Your 2019 Giants: Run Differentials

Recent interview with Farhan Zaidi had the Giants President of Baseball Operations talking nerd talk, about run differentials:

The Giants have turned upper management into believers. 

Why does president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi feel a team with a 50-50 record is a legitimate threat in the NL Wild Card race? 

“The team is fundamentally different, the roster is different,” Zaidi said. “That’s why I don’t think you can just look at this team’s run differential and make an assessment of our quote-unquote true talent level.” 

“You do have to look at the totality of the season, that’s what the standings are based on, but I think one of the reasons we put a lot of credence in our recent play is because the composition of the team is very different,” Zaidi said Sunday. 

“We know for us to continue on this path, that group of players is critical,” Zaidi said. “I’ve said a few times, there’s interest in a lot of of our relievers and we have interest in our relievers.” 

Sam Dyson, Tony Watson and Reyes Moronta could all fill set-up roles for teams with visions of locking up a playoff spot. In Zaidi’s eyes, they’re already doing that. 

“I’m not going to stop teams from calling, I’m going to have to have those conversations, that’s my job,” Zaidi said. “But we recognize that for us to continue to play that well, we’re going to have to continue getting the kind of performance from the bullpen that we’ve gotten.” 

“I’m excited we’re playing well because it gives us options,” Zaidi said. “It doesn’t paint us into a corner where maybe we feel that pressure of, ‘Hey, we really have to reload for the next five years because we have a real investment of what’s going on here right now.”

Personal News: I'm Taking A Break from Social Media

As I had announced on Twitter, I'm taking a break from social media for a while.  Unfortunately, been quite a year so far, first I got laid off, then my uncle suffered from heat stroke and pneumonia, and suddenly I need to take care of him on top trying to find my next job.  Once he recovers, he'll be moving in with me, and I have zero idea how we are going to do it, but we are going to man up and do it for him, he's been a great uncle. 

While on my break, I'm probably going to think about whether I'm going to continue to do this going forward.  The thrill is gone, as the song goes.  I've not felt the urgency I once had, and that has shown in my blog's output in recent years, and especially this season.  My posts will become even more random.

Also, I thought that after 3 in 5 and 8 good seasons, that fans would be more understanding of the need to rebuild, but the vitriol I've seen hurled at Sabean and Barr and Tidrow, the architects and implementers of the Giants Dynasty, just really depresses me.  Seeing these entitled, know-it-not-at-all's rage through The Athletic, Twitter, and other places just really makes my blood boils. 

I said this about 9 years ago, and that rubbed people the wrong way, but I truly believe it: if you don't thank Sabean and gang for all that they have done for us, and treat them with the due respect that they have earned, then you don't really deserve to enjoy the championships.  And going out and dissing them now, when we have zero idea whether or not we have the core of the next winning period - Bart, Ramos, Luciano, Menez, Anderson, Beede, Suarez, D-Rod, Moronta, Miller, etc - is just bad form, and disrespectful.  And lazy analysis.

Yeah, it's been a bad few years, but all the people who claims to have seen this since mid-2016 is just delusional and full of B.S., nobody knew then that this bad period was coming, else they would have predicted that Bumgarner would miss significant parts of two different seasons due to weird injuries, and other weird stuff that has happened.  And they are lying to themselves when they state that they knew after 2017, because 2017 was a lot better, .500 until September when the team purposefully tanked the season.  Nobody saw all of this happening, and if they claim it, they just don't really know how wrong they are. 

And I'm tired of trying to show these people the light.  Because I've realized that they have their mindset and they aren't going to change, no matter what facts you place in front of them.  They are right, and they tell me to shut the F up, and throw all sorts of weird accusations at me, that I'm an employee of the Giants, and other stuff like that. 

So at some point, I'll restart my blog again.  I'll do what I've done all along, illuminate whatever truths I see based on analysis, add in my opinions, because human intellect rules (still) in qualitative analysis, and maybe someone will read my post and enjoy it, and moreover, learn from it, which has always been my greatest aspiration.

Your 2019 Giants: First Round Draft Pick Hunter Bishop OF

First draft since probably before Lincecum selection that I haven't written on the mock draft in the days leading up to it and speculating.  Of course, with a new leader, Farhan Zaidi, and new guy in charge of the draft, Michael Holmes, really no way to speculate on what they are thinking.  Of course, there was no way with Sabean et al either, as they worked in their mysterious ways with the draft.  I've just been busy with life, anyway.

NBC Sports collated a number of mock drafts in an article.  Both Baseball America and CBS had the Giants picking Hunter Bishop.  Probably the first time BA got it right with a pick beyond the Top 5 overall.  Not that it is easy to do, I'm not denigrating them for that, just noting, mostly because they usually figure out 60-80% of the Top 10 picks and a fair number into the teens, but the Giants under Sabean's lead was inscrutable even for BA.

Other mocks I saw had Bryson Stott SS as the selection (he was available, so they were definitely wrong; he fell to #14), some had Josh Jung 3B (including MLB.com's Mayo) but he was nabbed earlier, #8 by Rangers, so we'll never know, and Fangraphs had C.J. Abrams HS SS, but he was grabbed by Padres at #6, though they did say Bishop in their final mock draft.