Game of the Week: September 7: SF @ COL

[Commissioner Erick]

San Francisco Giants (82-55) @ Colorado Rockies (61-76)


SF: Teofilo Torrez (3-1, 3.19)
COL: Riley Pint (11-4, 4.09)


Giants 5 Key Stats:

3.20: San Francisco’s team ERA, 2nd in the National League but tops among teams that aren’t run by Luke (whose accomplishments I do not recognize); so I consider them first. They also lead the Major Leagues in bullpen ERA at 2.40. Nearly a third of a run ahead of 2nd place Milwaukee. The Giants are always tough to score on, but if you’re going to get to them, it better be early.

41.28: San Francisco’s Total Zone Rating, 1st in MLB by a wide margin: 4.30 Runs ahead of 2nd place Cleveland and a massive 12.65 Runs ahead of the 3rd place Mets. There are only 4 teams in baseball that have a Total Zone Rating that is even half that of the Giants’.

.332: Orlando Arcia’s batting average, a category in which the 3-time all-star tops in the National League. He is also 5th in the NL in WAR with 5.62, already the highest total of his career.

-7: San Francisco’s record subtracted from their Pythagorean Record, tied for the worst in the NL and the 2nd worst in baseball. This all despite having the 3rd best record in the Senior Circuit

.912: Rookie 1B Arturo Rivera’s OPS: 4th best in the NL and 11th in all of baseball. The rookie sensation has helped to anchor a lineup that is 3rd in the NL in position player WAR but just 6th in Runs Scored


Rockies 5 Key Stats:

777: Colorado’s Runs Allowed, ahead of only Miami in the National League. The Rockies also rank 13th in both Starter (5.20) and Bullpen (4.93) ERA. A step back from last season, when their pitching helped them to over 90 wins.

4.29: The Rockies’ team FIP; 9th in the NL and a solid number for a team playing half its games in the most inhospitable pitching environment in the Major Leagues. The Rockies’s ERA-FIP is 0.81, easily the worst in baseball and nearly double (0.42) that of the second worst Orioles.

-41.24: The Rockies’s Total Zone Rating: the 2nd worst in baseball and over 18 Runs worse than the 3rd worst Phillies (-22.86). The Rockies fielding issues have played a large role in the team having allowed so many more runs than expected.

.384: 23-year-old 2nd year 1B Juan Marrufo’s On-Base Percentage, 9th in the NL and the only player under age 25 in the top 20. Marrufo is amid a breakout sophomore season and looks like a budding star for years to come.

.185: RF Ralph Porter’s batting average. Expected to take another step forward in his second season after a very promising rookie year that saw him finish with 33 HRs and 95 RBs with a .901 OPS in 120 games; Porter has cratered due to an awful .211 BABIP and a drastic decrease in his power numbers.


Questions For the GMs:


For Dave Twibell, your team has performed exceptionally well in many categories this season, but it seems the relative weakness has been run scoring; how are you feeling about the offense and it’s performance?

You are just 3-11 in your last 14 games. Is this slump just a bump in the road or a serious concern as you head into the postseason?

Of the other likely playoff teams who would you be most worried about facing? Is there anyone you feel you match up particularly well or poorly against?

For Erick Blasco, how are you feeling about your season? Coming off a 91-win 2025 you seemed primed to take the next step and battle the Dodgers and Giants for NL West supremacy, that has not happened. Has this season changed your thoughts on how close the team is to competing and the best course of action going forward?

Do you still feel that Ralph Porter can be a major part of the Rockies’s future? What do you feel has been the issue with him this season? Is he on (performance decreasing) drugs? Is he being blackmailed into trying to throw games? Maybe those aliens from Space Jam came and took his abilities?

How does having Coors Field as a home park affect what skills you look for in players and who you look to acquire?


TRIVIA: What team in What year hit the most home runs in PBA history?

[Commissioner Erick]

Daniel Kent wrote this article

[Commissioner Erick]

For Erick Blasco, how are you feeling about your season? Coming off a 91-win 2025 you seemed primed to take the next step and battle the Dodgers and Giants for NL West supremacy, that has not happened. Has this season changed your thoughts on how close the team is to competing and the best course of action going forward?

It's been a disaster. I had a surprise 2025 that had me feeling optimistic, and this season has really been brutal. I expected some regression from Brandon Boissiere, but now I don't know what he is as a major leaguer. The struggles that plagued Ralph Porter last August affected most of his 2026. Some of my key hitters haven't been the superstars I needed them to be, and untimely injuries have hurt. I deserve blame for getting too cute and trying Trevor Story at Second Base, which has hurt my defense, and I may be pinch hitting too much. My guys have good numbers as pinch hitters, but bad numbers as substitutes. My guess is players pinch hit in the 7th with the platoon advantage, but are inferior players or lose handedness advantages when they bat again in the ninth.

Next year, I'll be moving on from Jasrado Chisholm and looking for a plus-plus Shortstop to help my defense. I think a simple move like that would spell wonders.

Do you still feel that Ralph Porter can be a major part of the Rockies’s future? What do you feel has been the issue with him this season? Is he on (performance decreasing) drugs? Is he being blackmailed into trying to throw games? Maybe those aliens from Space Jam came and took his abilities?

I think pitchers figured out his hit tool issues and started figuring out how patient he was. They expected a young slugger to chase pitches, fell behind, then watched him blast homers on fat fastballs. I think pitchers have been better at throwing him more fastballs and he's been beat on a lot of them. It affected his swing and got in his head. I still think he can be a productive starting outfielder though. I think this season is basically his 10th percentile outcome.

How does having Coors Field as a home park affect what skills you look for in players and who you look to acquire?

I mostly just look for good players. I skew a little heavier to ground ball pitchers, but not much so as lots of GMs favor groundballers. This year I gathered ground ball pitchers without the infield defense to accommodate it, which was a huge error in judgement on my part.

[Commissioner Erick]

Daniel correctly guessed the 2025 Orioles

[kcgm]

Rockies Mow Down Giants, 9-3
A good performance from first baseman Juan Marrufo helped the Colorado Rockies defeat the San Francisco Giants, 9-3. Marrufo was 1-2 with a home run and 2 walks. He drove in 3 runs and scored once for the Rockies. The Rockies move to 62-76 with the win, while the Giants drop to 82-56.

The Giants had been locked in a 2-2 tie with the Rockies going into the bottom of the fifth inning. That changed quickly when the 27-year old second baseman Alec Sanchez came to the plate. Sanchez hit a 3-run home run on a first pitch fastball from San Francisco hurler Justin Dunn. It was Sanchez's 10th home run of the year.

"I just tried to see the ball and put a good swing on it," said Marrufo.

Questions for the GMs:
Erick Blasco:

1) How can you build off this strong performance in what has generally been a disappointing season?

2) Ralph Porter did manage a single in this win but has been very disappointing this season, has there been any thought of benching him at any point?

3) How do you feel about Luis Picon pinch hitting for Nolan Arenado in the 7th inning?

Dave Twibell:

1) This loss drops you to 3-12 over your last 15 games. What do you think has been the cause for the team's poor performance?

2) Top 75 prospect Luis Nunez batted 3rd in this game, ahead of batters such as Kelyn Klattenburger, Arturo Rivera and Orlando Arcia. Nunez is talented but has not hit well in his first exposure to MLB pitching. Despite going 2-4, do you want Nunez being given such a key spot in the lineup?

3) Key RP Justin Dunn was injured during the game, and it seems that the injury could keep him out a long time. How would you go about replacing him for the rest of the season and playoffs?

[Commissioner Erick]

1) How can you build off this strong performance in what has generally been a disappointing season?

Hopefully we use this as a lesson to cash in the opportunities we get. Our offense has generally been good, but hasn't been as good as 2025 at taking advantage of runners on base with contact with a man on third and less than two outs, or a big hit with men in scoring position. We've done well when our offense has erupted early, but it would be nice to build up some close wins where our bullpen has to buckle down and our bats need a big hit late.

2) Ralph Porter did manage a single in this win but has been very disappointing this season, has there been any thought of benching him at any point?

Not really. With our club struggling, we're going to keep giving him opportunities. T.J. Lunsford will get some more playing time in Right Field to improve his defensive versatility, but he's also struggling, and Erik Nigro probably isn't a long term full time starter.

3) How do you feel about Luis Picon pinch hitting for Nolan Arenado in the 7th inning?

Our team was up big and Arenado was tired so I see some logic, but I would have liked to have been up by 8 or more or have it be the eighth inning or later. We haven't had too many wins so I want to make sure we don't blow the opportunities we do have.