Last night I tweeted this:
I’m still having a hard time believing that the Giants actually had that infield out there. In general terms, the infield for last night’s game was composed of a AAA player with a limited ceiling (and wimpy throwing arm), a 27-year-old failed prospect, a player that’s probably lucky to still be in the majors, and a 22-year-old catcher that’s probably in the majors way too early.
That’s Gillaspie, Arias, Theriot, and Sanchez. That was a major league infield that played baseball last night. It sure reads like an AAA-team. Try to wrap your noggin around that infield. Seriously, try. I’ll wait here while until your eyes stop bleeding.
Using error totals is for mouth-breathers, but there’s some truth in them, too. The Giants have played horrible defense for the first 30 something days of this season. And not to activate my Straw Hat and Bar Stools mode, but it’s pretty easy to see. This is a team that has trouble with the routine plays. The really tough plays … well, forget about it.
So, the bad news is that reinforcements aren’t on the way. Freddy Sanchez isn’t going to come back any time soon – if ever – and Conor Gillaspie and his arm are here to stay for now. Second base is a timeshare of awfulness. Hector Sanchez is still a guy that I like, but he looked over-matched last night against Ted Lilly. How many low-and-away changeups can you swing over? The answer is all of them.
When you look at the team as currently constructed, it’s a team that needs to play superb defense and pitch well to win games. That’s the Giants formula. If you remove the defense leg from your baseball stool – a stool that’s already missing the ‘offense’ leg – you’re going to hurt yourself.
Please, stop hurting yourselves, Giants.
