Gotta stop the bleeding...

The word is exsanguination.

"Looks like the Dodgers really had their way with 'em, the poor bastards."

You have probably heard the term from Dr. Warner as she tells Benson and Stabler that it was the cause of death for the hooker found under the Queensboro bridge on SVU.

It is the process of bleeding and subsequently dying from said blood loss.

Right now, I feel like the Giants are lying in an alley somewhere south of Market, bleeding slowly while people shuffle by and step over us, thinking we're just another passed out wino with last week's Chronicle over their face.

What happened in this Dodgers series was nothing short of a massive wake up call to everyone-- the type of bad dream that jolts you awake at 3am in a cold sweat.

It was angering, it was frustrating, and it whipped Giants fans into a panicked frenzy. Right now, people are doing the equivalent of running through the streets, leaving their cars in traffic, and looting grocery stores for survival supplies. Of course in this scene, there's a nut with a sandwich board yelling, "Repent! The end is near!"

Human beings have this little thing called the "fight or flight" response-- something that we really can't turn off. It's meant to keep us alive, but sometimes in our relatively safe lives, our impassioned love for our baseball team becomes a sort of life or death scenario.

Hey, it woke us up didn't it?

There we were, happier than a stoned teenagers crushing Jack in the Box tacos at 2am. We had our little three game lead in the NL West, and we thought we'd turned the corner...

...then we circled the block.

That seems to be the Giants' M.O. this year. Turn the corner, then instead of going straight, we circle the block like someone trying to park their Silverado on the street in the Richmond District.

The problem with this team is not a new one-- we just can't hit and we need an impact bat. Same as it always is. The other problem lies with ownership refusing to acknowledge that it needs to spend more money to correct past mistakes.

You look at our $131MM+ payroll and just wonder how in the hell that kind of money can be spent while simultaneously being so desperate for impact hitters.

Well in a way, that money was spent in a panicked fashion to bring in supposed impact hitters, just as we want to be done now at the trade deadline.

Check this out:

Aubrey Huff, $12 Million
Freddy Sanchez: $6 Million
Aaron Rowand: $12 Million

That's why we can't have nice things. Couple that with Zito's $19MM, and it's enough to make you sick.

That's $59MM of virtually dead money and the reason that we can't have nice things. It's is the reason ownership won't take on the contracts of Aramis or Hanley Ramirez. It's also the reason that the Giants are unlikely to add the impact bat that we so desperately need right now.

I refuse to defend the complicated web of random rich white people that collectively form Giants ownership. There are literally hundreds of people that own the team, and not one of them wants to spend more money to correct previous mistakes.

Therein lies the problem with our type of ownership. There are too many people involved, and most of them don't own big enough stakes to be able to call the shots. It's more of a goddamn mutual fund or bond investment than a damn baseball team sometimes, and that is what's preventing us from getting significantly better in 2012.

It's not as if Brian Sabean doesn't know that we need Josh Willingham, Shin-Soo Choo, Corey Hart, Shane Victorino, Aramis Ramirez, Chris Perez, and the rest of the people we've been connected to. Oh he knows alright.

He's part of the reason that we're in the mess.

The problem is that he's handcuffed by a mediocre farm system devoid of major prospects and saddled by a conglomeration of investor-owners that don't know their ass from a hole in the ground. But you can bet they know their ass from their pocketbook.

The reality is, that the only way to significantly improve this 2012 Giants club is to take on a bad contract and/or give up our only desirable prospect, outfielder Gary Brown.

While our knee jerk reaction is to say, "Screw it, trade Brown.", that wouldn't be the wisest thing to do.

The only logical thing to do is to take on a bad contract, just as the Blue Bastards did with Handjob Ramirez.

They became instantly more formidable with that acquisition, as would we with a similar move.

I won't go off on a hypothetical trade tangent, because we could talk all day long, but it will take some serious and immediate flexibility from ownership to get better... and I don't see it happening.

What is most likely to happen is that we'll struggle but stay afloat until Sandoval gets back, and likely acquire a late innings bullpen arm to give us an upgrade over Kontos (who needs more seasoning in my mind).

Guys like Willingham or Choo would be an incredible addition, but let's not hold our breath, guys.

This isn't a horrible team, and we still have the ability to win the West, but we need to get some momentum again-- just like we had heading into the Dodgers series. The best thing to do right now is to step back from the ledge and not expect any shiny new toys under the Trading Tree on Deadline morning.

If you don't get your hopes up, you can't be disappointed.

Good news is, it's still May...

The bad news? We're not very good, and there isn't a lot to suggest that we'll get better.

Would Brian Wilson have given up a dong to Marco Scutaro to blow the game? Maybe. Maybe not.

Would we do better if our knee-jerk reactions to send Brandon Crawford down to Fresno came true? Maybe. Maybe not.

Would we have won a couple more games lately if Panda hadn't have gone on the DL or if we had Freddy Sanchez back and healthy? Maybe. Maybe not.

Even with Sandoval, Sanchez, and Wilson, there's just nothing there to suggest that we'd be a significantly better team.

It's so hard to be positive these days, what with the consistent defensive ineptitude and the offensive futility.

Do we have heart and scrap? Sure, but what good is effort when the result is constant frustration and missed opportunities?

The problem with this roster and with our minor leagues for that matter, is that there is no hope in sight. There's no Bryce Harper in Fresno or Richmond-- hell, there aren't even any Brandon Belts down there. 

Right now, the Giants are who they are, and who they are just isn't good enough. We've got a solid bullpen-- better than most of the league. We have a great starting rotation, despite Lincecum consistently pitching like a 5th starter rather than an ace. After that, you know, we're not good. The eight guys on the field, whomever they happen to be on a given day, are just not playoff caliber as a unit.

We have 3 above-average hitters (Sandoval, Posey, Cabrera), two starting caliber players (Pagan, Blanco), and the rest are AAA players. Say what you want about that statement, but the remainder or our hitters are borderline major league players and none are blue chip prospects. Belt, Crawford, Pill, Arias, Sanchez, Culberson, Schierholtz, Huff, Theriot, Burriss, Gillaspie... I mean, what do you expect from those guys?

Honestly.

I see exactly what you should see out of a lineup that is 38% (or at best 50%) reliable. It is just is what it is. Belt should be better than he is, but he's lost and nervous, same with Crawford. There's no real solution or explanation for their offensive struggles (and defensive struggles in regard to Crawford). Do you send them down so that they can play with less pressure and regain confidence? Who then takes their places? Are we then a better team?

There's simply no answer or solution, which is the most disheartening part about rooting for this particular team. We don't have the pieces to land a big player via trade, and when you look at 2013 free agents, the chance of landing the two biggest free agents to be, Josh Hamilton and Andre Ethier, the dream just dies. Our best chance to improve is to get Lincecum pitching up to his capabilities, get Sandoval back, get Buster's bat going consistently, and to play good defense.

What we've learned thus far is that we simply cannot depend on the development and success of Brandon Crawford or Brandon Belt-- the two biggest wild cards on this roster. With so much dead weight in the lineup and such awful defense, the best we can hope for is a .500 team, which is exactly what we have.

The good news is that it's only May, and it's a long season. A lot can change, and yet, a lot could stay the same. Let's hope for the best.

Well Freddy, see you next time...

The sooner you're able to say goodbye to Freddy Sanchez, the better.

Our most consistent hitter in 2011 has probably played the last effective baseball he'll play for our Giants this year.

He helped us win a World Series, he kept us afloat during dry streaks this year, but sadly, he's not going to be contributing much from here on out.

With the Buster, DeRosa, and Freddy all pretty much done this season, it seems like people have been dropping like flies. Almost everyone seems to have spent time on the shelf this year. And yet, we keep getting it done.

Hey, that's why good pitching is so important...

No, I don't know any inside information about Freddy's injury, but look, if you think he's coming back, you're kidding yourself.

The man has been a creaky hinge and a greaseless wheel since even before he was acquired from Pittsburgh. His joints don't work. He'll need some cream, clear, and some hardcore glucosamine geltabs to even sniff effective baseball this year. Hell, give him KY injections and put some Castrol High Mileage 10W-40 into his bloodstream. Anything to keep his joints intact.

When you dislocate your shoulder, screw up your capsule, etc., you're screwed. Especially when you play 2B and have to dive constantly (just like on the play in which he hurt himself). He can rehab all he wants, but it won't help. See "DeRosa, Mark" in the Giants Injury Encyclopedia ($659.99 at the Giants Dugout Store) if you want to see how un-rehabable injuries turn out when you try to play around with colored rubber bands, $70 ice packs, and electrolysis instead of going under the knife.

Frederick will be 34 at the start of next season, and unfortunately, thanks to an under-the-radar one year contract extension handed out to Freddy for no apparent reason in April, we will see Freddy back at 2B in 2012.

Honestly, I don't remember hearing about Freddy being extended for another $6MM, and I don't get it, now that I'm discussing it in this forum.

It's not like we have a ML ready 2B being blocked by F-Sanch, but it's just a strange extension that bothers me a lot. His knees and shoulders are just a friggin mess, and although I expect him to be okay to begin 2012, history dictates that we have to pencil him in for at least one DL stint.

With a 2012 free agent second base class headlined by Kelly Johnson and Omar Infante, I feel a little comforted that we already have a solid veteran option. However, we can't really rely on him to stay on the field the whole season. That scares me.

As for right now, I guess we press on with Manny Burriss and Bill Hall... neither of which excite me all that much. Hall has pop and Manny has speed... too bad they can't be combined into one person. I could go for that...

Then there's the matter of Fontenot coming back (does Crawford go back down?), Tejada getting hot (but with Panda at 3B, does Tejada play 2B for the first time?).

Will Sabean try to grab Mark Ellis from Billy Beane for a case of Corona and a scrub to be named later?

Questions abound, but there's one answer I do have: Freddy Sanchez is done for 2011.

Nice win, weird game

That was fairly amazing. I wish I could've been at the yard, but it doesn't matter. It didn't matter if you were with a group of friends, listening on the radio at work, or getting blind drunk with strangers at a bar... We won a World Series game, and we need to win three more. That right there is an absolute rush.

I said in my last post that if the Giants wanted to beat Cliff Lee, it was up to Tim Lincecum. No one could've predicted that Lee would've had such poor command with his fastball and that his offspeed pitches would've been non-existent. The Giants capitalized on Lee's lack of high quality stuff, as good teams do, and that was really the difference.

Lincecum on the other hand, has to be a cause for concern. Since his first start against the Braves in the NLDS, he's been pretty good, but certainly not great. He's been bailed out a couple times, including tonight. As I alluded to on Tuesday, if Cliff Lee is right, Lincecum giving up 4 runs is a near death sentence.



Obviously, you can never rule out these Giants-- we all know that. But without those 7 earned runs of Lee's and that monstrous dong by Uribe allowed by O'Day, the Rangers probably have the lead into the late innings.

I won't say we got lucky, but this is the first time that Cliff Lee has shown any semblance of humanity/mortality, and it was a rather big showing of vulnerability.

This does two things:

1) The Rangers, who have grown accustomed to Lee shutting down teams automatically, have had their noggins shaken up a bit. Their world has not been turned upside down, but it means something. I wouldn't expect Lee to do this again.

2) It gives the Giants a HUGE shot of confidence heading into Game 2 and beyond

Notes & Observations:

-- I said on Tuesday that one of the keys to success was Andres Torres and Freddy Sanchez doing a better job of getting on base and setting the table for the rest of the lineup. They did just that, especially Sanchez, who went 4-5 with 3 doubles.

-- Andres Torres & Freddy Sanchez went a combined 5-9 with 4 runs, 3 RBI, and one big HBP. These two did what I told them, and it was huge.

-- Another key I mentioned was Pat Burrell needing to get hot. He is on the ball... and by on the ball, I mean he is just off the ball. He is very close to getting a hold of a couple pitches and I believe big things should happening shortly. He still has a good eye and drew a huge walk off of Cliff Lee to prolong that big inning.

-- Good to see Santiago Casilla and Sergio Romo doing well. A 7 run lead is a great time to get your struggling relievers into the game. While Romo and Casilla came out of the game with a confidence boost, the same cannot be said for the totally lost Ramon Ramirez and the up and down Jeremy Affeldt.

-- Everyone knows about Vladimir Guerrero's declining mobility in the field; everyone but Ron Washington apparently. Guerrero is a future hall of famer and has always been one of the most unorthodox, exciting players in the league since he began with Montreal all those years ago.

Personally, I would not have played Guerrero in perhaps the most difficult right field in all of baseball. Vlad's arm is still stronger than hell, but he just can't move anymore. Those years of torment by playing on carpet-covered concrete in Montreal absolutely devastated this man's knees and he has no business playing out there anymore.

What happened out there in Game 1 was beneficial to the Giants, but to see Vlad struggle with routine plays and fumble the ball around was hard to watch. It is most difficult because he has been so good for so long, and his skills are eroding in front of the whole world. The man can still hit the hell out of the ball, but he shouldn't be out in the field. You know it. I know it. He knows it.

David Murphy should play in RF in Game 2. Murphy is an offensive downgrade, but not by a huge margin. He is a decent hitter that adds an element of speed and defense that is more conducive to the National League style of play. He hit .291/.358/.449 this season with 14 steals. You make the call.

-- Great to see Ishikawa and Nate Schierholtz getting big hits and making good plays on defense (other than Ishi's ugly throw).

-- Stay hot Cody Ross. He had a rather pedestrian game for his standards, but it was still 1-5 with a run and RBI. He will never have to buy a drink in this town again.

-- How huge is Juan Uribe? That guy is an amazing, funny little man and I love him. If he's not re-signed to a two year deal this offseason I will fill a mason jar with an unpleasant substance and FedEx it to Brian Sabean.

-- Nice little tidbits here:

-- Heading into the World Series, the Giants have the lowest team ERA since the '01 Cardinals and '01 Diamondbacks.

-- The team that wins Game 1 of the Series wins 61% of the time

-- 6 of the last 7 and 11 of the last 13 Game 1 winners have won the series.

-- Cain against Wilson coming up Thursday night. I would expect our lineup to be the same, going against another lefty. For the Rangers, I would expect lefty David Murphy to play in place of Vlad and hit 7th.

-- It's gonna rain tomorrow. If you're lucky enough to go to the game, bring a poncho with a funny slogan on it. Hopefully that doesn't screw up our game.

You guys like my rally beard? I applied a second coat of Walt Frazier Just For Men. Looks delicious. ---->

Clutch plays and Conrad overcome impotence and Bochy

Speechless.

That's the only way I could describe my feelings after game 2. You know me well enough to know that I am rarely, RARELY speechless.

I second-guessed Bochy's move to bring in Romo over Casilla or Ramirez and expect Wilson to get another 2 inning save. I second guessed his borderline OCD tic of removing Pat Burrell in the 6th inning. I questioned the move of pinch hitting for Fontenot with Renteria. All of it. But let's not talk about that. Rick Ankiel and Alex Gonzalez and Big Head Bochy are sealed up into a nice forgettable little Game 2 package.

On Sunday, Game 3 happened.

It was an incredible performance by Jonathan Sanchez on the mound, another impotent day at the plate against an other-worldly Tim Hudson and nasty Atlanta bullpen, another head-shaking, profanity-inducing string of decisions by Bruce Bochy, and an improbable comeback by our boys in Orange & Black. Observations are as such:

-- Jonathan Sanchez may have finally turned the corner as a big league pitcher... and a big game pitcher. His 11 K performance was the most prolific strikeout total by a Giants left hander in postseason history, and only one other Giants lefty has ever had 10. The Giants organization has been around almost 140 years, and Sanchez was the guy to set the record.

Not only that, but he had a no-hitter going into the 6th inning that had to be broken up by Timmy Hudson himself!

Even more so than Dirrrty Sanchez's no-hitter last season, this performance perhaps announced the arrival of "good Sanchez" for, well, good. He appears to be a confident son of a bitch out there, delivering a stankeye to Rick Ankiel after striking him out in the 3rd, and then throwing one over his head in the 6th.

Consistency has never been Sanchez's middle name, but my Lord, when he is good, he is GOOD.

-- Mike Fontenot and his Jon Miller-described "Hugh Jackman Wolverine Beard" proved to be a good start, and thank God BHH (Big Head Bochy) figured that out. Pablo Sandoval is a liability. He is an idiot in the field (running into Posey in game 2 and throwing the ball all over creation), and an idiot at the plate (double play specialist, strike out artist). Sandoval is not "back", I never declared him "back", and he will never be "back". He had one flukey season as a rookie, the league adjusted to him, and he's too stupid to adjust back. For Giants fans that aren't 14 year old girls with Panda hats, he's testing our patience to the last rope. If he got traded for Alex Gordon or Chris Davis or Johnny Venters, I'd say. Okay. Sounds good. You can sell Panda hats in KC, Texas, and Atlanta. He's your problem now.

Back to Fontenot.

His triple led to our first run (barely), and I'm shocked by how close it came to a dinger. In addition, it also may have injured Jason Heyward, which is a blessing in a not-so-good disguise.

Fontenot also played a good 3B.

-- Bochy is a hard-headed fool. He's been doing these things all year. He's an old-school guy who makes old-man decisions. Nearly all the Giants fans I talk to on Twitter basically groaned in unison as Romo was carted out to face Eric Hinske.

In fact, here is a string of my Twitterings (left column down, then right column)



And right after "Come on Serge", Hinske crushed a terrible pitch up into RF.

Romo is no longer a viable 8th inning option, and let's be honest, that basically lost us the game. If it weren't for Bobby Cox and poor Brooks Conrad, the second loss in a row would've been on Romo and Bochy. Amazing how baseball works.

-- Burrell needs to play 8 innings. Again, we came up in the 9th inning, needing to score and Pat Burrell was no longer in the game with Nate Schierholtz in his place. No. Bochy. NO!

-- Cody Ross should not hit 8th, Uribe should, until further notice

-- Both Brian McCann and Jason Heyward got banged up on Sunday and may not play at 100% tomorrow. No Billy Wagner worked to our advantage today, and with these two guys banged up, I like our chances.

-- It is a amazing how Sanchez and Huff were struggling so badly, and yet, those two, plus the cold Ishikawa walking off the bench, again, along with Brooks Conrad managed to somehow, ridiculously pull off two runs in the 9th inning.

-- There were two outs, two strikes, and we were almost done. We were literally down to our last strike. Freddy Sanchez came through.

-- Brooks Conrad will be forced into therapy soon. Atlanta is a bad sports town with a lot of fairweather bandwagoners, but they get fired up about stuff that matters, like Braves playoff games and Georgia football. You can bet they won't forget Conrad's 4 NLDS errors (3 in Game 3).

Like Duane Kuiper said on KNBR right after Conrad committed the lead-taking error on Buster Posey's routine grounder,

"I'm gonna take the kid off the hook. He should not have been out there playing second base."

And he's right. It's rare to feel bad for an opposing player. Nick Anderson missing all those free throws back in '95 against Houston comes to mind, and to a lesser extent, Bill Buckner, but this one shouldn't be on Brooks Conrad. Here's why.

--He's not a second baseman by trade, he's a 3rd baseman. It is true that he has not been good at 3B this year, committing 7 errors in 2010, but why, oh why, would a bad performance at 3B translate into a better performance at 2B?

My question to Old Man Cox is, "Why, after the 2nd error or 3rd error in the series do you leave the guy out there?"

Not only that, but the guy was asked to sacrifice bunt, and popped it up foul to Mike Fontenot in foul territory before he committed the final two errors. His confidence was shot, and yet, Cox carted him out there.

The alternative is putting Troy Glaus, a career 3B at third with sub-par range, and Omar Infante, a career middle infielder at 2B. Boom. Problem solved.

Braves fans are putting this loss on Cox like we put Romo and Sandoval's mistakes on Bochy.

-- Wilson was nails out there in the 9th. And thank God, because we needed that from him, not only because of the obvious, but because he needed a good outing to get his "Awesomness" back in to full swing.

Romo should shave his beard though. He can start growing it back, but you need to shave it now.

-- Andres Torres and Juan Uribe are a concern. Their at bats do not look great. They are swinging and missing too much and reaching for pitches. The same can be said for Huff and Freddy Sanchez, but perhaps their 9th inning success got them some mojo back.

And like Jerry Springer, my final thought.

On Saturday morning, after one of the most deflating losses of my Giants fan career, I flipped on my DirecTV box and looked through my DVR for something to watch before the Georgia-Tennessee game. Sure enough, there was 30 for 30 from last week: "4 Days in October".

If you haven't seen it, ask around, and see how you can watch it. Either online, or on your friend's DVR. It's worth it.

I actually wouldn't mind having it on DVD for my own purposes, but that is irrelevant.

This particular 30 for 30 was about the 2004 Boston Red Sox who improbably came back from a 3-0 ALCS deficit to beat the Yankees, in New York, to go on to the World Series where they swept the Cardinals.

I'm not a Red Sox fan. I guess I like them more than the Yankees, but who doesn't? Regardless, it was the most incredible comebacks in all of sports history, and was done by a cast of characters and outcasts with beards who called themselves "The Idiots."

Those Red Sox had Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz, Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling. They also had Kevin Millar, who is strikingly similar to Aubrey Huff in many ways. Martinez, Schilling, and Lowe in their primes are pretty damn similar to Lincecum, Cain, and Sanchez, who are all entering their primes. The Sox had Johnny Damon, whose beard made him look like a caveman. We have Brian Wilson whose beard makes him look like a cross between Charlie Sheen in Major League and Billy Mays back from grave.

They are not the same team, and I know that the comparison is a reach. What I will say, is that those 2004 Red Sox were the underdogs who were loose and goofy in the clubhouse. They had weird hair and strange characters, and tortured their fans all year. And yeah. They still beat the Yankees after being down 0-3.

After watching that, I felt better about our 1-1 series. I felt better about the possibility that we could win 1 or 2 at Turner Field, no matter what the circumstances.

Although I was crushed by the Game 2 loss and Hinske's home run, part of me said, "It's not over. These guys have been coming back all year, and if the Red Sox could come back from an 0-3 ALCS deficit, we can beat these damn Braves."

And that, my friends, is why we watch; it's why we're fans.

Game 3 is Monday at 5:37 Pacific on TBS. And Madison Bumgarner is pitching against Derek Lowe.

PS: I couldn't take Dick Stockton, Bob Brenly and TBS any more. After saying they did an okay job in game 1, they, like many of you, made me sick. It's everything from Stockton's pronunciation of error as "errah", to the fact that he introduced the Giants lineup as the "New York Giants", to his spray-on hair.

Brenly, although a former Giant, is sounding more and more like Tim McCarver. In the 4th inning, I put KNBR on, and literally looked at the TV only for visual replays while Twittering. Unfortunately KNBR's feed was about 7 seconds ahead of my DirecTV TBS feed, which makes it impossible to listen and watch in sync. It would be nice for KNBR to give a damn about its listeners and sync up their feed to the TBS feed, but I guess it's not a perfect world.

Curbing Our Enthusiasm Sucks

"...adversity breeds character, and character wins ballgames in September and October."



I waited to write something this week. Mainly because it's been uncomfortable until now to sit at a desk. Sad I know. The other reason is simple... it's a lot easier to write stuff about a team on an absolute roll; a team that looked World Series-bound and like a team of destiny. I see people Twittering about "This reminds me of '93" or "This feels a little like 2000" or "Man, we have better pitching now than we did in '02".

It sure easy to gush like a schoolgirl when the team wins 20 of 25 games, and Buster Posey looks like the next coming of an blessed love child between Joe Mauer and Derek Jeter. It's easy to gush like a schoolgirl when Andy Torres is hitting 410 foot home runs every 3 days.

This is why you hold off. I learned my lesson about that. You can be excited all you want about what you see. You can text and Twitter all you want about how much ass we're kicking, but the season is too long, and this team is too imperfect to declare too many things before the 140 game mark.

Take this for example. I said this back on April 9th:

"Renteria really looks like a beast among boys out there right now and appears to be the same player who had a .330 season for the Braves in '07."

I also praised Aaron Rowand at the time, and said he looked like a .270 hitter... a compliment when it comes to him.

Why did I bring up these things that make me look stupid? Because things were going swimmingly back on April 9th, just like they were before we faced Yabalda Jimenez on our way to Atlanta.

And you know what? I'm glad we got our asses kicked in ATL. I'm also glad that it happened in 95 degree heat and 60% humidity. I'm glad we faced Atlanta's best pitchers, on the road, in as hostile and uncomfortable an environment as Atlanta's notoriously, horrendously lame fans could provide.

The simple reason is that adversity breeds character, and character wins ballgames in September and October.

No one can say that this team has lacked scrapiness or resolve-- especially compared to the disaster last season. Remember that? Remember when a 2-0 deficit in the 7th inning meant game over? We don't have that problem anymore.

Every team loses 2-0 to Timmy Hudson from time to time. Hell, the Yankees got shut out by James Shields on August 1st 3-0. The same James Shields that allowed 6 dongs to Toronto on Saturday. It happens. That's baseball.

What you need to be concerned about are patterns that seem to revolve like an a bad Cyndi Lauper cassette playing on an auto-reverse tape deck.

What really concerns me? Not the offense as a whole. It will slump from time to time. There are individual pieces that have to be worrisome:

1) Pablo Sandoval

Every time we think "The big bat we've been looking for" gets a hit, we think he may finally be snapping out of it. He isn't. He won't. I'm not being negative, I'm being realistic. Pablo Sandoval is a little kid that gets too excited at the plate to do anything productive. I've said it before and I will say it again... and I'm dead serious. He needs medication, and it's nothing to be ashamed of. There are a lot of things out there that will allow him to slow his mind down and become more cerebral, without taking away his goofy personality. I'm not as concerned about his weight as others are. "It's 80% mental and 40% physical." (Little Giants quote...)

2) Bruce Bochy

I've been on the "Fire Bochy" train for a couple months now, and I'm not getting off. The man is a bumbling fool and continues to both bewilder and enrage all fans that know their ass from a hole in the ground.

The newest twist to the Bochy saga is an unconscionable 13 man pitching staff, complete with Denny Bautista... who has been dispatched correctly...

Only...

...it was for TODD WELLEMEYER! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?

Who is calling the shots here? Anyone with a brain knows two things: 1) Wellemeyer sucks and 2) a 13 man pitching staff with a 4 man bench is asinine.

Even worse than having the likes of Bautista and Wellemeyer on our team is Bochy inexplicably giving up on games before they're over, conceding them, and bringing in Denny or Welley.

Case and point, Wednesday August 4th in Colorado, the Ubaldo gem.

After Madison Bumgarner gave up the 2-run HR to Carlos Gonzalez, Bochy brought in Bautista. The game was still within striking distance at 4-0. Bautista promptly hit Melvin Mora, threw a wild pitch, then hit Chris Iannetta before intentionally walking Barmes. He got lucky, and got out the inning.

Instead of removing the shaky/retarded Bautista for the 6th, Big Head left him in the game... a game that was now only a 4-1 deficit. And we all know how that ended... back to back dongs to CarGo and Tulo. Game over.

Example #2

Sunday in Atlanta with Derek Lowe on the mound. It was hot, Lowe's sinker was sinking, and with Sanchez on the mound, we were going to have to score runs to win.

As we had Bad Sanchez on the mound instead of Good Sanchez, a reliever was needed from our 8 man bullpen. And who trots out to the mound? Todd Freakin Wellemeyer.

We know how it went. 4 straight singles. Then Santiago Casilla and Aubrey Huff managed to combine for 3 solid outs to keep the game within striking distance.

Now that we've established the two recent bonehead moves by Bochy in regard to the bullpen, it doesn't hurt to mention that we basically have 3 guys on the bench on any given day. Oh, Renteria's banged up? Oh Uribe's hamstring is tender? Oh, so we really have 3 guys on the bench? Our two right-handed options off the bench are Whiteside and Rowand or Rowand and Renteria, and our only left hander is Schierholtz when Ishikawa plays?

I'm exasperated just talking about this. DFA Wellemyer immediately and eat the $400k he's due. You signed him to a low-risk high reward $1MM deal. It didn't work out. Dump his ass and bring up someone else. Rohlinger, Pill, Belt, Ford, I don't care. Bring up another body, and do it now. Morons.

3) Freddy Sanchez

Sanchy has struggled mightily for nearly 6 weeks now. He hasn't been Rowand bad, but he's been fairly worthless at the plate for awhile. Despite this fact, the Gyros were still able to score more runs than anyone in the Majors for July, an incredible feat for a team with a scuffling 2nd place hitter.

He's only had 3 doubles since June 18th, scored only 13 runs in July, and has seen his average drop from .279 to .258 since the all-star break. Freddy's .315 OBP% and .638 OPS are disturbing as well.

We know the guy can hit. He won a batting title, and we saw Sanchy have a stellar June. It's a deep slump, and I think he needs to sacrifice a chicken or an Aaron Rowand or something to bust out of it. The lineup is simply less effective when Freddy is not up at the top setting the table for Aubrey and Buster.

Other than those things, I would say that this team is pretty solid. And it's a fact that they own the Major's best record since July 5th (22-9). And hey, I make it sound a lot worse than it really is for a reason. These issues need to be resolved and addressed in order for this team to compete on all cylinders for a playoff spot.

Not only that, but it was great to see a potential playoff foe like Atlanta on top of their respective game. Now you know what you're up against in October boys. Go and get it.


And hey, Jonathan Sanchez is down. He is not only down, but he's throwing down guarantees.

"We're going to play San Diego, and we're going to beat them three times," Sanchez said. "If we get to first place, we're not going to look back. We are definitely going to make the playoffs."

I dig brother. I dig.

The State of Stuff

Sorry for the delay in getting a post up guys. Every now and then it just seems like too much of a pain. I hope you suffered in the absence of my wisdom. That would make me feel pretty cool. Now, on to important things: The State of Stuff.

There is so much stuff to talk about, and so much has changed since my last post, that I feel like we're dealing with another season or something. I'm going to segment this up, so here we go:

Andres Torres

Finally, we can say that we have a legitimate leadoff man in a Giants uni. It has been a long time in coming, and I pray that Andy doesn't flame out or begin struggling any time soon. In many ways, Torres has been a gift from the baseball gods, and he's doing his damndest to take full advantage of his first exclusive starting gig in his long meandering career.

There is so much to like about him as a player, especially his speed. As they say, speed is something you can't teach. In addition to utilizing his blazing talents, the man is flat out hitting, and running the bases like a champ. I've even picked him up in a couple fantasy leagues, and he's currently starting over Carlos Lee in one of them. It's truly an amazing development.

In the last month, Torres is hitting .302 with an astoundingly high .922 OPS-- much of which is augmented by a great on base percentage. The man is simply a catalyst, and has been involved the "offensive resurgence" that we've seen over the past two weeks. The second man involved in the resurgence is...

Freddy Sanchez

Wow, a legitimate leadoff man AND a textbook #2 hitter? In a row? And Bochy figured this out on his own?

THAT'S A LOW PRICE! I KNOW!



Like Torres, Sanchez does everything you can ask of a second place hitter. He has excellent bat control, he goes the other way in a excellent manner, and he's smart in situational situations. Situational situations. You heard me.

Plus, he's on a 9 game hitting streak, where he's hitting .500 (16 for 32). You know what Krook would say...

"Stay hot Freddy Sanchez."

Huff & Uribe: The Dike Pluggers

Look, I know they're not exactly A-Rod/Teixeira or Braun/Fielder but...

...All of the sudden, I feel wave of something that almost feels like some strange combination of relief and confidence. I'm not used to this, so I don't know if I'm even describing it properly. I never was one for sharing feelings.

I can't say enough about Uribe and Huff. They are the definition of "Gamers"-- not Aaron Rowand or Bengie Molina. Gamers are the ones who play hurt, listen to coaches, and don't complain about playing multiple positions-- all while actually hitting the goddamn ball. Hitting the ball is something that supposed "gamers" Rowand and Molina are currently incapable of, and basically have been for awhile.

Huff & Uribe or "Hurrribe!" have basically kept this team afloat, and seem to be thriving as dike pluggers. Hey man, get your head out of the gutter. Dike plugging is a serious issue in Holland!

Buster & Burrell: Killer B's?

Buster Posey was called up too late. It is a fact. I understand the "Super 2" issue. I understand the idea that he needs reps behind the plate and at 1B in Fresno--- believe, me, I get all of that. However, it just shows that the front office really just doesn't know what it's doing half the time. What I've been saying, what you've been saying, what this guy, and that guy, and this other guy have been saying is:

CALL UP POSEY NOW. WE CANNOT HIT. HE CAN. WTF ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

I can't complain as much now that he's up, but it was obviously three weeks (or more) too late. As we've seen in his 30 or so AB's, is that not only can he play a decent 1B and learn on the fly, but that yes, he really can hit.

I doubt he will ever be a 30 HR hitter, and the power will come at some point, but he's just a flat out smart hitter. He takes pitches, he has a good eye, and he doesn't swing at garbage. He's the antithesis of the type of player who has embodied Giants baseball for the past two seasons.

As for Pat Burrell, I absolutely must praise the move. This is a guy who just two years ago hit 33 dongs in a Philadelphia uniform. I know that he's not that guy anymore, but hey, this worked with Aubrey Huff didn't it? Remember the season he had two years ago? Then he sucked? Now he's good again? Remember?

If nothing else, Pat the Bat is a solid right-handed bat off the bench that is a little scarier than Eli Whiteside or Matt Downs.

Honestly, based on the kind of shape he's in, and the handful of AB's he's had in the orange & black, I say give the guy an every day shot. Seriously. Rowand is simply horrendous in every way, and I will sacrifice a little D in order to have a functioning Pat Burrell in our lineup hitting 6th or 7th and playing LF.

I know many of you were down on the signing, citing his poor defense and steep offensive decline. The defense aside, some hitters just have an incredibly difficult time adjusting to another league (See: Holliday, Matt; 2009).

Burrell is not meant to be a life-saver or the "big bat" that we need, but he's a good player, he's cheap, and if he sucks, we're not hamstrung by the loss of top prospects or an extreme salary. Trust me, he will help us.

Pablo Sandoval

Let me preface this rant by saying that I love Pablo and I want nothing more for him than to succeed and be a perennial all-star. With that said, allow me to rip him mercilessly.

Pablo Sandoval is not smart. He has the mind of an 8 year-old child in a large man's body. He doesn't listen to coaches, he doesn't use his brain, and he hacks at slop nightly. If I were Larry Krueger, I'd have been fired for these comments.

In addition, Pablo has zero power, and is not a third place hitter. He is incapable of using his body to drive the ball, and hits off his front foot because he needs ritalin, and no one has taken the time to give him a psychological exam.

I'm serious. He has ADHD, and he needs medication. I'm not laughing. Anyone who is incapable of waiting .005 seconds more for a pitch to reach the plate has some sort of issue.

Now-- judging by his 2 hit day against the Pirates Sunday (a day after being demoted to the 8th slot by our resident genius Bruce Bochy), it's possible that he may begin to understand this whole "pitch-taking" and "pitch-waiting" thing-- much like an infant realizes that if they cry, their mother comes to hold them.

If he calms down at the plate at some point, it's possible that he could hit 25 HR a season. Until then, I'd much rather that his singles and doubles power be utilized in the 5th spot in the order, a spot where he has the potential to knock in a run or two. His penchant for grounding into double plays has killed 14 potential rallies already this season, and that enough is reason to move him the eff down in the order.

On that note, time for the...

Dream Lineup

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

Notice who's missing? (Other than the injured DeRosa)

Yeah, our resident "gamers" Rowand, Molina, and Renteria.

They simply don't belong in the starting lineup any more and this type of thing is exactly what drives us Giants fans absolutely crazy about Bochy. The past three weeks has really lead me to believe that his brain, much like Felipe Alou's did, has turned into Cream of Wheat.

Bochy's bizarre use of Buster Posey and Bengie Molina in the lineups, as well as the "Sandoval hitting 8th" thing leads me to believe that this man is no longer fit to lead. Take the pinch running incident that took place Sunday in Pittsburgh. You know the one. The one where Bochy pinch-runs for Posey, one of the guys who can hit, in the 7th inning of a tie game.

Memo to Bruce: Posey is not slow. Just because you and Bengie and Whiteside are slow, doesn't make Buster slow too. Leave him in the game. Aggghhhh! Exasperating.

And how about Bengie Molina hitting 4th and Posey hitting 7th? Huh? Are you high?

I'm sorry. I'm officially on the "Fire Bruce Bochy" bandwagon. He has to go. This is ridiculous. He's acting like Tom Cable taking orders from the ghost of Al Davis. Nothing makes sense.

This next thing makes even less sense...

Mark DeRosa

The DeRosa DeLemma is officially pissing me off.

What we need to do right now is forget about the wasted $6MM we paid this dude this year. I like DeRosa, and he's a very good complementary player when healthy.

Unfortunately, he was never healthy, and the Giants made a mistake. I won't say they made a mistake with Freddy Sanchez, because he's currently worth his weight in a metal worth less than gold, but more than silver. Maybe copper? Anyway...

DeRosa needs to stop trying to be a "gamer" and just get the goddamn tendon sheath repaired, and he needs to do it two weeks ago.

This is an injury, that as he knows, takes 3 months to recover from, and 5 months to be normal again. Every day that management has wasted by trying to save face by putting him in Fresno, is a day that he's unavailable for the stretch run.

This man should have been under the knife the day he was put on the DL and not a day later. With that timetable, he could've returned, potentially healthy by mid-September. Now? Maybe 2011.

Again, it's just incredibly frustrating that we, the fans, know better than management with lineups, DeRosa, Posey, Wellemeyer, etc.

Isn't that crazy?

Lincecum

Lincecum has a combination of issues going on. Firstly, he absolutely HAS a blister problem. Someone close to the situation told someone else, who told me. That's good enough for a fan blogger like me.

The reason that they've all downplayed it is because Timmy also has mechanical problems, mainly out of his windup. Something is amiss, and since his father is the only one who can fix it, we need to get Chris Lincecum to SF immediately, an idea that this dude had last week.

Lincey is walking too many dudes, his control has been off, and he's been average at best. Unfortunately teams have begun to adjust, and have been taking a ton of pitches, rather than be overly aggressive-- the previous approach to taking on the Timster.

My question is, why exactly, if Timmy has a blister problem, didn't he get one of his starts skipped? Food for thought.

The Wellemeyer Experiment is over

I won't get into any of the stats. We all know they're bad. Wellemeyer cannot be relied upon to be a 5th starter. He's okay at home, but basically throws like Chet Steadman in the last Rookie of the Year scene without the theatrical shoulder grabbing by Gary Busey.

The question is not whether Wellemeyer needs to leave the rotation, but whether we cut ties with him completely, put him in the bullpen, or send him down to Fresno. The secondary question is, who do we call up in his place?

Knowing the team we're dealing with, it's safe to say that Madison Bumgarner will not get the call. Although he's been dealing pretty solidly against PCL competition and hasn't allowed more than three earnies in his last 9 starts (and did that only once), I have a feeling the 'tards up in the front office will be too gun-shy to promote the 21 year-old after his ridiculously poor Spring Training.

My opinion? Bring the kid up. Seems like he's gotten it together.

The other options are Eric Hacker and Joe Martinez.

Unfortunately for Hacker, his window may have passed. Until his last three starts, he'd had an ERA under 3 and a K/9 of nearly 9. His last 3 starts have yielded 18 earned runs. Soooo.... yeah, he's out.

J-Mart is sporting a 3.32 ERA and threw a complete game 9 hitter against the Las Vegas Bastards a couple days ago (Dodgers AAA team), and looks like he's ready for the big club again.

Either of these dudes should get the call, if not both, should a bullpen injury occur.

Obviously, there are a million more things I could talk about, but that's about as many words as I can string together without losing all of you. I hope you enjoyed the State of Stuff and remember to follow on Twitter @TheDodgerhater.

It's time to freak out, Giants fans

It was a shocking weekend. Just shocking. It didn't help that the Sharks got swept either, but my God...

ONE RUN IN THREE GAMES.

ONE RUN!

Usually, I'm the one against freaking out, and keeping our composure, but this-- this is not gonna work anymore...

This display against the very beatable Athletics even drew the interest of the great ESPN for once (which might as well be an unholy marriage between NESN and YES at this point). I was delighted that they chose to throw a little "Did You Know?" stat about our futility out there. Yeah, the Giants hadn't scored so little in so many games since like '49. It's just totally unreal.

Now that the dust has settled a little bit on the season, we can say for sure that the Giants' quick, heavy-hitting start out of the gate was indeed a fraud. That was us at our absolute best. Renteria and Rowand were raking, Bengie was kicking ass... that was the best that this team could play. It's like a chick peaking at age 16. That's all gone. Now, we're most likely witnessing the worst they can play. Not cool Giants.

The bullpen is not holding leads (or keeping games close), and our poor starters, who are still going strong, are being left high and dry, which does God-knows-what to their mental state and confidence. It's just not going well at all.

You know I'm not usually like this. You know... the whole negativity thing. Unfortunately there is little to no silver lining to be discovered right now... and management seems to have zero clue as to how to fix the problem.

Even now, after managing one run in three games, Sabean and Co. refuse to consider calling up Posey. There is such an obvious disconnect between those in charge of the organization and reality, that I wonder if we're all actually living in some dreadful, non-linear drama on ABC like FlashForward or Lost.

I know I'll take a little heat for the Lost rip, but that's not the point. The point is that our beloved team has a problem-- an obvious problem-- and it is simply not being addressed. Not only is it not being addressed, but there has been almost no attempt at addressation (that's not a word, but I think it should be).

It's quite simple really. Let me break it down so that even a caveman could do it.

We cannot score runs.

Solution?

Add hitter, change lineup. Score runs.

I'm tired of the money excuse for Aaron Rowand and Bengie Molina. Yes, they are gamers, and I like their effort and veterany-ness, but they aren't playing well. Just because these guys (and Renteria) are making too much money, doesn't mean they get a free pass. If I'm in charge of the Giants, this is what I do until DeRosa gets back, and Posey at catcher full time be damned. Bengie is still a good bat. We're trying to win, remember? And I know this would never happen in a million years, but does it not make sense? ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?




1) Andres Torres CF
2) Freddy Sanchez 2B
3) Pablo Sandoval 3B
4) Aubrey Huff LF
5) Buster Posey 1B
6) Juan Uribe SS
7) Bengie Molina C
8) Nate Schierholtz RF

Yeah, there could be a couple flip-flops in the order, but how on earth is that worse than the BS being run out there right now? I'm sorry, but the longer management waits on Posey, the further we will slip into mediocrity. Notice how good that lineup looks with no Aaron Rowand?

Hank Schulman of the Chronicle suggested today that "big changes" would be coming to the lineup. Oh yeah? If Bochy considers this "big changes", then I'm a monkey's uncle. From The Splash:

"This is how it might work until left fielder Mark DeRosa returns: Freddy Sanchez would move to third base, allowing Juan Uribe to play second now that shortstop Edgar Renteria is back. (Alternatively, Uribe could play third and Sanchez could stay at second.) Pablo Sandoval would shift from third base to first base, and Aubrey Huff would move to left field. Andres Torres will play right, leaving John Bowker and Nate Schierholtz on the bench."

I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Basically, if I'm following this correctly, to solve the problem of not hitting, they've decided to move Huff from his best position to one of lesser skill, move Freddy Sanchez to a position of lesser skill, put our "mega-super-ultra" utilityman Uribe at Sanchez's position, and add Edgar Renteria to the lineup.

Excuse me while I scream into a pillow.

We all must admit to ourselves that Posey may not be the answer. It's possible that with the pressure and inexperience, he could crack. Remember, he only got two hits in 17 ABs and looked overmatched at the plate while briefly up last year. Obviously it's a small sample size, and he will rake at some point, but we can't just add Buster to the big league lineup and assume we'll start scoring like the Phillies.

And people, as tempting as "name-brand" veterans like Pat Burrell, Jermaine Dye, and Austin Kearns are, they are not the answer.

The answer, unfortunately lies in a trade, and the price will be steep. Someone near and dear to our hearts will have to be traded, and it will not be pretty at first, but it must be done. We will have to part with Madison Bumgarner and will have to include a Thomas Neal or a Brandon Crawford, or both. We have another 3-4 years to win with this group of pitchers, and we are well behind schedule in overall team development.

Also of utmost importance is to rid ourselves of Aaron Rowand. It is another article for another day, but if we were to eat $8MM of his deal for the remainder of his deal ($24MM), it would be better than having him on the roster, and crazily, it would save us $12MM total ($4MM/year). How sickening is that? But seriously. He's part of the problem, and is a big reason why we are financially constrained.

Anyway, let's all enjoy the day off from offensive mediocrity and pray that Bochy, Sabean, Neukom, and the rest of those bean counters stop acting like such a-holes and do what needs to be done.

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.

Don't Expect Miracles This Offseason: Part 1

By not expecting miraculous overhauls, you are actively promoting your mental health.

If you, as a Giants fan, and by virtue, a rational human being, expect for this team to be transformed into a thumping lineup full of clubbers and dongers, you're setting yourself up for disappointment and hair-pulling insanity.

And I'm going out on a limb here by saying this, but... you don't need that in your life.

As we intermittently and half-heartedly watch the MLB playoffs, we keep thinking, "God, we were so damn close. That could be us in there!"

Yeah, it could have been, and we were so very close.

Whether or not we could have competed against the Phillies is debatable, but at this juncture, it is neither here nor there. By finally coming to terms with 2009's result, we inevitably shift our Giants thoughts toward the offseason signing period and 2010, with with a wandering jealous eye trained on playoff scores.


Here's what it's looking like:

Hitters w/guaranteed deals: Rowand ($13.6M), Renteria ($10M)

Arbitration eligible hitters: Frandsen , Garko

Players under control (minimum deals): Ishikawa, Schierholtz, Velez, Lewis, Torres, Bowker, Burriss, Whiteside, Rohlinger, etc. (all guys that have been shuttling back and forth between the minors basically)

Free Agents: Juan Uribe, Freddy Sanchez, Randy Winn, Bengie Molina, Rich Aurilia

There's so many things to speculate about here, so let's just go with the most likely scenarios.

I see the Giants cutting their losses with Ryan Garko. They made an effort to get some corner infield pop to complement Ishikawa, and it didn't work. Granted the guy needs consistent at bats in a new league to be successful, but it didn't happen, and although Sabean gave up LHP Scott Barnes in the deal, there may not be any room for Garks. He is arbitration eligible, and his salary would probably net him between $3-5M per year, something I don't see the Giants biting on. Cutting ties without offering arbitration is known as "non-tendering" a player.

Kevin Frandsen is a bit of a mystery. He may just a be a 4A player that the Giants are tired of. I can see this well-liked guy being non-tendered as well, despite his low price.

As for all these other guys, it'll just be up to management. I'm not going to sit here and debate whether Emmanuel Burriss or Ryan Rohlinger should be backup infielders, it just doesn't matter that much (although I'd go for Rohlinger).

The real questions lie in what to do with 3 key free agents: Juan Uribe, Freddy Sanchez, and Bengie Molina.

The case for Sanchez:

We were all disappointed by how this worked out. I was even more disappointed that Sanchez himself knew he'd need surgery, and that the Giants brass swept this under the rug. So, let me get this straight... we traded a top 5 prospect for an injured guy? If Sabean wanted him so bad, why not just take a stab at him in free agency?

The case for bringing him back lies partially with the amount we gave up for him (Tim Alderson), but mainly for the stability he will bring to the lineup and his ability (when healthy) to get hits and get on base. He plays very good defense, and is a valuable veteran presence. I'm simply not comfortable with some sort of strange timeshare between Eugenio Velez and another guy.

He has an option that the Giants can pick up at $8.5 million. This is doubtful, because no one on the open market would give him that. I think they will either offer him arbitration, or will agree on a lower annual salary on a two year deal.

The case for Uribe:

Uribe's performance this season was exemplary. He did everything in his power to help this team, and he deserves a raise from the $1M he made this season. However, I believe whether the Giants bring him back depends on the market for him. He deserves at least $4M per year on a two year deal.

Re-signing Uribe and Sanchez allows the manager (assuming it's Bochy... another blog for another time), a great deal of lineup flexibility. Between Sandoval, Ishikawa, Sanchez, Renteria, Velez and Uribe, there are seemingly an infinite amount of infield combinations. Not pretty combinations, but nonetheless...

Uribe is a great clubhouse presence, and players like him are simply invaluable to a club. Would you be comfortable with the Giants not signing Freddy Sanchez and keeping Uribe to start at 2B and spot start at SS, while Velez takes over at second? I would.

Again, these things are not pretty, but this is what we're looking at.

The case for Bengie Molina:

The case is not great. Bengie was our heart and soul for a few years here. In all honesty, he deserves better than this; than to be discarded like an old newspaper. It is, unfortunately the nature of the beast, and Buster Posey is the future catcher of the organization.

At this stage in his career, Bengie will be looking for a multi-year deal, and will surely receive multiple two year offers. The thing is, we just don't want him for two years.

In my opinion, Posey will not be ready to be a full time catcher at the beginning of 2010. He is close, but just not quite there offensively. He's too green yet, and needs to start next season in Fresno. Therein lies the issue.

Do we sign a guy on a one year deal? Ehh...

Then what kind of offense would we get out of that position in the first half of next year? If you recall, Bengie was basically our only offense (other than Panda) in the first half of last year. Without that production, we wouldn't have been close.

See... this sucks for everyone.

So, why can't we just spend money and bring in some hitters?

Okay, well easier said than done. There simply aren't that many great hitters out there on the market. We're not getting Jason Bay or Matt Holliday, so just forget about that. Sorry. Not gonna happen. And even if it did, it would KILL US longterm. You do want to sign Lincecum and Cain in a few years, don't you?

The interesting wrinkle in this whole situation is the vast amount of money that is coming off the books for 2010. The combined salaries of Winn, Molina, Uribe, Dave Roberts, Noah Lowry, Sanchez, and Howry add to approximately $34.3M. Before you jump for joy, keep in mind that Lincecum, Brian Wilson, and Jonathan Sanchez will be getting modest raises, as they are in their first years of arbitration. Accounting for that, there is still a solid amount of money available to spend. The key is not spending, just to spend. This is why Bill Neukom and Sabean are non-committal when speaking to a guy like Ralph Barbieri, who makes it a hobby to badger Giants management about "spending money".

Yes, they should put the best product on the field, but this year, there are no sure things, and we must think about the most sound way to compete now, without hamstringing the team when extensions for Lincecum, Cain, Wilson, Pandoval, etc. come up in the next 4-6 years.

Anyway, here are the available free agents.

You can find the whole list here, but here are the relevant options:

Catcher:

Rod Barajas (34) - Type B
Michael Barrett (33) - club option
Ramon Hernandez (34) - $8.5MM club option with a $1MM buyout - Type B
Jason Kendall (36) - Type B
Miguel Olivo (31) - $3.25MM mutual option - Type B
Jason Varitek (38) - $5MM club/$3MM player option plus incentives - Type B
Gregg Zaun (39) - $2MM club option with a $500K buyout; Zaun can void option

Nothing looks attractive here other than Rod Barajas on a one year deal.

First Basemen:

Hank Blalock (29)
Russell Branyan (34)
Carlos Delgado (38) - Type B
Nick Johnson (31) - Type B
Adam LaRoche (30) - Type B
Chad Tracy (30) - $7MM option with a $1MM buyout

Blalock and Johnson obviously jump out at you, but Hank is subpar defensively and better suited to the AL. If Nick Johnson isn't re-signed by Florida, he'd be a good fit, and wouldn't be too expensive. Delgado wouldn't be horrible, but after years of us ripping Sabean for signing aging players for millions of dollars, he's too gun shy to pull the trig.

Second Basemen:

Ronnie Belliard (35) - Type B
Mark DeRosa (35) - Type B
Jerry Hairston Jr. (34) - Type B
Orlando Hudson (32) - Type A
Akinori Iwamura (31) - $4.25MM club option with a $250K buyout
Felipe Lopez (30) - Type B
Placido Polanco (34) - Type A
Freddy Sanchez (32) - $8MM club option with a $600K buyout - Type B
Juan Uribe (31)

I'm a big Mark DeRosa fan. He brings the same adhesive properties that Uribe does, but is a more refined ballplayer. I would love to sign him to play 3B full time, move Panda to 1B, and re-sign either Sanchez or Uribe to play 2B. I don't believe the Giants would go after Polanco or Hudson due to their "Type A" status. And would they be an upgrade over our current incumbents? No. Not really. DeRosa is solid pickup though.

Third Basemen:

Adrian Beltre (31) - Type B
Joe Crede (32)
Mark DeRosa (35) - Type B
Chone Figgins (32) - Type B
Troy Glaus (33) - Type B
Miguel Tejada (36) - Type A
Juan Uribe (31)

Technically, this isn't a position of need, but you get it. Hmm... some repeat names on here. Figgins would be nice, but the Angels will re-sign him at any cost. The guy that intrigues me, which you'll think I'm crazy for, is Troy Glaus. He spent the whole season on the DL, but he can still hit, no doubt in my mind.

Outfielders:

Garret Anderson (38) - Type B
Jason Bay (31) - Type A
Marlon Byrd (32) - Type B
Johnny Damon (36) - Type A
Matt Holliday (30) - Type A
Reed Johnson (33)
Manny Ramirez (38) - $20MM player option - Type A
Rick Ankiel (30)
Rocco Baldelli (28)
Mike Cameron (37) - Type B
Coco Crisp (30) - $8MM club option with a $500K buyout
Darin Erstad (36)
Ryan Freel (34)
Andruw Jones (33)
Scott Podsednik (34)
Bobby Abreu (36) - Type A
Jermaine Dye (36) - $12MM mutual option with a $1MM buyout - Type A
Geoff Jenkins (35) - $7.5MM mutual option with a $1.25MM buyout
Austin Kearns (30) - $10MM club option with a $1MM buyout
Xavier Nady (31) - Type B

Ehh... what looks good to you, keeping in mind that Bay and Holliday are unattainable? Jermaine Dye and Bobby Abreu? Yeah. I'd take one of those guys. They'd require two year deals at around $8M+ per though. Nady and Kearns are interesting as well, but both have their drawbacks.

So you see, boys and girls, there are no quick fixes for this offense. The best I think we could do would be to sign Dye or Abreu to play right, and some two man combo out of the following infield group: Freddy Sanchez, Juan Uribe, Mark DeRosa.

Then of course, that stunts Nate Schierholtz's growth, unless he takes over in LF, where his gun of an arm is under-utilized.

You can sign the injury prone Nick Johnson and give up on Ishikawa, but is that a big enough upgrade to justify doing it?

Then, there's catcher... (my head hurts)

So, after breaking down this dreary situation, I hope you now see that there are no quick fixes. I too wish we could just throw an insane contract at Holliday or Bay to man left field for us, but it's just not feasible. The dearth of signable free agent hitters this offseason is shocking, but it is a fact. This leads us to the following options: trade a big time pitcher or prospect for a big time hitter, or hunker down and do the best with what our options are.

Wish it were different.

Part II coming up in a couple days.