The Deets is a morning dose of commentary by sports columnist Dieter Kurtenbach that wraps up everything important in the world of sports and looks forward to another crazy day ahead.
The big thing
I would say that this weekend’s three-game game at the hands of cross-bay rival A’s caused Giants fans to turn to Gabe Kapler, but I do not think there was actually a heart change on the first year of the Giants manager.
So let’s just say that the enmity that many Giants fans have held for Kapler since he was hired came to the surface when this past weekend was intensified.
The anger is understandable. The Giants blew up not one, but two ninth-inning leads this weekend in spectacular fashion (and that’s not hyperbole), and then threw batting practice to the A’s on Sunday.
It was a reckoning. And what was once a season with opportunities for the Giants – bright but current opportunities – is now, undoubtedly over.
And so it seems – at least from my neighborhood – that Kapler is the target of most of that anger.
But I have another tough pill to swallow for the Fire Kapler audience: It will take much more than two games – or even 23 games – to get rid of him.
That’s because Kapler was hired by Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi not because of the great job he did in his last first managerial position in Philadelphia, but because of the job he did as director of the Dodgers farm system next to Zaidi. .
And because of what happened in Philadelphia (clubhouse discord, massive crashes) and with the Dodgers’ farm system (failure to handle allegations of sexual assault against players), Kapler would never get another managerial position unless Zaidi hired him.
I think this was part of the location for Zaidi.
Kapler is an extension of the Giants’ front office in a way that is consistent with the new baseball business. But it’s even about.
He is in need. Whatever Zaidi says goes, because Kapler knows if he is not Zaidi’s buddy, he will not work again in a serious capacity in baseball.
And while it’s fair to say that Kapler is completely lost as a manager of the game – the last thing he does is inspire confidence – it’s important to remember that he’s not the one who really makes these conversations.
No, he is a glorious test person with a very supportive team and binders full of cheat leaks around him. Agency for a manager? What is it, 2010?
Kapler is neither the problem nor the solution. Those who want to blame him for the past weekend do not understand his role – the typical role of a modern manager of the big league.
The truth is that in serious analytical organizations – as most baseball front offices seem to be these days – manufacturers just don’t do much. There’s a reason manager’s salaries have dropped dramatically over the last few years. In the playoffs, when the pressure is on and you do not have much time to check the binders, yes, maybe managers and how they handle pitching can matter.
But these Giants will not sniff the playoffs for long.
In this day and age, both the lineup card and most of the pitch decisions are pre-planned through “collaboration,” which is just a heinous way of saying that the person with the most power calls the shots. Even if Kapler thinks he’s that person, he is not.
No, by 2020, the role of managers is most public relations: preaching the gospel from the front office in the clubhouse and to the media. As long as the manager stays on posts, the script follows in-game, and the clubhouse is not in turmoil, he does a great job.
I’m not in the clubhouse anymore – thank you pandemic – so I can not tell you if a real mutiny is about to arise.
And even if someone was about to go down, would it matter? Who on this team will still be around by the time the Giants are back after the season?
The player in the team’s best position is a 30-year-old outfielder in his second season in the major leagues, although you could argue that he is a 32-year-old outfielder who has “pinch hitter” as one of his positions on Baseball Reference.
The Giants are in the second season – if you could call this a season – of what was always expected a half-decade rebuild. Brandon Belt, Brandon Crawford, Evan Longoria, Hunter Pence, and Pablo Sandoval are still key players for this team – in a complete restoration, the walls of the old building are still standing.
All this while a coach who is adamant about game development is in the lead.
Yes, the short season provided the possibility of two good weeks and a whole lot of mediocrity enough to smuggle this team into the extended playoffs – one could dream, even foolishly – but the more likely outcome for the Giants this season is the one we see exploded:
My roster played my baseball.
There is no world government that can fix that.
What we learned
The A’s remain exceptional … Lost in this story about the Giants is the fact that the A’s had two unusual comeback injuries and then on Sunday absolutely demolished the Giants’ bullpen. Oakland is now 13-2 in August and despite their shortcomings (the rotation is still in question, too many strikeouts) this team has an aura left. This season it should be de season for the A’s. Are there still non-believers there?
George Kittle got paid… The contract became official Friday. Dude earns every penny.
Kyle Shanahan is not happy with his receiving corps … And I can not blame him. It’s been a big question since even before Deebo Samuel broke his foot … It’s clearly Shanahan is looking for speed on the outside, in particular. The Niners signed Tavon Austin and JJ Nelson to start the weekend and will presumably bring Jaron Brown in for training in the coming days … Can you replace Marquise Goodwin if he never seemed to play for this team?
Rookie wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk is impressed … I’m a big fan of the Niners’ Aiyuk pick, but let’s wait until pads are on before we make one proclamation – well, at least I did not go down without explaining myself first.
Playoff hockey is well underway… I enjoyed the atmosphere of the bubbles, but the lack of a real audience has become problematic now that it’s the playoffs. Hockey misses fans dearly – the sport has a soundtrack of anticipation, elation and elevation that is played with a 20,000-piece orchestra in the playoffs. It provides extremely neutral viewing. I’ve seen a lot of hockey over the weekend, but it’s just not the same as having a crowd. Man, what would I not give to hear a home crowd after a big penalty kick or a goal at the moment.
Hot Links
• Jerick McKinnon has raised people. [BANG]
• The defense of the A: incredible [BANG]
• DK Metcalf. Great and … conscious.
my internet is working on. the video remains buffered at the top of its route. https://t.co/lAUGn2Vxeh
– Steven Ruiz (@theStevenRuiz) August 13, 2020
What to see
A’s by Diamondbacks, 6:40 … It’s a real shame that the A’s are not able to go up against Madison Bumgarner in their back-to-back, home-and-home sets of two games. If you thought Sunday was a slugfest …
Giants at Angels, 6:40 … As Stephen Piscotty posted a 1,462 OPS over the weekend. What will Mike Trout do to these Giants bullpen?
Playoff basketball… All day, every day. Thanks pandemic. No, really, thank you – the world may suck, but this will be boss.
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