs, sure. The rest? Ooooooooh noooooooooooooo!!!
Time to rock the National Championship Game!!
Villanova is the the class of the tournament and with Jalen Brunson( best player in college) and a coach Jay Wright ( going for his second title in 3 years) they will prevail..
Final score Villanova 78 -62 over Michigan..
Since when is it not on CBS?
The D-Backs are starting Tijuan Walker, who the Dodgers crushed in the NLDS last year.
Dodgers 3 runs already. Walker really sucks.
Loo,
I was tripping on that too,so I googled it up and it said from 1982-2015 CBS aired all Championship games. Then TBS ( slid a big payoff ) to get a piece of the action.
So starting in 2016 the networks split it up where TBS gets the championship game in even years and CBS gets the games in odd years..
Thanks, Kat. I was wondering on Saturday, too – for the semis…
6th man Divincinzo unstoppable MVP shooting lights out wow 😮😱
Ryu looks really hittable these days.
He’s the ultimate nibbler. Can’t locate – when he does come in, he gets rocked.
But still probably a better than average #5 starter. Lots of teams have horrific #5 guys.
Yeah, for a 5, he’s serviceable
one more look from glass half full side—the Giants BEAT Kershaw and Jansen last week.
Over under on how many teams do that this season?
Kat’s gonna be crazy close to nailing that final score…
One point off! Amazing!!!!
Thanks Loo!
alleykat69 said, on April 2, 2018 at 6:12 pm (Edit)
Final score Villanova 78 -62 over Michigan..
——————————————————
It ended 79-62!
Impressive – well done, kat
Thanks Rooster 🐔
Yeah Damm just about nailed that bad boy score 1 freakin point!!
Nova is a powerhouse and guess what they stay in college under Jay Wright, haven’t seen the last of their titles yet imo..
Guess I nailed “My one shining moment”🤩
Don’t let it be forgot, that once there was a spot,
for one brief shining moment that was known as Skink-alot…
Laugh at myself!!! So true Loo😂🍺🥃🍸🍷🍻🍹🥃
Wow, Kat, wish I had seen that before the game started.
Eagles, Villanova, who’s next, the Sixers?
Loo and other gamblers, here’s an interesting article about Billy Walters, dubbed the “world’s best, most feared sports gambler.” It also touches on Phil Mickelson – whom I have never liked and like even less, after reading this ESPN piece . . . http://www.espn.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/22946649/world-best-most-feared-sports-gambler-game-us-supreme-court-considers-legalizing-craft-espn
The main thing about money, Bud… it makes you do things you don’t wanna do.
And in other news of those we all know and love, MLB.com says, “…starting pitcher Charlie Morton was in post season form” as Houston unveils banner and romps Orioles 6-1.
Bartolo Colon is pitching vs. Oakland tonight. ipso facto, Buster is not the slowest mlb player
I still say Bartolo is older that his listed age. When he came up, it was routine for those guys to shave a few years off their age. I’ll bet the dude is pushing 47
Without J.D. Martinez, the D-Backs are much less formidable.
Kenley blows it!
Yes!!!!
Why the hell he was pussyfootin’ around with a 3-run lead in the 9th I’ll never know. Walk 2 guys with a 3-run lead? Idiot. Just go after them.
The D-Backs broadcasters were puzzled by it, too. Brenley wondered if he’s still building arm strength early in the season.
He was quoted as saying he didn’t need ST or some bullshit. Dude got the huge contract, now all of a sudden, he doesn’t need ST? Dumbass.
This has been posted before:
https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-truth-about-bunting/
Into the 14th inning…..
D-Backs in the walk-off!
In the 15th.
Jansen, 0-1, with 1 blown save, and an ERA of 18.00.