Happy Sanchez Day!
We just added a former NL Batting Champ to our lineup ('06, .344) to go along with our other Sanchez, who threw a no hitter. I like our Sanchezes. We good even call them the "Dirty Sanchezes". I could see Krukow calling them that on the air.
We did give up a lot though. One half of our "jailbait" duo of Tim Alderson and Madison Bumgarner went over in the deal. Obviously it was Alderson, who we Giants fans have been enamored with for a couple years now.
The truth is, you gotta give up something to get something, and this is a great move.
Sanchez has an option that vests next year if he reaches 600 plate appearances, which looks like it will probably happen. If for some unfortunate reason that it doesn't, I'd be shocked to see us not go after him as a free agent. We gave up Alderson after all. It is likely that we won't have to deal with that.
Anyway, the guy is a career .300 hitter and will certainly provide the stability at second base that we've been seeking all season long.
It also signals to fans that we are going for it this year. Sabean is doing very well by aggressively filling holes without giving up the farm. Naturally, time will tell how this goes, but Ryan Garko and Freddy Sanchez look like they'll be around here next year.
Bochy said during the press conference that Freddy would probably hit second in the lineup. It's difficult to say now how the lineup will shake out once Aaron Rowand and Nate Schierholtz come back... but I'd assume it would look like this:
CF Rowand
2B Sanchez
3B Panda, Kung Fu
C Bengie Molina
1B Ryan Garko
LF Winn
RF Schierholtz
SS Renteria
P
But as we all know, it could be anything... Maybe Sanchez leads off and Rowand slides down to 6th or 7th. Maybe Winn and Sanchez hit at the top. We've seen so many different lineups this year that nothing would surprise me at this point.
Bochy will need to find a combo that works.
Regardless, we have a new catalyst up there that will get on base.
Also, don't underestimate the power of a change of scenery and culture. The Pirates play in a beautiful stadium, but that's about it. It's a depressing culture and a depressing scene over there. They haven't had a winning season since I was in like 2nd or 3rd grade, and despite the "dude-vorce" that just occurred (his best buddy Jack Wilson was shipped to Seattle), Sanchez will realize what it's like to play in a great baseball culture with fans that haven't been beaten into the ground for 20 years. I expect him to put on the type of post-trade hitting tear that Randy Winn did 2 years ago. Godspeed.
Notes:
Matt Cain threw a 9 inning shutout, but didn't get the win. What an absolute animal. Granted it was against a demoralized shell of a team, but he just keeps doing it week after week.
Two other great things: Randy Winn producing and A.U. Henio Velez doing anything. I've found that ripping A.U. out loud in front of the TV during his at bats really increases his production. He hit his home run when I yelled that he looked like an alien had sex with a gazelle. Give it a try.
Here's a "video" I found on Youtube of Freddy Sanchez. It's one of those gay slideshows, but it's well done and it's the best I could find of F-Sanch. It's a great pro-Pirates tune on here... it fires me up about our new acquisition, but it makes me feel bad for the Pirate fans. You see shots of Jason Bay and Xavier Nady... Jack Wilson, and every other decent player they've shipped out. No matter how bad it gets over here, at least you're not a Pirate fan. Click here if you're reading this on Facebook or an Email Newsfeed.
Also, farewell to Timmy Alderson. We hardly knew ye...
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