McGehee DFA, Duffy starts at 3B

The Free Matt Duffy!!!! movement is victorious! The only person in the organization who may feel worse than McGehee today has to be Adam Duvall. If he showed more, maybe McGehee doesn't even get signed. Oh well, live and learn.

Duffy earned the spot, let's hope he holds it for a long while. He has hit at every stop and being an ex-shortstop, he should be able to handle the transition to third-base. As for those that say he isn't strong enough, check back in five years or so. I'll bet he looks a lot different physically and the hit tool stays
the same or gets better. The infield looks set for many years to come across the diamond if the Giants play their cards right.

from mercurynews.com
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/giants/2015/05/24/breaking-giants-designate-casey-mcgehee-hand-starting-third-base-job-to-matt-duffy/

Posted on May 24, 2015 by Andrew Baggarly

DENVER – The Giants almost never jettison a veteran starting position player in May, yet Casey McGehee found himself without a major league job Sunday morning.

The Giants designated McGehee for assignment, a move that is a reflection of his struggles, the emergence of new everyday third baseman Matt Duffy and the club’s current roster bind as a tired bullpen tries to wend its way through four games in three days at Coors Field.

The Giants have 10 days to trade, waive or outright McGehee, whose $4.8 million salary makes it a cinch that he will not be claimed by another club. GM Bobby Evans said he hoped McGehee would accept an outright assignment to Triple-A Sacramento; McGehee, a Santa Cruz native, said it wasn’t the kind of decision he could make without consulting his family.

Matt Duffy sends Giants on happy flight

The difference between a 7-3 home stand versus a 6-4 record, especially after the Gigantes started 4-1 would have been huge. For that reason, this was a clutch hit. But Matt Duffy has proven to be a clutch hitter and you wonder how long Bochy can continue to hold the door open for McGehee and keep this kid out of the lineup. I don't get it, but I don't make out the lineup.

For me, for now, Duffy would be in the lineup until he dips under .250 or McGehee hits over .250, which could be a while since .200 seems to be busting his balls at the moment.

FREE MATT DUFFY!!!

from ESPN.com
Giants get 2 in the 9th to edge Marlins 3-2:

"That's sweet when it makes for a really nice homestand," San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said. "If we lose that one, it's so-so. Those guys in the ninth inning found a way. I thought it was huge win for us."

'via Blog this'

Giants baseball - fun and frustrating

It is fun to be a Giant and a Giant fan. Fun, but frustrating as well, as this story alludes to. Who would have thought we would have been cheering .500 so soon after hoisting the pennant? But that's what it means to be a Giants fan.

from Giants Extra:
Dominant Bumgarner takes no-hitter into the seventh as Giants blank Padres - Giants Extra:

“I mean, it’s just fun to be a Giant,” Romo said. “It’s just really fun to be a Giant.” 

Especially now. It’s not easy to stand at .500 after 26 games when you’ve mixed in an eight-game losing streak. Having a legitimate ace certainly helps – especially one that already has come out on the winning side twice against the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw. 

“Conviction, brute force, pitching finesse – he can kind of do it all and it’s impressive,” Romo said. “Now he’s finding his stride. I think that’s what’s going on with us as a team in general. We’re all finding our ways to contribute and it’s fun right now.” 

Casey McGehee remains on the other side of the glass, though. The third baseman committed a throwing error to start the game, he stunted two rallies with disastrous at-bats and the murmurs of dissatisfaction from the sellout crowd have bloomed into throaty boos."

'via Blog this'

It's fun because you get to watch excellence on a nightly basis in the form of Bumgarner dominating opponents and making it seem routine. It's fun watching Brandon Crawford perform magic with his glove every night and make it look routine. It's fun watching Buster Posey grow from rookie to regular to star and perhaps eventually to legend. It's fun watching the uniquely talented Hunter Pence perform at an all-star caliber level and do it in a manner that is certain not no to make any past or future Tom Emansky video tapes. It's fun watching Romo throw slider after slider by batters who know it's coming and still can't hit it.

At the same time, it's fun watching Lincecum transition from power to finesse and frustrating to watch him struggle with it at times, sometimes from one start to the next, careening from excellence to frustration like a drunk driving home at 3 AM.

It is frustrating watching McGehee melt down on a nightly basis and last night was a microcosm of his brief stint with the Giants. The first inning error was on Belt, who seems to waver in and out of his own private morass with the bat and more recently, with the glove as well. Both look lost at times on the field. McGehee looks almost as if he's playing scared or tight. Gripping the bat too tight and the ball too tight is a sure recipe for disaster. If anyone was a candidate for a slump-buster it's Casey McGehee.

But that is Giants baseball. Fun and Frustrating. Many times, on the same night.

Grounding Into Double Plays Records - Baseball Almanac

So maybe "Hits" McGehee becomes "GIDP" McGehee if he breaks Jim Rice's record of 36 set in 1984? There are some quality names on this list so I guess you have to be good enough to set this kind of a record.

But when you're hitting .190 and heading south or so and you have to sit a guy that is currently hitting .300 and heading north to get Matt Duffy in the lineup and keep McGehee in the lineup, my only question becomes:

"Why doesn't the .190 guy get a day off or dropped down in the lineup?"

"Sorry Boch, I couldn't hear you with all that bling coming off your three World Series rings. What did you say?"

"All right. I'll STFU and let you run the ship skip. But it sure seems like a dumb way to approach line-up construction, especially when the offense is struggling. But yeah, whatever."

It's ridiculous and it almost cost them a game last night. Then Panik has to ice the cake by "knocking" in the game-winning RBI with a fairly bad safety squeeze bunt.

Don't over-think it guys. The guy that sucks, sits. Period. That way they are incentivized to not suck so much.

In 159 games of 2014, McGehee grounded into an MLB-leading 31 double plays while batting .289 with 4 home runs and 76 RBI, winning the Major League Baseball Comeback Player of the Year Award for the National League.

Note: According to Grant at McCovey Chronicles, our boy is on pace to GIDP 94 times over 600 plate appearances!! Go for it, guys. 

from Baseball Almanac:

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/rb_gidp.shtml

"As far as I'm concerned, (Hank) Aaron is the best ball player of my era. He is to baseball of the last fifteen years what Joe DiMaggio was before him. He's never received the credit he's due." - Mickey Mantle in Baseball Digest (June 1970, John Kuenster, 'Warm Up Tosses', Page 8)

Grounding Into Double Plays Career Grounding Into Double Play Records Record Lg Name(s) Team(s) Data Most In A Career (Top 1,000) AL Cal Ripken, Jr. Baltimore 350 350 NL Hank Aaron Milwaukee 193 305 Atlanta 112 Grounding Into Double Plays Single Season Grounding Into Double Play Records Record Lg Name(s) Team(s) Data Fewest In A Season (150+ Games Played) AL Dick McAuliffe Detroit 0 1968 NL Craig Biggio Houston 0 1997 Augie Galan Chicago 1935 Fewest In A Season By A Rookie (150+ Games Played) AL Ichiro Suzuki Seattle 3 2001 NL Vince Coleman St. Louis 3 1985 MostIn A Season (Top 500) AL Jim Rice Boston 36 1984 NL Miguel Tejada Houston 32 2008 MostIn A Season By A Lefthander AL Ben Grieve Oakland 32 2000 NL Sean Casey Cincinnati 27 2005 A.J. Pierzynski San Francisco 2004 MostIn A Season By A Righthander AL Jim Rice Boston 36 1984 NL Miguel Tejada Houston 32 2008 MostIn A Season By A Rookie AL Billy Johnson New York 27 1943 Al Rosen Cleveland 1950 NL Albert Pujols St. Louis 21 2001 MostIn A Season By A Switch-Hitter AL Dave Philley Philadelphia 29 1952 NL Ted Simmons St. Louis 29 1973 Most Seasons Leading The League (In Fewest GIDP) AL Ichiro Suzuki Seattle 4 2001 Seattle 2003 Seattle 2005 Seattle 2006 NL Richie Ashburn Philadelphia 6 1951 Philadelphia 1952 Philadelphia 1953 Philadelphia 1954 Philadelphia 1958 Chicago 1960 Most Seasons Leading The League (In Most GIDP) AL Jim Rice Boston 4 1982 Boston 1983 Boston 1984 Boston 1985 NL Ernie Lombardi Cincinnati 4 1933 Cincinnati 1934 Cincinnati 1938 New York 1944 ML Miguel Tejada Baltimore [AL] 5 2004 Baltimore [AL] 2005 Baltimore [AL] 2006 Houston [NL] 2008 Houston [NL] 2009 Grounding Into Double Plays Game Specific Grounding Into Double Play Records Record Lg Name(s) Team(s) Data MostIn A Game AL Goose Goslin Detroit 4 04-28-1934 Victor Martinez Detroit 09-11-2011 NL Joe Torre New York 4 07-21-1975 Record Lg Name(s) Team(s) Data Grounding Into Double Plays Records

Giants sweep Dodgers!!!

McGehee needed this type of contribution to the team in the worst way. He looks like he is starting to press, he hasn't contributed much since the picture above, which is from Opening Day. 

from mercurynews.com
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/giants/2015/04/23/maxwell-knocks-winning-run-mcgehee-vogelsong-might-gained-giants-complete-sweep-dodgers/#more-19933

One at-bat isn’t the end-all, be-all (but( it’s a relief, I guess, is the best word I can think of,” said McGehee, who left for pinch runner Matt Duffy. “In that last at-bat, instead of chasing hits, it was, `Let’s just get in there and compete instead of worrying about the outcome.’ The feeling I had in that at-bat and that swing is something I’ll file away and hopefully be able to build off.”

Lately, he makes me nervous when a ball is hit to him, when he throws a ball across the infield and he doesn't really do much for me when he is AB, unless I get a sudden craving to see another rally killing DP being bounced into.

McGehee  has to start turning things around or the drum starts getting beat for more PT at 3B for Mr. Matt Duffy, the hit machine. I know it's early......but.........

It doesn't help McGehee that the Fat Panda is out-hitting him by over 100 points or so. 

The whole middle of the Giants lineup has been a big, fat doughnut hole to the offense. McGehee, Posey and Belt have to do more than hit their weight if the Giants offense is going to click. I'm going to leave Crawford out of it for now because if he keeps putting up the highlight reels defensively at SS, I've always said I could tolerate him hitting .190,  I just didn't really think he would take me up on it long-term. 

Crawford should be a much better hitter than he is, I've been saying that for years.

He makes this play routinely. The clip is from April 10th and he just did it again the other night.


http://m.mlb.com/video/?content_id=66780583&topic_id=8878828



http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/8878828/v83996783/ladsf-lincecum-induces-four-double-plays-in-outing