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!
Showing posts with label Pittsburgh Pirates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pittsburgh Pirates. Show all posts
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Quick Trade Update, Giants get 2 Pitchers
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Tuesday, December 1, 2009
The system is definitely effed up
For those of us out there confused about how, exactly baseball's revenue sharing/lack of salary cap system works, you are not alone. Until this article came out about 10 days ago from ESPN's Jayson Stark, it's really never been totally spread out in front of you.
As you know, (for better or worse), MLB has no salary cap. Teams like the Yankees can spend whatever they can, and that's just fine with Bud Selig. We all complain about it-- those of us that are fans of teams not located in the Eastern time zone or Orange County, CA-- but as Stark and Scott Boras point out, we need to look at these losers with the tiny payrolls.
Yes, Florida and Pittsburgh, we're looking right at you.
These teams make excuses to their fans about small markets, weak economies, small populations, etc.
The real truth of the matter is that the system is set up in a way that truly would benefit these teams if they wanted to succeed. They choose not to. These teams collect a fat check from the rich teams, lay around in a puddle of their own Triple A filth of a roster, and cry poor.
I encourage you to read this whole article on ESPN, but I'm gonna just have to copy and paste some of it here:
"Your team (Pirates/Marlins) collected more money this season -- before it ever sold one ticket -- than it spent on its entire major league payroll. In fact, it collected more than it spent on its major league payroll and its player-development system combined."
Stark goes onto explain:
• "Central fund (includes national TV, radio, Internet, licensing, merchandising, marketing, MLB International money): Each team, from the Marlins to the Yankees, gets the same central-fund payout. And that check comes to slightly over $30 million per team if you deduct the $10 million in pension and operations fees, or just over $40 million if you don't.
• Revenue sharing: Only income-challenged teams get a revenue-sharing check. But you should never forget that those checks are a lot larger than your average rebate check from Target. This sport shared $400 million in revenue this year -- more than the gross national product of Western Samoa. Now every club's payout is different. But the five neediest teams -- which we believe to be the Marlins, Pirates, Rays, Blue Jays and Royals -- averaged somewhere in the vicinity of $35 million in revenue-sharing handouts per team. And that still left over $200 million -- more than $20 million a club -- for the rest of the "payees" to divvy up.
• Local TV/radio/cable: Good luck getting these exact figures. But we know that 29 of the 30 teams make at least $15 million a year in local broadcast money, and no team rakes in under $12 million. Obviously, some clubs collect much, much more than that.
Add $30 million, plus $35 million, plus $15 million, and what do you get? That would be $80 million. At least. Before these teams spin their turnstiles once."
And as we know, there are about 12 teams last year that spent right at, or less than $80MM: Kansas City, Oakland, San Diego, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Washington, Minnesota, Cincinnati, Arizona, Cleveland, and Baltimore. For those of you keeping track at home, that's 40% of the teams in baseball that are collecting checks for intentionally being non-competitive.
Each of those teams has its issues. With the A's, it's attendance and a horrific stadium. For the Rangers, it's their owner running out of money. For the Padres, it's an impending sale after an ugly divorce. The point of this whole thing is that there are huge checks being thrown these teams' way in order to make them competitive with the New Yorks and Bostons of the the world, and rather than seize that opportunity to bring a little joy into their fans' lives, they choose to cry poor and collect checks.
I was going to make an Obama socialist joke, but I decided against it. In fact, this socialist system in MLB under Selig is such a welfare state that it makes even the Scandinavians jealous.
As for the Giants, they officially had a payroll of about $94MM last year, good for 14th highest in the league-- ostensibly "middle of the road".
As the fans'/local media personalities' drumbeat to spend more money gets louder and louder, we must ask ourselves exactly why ownership cannot or will not spend more on free agents.
An "educated rumor" that I've heard (ie. second hand information from an unnamed someone by way of another unnamed someone in the organization) is that the Gyros lost close to $30MM this season. Now, to be fair, I didn't hear it directly from anyone in the organization, and I don't know if that number was before or after different revenue streams or lack thereof were factored in.
So regardless if that large number is real or not, I believe it.
The Giants get a significant amount of money from local TV and Radio deals. They have decent attendance and solid revenue streams from stadium concessions, etc.
The only possible way I see that they could've lost that kind of sum is from the following:
-- An annual mortgage payment on AT&T Park of $20MM+
-- Little or no revenue sharing check (not including money from the "Central Fund" that Stark described above
It's kind of like the Giants are too well off for a cut of Selig's welfare check, but not well off enough to be able to afford a $110MM payroll. Kind of like that family out there trying to get Financial Aid because they actually need it, but is told they make too much money, even though they have three college aged kids and live in Marin County.
At the same time, because the Giants have a legitimate revenue stream of our own (Stadium, tickets, concessions, TV/Radio), we're somehow at a disadvantage when compared to teams that don't.
Take the Reds as an example. They spent $72MM on their payroll in 2009. What do you want to believe that they were a prime candidate for a big revenue sharing check? Here's how they work out:
-- Central Fund: $30MM (40 minus 10 for pension, etc.)
-- Revenue Sharing: $25MM (Estimate)
-- TV/Radio deals: $15MM (Est.)
That equals $70MM. What was their payroll again? Oh yeah, $72MM.
So then, you factor in Cincy's 5 year old beauty of a ballpark with its 22,000 per game attendance, $8 Miller Lites, $20 parking, $35 Bronson Arroyo T-Shirt jerseys, subtract operating cost and minor league development, and I bet they doing no worse than breaking even.
With the Giants, they're stuck. We live in a big market. We don't get that extra $25MM from sharing like 'Natti gets. That $25MM right there is a mortgage payment, and nearly the exact amount of money they'd need to spend to land a precious bat like Holliday or Bay's and have enough left over to re-sign Juan Uribe.
I'll take a line from the movie Red Dragon:
"Now do you see?"
If I sound like a raving lunatic, please let me know, because I'm not sure anymore....
Sunday, August 2, 2009
The Zito Reality: Anyone but Bengie
This is the first contribution by PJ, a new addition to the Dodgerhater staff...
How Zito can “catch” a break
If we are to reach the playoffs this season, every game counts.
We all know what we’ll get out of Timmy and Matt every five days, but the enigma known as Barry Zito continues to haunt us.
Despite his three strong outings to open the second half of the season, we cannot predict whether he will be the Zito yesteryear-- or even yesterday for that matter-- or a complete disaster.
On Sunday, he was very good. He gave us a chance to win while dealing with an extremely difficult order— arguably the strongest in baseball with the defending champion Phillies in town. He also walked nary a batter.
His battery mate? Eli Whiteside. More on that later.
His last start versus Pittsburgh, which inspired me to write this, was vintage Zito. He repeatedly gave us flashes of why we signed him to the most ridiculous albatross of a contract in the history of the earth. Even though his WHIP was a little inflated, he was able to battle and escape while still giving the Giants a chance to win.
More importantly, he managed to do it with Bengie Molina behind the plate.
As a former pitcher, I have always been intrigued by the impact that pitcher-catcher relationships have on performance and outcomes. Battery mates must be on the same page, and communication is of the utmost importance. The way a catcher frames a curveball can be the difference between a ball and a strike. This can even have an effect on a pitcher’s confidence to throw a certain pitch.
The nuances and tendencies of a particular backstop can mean everything.
Barry Zito is a fragile dude. Watching games earlier in the year, I noticed a huge discrepancy in how he would pitch from start to start. The difference was his comfort level.
Sure, maybe it was the bickram yoga, but I did some research to find out. There were very few discrepancies between Zito's home/road, day/night, and even right/left splits. What I did find though, was shocking.
I compared the breakdown of how Zito threw to each of the Giants' four catchers:
(Click here if you do not see the spreadsheet.)
The only statistic that is in Bengie’s favor is the increased strikeouts (good thing too, Zito has declined in strikeouts in each of the past 3 years). The quality start (QS) statistic (minimum 6 IP, 3 or less ER) is a great indication of how much better he has pitched to catchers not named Molina.
Could this just be a coincidence? Certainly. But the statistics don’t lie.
If you want to point to strength of opponent, you wouldn’t get very far in my book. 2 of Zito’s 3 starts against the Dodgers have come without Bengie behind the dish.
So what can we do?
Well first off, it’s not unheard of for starting pitchers to have their own personal catcher. Eddie Perez and Paul Bako had a career 60 home runs between them, but that didn’t stop Greg Maddux from sending offensive catcher Javy Lopez to the pine every fifth day. Knuckleball pitchers have also been known to require a “special” catcher. Doug Mirabelli and Tim Wakefield come to mind.
My question is this: Is Bengie’s bat a big enough difference maker to keep him in the lineup if its presence comes at the expense of an extra 2.5+ runs on Zito’s ERA?
Certainly, with these kinds of numbers at our disposal, we can see that Bengie Mo and his disappointing offensive dropoff would not be beneficial during Zito's starts. Despite Molina's abilities, he is only hurting the Giants while catching Zito.
The man needs a game off every week anyway. It only makes sense that Bochy needs to make sure that Ol' Eli Whiteside is back there when our favorite $126 million dollar man is on the mound.
And say what you will about the aptly named Whiteside, but if he hasn't proven to you that he's a major league receiver, just ask Jonathan Sanchez how he feels about it.
This brings another issue to the table:
What if Zito doesn't click with Posey? Certainly Posey's bat cannot come out of the lineup.
Certainly Barry will be around here for years to come, as his contract is all but unmovable. The question arises in my mind whether Posey should make a major league appearance to gauge his comfort with the pitching staff-- and the staff with him.
It appears that Molina will not return to the Giants next season, and although he's been great, and I love him, he is simply not in the plans.
Posey can certainly hit in the bigs, but he's still working on his game management skills in Fresno, and is probably not quite ready to call his own games at the big league level.
If Posey is deemed unready for the bigs in early 2010, what is the best course of action? Sign a free agent catcher to split time with Whiteside or Holm? Give Sandoval more looks back there a few games a week?
It is an interesting quandary.
Let's just hope Zito is comfortable with whoever he's throwing to, because it obviously matters, and we need him throwing strikes out there if we want to secure that Wild Card spot.
Go Gyros.
--Pete
How Zito can “catch” a break
If we are to reach the playoffs this season, every game counts.
We all know what we’ll get out of Timmy and Matt every five days, but the enigma known as Barry Zito continues to haunt us.
Despite his three strong outings to open the second half of the season, we cannot predict whether he will be the Zito yesteryear-- or even yesterday for that matter-- or a complete disaster.
On Sunday, he was very good. He gave us a chance to win while dealing with an extremely difficult order— arguably the strongest in baseball with the defending champion Phillies in town. He also walked nary a batter.
His battery mate? Eli Whiteside. More on that later.
His last start versus Pittsburgh, which inspired me to write this, was vintage Zito. He repeatedly gave us flashes of why we signed him to the most ridiculous albatross of a contract in the history of the earth. Even though his WHIP was a little inflated, he was able to battle and escape while still giving the Giants a chance to win.
More importantly, he managed to do it with Bengie Molina behind the plate.
As a former pitcher, I have always been intrigued by the impact that pitcher-catcher relationships have on performance and outcomes. Battery mates must be on the same page, and communication is of the utmost importance. The way a catcher frames a curveball can be the difference between a ball and a strike. This can even have an effect on a pitcher’s confidence to throw a certain pitch.
The nuances and tendencies of a particular backstop can mean everything.
Barry Zito is a fragile dude. Watching games earlier in the year, I noticed a huge discrepancy in how he would pitch from start to start. The difference was his comfort level.
Sure, maybe it was the bickram yoga, but I did some research to find out. There were very few discrepancies between Zito's home/road, day/night, and even right/left splits. What I did find though, was shocking.
I compared the breakdown of how Zito threw to each of the Giants' four catchers:
(Click here if you do not see the spreadsheet.)
The only statistic that is in Bengie’s favor is the increased strikeouts (good thing too, Zito has declined in strikeouts in each of the past 3 years). The quality start (QS) statistic (minimum 6 IP, 3 or less ER) is a great indication of how much better he has pitched to catchers not named Molina.
Could this just be a coincidence? Certainly. But the statistics don’t lie.
If you want to point to strength of opponent, you wouldn’t get very far in my book. 2 of Zito’s 3 starts against the Dodgers have come without Bengie behind the dish.
So what can we do?
Well first off, it’s not unheard of for starting pitchers to have their own personal catcher. Eddie Perez and Paul Bako had a career 60 home runs between them, but that didn’t stop Greg Maddux from sending offensive catcher Javy Lopez to the pine every fifth day. Knuckleball pitchers have also been known to require a “special” catcher. Doug Mirabelli and Tim Wakefield come to mind.
My question is this: Is Bengie’s bat a big enough difference maker to keep him in the lineup if its presence comes at the expense of an extra 2.5+ runs on Zito’s ERA?
Certainly, with these kinds of numbers at our disposal, we can see that Bengie Mo and his disappointing offensive dropoff would not be beneficial during Zito's starts. Despite Molina's abilities, he is only hurting the Giants while catching Zito.
The man needs a game off every week anyway. It only makes sense that Bochy needs to make sure that Ol' Eli Whiteside is back there when our favorite $126 million dollar man is on the mound.
And say what you will about the aptly named Whiteside, but if he hasn't proven to you that he's a major league receiver, just ask Jonathan Sanchez how he feels about it.
This brings another issue to the table:What if Zito doesn't click with Posey? Certainly Posey's bat cannot come out of the lineup.
Certainly Barry will be around here for years to come, as his contract is all but unmovable. The question arises in my mind whether Posey should make a major league appearance to gauge his comfort with the pitching staff-- and the staff with him.
It appears that Molina will not return to the Giants next season, and although he's been great, and I love him, he is simply not in the plans.
Posey can certainly hit in the bigs, but he's still working on his game management skills in Fresno, and is probably not quite ready to call his own games at the big league level.
If Posey is deemed unready for the bigs in early 2010, what is the best course of action? Sign a free agent catcher to split time with Whiteside or Holm? Give Sandoval more looks back there a few games a week?
It is an interesting quandary.
Let's just hope Zito is comfortable with whoever he's throwing to, because it obviously matters, and we need him throwing strikes out there if we want to secure that Wild Card spot.
Go Gyros.
--Pete
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Sanchez for Alderson: I was pissed at first
This is the first contribution by TK, a new addition to the Dodgerhater staff.
When I first heard of the Freddy Sanchez for Tim Alderson trade I was absolutely infuriated. Why on earth are we trading away the #4 prospect in our organization-- a guy who Keith Law of ESPN recently rated as the #26 best prospect in baseball, for a player who is anything but the power bat our organization so desperately needs.
Sanchez is a guy everyone wanted, obviously a nice upgrade over Downs/Frandsen/Velez. He allows Uribe to return to his better suited utility position, but nonetheless, is a player who is tough to imagine as a true difference maker. Simply put, I felt betrayed.
At the beginning of the 2008 season, Giants Nation was disgusted with Sabean’s recent moves as a GM. The great majority wanted him out. Recently, Sabes has been regaining some of the cred that made him one of the league’s top GMs in the late 90s and early 2000s. Sabean’s recent drafts have restocked our farm system, and the free agent gems brought on board have solidified our pen (see: Affeldt, Jeremy; Medders, Brandon; Miller, Justin; Howry, Bobby). In additon, the Garko trade was a nice move as he is a right-handed power bat at a relatively cheap price (and a Stanford guy at that).
But of course, just as B-Sabes started gathering some goodwill – BOOM!!! A massive backhanded slap to the face!
I was suddenly rocked back into reality.
I mean this.
The Pittsburgh Pirates, the same team who traded us Rajai Davis for Matt Morris, while taking on all of Morris's salary, the same team who gave us Jason Schmidt for the immortal Ryan Vogelsong and Armando Rios somehow were able to get the better of the deal????
It was like we had been robbed by an old woman; our candy stolen by a baby.
All the way back to the Bonds signing, the Pirates have repeatedly been a source to supply our farm system. What gives?
In the words of Lee Corso, “Not so fast, my friends.”
Upon further review, I like this trade.
Sanchez, though only having 6 home runs on the season, does rank 5th in the NL in doubles, and carries a .296 average. This is a .296 average which is right on pace with his career .300 avg, not to mention that Sanchez was a former NL batting champ in 2006 (.344 avg.). He also carries a .776 OPS on the year, which ranks 3rd on the team behind Pandoval and the newly acquired Garks. He plays very solid defense, and my favorite, he loves to play the game and do the little things that it takes to win.
Krukow would say…
“Gamer.”
As for Alderson, he is indeed a 20-year-old in AA who is certainly holding his own with a 3.47 ERA in 72.2 innings. However, looking at the peripherals, opponents are hitting .272 on him over the season. Another subject of note is that one of his biggest compliments coming out of high school was that he was very polished. Of course meaning that it is not necessarily a surprise that he advanced quickly for a kid out of 12th grade.
Alderson has a plus curveball, but his fastball only tops off in the low 90s and he doesn’t have a changeup worth mentioning. With this in mind, I still fully expect him to make it to the big leagues and be a contributor. However, I see him more as a Mark Gardner than a Matt Cain, and this current Giants squad does not need a young Mark Gardner.
While some may argue that we could have gotten more for him in return, that is purely speculation. F-Sanch is of proven quality who will immediately help this squad this year and next-- possibly beyond. Too often do fans get overly obsessed with prospects and forget about what truly matters: winning at the big league level.
Could Alderson be the next Francisco Liriano or Joe Nathan? Sure.
But he could just as easily be the next Jesse Foppert, Kurt Ainsworth, Merkin Valdez, Nate Bump, Jason Grilli, David Aardsma, Damian Moss, etc. This is a chance of guaranteed improvement for our squad at a position of need with no clear replacement in sight while giving up a player who’s merely a projection.
Final analysis: This is a clear indication that the Sanchez trade is a win-win trade for both squads. The Giants get their hitter, while keeping their Big 3 intact (Bumgarner, Posey, Villalona). And, of course, the Pirates flip one of their best players into a quality prospect.
Alderson is not the player Giants fans wanted to give up. But I guess all we can say is that it’s just a shame Dave Littlefield isn’t around anymore.
Otherwise he might've taken Sadowski and Velez instead.
Go Giants.
--Tucker
When I first heard of the Freddy Sanchez for Tim Alderson trade I was absolutely infuriated. Why on earth are we trading away the #4 prospect in our organization-- a guy who Keith Law of ESPN recently rated as the #26 best prospect in baseball, for a player who is anything but the power bat our organization so desperately needs.
Sanchez is a guy everyone wanted, obviously a nice upgrade over Downs/Frandsen/Velez. He allows Uribe to return to his better suited utility position, but nonetheless, is a player who is tough to imagine as a true difference maker. Simply put, I felt betrayed.
At the beginning of the 2008 season, Giants Nation was disgusted with Sabean’s recent moves as a GM. The great majority wanted him out. Recently, Sabes has been regaining some of the cred that made him one of the league’s top GMs in the late 90s and early 2000s. Sabean’s recent drafts have restocked our farm system, and the free agent gems brought on board have solidified our pen (see: Affeldt, Jeremy; Medders, Brandon; Miller, Justin; Howry, Bobby). In additon, the Garko trade was a nice move as he is a right-handed power bat at a relatively cheap price (and a Stanford guy at that).
But of course, just as B-Sabes started gathering some goodwill – BOOM!!! A massive backhanded slap to the face!
I was suddenly rocked back into reality.
I mean this.
The Pittsburgh Pirates, the same team who traded us Rajai Davis for Matt Morris, while taking on all of Morris's salary, the same team who gave us Jason Schmidt for the immortal Ryan Vogelsong and Armando Rios somehow were able to get the better of the deal????
It was like we had been robbed by an old woman; our candy stolen by a baby.
All the way back to the Bonds signing, the Pirates have repeatedly been a source to supply our farm system. What gives?
In the words of Lee Corso, “Not so fast, my friends.”
Upon further review, I like this trade.
Sanchez, though only having 6 home runs on the season, does rank 5th in the NL in doubles, and carries a .296 average. This is a .296 average which is right on pace with his career .300 avg, not to mention that Sanchez was a former NL batting champ in 2006 (.344 avg.). He also carries a .776 OPS on the year, which ranks 3rd on the team behind Pandoval and the newly acquired Garks. He plays very solid defense, and my favorite, he loves to play the game and do the little things that it takes to win.
Krukow would say…
“Gamer.”
As for Alderson, he is indeed a 20-year-old in AA who is certainly holding his own with a 3.47 ERA in 72.2 innings. However, looking at the peripherals, opponents are hitting .272 on him over the season. Another subject of note is that one of his biggest compliments coming out of high school was that he was very polished. Of course meaning that it is not necessarily a surprise that he advanced quickly for a kid out of 12th grade.
Alderson has a plus curveball, but his fastball only tops off in the low 90s and he doesn’t have a changeup worth mentioning. With this in mind, I still fully expect him to make it to the big leagues and be a contributor. However, I see him more as a Mark Gardner than a Matt Cain, and this current Giants squad does not need a young Mark Gardner.
While some may argue that we could have gotten more for him in return, that is purely speculation. F-Sanch is of proven quality who will immediately help this squad this year and next-- possibly beyond. Too often do fans get overly obsessed with prospects and forget about what truly matters: winning at the big league level.
Could Alderson be the next Francisco Liriano or Joe Nathan? Sure.
But he could just as easily be the next Jesse Foppert, Kurt Ainsworth, Merkin Valdez, Nate Bump, Jason Grilli, David Aardsma, Damian Moss, etc. This is a chance of guaranteed improvement for our squad at a position of need with no clear replacement in sight while giving up a player who’s merely a projection.
Final analysis: This is a clear indication that the Sanchez trade is a win-win trade for both squads. The Giants get their hitter, while keeping their Big 3 intact (Bumgarner, Posey, Villalona). And, of course, the Pirates flip one of their best players into a quality prospect.
Alderson is not the player Giants fans wanted to give up. But I guess all we can say is that it’s just a shame Dave Littlefield isn’t around anymore.
Otherwise he might've taken Sadowski and Velez instead.
Go Giants.
--Tucker
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Giants get Freddy Sanchez: We're in it to win it
AND WE WON!
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...
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...
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
A great day
If you heard about the now legendary "Giants pitching staff as women" blog, click here.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yesterday against the Pirates, Los Gigantes showed up.
It was an extremely emotional day, as there was a a brief on field memorial for former Giants owner and biggest fan, Sue Burns. Kruk and Kuip did a great job up there, and it was certainly well done.
It has been well documented that the Burns family, especially Sue, absolutely adored Barry Bonds-- and he them.
Perhaps it's still too soon for the rest of the world, but Giants fans want Barry back in our lives. Seeing him out there throwing out the first pitch with Rich Aurilia to Sue's daughters, then in the stands with her granddaughters on his knee laughing and joking, in the dugout encouraging Tim Lincecum before the game, and cheering in the owners box during the game was heartwarming. It really was.
Bonds gave us a lot of joy and elation over the years as real Giants fans know. To deny him the dignity of being part of the organization (if he wants to), is simply unacceptable at this point (witch hunt trial pending or not).
As for Sue Burns. Lest we forget, that together with Peter Magowan and the signing of Bonds, the Burns's saved the Giants from moving to hell-- aka Tampa-St. Pete.
Thank you.
LinCYcum in action:
Timmy threw an absolute complete game gem last night. He was only the 3rd Gyros pitcher to throw at least 15 since A-Hole Schmidt did it in 2006, and Gaylord Perry in 1966. Wow.
His offspeed stuff was disgusting filth last night, and was almost unhittable. And of course, our patchwork lineup mustered 4 runs. Woohooo! I certainly groaned when I'd seen that Velez was playing.
BUT
Trade Action:
As you know, we acquired Ryan Garko for A baller Scott Barnes.
I am happy with the Garko acquisition. He hits lefties well, is solid defensively, and can play each corner outfield position. Plus he was a Stanford standout back in the day.
He's also under Giants control, as he'll be up for arbitration after this season.
As for what we gave up in Scott Barnes... well he's been a minor league watcher's favorite unknown prospect along with LF Thomas Neal. Barnes had a 2.85 ERA, and a darn near 9.00 K/9 rate along with 12 wins. Wins cannot be projected obviously, but Barnes has a couple plus pitches and the strikeouts do project to the next level.
I think about it like this... we just drafted LHP Zach Wheeler in the amateur draft. He steps right into the void left by Barnes in the system. Sounds better that way. Barnes isn't ready to contribute yet anyway...
Luckily, we have young pitching to spare!
Now let's get Freddy Sanchez and Josh Willingham!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yesterday against the Pirates, Los Gigantes showed up.
It was an extremely emotional day, as there was a a brief on field memorial for former Giants owner and biggest fan, Sue Burns. Kruk and Kuip did a great job up there, and it was certainly well done.
It has been well documented that the Burns family, especially Sue, absolutely adored Barry Bonds-- and he them.
Perhaps it's still too soon for the rest of the world, but Giants fans want Barry back in our lives. Seeing him out there throwing out the first pitch with Rich Aurilia to Sue's daughters, then in the stands with her granddaughters on his knee laughing and joking, in the dugout encouraging Tim Lincecum before the game, and cheering in the owners box during the game was heartwarming. It really was.
Bonds gave us a lot of joy and elation over the years as real Giants fans know. To deny him the dignity of being part of the organization (if he wants to), is simply unacceptable at this point (witch hunt trial pending or not).
As for Sue Burns. Lest we forget, that together with Peter Magowan and the signing of Bonds, the Burns's saved the Giants from moving to hell-- aka Tampa-St. Pete.
Thank you.
LinCYcum in action:
Timmy threw an absolute complete game gem last night. He was only the 3rd Gyros pitcher to throw at least 15 since A-Hole Schmidt did it in 2006, and Gaylord Perry in 1966. Wow.
His offspeed stuff was disgusting filth last night, and was almost unhittable. And of course, our patchwork lineup mustered 4 runs. Woohooo! I certainly groaned when I'd seen that Velez was playing.
BUT
Trade Action:
As you know, we acquired Ryan Garko for A baller Scott Barnes.
I am happy with the Garko acquisition. He hits lefties well, is solid defensively, and can play each corner outfield position. Plus he was a Stanford standout back in the day.
He's also under Giants control, as he'll be up for arbitration after this season.
As for what we gave up in Scott Barnes... well he's been a minor league watcher's favorite unknown prospect along with LF Thomas Neal. Barnes had a 2.85 ERA, and a darn near 9.00 K/9 rate along with 12 wins. Wins cannot be projected obviously, but Barnes has a couple plus pitches and the strikeouts do project to the next level.
I think about it like this... we just drafted LHP Zach Wheeler in the amateur draft. He steps right into the void left by Barnes in the system. Sounds better that way. Barnes isn't ready to contribute yet anyway...
Luckily, we have young pitching to spare!
Now let's get Freddy Sanchez and Josh Willingham!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Kruk is right: It's do or die
To quote from the movie Little Giants, this is the speech the Giants should hear right now.
Ed O'Neill: "It's do or die! Win. Or cry!"
Spike's Dad: "Go baby Go!"
And I'm not just quoting that movie because I appeared as an extra in it (true story... click here after you read the rest of the blog, I'm in the yellow shirt in the beginning during the pickup football game.)
It is seemingly the most poignant, simple movie quote that I can think of off the top of my head.
There's no need for a Billy Bob Thornton Friday Night Lights locker room speech or a Gene Hackman Hoosiers clip. Hell there's no need even to drink a bottle of red wine and listen to the theme from The Natural on repeat with your eyes closed.
It's simple. Exe-goddamn-cution at the plate. They hit one home run in 9 games.
One home run in an entire road trip.
The lines from Little Giants are a simple ultimatum made by the actor who played Al Bundy and the guy who in the movie claimed to massage his son Spike's hamstrings with evaporated milk. But they are relevant. Also, it could be symbolic because the Orange & Black are playing like "little Giants" right now and that needs to change.
Mike Krukow basically said that last night during the post game show. I don't have the quote in front of me, but it was something along the lines of: "Get your sh-- together guys. You are professional hitters. I'm not saying go out and trade the farm system and make a bunch of crazy moves. I am saying that you guys need to sack up and perform the way you're capable-- Randy Winn, Renteria, and Molina, I'm looking at you!"
Well said Kruk.
Notes: The Big Sadowski may be done with the Gyros. It was a great story and he threw a couple of great games... but as we all know... it's "what have you done for me lately?"
Well lately, the Sadmeister has thrown up ugly numbers. Last two starts: 6 1/3 innings, 11 ER, 6 BB vs. 4 K. The one night stand is over... Sorry man...
Pittsburgh series: Let's get some revenge here. Beginning with Timmy Ballgame against Paul Maholm. Tickets are $5 bucks in the bleachers. Go online and use the code GIANTSK.
Oh yeah... and here's the Little Giants clip. Skip to 5:40 in the video. Click here if you're reading this on Facebook or an Email Newsfeed.
Ed O'Neill: "It's do or die! Win. Or cry!"
Spike's Dad: "Go baby Go!"
And I'm not just quoting that movie because I appeared as an extra in it (true story... click here after you read the rest of the blog, I'm in the yellow shirt in the beginning during the pickup football game.)
It is seemingly the most poignant, simple movie quote that I can think of off the top of my head.
There's no need for a Billy Bob Thornton Friday Night Lights locker room speech or a Gene Hackman Hoosiers clip. Hell there's no need even to drink a bottle of red wine and listen to the theme from The Natural on repeat with your eyes closed.
It's simple. Exe-goddamn-cution at the plate. They hit one home run in 9 games.
One home run in an entire road trip.
The lines from Little Giants are a simple ultimatum made by the actor who played Al Bundy and the guy who in the movie claimed to massage his son Spike's hamstrings with evaporated milk. But they are relevant. Also, it could be symbolic because the Orange & Black are playing like "little Giants" right now and that needs to change.
Mike Krukow basically said that last night during the post game show. I don't have the quote in front of me, but it was something along the lines of: "Get your sh-- together guys. You are professional hitters. I'm not saying go out and trade the farm system and make a bunch of crazy moves. I am saying that you guys need to sack up and perform the way you're capable-- Randy Winn, Renteria, and Molina, I'm looking at you!"
Well said Kruk.
Notes: The Big Sadowski may be done with the Gyros. It was a great story and he threw a couple of great games... but as we all know... it's "what have you done for me lately?"
Well lately, the Sadmeister has thrown up ugly numbers. Last two starts: 6 1/3 innings, 11 ER, 6 BB vs. 4 K. The one night stand is over... Sorry man...
Pittsburgh series: Let's get some revenge here. Beginning with Timmy Ballgame against Paul Maholm. Tickets are $5 bucks in the bleachers. Go online and use the code GIANTSK.
Oh yeah... and here's the Little Giants clip. Skip to 5:40 in the video. Click here if you're reading this on Facebook or an Email Newsfeed.
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