© Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
We’re mere hours away from the 2019 San Francisco Giants season commencing, and in the spirit of the season, Murph & Mac brought on Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow to give his final takes on the ballclub as a whole, and also predicted major improvement from a certain Giants superstar.
For Buster Posey last season, something wasn’t quite right for the entirety of the year. While he still maintained a consistency of excellence, posting a .284 batting average while injured, Giants fans hope that Posey will return to the original form that helped guide the club to three titles in five years. Krukow thinks the six-time All-Star is set for a major comeback.
“There are two things that you look at with Posey, one more subtle than the other,” Krukow said. “The most obvious is, is he using his lower body at the plate? Is he able to spin on the inside pitch? That’s something that he didn’t do. He hit .284 last year with just his hands, just throwing little singles into right field. He hit for an average, but if you’re pitching against a guy like that, you don’t really have any fear to miss a fastball middle-in because he’s not turning on it.
“That’s the first thing I was looking for during spring training, and I saw that. He was spinning on the ball, and his batting practice was free and easy. And as the end of spring training came around, he started driving the ball to right field. Last year, he slapped. This year, he’s driving the ball.”
Krukow also believes Posey’s defense will greatly improve this season as well.
“When you have a sore hip, you become a one-legged catcher,” Krukow said. “You’ll sit back on one hip because you don’t want to distribute the weight on an injured hip. You can get by, and that’s what (Posey) did, but this year he’s got more symmetry in the way he’s setting up. He’s got more bounce in his legs. He’s coming out of the crouch and fielding his position on bunts, and he’s getting those plays much easier now than he did last year. I do think there is significant improvement in his body.”
A lot has been made of Farhan Zaidi’s additions to the club this offseason, and an undeniable focus that he has placed on new players when evaluating talent is versatility. With new arrivals Connor Joe and Michael Reed making the team, Krukow’s enthusiasm for Posey seems to have spilled over to the rest of the roster.
“They can do a lot of things,” Krukow said of the revamped bench unit, “and with a 13-man pitching staff that you’re seeing around baseball, the guys on the bench have to do a lot of things. They have to be versatile. The Giants coming into this season, with Connor Joe and Pablo Sandoval, have four guys that can catch. That’s versatility.
Krukow also thinks that aside from versatility, these 2019 San Francisco Giants are hungrier than ever.
“I like the athleticism of this team,” Krukow said. “I like the condition of this team. I like the veterans who are going to going to be the nucleus of the team… I do think this team is set to go, and I don’t think there’s any really big question marks about the nucleus of this club. They all want to prove everybody wrong, and they all want to make this last run for Bochy significant.”
To listen to the entire interview, click below: