SF Giants RECLAIM First Place - WEEK IN REVIEW

It was an ugly start for the San Francisco Giants this week. However, they made it all the sweeter when they reclaimed first place by Sunday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Giants arrived back in San Francisco after they lost two of three against Atlanta. The change of scenery didn't make much of a difference against the Milwaukee Brewers. A four-game series turned into three losses.

Corbin Burnes owned the San Francisco hitters in-game one with nine strikeouts, and just one earned run through six innings. Jose Alvarez got the start and allowed two runs in 1.2 innings, all earned. The Giants used seven pitchers, and their only RBI was a single by Brandon Crawford, which plated Brandon Belt.

Game two was worse as the Brewers scored six runs in just four innings. Johnny Cueto allowed ten hits, six earned runs, and walked two in 3.2 innings. In the sixth, Belt would get the Giants on the board with his 20th home run, and then Wilmer Flores would homer in the ninth. However, Brandon Woodruff went six solid innings and struck out while only giving up the one run to Belt's dinger.

Game three was devastating in multiple ways. First, the loss as the Brewers hammered the Giants for the third straight game (5-2). The Giants also matched their longest losing streak of the season while also losing control of first place. The team was on top of the NL West for a San Francisco-era best 108 days. They took control of first on May 30.

Gabe Kapler mentioned about the Giants losing control:

"We just have to try to go after it and get back into that position," San Francisco manager Gabe Kapler said.

Kevin Gausman gave the Giants a strong outing. He struck out seven over five innings and allowing two earned runs in the second inning. When Lorenzo Cain hit a one-out single with the bases loaded, scoring Avisail Garcia and Omar Narvaez. San Francisco tied the game in the fifth when Kris Bryant doubled to score Alex Dickerson. After an intentional walk to Belt, Buster Posey singled to right field, scoring Bryant. Unfortunately, the Giants would go on to lose the contest and continue their losing streak. Posey commented on the losing four in a row.

 "Any time you have a little losing streak, it's not fun," Posey said. "This group's shown an ability to bounce back throughout the year, and that's just what you have to believe you're going to do."

Game four gave the Giants a chance to bounce back and tie the Dodgers for first place as Los Angeles had the day off. It was precisely what San Francisco did, winning 5-1 with great pitching from their Ace Logan Webb.

Webb was magical, throwing seven complete innings and striking out ten while allowing just one earned run. Tyler Rodgers (5-1) got the victory as Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Eric Lauer was also dominant by allowing just one earned run in seven innings.

It was in the eighth inning that San Francisco took control against reliever Devin Williams. Second baseman Thairo Estrada hit a three-run homer after Darin Ruf doubled to left field, scoring Bryant. The four-run eight gave the Giants all the runs they needed, and Jake McGee came on to close out the ninth in a non-save appearance.

Devin Williams

Giants manager Gabe Kapler commented on the critical victory leading into the crucial three-game home series against the Dodgers.

"I think it was a much-needed victory for us," Kapler said. "It's a good boost of confidence going into the next series, but obviously, all of our attention and focus was on today's game."

Game one against the Los Angeles Dodgers was a wild one. In the third, the Giants took the lead when Austin Slater singled to left field and scored pitcher Anthony DeSclafani. The 1-0 lead remained until the top of the ninth when Dodgers outfielder Chris Taylor singled to center field, scoring Josh Turner. The game remained tied after the ninth, and the contest went into extra innings.

Los Angeles scored first in the tenth as Trea Turner hit a sacrifice fly to center, which plated Walker Buehler. Crawford would tie the game in the bottom of the tenth when he hit a single to center field and scoring Posey. Crawford would come up big again in the top of the 11th. After a Corey Seager single putting runners on first and third. Will Smith hit a ground ball to Crawford, and he threw out Josh Turner at home. Jarlin Garcia would strike out the next two batters.

In the bottom of the 11th, after Ruf struck out and Belt intentionally walked, Bryant earned a seven-pitch walk and loading the bases. Dickerson then grounded out into a fielder's choice, and Mike Yastrzemski was thrown out at home. With two outs and the bases still loaded, Posey grounded the ball to second baseman Trea Turner. Still, Turner threw an errant ball to first base, pulling Smith off the bag and allowing Posey to reach safely, leading the Giants to victory.

DeSclafani was impressive as he allowed no runs through six innings pitched. McGee received the blown save (5), while Garcia got his sixth victory on the season.

The second game against Los Angeles was not nearly as close. The Giants turned to the bullpen to start the game, and from the start, Jay Jackson gave up three runs. San Francisco would use seven more pitchers in the 6-1 defeat.

Posey did drive in a run for his 43rd RBI. Still, Julio Urias was dominating for 5.2 innings allowing eight hits and striking out eight. The victory allowed a two-way tie for first place in the NL division with a rubber match on the line in game three.

The last game of the series would begin with another bullpen session for the Giants. Dominic Leone would start and face Cy Young contender Walker Buehler. Leone would only pitch the first inning, and the Giants would take advantage of an off-day from Buehler, and he admitted it after the game.

"The worst I've thrown in a long time," Buehler said.

In the first, Belt would homer for his 21st of the season. In the second, San Francisco would retake the lead after the Dodgers scored in the second. This time Steven Duggar would triple to right field and score Crawford and Yastrzemski. Ruf would hit a pinch-hit single and driving in Duggar, giving the Giants a 4-1 lead.

In the third, San Francisco would extend their three-run lead. Crawford doubled to right field, scoring LaMonte Wade. Then Curt Casali singled to left field, scoring Crawford giving San Francisco a 6-1 lead. It would remain until the ninth inning.

Steven Duggar reacts after hitting a triple Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers

McGee would take the mound, and Kris Bryant's untimely error allowed Austin Barnes to reach first safely. Albert Pujols would bat for Andrew Vasquez. Pujols would hit a home run to center field and pulling the Dodgers within two runs. It would be the last run allowed by the Giants.

McGee would get Trea Turner to pop out. Still, after Max Muncy got a lazy single that made it through the infield, Mookie Betts would strike out looking, and Justin Turner popped out to left-field for the final out.

Kapler talked about the back-to-back days of only bullpen pitching:

"Back-to-back bullpen days are tough," Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. "That's no secret. Sort of a hallmark of this team is being able to handle challenging situations and being good at handling challenging situations."

The Giants also avoided a three straight series defeat this season. Belt mentioned the pressure during the game.

"It really felt like a playoff atmosphere out there," Belt said, "... It's crunch time."

Transactions:

Per ESPN

September 5, 2021

Optioned LHP Sammy Long to Sacramento (Triple-A West). Placed CF Austin Slater on the 7-day IL. Recalled RHP Camilo Doval and CF Steven Duggar from Sacramento.

September 4, 2021          

Recalled IF/OF Mauricio Dubón from Sacramento (Triple-A West). Placed OF Alex Dickerson on the 10-day IL.

September 3, 2021          

Reinstated INF Evan Longoria from the 10-day IL. Optioned INF/OF Mauricio Dubon to Sacramento (Triple-A West).

September 2, 2021          

Placed 2B Wilmer Flores on the 10-day IL Recalled SS Maurico Dubon from Sacramento (Triple-A West).

August 31, 2021               

Announced 3B coach Ron Wotus stepping away from full-time coaching at the conclusion of the 2021 season. Added LHP Jose Quintana to the active roster. Reinstated RHP Johnny Cueto from the 10-day IL. Optioned RHP John Brebbia and INF Jason Vosler to Sacramento (Triple-A West).

August 30, 2021               

Placed RHP Johnny Cueto on the 10-day IL. Recalled LHP Caleb Baragar, RHP John Brebbia and INF/OF Thairo Estrada from Sacramento (Triple-A West).

Mike is an avid San Francisco Giants fan since the late 1970s. In his first game, he saw live Jack Clark hit a home run. He has seen the Giants lose 100 games and also win three World Series rings. Great/Unfortunate memories have been watching Joe Morgan hit a homer to knock the Dodgers out of the playoffs. Seeing the Giants win 104 games and still not make the playoffs. Most painfully watch the Giants lose a 5-0 lead to the Angels in the seventh inning in Game 6. However, he saw Barry Bonds hit his 73rd and become the greatest hitter of all time.

Follow me @RFLRedZone.

SF Giants Starting Pitching a Problem? Week In Review...

It has been a roller-coaster of a week for the Giants. The offense is getting plenty of pop, but the starting pitching is faltering. One reason is that the schedule hasn't been too kind to them. First facing the New York Mets, who are faltering but still a .500 ball club. Then the Oakland Athletics (70-55) and have the seventh-best record in baseball.

The first game against the Mets was an exciting scoring affair as the Giants won 7-5, and Jake McGee earned his 26th save. Kris Bryant hit two home runs, and Brandon Crawford went four-for-four at the plate. Brandon Belt also got in the mix and hit a homer and was part of the back-to-back jacks with Bryant. Gausman was shaky, allowing five hits and three runs in earning his 12th victory.

According to manager Gabe Kapler:

"This was the best we've seen him in quite some time," Kapler said. "The fastball had a ton of life on it, and the velocity was up. The split was much better. His mechanics were good."

The second game against New York was more of a pitching duel which the Giants won 3-2 as Logan Webb got the victory pitching 7.1 innings and striking out eight. At the same time, Dominic Leone earned his first save. When he launched his second home run of the season, Tommy La Stella put the Giants up 2-0, and Evan Longoria also got his 10th homer in the seventh to put San Francisco up for good.

As for Webb, he continues his dominance over the last three months. He has struck out 65 hitters, including the eight against the Mets. Webb did respond after giving up the two-run homer to Pete Alonso in the eighth inning.

Pete Alonso

"I was just more mad with the pitch I threw. I knew we were going to close that out with the guys in our 'pen," Webb said. "So there was no worrying. I was super excited with how it went, just a little frustrated how it ended."

Gabe Kapler had nothing but good words about Webb.

"I don't think there's any denying that he's been among the league's best starters — not just ours, but the league's best starters — over the last couple months since he came off the IL," Kapler said. "He's gotten better and better and today was his most efficient outing to date. Efficiency is the thing that kind of gives you the hope that he can keep doing this."

Bryant was held out of the lineup due to tightness in his hamstring he felt during batting practice. He would be in the lineup against the Mets in the final game of the series.

The third game against the Mets was a hard pill to swallow. San Francisco took the lead in the third when LaMonte Wade doubled in Alex Dickerson. It was the only run in the game until New York tied in the ninth when Alonso was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and would later score by J.D. Davis' sacrifice fly to right field.

After both teams scored in the 11th, newly acquired Tyler Chatwood would allow three earned runs in the 12th, and the Giants would lose 6-2. The Giants had to use up nine pitchers as Anthony DeSclafani left after an inning and a third. It would not get better as the Giants traveled to take on the Athletics on August 20 in a three-game series.

In the first game, Athletics pitcher James Kaprielian kept the Giants at bay by allowing a run in five innings pitched. The run came via a homer by Mike Yastrzemski, who snapped a 3-for-26 slump with his 19th home run on the season. Alex Wood earned the loss after being unbeaten in 11 starts. He is now 10-4 after allowing two runs in five innings.

The second game against the two Bay Area clubs looked as though the Giants would earn their third straight defeat. Gausman struggled once again as he allowed two earned runs in 3.2 innings and five total runs. In seven starts since the break, Gausman has made it through six innings once.

San Francisco was down 5-2 going into the seventh inning. Their only runs were a Bryant homer that scored Darin Ruf. The Giants would pull closer in the seventh when both Belt and Ruf hit back-to-back home runs off of Andrew Chafin, pulling the Giants within one run.

It was in the ninth when the sparks began to fly. After Buster Posey struck out, Belt walked. Wade was sent in to bat for Ruf, blasted a homer to right field just by the foul pole, and put San Francisco in the winner seat 6-5. Wade now has 16 homers on the season. Kapler commented on the big moment for Wade.

 "One of the reasons I like LaMonte coming up in a big moment like that in a big pinch-hit spot, cold off the bench, is because of the way he leads off a game," Kapler said. "He leads off the game ready from pitch one. We know he's dangerous enough where can put the ball in the seats like he did."

The rubber match against Oakland became a pitching duel between Webb and Frankie Montas. In the Sixth, the A's took the lead by scoring the first run as Mark Canha singled to the right, driving in Tony Kemp, who previously doubled. However, the Giants would take the lead in the eighth. After Wilmer Flores and Ruf both grounded out, Austin Slater walked, bringing up pinch-hitter Donovan Solano. On the first pitch (sinker), Solano jacked a two-run homer to left field.

Kapler commented on the big moment for Solano.

"The power stroke hasn't shown up quite as much this year, but we know it's still in there, so certainly doesn't surprise any of us in the dugout that Donovan was able to jump on that pitch," manager Kapler said.

McGee earned his 28th save. The Giants have won eight consecutive series and haven't lost since their home set against the Pittsburgh Pirates at the end of July.

Transactions:

Per ESPN

August 22, 2021: Placed INF Evan Longoria on the 10-day IL. Returned RHP Reyes Moronta from rehab assignment and optioned to Sacramento (Triple-A East). Recalled LHP Sammy Long and RHP Jay Jackson from Sacramento. Placed RHP Anthony DeSclaflani on the 10-day IL, retroactive to August 19.

August 17, 2021: Selected the contract of RHP Tyler Chatwood from Sacramento (Triple-A West) and agreed to terms on a major league contract. Optioned RHP Jay Jackson to Sacramento. Placed RHP Tyler Beede on the 60-day IL.

SF Giants Keep Rollin'!! Week In Review (8/9/21-8/15/21)

It was another successful week for the San Francisco Giants. They won five of six contests at home and against their division (Arizona and Colorado). San Francisco had a couple of stars to help them along the way, and many of them are part-time players. For instance, Alex Dickerson went five for ten and had a home run with three RBI.

Other Giants contributed, such as LaMonte Wade Jr (.263) with two homers and three runs batted in. While Tommy La Stella has been hitting with a hot bat (.400) and two RBI. Brandon Crawford resigned, and it didn’t slow him down as he hit a home run with three RBI and batted .400 over the week.

Even though San Francisco was winning, they had a couple that was entirely too close. They had a walk-off against Arizona on Tuesday as Wade scored the winning run when the first baseman Christian Walker couldn’t handle Kris Bryant’s sharp ground ball.

The Giants also breathed a sigh of relief against the Colorado Rockies on “Orange Friday” as they came one run away from going into the bottom of the ninth after leading 5-4 going into the inning. Wilmer Flores hit a three-run homer, and Thairo Estrada added an RBI in the first. In his save appearance, Jake McGee couldn’t finish the game, and Zack Littell had to come in for his second save on the season.

Newcomer Bryant did not have a successful week at the plate. He batted only .238 and had the critical RBI that won the game for the Giants. However, he is formidable at the plate and can add value nearly anywhere on the field.

Notes:

• Alex Wood won his 10th game on the season on Sunday and has 4.14 ERA.

• Anthony DeSclafani won his 11th game and has a 3.29 ERA.

• Logan Webb won his 6th and has a 2.96 ERA.

• Jake McGee made his 25th save on Sunday.

• Tyler Rodgers made his 21st hold on Sunday.

Transactions:

Per ESPN

August 15, 2021 Reinstated RHP Jay Jackson from the IL. Optioned LHP Sammy Long to Sacramento (Triple-A West). Recalled OF Luis Gonzalez from Sacramento and placed on the 60-day IL.

August 14, 2021 Recalled LHP Sammy Long From Sacramento (Triple-A West). Returned from rehab assignment and reinstated from 60-day IL. Optioned INF Thairo Estrada to Sacramento. Placed RHP Jay Jackson on the 10-day IL. Reinstated 3B Evan Longoria from the 60-day IL.

August 13, 2021 Agreed to terms with SS Brandon Crawford on a two-year contract. Reinstated RHP Anthony DeSclafani from the 10-day IL. Optioned RHP Camilo Doval to Sacramento (Triple-A West). Placed RHP Aaron Sanchez on unconditional release waivers.

August 12, 2021 Placed RHP Johnny Cueto on the 10-day IL, retroactive to August 9. Recalled INF Thairo Estrada from Sacramento (Triple-A West).

August 11, 2021 Claimed RF Luis Gonzalez off waivers from the Chicago White Sox. Recalled SS Thairo Estrada from Sacramento (Triple-A West).

August 10, 2021 Optioned RHP John Brebbia to Sacramento (Triple-A West). Recalled RHP Camilo Doval from Sacramento.

NL WEST Showdown: San Francisco Giants vs San Diego Padres SERIES PREVIEW (4/5/2021-4/7/2021)

It’s time to preview the first National West matchup for the Giants this season as they head to San Diego after a frustrating 3 game series in Seattle where the Giants came away with just one win in three games.  The most memorable loss was Opening Night when the Giants bullpen squandered a 5-run lead with less than two innings to go.  Trying to put that in the rear-view-mirror, the Giants now head to San Diego to face one of the most exciting teams in the game, the Padres, who just won 3 out of 4 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

One thing the Giants can be excited about coming into this series are their bats.  Although they were shut out in Game 3 of the Mariners series, nearly all of the Giants big bats showed up in the series including Buster Posey and Evan Longoria, who both homered twice and the amazing Donovan Solano, who is hitting .500 on the young season.  Alex Dickerson crushed a home run in his first at bat of the season and overall, the offense was solid.  As far as starting pitching, Kevin Gausman, who should make a start in this series, was dominant in Game 1 and certainly deserved the W.  He’ll try to get one against the Pads in Game 5.

Kevin Gausman

Game 1

Game occurs tonight and will feature Anthony DeSclafani for San Francisco, making his first regular season start for the Giants.  He looked good in Spring Training, earning a 2.79 ERA in three starts, but all that is history now and he’ll look to bounce back after a tough 2020 with the Reds.  He’ll be facing Adrian Morejon, a fantastic looking young pitcher who struck out 17 hitters in 14 Spring Training innings with an ERA of 3.21.  With the lefty on the hill, we’re likely to see Darin Ruf or Austin Slater in there with Dickerson coming off the bench.  Posey should be back in the lineup as well after two nights off.

Last season against Morejon, the Giants were 5 for 17 with a home run and 7 strikeouts.  He didn’t walk a single Giant.  The home run was hit by  a guy who should be in the lineup tonight, Mauricio Dubon.  who is 2 for 2 in his career against Morejon.  The only other Giants who had some success against Morejon was Yastrzemski, who was 2 for 3 and Donovan Solano, who was 1 for 1.  Yaz is actually 3 for 4 in his career against Morejon. 

As for Desclafani, with the exception of a home run by Tatis Jr., he dominated the Padres in April of 2019, throwing 6 strong innings with 6 strikeouts, allowing just 2 hits, one of them being that home run and the other a single by Machado.  In his career, Machado is 1-for-6 against DeSclafani.  Most of the lineup, in fact, have poor career stats against him such as Wil Myers, who is 1-for-11.

Based on the relatively small historical sample sizes, the Giants should feel good about their chances in Game 1.  With a lot of strong righties like Posey, Slater, Dubon and Solano in there and Yastrzemski, who has hit Morejon very well, there’s a good chance the Giants get on the board quickly.  If Desclafani pitches anything like he did against San Diego in 2019, well things might be similar to Game 1 of the Seattle series except hopefully this time, the bullpen can hang on.  I’ll say the Giants take Game 1 of the series by the final score of 7-4.

PREDICTION: GIANTS WIN 7-4

Game 2

In game 2, the Padres will throw out of their prized acquisitions this offseason and it’s Yu Darvish taking the hill against Aaron Sanchez.  Darvish has already made his Padres debut and he wasn’t great, pitching 4 2/3rds innings with 6 strikeouts and 4 runs allowed.  Against most of the Giants, he’s been pretty good but Alex Dickerson and Mike Yastrzemski are a combined 5 for 10 against him each with a home run.  Dickerson will definitely be in the lineup against the righty. Evan Longoria has the biggest sample against Darvish with 21 career at bats and just 4 hits for a .191 average although he went deep one time.  This is obviously going to be a tough game of the offense and I can see Darvish having a big bounceback game after the tough debut.

However, Aaron Sanchez has also had success against some of the Padres, such as Manny Machado, who has a career .171 average in 35 at bats against Sanchez.  However, most of their best young players like Tatis Jr, Grisham and Cronenworth will be facing Sanchez for the first time.  Sanchez wasn’t too great in Spring Training and I can definitely see the Padres making hard contact against him, but at the same time, he’s just 28 and as a former first round pick, obviously has good stuff and the potential to go out there and have a great game.  I’ll say the Giants do score a few runs off Darvish and the bullpen but that this time the Padres edge it out by a score of 5-4.

Fernando Tatis Jr.

PREDICTION: PADRES WIN 5-4

Game 3

In one of the most exciting matchups of the series, the Giants will send out Kevin Gausman again, who as I mentioned looked fantastic in the Opening Night matchup against Seattle.  The Padres will have former Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell on the hill.  Snell, as a career Ray, will be facing most of these Giants for the first time although the only guy with more than 3 at bats against him, Wilmer Flores, is 3 for 5 with a double and could find his way into the Starting Lineup.  In his first start his year, he didn’t give up a run in 4 2/3rds.  He’ll look to go deeper than that on Wednesday.

Gausman has had limited success against most of the Padres lineup but most of the samples are very small.  Nevertheless, based on what we saw last Thursday, hopes are high for Gausman to follow-up with another dominant outing.  This could easily be a pitching duel and I’ll predict it goes that way, with the game staying tight until the late innings.  Unfortunately, the Padres will gain an edge when the game gets to the bullpen and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Giants are unable to hang on to any lead they main gain.  Unless Gausman can go at least 7+ innings deep, I’m giving the edge to the Padres in this one.  I’ll say they take it by a score of 4-2.

PREDICTION: PADRES WIN 4-2

So, that’s a look at the first National League West series for the Giants this year.  The Padres are clearly an up and coming team with a lot of strength and I feel that one win in this series, while obviously disappointing, wouldn’t be the end of the world.  Especially since the Giants seem to always play well against the rival Dodgers.  Their best chances at wins are in Games 1 and 3, and I think there is more than good chance they could take both of them, but I’m going to be honest in my prediction while staying hopeful.  Let’s go Giants!

SF Giants Sign Curt Casali - Target Tomoyuku Sugano!

The San Francisco Giants have signed backup catcher Curt Casali who played for the Cincinnati Reds from 2018-2020 and has 37 career home runs in 831 at bats. He also accumulated 95 career walks and is an ideal backup catcher - he gets on base, provides some pop and is solid behind the plate. Casali will be the leading candidate to backup Buster Posey during the 2021 Season.

The Giants do have an array of excellent catchers including recent draft picks Joey Bart and Patrick Bailey. Bailey still has a lot of development to go through while Bart is likely to start the season in Triple A after an underwhelming rookie campaign in 2020. This leaves Posey, Casali and Chadwick Tromp, who was recently re-signed. Tromp, like Bart, has minor league options available and, therefore, is likely to begin the year in the minors as well.

This is an excellent signing by the Giants and Casali looks like a prime candidate to continue the Giants string of great backup catchers to Posey such as Nick Hundley and Stephen Vogt. Of course, Posey opted out of the 2020 season.

Meanwhile, the Giants are one of three teams that have shown interest in Japanese ace Tomoyuki Sugano, who had an outstanding 2020 going 14-2 with a 1.97 ERA and 131 strikeouts in just over 134 innings. He’s still only 31 years and and would be a huge asset to a team like the Giants who lack consistently effective starters in their rotation. The other two teams are the Blue Jays and Mets, although recent reports indicate that the Mets may be stepping out of the race.

How The Giants Allowed Bumgarner To Leave To a Division Rival

When we think of Madison Bumgarner’s best moments with the San Francisco Giants, the 2014 World Series will always be one of the first memories that comes to mind. However, his World Series dominance started in 2010, when he absolutely baffled Rangers hitters, helping the Giants win their first World Series in San Francisco. Not longer after that, the Giants Front Office knew they had to figure out a way to lock this guy up… and they did it.

After the 2012 World Series, which the Giants also won, Bumgarner signed a long term extension that would last through at least 2017, with options for 2018 and 2019. It was during this time that folks started making some noise about the fact that Bumgarner was being underpaid. The Giants heard the noise and knew they needed to negotiate another extension — and they were set to do so after the 2017 season, when Matt Cain’s contract would come off the books.

It was in April of 2017, however, when the Giants plans with Bumgarner were forever altered — he seriously injured his shoulder in a dirtbike accident. Although he eventually returned to action, there was no way the Giants would approve of a long term extension without at least making sure was fully healthy again in 2018. Fast forward to 2018 Spring Training, and a line drive off the hand throws another wrench into the extension plans. Bumgarner was sidelined again, and this time, the final decision would have to be made in 2019, which corresponded with the arrival of new President of Baseball Operations, Farhan Zaidi.

Zaidi showed up with a new philosophy in mind — an analytical philosophy that included making sure to not allow emotions to get in the way of practical decision-making. Bumgarner, at 30, signing a multi-year deal for upwards of 100 million dollars, would likely not be the wisest baseball decision in his mind. Therefore, he was allowed to become a Free Agent and take his talents elsewhere. It was not simply a cold, calculated, analytical Front Office that sent MadBum out of town, but it was a sequence of unfortunate events that included a dirtbike, a broken hand, and a Farhan Zaidi.