2 days ago
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Don't tell me Giants are still in MLB playoff race after what we've seen
The San Diego Padres came to town and laid waste to the San Francisco Giants ' postseason outlook. Except that didn't happen, actually, which means it's a particularly lousy year for the system.
It doesn't need any kind of reconfiguration; most late September races unfold among several teams that feel qualified to be there. It just so happens that the Giants are not among them.
Nor are the New York Mets, apparently. This wild-card scramble is the worst race since Tommy the Singing Turtle took on Beetle Bob.
At least the Mets are fun to watch. They'd lost 13 of their past 15 games heading into the weekend, but unlike the comatose Giants, who averaged 1.8 runs per game in losing 13 out of 14 at home, they do plenty of hitting. Pete Alonso has clubbed six homers this month, with 18 RBIs, and Juan Soto homered in four of the past six games.
The Mets simply can't throw enough strikes, and when you look at the names, there would seem to be no hope for the rotation. The bullpen got some nice trade-deadline acquisitions, but ex-Giant Tyler Rogers and once unhittable Ryan Helsley combined to cough up Thursday's loss to Atlanta.
(Even with that, Rogers had given up only one earned run in his seven outings with the Mets entering Friday. If things really get desperate, they shouldn't rule out using him as a ninth-inning closer on occasion: groundout, groundout, groundout, ballgame.)
Five games. With Tampa Bay heading into Oracle on Friday night, that's all that separated the Giants from the Mets with a third and final wild-card spot available in the National League. Except it's nowhere that simple. The Giants stood seventh in a crowd, with the Miami Marlins just a game behind them. San Francisco needs to pass Arizona, St. Louis and Cincinnati before the Giants can even think about the Mets.
The immediate concern is to leave town Sunday night with some kind of spiritual uplift. They've made it quite clear recently that they can't win at home, and it has been a gut-wrenching experience to watch fans pouring in to watch players who captured their hearts only weeks ago — only to serve up a big pile of nothing.
'You gotta give them something,' broadcaster Mike Krukow said by telephone on Friday. 'You can sense the anticipation in the stands, and then you absolutely feel it when they give up hope.
'It's bone-crushing when you're a player, too. We didn't get big crowds at Candlestick very often, but when it was packed, you knew you had an opportunity to play your ass off and win those big games — because now you have people walking out talking about your team. That's pure energy. And it definitely comes back to the players.'
In dismissing the Giants so handily, the Padres showed 'they definitely have that chemistry,' Krukow said. 'You can feel their energy, see it on their faces. There's no doubt in my mind they're gonna win the division.'
• What makes for compelling theater: The Padres have the best bullpen in baseball, with ex-A's closer Mason Miller just blowing people away, and a questionable rotation. The Dodgers suddenly have a deep postseason rotation with Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow joining Clayton Kershaw, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani (who, according to manager Dave Roberts, won't pitch beyond the sixth inning for the rest of the season). Their bullpen is a mess, but remember that they made a ridiculous 25 pitching changes during last year's championship postseason, using five or more relievers in six different games. They just seem to think it all works out in the end.
• The Giants know too much about Matt Chapman, Willy Adames, Rafael Devers, Jung Hoo Lee, Heliot Ramos and Logan Webb, among others, to feel nervous about their veteran core. They can't be sure about Patrick Bailey, who is taking on the look of a backup catcher. Too many passed balls (six, plus two more that could have been ruled that way entering Friday), and he's contributing so very little at the plate.
• It's important to know that according to sources close to the team, manager Bob Melvin hasn't lost the clubhouse. It's easy to sense a festering negativity, and that hasn't happened here. Good. Don't even think about his job status until the season is finished — and it's highly unlikely Buster Posey would fire him at that point, either.
• It's a shame that third base is not usually unavailable to Casey Schmitt, because his so-so range limits his potential at second. Still, he's a sure-handed defender with a cannon for an arm — as well as a slowly improving hitter with titanic power. We heartily second the recent compliment from Webb, who said, 'I love Case. I've been a big fan of his for a long time. It's cool to see him shine.'
• Plus, you gotta love a guy who captures broadcaster Duane Kuiper so perfectly ('hits it DEEP!') on that clever Giants ad.
• It's obviously worth monitoring Bryce Eldridge 's power-hitting progress through the minors, but there's some fascinating stuff happening on the lower levels. Five-tool sensation Dakota Jordan was hitting .311 for Class A San Jose through Friday, with 14 homers and 27 stolen bases while working on his plate discipline (95 strikeouts is too many). Another exciting outfield prospect, Bo Davidson, checked in at .309 at Eugene ('loudest tool set I've seen this year,' said one Northwest League observer), while rising to No. 10 in ESPN's ranking of club prospects. And 17-year-old shortstop Josuar Gonzalez, just getting started in the Dominican Summer League, has shot up to No. 2. Likened to Francisco Lindor for his all-around skills and switch-hitting with power, Gonzalez has been forecast as MLB's top international prospect among position players.
• Dilemma: Too clunky in the outfield, Ramos could wind up a DH. Devers fits that role perfectly, although he enjoys getting his shot at first base. Then Eldridge clouds the picture, perhaps as early as next season. And who knows what becomes of Marco Luciano? At least it's a fun problem to have. The Giants need a few more of those.
• Mike Yastrzemski developed an instant fan club in Kansas City, homering in his first at-bat and making a spectacular catch at Fenway Park, robbing Roman Anthony of a homer. Overall, not so good: .118 and 1-for-16 of late. … LaMonte Wade Jr., traded to the Angels in early June, was released Aug. 2 and has not resurfaced.
• As for those pitchers shipped to Boston in the Devers deal: Kyle Harrison remains in the minors, racking up decent numbers for Triple-A Worcester. Jordan Hicks has struggled badly in the Red Sox bullpen, entering Friday with a 6.23 ERA in 14 appearances and as many walks/hit batters (11 total) as strikeouts.
Red Sox chief executive Craig Breslow (yes, the onetime A's reliever) indicated that Devers didn't have the proper attitude for the team's 'alignment,' whatever that means. The Giants have raved about Devers off the field, but then again, Breslow is a strange cat. After acquiring only marginal talent at the trade deadline, infuriating the fan base and baffling the media, Breslow explained it this way: 'None of the deals that didn't end up being executed came from a lack of being aggressive or an unwillingness to get uncomfortable.'
