Friday, September 16, 2011

Game Wrap 9/15/2011: Giants 8 Reeling Rockies 5

Lots of good things to talk about in this one starting with Pablo Sandoval hitting for the cycle Key Lines:

Cody Ross- 2 for 6, 2B. BA= .237. Cody Ross is putting on a bit of a surge here at the end of the season. He seems a lot more relaxed and like he is having fun knowing he's going to be out there every day. If this was the guy you knew you would get all year, it'd be pretty easy to want him back next year and maybe beyond. The problem with Ross is his numbers can absolutely crater for a month or more at a time like they did in July and August of this year.

Pablo Sandoval- 4 for 4, 2B, 3B, HR(20), BB. BA= .308. Kruk and Kuip were openly rooting for a triple when Pablo came up in the 6'th inning needing one to complete the cycle, and then he did it! Way too much fun! I've said it a couple of times, I'll say it again. Pablo has lost weight since coming off he DL. He is looking good out there. When he kicked it into another gear going around 2B trying for the triple, he actually looked fast. He's been making acrobatic plays. Very encouraging that the changes he made in his diet and lifestyle are for the long haul. The guy is just so happy too. The enthusiasm is contagious. Ricky Oropesa and his family were guests of the Giants during the San Diego series. Ricky's mom showed me a bunch of pictures. Everybody treated them great, but Pablo was the most outgoing and friendly of the bunch. He jokingly handed Ricky his batting practice bat and told him to hit one into the cove!

Brandon Belt- 1 for 5, HR(6). BA= .217. Brandon was having a tough night until he launched an opposite field HR for an insurance run in the 9'th.

Hector Sanchez- 1 for 4, 2B, BB. BA= .176. Sanchez is impressing everybody with his work behind the plate and is showing flashes of a plus offense from both sides of the plate.

Brandon Crawford- 2 for 4, BB. BA= .193. This was Crawford's first multi-hit game in how long? Maybe I'm hallucinating but it seemed like he was holding his bat a bit higher and starting his swing a bit quicker in this one.

Ryan Vogelsong- 2 for 3. BA= .220. Hey, that's a competitive BA for a position player on this team! Maybe the Giants need to find a place for him to play between starts?

Ryan Vogelsong- 5.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 8 K's. ERA= 2.68. The stuff was obviously there, but the walks ran up the pitch counts. I'm sure he is happy with the W though.

Santiago Casilla- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 1.33. Casilla looks like a keeper for next year. Imagine a 3 headed monster of Romo, Casilla and Wilson for the last 3 innings. Plus, in Romo and Casilla, they have at least 2 backup options for closer if Willie has more injury troubles.

The Win left the Giants 7 games behind the D'Backs in the NL West and 6 games behind the Braves for the Wild Card for those still keeping track.

Madison Bumgarner goes tonight against Rookie Alex White who has struggled so far.

4 comments:

  1. Carlos Beltran has said that he wouldn't mind returning to SF if they added some offense. With Neukom being replaced by Baer I doubt the big dollars will come pouring out. So, instead of looking at Fielder or Pujols, we may want to look at more affordable options. Without making any trades there is not much out there but this is what I think we should do:

    Get Lance Berkman on a 2-3 year deal. He can play 1B and corner outfield. Let's face it, Belt is not ready and until he can hit that low and inside pitch, he might never make it. Everyone know his weakness and he has been playing right into it. At least Berkman is versatile and he can switch with Belt at 1B and outfield.

    Get Jimmy Rollins on a 2 year deal and have him be our leadoff hitter. He can solve our SS problem and with 28 SB's this year, has a little speed.

    Resign Carlos Beltran to play corner outfield. Obviously this will be if we can sign the previous two or similar players.

    2012 Lineup (Not in order)
    Rollins SS
    F Sanchez/Keppinger 2B
    Beltran OF
    Sandoval 3B
    Berkman 1B/OF
    Posey C
    Schierholtz OF
    ? Maybe Torres,Ross,Peguero,Brown OF

    Looks like a pretty good roster to me.

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  2. CSN (with Urban and co) noted Crawford's swing changes also drb, so you were spot on.

    Hector remains a WIP, but definitely making improvements. Almost 22, so not old at all.

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  3. carlos is a putz...plain and simple

    he wants a big contract, but doesnt want the pressure of being the leader on offense

    and he made his demands in public

    they will not resign carlos...he wont even get an offer

    and sabes dissed craw on the radio earlier in the day...eff him too

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  4. Gints have about 73MM committed already. Rowand/Zito takes 32.6MM of that Cain 15.3MM, Huff 10MM, Wilson 8.5MM and Freddy 6MM. All info from Cots' Contracts, all math mistakes mine. Assuming a 120MM budget (skeptical already), you have to arb Timmay, that will be at least 17MM, getting you to 90MM.

    So you have 30MM to play with. Starters: Vogelsong to a 2 year deal most likely and a decision on Dirty Sanchez, who will get easily 6MM if tendered. Assuming VSG gets 4MM you are down to 20MM if you tender Dirty.

    Bullpen: Decision on Affeldt and Lopez. Lopez will easily get what Affeldt has been getting. One or both these guys will be given contracts, because the thought of Dan Runzler in a leverage situation is terrifying. Ramirez and Casilla on the right hand side, both will get at least 2MM maybe more. And then Mr. Romo, who deserves it big time. Prediction there - at least 10MM for the pen and some hard decisions to make.

    So now you're down to 20MM. Infield: Panda gets a well deserved raise, at least 5MM there. Keppinger will go up to 3MM easily. Fontenot?

    Getting down to your last 10-12MM now. Outfield: Ross & Torres are hard decisions, and Nate gets his first Arb.

    I don't see how they have any money for Beltran, Reyes, or anybody else for that matter. They will have to cut 3-4 players just to get to 120MM.

    When 2 absolutely useless players take up over 25% of your budget, it hamstrings you good! I'd like to think they would be smart enough to cut ties with Zito and just eat it, but the more likely scenario is more of the same - fake injuries, DL stints and PR tricks.

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