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HC Pat Shurmur Details Where Will Hernandez Will Play And More
The New York Giants will begin their anticipated rookie training camp today at 3:30 P.M. Ahead of the camp head coach Pat Shurmur broke down the different roles of the fresh faces on the team.
Starting with second-round pick Will Hernandez, Shurmur stated:
“Will Hernandez has played a lot of snaps at left guard so we’ll certainly look at him there…but he’s going to get reps on both sides.”
Hernandez played primarily at left guard at the University of Texas El Paso, but in the NFL he will be tested on the right side as well. The consensus is that he will emerge as the starting left guard for the Giants come September, but the staff will refine his skills on both sides of the line to find the best fit.
Shurmur was asked about Saquon Barkley and his adjustment to a pro-style offense and coming out of the “I” formation. The new head coach said:
“We’re very confident that Saquon will be able to pick up everything well…our sense is that he’s a quick study.”
He additionally said:
“I’m high on Saquon, but let’s train him the right way.”
Ensuring that Barkley reaches his full potential will be a simple task, but finding his proper fit in the offense will be the challenge. He’s a versatile athlete with unparalleled measurables, but he will be sharing attention with Odell Beckham Jr. and Evan Engram. He will no longer be the only focal point of the offense and will have to learn how to help his teammates succeed as well as himself.
As a general point, Shurmur commented on the overall idea behind the rookie camp and how they will weed out the talent over the weekend.
“You’re trying to challenge guys physically and mentally and let them go out there and show you what they can do.”
Eric Dickerson: “Barkley Needs Offensive Line To Break My Record”
There’s a lot of hype around New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley, but one former player that doesn’t think he’ll break the rookie rushing record is Eric Dickerson. Of course, Dickerson set that record in his own rookie season with the Rams back in 1983, and is known as the fastest running back to gain more than 10,000 career yards. However, he doesn’t believe that Barkley can surpass his rookie record.
“You gotta have a line. Nothing against their line, but you gotta have a line!” he said in an interview with TMZ. He did, however, say that he was rooting for Barkley and the position as a whole. “He could have a great season.
I hope he does because I’m always pulling for the running back, because they try to say the running back position is down… Most definitely I want him to have a great season. Do I want him to break my record? Absolutely not. But he ain’t going to break that record.”
Dickerson poses some interesting criticisms considering the Giants have worked to overhaul the offensive line this season. The five starters on that line will likely be very different than the ones from last season.
Nate Soldier was added to act as the Giants’ franchise left tackle, and offensive guard Will Hernandez should be an immediate starter after being drafted in the second round. They also signed guard Patrick Omaneh, formerly of the Jaguars, and he may see playing time opposite of Hernandez.
If Ereck Flowers starts this season, he should be less of a liability by acting more like a run blocking right tackle and not a left tackle responsible for pass protection. But of course, it’s hard to drastically change a lineup and get the expected result, so until fall camps and the preseason come, we won’t know if Dickerson is right or not about the Giants not having an offensive line.
Just looking at the roster on paper, though, it seems he underestimated the offseason additions made by Dave Gettleman.
Speak Ill of Giancarlo Stanton And You Are Officially Dead To Me
This was predictable. This was inevitable. First came the news that the Marlins would make Giancarlo Stanton available to begin yet another rebuild. Then came the speculation that the New York Yankees would get involved, followed by understandable skepticism that it was even true. Then it grew legs. Then it was a reality, and an off-season euphoria followed shortly thereafter.
After a couple months of giddy blog posts and mega-hyped batting practices in Tampa, Stanton hit the ground running. By the final pitch of opening day in Toronto he was on pace for 324 dingers and 648 RBI. But then he hit the skids, as players changing teams often do, and the boo-birds were in full force by Tax Day.
You know all this. But the story needs to be organized and presented in an orderly fashion for perspective. To that end I will remind you that Mr. Stanton, even during his slow start, has been one of the top contributors to the highest scoring offense in all Major League Baseball.
Here’s a clip of Stanton annihilating Drew Pomeranz:
That one got out in a HURRY 👀
Giancarlo Stanton rips a laser to left to put the @Yankees up 1-0. #YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/85bRIDbMxC
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) May 8, 2018
When his numbers are held up against the rest of the league he’s been pretty good! Let’s forget about his strikeout rate for a second. He’s been getting on base, and although his .325 OBP is not ideal, it isn’t terrible either. When you factor in the .497 SLG and his 118 wRC+, you see a guy that hasn’t been great, but he has been good. Despite all those ugly strikeouts, he’s been pretty good.
You see, strikeouts are a big letdown. They make a hitter look lazy, deflated, and even weak. Baseball fans hate the strikeout. It’s the baseball equivalent to stepping on a kitten. “You Have To Put The Ball In Play” as they say. However, the modern-day hitter’s approach has evolved to the point where a lineup will trade a few more K’s for a lot more power.
Aaron Judge is the poster boy for this. For all the hemming and hawing about his high strikeout totals (48 K’s in 37 games), he is an absolute stud in the on-base department (currently 4th among all outfielders) with a .440 OBP. Stanton will get there too. I promise. History tells us as much.
March/April has been Giancarlo’s worst month throughout his career. Take a look:
The graphic above, courtesy of Fangraphs, shows that March/April is his worst month in almost every major non-cumulative category. While it may be true that this particular season is a bit worse than his statistical norms, it is understandable given the change in leagues. Here is the gauntlet of starting pitching he’s had to run though up to this point:
Aaron Sanchez, Marcus Stroman, Chris Archer, Chris Sale, Rick Porcello, Jose Berrios, Charlie Morton, Justin Verlander, Dallas Keuchel, Lance McCullers, Trevor Bauer, and on and on…
Obviously, there are good pitchers in every division in both leagues, and he would have had his share of Scherzer, Kershaw, deGrom, and friends if he were still in the National League right now. But he’s seen them before. Now he’s navigating uncharted waters while going toe-to-toe with guys he’s rarely or never faced. That will take a toll, don’t you think?
Alas, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Here is a comparison of Stanton’s recent output vs. his career numbers:
Since April 19th: .260/.341/.558, 136 wRC+, .377 wOBA, 28.4% strikeout rate
Career to date: .267/.359/.552, 143 wRC+, .384 wOBA, 27.9% strikeout rate
You’ll note that April 19th was the beginning of a 21-game stretch that appeared so daunting in the beginning, in which the Yankees ended up carving an 18-3 path of destruction through the best teams in the AL. It is also precisely when the Yankees began to play in warmer weather.
The Stanton we’ve seen over the last 3 weeks is very close to what the Yankees traded for over the winter. And if you look at his numbers so far in May – .267/.371/.767, 191 wRC+, .460 wOBA, 31.4% strikeout rate – he is trending up.
Lest we forget that he is the first Yankee to ever go yard against Dallas Keuchel and his over-sculpted beard, doing so twice in the same game. Hanging two dingers on Drew Pomeranz and the Red Sox doesn’t hurt either. Stanton is a monster, and he is vital to this team’s success. He’s even mastered The People’s Eyebrow.
Listen, you can boo all you want. It is your right after all, but you would only be embarrassing yourself. He can take it. He’s rich. He’s a giant human. He’s a Yankee. “G” is going to be just fine. The baseballs? Not so much. He feels sorry for them, and so should you. A player like Giancarlo Stanton belongs in New York, where everything is larger than life.
New York Yankees Turn The Page To New Series After 5-4 Loss To Red Sox
The stage doesn’t get bigger during the regular season than that of a Yankees-Red Sox series and the Bombers came away with two out of three for the series win, despite losing the rubber game 5-4 on Thursday night.
Fans attribute Thursday’s loss to the Red Sox to a number of factors, such as:
- Manager Aaron Boone’s decision to leave Dellin Betances in to pitch a second inning of relief, which resulted in a J.D. Martinez homerun in the eighth inning which broke the tie and turned out to be the winning run;
- Bad umpiring;
- Fan interference with the Martinez homerun to prevent Aaron Judge from making an incredible leaping grab and preserving the tie.
In fact, the Yankees were not able to mount another come-from-behind victory, as had been the case often during the 17 for 18 winning streak. The team foundered on Thursday night against Craig Kimbrel, whom they had just bested on Tuesday.
And despite what the fans appear to think, a contributing factor in Thursday’s loss was the inability of Brett Gardner, Didi Gregorius and Gary Sanchez to get their bats going—-Gardner was 0-4, Gregorius was 0-5, and Sanchez was 0-2 with two walks.
Prior to Wednesday night’s game Gardner told Kevin Kiernan of the New York Post that:
“With all the talent we have, other guys can pick you up, there is no pressure on me or anyone,” Gardner told The Post of this Yankees ballclub.”
While it is certainly true that the Yankees have a plethora of talent and on any given night can pick each other up if a bat or two is struggling.
However, more than six weeks into the season, we expect to see the bats pick up and averages rise for players such as Gardner, who is batting .208/.325/.609, and Sanchez, who is batting .202/.291/.775.
Maybe it’s time Boone applied some pressure on Gardner and Sanchez by moving them down in the order, or by bringing up Clint Frazier when he’s ready to challenge Gardner for left field.
As for Gregorius, after a torrid start to the season which garnered him the April American League Player of the Month honors, he has struggled at the plate recently.
Gregorius lately looks like an all-or- nothing hitter and he’s currently batting .100/.156/.133 as compared with the .330/.422/.739 numbers he posted for April.
Here, however, is the miracle that is baseball. Today we turn the page to a new series and everything is once again possible.
The Yankees have Sonny Gray on the mound. Gray will face the Oakland Athletics for the first time since being traded to the Yankees last season. The Athletics have yet to name a pitcher for tonight’s game.
Time to look forward to a new winning streak beginning tonight against the Athletics, who are currently five games back in the American League West and 7-10 on the road.
New York Mets Series Preview: Philadelphia Phillies (5/11-5/13)
After the New York Mets lost two out of three to the Cincinnati Reds, they fly to Philadelphia to take on the Phillies. The Mets have a 7-16 record since their nine game winning streak ended and have fallen all the way down to fourth place in the NL East. The Phillies have surprised many people this season and have gotten out to a strong 22-15 start to the season. The Phillies took both games they have played against the Mets this season.
Probable Pitching Matchups
(5/11, 7:05 PM) Steven Matz (1-3, 4.23 ERA) vs. Jake Arrieta (3-1, 3.15 ERA)
(5/12, 7:05 PM) Noah Syndergaard (2-1, 3.09 ERA) vs. Zach Eflin (1-0, 0.71 ERA)
(5/13, 1:35 PM) Jacob deGrom (3-0, 1.87 ERA) vs. Aaron Nola (5-1, 2.05 ERA)
Meet the Mutts
Plain and simple, the Mets have been awful. Their struggles on offense are concerning and it has gotten to a point where the team can not even bat in the correct order. After losing Todd Frazier to the 10-day DL with a hamstring injury, the Mets desperately need someone to pick up the slack on offense. They are second to last in hits in all of baseball. One of the more concerning parts of the Mets lineup is Michael Conforto. Manager Mickey Callaway is still playing him everyday but after 27 games, he is only hitting .191 with 31 strikeouts in 89 at-bats.
Outside of the human explosion that is Jason Vargas, the Mets rotation has not hurt them too much. Steven Matz was a tough luck loser, giving up only one run in six innings against the Colorado Rockies. Mets fans know what Syndergaard and deGrom are capable of but the offense has to give them support when they do their jobs on the mound. The Mets have not scored three or more runs in back to back games since April 26 and 27. They have not scored 4 or more runs in back to back games since April 19 and 20.
Phillies Young Talent
It seems that the Phillies and Mets have traded places since they last Met. Even the managers traded places too. Phillies manager, Gabe Kapler, was on his way to being run out of town and Callaway could do no wrong for the Mets. The game of baseball can work in mysterious ways sometimes. The young bats of Maikel Franco, Rhys Hoskins and Odubel Herrera have led the way for the upstart Phillies. Herrera is in the top-10 for batting average leaders in baseball.
The Mets will see the two aces the Phillies feature, Aaron Nola and Jake Arrieta. Nola is living up to his first round pick expectation this season. He is second in baseball with five wins and tied for seventh with his 2.05 ERA. Arrieta has been one of the better pitchers in baseball over the last few years and nothing has changed in his new home. Arrieta is 3-1 with a 3.15 ERA and held the Washington Nationals to one run over six innings in his last start.
Matchups to Lookout For
Asdrubal Cabrera vs. Jake Arrieta: 5-14 (.357) 2 HR, BB, 3 K
Maikel Franco vs. Noah Syndergaard: 4-15 (.267) 2B, 4 K
Jay Bruce vs. Jake Arrieta: 3-16 (.188) 2B, BB, 8 K
Odubel Herrera vs. Noah Syndergaard: 1-17 (.059) 3 K
Interesting Stats
Jacob deGrom in Day Games: 19-8, 1.97 ERA, 260 IP, 283 K
Jake Arrieta at Citizens Bank Park: 4-0, 1.09 ERA, 33 IP, 33 K