In last night’s wonderful start by Madison Bumgarner, the tall lefty’s strike percentage – defined as total pitches / total strikes (swinging and called) – was 71.4 percent. Bumgarner pounding the zone isn’t an uncommon sight; it’s something he’s done all year long to great success. Let’s take a closer look. Here’s a data table of the top ten starts… Read more →
Subtitled: Things that terrify Bruce Bochy Watching Sergio Romo get the save in yesterday’s 6-5 against the Padres was awesome for a couple of reasons, one of which was that Sergio Romo’s badassery is nearly unmatched in history. Oh, what’s that trick knee? You’re hurting? Shut up, let’s go save this game. Oh, hey other good knee, you’re also hurting?… Read more →
Dave Cameron wrote an interesting piece over at ESPN.com on the benefits that soft-tossing lefties like Barry Zito are enjoying in baseball’s new, less hitter-friendly era. Dave (Insider): Despite the fact that most of the focus has been on the downturn in home runs, however, that’s actually just a small part of the downturn in offense over the past decade…. Read more →
Tim Lincecum is still a work in progress: I think the amount of panic that’s spent on Tim Lincecum is a little much at times, but Lincecum still hasn’t had what I would call a “crisp” start this year. In game one of today’s doubleheader, Lincecum did some good stuff (eight strikeouts) and some bad stuff (five walks). After five… Read more →
Yeah, Zito pitched well. And yeah, the Giants won a game. That stuff is fine and dandy. However, something important happened during the Giants game tonight. That something was Will Clark blowing kisses: This is my childhood hero. Drinking a beer. And blowing some kisses. Pretty sure this is the king of .GIFs. Pretty sure all other .GIFs would swear… Read more →
Spring training is happily coming to an end, and the Giants apparently contemplating making some decisions based on spring training performances. “Making decisions influenced by spring training performances” is one of those phrases that summons up a feeling of dread. Like decisions under the influence of NyQuil and Triple Sec, you know that the decision won’t be a good one,… Read more →
We’re only a few days away from the first game of Spring Training – the Giants play the Diamondbacks on March 3, 2012 – and there is, quite understandably, a lot of baseball excitement in the air. After watching the Giants televise their batting practice last week, I was already quaking at the prospect of live baseball. Yet, while Spring… Read more →
Short answer: Yes. Almost always. I’m not breaking any ground when I make the statement that “players that have 200 (or more) hits in a season are (generally) good hitters”. It really seems like one of those statements that doesn’t need to be made, or proclaimed from the mountain tops. However, there is a reasoning for my madness. Recently, on… Read more →
Recently, in a blog post on the SweetSpot Blog, David Schoenfield ranked the five best rotations in baseball. The Giants did not make the cut, even though Dave did acknowledge that the rotation is talented. Dave had this to say on the rotation: Yes, the Giants had the second-best rotation ERA in the majors last season, but I’m not sure… Read more →
Here’s the final rankings, 5 to 1, of our Top 15 Prospect List. At the end of the post, I’ve also included each writer’s individual list. Spoiler: Brett Bill is not the #1 Giants prospect. — 5. Heath Hembree, RP 23 years old in 2012 Chris Quick: I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, but I’m a tough… Read more →