Yet they stand at only 15-16.
It's a curious stat. The Giants have taken series against the Dodgers, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Pirates, Mets and split with the Padres.
Why then do we feel like punching the proverbial wall?
The Giants' three series losses have been resounding. They lost 3 of 4 to the Dodgers, were swept by Atlanta and lost another 3 of 4 in Washington, D.C. That's 9 of their 16 losses in three series.
Similarly, the Giants have been seemingly unable to put teams away in series finales. Today marked the 4th time in 10 series the Giants had won the first two games of a three games series but failed to record the sweep. They are broom-less on the season, in fact.
Taking a closer look at the road trip, the Giants were incredibly fortunate to win 5 of 10. They easily could have dropped 2 of 3 in Pittsburgh, all four in D.C. and 2 of 3 in New York. The fact that they're going home with 5 wins is a testament to their opponents choking, and Darren Ford. But ultimately, it was the Giants who did the choking. Ten games against sub-.500 teams was a golden opportunity to both avenge their sweep against the Braves and make up some ground in W-L column. The Giants failed to take advantage.
Since my heated rant on Monday, the Giants were able to muster enough offense to take 2 of 3 from the New York Mets. However, their 7-run offensive explosion on Monday was followed by only 2 runs in each of the next two games.
The Giants rank dead last in the NL in On Base Percentage (.290). Mike Fontenot is batting third. The offense is still in a funk.
While Aubrey Huff did well to go 4 for 13 in New York and get his batting average off the Interstate, he's still batting only .204 on the season. Buster Posey's woes continue as his batting average (.248) sinks lower than both Mike Fontenot on his tippy toes and Miguel Tejada lying on his stomach. Cody Ross has still yet to collect an extra base hit in 2011, being demoted from Boss to Manager to Assistant (to the) Regional Manager to Page.
In sum, the Giants are doing just enough to stay afloat. They're like a man lost at sea, trying to keep his head above water. They aren't sinking quite yet, but they've also been unable to swim to safety. They're just trying to survive long enough until help arrives. When and where that help is coming from is the million dollar question.
On that note...
Song of the Week:
Rescue Me by Fontella Bass
The Good: Mike Fontenot
He already scores points for having the best accent on the team. Now, he backs it up by collecting 8 hits in his last 20 at bats. The rarely used utility man drove in 4 of the Giants' 11 runs in New York and collected at least 1 RBI in each game of the series. No other Giant can say that. Seeing as how RBIs have been harder to find than a leprechaun in Mobile, Alabama, Fontenot deserves some respect -- as well as that long-awaited sponsorship deal from everyone's favorite orange soda. When Pablo returns from injury I'd love to see Fontenot start at SS instead of....
The Bad: Miguel Tejada
See what I did there? I'm not sure if it violates any MLB rules, but starting an empty Gatorade jug at 3B might be a better option than Miguel Tejada. I guarantee it would hit into fewer double plays, and it likely has just a good a chance at stopping a ground ball hit right at it. Tejada has now gone 10 games without an RBI and 17 games without an extra base hit. His most recent error in Washington cost the Giants the game and ruined Madison Bumgarner's sterling start. I'm taking bets now on which number will be higher come September 28, 2011: A. Tejada's RBI total, B. Tejada's Error total, C. Number of days his Batting Average is above .240, D. Number of Cha-Cha Bowls Brian Sabean could have purchased and consumed with Tejada's $6 million salary.
Rumors:
This is more than just a multi-platinum Fleetwood Mac album that all Glee fans hadn't heard of before last Tuesday. It's also what's swirling around the Giants in regards to trading for the Mets' SS Jose Reyes. Those of you in my inner circle (read: the only people who read this blog) have heard me predicting this trade for over a month.
On paper, it makes perfect sense. The Giants haven't had a great shortstop since Rich Aurilia Vol. 1 and the Mets, who are at the moment owned by Bagel Express on 2nd Ave.and E. 93rd, don't have enough money to sign a janitor, let alone Jose Reyes. The Mets need young pitching, which the Giants have. The real question is, do the Giants want to give up those young pitchers for what could be a rent-a-player situation? There's no telling whether the Giants could re-sign Reyes, who is a free agent after 2011, or if they'd even have the money to do so. Assuming Rowand ($12 million), Huff ($11 million) and Zito ($190 million) are still on the payroll, I don't see how the Giants could sign Reyes to the $100 million contract he will likely demand.
Should Reyes land elsewhere, the Giants may still pursue other options at SS via trade. The great Jack Wilson, , could be a likely target. Wilson won't do much with his bat, but he plays tremendous defense. Need proof? So he's at least 50% better than Miguel Tejada.
The Outfield:
When Andres Torres comes back from injury, the Giants are going to have a very interesting situation in the outfield. With five legitimate starters, it will be interesting to see who gets playing time and who sits. First you have Torres, 2010's spark plug and only man in the everyday lineup faster than a three-toed sloth. Then you have Aaron Rowand, oft-maligned back-up but arguably the Giants best hitter thus far in the season. You have Pat Burrell, who runs with 20 pound weights in his pockets but is one of few men in the lineup with true HR potential every time he steps in the box. You have Cody Ross, postseason hero, but thus far the type of player the Marlins would place on waivers. Finally, you have Nate the Great, who's superior Right Field defense and arm coupled with a new and improved batting stance make him a dark-horse. Who do you sit?
We'll likely see Torres, Rowand and Ross (Left to Right), but I'm not so sure that's the best recipe for success. Keeping Burrell in the lineup obviously limits your defense, but taking him significantly reduces your power. Cody Ross may be my biggest suspect. There's no denying he's a streaky hitter, but when he's not on a hot-streak, what exactly is he "above-average" at? He's not an above average fielder, he doesn't have above average speed and he doesn't have above average power. Keeping Burrell in the lineup clearly weakens you in some phases, but does playing Ross strengthen you in any phase?
All fun things to consider.
Play of the Trip:
Freddy Sanchez makes a remarkable catch and throw in foul territory to prevent tying run from scoring:
http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=14466895
Trip on the Play:
Miguel Tejada picks his glove up too soon, opens window for Baseball Gods to smite Giants:
Sadly, MLB.com decided not to include this play in the game highlights because they only include videos that involve A. Runs scoring or B. the singing of God Bless America.
But so you can visualize, it was remarkably similar to Martin Prado's play in Game 1 of the 2010 NLDS that allowed the Giants to score the only run in Timmy's 1-0 complete game masterpiece. Except Tejada's was about 10 times worse:
http://www.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=12771407&topic_id=14872112&query=%26game_pk%3D286328
On Deck:
The Giants return home at long last. After a frustrating road trip played in front of sub-15,000 crowds, the G-men will look for a spark from what will surely be a weekend of sold-out crowds eager for some offense. The Giants will welcome the Colorado Rockies to China Basin just two weeks after taking two of three in Denver. The Rockies have slowed down some the last few weeks, but are still clearly the team to beat in the West. Troy Tulowitzki has cooled off as of late and Carlos Gonzales has yet to get going at all. If the Giants can keep those two bats quiet, they have a chance to win this series as well. You can't win if you can't score, however, and the Giants will hope to rediscover their swings at AT&T Park. Rumor is there's magic inside.
Another Song of the Week (because we can):
Dedicated to circulating trade Rumors, Glee, Eric and the Giants never going back to Pittsburgh, New York or Washington in the 2011 regular season.
No comments:
Post a Comment