The San Francisco Giants have now exceeded even my expectations. We Giants fans start the season every year with the baseball pundits of the nation under-estimating us. Sports Illustrated said we’d win 79 games. PECOTA predicted 75 wins. There were others who had us winning as few as only 72 games this year! I remember being angry and reacting to the disrespect, “Kapler and the Giants will win at least 85 games,” I said, “We’ll end up a few games over .500.”
At the 100th game tomorrow against the Nemesis, we will have 62 wins. This means we are on pace to win 100 games.
It is unlikely we will.
The Padres yesterday added All-Star 2B Adam Frazier from the Pirates, who leads the league in hits, to their already stacked roster. The Giants are due to play the Padres ten times in September. They also have three games with the AL West-leading Astros and seven against the NL Central-leading Brewers. Six against the Mets, Braves and Dodgers still to play makes our second half considerably harder than our first half.
Our goal at the beginning of the season was to take as many series and wins as we could in the first half, so we could stay in the Wild Card hunt at the end of the season. We nailed it.
While it all gets harder now, we are fighting from the front which is just amazing. More, we are withstanding injuries and attrition better than most teams. The Giants have been grabbing wins and taking series with a diverse mix of lineups. It feels strange not to know who our team really is, or will be in October, but it is all a part of the new philosophy, which is working.
The trade deadline is fascinating. Here we have LaMonte Wade, Jr., exploding into form now that he has gotten a chance. If he has earned a position where are we to put him? Has he played himself into 2B? Is he a trade chip? Is Donovan Solano?
We have more money than everybody else. We have good prospects to offer. We are a year ahead of schedule, and many of our players are falling off the books next winter, so it’s possible Farhan Zaidi and Scott Harris and co. don’t want to spend right now. That said, if not now, when? Next year? Everything will be more expensive. Re-signing Buster is chief among the issues.
There are only four days left to make moves. The last 72 hours seem like they might be a flurry, as there are several teams who still have a shot, but need help. I trust Farhan Zaidi and if he makes no moves, I will trust that was the thing to do. But I am salivating at the opportunity, especially given our record, to make a play for it all.
I still expect the Padres or the Dodgers to win the division. They have spent more and are starting to have all the talent on the field. But if we can continue like this, stealing the division by winning against them and letting them beat each other up is a very real possibility. It will require even more precision, discipline and focus. The consolation prize is the Wild Card spot – a position we are all too familiar with, and from which we have won twice.
We beat the Pirates on Sunday 6-1. LaMonte Wade Jr. had two homers and a double – wow. The Pirates loaded the bases with one out in the sixth to chase Alex Wood. Jay Jackson got Kevin Newman to ground into an inning-ending double play – wow! My two new favorite players had an incredible week. Jarlin García, Tyler Rogers and Jake McGee retired three batters apiece to complete the five-hitter. Way to go ‘pen!
It’s an off day at last. Take a break. Do the laundry. It’s the Bums in town starting tomorrow.
I will be at the day game on Thursday.
Let’s Go Giants!
Beat LA! Beat LA! BEAT LA!!!!!
Let’s make our 100th game of the 2021 season a win over the Nemesis at the yard.
Beat LA
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Giants Baseball Corner 
100th Game Report: We’ve the Best Record in the Nation, Most Home Runs of Any Team and Rank Near Lowest in Runs-Against
The San Francisco Giants have now exceeded even my expectations. We Giants fans start the season every year with the baseball pundits of the nation under-estimating us. Sports Illustrated said we’d win 79 games. PECOTA predicted 75 wins. There were others who had us winning as few as only 72 games this year! I remember being angry and reacting to the disrespect, “Kapler and the Giants will win at least 85 games,” I said, “We’ll end up a few games over .500.”
At the 100th game tomorrow against the Nemesis, we will have 62 wins. This means we are on pace to win 100 games.
It is unlikely we will.
The Padres yesterday added All-Star 2B Adam Frazier from the Pirates, who leads the league in hits, to their already stacked roster. The Giants are due to play the Padres ten times in September. They also have three games with the AL West-leading Astros and seven against the NL Central-leading Brewers. Six against the Mets, Braves and Dodgers still to play makes our second half considerably harder than our first half.
Our goal at the beginning of the season was to take as many series and wins as we could in the first half, so we could stay in the Wild Card hunt at the end of the season. We nailed it.
While it all gets harder now, we are fighting from the front which is just amazing. More, we are withstanding injuries and attrition better than most teams. The Giants have been grabbing wins and taking series with a diverse mix of lineups. It feels strange not to know who our team really is, or will be in October, but it is all a part of the new philosophy, which is working.
The trade deadline is fascinating. Here we have LaMonte Wade, Jr., exploding into form now that he has gotten a chance. If he has earned a position where are we to put him? Has he played himself into 2B? Is he a trade chip? Is Donovan Solano?
We have more money than everybody else. We have good prospects to offer. We are a year ahead of schedule, and many of our players are falling off the books next winter, so it’s possible Farhan Zaidi and Scott Harris and co. don’t want to spend right now. That said, if not now, when? Next year? Everything will be more expensive. Re-signing Buster is chief among the issues.
There are only four days left to make moves. The last 72 hours seem like they might be a flurry, as there are several teams who still have a shot, but need help. I trust Farhan Zaidi and if he makes no moves, I will trust that was the thing to do. But I am salivating at the opportunity, especially given our record, to make a play for it all.
I still expect the Padres or the Dodgers to win the division. They have spent more and are starting to have all the talent on the field. But if we can continue like this, stealing the division by winning against them and letting them beat each other up is a very real possibility. It will require even more precision, discipline and focus. The consolation prize is the Wild Card spot – a position we are all too familiar with, and from which we have won twice.
We beat the Pirates on Sunday 6-1. LaMonte Wade Jr. had two homers and a double – wow. The Pirates loaded the bases with one out in the sixth to chase Alex Wood. Jay Jackson got Kevin Newman to ground into an inning-ending double play – wow! My two new favorite players had an incredible week. Jarlin García, Tyler Rogers and Jake McGee retired three batters apiece to complete the five-hitter. Way to go ‘pen!
It’s an off day at last. Take a break. Do the laundry. It’s the Bums in town starting tomorrow.
I will be at the day game on Thursday.
Let’s Go Giants!
Beat LA! Beat LA! BEAT LA!!!!!
Let’s make our 100th game of the 2021 season a win over the Nemesis at the yard.
Beat LA
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