Quick Trade Update, Giants get 2 Pitchers

I'm still on the DO, and I'm actually updating this from my Moto Droid with my leg in this crazy motorized bending machine.

Anyway, Sabean, perhaps too gunshy from backfired deadline deals such as Shea Hillenbrand and Ryan Garko, decided to play this one safe-- if not overly lame.

The Giants we're connected to a ton of players. Adam Dunn, Scotty Downs, Jose Bautista, Corey Hart, Scotty Podsednik as well as a multitude of others. With the bullpen the most glaring issue, Sabean added two relievers, a matching lefty/righty combo with Hispanic names.

Firstly, John Bowker and Joe Martinez we're sent to Pittsburgh for LHP Javier Lopez.

Lopez is a lefty specialist that is under control for 2011. This year he has a 2.79 ERA in 38.2 innings. Obviously this was a huge need and I really hope Johnny Bowker gets a real shot to succeed in Pittsburgh, something I constantly harped on this year.

Here's the link for Lopez: http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lopezja02.shtml

Ramon Ramirez from the Red Sox is a veteran righty who had some good years in Kansas City, but has only average numbers in Boston this year. In 42.1 IP this season, Ramirez has a 4.46 ERA. Which, we have to remember is in the absurdly difficult AL East. A lower level prospect, who's name escapes me in my Norco-infused haze, was sent to Boston. No one we know or love...

Ramirez is arbitration eligible for next season and it appears that he is under team control till 2013. Here's the link.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ramirra02.shtml

Beat LA!

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Things are pretty, kinda alright, and sorta good, but not really great, but much better than bad...

"Giants Baseball: Torture" -- Duane Kuiper

He's said it multiple times on the air, and usually, the description is plenty apt. This team isn't nearly as frustrating as version 20.09, in fact, not even close. The fact is, we're not going to win every game. The sign of a good team is that we are in every game, every night. The opportunity to win is half the battle, and the other half is doing a little bit better than a tie game.

Hey look, those two walkoff losses to the Mets were absolutely killer, and the one where Romo blew ANOTHER game on Sunday would've been a gut-wrencher after the previous two games. But look at the bright side. How about John Bowker coming up huge with a pinch hit dong off of one of the best closers in baseball?

I've said it before multiple times, and I will continue to say it:

"THIS TEAM NEVER GIVES UP, AND IT'S CAPABLE OF COMING BACK FROM ANYTHING."

I mean, last season we were giving up in the 6th inning with 4-1 deficits staring us in the collective face. This season? We're good to go. We can tie this thing up! We can win this thing! It's just sooooooo much better.

And how about some more positive stuff. Some guy named Aaron Rowand did as much for the success of this Florida/New York road trip as the starting pitching staff. He really did. He hit a huge homer in Florida, made multiple run-saving catches, and hit the biggest go-ahead roundtripper of the season on Sunday when the team needed it the most.

I know he's been only a first half player for us, but he's hitting .321 with 17 RBI. That's all we ever wanted for the $60MM, man...

Things are fairly solid around here. Not amazing, not terrible, but pretty, kinda, alright, and sorta good. As frustrating and torturous as Romo/Runzler have been at times, in conjunction with Wellemeyer, the "Other Jonathan Sanchez" in a couple starts, and Kung Fu's retarded slump, at the end of the day, you need to look at the big picture, and the manner in which that big picture is being filled in.

Anyway....

Notes/Musings:

Huffing & Puffing

Aubrey Huff is an absolute gamer. The guy has played a solid 1B. And for you Sabermetric jerks, you can even believe it, because he's sporting a 4.0 UZR/150 rating. See, I coulda told you he was playing a good first base by watching how he plays the game and the fact that he only has one error, but since I used an obscure statistical formulated index average thingy, now we can agree. End of side rant.

What I really love about Huff is that he is simply a ballplayer, a gamer, the type of guy who knows where to be, what to do, and you can tell that he is not the most gifted athlete in the land, but the guy who gets absolutely the most out of his abilities by giving his all. He's chasing after foul pop ups, covering second base when Uribe/Downs/Rowand can't make a catch. It's just good to see.

The most encouraging sign about Huff is that he's really driving the ball. Unfortunately, he's driving the ball to right-center most of the time in AT&T, Citi, and the Ghost of Joe Robbie Fields/Stadium. In all honesty, this guy has hit around 9 or 10 yahtzee shots thus far, but only a handful have made it out due to whatever cavernous outfield he happens to be swinging at.

Plus, whenever he has to run 180 feet at a time, it is absolutely hilarious. It's like he just ran a drunken marathon. All the Joe Eighteen Packs watching him can relate.

Romo has to go...

You ain't gotta go home, but you can't stay here bro. We all like you Serge, but you're losing games for us. If Row doesn't hit one out, you could've ruined another game Sunday in cahoots with your boy Runzler. Is this what we're doing now? You two are like the anti-win squad right now. Runzler sets the table with like 3 walks, then you serve up a hairy meatball for a dong?

It certainly seems that way lately, which is why I could've just KILLED Bochy when he brought you in on Sunday. I was like "Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!". Sure enough... well. You know what happened. This site isn't about recaps, remember?

There are rumblings that Romo may be sent to Fresno for a little while to regain his slider's snap, and maybe rest a little while. I find it hard to believe that the guy already has a tired arm, as we are what, like, 6 games into the season? However, he has been used a lot, and many times in high-pressure situations. As we know, this team doesn't do anything the easy way. He'll continue to be an important part of the team, but obviously his workload and stress level have to be reduced.

And as some of you will recall, I wrote an article earlier this season stating that indeed, the Romo/Runzler tandem was the key to the overall success and health of the bullpen. If they suck, we're screwed. Hell it made MLBTradeRumors. They know good stuff when they see it.

The Sanchez Sitch

I bet you haven't seen the word "Sitch" in print since the last TMZ article you read about Jersey Shore. Well. I'm bringing it back before Season 2 in a non-Mike Sorrentino sort of context.

This particular sitch involves a dude owed $12MM over this season and next, which is not looking like a very good scene right now. Honestly, we might as well be paying "The Situation" instead of Freddy Sanchez right now, because at least we'd get some entertainment value out of him. For all we know, Freddy Sanchez is going to the gym, tanning, and doing his laundry every day on Neukom's dime.

In all seriousness though, We've got an interesting couple of decisions to make once F-Sanch returns in a week or two. The common suggestion is that with our hundreds of mega-super-ultra utility men (sounds like a Japanese animation show that gives 8 year olds seizures), Bochy can just rotate guys in and out to give a guy a day off or play situational matchups.

More realistically, Matt Downs is actually hitting. Yeah. He's actually hitting to the tune of a .359 average and a .459 on base %. He's obviously not gonna win a batting title, and we don't know if the Tuscaloosa native will ever be a fulltime starter in this league, but my vote is for delaying Sanchez's arrival until Downs cools off at least.

But then what about when Renteria comes back? I'm still not ready to throw him away like gross 4 day old Chinese food. I still believe he's capable of being 70% of the Renteria of old. Groin pulls are nagging things.

The only thing about that is that now Uribe and Huff are in danger of losing AB's, while the .350+ hitting Downs is sent to Fresno or deep in "Bochy's Hole of No Return" like poor Johnny Bowker from next door.

It's quite the conundrum indeed. I expect to be frustrated by the outcome.

Panda & DeRosa... WTF?

DeRosa's struggles are frustrating. As we know, he's making good money, and all the Debbie Downer's out there who ripped the signing from the beginning are jumping around and clicking their heels like a prospector on angel dust. Well, forget you guys. The sample size is not nearly big enough to declare anything. It's just one of those deep funks... and not the good kind of funk like Earth Wind & Fire.

He's pressing, and that usually never works out. He had a multi-hit game in Florida, which was encouraging, but success overall has been eluding Marky Mark. I think perhaps he's the guy who could benefit from a couple days off and some hardcore video sessions.

Hey... that's not what I meant. I meant reviewing his at bats! Get your heads out of the gutter.

As for Kung Fu, well, he's a frustrating dude. It just looks like opposing pitchers are beginning to figure him out a bit. They're throwing high fastballs at him, and he's swinging at them (as usual). It's unfortunate that such a simple thing is having success with such a talented swinger. He's another guy who needs to ride the pine for a game or two, to get his head right.

But as Krook said, "He's a hack, and he's gotta hack his way out of this."

Pablo is 3 for his last 39 and is hitting only .231 from the right side. Cause for concern, yes. Freak out session? Not yet.

Knock knock joke!

Knock Knock.
Who's There?
Orange.
Orange Who?
Orange you glad we don't have Oliver Perez?

That guy sucks big time! One of the worst contracts in baseball history. 3 years, $36MM. You think Sabean is bad? How about Omar Minaya. Guy should be fired immediately.

And the NY Post is hilarious. "HOMEWRECKER". HAHA.

Gut check time: the first of many

Wow, Sunday really sucked. I mean, really, really sucked.

There we were, just cruising along, thoroughly enjoying another gem by Zeets, shutting out the Blue Bastards on the field and shutting up the criminals in the stands at the same time. Then, just like that, we were punched in the gut. It wasn't even a normal punch in the gut, it was a sucker punch, totally out of nowhere. Just like that, the game was over. We were still left breathless and confused, just like at the end of the Sharks game last night. It's like, are you effing kidding me? A bottom of the 8th pinch hit dong by The One Who Shall Not Be Named, followed by a hockey playoff game where we outshoot the opposition 50-16, and end up scoring the only goal of the game on ourselves in overtime?

Sunday, April 18th, was one of the worst Bay Area sports days in recent memory.

As for the Giants, this first Padres game represents the first true challenge of the year. Until the Dodger series, where we easily could've swept, there has been little to no adversity in this young 2010 season. As the video below (at 1:08) will reinforce, the Giants were indeed "Drivin' along, drivin' along", until we hit a truck tire in the middle of the road." Let's just hope we bought our brake pads from Callahan Auto instead of the other guys.



As we know, how a team rebounds from sucker punches, and the fashion in which they respond to injuries dictates how far they go. Mental toughness, resolve, and a short memory are all huge parts of a successful baseball team, especially because it is one long-ass haul.

With Rowand on the DL with those pesky facial fractures, DeRosa's tender hammy, and Romo's confidence shaken, the San Diego series will be huge.

It's not so much what we've lost in Rowand, but how we'll replace him, and how we're able to keep chugging along. Monday in San Diego, it will be the Geno Velez show, and I assume Schierholtz and Torres as well against the lefty Clayton Richard.

Velez has been a huge surprise with his hitting thus far. The guy affectionately known as A.U., Geno, The Somali Pirate, and the Pharaoh has 4 extra base hits, 7 RBI, and hitting .350. Not only that, but the guy has taken a few walks, and is sporting a stat nerd-arousing .435 on base percentage. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm comfortable with A.U. playing every day until Rowand returns.

Back to the Dodgers series for a minute.

The fact that no Dodger was drilled is totally unacceptable. Whether that waste of life known as Vicente Padilla intentionally drilled Rowand in the head is beside the point. It's baseball etiquette. You hit one of our guys, we hit one of yours. Hell, even throw it totally behind them, and if it's a close game, hit them the next day. I was wholly shocked that Zito, who plunked Prince Fielder in spring, didn't nail Matt Kemp or that jerkoff Casey Blake during Sunday's game.

If the plunked Dodger became enraged, began gesturing wildly towards the mound while spewing expletives and the benches cleared, that's what I refer to as a team-building exercise. Even without a brawl, any "Us Versus Them" activity breeds unity, and it no longer becomes about retaliation, but about trust in one another and the bigger purpose of survival as one unit.

Try finding a stat for that.

Despite technically dropping two of three from the Doyers, I still saw a ton of character from these guys in each game. As I said before, there's something different about this team, and I no longer believe we're ever out of a game-- not like last year.

Let's plow through San Diago and get back on track!

Quick note: BOCHY! FREE JOHN BOWKER! LET THE GUY PLAY! HOW WILL HE EVER HIT LEFTIES IF YOU NEVER LET HIM TRY! PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASSSSEEEE!

So far, pretty damn good

So? Whaddaya think?

Was all my (and possibly your) optimism unfounded? Things are clicking, and this team appears to have left Scottsdale ready to deal and rake.

And yes, I did predict the sweep of the Astros right here.

The Astros are not exactly a stiff test, but what they've been to the Giants is twofold. Firstly, they were a perfect team to warm up against without being a real threat. Secondly, they provided an opportunity to last year's stiffs and this year's hopefuls to get off on the right frickin foot.

Even more so than Aaron Rowand, Edgar Renteria's scorching start has to be taken seriously. While Row had a few hits and ribeye steaks in Wednesday's finale, we all know that his lack of discipline and approach at the plate leaves us all uneasy... seemingly constantly. Renteria, on the other hand, excites me.

Last season was unacceptable on so many fronts for the Colombian vet. It was just so inexcusable that he was allowed to play so terribly for so long last year when management knew he was injured.

For what it's worth though, he deserves "gamer points" for playing hurt, never once speaking to the media about it, and doing his best. Gamer points or not though, he still has a lot to prove to Giants fans who at this point still have him in their crosshairs.

In this opening series we appear to have seen the old Edgar Renteria-- as opposed to the "Old Balls" Renteria of '09. In the past three days, I've seen flashes of the guy who has four .300+ average seasons under his belt. And hell, I've even seen some solid defense from him.

We'd all love to have a guaranteed beast out there at SS and in the second spot, but we all know that Rich Aurilia circa 2001 is not walking through that door. What we potentially have here is an aged version of the 2007 Edgar Renteria, who hit .332.

Trust me, that's miles better than the antique version we got in '09.

I know it's optimistic, but hell, why can't I be? The guy went 5-5 on Wednesday, and appears to be totally healthy. Honestly, he looks nothing like the player we knew.

And let's keep in mind that we shouldn't be discriminatory in our optimism either. Many of us keep saying, "Well Aubrey Huff is only one year removed from a huge season."

I know I've said that...

Well, Edgar is two years removed from a huge season. Hey, just saying...

The other aspects of the team speak for themselves. I really don't see a need right now to comment too much on the pitching. Lincey is a monst. HurriCAIN Matt is a stud (shame he got the ND though), and Brian Wilson looks like he's trying to commit involuntary manslaughter out there with his fastball.

The one guy who really deserves plaudits thrown his way is Barry Zito. I'm allllmost the point where I'm taking his excellent starts for granted... as if it would be unusual for him to suck.

Lest we forget that he's been garbage early in the previous three seasons for us (in addition to other parts of the season too!). With this in mind, getting 6 shutout innings from Zeets is like melting cheese over the entire team, it just makes it SO. GODDAMN. GOOD.

(Even with those asinine striped socks...)

Anyway, I hope you all make it out to one of the Atlanta games this weekend, crank the John Fogerty, Kenny Rogers, and Alabama, and start to get fired up...

...because I think we are in for one epic season here boys and girls!.

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Notes & Thoughts

-- Atta boy Johnny Bowker. The guy appears to be for real. And who told you so?

-- Good to see the bench guys like A.U. Velez, Whiteside, Schierholtz, and Ishikawa contribute. Good to get 'em all off the schneid at once.

-- Looks like we're going to see a pattern of defensive replacements every 7th inning if we have a lead. Ishikawa takes over for Huff at 1B and Schierholtz takes over in RF for Bowker. The move I don't understand is A.U. Velez taking over for DeRosa in LF. Yes, he's faster, but is The Pharaoh a better outfielder? Really friggin questionable. However, I do like the "WE PLAY TO WIN THE GAME!" approach by Bochy to take zero chances of losing any games because of defense. Hey if we had won 4 or 5 more games last year, that woulda meant playoffs.

-- Sammy Gervacio sucks at life. His little "Voodoo/Santeria priest at an animal sacrifice ceremony" bit is already old, and I'm almost glad that he had to leave the game on Wednesday with an apparent shoulder injury. It's unacceptable to do that crap out there, and the act is not appreciated by the opposition let alone his own team.

Think about it. If you're the Astros, you've got some cocky punk out there doing a street performer bit before every pitch? You're not going to come sprinting to the guy's side when an opposing player finally tells him to knock it off.

That crap isn't baseball. Go back to the Dominican League if you want to dance around like a jerk. That doesn't fly up here. If you cannot see this video above, click here.

Also, check out my interview with the Astros' Bud Norris if you haven't already done so. Come on, how many fan blogs get to talk to real major leaguers? Haha.

Let's hope Hollywood Norris can stop the Astros' skid against Philly on Friday.

MLB Extra Innings is on a free preview, so you can watch ANY GAME YOU WANT! IT'S MAGICAL!

A Dodgerhater verdict: Bowker deserves right field

I've slept on it. I've analyzed it. I've prayed about it. Hell, I was crying about it most of yesterday. It's just. SO. EMOTIONAL.

I'm not talking about Hot Tub Time Machine, although such a magical film could bring about such reactions. I am of course referring to the great right field debate for the 2010 San Francisco Giants.

I suppose Nate Schierholtz is the incumbent, while Johnny Bowker is the challenger. While neither is perfect, and both are generally unproven, one thing I know for sure: John Bowker has rightfully won the RF job for the Giants.

There is simply no way around it. I tried and tried to find a reason to designate Nate the starter. I like the guy. He's a decent baseball player with a stroke at the plate that when right, is just pure sweetness. During a few stages last season, I was convinced that he was well on his way to contending for a batting title some day. Something about his sweet, effortless swing and the way his liners find grass-surfaced gaps in the outfield.

Then, something strange happened. He lost it-- just totally effing lost it. He began swinging wildly at pitches fixing to hit him in the ankle. Granted, this is a guy who was never too keen on eyeballing pitches with the bat on his shoulder, but it was worse than that. As the great Eddie Money would say, Nate had "No Control".

But he did beat up a Chinese National for his country in 2008...

The one constant of Schierholtz's play at all levels is his magnificent gatling gun of an arm. I swear he reminds me of friggin Vladimir Guerrero circa 2001 when he digs a ball out of the right field corner then fires it on a line 275 feet to the infield. Forget the hitting right now-- his arm is simply world class. I could seriously watch him fire the ball from the corner to all four bases for hours and hours, just like I could listen to Jon Miller describe an apricot orchard or a sidewalk bistro for hours and hours.

Alas, Nate seems to be a bit of a basket case, and is having severe difficulty putting anything substantial together. Last season, nearly every total and percentage he amassed were subpar. This means everything from his .302 OBP to his 5.2 BB% and propensity to swing at garbage 35% of the time. It's just unacceptable plate discipline, and its byproduct is poor production.

As most of you know, I'm not huge on all of these metrics. I respect them to a certain extent, and in some cases they can't be denied. The problem I have is when these Stat Snobs and Saberjerks use them to make asinine arguments for guys like Fred Lewis. In Nate's case, they just don't lie though. His contact percentage was below average, his contact on balls out the strike zone (which he swings at too much) is a full 10 percentage points below the league average, and that just doesn't cut it.

The reason I choose to look at the Sabermetrics in this case is because, at first glance, Nate's '09 numbers don't look horrid. A .267 average, .400 slugging percentage, and 19 doubles in 308 plate appearances just isn't vomit-inducing. It's just not good enough to warrant a starting gig at a power position.

Then of course there's the matter of Schierholtz's disturbing Spring Training production. Yes, there's a great deal of pressure to be dealt with and all that jazz, but in 60 spring AB's, he only hit .233 and struck out a scary 27% of the time. John Bowker on the other hand, is absolutely crushing.

Just as he did in his 2009 season down in Fresno, Bowker is currently enjoying great success. There is simply no denying right now that "Bowkermania" could be at an all-time high. The correlation between torrid AAA numbers and the big show is never a guarantee, but I believe that this is a case that cannot be denied.

As the PCL's MVP last season, Bowker put up: 21 HR, 83 RBI, and sported a filthy .342/.451/.596 line. That's like the triple crown of averages right there. A new approach at the plate and extensive work with new Giants hitting coach Bam Bam Meulens has translated into amazing non-big league success.

Take his scorching hot spring into account.

He led the team with 71 AB's this spring, and man did he take advantage of them. We're talking about 5 dingers, 20 RBI, and a .310/.375/.606 line. Plus he drew 8 walks versus only 11 strikeouts, and 10 out of his 22 hits were for extra bases. We're talking legit numbers here.

Of course, Bowker's limited time as a pro has been underwhelming, but the guy really hasn't gotten a chance.

If we look back to Johnny B's only extended time as a pro in 2008, it looked very similar to Schierholtz's 2009. Their contact percentage, percentage of swings outside the strike zone, BB%, and OBP were nearly identical. The differences between the two lie in Bowker's apparent defensive deficiencies and superior home run power.

Obviously both will make the roster, as they should, but at this point there is absolutely nothing that shows me that Schierholtz deserves the job over Bowker.

Furthermore, a timeshare would be extremely detrimental to both guys. While Schierholtz has at times excelled as a pinch hitter, Bowker seems to fair terribly when not getting regular at bats. While both are lefties, Bowker is weaker versus LHP's while Nate, in a bizarre stat, hits LHP's better than he does righties.

I just hope to the real God and the baseball gods that this doesn't give Bochy an excuse to platoon these two young men. It's just not beneficial to the team or to the development of each as a player.

John Bowker has won this job fair and square, and if he's not out there every day, Giants management is doing their 2010 campaign an extreme disservice.


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Quick plug: If you've got room for another Giants blog in your reading stable, check out Remember '51. It's quickly becoming one of my faves.
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