Washington D.C. is usually one of the best stops on the schedule, with monuments and historical sites to visit, easy transportation, good shopping, and a ton of restaurants for players to try before and after games. But this four-game trip was poorly timed.
It didn't rain all week until the Giants were headed to the ballpark on Thursday afternoon, and that persistent downpour postponed the first game of a four-game series. It has barely stopped raining since, although both teams will do everything they can to get Friday's game in so they're not looking at a scheduling puzzle.
We'll see how it all turns out in a few hours. While we wait, here's a quick mailbag to help you get through your Friday (shameless plug: another great way to get through it would be to listen to Giants Talk with Duane Kuiper!):
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
"Why don't East Coast teams have retractable roofs?" -- neal_30
A great question, Neal. Before the Navy Yard area in Washington D.C. was built up around the ballpark, Nationals Park used to offer a pretty cool view of the Capital if you were high enough in the seats. So I don't blame them at all for not wanting a roof, just as I don't blame the Pirates for wanting an unobstructed view of downtown Pittsburgh -- my favorite view aside from Oracle Park -- or the Reds for wanting a clear path to the river.
Plus, retractable roofs are expensive. But it is kinda brutal that there are so many rainouts in those three cities, along with Coors Field and others, and it would be great if there was an option to play indoors right now. If you're salty about it, I would offer this silver lining: The Giants have to deal with this a couple times a year on the road, while these teams have to worry about doubleheaders and fresh arms all the time, which is a bit of an edge for the California teams in years when the Nationals, Reds, etc. are more competitive.
"What realistic moves do you think Farhan and Scott can make before the deadline?" -- tlorenzana13
San Francisco Giants
Here's the thing about this trade deadline: Farhan Zaidi and Scott Harris could acquire three players you've never heard of and it might be the difference down the stretch. Imagine I told you six months ago that the Giants had added LaMonte Wade Jr., Sammy Long and Zack Littell and that the three had filled holes on the roster. You would look at me like I'm nuts, but that's where we are right now with the heater this front office is on.
Teams -- even the bad ones -- are really hesitant to give up depth this summer because of all the injuries around the game, and the Giants likely won't want to part with their top prospects or even second-tier ones after spending years replenishing the farm system. But they should be able to make impactful moves to help the bullpen and add rotation depth, regardless of whether or not they're splashy.
The biggest second-half concern up and down the organization is pitching depth over 162 games, so that's an easy place to start in terms of a shopping list.
"Would love to see the Giants re-sign Posey and the Brandons. Thoughts?" -- camstrong53
You and just about everyone else in the fan base at this moment. I've always thought that Posey and Crawford were likely to finish their careers as Giants, but before this season it seemed that would be the case because they were close enough to the end that it could work for both sides. Now? Who knows, but both are showing there's plenty of good baseball left.
There's a long way to go this season, but the bet right now is that the Giants try to bring both back on short-term deals. Yes, Joey Bart is nearly ready and Patrick Bailey is on the way, but having a Rejuvenated-Posey/Bart duo next season would be pretty powerful, and you can never have too much catching. At the moment, it's also hard to see the logic in spending hundreds of millions on one of the free agent shortstops when you could just re-sign Crawford and spend that money on other areas, knowing Marco Luciano is also on the way.
Belt is trickier, because he's the youngest of the three, was probably the most likely before this season to draw significant interest from other clubs, and is the only one that doesn't have Bay Area ties (the Poseys are from Georgia but now live in California year-round). This front office and coaching staff love Belt, but that one is harder to handicap at the moment.
"How will the Giants deal with constant injuries and when will Ramos get called up?" -- joey_martin_11
"Next Man Up."
That's the motto this season, and it's working. The Giants actually have had better injury luck than some of their closest competitors for playoff spots, but they'll keep doing what they've been doing, filling in with depth.
As for Ramos, he has a .282/.364/.453 slash line with four homers and a 33 percent strikeout rate at Double-A Richmond. The overall numbers are good given how difficult it can be to hit in that league, but they don't scream "Skip Triple-A and add me to the big leagues right now." The Giants also are doing just fine in the outfield with Wade's emergence and Steven Duggar's big year.
This is kind of a best-case scenario for the Giants; they're in first place and have the luxury of letting Ramos and Bart continue to develop.
RELATED: Giants swing trade with Rays, acquire prospect
"First Giant you met?" -- ryannrusselll
I remember seeing Rich Aurilia near Union Square when I was really young. Does that count? Other than that, I'm not sure who was first.
On a related note, this was the first week that on-field access opened back up to the media, so I'm finally getting a chance to meet some guys -- and there are many -- who were added since that access went away in March, 2020. It's a bit odd to "meet" guys like Jason Vosler and Wade Jr. after interviewing them like a dozen times on Zoom, but it's great to have that opportunity again and hopefully leads to some good stories about a really fascinating team.
Wade, by the way, is very invested in the Giants playing this weekend. His parents are in Baltimore and they were driving down Thursday night when the game got canceled.
Download and subscribe to the Giants Talk Podcast