Category Archives: Giants

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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SF Giants lineup: Pagan out again, plus scouting reports on Kickham

When Ryan Vogelsong was injured a week ago, Giants fans became on edge like they hadn’t in quite some time. The starting rotation hadn’t had a long-term injury since Barry Zito in 2011, but Zito wasn’t pitching well enough for anyone to be concerned. And his replacement was Vogelsong, who lit up the National League and collected an All-Star Game appearance and a few Cy Young votes along the way.

The Chronicle’s Henry Schulman thinks Kickham won’t be up for long, given that the Giants have 3 of 8 days off in early June. But two starts seems imminent, so here are some scouting reports on the young lefty:  Continue reading →