It's been about six months since my last post. With the baseball season about to begin I know a few are interested in my thoughts on the Giants. This is not a return to a regular blog because I don't seem to have the time or energy to do posts regularly that are worth a thought or laugh. My time at MacDonald's each week is even in greater demand with the current job market and the supply cut from Mexico
Before getting to the Giants let's review the Warriors and 49ers.
Warriors
Steph Curry's 30th birthday bash has stolen the Warriors headlines. From the scenes I have seen it looked like a great party. My question is why? When I turned 80 I did not want any kind of celebration because I know its tough to make it through the 80s alive. Hey Steph, let me let you in on a little secret. Its all downhill from now on buddy! In fact it started at 29 years 10 months looking at all his recent injuries and games that you have missed. And it seems to have spread. 'If Steph can get hurt so can I'. The Warrior injury list continues to grow.
His replacement an undrafted call up from Santa Cruz named Quinn Cook has been sensational He looks like the second coming of Curry. In order for Cook to make the playoff squad the Warriors would have cut somebody. The feeling is because Steph has now reached the magic 30, they can't go in to the playoffs without a solid replacement. Cook seems to be the answer.
How far can the Warriors go in the playoffs? Even before all their recent injuries chances of making the finals were less than 50/50. At full strength they will be underdogs to the Rockets who have played great basketball this year. The Warriors can only hope the Rockets have worn themselves out. If the Bay City team doesn't make it pass the first round look for Kerr to be on the way out. Magic Johnson would love to send Walton back to the Warriors.
The Warriors have dropped 'The City' from their uniform logos. The market value of those 't' shirts has dropped dramatically. They now wear 'The Town' and 'The Bay' regularly. They have one other shirt 'The Swamp' they have not used. They had planed to use the red, white and blue jersey in Washington D.C. but Adam Silver the commissioner said no because the Wizards had the same color uniforms.
The 49ers
We said it last year that York made the right choices in Lynch and Shanahan to run the team. Many others had the same opinion. They really have been the talk of the NFL moving a horrible football team to respectability so quickly. They know how to evaluate talent to meet their team needs. This is the approach Bill Walsh used that made his teams so successful.
They are signing a few free agents that can fit into their team. That's why their draft was so successful last year they knew what talent of look for. I would be very surprised and disappointed if they didn't have another solid draft next month. NFL experts say that you can't evaluate a draft for three years. That might be true, but if the 49ers can get five players who contribute regularly to the team in the draft like they did last year, to me that is a very successful draft.
The 49er signed Richard Sherman an over the hill 30+ year old injured defensive back. I don't understand. That's the type of player Bill Walsh use to dump even if he thought he had one year left. Sherman may work out okay but we won't be All Pro. Will he last six games before getting hurt?
Until the 49ers lost Foster their great rookie linebacker I thought they were close to a cinch to make the playoffs. It will be much tougher now. Although Foster has not been ruled out yet, depending on the District Attorney he can't be relied upon. I am sure the coach doesn't want to drive up to Levi Stadium on a Sunday morning and see the Santa Clara Sheriffs car waiting
The Giants
The Giants won 13-0 today but I still have not changed my mind. They will gain about 15 games on the Dodgers but I am not sure that will be enough to get them out of the cellar.
Starting pitching - lousy! After Bumgarner, we have Cueto. Last year the excuses were blisters, family, the fact he was now 31 and a lousy team. Or is he all washed up? Samardzija was learning how to pitch. But this spring he had taken another step back. His homerun pitch was in mid-season form. Ty Blach and Christ Stratton look like they will be starters. Newcomer Derrick Holland may also get a chance to start.. The other rookie starters the Giants touted in the spring were flops.
Catchers - Posey and Hundley are solid with Sanchez waiting in Sacramento in case of an injury. Hector can expect a few call ups with both catchers being 30 or older.
Relief Pitching - If the 33 year old Mike Melancon has a dead arm the relief staff will be fair. If he can become a reliable closer then they won't be too bad. Not great, but efficient. Josh Osich has been a pleasant surprise.
Infield - solid player at every position. Belt needs to stay healthy. Not sure Longoria should start in front of Pablo. His production began to drop once he reached 30 years of age.
Outfield - It was so bad last year anything would be an improvement. Pence will move to left field. I told a few friends that I thought he should retire then he hits a few homeruns in AZ. I will be surprised if he is not on the DL by the end of April.
Jackson looks like pretty good hitter. But he is not the answer in centerfield. McCutchen will start in right field. Was a great ball player but I remember last year after he turned 30, when the Giants played the Pirates he was an automatics out.
The Giants love Steve Duggar for the way he can play centerfield. He shows promise at the plate but good pitching gets him out. If he has a solid six weeks in Sacramento, he might be brought up by the end of May. My first impression has him as a career .240 hitter. Hope I am wrong.
.
Chris Shaw could also be up by the end of May if he tares the PCL apart. He needs time at Sacramento but I look for him to be in leftfield for the Giants sometime this season.
Parker continues to look great one day and horrible the next. Mac Williamson has been a star all spring and Austin Slater a big disappointment.
The bad news is that the Giants play the Dodgers 10 times in the first month of the season. They will see Kershaw at least three times. The good news is that Kershaw reached his 30th birthday on St. Joseph's day so from now on its all down hill. Problem is that nobody can see the top of his hill.
Breaking News - I just read the Giants cuts. All I can say is 'They don't want to win'.
.
No comments:
Post a Comment