Author Archives: Thomas Todd

Bad pitching, bad defense and a path to the postseason

Aside from a burst offense in an aborted comeback on Wednesday, little has gone right the last three days against the Oakland A’s. The defense has been bad and the pitching has been worse. Health, too, has been a problem; Angel Pagan hasn’t played since Saturday and Marco Scutaro has caught the virus making its way through the Giants’ clubhouse.

The Giants have played themselves into a tie for second in a very tight NL West. At this point, the winner of the division might only need 85-87 wins. The defending champs aren’t out of anything, but the last three games have been enough to wound the spirit of a once-believing fan base. Let’s ask some questions and posit some answers:

Is this just bad luck? Are the Giants vulnerable? Is this a .500 team?

First, let’s address what made the Giants successful from 2009-2012:

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SF Giants lineup: Plus Kickham optioned to Fresno, Ramon Ramirez called up

Update: Bochy said Gaudin most likely gets the go on Sunday. So it seems Ramirez will be enough to tide the bullpen over. 

After seeing a new face this week Giants fans will welcome back an old one, 31-year-old right-hander Ramon Ramirez. The relief pitcher was called up for the first time this season Wednesday when the Giants optioned Tuesday’s starter Mike Kickham back to AAA.

Kickham’s first career start was underwhelming, when he ceded four earned runs in just 2.1 innings of work against Oakland Tuesday. Not only did Kickham’s lackluster performance cause his demotion, but his short outing put strain on a depleted bullpen. An injury to Santiago Casilla will keep him out until after the All-Star break, forcing guys like George Kontos, Chad Gaudin and Jean Machi into higher leverage situations.

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Kickham debut: A few bright spots among a world of hurt

Looking at this outing as a spot start from a non-prospect might help this hurt a little less. But the truth is Kickham is the consensus No. 3 pitcher in the Giants farm system and, at 24, is eight months older than Madison Bumgarner. On the scatterplot of outcomes I had drawn up for this game, this one falls under “AW FRICK C’MON JEEZ”.

Kickham looked steady early, slowly unleashing an arsenal of breaking pitches to back up his 91-94 MPH fastball. Two straight sliders made Chris Young looks silly and a third did the same to Nate Freiman. His curveball and changeup were let go in the third inning, with both pitches getting swinging strikes.

Now on to the bad. After a challenge fastball to Derek Norris was sent into the left-field bleachers, Kickham earned himself a big-league ERA. He was behind in the count 3-1, and Norris easily caught up to 91 over the plate. Then things fell apart in the third inning when his command abandoned him, with Kickham issuing a walk to Chris Young. A Cespedes double and an intentional walk later, Kickham had his opportunities against Jed Lowrie with the bases loaded. But a 3-2 walk on a close pitch sealed the fate for the young lefty.

A Nate Freiman single would end Kickham’s night, with Bruce Bochy removing the starter with this line:

2.1 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 3K

As was mentioned earlier, Kickham is a lock to get at least one more start. The Giants have several off-days in early June and could make do with a four-man rotation, but a lot of that will come down to all five starters’ performance over the next week. If the bullpen can get rested by June 3rd, I don’t see any reason to push Kickham any further.