"If thats the case, I guess Bum Fans should start getting in line for Playoff tickets right? Take that argument to the 2011 Braves and BoSox fans and see what you get?...lol "
They told me they wish they would have gotten one more win in April.
One more win in the Last week or two of the season when the had too woulda worked too!
Hindsight is always 20/20...I believe you can ruin your season in April and May, but I also believe you don't earn a playoff spot till mid-August through September.
But hey, maybe we're both right, or both wrong.
"One more win in the Last week or two of the season when the had too woulda worked too!"
So they're both equivalent right?
I vote Brett Pill at first base every day. Huff's done and Belt looks overmatched every single time he steps into the batter's box. He also just became useful in a different capacity as Wilson is done: Trade Bait.
Play Pill
-RH power bat-His numbers are better than any other player at the position
Seems obvious who should be getting the majority of starts at 1B right now.
-antica
"So they're both equivalent right?"
Nope, they're not.
That's like saying I wish I had paid for insurance after an accident. They couldn't win WHEN THEY NEEDED TOO, just like the Giants couldn't, just like Nate "the Great" couldn't because of his unfortunate injury.
I don't blame Nate or Belt, I just choose to root for GIANTS who are (were known to be) clutch, not just talented individuals who have potential.
Hey JG,
"I believe you can ruin your season in April and May, but I also believe you don't earn a playoff spot till mid-August through September."
I guess I missed the memo saying wins and losses in August and September count more than they do in April and May.
Win opportunities are DIFFERENT late in the year, no doubt. Teams still in contention fight harder, and teams with no chance lay down. Early in the year, everyone plays on an even keel.
Late in the season most teams in contention will play to a draw in a head-on 4 game series, or one team will take 2 in a 3 game series. But it's common to see contending teams just roll over teams out of contention...which is why it's so difficult to make up appreciable ground on a division leader after the middle of August. You almost have to have one team completely tank it, like the 2011 Braves and Red Sox, or the 2010 Padres.
It happens, but not often. There's no way I want to see the Giants trailing the DBax OR the Dodgers by 4 or more, going into September....not the way they beat on San Diego and Colorado like red headed step children.
And I sure as heck don't want to see the Giants down by 10 games to the DBax and Dodgers at the end of f'n APRIL. Yeah, it's a long season. But whether anyone wants to admit it or not, the DBax are a very good, balanced club...just like the Giants SHOULD be...and to a lesser extent, so are the Dodgers. It's not a good idea to give up too much ground to either of them.
LoneStar
I agree a win is a win, and they are all important, but good teams Win when they have too.
How important were all those early season wins by the Pirates last year?
...so your argument is Nate isn't the answer when he's injured.
He's not injured now.
Are you saying he isn't the answer because he's injury prone? Are you saying he isn't the answer because the second he went down with injury the team suddenly couldn't score runs or win games?
Seriously...you are bagging on the one guy who *was* performing on a team that set *records* for WORST TEAM WITH RISP EVER because he got injured. WHY? Shouldn't your attention be focused on guys like Huff who failed miserably without getting injured? Or guys like O. Cabrera, or Rowand, or Ross, or Torres, or Whiteside, or Stewart, or F. Sanchez, or Pat Burrell, or Beltran, or Posey, or Tejada, or any one of the other people on the team that performed considerably worse than him?
Nate hit .295 with RISP last year. Only player with more than 20 at bats to hit higher was Mark freaking DeRosa in one third the opportunities. Every other player I pointed out hit 30 or more points lower than he did with RISP. Closest player was Keppinger at 20 points lower, then the Panda at 23 under.
I get it, people don't like Nate. They like feeding on the idea that some people do, and that he isn't an all star amazing great player. Few are arguing that he is. But on *THIS* team Nate is NOT one of the biggest concerns. On top of that, he is CHEAP. Would I prevent a guy like Beltran from coming to the team for Nate? NO. Would I bench a guy like Huff for him? YES.
Unless he's injured. I wouldn't start him if he was injured.
~MrGPAC
"I agree a win is a win, and they are all important, but good teams Win when they have too."
Here...let me correct your statement....
"HOT teams win when they have to."
Which is why it's not a good idea to allow a team like the DBax or Dodgers to enter the final month of the season up by a handful of games. With half the teams they're playing lying down for them, it's that much easier for them to GET hot.
That's why it's so rare, such a big story, when a team with a 5 game (or more) lead at the end of August folds up their tent in September.
Folks don't think much of 5 games lost in the standings in April...but if you do it in September, you're a choke artist. The reason is simple...while all games count equally in the standings, it's harder to win in April than it is in September.
"it's harder to win in April than it is in September"
Dude...I can't argue with that! You win!....LOL
"Dude...I can't argue with that! You win!....LOL"
Dang...and that was the most disputable line of logic I've used here in some time....;+).........
The strange thing about September games is that non-contending teams are typically trying to see what they've got in the high minors, playing guys who wouldn't have taken the field before rosters expanded, while saying they embrace the role of "spoiler"....whatever...teams that were bad before September get REALLY bad against contenders in September.
Cripes...I still remember the Rockies going 0-for-1993 against the f'n Braves.
About the only exception I can think of are grudge level rivals, like the Dodgers and Giants, or Yankees Red Sox. I don't care who's in the lead, and who's out of it. If there's a title hanging on the outcome, these games are always wild and wooly.
Arizona versus Colorado or San Diego? Notsomuch.
Obviously you didn't get my sarcasm...lol... I will NEVER be convinced winning games in April is harder than September, are you kidding me? Everyone's wants to be in the playoffs, wants blood, or be the spoiler...and on the other side, DON'T WANT TO BE THE CHOKERS.
Anyways I respect your opinion (that should go without saying, this is the internet). At least we can agree we love our team.
Go Giants.
P.S. this thread is about Huff, so my official current opinion about Huff is:
We need the "Good" Huff alot more than we need anybody that we have to take his place, so playing him in April and giving him one last chance to prove last year was a fluke is OK in my book...now when May 1 rolls around, and it's same ol' same ol', I'll be the first to call for Huff's head.
I have no problems whatsoever starting Huff in April and May.
If he still s*cks at the end of May and is still taking at bats away from people then something is wrong.
I agree...
2010 will always make me smile, the contact high alone will keep a smile on my face till the day i die...huff will always have a spot in our collective hearts.
that being said, i lost a ton of respect for him when he had his little tirade about ZITO.i mean the clown pitches one great game at the beginning of the season against a fairly crummy team
and we're expected to eat humble pie by of all guys huff?
here's a guy who has almost completely tanked for 5 years now. for every game like that shutout he pitches 7 or 8 mediocre to abysmal games. Giants fans in general are pretty easy to please but zito's mediocrity and equally arrogant persona are grating on a good day.
i suppose he can hide behind the "just being a good teammate" banner but i dont buy it. It's like the XO on the Titanic telling us, "sure the captain steered us into an ice berg, but now we have plenty of ice for mixed cocktails, so quit your whining".