I wanted to fire off a quick post here before I depart on a 10 day trip to the Midwest. During that time, I probably won't be able to watch many Gyros games or write about them. However, I'm pumped to tell you that I'll be going to games at both Miller Park (where I've been 4 or 5 times), and will also be checking out the brand spanking new Target Field in Minny. I'll take pics and fill you in upon my return to God's Country on America Day (4th of July).
Now onto some Giants stuff.
Juan Uribe the all-star
Juan Uribe deserves a trip to Anaheim, and if he doesn't represent the NL at SS in some capacity, it will be the biggest travesty since Pablo got screwed last year, and that one time Travis Hafner didn't make it even though he had more than 20 dongs at the break. I hate that!
Fans are morons. They'll probably vote in a bunch of jerks, then Charlie Manuel and Joe Ghirardi will try to fix the messes by adding their own guys. It's a flawed system, but it's solid enough to where Uribe can't be overlooked.
Hanley Ramirez should start, and he has slightly better stats. Also, with Troy Tulowitzki breaking his wrist, that spot looks a whole lot better for Uribe. Let's take a quick look here:
Hanley Ramirez: 40 R, 11 HR, 43 RBI, 13 SB, .292 AVG
Juan Uribe: 35 R, 11 HR, 44 RBI, 1 SB, .274 AVG
Jose Reyes: 48 R, 6 HR, 30 RBI, 19 SB, .283 AVG
Now, it's conceivable that Reyes and Uribe both make the team along with Hanley, but the East Coast bias scares me a little bit. No one really outside of fantasy baseball circles and the Bay Area has any idea how clutch and awesome he has been. Let's hope a gross injustice is avoided.
Bullpen, Ugh.
Despite a couple solid innings from Affeldt in Houston Wednesday, he still isn't right. He was a big reason for our success last season, and it's really been a glaring issue thus far. Couple that with Romo, Runzler, and the unfamiliarity factor Denny Bautista and Santiago Casilla, and the whole bridge to Wilson looks like one of those rope and plank jobs from Indiana Jones.
With our "Big Bat" issue likely solved with the BRILLIANT MOVE of Pat Burrell, the next trade target needs to be a proven set up or 7th inning reliever. It's times like this where I wish Cincinnati still sucked, so they could trade us Arthur Rhodes. Other names that may be available are Kerry Wood, Octavio Dotel, Joel Hanrahan, Aaron Heilman, and JJ Putz. Now Wood and Dotel are not exactly in their primes, and they'd both be significant payroll additions. Hanrahan and Heilman are both solid options, but the guy I'd love to get would be JJ Putz. Unfortunately the White Sox have reeled off a bunch of wins lately, and now they think they can compete. Another name I'll throw out there is Matt Lindstrom from the Astros. He's been one of their lone bright spots this season, which is precisely why they either will or won't trade him. Houston is rebuilding, and he may fetch them a decent prospect or two, but at the same time, he could be a solid building block for them. Sabean should call the 713 area code to check on it anyway.
Maybe the option will come from within with the promotion of Madison Bumgarner. He or Joe Martinez could provide some stability in the pen. And, look, I know we all want to run Wellemeyer out of town, but he's still on the team, and he has thrived (don't you think it should be thriven?) at least a couple seasons as a long reliever.
Anyway, as always, thanks for reading, and I'll be back with you after America Day with a full report of two stadiums you probably haven't been to before.
GO GYROS!
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