Major League Baseball released its revised, revamped, and-- we hope-- unrepeatable postseason plan yesterday, and while we sure never want to see something like this appended to a "real" regular season, we're all for it in this unusual circumstance. We agree with the guy doing the Giants-Dodgers game on ESPN last night who said, in effect, "This season is the time to try out all the new wacky experimental stuff." Indeed.
What this means for the Giants is simple: they are now contenders, ugly late-inning loss last night notwithstanding. With eight teams qualifying, a sub-.500 postseason finalist is eminently possible. Not that that necessarily would be the Giants, in either sense, but it opens up the whole field. They're all contenders.
Baseball has taken its cue from the NFL's 1982 strike season, when only nine of 16 regular-season games were played. The postseason, including the Super Bowl, was 15 games, and 16 of the 28 teams participated. With this plan, the 60-game regular season will be followed by a postseason of between 40 and 65 games, and 16 of the 30 teams will participate.
We like the 3-5-7 game format in the league elimination series and we like the 3-0 home-field advantage in the opening round, though it could be tough on the 5-6 seeds, whose records might be similar to the 3-4 seeds.
If this insanity-- excuse us, this format--had been in place last year, in the AL Tampa and Oakland would have been elevated to the 4 and 5 seeds, and Cleveland would gotten in as the 6. All those teams won 93 or more games and all were within 4 of each other. On the back end, the at-large wild-cards would have been Boston (84-78) and Texas (78-84, with a six-game cushion over the rest of the field). The Rays, with one fewer win than the A's (97-96) would have played all three first-round games at Oakland.
We think it would be better if the division winners got all three at home and the other series went 1-1-1 with the rubber game going to the higher seed.
But... who knows where these games will be played anyway, and whether anyone will be in the stands? Put another way, what home-field advantage?
Critics have argued that with the regional schedule, regular-season records and therefore seeding will be skewed toward teams in more lopsided, uncompetitive divisions (hint: not the AL East). We don't know what the alternative is; draw straws? The NFL faced the same problem in 1982. For instance, the 49ers played four division games (the Rams twice), four interconference games against the AFC West, and only one game against a NFC non-division opponent (the then-St Louis Cardinals). We see it as an inevitable consequence of a season that's had to be jump-started and jury-rigged from the git.
And that's the gist of our "insanity" remark above. We never want to see a 16-team baseball postseason field again. But this is the Year of Insanity, and people, right now it makes eminent sense.
Friday, July 24, 2020
Thursday, July 23, 2020
The San Francisco Giants Open the... Strange, Short, Travel-Restricted, Wide-Open "Sprint" of a 2020 Season, Or Something Like That
As of this moment, seven hours away from the First Pitch at Dodger Stadium tonight, the San Francisco Giants have finalized their expanded 30-man active roster. To us, the biggest surprise is sixteen pitchers instead of a third catcher. Three of those pitchers won't last through August, but a lingering question and concern is how the catching duties will be parceled out in the wake of Buster Posey's absence.
But it's baseball, after all, and after all this time. Perhaps the only positive development associated with the pandemic-induced delayed season is that it seems to have silenced, or at least, quieted, the "Cheater!"-shouting contingent, who presumably have moved on to nobler pursuits such as toppling statues of Lincoln and Grant. Okay, deep breath. What's that you say?
"Play ball!"
Indeed. Here we go.
2020 Roster Rules, per MLB:
Teams may have up to 30 active players on their opening day rosters.
The active roster will be reduced to 28 men after the first two weeks of the season.
After four weeks the roster is reduced to 26 with a maximum of 13 pitchers.
For the Giants, that means 4 of the following 30 players must be removed from the active roster by the end of August.
Pitchers
Johnny Cueto, R, 34
The one “star” on this staff faces show-me post-TJS mini-season
Jeff Samardzija, R, 35
May be used in a variety of roles over 60 games
Drew Smyly, L, 31
Giants faced him in the 2012 World Series
Kevin Gausman, R, 29
Will there be a “rotation?” If so, can he stay on it?
Logan Webb, R, 23
His youth and skills ensure he’ll get every opportunity
Tony Watson, L, 34
Lone veteran in the ‘pen may be saved for late-inning duty
Tyler Rogers, R, 32
Submariner had 1.02 ERA and 0.85 WHIP in 17 IP in 2019
Trevor Gott, R, 27
7-0 with a 1.10 WHIP for a 77-85 team? Welcome back
Sam Coonrod, R, 27
Another who quietly put up good numbers late last season
Wandy Peralta, L, 28
Back in 2017 he pitched pretty well for the Reds
Shaun Anderson, R, 25
He must improve on 2019, but the good news is, he’s 25
Connor Menez, L, 25
Last year's rookie callup is one of sixteen pitchers here
Caleb Barager, L, 26
Time to see if that 275th pick in the 2016 draft has a chance
Rico Garcia, R, 26
At 5-9 and 201, he looks a little like the injured Reyes Moronta
Tyler Anderson, L, 30
Lefthanders with a pulse remain in demand today
Dany Jimenez, R, 26
Giants take Rule 5 flier on a minor-leaguer who throws 95+
Position Players
Mike Yastrzemski, of, 29
We REALLY like the idea of him leading off
Brandon Crawford, ss, 33
A strong sixty-game stint, or sprint, needed after weak 2019
Mauricio Dubon, if-of, 25
Youth, speed make him one to watch; probably opens at 2b
Alex Dickerson, lf-dh, 30
May platoon with Pence in left and must stay healthy
Hunter Pence, lf-dh, 37
“Back home again” and eager to reprise 2019 numbers
Austin Slater, of-if, 27
We’ve been beating this drum for a while; now’s the time
Tyler Heineman, c, 29
“Veteran” of 5, count ‘em, 5, MLB games
Rob Brantly, c, 31
A seasoned vet by comparison-- 126 games in 5 years
Wilmer Flores, if, 28
Hit .317 in part-time duty with Arizona last year
Donovan Solano, if, 32
Giants are going overboard on multi-position players
Pablo Sandoval, if-dh, 32
The one-year NL DH rule could be just what he needs
Darin Ruf, 1b-of-dh, 33
Big guy, late of Korea, may platoon with Belt-- if he hits
Joe McCarthy, of, 26
The third lefty bat in the outfield is not Steven Duggar
Evan Longoria, 3b, 34 (IL)
Should we start to worry about his durability?
Brandon Belt, 1b, 32 (IL)
At this point he should be satisfied with a platoon role
Inactive Players
Buster Posey, c, 33
A sensible sit-it-out decision that may prolong his HOF career
We have not until now said one word about our new manager, Gabe Kapler, and despite his SJW upbringing and inclinations, we're ready to give the man a fair shake. Those who decried his hiring based on the tepid performance of his Philadelphia teams over two years were off the mark then and remain so now. Baseball history is replete with managers whose first assignment was a, shall we say, educational experience, and who went on to win big. We'll concede that Giants history, to date, is not. Okay, so Gabe has the chance to be the first.
Kapler was a good player for 12 years in what was usually a part-time role, playing several positions, mostly in the outfield. He had good range defensively and, early in his career, some power: he hit 49 home runs over 380 games from age 23 through 25. After that the power completely disappeared and his playing time shrank. He was traded twice in two years and had a small resurgence for the 2004 Red Sox, his one season on a championship team. At 32 he put up a career-high .838 OPS and 1.9 WAR for the 2008 Brewers, who made the playoffs, and retired after two declining seasons in Tampa where he played all three outfield positions.
Looking at the Giants' likely mix of part-time role players and defensive substitutes, with a lineup balanced between lefty and righty swingers and dotted with potential utility men, it's hard not to see a team full of "Gabe Kaplers." This is not a slight at him by any means; it appears to be an earnest effort to get the most out of the players he has. Certainly people like Hunter Pence and Alex Dockerson have shown they can thrive in a platoon arrangement, and the presence of the NL DH is ideal for a team in which everyone is likely to get a lot of playing time. Compared to other teams, the Giants' roster looks very much like it was specifically assembled for a short season played under unusual circumstances, which is what we have.
Kapler being the new guy and all, it also likely he has no special loyalty to veterans who don't produce-- or stay healthy. This means Brandon Crawford, Evan Longoria, and Brandon Belt may be grabbing pine and watching Darin Ruf, Austin Slater, Donovan Solano, and Wilmer Flores if they don't measure up.
The pitching staff is not quite as interesting, though again the lefty-righty balance seems to have been a deciding factor. There are several guys starting the season whom we'd never heard of until yesterday, and two guys-- Dereck Rodriguez and Andrew Suarez-- who it seems were deliberately kept out of the mix so they could avoid the day-today shuffle, work regularly in Sacramento, and get a chance to produce when normality, in the form of a starting rotation, returns in 2021.
Then there are the two catchers, in what has to be the weakest single position in major-league ball as we start the season. It's hard to believe Kapler and Farhan Zaidi didn't have any indication Buster Posey might, given his family circumstances, elect to sit out the season until he formally announced it. And yes, it's spectacularly bad timing that Aramis Garcia, who should have this job, injured himself over the winter and underwent hip surgery before the coronavirus left Wuhan.
We're not sure what the Giants are "saving" Joey Bart for. Does anyone think they'd give up on him, or that his confidence would be shattered, if he hit .190 with 100 strikeouts as a raw rookie? It's hard to see how the team benefits from sharing the duties between two guys we know aren't going to be any better. The one catcher who did hit in summer camp, Chadwick Tromp, is nowhere to be found. But wait: Heineman's a switch-hitter, so it must be that balance again. Well, we never thought we'd say this, but here goes: at least we have the DH for one year.
Cardboard cutouts in the seats. Piped-in crowd noise, an abomination before the Lord, in the loudspeakers. Beloved broadcasters doing the game Ronald Reagan-style. Masks in the dugout.
But baseball on the field. And you know that can't be bad.
Go Giants!
But it's baseball, after all, and after all this time. Perhaps the only positive development associated with the pandemic-induced delayed season is that it seems to have silenced, or at least, quieted, the "Cheater!"-shouting contingent, who presumably have moved on to nobler pursuits such as toppling statues of Lincoln and Grant. Okay, deep breath. What's that you say?
"Play ball!"
Indeed. Here we go.
2020 Roster Rules, per MLB:
Teams may have up to 30 active players on their opening day rosters.
The active roster will be reduced to 28 men after the first two weeks of the season.
After four weeks the roster is reduced to 26 with a maximum of 13 pitchers.
For the Giants, that means 4 of the following 30 players must be removed from the active roster by the end of August.
Pitchers
Johnny Cueto, R, 34
The one “star” on this staff faces show-me post-TJS mini-season
Jeff Samardzija, R, 35
May be used in a variety of roles over 60 games
Drew Smyly, L, 31
Giants faced him in the 2012 World Series
Kevin Gausman, R, 29
Will there be a “rotation?” If so, can he stay on it?
Logan Webb, R, 23
His youth and skills ensure he’ll get every opportunity
Tony Watson, L, 34
Lone veteran in the ‘pen may be saved for late-inning duty
Tyler Rogers, R, 32
Submariner had 1.02 ERA and 0.85 WHIP in 17 IP in 2019
Trevor Gott, R, 27
7-0 with a 1.10 WHIP for a 77-85 team? Welcome back
Sam Coonrod, R, 27
Another who quietly put up good numbers late last season
Wandy Peralta, L, 28
Back in 2017 he pitched pretty well for the Reds
Shaun Anderson, R, 25
He must improve on 2019, but the good news is, he’s 25
Connor Menez, L, 25
Last year's rookie callup is one of sixteen pitchers here
Caleb Barager, L, 26
Time to see if that 275th pick in the 2016 draft has a chance
Rico Garcia, R, 26
At 5-9 and 201, he looks a little like the injured Reyes Moronta
Tyler Anderson, L, 30
Lefthanders with a pulse remain in demand today
Dany Jimenez, R, 26
Giants take Rule 5 flier on a minor-leaguer who throws 95+
Position Players
Mike Yastrzemski, of, 29
We REALLY like the idea of him leading off
Brandon Crawford, ss, 33
A strong sixty-game stint, or sprint, needed after weak 2019
Mauricio Dubon, if-of, 25
Youth, speed make him one to watch; probably opens at 2b
Alex Dickerson, lf-dh, 30
May platoon with Pence in left and must stay healthy
Hunter Pence, lf-dh, 37
“Back home again” and eager to reprise 2019 numbers
Austin Slater, of-if, 27
We’ve been beating this drum for a while; now’s the time
Tyler Heineman, c, 29
“Veteran” of 5, count ‘em, 5, MLB games
Rob Brantly, c, 31
A seasoned vet by comparison-- 126 games in 5 years
Wilmer Flores, if, 28
Hit .317 in part-time duty with Arizona last year
Donovan Solano, if, 32
Giants are going overboard on multi-position players
Jaylin Davis, of, 25
Somebody’s gonna have to play center field on this teamPablo Sandoval, if-dh, 32
The one-year NL DH rule could be just what he needs
Darin Ruf, 1b-of-dh, 33
Big guy, late of Korea, may platoon with Belt-- if he hits
Joe McCarthy, of, 26
The third lefty bat in the outfield is not Steven Duggar
Evan Longoria, 3b, 34 (IL)
Should we start to worry about his durability?
Brandon Belt, 1b, 32 (IL)
At this point he should be satisfied with a platoon role
Inactive Players
Buster Posey, c, 33
A sensible sit-it-out decision that may prolong his HOF career
We have not until now said one word about our new manager, Gabe Kapler, and despite his SJW upbringing and inclinations, we're ready to give the man a fair shake. Those who decried his hiring based on the tepid performance of his Philadelphia teams over two years were off the mark then and remain so now. Baseball history is replete with managers whose first assignment was a, shall we say, educational experience, and who went on to win big. We'll concede that Giants history, to date, is not. Okay, so Gabe has the chance to be the first.
Kapler was a good player for 12 years in what was usually a part-time role, playing several positions, mostly in the outfield. He had good range defensively and, early in his career, some power: he hit 49 home runs over 380 games from age 23 through 25. After that the power completely disappeared and his playing time shrank. He was traded twice in two years and had a small resurgence for the 2004 Red Sox, his one season on a championship team. At 32 he put up a career-high .838 OPS and 1.9 WAR for the 2008 Brewers, who made the playoffs, and retired after two declining seasons in Tampa where he played all three outfield positions.
Looking at the Giants' likely mix of part-time role players and defensive substitutes, with a lineup balanced between lefty and righty swingers and dotted with potential utility men, it's hard not to see a team full of "Gabe Kaplers." This is not a slight at him by any means; it appears to be an earnest effort to get the most out of the players he has. Certainly people like Hunter Pence and Alex Dockerson have shown they can thrive in a platoon arrangement, and the presence of the NL DH is ideal for a team in which everyone is likely to get a lot of playing time. Compared to other teams, the Giants' roster looks very much like it was specifically assembled for a short season played under unusual circumstances, which is what we have.
Kapler being the new guy and all, it also likely he has no special loyalty to veterans who don't produce-- or stay healthy. This means Brandon Crawford, Evan Longoria, and Brandon Belt may be grabbing pine and watching Darin Ruf, Austin Slater, Donovan Solano, and Wilmer Flores if they don't measure up.
The pitching staff is not quite as interesting, though again the lefty-righty balance seems to have been a deciding factor. There are several guys starting the season whom we'd never heard of until yesterday, and two guys-- Dereck Rodriguez and Andrew Suarez-- who it seems were deliberately kept out of the mix so they could avoid the day-today shuffle, work regularly in Sacramento, and get a chance to produce when normality, in the form of a starting rotation, returns in 2021.
Then there are the two catchers, in what has to be the weakest single position in major-league ball as we start the season. It's hard to believe Kapler and Farhan Zaidi didn't have any indication Buster Posey might, given his family circumstances, elect to sit out the season until he formally announced it. And yes, it's spectacularly bad timing that Aramis Garcia, who should have this job, injured himself over the winter and underwent hip surgery before the coronavirus left Wuhan.
We're not sure what the Giants are "saving" Joey Bart for. Does anyone think they'd give up on him, or that his confidence would be shattered, if he hit .190 with 100 strikeouts as a raw rookie? It's hard to see how the team benefits from sharing the duties between two guys we know aren't going to be any better. The one catcher who did hit in summer camp, Chadwick Tromp, is nowhere to be found. But wait: Heineman's a switch-hitter, so it must be that balance again. Well, we never thought we'd say this, but here goes: at least we have the DH for one year.
Cardboard cutouts in the seats. Piped-in crowd noise, an abomination before the Lord, in the loudspeakers. Beloved broadcasters doing the game Ronald Reagan-style. Masks in the dugout.
But baseball on the field. And you know that can't be bad.
Go Giants!
Tuesday, July 7, 2020
Remember This?
Well, actually, you don't, because this is the new Oracle Park. If you look carefully toward center field and right, you will see the slightly-moved-in fences behind which sit the relocated bullpens. According to the Giants website, Brandon Belt took BP yesterday and didn't notice, though he thought it was cool when someone pointed it out to him. So, all you offseason worrywarts can find something else to stress about. It's 2020, remember, so that shouldn't be too difficult.
The strangest season in Major League history is sixteen days away. The Giants will open at Dodger Stadium on Thursday evening the 23rd, kicking off a four-game long-weekend series before opening at home against San Diego. Despite the 60-man roster, the traveling taxi squad, the regionally-limited schedule, and all that, no extra doubleheaders have been scheduled to get a few more games in. We don't see why the schedule couldn't have been expanded to 72 or 80 games in the same time period, but it wasn't.
"Strange" means cardboard cutouts in the seats. (What happens to them when it rains?) "Strange" means the seating areas around the dugouts being used to enforce six-foot distancing for players and coaches not in the lineup. "Strange" means the minor-league rule about a designated runner on second when a game goes into extra innings. (Well, it beats a home-run derby or some such to settle games.) "Strange," or "ominous" if you prefer, means the DH rule in the National League. (Sorry about that, Bum.) "Strange" means a real likelihood of a .400 hitter this year, and a few undefeated or winless pitchers. "Strange" means some pitcher leading the league with six wins, and a slugger leading the league with 19 homers. There might be a .750 team. There might be a .250 team or two. No, not the Giants. For some reason we think they'll do all right; not .500, perhaps, but not bad. More on that later.
"Strangest" of all will be the eerie silence pervading the empty ballparks, except the usual BP-style shouts of "encouragement" from the bench. With artificial fans in the seats, will the teams, or the TV and radio networks, feel compelled to provide artificial sound too? (God forbid!) Or will we actually get to hear the players on the field? (How many of you have actually heard the players on the field? Hide the kids!) If eerie silence is the rule, will the announcers feel compelled to stage-whisper, like they do at the US Open or the Masters? "Posey... approaches the plate... batting five hundred... over his last ten games... stands in... here's the pitch."
The devout hope among everyone in MLB is that all the "strangeness" will have subsided come playoff time, and will be buried in the dark waters of forgetfulness. Normal extra-inning rules, normal rosters, normal number of qualifying teams, normal structure as before. And let's have some excitement, f'rgawdsake. That means butts in the seats. Will they be there? No one knows.
Eventually the experts will be obliged to admit that about 95% of the population is already infected, that 90% of us are also asymptomatic, and that natural herd immunity is inevitable, despite all the efforts to prevent it. We're not saying that allowing fans back into the ballparks come October would be a return to common sense, but it would help.
That's for another day on another site. Meanwhile, Johnny Cueto is lookin' mighty sharp. And, as the song says, you know that can't be bad.
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