Nobody will ever confuse this year’s Giants club with the 1927 Yankees, but one month into this season this much is clear: These kids aren’t as bad as people thought. Believe me, after the first week eight games of the year I never thought I’d be saying those words at any point in 2008, let alone the last week in April.
Here we sit a month into the season at 11-14. Three games over .500 may not be ticker tape parade material, but considering how bleak things looked following the opening road trip it’s something to be optimistic about.
Dave Roberts went on the DL, and the Lunatic Fringe did cartwheels down third and King Street. Ray Durham goes down with a gimpy shoulder, and that collective exhale that you heard, was the fan base breathing a huge sigh of relief. The old geriatric crew falling like dominos, one by one, and people weren’t upset to see it happening. It was a sad but necessary step because that was the only way the younger guys were going to get on the field.
Brian Sabean and Mr. Safeway have been making hollow promises of going younger lineup for the past two years, only to trot out the same washed up, useless crew day after day. They may say that the plan was to play younger players all along, but I have my doubts. If it hadn’t been for the injuries, Roberts and Durham would still be playing on a regular basis. Rich Aurilia is a prime example of that. He couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat, but Bochy continues to run him out there on a regular basis. I am thrilled that at least a few of the kids are getting the opportunity to play. They have given this team a shot in the arm that was desperately needed.
It’s no coincidence that this team started performing better when younger players like Fred Lewis, Eugenio Velez, and John Bowker were inserted into the lineup. After the rough 1-7 start San Francisco has righted the ship, going 10-7 over its last 17 games. Here is a look at what some of the surprise performances so far.
Fred Lewis: Lewis has been a god send. He’s always had the tools to become a solid player, but before this year had yet to put it all together. Since Lewis was inserted into the leadoff spot he is scorching the ball at .381 clip, which happens to be tops in the National League. He’s hitting the ball to all fields, and getting on base consistently (.435 OBP batting leadoff), giving San Francisco the spark at the top of the lineup that hasn’t been seen around here in a long time.
Eugenio Velez: This guy is a road runner on the base paths. He goes from home to third in less time that it takes Bengie Molina to reach first base after a single. In spring training Velez, sprayed the ball to all fields and reached base consistently. He has struggled at the plate during the first month, with pitchers feeding him a steady diet of curveballs. Velez seems to be making adjustments of late though. On Friday against the Reds, he top handed a ball down the third base line for a double, and for the past week Velez has gotten back to the ways that made him so successful in spring training. The kid can hit the fastball with the best of them, so if he can become even a decent curveball hitter, chances are his on base percentage will go up as well. Once Velez gets on base, he becomes a game changer with that blazing speed. It’s fun to watch.
John Bowker: All Bowker did upon being called up was homer in his first two games, and drive in seven runs. He became the first player in San Francisco history to go deep in his first two games. Since his torrid start he has cooled off considerably, but with a short quick swing, I see some promise. Bowker is one of the few power threats in this lineup. Pitchers have found a hole in his swing up and in, so that’s something he needs to work on. The Giants are trying him at first base, and so far he has been pretty solid.
Brian Bocock: I did not mention him above because he has been playing everyday from the get go, Bocock is solid defensively. There hasn’t been much of a drop off in the field with Omar Vizquel out with a knee injury. His bat however, reminds me of Cody Ransom. Through Saturday, Bocock has struck out 22 times in 64 at bats. The kid has never played above Single A, so I am not shocked that he is struggling.
Of those on this list, Lewis has the best shot of becoming an above average everyday player in the major leagues. These young players may not be stars in the making, but they are good enough to keep this team from becoming the 1962 Mets.
Random Musings:
• The Giants surprising start certainly isn’t due to their offensive prowess. Through Friday’s game they had been outscored 116-83. Considering that wide run differential the fact that they have 11 wins is a miracle. Here’s hoping that the young pitching staff keeps throwing up zeros because I don’t think the offense is going to get much better.
• Where is Dan Ortmeier? He went from the starting first baseman when spring training, began to the forgotten man overnight. Yes he struggled at the plate this spring, but Rich Aurilia and his .195 average have been given countless opportunities to prove himself. Why not give Ortmeier a few more opportunities to start? He couldn’t possibly be as awful as Aurilia has been.
• ESPN’s handling of Miguel Tejada’s age fiasco was bush league. He lied about his age, and he is two years older than we thought. Who cares? Many players from Tejada’s home land have done the same thing. Seeing the poverty stricken areas that a lot of those guys live in growing up can you blame them? Tejada fibbed about his age so that he could help provide for his family. I think just about anybody in his shoes would have done the same thing. If the reporter wanted to confront him do so off camera, not live for the whole world to see, when he wasn’t expecting it. I’d be willing to bet that had Tejada’s name not been in the Mitchell report, the reporter would have never pursued this story.
• Talked to some friends who saw Tim Lincecum’s last start in San Diego. Apparently before first pitch some Padre fans sitting nearby were laughing at Lincecum’s size. When Lincecum fired the first pitch at 98 MPH, they were no longer laughing. I can’t wait for the day when the first word out of a lot of people’s mouth has to do with this guy’s ability to pitch rather than his height. It shouldn’t be too long with the way he has been pitching. He is 4-0 with an ERA of 1.23 through five starts, with a NL leading 36 strikeouts.
• As good as Lincecum was, Jonathan Sanchez was even better in his start Friday night against the Reds. Sanchez had pinpoint control, locating his pitches just about wherever he wanted. I have never seen him have such good control. Cincinnati hitters were completely over matched. Sanchez racked up 10 strikeouts, while walking just one. In 28 innings this year Sanchez has 36 punch outs. Not too shabby for a fourth starter.
• Fred Lewis came within a double of hitting for the cycle against the Reds Saturday night. His homerun ended up in McCovey Cove for the first Splash Hit of the year.
• When it rains it pours for Zito. Eugenio Velez couldn’t catch a popup that proved costly. In Velez’s defense, the ball that he dropped was a difficult play considering that his back was turned to the infield. Zito had already loaded the bases before the mishap. The Giants so called “ace” is winless, and it’s almost May. I am beginning to wonder if Zito will win a game this year. I’m sure he’ll win a few, but at this point, he’ll be lucky to get 10 wins. It’s safe to say that Zito has supplanted Alex Smith as the biggest bust in bay area sports history.
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