Bay City Ball

The Giants got walloped last night by a struggling Mets team looking for some stability and by the return of one of the greatest pitchers* to ever toe the bump.

*Pedro Martinez tangent: Pedro has always been of my favorite pitchers and I was impressed by watching him pitch last night. He might not be the Pedro of old, but it’s clear that he still has enough stuff and smarts to get major league hitters out. His fastball was around 90mph and he featured good location on most of his pitches. He didn’t look like a pitcher that had missed most of this season. Pedro’s run from 97-03 is still one of the most spectacular stretches of dominant pitching in baseball. If you haven’t looked at those numbers in awhile, go, check it out. You’ll be surprised.

Anyways, I’m calling this loss a typical one because it featured, in one game, most of the problems that the Giants have had this year.

~ Zito continues to walk hitters and display poor command and control of his pitches. He walked 5 last night in a loss that saw him drop to 1-9. Zito’s BB% after this start is 12.4%, a career high for him. He only struck out one hitter. He looked decent in the early going, but like most Zito starts, he started to fall apart the 2nd time through the lineup in the 4th and 5th innings. The curve looked OK but his fastball command was spotty and his changeup command was poor. In the 5th inning he hung, yes hung, a 74mph changeup at the letters of Carlos Beltran who ripped it down the line for a double and 2 RBI’s. Every time Zito throws his changeup, it seems to float up and away and into the happy zone of hitters.

On the TV side last night Kruk kept saying that “[Mets Player] is a highball hitter” when the Mets made good contact on Zito up in the zone. But I’ve got some news for you Mike, every hitter in the major leagues will be a good hitter on a 74mph change up in the zone. It’s the equivalent of dropping a live cow into a piranha tank. Ugly. One of Zito’s biggest problems last year was location and he’s still having those problems.

~ The infield defense was also poor last night, giving the Mets a helping hand in their 8-run 5th inning. The culprits were the usually steady Omar Vizqeul and not-so-steady stoned gloved Ray Durham. With runners at the corners in the 5th inning, Omar fielded a grounder somewhat deep at shortstop. Durham wasn’t going to be able to get to the bag before Mets runner for the forceout and Omar decided that he would try for a footrace to the bag for the out. He didn’t get to the bag in time and his throw to first base was late, both runners safe. It’s a tough play but for a defensive master like Omar, you figure he would have taken the sure out at first.

Durham’s mistake was less forgivable. He simply didn’t catch a ball hit right to him. The bases were loaded and the infield was playing in, Jose Reyes was hitting and hit the ball right at Durham, the ball clanked off Durham’s glove and rolled away for another run. Durham would have had a shot at turning a double play but instead the Giants didn’t get any outs.

The Giants defense is very Jekyll and Hyde-ish. The outfield defense ranks as the best in the National League right now. By RZR, Lewis is rated as the 3rd best LF defender, Rowand is rated as the 2nd best CF defender, and Rany Winn is rated as the best RF defender. That’s a ton of good outfield defense. You’ve got three guys with some ability to play CF spread over three OF spots.

The infield defense, not-so-good. It ranks as the worst in the National League by RZR. Jose Castillo and Ray Durham are a large part of that poor ranking. Bocock was a very good defender at SS in the bigs but he couldn’t hit. The jury is still out on Omar’s defense because he’s barely played any innings, but he looks decent, if not a little diminished in range. Bowker is still learning first base and Aurilia is what he is, semi-decent glove without much range.

Still, the Giants inability to play quality defense on the infield hurt them last night. It probably won’t be the last time, either.

Travis Denker did hit his first career HR with a 3-run shot in the 9th inning that he crushed to left-center. Mark Sweeney has a -1 OPS+, I think we won that trade. Denker is no glove man but he might see some time at 2B to spell Durham occasionally. I’d like to see Denker get some more AB’s, he’s had all of 12 since he got the call, mostly in pinch hitting duties. If Durham isn’t traded by the trading deadline, I would be tempted to just cut him and let Denker or anyone else play 2B for the remainder of the year.

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Update: I forgot to mention that lefty reliever Erik Threets was designated for assignment on Monday. The Giants will have 10 days to either trade him, waive him, or send him back to the minors if he clears waivers. Threets, he of the 95+mph fastball, has struggled with his control throughout his career. Since 2005, here are his BB%’s in the minor leagues: (AA) 15.6, (AAA) 15.5, and (AAA) 14.7. A team that likes his arm might take a chance on him, but he could also clear waivers and head back into the minor leagues.

We’re heading to Fresno!

Hot off the heels of a nail biting win over the Purple Ones, the Giants made a roster change involving the ever-speedy Eugenio Velez.

From the SFGiants.com

The Giants optioned Velez to Triple-A Fresno after Tuesday night’s 6-5 victory over the Colorado Rockies, and replaced him with infielder Travis Denker, who was recalled from Fresno.

“This was a move to get Eugenio playing again every day so he can continue his development and get his game back on track,” manager Bruce Bochy said.

The ‘Eugenio Velez Experiment’ started off quick before bursting into flames and disintegrating upon reentry into a fiery explosion of base running gaffes, iron glove work, mental errors, and paper thin offense. Velez was always “exciting” but the excitement he created never seemed to carry over into actual honest-to-goodness success. Velez’s defense was subpar, as advertised, but he also made mental mistakes resulting in defensive woes that would make Glenallen Hill cringe. It’s about what you would expect for a 25-year-old player, who until last year, had never been in AA or AAA. The Giants were going to push him aggressively and it was either sink-or-swim for Velez.

Velez also seemed to get picked off a ton in the majors, especially against LHP. First base coach Roberto Kelly has always preached aggressiveness on the basepaths but Velez’s inability to pickup a major league pickoff move was most likely the final nail in his coffin, for now. When you’ve got one tool — Speed in Eugenio’s case — you’ve got to use it well and he didn’t. He swiped 8 bags but was caught 5 times.

More seasoning should help Eugenio but it’s possible that his very small window is already on its way to shutting. He could very well end up as one of the many AAAA speedsters floating around the minor leagues, hoping to resurface with a team that desperately needs a speedy speedster. The Chone Figgins comparisons seem but a distant memory now.

Travis Denker, the other guy in this move, is a 2B/3B without a tremendous glove. His defense is supposed to be anywhere from average to below and the Giants might use him to spell Ray Durham and Castillo at their respective positions of second and third. I’ve heard talk that during his time in the Dodgers system — Denker was acquired last year in the Sweeney to LA trade — that Denker could eventually find himself in LF at the next level, but to my knowledge has never played a professional game in the outfield. Because his speed is average to below, LF is his ceiling as an OF. As we all know, the Giants have a glut of outfielders, so, Denker seems to be destined for infield duties.

Denker is a lot like Velez in some respects. He has spent the most of his career in the lower minors, never reaching AA or AAA until this year. His glove is also weak, much like Velez’s glove. But unlike Velez he has plate discipline and some pop. His career minor league numbers are (.276/.376/.453) which you’d love to get from your 2B. He has 291 career walks to 353 career strikeouts. He was struggling this year in AA Connecticut hitting (.184/.308/.263) in 76 AB’s. The Giants sent him to Fresno and over 54 AB’s he hit better at (.315/.422/.500).

The Giants will hope that Denker will give them something more than what Velez gave them. I’m skeptical of either contributing much but this is the year to find out these sort of things. I’d probably take Denker for now because of his bat. Both are weak defensively. Velez runs better but Denker gets on base and hits better and is younger.

Comment Starter: True or False, Eugenio Velez will collect 250 more AB’s in his career in a Giants uniform?