Buster Posey – Giantspod

Episode 139: Adopt Out

Daniel Zarchy — Mon, 13 Jul 2020 15:30:00 +0000

In the one-hundred-and-thirty-ninth episode, Thomas and Danny discuss Buster Poseyâ€s decision to sit out the 2020 season, the Giants schedule, and the benefits of a two-blanket system in the bedroom.

You can access the podcast on Apple Podcasts, here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/two-guys-a-glove-and-a-coke-bottle-podcast/id408834389

You can also find it on the RSS feed. We look forward to your feedback, either by commenting here on the blog, emailing us at giantspod@gmail.com, or our Twitter feed. Go Giants!

Episode 138: Hindsight in 2020

Daniel Zarchy — Mon, 08 Jun 2020 13:00:00 +0000

Episode 138: Hindsight in 2020

In the one-hundred-and-thirty-eighth episode, Thomas and Danny catch themselves up on a full off-season of transactions, speculate about the youth movement of the coaching staff, and let you know what they have been doing with their lives since 2017.

Click on the image below to find it on iTunes:

You can also find it on the RSS feed, or by clicking on the play button below. We look forward to your feedback, either by commenting here on the blog, emailing us at giantspod@gmail.com, or our Twitter feed. Go Giants!

Episode 130: Buster Pipped

Daniel Zarchy — Fri, 15 Apr 2016 04:08:56 +0000

Episode 130: Buster Pipped

In the hundred-and-thirtieth episode, Thomas and DannyÂ recap the series against the Dodgers and Rockies, Brandon Belt’s contract extension, Trevor Brown’s hot bat,Â and Buster Posey’s good friend Hunter Pence.

Click on the image below to find it on iTunes:Â

You can also find it on theÂ RSS feed, or by clicking on the play button below. We look forward to your feedback, either by commenting here on the blog, emailing us atÂ giantspod@gmail.com, or ourÂ Twitter feed. Go Giants!

SF Giants transactions: Kensuke Tanaka makes major-league debut, w/GIF

Thomas Todd — Wed, 10 Jul 2013 06:46:50 +0000

A team grasping at straws, the Giants made two moves before Tuesday’s game against the Mets.

First, they placed Hector Sanchez on the disabled list with an injury I care less about than Phish cares about brevity. Mike Kickham gets his third trip to the big-league roster to replace the Giants’ thirdÂ catcher. But the bizarre move was the call-up of Kensuke Tanaka, the Japanese import that lost a backup infield role when his bat and glove failed him in Spring Training.

The move was so bizarre it almost worked. Upon being recalled, Tanaka was immediately written into the lineup as the starting left fielder and No. 2 hitter. Who he was vexed the more casual fan, while the Lunatic Fringe was curious why a guy who has played nine games in American outfields was ready for a corner spot in AT&T.

Then there was The Catch. No, Dwight Clark or T.O. didn’t show up. But this happened:

h/t to @gidget

Follow that up with his first big-league hit and another trip to the base paths via a walk, and it was a hell of a debut for Tanaka. Not so much for the rest of the Giants, who gave up double-digits to the Mets. But let’s focus on the positives.

I am leading the train of “hold your horses” on Tanaka. He got a decent shot at multiple positions in spring and proved to be a clank-mitt. At 32, there isn’t much room for his raw tools to improve. But left field is a mess, with Andres Torres doing his best Tanaka-in-spring and Angel Pagan’s return nowhere in sight. It can’t hurt to have a happy-to-be-there guy with a flashy smile who is playing for his job every day he is on the field. Also the Giants DFA’d Cole Gillespie to make room. Ho hum.

—

Sanchez’s departure solves a lot of the head-scratching about three catchers being on the roster when the bullpen is burnt and left field looks like this:

h/t internet

Even when healthy, Sanchez is a fringy pinch-hitter who needs reps if the Giants ever plan on making him the everyday catcher. Which they will in 2015 when Buster Posey becomes a corner infielder. There isn’t even a joke to be made here. I think that’s the plan.

Kickham has shown that he has the velocity and (sometimes) enough command to get hitters out in spurts, something that can be more useful in relief. I wouldn’t be surprised if he spends the next three months as a pitcher who often appears in the 6th or 7th inning. The real quetion is: glasses or no glasses?

SF Giants lineup: Crawford out again, in fact all Brandons on bench

Thomas Todd — Fri, 21 Jun 2013 23:04:44 +0000

Before the 2012 season I invented a segment for our blog/podcast called “Brandon Watch”, based on the premise that the Giants could be successful if their young (and cheap) position players performed at the level of major-league caliber starters. What followed was a great defensive season from Brandon Crawford and a really nice all-around performance by Brandon Belt.

There will be no Brandons for Giants fans to watch Friday night against Miami. Crawford sits for the third straight day after spraining two of his fingers on a stolen base attempt Tuesday. Crawford will be available to pinch-run and/or pinch-hit, according to Andrew Baggarly. The only hurdle to starting now is the discomfort he feels when releasing the ball on defense.

Belt also won’t be gripping any bats to start the game, as Bruce Bochy has given Posey a “day off” from behind the plate and placed him at first base. This is Posey’s 7th start at first on the season, but it is his third in the last week. Hector Sanchez, who will catch Tim Lincecum today, may be the reason for Posey’s sudden shift and Belt’s partial exile. The Giants have been impressed with Sanchez’s ability to come through in big moments at the plate despite never posting an OPS of .700 at the major-league level. Belt has five hits in his last 12 plate appearances. Ricky Nolasco is right-handed. What’s your damage, Bochy?

Also of note is Hector Sanchez catching Tim Lincecum. Like his dalliances with Zito, Sanchez was briefly considered a “Timmy Whisperer”. Sanchez caught Lincecum in 16 of his 33 starts in 2012, where he posted a 4.87 ERA. In comparison, Posey caught 15 of those 33 starts and Timmy’s ERA in those starts 5.46. That isn’t enough for “personal catcher” status in my mind, especially with a pitcher whose results have been all over the map for the last season-plus of outings.

Ricky Nolasco pitching in AT&T Park raises an eyebrow, as the young righty has been targeted as trade-potential for the Giants come the July 31st deadline. He is a free agent after this season, and presumably the Giants would need to toss the Marlins a prospect and eat around $5 million of salary to acquire him. Nolasco is in the middle of his second-best season in his career, posting an ERA, WHIP and a H/9 near his career lows. Could be a great value, but let’s see what the Marlins ask for. Even one of Klye Crick/Clayton Blackburn/Chris Stratton may be a stiff price to pay for three months of another mercurial pitcher.

Here’s the Giants’ lineup vs. RHP Ricky Nolasco (4-7, 3.61 ERA):

CF Blanco

2B Scutaro

1B Posey

RF Pence

C Sanchez

SS Arias

LF Torres

3B Noonan

RHP Lincecum (4-7, 4.57 ERA)

SF Giants lineup: Posey sits against red-hot Padres

Thomas Todd — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:33:38 +0000

Buster Posey gets a full day of rest Monday after playing in all nine games of the Giants’ recent road trip. The reigning MVP caught eight of those games, spending Saturday’s game at first base. Posey collected 15 hits on the trip, raising his 2013 batting line to .316/.390/.515. His .905 OPS is tops among MLB catchers and seventh among all position players in the National League. Hector Sanchez gets his fifth start of the season behind the dish and his first since April 18th.

Sanchez caught Zito in 24 of his 32 starts last year, becoming somewhat of a personal catcher for the lefty. Bochy looks to exploit this comfort tonight at AT&T, where Zito has a 1.94 ERA on the season. He is 4-1 in home starts, to go along with an 0-4 road record and 11.28 ERA away from San Francisco.

Shortstop Brandon Crawford will start the game at the No. 3 spot in the order, the first time the renowned glovesman has done so in his career. Much like Posey, Crawford is coming off a road trip to remember; he reached base 15 times in just 37 plate appearances in the nine games. The UCLA product has a season line of .288/.352/.428, all of which would greatly surpass his previous career highs. All-Star votes, please and thank you.

Tony Abreu returns to the lineup, having sat yesterday against Atlanta. His leg still isn’t 100% and Bruce Bochy doesn’t seem confident he can play three straight days, opting to go two on and one off with the 28-year-old.

Juan Perez collects another start in center field, pushing Gregor Blanco to left and Andres Torres to the bench. Torres’ defense has come under fire of late, and a pair of questionable plays in yesterday’s nationally-televised game in Atlanta. Andrew Baggarly of CSN Bay Area tweeted during the game yesterday that his money is on Perez as the best center fielder on the roster. He said it rather offhandedly and even revoked it later when Blanco made a great play, but it’s something to consider with Angel Pagan still sidelined.

Here’s the lineup against RHP Edinson Volquez (5-5, 5.87 ERA):

LF Blanco

2B Abreu

SS Crawford

RF Pence

1B Belt

3B Arias

C Sanchez

CF Perez

LHP Zito (4-5, 4.79 ERA)

SF Giants roster moves: Pill, Ramirez sent down; Dunning, Sanchez called up

Thomas Todd — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 20:41:11 +0000

The San Francisco Giants have designated first baseman Brett Pill and relief pitcher Ramon Ramirez for assignment, according to Alex Pavlovic of the San Jose Mercury News. They were sent down to make room for relief pitcher Jake Dunning and returning catcher Hector Sanchez. Neither player is expected to arrive by game time Thursday, as they are scheduled to land just 3o minutes before the first pitch.

Dunning’s first appearance will be his major-league debut, having been drafted by the Giants in the 33rd round in 2009. He was a shortstop at Indiana, having converted to relief pitching in his second season in the minors. Through 36 innings across 23 relief appearances in Triple-A Fresno this season, the Georgia native has posted a 1.75 ERA.

Sanchez returns to the team for the first time since May 1st, when he was designated for assignment to get more regular reps behind the plate. Sanchez’s promotion relieves a thin bench that has been ravaged by injuries to Pablo Sandoval, Angel Pagan and Marco Scutaro. The young catcher is a switch-hitter and can be a weapon as a pinch-hitter, while retaining the ability to double-switch into games behind the plate. He also allows Bochy a little more room in giving Posey an off-day, not having to rely so heavily on Guillermo Quiroz to stay healthy or productive.

Pill had been to the plate just 29 times since being called up on May 15th, a testament to Brandon Belt’s season against right- and left-handed pitching. Belt’s season line of .251/.323/.422 has been bolstered by a .333/.375/.489 line against lefties. His career split of .283/.347/.475 against southpaws has me thinking that hitting left-handed pitching is a skill of Belt’s rather than something that he needs to be shied away from. Sorry, @PillzRgood.

Ramirez, on his second tenure with the Giants, has displayed the problems he showed in New York that led to his release. After four seasons as one of the most reliable right-handed relievers in baseball, Ramirez posted a 4.24 ERA with the Mets in 2012. His 5.2 innings for the Giants this season have been disastrous, yielding seven runs and while walking five batters and striking out none.

The fresh blood will try to stop the bleeding on the Giants’ current six-game road trip, where they have dropped to first to game. San Francisco is 12-20 on the road this season.

Marco Scutaro injury: Giants second basemen leaves game after being hit by pitch

Thomas Todd — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 02:32:49 +0000

Update: Baggarly and Henry Schulman tweeted that Scutaro cannot straighten his pinky finger, leading them to believe there may be tendon damage. He will see a specialist tomorrow.

Giants second baseman Marco Scutaro left Tuesday’s game against the Pirates after being hit by a pitch. On an 0-2 count in the seventh inning, Pittsburgh lefty Tony Watson came inside with a fastball that clipped Scutaro in his left hand. He was awarded first base, but Juan Perez was brought in as a pinch runner. A post-game MRI revealed that there was no fracture, according to Andrew Baggarly.

The Giants are quickly running out of quality position players, with Pablo Sandoval joining Angel Pagan on the disabled list with a foot injury. If Scutaro is forced to miss time, Nick Noonan and Tony Abreu would likely share the available playing time. Noonan, Abreu and Joaquin Arias can play all of the infield positions, but will struggle to replace the production at the plate of the Giants’ 1-2-3 hitters. Sorry, Buster Posey’s RBI total.

Scutaro is the second Giants player this season to leave a game after being struck with a pitch. Ryan Vogelsong fractured two bones in his right pinky finger when he misguidedly swung at an inside pitch from Nationals pitcher Craig Stammen on May 20th. The righty started will not return to the team until after the All-Star break, having been placed on the 60-day disabled list.

Let’s just say Bruce Bochy’s lineup tomorrow should be interesting. I’m gonna take a stab at what it will look like if Scutaro sits:

LF Andres Torres (lefty Francisco Liriano is pitching, so the switch-hitting Torres is the best option to lead off)

SS Brandon Crawford

C Buster Posey

RF Hunter Pence

1B Brandon Belt

CF Gregor Blanco

3B Joaquin Arias

2B Tony Abreu

That would likely be the worst 6-8 that the Giants have put out all season. Combine that with the drop-off from Scutaro to Crawford in the 2-hole and one of the NL’s best offenses has lost much of its luster. Cross your fingers that the pitching staff returns to its 2009-2011 form.

SF Giants lineup: Bochy tweaks lineups for doubleheader vs. Cardinals

Thomas Todd — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 16:41:32 +0000

In St. Louis on Saturday, the Giants will be playing in their first doubleheader of the season, and they will do so with a bench that has been gutted by injuries. Pablo Sandoval is out and Angel Pagan is doubtful, leaving Bochy with just three reserves in each game. Whittle that number down to two because Quiroz and Posey will act as emergency catchers in games one and two respectively.

The plan is to pair Posey with Cain in the first game, then let Quiroz catch Bumgarner in the evening. Bochy emphasized that he wants Buster to catch Gaudin in his first start of the season on Sunday.

While Joaquin Arias was the scheduled to start at third in Friday’s rainout, Nick Noonan will get the call to replace Sandoval in Game One. Arias will play Game Two when Noonan slides to second to take over for Old Man Scoots. Noonan and Belt, the Bochy-dubbed “young bucks” will play both games, and presumably so will the entire outfield. Pagan will test out his injured hammy, but Alex Pavlovic of the Merc points out that damp field conditions should all but prevent the Giants leadoff hitter from playing.

For those asking, Noonan has played 37 minor league games at third base dating back to 2011. He has played the hot corner just once this season, manning the post for four innings after coming in on a double-switch.

The Cardinals, at 35-18, have the best record in baseball. Despite this, the Pirates and Reds trail by just two games in the NL Central. Outside of the AL East, there is no more competitive top three in baseball.

Here’s the lineup for game one vs. RHP Shelby Miller (5-3, 2.02 ERA)

CF Blanco

2B Scutaro

RF Pence

C Posey

1B Belt

LF Torres

SS Crawford

3B Noonan

RHP Cain (4-2, 5.00 ERA)

Episode 98: Jazz Goes to Scottsdale

Daniel Zarchy — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 06:49:35 +0000




Episode 98: Jazz Goes to ScottsdaleÂ is out!

In the ninety-eighth episode, Thomas and Danny talk about the arbitration settlements, the departure of Conor Gillaspie, 25-man roster predictions, and the Timmy-Buster conflict.

Click on the image below to find it on iTunes:

Go Giants!