There were still a lot of positives to take from this series.
- Pablo Sandoval. The guy is absolutely on fire. He hit two more homeruns in this series and is still batting a robust .340. I now understand how his weight was holding him back last season. A lot of people said that his weight was not keeping him from being able to swing the bat. I actually agreed with those people. But we were wrong. Pablo's weight was tiring him out. He wasn't able to last an entire game without getting gassed. It's no wonder that his struggles worsened as the season went on. This season, he has energy, a bounce in his step, and he just looks ready to go in the later innings. I think we are going to have to start another push for the all-star game for Pablo.
- Madison Bumgarner. I really think yesterday's game was a turning point for him. Sure, giving up 4 runs wasn't a great outing, but the fact that he was able to settle down and keep the D-backs at bay for a few more innings proved to him that he can still get guys out. I think he will start to right the ship even more in his next start.
- Buster Posey. The guy is raking now and Huff hit his first homer so now the Giants have a 3-4-5 of Huff, Posey, and Sandoval. If these guys are all hot at the same time they are up there with some of the best 3-4-5 combos in the league. Add Freddy Sanchez in the mix at #2 and that is a lot of offense.
- Aaron Rowand. I am a little more tepid on this guy because he has been so tremendously bad for the Giants up until now, but maybe getting angry over being replaced in centerfield by Torres is a good thing. He is going to have some more time to keep it up.
This series did have it's share of negatives though.
- Barry Zito. His injury is big considering that the best guy that they could find to fill his spot in the rotation is Ryan Vogelsong. Sure Zito has looked pretty weak to begin the season, but I think he has what it takes to turn it around and to be an effective #4 starter for the rest of the season. Hopefully the ankle doesn't become more of an issue than his 15 day stint on the DL. Remember, he has never been injured before and he may not know what it takes to come back from an injury. This could be a recurring thing with him this season.
- Brandon Belt. It seems like it was just yesterday that this guy was hitting a homerun in his second big league game. Since then, it hasn't been too good for the big first baseman. He has more strikeouts than he has hits and with 12 strikeouts in 50 ABs, he is on pace to strikeout 144 times over the course of a 600 AB season. Sure, we all like the kid and want him to succeed in the bigs, but the fact of the matter is, he just may not be ready for the show. I understand that the sample size is small but this is the big leagues. 80-100 PAs is about all you are going to get in order to show what you can do unless you are playing for a team that is on fire, or a team that has no pennant hopes that season. He probably has about a week to start hitting or he will be on the bus back to Fresno. Although he may already be on his way back to Fresno when Ross gets reactivated. It's either gonna be Belt of Ford going to Fresno when Ross comes back.
I finally watched the 30 minute preview of "The Franchise" last night. This looks show looks like it's going to be great. I can't wait until July! We all know these guys from the interviews and what not that they give but this show really goes into much more than that. The part at the end when they Marc Kroon going down and Brandon Belt making the club is something that you just don't see every day. I know that we already love these Giants but I think that we will all come away feeling even closer to this bunch of misfits.
Off to Colorado! Tomorrow is Timmy day!
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