Friday, November 19, 2021

Respect

BRANDON CRAWFORD has finished fourth in the National League MVP voting, behind Bryce Harper (now a two-time winner), Juan Soto, and Fernando Tatis jr. Quite stellar company to keep, especially when you consider that Crawford is five years older than Harper and a decade older than the two young superstars. Crawford received four first-place votes, which is especially sweet considering the level of competition. 

Looking at Win Shares (on the billjamesonline.com site) we see there's a three-way tie at the top of the league between Harper, Soto, and.... Brandon Crawford, all of whom have 31 Win Shares. Tatis is just down the list with "only" 28. Win Shares are directly proportional to team wins, adjusted for park and league context, and thus don't measure against a moving, some would say elusive, target the way WAR does.

Harper's total of 31 Win Shares in the context of Philadelphia's 82 wins is tremendous, but Soto's 31 for a team that won only 65 is staggering, reminiscent of Steve Carlton's 27 pitching wins for the 1972 Phillies who finished 59-97. Crawford's 31 WS among the Giants' 107 wins is simply MVP-worthy in any season, and we're pleased the voters recognized it, and recognized the best shortstop in the major leagues.

We just finished compiling the comparative stats for the Giants-Dodgers division series, and Crawford's 31 WS lead everyone. He had more than both Turners, Corey Seager, Walker Buehler, Max Scherzer, or even the injured Max Muncy.  At 34, after 11 seasons, he is just entering the phase of his career where totals start to accumulate. He's about 800 hits shy of 2000 right now, he just won his fourth Gold Glove and could win his second Silver Slugger, and he's been on three All-Star teams. This is by far his highest MVP vote total (he was 12th in 2016, his only other appearance). Among shortstops he ranks 68th all-time by the JAWS method. Two more outstanding years would go a long way toward building his career reputation beyond San Francisco, where he stands about tenth or eleventh among all SF Giants (we haven't updated the totals with 2021 data yet; it's coming), and of course, number one at shortstop. Right now Travis Jackson, George Davis, and Art Fletcher stand ahead of him in career WAR as Giants shortstops; all of those greats, of course, played for the New York Giants well before World War II. 

But career totals will have to wait for a career to finish, and if there's one thing we wish for Brandon Crawford in addition to the well-earned respect he's finally received as a MVP finalist, it's a few more outstanding seasons as the shortstop for Our Team, and a long way to go to that finish line.




Friday, November 5, 2021

Buster

 


The news that Buster Posey had decided to retire at the top of his profession was received here with little shock and modest surprise. "It's just like him," was our first thought. That the Giants' beloved "face of the franchise," the team's one constant over a decade of unparalleled success, would decide to walk away of his own volition, still able to play at a high level but confident enough to get on with the next phase of his life, seemed and seems to be entirely in character. 

After two seasons marked by injury and visible decline, he took a full year off with the pandemic, then came back this season, roaring back, with his trademark power and skill and his uncanny ability to elevate his teammates' play, and he did it at age 34. On the field he led the Giants to a staggering 107 wins and a heroic battle against the defending world champions in the postseason. Now he walks away, his accomplishments historic and our memories untarnished by the inevitable slow decline that ends so many great careers. Like Joe Montana thirty years ago, Buster Posey somehow embodies the very success he helped create, and does so with class and dignity. Yes. Beloved. That's a good word for today.  

That Buster Posey is the greatest catcher in Giants' franchise history, dating back to 1883 in New York's Central Park, is a given. That he trails only Mays, McCovey, Marichal, and Barry Bonds among all San Francisco Giants in career accomplishments is likewise undisputed. Where he stands among the greatest ever to play his position is our subject now. 

Comparisons are an inevitable part of baseball, especially at times like this, and today we're reminded of two other rare players who left the game at the peak of their skills. Yes, there's Sandy Koufax, of course, but the guys we're thinking of are Kirby Puckett and Will Clark. Like Buster, Will retired after a fine (.319) season and an outstanding postseason; he was 36. Unlike Buster, Kirby Puckett was forced from the game by a medical condition; he was 35 and also a 12-year veteran. Kirby is in the Hall of Fame, deservedly; Will, as a first baseman, didn't compile the big career stats needed to impress the voters. As a catcher, we're sure Buster's 12 years at the top of his position, and his three rings, will more than make up for a relatively modest 1500 hits and 158 home runs.  There's already been a great deal of discussion on the MLB and other sites regarding his Hall of Fame status, with most acknowledging he will go, whether in 2027, his first year of eligibility, or soon thereafter.

Among all catchers, Buster ranks 14th according to the JAWS (Jaffe WAR Score system) on baseball-reference.com. Ten of the 13 ahead of him are in the Hall of Fame. Of those thirteen, two who aren't yet in Cooperstown, Joe Mauer and Gene Tenace, played much of their careers at first base and DH. Only two of those who are in-- Yogi Berra and Bill Dickey-- have more than three world championships to their credit. None of the other top 13 has more than one, except Johnny Bench with two. The only other catcher among the top twenty with three rings is Jorge Posada, a pretty good comp for Buster as a hitter, but who doesn't approach his level as a catcher.

WAR, and JAWS to an extent, are cumulative numbers, meaning the longer you play, the larger numbers you compile. Win Shares, which we've come to prefer to WAR and its cousins, is similar in that regard. But looking at WAR-per-162-games, we find Buster Posey fifth among catchers all-time, behind only Josh Gibson (incomplete data, but still), Bench, Mickey Cochrane (like Buster, a relatively short career), and 19th-century Hall of Famer Buck Ewing, another who played positions other than catcher as often or more than he caught. Keep in mind that Buster played 80% of his games-- over a thousand games-- behind the plate. 

When you add it all up: the numbers, the three championships, the MVP award, the batting title, the seven All-Star games, the pitchers he caught and coached to greatness, the three no-hit games, the team-record 54 postseason hits, the balance between offense and defense that only the very best catchers possess, and the reputation that follows him wherever he goes-- Buster Posey is Cooperstown-bound beyond any doubt.


We have a few memories of Buster Posey that have been circulating through our memory this morning.

How about game five of the 2012 division series at Cincinnati? The Giants, held almost hitless in the first two games, have battled back on the road to tie the series. Top five, bases loaded, Mat Latos on the mound, and Buster crushes one high and deep into the left-field seats. Grand slam, 6-0 Giants lead...  but an inning later it's 6-3, the Reds have first and second, nobody out, and Matt Cain is wobbling. As Dusty Baker calls a double steal on a full count, Buster frames a perfect strike three, then fires another strike to third and Jay Bruce is out-- double play! Giants win the game, 6-4, win the series, and go on to win the World Series. What catcher could do more? 

Game Four, 2010 LCS against mighty Philadelphia, bottom of the ninth, score tied. Posey, 3-for-4 already, drills a single to right off Roy Oswalt for his fourth hit, moving Aubrey Huff from first to third, from where he'll score the winning run a moment later on Juan Uribe's walk-off sac fly.  

Game Four, 2010 World Series, at the Ballpark in Arlington. Top of the eighth and it's time for Buster Posey's first World Series home run, a cannon shot to center field. The Giants, who had lost Game Three, win this one behind rookie Madison Bumgarner and win their first championship the following night, with Posey catching the ineffable Tim Lincecum.

Second game of the 2014 division series at Washington, top of the ninth. Nationals' ace Jordan Zimmermann is holding a 1-0 lead and hasn't allowed a hit since the third. But after Zim walks Joe Panik with two out, the Nats bring in closer Drew Storen. Posey rips a single up the middle, sending the tying run to second. Pablo Sandoval then doubles down the left-field line. Panik scores, and Buster, charging home with the go-ahead run, is thrown out by an eyelash on a spectacular play at the plate that holds up after replay and the most expressive emotional outburst Buster will ever put on. Three hours and nine exhausting innings later, the Giants win it in the 18th and go on to win their third world championship.  

This year. Opening Day against-- Seattle? No matter. Buster Posey's first at-bat of this 2021 season is a home run, setting the stage for a comeback season-of-all-seasons that led us to this bittersweet day.    

May 16 at Pittsburgh. We watch from behind the Giants' dugout as Buster picks Giants nemesis Adam Frazier off third-- by throwing to second baseman Mauricio Dubon! The rookie takes the throw, ignores Bryan Reynolds' steal of second and fires to third. Whoops! Caught him! He's out by a mile! "Only Buster does that," is the consensus among the fans in our section.

And then we have the first game of the division series at home against LA just a couple of weeks ago. Everything associated with this wonderful season is on the line. First inning, one on, two out, Walker Buehler on the mound-- and it's Buster Posey, clobbering one to deep right center that sails over the brick wall, ricochets off a stanchion and caroms into McCovey Cove. Could anyone have blamed us if we saw that as a harbinger of a fourth ring to come? For it was Buster Posey, rising to the occasion, as he did again and again over a memorable decade as the best catcher in major-league baseball.

See you in Cooperstown, Buster-- summer 2027!  

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

Congratulations to the Atlanta Braves, 2021 World Series Champions



While this World Series overall lacked the drama we associate with the great Series of the past, it was a tight battle between two excellent teams, one that caught fire late in the season and another that played all year long as though they knew they'd be here at the end.  

The 2021 Atlanta Braves remind us a great deal of the 2014 and 2012 Giants World Championship teams. Like the 2014 Giants, these Braves won but 88 games, and they made it through the postseason and, especially, the World Series, with about half a starting rotation. No Madison Bumgarner heroics here, but then again the 2014 Giants didn't lose a starter to a fractured fibula mid-Series either. And like the 2012 Giants, these Braves made a series of trade-deadline deals that energized the team down the stretch and through the postseason. This all made it easy for us to pull for them to win it, though as everyone here knows we've great admiration for the Houston Astros team and organization, and for Dusty Baker. But hey, let's give Brian Snitker some major props, too. Four straight division titles, and year by year a steady climb through the postseason until, finally, his team reached the top.

It's no coincidence that our representative photo here shows commissioner Rob Manfred handing the trophy to the Braves. It was Manfred, remember, who shamefully and needlessly disrespected the people of Atlanta and of Georgia with his cowardly decision to knuckle under to a mob of "woke" bullies and pull the All-Star Game out of Atlanta. How fitting and how sweet it is for the Braves and their fans, and how sobering, perhaps, this moment was for him. We had hoped it would happen in Atlanta, but this will do. Dare we hope the pointless and embarrassing politicization of baseball will be rolled back after this?  


Saturday, October 16, 2021

THE San Francisco Giants lost the National League division series to the Los Angeles Dodgers, by the slimmest of margins, with a 2-1 defeat in the series' fifth game on Thursday night at Oracle Park. On a botched checked-swing call that will live in ignominy for years to come, Max Scherzer, in his first closer role, was given the final out in the bottom of the ninth with the winning run at the plate. The two best teams in baseball went head to head for a season, and then for a week, and the defending world champions prevailed by one game. With an assist.  

And so the Giants' unexpected, unprecedented, historic, and glorious 2021 season comes to an untimely end.  It's tough to lose, even to an opponent of such obvious stature, and it's especially tough to lose in a circumstance where the outcome is decided, not by the players, but by an umpire who made an honest but catastrophic mistake at the worst possible time, a mistake that was judgmental as well as mechanical. As a steward of the game of baseball, you remember where you are. And you just don't let a call like that decide a game like that. A game that could have been remembered as great will instead be remembered as tainted. 

Logan Webb, the Giants' undisputed ace, delivered another outstanding start, pitching seven innings of one-run ball under tremendous pressure. He was calm and unflappable throughout, and if his effort didn't quite measure up to that of the first game, well, whose did? Buster Posey has compared Webb's confidence and composure to that of Tim Lincecum in 2010, and those of us who remember know that's high praise indeed. The Giants' pitching staff may look completely different next year-- more on that later-- but we can be sure Logan Webb will stand at the center of it.

Then there's Tyler Rogers. After a team-high 80 appearances during the season, Rogers was called on four times in this five-game series, and Thursday night he did what he does-- he fought through a difficult inning without giving up a run, despite two hits including LA series hero Mookie Betts' fourth single of the game. If there's a keeper in the Giants' bullpen, it's the underhand ace.

And another keeper is Camilo Doval, the kid with the unlimited future, asked again to do in the ninth what  he had done in both Giants wins.  This time, well, he just couldn't. It started with a hit batsman-- Justin Turner, who would factor in later-- and was followed by a single from Gavin Lux, another youngster with a bright future. Then Cody Bellinger, who suffered through a thoroughly miserable and injury-plagued season, drilled a clean single into right field and Turner, who too often seems to put his special stamp on a Giants-Dodgers game, scored the run that would hold up and send LA to the NLCS.  Gabe Kapler summoned Kevin Gausman, his other ace, to get the last out, which he did as Doval sat in the dugout fighting his emotions.

And Dave Roberts, whose clever pitching-staff maneuvering should have been the story of this game from a Dodger perspective, sent Scherzer out in the ninth to protect that fragile lead. The three-time Cy Young Award winner was all over the place, not near his best, but still plenty good. Leading off, Brandon Crawford drilled an 0-2 pitch right on the nose--  and right at Chris Taylor in left. Kris Bryant, the Giants' most reliable hitter in this series, bounced one to third, but Turner, perhaps hurrying due to Bryant's speed, muffed it. With the tying run on base, "Late Night LaMonte" Wade stood in, with one more chance to live up to that name, but Scherzer got him on a 3-2 pitch that may have nicked the outside of the plate. So it was Flores, along with Darin Ruf-- more on him later-- the closest to a pure power hitter the Giants have. He was thinking walk-off homer with a big swing on the first pitch, then took a called strike two, and down to the team's last strike, he flinched but held up as it dropped low and outside. That's when Gabe Morales, standing at first, gave the game away with his egregious and, we believe, unconsciously grandstanding call. 

Yes, it should have been a great game. As we mentioned, Roberts played hide-and-seek with his starting pitcher, Julio Urias. He opened the game instead with right-handed power relievers Corey Knebel and Brustar Graterol, hoping Gabe Kapler would stack his lineup with left-handed batters. But Kapler didn't fall for the gambit: he added only one lefty, leadoff man Tommy LaStella, to the starting lineup. The Giants got three hits off the pair of openers but left the runners stranded, and Urias came on in the third. Kapler went all in against Urias, quickly inserting Austin Slater and Donovan Solano in place of Mike Yastrzemski and LaStella. But by keeping them out of the starting lineup, he held back Wade and Alex Dickerson for late-inning ABs, and each would get his chance. 

Webb, meanwhile, was setting 'em down with regularity, except for the redoubtable Betts. And Mookie scored the game's first run in the sixth when he singled, stole second, and scored on Corey Seager's hit, the only time Webb allowed two hits in one inning. Urias, meanwhile, was matching Webb nicely over his first three innings, and he struck out the side in the fifth. But after LA had taken the lead, Darin Ruf led off the bottom of the inning and clobbered a 3-2 fastball 452 feet to the back of the bullpen in center field, the longest home run hit in the postseason so far. Bryant followed with a single, but was left high and dry as Urias got Slater to ground out. And Urias was done, as Blake Treinen, Kenley Jansen (who got the win) and Scherzer finished it.  

Looking over the series as a whole, the raw stats appear to show a LA walkover. The Dodgers scored 18 runs to the Giants' ten, with 41 hits against 29, although the Giants outhomered 'em 5 to 3. Team ERA are likewise skewed: 2.05 for the Dodgers, 3.48 for the Giants. The biggest difference in the series is in the bullpens. Roberts' group was uniformly excellent; the Giants got only three runs off  the LA relievers, and two of those were in garbage time with the Dodgers well ahead. Giants relievers, by contrast, gave up 11 of LA's 18 runs. 'Nuff said!

Mookie Betts had 9 hits, Bryant 8, Buster Posey and LA's secret weapon, Will Smith, each had 6. LaStella and Slater hit well in limited duty.  Evan Longoria, who deserves maximum respect for his game-winning homer off Scherzer in the third game, nonetheless made 15 outs. The Dodgers' "Turner Brothers," NL batting champion Trea and long-time Giant-killer Justin, were a combined 4-for-42 with 9 strikeouts and one RBI. On the pitching side, nobody matched Webb's numbers, but LA's Graterol matched Rogers very well out of the 'pen-- four appearances, no runs allowed.

And so time and baseball march on. The Dodgers open the NLCS at Atlanta tonight. Houston came back to defeat Boston in Game One of the ALCS last night. But the thrill is gone, baby. The thrill is gone away. 

So are we. We'll be back probably around the end of the World Series to take a last look at the wonderful and historic 2021 San Francisco Giants team. 

Thursday, October 14, 2021

THE San Francisco Giants face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the winner-take-all fifth game of the National League division series tonight at Oracle Park. Game time is slated for 6 PM local time (9 PM EDT).

It has to come down to this, right? The Giants and the Dodgers, as in 1951, as in 1962, playing one game for all the marbles and all the bragging rights associated with sports' greatest rivalry. It had to come down to this. And it has.

Logan Webb will start for the Giants against LA's Julio Urias, and little else needs to be said about these two aces. Both have won a game in this series already, both are among the game's finest young pitchers, and both are capable of shutting down the opposition and giving their team every chance to win. The Giants will have Kevin Gausman, fully rested, in reserve, in case a "Madison Bumgarner Game Seven" effort is needed. And while he hasn't said anything about it, Dave Roberts is unlikely to balk at using Max Scherzer if he needs him, even on two days' rest. 

Speaking of rest, we're here, at least in part, because Walker Buehler did not falter in his short-rest start on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium. He was not at his best, but he was good enough to make it into the fifth with only one run allowed, and his teammates took care of business behind him with bat and glove. The Dodgers' 7-2 win in game four was highlighted by Mookie Betts (2-for-4, home run, 3 RBI), Corey Seager (2 hits, 2 runs scored), Will Smith (2 hits, 2 RBI), and Gavin Lux, Trea Turner, and a resurgent Cody Bellinger, all with two hits each. Unlike Saturday's game, this was not a close one that burst open late. No, LA scored in four of the first five innings as the Giants hustled pitcher after pitcher in and out of the action like salesmen through a revolving door. Starting with Anthony DeSclafani, who just can't seem to figure out the Dodgers, it took six pitchers just to cover those five innings, and of the eight Gabe Kapler finally used, only Jose Alvarez (one batter) and Zack Littell (two fine innings, bless his heart) escaped unscathed. LA put so many men on base it seemed like they were up by twice the margin most of the night; overall the tally was twelve hits, five walks, and one error. They left 11 men on base and were 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Heaven knows how many runs they'd have scored had they hit the ball a little more effectively!

Well, none of that matters now. Short memories in this game, for the players, and decades of history, for us fans, have led us to this point. Never in 27 years of it has there been a division series game like this, with this much on the line, all things considered. The great rivalry. Two 100-win teams in the same division playing each other in a postseason series. A razor-thin margin between them: Giants have won 12, LA has won 11. The defending world champions, a genuine dynasty in their ninth consecutive postseason, against the archetypal Team From Nowhere. For once, the hype is real. We can't say any more. Not a blessed thing.

Except this:  GO GIANTS !    

Tuesday, October 12, 2021

 THE San Francisco Giants defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers, 1-0, at Dodger Stadium last night, and thereby took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five National League division series.

"Overcoming obstacles" is what the Giants do, all right, and there's no more formidable obstacle than the defending world champions, the highest-scoring team in baseball-- whom the Giants have somehow managed to shut out twice in three games. On a rare chilly and windy night at Chavez Ravine, it was a tense, terrific mix of long-ball and small-ball, with the focus on pitching and defense.  

There was pitching aplenty. Max Scherzer, generally regarded as the best in the game, pitched like it, holding the Giants to three hits over seven innings and 110 pitches. The Giants made him work hard, but he made only one mistake-- a high fastball to Evan Longoria in the top of the fifth. The veteran, battling a slump so fierce many fans thought he should have been riding the pine, crushed a high drive to deep left-center, and on a night when several home-run balls were blown back into play, this one prevailed against the wind and hit the seats. And it would have to hold up, because Scherzer, Blake Treinen, and Kenley Jansen didn't allow another baserunner over the final four innings.

Alex Wood is not a three-time Cy Young Award winner, but he is 13-1 as a starter following a Giants loss, and that's the kind of stat champions carry. Wood pitched two-hit shutout ball into the fifth (both hits were by the great Albert Pujols, 41, starting at first base), and yielded to Tyler Rogers for the final out-- and then for two more shutout innings, the submarining righty's longest stint of the season. Jake McGee, back in the spotlight, finished the tag-team setup role with two on and one out in the seventh thanks to a defensive play for the ages.  Finally it was Camilo Doval, asked to pitch a two-inning save. He only had to face Trea Turner, Corey Seager, and Justin Turner in the eighth-- and he set them down quietly in order. Then he went out and set the side down in order again in the ninth, a dominant performance that was punctuated by sudden drama.

We  mentioned the wind. Half a dozen players crushed the ball deep enough for home runs or extra bases, including Mike Yastrzemski, Brandon Crawford, and LA center fielder Chris Taylor. But it was the last out of the game that everyone will remember. Young Doval had blown through the Dodger lineup, neutralizing some of the best hitters in the game. With two out, up stepped diminutive Gavin Lux, whose one distinguishing skill is his ability to hit the ball hard. He sure did, a towering drive to deepest left-center, as Steven Duggar retreated toward the wall and the fans who'd received Longoria's shot prepared to leap for the ball that would make it a tie game. Then Duggar suddenly reversed course, stepped forward, and caught the windblown ball ten feet short of the fence to end the game. Shades of Candlestick!  

We mentioned defense. There were a number of fine plays on both sides; Trea Turner, Donovan Solano, Duggar, and Mookie Betts come to mind. But there was one play that no one-- especially Mr Betts-- will ever forget, the defensive play that saved the ballgame. Two on and one out and Jake McGee on in relief of Rogers. He got Austin Barnes on a perfect freeze-frame called third strike, but that brought up Betts. These are the moments the Dodgers have seized again and again to break games open, and Betts did his part. He ripped a scorching line drive to left, a sure RBI single-- except Crawford got in the way with a vertical leap and an outstretched glove. He snagged it to end the inning, and the TV cameras caught a perfectly astonished Mookie Betts frozen in mid-stride. The highlight video's already got about twenty million views; go see it if you haven't already.  It's moments like these that have made this Giants' season.

And so the San Francisco Giants can wrap up this "preliminary"--hah!-- series tonight, and if not, they've got home-field advantage and Logan Webb for Thursday. Tonight at 6 PM PDT (9 PM EDT) it's Anthony DeSclafani, and we don't mean to slight him in any way. But the bullpen behind him, thanks especially to Rogers and Doval, is deep and rested. As for Dave Roberts, he has options, many options, as he faces a win-or-else game. Might he bring back Walker Buehler, who pitched well enough in the first game and rarely loses two in a row? He knows it would be short rest for the ace righthander, and history is replete with examples of fine pitchers who came up short in those situations. Roberts' fourth starter is Tony Gonsolin, hardly a household name but a good pitcher. The Giants roughed him up in his only start against San Francisco, back in July at Dodger Stadium. It was his only loss in 13 starts, though, and he posted a 3.23 over the regular season.

It doesn't matter who it is, does it? These are the Giants. Does anyone really think they can't beat whoever stands against them?   


Shout Out

We'd like to take this opportunity to praise Maria Guardado, the beat writer on the Giants' website. Morning after morning she turns out well-written, impeccably proofread, and highly readable stories about the previous night's game, and periodically about upcoming games or series, roster moves, perspectives on the season, and responses to readers' questions. She mixes hard facts with her own observations and with quotes from players and coaches, keeping a balance between narrative and description. While a professional, her  viewpoint is clearly a fan's, yet she avoids cliches and cutesy attempted witticisms. All you have to do is read a few articles from sports "writers" on other sites-- replete with grammatical errors, badly constructed sentences, atrocious wording, political bias, numbing repetition, and other embarrassing examples of the copy editor's desk being permanently vacant-- to appreciate Miss Guardado's work. We don't know how these assignments are handed out, nor do we know how long she'll be covering our Giants, but let's enjoy what we have for now and send her a note of appreciation now and then. Her twitter handle is posted on the byline of her articles.  

Monday, October 11, 2021

THE San Francisco Giants face the Los Angeles Dodgers in game three of the National League division series tonight at Dodger Stadium. Game time is slated for 6:37 PM local time, 9:37 PM PDT.  The Giants will try to retake the lead in this series after LA won game two decisively, 9-2, Saturday night at Oracle Park.  Tonight the Dodgers will send their best, Max Scherzer, out to start while the Giants will start Alex Wood, the former Dodger.        

About Saturday's game, little enough need be said. Kevin Gausman struggled early, walking Mookie Betts to start the game and then giving up two runs in the second, establishing a lead LA never lost. Julio Urias, the 20-game-winning lefty, made that second inning especially ugly with a two-run single after the Giants had intentionally walked A.J. Pollock to get to him. But the Giants cut the lead to 2-1 in the bottom of the frame and Gausman settled down, retiring ten in a row, and it stayed a close game until the sixth. Trea Turner led that inning off with a double, and when Will Smith walked with one out, Gabe Kapler went to his bullpen. Sadly, Dominic Leone just didn't have it, and after a walk-double-double sequence, it was 6-1. To cap the climax, the Giants tried to answer back in the bottom of the sixth with a walk, a single, and a RBI single by Brandon Crawford, but Wilmer Flores ignored that old rule which says you never make the third out at third base. Betts' perfect throw from right nailed him trying to advance from first, and that ended the rally, the inning and, effectively, the game. 

With the win, LA took the home-field advantage; they can now win out at Dodger Stadium. But the Giants have overcome every single one of these types of obstacles during this season, and no one with any sense will say they can't do it now. 


Notes
Two fine pitchers, Milwaukee's Corbin Burnes and Atlanta's Max Fried, have set the tone for the other NL division series, which also stands tied at 1-1 and resumes this evening in Atlanta... The 100-game-winning Tampa Bay Rays are in danger of blowing their AL division series with Boston after winning the first game. The Red Sox' power has told the story the last two nights, and their bullpen has yet to collapse... Houston had a chance to close out the White Sox in Chicago last night, but Tony LaRussa's bunch put up 12 runs last night and can force a game five with a win tomorrow. 

  

Saturday, October 9, 2021

THE San Francisco Giants defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-0, in game one of the 2021 NL division series at Oracle Park last night. 

Logan Webb, in his first postseason start, pitched 7 2/3 innings, allowing five hits and no walks while striking out ten. Webb, 24, was positively transcendent in this game, evoking memories of Tim Lincecum in the first game of the 2010 division series against Atlanta. He shut out the best lineup in baseball, the top run-scoring team, and he was never in serious trouble. Tyler Rogers and the wunderkind Camilo Doval finished LA off for the final five outs, and they were great, but this game belonged to the Giants' sudden young ace.

Webb's opponent, Walker Buehler, pitched well enough, but once again the Giants deviled him by going deep in the count and hitting the ball where it was pitched. This was illustrated in the first inning when Tommy LaStella started it off by working Buehler for a five-pitch walk. Two batters later, Buehler went 3-0 on Buster Posey, pitching him away. Pitch four was almost perfect, a high fastball on the outside, close enough for strike one, and Buster went with it all the way, the other way. This was no high-and-deep fade down the right-field line-- this was a cannonball that soared over the brick wall, hit a stanchion on the promenade, and caromed onto the Bay. It was explosive, it was Buster's first postseason homer since 2012, and the way Webb was pitching, it carried the night.

As is their wont, the Giants added two more on solo homers. Kris Bryant opened the seventh with a mighty blast to deep-left center on a 3-2 pitch, and that one really seemed to deflate Buehler, who visibly sagged on the mound. Brandon Crawford, who'd belted one to the warning track in the first, just ahead of Buster's blast, took lefthander Alex Vesia way, way deep in the eighth, clearing the fence in deepest center. Crawford, serenaded by chants of "M-V-P!" whenever he did anything, had made a sloppy error in the first that eventually allowed a runner to reach third. But in the fourth, with one on and one out, Giant-killer Justin Turner hit a sharp grounder up the middle destined for center field. Crawford, shifted far to the left, couldn't get it, but he raced toward second anyway. In what looked like perfect choreography, LaStella backhanded the ball, glove-flipped it into the air to Crawford, who snatched it out of the air, tagged second, and made a perfect relay to first. Inning over! Yet another highlight-film double play from the Giants snuffed out one of the Dodgers' few chances to get two men on. They never had another.

Kevin Gausman takes the baton tonight with the NL's only 20-game winner, Julio Urias, opposing. Gabe Kapler was modest with his substitutions last night, using only two. Tonight we'll see Darin Ruf, Donovan Solano, and probably Austin Slater filling out a lineup of seven right-handed batters to face LA's fine young lefthander.

Thursday, October 7, 2021

On the Threshold of a Game

Final National League West Standings

GIANTS        107-55                        Best OPS, 2nd-best ERA in NL.
LA                  106-65      1  GB        Won wild-card game on walk-off. 
San Diego       79-83     28  GB       As expected, Tingler gets the axe.
Colorado         74-87    32.5   GB    Last in NL in intentional walks. 
Arizona          52-110     55   GB     Will Lovullo get another chance?

As noted above, it's no mystery why the Giants won so many games. They hit better than any team in the league and pitched better than any team in the league but one.  That they did it with a lineup and pitching staff built on depth and breadth is what throws many people off. Nobody on the 28-man roster that finished the season had a "bad" year, and a few-- not just Brandon Crawford, but say, Darin Ruf, who was playing in Japan two years ago, or Kevin Gausman, who toiled in obscurity in Baltimore for several seasons-- had career years. 

And all that means exactly nothing as the Giants prepare to make history again. For the first time in this legendary, hundred-year-plus rivalry, a rivalry that's seen just about anything that can happen on the baseball field, the Giants and Dodgers will meet in a postseason series. LA made sure of it last night thanks to stout pitching by Max Scherzer and Kenley Jansen, and a walk-off homer by Chris Taylor that followed a two-out nobody-on walk to Cody Bellinger.

It will be Logan Webb for the Giants and Walker Buehler for the Dodgers, and it gets underway tomorrow night at 6:37 PDT (9:37 EDT), about 90 minutes too late for good common sense. But with television dictating the starting times--- all four division series are in action that day-- that's no surprise. Buehler faced the Giants six times this year, and five of those starts were excellent. We remember the last one, though! He did not face Webb in any of them. Webb himself started three games against LA and pitched well every time. For those of you looking ahead, it'll be Kevin Gausman and Julio Urias Saturday night, same time. 

A number of people are waxing wroth about the two best teams in the league meeting in the preliminary series, while presumably Atlanta and Milwaukee will fight it out in the Mediocrity Bowl. This is due to MLB having scrapped the notion that intradivisional postseason matchups should be saved for the League Championship Series, as was the case from 1995-2011. We're unclear why that rule was changed, since the wild-card elimination game ensures that three teams from the same division can never get to any of the series. Without getting too worked up about it, we'd favor a reinstatement of that rule. Had it been in place, the Giants would be playing Atlanta tomorrow, with LA going to Milwaukee. 

But that's not what's happening, so let's get over it and watch history in the making. Will there be any bench-clearing brawls, any "brushback" pitches and warnings? Will the five-game series end with a dramatic rally for the ages? Is there any chance at all the whole thing can avoid controversy, which seems to be drawn to this rivalry like a moth to a flame? As somebody once said, "Well, folks, that's why we watch the games."  To which we add: GO GIANTS!


Almost unnoticed, around these parts, anyway, was the Tampa Bay Rays joining the 100-win club with another fabulously unusual season. They are the anti-Giants in many ways, and what a terrific matchup that would be, should it happen. The Rays will now face Boston, who defeated New York in the AL wild-card game, a rather perfunctory win given that rivalry's rich history. Still, you gotta see that play in the top of the sixth, where Aaron Judge was thrown out at the plate after a line dive off the Wall by Giancarlo Stanton; the Yankees had a chance to make it a one-run game and failed, and Boston put it away in the seventh.  In the other AL division series, the game's most venerable managers, Dusty Baker and Tony LaRussa, face off in the postseason for the first time since 2002 as Houston hosts the Chicago White Sox. Nineteen years ago, Dusty's Giants defeated LaRussa's Cardinals in a NLCS we remember well. 

The Rays, the Astros, and the Toronto Blue Jays, who missed the postseason by a game, were 1-2-3 in runs scored across MLB; the Giants were sixth, behind LA and Boston. Toronto finished eight games worse than their projected record; they outscored the opposition by 183 runs, way more than Boston, the Yankees, or the White Sox. The Seattle Mariners, who won 90 games, their best season in over a decade, were 51 runs to the bad (expected record 76-86), a 14-game swing, largest in MLB. And as we all know, the Dodgers' expected record was 109-53 and the Giants' 103-59, which helps explain why LA is favored in the upcoming series. Atlanta, meanwhile, underperformed their expectation by six games (according to ol' Pythtagoras, the NL East should have been a walk in the park for the Braves by 14 games), while the just-excused Cardinals rode their magnificent 17-game September winning streak to finish five games better than their projection. All the American League teams had best watch out for those perennial Astros; they projected to 101 wins. 


Much has been made of the Giants' ten players with ten or more homers, and so, whaddaya say, we'll make a little more: Brandon Belt (29), Mike Yastrzemski (25), Brandon Crawford (24), Wilmer Flores (18), Buster Posey (18), LaMonte Wade (18), Darin Ruf (16), Alex Dickerson (13), Evan Longoria (13), and Auston Slater (12). Kris Bryant had 25, seven with the Giants. Belt, Ruf, Flores, Dickerson, and Longoria all missed significant time with injuries.  Nothing personifies the "next man up" attitude better than that-- or is it "one man gathers what another man spills?" (It's about time we included a Grateful Dead reference, hah?)  

Quality starts: Gausman 25, DeSclafani 22, Webb 18, Wood 18, Cueto 5, Sanchez 5, Kazmir 2. Cheap wins are almost extinct today; no starter lasts long enough to earn 'em. Webb had the only one for the Giants, and it wasn't that bad: a 45 Game Score in a 5-3 win at Wrigley Field on September 12. There were nine Tough Losses: Wood 3, DeSclafani 3, Gausman 2, Kazmir. The toughest loss was Gausman's on July 5 at home against the Cardinals: Game Score 69. 

The two best starts of the year were both by Anthony DeSclafani. One June 11 at Washington he pitched a two-hit complete-game shutout in a 1-0 win, Game Score 90. On April 26 against Colorado at home it was another complete game in a 12-0 blowout, Game Score 89. And "Des" also had the worst start of the season, that memorably awful afternoon at Oracle Park when the Dodgers shelled him in the first inning to the tune of a big fat zero Game Score. 

Opponents? Masterpiece Theatre was on June 27 at home as Oakland's Cole Irwin pitched to a 82 with eight shutout innings. None of the opponent starters got a zero, but Colorado's Austin Gomber (0-3 against the Giants this year) was saddled with a 4 in the same 12-0 blowout that DeSclafani pitched.

We already noted Walker Buehler faced the Giants six times this year (3-1, two ND). So did Arizona's Merrill Kelly, a good one (1-2, 3 ND). The Giants saw Urias five times (2-1, 2 ND), San Diego's Joe Musgrove five times (also 1-2, 2 ND), and Zac Gallen of Arizona (0-3) and Jon Gray (0-2) and German Marquez (0-4) of Colorado four times each.     

It was generally hard to beat the Giants this year under any circumstances, and it was especially hard for any pitcher to win two or more games against San Frajcisco in 2021. Buehler won three, Urias two, the suspended Trevor Bauer won both his starts early in the year, and St Louis' Kwang-Hyun Kim won both of his. That's it. 

In addition to the multiple losing pitchers mentioned above, the Giants beat Jake Arrieta twice, once with the Cubs and later with the Padres.  Against former Giants, they had a loss and a no-decision to Madison Bumgarner and a no-decision against Zack Wheeler. 

Gausman's four wins over Arizona were the most against one team by any Giants starter. Interestingly, the Giants' only two losses to the Diamondbacks were both Cueto's. Then again, the Giants won all seven games against Cincinnati and former Red Cueto won two of those. And although the Giants beat LA ten times this year, seven of those were bullpen wins. 



Roll the Statistical Parade

Brandon Crawford, MVP candidate, is sixth in the NL among position players with 6.1 WAR. Juan Soto leads the league at 7.0...  Soto is a truly amazing player, and not just because he's still only 22. Alone among qualifiers, he walked more than he struck out in 2021: 145 walks to 93 K's, a BB/SO ration of 1.559. Even certified walk machines like Joey Votto are below 1.0; the Giants' best is Crawford, 20th at .533, just ahead of Nolen Arenado... Arenado, by the way, drove in 105 runs at hit 34 homers for the Cardinals... Had they enough PAs to qualify, Brandon Belt would be third in the NL in OPS, tied with Fernando Tatis junior at .975, while Darin Ruf would be 10th and Buster Posey 15th, right behind Crawford... Mike Yastrzemski was the only other Giant with enough PAs to qualify... Not a big year for triples; our former prospect Bryan Reynolds tied for the league lead with 8... Bryce Harper has to be in the MVP talk with a 1.044 OPS and .615 SLG, both tops in NL, and would certainly get it had the Phillies caught the Braves... One thing young Soto can't do is steal bases: 9 out of 16 is terrible... Tatis fared much better, with 25 steals against 4 caught. The top three are all high-percentage: Trea Turner (also a MVP candidate, we think) and Tommy Edman of the Cardinals, as well as Tatis. All are 6-1 or better... Trea Turner scored 107 runs, but Freddie Freeman scored 120 and Soto 111... Paul Goldschmidt, again, does everything well: average, walks, power, OBP, OPS, a fine first baseman and his team made the playoffs. He's finished second in the voting twice and third once, and if we had a vote this year, we don't know that we wouldn't vote for him... Zack Wheeler leads all pitchers with 7.6 WAR, ahead of Walker Buehler and Max Scherzer and two full wins ahead of Corbin Burnes. He's fifth in ERA, in a much closer concentration, and tops with 247 strikeouts. His 14-10 record just doesn't tell the story. He ought to win the Cy Young Award, and of course he's a former Giant prospect traded away... To be fair, that was ten years ago and it took seven years for him to become a top starter... Luis Castillo of the Reds is your ground-ball pitcher deluxe: almost 2-1, and he induced 20 GIDP. Max Scherzer is the fly-ball king, at 0.59 ground balls per fly balls.... One the batting side, Milwaukee's Eduardo Escobar, Arenado, former Giant Adam Duvall of the Braves, and teammate Ozzie Albies have mastered the launch angle: along with Justin Turner they have the lowest ground-ball ratios in the NL. Colorado's Raimel Tapia is the throwback. He hits 'em on the ground half again as much as anyone in the league, a 2.96 GO/AO ratio... Shohei Ohtani, the likely AL MVP, leads everyone in isolated power (.335)-- along with 46 homers, 103 runs, 100 RBI, and .965 OPS, plus 156 strikeouts in 130 innings and a 9-2, 3.18 when he's pitching. Can he keep this up? Regardless, it's a monumental season and we've never seen a more deserving MVP candidate... There are no large or hilarious outliers  this year, no 25-wild-pitch or 12-balk dubious-achievers, nobody grounded into 40 double plays, no one was caught stealing 20 times. Joey Gallo personified the Yankees with a MLB-leading 213 strikeouts; our friend Ohtani was fourth with 189... The colorful, entertaining, and playoff-bound Tim Anderson, who absolutely won't take a walk (22 BB in 572 AB), hit .309 overall and .372 on balls in play. He would score a lot more than 94 runs if he tripled his walk count, but that's just not his game. Only 5 GIDP, fine defense-- sure, we'll take him... Eugenio Suarez of the Reds, meanwhile, was at .224 on balls in play... Pirates shortstop Kevin Newman, whom we saw back in May, struck out only 7% of the time. The Yankees' Gallo whiffed at a  34% rate, just ahead of former Cubs world champion Javier Baez, now poster boy for the star-crossed New York Mets.  

Monday, October 4, 2021

GIANTS WIN IT

 

GIANTS   107-55                   Won more games than any Giants team.
LA             106-56    1 GB       Scherzer set for Wednesday's WC game.

Yesterday
Giants bombarded San Diego, 11-4, to win the division, as you knew they would.
LA kept pace to the very end, sweeping Milwaukee with a 10-3 win.

Today
Giants have four days off to rest and refurbish. The division series opens at Oracle Park on Friday.

Yesterday's Game
Logan Webb made sure of it. The fine young righthander, who's emerged as a star in the making this season, rolled through seven innings of three-hit one-run ball, striking out 8 and earning his 11th win. He also belted a two-run homer in the fifth that put the game into rout status. The Giants' recently-dormant offense smoldered uneasily for three innings, then burst out like a brushfire in the fourth. They sent nine men to the plate: Kris Bryant and Mike Yastrzemski opened with walks, Webb walked to load the bases, and the RBI's then poured in as Tommy LaStella, Wilmer Flores, Buster Posey, and LaMonte Wade brought five across. It was 7-1, an inning later Webb made it 9-1, and Yaz drove in two more in the seventh. Webb gave up three singles to start the eighth, tarnishing his numbers a bit, and Kervin Castro was wild, letting two more score until Jarlin Garcia retired the Ultimate Nemesis, Adam Frazier, to end the frame. Kapler chose Dominic Leone, one of so many unsung Giants heroes this year, to drive the Golden Spike, and he did so in style, striking out Eric Hosmer as his teammates swarmed the field in celebration. 

What else is there to say? Is this the greatest Giants team of all time? This team has won more games than any other in the franchise's 129-year history.  This team has defeated a truly great Dodger team, the defending world champions and eight-time division champions, under almost unbelievable unrelenting pennant-race pressure. This team overcame a slew of injuries to key players and still finished with the best record in baseball, winning more games than any NL team since 1986. What will happen in the postseason is unknown, of course. But today we can say with confidence that in 58 years of baseball fandom, we have never seen a team like the 2021 San Francisco Giants.    




We'll take a couple of days off and return with the regular-season wrapup and postseason preview.

Sunday, October 3, 2021

-70

 How easy it is to forget, 70 years ago today:

“There's a long drive ... it's gonna be, I believe ... The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! Bobby Thomson hits into the lower deck of the left-field stands! The Giants win the pennant and they're going crazy! They're going crazy!
I don't believe it! I don't believe it! I do not believe it! Bobby Thomson hit a line drive into the lower deck of the left-field stands and this blame place is going crazy! The Giants! Horace Stoneham has got a winner! The Giants won it by a score of 5 to 4, and they're picking Bobby Thomson up, and carrying him off the field!”



Now go out and do it again today. GIANTS!



1

 

GIANTS   106-55                    Just win, baby.
LA             105-56    1 GB       Will there be a 163rd game?

Yesterday
Giants lost to San Diego, 3-2, in ten innings, ending their seven-game winning streak.
LA defeated Milwaukee, 8-3.

Today
Giants face San Diego at Oracle Park, a 12:05 "synchronized start" with all other games. Logan Webb will try to nail down the division title. Righthander Reiss Knehr opposes; it's his fifth major-league start.
LA has Walker Buehler going against Milwaukee at Chavez Ravine; same time.

Yesterday's Game
Kevin Gausman sure did his part. Claiming he'd rediscovered the touch on his splitter during his last start in Colorado, he had it working yesterday over seven six-hit one-run innings. But the Giants mustered only five hits in support and didn't draw a single walk. Most painfully, they managed only one hit after Gausman left the game, and were set down in order in the ninth and in the tenth, stranding their designated runner to end the game.They took the lead in the second on Brandon Crawford's double and Kris Bryant's RBI single, and after the Padres tied it in the top of the sixth (Adam Frazier, naturally, started it off, and Manny Machado got the RBI) the Giants answered back in the grand manner. Austin Slater, pinch-hitting for LaMonte Wade due to a pitching change, belted the first pitch he saw for a home run, the Giants' record 18th pinch-hit homer this year. That gave Gausman the lead back, but in the eighth Zack Littell surrendered the tying run-- single, double, Machado's sacrifice fly. And it was crickets the rest of the way for the San Francisco offense, which made the Padres' run in the tenth as inevitable as it was depressing. The usually-reliable Jarlin Garcia, in the game to get the third out, lost it on Jake Cronenworth's double. 

And so it all comes down to one game. Today's game.  It will take an all-time franchise record 107th win to secure the 2021 National League West division title. And who says the San Francisco Giants can't do it?  

Saturday, October 2, 2021

2

 

GIANTS   106-54                    One more win will do it.
LA             104-56    2 GB       Best they can do now is tie.

Yesterday
Giants defeated San Diego, 3-0, their seventh straight win.
LA rallied to defeat Milwaukee, 8-6, their fifth straight win.

Today
Giants host San Diego, a 1:05 PDT (4:05 EDT) start. Kevin Gausman has the opportunity to drive the Golden Spike. Joe Musgrove opposes; it's his fifth start against the Giants this year. He is 1-2 in those starts.
LA hosts Milwaukee tonight, Julio Urias against Corbin Burnes. A fine pitching matchup that we devoutly hope will be meaningless. 

Last Night's Game
The Giants scored two quick ones in the first and Anthony DeSclafani went five quiet innings on 71 pitches to win his 13th game. Darin Ruf homered, Mike Yastrzemski and LaMonte Wade had RBIs, and Camilo Doval pitched a perfect ninth for this third save in four days. Jose Alvarez, on in relief of "Des" in the sixth, gave up three hits but no runs thanks to a baserunning blunder by the immensely talented but erratic Fernando Tatis jr, who carelessly overran third base on a ball that hit the bag and was picked up by Evan Longoria, who tagged him out to end the inning. There were no other threats from the visitors, and the Giants tied the all-time franchise record with their 106th win, matching the 1904 New York Giants team led by John McGraw and Christy Mathewson. 

Friday, October 1, 2021

3

 

GIANTS   105-54                    "Late-Night LaMonte" does it again.
LA             103-56    2 GB       It could happen tonight.

Yesterday
Giants defeated Arizona, 5-4, a walk-off win in the bottom of the ninth, and swept the three-game series.
LA defeated San Diego, 8-3, and likewise swept their three-game series. The Giants and Dodgers are an identical 8-2 over the last ten games and each has won their last four. 

Today
Giants open the regular-season finale with San Diego; 6:45 PDT at the O. Anthony DeSclafani starts. The Padres have not named a starter yet. 
LA opens at home against Milwaukee, who have clinched the NL Central. Two fine lefthanders, Clayton Kershaw and Eric Lauer, square off at Chavez Ravine.

Last Night's Game
Only Gabe Kapler and the Giants do this. Austin Slater, 3-for-3 with three runs scored, was lifted for a pinch-hitter with one out in the seventh because Arizona brought in a right-hander. The pinch-hitter, LaMonte Wade, popped up and the game stayed a 4-4 tie, as it had since the fifth and would remain until the bottom of the ninth. The Giants had gotten off the mat after the Diamondbacks put three across in the first with two walks and three singles against Scott Kazmir, who then limped off with a pulled hamstring. Slater and Darin Ruf, fresh off the IL got one back right away with a leadoff single and RBI double in the home first. Slater and Ruf teamed up again in the third with back-to-back singles, and Buster Posey brought Slater home with a sacrifice fly. Brandon Crawford's 24th homer (and 90th RBI, both career bests) tied it in the fourth, and Slater's third run tied it again in the fifth after Arizona had scored again. He came around on a double down the left-field line by Posey off our old friend, Madison Bumgarner, who left after five.  That fifth inning also saw the return of Johnny Cueto from the IL. For now a long man in the bullpen, Cueto, in his first career relief stint, pitched two and a third, helping to settle things down in this unexpected bullpen game, though he did allow that fourth run.

Zack Littell, who replaced Cueto, also pitched two, and so did Tyler Rogers with an uneventful eighth and ninth for a change. And he got the win, deservedly so, thanks to the aforementioned La Monte Wade, whom you knew we'd be getting back to eventually. In the ninth, with one out, Wilmer Flores nearly won it with a line drive that hit the wall in left for a double. As he did the previous night, Kapler sent in Steven Duggar to run, but instead Duggar strolled, over to third, as lefty reliever Joe Mantiply intentionally walked Donovan Solano and then most unintentionally walked Curt Casali, batting for Rogers. Bases loaded and here's Wade, wearing a 0-for-19 collar and an almost legendary inability to hit left-handers. But Kapler was out of bench players, so Wade it was, and Wade it will ever be-- because Wade hit a sharp grounder that glanced off the glove of first baseman Pavin Smith in a drawn-in infield, and that was the ballgame, sports fans. Duggar came in on a light trot, touched the plate, and then charged toward the celebratory melee surrounding Brother Wade as the cheers rained down like sweet thunder.

Notes
Kazmir, sadly, may have pitched his last game as a Giant with the postseason just a week away. And Cueto's bullpen tenure may be short-lived if Kapler chooses a long rotation for the postseason... All that rest Buster Posey has enjoyed during the season may be paying off now. He started for the third straight game last night and looked remarkably fresh, driving in two runs and throwing out a runner at second... As everyone surely knows by now, the Giants' magic number is two, meaning any combination of a Giants win and a Dodgers loss clinches the division... Milwaukee is 4-6 over their last ten games. Whether Craig Counsell chooses to rest any of his fine starting pitchers this weekend is unknown, but taking a starter off his regular feed has been known to backfire in the postseason... Speaking of the postseason, we all know the Cardinals will be the second NL wild-card team. And the Atlanta Braves also put on a strong finishing kick to eliminate Philadelphia and win their fourth straight NL East title... It's time we caught up with the American League races. The divisions are all decided (Tampa, the White Sox, Houston), but good golly, looka here. Seattle, of all teams, has won 9 of 10 and is now tied with Boston for the second wild-card spot, and the Yankees, 8-2 over their last ten, have shot past everyone into the wild-card lead. Toronto is hanging on by a thread, and Oakland is out of it... The AL wild-card game is set for Tuesday and the NL game for Wednesday, with the division series opening on Thursday (AL) and Friday (NL). The World Series opens-- opens, mind you-- on October 26. Let's hope it's the Giants and Tampa. If nothing else, there won't be any games postponed due to ice and snow.

Thursday, September 30, 2021

4

 

GIANTS   104-54                    Starting pitching rounding into form?
LA             102-56    2 GB       Overcame a rare Scherzer meltdown.

Yesterday 
Giants defeated Arizona, 1-0, setting the all-time San Francisco record for wins in a season.
LA blew an early lead but rallied to beat San Diego, 11-9.

Today
Giants finish up with Arizona, and fittingly it will be Madison Bumgarner starting for the "Snakes." Scott Kazmir gets the nod for the home team. 6:45 at the O, 9:45 here.
LA concludes the San Diego series tonight and it'd sure be nice if they lost this one.

Last Night's Game
Pitching and small-ball enabled the Giants to pull out a tense, 1-0 win over the Diamondbacks. Arizona may have lost 108 games already but there was no quit and a lot of grit on their part all night. Merrill Kelly walked four men, hit a batter, and allowed two hits over five innings, but he stranded all seven baserunners as the Giants reverted to that unhappy tendency to leave men in scoring position. Meanwhile Alex Wood, aided by three double plays, kept the slate clean on the Giants' side through six. It was his best start since the All-Star break and, like Kevin Gausman's effort on Sunday, it came at a most opportune time. But Wood, like Gauaman, didn't get the win because the Giants didn't break the ice until the seventh. After Dominic Leone had preserved Wood's shutout in the top of the frame, the Giants' pinch-hitting prowess struck again as Tommy LaStella, batting for Leone, led off with a single. Gabe Kapler sent Steven Duggar in to run, and the fleet outfielder stole his 7th base a moment later. "Late Night LaMonte" Wade, battling through a slump, then laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt, Duggar taking third. Kris Bryant, who's also been quiet lately, fouled off two pitches, then lofted a fly ball to right, just deep enough to bring home Duggar with the only run of the night. Jarlin Garcia and Camilo Doval pitched two perfect innings for the hold and the save.  And after that it was scoreboard-watching time as San Diego, down 4-0 in the first, roared back with six runs off Max Scherzer. Had the Padres finished it, the Giants' "magic number" would be down to one this morning. But LA poured across five in the eighth and held on to take it back and maintain the status quo.    

Wednesday, September 29, 2021

5

 

GIANTS   103-54                    Tie SF record for wins in a season.
LA             101-56    2 GB       They're not going away.

Yesterday
Giants defeated Arizona, 6-4.
LA defeated San Diego, 2-1.

Today
Giants host Arizona, second of three games. It's a 6:45 PDT start at the O, with Alex Wood going for the locals against Merrill Kelly.
LA is home with Max Scherzer starting against San Diego.

Last Night's Game
He worked hard-- 98 pitches in five innings-- and he didn't get the win, but Logan Webb put up an encouragingly good start, allowing one unearned run over five innings in a 1-1 game. It wasn't until the sixth that the Giants took the lead for good. It started with Evan Longoria reaching on an error, and included a hit batsman, a bases-loaded walk, a run-scoring wild pitch, a runner (Wilmer Flores) thrown out at the plate-- and, yes, two RBI singles, by Flores and Brandon Crawford. The "Snakes" slithered back into it on a seventh-inning homer by Jake McCarthy off Tony Watson, and scored two more against the overly adventurous Tyler Rogers in the eighth. Gabe Kapler then called on young Camilo Doval to close it out with his 100-MPH heat, and the kid shrugged off a one-out double and took care of business: 15 pitches, 12 strikes, and his first career save.

Fillin' the Hole
Brandon Belt is out for the rest of the season and the postseason with a broken thumb. There will be no 30-homer man for the Giants, for the 16th straight year, and the game's winningest team will have to soldier on without the hottest hitter in the game. Thairo Estrada is back on the active roster to beef up the left side of the infield, and Flores will move over to first base as part of a revolving platoon with LaMonte Wade and probably Darin Ruf when he returns from the IL. There's nothing else to say. The Giants will just have to be their "resilient" selves a little longer, on a road that's now a little steeper. 

Monday, September 27, 2021

6


GIANTS   102-54                    Gausman delivers when needed. 
LA             100-56    2 GB       Cy Young candidate Urias now 19-3.

Yesterday
Giants defeated Colorado, 6-2, to sweep the series.
LA defeated Arizona, 3-0, to keep pace as usual.

Today
Both teams are idle and return home to finish out the regular season.

Yesterday's Game
Kevin Gausman was the story for six strong innings in his best start since June 23. And his three-hit 11-K effort came at a most opportune time, following a week where the San Francisco bullpen again and again had to hold the opposition over five-plus innings. Yet it all might have gone to waste but for two Giants staples: effective pinch hitting and MVP candidate Brandon Crawford. Gausman had left the game with a 2-1 lead, but an error by Wilmer Flores and a balk by Jose Alvarez helped Colorado tie it in the seventh. Leading off the top of the ninth, Steven Duggar, batting for Curt Casali, drew a walk. Flores walked with one out, and Tommy LaStella, pinch-hitting for reliever Camilo Doval, drove in Duggar with a RBI single. Crawford followed with a three-run homer, his 23rd, and that made it a little easier for young Kervin Castro to retire the side in the bottom of the frame.

Today's day off will be focused on the condition of Brandon Belt, who took a fastball off his left hand in the seventh inning as he tried to lay down a bunt against a tough left-hander to beat the overshift. Belt, as anyone who's been following this team knows, is hot as a two-dollar pistol right now, and while the Giants have been overcoming injuries all year, losing him for more than a couple of games would be a serious blow.  

Sunday, September 26, 2021

7


GIANTS   101-54                SF team record is 103 wins.
LA               99-56    2 GB   Every loss is huge now.

Yesterday
Giants defeated Colorado, 7-2, for the second straight night.
LA lost at Arizona by the same 7-2 score.

Friday
Giants defeated Colorado, 7-2.
LA defeated Arizona, 4-2.

Today
Giants finish up at Colorado, their last road game for a while, maybe a long while. Kevin Gausman goes for number 15, and this would be a good time for him to regain his early-season form. Righthander Antonio Senzatela opposes.  It's a daytime start: 12:15 PDT, 1:15 local.  
LA is at Arizona, with Julio Urias out to secure their 100th win.

The Weekend So Far
Giants used four innings from their starters, Alex Wood and Anthony DeSclafani, lots and lots of home run power, and some stout relief pitching to beat the Rockies by identical 7-2 scores.  Friday night Tommy LaStella again opened the game with a homer, and Brandon Crawford, 3-for-3 with a walk on the night, belted his career-high 22nd an inning later. Wood, back from the COVID list, had a rough first inning but pitched better afterward and was lifted after 61 pitches. Holding a tenuous 3-2 lead in the seventh, the Giants saw Mike Yastrzemski step up big-time with a mighty three-run blast, his 25th, and that made all the difference. "This might be the best game I've ever been to!" exulted a beloved family member who was in the stands with his friends on a timely visit to Denver. Meanwhile, Kervin Castro, Tony Watson, and Camilo Doval held the Rockies to two hits over three innings, escape artist Tyler Rogers got out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth, and the final tally showed the Giants' five pitchers allowed not a single walk.

It was the Brandon Belt Show yesterday. The Giants' self-proclaimed captain is finally, finally having that big breakthrough season everyone's been waiting for. With two mighty home runs he drove in the first four runs; added to his solo shot from Friday those two give him 29 for the year, and he may yet become the first Giant to clear 30 homers in a season since Barry Bonds in 2004. Shoot, the way things are going it could very well happen today. Fine pitching from Jose Alvarez, Zack Littell, and Jarlin Garcia, plus Watson and Rogers, obscured another substandard start from Anthony DeSclafani, who gave up five hits, two runs, and the Giants' only walk in four innings. Lately it's been all about the San Francisco bullpen; while Kapler is understandably wary of Coors Field, he also seems wary of all his starters except perhaps Brandon Webb. No Giant starter has gone deep into a game this past week. Coors Field or not, today would be a good day to reverse that trend. 

Friday, September 24, 2021

9

 

GIANTS       99-54                      Last road series of season begins.
LA                 98-55   1   GB         Second extra-inning win in 3 days.

Yesterday
Giants lost at San Diego, 7-6, in ten innings.
LA defeated Colorado, 7-5, in ten innings.

Wednesday
Giants defeated San Diego, 8-6.
LA lost at Colorado, 10-5.

Today
Giants at Colorado; 6:10 mountain time; 5:10 PDT.  Alex Wood against rookie right-hander Peter Lambert. Giants are going for their 100th win, a feat accomplished only three times by San Francisco Giants teams (1962, 1993, 2003). 
LA is at Arizona, who have already lost 104 games.

Recent Events
As we traveled from Virginia to San Francisco, where we're holding forth today in Hunter Thompson's old suite at the Seal Rock Inn, the Giants gained and lost a game in less than 24 hours.  Wednesday night they raced out to a 8-1 lead over the Padres thanks to some timely hitting by Kris Bryant, Buster (4-for-5, 3 runs) Posey, and LaMonte Wade, and four good innings from their latest reclamation-project starter, Scott Kazmir. Bryant's bases-loaded double in the first set the tone, and things went swimmingly until the Padres drilled five hits, including Fernando Tatis' 40th homer, against Jarlin Garcia and Dominic Leone in the seventh. And for the second straight game, Tyler Rogers struggled to close it in the ninth. Once again it was a leadoff walk that started it all, and Adam Frazier proved he can hurt the Giants in many different ways with a RBI groundout. But with the tying run on base, Rogers got Tatis to fly out to left, and all's well that ends well.

Giants fans could be forgiven for perhaps thinking that a three-game sweep was virtually certain, given that Logan Webb was starting Thursday afternoon. But Webb's never pitched this deep into a season before, and even with an extra day of rest he was off from the start. It took him 45 pitches just to get through the first inning. As you might expect, it was Frazier who started it all with a leadoff double, and the Padres put four runs across with walks, hit batsmen, singles, and a mound visit. That made it comeback baseball the rest of the way, and it was almost enough. Austin Slater, batting for LaMonte Wade in the sixth in one of those lefty-righty switches, continued the Giants' uncanny pinch-hitting success story with a three-run homer for a brief 5-4 lead. It went right back the other way in the bottom of the inning as Jose Quintana surrendered back-to-back homers to Trent Grisham and Ha-Seong Kim. The Giants immediately answered back with back-to-back doubles from Wilmer Flores-- another pinch-hitter, of course-- and Tommy LaStella, and it was on into extra innings. San Diego intentionally/unintentionally walked La Stella to set up the force, but it wasn't needed as Bryant, Brandon Belt, and Steven Duggar popped up in succession. Leone, in the bottom of the tenth, likewise opened with an intentional pass, but never got his ground ball, only a clean RBI single by Victor Caratini to end it.  And meanwhile LA took advantage of their tenth-inning runner to beat Colorado and take that game they lost Wednesday right back.

Notes
Kazmir may be the fifth starter, if one is needed, over the final nine games. We get the feeling Johnny Cueto is being saved for the postseason... Some stat site, quoted on ESPN early Thursday, upgraded the Giants' chances of winning the division from 52% to 79% after they took a two-game lead with ten to play Wednesday night. Wonder what they're prognosticatin' now?... Our daddy caught us prognosticatin' once-- told us we'd go blind... We (and probably everyone else) are calling the NL wild-card. It's going to be the amazing St Louis Cardinals, who have won twelve straight games (!) and now hold a four-and-a half-game advantage...  Philadelphia still has a good shot at the NL East division. They have three games coming up at Atlanta next week, as long as they don't get sandbagged by the Pirates over the weekend. 

Wednesday, September 22, 2021

11

 

GIANTS       98-53                      More ninth-inning hijinks.
LA                 97-54   1   GB         Pujols delivers the game-winning RBI.

Yesterday
Giants defeated San Diego, 6-5.
LA defeated Colorado, 5-4, in ten innings.

Today
Giants continue at San Diego; 7:10 PDT, 10:10 EDT. Scott Kazmir, the Giants' latest fifth starter, will get another chance. Righthander Vince Velasquez opposes. The Giants have not faced him this year.     
LA is at Colorado, with Walker Buehler going against German Marquez. 

Last Night's Game
It's become clear that Kevin Gausman is not the Giants' ace any more; at this point in the season he's just another pitcher, and you don't know what you're going to get from day to day. The simplest explanation is fatigue; he's fifth in the league in innings pitched and seventh in total pitches, following a short season. The devastating splitter that set him apart in the first half of the season has, by his own admission, not been working nearly as well of late. That's reflected in Game Scores: he averaged 67 before the All-Star break, and has averaged 47 since. Last night's start was his shortest of the season: four innings, in which he allowed nine hits and four earned runs.  But once again the Giants picked him up, and while it's thrilling to see this team rise to the occasion again and again, we can't help but wonder how long it can continue.

Tommy LaStella led off the game with a home run, but Manny Machado answered back moments later. Machado belted a second homer off Gausman in the third, as did Tommy Pham, and it was 4-1 Padres after four. The Giants' uncanny success with pinch-hitters continued as Wilmer Flores, batting for Gausman in the fifth, began the comeback against Joe Musgrove with a pinch-hit RBI single. Buster Posey, who had two hits on the night, brought in a second run with a sacrifice fly. And the Giants chased Musgrave in the sixth on back-to-back doubles by Kris Bryant and  Brandon Crawford and Mike Yastrzemski's sac fly. That 5-4 lead lasted about a minute as Austin Nola soon tied it up with a homer off Zack Littell.    

And thanks to stout relief from Jose Alvarez, Dominic Leone, and Tony Watson, all the drama was saved for the ninth. Three straight singles by Brandon Belt, Posey, and "Late Night LaMonte" Wade, who's made the ultimate inning his personal fiefdom (he's 12-for-19 with a 1.597 OPS and 11 RBIs in the ninth this year), regained the lead. Out came Tyler Rogers to close it out and immediately trouble struck as Crawford mishandled a ground ball. With one out, Jake Cronenworth singled to put the winning run aboard for mighty Machado, he of the two home runs. The big guy promptly hit into the coolest 4-6-1 double play you'll ever see. Taking the flip from LaStella, Crawford, of course, executed a flawless turn-and-throw, but it was Rogers, racing full speed to the bag and taking the throw just in time, who made it a highlight-reel bang-bang game-ender. Were any Giants fans yelling "Dee-fense! Dee-fense!" at the end? Well, they shoulda been.     

Monday, September 20, 2021

12


GIANTS       97-53                      "Walkin' on a thin line..." 
LA                 96-54   1   GB        Kershaw got way more help than he needed.

Yesterday
Giants lost to Atlanta, 3-0.
LA defeated Cincinnati, 8-5. 

Today
Both teams are idle.
Giants head off to San Diego to begin the season's final road trip, which ends in Colorado next weekend.  LA is on their way to Colorado now, and thence to Arizona. The Giants and Dodgers will each be playing their final six games at home. LA gets Milwaukee on the final weekend, which may not be that much of a help since the Brewers have salted away their division and have no real chance at the top seed. 

Yesterday's Game
Max Fried put up the best opponents' starting pitching performance the Giants have seen since Frankie Montas of the Oakland A's a month ago. The young lefty allowed only three singles and one walk, and the Giants never really threatened. For six innings Fried and Anthony DeSclafani worked a scoreless pitcher's duel, until it all came undone in the seventh. Austin Riley opened with a double and Adam Duvall, the former Giant, followed with his 36th homer. That was all for "Des," but Edwin Rosario then hit Zack Littell's first pitch for an utterly superfluous but nonetheless discouraging home run. The Giants' offense was so quiet they only left two men in scoring position, grounded into two double plays, and totaled 28 at-bats, one more than the minimum. 

Road Trip
Today's win gives the Giants, in theory, the chance to use a four-man rotation this week. Kevin Gausman is already scheduled for tomorrow's start, and it logically follows that Logan Webb would start Wednesday. By Thursday Alex Wood will have had four days' full rest after going just three innings Saturday, and we'd think Gabe Kapler would prefer to start him in San Diego, and not in the high altitude of Denver the following night. Friday would give Anthony DeSclafani four days' rest as well, though a procession of (ideally) fresh arms in a bullpen game at 5200 feet might be an option, and would give "Des" and the rest of the group an extra day's rest. There's also Johnny Cueto, who's been playing long-toss and could be ready by the weekend, possibly to "front" a bullpen game.  

 

Saturday, September 18, 2021

13

 

GIANTS       97-52                      Wood sharp in much-awaited return.
LA                 95-54   2   GB        Scherzer sharp because-- well, because he is.

Yesterday
Giants defeated Atlanta, 2-0.
LA defeated Cincinnati, 5-1.

Today
Giants finish up with Atlanta; 1:05 local (4:05 EDT) at Oracle Park. Anthony DeSclafani against lefty Max Fried, who pitched well against the Giants a month ago.
LA, with Clayton Kershaw, goes for the series win at Cincinnati, with Wade Miley (12-6), in a battle of lefthanders.  

Last Night's Game
It was just what we needed after all the late drama. Alex Wood, kept on a tight pitch-count leash by Gabe Kapler, made the most of his return from the COVID IL. He pitched three scoreless and hitless, with a hit batsman his only mistake. He certainly could have gone farther, but Kapler is looking way farther than one game; he's looking all the way into October, where Wood is sure to play a major part. So six relievers finished up the final six innings, and the last four-- Jarlin Garcia, Jose Alvarez, Tyler Rogers, and Dominic Leone, who got the save-  were perfect. Taking over for Wood, Zack Littell pitched out of a jam in the top of the fourth, and got the win when the Giants scored two off Charlie Morton in the bottom of the inning. LaMonte Wade walked, Brandon Crawford singled, Mike Yastrzemski bunted them into scoring position, and Curt Casali drove 'em both in with a single to right. Just the way they planned it. Atlanta's three relievers were as good as the Giants' the rest of the way, but the deed was done, and the lead holds at two for another day.  

14

 

GIANTS       96-52                      Backatcha with a last-ditch win.
LA                 94-54   2   GB        Castillo costs 'em a game in the standings.

Yesterday
Giants defeated Atlanta, 6-5, a walk-off win in 11 innings.
LA lost at Cincinnati, 3-1.

Today
Giants host Atlanta; 6:05 PDT, 9:05 EDT at the O. Alex Wood returns from the IL and faces Charlie Morton, 13-5 on the year.
LA is at Cincinnati, an afternoon game with mighty Max Scherzer going against Sonny Gray.

Last Night's Game
The Giants were down to their last man off the bench in the bottom of the ninth as Donovan Solano, fresh off the IL, stood in at the plate and Curt Casali waited in the on-deck circle. The shock waves from the top of the ninth-- when Tyler Rogers gave up a three-run homer to Travis d'Arnaud that put the Braves ahead, 5-4-- had yet to subside, and Solano looked overmatched at the plate against former Giant Will Smith. Dave Fleming on KNBR tried to whip up a little hope: "He's got some power... he could run into one."  Seeing nothing but breaking balls, down to the Giants' last strike, Solano turned on a 2-2 pitch and yanked it down the left-field line-- and just over fence and into the seats. Tie game. The crowd went wild as Solano circled the bases with the Giants' 16th pinch-hit home run in this season like no other.

It shouldn't have come to that. Logan Webb set down another masterful start over 7 innings, allowing six hits and striking out nine. He gave up two runs in the first on RBI leader Adam Duvall's double, and after that it was crickets the rest of the way. Then Dominic Leone set 'em down in order in the eighth. It was 4-2 Giants, courtesy of home runs by LaMonte Wade (into the Bay) and the Brandons, Belt and Crawford, as Rogers came out to close. As you may have gathered by now, Rogers didn't have it. Every ball was hit hard: two line-drive singles and two line-drive outs before d'Arnaud turned the game around with his blast.

And so it went to the tenth after Casali struck out following Solano's homer. Tony Watson, unfazed by Thursday's meltdown, got 'em 1-2-3 in the top, though the "3" required Steve Duggar to make a full-speed wall-slamming catch of Freddie Freeman's long drive. Advantage Giants, with the designated runner on second and the heart of the order up. But they managed to waste it, as reliever Tyler Matzek followed two intentional walks with two ground-ball outs. And that "last man off the bench" situation came to the forefront in the eleventh after Camilo Doval had stifled the Braves in the top of the frame.

Crawford started the inning on second, and immediately took third as pitcher Brandon Webb threw an attempted pickoff into center field. Atlanta's third intentional walk of the game put Evan Longoria at first. Steven Duggar flied out to left, not enough for Crawford but enough for Longo to take second. Sure enough, here came the fourth intentional walk, to Solano, bringing up the pitcher's spot with the Giants out of pinch-hitters. Not only that, but the one pitcher on the team we all know can hit had already been pulled-- Logan Webb. So here came Kevin Gausman. Why not? He bats left and Brandon Webb throws right. And he can take a pitch. He took five, working the count full. Knowing Webb had to come in or lose the game, Gausman made solid contact, sailing a fly ball to medium right. Joc Pederson gloved it, Crawford took off for the plate, and he just did beat Pederson's strong throw with a headfirst slide. Game over.

"That's the coolest thing I've ever done in my career," said Gausman afterward. 

"I'm jealous," said Webb to Gausman.

"Resilient," said Mike Krukow in the broadcast booth. 


Notes
Rogers was tabbed to close because Jake McGee just went on the IL with an oblique strain. It don't get any easier, do it?... Belt's homer was his 26th of the year and he has a shot at becoming the first Giant to hit 30 since Barry Bonds in 2004... Castillo, loser of fifteen games this year, really pitched well against LA: ten strikeouts over six-plus shutout innings, five hits and two walks. The Reds are right behind St Louis and just ahead of San Diego in the wild-card scramble... The loss cut Atlanta's lead to two over Philadelphia, who won their third straight. Both the Phillies and the New York Mets are closer to the division lead than to the wild-card... The AL wild-card tug-o-war between Boston, the Yankees, and Toronto has all three of 'em within one game. Oakland and Seattle look like spectators at this point... Duvall's first-inning double off Webb gives him a league-leading 103.  
 

Friday, September 17, 2021

15

 

GIANTS       95-52                      Padres have no plans to fade away.
LA                 94-53   1   GB        Can playoff-hungry Reds spoil?

Yesterday
Giants lost again to San Diego, 7-4, and split the series.
LA was idle.

Today
Giants host Atlanta; 6:45 PDT, 9:45 EDT. Logan Webb starts against Ian Anderson (without Jethro Tull, we're told).  Anderson won his only start against the Giants a month ago, and he didn't even bring a flute.
LA is at Cincinnati. Walker Buehler against Luis Castillo, who has lost fifteen games.

Yesterday's Game
They say you gotta have a short memory in this game, and that works both ways. That spectacular nine-game winning streak already seems a distant memory. The last two days have shown that the San Diego Padres, far from being dispirited, are genuinely pissed off about how their once-promising season has gone and intend to do something about it. The Giants face these guys six more times before we're through, and they'd best strap it on for each one, otherwise there's a real good chance they'll see them in one more game-- the wild-card elimination game. 

The Giants couldn't make a bullpen game work Wednesday, but the Pads did just fine with theirs yesterday. The real hero of the game was one Nabil Crismatt, who took over for "opener" Pierce Johnson in the second and pitched four shutout innings, all but ensuring that the Giants' inevitable late rally would be too little and too late, which it was. On offense, the Padres mostly nickeled-and-dimed Kevin Gausman for four runs through five frustrating innings (except for Fernando Tatis jnr, who crushed a solo homer, his 39th, in the third).  For the second straight game, a Giants' belated comeback was ineffectual because the bullpen gave up three late runs. This time Tony Watson, so effective of late, blew up in grand fashion, yielding four hits and a walk in the top of the eighth to turn a 4-2 game into a 7-2 game. Thus Evan Longoria's two-run homer in the bottom of the frame was little more than an angry gesture of futility.

Notes
It's possible Alex Wood could rejoin the rotation Saturday. Considering how long he's been out, we hope he's built up his stamina to the point that Gabe Kapler doesn't feel compelled to yank him after three innings if he's pitching well. There's still no fifth starter on this team, since Johnny Cueto has been given no timetable for return. Sammy Long was recalled from Sacramento yesterday and could fill in there.