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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2011 1:07:47 GMT -5
Colorado Rockies vs. San Francisco Giants Aaron Cook (2-3 4.57) Tim Lincecum (4-1 2.82)
The road-weary Giants are traveling to Colorado to face the struggling Rockies at beautiful Coors Field tonight.
On the mound tonight for SanFrancisco is 4 time Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum. Lincecum has been a buoy for the Giants this year, pitching 5 quality starts so far this season. In fact, when Timmy goes at least six innings and gives up 3 runs or less, the Giants are 4-0. In addition to his quality starts, Lincecum continues to make batters miss, ranking 3rd in the league in strikeouts(57). This may be the biggest advantage for the Giants because Colorado ranks dead last in strikeouts.
Lincecum's counterpart will be sinkerballer Aaron Cook, a 35 year old looking to match his 2013 season when he won 19 games. His season thus far hasn't been spectacular but he hasn't had consistent run support either. Cookie's game plan is simple: throw strikes and keep the ball down in the zone. If successful, expect a lot of San Fran hitters to pound the ball on the infield grass and into SS Troy Tulowitski's Venus Fly Trap-like range.
Tulowitski, the NL's 2-time Gold Glove winner, has been carrying the team on his shoulder's early in the season. In Cargo's absense, Tulo is leading the team in BA(.317) and HR(7) batting from the 4-hole. The rest of the Rockies lineup looks disasterous early on, so Tulo must have a productive game against PBL's most accomplished player, Lincecum.
As for the Giants, new acquisition CF Andrew McCutchen has been a nice pickup, providing good if not great production from the leadoff spot(.294/.338/.484). It is important for McCutchen to get on base tonight in order for their big bopper, Marinus Vernooji, to drive him in. Batting fourth and playing 1B, Vernooji has tremendous power. However, he has only hit 3 homeruns thus far. Moreover, Jason Kubel is also experiencing a power outage(slg%.437). San Fran's 4 and 5 hitters must take advantage of the Colorado's thin air and punish any pitching mistakes this evening.
That's it for tonight's matchup. Expect a low scoring game with the Giants winning. My prediction 3-1
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2011 1:08:16 GMT -5
stay tuned for questions to both GMs
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2011 2:04:16 GMT -5
To Rob.
You made a bold move by dealing the second part of your one-two punch, Matt Cain. I know it's early but do you miss his arm in your rotation?
Are you satisfied with Kubel's power production, and what do you expect from they guy who eats up a large chunk of your payroll?
Why is your team struggling on the road? is it just a small sample size, or is there an alarming trend going on here?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2011 2:11:10 GMT -5
To Erick.
It's ugly to look at your lineup's production at the moment. Who needs to step up for you to get out of the cellar in your division?
Your two young pitchers Rick Carson and Luther Good, received a lot of hype in the minors. However there are some detractors out there who think they are just mediocre. The fact is Carson only has two pitches and Good only has one effective pitch, and this could lead to long term problems for both starters. What do you have to say to all the haters out there?
What does your team need to improve on right now in order to continue your reign as NLwest champ?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2011 2:16:41 GMT -5
To Rob. You made a bold move by dealing the second part of your one-two punch, Matt Cain. I know it's early but do you miss his arm in your rotation? Are you satisfied with Kubel's power production, and what do you expect from they guy who eats up a large chunk of your payroll? Why is your team struggling on the road? is it just a small sample size, or is there an alarming trend going on here? A fully firing Matt Cain is an asset every team would love to have, but over the last few seasons, scoring has been a massive problem. To get Andrew McCutcheon at the top of the order as well as Daniel McCutcheon (2-1, 2nd best ERA behind Lincecum) was a deal that I had to make. I miss Cain as Norris is not quite ready to be a #2 yet, but the deal was one I would do again. I would like to see more power from Kubel, but it is something I am confident will come. His average is good, his OBP is fine, the power will follow. As for payroll, we burn $50mil every season so he doesn't really cost anything, but it would be nice to see some more runs driven in. We are not panicking yet on the road, but a 5-10 start is not good enough. Like all (sensible) teams, we have players that suit our own ballpark, so we will always be better at home, and I hope that as the season goes on we can reach .500 on the road and better than that at home. Overall, a weak start to the season with a number of question marks, none easily addressed. The only positive so far has been the lack of serious injuries, everything else has been below expectations.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2011 3:35:34 GMT -5
Good stuff, I'll have my answers in tomorrow.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2011 9:15:17 GMT -5
1) You aren't the only one who averts his eyes when looking at my roster, Sean. The fact is that virtually everybody on the team aside from Octavio Garcia, Troy Tulowitzki, and Clint Barmes has produced far less than expected.
For example, there are three players on my team who are hitting above .222 with runners in scoring position. That's horrendous.
And for most players, even modest expectations aren't being reached.
Nick Johnson was primarily signed to strictly get on base, especially via the walk. His OBP is .272 and he's two weeks away from being cut. Brad Hawpe was supposed to provide some pop, but he's been mired in an awful slump tracing back to a sprained ankle last season that threw off his swing. We're looking for Skip Schumaker to hit .258. He's hitting .158 this season.
Worse though, is Ian Stewart. I have no idea what's happened to him, but his swing is all messed up and he has no confidence anymore. He's gone from a selective masher, to a guy who swings madly at anything approaching hittable. He's pulling off, he has no discipline---he's completely lost. As a result, he leads the league in strikeouts and is hitting .174 with two doubles. I'm thinking that when Carlos Gonzalez comes back, instead of dropping Stewart, I'll try giving him even more protection by batting him cleanup in front of Gonzalez. Maybe the increased number of fastballs in the strike zone he'd see will snap him out. He needs to produce more than anybody simply because he's one of my main sluggers.
2) I'd say it's not the number of pitches, but the number of effective pitches. So far, Carson has been solid. He pitched well against a bad Mets lineup, thoroughly abused an impotent Astros lineup, and held his own against the Cubs juggernaut. Plus in the Cubs game, Brad Hawpe started in right and cost Carson at least one run with his awful range.
He throws his fastball for strikes and gets good life out of the pitch. He gets some good late sink on his two-seamer and his four seamer is crisp and accurate. Plus his slider breaks late so hitters can't zone in on it. He's not a strikeout guy, but he doesn't get himself in trouble with poor location. I'd say he's been fine, and should continue to be successful as the season goes along.
Good has been a different story. He's had a pair of strong starts, and I'd chalk up the fact that his sinker didn't sink against the Diamondbacks to excitement and nervousness, but his game against the Reds was disturbing. His secondary pitches were hit hard, and his sinker doesn't have enough movement overall for Good to survive mistakes. Hitters are expecting the sinker, and they can react to his other pitches and hit them hard. If Good continues to struggle, he may be moved to the bullpen or the minors.
3) The most important thing my team needs to do is hit. Carlos Gonzalez has to improve on his .212 average. Ian Stewart has to wake up. Some of my lesser players have to produce, because Octavio Garcia can't hit breaking balls, and Clint Barmes isn't going to keep up his surprising production forever. I need the players I depend on to be dependable.
It would also help if players like Gonzalez and Fowler would stop peaking at age 27 and have a more gradual aging curve.
When Gonzalez gets healthy I'll be able to field a strong defensive lineup so my pitching will be fine. With the exception of Manny Corpas and Good, my pitchers have been okay. If my guys don't hit though, it'll all be for nothing. I don't have an easy start to rectifying that situation either, with Lincecum on the mound tonight.
Lincecum has started 12 games against the Rockies since 2012. He's allowed more than three runs in one of those starts, and more than two runs in three of those starts, and he hasn't lost to Colorado since late September 2012. At Coors Field, he only has a record of 2-3 against me---but that's because in 2012 he was outdueled by Ubaldo Jimenez, Brandon Webb, and Jeff Francis despite allowing a combined four earned runs in those three starts. With how often my team strikes out, I don't want to see this guy ever.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2011 9:16:44 GMT -5
The Rockies give up slightly fewer runs than the Giants, but San Francisco scores significantly more runs. The pitching matchup favors the Giants.
Despite their record on the road, I like San Francisco here.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2011 12:12:35 GMT -5
It is pretty startling to see how unremarkable the NL West is this year.
I felt like the Giants crippled themselves with the Cain trade. Early returns show that I'm wrong, but I subscribe to the addage "Good pitching beats, good hitting." Pitching has been a San Franciscan hallmark over the PBL years, and without Cain, their rotation just doesn't terrify (once you get past Timmy that is). I really like McCutcheon, but I'm not sure a leadoff hitter is the right way to kickstart an offense. The sad part, really, is that the Giants may very well have the best NL West offense (considering the Rockies' struggles).
The Rockies' pitching finally looks like its caught up to them. I like their offense going forward (Tulo/CarGo's struggles won't continue all season long) but their rotation is so bad it is now difficult to consider them real playoff contenders. They might stick around and even win the division, but an October juggernaut they ain't. The one thing that would have me most worried in Colorado, is that if either of CarGo or Tulo suffer any kind of Kempian transformation over night, the franchise is instantly crippled.
Point is, I think this is a good match up between two good, yet flawed, teams. With the NL West as bad as it is right now, either of these teams could end up the division champ.
The next question, which always sparks healthy debate, is if the NL West is out of consideration for the best division in the PBL, which division takes home that title?
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Post by Derek _ Red Sox on Jun 4, 2011 12:48:31 GMT -5
I ask this question, could the Rockies struggles be caused by a player who isn't around anymore as opposed to the group of guys on the current roster? How much impact did Todd Helton really have? is it possible to talk him out of retirement? Maybe he was such a good clubhouse guy he was able to keep players positive when slumping.
Who wants Helton back? LOL
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2011 13:01:51 GMT -5
Maybe because they have trouble hitting the baseball (.226 BA)
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Post by Derek _ Red Sox on Jun 4, 2011 14:54:23 GMT -5
Maybe they need to hire the 'Rocky Mountain God' as hitting coach then?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2011 16:30:49 GMT -5
Oh Helton! Why did you have to retire with a year left on your contract! These random other old guys I signed to take your place all suck!!!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2011 20:27:00 GMT -5
Don't have time to write a recap today.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2011 20:31:24 GMT -5
Kenny, Mr. NL West Expert, you're being drafted to come up with the recap of this game!
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