Posey perfects the art of framing with the walk-off, 3rd strike frame

http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2015/5/28/8685049/sf-giants-recap-scoreless-streak

There is no better Buster than cocky Buster. 

This was the highlight of the game, other than the good Chris Heston showing up to out-duel the Braves starter Shelby Miller.  Buster leaves the stage entirely to the umpire to display his punch-out mechanic. Our work is done boys. Let's hit!! 

Jake Peavy's rehab assignment didn't go too well last night. If he can't get minor-leaguers out, how does he take this kid's spot?

With Heston and Vogie clicking and Timmy starting to pick up the pace, I've hardly noticed Peavy and Cain not being around. Short of "Brandon Crawford's magical glove", Chris Heston is the runner-up answer in the "Where would the Giants be without.....?" contest. 


Bummmer, Timmy, Timmy, Vogie and Heston - Not bad. A little tilted to the right-side, but not bad. When they keep it in the park, these guys can keep opponents down. 

James Shields is a risky investment -- ESPN

Denny Medley/USA TODAY Sports

This is a particularly good synopsis of the pros / cons of the Giants signing James Shields by ESPN.com's David Schoenfield. So now that I'm leaning more NO than YES, does that mean that somewhere out of the blue the Giants find some coin under the seat cushions in the front office and sign "Big Game" James?

Probably....but stay tuned. Who else signs him? We might be negotiating against ourselves at this point. Put your best offer on the table and fix a deadline to it where you tell Team Shields that afterward you are going in another direction. You're out!!

from ESPN:
James Shields is a risky investment - SweetSpot Blog - ESPN:

Again, this doesn't mean Shields isn't a good pitcher. But any team that's willing to make a big investment in him would have to view him as a difference-maker in 2015 and 2016, a guy it needs to push it over the top. I'm just not sure there's a team that applies to. Depending on the ballpark and the quality of defense behind him, his numbers might drop a little, and his new team might be getting more of a No. 3 starter than a No. 2.

Jim Bowden rates the Giants as the team most likely to sign Shields. That makes some sense, as Matt Cain is a question mark coming back from elbow surgery and Shields would bump Tim Lincecum from the rotation. But wouldn't it make even more sense for the Giants to wait a year and go after one of those young aces, when Lincecum's $18 million comes off the books? Do you want to build a rotation around Madison Bumgarner, a guy coming off an injury and three starters (Shields, Tim Hudson and Jake Peavy) in their mid-to-late 30s?

Sure, Shields could help in 2015. But it's not as if the Giants are going to have trouble selling tickets if they don't sign him. They have a little goodwill to play with after winning the World Series. They have a strong team, with or without Shields, and play in a weak division. I'd pass on Shields, go with Lincecum and/or Yusmeiro Petit in the fifth slot, then go all-in next year on Price or Zimmermann. 

'via Blog this'

Giants, Red Sox still in the picture for James Shields | HardballTalk

Given the recent noise from the Giants about being at / near the top of the budget, I don't see how they can be in the running for Shields at 5 years / $110 M.

from HardballTalk:
Giants, Red Sox still in the picture for James Shields | HardballTalk:

Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe reports that the Giants and Red Sox are still “in the picture” for free agent starter James Shields, adding that the Yankees are another possible suitor. According to Cafardo’s source, Shields is expected to fetch five years and around $110 million.

Shields, who turned 33 on Saturday, finished the 2014 season with a 14-8 record, a 3.21 ERA, and a 180/44 K/BB ratio in 227 innings for the Royals. He had mediocre results in the post-season, posting a 6.12 ERA in 25 innings. “Big Game James” took losses in both starts he made against the Giants in World Series Games 1 and 5.

'via Blog this'

Plus, if you compare Shields and Peavy, you're almost looking at the same guy statistically speaking. Performance-wise, you can probably make a better case for Peavy. If you're saying that because of the perception of Peavy maybe having excess mileage, or higher potential for breaking down going forward making the difference between a $12M AAV in Peavy versus a $22M AAV in Shields, then I'm just saying some agent is going to get more than a huge bro-hug and one might be due a punch in the eyeball.

Drilling deeper, according to the repertoire and velocity comparison, Shields velocity has gone up the last couple of years from 91.31 in 2010 to 92.49 in 2014 (+1.16 MPH) while Peavy has lost a bit of his FB, dropping from 91.06 to 89.88 (-1.18 MPH) during the smae 2010-2014 period.

They always say velocity isn't important, maybe as a stand alone metric, but clearly in this comparison, it may have just made an $86M difference.

from the baseballcube.com
http://www.thebaseballcube.com/reports/compare.asp

Positions:	P-429
Proper Name:	Jacob Edward Peavy
Born:	May 31, 1981 (33.204) in Mobile, Alabama
Height/Weight:	6-1 / 180	Bats/Throws:	Right-Right

Positions:	P-369
Proper Name:	James Anthony Shields
Born:	December 20, 1981 (33.001) in Newhall, California
Height/Weight:	6-3 / 190	Bats/Throws:	Right-Right JAMES SHIELDS

Pitch Repertoire	Fastball (27.07%) -- Changeup (26.74%) -- 2-Seam Fastball (14.16%) -- Cutter (11.76%) -- Curveball(11.45%) -- Slider (8.82%)
Fastball Velocity:	[2014] - 92.49 - [2013] - 92.14 - [2012] - 92.03 - [2011] - 90.9 - [2010] - 91.31 JAKE PEAVY

Pitch Repertoire Fastball (27.35%) -- 2-Seam Fastball (23.65%) --Cutter (17.80%) -- Changeup (10.59%) -- Curveball(10.40%) -- Slider (10.09%) -- Splitter (0.13%) Fastball Velocity: [2014] - 89.88 - [2013] - 90.33 - [2012] - 90.73 - [2011] - 90.17 - [2010] - 91.06

The assist goes to Mrs. The Slav for cropping the stats so they fit the page size without spilling over the edge. 

(CLICK TO ENLARGE)

The Peavy deal is looking better and better for the Giants in terms of Average Annual Value (AAV) and number of years committed. If they have that much money to commit to Shields, maybe the money would be better spent on Mikey Mo's replacement in LF. You saved about $15M on the Sandoval-McGehee shuffle at 3B and Morse was in for about $10M last season. You only spent $12M on Peavy, so minimum there should be $13M left. That's if you stay even payroll-wise and that would be kind of a slap in the face to the fans and the franchise considering you are now getting a third chance to defend the title and get it right by winning in consecutive years. That would put all debate about "Giants, dynasty or not?" to rest.  You lost on Tomas in LF, let Morse walk when he didn't get near what he could have / should have and let the Padres load up on guys that you could easily swing over to LF. Running out of options there guys. I'm not sure you can pull a Dexter Fowler out of your hat and satisfy the populace. Your going to have to have something bigger up your sleeve there. Maybe it's time to let go of the James Shields chase and spend for a competent bat. It's not like this was the greatest offensive lineup in the world at times last year, you know?

Giants stay the course, re-sign Jake Peavy to two-year deal - Yahoo Sports

(Getty Images)

Another good move for the Giants. A good move, maybe not a great, splashy move like the Lester signing would have been. But the Giants don't specialize in splashy anymore. And maybe that's a good thing. Let the Dodgers specialize in splash, flash and spending wads of cash. The Giants can keep specializing in winning.

from Yahoo Sports:
Giants stay the course, re-sign Jake Peavy to two-year deal | Big League Stew - Yahoo Sports:

The latest late night/early morning deal is brought to us by Fox Sports Ken Rosenthal, who reports the San Francisco Giants and GM Brian Sabean have reached an agreement to bring back veteran right-hander Jake Peavy on a two-year deal. ESPN's Jerry Crasnick later confirmed the overnight agreement and the financials, which come in at $24 million guaranteed.

'via Blog this'

This buys the Giants some time to rebuild the starting rotation. Tim Hudson leaves after 2015 and perhaps Lincecum as well. Peavy will be gone after 2016.

In the prospect pipeline, for starting pitchers you might expect the following reinforcements to arrive:

2015
Ty Blach
Chris Stratton

2016
Kendry Flores

2017
Kyle Crick
Clayton Blackburn
Adalberto Mejia
Keurry Mella
Tyler Beede

If any of them arrive ahead of schedule, either due to injury or a sudden bump in development, so much the better. And there is some hope for that, especially with Kyle Crick.

I was listening to MLB radio on Sirius and one of the commentators made a similar comparison to my Madison Bumgarner - Tim Alderson career path divergence and the ramifications with the Dodgers Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billinglsey. Not as elegant as the Giants example in that they started their careers at different times, but what I noticed in the comps is that Kershaw struggled mightily with his control at the AA level in 2007 at Jacksonville,  posting a 6.12 BB/9 versus a 10.44 K/9. The next year in 2008 Kershaw repeated AA Jacksonville and posted 8.70 K/9 versus 2.80 BB/9 and the rest, as they say, is history.

Kershaw's K/BB rate went from 1.71 when he was a 10+ K/9 to 3.11 when his K's went down to 8.66 per 9IP. Kershaw's K level held at the level when he reached the bigs, although his BB level wen up to 4.35 and 4.79 his first two years. Since then his BB/9 in  the bigs has decreased almost every year dropping from 3.57/2.08/2.49/1.98/1.41 from 2010 to 2014. Strangely enough, Kershaw's K/9 is now back over 10+ in 2014 @ 10.85, while his BB/9 is an absurd 1.41!!

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/profile.asp?P=clayton-kershaw

Crick was 11.1 K/9 and 6.1 BB/9 which is about his minor league career line in those two metrics. He needs the light to go on in a similar way that it appeared to for Kershaw. Kershaw sacrificed the gaudy 10+ K/9 to lower his BB/9 rate to an acceptable level, which  increased his overall pitching efficiency.

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/profile.asp?P=kyle-crick

If Crick can take a similar career U-turn, the Giants could see the Matt Cain 2.0 comparisons for Crick come true. That would bolster the Giants starting rotation for years to come.

Several Giants will ring the cash register shortly - Who stays and who goes?

We're going to find out pretty quickly whether the core of the Giants stays intact or cracks. As I've said before, I think the Giants can be compete for Pablo Sandoval @ about 5 years / $80-$90M. If it goes much higher, he is likely to leave.

from SI.com
After another World Series title, what's coming for Giants in offseason? - MLB - SI.com:

For starters, series MVP Madison Bumgarner isn't going anywhere. While the 25-year-old lefty spent the past month making it clear that he belongs on the short list of the game's elite pitchers, he's not headed for a Clayton Kershaw-like payday anytime soon. Bumgarner just completed the second year of a five-year, $35 million extension signed in April 2012; he made $3.75 million this year, and will make $6.75 million next year, or $23.25 million less than the Dodgers' ace lefty. His contract is guaranteed through 2017, after which the Giants hold $12 million options on his 2018 and '19 seasons. Those options can vest based on innings thresholds, and increase to as much as $16 million if he wins a Cy Young award — still a bargain by the standards of the game's top-tier starters. Bumgarner is one of four Giants under contract through at least 2017, with Hunter Pence, Buster Posey and the injured Matt Cain being the others.

On the other side of the coin, the team does have several players headed for free agency, and they won't keep all of them, even with around $62 million worth of room between their 2015 commitments ($127.3 million, according to Cot's Contracts) and the $189 million luxury tax threshold. Closest to their core is Pablo Sandoval, who probably earned himself a few extra million dollars thanks to a .366/.423/.465 showing in 78 postseason plate appearances, with an OPS above 1.000 in both the NLCS and the World Series, not to mention some dazzling defense.

'via Blog this'

Jake Peavy likely will be too rich for the Giants blood and with Cain back healthy and Petit and option in the rotation, the starting rotation has enough quantity, a return to form by Tim Lincecum would help with the quality.

I think Romo and Vogelsong can both be retained at almost the same salary between the two of them. The Dodgers interest in Romo could be the deciding factor. I would like to see Romo stay in case Machi forgets how to throw the fork-ball and Strickland doesn't figure out how to keep left-handed batters in the park.

Michael Morse is the wild-card. The experts are assuming that AL teams are going to come a knocking for Morse to play a DH heavy role next year. If he's good with that, he may be gone. The problem signing Morse if he is going to want three years minimum and I would feel better with a two year deal in case the Giants need to make room for Mac Williamson or Gary Brown develops into more than a bongo drum for Hunter Pence.

I love the folks who say, well let Sandoval go, let Morse go, we'll just sign Hanley Ramirez or the Cuban free-agent Tomas or God forbid Melky Cabrera. Do they think those guys will cost appreciably less than retaining Sandoval or Morse? At least Jake Peavy is replaced by a returning Matt Cain. It's why he was brought over here.

The ghost of Aubrey Huff still lurks by the Giants cash register, that's for sure. That's creepy!!!

WORST BUSTER HUG EVER!!!

Giants win in typical Giant style!!!

Let the debates begin!! The Giants confound the experts again, as all the Fox pre-game talking heads picked the Royals to win, and yet the Giants win instead. They announcer didn't notice the Giants had a chance to win until about the seventh or eighth inning and never gave them their props. And friggin' Buck whines and jokes about why he's despised as an announcer. He's a horses ass every step of the way.

Aside from Bumgarner's performance for the ages, the Giants amazingly close this one out without a HR in the series, with an 0-12 performance from their 1-2-3 hitters tonight and without much of an offensive contribution from their top offensive player.


The debate today seemed to center on whether or not this third title in five years stamps the Giants as a "dynasty". In modern day terms, I think they qualify. Chicago columnist Phil Rogers was on Sirius/XM saying that the Atlanta Braves were more a dynasty  since they won /dominated more consistently over a longer period of time in spite of not winning more than one World Series title. Leaving out the irony of a Cubbies sportswriter commenting on "what makes a dynasty", does he really think that Braves fans wouldn't trade an occasional flop for more World Series success? This USA Today graphic doesn't even list the Bravos.

This was Panda, as cool, calm and collected as Bumgarner would be later. And he backed it up with his own signature performance, both in this game and this series. Pay the man, just pay the man!!

If the Giants could find money under the seat cushions to pay Hunter Pence after he came over and sparked the team. If the Giants feel they could find enough money in the budget to make a competitive run at Jake Peavy, who openly flirts and makes googly eyes at both the Cardinals and the Cubs while the Giants are competing for this, Pablo's third Giants title, while Peavy by comparison pisses down his leg with his performance in the World Series and spends his free time polishing his future free-agent bona-fides, then you guys better damn well sign Pablo Sandoval first. He means more to the franchise and more to Giants fans than Jake Peavy ever while, so put that in your calculations and smoke it.

from CSN Bay Area.com
http://www.csnbayarea.com/giants/giants-re-signing-sandoval-well-do-best-we-can

“

Pablo’s at the top of that list. We all know it. Every negotiation is different. Every intention on the part of the player is different. I know we love Pablo and he loves the Giants and we’ll see what happens.

”

— Giants GM Brian Sabean

And how about Jeremy Affeldt. Under-rated, under-appreciated Jeremy Affeldt. Turning in another spit and bailing wire performance that gets the ball to Bumgarner with the outcome still intact after it looked like Hudson had tilted momentum the Royals way. Affeldt righted the ship and I suppose for that gets awarded the victory. More folks than the official scorer should appreciate what Affeldt did getting the Win in this game.

from CSN Bay Area.com
http://www.csnbayarea.com/giants/affeldt-tearful-upon-being-named-winning-pitcher-game-7

“

I couldn’t be more honored that I was a part of this. I can’t wait to see the people in San Francisco. We pitched, and pitching wins championships.

”

 — Giants reliever Jeremy Affeldt

And how about Joe Cool, Joe Fundamentals or whatever nickname eventually sticks doing it with his glove rather than his bat. Where would we be without him righting the ship at 2B this year? And thank God for replay, right? Poetic justice. 

Way to go, Joe!!! Hanging around Brandon Crawford is beginning to rub off on your glove. Hopefully, your bat rubs off on his a little bit more down the road.

It looks like any game that ends in a Buster hug is good for Giants baseball history. If it's not Wilson, Romo and now Bumgarner, to say nothing of Cainer and Timmy for their no-no's and perfectos, these man hugs never get old.

And last but not least, Bumgarner clearly makes the grade among scouts and old-school pitching aficionados.

I guess the amazing, unbelievable, unassuming way the Giants won this year and in some of the same ways, the other two years, makes it somewhat easy to dismiss them an under-rated, lucky and undeserving of matching up with other juggernaut teams from the past and present. I can tell you as a close observer of this team, luck has nothing to do with it.  Pluck and perseverance and stick-to-it-iveness and stick-togetherness DOES. certainly. The essence of the word TEAM. 

Three titles in five years and we could be celebrating and debating about four titles in five years if they don't lose Posey to Cousin's cheap shot heard 'round the Bay Area.  That's not luck chumps. And what some of these guys would know about championship mettle is beyond me. What a brain-dead Chicago columnist would know about what constitutes championship mettle after watching a team that hasn't displayed it in over a century and whose last feeble attempt at same resulted in "Curses Bartman" to say nothing about blaming your failures on a Curse of the Billy Goat is kind of like, well, a Chicago football columnist opining about good, solid QB play. 

Celebrate Giants and Giants fans, You've earned it. Let some of there other guys piss and moan on each other while you're having another parade. 

Peavy's wanderlust makes me queasy tonight

Instead of putting Peavy on a short leash, perhaps a muzzle would have been more in order for Bruce Bochy. I don't know how you justify this, but I'm sure some are going to try. These guys better know what they're doing tonight. You would think he could have waited at least until after the Series was over one way or the other before evaluating his future options. Good luck, Jake.

from Chicago Sun-Times:
Jake Peavy, Jon Lester have eye on Cubs as package deal - Chicago Sun-Times:

Peavy caught himself daydreaming about Chicago while he stood on a World Series stage in San Francisco and quickly took a step back.

“It’s hard to have this conversation,” he said. “That being said, obviously Chicago has got a lot of good pieces in place. They’re going to have money to spend. Who doesn’t want to play in the city of Chicago?

“When the Cubs do finally win, they may rename the lake.”

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Bochy likely one win away from a ticket to Cooperstown | New York Post

Giants manager Bruce Bochy has had a lot to smile about.

Photo: Getty Images
.....and Giants fans will have an awful lot to smile about as well if he is able to seal the deal. Two shots and veterans like Peavy and Hudson taking them with Bumgarner in emergency reserve. I will say this, if Peavy can't win in his second shot against Ventura......I don't know what to say except maybe he's not destined to get a ring. Hudson could follow up the next night and save his butt, but I wouldn't want to cede momentum back to the Royals at home forcing a Game 7. It is really a must-win for both clubs, which could make for another nail-biter. With the Giants, they all seem to be nail-biters. 

from the New York Post:
Bochy likely one win away from a ticket to Cooperstown | New York Post:

Bochy led the Giants to World Series titles in 2010 and 2012. Now the Giants are nine innings shy of a third title that would make him a lock for the Hall of Fame.
Of the four managers — Sparky Anderson, Miller Huggins, John McGraw and Tony La Russa — with exactly three World Series victories, all are in the Hall of Fame. A victory in Game 6 or 7 would reserve a spot in Cooperstown for the former catcher who played nine years in the big leagues and is a lot better manager than he was a player.

'via Blog this'

The Hollywood story-book ending would be for Peavy and Bochy, who go way back with the Padres to complete each other's careers and ride off into the sunset as the dramatic background music plays. 

The Royals are making weird "still just happy to be here" type comments, even Yost, which would be a bit disturbing to me as a fan, so maybe they come back to earth after bludgeoning led by Bumgarner. My feeling is when the other team scores 15 consecutive runs on you, some sort of response is in order and we'll see if an aging Peavy can deliver the knockout blow, even though it appears as if he has lost the knockout punch of his youth. 

Giants win on walk-off E1 - It's the "Giants Way"

http://m.mlb.com/video/?content_id=36807385&topic_id=6479266

It's never pretty, but this is the "Giants Way" this season. The bullpen got the train back on the tracks after Huddy was perhaps left in a bit too long and frittered away an early four run lead. Maybe Bochy pushed him a little too far trying to shorten the bullpen assignment or just deferring to the veteran warrior.

This sets things up nicely for the next two, of which the Giants really only MUST win one of two. The Cardinals almost MUST win both. Vogie and Bummer at home give the Gigantes an outside chance at closing things out at home, but we're a long way from that.

Cardinals would have to like their chances even if they go home down 3-2 with the task of beating Peavy and Hudson on consecutive nights. No offense to the way either one has pitched down the stretch, but this is where you miss Matt Cain pitching before or after Bumgarner.


http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/6479266/v36807309/nlcs-gm3-sandoval-dives-to-rob-holliday-of-hit

A little overkill on the Gamecast data, but this is a pretty play. Bad-hopper to Pablo, which if it gets by him, puts the Giants in a large 10th inning hole. If he leaves after this season, the Giants will miss plays like this, which Pablo has delivered routinely throughout the year. This one was delivered in the clutch, in prime time, for the whole nation to see. Cha ching!!!

Will Jake Peavy keep rolling in the post-season?

NLDS preview: Nationals face difficult challenge against experienced Giants

Will Jake Peavy keep rolling in the postseason? (Getty Images)

Peavy will have to keep rolling if the Giants are to have much of a chance of beating the Nationals. So therefore, my guess is he WILL keep rolling in the playoffs. It looks as if he and Tim Hudson will be needed as starters in Games 4 and 5, if the Giants get that far.

Lincecum and Petit are possibles as well should one of the grizzled old vets begin to feel his age.

from Yahoo Sports:
NLDS preview: Nationals face difficult challenge against experienced Giants | Big League Stew - Yahoo Sports:

SCHEDULE
Game 1: Friday, Oct. 3, in Washington, 3:07 p.m. ET (TV coverage on Fox Sports 1)
Game 2: Saturday, Oct. 4, in Washington, 5:37 p.m. ET (FS1)
Game 3: Monday, Oct. 6, in San Francisco, Time TBA (MLB Network)
Game 4*: Tuesday, Oct. 7, in San Francisco Time TBA (FS1)
Game 5*: Thursday, Oct. 9, in Washington, Time TBA (FS1)
* if necessary

PREVIOUSLY
The Nationals led the season series 5-2. Washington took three of four in San Francisco June 9-12, and then two of three at home Aug. 22-24. Washington outscored them 41-30.

PITCHING
Game 1: Jake Peavy (7-13, 3.73) vs. Stephen Strasburg (14-11, 3.14)
Game 2: Tim Hudson (9-13, 3.57) vs. Jordan Zimmermann (14-5, 2.66)
Game 3: Madison Bumgarner (18-10, 2.98) vs. Doug Fister  (16-6, 2.41)
Game 4: TBA
Game 5: TBA

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Peavy pitches, Posey powers Giants to victory

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Jake Peavy throws in the first inning during a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2014, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)


The leaders are leading and that's good to see. Crawford adds another sterling defensive gem late in the game to seal the deal. The only concern now, given the winning percentage with/without him in the lineup is Angel Pagan's balky back. The trainers may decide how far these Giants advance in the playoffs.

from Yahoo Sports:
Peavy, Posey help Giants gain ground in NL West - Yahoo Sports:

''Tonight was a big game,'' Peavy said. ''We had to have it after the way we dropped the last three. I feel very blessed to feel healthy and go out there and be a contributing factor to a team that's fighting for our lives every day.'' Peavy (6-4), acquired from Boston on July 26, allowed a run and five hits in 7 2-3 innings, striking out four and walking one. 

''He's been a pleasure to watch,'' Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. ''You just love how he competes out there. He's got so much intensity in every game he throws. His command's been really right on. He's been a real shot in the arm for this club.'' 

 In his last seven starts, Peavy is 6-1 with a 1.13 ERA.

'via Blog this'

BTW:  Peavy's performance since coming over validates the trade unless Escobar wins a Cy Young Award and/or Heath Hembree wins a Rolaids Reliever of the Year Award or whatever award they give closers these days.

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere's Brandon:

Jake Peavy defines being a good teammate

Other than the contributions of the kiddie-corps (Panik and Susac) I don't know of anything else that has turned the Giants (once-sinking) ship around more. Replacing Matt Cain was an absolute must. Maybe Petit steps in and gives you the same type of innings and the same record, but he doesn't bring the same presence that Peavy does. His quote below about being a good teammate is classic.

Kudos to Sabean, this is in his GM wheelhouse. Bringing in a veteran and wringing out the last bit of performance out of him. So maybe, this at least partially offsets the Uggla experiment somewhat. Sabean also gets props for bringing back Travis Ishakawa who has been a godsend at first base and as a lefty bat off the bench. I'm sure there was considerable eye-rolling from the assembled Giants bloggers when that move was made (myself included). Ishakawa is almost an offensive weapon now.

This article adds some of the detail and once again is very classy coming from a Sawks reporter.

from NESN.com:
Jake Peavy Trade With Red Sox Paying Dividends For Giants Down Stretch | MLB | NESN.com:

Peavy, who was 1-9 with a 4.72 ERA through 20 starts at the time of the trade, has rewarded the Giants since landing in the Bay Area. He’s 5-4 with a 2.29 ERA in nine starts with San Francisco, helping the team absorb the loss of Matt Cain. Peavy’s 1.12 ERA since Aug. 9 is tops in the National League.

“Over the past few weeks we’ve found some identity as a team,” Peavy told reporters Thursday after another solid performance. “Playing good team baseball, playing for each other, playing hard.”

The Giants entered Friday with a 22-15 record since the beginning of August. They trailed the Los Angeles Dodgers by only two games in the National League West and sat atop the NL Wild Card standings alongside the Pittsburgh Pirates. Obviously, it’s not all Peavy’s doing. But San Francisco looks rejuvenated.

“As you get older, you realize what the word ‘teammate’ is,” Peavy said. “When I walk away from this game, that’s what I want to be said about me. I don’t care about any numbers, any wins and losses. I want my peers, when they get asked about me, to say this guy came in prepared, he got his work done, and he was one of the best teammates I’ve ever had.”

Peavy’s status as a great teammate never was in question. Now, with a change of scenery, he’s back to being a quality starting pitcher, too.

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Jake Peavy on Barry Bonds

Jake Peavy gave Barry Bonds the ultimate courtesy

				Jake Peavy gave Barry Bonds the ultimate courtesy In Barry Bonds' final big-league at-bat, he faced a current Giants pitcher. Bonds hit .242 in 33 at-bats off Peavy but had a .490 on-base percentage (13 walk...
				View on www.sfgate.com	Preview by Yahoo

"I don't know about all the drug stuff. I can tell you this: He's the best player I played against or will play against. Mike Trout's trying to make an unbelievable case for himself. Barry Bonds changed the game more than anybody I've seen in 13 years. Of course he's a Hall of Famer."

And now he's on Twitter. 

Barry L Bonds (BarryBonds) på Twitter

				Barry L Bonds (BarryBonds) på Twitter Det seneste fra Barry L Bonds (@BarryBonds). The Official Twitter Account For Barry L Bonds
				View on twitter.com	Preview by Yahoo

Giants win fifth straight, down Brewers, 3-1 - Yahoo Sports

Peavy is pitching as if he has found the fountain of youth. From 1-9 4.72 ERA with the Sox to 3-4 2.66 ERA with the Giants, plus flirting with both a perfect game and now a no-hitter in his brief time with the Giants.



from Yahoo Sports:

Giants win fifth straight, down Brewers, 3-1 - Yahoo Sports:

Obviously Jake Peavy gets the bulk of the credit for the win, considering how he pitched, but I didn't come away from this game thinking, "Goodness, Jake Peavy just minced the Brewers." I came away with it thinking, "That looks like a team with confidence for the first time in months." Peavy was a huge part, the biggest part. The story is the entire team, though. The Pablo Sandoval play isn't on MLB.com yet, but it was another fine example.

'via Blog this'



I love how he deflects to his teammate and their contributions, that's what a leader does, but in the case of Brandon Crawford, as far as I'm concerned,  Peavy was preaching to the choir. Exactly my thoughts.

from Giants Extra:
http://blog.sfgate.com/giants/2014/08/30/jake-peavy-7-13-hitless-innings-sf-giants-beat-brewers-3-1/

“Both of those plays were tremendous – kept us in the game,” Peavy said. “That’s who we need to be as a team. For (Crawford) to be going through a little struggle at the plate and come up with a big hit and make those plays, hopefully it’ll give him some good momentum, and it’s awesome for him to be a crucial part of today’s win.”

Crawford said, “It feels like playoff baseball. It’s nice to play well in that atmosphere against a good team.”

Here are the Brandon Crawford highlights, and the second one was deep into the no-no and I swear in real time I thought the ball was by him. As soon as he snagged it though, I just kept yelling "Two-two-two.." and sure enough Brandon's acrobatics came through as usual.

http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/51231442/v35815321/milsf-crawford-shows-off-arm-to-retire-aramis




http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/51231442/v35818845/milsf-crawford-saves-nohit-bid-with-diving-stop



I hear coaches say all the time, "This kid would be in the lineup if he hit .230 or .220" or whatever. Brandon Crawford epitomizes that. I wish he would hit better because I'm sure he is better than .225 but just so glad he's in there at times like this.



I keep telling Mrs. TheSlav that the Giants are "can't miss, must see baseball" and just recently this season we've witnessed Peavy and Bumgarner flirt with both no-no's and perfecto's, Timmy pitch his second no-no, Petit pitch 46 consecutive outs ( a perfect game and a half)  almost under the radar plus a couple of Buster Posey 5 hit games, Panik's recent and almost meteoric development to .300 and more memories I'm probably leaving out.



Hopefully, the magic continues as this is an even year and follows next in the sequence after 2010 and 2012. If you are a numerologist, you gotta believe that 2014 is due to become The Year of the Gigantes.



If nothing else Peavy is showing what an improved state of mind can do to performance, wherever the impetus for the attitude adjustment comes from. Here is to hoping for continued attitude adjustments and mind-set changes up and down the Giants lineup and training room. September should be an interesting month for those in pennant contention, so gentlemen start your engines.

Updates on Cain, Belt, Pagan, Sanchez and others - Giants Extra

So Cain is now done for 2014, but should be good for 2015 and that is probably as good as we could have hoped for. I like where the Giants are right now regarding Sabean's comment about trying to win and develop at the same time. It's a tricky move to pull off for an organization, ask the White Sox, but the plethora of pitching talent and maybe just enough hitting talent percolating throughout the system may just allow the Giants to thread the needle. Time will tell.

from Giants Extra:
Updates on Cain, Belt, Pagan, Sanchez and others - Giants Extra:

— Sabean on today’s moves: “If you can’t do anything from the outside you have to turn internally, and that’s exactly what we’re doing. There are times when you try to win and develop at the same time.”

'via Blog this'

The Peavy deal looks much better now in hindsight. Peavy looks ready to step in and be the hard luck starter, replacing Cain. Hopefully, he doesn't fall into the Anthony Young Syndrome of pitching just good enough to lose. I like his intensity, but it may have come back to bite him a bit in his epic duel of no-nos with deGrom of the Mets. The youngster kept his poise more than the veteran and that was the difference.

In looking at Peavys stat line you can see the fine line between victory and defeat. In his better years recently Peavy walked 2.7 per 9 innings, that goes up to 3.5 per 9 during the down years. His strikeouts slide from 8.6 to 7.2 per 9 IP and the WHIP goes from 1.19 to 1.425. HR's go from 1.0 to 1.5.  The good news is that in the two starts ( small sample size alert ) Peavy has reduced his walks to 1.4 per 9, K's are at 6.2 per 9, HR's are at zero and WHIP is a dominating 0.923. Adrenaline is a powerful drug, let's hope he can keep up the rush.

BTW, the 1.40 WHIP level is the danger zone that Anthony Young pitched in when he posted a 3-30 record for the Mets in 1992-93. His walks were at a 3.05 BB/9 level as well. So he wasn't getting beat -- 0.65 HR/9 -- as much as he was beating himself. Peavy's misses on a couple of key pitches during the no-no seemed to upset the apple cart a bit and caused the one bad inning (and there's always one bad inning) that got a little more out of control than de Grom's one bad inning.

I like what Peavy adds to the rotation, a Full Throttle, Hunter Pence on the mound, and he seems to be just the adrenaline kick the Giants need. Oh, and good health to first Brandon Belt and hopefully soon Angel Pagan. This team can still get to and make some noise in the playoffs.

On the prospect front, I think Panik should stick around, he just throws good AB's out there and the average is going to follow. Susac looks good at the plate and behind the dish, showing good plate discipline. The bat can certainly use some more AB's in AAA, but what are you going to do? Duvall and Matt Duffy are going to be the odd men out, I think. Duvall looks good as a power hitting prospect, that's going to make the Panda decision a lot tougher. If it's a choice between keeping Panda or Morse instead of Panda and Morse, I think you have to go Panda, and in that instance Duvall likely gets dealt. It looks like pitchers have discovered that Matt Duffy needs more work laying off the slider. It is major league meal money, travel and accommodations, but the flip side is that you will see major league sliders.

Also on a positive note, Gregor Blanco is putting up some really good AB's of late after looking totally lost earlier in the season. Good to see, as his defensive value -- like Crawford -- is indisputable. As we have seen lately with the number of Giants pitchers being labelled hard-luck and the victim of lack of run support, you do need to score some runs here and there.