Giants' Starting Pitching Now A Major Concern?

Usually, the starting pitching takes the backseat on the list of concerns for the Giants. Now, it has taken the very front seat, and the Giants’ bread and butter is no longer a guarantee anymore. Due to this, the bullpen has had to take on a bigger role, and signs of fatigue are occurring.

Even with the likes of Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, and Ryan Vogelsong all getting their starts, the starters have pitched just 36 innings over the last seven days. Generally, that number would near 50. But nothing has been general lately as no Giants’ starter has pitched more than seven innings since last Tuesday. Matt Cain pitched 7.1 innings against the Astros, and that has been all.

On the bright side, the bullpen hasn’t collapsed in this time of over usage. They have totaled a 2.79 ERA over the past seven days, but note that all of their relievers have combined to pitch 29 innings. That’s only seven less than the starters. In comparison, the Rockies’ bullpen ranks second in baseball with 27.2 innings pitched, and they don’t let their starters surpass the 75 pitch plateau, while the Giants don’t put any restrictions on their starters.  Any time a team is mentioned with the Rockies, the likelihood of it being positive is very slim. The case is no different in this situation.

However, the September roster expansions will provide manager Bruce Bochy with a few more alternatives should this dreadful streak continue. Those alternatives, though, aren’t nearly as reliable as say Sergio Romo or Javier Lopez. Jean Machi, the 30 year-old career minor leaguer, owns a 10.80 ERA in his first three appearances since being called up. Dan Otero has pitched two scoreless innings since getting a promotion. Granted, his ERA still isn’t respectable at 6.97, but he has smoothed out the flaws in his motion. But none of the call ups can undertake such a massive role. And using such a strategy wouldn’t be wise on the Giants part.

Unfortunately, Bruce Bochy has had no other choice but to empty his bullpen. He tied a major league record on Tuesday night against Arizona when he used 11 pitchers in an 8-6 loss. Simply, the over usage falls on the starters’ shoulders.

The always consistent Ryan Vogelsong has only logged 9.1 innings in his last two starts  and during that span he has posted an inflated 9.64 ERA. Madison Bumgarner has a 6.48 ERA in his last three starts. Tim Lincecum has only pitched seven innings once since August 5th, and the inconsistent Barry Zito owns a 6.56 ERA in his last seven starts.

The problem?

Big innings. Usually that problem only implies to Lincecum, but now that issue has seemed to catch on with the rest of the staff. Big innings can also mean high pitch count innings where the starter has to use 25+ pitches to get the three outs and multiple runs come across the plate to score.

 It may be hard to believe, but the Giants’ starters might be throwing too many strikes. Bumgarner has had this problem before, Ryan Vogelsong tends to over rely on his fastball as opposed to Barry Zito and Tim Lincecum who walk batters to put runners on the base paths. Matt Cain, meanwhile, tends to fall in the latter category when he does struggle.

But the point is that opposing hitters know that Giants’ pitchers like to throw strikes. It’s not such a bad thing, but it’s not a great trend to follow either.

If the Giants want to hang on to their 4.5 game lead in the N.L West, their starting pitching must improve. It’s what the organization has prided themselves on for the past few years, and that can’t change given their inconsistent offense.

Read more »

Are Injuries Hampering Sandoval's Power?

Pablo Sandoval is in a rut. The world must be ending, right? Because over his young five year career, the lovable “Panda” seemingly never falls into ruts in spite of his free swinging mentality. Well, Sandoval is in the midst of a rut which has included a broken hamate bone and a hamstring injury that often tightens up on him in the middle of games. With all of that said, his power is no where in sight.

It might not be gone for good, but he surely won’t be popping 25+ home runs per season, unless he tweaks his approach. And the likelihood of that happening is very, very small.

When Sandoval broke the hamate bone in his right hand, he missed over a month of action. It was like 2011 all over for Giants fans. But that wasn’t nearly the case as San Francisco rallied together and went 21-14 in his prolonged absence, large part due to Joaquin Arias’s exceptional play.

Sandoval proceeded to return in mid-June, and lasted 38 games before injuring his hamstring which ultimately put him back on the shelf. This time around, the Giants struggled without him, posting an 8-10 record. It became evident how valuable he was to a rather soft lineup.

The point is, Sandoval has yet to stabilize himself in the lineup. He’s never enjoyed a long period of games without having to nurse an injury. Believe it or not, weird trends affect a player’s performance. And bouncing from the DL to the lineup back to the DL is a weird trend for anyone, even Sandoval.

Maybe that explains his power outage. Seeing that he hasn’t hit a home run since July 8th which adds up to be a scattered 29 games, there is more than just one component in his power outage, however.  Alex Pavlovic of the San Jose Mercury News pointed out that Sandoval’s home run on July 8th was the last time a Giants’ corner infielder hit a homer. So the power slump is mutual between Brandon Belt and the “Panda”. Sandoval, though, has much higher expectations than Belt does.

 Assuming Sandoval keeps rolling at this woeful pace, ESPN projects him to finish the season with only ten home runs. That would be a career low by a pretty decent margin, but you also have to take into account that he’s on pace to finish the season with just 359 at-bats. That mark would be a career low too.

Sandoval has always been a relatively streaky home run hitter. In retrospect, he has never been a strictly “power” hitter. Manager Bruce Bochy stated that setbacks and wobbly timing are factors in his third baseman’s power outage.

“A couple of the setbacks he’s had with the DL has affected him. He’s streaky with that, too,” Bochy said. “His timing was off a little bit. Wasn’t staying behind the ball as he normally does.”

That makes sense considering the circumstances. But Sandoval is still going to struggle to consistently hit home runs because he’s naturally a free-swinger. 2012 has been nothing out of the ordinary in that regard.

On the other end of the spectrum, weight remains an issue for Sandoval. Before Saturday’s game against the Cubs, Bochy stated that he would like to see him drop a few pounds, but also noted that it would be hard to do so in the midst of a playoff race. For those of you who think that a little extra weight doesn’t hold a player down, you would be incorrect. Just look at what Sandoval experienced in 2010--- he barely touched the field during the playoffs because he was vastly overweight.

Simply, Sandoval’s power is certainly not gone for good. Once his nagging hamstring tightness fades, and all the minor injuries pass, a plunge in his power numbers wouldn’t be a surprise.

Read more »

8/21: Giants Trade Options, Cabrera Associate Banned, Bochy on Left Field

 One of Melky Cabrera's associates, Juan Nunez, is being implicated as the sole conspirator, and, pending official word from the Commissioner's Office, has such been banned from all Major League club-houses.

Ah, glad all that's out of the way.  Now we can focus on the issue at hand:  What are the Giants going to do in left field?

Personally, I think it's Gregor Blanco's job to lose, but with Justin Christian getting almost equal playing time, there's no room for further regression.  Bruce Bochy implied that they are in fact looking for some help in left field:


ESPN Senior Baseball analyst Jim Bowden reports:

"Bochy told us that it is 'Fair to say we're looking for help in LF. Brian is working on it now," via his Sirius XM Inside Pitch radio show.

So who is Sabean eyeing?  Most are reporting that former Dodger/Angels out-fielder Vernon Wells might be a good fit, but I am going to have to venture off the reservation and give that idea a big no, as aging production-less veteran out-fielders are not something the Giants brass or fans are looking to try out again.  Remember Aaron Rowand?  I thought so.

Another option (apparently) is Alfonso Soriano, the 36 year old leftfield and 2nd basemen for the Chicago Cubs.  I really don't see this happening, because all season we've been hearing rumblings of bringing in the aging vet, who has publicly stated that he does not want to join the San Francisco Giants.

That's fine Alfonso, we don't want your wheel-chair to disrupt all the speed we have in our outfield, sorry.

My money is on Jeff Francoeur, Kansas City leftfielder, who isn't having the best year, but has respectable numbers so far this season for Kansas City (hitting just .240, but does have eleven homers, thirty-three RBI and has scored forty-three runs).  He's only owed another $7.5 million, and is signed through next year.  Seems similar to the Hunter Pence deal, just not as costly, as the Giants would surely only have to pick-up MAYBE half of his salary, and send a Dan Otero or someone of the sort.  They wont miss him, as he's currently in a platoon role with fellow outfielder Jarrod Dyson.

Who knows what Sabean has up his sleeve this time.  Whether a deal gets done or not, though, it will be interesting to see how the front office handles the situation.

Read more »

Giants to Activate Sandoval for Tonight's Game

According to Alex Pavlovic of the San Jose Mercury News, the Giants will activate Pablo Sandoval prior to tonight's series opener against the Washington Nationals.

The Giants are in the process of cutting down the 13-man pitching staff which is essentially why Sandoval has yet to be activated.

Bruce Bochy said before the game that first base could still be an option down the road. In fact, Sandoval was taking grounders there before the game, but will play third.

Read more »

What Should the Giants Do With Their Crowded Infield?

Bruce Bochy has faced some tough challenges this year, especially when it comes to managing the infield.

Bochy has had to rotate players in the infield and make sure the best players are on the field for the Giants. When Pablo Sandoval returns from injury, he will have to rotate Hector Sanchez, Buster Posey, Marco Scutaro, Ryan Theriot, Brandon Crawford, Joaquin Arias, Brandon Belt, Brett Pill and Sandoval into an overcrowded infield.

Now, there are five positions, so five of those nine players will play. Belt or Pill will probably get sent down when Sandoval comes back up, leaving eight infield spots available. But how will Bochy manage the infield?

I don't know how Bochy will do it. But here's a blueprint of what I think he should do.

Catcher

Buster Posey struggled a bit in May and June, but since the All-Star break, he's been dominant.

Posey raised his batting average from well under .300 to .328, and he now has 18 homers, 73 RBI and an 11-game hitting streak. Posey has provided a huge spark in the middle of the lineup for the Giants' offense, and that's part of the reason why the Giants are in first place.

However, if Posey gets hurt (like he did last year), the Giants won't be completely doomed. Hector Sanchez is probably the best backup catcher in baseball, and he has a respectable .285 batting average. While Posey caught Barry Zito on Tuesday night, Sanchez almost always catches Zito.

Tim Lincecum was struggling in the first half, so Bochy had Sanchez catch him for a while. It looks like Posey will start catching him now, although whenever Posey is tired (since he broke his leg in a home-plate collision last year), Sanchez will catch, probably regardless of who's pitching.

I like seeing Sanchez in the lineup. He's much better than Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford, two Giants' regulars. However, since Posey is a better hitter and defensive catcher, Sanchez doesn't play too often. Even though Posey has done a nice job catching Zito, I would like to see Sanchez regularly catch Zito and Posey play first base in those games.

The Giants could also try Sanchez at first base. Sanchez isn't a great defensive first baseman, but he deserves to get playing time. Brandon Belt isn't playing well (to say the least) and hasn't done much good for the Giants. Sanchez needs to see a lot more playing time, and while I'd rather have Posey at catcher, I would like to see Sanchez play first (even if he isn't great there on defense).

So, they could have Sanchez catch Zito regularly, catch Lincecum or maybe another pitcher if Posey is tired, and start at first two out of every five games. Sanchez deserves a lot of playing time, and he should be getting more. Posey is a great catcher and knows how to call a game, and Posey deserves to catch a lot.

However, San Francisco can't go on with Brandon Belt playing every day. They must try playing Sanchez at first. 

First and Third Base

I linked these two positions together because of one player. Or should I say one star player.

Pablo Sandoval, he of the career .306 batting average, could be back as soon as Sunday (according to Alex Pavlovic of mercurynews.com). Sandoval is hitting .299 this year with eight homers and 33 RBI in 234 at-bats, and he's done a nice job at third base.

Or should I say first base.

Because of Belt's struggles, Sandoval took over at first base (and then he went on the DL with a hamstring injury). When Sandoval returns, he should see some time at first base (since Belt and Pill are clearly not fit to play there every day).

In the previous slide, I mentioned that Sanchez could and should see some time at first base. He's an above-average hitter who could definitely help an inconsistent offense score runs in the bottom of the lineup. On days where Sanchez played first and Posey caught (or vice versa), the Giants would have a great lineup.

Not only would they have Angel Pagan, Marco Scutaro or Ryan Theriot, Melky Cabrera, Posey, Sandoval and Hunter Pence hitting back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back, San Francisco would have Sanchez providing a spark at the bottom of the lineup. That would create a formidable Giants' lineup.

However, Sanchez isn't a great defensive first baseman. When Sandoval comes back, either Belt or Pill will probably be headed to Triple-A. Belt is a great defensive first baseman, so if the Giants want late-game defense and mediocre hitting, they should go to Belt. If they want more power and a small hitting upgrade, they should go to Pill. If I were Bochy, I would go with Pill to try to help the offense. He hasn't had as many chances as Belt, and he can hit better than Belt.

If the Giants don't want Pill or Belt, they could try to upgrade. According to Henry Schulman of sfgate.com, San Francisco reportedly has interest in Lyle Overbay, a first baseman with lots of power. He could provide a spark off the bench and do what the Giants were hoping Aubrey Huff could do before he struggled and got hurt; provide power off the bench.

At third base, the Giants currently have Marco Scutaro. When Sandoval returns, he will probably take over there and force Scutaro and Ryan Theriot to platoon at second. I think Sandoval should occasionally play first, and when he does, Joaquin Arias or Scutaro will play third.

I would play Sandoval at third four out of every five games and play Scutaro at third one out of every five games. Sandoval's done a nice job at third and is better at third, although he can and will play first. Scutaro can play third and will probably play there occasionally to create an opportunity for Theriot to start.

Which brings us into the next slide... 

Second Base and Shortstop

The Giants don't have nearly as much talent in the middle infield as they do on the corners, but they can find a way to put some talent at second base and shortstop.

Arias, Crawford, Theriot and Scutaro are the four main middle infielders for the Giants. Crawford and Arias play short, while Theriot plays second and Scutaro plays second, shortstop and third.

Scutaro probably won't see much time at short. Arias hits well against lefties and Crawford hits well against righties, so Bochy probably won't bench both of them. However, neither of the two are great. Arias has a WAR of 0.4 and Crawford has a WAR of 0.3. For comparison, Buster Posey and Melky Cabrera have a WAR of 4.6.

Theriot has a 0.6 WAR and Scutaro has a 0.2 WAR. Since joining the Giants, Scutaro is hitting .326 with six RBI. He's done a nice job with his new team and should definitely see a lot of time at second base. He's better on defense and has done a better job on offense than Theriot recently.

In July and August (combined), Theriot has a .261 batting average. He is starting to hit into a lot of double plays and is starting to look a lot like the utility player he is, which is really hurting the Giants. Theriot still deserves some playing time, but when Sandoval comes back, expect his role to shrink.

Overall, the Giants don't have a great middle infield. Scutaro's been doing a good job and will probably still see a good amount of playing time, but no one else has been doing well. Crawford has received plenty of opportunities and is still hitting just .233, and Arias is hitting .256. 

If I were Bochy, I would play Arias against lefties and Crawford against righties. Arias is hitting .313 in about 100 at-bats vs lefties this year, and just .210 in 124 at-bats against righties. Crawford hasn't done too well against lefties or righties this year, but he's better against righties.

As for second base, I would let Scutaro start at second three out of every five games and at third one out of every five games. He's done well in San Francisco, and he deserves a reward for that. Theriot still deserves playing time, but he definitely isn't an everyday second baseman.

Conclusion

To reiterate, Bruce Bochy has a tough task on his hands.

Will he send Pill or Belt to the minors? Will he let Sanchez play first base? How much first base will he allow Sandoval to play? How will he divide up the time for the middle infielders?

His decisions won't be easy, but he knows his players and he knows his players' stats. If he used only the stats, Arias, Sanchez, Scutaro, Posey and Sandoval would start every day. However, Bochy isn't dumb, and he knows that every player on the active roster will have to play.

I laid out my plan for what I think the Giants should do, but I'm sure Bochy's will be different. Everyone has a different perspective about the Giants, and Bochy is someone who thinks it's best to let players work issues out on the field and someone who likes to use proven veterans.

So, he'll use his strategies to manage the team. But how will he do it? Stay tuned to find out.

This article was originally published on Bleacher Report

Read more »

Zito Looks to Stop the Red Birds in Game Two of the Series

Barry Zito will have his hands full tonight with the surging Cardinals. St.Louis, who have won four straight games, are fresh off a good beating of Matt Cain and the rest of the Giants' pitching staff last night.

Zito, who is fresh off an atrocious outing against the Mets on Thursday ( 7 ER in 4.1 IP), will look to prove the critics wrong once again. He doesn't have much working in his favor, though. It's expected to be a hot night in St.Louis, Zito is 1-6 with a 5.23 ERA against the Cardinals in eight career starts, and the Cardinals' offense is very stingy. They are everything but a free swinging bunch at the plate, which doesn't favor Zito who is prone to walking batters in bunches.

His counterpart, Lance Lynn is in the midst of a breakout year for St.Louis. Despite getting roughed up for five runs in his last start on June 2nd, he's undefeated against the N.L West this year (3-0, 2.79 ERA), and was elected to his first All-Star game back in July.

Lynn, the power throwing right-hander, has made one career start against the Giants which didn't go all that well. In 5.1 innings pitched he surrendered five runs, but struck out five batters to post a mediocre line.

Here's what Bruce Bochy is rolling with against Lynn:


1. Angel Pagan (S) CF
2. Marco Scutaro (R) 2B
3. Melky Cabrera (S) LF
4. Buster Posey (R) C
5. Hunter Pence (R) RF
6. Brandon Belt (L) 1B
7. Brandon Crawford (L) SS
8. Joaquin Arias (R) 3B
9. Barry Zito (L) P

Read more »

Pablo Sandoval Injury Update

According to Andrew Baggarly on Twitter, Pablo Sandoval is about a week away from returning to the Giants, even though he's eligible to be activated on Thursday.

Bruce Bochy said trainers tell him Pablo Sandoval is a week away from activation. He's eligible Thursday.
— Andrew Baggarly (@CSNBaggs) August 5, 2012

Manager Bruce Bochy insists that Sandoval will play at third base, so a repeat injury doesn't seem to be in the cards. At least for now.

The "Panda" will likely bat sixth in the lineup with the newly acquired Hunter Pence manning the fifth spot.

Bochy has not determined what he will do with Marco Scutaro. Scutaro, whose been the starting third baseman in Sandoval's absence, can play a decent shortstop, and second base. His versatility will give the skipper a good problem to have, though.

Read more »