SAN FRANCISCO – The Giants didn’t stop the Colorado Rockies’ seven-run rally in the ninth inning quickly enough to prevent their 78th loss of the season.
But at least they ended it in time to secure one small victory: their .267 average (over Colorado’s .265 mark) led the National League – the first time the Giants have led the NL in hitting since 1993.
“We were top three in pretty much every category,” shortstop Brandon Crawford said. “That’s always a good place to start, and a lot of these guys in the lineup are young so we’ll be ready for next year, for sure.”
Crawford matched his usual defensive excellence with by far his most productive offensive season, hitting 21 home runs and driving in 84 runs. Buster Posey not only put up another solid offensive season (.318 average, 19 homers, 95 RBIs) but continued to demonstrate growth as a hitter. He joined Joey Votto as the only NL everyday players to finish with more walks (56) than strikeouts (52).
“It’s a nice accomplishment,” Posey said. “I was pleased at the way I was able to hit with two strikes this season. … I look at it in a good way. I was able to put the ball in play with two strikes. That’s always a goal. One thing I want to hone in on is early in the count, trying to zone up a little more and not just swing at the pitcher’s pitch as often. … I get in a mode where I feel wherever they throw it, I can hit it.
“I think it was a good year, a solid year. The fun part for me is I feel there are spots to improve and I’m excited to get back to work and tweak some things.”
The most delightful morsels in the box scores often belonged to Matt Duffy, who turned third base from an open-ended question to an absolute afterthought for years to come. The thought of Kelby Tomlinson bring his flat swing and speed to the lineup while simultaneously having a healthy Joe Panik at second base is a thought worth savoring, too.
“Duffy has that hard-nosed, grinder mentality and I think that’s the way we have to play,” Posey said. “We probably won’t be a team that has multiple guys hitting 30 home runs, or anyone hitting 30 home runs. We have to execute and outwork teams. That’s what has worked for us, and Duffy works for us because he does all those things.”
It will be interesting to see what the Giants do at leadoff next season, which will depend on whether Nori Aoki’s $5.5 million option gets picked up (guessing yes) and/or whether the Giants find an opportunity to move Angel Pagan over the winter (anyone’s guess).
It’s obvious that a healthy Hunter Pence and Brandon Belt will make an impact, too.
The Giants already had a strong offensive core. Add in the finds they’ve made along the way this season, and it’s looking formidable.
“You don’t just find middle-of-the-order or top-of-the-order talent,” Pence said. “It’s extremely rare. Normally you have to spend a ton of money on a free agent. When you can get young players that can fill those roles, you create a window of success. And they are very bright spot for our future and there’s a very big window of success that we have to look forward to.”
Pence is particularly eager to see Tomlinson in center field next season.
“If you’ve watched him play at all you realize he’s an incredible athlete,” Pence said of Tomlinson, who got two more hits Sunday to finish his rookie season with a .303 average. “He’s got the quickness. His bat changes the game and so does his baserunning. That gets overlooked. When he’s on the basepaths, he’s dangerous.”
The takeaway from all this: For years, Brian Sabean couldn’t walk from his condo to the ballpark without a fan imploring him to pursue more hitting help. Sabean said a fan once yelled “Get a bat!” at him in Seattle’s Pike Place Market.
The Giants might need to sort out some things in the outfield. But for the first time in the 12 years I’ve covered them, there really isn’t a pressing need to get a bat.
A starting pitcher or two? That’s another fish story.
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Pence said his oblique should heal within a week or two. He just ran out of time to make it back this season. When asked if he would have a normal winter, he said, “I don’t know. I don’t really have any normal days.”
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Posey was a little more loquacious than usual after the game. It really is amazing how the scales can fall from the eyes of some players after the season and they allow themselves to pull back the lens. Or maybe Posey just picked up some speaking tips from Jeremy Affeldt.
On making 106 starts at catcher a year after making 109: “I want to do whatever Boch and management gives us the best chance to win. With Belt going down, I had to be at first more. I definitely still enjoy catching. That’s the spot I still want to be, to my wife’s dismay.”
On the Affeldt and Tim Hudson sendoffs: “The Giants organization since I’ve been here has done an unbelievable job of commemorating certain events and special people, and yesterday and today were spot on, I think., and well deserved for Tim and Jeremy.”
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George Kontos was going to finish as one of just three NL relievers to post a sub-2.00 ERA in 70-plus appearances, joining unreal Mets closer Jeurys Familia and the Pirates’ Tony Watson.
His final appearance, and the three-run homer he served up to Corey Dickerson, made it a 2.33 ERA to end the year. The Giants had a 76-3 record when leading after eight innings. They fell to 76-4, and it Bochy called the ninth a “Debbie Downer inning.”
Still, it’s good to note that Kontos was in the game in the ninth because Bochy wanted him to be the one to throw the final pitch of the season. It’s an honor he was saving for Kontos, a pitcher who stranded 26 inherited runners before he finally allowed one to score in August.
“George did such a great job and he’s been the unsung hero here,” Bochy said. “He’s bailed us out so many times. It didn’t play out.”
Javier Lopez left a runner on base for Kontos after Jose Reyes singled off him. Opponents finished just 19 for 131 against Lopez this season, and their .145 average was the lowest among all NL relievers to throw at least 25 innings. The Royals’ Wade Davis was the only reliever in the majors to post a lower mark.
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It’s been a Debbie Downer season for Matt Cain, but the first five innings went as well as he could have hoped. He didn’t allow a run and held the Rockies to two hits and a walk despite not starting since August 25.
“What a great job he did,” Bochy said. “He should be really encouraged and I thought this outing would be really important for him to get that confidence back and that swagger he has.”
Cain was glad to finish on a personal positive, but he wasn’t going to “hang today as everything.” He had other starts where he felt good and the ball didn’t bounce his way.
He said a full offseason with more rest and less rehabbing should help him understand just where his arm is at when he enters spring training. He said is goal is nothing short of pitching alongside Madison Bumgarner -- " I want to be doing the same things he's doing" -- and reestablishing himself as a front-end starter.
But “if they want to go out and grab a big guy, the more the merrier,” Cain said.
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On a day when the Giants set a major league record for a nine-inning game with 11 pitchers used, Ryan Vogelsong did not make an appearance. Neither did Tim Lincecum, who returned to continue his hip rehab in Arizona.
There is an excellent chance that Lincecum will be back in some capacity next season, either on the team or in rehab mode. Vogelsong, also a free agent, would seem to be an ideal candidate to return as a long reliever – especially with Yusmeiro Petit a rather obvious candidate to be non-tendered.
But Vogelsong is not confident of that at all. So on a day when everyone seemed to get their spotlight moment to take a bow on the field, Vogelsong saved his for after the game. He was the one player selected to address the crowd, and he echoed Hunter Pence’s comments from a year ago.
“Saying you’re the best fans in the world doesn’t do you justice,” Vogelsong said. “You’re a part of us, you’re a part of the city, your our heartbeat. We cant thank you enough for all you do for us.”
Vogelsong said he saw someone wearing a T-shirt around town that said. “ All men are created equal, some become giants.”
“After the last five years here, I understand what that means,” Vogelsong said. “And it’s special because our front office picks certain guys to put on this uniform … and there’s something so special about putting on this his uniform.
“I don’t know what the front of my jersey will say next year, but I do know one thing: I will always, always be a Giant.”
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Hunter Pence does not like answering open-ended questions. I asked him one anyway.
What was he most proud of this season?
“I think honestly, our unity,” he said. “This group will never turn its back on each other. We’re always working as a group. We have a lot of fun and you know, there’s no quit to any of these guys. We kept believing till we were mathematically eliminated. We genuinely thought we were going to find a way to come back. There was nothing that got us down.
“We had a lot of injuries and it took a lot of guys really grinding pretty hard to step up for the missing pieces. I think it’s just sticking together, that we didn’t point fingers. We all looked at how we could get better as a group and how each individual could make themselves better, and it makes it a lot of fun to be here every day.”
The Giants didn’t make the playoffs. But you can’t say they choked.
The post Extra Baggs: "Get a bat!" won't be Giants' offseason cry, Buster Posey assesses his catching future, Matt Cain looks forward to a better year, Ryan Vogelsong's message to fans, Hunter Pence's final word, etc. appeared first on Giants Extra.