Analysis of the Giants Post-Melky

By Kalen Patrick

ANGEL PAGAN - GIANTS CF

I want to piggy back on my last Post which was titled 'We CAN Win Without Melky'. Since the Melky Cabrera suspension the Giants have gone 5-2, including tonight's sweep of the Rival Dodgers. Obviously the biggest concern was going to be if the Giants could keep scoring without Melky's bat, but in the 7 games without him, the Giants have scored 37 runs, an average of 5.3 runs/game.

And where is this offense coming from? Well as I mentioned in my last post you gotta look to the guys who were brought here via trade that didn't come with much notoriety, Marco Scutaro and Angel Pagan. Both have been hitting extremely well of late, Scutaro in 25 games with the Giants has 2 HR 18 RBI and a .337 BA. (If you extrapolated those numbers to equal an entire season, you're talking about 17 HR and 110 RBI, not too shabby.) Pagan has been great lately, especially in the first inning getting hits and helping to give the Giants early leads. He has hit .393 since the loss of Melky, if your leadoff guy is hitting like this then you are in great shape.

The rocks of the lineup have been great as usual, Posey and Sandoval have been knocking in runs like nobodies business. They are doing what they are expected to do which is great. The biggest surprise in my opinion has been Joaquin Arias who has done a great job of stepping up in the absence of Melky. I really can't expect him to keep hitting at this pace but it is great that he has helped carry the load and that's what the Giants needed bad.

JOAQUIN ARIAS - GIANTS 2B/SS/3B

Still the biggest disappointment has been Hunter Pence, his RBI numbers have been solid but besides that he isn't hitting and more importantly isn't hitting for power like the Giants wanted. His Slugging is a pathetic .313 which is lower than Ryan Theriot's who never hits for any kind of power.

The Giants did just Sweep the Dodgers IN LA facing the top end of their rotation and it certainly did seem like the Giants were in total control in this series. The Giants will need much more from Hunter Pence, because there is no way you can count on guys like Marco Scutaro, Angel Pagan and Joaquin Arias to keep hitting like they have. I really do like the Giants chances especially with an improved Tim  Lincecum hitting the mound (4-3 3.11 ERA since the AS Break.)

Over and Out.

The Giants CAN Win Without Melky

By Kalen Patrick

Over the last few days there has been a lot of pessimism and "the season is over!" talk among Giants fans. Heck I was probably one of them when I first heard the news about the Melky Suspension. Now that it has sunk in and we are moving on from it, I still look at this Giants team and I still see a team that can Win and make the playoffs. Before I get in to the lineup, lets talk about the pitching.

The pitching is absolutely playoff caliber, even with the struggles of Tim Lincecum and the usual struggles for Barry Zito.Cain, Bumgarner and Vogelsong have been so good that it limits the damage the other 2 starters are doing. I know I have been saying this all season but if Timmy can pitch the rest of the season at a 3.5-4 ERA for the rest of his starts I will take that. Zito is Zito and if we get a Win when he takes the mound that is a huge positive. Lets not forget the bullpen cause those guys have been doing their jobs for the most part. Led by Romo, Affeldt, Casilla, Mijares and Lopez, it is very solid. Again definitely playoff caliber. Now lets get done to brass tax and talk about the lineup without the MelkMan.

The main guys replacing Melky are gonna be Gregor Blanco and Justin Christian. I have more faith in Blanco considering his amazing defense, and he isn't terrible at the plate either. Christian is still a big question mark in the majors. One of the most underrated trades of the season so far has been the trade the Giants pulled off to get Marco Scutaro. In the 20 games he has played with the Giants his line reads .330 BA .360 OBP 2 HR's and 18 RBI. Now that is production right there. Another great trade that gets forgotten is the one for Angel Pagan too, he has been very solid leading off for the Giants with a .283 BA .333 OBP and considering he usually leads off he solid production with 46 RBI and comes with some power hitting 7 HR's. The way I see the Giants lineup going forward you will have Pagan leading off with Scutaro batting 2nd.

POSEY, BELT AND SANDOVAL - ALL 3 WILL BE KEY FOR THE GIANTS

Then you have the big boys of the lineup. I imagine Bochy will go regularly with Sandoval hitting 3rd, then Posey and then Pence. Both Panda and Posey just gotta keep doing what they are doing and that will be fine with me, I absolutely expect Hunter Pence to get hot soon. He had the big HR to essentially win the game against the Rockies a week ago, but realistically he needs to be better, he needs to be much better with regards to his Power and Average. Hitting only 1 HR in 16 games, batting .211 and his OBP at .250 is unacceptable. I think he can and will improve upon this by leaps and bounds, and the Giants need it in the worst way.

Brandon Belt is a guy who has come on lately, he has an impressive OBP of .361 which isn't bad considering his mid-season struggles. Belt should get better as the season rolls on, Arias, Crawford are OK options at the end of the order. Ultimately the point I'm trying to make is that knowing the Giants pitching being as good as it is and with the lineup having some nice options the Giants CAN win without Melky.

Over and Out.