The most remarkable story of the season so far, and I don't think it's at all close, is Ryan Vogelsong. Inning after inning, game after game, he has pitched about as well as anybody has ever pitched in baseball in those 12 appearances. The Giants needed a stopper tonight and Vogelsong came through, once again, with flying colors. I'm guessing his wifey was in tears again tonight as he walked off the field. The fistbump and hug he got from Eli Whiteside in the dugout after the 7'th inning was certainly heartfelt. For his part, Eli Whiteside made a major contribution to Vogelsong being credited with a victory as he drove in the first 3 runs of the game for the Giants. Key LInes:
Nate Schierholtz- 1 for 3, 2B, 2 BB. BA= .253. Nate stroked a hard double to the RF wall. It's not often you see him draw 2 BB's.
Eli Whiteside- 2 for 4, 3B. BA= .221. Hey! Eli is hitting .294 over his last 10 games!
Ryan Vogelsong- 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 12/5. ERA= 1.86. Vogelsong pounded the strike zone with 2 seamer and a cutter and had the Twins hitting ground balls. 2 of his 3 K's came in the 7'th after the first two batters of the inning reached base and he was pitching for the K instead of to contact. Just a remarkable piece of pitching to get out of that 7'th inning with just 1 run allowed. Remarkable performance all around when the Giants needed it most.
Brian Wilson- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K's. ERA- 2.45. Even though it was a relatively uneventful inning, Wilson doesn't look right to me. He's obviously stretching his oblique before every pitch. The TV caught him rubbing his side at one point. He just doesn't look comfortable out there. Ordinarily a FB maxing out at 95 MPH would not be a sign that something isn't right, but in Wilson's case, it ain't Wilson!
With the Win, the Giants kept pace 0.5 games behind the NL West leading Arizona Diamondbacks who edged the KC Royals 3-2. The Rockies lost to the Cleveland Indians 4-3 and dropped back to 3.5 games behind the leaders. The Dodgers lost to Detroit 7-5 to fall back to 7.5 games behind while the Pesky Padres topped the BoSox 5-1 to remain 9.5 games behind and in last place.
Tim Lincecum tries to right his ship and keep the Giants on the winning track tomorrow afternoon facing lefty Brian Deunsing.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Vogelsong...wow.
ReplyDeleteJust from his standpoint, I hope he continues this for at least another couple of starts and Bochy gets him on the All-Star team.
Agreed on Wilson. Been off all year. He needs the bases empty to put up a zero in the 9th. Just based on performance (of course Wilson hasn't lost his job, by any means) Romo should be the closer.
Positives (aside from Song) are the win, Whiteside getting some knocks and RBIs & Rowand did not strikeout.
wilson will never admit that he is pitching hurt...so they will have to drag him off the field for an mri...and that aint gonna happen
ReplyDeletehe isnt the same as last year...but what are you gonna do
strange seeing craw making errors on ez plays...trying to rush them...his pressing at the plate may finally be affecting him in the field
song makes the as team for one simple reason...the story...it sells papers
and right now...he and wilson would be the only ones who should be put on the squad...unless bochy wants to fill the pitching out with setup guys...then put the entire pen in
I would like to say that we are going to make a big trade next month but it probably won't happen. The media thinks the most obvious player is Jose Reyes. But, I believe they should be talking about Hanley Ramirez. I really think he is unhappy in Florida and his performance this year and his attitude might give him a ticket out. He got benched in his first game with the new manager McKeon because he missed the first meeting. If you look at his number over the last 4 years, you know he is going to put up good numbers in the future. He is locked up until 2014 and wouldn't be a give up the farm for a rental scenario. Before this year I thought he was the most complete player if you look at his speed, power and glove. Plus, he does not have the injury history as Reyes.
ReplyDeleteThe second player I think we should be looking at is Hunter Pence. The guy can flat out play and he has a great arm. He is young and with Houston struggling he may be available although the fans would hate it. He is consistent unlike any of our outfielders. Ross was hot for a week or two and Nate had some clutch hits but nobody out there has been anywhere consistent like Pence.
If we were going to give up the farm for Reyes, I would much rather go with one of these players. Reyes is on a contract year and I doubt you will see that kind of performance 3-4 years down the road.
Roger,
ReplyDeleteHanley Ramirez is HUGE club house cancer. It was a well-publicized incident, but when he booted that ball and then just trotted after it in May 2010, that was all I needed to see. In case you missed it:
http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?c_id=fla&content_id=8077975&topic_id=8878534
I've never seen anything like that outside of little league. Hanley's reaction the following day (to then manager Fredi Gonzalez benching him):
“It’s his team. He does whatever he (expletive) wants,” Ramirez said. “There’s nothing I can do about it. It’s brutal.”
His inability to see that he was totally, completely, absolutely in the wrong borders on psychopathic. The rest of his interview:
http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/marlins/2010/05/18/hanley-ramirez-wont-apologize-to-florida-marlins-teammates-lost-little-bit-of-respect-for-manager/
Remember that this reaction was the next day. This is not heat-of-the-moment stuff.
I thought he'd been benched by McKeon for poor play. He missed a meeting?
Please, keep that guy exactly where he is. Being a spoiled child on the other side of the country. Hitting worse than Eli Whiteside.
I would much rather try to get a manager as strong willed as Bochy to try to handle a diva like Ramirez than to go year after year having acquisitions like Aaron Rowand and Mark DeRosa. Shea Hillenbrand always comes to my mind. I am sick of seeing washed up guys like Klesko and Tejada come in here when we can get the good players like any other team who isn't the Yankees or Red Sox. Forget the links to things that probably has to do with the organization who doesn't care about their players and trying to keep a $40 million dollar payroll. It is time to get some real players and massage some egos if we have to. I don't need role models on my team. I want wins. Maybe Ramirez is not the answer but if you consider the money we spend on junk, we could get some real talent.
ReplyDeleteRowand $14 mil
Tejada $6.5 mil
DeRosa $6 mil
Huff $10 mil
Ross $6.3 mil
I would much rather have Torres, Crawford, Fontenot, Belt and Schierholtz for all that money any day of the week. You really think Ramirez is going to be a .200 hitter the rest of his career? I highly doubt it.
While I like to focus on the character flaws and self-indulgence issues that have great potential to alienate himself from his teammates and fans, there are plenty of tangible issues to consider with Hanley Ramirez:
ReplyDeleteHis fielding has been in decline as he getting older and bigger/fatter. At some point within a couple of years, he will need to move to a corner position, where his offensive numbers will not be as valuable as they are at SS.
His speed has been and will continue to decline. He'll good for about 25 or so SBs, not the 50 he's had in years past.
His power has been declining before this year. He hits in an average hitters park, and his HRs have gone from 33 to 24 to 21. And now just the 4 HRs so far in 2011. Those numbers will not improve at AT&T.
He has been an amazing talent. But, even before this year, he was in decline. And he's not an amazing bargain, still due $50 million over the next few years.
Maybe you're right, and a change of scenery will do him well. And it's easy to acknowledge, the Giants are in desperate need of offense.
But I'm wondering if Hanley might not make your junk list by 2012 or 2013?
Kelly,
ReplyDeleteI agree with most of what you said. The main thing I am looking at is how to bring in a long term solution to add some offense. It doesn't even have to be SS but that seems to be our main concern along with catcher. I looked at his numbers and I saw the trends you were referring to. However, he is only 2 years removed from a season hitting 24 homers while sporting a .342 AVG. Secondly, last years numbers are probably going to top anybody's number on this years Giants team. 163 hits and a .300 AVG would be unbelievable in orange and black. I am wondering if everything is just in his head after seeing Jorge Cantu, Dan Uggla, and Cody Ross exit. I am thinking that he may believe he is only there to be the workhorse for the ownership so they can save face for the fans about not spending any money. He is probably not buying into it. I have been in situations like that at work where I do all the work and I feel over time that I could care less about doing anything.
Roger,
ReplyDeleteI hear you about the work thing. Been there. But, playing professional baseball at the MLB level HAS to a little different than a normal job.
And there has to be some hope in Miami though, right, with the new ballpark coming? Next year, I think. (Personally, I don't think they'll ever draw very well, but we'll see. Could have said the same about the Giants while at the 'Stick) So, it's not all gloom and doom in Miami. They at least have a plan, something on the horizon that they are working towards. I just don't think Hanley can see anything but the me and now.
It's interesting the others you bring up from FLA, especially Uggla, who is also having a brutal year in Atlanta.
I think we can both agree that Hanley will again play much better than he is playing now. And that, upon arriving in SF, he would almost certainly be our best offensive threat. But I don't much care for the guy. I've had enough of rooting for and defending incredible talents who are kind of tools. (That veiled Bonds reference wasn't too obvious, was it?)
Anyway, it's getting pretty clear that Giants are probably going to make a move.
At any rate, I like Hunter Pence.
Not sure what to make of Hanley. He's obviously unhappy and dogging it, but last year I thought it was pretty obvious that Fredi Gonzalez was dogging it too. I remember one game in Florida where he just sat and sulked in the corner of the dugout the whole time. Would a change of scenery turn him around? Not sure I would want to bet the farm on it.
ReplyDeleteI love Hunter Pence, but I'm not sure how he would perform in West Coast ballparks. He hits about 28 HR's per year in Houston and the NL Central. He's a gap-to-gap guy with some speed, so even if his HR's went down to 15-20 he'd be pretty valuable.