Did Buster Call This Bank Shot?
I didn’t really fault Buster, his hands were tied, there wasn’t much he could do. Our AAA team is a wasteland. Publicly he had to have felt a twinge of shame calling up 3 guys who were basically deck chairs on the Titanic. Many fans quietly murmured “this feels like a Farhan move”……
But goddamn, for better or worse, their influence or lack thereof, the team hasn’t looked back since he did it.
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
Rosenthal in the Athletic on Corbin Burnes’s elbow and the epidemic of pitcher injuries mentions possible rule changes designed to reduce chronic overthrowing. Strange idea. What rule changes? Here’s the example he offers:
“Nothing will change until the incentives change, until the league implements new rules that effectively force pitchers to ease up on the throttle. One possibility, a phased-in reduction from a maximum of 13 to 12 to perhaps even 11 pitchers, evokes fear of even more injuries. But seriously, how much worse can the situation even get?”
gee, thanks.
Move the win requirement back to 7 innings.
that’d be like trying to reduce motorcycle speeding by banning helmets. (After a famous SCOTUS op. )
Well, it’s basically the same thing.
They might as well tell all the pitchers in the majors and minors “No pitching of any kind from November to January”.
Too many guys throwing 100 mph is destroying offensive baseball. Baseball is not just pitching and defense. It’s hitting, going from first to third, legging out a double, stealing bases, scoring and plays at home plate. It’s athletic movement. Watching 16-20 guys strikeout every game has low entertainment value to me…
Wade to Angels for cash considerations. 1st trade between Minasian brothers.
How much did Giants pay to take him?
Haha. Appreciate the sarcasm. You’re spot on. According to Maria Guardado, Giants threw in cash to cover part of Wade’s $5 Million 2025 salary.
I was being serious. If he just walks into FA status, the Gs have to pay all his remaining contract. If a team takes him, it made sense that the Gs did a deal that they would pay something, but get some relief from the full liability.
No one is being moved now except for Sam Huff’s of the world. There isn’t more help for 1b or OF at Sac than Jerar or Johnson. Dom Smith had opt out and getting him was good move-he can play position and might hit better than Wade Jr or Schmitt. Leave him be.
Pitching and D has gotten them where they are and they aren’t going to outslug LA Mets or Cubs. but they can certainly shut those teams down if pitching holds and it has so far. enjoy it!
From last night’s thread, mrsportdude mentions the pressure stolen bases put on the defense. What exactly does that mean? Obviously, a runner on second base instead of first increases the chances of allowing a run to score. It’s baked into the situation. But is the defense more likely to blunder with a runner at second because of the added pressure? I couldn’t readily find those stats, but this analysis did pop up doing a simple search:
https://tinyurl.com/4wj9y4jy
Over the several years used in the study, significantly more errors were committed with runners on and late in games. But the error rate actually decreases with the typical situation after a stolen base, a runner on second. The author notes that the general drop in errors with two outs is likely because the DP throw is no longer in play. It probably explains the specific decrease with runners on second, too.
Mr. O! welcome sir
Gracias, Señor Willie!
Hi James, welcome back! Great to read your post!
Thanks, BB!!
mrsprtdude said, he loves stolen bases. Agreed with him on the last thread. That being said, Loo indicated stolen bases are a bad tactical move – again, I don’t doubt that. However, I will echo what I said to mrsprtdude and reiterated by snarkk at 9:31am today. This all pitching, zero offense BS 24/7 is killing MLB. In other words, it is boring baseball. I love stolen bases. Hits even more!
Don’t get me wrong, the Giants have provided a “payoff” so to speak for the last 5 games they’ve played against the Braves and Padres. Unbelievable LAST INNING drama in ALL 5 GAMES. However, be serious – how long will that last? Same goes for the rest of the league. I am just worn out by these legions of pitchers throwing high 90s and 100+, with strikeout after strikeout the end result.
Solution? I have said it a half dozen times in the past 6 years – reduce pitching roster spots back to 9, as it was in the 1960s; and, start teaching kids to pitch longer in little league, high school, minor leagues, etc.
Like I said above, return wins to 7 innings.
Or make it 4 innings and just have 11 relievers max on a given staff. Get rid of the whole ‘starter’ concept. I mean, with 6 man rotations, this is where we are headed anyway.
If Manfred were anymore inbred, he’d be a sandwich. No idea how this moron walks and chews gum at the same time. Must have taken lessons from his predecessor. Him and Selig have totally fucked up the game of baseball.
It’s not just dudes firing 100+ mph heaters for a 4 at bat cycle per game, it’s dudes also throwing 95 mph cutters, and 91 mph sliders and 89 mph changeups with big time down action. The astronomical K counts per game across MLB show that hitter just can’t catch up to all that arsenal of velo and velo with movement. The short supply of hitters batting over .300 is even more evidence. It’s not baseball anymore, it’s “K ball”, and that often means lousy, boring-ass ball…
Look at the run that scored to win the game yesterday. There’s your answer. If the runner’s on 1st, there’s less pressure to make the play as the runner won’t score on an error.
Or even the double steal earlier in the game. There’s more pressure on the pitcher in that situation. But the steal itself creates pressure.
We sure saw the Giants throwing the ball all over the place on steal attempts against them. And now that we are running again, it DOES force things to happen.
I enjoy stolen bases and catchers throwing out runners. I think the impacts vary game to game, situation to situation in ways that stat averages etc blur over.
Also, I hate the ghost runner in extras but I’m not mystified by the decision to put him on second instead of first.
Crazy to think how many steals guys like Mays would have had if it was a bigger part of the game back in the 50s. But that wasn’t the white way to play ball.
In the 60’s, he also didn’t steal more so there wouldn’t be an open base for McCovey…
This. Even held off stretching base hits into doubles.
Less about velo than command. Guys see velo all the time and R Rod and Walker give up shots that get caught. Doval isn’t throwing harder than last year, he has better command.
No one is throwing Eldridge fastballs at 91 because no team signs guys like that anymore.
Still like to see the Giants make a trade for1B RH Rhy Hoskins to platoon with Dom at 1st Base and both can DH as well
“It’s not just dudes firing 100+ mph heaters for a 4 at bat cycle per game, it’s dudes also throwing 95 mph cutters, and 91 mph sliders and 89 mph changeups with big time down action. The astronomical K counts per game across MLB show that hitter just can’t catch up to all that arsenal of velo and velo with movement.”
No argument from me snarkk. When you only have 6 guys batting .300 in the NL, that tells me something is wrong. Just for info, 7 players in all of MLB hit over .300 last year. Meanwhile, I think the light bulb above Manfred’s head needs to be changed.
Good column about what I am talking about . . . https://www.foxsports.com/articles/mlb/mlbs-300-hitters-become-endangered-species-in-era-of-dominant-pitching
Speaking of the glorious 60’s, in 1965, e.g., teams averaged 16 hits/12Ks per game. In 2025, it’s closer to 17 hits, 17Ks. Overall scoring is higher now mostly because of more bombs. Games in the 60s did feature a couple more well-struck Aaron Rowand style grounders to short and third in lieu of some Ks.
The SB numbers are interesting. In 65, there were 1449 SB and 784(!) CS. A 67% success rate almost certainly means that stolen bases led to less offense and fewer runs in 65. By contrast, this year teams have stolen 1500 bases and been thrown out only 436 times. Multiply by 2/3 for 30 teams, and the SB is still a much more prominent part of today’s game, and it’s being used to greater effect. At least by some teams.
saw a tweet the other day comparing the 22% mlb CS rate this year to Bailey’s 45% rate. No wonder he plays so much.
He’s been top 10 in CS the last 3 years. Only a couple of others even have two appearances.
So, James, are you saying your stats show today’s game is actually more entertaining baseball than the ’60s?
Also, as for SBags, have you figured in that the bases are now bigger than the 60s, and were made so by Leader Manfred to generate more base stealing than in recent years of decline as the homer fever rose? Not to mention the current limit of 2 throw overs to 1B, whereas before this year(or was it last?), the throw-overs had always been unlimited, or at least as far back as the modern era of baseball.
I don’t know about more entertaining. Nostalgia is a powerful filter. The extra Ks don’t bother me that much, but I get that they’re not neatly distributed 8 or 9 per game. When they pile up dramatically several games in a row, it’s harder to notice the days the ball is being put into play. I do think the players are better today, despite the segregation the popularity of football and basketball has helped drive. And, yes, of course I understand the rule changes have had their intended effect on the running game. I was not in favor of any of them except the pitch clock.
Here’s the number of balls put in play (BIP) across generations, National League, per team per game.
1951 (Mays’ rookie year) 29.69
1973 (Mays’ retires) 28.08
1989 (A’s v Giants) 27.57
2002 (Angels v Giants) 26.56
2014 (Giants 3rd of 5) 25.47
2025 (so far) 24.66
So, from Mays’ rookie year, the number of balls put in play has declined by 5.03 per team game, or just over 10 plays per game. Seems a lot to me. Just since 2002, baseball play activity is down over 6 plays per game. That decline means to me that my eyes are not deceiving me — the game has demonstrably gotten more boring, i.e, if you like actually watching baseball players hit, run and field in a baseball game.
Although balls in play do not necessarily translate into more offense per the stats from the 60s. And we cheer the Ks our staff gets as much as another Fitzgerald or Adames whiff at a slider way off the plate brings mounting despair.
More balls in play, yes, do not necessarily lead to more “offense”. No surprise there. But, that’s never been my point on this. They do lead to more baseball activity that’s not a strikeout, whether hits or outs — BIP leads to activity in the nature of athletic movement, which is why people watch baseball — at least that’s a big reason why they watch it. Or, maybe that’s just me. Did ballet fans pay money to watch Nureyev and Barishnikov and Gelsey Kirkland and Misty Copeland just stand there on stage in their tights looking at the audience? Is Purdy just going to get the ball from center and then sit down on the field to be tagged down by the D end? No wonder younger people are bored shitless at baseball games when 17 dudes on average are striking out. That means 31% of outs in an average game are made with the batter walking back to the dugout. We used to think not long ago that any one player with a K rate that high was crap. Last year I saw the Giants play the Mariners up here, and though there was offense by both teams (17 hits, 4 HRs, and a 6-5 Giants win), that was sandwiched in between 10 BBs and 32Ks. Despite the “offense”, it was nearly unwatchable…
A real needle mover the Giants send Rivercats reliever Justin Garza to Mets for cash considerations, sounds like to me they just want to recoup some dough back from the Wade trade to help balance out the books..
roster spot is useful. Not that I expect Tibbs to rise so soon, but could be interesting.
RIP Sly Stone.
This one hurts. My very first concert. Unknown Earth, Wind & Fire opened…
Yes it does.
Saw him at Winterland right before Christmas in 1970. Great show. I think Little Sister opened though for the band.
Anybody ever watch these guys?
The Savannah Bananas are the hottest ticket in sports, and it’s not even close (msn.com)
the guy who bats and runs on stilts is amusing
Damn. Sly was a staple of the local scene here in the 60s and 70s. My older sisters played his stuff all the time.
Re HRs SOs FBs and TJs — mlb could just deaden the ball.
Pitchers are ahead of hitters again just like in 60s (koufax gibson etal). time to adjust, again.
but their arms are falling off. Pitch clock may be aggravating the strain.
The union disagrees about the clock effect, iirc; but MLB blames spin and velocity. From the article:
“. . . in the Minor Leagues, . . . Conte notes, the number of Tommy John surgeries performed went from 68 in 2010 to 210 in 2021.”
The article:
The pitch timer’s effect on injuries around MLB
https://www.mlb.com/news/pitch-timer-effect-on-mlb-injuries
Could be buildup from overload at early age, where many more TJs occur now in HS.
Like I’ve said before, consider lowering the mound again. Bob Gibson’s 1968 ERA of 1.12 generated the last mound reduction, maybe this slew of 100 mph pitchers and dearth of .300 hitters will generate another…
I think lowering the mound is the only reasonable option. Or make ’em all throw like Snarkk’s fav, Tyler R.
If they lower the mound again, Rogers may have to dig a trench in the right side of the mound to allow for his arm motion and pitching hand to go through unimpeded towards the plate…
but their arms are falling off
Reading “K a History of Baseball in Ten Pitches” by Tyler Kepner. Little dated 2019, but fascinating history of fastball slider change etc
Before the invention of the MRI torn UCLs were known as “sore arms” and I guess you had to decide if you could pitch through it or not…
Well, as much as the pitching is all about the velocity, no one is teaching hitters to go the other way, or teaching situational hitting in general. It is all about the home run. Upper cut swings. Boom or bust.
I haven’t seen Jung Hoo Lee try ONCE to go with a pitch and hit the ball to the left side. Much like Belt, it is pull pull pull. And pull some more.
That’s my motto…
Works for Wilmet. He’s so fun to watch.
https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/jung-hoo-lee-808982?stats=statcast-r-hitting-mlb
and yet when I watch him dig in at that exaggerated angle with the 3B and SS shifted way over toward second I wonder, why not slap it down the line? And he often doesn’t. But he deliberately developed his technique over time in Korea. Not something the coaches want to mess with I bet.
Yes, how often will he succeed, what’s the value of the slap single versus something he potentially hits hard to RF, and will the adjusting to the defensive shift throw his overall approach out of whack. Certain hitters get called out by the wheezing K&K machine, and it becomes a thing. One game, he had literally taken a pitch to left for a single in his previous AB while they were complaining he didn’t ever do that. I’m more bummed that he doesn’t take a few more walks.
Ask Aaron Rowand. One game? And that’s what? He does it all the time? Funny, you are doing the exact same thing Kruk and Kuip are.
So you think it’s dumb to teach players how to hit to all fields? Jung Hoo is a good exciting player but he will just get soft stuff away about 90% of the time.
Chuck, If you look at the chart of where his hits have gone, you’ll see that he has been going to all fields.
the spray chart is interesting.
Amazing how healthy Tim, Cain and Bum were able to stay during the 3 in 5…
Timmy paid for his velocity with a F’d up hip and shortened career. The photos / vids of his long stride on that little body make you wonder how his hips didn’t blow out of their sockets…
Yeah, Cain and Bummie were built like horses and looked the part.
Timmy was an absolute freak of nature.
Obit for Sly. Interesting, at least for the history.
Don’t know if you encounter a paywall for just this one link.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/09/arts/music/sly-stone-dead.html
Did ya ever hear the Stewart Four, his family’s Christian band? Sly was 8 when he sang the vocals on this one.
The Stewart Four – On The Battlefield – YouTube
that’s great
Yep. Paywall.