You know, for a guy with a career losing record, Jeff Samardzija is pretty tricky at the plate.
The guy's got nearly 1500 strikeouts by 35, he's coming off his best season since 2014, and he's looking to lead the San Francisco rotation with Johnny Cueto. And damn...he seems to be in a good place career-wise. You know, I don't think I would have called Shark to have a veteran presence in 2020. He was seeming pretty damn fluke-y in 2012, and I was worried he'd just kick around as a reliever into his 30s, but...people trust Shark. People realize he still has velocity and use him to the best of his ability.
I'm interested to see how Gabe Kapler uses him. I mean, I don't know if Kapler is too used to managing people who can actually pitch [aside from Aaron Nola], but Samardzija arguably fits more into the sabermetric-centric ball that Kapler wanted to run Philly with. Shark doesn't always win games, but he strikes people out and gets people to swing, and he's the kind of crafty type that Kapler would really like. Dereck Rodriguez is just gonna be his pet project, like Velazquez was, and that's not gonna go well, but with Shark and Cueto, he'll be fine.
The team itself...I'm not sure. No Posey, no Belt, no Longoria. Guys like Pablo Sandoval and Wilmer Flores are gonna be starting. You also have Giants fans yelling because Joey Bart didn't get called up to start at catcher [they're going with Tyler Heineman]. While this isn't the dumbest thing Giants fans are yelling at this week [that would be them yelling at players kneeling for the anthem], it still sheds light on the unrest that Giants fans have after the dynasty mellowed. They got their rings, and when they ran out, the anger began.
I don't know how much the Giants are going to accomplish this year, even with Kapler. I feel like they'll get close to .500, but...I don't even know if they'll be top-16 worthy. But...maybe?
Coming Tonight: Yeah, let's talk about my team, how they did in the opener, and why they're probably still gonna mow everybody over this year.
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