It seems like everybody in the Giants front office has been affected by the team’s ninth inning woes this season.
First it was general manager Bobby Evans calling himself a “knucklehead” for not securing a closer at the trade deadline. Yesterday, executive vice president of baseball operations Brian Sabean joined the Tolbert and Lund show and expressed his thoughts on the club’s league worst 30 blown saves.
“I always used to say that I really don’t worry about blown saves as long as you win the game,” Sabean said. “But we’re totally inept in that category, and have set a record, and really embarrassed by it.”
Ironically, Sabean’s comments come at a time when the Giants’ situation at closer is the most secure it’s been since the All-Star break, with Sergio Romo looking good in consecutive save opportunities. But that doesn’t change the fact that a huge reason the Giants are still fighting for a postseason berth after having the leagues best record at the break, has to do with their inability to hold onto ninth inning leads.
“We had some struggles with the ‘pen, so that wasn’t a complete surprise. We knew that was gonna be a work in progress coming out of spring training, and it just continued to haunt us,” Sabean said. “Having said that, that wasn’t the only reason for the downturn — we broke down on a regular basis with every department, individually and collectively.”
In addition to leading the league in blown saves, the Giants have had the worst offense in the majors since the break from a run’s scored standpoint. Despite Sabean’s comments, the Giants pitching as a whole has been mostly excellent throughout the season, with the team ERA of 3.72, the fifth best mark in all of baseball.
As a collective, however, there is no arguing the Giants have struggled.
“Our signature style of play has been good pitching, defense, keep the game close, timely hitting and somehow find a way to win the game,” Sabean concluded. “And it doesn’t necessarily have to be artistic. But lord knows it was ugly throughout the second half.”
