Monday, August 8, 2011

Following the Phillies visit, how worried should the Giants be?

That question really depends on your level of optimism or pessimism.  If your a Glass is half empty person, then you should really be concerned that Carlos Beltran has not been hitting consistently or with power.  You should be concerned that Ross, Torres, Schierholtz and especially Huff are still not hitting.  You should be concerned that the offense is batting .225 and only .174 with RISP.  The bullpen struggled a bit (by their standards) over the last 10 games.  Lastly, you should be concerned that the team is 2 for their last 10 since leaving Philly and have hit 15 home runs in the last month and every single one was a solo, an almost improbable feat.

If your a Glass is half full type, then you should be happy that Cabrera and especially Keppinger have been fantastic, Pablo is tearing it up and the pitching staff has been solid.  Additionally, the Phillies pitchers while good, looked hit-able, but the Giants poor plate appearances made them look better than they were.  Only the 2-9 loss against the Phillies and possibly the 1-6 loss against the D-Backs were out of reach to a team that isn't slumping.

What I take from this is that the Giants have a lot of moving parts right now, with several of them not hitting.  If Torres can improve is OBP and average and Huff can start hitting, then Beltran can start swinging with power as opposed to "just try and get on".  It would be nice to see Schierholtz and Ross hitting again with power and frequency.  With those minor offensive improvements the Giants can beat anyone, especially the Phillies.  As long as we are in August and remain in or near 1st place, I am not concerned.  However, September is fast approaching and anyone can get hot, lets hope its the Giants.

Side Note:  MLB reviewed the bench clearing scrum between the Giants and the Phillies.  The ruling was that Shane Victorino would get a 3 game suspension and a fine for charging the mound and shoving an umpire.  Ramirez, Whiteside and the Phillies Polanco would get undisclosed fines for their parts.  I think the Giants dodged a bullet, especially with Whiteside and possibly Pablo Sandovol, both getting off easy and all together, respectively.

No comments:

Post a Comment