The Giants’ bullpen was supposed to be better in 2017. Long story short, it’s not.
The team acquired Mark Melancon in the offseason, but he’s struggled with inconsistency and injury. The once-promising set-up man Derek Law is now back in AAA. Will Smith didn’t even make it to Spring Training, instead undergoing Tommy John surgery. The acquisition of Sam Dyson alleviated the recent absence of Melancon, but Bruce Bochy’s core of young relievers he had hoped would mature this season has done the opposite.
Josh Osich and George Kontos have struggled most as of late, and Hunter Strickland, who was beginning to effectively establish himself, seems to be relapsing as well. Mike Krukow joined The Murph & Mac Show on KNBR Wednesday where he discussed the problems with the relievers and how it’s not an easy fix.
“You have guys in the ‘pen struggling with mechanics, and right now you have three of them,” Krukow said. “Three really productive arms, guys we count on. Strickland, Kontos and Osich have been fighting with mechanics and they are making location mistakes. It’s very difficult for guys in the ‘pen to get sorted out, much more difficult for the guys in the ‘pen than the starting staff simply because if a starter has a bad start, he has four days to get ready. He can go on the side a couple times and try to figure things out and practice. A bullpen guy can’t because you may need that guy’s arm that night in that game.
“It’s the most difficult position to get back mechanically once you’ve fallen out of it. Plus the other thing too, once you get out of your mechanics, your confidence goes right with it. And even when you get your confidence back, you still have a tendency to nibble a little bit because you just don’t trust it 100 percent. It’s a tough thing, it really is. Hopefully those guys can get sorted out quickly.”
The bullpen received a much needed break Tuesday night, thanks to Jeff Samardzija’s eight-inning effort against the Athletics. The Giants head back to AT&T tonight for an eight-game homestand, including two more games against Oakland.
To hear the full podcast, listen below. To hear Krukow’s thoughts on the bullpen, skip to 3:30.