I’ve been away. Didn’t cover a single game in July, or indeed any of the second half. I was demoralized in late-June.
Now Mike, LaMonte, Tyler and Camilo are gone, moves that look better in retrospect, though were emotional to endure. A team we thought was going places, was instead, selling.
Gerald Dempsey “Buster” Posey III has been active. He doesn’t let things sit trending downward, he makes moves.
Rafael Devers was a sneaky great steal. Posey, Zack Minasian and the front office made a great acquisition. Devers seems willing to play first, which is cool. He vibes well with Adames, the glue guy.
Heliot Ramos was a sparkling spark in the darkening dark this season.
The Chapman injury is what sent us spiralling. Jung Hoo Lee was good, then slumped, and is now out of that slump. The Grandson of the Wind has been great in the field, a net positive.
Willy Adames finally began hitting. It’s too little, too late, but he’s definitely the glue guy and trending up at the end of the first year of his long, expensive contract.
He was frustrating to watch for months, and yet his spirit rarely flagged. He is a Pence-like presence at the successes of others and the team, cheering and rallying the guys. Great attitude.
Still, I think back wistfully to Cactus League – he bought a house in Arizona! – when Willy Adames told us he was going to hit 38 home runs. We all smiled nervously and said, “Well Willy, Oracle isn’t really …”
But he stuck to his prediction.
Adames leads the Giants with 22 home runs with six weeks to play. He could do it. Something I never imagined would happen in June or July.
Justin Verlander, as I predicted, was NOT ready to take 13 wins, or 10, which I said would have been acceptable. Instead he has ten losses (1 – 10). I hated that contract. It was pointless. We paid a 42-year-old to lose ten games while he learned, painfully, that he doesn’t deserve a starting position in the majors anymore.
The Giants front office never succeeded to establish starting pitching this season, though the Robbie Ray investment finally yielded excellent results.
Webb didn’t look as dominant, Three rookies ended up starting, Verlander was a bust.
Neither Camilo Doval nor Ryan Walker could seize the closer position. and the ‘pen, which was our greatest strength, dwindled, and was dismantled. We said goodbye to Camilo ‘s cardiac saves and Tyler Rogers’ submarine. Sigh.
I don’t know. Another lost year. We may not even end .500 and many are saying Bo Mel is on the chopping block. Oh please. Who are you going to get?
Rubber match in Milwaukee today.
The Brewers are playing great ball this year and likely to win their division. It was cool to take a game.
Let’s Go Giants!
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