As you can imagine, I'm pretty pissed, and Jeremy Affeldt's recent struggles are surely not the only reasons.
First, I'll tackle the trade that sent yet another superstar (or superstars, depending on how you view Carl Crawford) to a Los Angeles team.We basically knew this trade was going to happen last night but it didn't become official until today. Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett, Nick Punto, and cash were traded to the Dodgers for James Loney and his overwhelming mediocrity. OK, the Red Sox got a few other players besides Loney, but for me, the previous sentence is the only way I view this trade. I'm not going to get into the ungodly amount of money the Dodgers are taking in, the long-term ramifications, Carl Crawford's injury, or the prospects the Red Sox got in this trade. I'm only focused on two players -- Gonzalez and Beckett -- because those are the only two who are going to make a difference in this NL West race coming down the stretch.
Gonzalez, as we know, is good at baseball things. He didn't hit as many home runs in Fenway as people expected (I mean, he averaged more HRs in his previous five seasons playing at Petco Park), but his average and OBP since he started in Boston have been better -- or at least as good -- than they ever were. If he lights it up these next 36 games, his impact could *gulp* push the Dodgers past the Giants*.
*Of course Gonzalez hit a three-run homer in his first at-bat as a Dodger. OF COURSE HE DID.
Beckett has definitely not been good so far this season, but going from pitching at Fenway Park against AL East lineups to pitching at Dodger Stadium against NL West lineups is a much better situation. But Beckett had a good 2011 season in the same ballpark and division, so it's very possible that he's just not that good anymore. Maybe he's just having an off year, because of the turmoil in Boston, mechanical issues, or a lack of fried chicken in his diet. It's hard to tell with him, which scares me. He might continue to suck or he might provide a significant amount of value. I'm totally prepared for him to have a negative ERA in a Dodgers uniform. I don't even care if the stat geeks and their "mathematical proof" say a negative ERA is impossible.
Crawford won't have any impact in 2012 because he's out for the year and Nick Punto is, well, Nick Punto.
Oh yeah, there was a game today. And I was in attendance*. I was happier forgetting these facts.
*By the way, the previous three games at AT&T Park I attended before today: the 10-0 loss to the Dodgers on 7/28, the 14-2 loss to the Nationals on 8/13, and the 6-4 loss to the Nats on 8/15 (aka the Melky Aftermath game). I'm not superstitious enough to think that my recent luck at Giants games is anything more than bad timing, but seriously, what the hell?
Let's see. The aforementioned Affeldt and the rest of the bullpen grabbed the Giants' hopes of winning and shoved them down a dirty toilet. Madison Bumgarner (who I recently gushed about like he was Marisa Miller pitching out there) gave up a walk and a double to the pitcher Mike Minor (who had a Bondsian .024, .047, .024 batting line going into today) and a three-run homer to Jason Heyward after just walking Minor and Martin Prado. The Giants' lineup basically got shut down by Minor (who had a Madduxian 4.74 ERA, 4.86 FIP, 4.47 xFIP going into today).
Baseball season is most certainly in the dog days of summer. Or maybe that's just the case for the Giants. Not sure.
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