The Cubs and the Cardinals - It's Crunch Time!

Welcome to the 11th Czar’s blog of 2015 celebrating our World Champion San Francisco Giants!

 

It’s the end of August, the dog days are here and the Giants are facing their biggest challenge - themselves

• The DL remains the main issue.  Panik is not back yet and his back is not healed (how serious is the injury, really? The Giants are vague and that is troubling).  Pence is out with an oblique (a hard to figure injury that might mean he’s out until mid-September) and Pagan was due back tomorrow (but was delayed today, he is not healed either). At least Aoki is back and is playing himself into September shape.

• Bobby Evans (with an able assist from Sabean we expect) has been working the waiver wire and three days ago picked up Marlon Byrd from the Reds (an experienced 38 year old veteran outfielder with power and decent defense), and it is a good trade although Byrd is no Pence. Rumor has it that the G-Men are still in the market and are looking at infielders (they did make a run at Chase Utley but he went with the team that shall not be named).

• Blanco deserves kudos for holding the outfield together through this trying period.  He is playing very well at the moment on defense and at the plate and looks like he wants to keep the starting CF job – look out Pagan.

• Duffy is playing out of his mind.  He is one of seven Giants batting over .300 and if he isn’t rookie of the year there is no justice league of America. His defense is good and his cat is totally cool.

• Posey on the other hand had a terrible road trip (as did the rest of the team – 2 and 5) and looks very tired.  The consensus is that he needs to rest his legs for the stretch run - - but we need his bat in the line-up and his skill set behind the plate. A puzzle to be sure.

• This month has been a test and the test is not over yet. Losing 2 out of three in St. Louis and 3 out of 4 to the red-hot Pirates was not fun but we certainly did get to see playoff baseball over the last week. Game after game of one run differentials, great defense (how about that homer robbing Juan Perez catch?) and good hands (yes, we are talking about you Brandon Crawford).

• We are seeing rookies make an impact. Tomlinson is batting .326 and looking so cool doing it (Clark Kent?) that he might be up permanently before long.  However his second base defense does leave a bit to be desired.

• On the pitching side Bum is already in playoff form with 2 complete games in his last three starts, not to mention 5 dingers and a pinch hit. However behind him we have issues.  Heston is in Sacramento to get a rest before the September call-ups (his pitches were out of control), Cain may be back strong in September (the jury is still out), Lincecum is on the DL (expect to see him in September) and Leake and Peavy look pretty good.  Vogelsong is a cipher – decent one day and throwing batting practice the next. Hudson is still on the DL but he could be a surprise activation for September.

• Finally, the bullpen looks good as long as its rested.  Every one of the bullpen rotation has been beat up at one time or another during August ( Affleldt, Romo, Strickland, Lopez, Kontos and Casilla have all been dinged for home runs).  They need a rest by getting the starters to go more than 5 innings.  That is going to be a key from here on out. If a starter goes 6 full or 7 the bullpen has a great shot at shutting down the opposition.

• This is the time of testing.  Do the G-Men have what it takes to make a another run for a ring? They are certainly capable of hitting, pitching and playing defense with the best of the NL teams.  The next six games in August will answer a lot of questions, so pay close attention.

 

Can the G-Men take the Dodgers and make the playoffs?

• The road to the playoff’s lies through Chavez Ravine.   The Giants and the Dodgers are separated by a game and a half for the division lead (although the Snakes are not that far behind and are playing great ball right now).

• The wild card does not look good with six games between the G-Men and other wild card contenders, the Cubs and the Pirates (or maybe it will be the Cubs and the Cardinals in the wild card because the Pirates are so hot right now that they may overtake the Cards in the NL Central).

• The LA team with the $300 million payroll (highest in baseball and a $140 million 40% luxury tax) is busy self-destructing. The G-Men have another 6 games left against the Dodgers, who are drama personified.  LA has lost 5 games in a row (the only saving grace to the Giants horrible road trip), their rookie of the year is on the bench, Puig was put on waivers, their starting infield was imported from the Phillies, they only have 2 good pitchers (one of whom, Kershaw, looks tired), their bullpen is useless until they can get to their all-star closer and their manager is looking over his shoulder at the third base coach.

• Can LA be overtaken?  Yes they can and that’s why September is going to be the most fun month of the season.

 

The Cubs, the Cardinals and the Dodgers – this is the playoff’s

• The next 9 games are against the leaders – the Cardinals who have great pitching but are in a bit of slump at the moment (they look tired also) and the Cubs, who are everyone’s darlings.  Joel Maddon was the manager that the Dodgers really wanted and couldn’t get and what he is doing to motivate the Cubs is nothing short of phenomenal.

• Can the G-Men get back at the Cubs for the sweep in Chicago last month? We will find out starting tomorrow night when Matt Cain takes on Arrieta and his 2.30 ERA.

• Then the Cardinals come into town and then the G-Men go to LA to face the Dodgers.  This is not an easy schedule, to put it mildly but as theatre it can’t be beat.

It’s time for baseball!

Ciao, and GO GIANTS!

The Czar

Astros, Nationals and the Awful Month of August

Welcome to the 10th Czar’s blog of 2015 celebrating our World Champion San Francisco Giants! 

It’s August, the injuries are piling up again and the pitching is the problem

Let’s get right down to it – the DL.

The DL includes Aoki (concussion – he was beaned), Pagan (his knees are gone and I will be surprised to see him back anytime soon – maybe in September when rosters expand), Panik (back tightness, due back in mid-August, but a very troubling injury for such a young guy), Susac (also due back in mid-August from his thumb sprain) and Scutaro (he’s done and will retire at the end of the season).

On the pitcher DL are Hudson (really in reserve because of his age and inability to get through more than 4 innings without getting pounded), Timmy (no one knows when, or if, he will be ready) and, worst of all, Mike Leake the pitcher who the G-Men traded for at the deadline (from Cincinnati) and who immediately sprained his hamstring.  Leake is a real loss because he’s young, looks a lot like Heston and should be a good number two or three starter. It was, until the injury, one of the better trades in the NL.

The G-Men home grown hitters (Posey, Panik, Pence, Duffy, Crawford and Belt) are now carrying the team. The Giants are hitting the cover off the ball (best hitting team in the NL), which (incidentally) is all that is keeping them alive considering how terrible the pitching has been. Getting swept by the Cubs to finish a 3 and 7 road trip was very painful – but the Cubbies (having won something like 8 straight) are for real under Joel Maddon and will be at AT&T very soon.  Watching the Giants defense behind Crawford, Duffy and Belt and then the hitting, knowing that these guys are all home grown and here for a long time, is an incredible treat

I don’t even want to talk about Casilla (even though he got the save tonight) but let’s leave it at the bullpen has been clearly tired and not effective. For the starters Peavy has looked serviceable, Bum is nails (witness the complete game 12 K gem against the Astros on Tuesday), Heston looks very good, Vogie had his best recent game tonight (even though he only went 5 innings – he does belong in the pen) but Matt Cain looks lost, and is pitching like he is lost.

To get through this month of August while facing all of the best teams in the NL, the G-Men must have better pitching. I hope that Leake is really back next week.

One of the most intriguing news items of the last week is the confirmation that the Giants are making a run at getting Chase Utley for the bench behind Panik (Tomlinson – what a start he’s had as a Clark Kent lookalike - is fun to watch but he’s the future, and a good looking future at that).  Utley (if healthy, and he is apparently getting healthy) would be a powerful veteran force off the bench and a great pick-up for the G-Men.

For some reason I keep thinking of Ryan Theriot and the impact he had.

Can the G-Men hold off the magnificent 7 to make a legitimate run at the playoffs?

It is time to watch the scoreboard because it’s almost September and the playoff field is shaping up.  The Mets are on top of the NL east and 4 games over the Nationals, who are desperate to get one of the two wild card spots (good luck with that). 

In the current competition for those two wild card spots are the Giants, Cubs and Pirates.  That’s why these four games against the Nationals are so important – this could be the National’s season (unless the Mets collapse). There are 5 playoff spots for 7 contending teams right now. St. Louis is a lock for NL Central (73 and 51? They might be the 27 Yankee’s) and both Pittsburgh and the Cubs (3 games better than the G-Men and coming off a sweep) have better records than the Giants.  That leaves the Dodgers (2.5 games ahead of the G-Men) as the real enemy and the real opportunity.  The Giants best realistic hope for a playoff berth are to beat the Dodger’s head to head and to win enough other games to take the division. The Giants are closer to the Dodger’s than they are to the wild card.

Speaking of the Dodger’s didn’t everyone love seeing Puig put on the waiver wire?  Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.  My LA sources tell me that Puig is such a cancer on the team that Grienke is threatening not to re-sign if they keep Puig. That’s what happens when too much money chases too many egos.

As this month is completed we will see the Pirates and the Cardinals back to back away starting next week, and then the Cubs and the Cardinals at AT&T for the end of the month, before we see the Dodgers in LA.  I don’t think that the schedule can get any tougher than that. These are the games to watch to see how the G-Men match up against these teams (especially the Cardinals) if they make the play-offs.

The Astros and the Nationals – it doesn’t get any better until (maybe) September

The G-Men split against the Astros (who are leading the AL West and are a scrappy little team- yes I am talking about Altuve – full of A’s refugees) and won tonight in the first game of the 4 game series against the Nationals, There are three games left against the Nationals. Tomorrow it’s Scherzer against Cain, a match-up that doesn’t look very good for us and will be the real test for Matt Cain. Saturday is Peavy.

It’s time for baseball!

Ciao, and GO GIANTS!

The Czar

A's and the Brewers

Welcome to the 9th Czar’s blog of 2015 celebrating our World Champion San Francisco Giants!

It’s the post- All-Star game stretch run and the G-Men are looking awfully good

Last blog we talked about how streaky the G-Men have been.  Well, the streakiness continues.  At least the streak is now a winning streak (last 8 out of 10) and 5 out of 6 against the NL West (Snakes and the Padres) - -  for a change. 

The team is slowly getting healthy and the farm system is producing (it was notable that when Susac went down with a sprained finger Hector Sanchez came up and didn’t miss a beat – that grand slam against the Padres was a thing of beauty). Pence is back with a vengeance (he always looks like he is going to tear the ball apart with his bare hands), Posey is playing MVP caliber baseball (you think? – Buster is awesome!) and Aoki is coming off the DL tonight.  The one Giant who looks like he needs a rest though is Pagan.  I suspect that Bochy will start platooning Pagan more with Blanco to get some rest and save Pagan’s knees.

Matt Cain is back, and Jake Peavy is back.  Both are looking good (but not great).  Peavy is much more solid than expected based on the early part of the year, and Cain seems to be pitching himself back into shape.  However it is the hitting and the defense that are inspiring.  Panik, Duffy and Crawford seem to be competing to see who can get more hits, with Crawford opting for dingers and Panik and Duffy keeping the line moving.

Does anyone not enjoy the Panik to Crawford DP’s? This group could even pull off a triple play – they are that good.

This is all why the Giants are suddenly the best offensive team (station to station versus pure HR power) in the NL.  This is a fun group to watch when they get their big inning, usually when they get into the opposing team bullpen.

Given that Aoki was the most productive Giants hitter before he fractured his leg getting him back in the line-up is like making a trade for someone who plays like Ichiro Suzuki – all out and smart. I can’t wait to see the games tonight and tomorrow

The bullpen is suddenly performing on all cylinders.  Affeldt is back tonight, Casilla has been closing well, Romo has been tight and Strickland looks like he has his temper under control along with his fastball at 98 to 100 mph.

The guys are fun to watch again!  That is, as long as they can do this at home.  They seem to play better on the road than at home – something that doesn’t make the fans very happy.

Who goes down, and who (if anyone) gets traded – should the G-Men stand pat?

This is the major question of the day.  I’m sure that Adrianza goes down when Aoki comes up, and Osich was optioned to Sacramento when Affleldt was activated today. Jean Machi was released when Peavy and Cain came back and we now have three number three (Cain?) and number four (Peavy and Hudson?) starters.   Bum is clearly a number one and Heston is making a bid to be a number two. Hudson might be the odd man out.  Is suspect that he is going to have another muscle strain. J

Timmy will stay on the DL for the foreseeable future with (rumor has it) degenerative hip issues related to his pitching style.  Tim is a free agent next year and the Giants owe him a lot of consideration – he will be given time to heal.

Rumor has it that the G-men are in the market for another outfielder off the bench.  That does not bode well for Maxwell, a decent defender and occasional power bat, but not a consistent hitter.

Other deals?  If there is a pitcher available the Giants would be hard-pressed to figure out who to waive or option to do the deal. Keep your eyes glued to the waiver wire as the end of the month trade deadline approaches.  Lots of movement in the NL but I really don’t expect the Giants to be players unless they can get someone like Chapman from the Reds for a package like Heston and Peavy (a deal that might make sense).

Stay tuned for the trade news this weekend and next week.

The Upcoming Series against the A’s and Brewer’s – if the G-men are for real they step up now

While the A’s are in last place in the AL West (and are trading off their good players), they always play the Giants hard at AT&T (you think it’s a regional rivalry thing?).  We do want Ben Zobriest, but then again so does everyone else.  Let’s see if he plays during this series.  But the fact is that Billy Bean would sooner get a root canal without medication than trade with Brian Sabean.  Not sure why but that is the way it is.

Look for fireworks at AT&T over the weekend.  The G-Men are three games behind the Dodgers (who are currently playing the Mets in NY, after which they come home and lay the A‘s) and could start closing fast.  It’s that time of year.  Think about the A’s getting the Giants and the Dodgers back to back.  The A’s could be a factor in the NL West.

The Brew Crew come into AT&T on Monday. Always one of the most fun teams to see but currently in last place in the very tough NL Central. The guys to watch are Braun (because he’s always good) and Parra, who is rumored to be on the trading block and could be one of the Giants targets.  The problem is that Parra doesn’t want to be a bench guy but would rather be a starter so I suspect he would veto any deal.

It’s only too bad we don’t have sausage races at AT&T. That would be perfect!

It’s time for baseball!

Ciao, and GO GIANTS!

The Czar

Mets and Phillies, and then the All-Star break

Welcome to the 8th Czar’s blog of 2015 celebrating our World Champion San Francisco Giants!

Welcome to General Hospital – the injuries keep piling up

Let’s start today’s blog with the injury list: Affeldt (left Shoulder strain), Aoki (right fibula fracture), Pence (left wrist tendinitis), Hudson (right shoulder strain – an injury that was foreseen by the Oracle of Delphi in the last blog); Lincecum (right forearm contusion – ditto on the Oracle), Casilla (not on the DL but “tired arm”).

Looking at this group Aoki, Pence, Affeldt and Casilla are the big issues; we need a starting outfield and closers.  The outfield is very thin.  Blanco is having an excellent year but Maxwell is not cutting it (he is a decent defender and he can hit the occasional long ball, but he already has 73 K’s), and Pagan is showing his fragile side. The brain trust cut Ishikawa (he was picked up by the Pirates) because he wasn’t a very good left fielder, and called up a minor leaguer journeymen to shore up the outfield (I think that the new 28 year outfielder is named Crash Davis Lawless) and he has gone 0-4 so far.

The last home stand was 4 and 2 (very good) but on the current road trip the G-Men have lost five straight, and looked tired and out of sorts.  Yesterday’s loss to the Nationals was exceptionally worrisome.  Belt spaces out and gets caught off base, Pagan doesn’t pay attention to the play and gets tagged out for wandering off the bag. Bum gives up three runs in the first three batters including a big fly to Harper (tell me, why can’t I get on the Bryce Harper bandwagon?  Maybe because he reminds me of the jock bully in that 1980’s teen flick  – Mean Girls?), and the bullpen looks tired.

Right now it seems like the Giants are playing out the string in hopes of getting to the All-Star break in second place (currently 2 games over .500 at 42 and 40) 4 games behind the Dodgers and getting healthy for the stretch run.  Getting Aoki and Pence back will be a major shot in the arm. The G-Men are a different team with those two in the line-up.

It’s hard to be too up or too down.  Right now hanging in there is the goal. 

As an aside, the All-Star team will be announced today and there is an excellent chance that Posey, Bumgarner, Crawford and Panik will be All-Stars. Keep in mind that the Giants still have the best road BA of any team in the NL, and even through he’s been a little bit cold, Duffy is still on track for rookie of the year. On that note is there anyone out there that thinks that Posey isn’t having a MVP year?  The man is awesome: .304/57 RBI’s/44 runs/14 HR’s.  He is carrying the offense.

Is pitching really the Giants strength or is Bochy doing it with mirrors?

As prognosticated, the G-Men have brought up Peavy (who actually looked really good) and Cain, and DL’ed Lincecum and Hudson.  My issue with Bochy (and who am I to have an issue with Bochy?) is that he’s been leaving in starters for one batter too much.  Just get six innings out the starters and turn it over to the bullpen.  Kontos and Strickland have both been good, Sergio is Sergio with the unhittable slider. Casilla is a mess and Lopez is nails against lefthanders.  But doesn’t it seem (other than the awful Casilla meltdown) that the bullpen ERA is rising steadily?

Right now it’s up to Cain and Peavy show that they have the stuff that they are being paid to have. Bum and Heston are good, and Vogelsong is like a terminator robot – focused and strong, until he isn’t.  He would be the poster boy for a batter too many.  He pitches today so let’s see what happens.

The Upcoming Series against the Mets and the Phillies, or limping into the All-Star break

These last six games before the break are really important to stay the course. The Mets (2nd in the NL East at 41 and 41), and the Phillies (last place  at 28 and 56 and looking to have an historically bad year – they fired their manager) are not good road teams (Mets- 12 and 27, Phillies - 10-31) so the Giants have a shot at picking up ground on the Dodgers (who are playing the Brewers and the Phillies, and are losing in NY to the Mets right now).

The G-Men have their backs against the wall.  They need to fight back and not be so streaky (lose 5, win 6, lose 4, win 5, and on and on).  Show up at AT&T and lend your energy.

It’s time for baseball!

Ciao, and GO GIANTS!

The Czar

The Padres and the Rockies

Welcome to the 7th Czar’s blog of 2015 celebrating our World Champion San Francisco Giants! 

The question of the day - - Will the G-Men win another series at home?

It really hurts to lose 9 out of the last 10 games at home (does anyone remember what Tony Bennett sounds like?). Somewhat balancing that disaster the G-Men currently possess the best road record in the NL. What goes here? We take 2 out of three from the Dodgers and then get swept by the Snakes and the Pirates? It is a strange season for sure. Up and down is putting it mildly.  This is like a roller coaster.  Last year the G-Men had an outstanding May and went into the tank in June but even then (at June 22) they were 45-30 as versus today’s 38-33.  That’s a shot of perspective. The G-Men really need to get it on.

The question is which direction are we going in?  I say we maintain the momentum, start hitting at home (it’s hard to win when you don’t score runs), get our pitching back and start a winning streak.

To break the home losing streak I also suggest that the Giants keep the team in a hotel on this home stand – I’m just saying that if they play that well on the road maybe we should pretend they are still the away team.  I think another team somewhere did just that it break a home losing streak but I can’t recall who or where (any idea out there?)

Certainly injuries are taking their toll, the worst being Pence’s wrist.  The most current information is that Pence will most likely be out until after the All-Star game.  We need his energy, badly.  The latest injury is Aoki’s leg bruise.  He’s not on the DL but we also need him (certainly he’s the best off-season acquisition the Giants have made since Cody Ross in 2010) leading off and batting..317, with 33 runs, 19 RBI’s and 12 stolen bases.  This does give Pagan some shot at lead off again and he thrives there.

It is also true that the stars of tomorrow are playing for the Giants today.  I’ll take Panik, Duffy, Crawford and Posey any day over a Bryce Harper or Mike Trout.  We will be telling our grandchildren that we saw this infield.  Panik and Crawford deserve to be All-Stars, Posey already is, and I wonder if Duffy will be eligible for rookie of the year.

So, bottom line, all is not lost and we are looking for a good week at home.

Right now Maxwell is in for the duration at right field, McGeehee is on the bench as a pinch hitter (where he has been surprisingly effective as long as there are no men on first base so that he can hit into a double play) and Blanco is showing what he can do with more playing time (a lot because he isn’t worn down yet).

On a side note, the G-Men resigned Marco Scutaro so that he could retire as a Giant.  That was an incredibly classy move. No one will ever forget the arms to the heaven in the rain moment at the end of the 2012 NLCS. The only thing that I wish for is a snow globe of Scutaro at that moment for my bobblehead wall.

Anyone for a six-man rotation?

Cain and Peavy are almost ready to come back.  A healthy Cain is a number one or two guy, a healthy Peavy is maybe a number three guy, at best.  The book right now is that Lincecum goes to the pen (lasting an inning an half yesterday might have sealed it, although he still has a better ERA than Hudson, Vogelsong and Peavy).  That would be because Timmy has shown in the playoff’s that he can be effective out of the pen. My prediction is that either Vogelsong also goes in the pen and Strickland and Broadway (I love that name) go to Sacramento or that Strickland stays and Hudson comes down with a mysterious (but not serious) 39 year old muscle pull somewhere that is enough to place him on the DL for a month.

Lining up after the All-Star break (probably) will be Bum, Cain, Heston, Peavy and Hudson.  No need to talk about the pen because they have been nails, and Strickland does look like the real thing as the closer of the future.  Does anyone else see his resemblance to Robb Nen? He has Nen’s fastball and Wilson’s attitude.

The Upcoming Series against the Padres and the Rockies

Winning at home is the goal over the next six games against the NL West where the Giants are 9 and 17 against NL West teams not named the Dodgers. Unfortunately the 9 and 17 record is mostly against the Padres and the Rockies.  Everyone knows by now how tough those two teams are and what a dog fight the next six games will be – I want to see it and I want the G-Men to win. We are a game and half behind the Dodgers and it’s time to start pulling away.

It’s time for baseball!

Ciao, and GO GIANTS!

The Czar