There has always been a small amount of success in a season in which the San Francisco Giants have 107 wins. Unless you are both working at a higher level Organizationally and financially like the Dodgers, all the things that have to go right for the team to win many games in one season won’t do it the next just because. That’s how works, unless you can somehow crack the sport like the Dodgers mentioned above.
Buster Posey’s retirement was a hit, but you can’t do much about it. Chris Bryant is leaving for more pasture…and that’s happening too. With Kevin Gusman losing out on free agency, well now it’s starting to pile up. But as the Giants watch the disappearance of Padres and Dodgers on the horizon in NL West, it wouldn’t be necessary to blame the players who aren’t there. The fact that they are playing defense would be like they were playing in the Strawberry Fields instead of in Oracle Park.
Their weekend sweep by the White Sox was a shining example of all the things they can’t do. Friday night’s opener was a tough one as Alex Cobb and three sedatives kept the Sox goalless through eight, but the Giants’ currently scrambled lineup couldn’t impress Lance Lynn and her crew either. Come nine o’clock, the giants opened the door at Brandon Pelt and Camilo Duval They made the best impression on Baker Mayfield.
Gavin Chet later came in to score the game’s only game. Saturday, in the fourth inning with loaded bases, Jock Pederson quit play We’ve all seen someone outside in the Little League or even high school (if I’m running the field for your high school team) judging you directly by rushing to make enough room to zoom in. Chief (this wasn’t a bug, but…)
The Giants made two actual fouls in that match as well. One of those scored in the “Double Sheets” thanks to Brandon Bilt. They got upset on Sunday 13-4, but that also included Donovan and Walton throwing a ball to Santa Clara. Yesterday’s switch to Phoenix wasn’t much better, as the Giants lost 8-3 while making two more fouls.
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Over the course of the entire season, the Giants have been linked with the league’s worst defense in the Outs Above Average, with -31 according to StatCast. In Runs Prevented, they are finally dead themselves. FanGraphs also own the wooden spoon at Defensive Runs Saves, four runs away from the 29th-placed team.
The Giants were equally miserable both on the field and on the court, ranking 29th outside above average previously and 27th second. Pedersen was a real idiot left, with -6.0 Defensive Score saved. Brandon Crawford’s injury hasn’t helped as Walton has already struggled, but Crawford hasn’t been his usual defense so far this season (it tends to happen when you have 400,000 miles on the odometer as Crawford does).
It’s doubly tough for the Giants, because only Carlos Rodon in the rotation hits a lot of hitters and takes struggling fielders out of the equation so often. Alex Cobb was particularly suspended to dry through his defense, as his ERA is about and a half higher than his FIP. Its expected age is twice less than its actual age! Alex Wood was similarly hired.
And the Giants couldn’t work their way out of their power on the field, finishing 27th in the Tours over the past month. They hit a ton (24.6 percent) and haven’t hit a ton of energy (27 Homer in the last 30 days, 368 slagging). He left them in two games over 0.500 and 9.5 games behind the Dodgers in the West, despite there being only two games behind the Cardinals in the last place to get out of prison in Rob Manfred’s Everyone A Winner Baby World.
It’s never wise to calculate giants with proportions in mind, but the proportions are getting a bit small in the rear view. Even when Crawford returns, they’re ridiculously old on the left side of the field with Evan Longoria, and there doesn’t seem to be a natural midfielder to be found anywhere. And as we know, the green spaces at Oracle Park are really spacious. If the Giants were to go through the playoffs, they would have to find a way to stop switching to a field-slapping fish dance.
