Cardinals
Heading into St. Louis and I think, I THINK, Tyler Beede is pitching. I guess I’ll find out when someone with an SF hat toes the rubber. Surprise me.
Had to chuckle at Kat’s comment about Kent. “The $ lies in the RBI’s” was a great line. Nowadays it’s more like “the $ lies in the wRC+” –doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.
How is Adam Wainwright still pitching? I would have thought age and injuries would have ended him years ago. Good for him that he can keep on plugging away at this level.
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
I once called the Cardinals the relentless zombie team, and it still holds true. Somehow they stay in the playoff hunt every season.
Good description. Some player on the Cubs (Bryant???) this season described St. Louis as a backwater city or something along those lines, where he would rather play anywhere else. For a small market team, yeah, they are like “zombies” and never die.
Six teams not playing on Labor Day. With the NFL about to dominate the headlines and college football already underway, you’d think MLB would want to maximize whatever attention it can get on the last holiday of its season, but I guess not.
MLB, as a whole, have been masters of lousy marketing for 100 years. They never get better at it.
The Giants have been better at marketing than MLB as a whole.
And you have to tip your cap to Daniel and his Cards…they are basically in it every year. Will Bochy get 8 more wins??? Didnt think we would lose 3 of 4 at home to the MaxiPads…does this team have 8 more wins in them???
And down to 2 games over .500 as our skipper….
It’s nice to see them on top rather than needing to chase teams down.
I missed the Moronta injury…that sucks!!!
So Boch needs to go 12-14 rest of way to finish at .500…would put him at 2004 wins and one above my LooPool prediction…
Well, we’re on the road so i like our chances more than at home that’s for sure.
Tomato Can Beede.
Start of the year for Beede. The optimist in me says he does it. He doesn’t have to be a star, he just has to be good enough to stick. In that thought…
We had a guy who had an era in the high 4’s. Rarely hurt. Always took the ball. Pitched 180-200 or so innings. Won 10 games or so every year. A consistent 5th starter. Forget the money and just look at how he became our 5th guy. Once in a while he pitched a gem, and even came through in the biggest clutch game in SF franchise history..Yes it Barry Zito!
OK, I did not see that coming. 🙂
You must be misremembering things. 63-80, 4.62.
That’s pretty close to what he said.
DIdn’t realize he had so many 10 win years. The losses were in the 15s, tho.
Other than that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?…
Craw showing that Giants sweet warning track power.
Strike 2 called on Belt was way outside. Electronic strike zone, please.
That awesome July is a distant memory. Giants are officially playing out the string.
Next year:
Make the field of play smaller at home.
Create some excitement with the bats.
The pitching will still be a problem, but turn the corner on the offense.
Dump as much of the old core as possible. (Spoiler alert: it’s not very possible)
Beede — pretty much on schedule to not last the 4th.
Shocking if he does.
They might as well trot him out every 5th day and see if he can grow a pair, mentally, the rest of the month.
Curt Young has usually been a good pitching coach for young hurlers, so this guy must be a tough nut to figure out.
If Beede had half the mental toughness we already see in Webb, he’d be good.
Offseason, he needs a sports psychologist, or a new team…
I vote new team.
Maybe Beede should convert to a reliever. Sounds crazy, sure, but maybe he’d figure that out. Not everybody is cut out for starter. Affeldt started out as a starter, ended up a pretty darn good reliever. He’s not a mental giant by any means, IMO…
Flem and Estes made the good point that Suarez can throw his fastball harder as a reliever. Suarez did look good today.
Wow! Give him props . . . Nice grab.
Dubon hit a double today, and looks real good on defense. He really should play everyday in September.
Giants with warning track power constantly. With juiced balls. They need a power upgrade so much, it has to be on ZMan’s top o’ the list for position players…
Giants are 14th out of 15 in the NL, as Flemm would say, in all four typical offensive categories. BA, SLG, OBP. OPS. Aka, next to dead last. Where would they be in stats without that July offense uprising? Surprisingly, the Cards are 11th to 13th in these categories. So, how are they leading the NL Central? 2nd in NL in most pitching categories, that’s how. Just behind the Chavez Latrines…
63-80 with 180 innings is a good 5th starter…
Matbe reliever would work..Saw Stratton pitch on MLB the other day. Don’t recall him hitting 96 when he was with us…
Sorry, but if your position is that Zito was OK for the Giants, that’s like saying Nixon was just fine, heck, he started the EPA…
Not at 126 mill. He was paid to be our 1A starter.
To answer the Wainwright question, we are surprised a bit as well. He had done surgery on the elbow that cleaned things up, but his success this year (mainly fueled by great outing at home) has been incredible. It was a very incentive-laden contract he signed for ‘19 and I’d be open to another one for ‘20.
Wainwright is ancient (38) and except for the Giants, he has putrid stats and is on his last legs. Regardless, he owns the Giants today.
Look at the home/road splits and you won’t be as surprised.
Any explanation from him or his manager why he is 180 degrees different at home from the road, e.g., 2.67 ERA at home versus 6.54 ERA on the road?
Not that I have seen. Gotta believe it’s a comfort thing but it’s real, whatever it is.
Well, other than July, who hasn’t owned them?…
Shit. I know he isn’t doing well, but our season is done. Why the fuck do you take a young guy out after only 72 pitches?? 6 base runners in 4 innings. . No runs in the 4th so throw him out for the 5th.Could have pitched 6 innings easily. No wonder our bullpen sucks. How could they not be exhausted the way Boch uses them??
Why isn’t Davis up, because the team is raking so much?
So many questions, not many answers…
I can only guess that the River Cats want him for their playoff series.
Pillar adding to that base 1.0 WAR . . . Probably the MVP of the position players this season.
Despite the out, that guy Wong is quite a player. Took him a few seasons to figure it out, but he seems to be fulfilling the huge expectations that fans and their team had for him back when he came up as a 2013 rookie. Dude has a 4.6 WAR this season. Not too shabby.
Dubon HR!
Dubon with his 1st dinger!
And nice catch by Pillar to end the last inning.
Dubon !
Making the case to play every friggin day rest of the year.
And, a starting IF spot for next season. ZMan looks like he executed a steal…
You have to believe Mr. Z just jizzed himself. I hope he was covered in saran wrap.
Part of the Davis thing could be the AAA playoffs. A way of saying thanks to Sac for supporting the River Cats all season, and not destroying their roster for the playoffs.
More likely they just don’t want to start Davis’ free agent clock yet, if that’s what would happen, costing a year of control.
It’s brutal, but teams do that sometimes.
You are right probably . . . No way, no how, do the Giants care about the River Cats playoff hopes (with all due respect to Chi).
So, for me – Dubon now goes to the top of my favorite Giants.
This encompasses the real young category (actual rookies), pseudo young category (our 29 and older rookies), and the old core category.
Sometimes, Flemm sound like he’s just been to a dispensary in SF.
Giants are “still in the wildcard race”…
That really is idiotic. I’m watching the Cards feed, didn’t know McCarver is one of their announcers.
There is a rotation of color guys that work with Dan McLaughlin. Tim does 3-4 series a year. They also have Brad Thompson, Jim Edmonds, and Ricky Horton.
I would’ve rather seen Slater pinch-hit for Belt than Yaz.
Probably piling on, but Belt is sometimes too smart for himself. Why he wasn’t protecting on that pitch is beyond me.
Belt takes a called third strike. I guarantee that Bochy won’t miss seeing that.
I’ve supported Belt since Day 1.
I agree, he needs to go. He’s run his course here.
Z needs to do whatever it takes to move him. Put him in a bandbox park somewhere in the Midwest or East, and he’ll do well, I am almost sure of it. But, he needs new scenery…
Belt, Longo, just sit all these stiffs.
lulz . . . Mac, any idea where Loo is?
Hmmm . . . not sure.
The Core must go! (If only)
They are the biggest rally-killers on the team.
You notice how Bochy has strategically ensured failure by putting a couple of these stiffs in the 3 and 5 and 8 spots in the line up, instead of bunching them all at 6, 7, 8?
Or better yet, sitting them on the bench?
If ZMan could off-load Melancon without taking back salary, he can get rid of at least two of the core. Since Longo is lately looking like he’s actually awakened after 1 1/2 seasons of sleepwalking, I’d accept him coming back, even though he has the longest contract. If they traded him, who’d play third?…
2 to 3 more years of the core just can’t happen. It can’t.
Bochy should let Meulens and Wotus officially manage a game or two. Likely the only chance they’re going to get…
Watching the Cards feed too and am still thinking about what snarkk said about Flemming’s delusional ramblings about Wild Card hopes. Must be a marketing ploy the Giants are pressuring the announcers to project.
Cubs up 5-1 in the 8th, someone better tell Flemm Giants are about to fall another game back of the 2nd WC.
Beede was pulled for a pinch-hitter in the 5th, with a runner on first. I liked the move.
Giants schooled today. Wasn’t close as it seems by the score. Pfffttt!
Dubon and Pillar, and some relievers, showed energy and life. Not much from the rest of the roster.
Wow, post game radio.
Kuiper saying Beede is near the end of the rope, it’s close to almost not fair to the rest of the team to keep starting this guy. He must have got the green light to say that from management?…
Yeah, I heard the same thing. Agree, he must have gotten the “green light” from the front office. I wonder if Allie will also be releasing a statement from her publicist? lulz
Regarding Flemm— I really think these Giants announcers are bored and just grasping at straws to feel relevant. 3 in 5 probably doomed them forever. It doomed all of us, actually.
The FB moms love it when I say Posey has killed more rallies than pepper spray.
KNBR fan just said the same thing about Buster, “rally killer.”
That whole old infield. Longoria has shown signs of comeback, but the other three are in decline, and just so tiring to watch. Huge Giants heroes for all time; but bleh now on the field.
As long as Philly phails, and the Dogs poop out, I’m good with it.
Yes, I will always celebrate the Dodgers’ season ending in bust.
Cards have really good pitching.
What’s the over / under on Giants runs total for all 4 games?
9 ?
I think SF has a real shot at 1-6 over these 7 games against Cards and LA.
The core is mailing this sucker in, so might as well play anybody making less than a $million/year…
Not certain the ESPN profile of Dubon is correct, but I am now even more impressed by the bomb he hit. Specifically, ESPN says he is 6′, 160 lbs. A couple of other sites have him at 160 lbs too.
If these first few games are a preview of even better play to come from Dubon, I’m more than ready to jettison Crawford in the offseason, and get rid of at least half that salary. It probably won’t happen, but I want to see it. Maybe in Spring Training it could happen, if Dubon keeps playing well. Getting rid of half of Craw salary opens up the ability to get another decent outfielder with some power. Assume Davis arrives and actually can hit MLB pitching. Keep Solano at second, get another utility guy to cover both him and SS.. Dubon”s young, he shouldn’t get hurt. They’ve just got to get young and get rid of these lame ass bat, slow core guys, they are killing the lineup. Even Lurie post game now is basically saying Posey is done as an offensive player…
I know KNBR is live, so Lurie has to think on his feet, but his suggestion that Posey needs to be around to tutor Bart is plain dumb for 2 reasons: 1. Bart is not doing well presently in his current minor league gig, so he may not be here for a couple of seasons; 2. Posey has 2 more seasons and a team option for a 3rd season . . . So again, is Lurie suggesting that we accept Posey’s current performance because we need him to tutor Bart when Bart is called up in 2021 or beyond? Not certain what he is suggesting.
If Posey weren’t earning $22 million a year for being a part time catcher, hitting about .255 or so with virtually no pop and slower than an elephant, I’d be fine with him. He’s good defensively. But, do you layout that much cash out of a capped payroll for that kind of player, just because he was great 8 years ago? I don’t think so. Bart is not alone in taking a dive when confronted with AA pitching. Give him a stint in the fall league (I hope) and then half a season at AA next year, see where we are with him. He’ll be at least as good defensively as another year older Posey. I can’t stomach another 2 seasons of Posey and his anemic bat for $22 million. Yes, the money matters. A lot…
How long did Big Titty tutor Buster?
6 weeks?…
Snarkk: Bart is indeed headed to the Arizona Fall League, along with Heliot Ramos, Tristan Beck, Frank Rubio, Bryce Tucker, Jalen Miller and Jacob Heyward.
in case anyone was wondering if the power explosion hit the minor leagues this year….
That is crazy.
MLB is on this path of the juiced ball.
The Giants have to roll with it, and get in this game.
They don’t now have the type of players to compete.
LA the other night had 4 solo HRs to win the game.
They are #1 in NL with 238 HRs. That is 87 more than the Giants. 87.
And the Latrine has never been considered a hitters park. LA just has a lineup of mashers, mashing a juiced ball.
And 152 more runs scored. That’s almost 1 run scored per game more than the Giants.
You can’t compete for a division over a season with those kind of disparities, unless you have devastating pitching, which SF has not had since 2012…
Maybe this dude Borg should get a shot in SF. Half kidding.
I’ve complained on here before about the MLB Network using the Dodgers broadcast on about literally 95% of the Dodger games they show. It’s ridiculous, and the other teams should complain about it. As someone just watching the game, it’s very annoying, and I end up having to mute everything, because I don’t want to her Orel’s gushing Dodger love affair each time.
I think pretty much at least 1/2 the LA basin doesn’t get the LA tv broadcast because of a cable tv war thing, still going on. Maybe that’s why they do it ?…
You could make a drinking game based on when Snarkk mentions Posey’s salary. 🙂
Nobody would want Crawford for half his salary. The Giants would have to eat about 90% of it. Belt could maybe be dealt if the Giants ate half his salary.
it’s going to be fascinating to watch how Young Z goes about getting rid of Crawford, Belt and Posey. I can’t believe he’s just going to sit idly by and continue to watch their shit at bats for the next couple of years. Facebook housewives be-damned, he’s going to do something somehow, some way.
He’ll try hard to get rid of them, Craw for sure. A huge task.
Lux steps up and singles in his first AB in the majors because that’s the Dodgers these days.
And the Rockies look like sheer crap trying to compete against them. If the Rockies win a single game in this series at Dodger Stadium, I’ll be very amazed.
Then Lux hits a double. Zaidi drafted him.
If we’re patient with Zaidi, maybe we’ll be the juggernaut of the division again someday.
I believe in the Z…
How about Crawford, Belt & Smarj to the Angels for Justin Upton & Andrelton Simmons.
The money is pretty close.
Crawford’s a SoCal guy, right?
Craw grew up here. But I’d do that deal in a nanosecond.
Craw had the same 7th grade math teacher my snarkettes had about a decade later…
Beede’s bride is in some movie or tv series. The title is perfect for her
$10 says people that watch that show believe everything they see on tv…..
I don’t want to be a destroyer of true love.
but, if Beede keeps going the way he’s going, he’s going to find himself out of ball. He won’t be making millions as a famous ball player. He’ll be a dude looking at being a baseball coach, or going back to get his degree in whatever at Vandy. That $2.6 million he got to sign is his money, that’s separate property, before getting married.
Wifey will be in Hollywood. Could be a slight problem…
yeah, maybe SHE’S the one who ends up upgrading. Who saw that coming?
You play the guitar, Snarkk?
nope, I don’t…
A guitar tuner. You attach it to the guitar, hit a string, and when the green lights up, the string is in tune. Unless you’re doing an alternate tuning, but that’s a different subject.