All’s quiet by the bay. Steve Kerr isn’t running for president. Christian McCaffrey is healthy. Even Valkyries can now afford to rent an apartment.
Oh, and the Giants just took two of three from the dreaded Dodgers.
The latter is bigger news than you might expect from a mid-May series. After all, less than a week ago, San Francisco’s own had been dumped 13-3 at home by the Pirates amid boos their new manager labeled warranted.
Then 15-24, looking — yikes — up at the Rockies in the standings, and with less power than the day after an earthquake, the unfaithful had a lot to complain about …
- The franchise has no direction.
- Buster Posey is a buffoon.
- Tony Vitello should have stayed in college.
- Rafael Devers must go.
- Bryce Eldridge must play.
- They raised the price on crab fries again?
OK, the latter is an outrage. Global warming is being cited.
In San Francisco, for crying out loud.
The other stuff is pure nonsense. Which is something we see a bit clearer today after watching the Giants win road games started by two guys – Roki Sasaki and Yoshinobu Yamamoto – the previous regime got dismissed over their failure to successfully recruit.
Led by Posey, Vitello and Devers, the Giants do have a direction: Full speed ahead.
Posey might be inexperienced as a general manager, but it’s clear he has a plan: Win now.
No, he didn’t sign a splashy (pun intended) superstar in the off-season. But who did?
Posey thought he needed someone to get on base in front of a bunch of station-to-station hitters. So he signed Luis Arraez, who does First Station better than anyone since Rod Carew.
They needed better outfield defense. So he imported Harrison Bader. Not Willie Mays, but not Nick Castellanos, either.
He needed more depth in his starting staff. So he brought in a couple of veterans – Adrian Houser and Tyler Mahle – who completed six innings a total of 25 times last year.
And he needed to upgrade the bullpen. OK, strike one.
Most of all, Posey needed Devers to hit like the All-Star the Giants thought they were getting from the Red Sox, where he was an All-Star.
And he needed Logan Webb to pitch like an All-Star, which is exactly what he’s done the last two years.
But most importantly, he needed a bunch of average major-leaguers – we’re talking Patrick Bailey, Willy Adames, Matt Chapman, Jung Hoo Lee and Robbie Ray – to be average major-leaguers.
All told, it didn’t seem like too much to expect.
That they haven’t surely isn’t a go-back-to-Georgia offense.
Posey cut the cord on Bailey this week in hopes of getting some eventual pitching help, which isn’t a bad idea. The catcher’s recent track record indicated he’s the least likely of the No-Longer-Big Five to even sniff his former glory days.
But with Devers starting to heat up and Webb likely to do so soon, with Heliot Ramos and Casey Schmitt giving the batting order depth, and with Landen Roupp proving he belongs in the heart of any starting rotation, it shouldn’t matter that Adames likely won’t hit 30 homers again, that Chapman won’t drive in 90 runs again, that Lee won’t conjure up memories of Ichiro, and that Ray won’t get another single Cy Young Award vote.
The Giants don’t need them to be the guys opponents used to fear in order to finish ahead of the Nationals, Marlins, Pirates, Reds and Rockies this season. Being just major-league average should keep them in contention with the Mets, Cardinals and Diamondbacks for the final wild-card spot.
And then it’s up to Eldridge to be the wild card. The guy who can pump the ball into the San Francisco Bay and get the fans hooting and seals hollering.
Giants fans are split on the big kid right now. Some say he should be playing more despite an .095 average. The other 50 percent say he should be playing less despite an .095 average.
At age 21, he’s probably the most likely guy to whom Vitello can relate. And any college coach will tell you: We don’t need you hitting on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Rest up and come out swinging on the weekend.
That appears to be the plan with Eldridge. You know, kinda like the NBA — play one day, rest the next two.
It’s not forward and it’s not backward, but it’s a direction.
And when he starts hitting … pity the poor GM of the Mets, because he ain’t making the playoffs for his $275 million.
Especially after Posey pries Jeff Hoffman from the Blue Jays.
Stick around. And do yourself a favor: Invest in a kayak.
