The Giants caught a lucky break this week, after losing their best
hitter and starting 3rd basemen a few weeks ago, the division leading
Dodgers suffered their first big blow of 2012, as Matt Kemp is expected
to miss two week with a hamstring pull, opening a window of opportunity
for the Giants to move up from 6 games back in standings.
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| Blanco Striving in Leadoff Spot |
Now, the Giants have looked like a completely new team the last few
games, and have won 3 straight with outstanding pitching and timely
hitting. Their offense isn't performing nearly as badly as I was
expecting without Sandoval, as others have stepped up, and if they
continue to do so, they're just going to keep climbing in the standings.
Losing Kemp, even for a couple of weeks, is a huge blow to LA, as he
was by far the early season MVP in the NL and hitting a ridiculous rate.
The dude had 12 HR and 28 RBI with a .359 average through mid-May. In
comparison, despite being out most of May, Pablo Sandoval still leads
the Giants in HR and RBI with 5 and 15, just to give you an idea of the
year Kemp is having. Now with both he and Juan Rivera on the DL, the
Dodgers are running out of outfielders, and the time for the Giants to
be hitting their stride is now, and they look to be doing just that. It
wasn't the prettiest win Monday night, but the Giants still beat
Colorado to move up over .500 again, and has them riding a decent 3-game
win streak.
The guy who's really come out of his shell the last few games has been
Gregor Blanco. With Sandoval sitting, the Giants had to re-arrange the
lineup a bit, moving Angel Pagan and Melky Cabrera down in the order and
placing Blanco in the leadoff spot. Blanco's scored 5 runs in these
last 3 games, and has really exploded with the bat raising his average
up from .237 to .286 and even has a big fly, 4 RBI and 2 stolen bases
during that stretch. He's done exactly what the Giants needed from him
in the leadoff spot, now they just need him to keep it up. What's
allowing Blanco to stay in the leadoff spot is the fact that Angel Pagan
is still in the zone. Even after having his 20-game hit streak broken
last week, he's since started a new one and keeps seeing that average
creep up. He's still not getting on base nearly as much as the Giants
would like (.306 OBP), a big reason why this team is dead last in OBP.
One guy who I've not been impressed by lately is Joaquin Arias. Sure,
he's been decent at times for the Giants filling in at 2nd and at 3rd
now in wake of Sandoval's injury, but I can't help but think there are
better options in the organization suited for 3rd base. Arias has made
some big errors over there, including one that almost cost the Giants
the game on Monday, and his bat hasn't been anything special. Even
Connor Gillaspie seemed better suited to play 3rd in Sandoval's absence,
as at least you didn't need to hold your breath on every ball hit to
him. I still think the best option on the roster is Brett Pill. If your
going to sacrifice some
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| Belt Needs Regular AB's |
defensively, you might as well get some power into the lineup. Pill has
come through in big spots for the team early on and really does deserve
to be getting more at-bats than he currently is. I know he doesn't
embody the patience that this team needs in their order, but he'll at
least hit the three-run homer for you and come up with the routine
plays. I doubt Bochy will really tweak with much as the team has
performed these last few games, but if there's one move I'd like to see
be made, that would be it. That would also open up the door for more
at-bats for Brandon Belt, who really needs a good 7-10 games straight
where he plays everyday. I know I've been a little down on Belt here
lately for his lack of production, but it is hard to sustain any kind of
rhythm at the plate when you play him one day then rest him two, then
play him again. He needs steady diet of at-bats so the Giants can
determine whether or not he's ready to be a big leaguer and take first
base from Huff once and for all.
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