Tag Archives: San Francisco Giants

Justin Verlander on the move? Trade rumor has Mets starter heading to the Bay Area

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Justin Verlander only has a handful of starts under his belt with the New York Mets, but he may be on the move. According to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi, Verlander is drawing interest from the San Francisco Giants should he be willing to waive his no-trade clause.

While the Giants are looking to be aggressive before the upcoming trade deadline, Verlander waiving his no-trade clause is far from a guarantee. There is a reason why Verlander has the clause in his contract in the first place as he would prefer to control any future landing spot. Additionally, the Mets would also have to punt the rest of the 2023 season and move on from potentially having Verlander in their rotation for next season. This is a likely scenario considering where they are in the standings currently. New York has no shot at the division, but a well-timed run could make them relevant in the Wild Card race.

There has been some rough spots in the 2023 season for Justin Verlander. The 40-year old right-hander has given up nine home runs in 83 innings, nearly matching his total from last season (12 in 175 innings). While Verlander has 10 starts giving up three runs or less, it is the occasional blow ups that are concerning. It must be said that those starts drawing concern appear to be behind him, but that does not mean that they will not resurface at some point down the stretch.

Barry Bonds still holds MLB HR record

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Aaron Judge may have broken the American League record, but the MLB record belongs to Barry Bonds.

All eyes have been on Aaron Judge as everyone waited for the Yankees slugger to hit his 62nd home run of the season. It finally came Tuesday night as Judge finally eclipsed the number set by Roger Maris all the way back in 1961. While now has the American League record to himself it is important to remember one thing, the Major League record still belongs to Barry Bonds.

It seems many baseball personalties, analysts, reporters, and fans have decided to discount the achievements of Barry Bonds. Yes, it is incredibly likely that Bonds had some external enhancements that may have aided his on field production. That being said, any type of help that Bonds may have received would not help in the ability to put bat to ball and hand-eye coordination. These are two things that someone has or does not have and Bonds had it. Even before the widely accepted era of enhanced play, Bonds was well on his way to Cooperstown. It can even be argued that Bonds had two Hall of Fame careers, pre and post enhancement.

All things considered this is not to take away what Judge has accomplished this season, setting the new home run mark for the American League and the historical franchise that is the Yankees is incredibly impressive. It is just important to remember where Judge’s 62 sits all time (seventh) and the single season home run totals from the National League which surpass his 2022 total. It is Barry Bonds who stands atop this list and he will remain there until someone hits 74.

Guarding The Corner Episode 4 – Cold As Ice

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Guarding The Corner Episode 4 – Cold as Ice: James and Bryan discuss the Guardians being swept, Roki Sasaki, Mike Trout, Sunday Night Baseball, and the upcoming series against the Chicago White Sox.

Guarding The Corner Episode 4 – Cold As Ice by This Is Believeland

Guardians swept by Giants at home

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The Cleveland Guardians played host to the San Francisco Giants for a three game series and things did not go well. After outscoring the Royals and Reds 44-18 in their previous four games, Cleveland was on the wrong side of a 16-4 differential in three games.

San Francisco limited Cleveland’s bats as they went from 58 hits to just 17, quite the large drop-off. The Guardians were having a hard time stringing hits together against a pitching staff which has a history of limiting this lineup before. Carlos Rodon, Anthony DeSclafani, and Alex Wood kept Cleveland in check allowing just three runs on 11 hits in 16.2 innings. Based off the track records of Rodon, DeSclafani, and Wood this is hardly surprising.

Cleveland struggled hitting with runners in scoring position, going just 2-23 as they were unable to come through when it mattered most. Add that to the fact that San Francisco was able to score late in the game as eight of their 16 runs came in the 6th inning or later. What this come down to is the experience of the Giants versus the youthfulness of the Guardians. Cleveland is the youngest team in the league and it is these situations that make it very apparent.

This was the first real test for the Guardians as the Giants are by far the best team they have faced this season. The fact they faced a trio of pitchers who have shut them down before just made things a lot more difficult. While this was mostly a case of water finding its level, this was a measuring stick series of sorts. Cleveland will have a chance for redemption as they take on Rodon’s former team, the Chicago White Sox, for a four-game series starting Monday.

Guardians lose home opener to Giants

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The Cleveland Guardians played host to the San Francisco Giants in their home opener and their offense was limited in a 4-1 loss. It was the work of former Chicago White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodon who stifled the Guardians bats from the start.

Rodon allowed just one run on two hits and two walks while striking out nine in seven innings. This was reminiscent of last season when Rodon no-hit Cleveland in April, followed up by another impressive performance before Cleveland was finally able to get to him in their final matchup of the year.

Starting for the Guardians was Zach Plesac who pitched adequately overall. Plesac allowed two runs on even hits and one walk with four strikeouts in 5.1 innings of work. The only issue is that Plesac allowed solo home runs to Brandon Crawford and Joc Pederson. Perhaps Pederson was sending a message to a team he criticized during the offseason for their spending habits.

It was a parade of relievers who followed Plesac. Trevor Stephan, Anthony Gose, Bryan Shaw, Anthony Castro, Sam Hentges, and Konnor Pickington who covered the final 3.2 innings. Pilkington was originally optioned to Triple-A earlier that day, but was recalled by the club after placing Yu Chang on the injured list.

The lone Cleveland run of the day came in the seventh off of Rodon. It was a sacrifice fly from Owen Miller which allowed Jose Ramirez to score. Cleveland was 0-4 with runners in scoring position in the contest. While there was not a high volume of opportunities, they did not come through when they needed to and that was problem.

The Guardians will take on the Giants again on Saturday at 6:10 P.M. Previous outings against DeSclafani have not gone well, but perhaps their new approach could lead to a different result.

Guarding The Corner Episode 3 Miller Time

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Guarding The Corner Episode 3 Miller Time: James and Bryan discuss the Guardians wins over the Reds, discuss Owen Miller’s performance, Clayton Kershaw’s near perfecto, Bryan Reynolds’ extension, and preview their upcoming series.

Guarding The Corner Episode 3 – Miller Time by This Is Believeland

With A Jimmmitude: Musgrove, Caratini, Naquin, Cueto

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Joe Musgrove comes home to throw a no-no

If there is anyone who deserved to throw the first no-hitter in San Diego Padres history it has be Joe Musgrove. How can you not be happy for this guy? Musgrove is from the area and came home after three years with the Pirates which were so-so. Coming back to his hometown team and making team history has to be an incredible feeling.

In addition to San Diego Padres history, some MLB history was also made with Musgrove’s no-hitter. The Padres were the last active team to be without a no-hitter and now every active team in the majors has one. Mark that down as a fun piece of trivia for the future.

Again, congratulations to Joe Musgrove and the San Diego Padres.

Victor Caratini catches another no-hitter

Something else that was noteworthy from Musgrove’s no-hitter Friday was the presence of Victor Caratini. Caratini was on the Chicago Cubs last season and caught a no-hitter thrown by Alec Mills. Caratini has been the catcher for the last two no-hitters thrown in MLB, the last in 2020 and the first in 2021. How incredible is this? The fact that Carartini has caught the last two no-hitters is sort of mind boggling.

Tyler Naquin’s hot start

There was a player who previously played for the Cleveland Baseball Club and needed a fresh start somewhere else. That player was Tyler Naquin. Naquin has since signed the Cincinnati Reds and started the 2021 campaign on an absolute tear. Naquin is 7-22 with 5 home runs and 14 RBI, both currently lead all of baseball. This is definitely a case of unsustainable production, but there is some middle ground between the lows and highs he experienced in Cleveland. Naquin’s resurgence, although it is more than likely temporary, is one of the better stories to begin the season.

The trickery of Johnny Cueto

Everyone loves a pitcher who can mess with the timing of a hitter and that is exactly what Johnny Cueto did Friday. Cueto started and stopped multiple times in this one delivery, resulting in C.J. Cron having no chance to make contact. This is just mastery of the art of pitching.