Fill a Buster

 

You'd think that adding Rafael Devers, Willy Adames, Harrison Bader and Luis Arraez to a Giants team like this would amount to a beefed-up lineup, right? That's kind of the idea when you get those guys. Instead, we have a team that's only scored 6 or more runs in 4 of their first 14 games. A lot of games of milling around, scoring maybe a run, or just getting blanked. Devers is hitting .212, Bader's hitting 115, Heliot Ramos is hitting .226, and only Willy Adames has hit more than 2 home runs. 

Kind of an odd way of going about it, but Buster seems to know what he's doing.

And that's just been the refrain ever since Buster Posey took over the head office. 'Well, he knows what he's doing'. His leadership brought 3 rings to the city, and his final season surge brought a surprise NL West winning year in 2021. Yet so far, the Giants have been...kinda similar to how they were when Buster took the job. Lots of promise, not a lot of payoff. Now they don't even have the luxury of Logan Webb, as he's struggled in his first few starts. The rough go has landed the Giants at the bottom of the division, below even the Rockies, who are at the very least 'okay' this year. 

There is SOME positive movement in this lineup, but it's not where everyone thought it would be. Willy Adames, after a rough year 1 in San Fran, is definitely his old self, hitting .273 with 6 RBIs, 9 doubles and and 3 homers. Matt Chapman and Luis Arraez are both off to strong contact starts. The big surprise has been Daniel Susac, a rookie catcher who's surged in a backup spot, already 7 for 12 with 3 RBIs. Beyond them, though, it's been disappointing. The whole outfield is struggling, Bailey's still not hitting, and Devers...might just be this kind of high-K hitter now.

At the very least the pitching's better. Webb's gonna come around eventually [hopefully], but until then there's still Robbie Ray, former Cy Young winner and ace. Ray's gotta feel bad that he left Toronto AND Seattle before both teams took off, and now he's in SF without much hope for contention. He's still a very strong option though, with a 2.42 ERA and 24 Ks in his first 4 starts. Ray is 34, a few surgeries removed, and still a strong strikeout artist. Landen Roupp and Tyler Mahle haven't been too bad either. All else fails and they might give Carson Whisenhunt another go, and maybe that'll work this time.

There's enough to distract you from the general disfunction, but the Giants still aren't a true competitor, after years of trying desperately to match up to the Dodgers or Padres. Now they can't even match up to the Rockies. The season is still very young, and a surge is always possible, but not without a lot of much needed waking up. If Devers can go on an April/May run like the one that got him to SF, maybe they'll be alright.

Coming Tomorrow- Speaking of where Devers was last year, uh...they're not doing too great either. This outfielder in particular is, but...otherwise it's pretty rough.