Here we are, not even in the month of May, and Belt-induced Panic™ is in the air. The narrative on Brandon Belt at this point is well established: he’s good, he sucks, he’s good again, he sucks, he’s good, he had a great spring, and now he sucks again. This yo-yo effect on Belt’s talents is exhausting, and I can’t… Read more →
Tonight, Tim Lincecum will make his 2013 debut against the Dodgers. He’ll be opposed by Josh Beckett. It’s probably going to be a pretty important start. Yes, it’s just one start, but it’s hard to see how Lincecum’s success this season won’t play a huge role on the Giants’ chances for playoff baseball. Or it could end up being meaningless,… Read more →
After blogging about the Giants for years — FOR YEARS! — one thing that I’ve noticed in recent times that seems to be a trigger for fan-rage is Tim Lincecum and perceived issues with his fastball. Or, in other words: he doesn’t throw as hard anymore and I’m freaking out. Someone please hold my hand. A graph: I just noticed… Read more →
If you’re like me, then you’ve probably got a soft spot for backup catchers, in particular, you’ve got a soft spot for Eli Whiteside. Today Danny Knobler, CBS Sports, tweeted that everyone’s favorite backup catcher was, once again, on the move. This makes the fourth team that has employed Eli Whiteside in 2012. The Giants, Yankees (very briefly), Blue Jays… Read more →
A quick-fire post before I settle down this Sunday and get ready for tonight’s game. — (1) Will Vogelsong be able to (again) successfully pitch inside to Cardinal right-handed batters? Vogelsong’s Game Two start was magnificent. As I noted at the time, Vogelsong really hammered right-handed batters inside with his fastball. The result was this: And this: The first image… Read more →
From Alex Pavlovic’s Giants Extra blog: But here are the more concerning numbers: 89, 90, 89, 89, 89, 89, 90, 89, 89, 89. Those are his fastball velocity numbers from the fourth inning, when he gave up two doubles, a homer and four runs. In last night’s start, Madison Bumgarner, per Brooks Baseball, averaged 89 miles per hour on his… Read more →
The expanded rosters in September are, in theory, a great idea. You get some reinforcements for a tired bullpen, a few interesting minor league types that you haven’t seen yet (as in, “Ah, that’s what Francisco Peguero looks like.”) and did I mention bullpen reinforcements? You get lots of bullpen reinforcements. Fungible relievers, come on downnnn! This is a line… Read more →
After last night’s game – and the Sandoval 0-5 that came with it – I’ve heard many fans voice an opinion that’s becoming more and more prevalent: What do we do with Pablo Sandoval? In 88 games this year, Sandoval is batting an above-average slash-line of .280/.333/.429. If you go with OPS+, he’s about 17 percent better than league average;… Read more →
In last night’s 8-6 loss to the Arizona Diamonbacks, fans were once again treated to a weird Vogelsong start. The good news is this: Vogelsong faced 20 batters and he struck out seven of them — that’s a K/9 of 18.90. The bad news: it took 81 pitches to get through 3.1 innings of work and he gave up nine… Read more →
Entering today, the Giants are 64-54, one-half game out of first place in the NL West and trailing the Los Angeles Dodgers. Losing Melky Cabrera, according to Dan Syzmborski, will most likely cost the Giants around one win in the standings. Friend of the blog, and fellow Giants fan, Wendy Thurm, recently posted a very thorough break-down on the Giants… Read more →