I’m conflicted about spring training. On one hand, baseball is back and that’s just fantastic. On the other, reading about Gregor Blanco hitting ropes during batting practice might just be the lowest form of baseball news out there. On the evolutionary scale, in which an important news item is a fully evolved life form, reports on Gregor Blanco’s hitting —… Read more →
The good news — when Casilla is pitching well, he looks like a dominant reliever, throwing mid-90 MPH heat with filthy breaking stuff. GIF example of said filthy breaking stuff. That’s from April 26th this past season when Casilla struck out the side in a game against the Cincinnati Reds. In this particular game, Casilla was burying 95-MPH two-seam fastballs… Read more →
I say ‘probably’ because it’s from Jon Heyman, but whatever. Affeldt and the Giants have agreement on terms of a new deal, sources say. It is expected to come in at about $18 million over the three years. The sides may just be awaiting the results of a physical. And there it is. I posted earlier today about why the… Read more →
Whew. And just like that, the Giants are in the NLCS. Most of what you’ll read about today’s game will focus on Buster Posey’s grand slam in the fifth inning. And, to be honest, it was a huge hit for the Giants, pushing the lead to 6-0, and reminding us that Buster Posey is the truth and the light. Hitting… Read more →
Tweet I once read that in the sea of mediocrity, the guy with his own jet ski is king, or something. The Giants’ bullpen is by no means mediocre – all things considered, the relievers have done an admirable job – but, I still get a little twitchy in the late innings. I say that because I mostly know that… Read more →
Tweet (I hate trade posts. Most of them fall into Bleacher Report-styled musings, so I’m sorry for doing this to you.) The Giants find themselves at 53-42 and 1.5 games up in the National League West. The team, coming off a pretty successful road trip, has gone 7-3 in their last 10 games and looks to continue to build upon… Read more →
Tweet The Giants ended their first half with a resounding thud. The team, riding high after a dominating sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers, performed less than admirably against, at the moment, contending teams in the National League. The Giants split a series against the Reds, were swept by a rising Washington ballclub, and were lucky to limp out of Pittsburgh… 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 →
It’s been a common, if not overused, refrain this offseason: the Giants overpaid for relief pitching. Early on, before the market really started to develop, the Giants picked up Jeremy Affeldt’s $5M option for 2012 without hesitation, and then turned around and signed a LOOGY, Javier Lopez, to a two-year, $8.5M deal. Both deals were, at the time, somewhat panned… Read more →
It’s no secret, but here at Bay City Ball, we’re huge fans of Sergio Romo. His slider is one of the best pitches in the game right now out of the bullpen – maybe one of the best in the game regardless of pitcher role. It’s a devastating pitch that right-handed batters continue to swing-and-miss at. They know it’s coming… Read more →