WEBVTT
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Welcome to another episode of Last Considerations.
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My name is Justice Delastan.
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Samuel guys be a reporter for the Bay Area News Group, Saturday, Mercury News, East Bay Times, whatever you want to call this, as long as you read, as long as you subscribe.
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And speaking of subscribe, subscribe to the YouTube channel.
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A lot of things in this world cost a lot of money.
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Subscribing and following, it's free ninety nine worth just a moment of your time.
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And today is Memorial Day.
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Memorial Day is generally considered one of the first major checkpoints in the baseball season.
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The Giants are 53 games in to the first season under new manager Tony Vitello and here to talk all about it again.
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Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle.
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Shayna, how are we doing?
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Great.
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How are you?
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Sleepy.
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Sleepy because I forgot that today was a day game until somebody told me yesterday, and that had made me had to restructure the entirety of my Sunday evening.
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Quick shout out though.
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You're wearing Warriors World.
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I'm wearing Warriors World.
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Shout out to Warriors World.
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Are consistently killing it.
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So, Shane, we're 53 games into the season.
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Giants are 22 and 31.
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We were both, we were the only two in Phoenix when they got swept.
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Uh, we were there for them taking two out of three from the White Sox.
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Um over the last 14 games, they've been 500 on the season.
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They're nine games below 500.
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There's a lot of places we can start, and this this Memorial Day check-in, we're just gonna kind of uh check off some categories.
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We're gonna go what's surprised us the most, what's disappointed us the most, but just overall, 53 games into the season, overall thoughts on this team.
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Oh you want overall thought right now.
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Okay.
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Uh um, it's pretty disappointing that the, you know, they're they're so far under 500, you know, that I don't think that anyone expected them to be this um out of sorts so consistently uh at this juncture, just because um, you know, they're they're not they're built to avoid this kind of record.
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They're built to avoid this type of start, they're built to avoid inconsistency, I guess.
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Like the it's a team that is but it looks like, okay, you know where you're getting your runs from, you know where you're getting your your pitching from, you know where you're getting you know where the consistent pillars are, and none of that has translated into the product on the field.
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So I think that's what's been the most surprising part of everything.
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Yeah, it's been a weird season in in the regard that it's just not one thing in particular that's kind of gone wrong for them.
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It's kind of a compilation of everything.
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Like they're well, they're actually not last in runs right now.
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As of right now, they're not last in runs.
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They are 29th, but if they're last in runs per game.
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They're not last in homers anymore.
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I think it's like 27th, but they're still bottom third.
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They're last in walks, which maybe we'll get to that in a second.
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The starting rotation is has allowed the most earned runs in baseball.
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Uh the bullpen has been solid at times, but on the whole has been like they're just clearly lacking that ninth inning closer presence.
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The defense defense has actually been pretty solid.
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I think that's probably been the most encouraging thing of the season.
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And then Vitello has had his share of missteps.
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I think the coaching staff as well has had has had some some low spots on the whole.
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So it's not really one thing.
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Even the injury bug, like Logan Webb's on the I.
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L right now, probably comes back this week.
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Jung who's on the I.
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L.
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Elliot Ramos is on the I.
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L.
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So it's weird because like there's not one thing that you can point to, and maybe that would make it easier.
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But no, overall, it's just been like a lot of things.
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It's kind of been a little bit of Murphy's Law in that regard.
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And I don't know if you get this feeling, but it feels like every time things kind of break containment here in the Bay Area, like things get to the national level, it's never for a good reason.
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I think the most lukewarm thing is probably the uh thrusting celebrations.
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That's just kind of that's just kind of like right split down the middle.
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But like Bryce Eldridge, for example, his usage, or you know, some of the the comments that Tony Vitello was making like a couple weeks in, like it's kind of calmed down, but like it feels like every time something broke containment from the Bay Area, it was never good.
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It was never positive.
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Yeah, well, I don't know what good or positive would break containment, right?
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Like, there's no one, no one's missing anything.
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You guys aren't missing anything, you know, uh national newsworthy that's uh worth discussing with this team that's a positive, right?
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I can't think of one thing.
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It's been extremely uh like if you look at this team, you're looking for answers as to why things are going south.
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And I don't know if uh it's funny because it's just it's it there's no there's no secret.
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It's kind of all out there exactly what's going wrong.
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And uh things that have broken containment are more um little uh I mean uh peaks under the hood, I guess, but also the the thrusting is different.
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But the elder's thing is a little bit of a peak under the hood about roster construction and and the flaws there.
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I will say there is one thing that has broken containment that has been pretty positive.
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And this let's start on the positive side.
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How about that?
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Because there's been we haven't had as much, there's been far more negatives than positives this season.
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But let's start on the positive.
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Like I said, we're gonna knock out a couple different categories, and the one that we could start with is for us individually, biggest surprises of the 2026 season.
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Let's go pot like with a positive connotation to it.
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Uh, I will allow you to go first, and pretty much whatever your answer is is gonna dictate whatever my answer is.
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Because I think there's probably two there's like two general things that you can outline as like biggest surprises from a positive connotation.
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Okay.
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Who is yours?
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Um probably oh gosh, which one do I pick?
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Um, I'll pick Casey Schmidt because he's uh top of mind after yesterday.
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Um I think Casey Schmidt's been somewhat of a surprise.
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Um, not that he it's out of nowhere because uh and to summarize, Casey Schmidt is leading the team in home runs.
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He's playing every single position basically, basically.
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He's been he's playing all of them.
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Um not catcher, but pretty much all of them.
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Not catcher, not the pitcher, but I bet he could do it.
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Um He was a closer in San Diego State.
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I think if you actually needed him to pitch, he probably could.
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Yeah.
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Um and he's just uh he's he's been their their most consistent, their best offensive player since day one, basically.
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I can't uh uh it's maybe, yeah, since day one.
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Uh he is, and it looks pretty sustainable the way that he's swinging, the way that he's sort of it doesn't feel sort of like um fluky or anything like that because last year he was before he hurt his hand, he was swinging this way as well.
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So it does feel like, oh, there's Casey Schmidt picking up exactly where he left off midway through last season when everything was sort of spiraling and he was kind of in the tornado of all that because he was injured after such a such a hot stretch last uh what was it, July or June or whatever it was.
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Um so he's um he's definitely been sort of the one hand holding things up offensively, and everything's kind of been revolving around how to keep him in the lineup despite him not having a regular position.
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And uh it it's it's it's been it's been fun watching him come into his own in a sort of non-defined way, I guess.
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Yeah, yesterday was a a sneakily very hilarious post-game because Maria asked him, Do you remember the last time the Giants had grand slams and back-to-back days?
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Because they hit a grand slam on Sunday, that was Rafi Devers.
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They hit a grand slam on Saturday, that was Harrison Bader, and then Harrison Bader also had a grand slam in Sacramento.
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But Maria asked, Do you remember the last time the Giants had grand slams and back-to-back days?
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And you could see the wheels in his head kind of turning.
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And he said, He replied today, which is like technically not wrong.
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But then Maria's like, No, it was you, but it was the series in LA.
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He hit the first one off Yoshinobu Yamamoto, hit the second one off Kike Hernandez.
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I kind of said, I did say to him, hey, the the latter one was off of position player.
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He's like, hey, they all count the same.
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But to the point that you make, he's homered at first, second, third, left field, and DH.
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And I'm very curious to see like if there's anyone in Giants history that's ever done that in a single season.
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But leading the team in homers, leading the team in OPS, and I think if he he kind of gets I we kind of talked about this yesterday in the press box, but I think he likes sneakily has like a very good all-star argument, but the fact that he doesn't have a defined position, like the war doesn't look as good as he actually is just because a lot of his time's a DH, but I think there's like sneakily like an early case there.
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Yeah, I think so.
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It's it's hard to chart the pathway in which he's um getting the all-star nod, but he sh he or Luis spoiler alert, other surprise, he and Lucerai should be one or or both of their their all-stars.
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It's pretty clear as day that uh he's he's been their best player.
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So uh how that happens without a defined position to be determined, Dave Roberts, but uh interesting.
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We'll see.
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I mean Dave Roberts has seen him twice now, so it's weird because I don't even know what his position would be.
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I don't I can't remember if like all-star teams have a utility position.
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I know like gold gloves do.
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So I don't even know like where would he go on the voting?
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Like he's primarily been a DH, but he's not a DH.
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Like that's not Yeah, and he's not gonna like at heart.
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That's not who he is.
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No, maybe they should just vote him in for who he is at heart.
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There we go.
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So you mentioned the other one, the other surprise, and that this is the other one that has broken containment in a positive way, and it's Louisa Rise.
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And the fact that he has been, you know, one of the best defenders, you know, not just he hasn't just been an average defender, he hasn't just been an above average defender, he's like quite literally been one of the best defenders this season in the game of baseball up there with like Pete Crow Armstrong, Bobby Witt Jr.
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Uh, I'm gonna shamelessly plug the fact that I did a story with Ron Washington where I did the drills with him to understand exactly what Luis was doing uh to get in this position.
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But you know, he's supplying his like typical brand of offense.
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I don't know what his numbers are off top, but like the batting average is in the low 300s, OPS is in the high seven hundreds.
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You combine that with what is legitimately gold love caliber defense, and he's been like a two-war player, which to sign on a one-year$12 million deal is nothing short of a steal.
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Now, considering where they are, that also makes him like the most viable trade piece at the deadline.
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We can get into that later.
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But for what like for what the Giants signed on for, to let him play second base after he had not been a great second baseman and for him to be as good as he is.
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And it I don't know if you feel this way, it matches the eye test too.
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Like there's nothing fluky about the numbers I'm seeing, like it it all matches the eye test.
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No, yeah, I think the eye test is is there's always a moment where it's like, oh, Luis is really, you know, moving out there.
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The range is very apparent, the arm is very good, like he's just on the ball with everything that comes towards him.
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Uh he's it sometimes it feels like not to, you know, make put down the other guys out there, but sometimes it looks like he's holding the entire infield together with just sort of like the whippiness and the quickness with which he's playing and turning double plays and getting to to difficult balls.
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So it the eye test is very much very much matches the the numbers where it's like the a lot of a lot of games, he's looking just incredibly sharp.
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Um and same with Raphael Devers, that's another conversation.
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But uh lately he's been really sharp at first.
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But the the Luis Rice has been very consistent.
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I mean, Rafi Devers, I think it was like the fifth inning of the Tuesday game in Arizona where like he was responsible for all three put outs, and there was like a sliding one to his right.
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There was that weird like in-betweener that was like a dribbler to his right that he had to like grab and dive, and then he was like a line out.
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And I was like, oh Rafi, Rafi's getting after, and like the last pretty much since the calendar turned to May, like he's just looked like Rafael Divers.
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But on the whole, still hasn't been great.
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He's his OPS is only 700, but last couple weeks, um, he's looked like Raphael Divers.
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But this is a uh this is not on the whole uh discussion.
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So yeah, he's got a 930-something OPS in May.
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That's uh that'll help it get over 700 at some point if it keeps up like that.
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So he's looked very much more like himself and like a first baseman.
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I think I mentioned this yesterday that this was the with him homering and hitting a double yesterday, this is the first time his OPS at the end of a day has ended with a seven since April 2nd.
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So it it's it's been a very slow, a long climb back to just getting.
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I don't know where his OPS plus is at this point, but it's it's gotta be somewhere close.
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It's even alright.
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That's enough, that's enough positivity.
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We've talked a lot.
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I think that's probably the extent of the positivity either.
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I don't think we're missing.
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That was so much positivity.
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Um now let's veer into the the uh disappointments, if you want to call it that.
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I think that's fair.
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Uh the biggest disappointments for you over the first 53 games of this season.
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And there are again, we're talking about the season as a whole.
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We're not talking about this White Sox series in particular, we're not talking about the last 14 games.
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We're talking about on a whole.
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So for you, through 53 games, biggest disappointment.
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Uh probably offense.
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I I would say that's been the biggest most uh glaring disappointment just because I mean it's hard to say this on the back of what they did against the White Sox in the last two games, which was very much I mean, it's it's it's it's proof of the contrast of what was expected, the potential, what's on paper, what they're capable of, and then what's actually happened for a majority of the season, which is, you know, Saturday and Sunday, it was like, oh, Raphael Denvers is hitting a grand slam, Harrison Bader's hitting home runs.
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Um Casey Schmidt, the the power has been on.
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And the um the timeliness, the timely hitting has been on.
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There's been some just way better at mats.
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Bryce Eldridge not to uh uh Vintello had a lot of him, but um Casey Schmidt had a really long key at mat before Denvers' Grand Slam yesterday.
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Bryce Eldridge had an 11 pitch at mat and then this like 110 mile number singled to conclude it the day before.
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So you just see the quality of that bat and improve.
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Okay, I'm I'm going positive again.
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Sorry.
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Um you're seeing you're seeing it improving.
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So many positives.
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So many positives.
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I'm just a bomb of positivity today.
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Um, but okay, it's been a negative because what we saw the last two days has not happened consistently or much at all throughout the entire year.
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And for a majority of the year, it's just felt like they are the offense, the guys that are paid to deliver, the guys that are paid to hit for power, the guys that are paid to anchor the offense have just looked like they've needed a breather.
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They just look like they are feeling the weight of the world on their shoulders.
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And it's started from day one, and at no point has it looked like they've been able to uh you know coalesce into a group and uh and be the the offense that that they they're supposed to be.
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You have you have power potential uh in Chapman and Adam's endeavors, um, and you have some dynamic hitting in Jung Hoolie and Luisa Rise, and that they're supposed to compliment each other, and that's just it hasn't happened in any way.
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And it's been, I would say, the main reason why they haven't been able to string any sort of winning stretch together at all.
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And they looked overwhelmed by a lot of pitching.
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Yeah, and the the weird thing is to what you mentioned is you know, these last two games against the White Sox, obviously you're not going to hit a grand slam every game, but it's still the fact that there was multiple homers in both of these games.
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They hit three on Saturday, they hit two on Sunday, and like you see these like glimpses of them looking like a really good offense.
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But that's all it's been.
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It's been glimpses, and then they'll have a stretch where they score maybe like five runs over three games, and then they lose a series.
00:16:46.639 --> 00:16:58.960
And so you know, I think the formula is there, it's just a matter of executing it, and you know, again to kind of lean on what we've seen more recently, like Chapman's been swinging the bat a little better recently, Rafi's been getting hot.
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Adamas is kind of, you know, he kind of teeters back and forth in a way where it's like it seems like he's getting hot and then kind of falls back a little bit.
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Bryce Eldridge has been having good at bats, as you mentioned, Casey Schmidt, Louisa Ryas.
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So the formula is there for them to be like j at the minimum, at the minimum, like a league average offense.
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But we're sitting here about a third of the way into the season and they're last in the game in the game in runs per game.
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The one thing I want to highlight, because my disappointment too is the offense generally, but the one thing I want to highlight specifically is like just how historically bad they have been at drawing walks.
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And I think if you had to pick like a specific thing, like which is probably like the like what has gone worst, I feel like it's their inability to draw walks.
00:17:44.319 --> 00:17:48.240
Because like it's not just the walk rate, like they're draw their walk rate's like 5.8%.
00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:50.559
I think the league average is like 9.4.
00:17:51.440 --> 00:17:59.200
When you account for like league adjusted walk rate, which I didn't know how to search on fangraphs until yesterday, shout out to our friend of the program, you know, Seris.
00:17:59.519 --> 00:18:02.559
It's like legitimately the worst team since like 1879.
00:18:03.599 --> 00:18:07.759
Like they just like it's like 63 where yes.
00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:12.160
So it's it's kind of like WRC plus where 100 is average and they're at 63.
00:18:12.960 --> 00:18:16.400
So they're 37% worse at than a league average team.
00:18:16.480 --> 00:18:19.359
And because of that, like pitchers are just attacking the zone.
00:18:19.440 --> 00:18:23.119
Like, no team has seen more pitches in the strike zone than the Giants.
00:18:23.680 --> 00:18:32.000
So I I don't want to say like the catch-all is to draw more walks, and that's a lot easier said than done, but if they get the walk rate up, it's it's the money ball thing.
00:18:32.319 --> 00:18:34.480
Give it on base, it can't hurt.
00:18:34.799 --> 00:18:46.240
I mean, it feels like the walk rate is a uh product of what we're looking at overall, which is pitchers aren't really afraid to attack the zone against them.
00:18:46.400 --> 00:18:59.920
And it's kind of been a carryover from last couple years where they take a lot of first pitch strikes and they kind of get attacked a little bit early, and now it feels like a full-on, you know, we'll we're not gonna we're not gonna bite the edges against you guys.
00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:10.000
I think I think we're we're pretty comfortable attacking, which is um offensive considering this is, you know, we have Devers in the lineup and this is supposed to be a team that you're afraid to attack.
00:19:10.160 --> 00:19:17.039
So I think it's it's it's there's poke opposing teams are poking a lot of holes in what the Giants are presenting here, and it's they're not failing.
00:19:17.119 --> 00:19:18.559
Like it's it's working.
00:19:18.799 --> 00:19:42.319
So it's um and you see some of the the high price guys not being able to catch up to the fastball in some situations, and you know, it's it's they're they're producing a hole through the veil of of what's being presented as as a as a potent offense, and the walk rate is a uh good example of how we're seeing them get attacked, I guess.
00:19:42.880 --> 00:19:58.400
I feel like in theory, if the offense continues to, you know, look as it's looked over the last two weeks, which is you know, it's been better, and if Rafi continues hitting and you know Chappie continues to produce in the way he's produced over the last handful of games, if Eldridge continues to look solid, Schmidt at Rise.
00:19:58.960 --> 00:20:01.839
I I would figure that that might go up a little bit.
00:20:01.920 --> 00:20:06.000
Like I don't think they're gonna completely get out of the basement of walk rate anytime soon.
00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:17.119
But I think you can at least avoid historically bad levels of not drawing walks if the offense kind of in turn, like you know, if they continue home running at the rate that they have recently.
00:20:17.279 --> 00:20:26.480
But I think that's just been the one thing where it's like, ugh, like that is and especially because like last year, like they were one of the best teams at drawing walks, like Rafi drew like 112, and it's like, where is this?
00:20:26.799 --> 00:20:27.440
Where is it coming from?
00:20:27.519 --> 00:20:30.160
So it's it's kind of like a chicken to the egg situation.
00:20:30.480 --> 00:20:32.400
All right, Shana, third category.
00:20:33.359 --> 00:20:34.880
We still have a lot of baseball left.
00:20:35.039 --> 00:20:35.920
I don't know if you know this.
00:20:36.319 --> 00:20:38.400
We have more than a hundred games of baseball left.
00:20:39.119 --> 00:20:49.519
So for you going forward, what is your biggest curiosity with this Giants team going forward based on what you've seen and based off what you can potentially see?
00:20:49.599 --> 00:20:51.519
What are you most curious to see unfold?
00:20:51.920 --> 00:20:53.599
Oh, I wasn't prepared for this question.
00:20:53.680 --> 00:20:54.400
I don't know why.
00:20:54.799 --> 00:21:04.079
Uh I'm most curious to see if they're gonna uh there is a certain six foot seven for a spaceman you can you can pick.
00:21:04.319 --> 00:21:09.519
Yeah, I mean there's there's there's there's individual curiosities and big picture curiosities.
00:21:09.680 --> 00:21:14.720
I guess individual curiosities is what are they gonna do with Bryce Eldridge?
00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:17.359
I guess everyone's asking that.
00:21:17.440 --> 00:21:21.200
It's I don't know if it's a controversial question at this point, like it is what it is.
00:21:21.440 --> 00:21:31.759
Um but the the way that that's happening, I think I rarely am on board with the mob.
00:21:31.839 --> 00:21:51.759
Um, and I rarely feel on the same level as the angry mob, but when you call up Bryce Eldridge, you talk all spring about you wanna you really want to call him up if you know it's for real and you know he's gonna he he's forcing his it the issue and he's gonna play every day, and then this is it.
00:21:51.839 --> 00:22:09.839
This is Bryce Eldridge era um about to happen, and then you call him up to unfreeze and the stagnant offense, and then with On top of that, no structure to integrate him into the offense, it's a little bit like, okay, why?
00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:18.400
And the answers are, they don't really have clear answers for messages when we ask, which makes it doubly more curious, I guess.
00:22:18.640 --> 00:22:39.519
Um, but when he's gotten the opportunities, um, he's either, you know, look like a hitter that's getting inconsistent at bats against very tough pitching, but also looks like the type of hitter that could settle in if he's given more opportunities and that he's improved or looked very more comfortable um in the last couple games that he's played.
00:22:39.599 --> 00:22:43.279
Um great at bats, a lot of power, hardest hit of the season.
00:22:43.519 --> 00:22:55.200
Um so I think, yeah, the I'm I'm curious to see how the Eldridge saga plays out if he plays a part in whatever happens next for this team in the next 53 games.
00:22:55.359 --> 00:22:59.279
Uh so that's that's and I think a lot of people are curious about that too.
00:22:59.599 --> 00:23:03.920
And I think a lot of this will have to do with what they decide to do with the rise at the end of the day.
00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:07.440
Like, and that a lot of that is based off how they're performing as a team.
00:23:07.519 --> 00:23:18.240
And I remember I wrote this when they got swept by the Diamondbacks, they fall, they fell 10 games under 500 for the first time since 2019, which I feel like that's also a very important thing to note in the course of this season.
00:23:18.319 --> 00:23:32.480
Like, it's been a while since it's gotten this low, and pretty much they have to go on like a hundred-win pace the rest of the way in order to just get a wild card spot because the National League is kind of like a dogfight right now.
00:23:32.559 --> 00:23:37.200
Like the Phillies, the Padres, the Cubs are all on pace for like 90 plus wins.
00:23:37.519 --> 00:23:46.079
So I think all of that is gonna factor into you know, because if you trade Luis, you move Casey to second, then there you go, you have your solution to Bryce.
00:23:46.160 --> 00:23:56.000
But you know it is weird that like after his three best games, he has not been in the lineup, like hits his first homer, not in the lineup the next day.
00:23:56.240 --> 00:23:59.519
First multi-hit game in Arizona, not in the lineup the next day.
00:24:00.160 --> 00:24:03.599
Reach his base three times on Saturday, not in the lineup the next day.
00:24:03.680 --> 00:24:09.759
And yeah, sure, it's it's Sunday, he's facing Noah Schultz, he's a lefty, but he's gotta face lefties at some point.
00:24:09.839 --> 00:24:15.920
Like, if this is your franchise bad, he's gotta and I guess it worked out in the end, but like he's gotta face lefties at some point.
00:24:16.160 --> 00:24:17.759
So it's just all weird.
00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:27.680
It's I still again I there are very few times when I'm like with the with the angry mob because most of the time I'm just like, hey, let's calm down.
00:24:28.240 --> 00:24:36.240
It's not that, it's not that you don't gotta be angry, but this is one where I'm like, yeah, it is weird that you call this guy up and he's not playing every day.
00:24:36.319 --> 00:24:37.759
He's only playing in like 67%.
00:24:38.160 --> 00:24:42.319
He's like, there's no baseball equivalent to like a sixth-man role, but like that's kind of what it is.
00:24:42.400 --> 00:24:44.799
Like, he's not uh fully a starter, he's not fully a bench guy.
00:24:44.880 --> 00:24:46.720
Like, we see him more than Will Brennan.
00:24:46.799 --> 00:24:48.240
We don't see him as much as Rafi Deber's.
00:24:48.319 --> 00:24:49.119
Like, what is what does that mean?
00:24:49.200 --> 00:24:50.000
What does that make him say?
00:24:51.279 --> 00:24:51.920
Yeah.
00:24:52.559 --> 00:24:53.519
Bizarre.
00:24:53.759 --> 00:24:56.880
And I guess we should uh I mean, we're the reporters on the ground there.
00:24:56.960 --> 00:25:05.200
We should we should inform the the viewers that uh we're asking pretty consistently what the plan is, why he's not starting to do that.
00:25:05.440 --> 00:25:13.440
Very consistently very consistently, and the answers uh have to do like it's it's has to do with matchup.
00:25:13.680 --> 00:25:19.119
And uh we're we want to more pinch hits than which hasn't happened to get to get him active.
00:25:19.279 --> 00:25:29.440
So their their answers aren't really matching up with uh what we understood to be their priorities with Bryce Eldridge, and it's also not really matching up what we're seeing.
00:25:29.599 --> 00:25:37.279
So it's it's I I uh the answers that we seek for the masses haven't um been clearly defined.
00:25:37.440 --> 00:25:38.640
And I think that's the answer.
00:25:38.720 --> 00:25:44.160
That it's the they're not really giving us clear answers on what the plan is with with Bryce Eldridge.
00:25:44.640 --> 00:25:55.200
Yeah, I think he's only pinch it like twice, which is I think Tony said something in LA akin to you know, we want to get him on the days where he's not starting a pinch it opportunity.
00:25:55.440 --> 00:26:03.279
I think like yesterday, it was either yesterday or Saturday, like a couple guys came off the bench and pinch it, and it was like, well, wasn't wouldn't that be a spot for Bryce?
00:26:03.519 --> 00:26:05.759
So it's just been it's been curious.
00:26:05.839 --> 00:26:12.079
And like again, when I say break containment, like this is broken like it's like weird how like much this is broken containment.
00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:15.680
Like Bob Nightingale wrote about it, Tom Verducci wrote about it.
00:26:16.079 --> 00:26:33.680
Um there's somebody, there's a couple uh Jim Bowden like had a tweet where he talked to Zach Manasseh about it, and I'm like, is it's like I think every like I don't think Heyman or Passen have, but it's it's gotten like a lot of like like the the Foul Territory podcast did, and I'm like, this is getting like a lot of coverage.
00:26:33.759 --> 00:26:35.920
I'm pretty sure Ken Rosenthal's talking about this.
00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:44.799
Like, it's a lot of like national folks that have been talking about like it's not just us, like yeah, we've been asking the questions, but like it's not just us being like, hey, this is kind of weird over here.
00:26:45.039 --> 00:26:48.799
Um my biggest curiosity right now is it's a little more of a deep cut.
00:26:50.240 --> 00:26:51.440
It's kind of existential.
00:26:53.359 --> 00:27:00.160
Who is Daniel Susak as a player, not as a person, but who is he as a player?
00:27:00.400 --> 00:27:06.960
Because he missed some like he got off to a hot start, missed some time, and then just continued hitting well.
00:27:07.039 --> 00:27:16.960
And I I don't know what the numbers are right off the top of my head, but it's gotta be something close to like a high 300s uh batting average, and that's probably not sustainable.
00:27:17.359 --> 00:27:21.359
But there's a we're like 53 games in the season, we haven't really seen him cool off.
00:27:21.680 --> 00:27:28.079
And I'm looking for the like what does the sustainable version of Daniel Susak look like?
00:27:28.240 --> 00:27:32.559
And also more so, just like does he eventually just become this team's starting catcher?
00:27:32.640 --> 00:27:36.160
Like, yeah, Eric Haas has been in the mix, Jesus Rodriguez has gotten some burn.
00:27:36.559 --> 00:27:46.720
But are we going to get to a point where we consistently see him two out of three days of every series get behind the plate and have an opportunity to to start regularly?
00:27:46.799 --> 00:27:53.680
And it is odd, atypical with a three-catcher mix, and now that I think about it, we haven't seen Eric Has uh in a while.
00:27:54.079 --> 00:28:00.319
But that's kind of I I think to get less existential, it's just more like how does that develop?
00:28:00.480 --> 00:28:02.799
How does that dynamic with him and Jesus develop?
00:28:02.880 --> 00:28:09.519
And you know, how much catching do we actually see Jesus doing versus you know he was in left field yesterday and I don't think he started the two days prior.
00:28:09.599 --> 00:28:22.240
So it's still an odd dynamic that hasn't really fully settled in, but that's why we got the rest of the season because when you trade Patrick Bailey, you gotta you gotta figure everything else out, and they're still trying to figure everything else out.
00:28:22.559 --> 00:28:36.960
Yeah, when you think about it, they started off this season as uh, I don't know, everyone there's a pretty clearly defined role and expectation, and then uh with it what the team was doing and what was happening and who's gonna do what.
00:28:37.039 --> 00:28:48.960
And then now by Memorial Day, there's a lot of um I don't know, like we're good having three catchers, we're good, you know, figuring out why Bryce is here and we'll like take it day by day.
00:28:49.039 --> 00:29:08.720
And it's very much like, okay, so are we witnessing sort of like a shard of uh identity, not identity crisis, but it's not we're not a rebuild, but it's just like there's a there's a little muckiness in in how they're presenting themselves, and also it differs from what was expected uh roster-wise going into the year.
00:29:08.799 --> 00:29:12.880
So it feels like, and there's no rebuild, there's no, you know, we're giving up the season.
00:29:13.200 --> 00:29:34.319
So it does, it does, it does feel very much like not reactionary, but there's all of a sudden some, you know, uh positional stuff that's up in the year, and there's that you can see them working through who they have and who they want to stick with, and you know, it's it's it's it's interesting, it's an interesting um turn in the season or whatever.
00:29:34.640 --> 00:29:40.880
Yeah, it feels like you know, to what you said going into the season, like everybody, like it was just like point blank.
00:29:41.039 --> 00:29:42.480
Like this is kind of what it was gonna be.
00:29:42.559 --> 00:29:44.079
I guess not in the bullpen as much.
00:29:44.160 --> 00:29:47.599
We still we didn't have a closer going into opening day.
00:29:47.759 --> 00:29:50.160
We still don't have a closer as of now.
00:29:50.240 --> 00:29:54.480
Like I think Caleb Killian is kind of the closest thing to I I think that could also be like another curiosity.
00:29:54.559 --> 00:29:56.640
It's like, is there gonna be like a closer at any point?
00:29:56.880 --> 00:30:00.559
Like, is Tony at any point gonna say, This is our closer?
00:30:01.200 --> 00:30:01.759
This is the guy.
00:30:02.160 --> 00:30:02.720
Why would he?
00:30:02.799 --> 00:30:06.240
No one's really proven they can do it, right?
00:30:07.759 --> 00:30:08.720
Maybe Killian.
00:30:08.960 --> 00:30:09.759
I don't know.
00:30:10.319 --> 00:30:16.559
It's there they seem they seem fine with sort of just being like, yeah, everything will sort its way the way it's supposed to.
00:30:16.720 --> 00:30:17.680
And I don't know.
00:30:17.920 --> 00:30:28.000
It's it's it's kind of a it's a there's an interesting dynamic in terms of uh who uh who they decide plays and and and uh enters in certain situations and all that stuff.
00:30:28.319 --> 00:30:34.480
Yeah, I feel like it's been just killing by default, and I think we should also mention that Ryan Walker got optioned.
00:30:34.640 --> 00:30:38.480
I think it was two Sunday, he was either last Sunday or two Sundays ago.
00:30:38.559 --> 00:30:44.480
He's only made like one appearance with AAA, so you can tell like that's an opportunity for him to kind of work out some stuff mechanically.
00:30:44.640 --> 00:30:50.640
Whether we see him again, I think we should see him again this season at some point, but when that is, it's to be determined.
00:30:50.880 --> 00:30:53.759
Um but Killian has gotten his opportunities.
00:30:53.920 --> 00:30:58.960
I think we should see Eric Miller get some opportunities in that role as well.
00:30:59.599 --> 00:31:08.160
Um but we've we kind of saw it in that Phoenix in not I don't know why I wanted to fault to say Phoenix, they're not the Phoenix Diamondbacks in Arizona.
00:31:08.559 --> 00:31:09.599
Yeah, I knew that too.
00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:17.279
When Killian tried to, you know, was called on for a five out save, and Tony went to Matt Gage for Mar Marte, and then Marte hits the game winning Homer.
00:31:17.519 --> 00:31:26.160
It's it's always one of those things like in spring training, you can say, like, yeah, we want to roll with the matchups, but I I've mentioned this point a couple times.
00:31:26.240 --> 00:31:32.240
Like for all the flaws that Camillo Duvall had as a closer, I'm pointing to my head.
00:31:33.599 --> 00:31:34.880
Most of the time he had it up here.
00:31:34.960 --> 00:31:38.240
Some of the times he didn't, but like most of the time, like he had that dog.
00:31:38.319 --> 00:31:41.279
Like there just has to be a it's a different beast, it's a different beast entirely.
00:31:41.359 --> 00:31:44.720
Like it's it's all three outs are not created equal.
00:31:45.279 --> 00:31:47.039
Yeah, that's just that's just the truth.
00:31:47.119 --> 00:31:51.920
And you know, people can say that and it's like, yeah, we're just trying to get three outs, but like not all three outs are created equal.
00:31:52.160 --> 00:31:54.240
So I guess that's my second curiosity, too.
00:31:54.319 --> 00:31:59.279
Is like, does this team like at one point just be like, hey, bangs the table, this guy's our closer?
00:31:59.359 --> 00:32:06.319
I don't think they will, unless I mean I don't know, like if Jason Foley just goes crazy down the stretch once he's back, but I don't know.
00:32:06.480 --> 00:32:07.680
Yeah, he exists.
00:32:07.920 --> 00:32:10.400
Yeah, we didn't even get into the pitching staff.
00:32:10.480 --> 00:32:16.799
I feel like I was hyperfixating on the the other side, but like the pitching staff stuff is a whole other like uh conversation.
00:32:16.960 --> 00:32:18.319
That's for another time, I guess.
00:32:18.480 --> 00:32:23.599
But um, yeah, a lot of curiosities, a lot of surprises, and a lot of disappointments on that end too.
00:32:24.079 --> 00:32:25.200
Third curiosity.
00:32:25.359 --> 00:32:27.279
What does this rotation look like a month from now?
00:32:27.440 --> 00:32:27.759
Yeah.
00:32:28.000 --> 00:32:30.240
What does it look like a week from now, honestly?
00:32:30.559 --> 00:32:33.519
Because we should mention this point before we get out of here.
00:32:33.599 --> 00:32:36.319
Uh, Tuesday and Wednesday are currently TBA.
00:32:36.480 --> 00:32:38.720
Uh, Wednesday would make a lot of sense for Logan.
00:32:38.799 --> 00:32:39.839
He is currently on the I.
00:32:39.920 --> 00:32:42.480
L still, but he made a rehab start in Sacramento.
00:32:42.720 --> 00:32:46.640
Uh, Tony said it's a good option for him to pitch on Wednesday.
00:32:47.359 --> 00:32:52.799
I don't see why they wouldn't have him pitch on Wednesday, because the alternative is for him to pitch in Denver.
00:32:53.839 --> 00:32:57.519
I think Logan Webb would prefer to not pitch in Denver and pitch in San Francisco.
00:32:57.839 --> 00:33:07.359
But then Tuesday spot is that's the that's the honestly the one where I'm like very curious about because Tyler Malley has had the worst ERA of any qualified starter at 6'10.
00:33:08.319 --> 00:33:13.599
Trevor Burrus had a rough one on Friday, but he has looked pretty solid overall.
00:33:14.240 --> 00:33:17.519
And especially when you consider, you know, they're not really beholden to him.
00:33:17.599 --> 00:33:20.559
It's a one-year,$10 million deal that you broke.
00:33:21.039 --> 00:33:22.640
Want that to be known by the people.
00:33:22.960 --> 00:33:26.160
Um that's curiosity number four, I guess.
00:33:26.240 --> 00:33:28.240
Like, what does this rotation look like in a week?
00:33:28.640 --> 00:33:29.039
I don't know.
00:33:29.359 --> 00:33:31.359
And then what does it look like in a month?
00:33:32.160 --> 00:33:33.359
Hard to say.
00:33:33.839 --> 00:33:42.559
And we didn't get any definitive answer on if Malie is starting um uh this uh next two days as scheduled.
00:33:42.799 --> 00:33:52.240
So um yeah, I think that they're mulling their options as well, not to say that that that you know, not to make any declarative statements on Mali's status or anything like that.
00:33:52.319 --> 00:33:57.119
But clearly they're they're trying to figure out what's best to do before heading to Colorado and stuff like that.
00:33:57.519 --> 00:34:01.359
Yeah, and I think part of this has to do with just making sure like Logan is physically well.
00:34:01.519 --> 00:34:11.039
But I will say if if they were pretty locked into McDonald, like not remaining up here with the team, then they probably would have just optioned him after that last Friday start.
00:34:11.119 --> 00:34:13.840
I think at least I think that makes sense uh in my head.
00:34:14.079 --> 00:34:18.800
I do want to we should probably know we should probably touch on the pitching staff just a little bit.
00:34:20.480 --> 00:34:24.000
Uh just hasn't been great overall either.
00:34:24.079 --> 00:34:26.880
I think I mentioned this they've allowed the most earned runs in the sport.
00:34:27.039 --> 00:34:28.800
You know, Robbie Ray had a rough one yesterday.
00:34:28.880 --> 00:34:30.639
He walked seven guys after allowing ten.
00:34:31.039 --> 00:34:34.559
He's he said he wore sleeves yesterday because there might be a thing with his tipping.
00:34:34.960 --> 00:34:37.039
Uh Logan Webb wasn't solid before he hit the I.
00:34:37.199 --> 00:34:37.280
L.
00:34:37.519 --> 00:34:42.880
Landon Roop has like sneakily been like one like really, really good, especially when he's some of the expected stuff.
00:34:43.360 --> 00:34:46.079
But on the whole, it's not even really a curiosity necessarily.
00:34:46.159 --> 00:34:48.079
We're kind of just backtracking to bigger disappointments.
00:34:48.320 --> 00:34:51.599
Like on the whole, it just has not been good.
00:34:52.079 --> 00:35:13.199
Yeah, I think it it's such a far cry from what happened last year, where it felt like the bullpen was sneakily holding them together for that first uh um couple months when they were, you know, in first place vying for to be a contender, et cetera, et cetera.
00:35:13.360 --> 00:35:20.719
Um the starting staff had a lot to do with that too, because Logan Webb was at the beginning of putting together one of his best seasons, and Robbie Ray was an all-star.
00:35:20.960 --> 00:35:22.639
And now we're not seeing that.
00:35:22.800 --> 00:35:32.159
And then there's just more questions, and then the the you know, Adrian Hazard and Mallie haven't really been the the flyer.
00:35:32.480 --> 00:35:42.559
They haven't really lived up to the not lived yet, but they the you you expect that you pick up some veterans like that, that there's going to be a little bit of an exceeding the the expectation approve a deal type of type of season.
00:35:42.639 --> 00:35:44.000
We haven't seen that from either of them yet.
00:35:44.079 --> 00:35:51.840
And Landon Group's really been their most consistent guy with uh some of the best ground ball numbers and expected numbers in in baseball.
00:35:51.920 --> 00:35:53.760
If you look at the qualified starters.
00:35:53.920 --> 00:36:11.679
So as a whole, the starting group, bullpen, I think we expected some shakiness because of there's no defined rules, but the bull, the the rotation where you expect consistency, there hasn't been much at all uh due to injury, due to you know, the wear and tear, due to baseball.
00:36:11.840 --> 00:36:28.800
And I think that's probably one of the biggest questions I have going forward in terms of if this team is really able to put together a winning stretch to even just like get back into the hunt, to even just sort of like get back into relevance before the deadline or whatever needs to happen.
00:36:29.039 --> 00:36:44.000
Uh I it's you you have the names, but so far it's been uh they haven't looked like they have in the in the um in the last couple years, and it it just feels very um on shaky ground consistency-wise.
00:36:44.320 --> 00:36:46.159
Curiosity number four and five.
00:36:46.320 --> 00:36:49.039
Curiosity four, do they win more than three games in a row at some point?
00:36:49.199 --> 00:36:50.800
Curiosity five, do they sweep at some point?
00:36:50.880 --> 00:36:53.199
Because they have not done that.
00:36:53.440 --> 00:37:01.280
They I I I haven't fact-checked this, but I saw a tweet yesterday that said they're the only team that hasn't swept anyone at any point this season.
00:37:01.440 --> 00:37:03.519
And that's that's very jar.
00:37:03.840 --> 00:37:15.599
We're in it's almost June, that's very jarring, and like they also have just not won more than three games in a row, which is you know, if you're gonna have to go on a hundred-win pace to get back to the playoffs, you gotta win more than three in a row at some point.
00:37:15.679 --> 00:37:19.280
It can't just be like these like win three, lose two.
00:37:19.599 --> 00:37:24.000
Like, you can't, it it's got they gotta go on a tear at some point, they gotta catch fire at some point.
00:37:24.239 --> 00:37:27.199
And uh, we have not just seen them catch fire at any point.
00:37:27.360 --> 00:37:31.360
A lot of questions left, a lot of curiosities left, but no more questions for you, Shannon Rubin.
00:37:31.440 --> 00:37:33.039
We will save those for another day.
00:37:33.119 --> 00:37:33.840
Except one.
00:37:34.000 --> 00:37:34.239
Okay.
00:37:34.400 --> 00:37:35.760
Where can we find your work?
00:37:36.079 --> 00:37:40.239
You can find my work at San Francisco Chronicle, sfchronicle.com.
00:37:40.559 --> 00:37:42.159
Sfchronicle.com on Twitter.
00:37:42.320 --> 00:37:43.119
Yeah, that's what it is.
00:37:43.360 --> 00:37:44.639
SFCronicle.com.
00:37:44.800 --> 00:37:46.480
Last time I checked the websites and the Twitch.
00:37:46.559 --> 00:37:50.320
Well, Twitter might change its name again, but last time I checked, websites have not changed.
00:37:50.400 --> 00:37:54.079
Justice Delos Santos, San Jose Mercury News, Shandra Rubin, San Francisco Chronicle.
00:37:54.320 --> 00:37:55.760
Catch y'all next time.
00:00:28.399 --> 00:00:31.600
Welcome to another episode of Last Considerations.
00:00:32.560 --> 00:00:34.240
My name is Justice Delastan.
00:00:34.640 --> 00:00:43.520
Samuel guys be a reporter for the Bay Area News Group, Saturday, Mercury News, East Bay Times, whatever you want to call this, as long as you read, as long as you subscribe.
00:00:43.679 --> 00:00:46.240
And speaking of subscribe, subscribe to the YouTube channel.
00:00:46.399 --> 00:00:49.039
Follow us on Apple, follow us on Spotify.
00:00:49.200 --> 00:00:51.200
A lot of things in this world cost a lot of money.
00:00:51.520 --> 00:00:55.280
Subscribing and following, it's free ninety nine worth just a moment of your time.
00:00:55.439 --> 00:00:56.640
And today is Memorial Day.
00:00:56.799 --> 00:01:00.880
Memorial Day is generally considered one of the first major checkpoints in the baseball season.
00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:06.719
The Giants are 53 games in to the first season under new manager Tony Vitello and here to talk all about it again.
00:01:06.959 --> 00:01:08.799
Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle.
00:01:08.879 --> 00:01:09.840
Shayna, how are we doing?
00:01:10.480 --> 00:01:10.959
Great.
00:01:11.599 --> 00:01:12.560
How are you?
00:01:13.519 --> 00:01:14.400
Sleepy.
00:01:14.719 --> 00:01:23.599
Sleepy because I forgot that today was a day game until somebody told me yesterday, and that had made me had to restructure the entirety of my Sunday evening.
00:01:23.760 --> 00:01:24.719
Quick shout out though.
00:01:24.959 --> 00:01:26.239
You're wearing Warriors World.
00:01:26.319 --> 00:01:27.599
I'm wearing Warriors World.
00:01:27.760 --> 00:01:29.040
Shout out to Warriors World.
00:01:29.200 --> 00:01:30.560
Are consistently killing it.
00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:33.120
So, Shane, we're 53 games into the season.
00:01:33.599 --> 00:01:35.280
Giants are 22 and 31.
00:01:35.920 --> 00:01:40.319
We were both, we were the only two in Phoenix when they got swept.
00:01:40.480 --> 00:01:43.439
Uh, we were there for them taking two out of three from the White Sox.
00:01:43.840 --> 00:01:46.959
Um over the last 14 games, they've been 500 on the season.
00:01:47.040 --> 00:01:48.719
They're nine games below 500.
00:01:49.359 --> 00:01:54.959
There's a lot of places we can start, and this this Memorial Day check-in, we're just gonna kind of uh check off some categories.
00:01:55.040 --> 00:02:03.680
We're gonna go what's surprised us the most, what's disappointed us the most, but just overall, 53 games into the season, overall thoughts on this team.
00:02:04.079 --> 00:02:06.719
Oh you want overall thought right now.
00:02:09.199 --> 00:02:09.520
Okay.
00:02:10.080 --> 00:02:32.159
Uh um, it's pretty disappointing that the, you know, they're they're so far under 500, you know, that I don't think that anyone expected them to be this um out of sorts so consistently uh at this juncture, just because um, you know, they're they're not they're built to avoid this kind of record.
00:02:32.319 --> 00:02:37.759
They're built to avoid this type of start, they're built to avoid inconsistency, I guess.
00:02:37.840 --> 00:02:51.520
Like the it's a team that is but it looks like, okay, you know where you're getting your runs from, you know where you're getting your your pitching from, you know where you're getting you know where the consistent pillars are, and none of that has translated into the product on the field.
00:02:51.599 --> 00:02:55.759
So I think that's what's been the most surprising part of everything.
00:02:56.400 --> 00:03:02.800
Yeah, it's been a weird season in in the regard that it's just not one thing in particular that's kind of gone wrong for them.
00:03:02.879 --> 00:03:04.879
It's kind of a compilation of everything.
00:03:05.120 --> 00:03:08.080
Like they're well, they're actually not last in runs right now.
00:03:08.240 --> 00:03:10.159
As of right now, they're not last in runs.
00:03:10.240 --> 00:03:12.960
They are 29th, but if they're last in runs per game.
00:03:13.120 --> 00:03:14.479
They're not last in homers anymore.
00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:16.800
I think it's like 27th, but they're still bottom third.
00:03:16.960 --> 00:03:20.159
They're last in walks, which maybe we'll get to that in a second.
00:03:20.319 --> 00:03:25.120
The starting rotation is has allowed the most earned runs in baseball.
00:03:25.280 --> 00:03:34.240
Uh the bullpen has been solid at times, but on the whole has been like they're just clearly lacking that ninth inning closer presence.
00:03:34.560 --> 00:03:36.639
The defense defense has actually been pretty solid.
00:03:36.800 --> 00:03:39.360
I think that's probably been the most encouraging thing of the season.
00:03:39.520 --> 00:03:43.120
And then Vitello has had his share of missteps.
00:03:43.280 --> 00:03:47.039
I think the coaching staff as well has had has had some some low spots on the whole.
00:03:47.120 --> 00:03:47.919
So it's not really one thing.
00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:49.840
Even the injury bug, like Logan Webb's on the I.
00:03:49.919 --> 00:03:51.520
L right now, probably comes back this week.
00:03:51.680 --> 00:03:52.800
Jung who's on the I.
00:03:52.879 --> 00:03:52.960
L.
00:03:53.039 --> 00:03:54.240
Elliot Ramos is on the I.
00:03:54.400 --> 00:03:54.479
L.
00:03:54.639 --> 00:03:59.599
So it's weird because like there's not one thing that you can point to, and maybe that would make it easier.
00:03:59.840 --> 00:04:02.240
But no, overall, it's just been like a lot of things.
00:04:02.319 --> 00:04:05.759
It's kind of been a little bit of Murphy's Law in that regard.
00:04:05.840 --> 00:04:15.520
And I don't know if you get this feeling, but it feels like every time things kind of break containment here in the Bay Area, like things get to the national level, it's never for a good reason.
00:04:15.919 --> 00:04:19.360
I think the most lukewarm thing is probably the uh thrusting celebrations.
00:04:19.439 --> 00:04:22.959
That's just kind of that's just kind of like right split down the middle.
00:04:23.120 --> 00:04:37.199
But like Bryce Eldridge, for example, his usage, or you know, some of the the comments that Tony Vitello was making like a couple weeks in, like it's kind of calmed down, but like it feels like every time something broke containment from the Bay Area, it was never good.
00:04:37.519 --> 00:04:39.040
It was never positive.
00:04:39.439 --> 00:04:42.800
Yeah, well, I don't know what good or positive would break containment, right?
00:04:43.040 --> 00:04:45.360
Like, there's no one, no one's missing anything.
00:04:45.519 --> 00:04:54.319
You guys aren't missing anything, you know, uh national newsworthy that's uh worth discussing with this team that's a positive, right?
00:04:54.560 --> 00:04:55.920
I can't think of one thing.
00:04:56.000 --> 00:05:05.439
It's been extremely uh like if you look at this team, you're looking for answers as to why things are going south.
00:05:05.519 --> 00:05:11.360
And I don't know if uh it's funny because it's just it's it there's no there's no secret.
00:05:11.439 --> 00:05:13.839
It's kind of all out there exactly what's going wrong.
00:05:14.000 --> 00:05:24.720
And uh things that have broken containment are more um little uh I mean uh peaks under the hood, I guess, but also the the thrusting is different.
00:05:24.800 --> 00:05:29.920
But the elder's thing is a little bit of a peak under the hood about roster construction and and the flaws there.
00:05:30.319 --> 00:05:36.160
I will say there is one thing that has broken containment that has been pretty positive.
00:05:36.319 --> 00:05:38.319
And this let's start on the positive side.
00:05:38.399 --> 00:05:38.879
How about that?
00:05:39.199 --> 00:05:43.680
Because there's been we haven't had as much, there's been far more negatives than positives this season.
00:05:43.759 --> 00:05:44.800
But let's start on the positive.
00:05:44.879 --> 00:05:52.240
Like I said, we're gonna knock out a couple different categories, and the one that we could start with is for us individually, biggest surprises of the 2026 season.
00:05:52.399 --> 00:05:56.000
Let's go pot like with a positive connotation to it.
00:05:56.079 --> 00:06:01.360
Uh, I will allow you to go first, and pretty much whatever your answer is is gonna dictate whatever my answer is.
00:06:01.439 --> 00:06:08.639
Because I think there's probably two there's like two general things that you can outline as like biggest surprises from a positive connotation.
00:06:08.879 --> 00:06:09.040
Okay.
00:06:09.360 --> 00:06:10.079
Who is yours?
00:06:10.399 --> 00:06:14.160
Um probably oh gosh, which one do I pick?
00:06:16.399 --> 00:06:21.439
Um, I'll pick Casey Schmidt because he's uh top of mind after yesterday.
00:06:21.680 --> 00:06:24.800
Um I think Casey Schmidt's been somewhat of a surprise.
00:06:25.040 --> 00:06:33.279
Um, not that he it's out of nowhere because uh and to summarize, Casey Schmidt is leading the team in home runs.
00:06:33.360 --> 00:06:36.079
He's playing every single position basically, basically.
00:06:36.240 --> 00:06:38.160
He's been he's playing all of them.
00:06:38.319 --> 00:06:40.079
Um not catcher, but pretty much all of them.
00:06:40.240 --> 00:06:42.399
Not catcher, not the pitcher, but I bet he could do it.
00:06:42.560 --> 00:06:44.800
Um He was a closer in San Diego State.
00:06:44.879 --> 00:06:47.360
I think if you actually needed him to pitch, he probably could.
00:06:47.600 --> 00:06:48.240
Yeah.
00:06:48.560 --> 00:06:57.120
Um and he's just uh he's he's been their their most consistent, their best offensive player since day one, basically.
00:06:57.199 --> 00:07:00.399
I can't uh uh it's maybe, yeah, since day one.
00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:13.199
Uh he is, and it looks pretty sustainable the way that he's swinging, the way that he's sort of it doesn't feel sort of like um fluky or anything like that because last year he was before he hurt his hand, he was swinging this way as well.
00:07:13.519 --> 00:07:30.079
So it does feel like, oh, there's Casey Schmidt picking up exactly where he left off midway through last season when everything was sort of spiraling and he was kind of in the tornado of all that because he was injured after such a such a hot stretch last uh what was it, July or June or whatever it was.
00:07:30.319 --> 00:07:43.920
Um so he's um he's definitely been sort of the one hand holding things up offensively, and everything's kind of been revolving around how to keep him in the lineup despite him not having a regular position.
00:07:44.160 --> 00:07:53.759
And uh it it's it's it's been it's been fun watching him come into his own in a sort of non-defined way, I guess.
00:07:54.160 --> 00:08:04.240
Yeah, yesterday was a a sneakily very hilarious post-game because Maria asked him, Do you remember the last time the Giants had grand slams and back-to-back days?
00:08:04.319 --> 00:08:06.800
Because they hit a grand slam on Sunday, that was Rafi Devers.
00:08:07.199 --> 00:08:12.560
They hit a grand slam on Saturday, that was Harrison Bader, and then Harrison Bader also had a grand slam in Sacramento.
00:08:12.639 --> 00:08:16.319
But Maria asked, Do you remember the last time the Giants had grand slams and back-to-back days?
00:08:16.399 --> 00:08:18.959
And you could see the wheels in his head kind of turning.
00:08:19.360 --> 00:08:23.920
And he said, He replied today, which is like technically not wrong.
00:08:24.160 --> 00:08:27.519
But then Maria's like, No, it was you, but it was the series in LA.
00:08:27.600 --> 00:08:32.240
He hit the first one off Yoshinobu Yamamoto, hit the second one off Kike Hernandez.
00:08:32.559 --> 00:08:36.159
I kind of said, I did say to him, hey, the the latter one was off of position player.
00:08:36.240 --> 00:08:38.000
He's like, hey, they all count the same.
00:08:38.080 --> 00:08:44.799
But to the point that you make, he's homered at first, second, third, left field, and DH.
00:08:44.960 --> 00:08:49.759
And I'm very curious to see like if there's anyone in Giants history that's ever done that in a single season.
00:08:50.080 --> 00:09:15.519
But leading the team in homers, leading the team in OPS, and I think if he he kind of gets I we kind of talked about this yesterday in the press box, but I think he likes sneakily has like a very good all-star argument, but the fact that he doesn't have a defined position, like the war doesn't look as good as he actually is just because a lot of his time's a DH, but I think there's like sneakily like an early case there.
00:09:15.840 --> 00:09:16.960
Yeah, I think so.
00:09:17.120 --> 00:09:31.840
It's it's hard to chart the pathway in which he's um getting the all-star nod, but he sh he or Luis spoiler alert, other surprise, he and Lucerai should be one or or both of their their all-stars.
00:09:33.039 --> 00:09:37.759
It's pretty clear as day that uh he's he's been their best player.
00:09:38.000 --> 00:09:45.360
So uh how that happens without a defined position to be determined, Dave Roberts, but uh interesting.
00:09:45.440 --> 00:09:46.000
We'll see.
00:09:46.240 --> 00:09:51.120
I mean Dave Roberts has seen him twice now, so it's weird because I don't even know what his position would be.
00:09:51.200 --> 00:09:54.480
I don't I can't remember if like all-star teams have a utility position.
00:09:54.559 --> 00:09:56.240
I know like gold gloves do.
00:09:56.399 --> 00:09:59.519
So I don't even know like where would he go on the voting?
00:09:59.679 --> 00:10:02.159
Like he's primarily been a DH, but he's not a DH.
00:10:02.399 --> 00:10:05.759
Like that's not Yeah, and he's not gonna like at heart.
00:10:05.840 --> 00:10:06.879
That's not who he is.
00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:13.120
No, maybe they should just vote him in for who he is at heart.
00:10:14.559 --> 00:10:15.200
There we go.
00:10:15.279 --> 00:10:22.480
So you mentioned the other one, the other surprise, and that this is the other one that has broken containment in a positive way, and it's Louisa Rise.
00:10:22.639 --> 00:10:36.960
And the fact that he has been, you know, one of the best defenders, you know, not just he hasn't just been an average defender, he hasn't just been an above average defender, he's like quite literally been one of the best defenders this season in the game of baseball up there with like Pete Crow Armstrong, Bobby Witt Jr.
00:10:37.120 --> 00:10:45.440
Uh, I'm gonna shamelessly plug the fact that I did a story with Ron Washington where I did the drills with him to understand exactly what Luis was doing uh to get in this position.
00:10:45.600 --> 00:10:48.720
But you know, he's supplying his like typical brand of offense.
00:10:48.879 --> 00:10:55.600
I don't know what his numbers are off top, but like the batting average is in the low 300s, OPS is in the high seven hundreds.
00:10:56.000 --> 00:11:06.960
You combine that with what is legitimately gold love caliber defense, and he's been like a two-war player, which to sign on a one-year$12 million deal is nothing short of a steal.
00:11:07.120 --> 00:11:14.320
Now, considering where they are, that also makes him like the most viable trade piece at the deadline.
00:11:14.399 --> 00:11:15.600
We can get into that later.
00:11:15.919 --> 00:11:25.200
But for what like for what the Giants signed on for, to let him play second base after he had not been a great second baseman and for him to be as good as he is.
00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:27.919
And it I don't know if you feel this way, it matches the eye test too.
00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:31.679
Like there's nothing fluky about the numbers I'm seeing, like it it all matches the eye test.
00:11:31.919 --> 00:11:38.159
No, yeah, I think the eye test is is there's always a moment where it's like, oh, Luis is really, you know, moving out there.
00:11:38.240 --> 00:11:44.480
The range is very apparent, the arm is very good, like he's just on the ball with everything that comes towards him.
00:11:44.639 --> 00:11:59.840
Uh he's it sometimes it feels like not to, you know, make put down the other guys out there, but sometimes it looks like he's holding the entire infield together with just sort of like the whippiness and the quickness with which he's playing and turning double plays and getting to to difficult balls.
00:12:00.080 --> 00:12:10.320
So it the eye test is very much very much matches the the numbers where it's like the a lot of a lot of games, he's looking just incredibly sharp.
00:12:10.480 --> 00:12:12.960
Um and same with Raphael Devers, that's another conversation.
00:12:13.039 --> 00:12:14.960
But uh lately he's been really sharp at first.
00:12:15.039 --> 00:12:17.200
But the the Luis Rice has been very consistent.
00:12:17.679 --> 00:12:28.559
I mean, Rafi Devers, I think it was like the fifth inning of the Tuesday game in Arizona where like he was responsible for all three put outs, and there was like a sliding one to his right.
00:12:28.720 --> 00:12:33.679
There was that weird like in-betweener that was like a dribbler to his right that he had to like grab and dive, and then he was like a line out.
00:12:33.840 --> 00:12:40.879
And I was like, oh Rafi, Rafi's getting after, and like the last pretty much since the calendar turned to May, like he's just looked like Rafael Divers.
00:12:41.039 --> 00:12:42.639
But on the whole, still hasn't been great.
00:12:42.720 --> 00:12:48.080
He's his OPS is only 700, but last couple weeks, um, he's looked like Raphael Divers.
00:12:48.320 --> 00:12:51.440
But this is a uh this is not on the whole uh discussion.
00:12:51.759 --> 00:12:55.360
So yeah, he's got a 930-something OPS in May.
00:12:55.440 --> 00:13:00.480
That's uh that'll help it get over 700 at some point if it keeps up like that.
00:13:00.720 --> 00:13:04.720
So he's looked very much more like himself and like a first baseman.
00:13:05.200 --> 00:13:19.519
I think I mentioned this yesterday that this was the with him homering and hitting a double yesterday, this is the first time his OPS at the end of a day has ended with a seven since April 2nd.
00:13:20.159 --> 00:13:24.799
So it it's it's been a very slow, a long climb back to just getting.
00:13:25.039 --> 00:13:28.480
I don't know where his OPS plus is at this point, but it's it's gotta be somewhere close.
00:13:28.879 --> 00:13:29.679
It's even alright.
00:13:29.840 --> 00:13:31.440
That's enough, that's enough positivity.
00:13:31.519 --> 00:13:32.159
We've talked a lot.
00:13:32.480 --> 00:13:34.399
I think that's probably the extent of the positivity either.
00:13:34.480 --> 00:13:35.039
I don't think we're missing.
00:13:35.679 --> 00:13:36.799
That was so much positivity.
00:13:37.279 --> 00:13:42.320
Um now let's veer into the the uh disappointments, if you want to call it that.
00:13:42.480 --> 00:13:43.360
I think that's fair.
00:13:43.519 --> 00:13:48.320
Uh the biggest disappointments for you over the first 53 games of this season.
00:13:48.399 --> 00:13:51.840
And there are again, we're talking about the season as a whole.
00:13:52.000 --> 00:13:56.240
We're not talking about this White Sox series in particular, we're not talking about the last 14 games.
00:13:56.399 --> 00:13:57.840
We're talking about on a whole.
00:13:57.919 --> 00:14:02.559
So for you, through 53 games, biggest disappointment.
00:14:03.200 --> 00:14:04.639
Uh probably offense.
00:14:04.720 --> 00:14:31.440
I I would say that's been the biggest most uh glaring disappointment just because I mean it's hard to say this on the back of what they did against the White Sox in the last two games, which was very much I mean, it's it's it's it's proof of the contrast of what was expected, the potential, what's on paper, what they're capable of, and then what's actually happened for a majority of the season, which is, you know, Saturday and Sunday, it was like, oh, Raphael Denvers is hitting a grand slam, Harrison Bader's hitting home runs.
00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:34.799
Um Casey Schmidt, the the power has been on.
00:14:35.039 --> 00:14:38.639
And the um the timeliness, the timely hitting has been on.
00:14:38.720 --> 00:14:40.799
There's been some just way better at mats.
00:14:40.879 --> 00:14:50.000
Bryce Eldridge not to uh uh Vintello had a lot of him, but um Casey Schmidt had a really long key at mat before Denvers' Grand Slam yesterday.
00:14:50.159 --> 00:14:56.799
Bryce Eldridge had an 11 pitch at mat and then this like 110 mile number singled to conclude it the day before.
00:14:56.879 --> 00:15:00.320
So you just see the quality of that bat and improve.
00:15:00.480 --> 00:15:02.240
Okay, I'm I'm going positive again.
00:15:02.320 --> 00:15:02.799
Sorry.
00:15:02.879 --> 00:15:05.200
Um you're seeing you're seeing it improving.
00:15:05.919 --> 00:15:06.720
So many positives.
00:15:06.960 --> 00:15:07.600
So many positives.
00:15:07.679 --> 00:15:09.600
I'm just a bomb of positivity today.
00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:18.960
Um, but okay, it's been a negative because what we saw the last two days has not happened consistently or much at all throughout the entire year.
00:15:19.120 --> 00:15:32.879
And for a majority of the year, it's just felt like they are the offense, the guys that are paid to deliver, the guys that are paid to hit for power, the guys that are paid to anchor the offense have just looked like they've needed a breather.
00:15:33.200 --> 00:15:36.960
They just look like they are feeling the weight of the world on their shoulders.
00:15:37.120 --> 00:15:54.159
And it's started from day one, and at no point has it looked like they've been able to uh you know coalesce into a group and uh and be the the offense that that they they're supposed to be.
00:15:54.320 --> 00:16:08.399
You have you have power potential uh in Chapman and Adam's endeavors, um, and you have some dynamic hitting in Jung Hoolie and Luisa Rise, and that they're supposed to compliment each other, and that's just it hasn't happened in any way.
00:16:08.480 --> 00:16:16.720
And it's been, I would say, the main reason why they haven't been able to string any sort of winning stretch together at all.
00:16:17.039 --> 00:16:18.960
And they looked overwhelmed by a lot of pitching.
00:16:19.679 --> 00:16:30.320
Yeah, and the the weird thing is to what you mentioned is you know, these last two games against the White Sox, obviously you're not going to hit a grand slam every game, but it's still the fact that there was multiple homers in both of these games.
00:16:30.399 --> 00:16:38.080
They hit three on Saturday, they hit two on Sunday, and like you see these like glimpses of them looking like a really good offense.
00:16:39.360 --> 00:16:40.320
But that's all it's been.
00:16:40.480 --> 00:16:46.559
It's been glimpses, and then they'll have a stretch where they score maybe like five runs over three games, and then they lose a series.
00:16:46.639 --> 00:16:58.960
And so you know, I think the formula is there, it's just a matter of executing it, and you know, again to kind of lean on what we've seen more recently, like Chapman's been swinging the bat a little better recently, Rafi's been getting hot.
00:16:59.200 --> 00:17:05.599
Adamas is kind of, you know, he kind of teeters back and forth in a way where it's like it seems like he's getting hot and then kind of falls back a little bit.
00:17:05.839 --> 00:17:09.759
Bryce Eldridge has been having good at bats, as you mentioned, Casey Schmidt, Louisa Ryas.
00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:17.759
So the formula is there for them to be like j at the minimum, at the minimum, like a league average offense.
00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:23.599
But we're sitting here about a third of the way into the season and they're last in the game in the game in runs per game.
00:17:24.079 --> 00:17:34.559
The one thing I want to highlight, because my disappointment too is the offense generally, but the one thing I want to highlight specifically is like just how historically bad they have been at drawing walks.
00:17:34.640 --> 00:17:43.680
And I think if you had to pick like a specific thing, like which is probably like the like what has gone worst, I feel like it's their inability to draw walks.
00:17:44.319 --> 00:17:48.240
Because like it's not just the walk rate, like they're draw their walk rate's like 5.8%.
00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:50.559
I think the league average is like 9.4.
00:17:51.440 --> 00:17:59.200
When you account for like league adjusted walk rate, which I didn't know how to search on fangraphs until yesterday, shout out to our friend of the program, you know, Seris.
00:17:59.519 --> 00:18:02.559
It's like legitimately the worst team since like 1879.
00:18:03.599 --> 00:18:07.759
Like they just like it's like 63 where yes.
00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:12.160
So it's it's kind of like WRC plus where 100 is average and they're at 63.
00:18:12.960 --> 00:18:16.400
So they're 37% worse at than a league average team.
00:18:16.480 --> 00:18:19.359
And because of that, like pitchers are just attacking the zone.
00:18:19.440 --> 00:18:23.119
Like, no team has seen more pitches in the strike zone than the Giants.
00:18:23.680 --> 00:18:32.000
So I I don't want to say like the catch-all is to draw more walks, and that's a lot easier said than done, but if they get the walk rate up, it's it's the money ball thing.
00:18:32.319 --> 00:18:34.480
Give it on base, it can't hurt.
00:18:34.799 --> 00:18:46.240
I mean, it feels like the walk rate is a uh product of what we're looking at overall, which is pitchers aren't really afraid to attack the zone against them.
00:18:46.400 --> 00:18:59.920
And it's kind of been a carryover from last couple years where they take a lot of first pitch strikes and they kind of get attacked a little bit early, and now it feels like a full-on, you know, we'll we're not gonna we're not gonna bite the edges against you guys.
00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:10.000
I think I think we're we're pretty comfortable attacking, which is um offensive considering this is, you know, we have Devers in the lineup and this is supposed to be a team that you're afraid to attack.
00:19:10.160 --> 00:19:17.039
So I think it's it's it's there's poke opposing teams are poking a lot of holes in what the Giants are presenting here, and it's they're not failing.
00:19:17.119 --> 00:19:18.559
Like it's it's working.
00:19:18.799 --> 00:19:42.319
So it's um and you see some of the the high price guys not being able to catch up to the fastball in some situations, and you know, it's it's they're they're producing a hole through the veil of of what's being presented as as a as a potent offense, and the walk rate is a uh good example of how we're seeing them get attacked, I guess.
00:19:42.880 --> 00:19:58.400
I feel like in theory, if the offense continues to, you know, look as it's looked over the last two weeks, which is you know, it's been better, and if Rafi continues hitting and you know Chappie continues to produce in the way he's produced over the last handful of games, if Eldridge continues to look solid, Schmidt at Rise.
00:19:58.960 --> 00:20:01.839
I I would figure that that might go up a little bit.
00:20:01.920 --> 00:20:06.000
Like I don't think they're gonna completely get out of the basement of walk rate anytime soon.
00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:17.119
But I think you can at least avoid historically bad levels of not drawing walks if the offense kind of in turn, like you know, if they continue home running at the rate that they have recently.
00:20:17.279 --> 00:20:26.480
But I think that's just been the one thing where it's like, ugh, like that is and especially because like last year, like they were one of the best teams at drawing walks, like Rafi drew like 112, and it's like, where is this?
00:20:26.799 --> 00:20:27.440
Where is it coming from?
00:20:27.519 --> 00:20:30.160
So it's it's kind of like a chicken to the egg situation.
00:20:30.480 --> 00:20:32.400
All right, Shana, third category.
00:20:33.359 --> 00:20:34.880
We still have a lot of baseball left.
00:20:35.039 --> 00:20:35.920
I don't know if you know this.
00:20:36.319 --> 00:20:38.400
We have more than a hundred games of baseball left.
00:20:39.119 --> 00:20:49.519
So for you going forward, what is your biggest curiosity with this Giants team going forward based on what you've seen and based off what you can potentially see?
00:20:49.599 --> 00:20:51.519
What are you most curious to see unfold?
00:20:51.920 --> 00:20:53.599
Oh, I wasn't prepared for this question.
00:20:53.680 --> 00:20:54.400
I don't know why.
00:20:54.799 --> 00:21:04.079
Uh I'm most curious to see if they're gonna uh there is a certain six foot seven for a spaceman you can you can pick.
00:21:04.319 --> 00:21:09.519
Yeah, I mean there's there's there's there's individual curiosities and big picture curiosities.
00:21:09.680 --> 00:21:14.720
I guess individual curiosities is what are they gonna do with Bryce Eldridge?
00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:17.359
I guess everyone's asking that.
00:21:17.440 --> 00:21:21.200
It's I don't know if it's a controversial question at this point, like it is what it is.
00:21:21.440 --> 00:21:31.759
Um but the the way that that's happening, I think I rarely am on board with the mob.
00:21:31.839 --> 00:21:51.759
Um, and I rarely feel on the same level as the angry mob, but when you call up Bryce Eldridge, you talk all spring about you wanna you really want to call him up if you know it's for real and you know he's gonna he he's forcing his it the issue and he's gonna play every day, and then this is it.
00:21:51.839 --> 00:22:09.839
This is Bryce Eldridge era um about to happen, and then you call him up to unfreeze and the stagnant offense, and then with On top of that, no structure to integrate him into the offense, it's a little bit like, okay, why?
00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:18.400
And the answers are, they don't really have clear answers for messages when we ask, which makes it doubly more curious, I guess.
00:22:18.640 --> 00:22:39.519
Um, but when he's gotten the opportunities, um, he's either, you know, look like a hitter that's getting inconsistent at bats against very tough pitching, but also looks like the type of hitter that could settle in if he's given more opportunities and that he's improved or looked very more comfortable um in the last couple games that he's played.
00:22:39.599 --> 00:22:43.279
Um great at bats, a lot of power, hardest hit of the season.
00:22:43.519 --> 00:22:55.200
Um so I think, yeah, the I'm I'm curious to see how the Eldridge saga plays out if he plays a part in whatever happens next for this team in the next 53 games.
00:22:55.359 --> 00:22:59.279
Uh so that's that's and I think a lot of people are curious about that too.
00:22:59.599 --> 00:23:03.920
And I think a lot of this will have to do with what they decide to do with the rise at the end of the day.
00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:07.440
Like, and that a lot of that is based off how they're performing as a team.
00:23:07.519 --> 00:23:18.240
And I remember I wrote this when they got swept by the Diamondbacks, they fall, they fell 10 games under 500 for the first time since 2019, which I feel like that's also a very important thing to note in the course of this season.
00:23:18.319 --> 00:23:32.480
Like, it's been a while since it's gotten this low, and pretty much they have to go on like a hundred-win pace the rest of the way in order to just get a wild card spot because the National League is kind of like a dogfight right now.
00:23:32.559 --> 00:23:37.200
Like the Phillies, the Padres, the Cubs are all on pace for like 90 plus wins.
00:23:37.519 --> 00:23:46.079
So I think all of that is gonna factor into you know, because if you trade Luis, you move Casey to second, then there you go, you have your solution to Bryce.
00:23:46.160 --> 00:23:56.000
But you know it is weird that like after his three best games, he has not been in the lineup, like hits his first homer, not in the lineup the next day.
00:23:56.240 --> 00:23:59.519
First multi-hit game in Arizona, not in the lineup the next day.
00:24:00.160 --> 00:24:03.599
Reach his base three times on Saturday, not in the lineup the next day.
00:24:03.680 --> 00:24:09.759
And yeah, sure, it's it's Sunday, he's facing Noah Schultz, he's a lefty, but he's gotta face lefties at some point.
00:24:09.839 --> 00:24:15.920
Like, if this is your franchise bad, he's gotta and I guess it worked out in the end, but like he's gotta face lefties at some point.
00:24:16.160 --> 00:24:17.759
So it's just all weird.
00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:27.680
It's I still again I there are very few times when I'm like with the with the angry mob because most of the time I'm just like, hey, let's calm down.
00:24:28.240 --> 00:24:36.240
It's not that, it's not that you don't gotta be angry, but this is one where I'm like, yeah, it is weird that you call this guy up and he's not playing every day.
00:24:36.319 --> 00:24:37.759
He's only playing in like 67%.
00:24:38.160 --> 00:24:42.319
He's like, there's no baseball equivalent to like a sixth-man role, but like that's kind of what it is.
00:24:42.400 --> 00:24:44.799
Like, he's not uh fully a starter, he's not fully a bench guy.
00:24:44.880 --> 00:24:46.720
Like, we see him more than Will Brennan.
00:24:46.799 --> 00:24:48.240
We don't see him as much as Rafi Deber's.
00:24:48.319 --> 00:24:49.119
Like, what is what does that mean?
00:24:49.200 --> 00:24:50.000
What does that make him say?
00:24:51.279 --> 00:24:51.920
Yeah.
00:24:52.559 --> 00:24:53.519
Bizarre.
00:24:53.759 --> 00:24:56.880
And I guess we should uh I mean, we're the reporters on the ground there.
00:24:56.960 --> 00:25:05.200
We should we should inform the the viewers that uh we're asking pretty consistently what the plan is, why he's not starting to do that.
00:25:05.440 --> 00:25:13.440
Very consistently very consistently, and the answers uh have to do like it's it's has to do with matchup.
00:25:13.680 --> 00:25:19.119
And uh we're we want to more pinch hits than which hasn't happened to get to get him active.
00:25:19.279 --> 00:25:29.440
So their their answers aren't really matching up with uh what we understood to be their priorities with Bryce Eldridge, and it's also not really matching up what we're seeing.
00:25:29.599 --> 00:25:37.279
So it's it's I I uh the answers that we seek for the masses haven't um been clearly defined.
00:25:37.440 --> 00:25:38.640
And I think that's the answer.
00:25:38.720 --> 00:25:44.160
That it's the they're not really giving us clear answers on what the plan is with with Bryce Eldridge.
00:25:44.640 --> 00:25:55.200
Yeah, I think he's only pinch it like twice, which is I think Tony said something in LA akin to you know, we want to get him on the days where he's not starting a pinch it opportunity.
00:25:55.440 --> 00:26:03.279
I think like yesterday, it was either yesterday or Saturday, like a couple guys came off the bench and pinch it, and it was like, well, wasn't wouldn't that be a spot for Bryce?
00:26:03.519 --> 00:26:05.759
So it's just been it's been curious.
00:26:05.839 --> 00:26:12.079
And like again, when I say break containment, like this is broken like it's like weird how like much this is broken containment.
00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:15.680
Like Bob Nightingale wrote about it, Tom Verducci wrote about it.
00:26:16.079 --> 00:26:33.680
Um there's somebody, there's a couple uh Jim Bowden like had a tweet where he talked to Zach Manasseh about it, and I'm like, is it's like I think every like I don't think Heyman or Passen have, but it's it's gotten like a lot of like like the the Foul Territory podcast did, and I'm like, this is getting like a lot of coverage.
00:26:33.759 --> 00:26:35.920
I'm pretty sure Ken Rosenthal's talking about this.
00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:44.799
Like, it's a lot of like national folks that have been talking about like it's not just us, like yeah, we've been asking the questions, but like it's not just us being like, hey, this is kind of weird over here.
00:26:45.039 --> 00:26:48.799
Um my biggest curiosity right now is it's a little more of a deep cut.
00:26:50.240 --> 00:26:51.440
It's kind of existential.
00:26:53.359 --> 00:27:00.160
Who is Daniel Susak as a player, not as a person, but who is he as a player?
00:27:00.400 --> 00:27:06.960
Because he missed some like he got off to a hot start, missed some time, and then just continued hitting well.
00:27:07.039 --> 00:27:16.960
And I I don't know what the numbers are right off the top of my head, but it's gotta be something close to like a high 300s uh batting average, and that's probably not sustainable.
00:27:17.359 --> 00:27:21.359
But there's a we're like 53 games in the season, we haven't really seen him cool off.
00:27:21.680 --> 00:27:28.079
And I'm looking for the like what does the sustainable version of Daniel Susak look like?
00:27:28.240 --> 00:27:32.559
And also more so, just like does he eventually just become this team's starting catcher?
00:27:32.640 --> 00:27:36.160
Like, yeah, Eric Haas has been in the mix, Jesus Rodriguez has gotten some burn.
00:27:36.559 --> 00:27:46.720
But are we going to get to a point where we consistently see him two out of three days of every series get behind the plate and have an opportunity to to start regularly?
00:27:46.799 --> 00:27:53.680
And it is odd, atypical with a three-catcher mix, and now that I think about it, we haven't seen Eric Has uh in a while.
00:27:54.079 --> 00:28:00.319
But that's kind of I I think to get less existential, it's just more like how does that develop?
00:28:00.480 --> 00:28:02.799
How does that dynamic with him and Jesus develop?
00:28:02.880 --> 00:28:09.519
And you know, how much catching do we actually see Jesus doing versus you know he was in left field yesterday and I don't think he started the two days prior.
00:28:09.599 --> 00:28:22.240
So it's still an odd dynamic that hasn't really fully settled in, but that's why we got the rest of the season because when you trade Patrick Bailey, you gotta you gotta figure everything else out, and they're still trying to figure everything else out.
00:28:22.559 --> 00:28:36.960
Yeah, when you think about it, they started off this season as uh, I don't know, everyone there's a pretty clearly defined role and expectation, and then uh with it what the team was doing and what was happening and who's gonna do what.
00:28:37.039 --> 00:28:48.960
And then now by Memorial Day, there's a lot of um I don't know, like we're good having three catchers, we're good, you know, figuring out why Bryce is here and we'll like take it day by day.
00:28:49.039 --> 00:29:08.720
And it's very much like, okay, so are we witnessing sort of like a shard of uh identity, not identity crisis, but it's not we're not a rebuild, but it's just like there's a there's a little muckiness in in how they're presenting themselves, and also it differs from what was expected uh roster-wise going into the year.
00:29:08.799 --> 00:29:12.880
So it feels like, and there's no rebuild, there's no, you know, we're giving up the season.
00:29:13.200 --> 00:29:34.319
So it does, it does, it does feel very much like not reactionary, but there's all of a sudden some, you know, uh positional stuff that's up in the year, and there's that you can see them working through who they have and who they want to stick with, and you know, it's it's it's it's interesting, it's an interesting um turn in the season or whatever.
00:29:34.640 --> 00:29:40.880
Yeah, it feels like you know, to what you said going into the season, like everybody, like it was just like point blank.
00:29:41.039 --> 00:29:42.480
Like this is kind of what it was gonna be.
00:29:42.559 --> 00:29:44.079
I guess not in the bullpen as much.
00:29:44.160 --> 00:29:47.599
We still we didn't have a closer going into opening day.
00:29:47.759 --> 00:29:50.160
We still don't have a closer as of now.
00:29:50.240 --> 00:29:54.480
Like I think Caleb Killian is kind of the closest thing to I I think that could also be like another curiosity.
00:29:54.559 --> 00:29:56.640
It's like, is there gonna be like a closer at any point?
00:29:56.880 --> 00:30:00.559
Like, is Tony at any point gonna say, This is our closer?
00:30:01.200 --> 00:30:01.759
This is the guy.
00:30:02.160 --> 00:30:02.720
Why would he?
00:30:02.799 --> 00:30:06.240
No one's really proven they can do it, right?
00:30:07.759 --> 00:30:08.720
Maybe Killian.
00:30:08.960 --> 00:30:09.759
I don't know.
00:30:10.319 --> 00:30:16.559
It's there they seem they seem fine with sort of just being like, yeah, everything will sort its way the way it's supposed to.
00:30:16.720 --> 00:30:17.680
And I don't know.
00:30:17.920 --> 00:30:28.000
It's it's it's kind of a it's a there's an interesting dynamic in terms of uh who uh who they decide plays and and and uh enters in certain situations and all that stuff.
00:30:28.319 --> 00:30:34.480
Yeah, I feel like it's been just killing by default, and I think we should also mention that Ryan Walker got optioned.
00:30:34.640 --> 00:30:38.480
I think it was two Sunday, he was either last Sunday or two Sundays ago.
00:30:38.559 --> 00:30:44.480
He's only made like one appearance with AAA, so you can tell like that's an opportunity for him to kind of work out some stuff mechanically.
00:30:44.640 --> 00:30:50.640
Whether we see him again, I think we should see him again this season at some point, but when that is, it's to be determined.
00:30:50.880 --> 00:30:53.759
Um but Killian has gotten his opportunities.
00:30:53.920 --> 00:30:58.960
I think we should see Eric Miller get some opportunities in that role as well.
00:30:59.599 --> 00:31:08.160
Um but we've we kind of saw it in that Phoenix in not I don't know why I wanted to fault to say Phoenix, they're not the Phoenix Diamondbacks in Arizona.
00:31:08.559 --> 00:31:09.599
Yeah, I knew that too.
00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:17.279
When Killian tried to, you know, was called on for a five out save, and Tony went to Matt Gage for Mar Marte, and then Marte hits the game winning Homer.
00:31:17.519 --> 00:31:26.160
It's it's always one of those things like in spring training, you can say, like, yeah, we want to roll with the matchups, but I I've mentioned this point a couple times.
00:31:26.240 --> 00:31:32.240
Like for all the flaws that Camillo Duvall had as a closer, I'm pointing to my head.
00:31:33.599 --> 00:31:34.880
Most of the time he had it up here.
00:31:34.960 --> 00:31:38.240
Some of the times he didn't, but like most of the time, like he had that dog.
00:31:38.319 --> 00:31:41.279
Like there just has to be a it's a different beast, it's a different beast entirely.
00:31:41.359 --> 00:31:44.720
Like it's it's all three outs are not created equal.
00:31:45.279 --> 00:31:47.039
Yeah, that's just that's just the truth.
00:31:47.119 --> 00:31:51.920
And you know, people can say that and it's like, yeah, we're just trying to get three outs, but like not all three outs are created equal.
00:31:52.160 --> 00:31:54.240
So I guess that's my second curiosity, too.
00:31:54.319 --> 00:31:59.279
Is like, does this team like at one point just be like, hey, bangs the table, this guy's our closer?
00:31:59.359 --> 00:32:06.319
I don't think they will, unless I mean I don't know, like if Jason Foley just goes crazy down the stretch once he's back, but I don't know.
00:32:06.480 --> 00:32:07.680
Yeah, he exists.
00:32:07.920 --> 00:32:10.400
Yeah, we didn't even get into the pitching staff.
00:32:10.480 --> 00:32:16.799
I feel like I was hyperfixating on the the other side, but like the pitching staff stuff is a whole other like uh conversation.
00:32:16.960 --> 00:32:18.319
That's for another time, I guess.
00:32:18.480 --> 00:32:23.599
But um, yeah, a lot of curiosities, a lot of surprises, and a lot of disappointments on that end too.
00:32:24.079 --> 00:32:25.200
Third curiosity.
00:32:25.359 --> 00:32:27.279
What does this rotation look like a month from now?
00:32:27.440 --> 00:32:27.759
Yeah.
00:32:28.000 --> 00:32:30.240
What does it look like a week from now, honestly?
00:32:30.559 --> 00:32:33.519
Because we should mention this point before we get out of here.
00:32:33.599 --> 00:32:36.319
Uh, Tuesday and Wednesday are currently TBA.
00:32:36.480 --> 00:32:38.720
Uh, Wednesday would make a lot of sense for Logan.
00:32:38.799 --> 00:32:39.839
He is currently on the I.
00:32:39.920 --> 00:32:42.480
L still, but he made a rehab start in Sacramento.
00:32:42.720 --> 00:32:46.640
Uh, Tony said it's a good option for him to pitch on Wednesday.
00:32:47.359 --> 00:32:52.799
I don't see why they wouldn't have him pitch on Wednesday, because the alternative is for him to pitch in Denver.
00:32:53.839 --> 00:32:57.519
I think Logan Webb would prefer to not pitch in Denver and pitch in San Francisco.
00:32:57.839 --> 00:33:07.359
But then Tuesday spot is that's the that's the honestly the one where I'm like very curious about because Tyler Malley has had the worst ERA of any qualified starter at 6'10.
00:33:08.319 --> 00:33:13.599
Trevor Burrus had a rough one on Friday, but he has looked pretty solid overall.
00:33:14.240 --> 00:33:17.519
And especially when you consider, you know, they're not really beholden to him.
00:33:17.599 --> 00:33:20.559
It's a one-year,$10 million deal that you broke.
00:33:21.039 --> 00:33:22.640
Want that to be known by the people.
00:33:22.960 --> 00:33:26.160
Um that's curiosity number four, I guess.
00:33:26.240 --> 00:33:28.240
Like, what does this rotation look like in a week?
00:33:28.640 --> 00:33:29.039
I don't know.
00:33:29.359 --> 00:33:31.359
And then what does it look like in a month?
00:33:32.160 --> 00:33:33.359
Hard to say.
00:33:33.839 --> 00:33:42.559
And we didn't get any definitive answer on if Malie is starting um uh this uh next two days as scheduled.
00:33:42.799 --> 00:33:52.240
So um yeah, I think that they're mulling their options as well, not to say that that that you know, not to make any declarative statements on Mali's status or anything like that.
00:33:52.319 --> 00:33:57.119
But clearly they're they're trying to figure out what's best to do before heading to Colorado and stuff like that.
00:33:57.519 --> 00:34:01.359
Yeah, and I think part of this has to do with just making sure like Logan is physically well.
00:34:01.519 --> 00:34:11.039
But I will say if if they were pretty locked into McDonald, like not remaining up here with the team, then they probably would have just optioned him after that last Friday start.
00:34:11.119 --> 00:34:13.840
I think at least I think that makes sense uh in my head.
00:34:14.079 --> 00:34:18.800
I do want to we should probably know we should probably touch on the pitching staff just a little bit.
00:34:20.480 --> 00:34:24.000
Uh just hasn't been great overall either.
00:34:24.079 --> 00:34:26.880
I think I mentioned this they've allowed the most earned runs in the sport.
00:34:27.039 --> 00:34:28.800
You know, Robbie Ray had a rough one yesterday.
00:34:28.880 --> 00:34:30.639
He walked seven guys after allowing ten.
00:34:31.039 --> 00:34:34.559
He's he said he wore sleeves yesterday because there might be a thing with his tipping.
00:34:34.960 --> 00:34:37.039
Uh Logan Webb wasn't solid before he hit the I.
00:34:37.199 --> 00:34:37.280
L.
00:34:37.519 --> 00:34:42.880
Landon Roop has like sneakily been like one like really, really good, especially when he's some of the expected stuff.
00:34:43.360 --> 00:34:46.079
But on the whole, it's not even really a curiosity necessarily.
00:34:46.159 --> 00:34:48.079
We're kind of just backtracking to bigger disappointments.
00:34:48.320 --> 00:34:51.599
Like on the whole, it just has not been good.
00:34:52.079 --> 00:35:13.199
Yeah, I think it it's such a far cry from what happened last year, where it felt like the bullpen was sneakily holding them together for that first uh um couple months when they were, you know, in first place vying for to be a contender, et cetera, et cetera.
00:35:13.360 --> 00:35:20.719
Um the starting staff had a lot to do with that too, because Logan Webb was at the beginning of putting together one of his best seasons, and Robbie Ray was an all-star.
00:35:20.960 --> 00:35:22.639
And now we're not seeing that.
00:35:22.800 --> 00:35:32.159
And then there's just more questions, and then the the you know, Adrian Hazard and Mallie haven't really been the the flyer.
00:35:32.480 --> 00:35:42.559
They haven't really lived up to the not lived yet, but they the you you expect that you pick up some veterans like that, that there's going to be a little bit of an exceeding the the expectation approve a deal type of type of season.
00:35:42.639 --> 00:35:44.000
We haven't seen that from either of them yet.
00:35:44.079 --> 00:35:51.840
And Landon Group's really been their most consistent guy with uh some of the best ground ball numbers and expected numbers in in baseball.
00:35:51.920 --> 00:35:53.760
If you look at the qualified starters.
00:35:53.920 --> 00:36:11.679
So as a whole, the starting group, bullpen, I think we expected some shakiness because of there's no defined rules, but the bull, the the rotation where you expect consistency, there hasn't been much at all uh due to injury, due to you know, the wear and tear, due to baseball.
00:36:11.840 --> 00:36:28.800
And I think that's probably one of the biggest questions I have going forward in terms of if this team is really able to put together a winning stretch to even just like get back into the hunt, to even just sort of like get back into relevance before the deadline or whatever needs to happen.
00:36:29.039 --> 00:36:44.000
Uh I it's you you have the names, but so far it's been uh they haven't looked like they have in the in the um in the last couple years, and it it just feels very um on shaky ground consistency-wise.
00:36:44.320 --> 00:36:46.159
Curiosity number four and five.
00:36:46.320 --> 00:36:49.039
Curiosity four, do they win more than three games in a row at some point?
00:36:49.199 --> 00:36:50.800
Curiosity five, do they sweep at some point?
00:36:50.880 --> 00:36:53.199
Because they have not done that.
00:36:53.440 --> 00:37:01.280
They I I I haven't fact-checked this, but I saw a tweet yesterday that said they're the only team that hasn't swept anyone at any point this season.
00:37:01.440 --> 00:37:03.519
And that's that's very jar.
00:37:03.840 --> 00:37:15.599
We're in it's almost June, that's very jarring, and like they also have just not won more than three games in a row, which is you know, if you're gonna have to go on a hundred-win pace to get back to the playoffs, you gotta win more than three in a row at some point.
00:37:15.679 --> 00:37:19.280
It can't just be like these like win three, lose two.
00:37:19.599 --> 00:37:24.000
Like, you can't, it it's got they gotta go on a tear at some point, they gotta catch fire at some point.
00:37:24.239 --> 00:37:27.199
And uh, we have not just seen them catch fire at any point.
00:37:27.360 --> 00:37:31.360
A lot of questions left, a lot of curiosities left, but no more questions for you, Shannon Rubin.
00:37:31.440 --> 00:37:33.039
We will save those for another day.
00:37:33.119 --> 00:37:33.840
Except one.
00:37:34.000 --> 00:37:34.239
Okay.
00:37:34.400 --> 00:37:35.760
Where can we find your work?
00:37:36.079 --> 00:37:40.239
You can find my work at San Francisco Chronicle, sfchronicle.com.
00:37:40.559 --> 00:37:42.159
Sfchronicle.com on Twitter.
00:37:42.320 --> 00:37:43.119
Yeah, that's what it is.
00:37:43.360 --> 00:37:44.639
SFCronicle.com.
00:37:44.800 --> 00:37:46.480
Last time I checked the websites and the Twitch.
00:37:46.559 --> 00:37:50.320
Well, Twitter might change its name again, but last time I checked, websites have not changed.
00:37:50.400 --> 00:37:54.079
Justice Delos Santos, San Jose Mercury News, Shandra Rubin, San Francisco Chronicle.
00:37:54.320 --> 00:37:55.760
Catch y'all next time.
