Reader Submission #2: What Happened Brian?

As The Dodgerhater is still on the DL with a bum knee, Julian Perez was good enough to submit an article for publishing. This is the second article he's written for the site, and it is his opinion, not necessarily mine. From time to time, I welcome submissions like this. Something on your mind? Got a clue how to write? Maybe I'll put yours on here too. -Dan




What Happened Brian?

by, Julian Perez

Two days removed from all the rumors and last minute deals, I find myself sitting here pondering what the hell exactly happened this trade deadline. The Giants were linked to what seems like every single name that was tossed around this season-- everyone from front-line players to guys some people have never heard of. I personally was getting excited at the prospect of an Adam Dunn or Lance Berkman bringing a solid left handed bat to the lineup. Hell, I was excited when I heard about possible right handed bats too. Yet Brian Sabean failed to get a bat, period.

I have been hearing a lot of people trying to justify the fact that the Giants bolstered their bullpen, which was a glaring need, but is a power hitter not a glaring need?! I know that the emergence of Buster Posey has sparked the offense and that a lot of players seem to be coming out of the slumber they were in during the first two months of the season, but I really find it hard to believe that Pat “The Bat” Burrell is going to be the Giants savior the rest of the season (though I still want to buy the guy a beer for sinking the Dodgers yesterday).

The Giants have a wonderful thing going with their farm system, finally starting to produce players for their own team instead of manufacturing future stars for other teams to pluck out of Triple A. Still, the Giants have a plethora of pitching prospects and almost no bats in the minors (at least not Major League ready bats) so why not trade away something we have a surplus of for something we need so desperately? It just does not add up. I mean I am glad that Sabean is finally seeming to learn from his mistakes of trading for “rent-a-players” (see Shea Hillenbrand and Sidney Ponson) but with the pitching staff the Giants have, they seem to be a big bat away from being able to make a deep run in October.

Imagine if the Giants were to make it to the World Series and had a guy like Adam Dunn or Lance Berkman being able to DH rather then a situation like in 2002 when they had the likes of Marvin Bernard and Tyoshi Shinjo at DH. I am not saying the Giants will make the World Series, since right now I am just hoping they can win the West. But you would think that they would learn from those past mistakes.

Brian Sabean has become one of the most aggravating GMs in baseball. He has become renowned around the league as a guy who won’t return calls from other teams and who is unwilling to make deals. As a fan, it is so upsetting to see a guy who has the commodities other GMs would drool over when it comes to money, a great ballpark, and tons of young pitching-- yet he managed to miss out on every trade opportunity this year. This is in addition to missing out on some of the huge names over the last 5 years in free agency. With all this being said, I really hope Sabean redeems himself and gets a deal done on the wavier wire. If not, a lot more people other then myself are going to wonder… What Happened Brian?!

P.S.: Has anyone else ever noticed Sabean looks like the offspring of Jaba the Hutt and Kenny Rogers? Just saying...