Spring Game Thread #23: Giants vs A's 3/24
Well, well, well. After years and years of mocking A's fans and our team's "Moneyball" methods, Giants fans now have no choice but to embrace new-age team-building methods pioneered and popularized by the A's. Not only that, but they are relying on a former top A's executive, Farhan Zaidi, to help them do it. If that's not an admittance of past judgment errors, I don't know what is.
Of course, the Giants have 3 World Series championships to show for their unabashedly old-school roster-building techniques, but since 2014, their team has been locked into a downward spiral with no signs of getting free. Year after year, Brian Sabean and Co. have tried to spend their way back to October, tying up huge chunks of its top-5 payroll to aging and/or injured players. But with Zaidi now running things, reasonable Giants fans can rest assured that the irrational spending will stop and that a rebuild, or something resembling one, is coming.
But for now, the A's are the only great baseball team in the Bay Area and we'll make sure to make it known every chance we get! Including this afternoon, when the two cross-town rivals face off in the annual "first-game-back-home-but-not-yet-the-regular-season" game. And what a pitching matchup we have for you tonight, folks: Dereck Rodriguez vs. Brett Anderson. (Originally, Aaron Brooks was the probable pitcher and I had this whole Aaron Brooks rant written, but unfortunately, it'll have to wait.)
Brett's coming off a solid bounceback season, returning to his first team and helping them get back to the playoffs. Typically inconsistent and injury-prone, the most the A's can hope for is a realtively healthy and steady season until some of their younger guys are ready to step up.
Meanwhile, the Giants are sending to the mound First Son of Iván, Dereck Rodriguez, who's coming off a rookie season in which he gave up a lot of hits, didn't strike out many hitters, but prevented a lot of runs. As one of the few quality youngsters on their roster, the Giants are hoping he'll become part of the building block that they so desperately need.
Up to bat for the A's is what appears will be their post-HamateGate lineup against right handers:
- Robbie Grossman (LF)
- Matt Chapman (3B)
- Stephen Piscotty (RF)
- Khris Davis (DH)
- Jurickson Profar (2B)
- Mark Canha (1B)
- Marcus Semien (SS)
- Ramon Laureano (CF)
- Nick Hundley (C)