Thursday, August 12, 2010

Some Sort of Quality Start

I'm not really sure what constitutes a "Quality Start", not really sure I care. Zito threw six and a third, was yanked for walking batters and allowed four runs. It may not have been a quality start, but it was "Good Enough." Romo came in and took care of the remainder of the 7th and the 8th on 16 pitches. That is not too much work, and Wilson closed it out in the 9th. Four guys had 2 hits each, and Posey was not one of them, in spite of the fact that he had a big hit with rbi's attached, but it was changed to an error. Torres, Huff, Burrell and Sandoval. Also, Uribe and Rowand each had hits (Rowand tied the game with a 6th inning homer after the cubbies had depressingly gone ahead). How about that Pat the Bat! Was it a must-win? Probably not, but losing to the cubs, especially since they have already decided to hang it up for the season, would just have been too, too sad.

Anyway, that brings me to my discussion topic. 'Nother bat? It seems the interthingy is still full of people screaming for another bat (and I do not think Mike Hottentot's name came up very often in this context). Any such discussion, to be worth a damn, has to take into account 1) whom would not get playing time, and 2) whom would be traded for such a bat. It had better be a damn good bat because the net effect would only be the increment between a player you take out, and the bat you obtain. And then, you have to account for whom you don't have, probably in your starting rotation. You know that the Brewers would not trade Fielder for less than Matt Cain + major minor league talent. You also know that a lesser bat is not really an upgrade and would still cost you. Please, no comments about trading some marginal Class AA talent for some stud major leaguer, it is just not that easy, and tiring to look at. I think we are about as well situated right now as we could hope to be. Keep those hits coming. Go get 'em, Matthew.

8 comments:

Zo said...

ps. The Panda's hits had a much more solid look to them.

M.C. O'Connor said...

With the deadline passing on July 31st, any player traded now would have to clear waivers. That's why I thought the Giants might do something (other than Mike Fontenot) before now. And speaking of Mike Fontenot, why do we need a 2nd baseman? Is there something wrong with FSanchez (other than his hitting)? It was a pretty thin market out there, and I think the only the Padres managed to find a decent bat for a reasonable price.

We are what we are--ain't nothing gonna change at this point, unless you think Manny Burriss can hit. Am I happy with our offense? Hell, no. But Buster and Burrell have really added a lot and it certainly paid off in July. The key is the Panda. He has to hit. I'm not sure the Giants will ever have a 5+ rpg stretch again, but if they do, look out. As long as they don't go into a prolonged funk they should be OK. San Diego can't score for shit and they are managing so far to keep it going, so I expect we will, too.

Brother Bob said...

The Panda is the "other bat" we need, along with some other under-performing members of the roster I could name.
An issue I wanted to bring up, and perhaps it's not a healthy topic, is that the Giants, as currently constituted, are almost entirely a white man's team. We have no standout African Americans, and aside from Torres, the Latino players are unremarkable. (Sandoval SHOULD be the other exception to this, I wish he were.)
Maybe I'm just noticing this because the new guys like Huff, Burrell and Posey are the ones who seem to be making us better.
Does any of this actually mean anything?

Al said...

Zo,

Sorry to nitpick:

Your description makes it sound as though a hit (+2 RBIs) were taken away from Posey from last nights win, when in fact the hit (+2 RBIs) was corrected to an error by the official scorer from the loss 2 nights ago.

Also, Rowand's homer gave the Giants a 4-3 lead from a 3-3 tie score.

Also, also, the Giants did not trail at any point during the game.

M.C. O'Connor said...

Bob,

I means that the Giants have utterly failed to tap into the burgeoning market for Taiwanese players.

Zo said...

Al,
I stand corrected. That's what happens when you post hurriedly because a meeting with the boss is looming.

Zo said...

Renteria is hurt. Fontainbleu is a fill in for F. Sanchez, J. Uribe, and P. Sandoval, and E. Burris if he does not look to good. It is a decent move to spell players down the stretch, not one that anyone would think will boost our offense.

Bob, I think Jonathan Sanchez is pretty remarkable. Also, you can throw in relievers, Romo especially. If you just mean position players, I think Uribe, given his history, is putting in a pretty remarkable year. Bottom line, white is right as long as it chalks up W's.

Anonymous said...

They all look brown to me.