Tag Archives: Hudson

The Trade Deadline Was Smart and Effective Use of The SF Giants System Under Sabean, Boch, and Evans

02 Tuesday Aug 2016

Posted by in Commentary, SFG Off Day Posts

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A lot of fans were emotional yesterday upon hearing the news the SF Giants had traded Matt Duffy, but I was surprised long-time fan Grant Brisbee was among them – he practically wept. I figured old guys like us were used to the business of baseball and would leap to the evaluation of the statistics of the swap – which he did of course, through his tears.

Me, I found the trade an excellent use of a system we’ve developed with great effort and the right balance of stats and human evaluation in the near-decade since Barry Lamar stalked off into the sunset of post-Giants life.

Sure, I’ll miss Matt Duffy, but he only played for us for two years. It was an intense and impressive couple of years because he had to step into Pablo Sandoval’s big shoes, but I don’t grow that attached to players that fast no matter who they are. It takes me a while to want to make someone “untouchable,” as Posey and Bumgarner are.

Actually, I can remember when fans – terrified about the absence of Panda and failure of McGehee – wanted to trade Matt Duffy for a “real third baseman,” in his rookie year.

And speaking of Panda – a home grown third baseman who was with us through three World Series wins and instrumental in at least one – I do and will miss the Pablo we all loved: an incredible Giant, with huge personality, beloved for his simple, crazy humanity.

Besides, I know Matt Duffy has a long career ahead of him and will excel wherever he plays. I will be watching this guy for a few years to come and heck, he could end up back with us with the way the business of baseball works.

We have done what we set out to do. We have grown our talent at home and added missing pieces to create championship teams, not once, but thrice in the last six years. It has been a stunning achievement, and I think a lot of fans have taken the subtle moves for granted.

It was inevitable that at least one or two or even some of all this home grown talent would have to be used as chips to gain the missing pieces needed. In this case we gave up a lot to get the specific missing elements of our pitching staff, and I for one, am glad we had the guts and aggressiveness to go all-in.

I do not know if Matt Moore and Will Smith are the answer, but I DO know that once they get in Buster Posey’s capable hands for the month of August they’re likely to be much better prepared for a championship run than they have ever been in their lives.

What the Giants have done these last six years is almost unheard of in the modern era. We have kept our coaching staff intact, core players aboard in Posey, Bumgarner, Cain, Lopez and Romo. Turned homegrown talent such as The Brandons, Crawford and Belt, into All-Stars and snagged and locked-up Hunter Pence.

We managed Angel Pagan and Gregor Blanco in balance with rotating OFs. We squeezed the last bits of greatness from Cody Ross, Marco Scutaro, Ryan Theriot, Jake Peavy and Tim Hudson.

We’ve had great coaching at farm club levels resulting in consistently good play from rookies and newcomers to the team. Bruce Bochy is a first-ballot Hall of Fame Manager at this point, and his staff, again mostly intact (MISS YOU, FLAN!) are an amazing group.

If we had rested on our laurels and not made a trade for the essential relief and starting pitching support we needed, I’m not sure we could beat this year’s Cubs. Now I feel we have a legitimate shot not only to achieve that in Bochy vs. Maddon I, but go on to win it all.

Matt, you were a great Giant and that is what made you valuable and in-demand. We will miss you and I wish you all the best in Tampa. I am confident you will excel. I hear you are returning to SS and it must be cool to be with your Dirtbag mentor, Evan Longoria. Enjoy yourself and knock ’em dead.

Meanwhile, turning back to August …

Welcome aboard Matt Moore and Will Smith. Get your gear from Murph, perk up and pay attention. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND LISTENING TO BUSTER POSEY.

Let’s all pull it together and go out there and Even-Year-the-Shit-Outta-This-Thing.

Go Giants,

Love,

MTK

 

If You’re a Giants Fan, This is for You. Game 7 World Series 2014

29 Wednesday Oct 2014

Posted by in Commemorations, Game 7, World Series

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I saw last night coming in the exact same way I saw us “losing one of three at home” to these guys. I saw it because unlike Texas and Detroit on this stage, these guys are hungry, fierce and fast as lightning.

There are no balls that runaway from them in their park.

These guys are GOOD.

If, before I go on, you’re in an argumentative mood or feel like trolling, do not continue reading here until you have at least read Grant Brisbee, whose piece “Giants, Jake Peavy force Game 7,” is the single best piece on the internet on the matter.

It cuts to the points and covers most of the major issues. It is the single piece capable of getting our immense and highly emotional fan base into a sharper, more receptive mode today for what is to come tonight. It crosses generations and media.

For years, Brisbee does what newsprint can’t, what radio is incapable of, and has been what Comcast longs to be, but can never be because of how obscenely, filthy rich they are thanks to our team, and our fans, and who, thus, run things.

Brisbee does what bloggers long to do better than most of them can dream, and so they jealously put him down. I will pick up where he left off.

Jake Peavy, the new guy, went into that game without our trademark humility and cool. He let his kids talk about how they were going to buy a cable car when we won and, being new to our way of doing things from a media town like Boston, he acted way too cool pre-game in general (hugs with Big Papi … uh, why?).

I tried not to be negative before the game:  this was as confident as I could possibly be about the guy after what I saw on media day.

The play where he is yelling at Belt to throw it home was the ultimate in blowing your cool. I was disappointed, but I understood it must be incredible pressure.

I only wish Brandon had the quick presence of mind to flip that to Joe – what the hell, though, it was happening pretty fast.

But honestly, thank you, Jake. The pressure was enormous on you this season coming over to our team and you rocked!

It was a rough outing and a terrible context to be thrown into. Add to the situation the death of Tavares and the young emotional man on the mound, Ventura, dedicating his performance to his recently departed friend, and you have a nightmare situation.

Thank you for the game against the Nationals and your earnest, competitive fire.

This season, Jake Peavy did good things, and in some cases great things, coming in as a quick replacement for the sudden departure of our Big Horse, Matt Cain. But I refuse to agree with those who demand we blindly say, “we wouldn’t be here without him.”

He would not be here without us, is more appropriate.

He is a guy Brian Sabean chose on short notice to replace one of the best right-handers in the game, a guy our whole starting pitching rotation was begun with, and he did an admirable job.

Thank you Jake, again. Forgive me for being impatient. I cannot wait for Matt Cain’s elbow chips business to be completely healed.

As I said yesterday morning:

The AL is a different animal though and you have to stay crisp, sharp and on top of it against these hustling Royals. Their speed is crazy and they can hit. They haven’t been hitting, but they can hit. Which makes ‘em even more dangerous. Backs against the wall and due.

I am excited we’re starting Tim Hudson tonight. I trust Huddy and I dream of a storybook ending to his long and successful career as a starting pitcher in the major leagues. He has survived and indeed thrived to become the winningest pitcher active by exhibiting exquisite command and a level head under pressure.

A silver lining is our lineup got to go through that game last night as an ice breaker and I believe we will all be far more prepared for the atmosphere at KC tonight.

If we really want to be considered a Dynasty, if we really believe we have a right to elect Bruce Bochy to the Hall of Fame, tonight is when it should happen. We need to get the mental toughness, have the confidence to play our game and win it.

We have the better squad. Their pitcher is hittable. Victory can be ours.

Victory should be ours.

I honestly hope we play our best ball, because if we do, I am sure they cannot beat us. They rely on speed and hustle to ensure they make few mistakes. They capitalize on getting ahead before the 6th so they can shut it down.

We have the weapons to defeat that philosophy.

I honestly believe Tim Hudson could have the game of his life tonight and I wish him and his family all the best in the world win-or-lose.

The Bay Area loves you, Tim, and we believe in you because you have earned our trust.

In fact we admire you a great deal: your efficiency on the mound this season has been at times stunning.

This game in particular … You were one pitch from a complete game with ten pitches an inning. Wow, just, wow.

You and your family have been a welcome addition to our locker room and stadium and community. Thank you.

Good luck.

M.T.

in Giants Baseball Corner

The Battle for First Begins a Mile High

20 Tuesday May 2014

Posted by in PreGame GBCs

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After beating the Marlins 4-1 Sunday the Giants flew directly to Denver and checked into their hotels so as to enjoy as much of their day off yesterday as possible. Ryan Vogelsong’s strong outing made the home stand a winning one and kept the Giants three ahead of Colorado in the NL West standings. The rest was much needed.

The Giants are ready to get back to baseball tonight against the red hot Rockies who boast three of the top five best hitters for average in Justin Morneau, Charlie Blackmon and Troy Tulowitski. Tulo leads the league in average (.393) and Home Runs (13) and is third in RBIs.

Tulowitski’s line is staggering: .494 OBS/.764 SLG/1.259 OPS and he leads in every category by a wide margin including Wins Against Replacement. His 4.5 (WAR) is way beyond. The Denver Post has a nice article about Tulo today.

The Rockies have tasted first place in the NL West already this year and could tie for the lead with a sweep. They’ve been blasting the ball and have hit 62 homers as a team. They beat the Giants in Colorado on April 22 of this year on the strength of five homers and they smashed five in Cincy on the 10th to beat the Reds.

The Rockies clubhouse was struck by a viral infection which sent Catcher Wilin Rosario to the DL, but he has been reactivated from the injury list.

Madison Bumgarner pitches for the Giants tonight, followed by Matt Cain tomorrow night. Tim Hudson will likely be returning to the starting lineup for Thursday’s day game. Hudson missed his last start and was sent to the DL to rest a sore right hip, but has been throwing on flat ground since Saturday and will throw bullpen today.

Angel Pagan is listed day-to-day for the series because of his left shoulder, which he sprained diving for a ball in the last Marlins game.

Pablo Sandoval has begun hitting, stepping up in the absence of Brandon Belt. His solo homer yesterday was nice to see. His nine game hitting streak could include more long balls in the altitude of Coors Field. Let’s hope so.

Go Giants!

Hudson One Pitch from 89-pitch CG, Giants Win 3-2

01 Thursday May 2014

Posted by in Post Game Blasts

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Tim Hudson was incredible. He averaged only ten pitches an inning over eight innings during which he allowed one run amongst five hits. It was a stunning display of command over himself and control of an opponent’s  lineup.

Thus, in the top of the 9th, with a 3-1 lead, Hudson faced the possibility of averaging ten pitches or less in a complete game. With the pitch count so low, Bruce Bochy left him in.

As Dave Flemming put it, on the radio, live: “Why not? He’s only thrown 80 pitches.”

Hudson quickly sat down the first two batters of the 9th on six pitches. Then he had a two strike count on the Padres Yasmani Grandal when he sent an 87mph cutter down the gut that Grandal timed perfectly, connected on wholly and sent into McCovey Cove – a solo shot. Hudson’s 89th pitch ended his night, one out shy of a CG.

That condemnable 30th Splash Hit by an Opponent was retrieved by kayaker Mark Busch:

MarkBuschOpponentsHR

I hope Mark’s dog rips that thing to shreds.

Because, as Alex Pavlovic of the Mercury News tweeted it best:

“If Grandal swings through that last one, Hudson has himself an 89-pitch complete game.”

Sergio Romo came in to get the one-out save, his seventh, and this one was in the books as another outstanding performance by the SP who must be considered the Giants’ ace of 2014 thus far, Tim Hudson.

The Giants’ offense did score twice early. A Michael Morse double was plated by a Posey RBI in the first. Then in the second, The Giants made it 2-0 on a solo shot by the increasingly impressive Brandon Hicks.

Hicks’ homer was hit right handed, inside-out to deep RF – only Bonds ever did that kind of stuff at AT&T. It blew minds. But afterward, the Giants struggled to support Hudson at the plate.

Padres lefty Robbie Erlin settled down and he found a groove. Pitchers love our park and often play to our level of pitching competition. It’s an issue. It means we have to fight, scrap and hustle – with knowledge of our park they don’t have – to produce runs.

The Giants had RISP on three occasions and blew them all. The worst was a leadoff triple by Brandon Crawford in the 4th, when he was left stranded by a clunky, sputtering Giant offense. But in the previous inning the Giants had Morse and Belt on 2nd and 3rd with two out and could do nothing.

Luckily, Buster Posey singled in Arias (who had doubled in the 7th) to provide an insurance run that would prove to be necessary. Had Buster not hit that RBI late in the game, Grandal’s massive splash hit would’ve tied it up!

The Padres’ bullpen is decent and will fight in extra innings to steal wins. We could have easily been involved in a dog fight again on a night when Tim Hudson was throwing like Greg Maddux.

Point being, the Giants need to be more consistent about situational hitting with runners in scoring position. After Buster’s RBI single, with runners in the corners, Morse struck out, failing to get Pence home from third.

Team RISP: 3-for-11.
Team LOB: 7

ugh. Mark my words: whichever team – Dodgers, Giants or Colorado – plays smart, crisp baseball and hustles most for 50/50 games, will take the NL West. The SF Giants shot at being that team will depend on sacs, bunts, steals and hits with runners in scoring position.

On the bright side, as May begins, the Giants (17-11) lead the division by one and a half games over the Dodgers. On the road for our first two weeks of this month we face the Braves, Pirates and Dodgers next.

It’s time to tighten up the hitting in these batter-friendly parks and to continue hitting well against the nemesis in LA. I’d love to see us take 6 out of 9. Go Giants!

TWEET: to Brian Sabean, GM of for and ; excellent calculated expenditures in face of $235million budget

After Cody Ross and Fontenot in 2010 and Scutaro and Theriot in 2012, this looks like a pattern: Morse and Hudson in 2014. Hmm. “World Series Champions 2014,” has a nice ring to it.

(photo by McCovey Cove Dave @mccoveycovedave – whose sign they use for Opponents Splash Hits)

State of the Giants at the End of April; Huddy Takes on Pads in Rubber Match

30 Wednesday Apr 2014

Posted by in PreGame GBCs

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Yesterday Matt Cain was scratched from the lineup because he cut his finger trying  to catch a kitchen knife he’d dropped, on a day when Brandon Belt was off for rest – which gave Giants fans pause for concern; an emergency start without Posey behind the plate nor Belt at first.

But Yusmeiro Petit came in well-rested off the bench and had a great start. The Giants bats woke up and the Giants shutout the Padres 6-0, to even the series. The system responded very effectively to what will be a one-start absence by the big horse and gives confidence in at least one SP from the bench for an emergency start or a horrible outing (such as Petit’s last performance recovering for Vogey).

Petit held the Padres to three hits over six innings and struck out four. Jean Machi held them scoreless for two more and Sergio Romo kept them blanked to get his eighth save. Home runs by Buster Posey and Angel Pagan – who lead the team in RBIs – and clutch hitting in the form of a 3RBI single by Hector Sanchez, provided the runs.

Giants ace Tim Hudson goes tonight versus the Padres lefty Robbie Erlin and the batting lineup is absent Angel Pagan and Pablo Sandoval.

1. Juan Perez (R) CF
2. Hunter Pence (R) RF
3. Buster Posey (R) C
4. Michael Morse (R) LF
5. Brandon Belt (L) 1B
6. Brandon Hicks (R) 2B
7. Brandon Crawford (L) SS
8. Joaquin Arias (R) 3B
9. Tim Hudson (R) P

 

If Huddy can get the win it will be the NL West leading Giants’ sixth win in seven games, and second series win in a row including the sweep of the Indians.

The only blemish was the 4-6 loss to the Padres on Sunday when Madison Bumgarner looked completely out of sorts and was touched up for it. The bats just couldn’t get going.

The Giants lead the division by half a game and have shared it equally with the Dodgers. They often look good but an honest look at them at the end of April reveals:

Some problems:

* Belt, Posey and Pence are still only hitting around .250

* Pablo Sandoval continues to languish at the plate (.177). Worse, his distracted play in the field resulted in Sandoval having more errors (4) than homers(2) or even RBIs (3) until very recently. (Now 6RBIs)

* Timely hitting appears for the Giants in a game with steals, bunts and sacs moving guys over but then it disappears entirely for several games. The situational hitting lacks consistency and no single order seems to be better than any other.

On the bright side:

* Hector Sanchez is playing better

* Michael Morse has been very good at the plate and decent in the field – platooning him in and out works well late in games, too.

* The defense, particularly the infield, has been much more crisp. Brandon Hicks has been a welcome surprise at replacing Marco Scutaro, whom it seems may never make it back to the lineup: the back problems just aren’t getting better from what I hear. But the Brandons are playing better together weekly. Arias will need to play some 3B to spell Sandoval and that gives Hicks more playing time, and right now it’s working out well.

The Giants just barely lead the Rockies and Dodgers in what is turning out to be a pretty good NL West division. It was great to sweep the Indians and get crucial Inter-league wins. But the Giants need to get wins against the Pads and D-backs consistently to set the pace against the Dodgers or even the Rockies.

Padres quality bullpen and good hitting will put them in the spoiler role against all three top teams. It isn’t just Tim Lincecum’s nemesis Paul Goldschmidt that puts D-Backs sweeps in jeopardy. The Giants haven’t produced runs against Arizona consistently and have had lapses in defense that cost them close games. Close games, games against weaker teams and Inter-league series are all going to be “50/50 games” for the Dodgers, Giants and Rockies in pursuit of the Division lead.

Whoever plays smart, crisp baseball and hustles the most will take the division – and the SF Giants have an excellent shot at being that team.

 

Giants Beat Indians 5-1, First Interleague Game Win of 2014

26 Saturday Apr 2014

Posted by in Post Game Blasts

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I didn’t see this game, but I’m trying to make at least a placeholder on the blog for every Giants game this season.

From the papers I gather that Angel Pagan had a great game at the plate and running the base paths, with two singles, a steal and two runs scored.

Tim Hudson continues his steady, consistent pitching for the Giants. He went 7+ and allowed only one run. Huddy is averaging 5Ks a game!

The Giants won in their first Interleague game, 5-1, and the Dodgers lost in 11 last night so we are back in first place by half a game.

Go Giants!

[the comment below is the comment below]

mtk

I happened to be at the game last night. The buzz where I was sitting centered around the Mike Morse homer in the 421 area of the park. A big blast! Hudson’s steady pitching–I believe he had a 5 pitch, 3 up, 3 down inning. Very cool to watch. Last but not least, Pablo legging out a triple with a thunderous belly flop into third base and no throw from the defense.

The Kuiper home run video, bobble head and interviews were fun too. Check out the Kuiper video —csnbayarea.com. Cheers

Andre Reynier

Bumgarner Platinum, Romo Gold

03 Wednesday Apr 2013

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From the program displayed in the video above, as per J. Fletcher quoting Madison Bumgarner’s  high school coach, Jeff Parham at Caldwell South, regarding his second attempt to win the State Championships:”Playing the series at Five County Stadium (AA Mudcats), Bumgarner struck out 12 in a 4-1 victory in Game 1. He capped the championship_clinching win in game 2 with an inside-the-park homer, which ended the game 10-0 by the mercy rule.”

The MAN is a BEAST on the mound and grows strong.

Romo gold.