Andy Skeels photo by Rob Fisher
Some of the faces have changed, but one thing remains constant for the San Jose Giants: they keep winning.
San Jose has the best overall record in the California League and the third best record in Minor League Baseball. This despite the loss of three of the starting pitchers who began the year in San Jose, the starting shortstop, catcher and first baseman. They’re guaranteed a playoff spot because of their first-half division title and with a month to play they have a six-game lead over second-place Stockton. It might be easy for the Giants to coast a bit but Manager Andy Skeels says pride won’t let them do that.
“What I try to do is make these kids understand that the numbers that you want to put together for a whole season are important. But the truth of the matter is we try to evaluate players as they come down the stretch because it’s important to see how they finish. So all our players know that how you finish is just as important as how you got there. So hopefully that’s a large motivating factor.”
Over the next few weeks, Skeels plans to rest some of his starters and give playing time to bench players who haven’t seen much action over the past five months to get them ready for the playoffs.
“It gives me a chance to evaluate some of the players who haven’t played as much and see how they might fit into the picture so the Giants have an idea of next year where they might be going. And to get them stronger because there’s going to be times in the playoffs where we’ll need them so I want them to feel confident that they’ve played enough and they’re focused so if they get put into a situation they’ll know how to handle it.”
Some may wonder why the organization has promoted some players (e.g. Buster Posey, Madison Bumgarner, Tim Alderson, Brandon Crawford), while others who seem to have outgrown the California League (Thomas Neal, Roger Kieschnick, Craig Clark) remain in San Jose. Skeels says part of it may be the depth of players at their position in the organization, but also there’s the value of keeping a winning team together.
“We want these kids playing and part of development is playing for something meaningful, playing for a championship, and that is important. How do you develop winning players when you don’t put them in situations to win? It is part of the development of these players for some of them to stay here.”
The Giants finish the season playing 19 of their last 29 games on the road. They have a bye in the first round of the playoffs which begin September 9. San Jose will open the best-of-five division series Saturday, September 12 at 2:00 p.m. at Municipal Stadium.
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