[Giants]

For me, there are two significant differences from the prior regime:

1) The coaching staff that Farhan and Kapler have hired are the largest, most diverse and (I believe) one of the youngest if not the youngest in the game.  Mixing those youngsters with what is the oldest players in MLB (average age is 30.6, A's are 2nd at 30.1, Dodgers are 29.2) and you've got a terrific mix, resulting in many of the hitters posting their career best OPS scores in 2020.  Belt, Crawford, Posey, Longoria have clearly bought in.

2) As we moved from a 60 game season to a 162 game season, I thought the team that was best able to platoon would walk away with the season.  to date, the Giants have only two players with more than 3xx at bats, Yastrzemski (459) and Crawford (472).  No other player has more than 386 (Posey), but 14 players have between 175 and 386.  Only three players have played more than 128, and Slater has the 128.  It's kept the team fresh.  I think they'll do lots of post-season damage.

I also think it keeps the platoon guys hungry.  When they get their shot, they want to perform, lest they not get another shot for a while.  I didn't see any of the game last night, but I like 3 hits for Slater and 3 runs, too.  That's just the injection you need from your platoon guys.

And speaking of that, might be time to give Bryant a bit of a rest.  He's not hitting much and a good RFer makes that catch.

P.S.  Mick, 83 shutouts . . . really?

To the contrary, Kapler’s “platooning” (in today’s parlance “match-ups”) is far more structured than anything employed in the past.  I read an article that quoted players as saying they felt more comfortable in the current system because they knew when they would be used.  The notion of playing Player A because he has the hot hand while Player B sits is not the Kapler-way and players appreciate it because it eliminates the grind of having to produce every at bat. The game is hard enough without that added pressure.

[Giants]

For me, there are two significant differences from the prior regime:

1) The coaching staff that Farhan and Kapler have hired are the largest, most diverse and (I believe) one of the youngest if not the youngest in the game.  Mixing those youngsters with what is the oldest players in MLB (average age is 30.6, A's are 2nd at 30.1, Dodgers are 29.2) and you've got a terrific mix, resulting in many of the hitters posting their career best OPS scores in 2020.  Belt, Crawford, Posey, Longoria have clearly bought in.

2) As we moved from a 60 game season to a 162 game season, I thought the team that was best able to platoon would walk away with the season.  to date, the Giants have only two players with more than 3xx at bats, Yastrzemski (459) and Crawford (472).  No other player has more than 386 (Posey), but 14 players have between 175 and 386.  Only three players have played more than 128, and Slater has the 128.  It's kept the team fresh.  I think they'll do lots of post-season damage.

I also think it keeps the platoon guys hungry.  When they get their shot, they want to perform, lest they not get another shot for a while.  I didn't see any of the game last night, but I like 3 hits for Slater and 3 runs, too.  That's just the injection you need from your platoon guys.

And speaking of that, might be time to give Bryant a bit of a rest.  He's not hitting much and a good RFer makes that catch.

P.S.  Mick, 83 shutouts . . . really?

To the contrary, Kapler’s “platooning” (in today’s parlance “match-ups”) is far more structured than anything employed in the past.  I read an article that quoted players as saying they felt more comfortable in the current system because they knew when they would be used.  The notion of playing Player A because he has the hot hand while Player B sits is not the Kapler-way and players appreciate it because it eliminates the grind of having to produce every at bat. The game is hard enough without that added pressure.