Hey, that subhead was mean! No fair! At least 40% of the Giants roster clearly has some pride right now. Show some respect!
The Giants wrap up their disappointing season this weekend with a 3-game series against the Dodgers, and if you think you’ve read that sentence before, you probably have. In 2018 and 2019, the Giants played 3-game series against LA in San Francisco to close out the season, and in neither series did they win a game. They have a tough road ahead of them if they want to finish the season out strong. Can they do it? Well, no, not if we’re being honest.
But! Will they give it an honest effort? I mean, maybe. But are there specific statistical milestones that players will be aiming for, and will those perhaps be sufficient motivation to go all out for games 160-162? Sure! Sure, why not?
Here are some of those statistical milestones for them to aim at, and for you to know about, and for everyone to be disappointed when it just doesn’t work out.
Counting stats
The Giants…don’t have a ton of impressive round numbers that anyone on their roster is close to hitting. JD Davis is two homers away from 20, so that’s something. Michael Conforto is 3 hits away from 100. Uh, Austin Slater is 2 doubles away from 10? Alex Wood is 2 1/3 innings away from 100? The pickings are really slim here. I already regret writing my last newsletter of the regular season on this topic.
Please keep reading! There are more words below! They’re moderately less depressing!
Rate stats
Brandon Crawford is hitting .197 right now. If Crawford goes 1-for-1 on Sunday, he will finish the year hitting .200. Brandon Crawford absolutely should not end his last season in a Giants uniform on the interstate. That is utterly unacceptable. Therefore, Dodgers, I am calling on you to just fucking groove one. Throw a meatball and see what happens. Let the man have his moment. It’s the decent thing to do.
Camilo Doval will come into the Dodgers series with an ERA of 2.97. If he could keep it under 3, that would make his season look a whole lot better than if he gives up a couple runs and finishes the season around 3.10. To come through the season so strong after having had such a disastrous month from mid-August to mid-September would be pretty impressive. And all he has to do is not allow a run this weekend! Couldn’t be simpler.
There are a few others. If Tyler Rogers throws at least 2 1/3 scoreless innings, then he’ll also have an ERA under 3. Thairo Estrada is currently hitting .275, which sounds an awful lot better than .273. Last night, LaMonte Wade Jr’s OPS reached .801, and it would be swell if he could keep it over .800 over the final weekend. Wilmer Flores’s SLG is .501, so hey man, keep that up.
Logan Webb’s Cy Young chances
Look, we all know that Logan Webb is not going to win the Cy Young. He’s not even first in fWAR; he’s fifth. But Webb does lead the league in innings, ground ball rate, walk rate, and he’s second in the NL in xFIP. Sure, everyone thinks it’s going to Blake Snell because his ERA is so good, but Snell walks a ton of guys and doesn’t pitch many innings. Spencer Strider does everything better than Snell other than strand rate (luck), HR/FB rate (luck), and BABIP (triple ultra luck), but it’ll be Snell who wins, apparently.
But if Webb can go out there and impress against the Dodgers, just like he did in his last start against the Padres, then he should finish in the top 5 in voting for sure, and maybe even in the top 3. It’s always nice to see a Giants player get recognition in the end of year awards, especially when that recognition doesn’t end in people saying, “Anyway, everyone hates him and especially the Giants for having him on their roster.”
Not that I’m thinking of any 7-time MVP in particular, of course.
But it would be cool if Webb put on a good show and got some awards recognition for it. He deserves it.
.500
The Giants would have to sweep the Dodgers over the final three games of the season to finish at .500. Are the Giants going to sweep the Dodgers this weekend? Really? Is that really what I’m banking on here? Hm.
Might have to manage some expectations here.
Just not getting utterly humiliated by the Dodgers, as is the ancient Last Series Of The year tradition
Like, maybe win a game? Just win one game. And don’t lose the last game of the season by at least a touchdown. And have the offense show up. And don’t play so much Pusoy. And just…please just look like a major league team. You guys just scored 4 runs total in a 3-game series against the Padres, because that’s who you are.
It would just be nice if the Giants gave us all a reason to miss them. It would be nice if we didn’t go into next season thinking, well then, maybe they’ll actually get a couple of hitters this year. It would be nice if they played respectable baseball. It…it would be nice if the Giants weren’t bad.
This is all I really want. Play baseball like a team that’s good at baseball. Make us remember why we were all deluding ourselves with optimism at the end of June. Make us miss you. Don’t play like rabid raccoons. Please. We’ve all seen too much of the Bad Giants this season. Send us out with the good ones. And hey, show a little pride.
Going out with a bang yourself, Maestro!