Giants General Thoughts

[calsnowskier]

I find it annoying when analysts and broadcasters automatically use the injury topic as the reason or a big reason for a bad year. It seems like there is no thought into checking if that is truly the case. Its the lazy narrative.

And unless it happens to a guy who is normally healthy and is expected to be a cornerstone, the narrative is BASICALLY BS.

Belt getting hurt cannot EVER be used as an excuse because he has a long history of injury issues. Jimmy G going down can’t be used as an excuse because he has a long history of injury issues. Brandon Crawford going down can be a factor. Buster Posey going down can be a factor. If you rely on Belt being a difference maker, you have to sleep in that bed. You have no right to assume he will hold up.

 

[SF11704]

LHG's assessment is utterly amazing. It is detailed and backed wirh quite a bit of detailed analysis .... but .... it's a shame that most Giant fans will never see this and will probably be putting quite a bit of the 2022 season failure on the injury train ...

For me ... without the analysis from LHG ... it's easy to lose sight of what the core issues really were. The pen wasn't quite what we expected and the offense disappeared and the defense was horrible at times. These items can be looked at in many different lights though ..... how much was attributed to a lack of talent and how was attributed to poor management.
Probably a combination . But in any case . This season's results were not because of injuries.

 

[LHG]

LHG's assessment is utterly amazing. It is detailed and backed wirh quite a bit of detailed analysis .... but .... it's a shame that most Giant fans will never see this and will probably be putting quite a bit of the 2022 season failure on the injury train ...

For me ... without the analysis from LHG ... it's easy to lose sight of what the core issues really were. The pen wasn't quite what we expected and the offense disappeared and the defense was horrible at times. These items can be looked at in many different lights though ..... how much was attributed to a lack of talent and how was attributed to poor management.
Probably a combination . But in any case . This season's results were not because of injuries.

Thank you sir. I'm too lazy to set up a blog or vlog. I'd probably not have enough content on it anyway to drive any traffic. But when I do have something to say about Giants' baseball, I take the time to figure out if my hunch is correct and write it down.

I think the problem with this year is that practically everything went right in 2021. How often does that happen? Then the FO saw that this group won 107 games and decided to double down on them, with a few tweaks. However, what I think made the biggest difference is Buster Posey retiring. That was, most likely, outside of the FO's control and there was no way to replace a catcher of that level of talent. I think the big difference in last year's bullpen to this year's bullpen bears out the most what he brought to the club.

 

[tzill]

I think a lot of factors went into this dismal season. I think #1 was just a lack of talent. I don't know what could have been done, maybe not much. I also think running it back from last year was a decent plan -- that team earned the right to do it. I think #2 was massive regression across the board -- see #1. I'm surprised that Yaz, LWJ, Craw and Belt dropped off so much. I'm equally surprised at TRog, Leone, Littell, Marte, McGee, Alvarez were all mediocre to awful. #3 was the defense and I'm not sure why it was truly a shitshow. Maybe #1, maybe #2, maybe management, tough to say.

I don't the managerial choices had that much to do with it --that tends to even out over the course of a season. At the end of the day, Kap doesn't swing the bats or throw the pitches.

Buster retiring may have had more to do with all of it than anything else. That said, I think there are reasons to look forward to 2023, starting with re-signing Rodon, signing Judge, and some youngsters stepping up (looking at you, Luciano, Harrison, and Matos).

 

[LHG]

I think a lot of factors went into this dismal season. I think #1 was just a lack of talent. I don't know what could have been done, maybe not much. I also think running it back from last year was a decent plan -- that team earned the right to do it. I think #2 was massive regression across the board -- see #1. I'm surprised that Yaz, LWJ, Craw and Belt dropped off so much. I'm equally surprised at TRog, Leone, Littell, Marte, McGee, Alvarez were all mediocre to awful. #3 was the defense and I'm not sure why it was truly a shitshow. Maybe #1, maybe #2, maybe management, tough to say.

I don't the managerial choices had that much to do with it --that tends to even out over the course of a season. At the end of the day, Kap doesn't swing the bats or throw the pitches.

Buster retiring may have had more to do with all of it than anything else. That said, I think there are reasons to look forward to 2023, starting with re-signing Rodon, signing Judge, and some youngsters stepping up (looking at you, Luciano, Harrison, and Matos).

I think Luciano and Matos are still a couple years away. They'll probably be ready sometime in 2024. But Harrison, Schmitt and a few others should be ready by the end of 2023. The prospects coming up are exciting.

 

[tzill]

I think Luciano and Matos are still a couple years away. They'll probably be ready sometime in 2024. But Harrison, Schmitt and a few others should be ready by the end of 2023. The prospects coming up are exciting.

I'd be shocked if we don't see Luciano and Matos next year. I'd be equally as surprised if Schmitt does come up.

 

[LHG]

I'd be shocked if we don't see Luciano and Matos next year. I'd be equally as surprised if Schmitt does come up.

I can see Luciano starting in AA in 2023 but I'd be surprised if Matos make the leap to AA to start the year. Given his age and his struggles, for most of the season, at Eugene, even with his torrid finish, I would think he starts next year back at Eugene. Now if he hits well, I could see him getting promoted quickly to AA but I doubt he finishes anywhere higher than AAA next year.

Schmitt has torched AA pitching and that is a huge accomplishment, even in a SSS. If he can do that again next year, he could be in AAA by June and, maybe, in the big leagues by September. Of course, that depends on who is playing 3rd base in SF at that time and how well he is playing and/or staying healthy.

 

[calsnowskier]

One thing about Schmitt…

He is a glove first 3B. His amazing year with the bat this year is almost gravy. He was going to make it regardless just based on his glove.

 

[Stokes1931]

One thing about Schmitt…

He is a glove first 3B. His amazing year with the bat this year is almost gravy. He was going to make it regardless just based on his glove.

Matt Williams II? If I recall correctly, Williams hit less than .200 in his first taste of the majors, but you could easily see the power and the defense was there.

 

[calsnowskier]

Matt Williams II? If I recall correctly, Williams hit less than .200 in his first taste of the majors, but you could easily see the power and the defense was there.

We could wish for another Matty, but I think that is a very high bar. Matty was the 3rd overall pick and had bat AND glove expectations from the start. Schmitt is a 3rd rounder and had huge question marks around his bat when drafted.

Not that where a player is when drafted is the end all be all, but it does tell us a little bit about expectations.

 

[LHG]

Matt Williams II? If I recall correctly, Williams hit less than .200 in his first taste of the majors, but you could easily see the power and the defense was there.

I was thinking the same but didn't want to type it.

Williams' first 3 big league seasons were not good. He didn't put it together offensively until 1990 (his age 24 season). Williams was a high school drafted (edit: I thought he was but forgot he went to UNLV) by the Giants and played mainly shortstop his first year in the big leagues. There are differences but I hope the similarities is successful 3rd basemen playing for the Giants.

 

[LHG]

We could wish for another Matty, but I think that is a very high bar. Matty was the 3rd overall pick and had bat AND glove expectations from the start. Schmitt is a 3rd rounder and had huge question marks around his bat when drafted.

Not that where a player is when drafted is the end all be all, but it does tell us a little bit about expectations.

I forgot that the Giants jumped him from low A ball to AAA in his first full professional season and made his big league debut that year. Incredible!

 

[tzill]

Matt Williams II? If I recall correctly, Williams hit less than .200 in his first taste of the majors, but you could easily see the power and the defense was there.

All I can say is from PERSONAL experience he's the greatest hitter I ever faced. Except maybe Bobby Bonds Jr.

 

[calsnowskier]

All I can say is from PERSONAL experience he's the greatest hitter I ever faced. Except maybe Bobby Bonds Jr.

Did you ever face any non-Giants?

 

[LHG]

All I can say is from PERSONAL experience he's the greatest hitter I ever faced. Except maybe Bobby Bonds Jr.

I met Bobby Bonds Jr once while he was playing minor league ball. Nice guy.

 

[calsnowskier]

I met Bobby Bonds Jr once while he was playing minor league ball. Nice guy.

Why didn’t Bobby name his first born son Bobby? There has to be a story there.

 

[LHG]

Why didn’t Bobby name his first born son Bobby? There has to be a story there.

Well, I could tell you my story. I'm the 3rd generation of men in my family with the same name. I am the first born. However, my father ("Junior", which is funny to me since he is 6 foot 3 inches and taller than everyone else in the family) is the 3rd of 3 boys that my grandparents had. It was always puzzling why they didn't name either of the older two boys after my grandfather.
About 5 years ago, one of my father's aunts passed away and my dad and mom ran into one of my dad's cousins (whose mother had passed) shortly thereafter. They were talking and my dad's cousin told him that they found pictures of my dad's oldest brother's father. My dad was confused and said "you mean my father?" His cousin looked at him and said, "you don't know? Your older brother has a different biological father." That was the first time my father, at age 62, learned that his older brother is a half brother. Now, we wonder if the middle brother is also a half brother. My grandparents are still mum on that subject, even though my father confronted them. My grandmother took that to her grave (she passed in the early days of COVID) and my grandfather since had two strokes and can barely communicate.
I know that there are different reasons for the younger son getting the father's name. Some change their minds about naming a child after the father, after the first born comes along. Others buck tradition. Who knows the reason for the Bonds family.

 

[LHG]

All I can say is from PERSONAL experience he's the greatest hitter I ever faced. Except maybe Bobby Bonds Jr.

Didn't Barry, at one point toward the end of his career, suggest to a member of the press that the Giants should acquire his brother and start him in center or right field?

 

[calsnowskier]

Didn't Barry, at one point toward the end of his career, suggest to a member of the press that the Giants should acquire his brother and start him in center or right field?

He was in the Giants minor leagues for a few years.

Bobby Bonds Minor & Independent Leagues Statistics | Baseball-Reference.com

Bobby Bonds Minor & Independent Leagues Statistics including batting, fielding, prospect rankings and more on Baseball-Reference.com

www.baseball-reference.com

 

[tzill]

Did you ever face any non-Giants?

nobody who made the majors...that I know of.