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...

Reader Submission: Zito is back

This is a submission by Julian Perez, who is an avid Dodgerhater reader and commenter. As this blog is for fans, by a fan, I thought it fit to open up the floor from time to time to a reader with something to say. Anyone is welcome to submit something for consideration if they are interested in doing so. Email me here.

Barry's Back!

Well ladies and gentlemen, it may still be a little too early to say it but I am too excited to wait… Barry Zito is back! The former All-Star and Cy Young starter that was signed after the 2006 season to the largest pitching contract in Major League history (at the time) has been sub-par since signing with the Giants, to put it nicely. It is certainly a difficult thing to live down a record of 31-43 in your first 3 seasons when you are making $20+ million a season.

I will be the first to admit that I have taken plenty of shots at Zito throughout the last few years. Many will also argue that he had a good season last year and that many of his losses were due to lack of run support. The fact of the matter is that so did all of the starters in 2009, and yet Tim Lincecum won a Cy Young with only 15 wins while Matt Cain posted a 2.89 ERA and made the first All-Star game of his career. That being said, I think most fans are in agreement that Zito has sucked since crossing the Bay Bridge over to San Francisco.

Zito is a well-known head case and many thought that the transition of teams, cities, and leagues as well as the aforementioned contract would take its toll on Zito. Throw in the fact that Dave Righetti decided it would be better to change Zito’s windup, and it quickly seemed that the Giants had signed a guy who would soon be the most expensive #5 starter ever! To make matters worse, with a 7 year/$126 million contract and a no-trade clause he is basically impossible to trade.

This season, something has clicked though. His fastball has gained a few miles per hour and his curveball is looking the sharpest it has in his career. This is in addition to the fact that he is not walking guys while attacking the zone. This in turn is allowing him to go further into games. Zito is finally looking like the guy we stole away from the Yankees, Mets, and Red Sox that fateful off-season a few years back. You can just see it in the guy's face when he is on the mound. He used to look stressed every time he went between the chalk lines, but this year he's having fun... and it shows. He took a page out of Lincecum’s book and is enjoying the fact that he is making more money then God to throw a baseball around.

He also has a swagger about him that any elite pitcher must have. This first became evident during spring training this year when the first pitch he threw to Milwaukee Brewers slugger Price Fielder was a fastball to the ribs as retaliation from last season. Last year I doubt Zito would have done that. If he had, he probably would have tipped his cap and apologized in hopes Fielder wouldn’t eat him. I don’t think I have seen Zito smile once this year.


If Zito can keep up this hot start he's thrown together in 2010, the Giants will have possibly one of the best starting rotations ever and will be a scary team to face in September. Also worth mentioning is that Zito has a postseason career record of 4-3 with an ERA of 3.25. Again, it is probably too early to talk about, but one can only drool over the possibility of Lincecum, Cain, and Zito as a 3 man playoff rotation with Jonathan Sanchez in the bullpen.

The Giants have finally unearthed the guy they expected to get 4 years ago. An All-Star "top of the rotation" guy who can lead his team deep into the playoffs.

I will state it once more for all of you non-believers… Barry’s back!!!