Two weeks ago as they were treading above .500, it made sense for the Giants to look for outside help in effort to give them that boost that Marco Scutaro and Hunter Pence provided last summer. However, as we inch closer to the deadline, and the Giants sinking further below .500 by the day, they may ultimately decide to go another route.
Now, there's still a few weeks of baseball left to be played before the July 31st deadline, and although the Giants are 7 games below .500, they're only 6.5 games back of the first place D-Backs and we haven't yet hit the all-star break. That 6.5 game deficit is hardly a huge hurtle with 3 months left in the season, but this
team has steadily declined over the last month and it appears like the two teams that scare me in this division, LA and Arizona, are on the up. The surging Dodgers just dealt for Ricky Nolasco, and if that team continues to gel together and play like they have the last couple weeks, then they could end up running away with this division. If they get Kemp on track and can stay healthy, I think they're in for a big second half. The first place D-Backs who are in first place without getting a whole lot from their pitching staff, and some of their key players off to slow starts. Right now, the Giants are behind those two teams talent wise, and they'd need a big turnaround from Pablo Sandoval, someone to step up in the leadoff spot, and a few additions to their staff and/or lineup in order to catch up with those two teams.
At this point, I don't expect the Giants to try and counter the Dodgers' addition of Ricky Nolasco quite yet. If they head into the all-star break 10 games back, then it would be hard to justify trading away from their shallow farm system in order to try and make a run cause they have too many needs. Offensively, the top of
the order, which was so strong during last year's tittle run, has become a major weakness. Nobody has sufficiently filled Angel Pagan's spot atop the lineup, and Pablo Sandoval is in one of his worst slumps of his professional career and is providing nothing in the 3-hole. It's been so bad for Panda that there have been rumblings of possibly sending him down to Fresno to maybe lose a few pounds and re-discover his strike zone. He's always been a notorious hacker, but he's never struck out with the frequency he has in this recent slump and he's making way too many easy outs. Whether it's sending him to Fresno for 10 days, or giving Tony Abreu some at-bats at third while Pablo gets his head together, they have to mix up that top of the order. Due to lack of options, I'd keep rolling with Blanco in the leadoff, but I'd try Brandon Crawford two and maybe move Scutaro into the 3-spot. Buster Posey has been heating up a bit, but without anyone getting on base in front of him, he's not getting many opportunities to drive in runs.
On a positive note, it looks like the Giants may be gaining at least some stability in the bullpen. Sandy Rosario has really stepped things up and has shown he can pitch in late innings, and Jake Dunning has been excellent since his blunder vs. the Marlins on a few weeks back with 8 straight scoreless outings. Hopefully Santiago Casilla gets back sooner than later and can bump George Kontos back to Fresno and then they should be OK in the pen. Not to say they can't use another late-innings guy who can shut down the 8th inning, but they're definitely not reeling there like they were for most of June.
Now, there's still a few weeks of baseball left to be played before the July 31st deadline, and although the Giants are 7 games below .500, they're only 6.5 games back of the first place D-Backs and we haven't yet hit the all-star break. That 6.5 game deficit is hardly a huge hurtle with 3 months left in the season, but this
team has steadily declined over the last month and it appears like the two teams that scare me in this division, LA and Arizona, are on the up. The surging Dodgers just dealt for Ricky Nolasco, and if that team continues to gel together and play like they have the last couple weeks, then they could end up running away with this division. If they get Kemp on track and can stay healthy, I think they're in for a big second half. The first place D-Backs who are in first place without getting a whole lot from their pitching staff, and some of their key players off to slow starts. Right now, the Giants are behind those two teams talent wise, and they'd need a big turnaround from Pablo Sandoval, someone to step up in the leadoff spot, and a few additions to their staff and/or lineup in order to catch up with those two teams.At this point, I don't expect the Giants to try and counter the Dodgers' addition of Ricky Nolasco quite yet. If they head into the all-star break 10 games back, then it would be hard to justify trading away from their shallow farm system in order to try and make a run cause they have too many needs. Offensively, the top of
the order, which was so strong during last year's tittle run, has become a major weakness. Nobody has sufficiently filled Angel Pagan's spot atop the lineup, and Pablo Sandoval is in one of his worst slumps of his professional career and is providing nothing in the 3-hole. It's been so bad for Panda that there have been rumblings of possibly sending him down to Fresno to maybe lose a few pounds and re-discover his strike zone. He's always been a notorious hacker, but he's never struck out with the frequency he has in this recent slump and he's making way too many easy outs. Whether it's sending him to Fresno for 10 days, or giving Tony Abreu some at-bats at third while Pablo gets his head together, they have to mix up that top of the order. Due to lack of options, I'd keep rolling with Blanco in the leadoff, but I'd try Brandon Crawford two and maybe move Scutaro into the 3-spot. Buster Posey has been heating up a bit, but without anyone getting on base in front of him, he's not getting many opportunities to drive in runs.On a positive note, it looks like the Giants may be gaining at least some stability in the bullpen. Sandy Rosario has really stepped things up and has shown he can pitch in late innings, and Jake Dunning has been excellent since his blunder vs. the Marlins on a few weeks back with 8 straight scoreless outings. Hopefully Santiago Casilla gets back sooner than later and can bump George Kontos back to Fresno and then they should be OK in the pen. Not to say they can't use another late-innings guy who can shut down the 8th inning, but they're definitely not reeling there like they were for most of June.
Comments
I would love to see them send fat Panda to the minors to give him an ego check like he had in 2010.