San Francisco Giants Mailbag: McGehee, Maxwell, Lincecum

Apr 8, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; San Francisco Giants third baseman Casey McGehee (14) celebrates after hitting a ninth inning two run homerun against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Baseball is a game of hot and cold streaks, individually and as a team. If a team catches fire at the right time, they can ride that momentum all the way through the playoffs and win a World Series title sometimes (just ask the 2010, 2012, and 2014 Giants).

No matter how consistent or talented a player is, they experience streaks. Even Buster Posey goes through slumps every once in a while, and this is what McGehee is experiencing right now.

Some Giants fans might forget that McGehee got off to a hot start to 2015 in Spring Training. Through the first 10 Spring Training games, McGehee was hitting .500 with four doubles and four RBI. He got off to a quick start to the 2015 season, and he is now experiencing the cold streak that can sometimes follow a hot streak.

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So far in the regular season, McGehee is hitting .173 with one home run and two RBI. He also has a .218 on-base percentage and .269 slugging percentage. He’s struck out 12 times in his 52 at-bats, and in quite possibly the roughest stat of all, he has hit into eight double plays already.

Bruce Bochy has acknowledged McGehee’s struggles, and he plans to stick by him, which he normally does with veterans, and give him a chance to work his way out of the slump. Some fans would like Bochy to give Matt Duffy more starts at third, but Bochy won’t do that quite yet and would most likely only do that on a spot start basis, in an attempt to clear McGehee’s head for one or two games.

I would answer this question in the same way that I would for pretty much any veteran player (as I did last week for Belt’s struggles), who’s proven that they can hit at the Major League level and contribute offensively in many ways. McGehee will break out of this slump. It’s just a matter of time.

I believe in McGehee’s abilities and what he can bring to this team. He’s in a rough patch right now, but he’ll bounce back and find a way to contribute to this team on an everyday basis.

Next: Will Maxwell Continue to Tear It Up?