It’s been a weird month of April for the Giants, and it’s far from over.
There have been sad moments, odd moments, worrisome moments, and not many bright moments. The latest incident was Manager Bruce Bochy undergoing what was termed a “minor” heart procedure that keeps him home in San Diego while the Giants play the Royals. Bochy is expected to rejoin the team in Colorado.
No season is the same. No season goes according to plan from start to finish. Each year takes on its own personality. The personality this year is … well, weird. So far.
The golf analogy comes into play here: a 65 in the opening round doesn’t guarantee a win, but a 79 pretty much takes you out of contention. For the Giants, the goal is to survive a janky April close to even par. Then refocus for the next five months.
So as Bochy watched from home, the Giants did their best to test his ticker Tuesday night. Missed scoring opportunities, including a runner thrown out at the plate, and general frustration in a game that seemed to be going the Royals’ way, especially when it went extra innings at their yard.
Bochy knew, however, the team was in good hands with veteran bench coach Ron Wotus, and it had to be encouraging to see the continued improvement of Matt Cain. It also had to be encouraging to see the bullpen overcome some shakiness and keep the game in line. Plus, Buster Posey returned with three hits after coming off the 7-day concussion disabled list.
Cain was terrific over seven innings. He gave up a solo home run by Whit Merrifield, who sounds like the hero of a 1950’s-era children’s sports book. Cain also overcame some early difficulties. Unlike recent years, the game didn’t go off the rails at the first sign of trouble for Cain. He figured things out and put together a good outing for the second straight turn.
He’s not overpowering anymore, but the stuff is there. He had tremendous late life on his two-seam fastball and changeup in particular. He’s throwing free and easy. It’s just a matter of corralling what he has. It’s been one of the major early-season developments for the Giants.
The recent offense is another story. It suffered without Posey, and Tuesday it suffered despite Posey. Luckily for the Giants, they’re facing the worst clutch-hitting team in baseball (Royals are 13-87 with runners in scoring position). The numbers will eventually improve, but the Giants hope they are out of town by that time.
Now comes Madison Bumgarner, in the first game in Kansas City since his epic performance in Game 7 of the 2014 World Series. Wotus wasn’t sure postgame whether Posey would catch for him or would be a designated hitter once again, but it wouldn’t be a shock to see Posey behind the plate. He and Bumgarner have made some pretty good memories, you know.
But it’s April 2017 and Bumgarner isn’t interested in reliving the past. He’s been asked about it enough already. He just wants to get a win. The Giants want to get some momentum before entering the Little Shop of Coors Horrors. They just want to survive April. Then we’ll see if some roster changers are on the way, and I think that’s likely.
The Dodgers are 7-8. The Cubs are 7-7. The Indians are 7-7. The Cardinals are 5-9. The Blue Jays are 2-11. It’s April. Let’s get weird.
