[Leftcoast]

So what's up with the Dodgers?  

On paper they look awesome, great pitching, great hitting, deep bench, decent fielding, and I keep waiting for them to run away with the NL West but so far they haven't.  They are in a dead head with the Padres and just got swept by the Giants.   They are looking up at the Mets in the NL and multiple AL teams. Past 10 games they've gone 4-6 which includes the 3 game Giant sweep.

Is the West more open than we imagined at the start of the season?

[Leftcoast]

So what's up with the Dodgers?  

On paper they look awesome, great pitching, great hitting, deep bench, decent fielding, and I keep waiting for them to run away with the NL West but so far they haven't.  They are in a dead head with the Padres and just got swept by the Giants.   They are looking up at the Mets in the NL and multiple AL teams. Past 10 games they've gone 4-6 which includes the 3 game Giant sweep.

Is the West more open than we imagined at the start of the season?

[Phogge]

With little tangible proof they don't seem as menacing.

Anyway, f*** the Dodgers.

[Phogge]

With little tangible proof they don't seem as menacing.

Anyway, f*** the Dodgers.

[lex24]

It sounds to me like both Duggar and Wade will be returning this season, though I'm much more skeptical about Wade than I am Duggar.

Duggar will be returning from an oblique strain suffered in May after finishing a rehab assignment. That's a pretty straightforward injury. Wade, OTOH, has had a knee problem and this week, hamstring issue that put the brakes on a planned rehab assignment for him. I am concerned his knee is not in good shape and the hamstring is a product of compensating for the knee.

Duggar has an option.  I don’t see him finding a roster spot.  Absent injuries.  I could see him as part of a trade package at deadline.

[lex24]

It sounds to me like both Duggar and Wade will be returning this season, though I'm much more skeptical about Wade than I am Duggar.

Duggar will be returning from an oblique strain suffered in May after finishing a rehab assignment. That's a pretty straightforward injury. Wade, OTOH, has had a knee problem and this week, hamstring issue that put the brakes on a planned rehab assignment for him. I am concerned his knee is not in good shape and the hamstring is a product of compensating for the knee.

Duggar has an option.  I don’t see him finding a roster spot.  Absent injuries.  I could see him as part of a trade package at deadline.

[Phogge]

Kapler is a platoon manager. Casey was very successful as long as he had the horses in NYC. Going forward assuming you play your best every day what would your lineup be?

Example: The 50's Brooklyn Dodgers. Hodges, Robinson, Reese, Cox/Hoak, Furillo, Snider, Pafko/Amoros/Shuba, Campy. Not much finagling by Dressen/Alston.

[Phogge]

Kapler is a platoon manager. Casey was very successful as long as he had the horses in NYC. Going forward assuming you play your best every day what would your lineup be?

Example: The 50's Brooklyn Dodgers. Hodges, Robinson, Reese, Cox/Hoak, Furillo, Snider, Pafko/Amoros/Shuba, Campy. Not much finagling by Dressen/Alston.

[lex24]

So what's up with the Dodgers?  

On paper they look awesome, great pitching, great hitting, deep bench, decent fielding, and I keep waiting for them to run away with the NL West but so far they haven't.  They are in a dead head with the Padres and just got swept by the Giants.   They are looking up at the Mets in the NL and multiple AL teams.  Past 10 games they've gone 4-6 which includes the 3 game Giant sweep.

Is the West more open than we imagined at the start of the season?

Bellinger, Muncy and Justin Turner not hitting much. Betts, Freeman, Trea Turner and Will Smith have been carrying them offensively.

Kershaw was out for awhile (which was inevitable). Now Buehler out for an extended time, possibly the rest of the year. Bullpen has been shaky this last month.

Tyler Anderson and Gonsolin have been lights out. Anderson just took a no-hitter into the 9th. He’s 8-0.  I think both will regress at some point.

So yes, the Dodgers are vulnerable right now.  Interesting to see who they pick up at the deadline.

[lex24]

So what's up with the Dodgers?  

On paper they look awesome, great pitching, great hitting, deep bench, decent fielding, and I keep waiting for them to run away with the NL West but so far they haven't.  They are in a dead head with the Padres and just got swept by the Giants.   They are looking up at the Mets in the NL and multiple AL teams.  Past 10 games they've gone 4-6 which includes the 3 game Giant sweep.

Is the West more open than we imagined at the start of the season?

Bellinger, Muncy and Justin Turner not hitting much. Betts, Freeman, Trea Turner and Will Smith have been carrying them offensively.

Kershaw was out for awhile (which was inevitable). Now Buehler out for an extended time, possibly the rest of the year. Bullpen has been shaky this last month.

Tyler Anderson and Gonsolin have been lights out. Anderson just took a no-hitter into the 9th. He’s 8-0.  I think both will regress at some point.

So yes, the Dodgers are vulnerable right now.  Interesting to see who they pick up at the deadline.

[lex24]

Mookie Betts to IL.  Cracked rib.

[lex24]

Mookie Betts to IL.  Cracked rib.

[BobK]

Back to the Giants. They have now won 7 of 8.

[BobK]

Back to the Giants. They have now won 7 of 8.

[lex24]

Back to the Giants.  They have now won 7 of 8.

Nice run.  Big 4 game series with Braves coming up.

[lex24]

Back to the Giants.  They have now won 7 of 8.

Nice run.  Big 4 game series with Braves coming up.

[Mick]

[quote="Phogge" pid='356219' dateline='1655300519']
 I am excited about Slater.  He's probably the Giants' best outfielder.  He's very fast and knows how to run:  career 30 stolen bases in 33 attempts.  Pretty darned good, I'd say.  OBP of .365, good for #30 in all of MLB, were he to have enough AB's. He's a solid leadoff hitter, would be on pace to score 100 runs -- again, if he had the at bats.  Second highest OBP on the Giants after Yaz among the regulars and semi-regulars.  Highest number of walks per plate appearance, higher even than Belt or Yaz.  I think he's a terrific player.

Slater is a useful, versatile player who is especially valuable to the Giants given the way that they like to mix and match and deploy the roster. But every mention of "if he had the at-bats" ignores the fact that if he had the at-bats his rate numbers would be worse, because the Giants optimize how and when they use him. He has an extreme platoon split over his career: a healthy 278/369/468 (125 OPS+) vs LHP and a terrible 225/313/335 (76 OPS+) vs RHP.

He's actually 33-36 in his career in SB, but stealing one base a month doesn't move the needle. Still, a guy who can play multiple positions, hit LHP well, pinch hit and pinch run, is useful to have in these days of short benches, even though his numbers would take a big hit if he were playing every day and getting 600 plate appearances in a season, instead of being used selectively as he is.

Yes, over his career, he's done better against LHP, but he's improved over time.  This year, he actually has a better split against RHP.  Here's the numbers in 41 plate appearances vs. right handers and 66 appearances against lefties:

RHP: .281.439/.406/.845
LHP: .218/.333/.455/.788

Oddly, his strikeout rate is MUCH lower against righties, he's struck out 10 times in 41 plate appearances vs. righties, against 22 strikeouts in 66 plate appearances against lefties.

Also, he's doing better on the road (.273/.419/.455/.873) than at home (.222/.344/.426/.770).  Had an HR yesterday, that was nice to see.  His Home sOPS+ is 116, and road sOPS+ is 155 (that's the measure of OPS relative to the league OPS). And it's 146 vs. righties and 120 vs. lefties.

[Mick]

[quote="Phogge" pid='356219' dateline='1655300519']
 I am excited about Slater.  He's probably the Giants' best outfielder.  He's very fast and knows how to run:  career 30 stolen bases in 33 attempts.  Pretty darned good, I'd say.  OBP of .365, good for #30 in all of MLB, were he to have enough AB's. He's a solid leadoff hitter, would be on pace to score 100 runs -- again, if he had the at bats.  Second highest OBP on the Giants after Yaz among the regulars and semi-regulars.  Highest number of walks per plate appearance, higher even than Belt or Yaz.  I think he's a terrific player.

Slater is a useful, versatile player who is especially valuable to the Giants given the way that they like to mix and match and deploy the roster. But every mention of "if he had the at-bats" ignores the fact that if he had the at-bats his rate numbers would be worse, because the Giants optimize how and when they use him. He has an extreme platoon split over his career: a healthy 278/369/468 (125 OPS+) vs LHP and a terrible 225/313/335 (76 OPS+) vs RHP.

He's actually 33-36 in his career in SB, but stealing one base a month doesn't move the needle. Still, a guy who can play multiple positions, hit LHP well, pinch hit and pinch run, is useful to have in these days of short benches, even though his numbers would take a big hit if he were playing every day and getting 600 plate appearances in a season, instead of being used selectively as he is.

Yes, over his career, he's done better against LHP, but he's improved over time.  This year, he actually has a better split against RHP.  Here's the numbers in 41 plate appearances vs. right handers and 66 appearances against lefties:

RHP: .281.439/.406/.845
LHP: .218/.333/.455/.788

Oddly, his strikeout rate is MUCH lower against righties, he's struck out 10 times in 41 plate appearances vs. righties, against 22 strikeouts in 66 plate appearances against lefties.

Also, he's doing better on the road (.273/.419/.455/.873) than at home (.222/.344/.426/.770).  Had an HR yesterday, that was nice to see.  His Home sOPS+ is 116, and road sOPS+ is 155 (that's the measure of OPS relative to the league OPS). And it's 146 vs. righties and 120 vs. lefties.

[Phogge]

Time to move Rodgers out of high pressure situations and let him get the kinks out in long relief.

[Phogge]

Time to move Rodgers out of high pressure situations and let him get the kinks out in long relief.

[DC 86]

[quote="Phogge" pid='356219' dateline='1655300519']
 I am excited about Slater.  He's probably the Giants' best outfielder.  He's very fast and knows how to run:  career 30 stolen bases in 33 attempts.  Pretty darned good, I'd say.  OBP of .365, good for #30 in all of MLB, were he to have enough AB's. He's a solid leadoff hitter, would be on pace to score 100 runs -- again, if he had the at bats.  Second highest OBP on the Giants after Yaz among the regulars and semi-regulars.  Highest number of walks per plate appearance, higher even than Belt or Yaz.  I think he's a terrific player.

Slater is a useful, versatile player who is especially valuable to the Giants given the way that they like to mix and match and deploy the roster. But every mention of "if he had the at-bats" ignores the fact that if he had the at-bats his rate numbers would be worse, because the Giants optimize how and when they use him. He has an extreme platoon split over his career: a healthy 278/369/468 (125 OPS+) vs LHP and a terrible 225/313/335 (76 OPS+) vs RHP.

He's actually 33-36 in his career in SB, but stealing one base a month doesn't move the needle. Still, a guy who can play multiple positions, hit LHP well, pinch hit and pinch run, is useful to have in these days of short benches, even though his numbers would take a big hit if he were playing every day and getting 600 plate appearances in a season, instead of being used selectively as he is.

Yes, over his career, he's done better against LHP, but he's improved over time.  This year, he actually has a better split against RHP.  Here's the numbers in 41 plate appearances vs. right handers and 66 appearances against lefties:

RHP: .281.439/.406/.845
LHP: .218/.333/.455/.788

He's improved over time? last year (2021) he batted 284/373/521 (140 OPS+) vs LHP and 171/230/267 (35 OPS+) vs RHP, significantly worse than his career total. So his platoon split is actually getting worse over time, not better, with he exception of this season's 41 plate appearances vs RHP.

So he is doing better against RHP this season, but I'm not drawing any conclusions based on 41 plate appearances as opposed to 496 previous plate appearances that show the exact opposite. If he's suddenly become a different hitter at age 29 it will take a much larger sample size to confirm.

[DC 86]

[quote="Phogge" pid='356219' dateline='1655300519']
 I am excited about Slater.  He's probably the Giants' best outfielder.  He's very fast and knows how to run:  career 30 stolen bases in 33 attempts.  Pretty darned good, I'd say.  OBP of .365, good for #30 in all of MLB, were he to have enough AB's. He's a solid leadoff hitter, would be on pace to score 100 runs -- again, if he had the at bats.  Second highest OBP on the Giants after Yaz among the regulars and semi-regulars.  Highest number of walks per plate appearance, higher even than Belt or Yaz.  I think he's a terrific player.

Slater is a useful, versatile player who is especially valuable to the Giants given the way that they like to mix and match and deploy the roster. But every mention of "if he had the at-bats" ignores the fact that if he had the at-bats his rate numbers would be worse, because the Giants optimize how and when they use him. He has an extreme platoon split over his career: a healthy 278/369/468 (125 OPS+) vs LHP and a terrible 225/313/335 (76 OPS+) vs RHP.

He's actually 33-36 in his career in SB, but stealing one base a month doesn't move the needle. Still, a guy who can play multiple positions, hit LHP well, pinch hit and pinch run, is useful to have in these days of short benches, even though his numbers would take a big hit if he were playing every day and getting 600 plate appearances in a season, instead of being used selectively as he is.

Yes, over his career, he's done better against LHP, but he's improved over time.  This year, he actually has a better split against RHP.  Here's the numbers in 41 plate appearances vs. right handers and 66 appearances against lefties:

RHP: .281.439/.406/.845
LHP: .218/.333/.455/.788

He's improved over time? last year (2021) he batted 284/373/521 (140 OPS+) vs LHP and 171/230/267 (35 OPS+) vs RHP, significantly worse than his career total. So his platoon split is actually getting worse over time, not better, with he exception of this season's 41 plate appearances vs RHP.

So he is doing better against RHP this season, but I'm not drawing any conclusions based on 41 plate appearances as opposed to 496 previous plate appearances that show the exact opposite. If he's suddenly become a different hitter at age 29 it will take a much larger sample size to confirm.

[Mick]

[quote="Phogge" pid='356219' dateline='1655300519']
 I am excited about Slater.  He's probably the Giants' best outfielder.  He's very fast and knows how to run:  career 30 stolen bases in 33 attempts.  Pretty darned good, I'd say.  OBP of .365, good for #30 in all of MLB, were he to have enough AB's. He's a solid leadoff hitter, would be on pace to score 100 runs -- again, if he had the at bats.  Second highest OBP on the Giants after Yaz among the regulars and semi-regulars.  Highest number of walks per plate appearance, higher even than Belt or Yaz.  I think he's a terrific player.

Slater is a useful, versatile player who is especially valuable to the Giants given the way that they like to mix and match and deploy the roster. But every mention of "if he had the at-bats" ignores the fact that if he had the at-bats his rate numbers would be worse, because the Giants optimize how and when they use him. He has an extreme platoon split over his career: a healthy 278/369/468 (125 OPS+) vs LHP and a terrible 225/313/335 (76 OPS+) vs RHP.

He's actually 33-36 in his career in SB, but stealing one base a month doesn't move the needle. Still, a guy who can play multiple positions, hit LHP well, pinch hit and pinch run, is useful to have in these days of short benches, even though his numbers would take a big hit if he were playing every day and getting 600 plate appearances in a season, instead of being used selectively as he is.

Yes, over his career, he's done better against LHP, but he's improved over time.  This year, he actually has a better split against RHP.  Here's the numbers in 41 plate appearances vs. right handers and 66 appearances against lefties:

RHP: .281.439/.406/.845
LHP: .218/.333/.455/.788

He's improved over time? last year (2021) he batted 284/373/521 (140 OPS+) vs LHP and 171/230/267 (35 OPS+) vs RHP, significantly worse than his career total. So his platoon split is actually getting worse over time, not better, with he exception of this season's 41 plate appearances vs RHP.

So he is doing better against RHP this season, but I'm not drawing any conclusions based on 41 plate appearances as opposed to 496 previous plate appearances that show the exact opposite. If he's suddenly become a different hitter at age 29 it will take a much larger sample size to confirm.

Yes, I don't discard recent data in favor of older data, and we're talking about 107 plate appearances, not 41. Players can improve through practice and coaching.

[Mick]

[quote="Phogge" pid='356219' dateline='1655300519']
 I am excited about Slater.  He's probably the Giants' best outfielder.  He's very fast and knows how to run:  career 30 stolen bases in 33 attempts.  Pretty darned good, I'd say.  OBP of .365, good for #30 in all of MLB, were he to have enough AB's. He's a solid leadoff hitter, would be on pace to score 100 runs -- again, if he had the at bats.  Second highest OBP on the Giants after Yaz among the regulars and semi-regulars.  Highest number of walks per plate appearance, higher even than Belt or Yaz.  I think he's a terrific player.

Slater is a useful, versatile player who is especially valuable to the Giants given the way that they like to mix and match and deploy the roster. But every mention of "if he had the at-bats" ignores the fact that if he had the at-bats his rate numbers would be worse, because the Giants optimize how and when they use him. He has an extreme platoon split over his career: a healthy 278/369/468 (125 OPS+) vs LHP and a terrible 225/313/335 (76 OPS+) vs RHP.

He's actually 33-36 in his career in SB, but stealing one base a month doesn't move the needle. Still, a guy who can play multiple positions, hit LHP well, pinch hit and pinch run, is useful to have in these days of short benches, even though his numbers would take a big hit if he were playing every day and getting 600 plate appearances in a season, instead of being used selectively as he is.

Yes, over his career, he's done better against LHP, but he's improved over time.  This year, he actually has a better split against RHP.  Here's the numbers in 41 plate appearances vs. right handers and 66 appearances against lefties:

RHP: .281.439/.406/.845
LHP: .218/.333/.455/.788

He's improved over time? last year (2021) he batted 284/373/521 (140 OPS+) vs LHP and 171/230/267 (35 OPS+) vs RHP, significantly worse than his career total. So his platoon split is actually getting worse over time, not better, with he exception of this season's 41 plate appearances vs RHP.

So he is doing better against RHP this season, but I'm not drawing any conclusions based on 41 plate appearances as opposed to 496 previous plate appearances that show the exact opposite. If he's suddenly become a different hitter at age 29 it will take a much larger sample size to confirm.

Yes, I don't discard recent data in favor of older data, and we're talking about 107 plate appearances, not 41. Players can improve through practice and coaching.

[lex24]

Frustrating game tonight.  Giants offense is dependent upon HRs and walks.  Don’t get a lot of either against good pitching. So, situational hitting matters. They had 5 AB’s in 8th and 9th with runner on third less than two outs.  1-5. 2 k’s a pop up and a fairly hard hit ground ball with 2 outs.  Not good enough. 
La Stella and Flores had awful ABs. Rare for Wilmer.  But I’m having a hard time seeing what La Stella brings to the table.

They started 3 left handed hitters vs Fried. Only RH on bench was Wynns.  They need another RH bat.  I’ve been saying that since March. David Villar has hit wherever he’s played. Tore it up in Richmond last year.  A tough place to hit.  Over 1.000 OPS at Sac.  Get him on the 40. And release La Stella.  Bad signing. It happens.  Just eat the rest of his contract.

[lex24]

Frustrating game tonight.  Giants offense is dependent upon HRs and walks.  Don’t get a lot of either against good pitching. So, situational hitting matters. They had 5 AB’s in 8th and 9th with runner on third less than two outs.  1-5. 2 k’s a pop up and a fairly hard hit ground ball with 2 outs.  Not good enough. 
La Stella and Flores had awful ABs. Rare for Wilmer.  But I’m having a hard time seeing what La Stella brings to the table.

They started 3 left handed hitters vs Fried. Only RH on bench was Wynns.  They need another RH bat.  I’ve been saying that since March. David Villar has hit wherever he’s played. Tore it up in Richmond last year.  A tough place to hit.  Over 1.000 OPS at Sac.  Get him on the 40. And release La Stella.  Bad signing. It happens.  Just eat the rest of his contract.

[Mick]

SF Giants minor league team record and standings:

AAA Sacto Rivercats, 27-39, 4th of 5 in their division (9th of 10 overall)
AA Richmond Flying Squirrels, 37-26, 1st in their division (3rd of 12 overall)
High A Eugene, 36-24 ,1st of 6 overall
A San Jose Giants, 37-26, 2nd in their division (3rd of 8 overall)

[Mick]

SF Giants minor league team record and standings:

AAA Sacto Rivercats, 27-39, 4th of 5 in their division (9th of 10 overall)
AA Richmond Flying Squirrels, 37-26, 1st in their division (3rd of 12 overall)
High A Eugene, 36-24 ,1st of 6 overall
A San Jose Giants, 37-26, 2nd in their division (3rd of 8 overall)

[lex24]

Let’s hope Crawford isn’t out long.  He’s the Giants most indispensable player.

[lex24]

Let’s hope Crawford isn’t out long.  He’s the Giants most indispensable player.

[BobK]

3rd walk off loss in a week. Maybe spend some money on relief pitchers.

[BobK]

3rd walk off loss in a week. Maybe spend some money on relief pitchers.

[Phogge]

Melancon is cheap. LOL.

[Phogge]

Melancon is cheap. LOL.

[OutsiderFan]

Gabe Kapler isn't perfect, but he hasn't made too many decisions that made not a lot of sense when he made them and then blew up in his face.

Pitching Doval in the second game of the Atlanta series, was a mistake. He had just thrown 19 pitches in the previous night's walk-off loss. The Giants entered the 9th with a 12-8 lead and I get wanting to get him back out there to redeem himself and all that, but Doval gave up two runs and threw 21 pitches in Game 2. This wasn't what Kapler expected, but it was a possibility it could happen and it did. This meant Doval would be out of Game 3, a game the Giants led 3-1 when the Braves batted in B9. Without Doval available, they had to put in Jake McGee who is having a terrible season, and he promptly gave up three runs in 2/3 of an inning to earn the loss. These are the types of games you can't lose in tight playoff races.

Had Kapler put someone else in to finish the 9th with a 4-run lead in Game 2, Doval would have been able to pitch in the 9th of Game 3, with better odds of earning the save than McGee. 

This isn't revisionist history. The Giants' announcers questioned the merits of bringing Doval into Game 2 as soon as they saw he was on the mound in the 9th, thinking it could cost the Giants later in the series. It did, the very next game.

[OutsiderFan]

Gabe Kapler isn't perfect, but he hasn't made too many decisions that made not a lot of sense when he made them and then blew up in his face.

Pitching Doval in the second game of the Atlanta series, was a mistake. He had just thrown 19 pitches in the previous night's walk-off loss. The Giants entered the 9th with a 12-8 lead and I get wanting to get him back out there to redeem himself and all that, but Doval gave up two runs and threw 21 pitches in Game 2. This wasn't what Kapler expected, but it was a possibility it could happen and it did. This meant Doval would be out of Game 3, a game the Giants led 3-1 when the Braves batted in B9. Without Doval available, they had to put in Jake McGee who is having a terrible season, and he promptly gave up three runs in 2/3 of an inning to earn the loss. These are the types of games you can't lose in tight playoff races.

Had Kapler put someone else in to finish the 9th with a 4-run lead in Game 2, Doval would have been able to pitch in the 9th of Game 3, with better odds of earning the save than McGee. 

This isn't revisionist history. The Giants' announcers questioned the merits of bringing Doval into Game 2 as soon as they saw he was on the mound in the 9th, thinking it could cost the Giants later in the series. It did, the very next game.

[BobK]

My thoughts also OF. I must be moving to the dark side lol

Revenge this morning

[BobK]

My thoughts also OF. I must be moving to the dark side lol

Revenge this morning

[Mick]

Gabe Kapler isn't perfect, but he hasn't made too many decisions that made not a lot of sense when he made them and then blew up in his face.

Pitching Doval in the second game of the Atlanta series, was a mistake. He had just thrown 19 pitches in the previous night's walk-off loss. The Giants entered the 9th with a 12-8 lead and I get wanting to get him back out there to redeem himself and all that, but Doval gave up two runs and threw 21 pitches in Game 2. This wasn't what Kapler expected, but it was a possibility it could happen and it did. This meant Doval would be out of Game 3, a game the Giants led 3-1 when the Braves batted in B9. Without Doval available, they had to put in Jake McGee who is having a terrible season, and he promptly gave up three runs in 2/3 of an inning to earn the loss. These are the types of games you can't lose in tight playoff races.

Had Kapler put someone else in to finish the 9th with a 4-run lead in Game 2, Doval would have been able to pitch in the 9th of Game 3, with better odds of earning the save than McGee. 

This isn't revisionist history. The Giants' announcers questioned the merits of bringing Doval into Game 2 as soon as they saw he was on the mound in the 9th, thinking it could cost the Giants later in the series. It did, the very next game.

Have to agree.  Doval reminds me a bit of another hard-throwing, underperforming reliever, Hunter Strickland. I took my family to see the June 2018 game against Miami when the Giants had a 4-2 lead going into the 9th. Suarez had given up two runs, Dyson held for an inning and a third.  9th inning, here comes Strickland.  Ugh.  I told my family, "Get up, we're leaving."  Oldest says "Strickland, right?"  We were walking out to the parking lot and had just got in our car and turned on the radio to hear the third run score that inning, leading to a 5-4 defeat.  Strickland retired one (1) batter. It was his fourth blown save and it was only mid-June. Later that night, he would fracture his pitching hand punching a wall.  He played for eight teams, all of them for just one season except the five seasons he spent with SF. And, he ruined Mike Morse's career when he purposely hit Bryce Harper for the crime of hitting too many home runs off of Strickland.  Morse suffered a severe concussion in the ensuing melee (see 4:10 on below video. Narrator says at end "My personal opinion? Strickland looks awful").  He should have waited it out like Buster and MadBum did. MadBum is the all-time red-A and he just turned to go back into the clubhouse.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u58JLJb_q5A

Anyway...Doval gives off the same kind of vibe to me.

[Mick]

Gabe Kapler isn't perfect, but he hasn't made too many decisions that made not a lot of sense when he made them and then blew up in his face.

Pitching Doval in the second game of the Atlanta series, was a mistake. He had just thrown 19 pitches in the previous night's walk-off loss. The Giants entered the 9th with a 12-8 lead and I get wanting to get him back out there to redeem himself and all that, but Doval gave up two runs and threw 21 pitches in Game 2. This wasn't what Kapler expected, but it was a possibility it could happen and it did. This meant Doval would be out of Game 3, a game the Giants led 3-1 when the Braves batted in B9. Without Doval available, they had to put in Jake McGee who is having a terrible season, and he promptly gave up three runs in 2/3 of an inning to earn the loss. These are the types of games you can't lose in tight playoff races.

Had Kapler put someone else in to finish the 9th with a 4-run lead in Game 2, Doval would have been able to pitch in the 9th of Game 3, with better odds of earning the save than McGee. 

This isn't revisionist history. The Giants' announcers questioned the merits of bringing Doval into Game 2 as soon as they saw he was on the mound in the 9th, thinking it could cost the Giants later in the series. It did, the very next game.

Have to agree.  Doval reminds me a bit of another hard-throwing, underperforming reliever, Hunter Strickland. I took my family to see the June 2018 game against Miami when the Giants had a 4-2 lead going into the 9th. Suarez had given up two runs, Dyson held for an inning and a third.  9th inning, here comes Strickland.  Ugh.  I told my family, "Get up, we're leaving."  Oldest says "Strickland, right?"  We were walking out to the parking lot and had just got in our car and turned on the radio to hear the third run score that inning, leading to a 5-4 defeat.  Strickland retired one (1) batter. It was his fourth blown save and it was only mid-June. Later that night, he would fracture his pitching hand punching a wall.  He played for eight teams, all of them for just one season except the five seasons he spent with SF. And, he ruined Mike Morse's career when he purposely hit Bryce Harper for the crime of hitting too many home runs off of Strickland.  Morse suffered a severe concussion in the ensuing melee (see 4:10 on below video. Narrator says at end "My personal opinion? Strickland looks awful").  He should have waited it out like Buster and MadBum did. MadBum is the all-time red-A and he just turned to go back into the clubhouse.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u58JLJb_q5A

Anyway...Doval gives off the same kind of vibe to me.