The Next 6 Games

Bud Norris, bad pitcher, fantastic baseball holder

As I’ve begun to write about the Giants on a daily basis, I’ve noticed myself having to think harder and harder about an original storyline to write following each game. There are certain trends that reign true for more than just one game, and storylines that can be duplicated. One of the most common themes I’ve come across, is the narrative following a game versus a losing team. If it’s a win, then it’s “well they did what they were supposed to do, can’t win twice in one game”, and if it’s a loss then it’s “well you can’t win every game against a bad team. It’s baseball.” That’s the whole thing. It’s baseball. Kooky things are going to happen, so what’s the point in analyzing them.

Take J.D. Martinez for example. J.D. Martinez is one of the worst starting position players in baseball. Perhaps some day J.D. Martinez will spread his wings and be not terrible. That is not this day. On this day, J.D. Martinez has the 8^th worst WAR in baseball (-.02). On June 14^th, 2012, J.D. Martinez hit a grand slam against Barry Zito.  J.D. Martinez reached the pinnacle of a single at bat, the absolute best result one can ever accomplish in a single at bat. What’s the takeaway? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Chances were that after that at bat J.D. Martinez would continue to be terrible. And indeed, J.D. Martinez did not disappoint.

And when things go according to plan against the losing teams, you take a minute to appreciate the baseball gods sparing you from funkiness and letting the game happen like it was supposed to. But in the end, that’s just what it was: exactly what you thought it was. 

The Giants next 6 games are 2 three game series against the Astros and the Cubs. The 2 worst teams in Major League Baseball. And it’s not really that close. I guess the Rockies should be included in there too if only because any game their pitching has a chance to give up 40 runs.  But, right now, its an Astros and Cubs world, we’re just living in it. 

Here are the next 6 scheduled starters against the Giants:

1) Bud Norris 5.19 ERA (3^rd worst among qualified NL starters)

2) Dallas Keuchel 5.40 ERA (8^th worst among NL starters, minimum 60 innings)

3) Jordan Lyles, 5.47 ERA (2^nd worst, min. 100 innings)

4) Chris Volstad 6.28 ERA (2^nd worst, min. 70 ininnings)

5) Justin Germano 5.09 ERA (6^th worst, min. 30 innings)

6) Travis Wood 4.76 ERA (9^th worst, min. 100 innings)

There is playing tee ball, and then there is playing these starting pitchers. Even when the Astros and Cubs were sinking faster than the Titanic carrying monster trucks, somewhere in the series Wandy Rodriguez or Ryan Dempster would make an appearance. And thus, there was the one salvaged game in the series for the Astros or Cubs. But this lineup of pitchers… there is nothing.  It’s the type of stuff Buster Posey blows kisses at and then embraces like a close family member. Now I am jealous of the Cubs and Astros :(

Playing bad teams is one thing. Facing almost a weeks worth of incompetent, disastrous starting pitchers is another.

Since the All Star break, the Astros are 7-34. 7 wins since July 7^th. If I told the Astros they were an atrocious baseball team they would take it as a compliment. I would show you their lineup, but I respect you too much to subject you too such horror.

I’m comfortable saying the Cubs are a much better team than the Astros. That’s like saying I’m more comfortable eating my own poop than dog poop. At least I’ve digested it once, one more time ain’t gonna kill me. The Cubs are still terrible, as evidence by the employment of Chris Volstad, Justin Germano and Travis Wood.

To bring this back to the top, these two series are the ultimate losing team series. I’ve got my two winning/losing templates fresh and ready to fill in like mad libs. The narratives are set. We aren’t going to find out anything we already know about the Giants. But here’s the catch. How many losses would be acceptable on this road trip? The default answer would be 4-2, with 2 series wins. But right now I’m not sure how I would feel about that. I should probably be fine with that. But it would be just a tad disappointing. I just can’t help but stare at that list of starting pitchers and the amount of terrible that lives there. 4-2 would be acceptable, but 5-1 is almost expected. 6-0 would be great, but not surprising. I'm not sure the same narrative applies where a one or two losses in this series is "well ya can't win 'em all! because against the Cubs and especially the Astros, there's not a lot of room for losses. Anything short of a sweep against the Astros would definitely be disappointing.

There are baseball like things that are bound to happen, and you can almost never predict single game outcomes or even three game series. Getting caught up in one or two losses 99% of the time is silly because its .06% of the season, and fluky things happen in single games. But here we have the Astros and the Cubs. 6 games against some of the worst pitchers in Major League Baseball. Normally 4-2 would suffice. But in this 6 game stretch, it's reasonable to expect more. 

Tomorrow, the Giants will play the Astros. Prepare for battle accordingly.