Game Thread: 8.29 Morning Bird Beer Day (11:10 am)

[tzill]

1. L Wade Jr. (L) 1B
2. T Fitzgerald (R) SS
3. H Ramos (R) LF
4. M Conforto (L) DH
5. M Chapman (R) 3B
6. P Bailey (S) C
7. J Encarnacion (R) RF
8. G McCray (L) CF
9. T Estrada (R) 2B

Hayden Birdsong
RHP
3-3, 4.57 ERA, 54 SO

Morning baseball always makes me queasy.

 

[calsnowskier]

I am a LITTLE Behind “live” (Ortiz just hit his double off the wall)…

Carny played that great off the wall, but it was still a double. Had the Giants hit that same hit, with the brewers making the same recovery off the wall, the Giants would have ended with a 1st/2nd situation instead of the 2nd/3rd that Brewers got. Playing the ball directly off the wall the Carny did often steals doubles from hitters. But the Crew has speed, which allows for extra 90 ft in those situations.

 

[calsnowskier]

This team is becoming unfun to watch.

More entertaining than last year’s team that was flat out boring, but the quality still leaves a LOT to be desired.

I WANT to be excited moving forward (Fitz, Ramos, Birdy, Harry, Crazy, etc) but I am not certain our near-term ceiling is much more than “not bad”. Our young core doesn’t compare to Atlanta or Baltimore or the current core of LA or Philadelphia.

I suppose if we bring in the fences 15 feet, that could increase our expected win level to 10-15 games, but that is obvious…

 

[calsnowskier]

“If you aren’t enjoying watching the game, don’t watch it…”

OK. Done.

Game isn’t over, but this team just isn’t fun to watch right now. The Brewers are playing solid fundamental ball. The Giants are phoning it in. If the Giants players don’t want to be there, why should I waste my time watching them not want to be there?

 

[filosofy29]

“If you aren’t enjoying watching the game, don’t watch it…”

OK. Done.

Game isn’t over, but this team just isn’t fun to watch right now. The Brewers are playing solid fundamental ball. The Giants are phoning it in. If the Giants players don’t want to be there, why should I waste my time watching them not want to be there?

I wonder if the DFA (or whatever it was) for Thairo and TRog kind of deflated some of the fight. Either way, disappointing

 

[LHG]

Saw on MLBTR that Bailey’s stats last year match almost exactly to what he has thus far this year. What I find interesting is that his OPS is two points lower this year but his OPS+ is seven points higher this year

 

[LHG]

I wonder if the DFA (or whatever it was) for Thairo and TRog kind of deflated some of the fight. Either way, disappointing

Put on waivers is different than dfa but would have the same effect on morale. The FO has called it a year, why bother any longer.

 

[tzill]

Batdouchery, mittfuckery, moundshattery.

The trifecta of suck and back to NO COFFEE

 

[tzill]

Giants 2-21 or a cool .095
7K 2BB
Bird couldn't get out of the fourth, aided by mittfuckery from Chap.
Jelly not much better

I predict 2 of three from the fish this weekend to land at....wait for it....

.500 again.

 

[calsnowskier]

I wonder if the DFA (or whatever it was) for Thairo and TRog kind of deflated some of the fight. Either way, disappointing

It probably did. It is an admission by the FO that this season is over.

However, to be fair, the fact those players were ”placed on waivers” (they were NOT DFA’d) were not disclosed by the team. Teams do this throughout August, and media/fans/players typically have no idea it happened. This got leaked by some pencil pusher with another team who saw these players cross his desk and s/he let it slip. It may have been completely innocent (also, maybe it wasn’t), but I can’t really fault FZ et al for this news getting out. These moves are ALWAYS happening and we are none the wiser.

 

[SF11704]

Just my 2 cents on what this year looked like to me ... in the past I had always felt like I was watching a team. My team! Some times they were good and sometimes they were bad. But since 2014 they have been usually just midling at best, except for the 107 win season. The 3 WS titles eased a lot of the pain though. This year was different.

Not sure why but for me it felt different.

I lost the sense of 'team'. Felt more like a pick up game of baseball when I was a kid. You met at the park, chose sides and played some ball. Never really a team. Just a bunch of guys who liked baseball ... playing the game they liked. The one thing it always seemed to lack was essence of a 'team' with a common goal. Just a bunch of guys playing baseball. Winning was fun, but losing was ... so what .... we'll play again tomorrow.

I sort of felt that way about this year's Giants. Just a bunch of guys bought together to play some baseball. Snell, Chapman, Lee and Solar. Felt like we were trying to purchase a playoff spot rather than build a team to win a playoff spot. Didn't see any of them as long term building pieces (other than maybe Lee). Just couldn't seem to see any of them as long term Giants. Saw them more as mercenaries for this year's crusade. Sort of took the fun out rooting for them ... they just didn’t seem like SF Giants to me.

 

[calsnowskier]

Just my 2 cents on what this year looked like to me ... in the past I had always felt like I was watching a team. My team! Some times they were good and sometimes they were bad. But since 2014 they have been usually just midling at best, except for the 107 win season. The 3 WS titles eased a lot of the pain though. This year was different.

Not sure why but for me it felt different.

I lost the sense of 'team'. Felt more like a pick up game of baseball when I was a kid. You met at the park, chose sides and played some ball. Never really a team. Just a bunch of guys who liked baseball ... playing the game they liked. The one thing it always seemed to lack was essence of a 'team' with a common goal. Just a bunch of guys playing baseball. Winning was fun, but losing was ... so what .... we'll play again tomorrow.

I sort of felt that way about this year's Giants. Just a bunch of guys bought together to play some baseball. Snell, Chapman, Lee and Solar. Felt like we were trying to purchase a playoff spot rather than build a team to win a playoff spot. Didn't see any of them as long term building pieces (other than maybe Lee). Just couldn't seem to see any of them as long term Giants. Saw them more as mercenaries for this year's crusade. Sort of took the fun out rooting for them ... they just didn’t seem like SF Giants to me.

This is what often happens with going big in FA before you have built a core through drafting and trading (or dumpster diving, TBF). Bringing in a ringer is fun, and we all clambered for it every year (Harper, CC, Arson, Correa, Ohtani). But ultimately that RARELY works out. And it doesn’t foster a connection with the fans. Fans love to root for “their” guy. Waiting for 3-4 years for a kid finally make it to the show builds a connection that simply doesn’t/can’t exist with some hired gun.

 

[jeep99tj]

Just my 2 cents on what this year looked like to me ... in the past I had always felt like I was watching a team. My team! Some times they were good and sometimes they were bad. But since 2014 they have been usually just midling at best, except for the 107 win season. The 3 WS titles eased a lot of the pain though. This year was different.

Not sure why but for me it felt different.

I lost the sense of 'team'. Felt more like a pick up game of baseball when I was a kid. You met at the park, chose sides and played some ball. Never really a team. Just a bunch of guys who liked baseball ... playing the game they liked. The one thing it always seemed to lack was essence of a 'team' with a common goal. Just a bunch of guys playing baseball. Winning was fun, but losing was ... so what .... we'll play again tomorrow.

I sort of felt that way about this year's Giants. Just a bunch of guys bought together to play some baseball. Snell, Chapman, Lee and Solar. Felt like we were trying to purchase a playoff spot rather than build a team to win a playoff spot. Didn't see any of them as long term building pieces (other than maybe Lee). Just couldn't seem to see any of them as long term Giants. Saw them more as mercenaries for this year's crusade. Sort of took the fun out rooting for them ... they just didn’t seem like SF Giants to me.

A player who can be the leader is what they are lacking from what I can see. But you are right, just a bunch of guys being paid to play the game and move on.

 

[calsnowskier]

A player who can be the leader is what they are lacking from what I can see. But you are right, just a bunch of guys being paid to play the game and move on.

A lot of that comes from FZ and the fact he runs the org like a computer simulator.

If I were Chappy (and not a fan of the Giants), I would wait to make sure FZ is gone before I decide to sign on long term with this org.

Take away my fandom of the laundry, I would want NOTHING to do with this org, as it is now.

 

[jeep99tj]

A lot of that comes from FZ and the fact he runs the org like a computer simulator.

If I were Chappy (and not a fan of the Giants), I would wait to make sure FZ is gone before I decide to sign on long term with this org.

Take away my fandom of the laundry, I would want NOTHING to do with this org, as it is now.

Analytics. Not sure what it will take for him to learn you need to put some human feelings into it.

 

[calsnowskier]

Analytics. Not sure what it will take for him to learn you need to put some human feelings into it.

Analytics is important. I think there is gold in them-thar hills. But you are still working with human beings. A team SHOULD be greater than the sum of it’s parts, and a strategy of “no move too small” makes the creation of a “team” impossible.

And in 6 years, that strategy has only netted us Yaz, Estrada and Wade. And destroyed every notion of team in the process.

 

[jeep99tj]

Analytics is important. I think there is gold in them-thar hills. But you are still working with human beings. A team SHOULD be greater than the sum of it’s parts, and a strategy of “no move too small” makes the creation of a “team” impossible.

And in 6 years, that strategy has only netted us Yaz, Estrada and Wade. And destroyed every notion of team in the process.

I always try to be as optimistic as I can about any season. It’s been too hard lately to feel that way. Any time a player is dfa’d from another team I cringe and think who’s gonna get sent down to make room for the scrub.

I also think they have no patience with the young guys. It doesn’t take long for them to get sent down after a brief slump. It’s the game and FZ doesn’t want to deal with it that way.

 

[calsnowskier]

I always try to be as optimistic as I can about any season. It’s been too hard lately to feel that way. Any time a player is dfa’d from another team I cringe and think who’s gonna get sent down to make room for the scrub.

I also think they have no patience with the young guys. It doesn’t take long for them to get sent down after a brief slump. It’s the game and FZ doesn’t want to deal with it that way.

I FEEL that way as well. But I am no scout. And I don’t know these kids. And I don’t know what they are specifically working on or what they are asked to do. So I TRY not to get too critical about the day-to-day fluctuations of lineups and/or rosters (I track rosters because it helps me understand the big picture), but obviously, the emotional fan in me takes over more often than not.

I wrote off Ramos years ago because it LOOKED like the org gave up on him. Why didn’t he play last year? Why didn’t he play earlier this year? Maybe he wasn’t ready, in which case, holding him back was the right thing. Maybe they were just dolts (I seriously doubt this, tbh). Just because he is successful NOW does not mean he would have been successful THEN.

 

[jeep99tj]

I FEEL that way as well. But I am no scout. And I don’t know these kids. And I don’t know what they are specifically working on or what they are asked to do. So I TRY not to get too critical about the day-to-day fluctuations of lineups and/or rosters (I track rosters because it helps me understand the big picture), but obviously, the emotional fan in me takes over more often than not.

I wrote off Ramos years ago because it LOOKED like the org gave up on him. Why didn’t he play last year? Why didn’t he play earlier this year? Maybe he wasn’t ready, in which case, holding him back was the right thing. Maybe they were just dolts (I seriously doubt this, tbh). Just because he is successful NOW does not mean he would have been successful THEN.

My son follows the minors more than I do so that’s where I get my info. But then he can only get what he sees in box scores and write ups.

I think the days of quick call ups are gone for the most part (at least as far as the Giants go). They seem to want to wait until the kids are almost mid 20’s, or at least it seems that way.

 

[calsnowskier]

My son follows the minors more than I do so that’s where I get my info. But then he can only get what he sees in box scores and write ups.

I think the days of quick call ups are gone for the most part (at least as far as the Giants go). They seem to want to wait until the kids are almost mid 20’s, or at least it seems that way.

I have no idea if that take is accurate or not, though. Look at Birdy. He just crossed the 200 career IP level for his entire prosper in today’s game. THAT is fast tracking. Look at Aldridge. He will likely start next year in AA, in his age 20 season. It was also stated a couple seasons ago that the Giants were changing their org philosophy to rush prospects more aggressively than the org had done in the past. Schmitt, Luciano, Birdy, Roupp, Harry, etc tell me that may actually be happening.