A comment i saw on the Youtube video of Buster's interview on KNBR this morning
For the record, it's NOT my comment. I just read it and thought, "maybe this guy's right and Buster doesn't deserve some of the anger and hatred that's been directed toward him." Your thoughts?
gonna put a positive spin on some things and talk about what buster has done right, because nobody else is going to.
trading bailey was a great move, and they got a good return for a guy who has been objectively the worst offensive player in baseball. since arriving with the guardians, bailey is 1 for 15 for an .067 batting average .125 on base percentage and .133 slug, continuing what he was doing with the giants and i doubt cleveland can fix his offense. since that trade, offensive production at the catcher position has been very good between susac, rodriguez and haase which was desperately needed because for far too long that spot in the lineup was an automatic out. susac has a cannon and throws runners out nearly as well as bailey does, except he can also mash so that's a massive upgrade that will pay huge dividends. it's susac's job to lose now.
the farm system as a whole are collectively playing out of their minds right now, so they're clearly doing something right there and that's very exciting but that will take time to play out and there's no way to accelerate that process. the giants have had trouble developing players, but those were previous players drafted before buster's tenure and that's not on him. he should, and will be judged based on the guys he drafts and how well they are developed, but that's going to take a few years.
the ron washington hiring was a phenomenal move, and they've literally turned luis arraez into an elite defender at second base which is a pretty impressive feat.
the devers trade was a trade that just about everyone would have made considering his track record, and people are only upset about it in hindsight because he got off to a cold start this year. with that said, the jury is still out and his bat is coming around now, so hopefully we get the devers everyone hoped we'd get but even if we don't, i don't blame buster for that. all you can do is make the best decision with the information you had at the time, that's all anyone can do, and at that time it was a no brainer trade.
i think it's fair to criticize him for the bullpen and closer situation, because the giants 3 championships came on the back of elite starting pitching and an elite bullpen, but defined closer roles are rare nowadays. guys like miller in san diego are not the norm, they are the exception. what it does do is make you appreciate just how valuable a strong bullpen is, it's imperative to a championship caliber team.
blaming posey or vitello for guys like adames, chapman and devers getting off to ice cold starts makes zero sense however. these are adult men in their 20s and 30s getting paid millions of dollars, it's their job to hit and the blame falls entirely on them. criticizing the size and length of the contracts is completely fair, but you cannot blame posey or vitello for them underperforming. maybe look for a better hitting coach, but other than that, what can you do really?
my personal criticisms would be vitello not being more aggressive in benching some veterans faster when they were really struggling and letting young guys play sooner, and i think the criticisms about bringing up eldridge and not playing him more are valid. other than that, i think most of the complaints are being blown out of proportion and it's just because of the 20-30 record. if the giants go on a heater, most of this will disappear and suddenly you'll see people singing buster's praises for his aggressive moves for devers and moving on from bailey.