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SF Giants Press Clips

Friday, June 22, 2018

San Francisco Chronicle

Bumgarner throws eight innings as Giants blank Padres

Matt Kawahara

Giants manager Bruce Bochy admits the team moved quickly bringing Madison Bumgarner back

from his two-plus-month absence, and that after just two rehab starts, the left-hander

“probably was still at the tail end of spring training.”

It appears the rust is off. In a vintage performance, Bumgarner threw eight innings and also

drove in the decisive run in a 3-0 win over the Padres at AT&T Park on Thursday night.

Bumgarner held San Diego to three hits and struck out eight while winning for the first time in

four starts since returning from a broken pinkie. The Giants moved back to .500 and have won

three games in a row.

“It was the Madison we know,” Bochy said. “He really hit his spots, had great focus out there,

had all his pitches going. … It was the type of game we’ve seen so many times from him.”

After throwing 112 pitches over six innings in his previous start in Los Angeles, Bumgarner was

crisper and more efficient Thursday. He threw 100 pitches while becoming the first Giants

starter this season to complete eight innings, and he said his command was markedly better

than in his three earlier outings.

“It feels like everything keeps improving and kind of getting back into the swing of things,” he

said. “Command was the biggest jump for me tonight. So that’s good that’s coming along.”

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As encouraging as the length of his start was for Bumgarner, it was a godsend for the Giants’

well-worn bullpen.

The Giants have been without innings-eaters Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija for

various stretches over the first half of the season. Cueto and Samardzija are on the mend, but

the cumulative effect has been a heavy workload on a relief corps that is without Hunter

Strickland for the next six to eight weeks because of a broken hand.

Thursday night, Bochy said, both Sam Dyson, who’d pitched in the previous three games, and

Tony Watson were unavailable. But Bumgarner’s continued command into the late innings (he

retired 10 of his final 12 hitters) allowed Bochy to avoid warming up a reliever until the eighth.

“It’s critical for your bullpen to have a guy or two who does that for you, gets you deep in the

game and gives them a break,” Bochy said. “And those guys needed a break.”

After the Giants scored twice in the eighth, Bochy handed the ball to Mark Melancon, who

pitched around a leadoff single for his first save since last June 20.

“I’ve said this — we lost Hunter, but to have three or four guys who are comfortable pitching in

that eighth or ninth inning, that’s invaluable, and it showed up tonight,” Bochy said.

Bumgarner and Padres starter Tyson Ross, who’s had the Giants’ number this season, matched

zeroes until a pivotal sequence in the fifth.

Jose Pirela singled off Bumgarner to start the inning and took off sprinting on Manuel Margot’s

double to right field. Andrew McCutchen bare-handed the carom and made a strong throw to

second baseman Joe Panik as Pirela, head down, ran through the stop sign of third-base coach

Glenn Hoffman. Panik’s relay was in plenty of time for Buster Posey to tag out Pirela.

“That’s three Gold Gloves, I believe,” Bumgarner said of the relay tandem. “That’s what they

do.”

In the Giants’ half, Pablo Sandoval singled and took third on a Panik double. Bumgarner then

put a charge into a hopeful crowd of 37,497 with a flyball to left that didn’t leave the park, but

was deep enough to score Sandoval. The Giants added on in the eighth when Alen Hanson

tripled and scored on a single by Posey, who later scored when Pirela dropped a flare by

Sandoval for a two-out error.

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San Francisco Chronicle

Giants’ Hunter Strickland apologizes for ‘stupid’ split-second decision’

Matt Kawahara

Hunter Strickland apologized Thursday for a “stupid, split-second” decision in which he

punched a door and broke his pitching hand after blowing a save Monday night.

Strickland told reporters he planned to address his Giants teammates before their series opener

against the Padres and that he’s open to getting help to avoid future temper flares like the one

expected to sideline him for the next six-to-eight weeks.

“Obviously, this is on me,” Strickland said. “And if I could go back and take it back, I would, 100

percent. This is something I will always regret. But I don’t have time to sit here and feel sorry

for myself, because I’m the one that created this problem.”

Monday was not Strickland’s first outburst. The right-hander jawed with Royals

catcher Salvador Perez during the 2014 World Series and ignited a benches-clearing brawl last

year when he hit the Nationals’ Bryce Harperwith a pitch having carried a grudge from three

seasons earlier.

Strickland said his absence from the field will partly be spent “moving forward, working on my

emotions.” He said he has spoken with people with the Giants about controlling emotions and

will “talk to whoever I need to talk to … whatever I need to do to just improve and get better.”

“This is obviously something that I’m struggling with,” Strickland said. “I don’t think I have

necessarily an anger problem all the time. I truly feel that my emotions get the best of me

sometimes because I care what I’m doing.

“I go out there and do my best. But when I don’t, it hurts. It’s tough, it’s a tough pill to swallow.

But at the end of the day, whether it’s a good or bad outing, I can’t react this way.”

Strickland had two pins inserted during surgery Tuesday to repair his fifth metacarpal and wore

a large cast on his right hand and forearm Thursday. He is to be examined in two weeks and

hopes to have the pins removed then.

Manager Bruce Bochy said he met with Strickland on Wednesday and their talk included “a

couple things we can do different to maybe help relieve some of that tension and pressure.”

Those did not include taking Strickland out of the closer role when he returns, Bochy said.

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“I can’t say who’s going to have what role at that point,” Bochy said. “But no, just ways to take

five minutes to decompress, so you don’t have those ‘temporary insanity’ moments where you

do something like he did.”

Briefly: Right-hander Johnny Cueto is scheduled to throw 40 pitches in a rehab start Saturday

with Triple-A Sacramento. Bochy guessed Cueto (elbow sprain) will need three rehab starts

before coming back from the disabled list. … Right-hander Jeff Samardzija (pectoral strain)

threw 73 pitches in four innings in a rehab start Thursday night at Sacramento. He struck out

seven, hit a batter, didn’t issue a walk and allowed two runs on four hits, including a solo home

run. … The Giants activated shortstop Brandon Crawford from the paternity list and optioned

infielder Kelby Tomlinson to Sacramento.

San Jose Mercury News

Hunter Strickland expresses regret, says he’s open to receiving help for managing anger

Kerry Crowley

SAN FRANCISCO–A contrite Hunter Strickland sat in the Giants dugout Thursday and admitted

he sees a pattern.

After punching a door following a blown save in a 5-4 loss to the Marlins Monday, Strickland

underwent surgery to repair a fractured hand that will require him to miss six-to-eight weeks.

It’s not the first time Strickland’s anger has hurt the Giants, but he’s determined it will be the

last.

“I just went in there and hit a wall so the only thing I can do is get better,” Strickland said. “I can

talk to whoever I need to talk to, attend a class, whatever I need to do but just improve and get

better.”

Strickland acknowledged that anger issues have followed him throughout his career with the

Giants, citing incidents in 2014 and 2017 that saddled him with a reputation as a hothead.

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“If we make a mistake we own up to it with anything and obviously this is on me,” Strickland

said. “If I could go back and take it back, I would, 100 percent. This is something I will always

regret but I don’t have time to sit here and feel sorry for myself because I’m the one that

created this problem.”

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Strickland hit Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper in May 2017 with a 97-mile per hour fastball

that led to a benches-clearing brawl and a career-ending concussion for Giants utility player

Michael Morse. The right-hander insisted he had moved past the rage-fueled brawl and

induced a groundout the first time he faced Harper this season, but he admitted that he has

struggled to control his anger on other occasions.

“When I’m out there competing, it’s a different ballgame,” Strickland said. “This is our life. We

take pride in this. We try to keep it the kid’s game that it’s supposed to be, but this is how we

live. A lot of people expect big things from us and expect us to be perfect in an aspect and to

get the job done every time. Unfortunately we’re human and that’s not possible.”

Strickland said he’ll apologize to teammates, coaches, executives and fans for an action that will

cost the closer a considerable chunk of the season. He planned to address the Giants in the

home clubhouse at AT&T Park prior to Thursday’s series-opener against the Padres.

With Strickland sidelined, Giants skipper Bruce Bochy said Sam Dyson will receive the lion’s

share of opportunities to close out wins. Dyson picked up a save on Tuesday against the

Marlins, but was removed from a save situation Wednesday and replaced by rookie Reyes

Moronta, who earned his first career save.

Bochy said he met with Strickland Wednesday after he underwent surgery to repair his fifth

metacarpal and the reliever expressed remorse for his actions.

“We had a good conversation and he just feels horrible,” Bochy said. “Remorseful for what

happened and obviously when you’re going to miss as much time is he is, being a closer, you’re

going to be. But you’ve got to think before you react.”

San Jose Mercury News

Bumgarner puts Giants on his back, dominates Padres in shutout win

Kerry Crowley

SAN FRANCISCO–It was a familiar sight that conjured up memories of the glory days.

It was an event that even on a chilly evening brought back warm recollections, and it was the

type of scene that’s become all too infrequent over the last two years as far as the Giants are

concerned.

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When Madison Bumgarner straps up his boots and lifts the Giants on his back, they’ll go along

for the ride.

They went for a long one in Thursday’s 3-0 win over the Padres, and it was a sight to behold.

“It was the Madison we know,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He really hit his spots, had great

focus out there and had all of his pitches going.”

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The left-hander turned in his best outing since he blanked the Mets in the 2016 Wild Card

Game, hurling eight innings of shutout ball and driving in the Giants’ first run of the game in a

herculean effort that proved he still belongs among the sport’s elite.

“It feels like everything is improving,” Bumgarner said. “Kind of getting back in the swing of

things, command was the biggest jump for me tonight so that’s good that that’s coming along.”

Before rejoining the rotation at the beginning of June, Bumgarner missed the first two months

of the season with a fractured pinky, an injury that robbed the Giants of their best pitcher and

prevented the left-hander from carrying over the impressive form he showcased throughout

spring training.

His presence was so desperately missed that the Giants trashed a plan for three-to-four rehab

starts and instead brought Bumgarner back after two dominant outings against minor league

hitters. While the Giants benefitted from having an established veteran back in the rotation, his

first three starts did little to quell concerns that Bumgarner might not be the same.

That changed against San Diego.

“He’s as hard on himself as anybody and that’s what makes him so good because he never

stops trying to get better,” Bochy said.

With a steady diet of cutters and curveballs, Bumgarner carved up the Padres lineup by

inducing a combination of weak contact and whiffs that did little to threaten the Giants’

defense.

Bumgarner tallied eight strikeouts, including a first inning punchout of Padres first baseman Eric

Hosmer in their first meeting since Bumgarner sent Hosmer packing with a strikeout to lead off

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the ninth inning of Game 7 of the 2014 World Series.

Before he took the mound in the first, Bumgarner was convinced he was destined for a strong

night. He recognized his offerings were sharper during his warmup in the Giants bullpen and

strolled to the mound with confidence.

“He’s so regimented and methodical in the bullpen that sometimes it’s hard for me to know,”

catcher Buster Posey said. “But he mentioned it to me before the game after he threw in the

pen. He has as good of body awareness as anybody so I took that as a good sign.”

Though Bumgarner’s performance was a clear improvement from his first three starts, the

Giants’ offense performed much like it did in the lefty’s earlier outings. After failing to support

their starter in a 3-2 loss to Arizona on June 5, the Giants managed just one run in a 3-1 defeat

in Los Angeles on June 16.

Against San Diego, Bumgarner took matters into his own hands with a sacrifice fly to drive in

Pablo Sandoval in the bottom of the fifth inning to push the Giants ahead 1-0.

“At minimum I’ve got to get one guy in right there in that spot,” Bumgarner said. “That was

good for me and us so I’m happy to do that.”

The Padres’ best opportunity against Bumgarner came in the top of that frame when Freddy

Galvis followed a José Pirela single with an opposite field double to the right field wall.

Galvis cruised into second base, but Pirela sprinted right past third base coach Glenn Hoffman’s

stop sign. Instead of safely reaching his destination, Pirela was run off the road by Posey who

collected a relay throw and lunged to sideswipe the Padres second baseman.

The relay from Andrew McCutchen to Joe Panik to Posey started with a barehanded grab by the

Giants right fielder and culminated with a successful tag from Posey that helped McCutchen

collect his team-leading fourth outfield assist of the year.

“It all starts with the first throw and Cutch threw it right on the money,” Panik said. “It made

my job a lot easier.”

Pirela’s gamble wound up aiding Bumgarner, who intentionally walked A.J. Ellis before fanning

pitcher Tyson Ross to end the inning.

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Though the Giants scored just one run in their first seven innings, left fielder Alen Hanson

launched a leadoff triple into the right field corner in the eighth inning and scored on a Posey

single. Posey added to the edge later in the frame when Pírela dropped a Pablo Sandoval popup

that led to the Giants third and final run.

Bumgarner’s night ended with exactly 100 pitches through eight innings of three-hit ball as the

Giants turned to Mark Melancon to finish off a shutout. Exactly 366 days after recording his last

save for San Francisco, the right-hander who received a four-year, $62 million deal to serve as

the Giants closer after the 2016 got the final three outs to pick up his first save of the season.

With their third straight win Thursday, the Giants climbed back to .500 and maintained their 4.0

game deficit in the National League West behind the Diamondbacks.

Samardzija makes rehab start

Right-hander Jeff Samardzija threw 73 pitches over four innings for Triple-A Sacramento

Thursday and could rejoin the Giants rotation as soon as next week.

Samardzija allowed four hits and two earned runs but didn’t issue any free passes and racked

up seven strikeouts. Bochy said the club would decide whether to have Samardzija rejoin the

rotation or send him out for an additional rehab start after Thursday’s contest.

MLB.com

Bumgarner goes 8 scoreless, dominates Padres

Chris Haft

SAN FRANCISCO -- The genuine Madison Bumgarner showed up Thursday at AT&T Park. You

know him. He's the guy who strings together zeros on the scoreboard like pearls on a necklace,

for whom pitching late into the game is an imperative, not an anomaly, and who considers

generating offense as important as preventing it.

Bumgarner's fingerprints were all over the Giants' 3-0 victory over the Padres, which was

exactly the way he wanted it as he secured his first win of the season.

View Full Game Coverage

Bumgarner went eight innings and never encountered serious trouble in the series opener

against the Padres, who have lost five consecutive games. The left-hander didn't go more than

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six innings in any of his first three starts this year.

"It feels like everything keeps improving and kind of getting back in the swing of things,"

Bumgarner said. "Command was the biggest jump for me tonight. It's good that's coming

along."

Bumgarner issued two walks, struck out eight and yielded three hits. Two of them were doubles

by Manuel Margot, the only Padres player to reach scoring position.

"They've got some guys that you need to be careful with," Bumgarner said after the Giants (38-

38) returned to the .500 mark. "They've got a good lineup. I felt good about that. I was able to

keep it off the barrels for the most part. It was a good overall game."

Padres manager Andy Green indicated that Bumgarner altered his pitching pattern to adjust to

San Diego's hitters.

"He changed today for us," Green said. "There was a lot of offspeed thrown, a lot more than

I've ever seen him throw, and a different type of mix. It caught us off-guard."

Bumgarner has been slow to regain his form due to the fractured fifth metacarpal in his left

hand he sustained in Spring Training, which delayed his season debut to June 5. On Thursday,

however, he looked every bit like the 2014 postseason hero and four-time All-Star who has

maintained the Giants' pitching-rich tradition.

Bumgarner immediately felt ready to deliver a strong effort, which was unusual for him.

"I don't put a lot of stock in the bullpen before the game," Bumgarner said. "But today, I could

tell that my stuff was picking up a little."

Even Buster Posey, who caught Bumgarner during warmups and the game, was pleasantly

surprised when his batterymate remarked on his physical surge.

"He has as good of body awareness as anybody," Posey said, "so I took that as a good sign."

Bumgarner asserted himself at the plate as well, hoisting a fifth-inning sacrifice fly to drive in

the Giants' first run. Alen Hanson's leadoff triple in the eighth led to a two-run rally, which

included a Posey RBI single, and cleared the way for Mark Melancon to record his first save

since June 20, 2017.

"It was the Madison we know," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "He really hit his spots. Great

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focus out there, had all his pitches going. He mixed it up well and hit his spots. He knocks in the

first run. It was a type of game we've seen so many times from him."

MOMENT THAT MATTERED

Run prevented: The Padres had a chance to score in the fifth, which began with Jose Pirela's

single. One out later, Margot hit his second double, which right fielder Andrew

McCutchen played smoothly off the wall. Second baseman Joe Panik took McCutchen's relay

and flung another strike to Posey. Ignoring third-base coach Glenn Hoffman's stop sign, Pirela

charged home and was easily tagged out by Posey.

"I thought if [Pirela] kept going that we would have him," Bochy said. "The cutoff and relay are

so important. If you execute it, you can save yourself a lot of runs."

SOUND SMART

This was the Giants' 100th victory over the Padres at AT&T Park, which opened in 2000.

UP NEXT

Chris Stratton is scheduled to start Friday's 7:15 p.m. PT game against the Padres. The right-

hander has done exactly what he is supposed to do: Keep the team in the game. San Francisco

is 11-4 in Stratton's starts, including 6-1 at AT&T Park. Stratton has found a semblance of a

groove, having allowed three or fewer earned runs in each of his last six starts. Stratton will be

opposed by a familiar Giants foe -- left-hander Clayton Richard.

MLB.com

Strickland shows remorse; Cueto set to rehab

Martin Oppengaard

SAN FRANCISCO -- Hunter Strickland spoke with manager Bruce Bochy on Wednesday for the

first time since the Giants' closer fractured his right hand punching a door after a blown save

Monday night.

"We had a good conversation," Bochy said before Thursday's game against the Padres. "He

feels horrible and remorseful for what happened. We talked about a couple things we could do

different to help relieve that tension or pressure."

View Full Game Coverage

Strickland, who said he has received positivity and reassurance from his teammates, was

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planning to speak to the team Thursday.

"This is something that I'll always regret, but I don't have time to feel sorry for myself, because

I'm the one that created this problem," Strickland said. "I have to move forward and bust my

tail to get back on the field and help these guys win."

Strickland was contrite when addressing the media and acknowledged that he wants to work

on his emotions.

"I don't want my little daughter growing up and seeing an angry side of anything," Strickland

said. "I understand the perception that I've given off from this year, last year or 2014. I

understand everybody's perception of me, because this is what they see. This is what I've given

them, and I don't blame them for feeling that way. I know I'm a better person than that."

As for rehabbing his right hand fracture, Strickland said the plan is to get another X-ray in two

weeks and take the two pins out of his hand then. The timetable for the right-hander's return

remains at least 6-8 weeks.

Rehab updates

Right-hander Johnny Cueto will begin a rehab assignment this weekend, starting for

Sacramento on Saturday and throwing around 40 pitches, Bochy said.

Bochy expects Cueto to make around three rehab starts.

"It's exciting to see the light at the end of the tunnel," Bochy said.

Jeff Samardzija made his second rehab start for Sacramento on Thursday. The right-hander

allowed two runs on four hits over four innings, striking out seven and throwing 73 pitches.

Before the outing, Bochy said Samardzija would be evaluated after the game to see if he needs

a third rehab start.

Plenty of playing time coming for healthy Hanson

Alen Hanson exited Wednesday's game against the Marlins, appearing to be the latest Giants

player stricken with an injury. But X-rays came back negative, revealing a left knee contusion,

and the switch-hitter returned to the leadoff spot for Thursday's game.

"He's been a real spark," Bochy said. "The way he plays, where he plays, he's so versatile. The

kid is an exciting player. That's why I'm going to try to keep him going and find a place to put

him out there every day."

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Left field has been a revolving door for Bochy, with Mac Williamson, Hunter Pence and Austin

Jacksonall getting time there. However, Hanson started in left Thursday. He has not played

outfield since May 7.

"The players dictate who plays, when they play and how much," Bochy said. "Somebody steps

up and takes the job and runs with it. That's where we're at right now. We're going to go with

the hottest guy."

With Hanson's status uncertain after Wednesday, Bochy hinted that outfielder Austin

Slater may have been on the Giants' taxi squad.

"We had to cover ourselves," Bochy said.

Slater, the Giants' No. 5 prospect per MLB Pipeline, is slashing .340/.416/.565 for Triple-A

Sacramento.

NBCsportsbayarea.com

Down on the Farm: Jalen Miller is this year's Giants breakout prospect

Dalton Johnson

Every year in the MLB Draft, comparisons are thrown around for college and high school

prospects, most of them way over the top. He's the next Barry Bonds. He's the next Derek Jeter.

He's the next Chipper Jones. He's the next Pedro Martinez.

When the Giants drafted Jalen Miller in the third round of the 2015 MLB Draft, the high school

middle infielder from Georgia was often compared to a three-time All-Star who started out as a

prepster middle infielder from the Peach State -- Brandon Phillips. While Phillips isn't a future

Hall of Famer, he was a speedy second baseman with power and a golden glove, four Gold

Gloves to be exact.

Miller started off his professional career at 19 years old and immediately showed his speed and

athleticism. The bat, however, was way behind any Phillips comparisons. In his first three

seasons, Miller batted .218, .223, .227 with a combined 11 home runs. Now in his fourth season

as a pro, and his second with the San Jose Giants, Miller is enjoying his breakout year before

our eyes.

At the All-Star break, Miller ranked seventh in the California League in batting average (.305),

second in hits (81), and sixth in doubles (18). To open up the second half, Miller balsted his

eighth home run of the year, the exact amound he hit in the California League Home Run

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Derby, and already two more than his previous career high of six. During his second stint in San

Jose, Miller has made strides at the plate with his power and overall consistency.

Aside from hitting for a low average his first three seasons, Miller also struggled reaching base.

Not once in those first three seasons did Miller have an on-base percentage of .300 or higher.

And from 2015-17, he struck out 249 to 74 walks. Miller has a .345 on-base percentage to go

with his .303 batting average and .472 batting average in 65 games. All three parts of his slash

line are career highs by a long shot. Though the 21-year-old still has a ways to go with his

patience (61 walks to 15 walks this year), Miller has vastly improved his overall approach and

pitch recognition.

Just as he has become more consistent on offense, Miller has improved his consistency with his

glove as well. Drafted as a shortstop, the 5-foot-11 Miller has solely played second base this

season. His .965 fielding percentage is a career high and he has turned 45 doubles plays so far.

Comparisons, just like the draft itself, is a two-eyes-closed leap of faith. Miller and Phillips, both

high school prospects from the same state, were both drafted as athletic shortstops full

of upside who transitioned to second base, with Phillips going one round higher. For Miller, the

results are coming later than Phillips, and that's just fine as the Giants' No. 29 prospect gets

closer to his Georgia counterpart.

NBCsportsbayarea.com

Bumgarner tosses eight shutout innings, drives in run in Giants' win over Padres

Alex Pavlovic

SAN FRANCISCO -- Madison Bumgarner pitched eight innings of three-hit ball for his first win of

the season, Mark Melancon earned his first save in a year and the San Francisco Giants beat

the San Diego Padres 3-0 on Thursday night.

The Giants won for the fourth time in five games and sent the last-place Padres to their fifth

straight loss.

Bumgarner (1-2) struck out eight and walked two in his best start since coming off the disabled

list. He also drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly.

The ace left-hander outdueled Tyson Ross (5-5), who gave up one run and four hits in seven

innings. He struck out three and walked three.

Bumgarner began the season on the DL with a broken pinkie on his pitching hand sustained in

his final spring training start when he was hit by a line drive. He was 0-2 with a 4.67 ERA in

three previous outings since being reinstated.

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Bumgarner's sacrifice fly scored Pablo Sandoval in the fifth. Sandoval singled leading off the

inning and Joe Panik followed with a double.

It was the fourth time in his career Bumgarner made a scoreless start and had the game-

winning RBI, tying Stephen Strasburg and Fernando Valenzuela for the most such games by any

pitcher in the last 40 years, according to STATS

The Padres' best scoring chance came in the fifth, when Jose Pirela was thrown out at home

trying to score from second on Manuel Margot's one-out double to deep right. Giants

catcher Buster Posey tagged out Pirela after a perfect relay from Andrew McCutchen and

Panik.

San Francisco added two insurance runs in the eighth, when Posey singled through a drawn-in

infield after Alen Hanson's leadoff triple against reliever Phil Maton.

Melancon, who started the season on the DL with a right elbow flexor strain, pitched the ninth

for his first save since June 20, 2017.

DROUGHT BUSTER:

Bumgarner was winless in six previous starts against the Padres. He was 0-4 with a 4.73 ERA

during that stretch.

TRAINER'S ROOM:

Padres: OF Wil Myers (left oblique strain) and Maton (right lat strain) were reinstated from the

10-day DL, and RHP Colin Rea (right shoulder strain) was activated from the 60-day DL. . OF

Franchy Cordero (right elbow bone spur) was transferred to the 60-day DL and RHP Phil

Hughes (right rhomboid strain) was placed on the 10-day DL. . OF Franmil Reyes was optioned

to Triple-A El Paso. . RHP Bryan Mitchell (right elbow impingement) had an MRI on Wednesday

that showed inflammation in the affected area but no ligament damage, manager Andy Green

said. Mitchell is expected to start throwing in four or five days.

Giants: SS Brandon Crawford was reinstated from the paternity list and was in the starting

lineup. . INF Kelby Tomlinson was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento. . RHP Hunter

Strickland (broken right pinkie) will have more X-rays in two weeks to determine if two pins he

had surgically inserted on Wednesday can be removed. The 29-year-old reliever was injured

when he punched a door in frustration after a blown save against Miami on Monday. .

RHP Johnny Cueto (right elbow inflammation) will throw 40 pitches in a rehab start with Triple-

A Sacramento on Saturday. . RHP Jeff Samardzija (right shoulder tightness) threw 73 pitches in

his second rehab start with Sacramento.

UP NEXT:

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LHP Clayton Richard (6-6, 4.31 ERA) will make his team-leading 16th start for the Padres. He's

5-2 with a 3.04 ERA over his last eight. Giants RHP Chris Stratton (8-4, 4.22) hasn't allowed a

run over 13 2/3 innings in two career starts against San Diego.

The Athletic

Getting a grip: Madison Bumgarner’s first victory came much later than planned, but Giants

appear poised to climb now

Andrew Baggarly

Madison Bumgarner is a left-handed pitcher who does most things right-handed, which

provides the occasional convenience.

He hits from the right side. He picks up a fork with his right hand. And in those times when

blinded by rage or frustration or a blood-red mixture of both, he will punch an inanimate object

with his right hand.

“Well, sure, if I told you I never punched something, I’d be lying,” he said Thursday night. “I

punch right-handed, so it’s not as big a deal for me.”

Bumgarner, like Hunter Strickland, fractured the fifth metacarpal on his pitching hand this

season. Unlike Strickland, he sustained the injury on a line-drive comebacker in a meaningless

spring training game as opposed to an even more meaningless meeting of fist and wall.

Bumgarner had his surgery, went through his rehab, did any number of hand strengthening

exercises, built up his pitch count and hurried through two minor league rehab starts, all

because the Giants knew that their lariat-throwing left-hander at reduced potency was better

than anything else they had.

It was evident in his first three starts, all losses, that he was still gaining boiler pressure. But he

also made steady progress in those three outings. And while achieving their first victory in a

Bumgarner start on June 21 was nowhere to be found in the Giants’ grand designs, their 3-0

win over the San Diego Padres returned them to a .500 record and would appear to point them

on a more promising trajectory.

The Giants didn’t plan for Mark Melancon to go a year and a day in between recording saves,

either. They certainly didn’t plan to stack up Austin Jackson, Hunter Pence and Mac Williamson

like cord wood in the dugout while Alen Hanson started in left field. They didn’t plan for three

fractured fifth metacarpals, three surgeries to pin the bones together and six combined months

of lost productivity from Bumgarner, Strickland and third baseman Evan Longoria.

But the Giants have Bumgarner back now, and he’s only getting better, and his impact is felt

beyond the one day out of five that he takes the mound.

“It was the Madison we know,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “Great focus out there. He

hit all his spots. It’s the type of game we’ve seen so many times from him.”

16

Bumgarner’s best and most consistent weapon is his cutter, and while he would be loathe to

offer anything resembling an excuse, pitchers will tell you that the offering requires grip

strength to achieve its late break. As well as Bumgarner hit spots while holding the Padres to

three hits in his eight shutout innings, the cutter is not where he wants it to be yet.

“It’s big right now,” he said. “It’s bigger than I’d like for it to be. But it’s playing, still. And big’s

not always bad, especially when you can command it like we did today.

“I’d like to tighten it up a bit as we get more into this.”

He threw 29 cutters and they ranged from 83-86 mph. That’s down from the 88-89 mph range

at which he threw the pitch in the past. But whether he threw his slower curve (25 of them) or

his changeup (10) or nudged the strike zone with that bigger cutter, he effectively kept the

Padres from attacking the fastball.

“He changed today for us,” Padres manager Andy Green said. “There were a lot of off-speed

pitches. He threw more (off-speed pitches) than I’ve ever seen him throw. He used a different

type of mix than he’s ever thrown. It was a different way for him to (come) at us. He caught us

off guard. He did a nice job.

“When we faced him in the past, we had good at-bats. We had a lot of guys jump his fastball.

We’ve hit some home runs against him where teams haven’t. He just made an adjustment

coming into game. It was an obvious adjustment that we noticed early. We didn’t adjust back.”

Bumgarner threw just 36 fastballs out of 100 pitches, and because he hadn’t gone more than

six innings this season, eight was enough.

Remarkably, it was the first time this season that a Giants starter completed eight innings.

“I tell you, it’s critical to have a guy or two who can do that,” said Bochy, who considered Sam

Dyson and Tony Watson both off-limits due to their recent workloads. “Those (relievers)

needed a break, especially the guys we’ve been using in the setup and closer role. That’s

invaluable, and that showed up tonight.”

Perhaps Jeff Samardzija will be able to provide more of those deep starts. He was throwing 94

mph in the fourth inning of his rehab start for Triple-A Sacramento on Thursday. He struck out

seven. His next appearance could come in a major league game, and with Johnny Cueto making

a rehab start Saturday for the River Cats, the Giants, who were down to catgut in terms of

starting pitching depth a couple weeks ago, might soon operate with a surplus of it.

Depth is important. So is having an ace to lead the way.

As second baseman Joe Panik put it: “We’ll run into games like this when you’re facing another

team’s No.1, and on those nights, you look to No. 40 over there and let ’em lock horns and we’ll

scratch one across somehow.”

Bumgarner did the scratching, too. His sacrifice fly plated Pablo Sandoval in the fifth inning after

Panik’s double had pushed the Panda into scoring position. Panik also doubled in the seventh

inning — the kind of night he’s due more often, given that he entered with a .239 average

despite the lowest swinging strike rate among all major leaguers.

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Then it was Hanson’s turn. Bochy acknowledged prior to the game that left field was far from a

settled business, and with the Padres’ Tyson Ross so tough on their right-handed hitters earlier

this season, the Giants sat all three of their right-handed options in favor of Hanson getting a

spot start.

“I just like to keep his bat in there,” Bochy said of Hanson, who is hitting .393 at home. “He’s

athletic enough to handle the outfield. He’s on a pretty good roll and we’ve needed it. This kid’s

an exciting player and I’ll try to find a place to keep him going.”

Hanson delivered excitement when he turned a flare over the first baseman’s head into a triple.

Buster Posey’s single scored him in the eighth, and the Giants added another run on a missed

catch error by second baseman Jose Pirela.

Earlier in the game, Pirela made another miscalculation when he ran through the stop sign from

third base coach Glenn Hoffman and was thrown out at the plate trying to score from first on a

double. Andrew McCutchen, who might possess the best outfield arm by a Giant since Nate

Schierholtz, made a barehand pickup on the track and did such a credible job hitting his cutoff

man that Panik had plenty of time to ensure a strong throw to the plate. Pirela was out easily.

“Cutch? Oh yeah,” Panik said. “He throws a great ball. A four-seamer. Doesn’t cut. It’s true, and

it’s the ideal ball to receive because it’s not tailing or cutting.”

Bumgarner counted the names — McCutchen, Panik, Posey, and considered the relay.

“That’s three Gold Gloves, I believe,” he said. “That’s what those guys do.”

The Giants had the vibe of a team gaining confidence and assurance. Prior to batting practice,

Sandoval thunked himself down in front of the station of cameras where Bochy does his

pregame media session and took the manager’s suggestion to provide the day’s briefing.

How are the boys today?

“They’re good. We’re coming from a good series and we’re ready to start this one.”

How is Hanson?

“He’s great. He’s going to play left field today. His knee feels better. He came out early to do

outfield works. He feels good.”

Can Pablo do a good job filling in at third base while Longoria is out?

“I don’t know about that. But when Longoria is coming back, Pablo is going to be on the bench.

Don’t worry.”

Sandoval did not completely spare Bochy from his afternoon duties, though, and there were

questions to be asked on the day that Strickland returned from his surgery, expressed his

remorse to the media and apologized to the team.

“This is obviously something that I’m struggling with,” Strickland said. “I don’t think I have

necessarily an anger problem all the time. I truly feel that my emotions get the best of me

sometimes because I care what I’m doing.”

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Whether Strickland went far enough to acknowledge his problem or not, he appeared earnest

when asked if he would seek anger management counseling.

“The only thing I can do is get better,” he said. “I’ll talk to whoever I need to talk to. Attend

whatever class, whatever I need to do to get better.”

He started in his manager’s office. When Strickland met with Bochy, they discussed “a couple

things we can do different to maybe help relieve some of that tension and pressure,” the

manager said.

Including a less pressurized bullpen role when Strickland returns?

“I can’t say who’s going to have what role at that point,” Bochy said. “But no, just ways to take

five minutes to decompress, so you don’t have those ‘temporary insanity’ moments where you

do something like he did.”

Bumgarner is sympathetic. He knows that those moments are all too frequent when you play a

competitive game that involves so much pride and so much failure.

“I mean, listen, we’ve had some guys … I mean, Brian Wilson, when he was here, he’d tear the

place apart,” Bumgarner said. “He just happened to never break his hand. It’s not an abnormal

thing. And Hunter, he does as good a job as anybody. I know it sounds weird to say with the

position he’s in right now, but compared to other guys we’ve had, he does a good job of that.

You want to pick a better target, I guess.

“It’s tough because we live and die with every pitch we throw, so you’ve got to find a way to

stay even keel.”

Because whenever it begins to go awry, there is nothing more important than maintaining a

grip.

ESPN.com

Pump the brakes on a universal DH, and MLB's next big thing

Bradford Doolittle

There are some debates in baseball that just never go away. To be fair, baseball itself causes

some of this by stirring the pot from time to time, and that's not a bad thing. Anything that

generates discussion is good. It shows that people care. People who care watch games and buy

tickets. Thus, here we are again, debating the relative merits of the designated hitter. Hey,

don't blame me. The commissioner is the one who brought it up.

Recently, Ben Lindbergh of The Ringer wrote a piece called "Let's Stop Pretending That Pitchers

Can Hit," and it's a great read. It brings the DH debate into the current time, with an emphasis

on the continuing deterioration of aggregate hitting performances of pitchers. That cannot be

denied. Pitchers, relative to position players, have never been good hitters, even the best-

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hitting hurlers, and the gap is widening. Lindbergh is but one of a legion of analytically informed

writers who have condemned the medieval practice of allowing pitchers to hit over the years.

This, I think, has become orthodoxy among those whose fandom is heavily informed by

analytics. To them, the professional game is undermined by having non-professional hitters

take a turn at the plate in the major leagues.

EDITOR'S PICKS

Cubs serve notice: They're the NL team to beat

With their athleticism and daring on the bases and in the field, the Cubs have a leg up on other

contenders in the NL -- as the Dodgers found out.

•

So-called greatest free-agent class ever check-in: Who is up, down?

A good or bad season before hitting the market could be a difference of millions of dollars. See

who is (and isn't) making the most of his contract year.

•

Moving on without Ohtani, overrated stars and MLB's next big thing

There's plenty to love about baseball in 2018, with or without the Angels' injured super-rookie.

Plus, naming the most over- and underrated players ever.

That is a rational opinion. If bad pitcher-hitting matters to you, then of course you want to add

the DH to the National League. You probably also want to if you are angered when American

League pitchers are injured while hitting in NL parks or running the bases. It's perfectly

reasonable to feel that way. Yet, I would hate it -- HATE. IT. -- if the designated hitter spread to

the National League. Yes, that's right, I am a status quo guy. Of course, that doesn't matter at

all, which I'll get to in a bit.

First, a quick bit of biography: I grew up as a fan of the Kansas City Royals, who during my

formative years had one helluva designated hitter named Hal McRae. Like scores of young fans

in my region, I was a George Brett guy, but I loved McRae, too, and couldn't get enough stories

about his ruthless ways on the basepaths. I remember arguing about whether McRae or Don

Baylor was the best DH in the game. It seemed like a singular skill: to be able to hit at a high

level while waiting around the dugout for two or three innings at a time.

Despite this, I have never really liked the DH, mostly because I grew up reading about baseball

history even more often than I read about the game as it played out in my time. That made me

into a kind of a neo-purist -- one who longed for an era of baseball that I never came close to

actually experiencing. For most of my adult life, I was a kill-the-DH guy. Because of my almost-

compulsive eye for symmetry, the idea of different rules for different leagues always struck me

as absurd.

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I've changed, though, for a few reasons.

First, as others have pointed out, the DH rule is the last great differentiator between the

leagues, and I do think it's important that the American League and National League maintain

distinctive identities, even if the actual list of differences between them has shortened over

time. This better connects the game to its history, sure, but that might not matter to enough

younger fans to be all that important. However, it does mark baseball as different from the

other major sports, and it enhances the World Series, even in a time when interleague play has

become routine. Even more so, the existence of the DH means that the two leagues have

distinctive styles of play.

That diversity is compelling. Why does a baseball fan have to choose whether to have the DH

when he or she can have it both ways? Fans can gravitate toward whatever style they prefer,

or, even better, they can have a variety in styles. Then they can argue with those in the other

camp, as we've been doing since the DH was born in 1973.

The difference in styles that I allude to has much more to do with player deployment than it

does actual in-game strategies these days. It's certainly true that you don't have to be a brain

surgeon to order a pitcher to bunt, or to double-switch him out of the lineup. But the fact that

you have to account for that one lousy spot in your order adds valuable nuance to a game that

increasingly sees little variance in styles from team to team. No, pitcher sacrifices aren't sexy

selling points, but if they didn't exist, bunting would be all but extinct in Major League Baseball.

It's not a part of baseball I'm ready to see completely die. I hate stupid bunts, but we don't see

many of those anymore and the ones that remain are mostly valid -- because they are laid

down by pitchers.

Sick of seeing pitchers hit? Love National League strategy? Either way, the argument is

good for baseball. Sergio Estrada/USA TODAY Sports

The biggest reason I prefer the National League game at this point is the way it forces rosters to

be built with greater versatility in mind, and more of the NL-style roster comes into play on a

daily basis. Sure, the double switch is a near-automatic decision, but the defensive quality of

the players you're moving around is far from automatic. For super-versatile teams like the Cubs

and Dodgers, it's an advantage to be able to move players around the field while maintaining

integrity both at the plate and in the field. On a day-by-day basis, the full roster of NL teams is

more important, and it's one of my favorite parts of following the game.

Plus, call me a masochist, but I like watching pitchers hit, and not only the better ones. The big

21

league batting average for pitchers is .109 right now and sure, that sucks. But it also means that

one out of 10 times, a pitcher is getting a hit. We don't know when it's going to happen, and

when it does, it's fun. The crowd invariably reacts strongly, one way or the other, depending on

which team's pitcher has gotten the hit. Fans also applaud successful sacrifices and boo the

ones that are botched. It might not be why they're at the game, but it is something that can

shake them out of a stupor.

So why, then, don't I simply argue for the AL to get rid of the DH?

One of the original arguments for the DH is that it creates an avenue for an aging or imperfect

slugger to remain in the game even when he can't hold down a position. I can buy this to an

extent. Most of the time, these aren't going to be star-level hitters, as teams often choose to

use the DH slot as a vehicle to rest players. There are some DH stars, obviously, from McRae,

Baylor and Paul Molitor to Edgar Martinez and David Ortiz. For me, that's why it works to have

different policies by league: There are places for the star, mono-skilled slugger to play. But we

don't need 30 such places.

At the bottom line, the difference in offense is marginal, especially in recent seasons. This year,

AL teams have averaged 4.39 runs per game. NL teams are at 4.34, a difference of .05 runs per

game. Here are the differences for the past 10 years, per Baseball-Reference.com:

Runs Per Game

YEAR AL NL DIFF DIFF/162

2018 4.39 4.34 0.05 8.1

2017 4.71 4.58 0.13 21.1

2016 4.52 4.44 0.08 13.0

2015 4.39 4.11 0.28 45.4

2014 4.18 3.95 0.23 37.3

2013 4.33 4.00 0.33 53.5

2012 4.45 4.22 0.23 37.3

2011 4.46 4.13 0.33 53.5

2010 4.45 4.33 0.12 19.4

2009 4.82 4.43 0.39 63.2

Park factors likely play into this -- both Coors Field and Chase Field are in the National League --

but if we use the average from this list, we're talking about a run about every 4.6 games. I'd

rather have the extra nuance that comes with the pitcher's spot in the batting order.

22

That preference is just that, a preference, the same as it is for those who think it's silly to watch

pitchers strike out over 40 percent of the time. When it comes to preferences, any one person's

is irrelevant. All that matters is what the consensus is. And the consensus is that there is no

consensus.

After commissioner Rob Manfred's comment last week, mlbtraderumors.com ran a fan poll. I

would have thought that site's readership would lean to the analytical side of things, but the

results were a virtual dead heat. When I looked around for other polls, I found similar splits. In

general, it seems as if there is a slight lean toward no DH, but fans of AL teams prefer to keep it,

and NL fans very much don't want to adopt it.

I don't know how good any of those polls are. However, all that matters on this issue is for

baseball to analyze an accurate survey of its fan base. If it does, I doubt a universal policy would

make sense. Because this isn't a quality-of-the-game issue, it's an aesthetic one. My guess is

that to give the most fans possible what they want, we should keep things as they are. But

when it comes to the DH, all that really matters is what the fans want.

What the numbers say

AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

The end of Esky magic

The Royals are headed for rock bottom this season, and that's fine. Under Dayton Moore, they

built up their farm system, successfully developed some premium draft picks, put together one

of the best-ever bullpens, and won two pennants and Kansas City's second World Series title in

2015. No matter what analytical types think about the way Moore, manager Ned Yost or

anybody else in Kansas City goes about their business, there is a world-championship flag flying

over Kauffman Stadium that trumps every quibble.

But as core players like Eric Hosmer and Lorenzo Cain departed for free-agent riches, and a

string of misses with first-round draft picks such as Bubba Starling, Kyle Zimmer and Aaron

Crow piled up, the Royals' window closed. This year's Royals are what you have in the

aftermath: a team on pace to lose over 100 games and still shedding veteran talent, with trades

sending away Jon Jay and Kelvin Herrera in recent weeks. This team could conceivably lose 110

games. Again -- this is fine.

Remaining through it all is Alcides Escobar, who has started every game at shortstop for Kansas

City since May 7, 2015. With the recent promotionof Adalberto Mondesi, it's a streak that's

23

expected to end any day now.

Escobar homered against Oakland on June 7, which I mention only because it spurred me to

look at his hitting numbers. They weren't good. And they've gotten worse: Despite playing

every game since then, Escobar has managed just two singles and two walks since that time. His

on-base percentage for the season has sunk all the way to .251, which would be his career

worst. And that's saying something.

Escobar's career on-base percentage is just .292, which got me to wondering: What is the

record for career plate appearances for a player with a sub-.300 on-base percentage? If we

keep it to active players only, Escobar has lapped the field:

Most Plate Appearances By Active Players With Sub-.300 OBP

Alcides Escobar 5,456

Nick Hundley 3,118

Adeiny Hechavarria 2,839

Freddy Galvis 2,740

Jeff Mathis 2,555

Billy Hamilton 2,428

Source: Baseball-Reference.com

If you expand it to all players, ever, Escobar has some work to do. He is No. 30 all time, well

behind top-of-the-list Tommy Corcoran, who played far back into the mystical past. Corcoran

had 9,400 career plate appearances with an OBP of .290, not that he or anyone else in baseball

back then understood what OBP was. No. 2 on the list is a player who is both familiar to Royals

fans and was a terrific player: Frank White, who took 8,468 trips to the dish with an OBP of

.293.

We're picking on Escobar here, but players have been valued for different reasons all through

history. Even now, teams differ on player value based on their internal philosophies. Don't

worry, I'm not going to make a case that Escobar is or ever has been a good hitter. But he has

been a good player at times during his career. He's won a Gold Glove. He's played in an All-Star

Game. He's been worth as many as 3.7 WAR in a season and was the starting shortstop on

those recent Royals pennant winners. He has no reason to hang his head in shame, no matter

what his OBP column says. There are reasons he's a beloved player in the Kansas City

organization.

That said ... it would be nice if the Royals eventually found a long-term shortstop who was

24

actually a tough out at the plate, because that is not a trait they have ever valued at the

position. Not ever, not with Moore, or John Schuerholz or Allard Baird or Cedric Tallis building

the rosters. No team has been less concerned with finding on-base ability than the Royals have

been when it comes to their shortstops.

If you are at all familiar with baseball history of the past 50 years, all I really have to do is list the

names and the association with on-base blackholedom is automatic: Freddie Patek, U.L.

Washington, Rey Sanchez, Neifi Perez, Angel Berroa, Yuniesky Betancourt. Anyone who has

ever read a Bill James Baseball Abstract is curled into a fetal position by now, so I'll stop there.

The Royals' collective on-base percentage from the shortstop position through their 50-year

history has been .296, easily the worst of any team, per fangraphs.com. The funny thing is,

Escobar's chances to continue to climb that plate-appearances list aren't necessarily at an end --

Mondesi has a .498 OPS over his first 219 big league plate appearances. On a team that is

positioning for next year's top draft pick, letting Escobar make outs seven out of 10 times only

makes sense.

Since you asked

Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports

The Luhnow Way

The Astros' Jeff Luhnow is one of baseball's most fascinating executives. His early tenure in

Houston, the period during which the Astros' championship squad was built, was not without

its controversies. There was a perceived lowball offer on an extension for George Springer.

There was the Brady Aiken mess, which cost Houston two high picks from the 2014 draft but

also gave the club the slot used to nab Alex Bregman the following June.

Even last season, as Houston was gearing up for its first World Series title, Luhnow drew some

ire for his reorganization of the Astros' scouting department, which once again spurred some to

suggest he's too far on the analytics side of the scouting-statistics spectrum. One thing you can

say about Luhnow: He has his own way of doing things, but who can deny the results?

The Astros have evolved into a model, 21st-century organization that works in lockstep all the

way from owner Jim Crane, to Luhnow and his baseball operations department, to field

manager/team spokesman/front-office liaison A.J. Hinch, arguably the prototype for a big

league skipper in a 2018 context. The Houston clubhouse is a lively, well-integrated

environment with few apparent cliques and lots of video hockey. (At least in spring training.)

25

The players are embedded in the Houston community, which never was more apparent

than during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Houston's payroll is nicely dovetailed with the

on-field value provided by the roster, and the system is still bearing fruit, with top prospects

like outfielder Kyle Tucker waiting on a big league opportunity.

Thus, it was no surprise this week when Crane promoted Luhnow to the title of president of

baseball operations and general manager and extended his contract through the 2023 season.

The Astros' window of contention is wide open, and even with crucial contract negotiations

approaching in the years ahead -- Springer, Dallas Keuchel, Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, Lance

McCullers and Carlos Correa -- Houston seems poised to be an American League power for the

foreseeable future. I had a good conversation with Luhnow about his player-development

philosophies in his office at the Astros' spring-training facility in West Palm Beach, Florida,

before the season, and news of his extension serves as a good opportunity to share some of

that.

One thing that really jumps out to me about you guys is, here you have a team that won over

100 games, won the World Series, and it still feels like there is plenty of room for further

growth. Assuming you agree with that, how much did that inform how you approached

building the team for this season?

Jeff Luhnow: I think that from our offense, we looked at how young our position-player group is

across the board. [Josh] Reddick has just turned [31], and he's our veteran. Springer is still

young, [Jose] Altuve is young, Correa is young, Bregman is super young. We have a young group

and they played well together last year. I do believe that there is more in there, even though

you have an MVP and other guys who made the All-Star Game, just because they have more

experience and more time in the game, and now they've won together as a group. Yuli [Gurriel]

is just entering his second full season of major league baseball. On the catching side, we've got

guys who are a little bit older, but that wisdom is what really helps us and helps our pitchers.

On the position-player side, we really felt like that group had a chance to be better, even

though they had a historic year offensively.

Pitching-wise, we have young pitchers but we've got the two horses atop the rotation, and we

wanted to improve our pitching staff. Which is why we made the [Gerrit Cole] trade that was

costly, and we brought in the relievers (Hector Rondon and Joe Smith). So we do think we have

a chance to be better than the team that won it all last year. That being said, you can have the

best team on paper on March 28, but these guys have to stay healthy and they have to

perform. We know there are going to be some roadblocks along the way.

There is a lot of talk about superteams, and it's certainly the way I view things right now. That

has to keep you sharp in the offseason, right?

JL: Oh, it does. Knowing that Cleveland and New York and Boston in the American League are

likely to be really, really strong teams. Knowing that the Angels are going to be significantly

26

improved, and Seattle still has really good players and they've made some changes that are

going to improve their ballclub, even Oakland has really good, young players that I think are just

starting to blossom. And Texas is always a handful for us.

We've got our hands full; there is no question. I think we have to stay sharp because you can't

take anything for granted in this game, even if you're playing a last-place team.

When you were with the Cardinals, your title was director of scouting and development,

which is a very common thing. But when you think about it, scouting and development are

pretty different processes -- identifying talent and developing talent. It seems like a lot more

attention is paid to the scouting part of it in terms of coverage. But it's one thing to find

Correa and Springer and Bregman, but to hit on them, you've got to develop them, too, and

for those guys, it happened so fast that here we are: You're the champs and young enough to

improve from within. How tough was it to implement your development operations while at

the same time building the scouting when you were growing the farm system?

JL: Development organizations don't get the credit that they deserve. There is no player that

comes out of the draft that is ready for the big leagues. Even [Bryce] Harper had to spend time

in the minor leagues; [Stephen] Strasburg had to spend time in the minor leagues. There is a lot

of focus on the players when they are drafted or coming into the organization. Fans track them,

but they don't understand what it takes to turn a high school player like Carlos Correa and get

him ready to become the Rookie of the Year a few years later. Or Alex Bregman, taken out of

college and two years later he's making his debut. It's a shorter period of time than ever before

because there is so much demand to get these guys up there, and you know they are going to

be valuable.

Organizations are doing a really good job today of developing the young talent into not players

who still have a lot of development in the big leagues, but players who can really come in and

hit the ground running. I think we've seen a wave of young players the last few years hitting the

big leagues that are impact players right out of the gate. And that's different than it was 10, 15

years ago, where the rookies would come up and be on the bench part of the season, or

platoon to let them get used to it. Then a year or two in, they would start to hit their stride.

Today, you get a guy like Bregman come up and he's immediately impacting the team. A lot of

that credit goes to out entire development system, which really doesn't get the recognition it

deserves.

That's really the ideal for development, right, because you have guys hitting the big leagues

and being finished where it's going to have the most impact.

JL: Yeah, and you look at players like Dallas Keuchel, who was not a top prospect at any point in

27

his career, and yet a few years into his big league career and he's winning a Cy Young. You look

at Altuve, who got a low bonus in Venezuela and became an MVP. Those stories, those are

good scouting stories because scouts found them and got them before anybody else, but they

weren't first-rounders, they weren't notable signees, and yet they developed into elite,

premium talent. Obviously much of the credit goes to the individuals themselves, but a lot of it

also goes to the coaches and people who helped them get there.

How difficult is to develop a player according to organizational philosophies while also

allowing enough leeway for the player to become the best version of uniquely who he is?

Because that's something that seems to have happened with your young stars. They work as

a team, but they are uniquely good in their own way.

JL: There's a couple of things there. First, the scouting and the development functions have to

work collaboratively. If your organization is good at developing athletes into baseball players,

then your development team is good at turning athletes into baseball players. If it's the

opposite, you might find guys with a knack to hit, but you have to develop defensive skills. So

the two have to work together in order to maximize the impact of the players in the big

leagues. I also think you have to leave room for the player.

You don't know, when you draft a player or sign a player, especially when they're 16 or 19 or

21, what they are going to become. You might think he's going to be a high-average, low-power

guy and then all of sudden he starts to develop some power, or bodies change. You don't know

how physically they are going to develop or mentally how they are going to develop. You have

to allow them to develop their own way.

Now, you hope that it develops in a way that's good for run production and run prevention.

They have to have some skill set that's going to help you score runs or get guys out in the big

leagues. One thing we've all learned in this industry is that each player is different. Each player

is unique, so you have to customize your player-development system to get each of them

where they need to go.

Coming right up

AP Photo/Ben Margot

Win No. 200 is just around the corner

28

Justin Verlander has won nine games this season and maintained a sub-2.00 ERA into the

middle of June. He's reached 197 victories for his career. Verlander hit the 2,500-strikeout mark

earlier this season, so when he hits 200 wins, he will join some rarefied air. Only Mike Mussina,

Bob Feller and Walter Johnson have recorded at least 200 wins and 2,500 strikeouts while

spending their entire career in the American League.

More than that, though, when it comes to Verlander's 2018 season, I keep coming back to three

things. First, he's never been better. Maybe as good, but not better. Second, the ace told

MLB.com earlier this season that, if things continue to go well, he could see playing another 10

years.

Finally, that third thought: For the past 20 years, we've been reading about the demise of the

300-game winner. I've usually shrugged that off, knowing that it'll be tougher to get there but

not really to declare extinction. That is until the past couple of years when, given current trends

with starting-pitcher use, even I began to wonder if we might have really seen the last 300-

game winner.

But have we? Verlander needs another 103 wins. He's on pace for 19 this season, so let's be

optimistic and put him at 207 by the end of the campaign. That leaves him 93 short. Clearly, if

Verlander were to really go another 10 years, it seems likely he'd get there. But if another

decade is overly optimistic, what would a run look like for him?

Well, if Verlander gets to 19 wins this year (an aggressive assumption), he will have averaged 17

wins over the past three seasons. As mentioned, he's on top of his game and playing for the

best team in the big leagues, one poised to remain in the elite tier for the time being.

Let's say Verlander extends this 17-win average for three more seasons. He's then at 261 wins.

If he gets that close, is there any doubt he'd go for it, especially considering his adulation of

historical greats like Nolan Ryan?

I know. I'm not supposed to care. I don't judge pitchers by wins in the short term (though

career wins I haven't given up on). I even proposed changing the way we award wins, using

something like game scores to award decisions. But I can't help it, I love the idea of the 300-

game winner and hate the thought of never having another one.

In the 2018 Bill James Handbook, there is a longtime favorite James tool known as the Favorite

Toy. It calculates the probabilities of various career milestones, and said Verlander had a 15

percent shot at 300 wins coming into the season. However, the Favorite Toy didn't know that

Verlander wants to play another 10 years, nor did it know the full extent to which he's re-

established career momentum in what for most pitchers would be the decline phase of their

careers.

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Also, there is this: Verlander only ranked second in the 300-win probability sweepstakes.

Washington's Max Scherzer was at 33 percent, and he's already racked up 10 wins so far this

season. So maybe, just maybe, we haven't seen the last of the 300-game winners.

USAToday.com

San Francisco Giants' Hunter Strickland contrite, again, after latest meltdown

Jorge L. Ortiz

SAN FRANCISCO — Hunter Strickland says he doesn’t see himself as an angry guy.

There are at least three fellow major leaguers who probably see him in a different

light.

The San Francisco Giants reliever was contrite Thursday as he addressed the news

media for the first time since breaking his pinkie finger punching a door after coughing

up a late lead in Monday’s 5-4 loss to the Miami Marlins.

Strickland also had posted a lengthy apology on Instagram to his teammates, the

Giants and their fans.

Not only did Strickland blow the save in giving up three ninth-inning runs Monday, but

he went out of his way to verbally confront Marlins outfielder Lewis Brinson after the

rookie exuberantly celebrated hitting the tying single off Strickland.

The next day, the clubs traded hit-by-pitches, leading to the ejection — and eventual

suspensions — of Marlins pitcher Dan Straily and manager Don Mattingly.

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On Thursday, Strickland declined to put any blame for his reaction on Brinson and

accepted responsibility for his meltdown, which resulted in an injury that will sideline

him for 6-8 weeks.

“This is obviously something I’m struggling with,’’ Strickland said of losing his temper

in competition. “I don’t think I have necessarily an anger problem. I truly feel my

emotions get the best of me sometimes because I care about what I’m doing. I care

because these guys expect me to perform to the best of my ability, and unfortunately I

can’t do that every day.’’

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The hard-throwing right-hander, who has handled the closer job for the Giants most of

the season, has a history of high-profile blowups.

During Game 2 of the 2014 World Series, Strickland gave up a home run to the Kansas

City Royals’ Omar Infante and started yelling at baserunner Salvador Perez as he came

around to score, prompting the benches to empty.

That was the fifth home run Strickland yielded that postseason. He was twice

victimized by the Washington Nationals’ Bryce Harper, which so incensed Strickland

that the next time he faced Harper — in May of last season, three years later — he

plunked him, sparking a huge melee.

“I understand everybody’s perception of me because this is what they see, this is what

I’ve been giving them, and I don’t blame them for feeling that way,’’ said Strickland,

29. “I know I’m a better person than that. I know my heart is not that angry guy.’’

Strickland has a 2.84 ERA and converted 13 of 17 save chances. With him out and

veteran Mark Melancon still not 100 percent as he bounces back from an elbow flexor

strain, San Francisco will mostly lean on Sam Dyson in the ninth inning.

The prospect of letting his teammates down was troubling to Strickland, who said he

planned to address them before the night game against the San Diego Padres. He had

surgery Tuesday, the same day third baseman Evan Longoria was undergoing a similar

procedure after his pinkie was broken by a Straily pitch last week in Miami.

Calling his door-punching tantrum “a stupid decision,’’ Strickland said he would be

open to seeking counseling to avoid another such incident.

“I’ll talk to whoever I need to talk to,’’ he said, “attend whatever class, whatever I

need to do, to be better.’’