[OutsiderFan]

The Giants did it!

The 2020 Giants became the first team in FRANCHISE HISTORY to finish a season exactly .500!  I told you guys the Giants were a .500 team :)

Interesting final day. John Brebbia made his 75th appearance as opener. That's reliability right there. His WHIP is a little too high for my taste (1.30), but you can't go wrong with that kind of consistency and a 3.18 ERA for a middle innings reliever and opener.

David Villar homered twice, to finish with 9 for the Giants season, and making him the 2nd best HR hitter on the team with 17.3 AB/HR. If you combine his Sacramento numbers with his Giants ones, he hit 36 HRs this season at a one ever 12.6 AB clip. Have to think he is being penciled in to the 2023 plans. Will be interesting to see how Casey Schmitt - who is a better hitter and fielder than Villar - and even Marco Luciano fit in to the mix.

And the most quirky event of the last game saw Austin Slater bunt for a base hit with ball being ruled fair and him being thrown out. Having lost their challenge earlier, the Giants had no challenge, so Slater asked the umpires to discuss themselves. They did and ruled it was foul. Slater promptly hit a HR off the Left Field scoreboard!

[OutsiderFan]

The Giants did it!

The 2020 Giants became the first team in FRANCHISE HISTORY to finish a season exactly .500!  I told you guys the Giants were a .500 team :)

Interesting final day. John Brebbia made his 75th appearance as opener. That's reliability right there. His WHIP is a little too high for my taste (1.30), but you can't go wrong with that kind of consistency and a 3.18 ERA for a middle innings reliever and opener.

David Villar homered twice, to finish with 9 for the Giants season, and making him the 2nd best HR hitter on the team with 17.3 AB/HR. If you combine his Sacramento numbers with his Giants ones, he hit 36 HRs this season at a one ever 12.6 AB clip. Have to think he is being penciled in to the 2023 plans. Will be interesting to see how Casey Schmitt - who is a better hitter and fielder than Villar - and even Marco Luciano fit in to the mix.

And the most quirky event of the last game saw Austin Slater bunt for a base hit with ball being ruled fair and him being thrown out. Having lost their challenge earlier, the Giants had no challenge, so Slater asked the umpires to discuss themselves. They did and ruled it was foul. Slater promptly hit a HR off the Left Field scoreboard!

[cardcrimson]

I must admit, seeing what Joey Bart did to the Fodgers yesterday got me a little pumped.

Susan Slusser suggested he might be traded when on KNBR last week, and was sort of downplaying his importance or otherwise suggesting Farhan's team isn't too high on him. I get they'd like a LH hitting Catcher, but do you really want Casali over Bart even?

Webb, Rodon, DeSclafani, Wood, and Cobb seems like maybe a better starting 5 than 2021. Keep pitches down + have another solid bullpen = good team.

It looks like the Giants are going to do a pretty good job replacing what they lost, and might get more production in some places they didn't get in 2021, but no way are they winning 107 games again.

Fangraphs says Giants will finish 85-77 and have 50% chance of making playoffs. Fangraphs predicted 77-85 before 2021 season.

I'm going with 92-70 and a Wild Card berth.

Yeah, right. You had the Giants as a .500 team. . . .

Lex had them at 80 wins. . . .

[cardcrimson]

I must admit, seeing what Joey Bart did to the Fodgers yesterday got me a little pumped.

Susan Slusser suggested he might be traded when on KNBR last week, and was sort of downplaying his importance or otherwise suggesting Farhan's team isn't too high on him. I get they'd like a LH hitting Catcher, but do you really want Casali over Bart even?

Webb, Rodon, DeSclafani, Wood, and Cobb seems like maybe a better starting 5 than 2021. Keep pitches down + have another solid bullpen = good team.

It looks like the Giants are going to do a pretty good job replacing what they lost, and might get more production in some places they didn't get in 2021, but no way are they winning 107 games again.

Fangraphs says Giants will finish 85-77 and have 50% chance of making playoffs. Fangraphs predicted 77-85 before 2021 season.

I'm going with 92-70 and a Wild Card berth.

Yeah, right. You had the Giants as a .500 team. . . .

Lex had them at 80 wins. . . .

[Giants]

I must admit, seeing what Joey Bart did to the Fodgers yesterday got me a little pumped.

Susan Slusser suggested he might be traded when on KNBR last week, and was sort of downplaying his importance or otherwise suggesting Farhan's team isn't too high on him. I get they'd like a LH hitting Catcher, but do you really want Casali over Bart even?

Webb, Rodon, DeSclafani, Wood, and Cobb seems like maybe a better starting 5 than 2021. Keep pitches down + have another solid bullpen = good team.

It looks like the Giants are going to do a pretty good job replacing what they lost, and might get more production in some places they didn't get in 2021, but no way are they winning 107 games again.

Fangraphs says Giants will finish 85-77 and have 50% chance of making playoffs. Fangraphs predicted 77-85 before 2021 season.

I'm going with 92-70 and a Wild Card berth.

Yeah, right. You had the Giants as a .500 team. . . .

Lex had them at 80 wins. . . .

Well done, Lex (we won’t remind you that you later bumped your call to 90).  :)

[Giants]

I must admit, seeing what Joey Bart did to the Fodgers yesterday got me a little pumped.

Susan Slusser suggested he might be traded when on KNBR last week, and was sort of downplaying his importance or otherwise suggesting Farhan's team isn't too high on him. I get they'd like a LH hitting Catcher, but do you really want Casali over Bart even?

Webb, Rodon, DeSclafani, Wood, and Cobb seems like maybe a better starting 5 than 2021. Keep pitches down + have another solid bullpen = good team.

It looks like the Giants are going to do a pretty good job replacing what they lost, and might get more production in some places they didn't get in 2021, but no way are they winning 107 games again.

Fangraphs says Giants will finish 85-77 and have 50% chance of making playoffs. Fangraphs predicted 77-85 before 2021 season.

I'm going with 92-70 and a Wild Card berth.

Yeah, right. You had the Giants as a .500 team. . . .

Lex had them at 80 wins. . . .

Well done, Lex (we won’t remind you that you later bumped your call to 90).  :)

[Mick]

The Giants did it!

The 2020 Giants became the first team in FRANCHISE HISTORY to finish a season exactly .500!  I told you guys the Giants were a .500 team :)

I liked that the Giants finished 81-81, and the final score of their final game was 8-1...

Also, all of the other original teams have had at least one .500 season.  This is the first .500 season that the Giants have ever had.

[Mick]

The Giants did it!

The 2020 Giants became the first team in FRANCHISE HISTORY to finish a season exactly .500!  I told you guys the Giants were a .500 team :)

I liked that the Giants finished 81-81, and the final score of their final game was 8-1...

Also, all of the other original teams have had at least one .500 season.  This is the first .500 season that the Giants have ever had.

[lex24]

I must admit, seeing what Joey Bart did to the Fodgers yesterday got me a little pumped.

Susan Slusser suggested he might be traded when on KNBR last week, and was sort of downplaying his importance or otherwise suggesting Farhan's team isn't too high on him. I get they'd like a LH hitting Catcher, but do you really want Casali over Bart even?

Webb, Rodon, DeSclafani, Wood, and Cobb seems like maybe a better starting 5 than 2021. Keep pitches down + have another solid bullpen = good team.

It looks like the Giants are going to do a pretty good job replacing what they lost, and might get more production in some places they didn't get in 2021, but no way are they winning 107 games again.

Fangraphs says Giants will finish 85-77 and have 50% chance of making playoffs. Fangraphs predicted 77-85 before 2021 season.

I'm going with 92-70 and a Wild Card berth.

Yeah, right. You had the Giants as a .500 team. . . .

Lex had them at 80 wins. . . .

Well done, Lex (we won’t remind you that you later bumped your call to 90).  :)

Ha! Kind of like the candidate that starts the speech with - we are not going to talk about my opponents (pick your scandal!).

It was a moment of weak optimism after a hot April.  

Breaking camp just seemed like a .500 club.  (But then again I thought ‘21 was a 75 win team….) Frankly 81 is a bit misleading. Hot Septembers when you are not a contender are not to be trusted.

Still, some positives to bring to ‘23(not in any particular order):

1. Continued development of Harrison. Needs to work a bit on command and not being so reliant on K’s. Good shot he will be up around June 1.
2. Webb. Doing it once is nice. Repeating it is, in many ways, harder. He can be an anchor for years.
3. Doval. Reaching elite closer status. Interesting what they do. He could bring an everyday player in a trade. If not, they have their closer.
4 Bart. To me his numbers were almost exactly as expected. I was hoping for a little higher Slg. But after he got sent down he came back a much better hitter. Receiving skills are fine. If he just improves a bit at the plate, no reason that he can’t hit 20 HRs and be a good defensive catcher.
5. Estrada. Flores appropriately won Willie Mac. But Estrada is my MVP. The bat plays and he’s athletic. Depending on who they pick up he could be Super utility or maybe left fielder. Or he stays at second.
6 JD Davis. For all Zaidi didn’t do at the deadline, the Ruf for Davis AND prospects was a steal. Davis can hit. Not a great defender. Still, some 1B 3B and DH can equal 450 PAs.
7. Cobb. Didn’t like him at first. Seemed to have an attitude. But he got better as year went on. Very solid no 3.
8. Schmitt. Shot up the system like a meteor. Hit everywhere. And while I haven’t seen him, he’s supposed to be a terrific third baseman. June 1.
9. Villar. Looks like he can hang. Another guy that came back strong from a demotion.

Here’s who I see on roster April 1 ‘23 from the current group. Lots of holes to fill.

Infielders: Villar, Longoria (resigned 1 year deal $6.5 million) Craw, Estrada (although I could see him in left) Davis Flores

Catcher Bart. Wynns (he showed enough to be viable backup)

Outfielders. Slater Yaz They need big time help here. Obviously. With the new shift rules, two man outfields will be illegal …… :)

SP Webb, Cobb, Dsco, Wood
RP. Doval Rogers Brebbia Alexander

Questions:

Wade/Gonzales. One will probably break north. Not both. And whether either is around depends on what outfielders they bring in. It’s a big area of weakness. Be nice if they improved the roster enough that neither go north. But I doubt that.

Rodon. I don’t think Zaidi will go 5 years for a 30 year old power pitcher. Especially with history of arm issues. I’m assuming he’s gone. Dodgers, Mets or Yankees. AKA The Usual Suspects .

Belt. If he passes a physical and can show he has some legs, the Giants may resign him. 1 year $5 million. Otherwise he retires. He can still be a viable 1B/DH option. You just have to know that 110 games is probably the limit. My guess at this point is he retires.

Pederson. Gone. I’ll be honest, his act wears a bit thin on me. He also disappeared for a couple months. Last straw was his “it is what it is” on conditioning. He’s a one trick pony. A liability defensively that is a nice DH platoon option. I suppose if Belt doesn’t come back there is a chance they sign him. He is another 1 year 6 to 8 million guy.

Hjelle or Junis (not both - they are both swing guys). May depend on options (unsure if either or both have any left)

Shelby Miller. Showed some good things. Possibility. Ditto Alex Young. I’m thinking Garcia is gone.

Waites. June 1. I hope.

La Stella. Sunk cost. Only way he’s on roster is if winter goes poorly.

Ramos. Big disappointment. ‘23 will be make or break year for him.

Going to be a very interesting winter. I’m asking Santa for 2 top tier FA regulars. Let’s say Judge and Swanson. (I’d love Turner but from all I’ve read he’s either staying or heading East. Still perhaps the Giants can come up with Millions of reasons for him to come to Oracle.) And pickup another OF.

Generally, I’ve been good. But I’m afraid of getting coal…….

As for playoffs just hoping someone beats Dodgers. But I don’t think it will happen. I think this Dodger team will dominate the post season. Ugh.

[lex24]

I must admit, seeing what Joey Bart did to the Fodgers yesterday got me a little pumped.

Susan Slusser suggested he might be traded when on KNBR last week, and was sort of downplaying his importance or otherwise suggesting Farhan's team isn't too high on him. I get they'd like a LH hitting Catcher, but do you really want Casali over Bart even?

Webb, Rodon, DeSclafani, Wood, and Cobb seems like maybe a better starting 5 than 2021. Keep pitches down + have another solid bullpen = good team.

It looks like the Giants are going to do a pretty good job replacing what they lost, and might get more production in some places they didn't get in 2021, but no way are they winning 107 games again.

Fangraphs says Giants will finish 85-77 and have 50% chance of making playoffs. Fangraphs predicted 77-85 before 2021 season.

I'm going with 92-70 and a Wild Card berth.

Yeah, right. You had the Giants as a .500 team. . . .

Lex had them at 80 wins. . . .

Well done, Lex (we won’t remind you that you later bumped your call to 90).  :)

Ha! Kind of like the candidate that starts the speech with - we are not going to talk about my opponents (pick your scandal!).

It was a moment of weak optimism after a hot April.  

Breaking camp just seemed like a .500 club.  (But then again I thought ‘21 was a 75 win team….) Frankly 81 is a bit misleading. Hot Septembers when you are not a contender are not to be trusted.

Still, some positives to bring to ‘23(not in any particular order):

1. Continued development of Harrison. Needs to work a bit on command and not being so reliant on K’s. Good shot he will be up around June 1.
2. Webb. Doing it once is nice. Repeating it is, in many ways, harder. He can be an anchor for years.
3. Doval. Reaching elite closer status. Interesting what they do. He could bring an everyday player in a trade. If not, they have their closer.
4 Bart. To me his numbers were almost exactly as expected. I was hoping for a little higher Slg. But after he got sent down he came back a much better hitter. Receiving skills are fine. If he just improves a bit at the plate, no reason that he can’t hit 20 HRs and be a good defensive catcher.
5. Estrada. Flores appropriately won Willie Mac. But Estrada is my MVP. The bat plays and he’s athletic. Depending on who they pick up he could be Super utility or maybe left fielder. Or he stays at second.
6 JD Davis. For all Zaidi didn’t do at the deadline, the Ruf for Davis AND prospects was a steal. Davis can hit. Not a great defender. Still, some 1B 3B and DH can equal 450 PAs.
7. Cobb. Didn’t like him at first. Seemed to have an attitude. But he got better as year went on. Very solid no 3.
8. Schmitt. Shot up the system like a meteor. Hit everywhere. And while I haven’t seen him, he’s supposed to be a terrific third baseman. June 1.
9. Villar. Looks like he can hang. Another guy that came back strong from a demotion.

Here’s who I see on roster April 1 ‘23 from the current group. Lots of holes to fill.

Infielders: Villar, Longoria (resigned 1 year deal $6.5 million) Craw, Estrada (although I could see him in left) Davis Flores

Catcher Bart. Wynns (he showed enough to be viable backup)

Outfielders. Slater Yaz They need big time help here. Obviously. With the new shift rules, two man outfields will be illegal …… :)

SP Webb, Cobb, Dsco, Wood
RP. Doval Rogers Brebbia Alexander

Questions:

Wade/Gonzales. One will probably break north. Not both. And whether either is around depends on what outfielders they bring in. It’s a big area of weakness. Be nice if they improved the roster enough that neither go north. But I doubt that.

Rodon. I don’t think Zaidi will go 5 years for a 30 year old power pitcher. Especially with history of arm issues. I’m assuming he’s gone. Dodgers, Mets or Yankees. AKA The Usual Suspects .

Belt. If he passes a physical and can show he has some legs, the Giants may resign him. 1 year $5 million. Otherwise he retires. He can still be a viable 1B/DH option. You just have to know that 110 games is probably the limit. My guess at this point is he retires.

Pederson. Gone. I’ll be honest, his act wears a bit thin on me. He also disappeared for a couple months. Last straw was his “it is what it is” on conditioning. He’s a one trick pony. A liability defensively that is a nice DH platoon option. I suppose if Belt doesn’t come back there is a chance they sign him. He is another 1 year 6 to 8 million guy.

Hjelle or Junis (not both - they are both swing guys). May depend on options (unsure if either or both have any left)

Shelby Miller. Showed some good things. Possibility. Ditto Alex Young. I’m thinking Garcia is gone.

Waites. June 1. I hope.

La Stella. Sunk cost. Only way he’s on roster is if winter goes poorly.

Ramos. Big disappointment. ‘23 will be make or break year for him.

Going to be a very interesting winter. I’m asking Santa for 2 top tier FA regulars. Let’s say Judge and Swanson. (I’d love Turner but from all I’ve read he’s either staying or heading East. Still perhaps the Giants can come up with Millions of reasons for him to come to Oracle.) And pickup another OF.

Generally, I’ve been good. But I’m afraid of getting coal…….

As for playoffs just hoping someone beats Dodgers. But I don’t think it will happen. I think this Dodger team will dominate the post season. Ugh.

[Mick]

And the most quirky event of the last game saw Austin Slater bunt for a base hit with ball being ruled fair and him being thrown out. Having lost their challenge earlier, the Giants had no challenge, so Slater asked the umpires to discuss themselves. They did and ruled it was foul. Slater promptly hit a HR off the Left Field scoreboard!

Looking forward to Slater's contribution next year. He had the best OBP on the team this year at .366.  And he's stolen 43 bases in 47 attempts over the course of his career, including 12 of 13 this year.

[Mick]

And the most quirky event of the last game saw Austin Slater bunt for a base hit with ball being ruled fair and him being thrown out. Having lost their challenge earlier, the Giants had no challenge, so Slater asked the umpires to discuss themselves. They did and ruled it was foul. Slater promptly hit a HR off the Left Field scoreboard!

Looking forward to Slater's contribution next year. He had the best OBP on the team this year at .366.  And he's stolen 43 bases in 47 attempts over the course of his career, including 12 of 13 this year.

[OutsiderFan]

The pedantic nature of this board is exhausting, but I'll clap back with the pedantry to demonstrate how silly it is.

I think my Giants win prediction was 92 before the season started. I also made a post a few weeks ago calling the Giants a .500 team. That is to which I was referring when I said "like I said they were :)." I didn't claim I predicted a .500 season. I simply labeled them a .500 team whenever I made the post when they had a losing record.

WHY do so many people focus on nitpicking minutiae that might not be 100% correct (but is directionally so), and have no interest addressing the main thrusts of posts? 

I thought I provided some interesting information about the last game of the season in my post that was good fodder for discussion. This place is a zero fun zone.

[OutsiderFan]

The pedantic nature of this board is exhausting, but I'll clap back with the pedantry to demonstrate how silly it is.

I think my Giants win prediction was 92 before the season started. I also made a post a few weeks ago calling the Giants a .500 team. That is to which I was referring when I said "like I said they were :)." I didn't claim I predicted a .500 season. I simply labeled them a .500 team whenever I made the post when they had a losing record.

WHY do so many people focus on nitpicking minutiae that might not be 100% correct (but is directionally so), and have no interest addressing the main thrusts of posts? 

I thought I provided some interesting information about the last game of the season in my post that was good fodder for discussion. This place is a zero fun zone.

[lex24]

The pedantic nature of this board is exhausting, but I'll clap back with the pedantry to demonstrate how silly it is.

I think my Giants win prediction was 92 before the season started. I also made a post a few weeks ago calling the Giants a .500 team. That is to which I was referring when I said "like I said they were :)." I didn't claim I predicted a .500 season. I simply labeled them a .500 team whenever I made the post when they had a losing record.

WHY do so many people focus on nitpicking minutiae that might not be 100% correct (but is directionally so), and have no interest addressing the main thrusts of posts? 

I thought I provided some interesting information about the last game of the season in my post that was good fodder for discussion. This place is a zero fun zone.

Because you insist on telling us how right you are all the time, patting yourself on the back - whether or not you are in fact right.

As for whether posts get replies. - that’s a function of the ”marketplace “ of this board. I post plenty of things that get no responses.

[lex24]

The pedantic nature of this board is exhausting, but I'll clap back with the pedantry to demonstrate how silly it is.

I think my Giants win prediction was 92 before the season started. I also made a post a few weeks ago calling the Giants a .500 team. That is to which I was referring when I said "like I said they were :)." I didn't claim I predicted a .500 season. I simply labeled them a .500 team whenever I made the post when they had a losing record.

WHY do so many people focus on nitpicking minutiae that might not be 100% correct (but is directionally so), and have no interest addressing the main thrusts of posts? 

I thought I provided some interesting information about the last game of the season in my post that was good fodder for discussion. This place is a zero fun zone.

Because you insist on telling us how right you are all the time, patting yourself on the back - whether or not you are in fact right.

As for whether posts get replies. - that’s a function of the ”marketplace “ of this board. I post plenty of things that get no responses.

[Giants]

And the most quirky event of the last game saw Austin Slater bunt for a base hit with ball being ruled fair and him being thrown out. Having lost their challenge earlier, the Giants had no challenge, so Slater asked the umpires to discuss themselves. They did and ruled it was foul. Slater promptly hit a HR off the Left Field scoreboard!

Looking forward to Slater's contribution next year. He had the best OBP on the team this year at .366.  And he's stolen 43 bases in 47 attempts over the course of his career, including 12 of 13 this year.

July  .360
Aug/Sept/Oct  .213

Slater faded badly at the end of the season. 

At best, he is a #4/#5 OF.  The Giants need to substantially upgrade all three of the OF positions.

[Giants]

And the most quirky event of the last game saw Austin Slater bunt for a base hit with ball being ruled fair and him being thrown out. Having lost their challenge earlier, the Giants had no challenge, so Slater asked the umpires to discuss themselves. They did and ruled it was foul. Slater promptly hit a HR off the Left Field scoreboard!

Looking forward to Slater's contribution next year. He had the best OBP on the team this year at .366.  And he's stolen 43 bases in 47 attempts over the course of his career, including 12 of 13 this year.

July  .360
Aug/Sept/Oct  .213

Slater faded badly at the end of the season. 

At best, he is a #4/#5 OF.  The Giants need to substantially upgrade all three of the OF positions.

[Mick]

And the most quirky event of the last game saw Austin Slater bunt for a base hit with ball being ruled fair and him being thrown out. Having lost their challenge earlier, the Giants had no challenge, so Slater asked the umpires to discuss themselves. They did and ruled it was foul. Slater promptly hit a HR off the Left Field scoreboard!

Looking forward to Slater's contribution next year. He had the best OBP on the team this year at .366.  And he's stolen 43 bases in 47 attempts over the course of his career, including 12 of 13 this year.

July  .360
Aug/Sept/Oct  .213

Slater faded badly at the end of the season. 

At best, he is a #4/#5 OF.  The Giants need to substantially upgrade all three of the OF positions.

I think it varies.  Two weeks ago, Slater was 0 for 11.  Last week, he was 6/17 for a .353 average, .389 OBP and 1.154 OPS.  So he was actually on an upswing at the end of the season.  And I noticed you cherry picked August/Sept/Oct.  His August was terrible, as was his June.  His July slash line was .360/.442/.467/.909.  Sept/Oct was .769 OPS, essentially the same as the rest of the year. In fact, he had a bad August, but that was really his only bad month.

BTW, Slater does much better on the road:

H: .252/.335/.378/.713
A: .278/.400/.444/.844

[Mick]

And the most quirky event of the last game saw Austin Slater bunt for a base hit with ball being ruled fair and him being thrown out. Having lost their challenge earlier, the Giants had no challenge, so Slater asked the umpires to discuss themselves. They did and ruled it was foul. Slater promptly hit a HR off the Left Field scoreboard!

Looking forward to Slater's contribution next year. He had the best OBP on the team this year at .366.  And he's stolen 43 bases in 47 attempts over the course of his career, including 12 of 13 this year.

July  .360
Aug/Sept/Oct  .213

Slater faded badly at the end of the season. 

At best, he is a #4/#5 OF.  The Giants need to substantially upgrade all three of the OF positions.

I think it varies.  Two weeks ago, Slater was 0 for 11.  Last week, he was 6/17 for a .353 average, .389 OBP and 1.154 OPS.  So he was actually on an upswing at the end of the season.  And I noticed you cherry picked August/Sept/Oct.  His August was terrible, as was his June.  His July slash line was .360/.442/.467/.909.  Sept/Oct was .769 OPS, essentially the same as the rest of the year. In fact, he had a bad August, but that was really his only bad month.

BTW, Slater does much better on the road:

H: .252/.335/.378/.713
A: .278/.400/.444/.844

[lex24]

And the most quirky event of the last game saw Austin Slater bunt for a base hit with ball being ruled fair and him being thrown out. Having lost their challenge earlier, the Giants had no challenge, so Slater asked the umpires to discuss themselves. They did and ruled it was foul. Slater promptly hit a HR off the Left Field scoreboard!

Looking forward to Slater's contribution next year. He had the best OBP on the team this year at .366.  And he's stolen 43 bases in 47 attempts over the course of his career, including 12 of 13 this year.

July  .360
Aug/Sept/Oct  .213

Slater faded badly at the end of the season. 

At best, he is a #4/#5 OF.  The Giants need to substantially upgrade all three of the OF positions.

I think it varies.  Two weeks ago, Slater was 0 for 11.  Last week, he was 6/17 for a .353 average, .389 OBP and 1.154 OPS.  So he was actually on an upswing at the end of the season.  And I noticed you cherry picked August/Sept/Oct.  His August was terrible, as was his June.  His July slash line was .360/.442/.467/.909.  Sept/Oct was .769 OPS, essentially the same as the rest of the year. In fact, he had a bad August, but that was really his only bad month.

BTW, Slater does much better on the road:

H: .252/.335/.378/.713
A: .278/.400/.444/.844

Actually career wise his home/road splits are comparable. Not a big difference. First half vs second half tells another story. Much better career first half numbers.

Slater is a good guy to have on the roster.  But Giant is right.  He’s a 4th OF. If Giants can get 2 everday outfielders, one that plays center, he can platoon with Yaz, who also is a 4 OF.  


The Giants outfield stinks.  Has for some time.

[lex24]

And the most quirky event of the last game saw Austin Slater bunt for a base hit with ball being ruled fair and him being thrown out. Having lost their challenge earlier, the Giants had no challenge, so Slater asked the umpires to discuss themselves. They did and ruled it was foul. Slater promptly hit a HR off the Left Field scoreboard!

Looking forward to Slater's contribution next year. He had the best OBP on the team this year at .366.  And he's stolen 43 bases in 47 attempts over the course of his career, including 12 of 13 this year.

July  .360
Aug/Sept/Oct  .213

Slater faded badly at the end of the season. 

At best, he is a #4/#5 OF.  The Giants need to substantially upgrade all three of the OF positions.

I think it varies.  Two weeks ago, Slater was 0 for 11.  Last week, he was 6/17 for a .353 average, .389 OBP and 1.154 OPS.  So he was actually on an upswing at the end of the season.  And I noticed you cherry picked August/Sept/Oct.  His August was terrible, as was his June.  His July slash line was .360/.442/.467/.909.  Sept/Oct was .769 OPS, essentially the same as the rest of the year. In fact, he had a bad August, but that was really his only bad month.

BTW, Slater does much better on the road:

H: .252/.335/.378/.713
A: .278/.400/.444/.844

Actually career wise his home/road splits are comparable. Not a big difference. First half vs second half tells another story. Much better career first half numbers.

Slater is a good guy to have on the roster.  But Giant is right.  He’s a 4th OF. If Giants can get 2 everday outfielders, one that plays center, he can platoon with Yaz, who also is a 4 OF.  


The Giants outfield stinks.  Has for some time.

[Giants]

And the most quirky event of the last game saw Austin Slater bunt for a base hit with ball being ruled fair and him being thrown out. Having lost their challenge earlier, the Giants had no challenge, so Slater asked the umpires to discuss themselves. They did and ruled it was foul. Slater promptly hit a HR off the Left Field scoreboard!

Looking forward to Slater's contribution next year. He had the best OBP on the team this year at .366.  And he's stolen 43 bases in 47 attempts over the course of his career, including 12 of 13 this year.

July  .360
Aug/Sept/Oct  .213

Slater faded badly at the end of the season. 

At best, he is a #4/#5 OF.  The Giants need to substantially upgrade all three of the OF positions.

I think it varies.  Two weeks ago, Slater was 0 for 11.  Last week, he was 6/17 for a .353 average, .389 OBP and 1.154 OPS.  So he was actually on an upswing at the end of the season.  And I noticed you cherry picked August/Sept/Oct.  His August was terrible, as was his June.  His July slash line was .360/.442/.467/.909.  Sept/Oct was .769 OPS, essentially the same as the rest of the year. In fact, he had a bad August, but that was really his only bad month.

BTW, Slater does much better on the road:

H: .252/.335/.378/.713
A: .278/.400/.444/.844

September 5-25 (.200).  0 HR and 1 RBI.  That was not a good month.  He played poorly in the last 1/3 of the season.

[Giants]

And the most quirky event of the last game saw Austin Slater bunt for a base hit with ball being ruled fair and him being thrown out. Having lost their challenge earlier, the Giants had no challenge, so Slater asked the umpires to discuss themselves. They did and ruled it was foul. Slater promptly hit a HR off the Left Field scoreboard!

Looking forward to Slater's contribution next year. He had the best OBP on the team this year at .366.  And he's stolen 43 bases in 47 attempts over the course of his career, including 12 of 13 this year.

July  .360
Aug/Sept/Oct  .213

Slater faded badly at the end of the season. 

At best, he is a #4/#5 OF.  The Giants need to substantially upgrade all three of the OF positions.

I think it varies.  Two weeks ago, Slater was 0 for 11.  Last week, he was 6/17 for a .353 average, .389 OBP and 1.154 OPS.  So he was actually on an upswing at the end of the season.  And I noticed you cherry picked August/Sept/Oct.  His August was terrible, as was his June.  His July slash line was .360/.442/.467/.909.  Sept/Oct was .769 OPS, essentially the same as the rest of the year. In fact, he had a bad August, but that was really his only bad month.

BTW, Slater does much better on the road:

H: .252/.335/.378/.713
A: .278/.400/.444/.844

September 5-25 (.200).  0 HR and 1 RBI.  That was not a good month.  He played poorly in the last 1/3 of the season.

[Phogge]

Slater is at best a fourth OF. Not a fan of Yaz.

They need so many pieces. Rotation needs to be rebuilt. I hate bullpen games.

Upgrade the defense. I don't think they land Turner. Maybe overpay Dansby Swanson. I'd be satisfied with 88 wins.

They haven't replaced the GM yet. Is OF on the candidate list?

[Phogge]

Slater is at best a fourth OF. Not a fan of Yaz.

They need so many pieces. Rotation needs to be rebuilt. I hate bullpen games.

Upgrade the defense. I don't think they land Turner. Maybe overpay Dansby Swanson. I'd be satisfied with 88 wins.

They haven't replaced the GM yet. Is OF on the candidate list?

[BostonCard]

https://apnews.com/article/mlb-sports-ba...dium=email

Not specific to the Giants, but:

The league-wide MLB batting average is down to .243, the lowest level since 1968. There have only been five seasons with a lower batting average than this year: 1967 and 1968, and then the dead ball eras of 1884, 1888 and 1908. Several things are believed to be causing this, including higher velocity of pitches — there were 3,356 pitches that came in over 100 miles per hour, up from 1,829 in 2021 and 1,056 in 2019 — and more defensive shifts, coming in at 66,961 defensive shifts this year, up from 59,063 in 2021, itself up enormously from the 2,349 shifts in 2011.

That’s a 30-fold increase in shifts.

BC

[BostonCard]

https://apnews.com/article/mlb-sports-ba...dium=email

Not specific to the Giants, but:

The league-wide MLB batting average is down to .243, the lowest level since 1968. There have only been five seasons with a lower batting average than this year: 1967 and 1968, and then the dead ball eras of 1884, 1888 and 1908. Several things are believed to be causing this, including higher velocity of pitches — there were 3,356 pitches that came in over 100 miles per hour, up from 1,829 in 2021 and 1,056 in 2019 — and more defensive shifts, coming in at 66,961 defensive shifts this year, up from 59,063 in 2021, itself up enormously from the 2,349 shifts in 2011.

That’s a 30-fold increase in shifts.

BC

[qwerty49]

Hey, check the very first post in this thread.  Props to Lex for his 80-win prediction.  Pretty damn close!

The only thing I have left to root for is the Dotchers embarrassing themselves.

[qwerty49]

Hey, check the very first post in this thread.  Props to Lex for his 80-win prediction.  Pretty damn close!

The only thing I have left to root for is the Dotchers embarrassing themselves.

[Giants]

https://apnews.com/article/mlb-sports-ba...dium=email

Not specific to the Giants, but:

The league-wide MLB batting average is down to .243, the lowest level since 1968. There have only been five seasons with a lower batting average than this year: 1967 and 1968, and then the dead ball eras of 1884, 1888 and 1908. Several things are believed to be causing this, including higher velocity of pitches — there were 3,356 pitches that came in over 100 miles per hour, up from 1,829 in 2021 and 1,056 in 2019 — and more defensive shifts, coming in at 66,961 defensive shifts this year, up from 59,063 in 2021, itself up enormously from the 2,349 shifts in 2011.

That’s a 30-fold increase in shifts.

BC

It will be interesting to see how the pitch clock and shift restrictions impact the overall batting average.  I suggest a multi-point increase is on the horizon.

[Giants]

https://apnews.com/article/mlb-sports-ba...dium=email

Not specific to the Giants, but:

The league-wide MLB batting average is down to .243, the lowest level since 1968. There have only been five seasons with a lower batting average than this year: 1967 and 1968, and then the dead ball eras of 1884, 1888 and 1908. Several things are believed to be causing this, including higher velocity of pitches — there were 3,356 pitches that came in over 100 miles per hour, up from 1,829 in 2021 and 1,056 in 2019 — and more defensive shifts, coming in at 66,961 defensive shifts this year, up from 59,063 in 2021, itself up enormously from the 2,349 shifts in 2011.

That’s a 30-fold increase in shifts.

BC

It will be interesting to see how the pitch clock and shift restrictions impact the overall batting average.  I suggest a multi-point increase is on the horizon.

[BobK]

https://www.mlb.com/astros/team/front-of...ete-putila

The new Giants GM

[BobK]

https://www.mlb.com/astros/team/front-of...ete-putila

The new Giants GM

[lex24]

https://www.mlb.com/astros/team/front-of...ete-putila

The new Giants GM

Was hoping for someone with more traditional baseball experience.  But he comes highly regarded.  I just hope the Front Office doesn’t skew too far to the analytics side.

---

https://apnews.com/article/mlb-sports-ba...dium=email

Not specific to the Giants, but:

The league-wide MLB batting average is down to .243, the lowest level since 1968. There have only been five seasons with a lower batting average than this year: 1967 and 1968, and then the dead ball eras of 1884, 1888 and 1908. Several things are believed to be causing this, including higher velocity of pitches — there were 3,356 pitches that came in over 100 miles per hour, up from 1,829 in 2021 and 1,056 in 2019 — and more defensive shifts, coming in at 66,961 defensive shifts this year, up from 59,063 in 2021, itself up enormously from the 2,349 shifts in 2011.

That’s a 30-fold increase in shifts.

BC

It will be interesting to see how the pitch clock and shift restrictions impact the overall batting average.  I suggest a multi-point increase is on the horizon.

I think it will take awhile to gauge the impact. Contact hitters that lack power (or more precisely dont hit HR’s) are not valued presently.  Banning the shifts may change that a little bit.  But it will take awhile to see if any change comes about.

[lex24]

https://www.mlb.com/astros/team/front-of...ete-putila

The new Giants GM

Was hoping for someone with more traditional baseball experience.  But he comes highly regarded.  I just hope the Front Office doesn’t skew too far to the analytics side.

---

https://apnews.com/article/mlb-sports-ba...dium=email

Not specific to the Giants, but:

The league-wide MLB batting average is down to .243, the lowest level since 1968. There have only been five seasons with a lower batting average than this year: 1967 and 1968, and then the dead ball eras of 1884, 1888 and 1908. Several things are believed to be causing this, including higher velocity of pitches — there were 3,356 pitches that came in over 100 miles per hour, up from 1,829 in 2021 and 1,056 in 2019 — and more defensive shifts, coming in at 66,961 defensive shifts this year, up from 59,063 in 2021, itself up enormously from the 2,349 shifts in 2011.

That’s a 30-fold increase in shifts.

BC

It will be interesting to see how the pitch clock and shift restrictions impact the overall batting average.  I suggest a multi-point increase is on the horizon.

I think it will take awhile to gauge the impact. Contact hitters that lack power (or more precisely dont hit HR’s) are not valued presently.  Banning the shifts may change that a little bit.  But it will take awhile to see if any change comes about.

[Mick]

https://apnews.com/article/mlb-sports-ba...dium=email

Not specific to the Giants, but:

The league-wide MLB batting average is down to .243, the lowest level since 1968. There have only been five seasons with a lower batting average than this year: 1967 and 1968, and then the dead ball eras of 1884, 1888 and 1908. Several things are believed to be causing this, including higher velocity of pitches — there were 3,356 pitches that came in over 100 miles per hour, up from 1,829 in 2021 and 1,056 in 2019 — and more defensive shifts, coming in at 66,961 defensive shifts this year, up from 59,063 in 2021, itself up enormously from the 2,349 shifts in 2011.

That’s a 30-fold increase in shifts.

BC

I read that the average 4-seam fastball velocity in 2008 was 91.8 and last year it was 93.8. What's interesting to me is that the two reasons offered for declining batting averages are the increased velocity and the shifts. It seems to me that the two reasons conflict a bit, because one would think that the higher velocity would mean swings that are typically "late" which means the batter should have a greater tendency to "push" the ball to the off-field, yet the shifts are typically to the "pull" side of the field.

I suspect that the dichotomy between the increased speed and the increased variety of pitches might contribute to the lower batting averages; e.g., the greater usage of curves, splittlers, sinkers, cut fastballs, sliders, knuckle curves, etc. are keeping the hitters more off-balance.

P. S. I think we need to be careful about comparing velocities from different eras. Different speed guns measured the speed of a pitch at different points, and over the years, as average velocities have climbed, it's because they are measuring closer and closer to the pitcher's hand. A pitch loses 9% to 10% of its speed as it gets closer to home plate. The original SpeedGun (developed by Decatur Technologies) measured the ball pretty close to home plate...they originally built radar detectors for the police. The next generation JUGS came out, then the Stalker in the 1990s, then the Stalker Pro and Stalker Pro II. So the original SpeedGun would measure the same pitch at 90 as a JUGS measurement at 92 with a Stalker Pro at 94 and a Stalker Pro II at 95.

[Mick]

https://apnews.com/article/mlb-sports-ba...dium=email

Not specific to the Giants, but:

The league-wide MLB batting average is down to .243, the lowest level since 1968. There have only been five seasons with a lower batting average than this year: 1967 and 1968, and then the dead ball eras of 1884, 1888 and 1908. Several things are believed to be causing this, including higher velocity of pitches — there were 3,356 pitches that came in over 100 miles per hour, up from 1,829 in 2021 and 1,056 in 2019 — and more defensive shifts, coming in at 66,961 defensive shifts this year, up from 59,063 in 2021, itself up enormously from the 2,349 shifts in 2011.

That’s a 30-fold increase in shifts.

BC

I read that the average 4-seam fastball velocity in 2008 was 91.8 and last year it was 93.8. What's interesting to me is that the two reasons offered for declining batting averages are the increased velocity and the shifts. It seems to me that the two reasons conflict a bit, because one would think that the higher velocity would mean swings that are typically "late" which means the batter should have a greater tendency to "push" the ball to the off-field, yet the shifts are typically to the "pull" side of the field.

I suspect that the dichotomy between the increased speed and the increased variety of pitches might contribute to the lower batting averages; e.g., the greater usage of curves, splittlers, sinkers, cut fastballs, sliders, knuckle curves, etc. are keeping the hitters more off-balance.

P. S. I think we need to be careful about comparing velocities from different eras. Different speed guns measured the speed of a pitch at different points, and over the years, as average velocities have climbed, it's because they are measuring closer and closer to the pitcher's hand. A pitch loses 9% to 10% of its speed as it gets closer to home plate. The original SpeedGun (developed by Decatur Technologies) measured the ball pretty close to home plate...they originally built radar detectors for the police. The next generation JUGS came out, then the Stalker in the 1990s, then the Stalker Pro and Stalker Pro II. So the original SpeedGun would measure the same pitch at 90 as a JUGS measurement at 92 with a Stalker Pro at 94 and a Stalker Pro II at 95.

[Phogge]

Roster Reality:

As of the last WS game the Giants have to adopt a 40 man.
All 60 IL players count.
Three FA'd depart. Giants have 5 day exclusive rights window to resign.
My count is 47 currently with the 60 day additions.
Minor league players signed before age 18 have five year roster protection. Not sure how many qualify for the Rule 5 drafts.

Spitballing the 7 possible releases: Alvarez, LaStella, Walton, Welker, Santos, Delaplane, Proctor.

For every free agent signed somebody has to go.

Not sure about resigning released players to minor league deals. Perhaps our stat man Mick or old timer Giants know.

[Phogge]

Roster Reality:

As of the last WS game the Giants have to adopt a 40 man.
All 60 IL players count.
Three FA'd depart. Giants have 5 day exclusive rights window to resign.
My count is 47 currently with the 60 day additions.
Minor league players signed before age 18 have five year roster protection. Not sure how many qualify for the Rule 5 drafts.

Spitballing the 7 possible releases: Alvarez, LaStella, Walton, Welker, Santos, Delaplane, Proctor.

For every free agent signed somebody has to go.

Not sure about resigning released players to minor league deals. Perhaps our stat man Mick or old timer Giants know.