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Is this Another Team of Destiny?
The G-Men have been on a roll for the last month and, at 10 games over .500, are 2 games out of the lead in the NL West (behind the Snakes). This is a far cry from where the boys were 6 weeks ago. The reasons are many but the most obvious has been the infusion of youth from the farm system. Casey Schmitt, Patrick Bailey, and Luis Matos have been especially impressive both offensively and defensively. They are doing an excellent job supplementing (and pushing) existing talent (Yaz, Conforto, JD Davis, Pederson, Crawford, Wade, Estrada, and Slater are all having great years) and that bodes well for the rest of the season.
My point of comparison is 2010 and 2012 when young players from the minors came up and motivated the Giants to their first World Series victories in decades. Remember that group? Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford, Brandon Belt, Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, and Pablo Sandoval stand out as the young players brought up from the farm system to perform on the big stage. That is what we are seeing today with these youngsters. Can they keep it up? Right now, it looks good, and the baseball is truly exciting to watch. The G-Men are finding new ways to win every day, and it’s not just the long ball (although that is fun to watch – especially Yaz hitting into the Cove), it’s defense, stolen bases, heads-up plays, hits with runners in scoring position and everything that makes baseball great.
Will the G-Men go all the way? With the way they are playing, they have a great shot at the playoffs. This last month featured a 10-game road win streak, and three series sweeps over good teams (Dodgers, Padres, and Cardinals). The G-men are in every game no matter if they get behind, or not. This is the time to enjoy baseball. These years are special.
The Holes that Need to be Filled (or Are Bullpen Games and Bulk Innings the New Future?)
The most glaring need has been starting pitching. Webb has been nails (even if he got roughed up in the first inning yesterday in Toronto) but the injuries have taken their toll. Cobb, DeSclafani, and Stripling have all been on and off the DL. The solution has been to use “bulk innings” relievers out of the bullpen. The initial thought was that too many “bullpen” games would burn out the relievers. However, that does not look like what is happening. Many relievers were starters before going to the pen (like Manaea, Brebbia, and Junis) and seem to thrive throwing 4 or 5 innings after an opener takes the first inning. Now we have a litany of young pitchers, such as Hjelle, Walker,and Beck, followed by the Rodgers twins (a story all by themselves) and the ultimate closer – Doval of the 102-mph fastball. The other MLB teams are watching the Giants experiment with pitching with great interest. This may be the beginning of a new trend. It’s certainly what we will see in the All-Star game in July.
The upcoming series against the Mariners and Rockies – Cruising into the All-Star Break
The Mariners are struggling. Right now, they are 38 and 41 and the A’s are the only team behind them in the AL West. The G-Men will have an opportunity to move into the lead in the NL West with a good home series, but it will be a battle. The Mariners have big bats (Jose Caballero and Ty France) and shut down starting pitching (Kirby and Castillo) but have been snake-bit so far this season against the National League. The Rockies are bringing up the rear of the NL West but are always up for a series at Oracle. The G-Men should not let down against these two teams and, if they don’t, the All-Star break will be a time to talk about trades for impact players (starting pitchers for sure) for the stretch run.
These games will be fun.
On the board and ready to be picked up are:
MON 7/3 -Mariners [6:45] - 4 – Fireworks night
TUE 7/4 – Mariners [1:35] – 4
WED 7/5 – Mariners [6:45] - 3/4 [I’m going to try to go]
FRI 7/7 – Rockies [7:15] – 2 [I’m going]
SAT 7/8– Rockies [1:05] - 4 - Hello Kitty Day
SUN 7/9 – Rockies [1:05]- 4 – Joc Pederson Bobblehead
Let the torture continue!
Ciao, and GO GIANTS!
The Czar
We use mail chimp so give permission for the blog to arrive in your mailbox if you want to receive the blog and participate in the fun. Past blogs can be found at www.beveragelaw.com at the Czar’s blog archive.
THE PROTOCOL: The firm has four seats in Section 118 (Premium Lower Boxes), Rows 25 and 26. These are awesome seats directly below the press box and 25 rows behind home plate on the left side behind the screen. It is foul ball territory for left-handed batters so bring your glove – I have collected 22 foul balls myself over 23 years and am looking for more. If we don’t use all the tickets ourselves (or clients and friends of the firm don't claim them by calling me and reserving a game), then my next step is to give the tickets TO THE FIRST PERSON WHO GETS BACK TO ME PROVIDED THAT THEY ARE SERIOUS. If you ask for the tickets and don't use them, you will be taken off the list unless there is a seriously good reason. There will be a wait list.
When there are four seats available (we split up a lot of games) we will allocate the tickets two and two if the first people back just want two tickets. You can also go for four and might get them. I'm the Czar, my call.
Oh, and BTW, The Czar found the original Hinman & Carmichael brick from 2000 (after looking for it every year since 2000) and found H&C’s Gotham Club Founders Bat! If you are on the patio, or in the Club, look for the symbols of baseball!
