Talking Giants… Again
“Just Thinking"
I know, I know, here he goes again, talking Giants baseball. How could I not, the Giants are in the news… “Fire Sale”. With the trade deadline fast approaching, Buster posted a sign, everything must go, make us an offer.
I remember back when we read newspapers, going straight to the Green Section, first thing I did was check the standings in both leagues, then checked the home run leaders, next the batting average leaders. No Green Pages to check, but I did check the standings today, although, not in last place, the Giants currently sit at 48-67, 21 games out of first place. With 47 games remaining to play, the low water mark from 1985 when they, we, suffered through a 100-loss season may be well within reach.
The two of the trades that were pretty much inevitable, but hurt the most, were Luis Arraez, Heliot Ramos. Luis Arraez was batting 324 when he left the Giants, he was truly one of the bright spots this season, super fun to watch both offensively and defensively. He, along with Caleb Kilian were traded to the playoff contending Philles for a couple of pitching prospects. Heliot Ramos was homegrown, an All-Star caliber player was traded to the Yankees, also in playoff contention, for a pitching prospect and infield prospect Kaeden Kent, Jeff Kent’s son.
The other trades that went down this week were Robbie Ray to the Padres for a pitching prospect and a Short Stop prospect, Erik Miller and Carlos Gutierrez to the Red Sox for a highly regarded shortstop prospect. Finally, Tyler Mahle to the Braves for another pitching process. The direction of the team is obvious, to cut salaries and to load up on prospects for the future, with a heavy emphasis on pitching.
With the Giants trading away veterans Luis Arraez, Robbie Ray, Tyler Mahle, and Heliot Ramos, then having three key injuries to Casey Schmitt, Matt Chapman, and Hayden Birdsong, many of the young players are getting a chance to prove themselves. Or, as Bryce Eldridge said the day after the trade deadline, “It feels like we’re playing for the San Francisco River Kitties right now.”
The Giants still have some veterans with big contracts that remain on the team, Rafael Devers - $225 Million, Willy Adames - $156 Million, Matt Chapman - $101 Million, Jung Hoo Lee - $113 Million and Logan Webb - $90 Million. Devers, Adames, and Chapman account for well over $400 million in future commitments, and none of the three have had the production in 2026 that justifies those deals. Posey said after the deadline that the organization is still excited about them being part of the club going forward.
Since we are talking about the Giants and the news, we must mention Harrison Bader, who I have not been a fan of since day one. Bader has been on the injured list since May 29 with left plantar fasciitis. In the early hours of July 26th, he plowed his scooter into a fire engine in Cow Hollow, then the fire engine rolled over his already injured left foot, causing significant additional damage. You can’t make this stuff up.
Mike Krukow revealed on Thursday that he will be retiring at the conclusion of the 2026 season. The color man and partner of Duane Kuiper has been calling Giants games for the past 36 years.
In 2014, Krukow revealed he had a degenerative muscle disease that made it progressively more difficult to walk. He began cutting down on his workload in 2017 as travel became challenging. Krukow feels that his condition is now to the point where he is no longer able fulfill his duties with the team.
The voices of the SF Giants have gone through several iterations over the years, starting with the great team of Russ Hodges and Lon Simmons. Other notables include Al Michaels, Joe Angel, Hank Greenwald for nearly two decades, Lindsey Nelson, Ron Fairly and Joe Morgan.
You can really appreciate how blessed we have been over the years when a Giants game is broadcast on ESPN or Prime and they have different announcers, Kruk and Kuip are so comfortable and enjoyable to listen to, by comparison. Combined with Jon Miller and Dave Flemming on the radio, I know that I am biased, but we have the best of the best.
I am sorry to see Kruk go and wish him all the best but am so grateful for all of the joy that he has brought me over the years.
Let me know what you think.
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