Around the Foghorn » Stuart Jones http://aroundthefoghorn.com A San Francisco Giants Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More Mon, 17 Jun 2013 21:56:09 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 MLB Tweet: Panda and Posey still lead for the All Star Game http://aroundthefoghorn.com/2013/06/17/mlb-tweet-panda-and-posey-still-lead-for-the-all-star-game/ http://aroundthefoghorn.com/2013/06/17/mlb-tweet-panda-and-posey-still-lead-for-the-all-star-game/#comments Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:59:27 +0000 Stuart Jones http://aroundthefoghorn.com/?p=5818 Giants fans are stuffing the ballot box so much that only two of the players are still starting for the All Star Game. They are a menace to society, and not thinking of what’s best for the game. How dare they do what they are entitled to do and vote for their players. How dare [...]

MLB Tweet: Panda and Posey still lead for the All Star Game - Around the Foghorn - Around the Foghorn - A San Francisco Giants Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

]]> Giants fans are stuffing the ballot box so much that only two of the players are still starting for the All Star Game. They are a menace to society, and not thinking of what’s best for the game. How dare they do what they are entitled to do and vote for their players. How dare they play by the silly rules that were set by Major League Baseball.

Jun 5, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval (48) reacts to a call during the fifth inning of the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at AT

The argument against ballot stuffing for any team is pretty silly, because if you want the team you support to get results, maybe it’s time that the team formed a more aggressive campaign to get votes in. Whether you’re going to Cougar Town to get more cougars to vote for David Wright, or you bring in your employees to bunch ballot cards, if you want your guy to start, you have to get him the votes. The Giants do that well, and actually it looks like baseball fans are doing OK getting those guys in, too. @MLB sent out a tweet yesterday of its updated starters for the All Star Game:

This is a good opportunity to look at the numbers for each player and get an idea of who’s in the spot they should be, and who may be getting a little support from the name, or from fantasy numbers.

June 16, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey (28) hits a single in the third inning against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

C: Buster Posey — News of Yadier Molina catching up are justified since their slash line, wOBA, wRC+ are pretty close. Buster has more dingers (8 to 4), but his fWAR is a little lower than Yadi’s. Either one of these guys would be a solid pick for starter.

1B: Joey Votto — His OBP is 56 points higher than Paul Goldschmidt‘s, but his other advanced numbers don’t hold that drastic of a lead. The Diamondbacks have a legitimate campaign they could make for Goldy, but on twitter, I find they’ve been relatively quiet, but that could be me not paying attention.

2B: Brandon Phillips — He is getting name recognition. Look, I love Phillips playing defense and thoroughly enjoy listening to him speak, but the homey out of Cincy shouldn’t be getting the start. His 10 HR are great, but give me the guy that’s been playing best all-around in Matt Carpenter.

SS: Troy Tulowitzki — Too bad he’ll be sidelined with a broken rib. If Jean Segura keeps his pace going, he’ll probably naturally take over Tulo’s spot, and rightfully so. However, Brandon Crawford does have a slight lead over him — what are you guys even doing, Milwaukee fans?

3B: Pablo Sandoval — Mets fans are dropping the ball on this one. David Wright should be the starter based on his play, and leads over Pablo in the vast majority of offensive categories. That said, if Pablo wins (again), I can’t wait for Mets GM Sandy Alderson’s reaction.

OF: Carlos Beltran — As long as there’s a DH spot, I’m OK with him being there.

OF: Justin Upton — His hot start has put him here. Wouldn’t be highest on my list.

OF: Bryce Harper — A celebrity of the game, I just want Harper healthy again because.

For the outfielders, there are different ways to go. You want homers? Take Carlos Gonzalez, Dominic Brown, and Beltran. Want RBI? Same first two and Jay Bruce. wOBA is interesting: CarGo, Michael Cuddyer, and Harper. fWAR? Carlos Gomez, CarGo, Hunter Pence. A lot of ways you could justify whom you’re voting for.

Online voting will conclude on July 4th at 8:59PM PST.

]]> http://aroundthefoghorn.com/2013/06/17/mlb-tweet-panda-and-posey-still-lead-for-the-all-star-game/feed/ 0 Sunday Night Baseball: Timmy vs. Teheran as Giants look to win series in Atlanta http://aroundthefoghorn.com/2013/06/16/sunday-night-baseball-timmy-vs-teheran-as-giants-look-to-win-series-in-atlanta/ http://aroundthefoghorn.com/2013/06/16/sunday-night-baseball-timmy-vs-teheran-as-giants-look-to-win-series-in-atlanta/#comments Sun, 16 Jun 2013 22:57:09 +0000 Stuart Jones http://aroundthefoghorn.com/?p=5807 After a pretty painful loss in Atlanta yesterday, Tim Lincecum looks to get the Giants back on the winning side of things, giving them both a winning road trip (4-4 as of now), and a winning record in June (6-6 now). A loss would mean both a sub-.500 road trip and a sub-.500 record this [...]

Sunday Night Baseball: Timmy vs. Teheran as Giants look to win series in Atlanta - Around the Foghorn - Around the Foghorn - A San Francisco Giants Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

]]> After a pretty painful loss in Atlanta yesterday, Tim Lincecum looks to get the Giants back on the winning side of things, giving them both a winning road trip (4-4 as of now), and a winning record in June (6-6 now). A loss would mean both a sub-.500 road trip and a sub-.500 record this month. Since May, Lincecum has had two acceptable starts, and they both lasted seven innings, one recently against the Blue Jays at home, and the other at home against… the Braves. Tonight’s starter, Julio Teheran, was not his sparring mate that day in May at AT&T, however the young gun also had his own seven inning outing in San Francisco, giving up one homer in a 3 ER effort.

Jun 11, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Tim Lincecum (55) throws a pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

In game previews, I like to use Brooks Baseball information they provide about the different pitcher’s performances for the year. In terms of pitch usage for Lincecum, this is how he’s used his pitches this year:

You can understand why Timmy struggles if that four-seamer isn’t hitting his spots: used 29% of the time to LHH and nearly half the time to RHH, hitters can either spit on the breaking balls, or wait back for them to come into the strike zone. With Lincecum, I hope for the fastball to hit the spots, and if that’s going, it shouldn’t be a bad night for the Giants.

June 5, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Julio Teheran (49) pitches in the first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

For the right-handed Teheran here’s what we’re looking at:

A three pitch mix to RHH mostly in the fastball, two-seamer, and slider, all quicker pitches. Uses the slider less to LHH, and will throw in the curveball and the changeup more often to those hitters. So many many lefties get to see that expanded arsenal tonight?

Five, as Brandon Crawford moves back into the two spot, and Nick Noonan gets a start, and in his last one he went two-for-five in the Giants’ farewell bashing of the Pirates. The Braves will throw this out there for your Sunday Night viewing pleasure:

Andrelton Simmons still has a .281 on base percentage, has only two stolen bases, and I realize B.J. Upton is struggling, but come on, Fredi Gonzalez.

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Other notes, specifically on Angel Pagan and Pablo Sandoval, and I’ll let the beat writers take this one:

Really some medically fascinating performance enhancing stuff there (to me) that Pagan gets to have. I just want him to be as close to 100% as possible, and I understand why surgery wouldn’t be an attractive option — 6-8 weeks is not a short time. Good news on the Panda, wouldn’t mind having him back out there.

Game time is 5:05PM PST, and you can find the game on ESPN.

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