Giants Kick the Ball Around in Los Angeles
The Giants just wrapped up a 9-1 shellacking at the hands of the Dodgers, putting on a display of defensive buffoonery – and not for the first time this season. The Giants are leading the league in errors, as they shuffle the lineup daily to try to generate offense. Perhaps the worst part is that the are not generating a lot of offense either. The only thing they are doing well right now is pitch, and with injuries to Brian Wilson and Jeremy Affeldt ratcheting up the pressure on the other relief pitchers, some would argue that the bullpen is under-performing as well, and that only the starting pitching is getting it done.
The Giants have a lot of people who are not playing in their “usual” positions: Buster Posey, after playing catcher since his junior year in college, has been playing at first so that Hector Sanchez could play catcher and add his bat to the line-up. Trouble is, Sanchez at catcher pushes Brandon Belt and Brett Pill out of first base. Belt and Pill have higher averages and On-Base-Plus_Slugging than Sanchez. They have Pill, a first baseman in left field. They had Cabrera, who has been playing mostly left, in right, and a minor leaguer at third. Said minor leaguer kicked the ball around like the San Jose Earthquakes.
The minor leaguer at third, due to the injury to Pablo Sandoval, was the biggest problem tonight, but it is not the biggest problem we have seen so far this year. There are too many guys kicking the ball around because they are playing a position they don’t know or don’t play often enough to be proficient. Put Posey at catcher, put a real first baseman at first (can I get a Belt?), and Pill at third if you must have him in the lineup ( a first baseman is more comfortable at third than in left field). Leave Cabrera in Left, put a right fielder in right, Schierholtz or Blanco (Blanco is my choice) and put an end to the professional amateurs kicking the ball around in part-time jobs.
Still not time for fans to panic, but it is time for the Manager and General Manager to take corrective action.
Giants Baseball - Torture 