There. That exact game. The San Francisco Giants\u2019 5-4 loss to the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday afternoon. How do the Giants prevent that exact game from being played next season?<\/p>\n
This particular example extended a five-game losing streak and swept the Giants out of Kansas City, but it blends in with so many games before it that it\u2019s hard to keep track. It was the quintessential 2026 Giants game on so many levels, which means it was also a profoundly unessential 2026 Giants game. They all are. You really don\u2019t need this right now.<\/p>\n
If you don\u2019t believe me that there\u2019s a bit of a \u201cGroundhog Day,\u201d some of the familiar rhythms and melodies from the series finale included \u2026<\/p>\n
A starting pitcher who does almost enough to win, but gets into trouble at the end of the outing<\/p>\n
Sometimes the wounds are self-inflicted. Sometimes the problems begin when the starter gets to face a lineup for the third time. Either way, it\u2019s a familiar tune. A quality start without a win, or a would-be quality start that was ruined deep into what was a fine outing.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the road trip, it was Logan Webb who accepted blame he didn\u2019t deserve<\/a>. On Wednesday, the would-be hero was Landen Roupp, who was cruising along in one of the cleanest outings of his career so far, striking out seven in six innings. It was his first start without issuing a walk since the middle of May, and it was just his second walk-free start of the last calendar year.<\/p>\n In three pitches, the career-best start became just another quality start. Roupp\u2019s 89th pitch was hit for a double that perhaps shouldn\u2019t have been (more below). His 90th was a strike, and his 91st and final pitch was a sinker down the middle. It was thrown to a hitter who will swing at breaking balls that bounce in front of the first base coach. So it goes for the 2026 Giants, the least rewarding team to watch in recent memory. They seem good for one of these outings every series.<\/p>\n One or two hitters in the lineup reminding you why they\u2019re on the team, but rarely in the same inning<\/p>\n It\u2019s typically different hitters from day to day, too. You need flashcards before every game. Let\u2019s see, Rafael Devers is \u201chot\u201d but Jung Hoo Lee is \u201ccold,\u201d unless he\u2019s snapping out of it, and Bryce Eldridge is \u201cscorching hot,\u201d except for when he has to face Seth Lugo, for some reason.<\/p>\n Changing the lineup for the next game won\u2019t make a difference. That, too, will be the exact worst mathematical permutation possible. It doesn\u2019t matter who\u2019s hot or who\u2019s not. It changes from game to game, and the only thing that will remain the same is them going 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position<\/p>\n Something screwy that\u2019s at least partly responsible for the loss<\/p>\n This one got the manager tossed, too. Here\u2019s the leadoff double that Roupp allowed in the seventh inning:<\/p>\n The argument from second base umpire Mike Estabrook was that Willy Adames pushed the runner off with his tag, which is usually the kind of argument that you see when a fielder holds the tag for an extended period. It was honestly one of the stranger calls in recent memory, an umpire seeing something that absolutely nobody else would have even thought of. The specifics of why the runner was safe meant that the Giants couldn\u2019t challenge the call.<\/p>\n It feels like weenie-ball to root for a player popping off the bag on a well-struck double, of course \u2014 at least when it comes to this team. The problem with the team isn\u2019t that the umps are out to get them.<\/p>\n It just makes everything stink that much more when they are.<\/p>\n A bullpen that, uh, builds character<\/p>\n And that character is Wesley Crusher.<\/p>\n Ha ha, but seriously folks, it\u2019s a bad bullpen.<\/p>\n The weird part is that some of the numbers look OK on the surface. Sam Hentges allowed two runs to push his ERA to 2.66, and Keaton Winn added one to move his ERA to 3.21. Those are normal bullpen ERAs. They\u2019re good numbers, even.<\/p>\n In practice, though, all of the earned runs are maximally timed to drive you mad. It\u2019s uncanny. Up and down the Giants bullpen, relievers are besting their FIP by a fair amount<\/a>. According to FanGraphs, there aren\u2019t a lot of Giants relievers among the very worst in Clutch<\/a>, a statistic that tries to measure the timing of a reliever\u2019s best and worst outings.<\/p>\n Except even though there aren\u2019t a lot of individual relievers among the worst in Clutch, a common thread is that almost all of the Giants\u2019 relievers aren\u2019t good at it, either. They take turns messing up games in a remarkably egalitarian way. Now it\u2019s time for Hengtes and Winn to throw three or four scoreless outings in games that either aren\u2019t as close, or in games that will be blown by the next reliever in line.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve seen this game before. You saw an example on this very road trip. So go back to the original question: How do the 2027 Giants avoid a similar fate?<\/p>\n Start with the first one: The starting pitchers need to be more consistent, and there need to be more effective ones. At least two more.<\/p>\n Move to the second one: The lineup needs to be more consistent, and there are definitely improvements to be found with individual hitters or positions.<\/p>\n Then to the third one: The cloud will go away when a utility infielder from the 1990s is thrown into a volcano. One of the small ones. I mean, one of the small utility infielders, not one of the small volcanoes. The volcano should be quite large. Email me for additional details.<\/p>\n Now the fourth one, which is the one about the bullpen: Here you go. This is the Manhattan Project of the offseason. It\u2019s the easiest way to improve the fortunes of a team that should be much better.<\/p>\n