Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Grand Slam Weekend, and the Post-Posey Movement

Not a great showing on the road trip so far, but 2-2 in Milwaukee and St. Louis isn't bad considering the strength of these teams. Both wins by the way were powered by grand slam.

First of which was Brandon Crawford's first big league hit, first home run, first grand slam and first grand slam of the season for the Giants. Crawford is now in elite company being only the 6th player in Major League history to hit a grand slam in his first game as a big leaguer.

Last week Brandon was in San Jose playing for the San Jose Giants... yes the SINGLE A Giants. Its only been a few games, but I am already starting to get the feeling that we're seeing the future starting shortstop of the SF Giants, just like we were seeing the future first baseman of the Giants in Brandon Belt. The Brandons are making life without Posey a little easier to bear. Not only do you get to see the type of production your young guys are capable of, you get a glimpse of what this team will be in the years to come.

Look at me, I'm moving on!

BUT, it is infinitely tougher to move on when you see a lineup like the one that is out today:

Torres CF
Tejada 3B
Sanchez 2B
Burrell LF
Belt 1B
Ross RF
Crawford SS
Whiteside C
Vogelsong P

Yes that's Miguel "Not Again" Tejada sitting in the 2nd spot for the second time this week. Although I do like Belt and Crawford getting some time, this lineup does not put fear in the hearts of opposing pitchers. Bochy has basically been trying to ride the hot hand at the 3rd spot in the lineup, and right now it is Mr. 1000+ Freddy Sanchez who's giving what the Giants need most and that is, consistency.

But then again I said the same thing about yesterday's lineup and Torres ended up hitting a grand slam.

You can see where Bochy is struggling now, because Posey was nearly a lock everyday for the 3rd or 4th spot in the lineup and now without him we have very few power hitters in our lineup.

But yet, this can still be fun. First off, we're only in 2nd place in the division... behind the DIAMONDBACKS... if that doesn't tell you that this division can be won by a depleted Giants team, maybe you should also look at the losing records of the Rockies, Dodgers and Padres.

On top of all that we get to watch two exciting rookies develop at the big league level in Brandon Crawford and Belt. Your future Giants team may have a core that includes Posey, Sandoval, Belt and Crawford. With these young guys in addition to our already all-star pitching staff, we don't have to just think of this season, but can start to think about the next 3-4 seasons with chances to go deep into the playoffs.

Laws of the Day

Posey leads NL Catchers in the 2011 All Star Vote

1 comment:

  1. Def glad to have both the Brandons, they're the future, but we miss Posey (and still haven't heard much on his condition yet). Tejada should retire...why of all players hasn't he gotten injured yet? BTW, are we going to see Panda back soon?

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