SF Giants Press Clips Tuesday, July 18, 2017

[Pages:39]SF Giants Press Clips Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Washington Post How many ballparks have you visited? Washington Post Staff

More than in any other American pro sport, baseball's where matters nearly as much as the who and how. Ballparks aren't just settings for the game. They are unique temples that evoke a feeling from fans, local or otherwise. Many a fan has made it a goal to see all 30 major league parks, and with that in mind, we've created this checklist, travel guide and ranking. We'll also solicit your insight and let you share your list. So kick back and enjoy a virtual box seat to a game in any park.

The first thing you notice, even before you've emerged from the concourse, is the welcoming smell. Follow your nose to the garlic fries stand, and take the long way. Strolling behind the right field fence, you can look left and see Hunter Pence or look right and see San Francisco Bay, stretching out beyond the kayaks and assorted water vessels in McCovey Cove. It's cozy, but not cramped, the result of a happy accident: Just before construction began, the builders were told they had to fit the same design on a smaller piece of property. It feels both modern and ancient, the way any great ballpark should.

-- Adam Kilgore

A bite to eat nearby: Marlowe is much more than a burger place, but locals call their on-the-bun offering the best in the city. Across the street from the ballpark, the best spot to pregame is MoMo's.

While you're at the park: Crush a crab sandwich while walking along the arcade that separates the right field wall and McCovey Cove.

While you're in town: Plan your visit to Alcatraz well ahead of time, as tickets go fast to check out "The Rock." Take a trip out into San Francisco Bay for a full tour of one of the most famous prisons in the world, and catch a glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge on your way.

Player insight: "You know, it's different. I think they did a good job with the stadium, but it's always, always, always very, very windy there. It's almost not baseball weather because you're right on the water on the bay. That was the only difference there." -- Nationals infielder Stephen Drew

THE EXPERTS' RANKINGS:

1st

Thomas Boswell: 2nd | Chelsea Janes: 1st | Adam Kilgore: 1st | Lacy Lusk: 1st | Dave Sheinin: 3rd

San Francisco Chronicle That sinking feeling Mike Massa

A year ago at the All-Star break, the Giants had the best record in Major League Baseball at 57-33, and fans were dreaming of another even-year parade through downtown San Francisco. But the past 12 months haven't been kind. The team slumped in the second half of 2016, held on to make the playoffs as a wild-card team, and have been firmly planted in last place in the National League West for much of 2017.

In 162 games played from last year's All-Star break to this year's break -- the equivalent of a full regular season -- the Giants have gone 64-98. They set a franchise record with 56 losses before the break, and currently own the second-worst record in baseball.

This chart shows how far they've fallen from their perch atop the league last year.

Game-by-game results since the 2016 All-Star break Hover over each line to see the team name and its current record. Or, pick a team:

San Francisco Chronicle Giants blow lead and lose again as sellout streak ends Henry Schulman

The Giants had an inkling they might lose what they touted as the longest sellout streak in National League history this summer. The demand for tickets began to soften a bit as the team headed south on the field.

The inevitable finally occurred Monday night when the Giants announced a paid crowd of 39,538 for their 5-3 loss to the Indians in the opener of a 10-game homestand. That ended the streak at 555 sellouts at AT&T Park: 530 in the regular season, 25 in the postseason.

The product on the field fit the occasion. The Giants blew a two-run lead and lost largely by screwing up a fundamental play that winning teams convert 999.5 times out of 1,000.

The Giants lost for the 14th time in their past 18 home games, not the stuff you print on ticket brochures.

Nobody knows more than the Giants and their manager that they did not give the fans a great reason to keep the sellout streak going.

"We can't thank them enough," manager Bruce Bochy said. "It's a shame we couldn't hang in there and keep this thing going. The fans, they did their part. This has been tough on them, too."

Two weeks ago, Giants Chief Executive Officer Larry Baer vented at the notion that the organization was obsessed with the streak and noted that when it ended, the Giants probably would have the biggest crowd in the majors that day.

He was close. Only the Atlanta Braves reported a bigger crowd, 41,256, for a game at their new ballpark against the defending World Series-champion Cubs.

"We're very proud and appreciative of fans who did what no other National League fans have done, 530 games and six-plus years of sellouts," Baer said by text Monday night. "It's also amazing to be over 3 million in attendance for 16 of the 18 years of our ballpark."

Many folks have questioned the streak because seats were often available at the last minute. No matter the team's criteria, the consistency of their crowds has been impressive since the streak began Oct. 1, 2010, the opener of a three-game series against the Padres that settled the National League West in the Giants' favor.

Matt Cain pitched that night and is one of two Giants to be with the team throughout the streak. Buster Posey is the other.

"That was definitely special," Cain said Monday. "To be able to have a streak like that is meaningful for everyone in here. It's just amazing, the support we've had."

Cleveland fans comprised a vocal portion of Monday night's crowd. Their team won the American League pennant last year. For the first four innings, the Giants seemed headed for good things.

Matt Moore, who entered with the worst ERA in the National League at 6.04, demonstrated renewed poise and command, holding the Indians to a Yan Gomes solo homer.

Moore was leading 3-1 and on the verge of a scoreless fifth when Bradley Zimmer hit a two-out comebacker off Moore's glove. The ball deflected perfectly for Moore, toward first base. He ran it down and tossed underhanded to Jae-Gyun Hwang, who was playing first base for the first time in the majors.

Zimmer's speed caught Moore a bit off guard. Moore attempted his flip sooner than he had hoped and sailed it over Hwang's head. Giovanny Urshela scored from second as the ball rolled way. The error also extended the inning and allowed Francisco Lindor to tie it 3-3 with a broken-bat single.

A throwing error by Hwang contributed to the Indians' fourth run, enough to doom Moore to his fifth straight defeat at home and 10th overall.

"In the end, that ended up costing us the game," Moore said of his error. "It's kind of hard to shake off right now."

San Francisco Chronicle Brandon Belt could be in Giants' lineup Tuesday Henry Schulman

First baseman Brandon Belt could rejoin the lineup as soon as Tuesday night after reporting significant improvement in his left wrist, which he hurt Saturday night in San Diego.

Belt missed his second consecutive game Monday in the series opener against Cleveland. With Buster Posey returning behind the plate to catch Matt Moore, Jae-Gyun Hwang played first base in the majors for the first time after starting there 28 times for Triple-A Sacramento.

"If it improves as much tomorrow as it did today, I can probably play tomorrow," Belt said before batting practice, during which he took grounders and threw, but did not swing a bat.

Belt is having a "three true outcomes" season. He is on pace for career highs in homers (28) and strikeouts (157). He also is on pace for 93 walks, which would be 11 fewer than his career high last season.

His batting average (.244) is down 31 points from last year.

Who's in left? When Austin Slater went on the disabled list, manager Bruce Bochy said he would use Gorkys Hernandez and Kelby Tomlinson in left field. But Hernandez has become the everyday left fielder and Tomlinson has not played in the outfield since May 10.

Although Hernandez's slash line of .238/.317/.298 entering Monday was not pretty, his hitting has improved markedly since the end of May. He entered Monday having hit .338 in his past 74 at-bats and had his first career four-hit game Friday night in San Diego.

"He had a great game," Bochy said. "His at-bats have been pretty good. It's good to have his defense out there, too."

Tomlinson, a natural infielder, took flyballs in left before batting practice. Bochy expects to start him soon with Hernandez moving to center or right to get Denard Span or Hunter Pence a day off.

Rookie Ryder Jones, who also can play left, will begin a rehab assignment for Triple-A Sacramento on Tuesday. Jones' hand was bruised by a pitch in Pittsburgh on July 1.

New kid: The Giants have reached a contract agreement with Texas high school right-hander Jack Conlon, who was the Orioles' fourth-round pick in the June draft but did not sign, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.

San Francisco Chronicle Giants try their luck against depleted Indians Henry Schulman

After a one-game detour in Oakland, where I watched the A's beat the American League Champion Cleveland Indians on Saturday night, I'm back at AT&T Park to watch some good old-fashioned National League ball, in a National League Park, with National League lineups as the Giants face ...

... The American League Champion Cleveland Indians.

The Giants are catching the Indians at a good time (if that matters, since the Giants have struggled against titans and mites this season).

Lest you think hamstring strains are the sole provenance of the Giants, two Cleveland regulars - second baseman Jason Kipnis and right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall, are on the disabled list with right hammy strains.

ALSO

San Diego Padres' Cory Spangenberg, center, greets teammates Hector Sanchez, right, and Wil Myers, second from right, after hitting a three-run home run during the third inning of a baseball game, Sunday, July 16, 2017, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) Jeff Samardzija gives up 7 runs as Giants fall to Padres again San Francisco Giants pitcher Matt Moore reacts after striking out Chicago Cubs' Dexter Fowler during the eighth inning of Game 4 of baseball's National League Division Series in San Francisco, Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2016. (AP Photo/Ben Margot) Giants need Matt Moore to start producing Furthermore, the Giants will not see Opening Day starter and recent All-Star Corey Kluber in the series. The Indians purposely crafted their rotation out the break so Kluber would not have to hit in a National League park because he had a back injury this season.

The Indians whom I saw Saturday night can be pitched to. They scored six runs in the three games at the Coliseum. The question is, can the Giants pitch to anyone?

Left-hander Matt Moore carries his league-worst 6.04 ERA to the mound in the series opener Monday night. Ty Blach goes Tuesday with Matt Cain pitching in place of Johnny Cueto in the Wednesday matinee.

More doom and gloom followed the Giants home from San Diego, with Cueto on the DL, Brandon Belt nursing a wrist sprain and a series loss against the Padres.

Funny thing about baseball: Had Buster Posey hit his bases-loaded drive to left about 3 feet farther in Saturday night's game, he would have had a grand slam, the Giants probably would have won and even with Jeff Samardzija losing big Sunday the series victory would have been viewed as "a step forward."

There have been few steps forward for the Giants this year.

Homer talk: It's not just that the Giants have been outhomered 106-77 in the new Juiced Ball/Bat Era and rank last in the majors in homer, they're also being outscored on the homers big-time. The Giants overall run differential this year is a minus-106. Well more than half that deficit - 62 runs - comes from the total runs they allow and score on homers (163-101).

The Padres hit two three-run homers off Samardzija on Sunday. The Giants have two all year.

All this led a numbers wonk on another website to write a column based simply on math to say the Giants are doomed unless the blow up their entire roster and fill it eight players with uppercut swings who can hit 25 a year.

Here's my mathematical rebuttal:

As awful as the Giants' pitching has been, they still rank top third in the majors in fewest homers allowed, thanks in good part to their park. If the pitching staff can curtail mistakes that lead to frustrating homers, and the front office can add a little more pop via trade, free agency and their system, they can shrink that run differential significantly by squeezing it from both sides.

The key from the offensive side is just hitting better overall. That should lead to more runners on base when they do go deep, which is a big part of the issue.

And by the way....

Giancarlo Stanton to the Giants? I'm hearing no.

Brandon Belt is out again with a wrist injury. Jae-Gyun Hwang makes his first major-league start at first base:

San Jose Mercury News The night the Giants' record sellout streak began Jon Becker

They first packed AT&T Park on Oct. 1, 2010, hoping to celebrate the Giants' clinching their first National League West title in years.

Giants fans didn't party that night, but they stuck around for nearly seven years, filling AT&T to watch youngsters like Buster Posey and Tim Lincecum blossom into megastars and bring three World Series championship teams to San Francisco. Along the way, those fans helped the Giants set a National League record for most consecutive sellouts, which reached 530 before it ended on Monday night during an otherwise meaningless 5-3 loss to the Indians.

"It's just been amazing," Giants president and CEO Larry Baer said on the NBC Sports Bay Area broadcast "I wanted to thank the fans."

While the Giants currently sit in the NL West cellar, looking as if they may join their '85 counterparts as the franchise's only 100-loss team, let's take a quick look back at more joyous times.

Like that "Orange Friday" in 2010 when the sellout streak began.

Needing just one more win to hold off the Padres and clinch the division, the Giants sent Matt Cain to the mound. The raucous crowd's mood was seemingly set early as popular center fielder Andres Torres received the Willie Mac Award before the game. Unfortunately for the Giants, the electric crowd energized the Padres, who hit three home runs off Cain.

Not even Aaron Rowand's jolting, pinch-hit 3-run home run could prevent the Giants from falling 6-4 that night.

They packed AT&T again on Saturday only to watch the Padres win again, setting up the last game of the season with San Diego hoping to sweep and set up a one-game playoff for the crown.

Fortunately, pitcher Jonathan Sanchez's six shutout innings and a home run from a rookie catcher named Posey led the Giants to a division-clinching 4-0 win on Oct. 3, 2010.

A few weeks later, the Giants' even-year magic began with a World Series title. Two more titles followed. Some not-so-great years were sprinkled in, but the one constant was the support of Giants fans who kept packing the place.

In some respects, the ride ended with Monday's announced crowd of 39,538, a couple thousand short of a sellout. But, man, what a ride it was!

San Jose Mercury News Giants sellout streak ends as team falls to Indians Paul Gackle

SAN FRANCISCO -- The longest sellout streak in the 141-year history of the National League came to an end Monday night as the Giants' woes on the field continued with a comedy of errors reflective of a lastplace team.

Throwing errors by pitcher Matt Moore and first baseman Jae-Gyun Hwang proved to be the difference in a 5-3 loss to the Cleveland Indians as the Giants sellout streak at AT&T Park was snapped at 530 consecutive games.

"It has been a tough go, but the one constant has been our support," manager Bruce Bochy said. "We can't thank (the fans) enough. It's a shame we couldn't hang in there to keep this thing going, but they certainly did their part. They hung in there with us and we appreciate it.

"There's not a place in baseball like what we have here -- there isn't. It's unmatched."

The Giants announced a paid attendance of 39,538 Monday night, falling short of the 41,915 required to reach capacity at AT&T Park. The streak, which started on Oct. 1, 2010, is the longest in the history of the National League and the second-longest in major league history. The longest sellout streak is 820 games, set by the Boston Red Sox.

"We're very fortunate," said catcher Buster Posey, who was in his rookie year with the Giants when the streak started. "There's a lot of people that play their entire career and don't get to play in front of a sold out stadium very often.

"I'm sure there's frustration on (the fans') end just like there is on our end, but there's an appreciation, too. With us winning those championships, hopefully the city realizes they've been a big part of it."

Moore tossed the ball about as well as he had all season Monday. That is, when he was throwing overhand.

A 10-day break appeared to be all that the Giants left-hander needed to wipe the slate clean on a dismal first half, but Moore's best start in nearly a month was spoiled in the fifth when he threw an underhand rainbow into foul territory.

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download