Pablo Sandoval made a strong case for being elected to his first All Star Game, belting a grand slam in the fifth inning to lead the Giants past the Marlins. Matt Cain (already All Star Game bound) earned his 10th win, and Brian Wilson, laughably being touted as an All Star candidate himself by Kruk and Kuip last night, barely held on for the save.
I may have been wrong about this team’s ability to contend, (currently holding fast to the Wild Card lead, with the second best record in the NL), but I wasn’t wrong about the offense. The Giants are 45-37, meaning they are almost exactly halfway through the season. They have scored 342 runs, and allowed 303, so they are on pace to almost exactly match last years 680 runs scored, which means, for all the posturing about how Renteria was gonna make some kind of big difference, as of right now, even with the tremendous season Sandoval is having, we’re still gonna score less than 700 runs. (Unless you wanna believe the surge in offense over the last five weeks is a real indicator of a team on the rise. I need a little more convincing, myself).
But the Giants big improvement has obviously been because of the pitching staff. A year ago today, the Giants were 39-50, having score 367 runs and allowed 408. Saving 100 runs in 80 games is unbelievable, really, and is the sole reason the team is contending. Matt Cain has dropped his ERA over a run per game, in fact, he’s allowed 31 runs in 17 starts, as opposed to 91 in 34. That’s a big drop. Lincecum has also allowed fewer runs per game, although he was so dominant last year, the improvement is a bit more incremental.
Across the board, however, the pitching staff has shown tremendous improvement. Last season, our starters posted a 4.34 ERA, this year they’re at 3.62, best in the league. Our relievers have been even better, posting a stellar 3.33 ERA this year. Last season, they were cover-your-eyes awful, posting a second to last ERA of 4.45. Wow. Having one of your young pitchers post a run per game improvement is terrific. Having your entire group of relievers do so is unbelievable. Kudos to Sabean and Righetti for both the planning and the coaching involved in such a breakthrough.
The combination means the improvement is real. As of today, the team has seen a 80 runs differential improvement over last season. The maturation and season long effectiveness of Matt Cain has been terrific, but he’s not been the only one. The improvement has been across the board, and allowing 100 fewer runs in a half season is simply outstanding.
UPDATE: I never said the Giants scored 367 runs in 81 games. I compared the teams by date, as in, “a year ago today.” Thanks for reacting instead of paying attention to my point.
40 Backtalkers
Panda needs to be an all-star bottom line. He’s currently sporting the best offensive numbers of any 3B in the NL and plays pretty good defense despite being….well built like a panda. VOTE FOR THE PANDA
The bullpen has seen a HUGE improvement. Last year we stuck watching guys like Traschner and Vinny Chulk blow winnable games. This year Miller, Medders, Romo, and Affeldt have pitched terrifically out of the pen. While Cain’s improvement is notable the relief improvement is tremendous.
Oh, I don’t think you’re wrong about this team’s ability to contend. Everybody has been quick to pick up on the t “2nd best record in the National League” refrain. It is true. They have the second best record in the National League as of noon on July 8th, 2009 at 45-37, 8 games over .500 and 7 games behind the Dodgers. But they are closer to the 12th best team (Atlanta at 39-43) than they are to the guys they are chasing in their own division.
Everybody likes to talk “wildcard” but as opposed to just competing against two teams (the Dodgers and Rockies) for a play-off spot in their own division, now they have 11 other competitors for an “at-large” play-off spot Thats a lot of damn teams to keep at bay for 81 more games. And thats with Lincecum, and Cain pitching like kryptonite has been banned, Afeldt pitching like John Franco in his prime, Sadowski doing his Sid Finch impersonation, and Sergio Romo not realizing this is MLB and not the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
But what is really telling about this team is what you point out. They are on a pace to again score less than 700 runs in a season. And thats with worse defense at shortstop and second base. Sandoval, and as Scott points out, even Rowand are contributing in ways that were not predictable before the season offensively. Hopefully it is sustainable. Which goes to point out just how horrid the rest of this team is at the plate, the 22 unanswered runs against the Astros notwithstanding.
With a guy like Zito dragging this rotation down more starts than not, questionable health for the mediocre Johnson, combined with the dearth of consistent offense from anybody but Sandoval, I am extremely skeptical that this team is going to finish any place other than back in the pack and quite possibly third in a 5 team division. None of the other teams in the National League except for the Rockies have gone on a tear yet, and one of the 11 is bound to at some point. The Giants have a hellacious road trip coming up in August. A lot can and will happen between now and the end of September when the posers are culled out.
But its fun to enjoy the wins every other day so far. It’s been better than the prior 4 seasons certainly. I just don’t see it lasting beyond August at the latest. Hope I’m wrong, but I don’t think so.
At the exact half way mark this year (after the 81st game Sunday’s against the Astro’s) the Giants offense had scored 337 runs on pace for 34 more runs (674) then last years 640 (not the 680 you stated) in 162 games. Bottom line, you were wrong here too. This year’s offense is better then last year’s.
Uhm. At the 81 game mark last year, the Giants had scored 367 runs compared to this years 337. Thats 30 runs less. How does that translate to better offense this year than last year?
It took the giants 95 games last year to score 382 runs (the number of games and runs before last year’s All Star Break) therefore I just flat do not believe your claim that the Giants scored 367 runs in the first 81 games and therefore just 15 runs in the last 14 of these 95 games.
Here is my link.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/stats/aggregate?sort=runs&split=181&group=8&season=2008&seasonType=2&statType=batting&type=reg
Provide yours or admitt you are wrong.
I found a link that shows how many runs the Giants scored last year in their first 81 games. The total was 324 not 367 therefore this year’s total of 337 does indeed show that the Giants have improved their offense this year.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/stats/aggregate?sort=runs&split=181&group=8&season=2008&seasonType=2&statType=batting&type=reg
Opps, wrong link. Here is the correct link.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/standings?date=20080628&type=reg
And if you discount the 22 runs against Houston a couple of days ago, they’re at 315. Or a pace for about 640 runs. Whatever. But that is a point that neither John nor I were trying to make. The point we are making, is that they are again on a pace to score less than 700 runs. As a result, they have little to no chance of making the playoffs at this rate. How little you may ask?
Well lets look at this way. The wild card was introduced in 1995 (94 was strike-shortened). The 1995 season only had 144 games as they got a late start resulting from the prior year’s strike. That leaves 1996 through the 2008 season. That is 13 complete seasons of 162 games. Six divisions and 4 playoff teams per year. 104 playoff teams. Do you know how many of those teams scored less than 700 runs? Exactly two. That’s 1.9% The Padres and Astros. I don’t know of anybody that thinks a 1.9% chance of winning something is a potential eventuality in a rational world. But than again, I don’t know many people who spend their days trying to ascertain the number of angels dancing on the head of a pin.
4 playoff teams per year
should be 8 playoff teams per year.
+mia,
Just curious. How many runs did the Dodgeers championship teams score in the 60’s?
I’ll take all comers who want to wager against the Gigantes making the playoffs. Forget the 700 club…we only need to score more than we give up. I realize this puts incredible pressure on your staff…they’re used to it…they can handle it. More runs would be great…an additional stick at 2b would be nice…but at what cost?
I’d prefer to enjoy Zito’s win for at least a day…before I start thinking about how in need we are. The rest of the contenders have worse issues than us.
What will it take for all you nay-sayers to believe in this team?
Just Win Baby.
You can’t seriously compare this team to that Dodgers team. The league ERA was something like 3.5, so lots of teams didn’t score.
The Giants are scoring at a rate that makes them contenders, but only if they can continue to prevent runs at a league-best rate. It’s that simple.
John,
I agree, you only need to score more than you give up…that was my main point.
Not comparing them to the Dodgers…even though Lincecum/Cain could give Drysdale/Koufax a run for their money. Koufax was on a different planet than everyone…completely untouchable.
The Gigantes are contenders…and unless Sabean dismantles the staff…it will continue to impress. Just waiting for all the rest of the OBM gang to get on board. I watch enough of other teams to realize what we have going this year.
I get the feeling John…you’re starting to believe.
Just my opinions…and I could be wrong.
Question for John, +mia and the rest of the OBM gang — rate the Giants’ chances if they a) stand pat or b) pick up a bat, assuming Sadowski is moved to pick up said bat. Factor in Sabean’s ability to judge what a good bat is accordingly.
Sadowski isn’t going to bring back a bat. I’m thrilled he’s done so well so far, but there’s no reason to think it will continue, and nobody is going to regard him as someone they expect to succeed on the big league level (and therefore trade anything to acquire him)…
If we play .500 ball the rest of the way we’ll win about 86 games. Can that get us into the wild card? Not sure, probably not, but it will at least put us in contention down to the last week.
Well see my post above regarding the Giants chances at their current run scoring rate. Which are lousy at best given the past 13 seasons with the current format of 16 teams and the wild card. So obviously they need a bat. Just like John was saying even before the season started. There were plenty to be had in free agency. Now those same kinds of available bats are far fewer in number, and because it continues to be a seller’s market for the time being, those bats that could have been had for a future draft pick, would require an in-kind player/prospect in return. The Giants have a surplus of neither despite the wishful thinking of some.
Simple thing. Never buy in a seller’s market, and never sell in a buyer’s market if you can help it. Basically, Sabean’s prior inactions over the last couple of years seems to have put the Giants between a rock and a hard place for this season. This is what happens when you have a GM whose idea of a Plan B is a Plan WTF.
I couldn’t begin to guess what Sabean is going to do, simply because he doesn’t have a clue on what he’s going to do either
There is no question in my mind…this team is far better than the past couple years. They remind me of the Dodger teams of the 60’s…no offense intended…as I hate the Blue Crew as much as anyone. You can throw out whatever stats you want…this team has the most important factor working for them…they believe and expect to win every time they go out on the field. This is something that doesn’t show up on paper. I am not surprised by the success…because I am the idiot who has been calling them a playoff team since the second week. We just might run away with the wild card. I have been dead wrong about Rowand, Renteria, and Uribe. They all have been contributing. Granted…Rowand and Renteria are grossly overpaid…but, so are most ball players. Out bull pen might be the best in all of baseball. Ish is turning into a nice surprise at 1b…Unc Joe called that one.
Yeah…we need a 2b. But, if Uribe catches fire…we can live with his average glove. If only Sanchez can turn it around…could get real interesting…even the division is within reach then.
I posted over a month ago that I thought the Gigantes could be 10 over by the break…it just might happen. With parity in the NL Central and East…the Mets,Phils,Marlins,Braves,Brewers,Cards,and Cubs will wear each other down. It will be difficult for any of them to break away. +Mia is right about the difficult road trip in August…hopefully we are still rolling along…and some of those have fallen out of contention. I believe the Mets and Cubs are toast. Talk about poor hitting…just take a look at the Cubbies and Mets as of late.
Everytime I rip Zito into the ground…I eat crow…so, might as well make it a weekly ritual. Maybe if he wins five in row…I’ll cut him some slack.
Now tied with the Dodgers for the best home record in all of baseball…not bad…not bad at all.
My only concern is that Sabean messes with the continuity of the club…and make a devastating trade. This is a special team in the works…and we’re long overdue.
Stay hot Gigantes.
The 1965 Dodgers was the last team on which both Koufax and Drysdale played together in a World Series, defeating Harmon Killebrew’s Minnesota Twins 4 games to 3.
1965, when LBJ was president, there were five less teams in the National League and the mound was 5” taller.
The team ERA for the 1965 Dodgers was 2.81.
A more recent and a more reasonable comparison might be made with the 1988 Dodgers who couldn’t hit much but had a team ERA of 2.96.
The 2009 Giants team ERA is 3.51 right now. The last Giants team to have such a great pitching staff was the 1981 squad with Vida Blue and Doyle Alexander They didn’t make the playoffs because they Could. Not. Score. Runs. They were on a pace to score 623 runs if the strike hadn’t shortened the season.
The 2009 Giants are on a pace to score around 675 runs. Wild card contender? Eh, maybe. Will I hold my breath? No. Because the uneven performance of many of this team’s players does not inspire confidence.
The Giants don’t have one single everyday player that matches up to the level of a Will Clark, a Jeff Kent, a Robby Thompson, a Matt Williams, let alone a Bonds. The idea that this Giants squad might get to the World Series via the Wild Card makes me slightly indignant, but come October I doubt I’ll have to worry about that.
Robert,
Maybe after you watch the Mets,Cubbies,Brewers,Braves…and any other pretender that is out there on a regular basis…you will get a better appreciation for the Gigantes chances. After this weekend…only the Brewers on the above list will have scored more runs than the Gigantes…and Miller Park is a launching pad.
I would match Pablo against anyone…except Bonds. Even the Thrill.
can we all agree on one thing?
this team is much more fun to watch than last season
it helps that on occasion, zito has been very good
it helps that finally the kids really are being allowed to play….nate was created by god to play rt field
and panda deserves to be an as
btw, wilson wasnt really that awful…without that brain fart of throwing to 2nd rather than home, he wouldve gotten out of the ninth only surrendering 1 run on an off nite
but i still refuse to give kudos to sabean for finally doing the right thing after all these years
Amen.
I’ll second that Amen.
this team is much more fun to watch than last season
—————————————————————
Sandoval and the pitching is. The rest not so much.
I do love this pen except for Howry, who is actually better than a lot of guys throughout the league. And if Bochy handled him as a mop up guy instead of a set up guy then we’d all be set.
The hitting is still atrocious. Bengie Molina of the .270 On Base Percentage is your clean up hitter. Nuff said about that. Aurillia is still getting starts. Renteria and Uribe look like the twin towers of Play Doh. Nate is fun to watch in right field defensively. Neither he nor Ishikawa stand a chance against a pitcher that can break stuff off on the inside.
Its actually damn frustrating to be watching the same kinds of pokey batters making the same kinds of pathetic plate appearances that we have become numb to after years of brainless hack slopping. Sorry. I do not find it entertaining, in the same way I do not find pork barrel politicians amusing either. All huff, puff and steal your hard earned dollars based on bullshit.
Like I said, check back after August after the other 11 teams have made their run.
+mia,
I’m saving this post dude. I’ll remind you on a weekly basis.
Remind me of what?
That the Giants got complete-gamed-5 hit by a nobody? That their starting second baseman is batting .063. That Aaron Rowand is 0 for his last four games?
That the Giants have scored the princely sum of 9 runs in their last 4 games since Astro Manager and Alzheimer candidate Cecil Cooper forgot to pull his pitchers during the 22 run fiasco against the Giants over the weekend?
That most of the scoring since then has came from one Sandoval homerun and one Uribe homerun, otherwise they quite possibly would be looking at a 4 game losing streak. The fact that as of this evening, they lead the third place Rockies by only one game.
I have maintained that a club has to have some winning streaks to put distance between itself and its competitors over the course of a season to give themselves some breathing room when they hit those inevitable patches of playing lousy ball. The details of which I went into here
My point is simply this. The Giants have just barely avoided losing 4 games in a row…Some great pitching enabled them to split the last 4 games. Lack of consistent hitting also prevented them from sweeping two series. Granted, Oswalt is hard to beat, and he had has “A” game. But to get shut down by a guy like Chris Volstad and not get a single base on balls from a guy with a 4.85 ERA before today’s game is an embarrassment. A good team would be 3 and 1 in these last 4 games, not 2-2. Which is why they continue to putter around at breakeven playing fair to middlin’ clubs and looking horrible and amateurish against bona fide playoff caliber pitchers like Oswalt and Josh Johnson.
Not only that, they don’t even make opposing pitchers break a sweat. Today they had no walks. Last night, they had 1 walk and the night before that 3 walks, and the day before that 1 walk.
They have made up virtually no ground on the Dodgers, and are actually 3 games further behind (7.5 vs 4.5) then they were two months ago and are only a game in front of the Rockies.
They simply do not score enough runs to compete. Less than 2% of playoff teams score fewer than 700 runs. And that was in 2005 by the Padres and Astros, the first year of the new ped testing policy.
They don’t put together winning streaks. They are on a pace to score under 700 runs. Only Sandoval has been hitting consistently. Randy Johnson is out/injured/ineffective for God knows how long. I don’t know whats to like other than the nebulousness of the crap shoot/lottery known as the wild card race.
Like I said, watching the pitching is fun. Watching Sandoval at the plate is fun. Shierholtz’ Defense is good too. Watching the rest of it is like watching paint dry.
Not disagreeing with your points, but I think Volstad should be given a little more credit. The kid has some good stuff, is regarded as having a lot of potential, and posted a 2.88 ERA in almost the same number of innings last year as he’s pitched so far this year. So he’s had some big league success (3.94 career ERA). We gotta do better if we want to make the playoffs, though.
Agreed. His stuff is not bad, and he was smart to work the edges of the strike zone with his sinking fb and constantly getting and staying ahead in the count. Teams like the Giants (non-selective agressors mostly) do not do well against guys like this. Unfortunately for the Giants, that is what the better teams in the league are loaded with. And the Giants simply do not match up well against guys like this.
The only way to get on top of a guy with a good sinker is to wear his ass out so he loses his slot, and get under the ball with his delivery. You have to make him get his pitches up where they can be batted around a little. But that takes patience, pitch selection, ability to foul off pitchers’ pitches and most importantly; discipline. Things not normally associated with the Giants
Anyway, I know that at one time he was/is considered a decent prospect (who isn’t that comes up through the Marlins farm system by the way?). And he does have potential. But that was the point…POTENTIAL. Guys who show mostly potential, do not normally shutdown good teams; because they are not consistent enough and end up making mistakes in the upper reaches of the strike zone which good hitting teams can take advantage of… Like what the Marlins did against Sandowski, and later Merkin Valdez.
Volstad only gave up 2 runs to the Giants in Miami earlier this season, and he was perfect from the 5th inning on to record his first career complete game shutout. That’s not what normally happens to playoff teams. But this seems to happen quite a bit, which is why they don’t score many runs.
“Guys who show mostly potential, do not normally shutdown good teams;”
We’re a decent team, but mostly because of Lincecum/Cain. We all know using the word “good” in any fashion related to the Giants offense is….well, you get the point. We’re a bad offensive team. Can we overcome that with our pitching? I don’t know, but I sure hope so. At least it looks like we won’t continue our streak of losing seasons…
I’m happy overall with the season. I had realistic expectations for Sandoval, so obviously he’s far and away surpassed my wildest hopes. I had realistic expectations for Lincecum, too (expecting a slight drop in his production), and again, he’s far and away surpassed my expectations. We could be looking at the best pitcher in the majors, barring injury, for the next 8-10 years. Really, the only thing I’ve been disappointed with is Sanchez just being completely horrible. I thought at worst he’d mix in some good starts with some bad starts…
+mia,
I work in Florida every month…and I get a chance to watch the Marlins a lot. Volstad is not a nobody…and is an up and coming star. I would not call it an embarrassment to get shut down by him.
I will agree that watching the Gigantes at bat can be dull…and a cure for insomia at times. But, taking 2 of 3 from the Fish is not bad. I still believe they will take the East.
I’ve been saying all year do not count out the Rocks…they might over take the Dodgers.
We need a bat at 2b..asap. Hopefully, we do not give up the farm to get one.
No need to get offended or your hair up when there is disagreement. Not everyone sees the game the same way….or what that matter life in general. I realize that many on OBM tune in for your insightful and colorful posts…and we all have differing opinions.
Hopefully…we are all on the same page…and agenda…a winning Gigantes seasaon culminating in a playoff berth.
At least 3 of 4 from the Pads.
Stay hot Timmy.
Hell, it gets boring if we agree on everything. With me, the Giants glass is always about 99% empty. Mainly because its a dribble glass that makes me drool all over my chin whenever I look up to see what they’re upto. I’m not happy unless I’m bitching about something orange and black. And the way the Giants play, I’m pretty happy most of the time…actually in a state of hysterics from April until the first week of October.
I have to admit, I’ve had to dig a little deeper than normal for reasons to send them to the woodshed without the post game spread. Something Bengie, Pablo, Edgar, and Juan could do with a little less of frankly. At least these guys can blame their appetites when they screw up. Bochy can claim cerebral gas leak and blame skull bloatedness for his absence of any cogent thought when making lineup changes. I don’t know what Rowand’s excuse is, except his Giants contract is keeping from his night job delivering Domino’s Pizzas. (Where all Cal State Fullerton Baseball Alumni career-path when their playing days are over)
I’m actually enjoying Kevin Frat Randsen. I’ve never seen a guy with so little talent, get so many chances to establish the all-time worst batting average in the history of Planet Earth. I think that is why the Giants are keeping Aurillia around…to mentor him on the fine art of embarrassing one’s self in front of thousands on a nightly basis. Its kind of what Zito does for Wilson. Teaching him a kind of doper-surfer ebonics pig-latin kind of talking into a microphone. Spellbinding they are.
If the Giants sweep the Padres, I will drop trow at 24 Willie Mays Plaza and give you 20 minutes to draw a crowd such is my faith in them to continue their pursuit of mediocrity.
+mia,
I’m getting the broom ready…and a case of my favorite libation. 24 Willie Mays Plaza will never be the same.
Be careful what you wish for. Wont need 20 minutes.
Game on.
Won’t take 20 minutes either. Not going to happen. Not with a guy who ranks 302 out of 309 in batting average (including pitchers for gawd’s sake) starting at second base like last night. Even Barry Zito and Randy Johnson have higher batting averages than Frandsen. He does have a clear lead on Joe Blanton and Jamie Moyer however. But Moyer is one of those cagey savvy vets and could catch our hero any day now.
Getting on Frandsen at the yard would be bad form however. It would be like heckling pallbearers.
Anyway, here’s to Lincecum shoving it tonight.
+mia,
I’ll drink to that.
Frandsen is snake bit. Never seen a guy who is struggling…hit so mnay line drives that are caught. Getting on Frandsen period…is not in good form….and I never believe in heckling at a funeral…unless it’s mine.
Bowker is up…let’s see what he can do. I would also bring Velez up…and release Lewis.
First leg of the sweep coming.
Pablo got robbed.
What’s bugging me now is that when things go right for the Giants – winning the Marlins series, for instance – comments from +Mia and others are belittling their accomplishments, trying to delegitimize them as flukes or luck. Sheesh – they won the games – does it matter to anyone how they won? It’s the record that counts, not whether the team plays the way the armchair GMs think it should. If they make the playoffs while scoring fewer than 700 runs, is that a bad thing? If one home run is enough to win a game, or two to win a series, are we supposed to cry because they didn’t hit ten? This attitude mystifies me. All I can figure out is that some of y’all are putting out all this poor-mouthing so you can pat yourselves on the back for being right if things fall apart. I can understand all the moaning and groaning when the team is losing, but the second-best record in the league has to count for something, no? Geez, you’re wearin me out here.
Hal,
Hang in there dude. It’s all good.
Don’t throw us all under the bus. I’ve been calling the wild card ours for almost two months. +mia like playing the Devils Advocate…which keeps OBM an interesting and thought provocaing site. It’s all in good fun. Like he says…he’s never happy unless he’s bitching about the orange and black. w/o +mia and his blogs…I would most likely not frequent this site as much. No offense John.
I think the Gigantes can make the playoffs with less than 700 runs…it’s just going to be that much harder…and with their pitching they could dominate a short series.
By the way…in a moment of sentimentalism…+mia got me to start watching the Gigantes again. For the most part…I’m glad he did…just tends eats up too much of my time….and drive me to increased alcohol consumption.
By the way…no more sheeshing.
Hal:
The second best record in the league is worth something, of course. Based on last nights run production in their 9-3 face-slapping win over the Padres, and with 77 games left in the season, the Giants are now on a pace to score 1047 runs and go on a 74-3 tear to finish the season 60 games over .500 at 121-41.
Unfortunately, they will still end up a game behind the Dodgers.
Seriously though, you’re right. On a scale of 1 to 10, the Giants are about a 5.53. Definitely more better and funner than the Alou versions and Bochy 1.1 and 1.2. Sandoval, to my minds eye, is the most interesting player next to Manny Ramirez to watch. They both have so much fun playing the game. Ramirez is interesting in the same way Bonds was. A swirl of controversy accompanied by incredible ability, and a sense of the dramatic. Sandoval just attacks the game constantly and relentlessly. Just what one would expect of a bear
In spite of my constant state of grumpiness when it comes to most things Giants, watching Sandoval play, both in the field and at the plate (his little routines before he steps in have me rolling on the floor the way he uses his bat to beat the shit out of his spikes, his helmet, and the batters box) is like watching one of your kids grow up. I don’t think it is possible for anybody to have a better time playing baseball than Sandoval. Manny comes close, but still not as much as Sandoval.
Comparing by date is a very bogus way to compare. If the number of games are not the same then the comparison is flawed and therefore meaningless. I guess I made a mistake assuming you would not make a flawing and meaningless comparison.
That’s a straw man argument. The rough comparison I made was true, accurate, and more than close enough to support my contention that the Giants pitchers had allowed almost 100 fewer runs over a comparable time period, and that that was the reason they were in contention.
I am still not convinced.
I need some bats added, and Freddy Sanchez ain’t enough. A ridiculous home/road split and .600 record against sub .500 teams mask a lot. The difference is a vastly better bullpen, a decent Zito, and Pablo, but you can’t be a serious contender with a .312 OBP and almost no power. This team reminds me of the 2003 Dodgers, 85-77, 2nd place with the best pitching in the league but a woeful offense.
Much to my distaste, credit has to go to Sabean for the pen. Afeldt, Medders, Romo, Wilson Miller, Howry and Valdez compared to last year’s edition featuring the departed Walker, Taschner, Chulk, Hinshaw, Yabu and Sadler.
Talk about extreme make-overs! The Dodgers have an incredible pen ERA of 3.20 vs 3.38, but the Dodger Pen has put in 289 innings compared to the Giants 234. Thats almost an additional 100 innings over the course of the season. Lots of wear and tear.
Lets keep our fingers crossed that nobody wants to help them out with a trade. Already Belisario one of their two featured relievers in late inning relief has just been placed on the 15 day DL after making appearances in almost half of the Dodgers’ games.
August could get very interesting. In a good way hopefully.