Monday, June 29, 2009

The 2009 Giants are 40-34: Battle with Cards for Wild-Card Lead

Brew Crew Beat On

The Giants had a disappointing series with the Brewers - though with better closing we could have won the series, but Wilson has been very good up to now, so this is quibbling - but there were a number of good things to note.

First and foremost is Schierholtz's hot hitting. He looks like he might have Wally Pipped Fred Lewis for an OF starting position. In the 3 games series, he went 7 for 13 with a double and homer plus a homer stolen over the fence by Cameron, for a .538/.571/.846/1.418 batting line. Since he began starting regularly on June 11th, his batting line is .426/.451/.681/1.132 with 3 HR in 47 AB (again, remember, he should have had a 4th homer), starting in 12 games out of 17 (and playing in 16). It is something like this that makes me wish all the harder that the Giants had done what I have been advocating for the past two off-seasons: trade away Randy Winn so that Nate Schierholtz can start for us and be the power hitter that we have been lacking.

Second, and just as hot if not hotter, is Pablo Sandoval. Despite leaving yesterday's game early for a stomach ailment, he was 5 for 11 in the series with 3 HR, for a Bondsian batting line of .455/.500/1.364/1.864. Since the second game on June 4th, he has a batting line of .422/.489/.819/1.309 with 8 HR in 83 AB. Clearly, his power has started coming through once he figured out how to hit pitchers consistently.

The two of them join Travis Ishikawa, who has been hot since Bochy openly benched him for all of one day on May 10th. Since May 10th, Ishikawa hit .320/.400/.520/.920 with 4 HR in 75 AB. And for the month of June, he has hit .250/.289/.556/.845 with 3 HR in 36 AB.

So, yes, between the three of them, they have hit 14 HR in the month June (and would have 15 if not for Cameron). If they can continue hitting HR's, the Giants don't look like they will be so puny with homerun hitting for the rest of the season, particularly including Molina.

Thirdly, I forgot to note before that Rich Aurilia has been hitting better of late, he had a nice streak from May 15 to June 16, where he hit .282/.349/.410/.759, before an 0-fer brought him down on June 20th, but then he had a 2-for-5 on June 24th. People have been wanting to drop him, but unfortunately Richie has been distracted by thoughts of his father, who has had serious health problems for years now, but finally succumbed to them recently, as his health failed.

Fourth, I was impressed with how the Giants came back the next day to not only play well, but win, after such a devastating loss as they had gone through on Saturday. Many teams get sucker-punched by such a tough loss, and the aftermath is a lackluster game the next day. It is a sign of maturity and confidence that they shrugged off the loss and won going away the next day.

Lastly, I have to note Ryan Sadowski's masterful first start in the majors on Sunday. Against the powerful Brewers team that had just battered our pitching the day before, costing us two good leads and taking the victory away from the Giants, Sadowski, a good organizational soldier who was rumored to be soon sold to a Japanese league team, shut out the Brewers for 6 innings, giving up only 4 hits, plus 3 walks and striking out two, including the first batter of the game, his first batter of his major league career. He also got his first major league hit as well as his first major league win. All in a start that he didn't even know about until Friday when his AAA manager informed him of it.

According to what I learned from the radio, it has been quite a trip for Sadowski. When he was drafted by the Giants, he had not played any baseball for three years in college. He held a tryout for scouts - Tidrow was there - and based on that the Giants drafted him in the 12th round. He has never been a prospect that drew a lot of interest - heck, any interest - from the prospect hounds who know about such stuff. He has been what people call a good organizational player, a guy who is filling a spot on the minor league team so that our better prospects would have a team to play on as they progress up the minors to the majors. Only sometimes the dream comes true for these players, like Matt Palmer (and many others) last season, Brian Cooper a few years back, etc.

He got this opportunity because the Giants decided to skip Jonathan Sanchez's spot in the rotation in order to work with him and get his head and mechanics straight. Like it did with Matt Cain and Barry Zito, and with Lincecum, the threat of one, that got the pitcher off the treadmill, running in the same direction, and gave him a moment to reflect and go off on another direction. Sanchez came into the game in relief for the 9th inning and, after plunking Prince Fielder with a wild pitch into his wide side, Sanchez struck out the side. Fielder was mad but I can understand if Sanchez was a bit wild with his first pitch, after all, that is why he got sat down in the first place, and second, it being his first pitch, his adrenaline could have gotten the best of him there as well.

Now the interesting question is what to do next. It would seem a shame to send Sadowski back down, especially after his shutout outing, but with Aurilia gone on bereavement, it would appear that the Giants should swap Frandsen for Sadowski to beef up the bench for the series against the Cardinals, particularly with how well Sanchez pitched, he was dominating, from what I heard on the radio.

In addition, despite hitting his first major league homerun yesterday, Matt Downs has been scuffling. He has hit .212/.289/.333/.623 in 10 games, 33 AB and 8 strikeouts with that one homer. The good point is that his BABIP is .240, so perhaps if he can boost it up to .300, his batting line would be OK, but every hitter's BABIP is individual, there is not a mean around which he should regress to other than his career BABIP, and that hasn't been established for him yet. But since hitting is considered his forte, that would suggest that with enough time, he can eventually hit well in the majors.

However, the Giants are trying to balance winning with developing their young players. They have given him a chance because Burriss blew his and Frandsen was caught in between the period when he could not be brought up, opening up an opportunity for Downs. So the Giants will have to decide whether to give him more time or to finally give Frandsen his opportunity to start at 2B. Given that Downs started out OK then has been dropping the past two series, they could decide to bring up Frandsen to start, putting Downs on the bench until Aurilia returns.

Cards Series

The Cards are always tough and Pujols has been very hot. It's going to be a tough series, but we got our four best starters going against them, starting with Lincecum. I think that the Giants viewed the Cards as their main competition to beat because they could have started Lincecum against the Brewers in the last game of the series, but instead chose to call up Sadowski and allow Lincecum to be the first starter against the Cards.

Game 1: Lincecum vs. Brad Thompson.

Just inserted in the rotation about a month ago, he has had some pretty bad starts. Plus, he hasn't been particularly good in the majors previous to his season, though better this season. I would say that he's a good back of the rotation guy, but he's going against our #1 guy, and thus we should win this game. Lincecum is 3-0 with a 2.37 ERA in three career starts against the Cards, and has been just dominating the past three starts.

Game 2: Johnson vs. Chris Carpenter

Another reason not to muck with the order of the rotation is because then we pit Randy Johnson against Chris Carpenter, instead of having Cain face Carpenter. Not that Wainwright is a piece of cake, but Carpenter has been totally dominating since he got off the DL. Johnson has been pitching better of late, whereas Cain had his first bad start in almost two months in his last start. Also, Johnson, I think, will raise his level of play to match Carpenter, the greats ones can still do that for one start every so often, even at Johnson's age. We most probably will lose but it should be a good game where Johnson also have a good chance of winning.

Game 3: Cain vs. Adam Wainwright

Cain had a tough outing, but Wainwright has had a number of rough outings in his 3 of his last 4 starts, 4 of his last 6. I think that this is a good matchup of roughly equal pitchers, but I think that Cain will come out on top of this one, I think the last start is an aberration, he really seems to have turned the corner from being good to being great. This game will be a great test of that, whether he can turn it on and beat the Cards.

Game 4: Zito vs. Wellemeyer

Another reason why we don't muck with the rotation order: Zito vs. Wainwright would probably be a losing proposition. Zito vs. Wellemeyer, however, looks pretty good. Wellemeyer has a 5.68 ERA with only 55 strikeouts in 88.2 IP, but 40 walks!!! Plus 111 hits!!! Zito better beat Wellemeyer, it would be very disappointing if he doesn't beat him, though I understand that that happens sometimes.

Giants Thoughts

This series can swing from very good to very bad, depending on how things go with the starting pitching. I think a split is a very good possibility, what with games 1 and 4 looking like good bets, and I would take that easily, as that would make our road trip an almost even split, with us losing 2 of 3 at Milwaukee (I can't count Oakland as a road trip). With Houston (35-38), Florida (38-39) and San Diego (33-41) as opponents at home just before the All Star break, the Giants could boost up their record a bit at home, where they have one of the best records in the majors playing at home, assuming they can get out of St. Louis relatively unscathed.

With three hot hitters in Schierholtz, Sandoval, and Ishikawa, plus Rowand doing well himself, and Molina doing OK, the offense could be good enough up top to help our pitching win in this series. The lineup will be Rowand, Winn, Sandoval, Molina, Schierholtz, Renteria, Ishikawa, Uribe, and that would be pretty good given how well they have been hitting of late. And the Cards are throwing up all RHP, so our lefties should see starts the whole series. I think that given Winn's struggles of late, I can see Bochy sitting him down once, and give Lewis a start.

With game time coming up, it looks like the Giants are not making any roster moves, meaning that Sadowski and Downs will get another chance to impress the team's management. Sadowski will, for sure, because there is no reason to keep him up unless they are planning to give him another start. And that appears to be so, Andy Baggarly just reported that Bochy says that Sadowski is officially in the rotation.

With Uribe starting at 2B in today's lineup, Downs apparently has worn out some of his welcome - Giants facing untested struggling starter today, usually an excellent spot for a prospect like Downs to start, particularly batting 8th where Uribe is today. And apparently Frandsen has not done enough to warrant starting up in the majors. Apparently, since the Cards only have a four man bench, the Giants think they can get away with that too. I think that is easier for the Cards because they have such a good lineup - we don't.

With Sadowski annointed to be in the rotation, that would mean that Sanchez would be in the bullpen until at least after the All-Star break, at which time, one would hope he figured out enough to earn back his rotation spot. In addition, that would mean that Downs will probably go down when Aurilia returns and Uribe is our 2B until further notice. The only way this works for me is if this showcases Uribe and someone trades for him, giving us a nice prospect in return, then Frandsen gets to start the rest of the season.

Judging from the interview with a Brewers hitter on TV, it sounded like Sadowski had the upper hand on them because none of them had faced him before, and he first went with one pitch the first time around the lineup, then mixed in another pitch the second time around and adjusted to the hitters. I got the impression that the hitter was not impressed but tipped his hat off to Sadowski because he adjusted when he needed to.

Can he keep hitters off balance once he's a known quality? It was telling that he struck out two batters in his first two innings, but could not get another strikeout for the next four innings. It was also telling that Sadowski only had 45 strikes thrown in 85 pitches. A more discerning lineup could rack up more than the 3 walks he gave up to the Brewers, though neither Florida nor Houston are that great. I say enjoy the ride while you can, because unless he can adjust further, he's going to get hit on pretty quickly, once there are tapes and scouting reports filed on him. But I will hope for the best.

Meanwhile, I have to think that it's Downs who goes down when Aurilia returns. And that probably means Uribe will be starting at 2B, and perhaps Aurilia too, at least until the All Star break. Then the Giants management will re-assess and see what they should do next.

I still hope that give Frandsen a chance. Given all the comments I heard from Bochy earlier this season, I have to think so, they said that he would get his chance, only later, that he had to be patient with the process. And the Giants thought enough of him last season to keep 3B open for him, so since he has hit like normal in AAA this season, and even more importantly, played defense well at SS. So he should get an extended chance sometime this season because he's not getting any younger.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Labels

1984 Draft (1) 2007 Draft (15) 2007 Giants (52) 2008 Draft (22) 2008 Giants (53) 2008 season (6) 2009 Draft (18) 2009 Giants (87) 2009 season (24) 2010 Decade (12) 2010 Draft (11) 2010 Giants (137) 2010 NL ROY award (1) 2010 season (19) 2010's (3) 2011 Draft (9) 2011 Giants (84) 2011 season (8) 2012 Draft (11) 2012 Giants (93) 2012 season (11) 2013 Draft (3) 2013 Giants (39) 2013 season (5) 2014 (1) 2014 draft (5) 2014 Giants (79) 2014 season (16) 2015 Draft (4) 2015 Giants (50) 2015 season (10) 2016 Draft (1) 2016 Giants (45) 2016 season (6) 2017 Draft (3) 2017 Giants (27) 2018 Draft (8) 2018 Giants (50) 2018 Season (8) 2019 Draft (1) 2019 Giants (27) 2019 season (2) 2020 Decade (1) 2020 Giants (9) 20201 Draft (1) 2021 Giants (3) 2022 Giants (2) 2023 Giants (14) 2023 season (1) 2024 Giants (7) 25 man roster (10) 25th man fallacy (1) 3B (1) 40 Man Roster (10) 49ers (1) 5-day rotation (1) 51/49 decisions (1) 6-man rotation (5) 89 Quake (1) 89 World Series (1) A-Ball (1) A-Gon (1) A-Rod (3) A's (6) AA-Ball (1) Aaron Rowand (25) Abiatal Avelino (1) accomplishments (1) ace pitcher (2) ace starter (3) Adalberto Mejia (6) Adam Duvall (5) AFL (4) aggression (1) Albert Suarez (5) Alen Hanson (3) Alex Cobb (1) Alex Dickerson (2) Alex Hinshaw (3) Alex Pavlovic (1) Alexander Canario (2) All-Star Game (1) almost perfect game (1) Alonzo Powell (1) Amphetamine (3) analysis (24) Andre Torres (14) Andres Torres (2) Andrew Baiiley (1) Andrew Bailey (1) Andrew McCutchen (2) Andrew Suarez (5) Andrew Susac (11) Andy Baggerly (2) Andy Sisco (1) Andy Suarez (9) Angel Joseph (1) Angel Pagan (17) Angel Villalona (30) Anniversary (1) appendicitis (1) Aramis Garcia (2) Arbitration (19) Armando Benitez (5) Armando Gallaraga (1) art of failure (1) Asia-Pacific signing (1) assessment (1) Astros (3) At the Rate They Are Going (1) ATT Park (1) Aubrey Huff (20) Austin Jackson (2) Austin Slater (5) Award (4) BABIP (3) Bam Bam Meulens (1) Barry Bonds (30) Barry Zito (77) baseball (1) Baseball America (3) Baseball Prospectus (6) Baseball Prospectus Bias Against Giants (4) baseball strategy (9) Baseball Study (18) baserunning (2) batting peripherals (1) batting stance analysis (1) batting title champion (1) Beat LA (9) bench players (4) Bengie Molina (14) Benjamin Snyder (1) Bert Blyleven (1) best manager (2) best practices (2) Beyond the Box Score (1) Bias Against Giants (1) Big 6 (9) Big Picture (3) Bill Hall (1) Bill James (1) Bill James Handbook (2) Bill Mueller (1) Bill Neukom (21) Billy Beane (3) biography (1) Blake Riverra (1) blog news (3) Blog Philosophy (3) Bob Howry (2) Bob Mariano (1) Bobby Evans (4) Boston Red Sox (1) Brad Hennessey (5) Brad Penny (2) Brandon Bednar (1) Brandon Belt (50) Brandon Crawford (25) Brandon Hicks (1) Braves (5) breakout (2) Brett Bochy (4) Brett Pill (9) Brewers (1) Brian Anderson (1) Brian Bannister (3) Brian Bocock (2) Brian Cooper (1) Brian Horwitz (3) Brian Ragira (2) Brian Sabean (50) Brian Wilson (14) Bridegrooms (6) Bruce Bochy (36) Bucky Showalter (1) bulllpen (8) Bullpen (33) Business Plan (23) Buster Posey (102) Byran Reynolds (2) Byung-Hyun Kim (1) Cained (4) call-ups (3) Candlestick Park (1) Cards (13) Career Prospects (4) Carl Hubbell (1) Carlos Beltran (4) Carlos Gomez (1) Carney Lansford (2) Carson Whisenhunt (1) Carter Jurica (1) Casey Kelly (1) Casey McGeHee (3) catcher injury (5) catching (3) CBT penalty (1) CC Sabathia (1) censorship (2) CEO (2) Chad Gaudin (5) Charles Culberson (5) Charlie Culberson (3) Chase Johnson (3) cheating (1) Chillax (1) Chris Brown (1) Chris Gloor (1) Chris Heston (19) Chris Lincecum (1) Chris Marrero (1) Chris O'Leary (1) Chris Ray (4) Chris Shaw (4) Chris Stewart (4) Chris Stratton (30) Chris Strattton (1) Christian Arroyo (7) Christmas (1) Christopher Dominguez (4) Christy Mathewson (1) Chuckie Jones (2) Clay Hensley (3) Clayton Blackburn (10) Clayton Tanner (3) Closer (9) closer by committee (3) Coaches (4) coaching changes (1) Cody Hall (2) Cody Ross (8) Col (1) Comeback Award (1) Commissioner (1) comparison (3) competitive advantage (1) Competitive Balance Tax (2) Competitive Cycles (2) competitiveness (2) Conner Menez (1) Connor Joe (3) Connor Nurse (1) Conor Gillaspie (25) contender (1) contract extension (3) contract negotiations (2) contract signing (7) Coordinator (1) core competency (1) Core Rotation (1) Cory Gearrin (5) Cory Guerrin (1) Cory Hart (1) Craig Whitaker (2) Cubs (1) Curt Young (1) cuts (1) Cy Young Award (5) cyber-relief (1) D-backs (16) D-gers (36) D-Rocks (3) D-Rox (17) D.J. Snelten (3) Dallas McPherson (1) Dan Ortmeier (11) Dan Otero (2) Dan Runzler (6) Dan Slania (3) Dan Uggla (1) Daniel Carbonell (1) Daniel Slania (2) Dany Jimenez (1) Darren Ford (1) Dave Righetti (1) Dave Roberts (11) David Aardsma (1) David Bell (1) David Huff (2) David Loewenstein (1) Decade of the Giants (12) decline (1) Defense (11) Deferred Money (1) deleted comment (1) Denard Span (3) depth (1) Dereck Rodriquez (7) Derek Holland (18) Derek Law (11) Detroit Tigers (1) DFA (3) DH (2) Dick Tidrow (2) dictionary (1) direction (1) Dirty (1) DL (3) dodgers (15) Donald Snelten (1) Donovan Solano (1) Draft (11) Draft Analysis (27) Draft Bonus (7) draft list (3) draft philosophy (2) draft signing (3) Draft Strategy (12) Draft Study (9) Draft Success (4) drafting (5) Dres (16) Drew Pomeranz (1) DRS (1) Dynasty (3) Earl Weaver (1) Edgar Renteria (13) Eduardo Nunez (4) Edwin Escobar (5) Ehire Adrianza (26) Eli Whiteside (4) Elimination game (1) EME (2) Emmanuel Burriss (18) end of an era (1) epic season (6) era (1) Eric Byrnes (1) Eric Surkamp (6) Erik Cordier (1) Eugenio Velez (12) evaluation (3) Evan Longoria (3) Evan Longoriia (1) extension (7) fan outrage (10) fan rants (2) fanfest (1) FanGraphs (2) Farhan Zaidi (35) feature reliever (1) felony conviction (1) Fielding (5) Fielding Stats (4) finger injury (3) first post-season press conference (3) Francisco Peguero (4) Fred Lewis (3) Freddie Lewis (17) Freddie Sanchez (4) Freddy Sanchez (7) Free Agency (8) free agent misses (1) Free agent possibilities (28) Free agent signing (22) Free agent signings (21) front office (3) Gabe Kapler (1) Game Score (3) gamer-tude (1) Garrett Williams (1) Gary Brown (26) Geno Espinelli (1) George Kontos (10) Ghosts of Giants Drafts (2) Giants (10) Giants Announcer (1) Giants blogs (3) Giants Chat (4) Giants Classic Rotation (1) Giants Defense (4) Giants Draft (15) Giants Drafts (8) Giants Farm System (34) Giants Franchise record (2) Giants Future (66) Giants GM (12) Giants Greats (3) Giants hitting manual (1) Giants Leadership (1) Giants manager (1) Giants No-Hitter (5) Giants Offense (34) Giants Offseason (24) Giants Pitching (10) Giants President of Baseball Operations (3) Giants Strategy (44) GiDar (1) Gino Espinelli (1) glossary (1) Gold Glove Award (1) good players (4) good will (1) Gorkys Hernandez (2) Graphical Player (1) great players (4) Gregor Blanco (18) Gregor Moscoso (1) Gregory Santos (1) Guillermo Moscoso (2) Guillermo Mota (2) Guillermo Quiroz (1) Gustavo Cabrera (4) Hall of Fame (10) Hall of Shame (4) Hank Aaron (5) Happy Holidays (2) Hate mail (1) Hayden Birdsong (1) healthy (1) heart-warming (1) Heath Hembree (8) Heath Quinn (1) Hector Correa (1) Hector Sanchez (12) Heliot Ramos (11) Henry Sosa (8) HGH (1) Hidden Game (1) high expectations (1) high school focus in draft (1) high velocity hitters (1) high velocity pitchers (1) hiring (2) hiring process (1) Hitter's League (1) Hitting (19) Hitting Coach (1) hitting mechanics (3) hitting pitchers (2) hitting streak (1) Hitting; (1) Home Run Career Record (7) Home Run Hitting Contest (1) Hunter Bishop (4) Hunter Pence (25) Hunter Stickland (1) Hunter Strickland (9) Ian Gardeck (1) Idea (4) IFA (1) improvement (2) Indictment (1) Infield (1) injury (7) instant replay (2) instructor (1) Interesting Question (1) International Free Agent Pursuits (5) International Signings (5) interview (5) Investment (1) Ivan Ochoa (2) J.P. Martinez (1) J2 (1) Jack Taschner (4) Jackson Williams (3) Jacob Dunnington (1) Jacob Gonzalez (2) Jacob Junis (1) Jacob McCasland (1) Jae-gyun Hwang (1) Jake Dunning (2) Jake Peavy (39) Jake Smith (1) Jake Wong (1) Jalen Miller (1) Jandel Gustave (1) Japanese Starters (1) Jarrett Parker (10) Jason Heyward (1) Jason Maxwell (2) Jason Stoffel (1) Javier Lopez (5) JC Gutierrez (3) JD Davis (1) Jean Machi (6) Jeff Kent (1) Jeff Samardzija (28) Jeff Suppan (1) Jeremy Affeldt (12) Jeremy Shelley (2) Jerome Williams (1) Jesse English (2) Jesse Foppert (1) Jesus Guzman (4) Jimmy Rollins (1) Joaquin Arias (14) Joe Panik (18) Joe Torre (1) Joey Bart (5) Joey Martinez (2) Johan Santana (1) John Barr (1) John Bowker (22) John Thorn (1) Johneshwy Fargas (2) Johnny Bench (1) Johnny Cueto (31) Johnny Monell (1) Johnny Rucker (1) Jonah Arenado (1) Jonathan Mayo (1) Jonathan Sanchez (49) Jordan Hicks (1) Jordan Johnson (1) Jorge Soler (1) Jose Canseco (1) Jose Casilla (1) Jose Guillen (3) Jose Mijares (3) Jose Uribe (2) Josh Osich (9) JT Snow (1) Juan Perez (6) Juan Uribe (9) Juggling Monkey (1) Julian Fernandez (7) Julio Urias (1) Jung Hoo Lee (2) jury (1) Just Say No (1) Kelby Tomlinson (5) Kendry Flores (2) Keury Mella (2) Kevin Correia (2) Kevin Frandsen (22) Kevin Gausman (3) Kevin Pillar (2) Kevin Pucetas (10) KNBR (1) Kung Fu Panda (30) Kyle Crick (16) Kyle Harrison (5) laid off (1) Larry Baer (3) Larry Ellison (1) Lead-off (2) leadoff (1) left-handed (1) Lew Wolff (1) LHP (1) Lineup (17) lineup construction (4) Lineup position (1) links (1) Logan Webb (3) Lon Simmons (1) long relief (2) Long-Term Contract (22) long-term planning (3) losing streak (1) Lucius Fox (3) luck (2) Luis Angel Mateo (2) Luis Matos (2) Luis Toribio (1) lunatic fringe (1) Mac Marshall (1) Mac Williamson (12) Madison Bumgarner (185) Mailbox (1) Malcolm Gladwell (1) management change (3) management issues (5) managerial value (5) Manny (1) Marc Kroon (2) Marco Luciano (3) Marco Scutaro (12) Mark DeRosa (8) Mark Gardner (1) Mark Melancon (4) Marlon Byrd (1) Martin Agosta (7) Marvin Miller (1) Masahiro Tanaka (1) Mason Black (1) Mason McVay (1) Matsuzaka (1) Matt Cain (160) Matt Chapman (1) Matt Daniels (3) Matt Downs (2) Matt Duffy (8) Matt Graham (1) Matt Holliday (1) Matt Krook (2) Matt Moore (15) Matt Morris (2) Mauricio Dubon (2) Mechanics (4) Media (17) Media Bias (17) media hypocrisy (1) Media Trade Idea (3) Medical (1) Mediocy (11) Mediots (6) Melk-Gone (1) Melky Cabrera (14) Melvin Adon (1) memories (1) mental (1) Merkin Valdez (8) Message in a Bottle (1) methodology (2) MI (1) Michael Conforto (1) Michael Main (1) Michael Reed (1) Michael Trout (1) middle infield (2) Miguel Cabrera (2) Miguel Gomez (1) Miguel Tejada (5) Mike Fontenot (3) Mike Ivie (1) Mike Kickham (9) Mike Leake (11) Mike Matheny (1) Mike Morse (10) Mike Yazstremski (2) milestone (1) minor league (1) minor league contract (4) minors (11) mismanagement (1) misnomer (1) mistakes (2) MLB (2) MLB stupidity (2) MLB Success (7) MLB Trade Rumors (1) MLBAM (1) MLBTR (1) MLE (1) Mock Draft analysis (8) Modern Portfolio Theory (1) Modus Operandi (2) MPT (1) MVP (2) Natanael Javier (1) Nate Schierholtz (45) Nathanael Javier (1) Nationals (1) Naysayers (2) Negotiations (1) Neil Ramirez (1) NewPQS (8) Next Gen (1) Nick Hundley (2) Nick Noonan (27) Nick Pereira (1) Nick Vander Tuig (2) Nick Vincent (1) NL Champions (2) NL West (29) NL West Division Title (20) NL West Future (1) NLCS (22) NLCS MVP (2) NLDS (8) Noah Lowry (14) non-roster invitees (2) non-tenders (3) Nori Aoki (4) NPB (1) NRI (1) Oakland A's (4) OBP (1) oddities (1) Offense (4) offensive era (1) ogcPQS (6) Omar Vizquel (3) one-run games (3) Opener (1) openers (1) Opening Day (6) opening day pitcher (3) opening day roster (11) Optimism (1) Osiris Matos (2) Outfield (3) overturned (1) Ownership (7) Pablo Sandoval (97) Padres (1) Panda (6) Pandoval (1) passing (1) Pat Burrell (15) Pat Misch (5) Patrick Bailey (1) Payroll (11) PECOTA (1) Pedro Feliz (12) PEDS (10) Perfect Game (2) perjury trial (1) personal (2) Personal Reminiscence (2) Pessimism (1) Pete Palmer (1) Pete Putila (1) Pete Rose (3) Peter Magowan (2) Phil Bickford (3) Phillies (7) philosophy (1) Phoenix Theory of Rebuilding (1) Pierce Johnson (2) Pitch Count (3) pitch framing (1) pitch value (1) Pitcher hitting 8th (1) pitcher’s health (1) Pitchers League (1) Pitching (27) pitching analysis (4) pitching development (3) Pitching Rotation (89) pitching staff (6) pitching strategy (2) plate discipline (1) platoon players (2) Play Ball (1) player acquisition (1) player budget (2) player development (7) playoff (2) playoff analysis (2) playoff hopes (37) playoff roster (2) playoff rotation (6) Playoff Success (27) Playoff Win Effective (3) Playoff Win Efficient (2) Playoffs (44) postmortem (2) PQS (109) press conference (2) pressure (2) priorities (1) Projected Record (6) projection (2) projections (2) promotion (2) prospect (3) prospect analysis (7) prospect future (1) prospect handling (1) Prospect of Note (3) prospect promotion (1) prospect study (2) Prospects (46) quality starts (1) questions (1) radio great (1) Rafael Rodriquez (8) Rajai Davis (2) Ralph Barbieri (1) Ramon Ramirez (3) Randy Johnson (10) Randy Messenger (2) Randy Winn (14) Rangers (5) Ranking (4) rant (1) raspberry (1) rationalization (1) Ray Durham (5) re-sign (2) realist (1) Rebuilding (5) Rebuilding Myths series (1) rebuttal (1) Red Sox (1) Reds (5) rehab (1) reliever (3) relievers (1) Relocation Concession (2) Research (2) resource scarcity (1) rest for starters (1) Retired (3) Retirement (3) return (1) Reyes Moronta (3) RHP (1) Ricardo Genoves (1) Rich Aurilia (7) Rick Peterson (1) Rickie Weeks (1) Ricky Oropesa (3) right-handed (1) risk mitigation (2) risk profile (1) Roberto Gomez (1) Rockies (2) Rod Beck (1) Roger Kieschnick (13) Roger Metzger (1) Ron Shandler (2) Ron Wotus (1) Ronnie Jebavy (1) Ronnie Ray (1) rookie debut (1) Rookie of the Year (1) Roster (4) rosterbation (2) Rotation by Committee (1) Rotation Chaos (1) ROY (2) Royals (3) Rule 5 (2) Rule 5 Draft Pick (5) rumors (9) run differential (1) run prevention (1) run production (1) runs support (1) Russ Ortiz (11) Russell Carleton (1) Ryan Garko (2) Ryan Klesko (4) Ryan Rohlinger (2) Ryan Theriot (3) Ryan Vogelsong (93) Ryder Jones (2) Sabean Naysayers (7) Sabermetric Thoughts (6) sabermetrics (5) SABR (1) Salary speculation (3) SALLY (1) Sam Dyson (7) Sam Long (1) Sam Selman (1) Sam Wolff (1) San Jose Giants (1) San Jose Relocation (3) Sandro Fabian (2) Sandy Rosario (1) Santiago Casilla (9) scenarios (1) Scott Boras (1) Scott Harris (2) Scott McClain (2) Scott Shuman (1) Scouting (2) Sean Hjelle (5) season review (1) secret sauce (2) Sergio Romo (17) Seth Corry (6) SF Giants (2) Shilo McCall (1) Shohei Ohtani (3) Shohei Otani (2) Shooter (1) shutouts (1) Signature Song (1) signing (13) Silly-Ball (3) South Atlantic League (1) South Bay Rights (1) SP usage (1) spin rate (1) splits (2) Sports Illustrated (1) Spring Training (16) stabilized stats (1) standings (1) starting CF (1) starting lineup (19) starting pitching (96) starting rotation (4) Statcorner (1) State of the Giants (1) statistics (2) STATS (1) Steamer (1) Stephen Vogt (1) Steroids (7) Steve Edlefsen (4) Steve Johnson (3) Steve Okert (8) Steven Duggar (7) strikeout rate (2) Sue Burns (1) sunk costs (1) superstition (1) tactics (1) talent evaluation (4) Tax (1) team culture (1) Team of the 2010's (2) Team of the 2020's (1) Team of the Decade (4) Team Speed (1) Team Support (1) Thank You (2) The Evil Ones (tm) (1) The Giants Way (2) The Hardball Times (1) The Hey Series (19) The Hey Zaidi Series (4) Thomas Joseph (3) Thomas Neal (9) Tigers (4) Tim Alderson (17) Tim Hudson (39) Tim Lincecum (195) TINSTAAPP (1) Todd Linden (3) Todd Wellemeyer (6) Tommy Joseph (3) Tony Watson (4) Top 100 Prospects (1) Top 14 Roster (1) Top Draft Position (4) top Giants prospects (5) top player list (1) top prospect list (6) Trade (12) Trade Analysis (22) Trade Idea (9) Trade PTBNL (2) Trade Rumors (30) trading (1) training staff (2) Training Tool (1) Travis Blackley (1) Travis Ishikawa (47) Trevor Brown (5) Trevor Gott (1) tribute (1) Tristan Beck (2) turning point (1) Ty Blach (23) Tyler Austin (1) Tyler Beede (10) Tyler Cyr (1) Tyler Horan (1) Tyler McDonald (1) Tyler Rogers (2) Tyler Walker (2) umpire mistake (3) Umpires (3) USA Today (1) utility (1) Voros McCracken (1) Waiver Roulette (1) Waldis Joaquin (5) walks (1) Wall of Fame (1) WAR (4) Warrior Spirit (1) Wendell Fairley (10) What-If Scenario (3) wild card (1) wild card race (1) Will Bednar (1) Will Clark (1) Will Smith (7) Will Wilson (3) Williams Jerez (1) Willie Mac Award (1) Willie Mays (1) winning on the road (1) Winter League (1) winter meetings (3) World Series (28) World Series Champions (13) WS Ring Bling (1) xBABIP (1) xwOBA (1) Yankees (1) Yusmeiro Petit (40) Zack Cozart (2) Zack Wheeler (9) Zaidi MO (2) Zaidi Rotation (3) ZiPS (1) Zito Role (2)