Through 11 games, the San Francisco Giants have proven that Gabe Kapler’s first team isn’t all that similar to the final two or three rosters Bruce Bochy managed.
Bochy’s clubs were built on pitching and defense and struggled to hit during his final seasons in San Francisco. In Kapler’s first two weeks with the Giants, his lineup is emerging as one of the more intriguing groups in the National League, but his defense has been awful.
The Giants committed two more errors in Monday’s 7-6 loss at Coors Field and should have been charged with a third when right fielder Alex Dickerson dropped a flyball at the right field warning track that was ultimately ruled a triple.
Dickerson was involved in another defensive miscue on Monday when he overthrew a cut-off man and watched catcher Chadwick Tromp scramble away from home plate in an effort to corral the errant ball. Tromp’s decision to vacate the plate led to a Rockies run and ended up haunting a team that mounted a ninth-inning rally but fell a run short in the first game of a 10-game road trip.
The Giants have averaged more than six runs a game over their past six games and have quickly improved against right-handed pitching after a few rough showings early in the year, but their defense has shown no signs that the sloppiness fans saw during the season-opening series in Los Angeles will be going away anytime soon.
Kapler has so many moving pieces on defense that it’s hard to keep track and it’s especially clear the Giants have struggled to field the ball when infielders are positioned in shifts. Third baseman Evan Longoria was charged with the team’s first error on Monday when he had trouble back-handing a ball while playing on the right side of the second base bag.
If the Giants hope to climb above .500 and stay there for awhile, they’ll need better pitching and a much-improved defense to do so. Until then, fans can at least enjoy an offense that’s proven more entertaining than expected.
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