There are approximately 470,000 words in Webster's Dictionary. None aptly describe the current putrid state of the Giants.
The two-game trip into Phoenix, the abbreviated four-game swing before returning to the Bay Area (does Oakland really count as a road game?), the entire NL West campaign....pathetic. Losers of three out of four on the trip and an abysmal failure in the division, the Giants can only do one thing to save the season: petition MLB for immediate realignment.
At 22-18 they're above water, but just barely. The Dodgers, who endured one of the worst downturns this side of Wall Street, righted their ship and passed our heroes while the Padres continue to execute what was supposed to be "The Giants Way" and lead the pack.
The Diamondbacks proved that the "pitching before offense" mantra espoused by the Giants is a bunch of third-rate hocum. As long as you can hit the ball out of the park, a part of the game the Giants lack, you've got a puncher's chance. Just one bad pitch can save (or ruin) your day. And when the opposition willfully aides your cause, well, we saw what happens.
I won't bore you, or myself, with details. Wellemeyer stunk. Lincecum struggled mightily but, for a change, had the offense pick him up. What that leaves is the bullpen, which proved it doesn't mater if the starter is awful or awesome, they're ready and willing to decide the game -- sometimes in the negative.
I could go on and on (and on and on and on) about my previous contention that the Giants have some good ptichers, but not a good staff. There are far too many holes for the anemic defense to overcome. There is nobody you'd hand the ball to with confidence.
What do Brandon Medders, Aaron Rowand and Jeremy Affeldt have in common? All got very nice deals form Giants management on the basis of one good season. Rowand was never a $60 million player. Affeldt has been passed around more than a potato bong at a junior college dorm. Medders has always been, well, Medders (which is latin for "mediocre rag arm"). They could be nice complimentary parts but none is a year-in, year-out stalwart of any team, yet the Giants chose to overlook that and pay/sign based on a performance the player was statisitcally unlikely to repeat.
And it's not the first time we've seen this particular malfunction. Randy Winn, anybody?
Any explanation regarding Wellemeyer still eludes me. We've now listened to the Giants talk about the great young arms in the system for a full decade. Tell me, when was the last off-season the Giants didn't load up the roster with retreads from other teams? Morris, Benitez, Hermanson, Stanton, Howry, Worrell, Walker, Fassero (come back in two hours, I'll still be pulling out names)... the Giants are more frequent visitors to the bargain bin that a Yenta in Queens with a penchant for Bloomie's Basement.
Even when the Giants look for answers from within, they screw the pooch. Posey, Pucetas, Bumgarner, et al slug away in the minors because the Giants say they need "seasoning" like the answer was to dip them in Hooters wing sauce. They're adamant about not making them "learn at the Major League level." Fine, if that's your philosophy.
Then explain Dan Runzler. Posey can't get a sniff, but Ruzler has appeared in 18 of 40 games. Sixteen hits and 13 walks in 16.1 frames tells me the kid isn't ready for the bigs. So, isn't he "learning" at the Big League level? Shouldn't he be in Fresno? If not, then shouldn't the others be on the big league roster?
My bet is the next guy to get screwed on this will be Downs, which makes sense since he's the only Giant who has been hitting. But Freddy Sanchez finally crawled out of the whirlpool so he'll get shuffled off to either the pine or the minors, and we'll get to watch yet another promising career wasted in the bus leagues.
The Giants are schizophrenic enough to give Sybil headaches. They literally don't know if they're coming or going. Are they growing talent, trying to win now, or just spinning their wheels?
I realize it's early, but I'd really like to see the Giants blow up this team. If you've got a group of players who, despite their experience, can't get the job done on a cosnistent basis, you gotta give someone else a try. It might work, it might be a disaster. I don't know and I really don't care because at least at that point they'll have changed direction.
You're driving toward a cliff. You can't see left or right. Turn and you might find a steeper cliff, you might drive to safety. Either is preferable to staying on your present course, which brings certain doom.
No success lies down this road. A change of direction is long overdue.
The two-game trip into Phoenix, the abbreviated four-game swing before returning to the Bay Area (does Oakland really count as a road game?), the entire NL West campaign....pathetic. Losers of three out of four on the trip and an abysmal failure in the division, the Giants can only do one thing to save the season: petition MLB for immediate realignment.
At 22-18 they're above water, but just barely. The Dodgers, who endured one of the worst downturns this side of Wall Street, righted their ship and passed our heroes while the Padres continue to execute what was supposed to be "The Giants Way" and lead the pack.
The Diamondbacks proved that the "pitching before offense" mantra espoused by the Giants is a bunch of third-rate hocum. As long as you can hit the ball out of the park, a part of the game the Giants lack, you've got a puncher's chance. Just one bad pitch can save (or ruin) your day. And when the opposition willfully aides your cause, well, we saw what happens.
I won't bore you, or myself, with details. Wellemeyer stunk. Lincecum struggled mightily but, for a change, had the offense pick him up. What that leaves is the bullpen, which proved it doesn't mater if the starter is awful or awesome, they're ready and willing to decide the game -- sometimes in the negative.
I could go on and on (and on and on and on) about my previous contention that the Giants have some good ptichers, but not a good staff. There are far too many holes for the anemic defense to overcome. There is nobody you'd hand the ball to with confidence.
What do Brandon Medders, Aaron Rowand and Jeremy Affeldt have in common? All got very nice deals form Giants management on the basis of one good season. Rowand was never a $60 million player. Affeldt has been passed around more than a potato bong at a junior college dorm. Medders has always been, well, Medders (which is latin for "mediocre rag arm"). They could be nice complimentary parts but none is a year-in, year-out stalwart of any team, yet the Giants chose to overlook that and pay/sign based on a performance the player was statisitcally unlikely to repeat.
And it's not the first time we've seen this particular malfunction. Randy Winn, anybody?
Any explanation regarding Wellemeyer still eludes me. We've now listened to the Giants talk about the great young arms in the system for a full decade. Tell me, when was the last off-season the Giants didn't load up the roster with retreads from other teams? Morris, Benitez, Hermanson, Stanton, Howry, Worrell, Walker, Fassero (come back in two hours, I'll still be pulling out names)... the Giants are more frequent visitors to the bargain bin that a Yenta in Queens with a penchant for Bloomie's Basement.
Even when the Giants look for answers from within, they screw the pooch. Posey, Pucetas, Bumgarner, et al slug away in the minors because the Giants say they need "seasoning" like the answer was to dip them in Hooters wing sauce. They're adamant about not making them "learn at the Major League level." Fine, if that's your philosophy.
Then explain Dan Runzler. Posey can't get a sniff, but Ruzler has appeared in 18 of 40 games. Sixteen hits and 13 walks in 16.1 frames tells me the kid isn't ready for the bigs. So, isn't he "learning" at the Big League level? Shouldn't he be in Fresno? If not, then shouldn't the others be on the big league roster?
My bet is the next guy to get screwed on this will be Downs, which makes sense since he's the only Giant who has been hitting. But Freddy Sanchez finally crawled out of the whirlpool so he'll get shuffled off to either the pine or the minors, and we'll get to watch yet another promising career wasted in the bus leagues.
The Giants are schizophrenic enough to give Sybil headaches. They literally don't know if they're coming or going. Are they growing talent, trying to win now, or just spinning their wheels?
I realize it's early, but I'd really like to see the Giants blow up this team. If you've got a group of players who, despite their experience, can't get the job done on a cosnistent basis, you gotta give someone else a try. It might work, it might be a disaster. I don't know and I really don't care because at least at that point they'll have changed direction.
You're driving toward a cliff. You can't see left or right. Turn and you might find a steeper cliff, you might drive to safety. Either is preferable to staying on your present course, which brings certain doom.
No success lies down this road. A change of direction is long overdue.
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