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

Snakes and Seattle

Welcome to the 6th Czar’s blog of 2015 celebrating our World Champion San Francisco Giants!

It’s June and so far, so good?

We are now a week into June and the Giants are 4 and 4, after getting swept by the Pirates at home to start off the month (they did not look good in that series, in fact they looked pretty bad, making errors and bonehead plays and failing to hold leads), and then taking two out of three from the Phillies and two out of three (so far, if they win tomorrow it will be a sweep in NY) from the Mets. At worst that is a 4 and 2 road trip (and maybe 5 and 1) which is a great start to the road trips this month; anything a team can split on the road it is doing well.  

However the rest of June (after the Mariners leave next week) is a steady diet of the NL west  - the Dodgers in LA and the Rockies and the Padres at home.

The Giants team we are seeing at the moment is a hitting machine on the road; especially against mediocre opposition (which defines the Phillies and the current version of the Mets) in hitter friendly ballparks.  Aoki and Panik are battling for the team lead in BA (both well over .300), home runs are coming in bunches on the road from Crawford, Belt, Panik, Duffy and Maxwell  - - and Buster Posey is just nails all the time in all aspects of the game (someday you will tell your Grandchildren that you saw Buster play). Buster leads the All-Star voting for a damn good reason – he’s the best player in baseball, wunderkinds Mike Trout and Bryce Harper notwithstanding. The team leads the NL with scoring (and BA) on the road and the scoring reflects the RBI’s being put up by Posey, Crawford and Belt, the new power hitters and the G-Men version of Murderer’s row.

However, the inconsistency between the road games and the home games (in the last series anyway) is troubling.  The Giants thrive on the basics, hitting for average and station to station, keeping the line moving, piling up just enough runs to win close games and playing solid defense behind very capable starting pitchers and lights out relievers (except Casilla, sometimes – he did cough it up against the Pirates).  So, when small errors pop up it seems like the team falls apart (yes, the Ferrari metaphor again).  Sometimes the G-Men seem so finely tuned that they actually look fragile.  That worries me, and leads to the question of who has owies.

Are the injuries piling up and what is Bochy going to do for the All-Star game?

Blanco is on the DL with a concussion from a thrown ball in practice (shades of Belt last year). Isn’t it possible for professionals to watch out for balls being thrown in their directions?  That field has been awfully dangerous. Gregor has been playing very well so that is a loss and with Pence likely to go on the 15 day DL with a bad wrist (retroactive to last week I expect) the load will fall on Maxwell and whatever outfielder is available from the River Cats.  Like I said, fragile.

On the All-Star side of things no one can say that Heston didn’t look like an All-Star pitching a no-no as a rookie last night.  Thankfully I recorded the game because it competed with the Warriors being taken down by LeBron James and the Cleveland wrecking crew. I wonder how many of us had a similar experience?  It was almost surrealistic and it will be repeated tomorrow afternoon when Game 4 of the NBA Finals is up against the last game of the road trip (Timmy is pitching).

In terms of call-up’s McGehee is back up from Sacramento after hitting something like .372 there and is now a bat off the bench and an occasional starter. However what has transpired with him and Duffy is incredibly inspiring.  Duffy earned the starting job, no question there, but the class and respect with which Duffy treated McGehee, who is now mentoring Duffy, is an example of all that is the best in sports, and in life.

Maybe Duffy isn’t ready for the All-Star game yet but he’s already there in my book.

A word about pitching.  Strickland is up and is looking awesome.  If Casilla screws up at all the innings responsibility is going to shift I expect. The rest of the bullpen staff is so dependable that we are shocked when someone (you listening to me Affeldt?) gives up runs.

Soon there will some real controversy with the starters.  Heston came up for Cain.  Well, Cain is now doing re-hab starts. Do you send Heston down?  Who do you demote?  And Peavy is finally putting together some good innings in his re-hab starts.  Who goes down or to the bull-pen then? I suspect that the Cain and Peavy situation will keep them on the DL for at least another month regardless of how healthy they really are.

That’s what we have to look forward to in June!

The Upcoming Series against the Snakes and the Mariners

Arizona, even though it’s last in the NL West, 6.5 games back of the Giants, wants nothing more than to do to the G-men what the Pirates did to the Giants in the last series. The Snakes have three big hitters in Goldschmidt (.338 BA), Inciarte  (.294) and Pollock (.320) but their pitchers (they of the high ERA’s) love pitching in AT&T.  This is not the time for the G-Men to lighten up one bit

Seattle, even though with about the same record as Arizona (and 4th in the AL West) has an incredible combination of hitters (Nelson Cruz and Robinson Cano especially) and a stable of starting pitchers with ERA’s under 2. Do not overlook the Mariners. They will be trouble. I’m just glad that Ichiro has gone to the Yankees or the game would really be a zoo with Japanese reporters all over the place because of the “will Aoki go to the All-Star game as a Bochy pick” controversy.

More about that in the next blog post when the All-Star rosters start becoming clear.

It’s time for baseball!

Ciao, and GO GIANTS!

The Czar