a LAugher
You can talk all you want about Covid and this and that but if Craw gonna hit .220, Bart .188, Ruff .178 etc then this is what we get. And Z let’s Posey and Bryant go without replacing them (unless you count his Gonzalez/Padlo/Etc moves and again, this is what you get. The only good news is that with mlb screwing with the ball to the point of destroying most of the offenses it’s not like we have zero hope with this batch of loser hitters.
But they can’t hit like this. Not against a team like The Dodgers.
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
this is outrageous
In the meltdown inning why didn’t Kapler have a RHP warming up with Long? Dogs had 5 RHs in lineup at the time including Betts Trea Turner Taylor and Smith.
Sure, hitters haven’t done much, but in last 4 Ls pitching has given up 37 runs.
Dodgers aren’t hitting much either, like lot of teams. Even after last night Muncy is at .151, J Turner .183 Bellinger at .205 and Trea Turner OPS is .684. That was Muncy’s HR #3, 1 more than Estrada and Flores.
But their lineup is stellar and SF will have to pitch better to beat them. Losing to them getting old, fast.
1-28 with runners on base for the 3 dog games is not gonna win you any.
Once we get all the 20 guys off the IR, we might see if we are any good at hitting. Wade will help just by getting Ruf out of the lineup.
Apropos of nothing, this is pretty cool. Whoever Robin found to sing, really evokes James Dewar.
Cards have Mikolas and Hicks, both RHPs going in first 2 games. They have 3rd best ERA in NL as staff. Maybe Ruf sits a game or two out and gets back in vs. LHP Matz on Saturday.
What’s up with Belt and Wade Jr.?
With the surging D-Backs now at .500, the Giants are closer to the basement than they are to first by a half-game.
The worst thing is that they are really boring…
The reds are 3-21??? Wow.
Why didn’t Kapler have a warmup guy with Long in the meltdown inning?
When it’s a useless Tyler Beede( and can anyone validate his roster spot?)
He only uses him in a blowout loss,are the occasional time their up big.
If he’s still on this team in a few weeks, that’s on Kapler/Farhan’s thinking he’s still has value when he doesn’t..
In last night’s game, in the 6th inning, on a 1-1 pitch, Ruf got a hanging slider in the middle of the strike zone, but could only foul it off. That same pitch to a Dodger would have been hammered. That moment summed up the game for me.
Having to wait so long for the next Warriors/Grizzlies game seems like weird scheduling from the NBA.
This is the NBA playoffs now. Hurry up and wait.
Huh. 3 game suspension for Brooks and his hit on Payton. Still have to do a lot more grabbing of Morant.
Game 3 suspension. Oooops. Dyslexics untie!!!
If that was reversed at it was Green he would of been done for the rest of the playoffs and missing games to start next year! That was a potential career ending injury and 3 games ? League is a joke when they can’t lay down the hammer in what looked liked an intent to injure a player which of course every player will deny..
One game.
I used to be able to watch some of the other MLB games besides the Giants during a season, but this season is really tough to do. Watching batter after batter get overwhelmed at the plate, or hit into the shift, does get really boring.
Baseball is the one sport that I don’t really ever watch other teams. Seriously I almost enjoyed watching the Nats hammer us, because it was singles ad doubles, and they were swinging early in counts. Guys were flying around the bases. It wasn’t this 14 pitches per batter, and station-to-station shit that the Giants seem to have become.
Someone should tell the Giants that.
I’m more onboard than ever on eliminating the shift, or the “over-shift” as Kuiper and Miller insist on calling it for some reason.
I’m a little concerned about the pitch-clock. I want it, but I don’t want the amount of seconds allowed to be super radically low. I hope MLB doesn’t botch the concept.
(Spolier alert: MLB will botch the concept.)
minors league rules seem fair. More important and what might meet some resistance is rule about hitters being in box and ready to hit. Bryce Harper steps out constantly and goes through whole routine before he’s set.
Derby talk, Flav? Loo? Weather affect the race?
Any perceived taint if Yakteen/Baffert horses win?
who you guys like?
i’ll cover this all tmorrow in a long opening thread. Thanks for the interest!! by the way, tomorrow is the Oaks (the female derby race) so don’t sleep on that one. Big weather problems tomorrow. Still a very competitive Oaks
Here’s 2022 inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It’s supposed to be the “rock and roll” hall of fame, correct?
Pat Benatar
Duran Duran
Eminem
Eurythmics
Dolly Parton
Lionel Richie
Carly Simon
Judas Priest
You’re so vain, you probably think this post is about you . . .
Growing up when I did, this was the first version of this song that I was familiar with. Excellent fucking lyrics.
Or the wife of a clothespin, wife of a clothespin…
lqtm
Slush says Beede DFA’d. Wade is here but won’t play tonight. Pen game tonight Cobb tomorrow Webb Saturday.
Yes there is a God!
Thanks for checking out my 11:50 post Kap&Farhan and dumping Useless Beede! Yeah I know you didn’t , but the positive waves in a negative situation prevails!!
At our first game tonight. Maybe we’ll see more harbingers of the “Action Revolution” with another bunt hit or two.
Wow, Mets down 7-1 in 9th score 7 to take 8-7 lead over Phils.
The leadoff runner futility continues.
Did Krukow say that Cards guy Yepez was built for comfort? Howling Wolf checks into broadcast.
I remember a good student party, spring 73, probably, when a woman started shouting: “I just realized! This song is about him being fat!” Have another hit.
We are build for comas. Ho hum. Another desultory loss in the making.
Zero star power…
3-0 and it feels like this one’s over.
The kiss of death is the lead-off walk.
Station to station.
Back to Düsseldorf City,
Meet Iggy Pop and David Bowie…
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.
Hooray for the dead ball and the return of action.
Hey they got they’re 1 run for the night zzzzzz
1 is the loneliest number…
Cause 1 is the loneliest number since the number 2…
Not an easy play, but Ruf just all around sucks…
Fuck the wall ketch the ball Ruf.Such a liability in the field..
Good thing Ruf can play defense . . . oh wait.
Damn, Wade couldn’t get his ass in there tonight?
Game on MLB. I record and watch SF AB’s. We can’t buy a hit. Then get 2 and the a weak chopper. They get a man on 2 outs 2-2 pitch and it’s smoked. Hard to watch. Go Giants.
Ruf wearing the collar for this inning.
Mr. McGoo and Mr. Rodgers making a mess of the 7th.
too many laughers now. No bats, no arms. No laughing matter. Ruf in the OF is the least of our troubles.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzžžžžžžžžžžžžžžžžžžžžžžž
Time to come up with a fake injury for McGoo to go on the DL with his now 8.64 ERA..
This shut-down pen is at least sucking while we can’t hit the water falling out of a boat.
We may end up like Cincinnati at this rate.
Don’t think we’re seeing a Mets-like comeback in this one.
No the Giants don’t have the hitters to do that Mac..
1-2-3 more likely..
Twice in the same day?
1 run on 10 hits.
pfffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffft
0 for May.
Augh..
Rough patches happen. Just a small segment of a long season. Getting Wade back *should* help, probably not so much LongGonorrhea and LaStella. But a lengthy bad patch can doom a season; was that 2011?, right after Pagan’s inside the parker… Team was sitting fairly pretty and then bats went silent in June, into July, so many games (from what I remember) of scoring only 1 or 2 runs. That stretch sunk that season. If it continues now, I doubt Z/Harris will just chalk it up to a Brad Penny year and mail it in. Will be interesting to see.
Actually that might have been 2013. One of the non-championship years in those days…
“Brad Penny year” good one Paul.
But wow this team is sleep inducing. None of call ups seem Wade worthy, with some pop in bat.
Why did they send down Junis, one of few pen guys that was doing well?
thought it curious again Kap chose to bring in LHP Alvarez vs. RH lineup, which like game before, didn’t go well.
“O for May” indeed. end of April Giants were plus 40 run differential.
Now down to plus 18 as they have scored 8 runs/given up 30.
One of the slumpees is guy I like, Estrada.
5-30 lately. 8-43 at home with 2 BBs. OBP for season at .273, batting .228 with 2 HRs.
I have seen the Giants flail many times but this little stretch is especially disturbing. To me it’s mostly about pitching, I kinda thought we would be in close games much of the time but we are just getting blown out. Don’t know why we can’t seem to generate any offense but it’s obvious we can’t. Gonna be a long year. This is what I kinda expected last year but it’s happening now.
Read the Brisbee article today, if you can, and you’ll find that the Giants problems are largely a combination of the dead ball and some very bad luck. Their hitters are doing what they did last year to no avail – low BABIP – and the opposite is true for the pitchers.
Thanks. That was interesting.
mm not sure i agree with much of what he said though it was nice try. There were 30 HRs hit across MLB yesterday (and ancient Yadier Molina hit one at the O) and offense is down in general, OK but Giants struggles ain’t all bad luck. The idea of a new version of Wade Jr. coming in from Sac and hitting 18 HRs seems quite unlikely. Vosler et al look like singles hitters.
Pen has given up a lot of runs lately (ERA over 8.00 in 29 innings) and they seem to give up more BBs,
There was a lot more to the analysis than offense is down all over, although that is certainly part of it. What did you disagree with specifically? I get feeling like it’s been bad lately, ergo pessimism about the future. Maybe that’ll prove to be warranted. But stats are always a balance of good and bad stretches.
Interesting that they are giving Webb 6 days. Perhaps an acknowledgment of that fastball being off, despite the prevailing “slider is not quite there” analysis we get on TV.
These pitchers are already burned out and it’s only May 6th! If your going to use openers do you really need to use 9 pitchers? This whole staff is already way overused cause besides Rodon and Webb( still trying to find his stuff) they have no other guys who can stretch out a game.Junis in the minors is a joke, he should be starting!
Not over optimistic about Corn on the Cobb start tonight, as he can lit up last start and could easily get corn holed again! Hopefully Wade is in the LU in this one, he may struggle some as well, but it can’t look any worse, and just having him in would be a boost for even me to watch..
James, meant to ask if you noticed balls that came off bat well that died in OF. Krukow mentioned it, and so did Slusser in Chron.
, imnsho Brisbee is the weak link in Athletic coverage of Giants Couple days ago he wrote despite Nats series Giants have been playing really well. OK, then what? they go down to LA for a chance to go mano a mano with Dodgers, and get swept (outscored 12-2), then STL comes in here and blows them out.
As someone else on Athletic said, Baggs didn’t comment on Dodger series at all (deflecting to beat writers) and neither did Brisbee.
Wade gets his first action of the season and is leading off..
RF Wade
CF Yaz
LF Pederson
DH Flores
SS Crawford
1B Ruf
2B Estrada
3B Vosler
C Bart
Last year an east coast trip took Wood and Solano out with covid. Last month’s long trip may have done the same to Yaz, Belt, Leone, Duggar and Littel (sp). Most of the LH bats have been down — Wade, LaStella along with Belt and Yaz and Joc (who now looks like he did in the first week — strong, but off in his timing). (Oh, yeah, Duggar, too.) Injuries ruined the rotation, temporarily perhaps. The pen, except for McGee who seems reliably hittable, are hard to evaluate because they’re so overworked. Things may improve now. It’s only May 6, birthday of the great Willie Mays. Cloudy breezy day, though.
James I reread Brisbee and I think he’s glossing over areas of concern in hopes they get better. Suppose Ruf Flores and Crawford are in for serious regression? Pederson is very streaky hitter due for comedown after hot start
and platoon guys like Slater Wade Jr might not be as good as last season either. None of the callups impress me except for Gonzalez. Estrada maybe is platoon guy as well. C is providing very little offense at all. Belt and Longo will surely help; we can only hope neither miss more time during the year.
I’m more worried about pitching and early on he mentions a bunch of very real concerns. In some of the games they have lost recently they have given up lot more runs than normal–14 11 9 7. DeSclafani was hurt and ineffective, as was Cobb. Webb isn’t right either and unfortunately Rodon lost a game to LA when he unraveled in one inning (2 walks wild pitch and line drive single) that was otherwise fine.
Pen meltdowns by McGee Rogers Alvarez Long and others are not good signs. These are guys that are going to have to do a lot of stellar work for SF to be good. Doval to me is still unproven quantity. Hoping for more effective outings from all above.
I guess I like Baggs he seems to be on top of things for the most part. I like Brisbee also, they are both a little wordy for my taste. The one I really enjoy reading is the lady who reports on our minor league teams she gives out a bunch of information. I can’t think of her name though.
Looking at Pederson’s swing he just doesn’t seem right and still favoring his oblige strain?
And when they say don’t run hard and take it easy,WTF they should of considered the 10 day DL they need healthy bodies not a situation of playing thru an injury even if like every player that wants to play thru it..
Was it Baggs that said the Giants could still pickup a bat to help? How many times have we heard that?
Tired of these reporters saying the same shit over and over! Just do it , the team needs a spark with so many underachievers right now..
Until we are reasonably healthy, expecting guys like Don Pardo and the Dumpster Dives to do much is just wishing upon shooting stars. As someone else said, it is the pen that concerns me. They are getting rocked. There’s no dead ball when McEeeek and Mr Rogers and the rest of the pen that can’t shoot straight are pitching. The starters are doing OK but this is a bit early for all these injuries.
Pederson has hit 6 HRs and has 8 XBHs in 60 ABs. Was he hitting a different ball from everyone else?
2021 Giants hit more HRs than anyone in league. SF also had highest slugging pct and best OPS in NL.
Does the current team seem capable of doing that? Because if they cannot it’s gonna make a big difference in W column.
WillieD, Brisbee focused on the collective stats that underlie the hitting numbers and scoring, and compared SF’s composite pitching stats to LA’s. You’re right, regression for the season from the holdovers seems more likely than not. I think almost everyone agrees with that. My prediction was 88 wins.
But there really isn’t any gainsaying what Brisbee points out. Over a relatively short stretch, they’ve hit the ball as hard as they did last year, when they were very good at this, and the launch angles so far are identical, too. The dead ball has certainly suppressed the HRs (Yes, Pederson’s 400 ft out last night was gone in 21) and the BABIP is way below league average so far because of too many hard hit outs.
Whatever the worries about individual pitchers and current trends, the fact is that through 25 games, they’ve again matched LA in the stats that reflect the overall quality of the pitching, if not the outcomes.
MLB OPS is 679, and that’s with the DH in the NL now. It was 728 last year. The action revolution in action. Quoting Chuck, Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I do not wish it could be 1965 again
Lately, I’ve been wondering where the dead ball is when the other team is batting.
“The action revolution in action.”
Kind of a straw-man argument. The game does need more action, and that was true even when there were more HRs being hit in the last several seasons. Banning the shift will help, and the pitch-clock will make some of the pitchers more hittable.
The teams were smart to eventually figure out how to load their bullpens with power pitchers. The pitch-clock will give those pitchers less time to gather their strength for each pitch. It’s worth a try, at least. I love baseball, but even I’m finding the sport kind of boring nowadays.
The one big measure the revolutionaries have taken so far is to fuck with the ball. I’m not yet noticing the excitement factor go up. I’m finding all sports a little more boring nowadays. I’m old.
expanding the size of the bases, moving the rubber back 6,” and banning the overshift (which is a reasonable distinction for 3B in RF, etc.), will revivify the sport. No doubt. Humidors, sure. Slippery dead baseballs? They’ll entertainingly tinker with that constantly.
The batters were smart to figure out how to keep fouling off tough pitches until they get a fat pitch. Kudos to them.
However, the sport has to figure out how to evolve to its next incarnation. When the sport was invented (not by Doubleday), it wasn’t meant to have batters grinding out long ABs, and getting a lot of walks. The sport was more like Friday night softball, where the ball was being put in play a lot, at a fairly quick pace. People wouldn’t even play Friday night softball if it was as boring as major league baseball these days. Sure, there was the occasional Matthewson or Walter Johnson shutting batters completely down in those days, but those pitchers were more rare, and it stood out as something unique and special.
Well atleast the Giants have an organization that cares and a GM on the right track obviously with a vision for the future. Usually I would just rip into the A’s but now it’s the pathetic Reds with a 3-22 record and a owner that has the balls to tell whatever fan base they had to fuck off! Inspiring words dickhead! They cleared out their best players in cutbacks and received Jack shit in return.
Their GM Krall? Is taking nothing but abuse and his hands were tied.Some GM’s have to have the gasoline poured on them when they’re dealt such a no win scenario,has to be brutal to be a Reds fan these days…
None of the fans were asking MLB to deaden the ball. We had accepted that the ball was lively. I’m not even saying I really know what the answer is. The game is now about grinding out long ABs, and getting the starting pitcher’s pitch-count high, etc. There may be no way to change that trend. But it’s just boring to watch a batter grind out a 10-pitch AB to get a walk. Yeah, it’s a “good AB,” but it’s not great for the entertainment level of the sport. It’s not the sport we fell in love with as kids. And no wonder a lot of the kids nowadays aren’t interested.
The Friday night softball league I used to play in had to make an adjustment. There were some players starting to try to grind out walks in slow-pitch softball, which is pretty laughable, but it was happening. So the league made a rule that every batter’s AB now starts with a strike already.
slow pitch leagues I played in, in Alaska and California, all used a third-strike rule identical to the hardball bunt-foul rule (and, of course, the leagues also outlawed bunts).
I became a Giants fans and a baseball fan in the 1971 season. So I was curious what the Giants did on this day in 1971. It turns out the Giants had May 6th off, so I looked at May 7th. The Giants defeated Atlanta 4-3, in 2 hours and 33 minutes. The game went 10 innings, lulz.
Willie Mays is 91 today and J Shea has nice column in Chron. Not sure if he’ll be at yard tonight or not.
Exactly one year to the day earlier another hero of mine was born and is also still alive.
Fernando “Willie” Rosario, latin jazz bandleader whose family moved to NYC from Puerto Rico when he was 17. He saw Tito Puente on timbales and took up the instrument. He was still recording with his big band long into this Century.
1975 friend of mine I met who was radio engineer at Poor People’s Radio station in SF had one of his LPs, Otra Vez, let me borrow it and I’ve been fan ever since.
MLBTR says Giants promoted Sean Hjelle and activated Wade Jr.
Sam Long and Mauricio Llovera sent back down to Sac.
best prospect out of U Ky since Trevor Gott, I think.