Thoughts on DeJesus, Bautista & Hart

First, let me begin by saying that The Dodgerhater is going on the DL. I suffered a similar injury to Dan Runzler-- a dislocated kneecap, and I'll be going under the knife on Friday. How did I do it? Um... well... I did it breaking up a fight after my cousin's wedding in Milwaukee. Yeah... it's true. Some people can handle 7 hour open bars and some can't. I'm as shocked as anyone that I wasn't the one in the fight. I know, right? Anyway, I'm not sure how much writing I'll be doing for the next week or so while I'm high on hardcore street narcotics and Gatorade Frost. I'd advise giving up your aversion to Twitter and get involved. It's hella entertaining, Facebook is boring in comparison. Give it a shot and follow me @TheDodgerhater.

Now, onto more pressing matters:


As we move into the key stretch of the 2010 season, it is obvious to me that the Giants are fairly close to being contenders-- not only for the NL West crown or Wild Card, but potentially further.

For that to happen, a lot has to go well concurrently for an extended period of time. What we've seen from this team in 2010 has been flashes of greatness, periods of lethargy and ineffectiveness, and scrappy stick-to-it-iveness.

It is the opinion of many that the team is "one big bat away" from becoming a serious threat to the National League. I agree with that, but very cautiously.

As I pointed out a couple columns ago, this team may have its big bat already on the roster in Pablo Sandoval-- who as a veritable nonentity for a majority of 2010, appears to be hacking his way out of his season long slump.

If indeed Sabean believes that the correct move is to garner another source of offense in one of the three players mentioned in the title, I would say "okay", but I have some thoughts on the matter.

David DeJesus, OF, Kansas City

Firstly, David DeJesus is a decent player, who has developed steadily on a Kansas City team forever entrenched in extreme mediocrity. He is neither a necessity nor does his qualify as a big bat. However, he could serve well as an excellent and versatile defender, above-average speed threat, and a solid threat to reach base.

DeJesus is having a good season in West Mizzourah hitting .320, with an OBP% around .390 and a solid slugging percentage of .436 (.831 OPS). He is not a home run threat, but is definitely a doubles threat. His 23 doubles would instantly tie him for 2nd on the Giants and his 46 runs scored would put him 3rd. One could argue that the lefty-hitting DeJesus, who can hit to all fields, would be an ideal fit for the spacious gaps of Mirabelli Alley both defensively and at the dish.

He is, unfortunately, one of the most polished Royals, and very well-liked by the abused, but loyal fanbase in KC. Translation: He will cost players in return. Although his contract has a club option for 2011, it doesn't come cheap at $6MM.

The downside about DeJesus is that he will be 31 in December, and it is difficult to make an argument that he would be a significant upgrade over either Pat Burrell or Nate Schierholtz, or even a currently hot-hitting Travis Ishikawa. An acquisition of DeJesus would likely result in an ideal lineup of the following:

CF Torres
2B Sanchez
C Posey
1B Huff
3B Sandoval
RF DeJesus
LF Burrell
SS Uribe

Now, obviously, there would be some flip-flopping and whatnot, but that would be our best 8 players. Because DeJesus is such a good defender, the Schierholtz argument is not a great one. It is interesting certainly, but I feel DeJesus to be an unnecessary addition.

Jose Bautista, IF/OF, Toronto Blue Jays

Jose Bautista has nowhere to go but down. I said it. His season in Toronto has been a ridiculous show of league-leading home run power, of which he has never shown. Has he been a guy with pop and positional versatility? Yes, he has. Unfortunately, this is a textbook "sell-high" move by the shrewd Blue Jays, who know that this guy is a product of a career year in a Canadian launching pad. I think the air is thinner in Canada or something. Maybe it's like in Avatar where we have to use those breathing mask things. Who the hell knows. All I know is that while Bautista has 26 dongs to lead all of MLB, he also has a .238 batting average.

In addition, the 30 year-old Dominican has never hit more than 15 dingers in a season, leading me to believe that something crazy has happened. It is truly rare that a player suddenly "gets it" at age 30, but it seems to be the case with Bautista.

With a low average, a bunch of power, and 55 walks, Bautista fits the mold of many middle of the road hacks out there-- somewhere down the line in a list that begins with Adam Dunn and ends with Jack Cust. Also in that list is Pat Burrell, a guy we already have, and has proven to me at least that he's still capable of driving the ball.

Defensively, Bautista is comparable to Mark DeRosa (remember him?). He plays 3 or 4 positions ably, but none great. He is primarily a 3B and corner OF, and is not spectacular, but decent.

Although Toronto has requested "elite prospects" in return for Bautista, that's just nothing but posturing. They know damn well that they're selling high-- hell half the men in this country have tried to unload him from their fantasy roster for a a couple of decent players, probably unsuccessfully too. The request of MIF's Ehire Adrianza and/or Manny Burriss isn't too much to pay for Bautista-- that's not the point.

The point is that this guy is simply not the right fit for the Giants either positionally or stylistically. We already have Burrell and Sandoval, who basically play the same positions-- not to mention that Burrell is nearly an identical type of hitter.

The Dodgerhater has put his foot down. Not only that, but he's talking in the third person. Just say no to Jose Bautista.

Corey Hart, RF, Milwaukee Brewers

Corey Hart is a solid player. I like him, and have for some time. He looks like a sleaze-- a cross between Johnny Damon and the big guy from "My Name is Earl". I bet he would be a perfect pal for Aubrey Huff. They could pound beers in the corner and rock out to Pearl Jam and Whitesnake together.

Hart can certainly drive the ball, and he plays a solid right field. Of the three guys mentioned in this piece, Hart fits the Giants best. He would be an ideal 5th place slugger for the Gyros, and is under control for 2011 via arbitration.

As good a season as Hart has put together (.290/.347/.561, 22 HR, 70 RBI), he will not come cheaply-- and it has nothing to do with money. Like Toronto, the Brewers are pulling a sell-high with Mr. Hart, who literally had to fight for a spot in the starting lineup in Spring Training. He was left off the all-star ballot, but surprised the world with a spectacular resurgence. This resurgence, coupled with Milwaukee's desperate pitching situation and the lack of quality options on the market, has driven the 28 year-old Hart's price sky-effing-high.

The Brew Crew doesn't need to trade Hart. They could keep him if they wanted. That probably wouldn't be the best baseball decision for them, but there's no sense in selling off a popular player for pennies on the dollar, simply because no one is willing to pay a steep, yet reasonable cost.

The bottom line is this, The Brewers want Jonathan Sanchez or Madison Bumgarner. It makes me sick just thinking about it. However, if there is any Giant that should get traded, it should be Sanchy, but even so... I just can't endorse that wholeheartedly.

If we just had one more pitcher in AAA that looked like a semi-guaranteed stud, perhaps we could make do without Sanchez this season... but that just isn't the case.

Trading Sanchez would leave a massive hole in the rotation that would be undoubtedly filled with the likes of Joe Martinez or... gulp... Todd Wellemeyer. Certainly in a playoff series, we'd be fine. Unfortunately, we need Sanchez to make the playoffs.

It's a real catch .22 for Sabean in this case, and I'm just glad for once that I'm not in his position. A Hart for Sanchez swap is a scary proposition, but don't be surprised if it happens. It might look like this...

CF Torres (S)
2B Sanchez (R)
C Posey (R)
1B Huff (L)
RF Hart (R)
3B Sandoval(S)
LF Burrell (R)
SS Uribe (R)

I can't say I didn't get a little excited just now. Uribe is now our 8th place hitter? Are you kidding me? That's pretty damn cool. It's some food for thought, and if this move goes down, we have a right to be cautiously excited. You have to give up something to get something. Of course, I wish that something were Adam Dunn for Sanchez, but this isn't a perfect world.

What do you guys think?

Another one run loss, Bumgarner looks solid

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I swear... this act is getting really, REALLY old.

I've just never seen anything like this in all my days. We are, in effect living and dying with a team that literally loses by one run nearly every time. It is just the most frustrating damn thing on earth, it really is. Being positive is becoming harder and harder... pretty soon we're all going to start having a recurring nightmare where we're standing up at the altar, and the Giants don't show up for the wedding-- I mean playoffs.

We have now lost our past 4 games by a total of, yes you guessed it, FOUR RUNS. I'm becoming enraged as we speak.

Serenity now, Mr. Costanza. Serenity now. Deep breaths.

You probably saw the game, so I'll try not to dwell on details. After all, you don't read this for recaps. Let's talk about Madison Bumgarner. Come on, you perked up a little bit just now, didn't you?

To be honest, I thought I knew more about the kid than I did. For some reason, I thought he threw harder... like 94-96. Heh. I kinda felt like a scout or a pitcher on his day off, charting Mad-Bum's pitches in my notebook.


True fans chart pitches!

Anyway. He threw 76 pitches (I missed 1 or 2 due to CSN) in 5.1 innings with 2 earnies and 4 K's. Certainly a very respectable outing for a 20 year old Double A callup who didn't even expect to start.

I got a pretty good idea of his three pitches tonight-- especially once he settled down. His three quarter release from the left side is certainly part of why he is going to be an effective pitcher. It's a deceptive and almost a total cross-body pitching motion. Coupled with pretty damn good control, he's certainly got the tools.

It's difficult to truly gauge what a pitchers strengths and weaknesses are going to be from just one sample size, but here are my observations:

-- I charted 43 fastballs, most of which fell between 88-92 mph.

-- He threw 15 circle changeups which fell between 81-86 mph. He got a couple of big swings and misses on them early in the game. If he can improve this pitch, he could be a seriously good pitcher. This appears to be his weakest pitch.

-- His slider is his most deceptive, and in my opinion, best pitch. It appears really slurvy and flat, but it takes hitters by surprise, and is especially filthy to lefties. He got Adrian Gonzalez to look foolish on a couple of these. He threw this pitch 16 times and it nearly always landed on 78 mph. Bumgarner seemed extremely comfortable with his breaking ball.

-- He needs to work on keeping the ball down. Too many of his fastballs were up, and the two dingers he gave up-- one to Chase Headley, and one to Will Venable-- were both fastballs, one was 90 mph and one was 92 respectively.

-- He simply doesn't throw hard enough to get away with fastballs up at the waist. Once he learns how to pitch, he'll be able to mix speeds even more effectively than he already does. I'm no pitching guru, but I'm thinking that if he is able to improve his changeup, he could really be something. Establishing his offspeed stuff first, then "blowing" them away with a 92 mph fastball could be filthy.

-- Bumster has incredible poise out there. He shows very little emotion, and seemed truly unrattled out there. He just strikes me as a confident, quiet Carolina kid that doesn't say too much and carries a big stick.

-- I really think we need to come up with a better nickname than "Mad-Bum". It's a cop out. My vote right now is "The Carolina Kid". I'm going to refer to him as that until someone comes up with something better. (This is what the comment section is for).


Game Notes & Quirky Observations

-- Hey Will Venable! Can you, like, not hit home runs against your hometown team? I'm happy to see a fellow San Rafael native do well in the majors, but dude! No more dingers for you!

-- Will's younger brother Winston is the starting safety for Boise State and his dad Max played for the Giants. San Rafael rules, but San Rafael High School sucks!

-- Jeremy Affeldt could be unraveling a bit. I really wouldn't be surprised. He's been incredible all year, but he's gotta be totally exhausted at this point. He's already appeared in 64 games, and is on pace to pitch in 75. Not a record, but still.

-- What a great play by Freddy Sanchez (I believe in the 7th). He saved the game from being a "three run blowout". A huge sno-cone job against Nick Hundley with the bases juiced.

-- Everything about David Eckstein bothers me.

-- Everything.

-- Krukow's first observation of The Carolina Kid (see, told you I was starting it) was that "...he's a walker." As in, he walks out to the mound. Guy never ceases to crack me up on the simplest, stupidest things.

-- The effing Colorado Rockies won a-goddamn-gain. Can we get a little help here Cincy? Please?

-- I'm burying the fact that we're now three games back in the wild card all the way down here, as to prevent our anger from boiling over.

-- It's not working.

-- Pablo Sandoval has the highest single season batting average for a switch hitter in Gyros history. Currently at .326.

-- Chili Davis had the previous record at .315

-- An amazing thing has happened. Juan Uribe is so awesome, that the AT&T faithful have brought back the "OOOOOOOOOOOOOO! REEEEEEEE-BAAAY!" chant back. It's effing awesome. It was originally Candlestick chant for the late, great Jose Uribe, Juan's second cousin.

-- Why do these worthless old Balldudes get to have a #1 on their uni's? Screw that. The only #1 on the Giants is Big Money Molina. Give those guys double zero. Disrespectful oversight. I'm gonna talk to some people... straighten this out.

-- On that note, we absolutely need to bring back the black alternate uni's for next year. They were awesome. Seriously, just wear them on Friday nights at home, like we did back in the day. They were slick, sharp, and they've got some great mojo in them. The hats were sick too.

-- No effing way. Aaron Rowand hit a home run at AT&T. He now has 14. He makes $12 million dollars

-- Juan Uribe has 12 dongs and makes one twelfth of what Rowand does.

-- Congrats to Randy Winn and Dave Flemming who just had a couple little bundles of loud, crying joy delivered by their wives in the last few days.

-- Merkin Valdez is not to be trusted anymore.

-- The only thing I'll say about the Milwaukee series is the following:

Prince Fielder, you better be able to run, because you are getting drilled in the ribcage with a 95 mph widowmaker the next time we meet. You sons of bitches will not get away with that grotesque, choreographed monstrosity of a celebration. That kind of crap belongs off the field. You're not LeBron James, and you can't do that crap during a game.

Completely unacceptable. The entire Brewers organization should be fined for that garbage. Eff you guys. If you Giants fans aren't outraged by this, you don't care enough.

Okay Zito. We need a shutout I guess. Work your magic!

We're still in this!