After two more blown saves on the recent homestand against San Diego and St. Louis, it’s time for more Giants closer talk with SF Chronicle Columnist John Shea.
Shea examined the current closer situation with The Sports Virus:
… “I wish (Bruce) Bochy would have trusted Joe Nathan a little bit more a little bit earlier. Now he’s just kinda throwing darts against a wall and hope Derek Law sticks or (Hunter) Strickland comes back and sticks.”
We chatted with Giants rookie LHP Ty Blach and KNBR’s Ray Woodson before the series opener with the Cardinals at AT&T Park in San Francisco.
The Sports Virus asked Blach about his first experience in the Major Leagues:
…”It’s great being able to be a part of a playoff run here, to see what these guys are all about and see if we can get a post-season push going. It’s been a lot of fun being around these guys and just trying to enjoy the process.”
Woodson talked to The Sports Virus about the Giants mindset during an awful second half:
…”When you start having 3, 4, 5 really, really bad losses like they’ve had in the last couple of weeks human nature says it’s got to wear on you a little bit. When that starts happening it can be mentally damaging. These are human beings, not robots.”
We talk about the Giants/Cardinals series with SF LHP Matt Moore who gets the start on Friday and Bay Area News Group reporter Andrew Baggarly.
Moore tells The Sports Virus about his daily attitude coming to the park with a team in the playoff race:
… “When you wake up in the morning it’s a little bit easier to crawl right out of bed. We have something real going on over here and it’s definitely a fight for us.”
Baggarly tells The Sports Virus about a silver lining to the Giants recent struggles:
… “Buster Posey is having probably his finest defensive season. He should win the Gold Glove. His throwing has been unbelievable, his receiving has been unbelievable. So, he’s not taking this homer-less slump into the field with him. That’s what Bruce Bochy has said, he likes the focus that he sees and he likes the work habits. If anything guys are working too hard. That’s why in a night game to open the series against the Cardinals they don’t show up until 5:00 for the 7:00 game. I think Bruce Bochy said look I’m going to lock the batting cage and we’re just going to strap it on and stop thinking so much. Just go out and be your talented selves and perform.”
We talk about the Giants post season chances heading into their final 20 games with Bay Area News Group Columnist Carl Steward.
The Sports Virus asked Steward about who is best suited to close games for the Giants:
… “Really they don’t have a lock down closer on their roster. (Derek) Law is a rookie, he obviously has closer material to work with, but he’ll be coming off an injury. I don’t see Bruce (Bochy) putting him in that role. Bruce is the kind of guy who is going to ride a hot hand. You’ve got (Hunter) Strickland getting the save (on Sunday). I think you could see him in there until he stumbles.”
Are the Giants good enough to make the post season? We try to answer that question with Ahmed Fareed from Comcast SportsNet Bay Area.
The Sports Virus also talked to Fareed about the closer situation:
… “They need those guys that can strike people out late. Pitching to contact is great because the Giants defense is so good, but when you get late in games like (Joe) Nathan did a couple of days ago where they needed the strikeout right there, they needed the Hunter Strickland 100 mph strikeout if they could get it and they just didn’t. I wonder if some of the guys who have proven they can get the swing and the miss will get some of those late opportunities.”
We talk about the Giants offensive frustration with our regular guest SF Chronicle Columnist John Shea in part 2 of our conversation.
Shea tells The Sports Virus about anger on field:
… “They’re not handling it well because they’re not bouncing back from being in a hole. They’re not digging themselves out…(Eduardo) Nunez just rockets a ball to third base for the third out. So, he throws down his helmet. He kicks his helmet…(Buster) Posey threw a bat about 30 yards late in the game Sunday. He grounded sharply to shortstop, right at the guy and he just fired it towards the Giants dugout. The frustration angle is hitting everybody on this team.”
We talk about the Giants series in Chicago with our regular guest SF Chronicle Columnist John Shea in part 1 of our conversation.
The Sports Virus if the Giants might replace Santiago Casilla with Joe Nathan as the closer:
… “Joe Nathan looked really good Sunday and Santiago Casilla looked really bad Sunday. It’s easy to say, ‘just put in Nathan.’ Well, Nathan hasn’t really closed for awhile, he’s coming off his second Tommy John surgery, he’s 41. But, then again, look at Sunday. When you compare those guys who do you feel more comfortable with? I think this team would have a lot more confidence with Joe Nathan.”
We chatted with Giants hitting coach Steve Decker during the Diamondbacks series at AT&T Park in San Francisco.
The Sports Virus asked Decker about the Giants lack of power this season:
…”We fly out to the warning track a lot. If we’re playing in Cincinnati or Philadelphia we have just as many home runs as anybody else. I would say Brandon Crawford and Brandon Belt fly out to the warning track more than any player in baseball…They’re not those big strong guys that just have that huge raw power…We’re one of the better teams in baseball in the doubles and triples department… We’re the toughest team in baseball to strikeout. That’s been a good formula for us and the Royals the last couple of years for winning the World Series.”
We talked to Giants pitchers Matt Cain and Will Smith on Tuesday at AT&T Park.
The Sports Virus asked Cain how he can improve his consistency throughout an entire game:
… “The biggest thing is staying the same mode, same mindset as I had been in the beginning and earlier in the game or any situation. That’s what I’ve always benefitted from in the past is not getting too overwhelmed in any spot or any situation. Just worry about executing pitches and it’s going to happen.”
Smith tells The Sports Virus he is enjoying being in a Giants uniform:
… “It’s fun here. You come in, there’s a bunch of big name guys here. That’s nice to have on your team. I’m glad I’m finally a good guy here. I don’t have to face those three over there (points across the clubhouse) Belt, Panik and Crawford. They were giving me nightmares. I’m glad to be a good guy in white now.”
Our special guests as the Giants open up their two game series against Diamondbacks are Giants broadcaster Duane Kuiper and Giants outfielder Jarrett Parker.
Kuiper told The Sports Virus that a Hunter Pence hot streak could be on the horizon:
… “It’s clearly in there. You just need to be patient for it to come out. They need it to come out really soon. I do believe that he’s getting close. If he can have a hot September then it’s going to be a really good September because Hunter Pence is a huge, huge part of this offense.”
The Sports Virus asked Parker if there has been a competition with teammate Mac Williamson this season:
… “I’ve never looked at it like that. I believe in the abundance theory. I think there’s enough success for anybody and everybody. We kinda worked with each other coming through as rookies, making adjustments and trying to get better and trying to become the players we have been. He wishes the best for me and I wish the best for him. It’s never been an issue for us.”
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