Marty Lurie Talks San Francisco Giants Baseball
//

Pitching is still the name of the game; and the Giants don't have it.


Marty; There is no joy or pleasure in writing about the Giants these days. They may be on the way to a 100 loss season or very close to it. There undoubtedly are teams looking for one or two more starters to enable them to get back into the chase now that we are approaching the season’s mid-point. There are no teams looking for four or, possibly, five starters to accomplish this.

With the exception of Schmidt, who may have something left in his right arm, although recent outings raise a reasonable doubt concerning his health, the remaining starters do not belong in a rotation on a team which intends to be a factor in the race. The Giants, it daily becomes clearer, have no such intention.

Click below for Ed’s analysis.
It is difficult to state just who the pitchers are who constitute the team’s rotation. Tomko apparently is out of the bullpen and, once again, one of the starters. He is something of a mystery. having in mind his performance the last half of 2004. His next start should be watched with interest.

Batters have caught up with Lowry. They sit on his pitches knowing that eventually they will be seeing a change-up. When one comes along it gets belted. The fourth pitcher in the mix is our old friend Rueter. If the Giants thought for one minute that they had a chance to make the playoffs, Rueter would have been out of this rotation weeks ago.

When the powers that be decided that something had to be done respecting umpires who had strike zones which moved whimsically as the mood struck them, Rueter’s ability to get batters out disappeared. At his best, Rueter was unable to get through the 6th inning successfully. Once the umpires ceased calling strikes on pitches off the outside corner of the plate, moving the outside strikes further and further away from a consistent strike zone, Rueter was done in. Today he has trouble making it through the 3rd inning. The only justification for allowing him to continue to start is that they don’t have a fifth starter in mind, much less a fourth.

Beginning late in the year 2004, in commenting on the Giants’ prospects, the consistent theme pronounced in these pages was that the team would go as far as their pitching carried them. It is true that early in these pronouncements one was more optimistic about the pitching prospects than later developments justified. No one knew before spring training that Williams was going to have problems as a result of having to leave spring training for personal family troubles. No one knew that the Giants were going to incomprehensibly give up on this 23 year old pitcher and send him on his way before the year was half up. No one was sure of Schmidt’s health. The last half of 2004 produced the most success Tomko had ever had. Whether that was an aberration remained to be seen.

Lowry was a young pitcher, still without a long track record. Rueter, at least as far as this observer was concerned, was always an overrated pitcher. The extent to which he was overrated didn’t become evident until this year. Predictions respecting a team’s performance or the performance of individual players are always fraught with uncertainties.

In the case of the Giants, it didn’t take long before questions
began to surface concerning the rotation. None of the comments here are meant to reflect a self satisfaction in being so wise as to question the pitching talent. More to the point, the questioning should have been done by management. It was evident enough. Giving away Williams for an unsuccessful set-up man, leaving aside for the moment that they sweetened the deal by throwing in Aardsma, leaves one feeling that they competely misjudged the ability of the remaining pitchers. Williams has since shown, pitching for the Cubs, that he can pitch well into the late innings, a judgement which we thought the Giants had made a few years ago.

The Giants have a major task in front of them. They need to rebuild a rotation which is in shambles. The first one to go should be Rueter. Sentiment should not stand in the way. Whether the rebuilding can be done through free agency signings, through moving up young pitchers from the farm, through a combination of these, remains to be seen.

There are other problems this aging team has. However, without solving the pitching woes. no efforts on other fronts will avail them if they don’t come up with three or four reliable starters.

Pitching is still the name of the game.

Ed

0 comments

1 marty { 07.06.05 at 8:13 pm }

Ed, The giants have a major problem when considering the rotation for next season. Do you keep Schmidt and build around him with Matt Cain and other unproven starters? Do you take the seven million you save if you let Schmidt go and other money you’ll have after some veterans are cut loose and sign more free agent pitchers? Do you trade Schmidt now for at least one top flight prospect, preferably a pitcher? How do you factor Bonds into the equation?
Not simple for Brian Sabean, this off season will truly test his mettle as a general manager.
Marty

You must log in to post a comment.