With all of the promise the new look Giants showed up until the All-Star break, after parting ways with Ray Durham for a minor league player similar to the one they got last year when they sent Matt Morris to Pittsburgh(Rajai Davis) the team has suddenly taken on the appearance of one that is lost at sea.
Batters are swinging at poorly located pitches and letting tee-ball located pitches go right into the center of the catcher's mitt for strikes. They are aggressive with they need to be more selective and are too selective on the first couple of pitches, when the pitcher has established that he's looking to jump ahead in the count. If you know the pitcher is going to be around the plate you should be ready to swing. If the pitcher hasn't established a strike zone and the umpire is calling his pitches accordingly, that's when you can be more selective.
John Bowker, let's call him Rusty since his facial countenance and body language never change. If he smacks one off the bricks or his glove becomes a reasonable facsimile for a brick, John Bowker never changes his expression.
For this 2008 season Bowker is the Giants' first-baseman. That may not be how the brass sees it for future seasons with the orange and black. Returning Rusty to the outfield might be the best thing for him and signing a free agent first-baseman known as much for pop in his bat as he is for a slick fielding ability. First-basemen must be good with the leather first, pop in the bat a very close second. (It's possible J.T. Snow established this precedent.)
Here's a rundown of some of the Giants regulars' averages, homers, runs batted in and bases on balls vs. strikeout ratio.
- Bowker .256 9-HR 39-RBI 15-BB 64-SO
- Jose Castillo .258 6-HR 34-RBI 25-BB 64-SO
- Fred Lewis .275 7-HR 31-RBI 40-BB 98-SO
- Rowand .287 9-HR 55-RBI 28-BB 84-SO
- Molina .279 8-HR 61-RBI 14-BB 28-SO
- Winn .280 5-HR 41-RBI 40-BB 57-SO
- Aurilia .279 8-HR 37-RBI 22-BB 41-SO
- Omar .182 0-HR 12-RBI 15-BB 22-SO
The strikeout to walk ratio is horrendous. This is where it starts for the fast fading Giants. Each batter has to take the responsibility to have the kind of approach that offers them the best chance to succeed. Lately they've been flailing away like Little Leaguers, hoping to make some sort of contact instead of having a good idea of how to put the bat on the ball.
(thanks to Baseball Reference for current stats)
Kevin Marquez
|