Matt Cain and the 7 Underappreciated Seasons

Matt Cain has an impressive resume. He has won three world championships as a member of the San Francisco Giants, he is a three time All-Star, including starting the Midsummer Classic in 2012, and has also thrown a perfect game. Cain has been a "horse" for the Giants rotation since his call up in 2005.

In the storied history of the Giants, pitchers such as Christy Matthewson, Juan Marichal, Tim Lincecum, Jason Schmidt and Kirk Rueter have seemed to get more respect and love from the fan base. Cain always seemed to be overshadowed throughout his career.  From the huge shadow of Barry Bonds, to the bigger names in the rotation like Schmidt, Barry Zito and Lincecum. And even now with the emergence of Madison Bumgarner, who is the latest great pitcher to join the franchise's encyclopedia of greats, Cain has always seemed to be the other guy. However, from 2006-2012, Cain may have been the best pitcher the Giants have ever seen to start a career since they arrived in San Francisco in 1958.

Matt Cain, in those 7 seasons, had a 30 Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball-Reference.com. Cain was 21 years old when he began the 2006 season and was 27 during his 2012 campaign. To put that in perspective, Greg Maddux, from 21-27, had a WAR of 32.2. Bob Gibson, who was 24 years old in his 2nd season, had a WAR of 30.2.

Cain's 30 WAR is better than Max Scherzer, Barry Zito, CC Sabathia, Jim Palmer, Andy Pettitte, David Price, Randy Johnson, Gaylord Perry, Vida Blue, Jon Lester and Roy Halladay among others in those same seasons.

To put his 30 WAR in perspective another way: Only 37 pitchers in the history of the game have a WAR of 35 or better from their 2nd through 8th seasons and only 15 pitchers since 1958. Only 23 have a WAR of 40 of higher and only 8 since 1958.  Matt Cain was on a 1st ballot Hall of Fame path through his 2012 season.

Matthewson and Marichal were far and away better than Cain in those seasons, but nobody else who's worn a Giants uniform is. Cain has been the greatest pitcher in San Francisco Giants history since Marichal and yet most fans look at everyone from Lincecum, to Bumgarner to Schmidt or even Rueter when looking at the great pitchers in Giants history.

Cain has shown an amazing consistency throughout his career with the Giants. Here is some statistical proof.

Matt Cain has struck out 1506 batters: 213 in April 266 in May 292 in June 209 in July 279 in August 236 in September

— Candlestick Will (@CandlestickWill) December 5, 2014

What makes Cain so special was his ability to pitch despite consistently pitching for the inferior team early in his career. Before all the championships, Cain pitched for the 2006-2009 Giants that did not reach the post-season. Just look at what Cain accomplished by age 25.

Through his age 25 season: Matt Cain 24.2 WAR (Best ever in @SFGiants history & 27th highest all-time) Meanwhile, a 57-62 record #Cained

— Candlestick Will (@CandlestickWill) August 28, 2015

In 2007 and 2008, in particular, Cain had a win-loss record of 15-30. Despite such a dismal record, only 15 pitchers in all of baseball had a better WAR than Cain's 9.2. In that same two year stretch, Roy Halladay had a record of 36-18 with a WAR of 9.7. Cain had 28 games in those two years where he pitched 7 or more innings and gave up 3 or fewer runs, yet had a Win-Loss record of 9-9 in those 28 games with a 1.97 ERA. In the 26 games Andy Pettitte pitched in that 2 year span, he had a 16-5 record and a 1.91 ERA.

Giants fans refer to these types of losses as getting #Cained with it's own hashtag on Twitter.  Pitching 7 or more innings and giving up 3 runs or fewer is not an uncommon thing for Cain. What is also uncommon are the Giants losing in those games. 125 times in Matt Cain's career, he has hit the 7 inning and 3 runs or less mark. Cain dominated with a 1.58 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP in those games, yet is 60-21. That means the team has #Cained him 65 times. Twenty-one times, he has taken the loss and the other 44 times, he was officially given a no decision. The team has also only won 81 of those 125 games.

For comparison, Tim Hudson has 130 games over the last 10 years of 7 innings or more and three runs or less and his W-L record is 84-20, despite a near identical 1.57 ERA and 0.89 WHIP.  Winning the game is the most important part of any sport. However, in a team sport, you need teammates and Cain struggled to get the run support and defense necessary to make his great pitching reflect the scoreboard.

Baseball statistics guru @AceBallStats shared some incredible statistical proof that Matt Cain was in fact #Cained an incredible number of times.

#SFGiants Matt Cain has lost 95 career games, 37.9% (36) of them have been quality starts.

— Ace of MLB Stats (@theaceofspaeder) August 14, 2014

#SFGiants Matt Cain has 102 career non-win quality starts, he is 0-35 with a 2.40 ERA, 1.028 WHIP, 7.43 K/9, & 0.74 HR/9 in those starts.

— Ace of MLB Stats (@theaceofspaeder) June 19, 2014

The #SFGiants bullpen has blown 33 games in which Matt Cain departed in line for the win; he has 94 career wins.

— Ace of MLB Stats (@theaceofspaeder) June 17, 2014

Active, most career quality start non-wins: Mark Buehrle 104 Matt Cain 101 Barry Zito 100 A.J. Burnett 98 Dan Haren 96 Tim Hudson 95

— Ace of MLB Stats (@theaceofspaeder) April 30, 2014

Ultimately, when Matt Cain's career comes to a close, regardless of how it ends, baseball fans need to read between the lines and see that Cain was one of the best pitchers of his era. Cain has struggled the last three seasons to stay healthy and his last three years has called his value into question. There is no minimizing his value to the team for his first seven full seasons. Not when you look at all the numbers and all the factors and realize what Cain accomplished.

Giants will win in 2016 because: Even Year Magic...and talent.

The San Francisco Giants have had an interesting last 6 seasons. Three World Series championships. Three seasons without a playoff appearance. Every even season they win it all. Every odd year, they don't even make it to the dance. How can we explain this? It's very simple. Even year magic. Also, baseball is very hard and making the post-season is never easy. In pro basketball or hockey, more teams make the post-season than stay at home. In Major League baseball, only 10 of the 30 teams reach the playoffs, and two of the 10 only get guaranteed 9 innings.

There are some obvious reasons 2011, 2013 and 2015 ended without October baseball. For one, the team suffered some back breaking injuries, both literally and figuratively in each of those seasons. From Buster Posey's broken leg and Freddy Sanchez broken back in '11, to Angel Pagan's hamstring and Marco Scutaro's broken back in '13, to Hunter Pence's various injuries and Joe Panik's broken back in '15. If there was one thing we knew was going to happen in odd years, it was a critical member of the lineup was going down for several months and the team's second baseman was going to injure their back.

Fans wanted the "odd year curse" to be over this season, and had high hopes that the Giants could get back to the post-season in back to back years for the 1st time since 2002-03. There was reason to be hopeful too. Hunter Pence did play some games this season and the Giants were 34-18 in those games. That .653 winning percentage would translate to 105 wins. That doesn't mean the Giants were going to win 105 games, or even 95 games, but since the Dodgers won 92 games to win the National League West, a healthy Pence could have made a huge difference.

Also, there were those pesky 1 run games. The Giants won 19 1 run games in 2015, which is more than the 15 the Blue Jays won, but it was there 2-15 record in 1 run games down the stretch that made all the difference. The Giants had several starters out during those 17 games, including Brandon Belt, Joe Panik, Brandon Crawford, Gregor Blanco and Nori Aoki and several key pitchers out, including Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Tim Hudson, Mike Leake and Jeremy Affeldt.

Looking ahead in 2016, there is room for much optimism. First and foremost, the Giants still have 3 of the best players in baseball in the prime of their careers. Madison Bumgarner will not win the Cy Young this year, primarily because of some of the greatest pitching seasons we've seen in the National League in a decade. However, Bumgarner had an incredible season that proves he is one of the best pitchers in all of baseball. His 8.9 Wins Above Replacement over the past two seasons is 13th best in baseball. And compared to those other 12 pitchers, his ERA of 2.95 is tied for 10th best, while his FIP is 8th. He also hit 5 home runs this season and has become a legitimate threat to the lineup when he bats. His pinch hit at bats have become epic performances. His .468 Slugging percentage was higher than Evan Gattis and Prince Fielder, among others.

When healthy, Pence has been incredible for the Giants, as the 34-18 record and World Series victory in 2014 has showed in recent seasons. If Pence can get back to being an everyday player that can play 150 games, the Giants will be much improved without making any upgrades. Buster Posey is still the team's primary catcher, despite fans and media members questioning when he'll move to first base.  However, one of the main reasons he is the team's primary backstop is because he is an elite catcher. He may very well be a finalist for the Gold Glove this season, and could win it for his ability to throw out runners, call a game and frame pitches. His offense was once again MVP caliber, as he narrowly missed a 2nd batting title. If it wasn't for Bryce Harper's otherworldly season, Posey could make a case for his second MVP.

The Giants defense has always been a source of strength during their successful runs to the post-season and to the World Series, and the two main players in the greatest double play in World Series history are coming off tremendous seasons. Crawford and Panik are both going to be finalists for Gold Gloves in their own right, and Crawford also ended up leading the Giants in home runs with 21. He is the first shortstop to lead the Giants in home runs in over 100 seasons. Panik, despite a back injury that ended his season, had a tremendous sophomore year and will certainly be one of the anchors of the team going forward.

Third base was the biggest hole from last season with the departure of Pablo Sandoval, and not just because of his weight. Sandoval was a member of all three championship seasons and his absence was evident immediately. Casey McGahee, brought in to replace the "Panda" did so poorly in the first five weeks of the season, that rookie utility player Matt Duffy replaced him in the starting lineup. Duffy, who had never played third base regularly in his professional career, became an instant success, ended up winning the team's prestigious Willie Mac Award, and will be a finalist for the Rookie of the Year award. Like Posey, who will lose out to Harper, Duffy will probably lose out to Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs. However, Duffy has made fans, teammates and front office people forget about Sandoval and completes a homegrown infield with Posey, Crawford, Panik and Belt.

Injuries were the story all season in the outfield. Not only did the team miss Pence, but Pagan, Blanco, Aoki and Juan Perez all missed significant time. The team tried several players from outside the organization, from Justin Maxwell, who made the team out of spring, to Marlon Byrd and Alejandro De Aza, who the team traded for during the season. Byrd and Aoki could both be options to return in 2016. Blanco and Pagan are signed for next season, but will both be free agents in 2017. Pence is the only lock to be with the team in 2016, and he ended the season on the disabled list. Needless to say, the outfield has huge question marks.

The outfield isn't a huge concern for fans because they are too busy being worried about the starting rotation. For all the superlatives fans can say and make about Bumgarner, there isn't another pitcher in the rotation that is a lock to have a strong 2016. Jake Peavy is the most likely, after ending both 2014 and 2015 strong. However, there is no guarantee that Peavy will stay as effective as is the case with any pitcher in their mid-30's. Same goes for Matt Cain, a "horse" for the Giants for nearly a decade, Cain has struggled the last three seasons to stay healthy. Cain, who showed flashes of being his old self in the season finale, will need to be healthy if the team wants to battle in the National League next season. The team wants to re-sign Mike Leake, who will be a free agent this winter, but even if the Giants sign Leake, they may want to try to bring in another starter in case Cain struggles or in case some of their young pitchers, like Chris Heston, struggle. Heston, who had a very strong 1st half that included no hitting the New York Mets, struggled in the 2nd half and now his roster spot on the 25 man roster is in doubt. With Lincecum, Hudson and Ryan Vogelsong all free agents and Yusmeiro Petit due a raise in arbitration, the starting staff could look vastly different in 2016.

The bullpen and the bench are always in flux every season for every team. They are the two hardest areas of a baseball team to have consistency because of the nature of the job descriptions. The bench, in particular, because one of the hardest things to do in sports is to perform consistently when you play inconsistently. Same goes for the bullpen, where pitchers may go several day without pitching at all and other days where they pitch many days in a row. That being said, one of the strengths of the Giants these last six seasons has been the consistency of their bullpen. The "core four" as they have been named, each have three World Series rings. Affeldt is retiring, so the team will no longer have all four members of the core. Sergio Romo, Santiago Casilla and Javier Lopez will all be back, but all will be in the final year of their contracts. So even if they all perform well in 2016, this could be the final year for the remaining three members of the core four. Josh Osich, another rookie who was brought up due to all the team's injuries, will look to replace Affeldt in the 'pen. Hunter Strickland, another rookie pitcher, will be asked to take on a more prominent role in 2016. George Kontos had a career year in 2015, and should be another lock for the bullpen next year.

The bench could include Byrd or Aoki or Blanco or Perez but it also could be rookies Jarrett Parker and Mac Williamson, two of the young players promoted in September. Parker and Williamson may be long shots because they have the option of returning to Sacramento and start the year in Triple-A. The team has expressed interest in bringing Byrd and Aoki back. They may platoon in LF, or they may both begin the year on the bench. The team will only start the year with five outfielders, so if Pagan isn't traded, the team will have a numbers crunch. Andrew Susac should be back healthy and his play at catcher has been encouraging. One of the bright spots of 2015 was the late emergence of Kelby Tomlinson. Tomlinson is primarily a second baseman, so the team has suggested he spend time this winter in center field. Much like Duffy in 2014, Tomlinson was initially an afterthought in 2015, but now looks like he could be a key contributor in 2016. That may be the one positive to all the injuries is the opportunities it gave Tomlinson, Osich and others.

This winter will have a lot of Hot Stove talk about the Giants going after the top pitchers on the market, such as David Price, Zach Greinke, Jordan Zimmermann and others. However, the Giants have proven over the last six seasons that they don't always need to find the best free agents. Sometimes they just need to find the right fits for their ballpark and their clubhouse. Leake and Byrd could be two of those fits.  Will those moves be enough? Will the Giants buck recent trends and overpay for the top tier free agents? Will they stick to their blueprint and try to be more strategic about who they sign? Should be a fun winter.

Jeremy Affeldt is the greatest pitcher in San Francisco Giants post-season history

Jeremy Affeldt announced his retirement on Thursday, and it's left Giants fans with many talking points. Most of them center around Affeldt's seven years with the team and more specifically, his time in the post-season. For all the acclaim and fanfare Tim Lincecum received in 2010, Matt Cain earned in 2012 and Madison Bumgarner deserved in 2014, no pitcher was more important to all three championship rings than Affeldt. In my mind, it's not even close, either. Affeldt, a member of the Giants "core four" along with Javier Lopez, Sergio Romo, and Santiago Casilla, was at his absolute best when it mattered most. His consecutive game scoreless streak in the post-season is second best all-time, just one game behind Mariano Rivera. Ultimately, he did not allow a run in his final 22 appearances in the post-season. He was dominant throughout the playoffs during all three championship runs and he had signature moments in every championship that may have been the most critical moments of each.

Game 6 of the NLCS vs Philadelphia in 2010
During the 1st improbable run in 2010, Affeldt and his teammates faced the powerful Philadelphia Phillies and based on all the experts, were just too good for the band of misfits that were the Giants. Keith Law and Buster Olney had the Phillies winning in 5, Rob Neyer, Karl Ravech had them in 6 and Jayson Stark and Tim Kurkjian had them in 7. Fast forward to Game 6 with the certain to lose Giants up 3 games to 2 and a chance to clinch.  Giants general manger Brian Sabean, manager Bruce Bochy and pitching coach Dave Righetti had talked before the game about what to do if starting pitcher Jonathan Sanchez struggled. With such a left handed lineup as Philadelphia had, the plan was to go with Affeldt, Bumgarner and Lopez, all lefties, in relief roles if necessary. Sanchez struggled. He also got frustrated, and for no apparent reason got upset with Chase Utley and it led to the benches clearing. When benches clear in baseball, so do bullpens. Every member of the bullpen ran onto the field, except for one. Affeldt. Mark Gardner, the Giants bullpen coach, told Affeldt to stay in the 'pen and start throwing because he knew Sanchez was going to be taken out of the game. Affeldt was going to replace him and he needed to be focused on the task at hand. The task: 2 on and no out in a 2-2 game in the 3rd inning. Affeldt, normally a setup man who was more used to pitching in the last three innings, was asked to pitch in the 3rd inning. He struck out Ryan Howard on a high fastball, made Jayson Werth flyout to Cody Ross in right and then forced Shane Victorino to ground out to Aubrey Huff at first and the inning was over. He again went three-up-three-down in the 4th inning and his two scoreless frames helped the Giants keep the game locked at 2-2 after 4 innings. The Giants would go on to win the game thanks in large part to Juan Uribe's 8th inning home run, but it was Affeldt's brilliance in the 3rd and 4th innings that saved the day and led to the Giants first trip to the World Series in 8 years.

Click Here to watch Jeremy Affeldt go 6 up 6 down vs the Phillies.

Game 4 of the World Series vs Detroit in 2012
Affeldt was called into the 8th inning of Game 4 of the World Series in 2012 to face the heart of the Tigers order. Again, the game was tied, this time 3-3. Even though Affeldt was left handed, he had been called on many times in the past by Bochy to get out tough right handed hitters. This would be the toughest test yet of that faith, as Affeldt began the inning facing triple crown winner, Miguel Cabrera. Affeldt struck him out swinging on a nasty 0-2 breaking ball. Prince Fielder was up next and struck out swinging as well, and after Delmon Young did the same, it was the most impressive inning of Affeldt's post-season career. The Giants would go on to win the World Series that night in the 10th inning.

Click Here to watch Jeremy Affeldt strike out the side.

Game 7 of the World Series vs Kansas City in 2014
Game 7 began like a storybook for 39 year old Tim Hudson. He had waited 16 seasons to pitch in the World Series and here he was being asked to pitch Game 7. The game every kid dreams of playing in when they are dreaming in the backyard. However, much like the night for Jonathan Sanchez 5 years earlier, Hudson got hit hard early and before the 2nd inning was over, it was deja vu all over again for Affeldt. Bochy had once again mentioned to Affeldt before the game that if he needed to take his starting pitcher out early, he would go to him first. Affeldt didn't expect to be called on in the 2nd inning, but like the previous 21 appearances with the Giants, he wasn't going to let the team down. With 2 on and 2 out in the 2nd inning, Affeldt got Nori Aoki to ground out and the inning was over. The next two innings included two double plays, including Joe Panik's glove flip to Brandon Crawford that may go down as one of the greatest double plays in World Series history. Affeldt, often considered a ground ball pitcher throughout his career, forced ground balls to one of the best infields he had ever pitched in front of and once again, Affeldt did the job.
This game has become Affeldt's best moment in professional sports. He said as much in the press conference to announce his retirement and in post game interviews that night for how his career had come full circle. Affeldt began his professional career in Kansas City and didn't like the way his tenure there ended. To be named the winning pitcher of Game 7 that night in Kansas City completed a journey that has made him San Francisco's greatest post-season pitcher in the 57 years the team has been in the city by the Bay.

The Legend of Duffman: From Pinch Runner to #3 Hitter in 7 months

San Francisco Giants fans didn't know what to expect from third base this season after losing the team's primary third baseman, Pablo Sandoval in free agency. Neither did the Giants, as they made a trade for Casey McGehee after losing out on Sandoval. But just five weeks into the season, McGehee was out as the everyday guy, and Matt Duffy was in. Duffy, who wasn't a lock to even make the 25 roster, forced his way onto the roster with a strong Spring.

During the 2014 post-season, Duffy became best known for scoring from second base on a wild pitch. Duffy was the team's primary pinch hitter during their 2014 championship run, but nobody saw the 2015 version of Duffy coming. Duffy has gone from a pinch hitter/runner in October, to a legitimate Rookie of the Year Candidate as the everyday third baseman for a contending team. His 3.5 WAR so far this season is second to only Gold Glove winner Nolan Arenado (4.0) among third baseman in the National League and right with All-Star starter Todd Frazier at 3.4. Two players he is well in front of are top rookies Kris Bryant (2.7) and Joc Pederson (2.3) who are likely to receive many votes for Rookie of the Year. Duffy has outperformed them despite not starting the first five weeks of the season.

He might not even be the most popular Duffy among Giants fans, because every fan who follows Matt on Instagram has met his cat Skeeter, who might weigh more than he does. So where did Matt Duffy come from? I wanted to learn more about the #Duffman as he is commonly referred to in San Francisco.

I interviewed Mac Williamson, a former teammate of Matt's while he was in the minor leagues as well as former play-by-play announcer Jon Laaser, who called Duffy's games during his time with the Richmond Flying Squirrels in the Eastern League.

1. What kind of teammate was Matt Duffy?

Mac Williamson - One of the best teammates I've ever had. Regardless of the game he's having, he knows how to remain positive. He makes everyone better 1. First impressions of Duffy when he arrived in Richmond?

Jon Laaser - I think my first impression was like everybody else's in that you see this extremely skinny guy, and you're thinking that there is no way he is going to hold up over the course of a season. On a side note, his teammates with the Squirrels called him "bones" as a nickname. I don't think that one has made it to the big leagues along with him. He was somewhat of an unknown commodity when he arrived as well in that he hadn't received any preseason love from the prospect publications. We were actually kind of looking at it as the first time we hadn't had a prospect shortstop since the Squirrels began (Brandon Crawford, Ehire Adrianza, Nick Noonan).

 2. Any games or moments stand out early on that had him pegged as a future major leaguer?

Mac Williamson - Every game. Even when stats didn't show it, he was solid day in and day out. Just like he is now. He can go 0-4 but hit 3 lasers. He really knows how to put together good at bats.

Jon Laaser - The entire first month of April really. He had the most impressive first month of any guy that had come up to Double-A to hit at The Diamond, which is a notorious pitcher's park, and in the colder environment of the Eastern League. None of it seemed to phase him. I was particularly impressed with the way he made rapid adjustments to the way the league pitched him. Away for the first couple of weeks, then started to pound him in. It didn't really seem to matter to him, and I remember he expressed to me that he had confidence in either side of the plate. However, the one moment that sticks out was a session he was having with Squirrels' hitting coach Ken Joyce in The Diamond batting tunnel. They were working on weight transfer, and just seeing the subtle difference in where he was loading his lower half. It wasn't necessarily the lesson, but then seeing how quickly he took that to the game with him was remarkable.  

3. How does he carry himself off the field that you've seen?

Jon Laaser - Duff, and I call him that because I consider him a friend, is what we refer to as a "great dude." That is the highest form of praise we have in baseball. Really low-key and unassuming at all times, but a guy that his teammates emulated because of his play. He was very popular in the clubhouse, but was also disarming due to his physical stature or lack thereof. Not to say he was a saint mind you. He could get a subtle cheap shot in when he needed to for sure.  

4. Did you see his power bat coming at all?

Mac Williamson - He had gap to gap power and occasional home run power, but he's learned how to use his legs and get the most out of his swing.

Jon Laaser - What always struck me about Matt was his forearms. You'll notice this about Kelby Tomlinson as well. Neither are big guys, but they have forearm strength that allows them to drive the ball quite a bit more than you would expect. With that said, I can't say that I saw this amount of power coming. The ability to drive the ball to the alleys and corners though definitely. You could see that from the crispness of the line drives that he hit, both in BP and in the game.  

5. Could you have envisioned him being a #3 hitter for a playoff contending team?

Mac Williamson - I didn't think he would be the 3 hitter this soon, but would never have ruled it out. He's a quick learner and a very intellectual player.

Jon Laaser - I'm just going to simply say no to that. I wish I could say that I had a foresight that scouts and the Giants didn't see, but that wouldn't be true. I did see Major League potential, but it would be a lie to say that I thought he would become the anchor of an offense, particularly this quickly!  

6. What is your favorite Matt Duffy story?

Jon Laaser - My favorite story was the day before he was called up to the big leagues. Our field staff and I had been informed that he was going up the following day, and were sitting on that information. Obviously, Matt had no idea. He came into the training room and was having an internal debate as to whether he should buy this new backpack or not. He was going back and forth trying to talk himself into spending the 75 bucks, or whatever it was, to buy it for himself. He was talking to trainer, David Getsoff, and me, but was really just trying to convince himself. Meanwhile, not being a bonus-baby, he was pretty strapped for cash as most minor league players are. Finally, after about 20 minutes of debate, I just basically said "Matt, you deserve the backpack, buy the backpack, I'll spot you if you need it." He liked that, and set off to order the backpack, but about 10 minutes later returned and said "I'm going to hold off...I just can't do it." That's him, blue-collar player. I'm pretty sure he got that backpack, or a nicer one, not long after.  

7. I look at Duffy as the prototype "baseball player," in that he doesn't look the part physically but he does everything on the field you'd ask for in a ballplayer? How would you "define" Duffy?

Jon Laaser - Grinder is the best description of him from an outward sense. However, I don't think that really does him justice. Everybody thinks because he doesn't look the part it's harder for him. I think that's true in that it is harder for him to get respect. But, I'd put his natural ability and baseball IQ up against anybody. Obviously, like everybody else he had to put in a ton of work, but his natural talent for the game is undeniable.

Ultimately, Williamson summed it up when describing Duffy to me. He said "he's one of the best guys you'll ever come in contact with. Can't say enough good things about him." So did Bruce Bochy when asked about Duffy earlier this week. "He found a way to get it done, and that’s what you love about him,” Bochy said. "He grinds out every at-bat."

So whether you call him Matt Duffy or Duffman, whether you think he's a grinder or just a baseball player, or whether you think he's the Rookie of the Year, the praise for him will continue to flood because nobody can say enough good things about him, especially Giants fans.

Buster Posey is an MVP Candidate again

As the Giants try to defend their championship for the third time in the last five years, the face of their franchise is quietly having his second MVP worthy season of his career. The 2012 Most Valuable Player already has more home runs and runs batted in this season than he did in all of 2013. He has only struck out 33 times this season while hitting a slashline of .327/.386/.507. His .893 OPS is the second highest of his career since his MVP campaign of 2012 of .957.

His defense this season is even better than three years ago. That is what set him apart in 2012. His ability to catch a top pitching staff is what led most voters to choose Posey for the award over Ryan Braun and others.

Posey has an impressive trophy case already in his young career, with three world series rings, an MVP, a Comeback Player of the Year award, All-Star appearances and Silver Sluggers. Winning a second MVP, however, would put him a step closer to a path that few catchers have been to. Posey has often been compared to Hall of Famers like Johnny Bench and Yogi Berra, and winning multiple MVP awards is something Posey must do for that conversation to continue. Bench and Berra not only own many World Series rings like Posey does, but they also won multiple MVP's which Posey has yet to do.

This season, the other candidates include Bryce Harper, Paul Goldschmidt, and pitchers like Zach Greinke and Max Scherzer. Last year when Clayton Kershaw won the award, there weren't any legitimate hitters to compete with his historic season. This year, Harper, Goldschmidt and Posey are all deserving of the award.

Based on Wins Above Replacement, Harper (6.9) is the choice over Greinke (6.7) with a slim lead. Goldschmidt, who plays for a below .500 team has a WAR of 6.1, while Posey is at 5.3.  Harper could end up winning in a landslide because his Nationals are competing for the playoffs and his numbers suggest he has far and away the best hitter. But a lot can happen in August and September, and voters in years past would suggest that those months mean more in their final tally. If Harper continues to produce, Posey could be on the outside looking in come awards season. However, if Posey continues to perform the way he has since the All-Star break, we may be seeing a second MVP for the defending champs best player.