K & K on television remarked Sunday that Bruce Bochy might have done his best managing job this year. That could be very true. Many point to all the injuries but the Giants were not a true contender from the start. They had lost Pablo and Morse then Pence gets his arm broken by a pitch in the second spring training game and they had only one or two reliable starting pitchers for the majority of the season.
Once Pence returned after missing about six weeks of the season the difference in the team was very evident. They seem to sparkle and they played great baseball. Even the days Pence went hitless his presence was felt as they won 16 more games then they lost when he played. Then an oblique muscle pull and he is finished for the season and many other Giant injuries continue to pile up which realistically made it almost impossible to catch the Dodgers. Its hard to believe that Pence only played about 30% of the games after rarely missing a game since he joined the Giants in 2012.
The Giants strength is their infield of Belt, Panic, Crawford and the development of Duffy as an outstanding third baseman. The relief staff was solid but was over worked because of the lack of starters who could go seven innings and the managers philosophy of always changing pitchers. Other young players such as Tomlinson, Parker and the catcher Brown stood out once they were called up.
It was a very odd year with winning and losing streaks from 5 to 8 games constant. The Giants had one too many losing steak.
Giants Prediction
The Giants end of the season press conference told us nothing because it was said that they haven't made any decisions. Larry Baer did not say that he told Evans and Bochy if they don't make the playoffs next year start looking for a job. So read below to find out what will happen :
Three specific moves the Giants need to make this winter.
1. Sign the pitcher Leach
2. Either sign or trade for a second reliable starter
3. Sign Bryd who was a run producer once he joined the team in August.
In my opinion here is the way the Giants will line up at the start of the 2016 season assuming they make the three moves indicated and all of their injured players will be able to return.
Catcher:
According to Bochy, Posey will continue in the same role next year catching most of the time and filling in at first base. Susac, Sanchez and Brown will battle for the back up catcher spot.
Infield:
This is the strength of the team as mentioned above. If Belt is traded Posey will be able to handle first without a problem. Adrianza and Tomilinson will be the reserves.
Outfield:
There will be a number of changes with Parker, Byrd, Blanco, Pence and Tomilinson making up the five outfielders. Tomilison will be a reserve in both the outfield and infield. Gone will be Aoki and Pagan. Do the Giants have the guts to send Pagan who has played about 60% of the games over the last three years? On Saturday Pagan failed again to cover a ball hit off a right field archway and bounced towards right center field where he should have been. He was not in sight and in fact Tomilinson the second basemen retrieved the ball. The big question is who will lead off? Can not having a reliable lead off man save either Pagan or Aoki? Or perhaps their contracts will save them. Will the Giants lose Bryd because they did not give him the opportunity to get a total at bats to gain a $8 million bonus?
Relief Pitchers:
The current relievers on the squad (Gearrin, Romo, Osich, Lopez, Konkos, Petit, Strickland and Casilla) are very adequate to make up a solid staff. Evans will be looking for other pitchers who can start the season at Sacramento and be available if needed.
Starters:
Bumgarner, Peavy, Leach, a new pitcher and Cain would make up the starters. Cain looked very good in his last game and we're all hoping along with the Giants who have 20 millions reasons to hope he has found himself again. The Giants really wanted Cain to get his third win so it would only cost the team $6,666,666.67 per win instead of $10 million. Chris Heston will have to pitch extremely well to make the staff next spring. Vogelsong said good-bye to the crowd Sunday but he could return again if they don 't sign Leach or an additional starter. That's what happened in the past two years.
The Playoffs
A couple of months ago I mentioned that I expected some surprises in the major league races. The Astros, Blue Jays and Mets fulfilled that prophecy but the Rangers were a complete shock. The AL West champions were picked by most 'experts' end up close to the bottom. It wasn't easy especially when they blew a four run lead in the ninth inning Saturday to lose to the Angels and prolong the agony another day. It had to bring back memories. In 2011 World Series the Rangers were twice within one strike of becoming world champions only to have the Cardinals pull it out. I believe it was the great late Yogi Berra who said, "It's not over until its over!" I haven't got a clue who will be the champions come November. All I know for sure is that the Giants will not repeat.
The Warriors
Last year the Warriors were relatively injury free so many thought that the odds might catch up with them this year. No one ever dreamed it would be the coach Steve Kerr. This is a serious injury and I am not sure the Warriors will see their coach all season. He had one back surgery that failed then he had to have a second and that seems to have made things worse. I think he was sold a bill of goods by the medical profession. Don't look for the Warriors to repeat without their coach.
The NFL
I was enjoying a manhattan wasting my time watching NFL Sunday Night Football. During the game Randall the Cowboys back jumped over the line at the one with ball hanging lose and of course fumbled. The replay shows that he actually got the ball to break the plain of the goal line meaning it was a TD. That's the correct all. I don't understand when a player has control of the ball in the end zone after catching a pass and then is hit and hits the ground and loses the ball it is incomplete. There is also the rule that says the ground cannot cause a fumble. People that run the NFL must be a lot smarter then me that's why they have their job. I personally think when you need to have instant replay to determine if a pass is complete or not your screwing up the game.
The 49ers
Recently I finished reading Dave Newhouse's book Founding 49ers because it covered the early days of the 49ers up to the time Bill Walsh took over the team. Here are a few personal comments that brought back some memories.
My father had taken me to a Stanford football game in either 1941 or 42 when Frankie Albert was the Indians qb and the 't' formation was introduced to college football by their coach Clark Shaughessy. That's all I remember and Albert became my favorite player. According to all the sources I was not surprised to read that it was Frankie that saved the 49ers in their early years and with his popularity that enabled the team to make it financially which eventually led them to the NFL in 1950.
In 1957 R.C. Owens made the 'Alley OOp' pass famous in the NFL.
In 1960 the Philadelphia Eagles won the NFL title with the original 49er coach Buck Shaw (fired in 1954) "who couldn't coach anymore" at the helm.
Although we were reading about memories perhaps we wanted to forget the 60's. In 1961 Red Hickey, hated by almost everyone, sent Joe Perry to Baltimore, Y.A. Tittle to the Giants and exposed McElhenny to the expansion draft and he ended up with the Vikings. Tittle led the Giants to three Divisional titles in the early 60's and Hugh ran for a touchdown against the 49ers.
Hickey did invent the shot gun which thrilled 49er fans for three weeks with 49-0 win over the Lions a 35-0 shutout over the Rams and 38-24 victory over the Vikings. The Bears with a defensive coordinator named Clark Shaughnessy shifted his defensive lineman and the days of the shot gun were virtually over. Well, it was fun while it lasted. Yes, that the same coach that brought the 't' formation to college football and Stanford in 1941.
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| Final 49er Kezar program |
In 1973 Bruce Gossett saved the day in Denver with five field goals for a 36 - 34 victory. The only reason I bring this up is that Barbara and I flew to Denver for the weekend to visit many old friends and see the game thanks to my wonderful mother who kept our two young ones under control. I could not believe the 49ers almost lost to Denver.
John Brodie was the 49er qb for 17 years and almost every year there was competition. I was really shocked when I read that. There are many stories about Brodie in the book. But I love this one. Remember last year the 49ers were criticized for taking so long to get the play called from the coordinator in the booth to the coach on the field to qb. It was different in John's day. The 49ers were playing a playoff game at Candlestick and a play was sent in from the bench. John calls a timeout and walks to the bench. "Who in the f--k asked you all to send me a play?" Everyone turned their backs and Brodie went back into the huddle.
The Blog
I was planning on cancelling the blog but instead I will review my predictions and express my thoughts on the Giants winter activities around the time of the baseball meetings in early December.
I want to thank everyone for their support and comments. We wrote 64 posts since January 27, 2015 and averaged between 75 and 80% readership for each post.
Family Note
I mentioned that my granddaughter had accepted a full ride scholarship to University of Arizona in the last blog. Google 'Emily Knous soccer' to read an newspaper article regarding this decision.
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