. . . for football anyway. Hoping we still try to get O line help, but this team looks to be in better shape than last year given the talent that left the building and the money that went with them. They have shed a lot of contracts desite last year being a rebuild year. Turns out the parity that is so prevalent and the young guys we drafted recently turned out pretty well, and we were amazingly TWO wins from the big prize. And I don’;’t doubt for a second that had we somehow beat Seaettle, NE would have been a walk.
Every year is different, and this year we seem to have done well getting some depth along the D line, linebacker, CB, and WR. But we are still thin at safety, the O line, and just the usual curiosity around the RB position. For some reason, the Mac Jones trade never materialized. My guess is we wanted too much. And why not? No reason to be desperate to get rid of him. You never know if our QB gets hurt again (fixthefuckingolinepleaseforthemillionthgoddamntime), and beyond that, if someother big name goes down (Stafford/Goff) Jones could pop back up for a desperate team.
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Other than that, hmmmmmm. not much in the soccer world, but 4 games in LA vs the Dodgers. They have been on a bit of a slide and we are what we are. Consistently maddeningly inconsistent. We won a series! Against a pretty solid Pirates team! And hey we brought back Mickey D from Sacto. He’s going tonight.
Forty Niners Forever 
Vitello said Eldridge gets start tonight and will get one more in LA series. Giants romped without him last night just fine. The idea from fans that Vitello should sit one of big 3 for a day each week is so not happening. Adames played 160 games last year, Devers 163. Chapman got hurt couple times last year but he is regular used to getting 550-600 PAs every year for last 5. It’s what they do.
Like Vitello or not, he works for Posey…so whatever he does with lineup has to meet his approval. Eldridge is better off here hitting and getting coached by ML staff in ML yard than putzing around in Sac or those Coors like elevation yards and warm weather band boxes of PCL.
“Eldridge is better off here hitting and getting coached by ML staff in ML yard than putzing around in Sac . . .”
Disagree emphatically. Ironically, (and I am not going to look for it), you had a 180 degree opposite takes on other minor leaguers in the past. Go figure . . .
I digress though – it’s beyond ridiculous (and, it should be noted, that it hasn’t happened extensively yet) that any player that is promoted to the big leagues, particularly a “blue chip” player, like Eldridge, should sit. Especially, when you HAVE COMPLETE LOSERS LIKE ADAMES, DEVERS, AND CHAPMAN having abominable seasons, as they are having right now.
Vitello is partially to blame, e.g., not on the same level as Eldridge obviously, but Koss was with the team out of spring training, yet he literally sat for what seemed like weeks (to date, I think he has 15 or 16 ABs). This is all on Vitello, as he does not know how to use his bench, much less his pitching staff – which we all have seen significant evidence of.
So, again, if Vitello is not going to use Eldridge, I guess you’re fine with him getting splinters on the bench and getting “coached up” by Vitello and the coaches, right?
whyinell you hand automatic spot in lineup every day to a 21 year old rook with few hundred AAA bats vs. a guy like Devers with a career .850 OPS? Devers hit 20 HRs/50 rbis in 90 games for Giants, little over half season.
schmitt is hitting very well too now-these guys deserve the ABs. Eldridge will learn more about being a MLer here and playing 2-3 times a week than roaming around in Sac and the Coast League.
They need to get rid of Chappie. That would free up Schmitt to 3rd, Devers and Eldridge at 1st and Eldridge and Devers at DH. If Eldridge is up here, he needs to be playing, not watching.
Having Bader resemble a major league hitter would do a lot as well. He would settle the OF misery a little bit.
Totally agree Chuck. Unloading Chapman makes so much sense. Schmitt has proven he has a bat & a decent glove. Eldridge needs more reps in the Bigs and Bader will probably come around. Bader’s 2B last night was a sign of more good stuff to come, IMHO.
“Eldridge needs more reps in the Bigs”
Ditto.
I agree Eldridge has nothing to prove at AAA but when you go into Dodgers series up against their worst starter Sasaki who’s struggled all year (6 plus ERA) going end just felt up against him was the better matchup instead of Yamamoto &Othani and the way Chapman continues to struggle he should of been on the bench with Schmitt at 3rd..
I get Chappy was Posey’s first big move getting him extended and cutting the legs off of Farhan to start the whole shift in power in the organization but his best hitting is done with, he should be the next to go in this logjam so Schmitt plays 3rd full time and Eldridge/Devers splitting 1B/DH full time as well..
Hey Kat, I suppose they could occasionally flip-flop Schmitt & Devers between 1st & 3rd. Schmitt is a natural 3rd bass guy, correct? And Devers certainly has plenty of history at the position too.
“3rd bass!” Too funny!
Happy to oblige your funny bone Chuck! 😎
Eldridge should be playing every day, until we figure out that he can or can’t play. We ALREADY KNOW WHAT DEVERS, CHAPMAN, AND ADAMES CAN DO . . . NOT MUCH. Like I said yesterday – He is not going to learn anything up here sitting. He needs to play almost every day. If not, get him reps down in Sac.
Also, Vitello has shown himself to be either forgetful about his bench and bullpen, or incompetent, insofar as putting players in the right situation while the game is going on.
Yep, gotta agree Blade. Vitello eg. definitely ignored Koss for the longest time. V is a bit of weirdo. His interviews really make me cringe.
Does anyone think Buster might extend Arraez or is he gone at the end of the season?
He would be a fool not too Baldy!Arreaz is a 3 time batting champion that doesn’t strike out on a team loaded with that, plus his BEST EVER DEFENSE at this point not only a GG candidate but should be an AllStar player and a great clubhouse presence that doesn’t need a Gatorade skit to be important..
I really dont know why teams have kept moving on from him, don’t you want a Tony Gywnn contact hitter minus the power on your roster that gives you his all every game?
thanks Kat! for such a brilliant response!! Arraez has brought so much to this team .. and we were all waiting & watching for him to be a complete fuck-up at 2nd … and he goes and does the opposite with his pretty much exquisite glove at the position. I think we were all shocked at the quality of his defense. We knew the bat would be there. Yeh. Come on Buster lock Arraez up NOW!
A 4 bass hit!
Freakin FANTASTIC! Thanks Chuck, you made my day!!!
That is some crazy stuff! Saw Stanley Clarke /Al Di Meola back in the day. Great stuff.
That was different, good stuff.
Buster is making the calls on Eldridge. Minasian may have input, and Vitello may be asked for comment, but no way Vitello is calling the shots on when and where and how to manage Eldridge’s time. I agree Vitello’s interviews are cringeworthy. The dude talks too much, and says very little. That gets people confused and allows for misinterpretation and speculation. Before the game yesterday he says for the season Eldridge is primarily going to be a pinch hitter. Even Susan Slusser came on KNBR before the game yesterday- she heard him say it and thought it made no sense. Now, after a fan firestorm, Eldridge is playing tonight and maybe one more game in this series. Which is it? BTW, they could have started Eldridge against a struggling RHP Sasaki last night, but instead they’re going to throw him into the Lion’s den against Yamamoto tonight ? That could be ugly. I hope the Giants don’t F around with this kid like they did with Belt …
Speaking of Belt, if I had to choose between Eldridge right now and a young Belt when he came up, I’d choose Belt. He was a bit older then, and had established himself at a position, was pretty nimble on his big feet, was already developing a superior command of the strike zone, and had a pretty compact swing for a bigger guy and used it to often go oppo with a lot with power. The Giants F’d around with him, so eventually to his career detriment IMO they turned him into a pull hitter.
Belt was big, but 2 or 3 inches shorter than Eldridge and more athletic. It’s not a lot of sample size, obviously, but from what I’ve seen of Eldridge he’s a bit hulking, runs OK but in an awkward sort of way and is really not all-around athletic near as much as Belt. There’s a reason a tall dude like Eldridge didn’t go into basketball — he’s not a great all around athlete. That spells trouble IMO.
I remain concerned he’s too tall, swing arc too long, and he’s too awkward and gangly to make a major impression as a big leaguer. Like I’ve said before, really tall guys like that who succeed in baseball are rara avis. Frank Howard, Dave Winfield come to mind, but others escape me. Maybe you guys can come up with some other names.
I would be up for trading him soon before he proves to be just another Giants hype while his value is high — and get what SF needs — a right handed MLB-ready AA or AAA outfielder who is a real ball player — he can hit, run intelligently and fast, has a good glove, and hits with 30-HR power…
Snarrk I could only think of Tigers 1B Tony Clark who was 6’8 who carved out a nice career with 251 HR’s over 800 RBI’s with OPS around.850 I’m sure the Giants would be thrilled with those numbers!
Yeah sure enough folks are right about Vitello just being a Puppet with no strings attached so far under the revamped FO of Posey/Minishit.. And that stupidity by Vitello saying Eldridge will just basically be a pinch hitter wtf why call him up then? That quote reeks of Greggie saying “We just want to BREAK EVEN!!
If they want to get all these bats in the LU have they even thought of Schmitt playing LF? OF of Schmitt LF,Lee CF,Ramos RF with Bader and Gilbert on bench and late inning Defense?
Interesting stat:
Giants — the only team in MLB whose 3rd hole hitter has not yet hit an HR this season.
The last time their 3rd hole hitter hit an HR was 226 days ago…
Not only “interesting,” but shocking, particularly where you have the game of baseball today, having usually only 3 true outcomes (as I alluded to the other day) of homerun, strikeout, or walk.
Which by the way, I am betting we also go against the grain insofar as walks by the end of this season – where we will have the lowest walk total recorded in baseball history.
Holy Sheets to the Wind .. I just gotta say .. you guys .. all of you, have been on fire since we immigrated to Chuck’s place. I mean, the Flap has always been a good read but I think I’ve learned more about baseball from you guys in these, still early, weeks of 2026, than ever before.
12th man, who do you think will end up starting at Left Guard next season? I think Colby has the inside track (as he started last season) and will remain the starter until he proves he can’t do the job. Rookie Willis has a good shot too.
Blade ..Yeah it’s only Kat so I can’t respond for 12th but I’m going to guess Willis since the 49ers are already working him out at LG and even Willis said I only was playing tackle last year to help the team out.Not ruling out Colby since he has a year in the league.Im actually excited about Cruz he’s definitely a tackle so we’re see how his role plays out especially if TW misses time.Though I guess Lowe would be 1st man up? Too bad his first name isn’t Curtis isn’t that a Skynyrd song??
lol . . . Kat, you da man! I’m mostly saying Colby because Lynch said something really positive about him recently, “Connor Colby is a guy who started six games for us, a seventh-round pick from Iowa last year,” Lynch said. “We like the progression that Connor had. We like where he’s at, how he’s looking. As he enters year two, you know, year one to year two is always a big jump. And we hope to get that jump from Connor.”
So, I am guessing it’s his job to lose. I like Willis and Cruz, but LG is a difficult position to play, (which admittedly, Colby learned at his expense last season. I am guessing Cruz and Willis will likely be depth positions, but what do I know?
Nada . . .
I’m thinking also when the brain cells start working at my extended years, that maybe Willis could slide over to Center after Brendel’s contract expires after next year?
Colby had better improve a shit-ton. I don’t think the starting LG is on the team yet. As is obvious, I’m not very happy with the development of the O line this offseason.
Something else to remember, it’s only May 12.
2019 the Nats were 24-33 at the end of May, 9 games under .500 and about same pct Giants are right now.
They wound up winning 93 games, good for 2nd in AL East then went 12-5 in playoffs and won WS. Little early to be talking about scuttling the ship.
Especially when as Baggs pointed out they are 6-4 vs. SD and LA, top two teams in NL West. Last year record? 7-19.
Guess Baggs didn’t get the memo on how Shitty Houser has been..
Looks like Yamamoto is gonna be tough.
This doesn’t look good
Giants need to hit 2-3 HRs tonight to compete. Likely they aren’t going to run the conga line a lot on Yamamoto…
Well 3 straight full counts to Dogpile hitters and Houser strikes them all out..
Haase?!? Color me surprised. Damn.
WOW!
You don’t need Yamamoto in the stretch if you hit one out! Way to go Hasse! HR ties it up..
Well, that’s one dinger.
Need a couple more…
One thing I do like about Vitello, is that if someone isn’t hitting, they get moved lower in the LU. Vice versa, if they are hitting.
None of this crap like Melvin (or Kapler), whom would put a player in the lead off spot, despite them batting .210 for weeks on end. Or, place them at clean-up, despite not hitting a bomb for weeks on end. Chapman is a good example, where he has been placed lower and lower in the LU as his hitting woes continue. Same for Adames.
Mister Bader!
Boom! Bader is badass!
Haase again!
Cha Ching! There’s your 3 bombs snarkk!
As Kuip just alluded to, the bottom of the order is carrying the team tonight.
Well there’s 3 Dingers now Snarkk and 2 for Mickey Mantle Hasse my lord color me happy..
Man, when I look at Hasse, does anyone else think he looks like Vitello (brothers from a different mother?). Resemblance is uncanny.
Damn! That was smashed by Eldridge.
Yamamoto had nothing tonight. Giants made him look like a mortal.