Friday BP, 8/3/18

There was a piece a little while back in The Athletic about Andrew McCutchen that I think flew a little bit under the radar, so I thought we’d take a look at it for today’s BP.

Andrew Baggarly interviews McCutchen about his time in San Francisco thus far. McCutchen, who was the subject of much trade speculation before the deadline, said that he has really enjoyed his time here so far, noting how many times the season can drag on, but he said that time has really flown by thus far for him this year.

He notes that having a locker next to Hunter Pence and playing video games on the road with Derek Holland has helped the three of them become good friends. And, they are good friends.

Though this was a funny aside from Baggarly:

Because McCutchen keeps an even keel, he can be tough for some people to read. After a couple months with the club, Bruce Bochy was concerned about whether McCutchen was happy with the Giants and took him aside to see if there was anything he could do. The manager was surprised when McCutchen gushed about how much he was enjoying himself.

McCutchen and Baggarly talk about how he’s been hitting the ball hard, but without a whole lot to show for it. McCutchen kind of shrugs it off, noting that there’s not much you can do about bad luck, but as long as he’s making hard contact, he seems to feel it will right itself. But he also notes that it’s at least partially due to the way teams utilize a shift against him. Baggarly notes that McCutchen is one of the most shifted-upon right-handers in the game this year.

They also get into a lot more of the nitty-gritty of McCutchen’s season and looming free agency, but I’ll let you read it for yourself. And if you don’t have a subscription, there’s a summary on NBC Sports.