14+7=1

New math? No, Gabe Kapler using the entire Giants lineup, 14 men, to score seven runs and secure one win-- a three-time come-from-behind win yesterday over the Cincinnati Reds at Oracle Park.  

In what's becoming a standard practice for this team, three Giants pinch-hitters came off the bench to make the difference in a most entertaining game. And all three stayed in on defense, moving around the diamond as needed.  

How do you pinch-hit for a guy-- Tommy LaStella-- who's 3-for-3 on the day and stands at .353 for the season? With a guy who's at .323 for the season, of course! Donovan Solano batted for LaStella with the score tied 6-6 in the bottom of the seventh, and drew a walk. Mike Yastrzemski followed with another walk, and after a fielder's choice moved Solano to third, Wilmer Flores-- who had pinch-hit for Brandon Belt an inning earlier-- drove in what became the winning run with a fly ball to deep left-0center.

In that previous inning, after red-hot Evan Longoria (1.024 OPS) had crushed a game-tying home run to left-center off the fine veteran lefthander Sean Doolittle, and after Buster Posey had singled, Austin Slater batted for LaMonte Wade. Reds manager David Bell, the former Giant, pulled Doolittle for righthander Carson Fulmer. Slater stayed in and drilled a triple to the deepest part of the ballpark, Posey scoring standing up.  Watch the highlight and note how Slater stayed inside and muscled a good pitch the other way.

By contrast, Kapler needed "only" four pitchers to get a most difficult job done. Kevin Gausman, roughed up for five runs in an inning and two-thirds, retired the last 13 batters he faced and completed six. Wandy Peralta took over in the seventh and immediately coughed up the lead thanks to a balk and a wild pitch. But he got a double play to end it, and was rewarded with a win along with his blown save when Solano, Yaz, and Flores did their thing. Tyler Rogers struck out the side in the eighth, and Jake McGee made it 5-for-5 in saves, getting a called third strike to end it and leaving Tyler Stephenson scowling at the plate.

How about each team opening the game with two two-run homers, an Oracle Park first? Joey Votto's fade to deep left was followed by Mike Moustakas' cannon shot into the waters of McCovey Cove. That made Yaz's second homer of the year and Brandon Crawford's third all the more satisfying. Despite losing the lead in the second, Gausman, who had stormed around the mound in the first, appeared much more composed the rest of the way after seeing his guys pick him up. It showed as he "gutted out" this one after two terrific starts. 

We're truly sorry to see Reyes Moronta back on the IL so quickly, with pain in his surgically-repaired right shoulder.  This guy looked like he could be the next great Giants reliever when he showed his stuff in 2018 and 2019. Like Jeremy Affeldt, he's one of those few who can come in cold with men on base, and dominate. It's the ten-day IL and let's hope that's all it is. 

Fear Hits a Grand Slam

So much for our recent praise of Commissioner Manfred. The incredibly stupid and cowardly decision to pull the All-Star Game out of Atlanta has already blown back all over MLB. No one with any sense at all can defend this. Aside from the dumb-as-a-box-of-rocks "reasoning"-- Colorado, where the game will now be played, has tougher voter registration laws than has Georgia under the new law-- there was no legitimate popular outcry from anyone who mattered-- say, the predominantly black voters in Atlanta, or, indeed, fans, voters, or communities anywhere. The only objectors to the new law are radical Democrat politicians, the bigoted mainstream media, and, of course, the stupidest man ever to occupy the White House. Evidently his outright lies, and lies they were, were enough to intimidate Manfred and, presumably, some of the team owners, into craven capitulation-- to a tiny constituency of politicians and their sycophants who use bullying to get their way. It was a bad show all around. 

Yesterday, the smart and sensible Candace Owens posted a commentary about giving up on watching sports. No, we haven't given up yet, and we've no plans to do so, but every "woketivist" jolt in the sports landscape moves us one step farther away.  As far as the 2021 All-Star Game is concerned, it can go hang. We won't discuss it here again, and it might as well not exist for all the attention we'll give it. 

"The horror! The horror!"

Is there anything worse than a bases-loaded walk when it's your guy on the mound? Well, sure there is: a bases-loaded walk with your guy on the mound when it's the bottom of the tenth and the dude prancing his unmolested way toward home plate is the winning run.

And so the Giants' 2021 opener ended, and while we won't cynically sneer that it happened exactly according to form ("Same old Giants!" was the first text missive we received this morning), we will note that in yesterday's preview we used the word "walk" an awful lot when discussing the San Francisco bullpen. 

Form? Well, the Giants, according to form, hit a lot and scored seven runs, normally enough to win. They hit four homers, with ten hits overall. Austin Slater opened the season by drawing a walk, bless his heart, and added a home run later. Buster Posey opened his first season in two years with a cannon shot into the left-field bullpen, setting off a minor tremor along the San Andreas fault, so we're told. (And in a just world, that would have been our lede this morning.) Kevin Gausman, according to form, was, well, he was Kevin Gausman, with six and two-third one-run innings, two hits, six K's, game score of 70. And, also according to form, no win to show for his fine effort. 

In the bullpen diss-a-thon sure to follow, let's exempt Caleb Baragar, who relieved Gausman in the seventh with a run in and two down. Yes, he walked the guy he was supposed to get, but he got the next guy, and it stayed 6-1 Giants. Apres lui, le deluge. Yesterday we used the term "lots of walks" to describe Matt Wisler, who opened the eighth, and he opened it with a leadoff walk. Then two singles, one run, and in comes Jarlin Garcia, Wisler's lefty counterpart. Walk to load the bases, then walk in a run. Now it's 6-3. Here comes Tyler Rogers. No walks-- but a two-run double (6-5) and then a two-run throwing error by Brandon Belt on the double-play ball that could have ended the inning. Now it's 7-6. Rogers, to his partial credit, then got out of the 11-batter nightmare with no further damage.  

The Giants tied it on Alex Dickerson's homer in the ninth, and it was up to Jose Alvarez in the tenth. He wasn't up to it, was he? Not exactly a walks machine over his eight-year career, he was one last night, issuing three in a row, forcing in the "funny runner" who began the frame on second and ended it crossing the plate.

Bright moments: Posey's dramatic, wonderful, uplifting return. Folks, he belted that one with the sweet quick swing we all fell in love with ten years ago. You gotta see the video, with Kuip and Kruke's narration... Eight thousand real people in the seats, with a nice hand for Posey as he rounded the bases... Gabe Kapler doing it again with his pinch-hitters: Dickerson in the ninth, batting for Slater, who'd already homered, belting the game-tying shot himself... Gausman showing everyone that 2020 was no fluke... Evan Longoria, not to overlook him, opening the scoring with a solid opposite-field rip... Alone amid les miserables, Jake McGee retiring the side on eight sharp pitches in the ninth. 

And that brings a final sullen thought: While Kapler deserves kudos for his lineup management, he still has a long way to go when it comes to handling his relievers. Then again, it's the first game of the season, and he's got to find out who can pitch and who can't. Quickly, if you please.

The San Francisco Giants Open the 2021 Season!

Pitchers

Kevin Gausman, R, 30 : Gets Opening Day start after strong 2020

Johnny Cueto, R, 35 :  It’s contract year for the mercurial veteran 

Logan Webb, R, 24 : Fine spring earns him early spot in rotation

Anthony DeSclafani, R, 31 :  Hopes to revive injury-marred career

Aaron Sanchez, R, 28 : Can he regain 2016 form, salvage his career?

Reyes Moronta, R, 28 : All eyes on him as he comes back from TJS

Tyler Rogers, R, 33 :   Submariner one of 4 bullpen holdovers from 2020

Jarlin Garcia, L, 28 : Had 0.49 ERA but walked 7 in 18 IP last year

Caleb Baragar, L, 26 :  Showed some real stuff a year ago 

Wandy Peralta, L, 29 :    Lots of strikeouts and lots of walks 

 
Jake McGee, L, 34  :    0.84 WHIP for LA’s last year: SF’s 2021 closer? 

Matt Wisler, R, 28 :  Even more walks and K’s than Peralta

Jose Alvarez, L, 31 :   One of five lefthanders in this overstocked bullpen

Alex Wood, L, 30 (IL) :   Can Giants' only lefty starter stay healthy?                                                                                                                               

Position Players

Buster Posey, c, 34 : Back from a year’s rest and fresh as a rookie—we hope

Mike Yastrzemski, rf, 30 : Team MVP continues to produce

Brandon Belt, 1b, 33 : Absolutely must shake off rust and hit like 2020

Evan Longoria, 3b, 35 :  Definitely at the point where durability a question

Brandon Crawford, ss, 34 : Played well in 2020, starts 10th year at short

Donovan Solano, 2b, 33 : Can “Silver Slugger” continue to “barrel” at .326?

                                                                                                                          

Alex Dickerson, of, 31 :  Coming off .947 OPS season with 10 HR in 151 AB

Mauricio Dubon, cf, 26 : Must hit now-- Ramos is waiting in the wings

Austin Slater, of, 28 : Will get plenty of ABs if he can match .914 OPS

Wilmer Flores, if, 29 : Another of Giants’ powerful right-handed hitters

Tommy LaStella, if, 32 : Candidate for ‘Joe Sewell Award’ rarely strikes out

Darin Ruf, 1b-of, 34 :   Slugged .517 in part-time duty last year 

                         

Curt Casali, c, 32 : His career-high in MLB at-bats is 31, in 2017                                                                                                                                      

Seattle?! Well, you take what you can get, and interleague baseball is a fact of life, and facts being facts, the Giants defeated the Mariners all four times they played last season.  Buck up, everyone. 

It's a pity, though, that the first game of the season starts at night. Opening "Day," hah? Another one bites the dust.

Such mild griping is blown away by the simple joyous fact that, at least in the MLB, Fear Strikes Out and yes, there will be fans in the seats! Sure, an' it's about time, eh? We've no issue with a gradual ramp-up of available seats over the next two or three months; a sane society doesn't recover from a panic, or a pandemic, all at once. But Commissioner Manfred's statement that he'd like to see full ballparks by summer shows the kind of resolute confidence that's been in all-too-short supply among so-called "leaders" this year so far. We need more of it.

On a personal note we're hoping to see the Giants in Pittsburgh in May for a four-game set at the little jewel of a ballpark they call PNC. 

Now, what to expect? The Giants will score runs; this is the most loaded lineup the team has sent out since at least the last postseason appearance in 2016, and this one probably is better than that one. Ten of the thirteen are good enough to DH in the AL parks. Six are flexible enough to play multiple positions, and that doesn't count Buster Posey, still a great defensive catcher until proven otherwise. There's a good balance between lefty and righty bats, and more than half the hitters have done well without the platoon advantage. At least four Giants are legitimate leadoff men. Gabe Kapler has made a conscious decision to prioritize offense over defense; we'll see how that works out over a full season.

We're officially skeptical about the entire starting rotation. Kapler is depending on two guys-- DeSclafani and Sanchez-- to rehabilitate careers that are one step from the toilet. He's got one guy, Cueto, whom we all know can pitch and who is at the crossroads of advancing age and a show-me season. He's got two stratosphere-ceiling but basement-floor guys, young Webb and veteran Gausman. And everyone knows how good Alex Wood can be-- when he's healthy enough to pitch. 

We're terrified of the bullpen, but that's usually the case at the start of a season when every single candidate-- and there are eight of them-- is essentially an unknown quantity. Well, not quite. Several guys we know throw hard-- and they walk people. Caleb Baragar, we know has talent-- but will have to prove it over a full season. Reyes Moronta, we know had it goin' on-- two years ago before the surgery. And Tony Watson, we know is gone, gone, gone.

There's the possibility that everyone hits, Webb blossoms into a star, Gausman strikes out 200, the rest of the crew holds it together, and the Giants win 88 games... and finish 22 behind LA, 9 behind San Diego, and have to scramble until the last day of the season to see if they can get in as the second wild-card. You know, kinda like last year, but with legitimate numbers. And that's the good possibility. 

And you know we'll take it, every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Fear Strikes Out! Go Giants!