Cardinals 7, Giants 1
The Giants are without key players so strategy in the losses this past week has been complicated by the very real fact of attrition. It is hard to assess a team filled with guys who are playing their first games in a Giants uniform.
We are getting LaMonte Wade Jr. back for Friday’s game, thankfully, and hopefully Evan Longoria and Tommy LaStella soon. Meanwhile, Covid-19 and injuries to the active roster have hampered our ability to compete. We really miss the Captain.
But the Giants have lost six of their last seven games and four at home during this stretch and two of the six losses were bullpen games, in which we are now 2 -2. Starting pitching is a serious issue independent of injuries and Covid.
We need another strong starting pitcher who can consistently go six innings.
I struggle with the logic of using nine relievers rather than a starter in game one of a four game series. I think I understand the philosophy – which is to win the series by countering who the opponent is putting out there. But this relies heavily on the starters being able to go deep the next three games, which I doubt will happen. And now nine relievers are on short rest.
| PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | HR | PC-ST | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Llovera | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17-13 | 2.25 |
| Littell | 2.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 36-26 | 1.13 |
| Brebbia | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12-10 | 1.64 |
| Alvarez | 0.1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9-5 | 3.86 |
| Santos | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21-14 | 0.00 |
| McGee | 0.2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18-15 | 8.64 |
| Rogers | 0.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14-8 | 2.70 |
| Garcia | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12-6 | 0.00 |
| Long | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 15-8 | 3.48 |
| TEAM | 9.0 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 154-105 |
Earlier this season I wrote:
“The Giants are flush with cash and cap space. We have only the 13th highest payroll. The Mets and Phillies charged their way to the top five. Teams that committed 100m+ to one player and tried to outspend the Bums, the new Sith Lord, won’t be able to do as much at the trade deadline. So maybe Farhan Zaidi’s plan is: play Moneyball til the trade deadline, then buy the mercenaries to get the job done.“
My concern now is waiting that long to resolve the starting pitching problem might be too late. The Dodgers are going to keep winning games. The Padres and Rockies got better and are playing like it. I fear we are losing the competitive edge with current philosophy.
Mr. Zaidi, please, go buy us a starter.
Giants Baseball Corner 