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Giants Sign SS Ryan Theriot to One-Year Deal

2012-01-27T12:44:00.000-08:00

It took a lot longer than I was expecting, but the Giants finally added a little bit of depth/competition to their middle infield mix this spring by agreeing to terms with Ryan Theriot on a one-year deal worth about $1.25 million.

I like this move quite a bit, not because I expect Theriot to be a long-term answer at short for the Giants, but it gives the team depth in the infield when they really needed it and provides some competition heading into spring. It's a non-guaranteed deal, meaning unless Theriot beats out Burris or Fontenot in spring for an opening day roster spot, that contract becomes void, leaving him with plenty of incentive to show up rearing to go. Theriot isn't quite as good defensively at short as he was 3-4 years ago, but he's still the best option the Giants now have there besides Crawford. Again though, the best part of this deal is the fact that it ensures that guys like Burris or Justin Christian aren't going to be just handed a job do to lack of options. Lack of options or resources should not be an issue for this franchise when they have the expectations they do. Theriot was the starting shortstop for the World Champion Cardinals for most of last season, until they acquired Rafael Furcal because nagging injuries were hampering Theriot's range at short, but before last season, his defensive numbers looked a lot better, at least in terms of his fielding percentage numbers. And when you check the offensive numbers he put up in the first half with the Cards (.285, 91 hits, .331 OBP) you see the upside he has, and would be a huge step up from what the team was getting their in 2011. The last time he spent the full season in one spot playing everyday (with Chicago in '09) he put up very good numbers, to the tune of .284/7/54 with 21 steals and a .343 OBP after putting up a .307 average and .387 OBP in '08. Theriot's a proven tough out, who doesn't swing and miss a whole lot, and will get on base at a respectable pace. Is a he a great shortstop? Not by any stretch, but he's better than he showed towards the end of 2011, both offensively and defensively. For $1.25 million, the Giants could have done a lot worse.

Theriot was a guy who I mentioned a lot here when I discovered the frugal path the Giants were taking this offseason, because I knew he'd be cheap and he's got the potential to take the shortstop job if Brandon Crawford struggles out of the gate. Now, in a perfect world, Theriot doesn't need to become that starting shortstop cause Crawford will take that next step and become a decent hitter. I expect Crawford to start the year at shortstop no matter what kind of spring he has (unless he really tanks and Theriot shines) but with the Giants really pushing to get back to postseason in 2012, they won't have so much patience with him this time around, especially now that they have a viable backup. Now, I'm curious to see what other names Sabean and Co. are currently looking into. Xavier Nady is one that was tossed out today, but I'd steer clear of him since he hasn't done anything in years. There aren't really any outfielders left on the market, or at least any that make a lot of sense for the Giants to add, but he could be looking at potential fifth starter types. Edwin Jackson and Javier Vazquez are two guys who would be clear upgrades to Zito in the fifth spot, but I don't think Sabean is looking to spend that much. Rich Harden could be a bargain bin type guy, and I'd like him because he could come out of the pen too if need be, but I just don't see Sabean getting that big of a name. If they are still looking at outfielders, the one guy sitting out there who could play some right field for this team, in a backup role, platoon, or possibly even a starter, is Maglio Ordonez. No, he's no spring chicken at 37, but he is just a year removed from putting up a .303/12/59 line in just over a half of play in 2010 and I think still has some thunder left in that bat. For a deal similar to Ross' or Theriot's got, I'd certainly be interested in Ordonez's right-handed bat?

The Giants also inked 32 year-old reliever Clay Hensley to a one-year, $750,000 deal to essentially take on the spot that Ramon Ramirez has occupied the last year and a half. Hensley struggled some in 2011 with a 6-7 record and 5.19 era splitting time between the rotation and bullpen for Florida. However, in 2010, used strictly as a reliever, Hensley was one of the best in the game, recording a 2.16 era and 77 K's over 75 innings of work allowing just 3 home runs on the season in a pretty good hitters yard. He also recorded 22 holds and 7 saves for the Marlins that year, showing his ability to pitch late innings with the game on the line. The Giants now appear to have their 5-man rotation and 7-man bullpen all set though they still could add some arms to their invite list before spring reporting dates.

Also, again, if you guys haven't yet tuned into my interview from Thursday night with The Baseball Page's Phil Naessans Show, here's the link to it right here. It was one of the funner interviews I've been a part of during my time doing sports blogs, podcasts and shows, as he does his shows from Greece and it's really good stuff, so be sure to check it out!

Giants Notes: Lincecum Signs, Ross to Boston

2012-01-26T13:46:00.001-08:00

Well, even though I touched on it a little bit in our last post, I haven't really had a chance to get my thoughts out on the new Lincecum deal since he and the Giants agreed earlier in the week. Also, on the other end of things, the Giants missed out on shoring up their outfield by letting Cody Ross sign in Boston for only $3 million in 2012.

First off, obviously, wanted to talk a bit about Lincecum. I've already said here that I didn't expect him to sign a long-term deal that takes him through free agency, but it doesn't mean he wants to leave San Francisco like everyone is suspecting. I mean, if I were Lincecum, I'd probably do the same thing, even if I planned on eventually signing with the Giants long-term. Why take a chance at mitigating your value to just sign a deal? Granted, a 5 year, $100 million deal isn't anything to sneeze at, in this market, if he were a free agent, Lincecum could probably easily command a 8 year, $200 million deal. If he could get something like that in 2 years when he hits free agency, why would he sign a deal now that potentially takes a bunch of money from his pocket in the long term? At the same time though, you look at a guy like Matt Cain, who's made no bones about it, he wants to stay here, and he'll likely give the Giants a hometown discount in order to do so. People keep mentioning Jered Weaver as a comparable player to Cain and they do matchup very well. Weaver signed a five year deal with the Angels last year for just $85 million, which is probably $25 million less than he'd get on an open market, but he was more concerned with staying in Anaheim. What Lincecum's deal does do, is give this team financial certainty for the next two seasons, and now that they have that with both Sandoval and Lincecum, they can more easily assess what they can spend on someone like Cain, who'll be a free agent after the season.

I just see Lincecum as a guy who's taking his agents advice and going as close to year-to-year as possible until he'd be free to have teams compete for his services. He probably sees these 200 million dollar deals that are getting tosses out now seemingly every winter, and figures he's as sure of bet as any to land one of those when he's able and that means Lincecum will be more focused than ever over the next 2 seasons. Don't worry about Timmy, he's not going anywhere, at least anytime soon. On the other hand, we can't say the same about 2010 postseason hero Cody Ross, who Brian Sabean blatantly said would not be back after the season, then stubbornly stuck to his guns, even though Ross signed for only 3 million with Boston, less than 1/2 of what he made in 2011. I'm sure if you told Sabean back in October he could get Ross on a1 year, 3 million dollar deal, he would have been open to it, but instead it's like he wrote Ross off and never even bothered to follow up with him and see if they could come back to him later in the winter. I mean, $3 million isn't a bad deal for a league average 4th outfielder, let alone a guy like Ross who can be a legit starter and was one of the more clutch hitters the Giants have had recently. I'm having a bit of trouble getting over this one, cause right now, this team has now 4th outfielder, let alone one as versatile and talented as Ross. Heck, I kept saying all year that I think a healthy Ross would beat out either Pagan or Schierholtz for a starting spot, and at $3M, how does a team desperate for offense ignore that?

So yes, there was some good for the Giants over the last week, buying Sandoval and Lincecum through their arbitration years, but there was also some missed opportunities if you ask me. The Giants offseason business is now essentially finished, though they could still scrape the bottom of the barrel for spring training invites, and I think they could have done a better job at filling out their roster. There were some good players out there that went cheaply that could have been upgrades over players who will be on this teams' 25-man roster, and for a large market team with Championship aspirations, you look to improve your roster at every chance you get, whether it's adding additional outfielders like Ross to create competition or a utility guy like Jerry Hairston Jr. who could have really solidified the bench. The Giants were too content this winter, for a team coming off a putrid offensive season.

Again, be sure to check out The Baseball Page tonight, as I join Phil Naessens' podcast to talk about the upcoming Giants season and some of the things they did, and didn't do, this winter. I'll get a link posted up to the interview tomorrow, but they'll have it on their site tonight at 9 PM.

Lincecum Says No to $100MM, 5-Year Deal

2012-01-23T16:37:00.000-08:00

If the Giants were counting on Lincecum giving the team a hometown discount, they may want to think again, after reports surfaced Monday that the ace right-hander turned down a 5 year, $100 million contract.

Now, that deal would have only bought Lincecum out of 3 years of free agency, and would have freed him up when he turned 32. At that age, he'd easily be up for another long-term, big money deal as long as he keeps up his dominant ways, so it is a little bit concerning. However, I don't at all see this as a sign that he wants out of San Francisco like everyone in the media is trying to make it out to be. All this really tells me, is that Lincecum isn't going to give the team a hometown discount, and after the numbers he's put up, he's got the right to do so. He's arguably one of the most valuable pitchers in the game right now, based on the fact that he's not only a dominant ace with 2 Cy Youngs already at 27, but a fan favorite who will fill up a ballpark every single time he takes the mound. If he were a free agent in this 2011-12 class, after seeing the deals Pujols and Fielder each fetched, it's conceivable to think he could have easily gotten that 8 year/$200 Million deal he's seeking, so why settle for 5 years and a measly $100 million if your in that position? At the same time, I think it was a perfectly legit offer from the Giants side, and I actually suggested the make that exact offer in our last post after the two exchanged arbitration numbers. They made the offer, and they couldn't get him to bite, and I'm not surprised by either of those happenings. It just tells me that, unless he's blown away by an offer, Tim Lincecum wants to go into free agency. Doesn't mean he wants out of San Francisco, in fact, I think he very much wants to remain a Giant. I think in the end, it may be a good thing too, as it gives the Giants financial stability over the next 2 years and gives each party a huge window of time to either hammer out something long-term. Tim's a great young arm, but you hardly ever see long-term contracts given to starters work out really well. Sabathia and Halladay have been exceptions lately, but outside of those two, there aren't many pitchers who've signed big $100 million deals and had it work out so well for their respective ballclub (Zito, Santana and Burnett are a few).

So no, I'm not ready to panic at all, and start thinking of scenarios in which you trade Lincecum just yet. However, if the Giants aren't able to come to terms with Timmy on a longer term contract by the time the 2013 season gets going, then you start thinking about the "what if's" and get into possible trading scenario's, but regardless, I just have a hard time seeing Lincecum in any other uniform any time soon, including the 2014 season. Whether it's 1-2 years, I still see the Giants buying Lincecum out of at least 1-2 of his free agent years. I wouldn't be surprised if they expanded on their offer of 5 years, and maybe added another $15 million or so onto the total. At the same time though, they need to keep in mind they have their other ace scheduled for free agency after this upcoming 2012 season, and they absolutely need to figure out a way to keep both. I mean, Brian Sabean has done next to nothing in free agency the last few years, outside of retaining Aubrey Huff, and the thinking was that they're tucking some money away to ensure they sign both Cain and Lincecum, and if they don't end up keeping both beyond 2013, I'd consider the approach Sabean's taken a complete bust. They could have spent $30 million or so and gotten themselves an all-star outfielder for another two years in keeping Beltran, but they decided to save that money for Lincecum and Cain. They could have went after Yeonis Cespedes or even Michael Cuddyer or Josh Willingham to get some more offense, but instead ruled out all impact free agents because they're plan to sign Cain and Lincecum.

To sum it up in a few short sentences I'd just say this to Sabean and the Giants' brass: You've shyed away from being active in the free agent market, really ever since the Zito and Rowand debacles, and you guys kept saying the long-term goal was to retain your pitching. And since you've passed on free agent, everyday players who can help your team now (when you know you have Lincecum and Cain) in order to ensure you have money freed up for guys like Lincecum and Cain when their time came, you better make darn sure your able to keep both of them long-term. If they fail to do so, that plan blows up in their faces and they end up blowing their window of opportunity while Timmy and Matty are still together. That's why I hate the strategy of putting, essentially, all your eggs in one basket, which is the approach the Giants are openly taking.

I also wanted to give you guys a heads up that I'll be joining Phil Naessens from The Baseball Page on Thursday night at 7 PM on his show, talking Giants baseball and the upcoming 2012 season. Be sure to check that out, we'll also be posting up a reminder Thursday afternoon as well as on our Twitter and Facebook pages so follow us if you aren't already!

NOTE: The Giants have come to an agreement with Tim Lincecum, buying out his last two years of arbitration with a 2 year, $40.5 million deal. This doesn't necessarily change the status of his long-term plans, though it is good to see the two parties come to an agreement on something, finally.

Lincecum Now Last Giant Seeking 2012 Contract

2012-01-20T13:56:00.000-08:00

After the Giants came to deals with nearly all their arbitration eligible players this week, including signing Sergio Romo to a one-year deal Friday, the teams final arbitration eligible player is also their biggest. Even though their preliminary figures were $4.5 million off, I still expect the Giants and their ace to come to terms before they'd be forced to go before an arbiter.

The Giants gave one of the premiere set-up men in the game in Sergio Romo, a one-year, $1.5 million deal. That's more than double what he made in 2011, but the right-hander has really earned it as he's become one of the games premiere set-up men. The only minor concern I have with Romo is his durability. At such a young age (28), you'd expect him to be able to take on more of work-load than the 49 innings he threw in 2011, but none the less, the 49 innings he threw in 2011 were pretty darn dominant. He ended the season with a 1.5 era, 70 K's, 5 BB's, and a 0.71 WHIP over those 48 innings, which are some pretty gaudy numbers. Anytime your over 1.5 K's per inning, that's something special, and Romo is right there, but what's even more impressive is his uncanny command. Five walks in 20 innings isn't bad, let alone 48, and when you couple that with 70 K's, the ratio is ridiculous. He gave up some big home runs during the 2010 championship run, but kept his composure enough to finish off well during the championship run, then just destroy National League hitters in 2011, his first as a full-time set-up man. Again though, he had some arm troubles in September that hopefully came from all the work in 2010, pitching until November, then all the K's early on in 2011. And with the signing of Romo, the contract the given to Sandoval and the one-year deals dished out to Nate Schierholtz, Melky Cabrera and Angel Pagan in the last few days, the Giants have taken care of all their arbitration players except Lincecum.

I mentioned in the last post that I thought Lincecum would wind up at $18+ million, and I still think he' gets around $18-19M. As good as he's been during his young career, it's tough for any arbitration player to ask for north of $20 million, even one as accomplished as Lincecum. Heck, it's tough to net $20 million per year as an accomplished free agent in his prime, let alone a player in his arbitration years. That said, if anyone is worth it, Lincecum is, with his 2 Cy Young's and incredible numbers he's piled up since 2008. The thing I think that's holding the two parties up, is the Giants trying to encourage Lincecum's party to take a multi-year deal, like they were able to do with Pablo Sandoval. Whether it's a 3 year deal that buys out a year of free agency or a 5-year deal (which is what I think the club really wants to do), I think the Giants are trying to persuade Lincecum into taking one or the other, but I see Timmy sticking to his guns and taking only a deal for the 2012 season for now. It's just a question as to how much he'll end up getting. If I'm the Giants, I show some good faith now, hoping it comes back to help them in the end, and give Timmy his $20 million and let him set a new record. They don't have to go $21.5M like Lincecum's asking, but I bet if they offered $20M, Lincecum's agents would jump all over it. They shouldn't let the difference of $2-3 million bucks cause any ill will with their star pitcher when they're trying to sign him long-term.

Giants Agree to Terms with Pagan, Cabrera

2012-01-17T13:13:00.000-08:00

Well, you can mark off the two newest Giants on the list of arbitration eligible players who still need deals. The Giants inked each outfielder to one-year deals and avoided any hearing with Santiago Cassilla by inking the reliever to a one-year deal as well.

Melky Cabrera, who the Giants shipped off Jonathan Sanchez for, ended up getting a one-year, $6 million deal, and will become a free agent after this upcoming season. After the season Cabrera just had, I have to consider Cabrera's figure pretty reasonable. Dude hit over .300 with over 200 hits, 20 homers, 20 steals, and had over 100 runs scored, all of which are very good benchmarks in terms of arbitration. With Pagan, the Giants may end up getting a steal at $4.85 million for 2012. It's been said more than once this offseason, as long as the Giants get a determined Pagan, and get him back closer to his 2010 form, then they'll have themselves a very affordable, legit leadoff hitter (something they didn't have at any point in 2011). So the Giants ended up locking up their two big offseason acquisitions for about $10M total, and that's not a bad figure. I honestly thought both would get at least 6 million, so this is a pleasant surprise and may free up some extra cash for another addition or two. We talked at length in our last post about the options that still remain for the Giants to upgrade their roster, and none appear any closer to deals now than they have all offseason. Cassilla, who filled in at closer at times last season for a banged up Brian Wilson, ended up signing for a very affordable $2.2M for 2012. All Cassilla has done since dawning a Giants uni in 2010 has rocked a 1.84 ERA and notched nearly a K an inning while filling in admirably for B-Weezy when the closers needed a rest or been shelved.

Now, the Giants did end up getting three, very key guys locked up and taken care of for 2012, but they still have some very important pieces still waiting to figure out their 2012 contracts. The two most notable are obviously, Tim Lincecum, who's bound for a record figure and should net around $18 million or more for 2012. Also, Pablo Sandoval remains without a 2012 contract, and while he won't be nearly as costly as Timmy, it would be in the Giants best interest to try and get him locked up long-term right now. I don't know what Pablo is looking for but I know he loves San Francisco and wants to remain a Giant, so he'd probably be very open to a long-term contract, which in the end, would probably cost the Giants less than going year-to-year through arbitration until he's a free agent in 2015. I'd try and give him a 5 year/$40 million offer and see if he bit. That would come out to be around $8M annually and keep Pablo in Orange and Black until he was a 30 year old, and buyout a year of free agency. It's a figure I could definitely live with, especially when you consider all Pablo has accomplished at his young age. He's been an all-star, he's had 3 really successful seasons in the bigs, granted one was only a two month stint, and he's still a ways away from even entering his prime (25 years old). As much as the Giants need Lincecum and Cain around long-term, they also need to make sure they have quality guys surrounding them, and Pablo should be right there after Timmy and Matty in terms of players needing multi-year deals. I really think that if the Giants play their cards right, they can probably get Pablo now for a fraction of a price that he'll end up costing them on a year-to-year basis through arbitration. He puts up another season like last year or 2009 and he can go into arbitration next winter and already start asking for double-figures ($10+ million).

Also hitting arbitration for the first time with Pablo, are Nate Schierholtz and Sergio Romo, and the Giants still have to figure out Mike Fontenot's figure for 2012. Of the three, it wouldn't surprise me if the Giants ended up giving Romo a multi-year deal after the success he's shown over 2010 and 2011. He's established himself as one of the leagues premiere set-up men as evident by his 1.50 ERA, 70 K to 5 BB ratio and a 0.71 WHIP over 49 innings in 2011.

NOTE: Since the post, the Giants have exchanged figures with Lincecum, coming up with a $4.5M difference ($17M to $21.5M). As I thought, he'll probably end up getting right around $18-19M. The Giants also signed Nate Schieholtz, knocking another off the list, to a very reasonable $1.2 million dollar deal. I thought he'd wind up getting closer to $2-3M, but I'll take it. I expect a resolution with Timmy soon as well..... Also, the team must have read my post, because literally hours after I wrote this suggesting they extend Pablo Sandoval, they sign him to a 3-year extension for just over $17 million which is huge in terms that the Giants won't have to deal with Pablo in arbitration any more. In all seriousness, I knew nothing about an impending extension when writing this, but I knew the Giants were interested as was Panda. This is a lot like the deal they gave Brian Wilson, only they're only giving Pablo about $5.75 million per season when I thought he'd get at least $5-6 million in arbitration this year, and possibly double that next winter with another .315/25/90 campaign. Great signing and deserving recipient!

FA's Still Available Who Could Fill Giant Needs

2012-01-14T18:59:00.000-08:00

Here we are, about a month to the day until pitchers and catchers report to Scottsdale, and though it appears as if the Giants offseason activity is probably over, there are still several players available on the free agent market that I believe could improve the team's 25-man roster.

Now, being that it is well into January, most of the premiere guys have already found homes, and the ones that haven't (Prince Fielder, Carlos Pena, Roy Oswalt) probably won't land in a Giants uniform. However, there are still just a few guys I've kept my eye on over the last few weeks, and if they approach February without homes, would certainly be worth taking a flyer on, especially on a short-term deals. Those players are:

Cody Ross, OF: Ever since the Giants struck out on Beltran, I've made it more than clear that I want Cody Ross back in a Giants uniform. So much to the point where I should put under the heading of the page, "Bring Back the Boss!" In all seriousness though, he's probably the most complete outfielder left out there, not counting the mysterious Yeonis Cespedes (still don't know where he's going to land, sure would be great in SF, but the Giants wouldn't spend on Beltran, so doubt they pursue Cespedes). Whether it's a 4th outfielder, or back as the starting RF, or if it's platooning with Nate Schierholtz, whatever the role may be, but the Giants have a huge need for another player with experience at all outfield spots who can knock the ball out of the ballpark. It also helps that he knows how to play right field here and is great in that clubhouse. I just have that feeling that whoever lands Cody Ross for 2012 will be mighty glad they did as I see a big comeback year for the 31 year-old (especially with the way he ended 2011). What I'd offer? 1 year - $6M, plus a full team option for a 2nd.

Ryan Theriot, IF: He and the next guy I'm going to mention are basically the only two infielders really left worth gambling on with major league deals. There are other guys I wouldn't mind offering an invite to spring training (like Jack Wilson or someone like that) but Theriot, while not terrifically gifted defensively, can handle the bat pretty well and has a ton of experience at shortstop and 2nd base. He's had some injury issues a bit the last couple of seasons, but the last time he was really healthy the whole year in '09, he had a respectable .284/7/54 line with 21 steals and a .343 OBP. He's not a guy who's going to be a game changer one way or the other, but he'd offer a solid veteran influence and insurance for both Freddy Sanchez and Brandon Crawford. What I'd offer: Spring Training invite with $2M guaranteed if makes team out of spring.

Wilson Betemit, IF: Now, this guy is only attractive because of one quality, and that is he can flat out hit right-handed pitching. Unfortunately for the Giants, the one infield spot he's probably least comfortable at is shortstop, where they really need a reliable backup, but he'd be a great guy to have coming off the bench or backing up Freddy Sanchez in case his injuries persist. I'd much rather have Betemit and Fontenot as the two reserve infielders over Fontenot and Burris, especially if you get Wilson at a discounted price for a year. What I'd offer? 1 year - $3M.

Edwin Jackson, SP: He's the one remaining FA not named Fielder who I'd actually give a multi-year deal to, but definitely no more than 3 and only if the price were really good. I mentioned earlier in the offseason about Jackson being a 2-part addition. Insurance in case Matt Cain decides he wants to pitch where he can get some offensive backing after 2012 when he's free. Also, it makes the Giants 2012 rotation stupid good which, in turn, would make their soft offense more palatable. I mean, if your going for the pitching/defense mantra, why not go all out? They'd have a Lincecum-Cain-Bumgarner-Vogelsong-Jackson rotation, all guys who bring it and are extremely tough at-bats. Not to mention Jackson's style is perfectly suited for AT&T, a lot like Matt Cain's (fly ball/strikeout guy). Now, it would certainly come at some cost, as Jackson should get close to $8-10 million per year. But based on age (28) and his last couple of seasons (49-41, 3.79 ERA, 1.29 WHIP since '08), I think he's worth it in this market. What I'd offer? 3 years - $24M, with 4th year team option.

Maglio Ordonez, OF: Now, Ordonez is a guy who I haven't really talked about much here this offseason, but isn't too far removed from being a very efficient hitter in one of the toughest hitters parks in baseball. Magg-Pipes is hit 12 homers with 59 RBI before suffering an injury that limited him to 84 games in 2010 and he never really got right in 2011. He'll be 38 by opening day, but for some reason, I see another year or two of killing left-handed pitching for Maggs, and if the Giants could get him on a dirt cheap deal to help out Nate in right, then why not? Better than having Justin Christian backing up Schierholtz. Rather have Cody though, but since they seem dis-interested in him, I wonder if Sabean would look at Ordonez? What I'd offer? 1 year, $3.5M + Incentives.

If all else fails, and the Giants aren't able to land one or two of the above mentioned five players, a few guys I would look to as last resort options would be outfielder Ryan Ludwick and maybe even infielder Willie Harris as well. As they stand now, the Giants have Justin Christian as their 4th outfielder, with the notoriously injury-prone Nate Scheirholtz penciled in as the starting right fielder. I know Brandon Belt figures to get some at-bats in the outfield, but even so, I think this team needs a cheap, right-handed bat that can hit the ball out of the yard and play the corner spots. Ludwick would give the team right handed option, for right field, though far less of one than Cody Ross and doesn't have camaraderie with this team like Cody does. Fact is though, Ludwick hit pretty well until he moved to Petco then was shipped to and used sparingly in Pittsburgh, plus he's a good RBI guy. Heck, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports!, who I think is one of the better national baseball writers out there, actually ranks Ludwick ahead of Ross in his FA rankings. Harris is like a swiss-army knife, and can do some different things at the plate and in the field. He's got some sneaky power (30 HR's as part timer from '08-'10), during which span he managed a .745 OPS, and gets on base at an above average rate (.351 OBP in 2011). He's a journeyman who's shown that he's a tough out, can run and play anywhere but pitcher, catcher and first base, and is the epitome of a utility guy and 25th man. I'd love to see him and Manny B. battle it out for a roster spot in March!

BTW, being a San Francisco sports fan, how about them Niners!

Ryan Vogelsong Signs 2-year Extension

2012-01-11T19:14:00.001-08:00

What has been an extremely quiet last couple of weeks in the Giants world, they finally made some headlines as they retained their right-handed breakout star from 2011, Ryan Vogelsong for 2 more seasons with a third year option.

Seeing as the Pagan and Cabrera deals were each trades, this is by far the best signing the Giants have gotten done this winter, as they will have Vogelsong's services for the 2012 and 2013 season, for less than $4.5 million per. Now if he puts up numbers close to the ones he did last season, I'm not expecting a sub-2 era again, but 12-15 wins and a 3.50'ish era would be just fine by me as long as he keeps that WHIP under 1.30 and strikes out his usual 5-7 batters per game. The deal is such a good deal when you look around the league and see decent level mid-relievers making 4 million per season, and the Giants got a top-end starter, when on, for that price. Certainly the coup of the offseason thus far by Mr. Sabean, even though it was just a signing of one of their own players. Vogey burst onto the scene with a huge 2011 going 13-7 with a 2.71 era and a 1.25 WHIP. He also struck out 139 batters in just over 170 innings of work (remember, he wasn't put into the rotation until early May. Spread that out an extra month and you have 4-5 more starts and easily 150 K's and probably 15 wins, which in itself is a very good bench mark for a starting pitcher. Again though, Giants fan's shouldn't be surprised if his numbers dip a little bit in 2012, as the league has had a chance to adjust to him. Although still rock-solid (3.16 era in 2nd half), his post all-star numbers were a little down, or in some cases up, from before the break, so his start to 2012 will definitely be something to keep an eye on.

Now if only the Giants could get so lucky with Matt Cain and Timmy Lincecum. Cain is inked through 2012, but is free to sign anywhere he wants after the season, which is a scary thought, and Timmy is in the same position, just he won't be freed up until after 2013, giving the Giants an extra year to negotiate should they keep at a stand-still. Right now, I think the Giants really should be focusing on what the future is with Cain. I mentioned earlier in the offseason that giving someone like Edwin Jackson a 2-3 year deal wouldn't be so bad, giving the team insurance in case Cain were to bolt after the season, while ultimately strengthening the pitching staff. Think of a 2012 rotation with Lincecum-Cain-Bumgarner-Vogelsong-Jackson. A guy who'd be a #2 or 3 on a lot of teams would be this teams 5 and push Zito to the bench (or off the roster should he bomb in Scottsdale). Either way, if they don't think they're going to be able to get both Timmy and Matty signed (which I don't believe should be the case since this team draws 3.5 million fans per season and is one of the largest markets in all of sports), then they need to have a plan B. As much as I like Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, to me, is the present and the future of this franchise. He's probably going to age like Pedro Martinez and continue to be effective with that change-fastball combo well into his 30's, plus he's a freakish athlete (hence "The Freak") so no I'm not worried about Tim Lincecum breaking down when he gets into his 30's.

Speaking of Tim, the Giants do have some arbitration cases that have a deadline quickly approaching and have to figure out salary numbers for key players like Pablo Sandoval, Nate Schierholtz and Sergio Romo. There's no chance the Giants can lose any of these guys, but these processes can sometimes cause rifts between players and organizations if they have to go in front of an arbiter. I don't think the deadline is until early February, but the earlier you get 'em signed, the better in my opinion!

Giants Inactivity A Cause for Concern

2012-01-09T14:43:00.000-08:00

I know Ronny Cedeno isn't going to get anybody excited or optimistic, but the 27 year-old was, not too long ago, a top prospect in the Cubs organization. Granted, he hasn't yet materialized at the big league level, I still think he's well worth the $1.15 million he'll make to back up Ruben Tejada for the Mets, and could have been a defensive utility guy the Giants could have used.

Sure, missing out on Cedeno isn't some big blunder by any means, but in the grand scheme of things, as I've said all winter, I wouldn't mind another option up the middle outside of Manny Burris and Mike Fontenot. Cedeno is a terrific defender, who's near gold-glove caliber at short and above average at second, so if your motto is pitching and defense (like the Giants), this guy would appear to have fit in nicely. Even though Cedeno had an off year with the bat in 2011, in roughly a full-season's worth of at-bats (616) spread out over '09 and '10, he put up a .258 average with 13 home runs, 59 RBI with 14 steals to go with that great defense. What really weighs him down though, is his low on-base percentage, which sits at .297 for his career. I could very well see this guy becoming a late bloomer, a la Jose Bautista, obviously not a power hitter like that, but becoming a .300 hitter or so eventually, and that would make him a pretty good player (I mean, he was a premium prospect just 4-5 years ago so he's got the talent). I'm sure Sabean at least inquired about Cedeno and tried to see if they could get him in on a minor league deal since the 40-man is full and they likely wouldn't want to cut anyone lose for Cedeno. It's not like he's the difference between the Giants contending and not, but again, I would have liked to see Sabean pro-active in his attempt to upgrade this roster, especially if you can get a middle infielder that can pick it and provide some competition for Burris and Fontenot heading into Scottsdale next month!

With Cedeno off the market now, it leaves the middle infield options dwindling down. With Freddy's uncertainty and injury-ridden past, and Brandon Crawford's greenness, the Giants seriously need to look into another option on the free agent market, and there still are a couple infielders waiting to be snagged. The two guys I like the most that are left, are Ryan Theriot, who could actually start at short for this team if Crawford proves again that he's not to hit at this level, and Wilson Betemit, who would be a sound insurance policy for Freddy Sanchez at 2nd, while also playing some 3rd base. He's another guy, who in 2010 and 2011 combined got about 1 season's worth of at-bats, and put up some sneaky good numbers (.290/21/89/.844 OPS). The only reason teams are scared off is because of the 29 year-old's sketchy defense (.947 fielding percentage in '11), but the Giants already have a bunch of glove-guys on their roster. A Betemit signing improves the bench tenfold, and yes, I would drop someone like Tyler Graham or Dan Otero off the 40-man in order to get him! They shouldn't do nothing and send Burris the message that he'll be on the 25-man roster in April, whether he shows up and hits .150 in spring training or not, that's just not what winning teams do. They stock pile all the good players they possibly can. Plus, they sure want Betemit back in Detroit!

That's my exact train of thought when I think about re-signing Cody Ross as well. Why not bring the guy back on a one-year deal when he's proven a clutch player already for the Giants? And don't give me that "it'll take away AB's away from Brandon Belt" crap cause if Belt hits ML pitching this year, he'll be playing, over Huff, Ross or somebody else, so don't even worry about that. I love Timmy, Matty and what the bullpen did, but this team doesn't win the World Series in 2010 without Cody Ross. Bring him back and upgrade the infield Sabes, or SF will be looking up at AZ once again! Also, while on the topic of spending money, if your looking for the best MLB picks, check out Cooper's!

Giants Top-20 Prospects for 2012: GBB Edition

2012-01-06T11:46:00.000-08:00

Spring training is creeping up on us quicker and quicker now that the holidays have passes, as pitchers and catchers are only a little over a month from reporting to camp. During this time here at the Giants Baseball Blog (GBB), once the calendar turns over to the new year, we like to do our version of the Giants organizations top-20 prospects. And no, outside of the top-3 maybe, it's nothing at all like John Sickels' list. Anyway, here we go:

#1. Gary Brown, CF: The speedy, good contact, great fielding center fielder has been chattered about for the last couple of seasons as the heir apparent in center field for the Giants. After the .336/14/80 line coupled with 55 steals and 34 doubles and a .407 on-base percentage he produced in San Jose in 2011, the 23 year-old looks destined for big things. I compare him a lot to Jacoby Ellsbury, and I think the Giants would love it if he were 3/4 the player Ellsbury has become. Either way, Brown should start at AA, and depending on how he handles the higher levels, and the Giants outfield situation, we could see a glimpse of him later on in 2012 in a Giants uni!

#2. Joe Panik, SS: At first I wasn't ecstatic about the Panik pick, only because I wanted Brian Goodwin, who looks like best 5-tool athlete in this draft and projects out to be a 20-20 guy with a good average and tremendous defense. However, after watching Panik arrive in the Giants organization and just go to work on rookie pitching, I started seeing why the Giants were so high on a guy projected to go late 2nd early 3rd. He's a true shortstop who can really hit the ball and those don't come around too often. As long as he keeps on his path, Stephen Drew-type production is very reachable, with the possibility to be even better. Can't wait to see what he does in his first full year of pro ball!

#3. Tommy Joseph, C: The work Joseph did on his swing last winter certainly paid off in 2011. The 19 year-old catcher raked pitchers that were on average 3 years older than him in high-A ball, with a line of .270/22/95. The only part of his game that is still lacking a bit and keeping him from being an elite prospect is his plate discipline, but at 19, it's only going to improve. One situation that could arise involving Joseph, as with another guy coming up we'll discuss, is that Buster Posey has the Giants catching spot locked in for the next 5 years at least before he's moved out from behind the plate. Joseph would be 23-24 and right on track to take over, so I'd keep him behind the plate, but work him at first base 30% of the time too just in case. At his age and with his experience and accomplishments, he's on the cusp of becoming a "can't-miss" type prospect!

#4. Kyle Crick, SP: Now, normally I wouldn't pick a high-school pitcher who's thrown all of 80 pitches at the professional level (and in unimpressive fashion mind you), but I can't help but think of Matt Cain when watching this kid work. Just watch a little of this video, and notice the high school hitters almost scared to swing against this kid. Dude has such good stuff his catcher has trouble holding onto just his fastballs, they have that much movement! Reminds me of watching MadBum's scouting vids, and he sure turned out nicely! He has the sound mechanics already, just needs to work a little on control and his 3rd and 4th pitches. I like the kid though, maybe not like I liked Cain, Lincecum or Bumgarner, but this kid will be a good big league arm!

#5. Francisco Peguero, OF: Injuries really hampered his 2011 season and probably kept him out of AAA and maybe off the Giants in September. They had Justin Christian getting time in center for goodness sake! Still, he followed up his outstanding '09 and 2010 seasons with another good one when he was out there. Split between high-A and AA, mostly in AA, he came up with a .312/7/46/ line with 12 steals in his 87 games. The problem that needs improving is the fact that he walked just 5 times in over 230 AA at-bats, something that has to improve tenfold in order for him to be a big leaguer and with his style of play (high average/on-base, average pop at best). I like Peguero, but of all the Giants top prospects, he's the guy I'd try and deal if they were to make another deal for a bat at some point this year.

#6. Andrew Sussac, C: Sussac didn't play an inning in pro ball after being drafted by the Giants in the compensation round as he signed late, but this kid's got it all. I haven't seen much of him, but I here Buster Posey-lyte, not as athletic or as good with the bat, but a true leader, tremendous catcher and solid hitter. With his glove and leadership skills, I don't think there's anyway he doesn't make it to the bigs in a backup capacity at the very least. The Giants thought so much of him, they grabbed him that high when they already have Posey, Joseph and Hector Sanchez (all under 25), in their system. Never a bad thing to have a few good catchers in tow though, as we noticed in 2011!

#7. Heath Hembree, RP: All Hembree has done in his short, two-year pro career in the minors has put up a 1.68 era in 68 innings, saving 42 games while striking out and even 100 batters! That's well over one-and-a-half batters per inning, and that's dominance. He's the clear heir apparent to Brian Wilson, and as much as B-Weez is loved in SF, I wouldn't be surprised if his days here were numbered because of Hembree's emergence coupled with the fact the Giants have many young arms that need big deals! He's only 22, so he's right on track having already dominated at the AA level. I'd start him in AAA as the Grizzly closer in 2012, and depending on how things go there, he could be a key member in the Giants bully by the end of the year.

#8. Hector Sanchez, C: Another catcher? Yep, that's three in the top 10. Sanchez burst onto the scene in 2011 in similar fashion to Pablo Sandoval's 2008, though his power numbers tailed off significantly in the 2nd half. Not saying Sanchez is the next Panda, but this dude has hit at all levels, and the 22 year-old can handle the duties behind the plate. He hit 12 homers and had 84 RBI and a .285 average in 396 minor league at-bats then had a nice cameo with the big club in September. Should actually start the year as one of Buster's backups, assuming they carry 3 catchers and don't add anyone else, while getting some significant PT if his bat proves worthy.

#9. Angel Villalona, 1B: Now, I know what your thinking, how could you rank this guy who hasn't played in 2 years this high? Well, if you remember, before his incident (don't want to get into it) in the DR, the 19 year-old was the Giants top position prospect, and he returns to them this year at age 21, most likely more mature, bigger and stronger than ever with what he's gone through. In 74 games in high-A at age 18, he hit .267 with 9 homers and 47 RBI, after belting 17 HR's in the "Sally League" the year prior. He's just got that raw power, and big-time swing and as long as he's still there mentally (probably went though a lot last 2 years), he's going to be beast. I think he's going to pick up right where he left off in 2009, and it wouldn't surprise me the least if he's back in the top-5 in 2013's list.

#10. Ehire Adrianza, SS: Rounding out the top-10 is a guy I never really have given due respect to until I saw him play a bit in San Jose last year. I know the kid has a great glove and all, but I still didn't get why national publications rank this guy in the top-10 each year, but as he's getting older, his hitting is starting to come around. He hit .300 at high-A San Jose, and carried a .375 OBP in over 230 at-bats and that's the exact type player he has to be. High average, high on base, and his glove lead him to the big leagues. Has a lot of Elvis Andrus in him (minus the little power Andrus carries), and if he can just manage to keep hitting around .300 and getting on base, good things are going to happen for this kid.

#11. Eric Surkamp, SP: The finesse lefty obliterated minor league bats in 2011 to the tune of a 1.94 era, 11-4 record and 170 k's in just 148 innings. That success earned him in brief cameo with the Giants in which he was very up-and-down, but it was mostly a problem with command, which is normally his bread and butter, so hopefully the butterflies are gone this time around. Will challenge for the fifth spot in the rotation in Spring Training but likely ends up as AAA's ace to start the year. If he can get control of that command again, which I think he can, he's got the ability to be a Noah Lowry-type (hopefully w/out the arm issues though). He turns 25 this summer, so it's about that time he shows he belongs in the big leagues.

#12. Josh Osich, SP: It's still a little uncertain on whether the Giants will use Osich as a reliever with that mid-90's fastball, but after he no-hit UCLA and beat Trevor Bauer, I think it's a given the Giants need to start him off in the rotation. Had Tommy John in 2010, so it was good to see him come back and have such a strong season in '11 for Oregon State. Has an above average changeup to go with the fastball, he just needs to refine his breaking pitches, but I think this kid has a huge ceiling!

#13. Rickey Oropesa, 1B: This kid has such crazy power, that it's amazing he lasted so long in the draft (116th player taken), but I believe the Giants got a steal. In his 167 games at USC, playing against premiere college competition, he managed a .331 average, 40 2B, 40 HR, 159 RBI, a .596 slugging and a .409 on base average. Those are some gaudy numbers for a kid who took the draft's number 3 pick (Trevor Bauer) deep more than once! Very athletic for a 6'3", 230 pounder so could probably play a corner outfield spot if organizational needs point in that direction, this team has tons of young catching/1B prospects as it is!

#14. Clayton Blackburn, SP: Another possible steal the Giants nabbed in the 16th round in last June's draft. Blackburn is a burly high-school righty who really was under the radar until dominating rookie ball in Arizona with a 3-1 record, 1.08 era, 33 IP, 16 H, 3 BB and 30 K's. That was good for ridiculous WHIP of a half point. The fact that this kid is 18 and already has that kind of command is a great sign. One part of Sickels' list I really agree with as he had him at #11.

#15. Chris Marlowe, RP: The hard-throwing righty has pure closer stuff. In 2010, he had an era of 2.84 and struck out roughly 2 batters per inning. In 2k11, the K rate stayed, but he got hit around a little and the era rose, despite allowing just 25 hits in 41 innings. Regardless, he got back on track in a short stint in rookie ball, throwing 3 shutout innings. Look for the 22 year-old to be a quick mover through the system due to his college experience.

#16 Jarrett Parker, OF: Drafted right after Gary Brown, but has been hardly as impressive. Still though, he came on strong at the end of the 2011 season for San Jose and ended the year with 13 HR, 61 RBI and 20 steals, despite his low .255 average. What saved his season though, was the fact that he can get on base, to the tune of .365, and with that low batting average, that's something to talk about. The thing about Parker, is he's already 23, and probably needs another year at A ball, but he's still got some time to refine the holes in his game. Good defender, good speed, average hitter who needs to work on making more contact!

#17. Joan Gregorio, SP: Granted, he hasn't really played at all above rookie ball, the 6'7" imposing righty, on size alone make him a guy to pick up for hitters. And in those 2 years in rookie ball, all he did was go 9-3 with a 2.61 era and a 1.13 WHIP in his 26 starts (The W/L record is so low because they limit the innings/pitches for teenage pitchers).

#18. Hector Correa, RP: The hard-throwing reliever with the good slider seemed to put it all together in 2011 after turning 23. He put up a 2.55 era split between A and AA ball, allowing just 53 hits while carrying a strong 81 innings (high number for minor league reliever). He probably won't ever be a closer or high end set-up guy, but Correa should have no problem becoming a fine middle reliever (a la Ramon Ramirez) as long as he continues on the path he was on in 2011.

#19. Mike Kickham, SP: He's lefty and he's breathing, plus he put struck out a batter an inning last year, despite a 4.11 era in low-A ball. For a 22 year-old though, that's expected, I'm curious to see what he does this year though when he starts off in San Jose. Based on his stuff though, and, again, the fact he's a left-handed starter who can strike you out, he makes the top-20.

#20. Jesus Galindo, OF: Rounding out the top 20 is the speedy outfielder. Normally, I reserve a spot in my top-20 for Rafael Rodriguez, the Dominican outfielder the Giants gave nearly $3M to in order to obtain, however, his 2011 was dreadful, so in moves Galindo. He's more of a light hitter, but the just turned 21 year-old stole a whopping 47 bases and hit .276 in just 67 games in with low-A Salem, that alone got him onto the list.

Five That Just Missed the Cut: Connor Gillaspie, IF - Roger Kieschnick, OF - Rafael Rodriguez, OF - Seth Rosin, P - Charlie Culberson, IF

Note: I had to exclude Brett Pill and Brandon Belt from the list because of Belt's time in the majors in 2011, and Pill is 27 years old, though I still think he's got upside and should be given a shot (play him some at 2nd Boch!). If Pill were 23-24, I'd have him in the top-5, that's how much I think of him, and would like to see them find a way to get him on the 25-man (as of now, probably won't unless he has a great spring and can prove to play some other positions). Other than that, not too many surprises, just a lot of guys selected from the 2011 draft as you notice (3 of first 6 and 7 total), so this year was a lot of guess/projection work as to what some of these guys will do once they're swinging with or throwing against wood bats and playing every single day. The reason for that is the fact that the Giants minor league system (whether it be call-ups or trades) has taken a major hit the last few years.

Now my list is subject to change anytime between now and March 1st, but as of 1-6-12, these, in my opinion, are the Giants' top-20 prospects!

Giants Notes: Huff, Schierholtz and Sanchez

2012-01-04T11:24:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've just done a "Giants Notes" post, and just threw out random thoughts about where the team is right now. Since I'm in the midst of putting together my 2012 Giants top-20 prospect list, I figured I'd let go of so random thoughts.

First on the agenda, big news amongst Giants faithful this week is that Aubrey Huff is supposedly getting himself into the shape of his career. Not surprising since he's heading into another contract year, but it's very good to see Huff humbled by the horrible year he had last season. Anytime your OPS drops over 200 points in a year, you know you didn't do your homework that offseason. Whether it's the Pilates or the weight lifting that getting him "ripped", the Giants need the 2010 Huff to show up in order for this team to not be a total disaster offensively again. If Brandon Belt or Brett Pill beat him out for first base this spring, it'll be a flat-out nightmare, but I think Huff is going to be fine in 2012. Still would like to see him at spring training moving around and swinging before I make concrete numbers predictions for 2012, but I'd say a return to 20 HR's with 85 RBI and a .270 average would be just fine from Aubrey and not far off from his 2010 numbers. As far as the other two guys who will be battling him for PT, I love both of those guys too and would like to see them given a shot somewhere. Of course Belt isn't going anywhere (unless something huge is on the horizon), but maybe Pill shows up in AZ, tears the cover off the ball and the Giants can highlight him in a deal. Either that or give him a 2nd basemens glove and let him work as a utility guy. (Played 57 games at 2nd and played some 3rd in Fresno last season!)

Besides the first base competition and the new and improved Aubrey Huff, I'm curious to see just what transpires with the Giants outfield. I still think they need another right-handed bat with some punch who can play the corners, and I'd prefer Cody Ross to the options that are out there. I've already mentioned that here before, so I won't get into it too much but his talks fell through with the Rockies, now the A's are looking at him... If I were him, I'd almost return to the Giants on a 1 year/$2 million deal just to have a chance to play for a winner. Then again, if he goes to Oakland, chances are he'd be dealt to a contender mid-season anyway, and that could appeal to him. Ahh, the wonders of hot-stove baseball and all the possibilities. Either way, I think the Giants end up with Ross or Ryan Ludwick, as they need another guy who can play right and who hits right-handed to caddy Nate Schierholtz, if not push him for the starting job. I know Nate had his moments in 2011, but is so streaky that I don't know he'll ever be an everyday, 600 at-bat per year player. He's a guy you play when he's hot and put in for defense in my eyes, cause when he goes cold, he goes into deep slumps that can last weeks.

Speaking of unsure starters, I again wanted to voice my worries about Freddy Sanchez. Nobody hopes he comes back stronger than ever by mid-March, but he's still just an akward dive or throw away from another blowout. The Giants NEED insurance in the middle infield, and Mike Fontenot just isn't a guy who could take on that load if needed. I still like Wilson Betemit's bat but I just fear his lack of range would make Jeff Keppinger look quick. Still think, besides Hiroyuki Nakajima who the Yankees obviously don't want and have the rights to, Ronny Cedeno is the best bet as far as the best defensive right-handed bat (albeit a light-hitting one) off the bench up the middle.

Giants Beat to the Punch Again for Quentin

2012-01-02T12:07:00.000-08:00

First post of 2012, and already a tad on the bitter side about this Carlos Quentin trade. Heading into the 2011/12 offseason, the Giants had really one main goal, improve the offense. What was lacking from that offense the most was a right-handed power bat who could strike fear in opposing pitchers, someone exactly like Carlos Quentin.

After getting beat by the Cardinals offer to Carlos Beltran, the Giants again missed a shot at getting themselves the outfielder they really need. Now, I was thinking Kenny Williams was bluffing on offering up Quentin earlier this winter, and was under the assumption he'd only be let go for a sure thing prospect and/or an already proven young player with big league experience. Because the Giants just traded away some of their better young talent and young trading chips in the last couple of months (Thomas Neal, Zach Wheeler, Jonathan Sanchez etc...) I figured a match between the two would be highly unlikely. "The Giants just don't have enough proven prospects or young players they are willing to deal in order to get Quentin" was my exact thinking. Then, after seeing the package the Padres had to give up to get him, two minor league pitchers with track records less-inspiring than Eric Surkamp's, I can't seem to figure why Sabean didn't want to or couldn't come up with a better package than the two arms Kevin Towers gave up. The supposed prize of the deal was Simon Castro, a BA top-100'er before 2011, but at 23 just posted an era just south of 6 in AA ball this year. The other prospect they got was lefty Pedro Hernandez, who probably projects out to be a MLB reliever, though the 22 year-old could end up a back-end starter if he ever makes it to the big leagues. For Quentin, I would have given them Surkamp and Peguero, or someone similar, (a better package in my eyes) in a heartbeat, but would have asked Quentin for an extension.

I don't know though, I don't know a whole ton about Quentin, I know he's a good hitter, but I'm not sure what kind of clubhouse guy he is, and I know ChiSox fans have bickered about his nagging injury problems, but he seems to produce year-after-year and is 29 years old. In just 421 at-bats last year he put up a .254/24/77 line and that was an off-year. Plus, you stretch that out over 600 at-bats and you have .254/34/112. Watch him hit 30 bombs for SD this season as those two prospects they sent Chicago shuffle between AA and AAA and never make a big league impact. A deal the Padres definitely won, and a deal that actually puts them on the radar heading into 2012. After getting Edison Volquez and Yonder Alonso, this team is going youth/power movement and they have some good young pitching. An outfield of Guzman-Maybin-Quentin with Venable as the 4th guy, and in an infield of Headley-Bartlett-Hudson-Alonso-Hundley is a very nice building block they have going on there in San Diego. Kudos to Josh Byrnes for not weighing his team down with huge contracts to aging (sports-wise) vets coming off career years. He's molding this Padre team exactly the way he did that D-Back squad that won the West in 2011 with the team he put together over the previous few seasons! I really like what they've done in San Diego and even though Kevin Towers stole Trevor Cahill from the A's, I still think San Diego, after the Quentin trade, has improved themselves the most!

The Giants were outbid/careless with their pursuit, or lack there of, and then went after guys like Pagan when they already had a similar player on the roster in Torres. I still like the Cabrera trade. I think he's a good ballplayer who's just finding his game, and I think Pagan is a nice player too, but instead of pursuing the power bat this team needed, like Quentin or Upton, or re-signing Beltran to the reasonable deal he got, they added two leadoff hitting-types with similar game. They lost what little pop they had in Beltran and Ross and now are expecting this team to score more runs!? This has been one of the toughest offseasons to be a Giants fan in recent memory. Very tough to get excited about this current bunch when there were options out there to improve!

Anyway, happy 2012 all, hope everyone was safe and had a great time! This will be year 6 here at GBB, hard to believe, but I'm glad it's flowing as well as ever and should be even better with new additions coming this year!

Giants Depth Chart, Likely 2012 25-man Roster

2011-12-30T19:59:00.000-08:00

With the new year just around the corner, this will be our last post of 2011, (wow how time flies) and we figured we'd just go with a basic State-of-the-Giants post and provide who currently holds or is most likely to hold one of their 25-man roster spots come opening day in April.

I know we're still 4 months away from games counting, but spring training is just 6 weeks out, and unless the Giants have something up their sleeve (yeah, I'm talkin about you Cespedes), it doesn't look like they're going to do much before pitchers and catchers report in mid-February. Speaking of Cespedes though, it's funny to mention his name because it almost seems like the market has disappeared for the Cuban slugger? I don't know what the deal is but I thought he'd had signed by now and gotten a decent deal. He'd be great in right field at AT&T and make fans forget Beltran in an instant. But enough about him, I talked about him at length in our Christmas Wish list post, so no need to keep beating a dead horse. Just thought it was peculiar that he hasn't signed on, nor has there even been much talk about 26 year-old Cuba Home Run record holder. Anyway, back to the Giants, where instead of home run record holders, they have guys who can run, hopefully pick it, and then they're really hoping that 2010 happens all over again for a lot of guys, Freddy Sanchez, Aubrey Huff and Angel Pagan in particular. I'd say Posey, but he was doing just fine before he took on that unnecessary collision with a man who doesn't deserve to have his name written on this blog. Anyhow, unless lightening strikes, and the Giants make a move for a position player who will actually upgrade the team, this is how the 25-man roster figures to make out come April:

Catchers (3): Buster Posey, Hector Sanchez, Chris Stewart

(I think they carry 3 catchers to start the year because of Posey's injury. Sanchez provides some offense while Stewart is the late-inning defensive guy.)

Infielders (7): Aubrey Huff, Freddy Sanchez*, Brandon Crawford, Pablo Sandoval, Mike Fontenot, Brandon Belt, Manny Burris

(Sanchez could end up starting the year on the DL, which I hope would open the door for Pill. I think Pill needs to play 2nd in spring to make this team somehow. Burris has leg up cause he can play short and Sabean and Boch are backing him.)

Outfielders (4): Angel Pagan, Melky Cabrera, Nate Schierholtz, Justin Christian

(Only need 4 outfielders really, just because Pagan and Cabrera can play all over, and Schierholtz can play the corners as good as anyone in baseball. Also, Huff, Belt and Manny can play left, though it would be ideal to upgrade over Christian with someone like a Cody Ross who's still out there!)

Pitchers (11): Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, Ryan Vogelsong, Barry Zito, Guillermo Mota, Javier Lopez, Jeremy Affeldt, Santiago Cassilla, Sergio Romo, Brian Wilson

(Pitchers will probably go 11 to start things off, just cause Mota and Affeldt each have stamina to go back-to-back and give more than an inning, though they'll need to keep rotating fresh arms in if they decide to roll with 11, which I think is case until Buster's 100% and catching daily.)

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I just wanted to take a space to wish everyone a happy New Year, hopefully 2012 brings peace and joy to everyone who need and seeks it. We'll be back, and hopefully better than ever in 2012, when we have a promo going on in January and some other fun things coming up! May not post on New Years day, but certainly back to work Monday!

New GiantsCast up @ UnifySports.tv!

Giants Continue "Thumb Twiddling"

2011-12-28T11:49:00.001-08:00

I thought it was one of the funnier quotes I'd heard all offseason when I believe a Yahoo journalist described the Giants activity, or lack thereof, as them "twiddling their thumbs". Here we are, just days away from the calendar turning to 2012, and the Giants are the same team, add Angel Pagan and Melky Cabrera, they were in early November when they lost all their free agents.

Sabean said early on not to expect any big splash signings or any earth shattering moves, but they haven't even made little signing yet to help fill the smaller holes on this team. Why they don't have another infielder yet is beyond me, unless they have some plan to trade for one during Spring Training. Also, rumors surfaced right after Christmas that Cody Ross and the Rockies were nearing a deal that would bring the outfielder to Colorado. It makes sense on Cody's part, as he wants to play in a hitters park if he's going to sign a one-year deal and since the Giants don't seem to want him, he's got to weigh his options. My beef here is with Sabean. Once Beltran signed with St. Louis, Cody Ross should have become a priority again for the Giants. They need another outfielder and the best, most versatile player with the highest upside on this market now has become Cody Ross (Cespedes technically, but yeah right). Also, the Giants have seen him when he's healthy and hitting and although he may not be a #5 hitter they really need, when Cody's on he's an above average #6 hitter, and a rock-solid defender. Plus, you Colorado knows his situation, they know they can go bargain shopping with him because he wants to hit there. Maybe I see Ross as a more important piece than the rest, but if the Giants are really going to try and win with 2010's formula again, they're missing one key ingredient. Give Cody Ross a 1-year deal and be done with this outfield! If he signs for 1 year and something like $4.5 million in Colorado, I'm going to break whatever breaks me the news. As you can see, he's still viewed as having starters value, getting ranked 32 amongst all FA's this winter!

I mean sure, I'd rather have Cespedes or trade for Quentin or Upton, but lets get real here, if Sabean won't pony up $26 mill for Beltran after giving away his top prospect for him months prior, I highly doubt he tries another one of those star-vet-for-star-prospect for a long, long while. Again, the only time he should engage in those types of talks is if he knows before hand he can keep the acquired player for beyond a year or two. He ends up making two mistakes with Beltran because of that law of thinking. Not only did the Giants fail to make the playoffs with Beltran, the Giants failed to keep him beyond the 1/2 season after parting with Zach Wheeler when Beltran was only wanting 2 years. I guess I could just keep going on and on about it and wondering why, but it's almost the new year and it's time to start focusing on whats ahead. Fact of the matter is, Cabrera is a good player just coming into his prime. An all-star game in his future isn't out of the question and he ads to their young nucleus. Pagan is better than Torres, simple as that (check baseball cards for both). They're going to need Buster to give them 140 games somewhere, and Freddy Sanchez to do about the same, but otherwise, things could be a lot worse I guess. At least they didn't deal Cain for some irrelevant Yankee prospect and Nick Swisher, which they Yanks were begging for all Meetings long supposedly.

We want to get in one more post before the New Year, our final 2012 Roster Prediction post, before we hit the final month and a half of the offseason. The Giants are certain to make other moves, nothing on the large scale of course, but they need an infielder, another outfielder and it wouldn't hurt to invite another catcher to spring either.... Also, my newest fear as a player Sabean pursues that joins the list of Ryan Ludwick, if for no other reason he could get him dirt cheap, Raul Ibanez. Rather have Ludwick, but I'd take either as a backup at $1-2M (though AT&T would sap his power).

Giants Holiday Wish-List, Post Beltran

2011-12-24T16:09:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a pretty dissappointing offseason in the whole scheme of things for the Giants so far, and things probably won't change too much with the free agent market pretty much picked over. But it's Christmas time and the New Year is around the corner, so I thought I'd try and be optimistic for our holiday post before we take a few off for a few days.

First off, there are still a few players out there that could help out the Giants right now. If they truly are going to go 100% pitching and try and just dominate teams 2-1, they should look into upgrading their 5th spot in their rotation. Paul Maholm is twice as effective a starter as Barry Zito and and as long as he passed his physical (shoulder strain). He's 29 and could give the Giants some insurance in-case (god forbid) Matt Cain refuses to stick around and pitch for a team in which he deals each night yet ends up with 8-14 seasons! Or maybe look into Edwin Jackson, but only if he got real and brought his demands way down from 4 years to 2 maybe with an option, 3 at most. Cetainly wouldn't pay him more than $7-9 mill annually either, but resembles Cain very much and never has thrown in a pitchers park, while posting very respectable career numbers. Now, of course I'd rather lock Cain up for 5 years, but it wouldn't be bad thinking to not only upgrade the 5th spot, but give yourself some bargaining space/insurance for Cain's pending 2012 free agency. But not only are there names like Roy Oswalt, Maholm and Jackson floating around, looking for homes as January approaches, there are a few national positional-playing stars that haven't found homes that I believe the Giants should now make their top priority!

My Christmas wishlist. With what's left, and the young, athletic team they're putting together, I say the Giants should go all out and roll the dice on Yeonis Cespedes. Check him out here in the Cuban Pro League, just tearing up, and showing his athleticism. Trust me, it's a pretty incredible showcase. I think he'd definitely be worth a gamble as long as it's not more than 3-4 years and 8 or so million. I'd give him 3 years/$27-30 million in a hearbeat, it'd take him until he's 29 and he's right in his prime so you see what he really has! He looks like a pretty good bet for at least 20+ homers, with a nice average, good defense and speed on the bases. The dude is no joke and he's serious about wanting to be good, you can tell in his training. At least a few of his tools will come out at the big league level, if not all, and I say do it! Id'd make everyone forget about the lose of Beltran and giving up Wheeler and get them excited to see the next Vlad Guerrero/Andruw Jones (early years) type of athlete. They wouldn't need to break the bank on him and there is a very high latin influence that leads the Giants team! I really do think he's worth a shot. Now, I'm sure they're worried about pulling another Zito, having Cespedes end up a 4th outfielder and them eating it when they're paying him $10M to ride the pine, but that's what you get when you pass one Beltran. You need right-handed power, and Cespedes is the man!

If not Cespedes, I say go after the Yanks for Nakajima, as long as he won't cost more than $3-4 million for 2 years or so. They don't need him and probably only got him as a bargaining chip. Again, I've talked about him here plenty before, and see him as a perfect challenge for Crawford at short/insurance for Sanchez at 2nd. That's my wishlist Santa, two players who haven ever played a single Major League game! How about it Santa? Cespedes in right and Edwin Jackson our fifth starter come February!

Merry Christmas all, and again, I can't thank you enough for visiting The Giants Baseball Blog. We wish you and your family the very best holiday season possible and we'll be back with you after December 27th, as we'll be out of town for Christmas. As always, will have laptop, but not planning on posting unless something big happens or something comes to mind. Talk to you guys after Christmas!

Beltran Leaves SF for New Champs

2011-12-22T19:14:00.000-08:00

It amazes me that the Brian Sabean felt that Beltran's demands were un-reasonable and counted themselves out of the race so early, because I think the Cards just got themselves the steal of the winter. One the Giants will be kicking themselves for come next season!

Seems like teams that won Sereis' the previous season really get to Beltran, as he signs a 2 year, $26 million deal with St. Louis. He'll be their new right fielder, shifting Lance Berkman to first in Albert Pujols former spot. Certainly not going to fill Pujols' shoes, but this move makes the Cards legit World Series contenders again. Brings me back to my original thinking though, and I've been saying it all offseason, the Giants can afford Beltran, they need Beltran, but there must have been something there that turned one off to the other. Either Beltran didn't like the way the Giants management dealt with him or the Giants didn't like Beltran's nonchalant attitude, but it doesn't seem right they couldn't match or better that offer the Cards just gave him to keep #15 in the Giants outfield. A Beltran-Pagan-Cabrera outfield would have been much more fun to watch, but it looks like we'll indeed be relegated to the Cabrera-Pagan-Schierholtz/Huff rotation and that's not how champions operate, I'm sorry to say. I don't have anything else to really say about this move, I obviously thought Beltran was well worth the gamble and it will suck when he hits .310 with 25 homers and 100 RBI in St. Louis next season (I know, they have a better park to hit at, just saying). Rough day for the Giants. There just simply isn't anyone else out there that has that kind of impact. Cody Ross is looking mighty fine right about now!

The Giants have now given away their top starting pitching prospect, who's moving along quite nicely in NY have you, for a guy they just lost and won't even get compensation for. What a shame! Maybe they should just sign Oswalt or Vazquez (I'm sure he'd pitch in SF for a year) for the fifth spot and just pray to score 1-2 runs per night, cause that's what we're looking at folks!

Giants Putting Too Much Stock in Returnees

2011-12-21T10:58:00.000-08:00

I was thinking last night about who the Giants have added this offseason, and who they have lost, and to the surprise of many, the team that's supposed to be one of the top-5 earning teams in baseball has lost more than they've added this winter in terms of players.

They haven't signed a single significant free agent, and it's now to the point where there aren't even any more left. For some odd reason, they are hell-bent on staying away from Carlos Beltran even though they clearly saw what he could do for that lineup when he got healthy in September, and that was without Buster. They've lost Jonathan Sanchez, Andres Torres, Cody Ross(?), Beltran and they've basically replaced them with Angel Pagan and Melky Cabrera. I'd say the Giants are losing the value end of that swap over. It's not surprising they've been so quiet, as Sabean's been distracted by a new infant son (who wouldn't be), but he's a professional and has been there before. They have failed so far to add any insurance whatsoever for their ailing second basemen who "hopes to be ready by opening day", or their "barely can hit ML pitching" starting shortstop. Anytime a player "hopes" he'll be ready, that's not a good sign. A confident player says "I'll be ready" opening day, even if there is the slightest doubt. Even if he did show up in late April or May again, it's almost a given he'd go down again at some point, he's just that type of player. You love him when he's healthy and playing, but he's getting older now and those trips to the DL are starting to pile up. A insurance policy like Wilson Betemit would be a nice target. Unless they upgrade their infield, there could be nights at AT&T that feature an infield from 3rd-2nd of Mike Fontenot-Brandon Crawford-Manny Burris when Pablo get's a night off or plays first base.

Now, that being said, I still think there is very little doubt they don't do something to at least attempt to help out the outfield and infield offense/depth. I was getting a strong Ryan Ludwick-vibe for much of December after Willingham and Cuddyer signed, and the Giants declared out on Beltran, but apparently Cody Ross has lowered his demands. I think Cody truly wants to be a Giant, and with the options that are out there, or lack thereof I should say, it may not be a bad idea. Rather have Ross over Ludwick any day. Cody's done huge things for this franchise and really never got healthy in '11. When he did, his finish in September down the stretch was big. He just seems to come up big when needed. Problem here though, is that the Giants publicly said they would not be re-signing Ross when they said the same about Beltran, but that's because Sabean and Ross couldn't get on the same page, whether it was playing time or money or years. Don't know what it would take for Cody to come back on a one-year deal, but if it were at $6M or under, I'd do it in a second. His 2 full seasons in Florida, his averages were .268/23/85! You put that in right field last year and the Giants win the West. He's got the potential to play above-average baseball when he's right (and he's had the winter to heal), he's a good defender at all three positions and he wants to be here. Wow, didn't realize I was starting to sound like Ross' agent pitching him to some team, but fact is, their are limited FA options and in the outfield, besides Carlos, Ross is Boss!

I found it interesting that even the national media has caught wind of the Giants inactivity and their fans disagreement with it with this piece from Yahoo! Sports! The 2010 World Series will forever be in our memories and will always be cherished, but like they said in the article, "The honeymoon is over!" Beautiful way of putting it. If the Giants start 2012 in a rough way, they're going to start losing some of those 2010 band-wagoners, and that would be a lot of dough down the toilet. If no other reason, they should pay Carlos Beltran to come back and help fill seats and keep selling out.

Final 2011 NL West Power Rankings

2011-12-19T14:24:00.000-08:00

With the Giants staying quieter than a mouse on the player movement front, and nothing likely to be done before now and the first of the new year, I figured I'd do a "mid-offseason" version of the NL West Power Rankings and rank where each team is halfway through the winter. Remember, still a lot can change, but here's sort of the "State of the NL West Address" heading into 2k12:

1. Arizona Diamondbacks: They were the best team at the end of the 2011 season and by more than many people, mostly Giants fans, wanted to believe. Not only that, but they're so young that they're only going to get better over the next few years. They added another potential ace in Trevor Cahill to go atop the rotation with Ian Kennedy (27) and Danny Hudson (24) along with the 23 year-old Cahill. Lost in the Cahill deal was their signing of gnarly set-up man Takashi Saito, who any right-hander in baseball will tell you they'd rather not face and is a nails set-up man for J.J. Putz. They have the young lineup with studs like Justin Upton (24), Stephen Drew (if he heals up) and Miguel Montero (28), that all they need is health and they're going to be extremely tough to beat. Now after typing this, I see they just grabbed Jason Kubel on a 2 year/$15M deal to split time in the corner outfield spots. They're really winning with all their moves. Average age of their starting lineup is 26, and these guys aren't raw, green player!

2. San Francisco Giants: Now, the Giants made their two big additions to their outfield, but they weren't exactly the type of additions that will swing the momentum of the offense on their own. They still need guys like Huff, Sanchez and Crawford to step it up big time and stay healthy. Also would be nice to see Brandon Belt finally start hitting in SF like he does in Frenso. Still though, this team has the best pitching in the division, even after AZ got Cahill, and with that bullpen and starting rotation, it's going to keep them in games no matter what. Still can't understand why they thought another bopper, like Carlos Beltran (still free), wouldn't have made enough of a difference! You put a motivated Beltran (who's never won a series), with a healthy Posey, Panda and the newly adds, and your starting to put together a versatile lineup, but they still need that big, 4th/5th place hitter. Until then, or AZ suffers a tough injury, they're 2nd in the West in my eye.

3. Colorado Rockies: Only reason I didn't put them ahead of the Giants is because their pitching is so suspect. I love their add of Michael Cuddyer and think he fits nicely in that yard. Also added Ramon Hernandez behind the plate and have an improving Dex Fowler in center, then of course TuLo and CarGo. Nice young makeup going on there. Pitching is still so raw though. Chacin is nails and reliable, but after that, it's boom-or-bust. Drew Pomeranz (center piece of Jimenez deal) should start in rotation and I think he'll be fine, but they need Esmil Rogers and Juan Nicasio to harness their great stuff!

4. LA Dodgers: Brings us to Los Angeles. They've been confusing me this winter. They gave Matt Kemp nearly $200 million, then went out and added a bunch of role-playing utility infielders. Don't get me wrong, Jerry Hairston's a nice player, but you have Juan Uribe, Adam Kennedy, Dee Gordon and Mark Ellis all vying for starting jobs. Looks like the Dodgers may have one of hte lightest hitting infields in baseball if it lines up like I think it will. It's a shame too, cause they have Chad Billingsley, Clay Kershaw and Ted Lilly, all three above average starting pitchers. They should be inquiring about Carlos Quentin or some power-hitting corner outfielder cause they need power in here in the worst way. Another option could be signing a first basemen (Derek Lee, Carlos Pena) and moving Looney to left field. Right now though, LA is looking up at the rest of the divisions.

5. San Diego Padres: Say what you want about their inability to keep stars like Adrian Gonzalez, that trade they just pulled off with Cincinnati has to have Friar Fans feeling chipper this holiday season. Not only did the Pads get a pitcher of similar value to Latos (maybe tougher to hit when both are on), they also got a corner 1B/OF'er of the future in Yonder Alonso, a guy who should be good for 25 homers a year even in the spacious PetCo. Park. The Padres have no power and they got a potential power guy in Alonso and he should be inserted right into first base or left field as long as it doesn't cost Jesus Guzman his starting spot (their best hitting in the 2nd half of '11). Overall, Padres have improved though, just still not enough to be players in an improving NL West.

Roster Notes: In "earth-shattering" news, the Giants signed Manny Burris and Eli Whiteside to minor league deals Monday... Hardly a surprise to anyone I'm sure. Glad both are back as likely AAA'ers and insurance policies, I just hope to heck Sabean isn't serious about Burris being the main utility infielder.

Giants 2012 Roster Projection + MLB Notes

2011-12-17T12:12:00.001-08:00

We've almost hit the Christmas break in Major League Baseball (when offices shut down for a few days), and most teams are looking for final additions to their roster at this stage in the winter. However, I still see some tinkering with the Giants' roster before spring training 2012 next February, and this is how I think the opening day 25-man roster will play.

Projected Signings: OF Ryan Ludwick (1 YR/$3.5M), C Ronny Paulino (minor league deal), IF Ryan Theriot (minor league deal) - Again, not my personal choices on signings, just guys I see fitting the Giants needs/budget/Sabean's weird obsession with mediocre, mid-aged players!

Opening Day Lineup:
CF Angel Pagan
2B Freddy Sanchez
LF Melky Cabrera
3B Pablo Sandoval
C Buster Posey
1B Aubrey Huff
RF Ryan Ludwick
SS Brandon Crawford

Starting Rotation:
RH Tim Lincecum
RH Matt Cain
LH Madison Bumgarner
RH Ryan Vogelsong
LH Barry Zito

Bench: C Hector Sanchez, C Ronny Paulino, 1B/OF Brett Pill, OF Nate Schierholtz, IF Mike Fontenot, IF Ryan Theriot

Bullpen: CL Brian Wilson, SU Sergio Romo, LH Jeremy Affedlt, LH Javier Lopez, RH Santiago Cassilla, RH Guillermo Mota

So, there you have it, the lineup I could see easily rounding out this roster. Now, I think the Giants still want a RH-hitting outfielder and they aren't bringing back Ross. Problem is they really don't have space on their 40-man or their budget to do so. Though I'd DFA someone like Justin Christian for the right add. One thing you probably notice immediately is no Brandon Belt. I say unless he's starting 5 times a week at first, he should start in Fresno, Pill is also RH and can play some corner OF. They have to get creative though and guarantee some mid-range FA looking for work like a Ryan Theriot or Ronny Ceneno (about the only 2 still out there) a roster spot and legit at-bats if they take the minor league contract and compete with Burris/Crawford to possibly start at shortstop. That's incentive in itself, even if it's only a minor league deal.

Otherwise, Manny Burris backing up BC at short is about all they have right now, and as much as I like Manny as a person, I wouldn't just give him that job. Now, if the Giants did sign a Ludwick, I think Schierholtz would still get most time as the starter in right, but on opening day, I could see Boch going with the veteran (especially with the L/R/L/R combo he praises). The Giants probably see Ludwick as a RH-hitting outfielder who can at least drive in runs, threaten to go deep, and play a decent outfield, with a shot at starting if need be, though they'd again be looking like San Diego north if that became the case. You'll notice I used 3 catchers and only 6 relievers. I think that's how they'll start things off, at least for the first few weeks to see how much Buster can handle. Paulino just got non-tendered and was discussed last August. Nice hitter and has a good reputation as a backstop.

Bottom line though, is that after Cuddyer got $10M and Willingham $7M (ranted both younger than Carlos) it's being said that Beltran won't get much more than $10M per year (though not familiar with the source on that), on a short deal. WOW! is the only adjective I can think of in regards to the Giants bowing out with Beltran. I really hope that's Sabean putting on his typical not interested front, but It seems like they're sincerely out. If Beltran signs with the Nats or Rockies for 2 years and $20 million, I'm protesting at 3rd and King! My guess is he ends up in St. Louis 2 Years and 22.5 million w/3rd year, $12M mutual option to help pick up some of Pujols' slack.One things we never saw in '11 was Panda, Beltran and Buster all together in the lineup, and now with Cabrera and Pagan, that could really be a dynamic group. Simple as that!

MLB NOTES: Literally seconds upon finishing this post, click on the Yahoo Sports homepage to see that Jimmy Rollins has re-upped with the Phillies for 3 years and $33 million. Another guy who got less than he was originally hoping for (4 Years/$50M), and hopefully that further cuts down the salary demands on Beltran cause JRoll was much more valuable. Seems like Beltran's worth is closer to 2 years/$20 million based on that deal.... Also making MLB headlines was a blockbuster deal in which the San Diego Padres sent their ace Mat Latos to Cincinnati for Edinson Volquez and one of Cinci's top hitting prospect in first basemen Yonder Alonso. I could talk about this deal forever as I think San Diego robbed Cinci blind. I'd have even considered Latos for Alonso straight up. He's a top prospect who hit .330, 5 HR with 15 RBI supported by a .943 OPS in 98 ML AB's in '11. He's just the power bat the Pads need to help build around and Volquez in that park could return to pre-2011 form. Great deal for San Diego, now even the Pads are improving in the West this winter!

Giants Failing in Attempt to Upgrade Offense

2011-12-15T13:21:00.000-08:00

I just returned from vacation, only to find the Giants exactly where they were when I took off a week ago. I was under the impression that the Giants number one goal heading into the offseason was to upgrade their offense, but as we hit Christmas then January and most all the impact players off the market, it looks like the Giants roster is pretty much set.

Josh Willingham was the latest power-hitting outfield free agent to sign a deal with a team other than San Francisco, and I think Minnesotta got a steal at 3Yr/$21M. It's not like I was totally pro-Willingham, but I mentioned a few times here that after Beltran and Cuddyer, he's the most consistent corner outfielder on the market and I thought he'd get closer to $10M annually. The fact he only got $7M per season over 3 years in a skinny outfield free agent market is surprising. If I were Sabean, I would have offered him 2 years/$18 mill with a 3rd year $10M team option and I'd bet he'd have chosen the team that just won the Series last fall (he even had better splits in the huge Collesium). Then again, maybe the Giants didn't even want him, though I can't see why they wouldn't but are considering Ludwick. I've talked about this topic too much, so I'll wrap it up. It just seems like the Giants never even "kicked the tires" to use his own term, and certainly weren't willing to get into multi-year talks, which is understandable in some senses but not in all. Now, I'm getting that horribly strong Ryan Ludwick vibe again. Scrooge Sabean says their isn't money to go for Beltran, so that's dead, and I know he's got an eye on some sort of 4th/5th outfielder to challenge Schierholtz in right. It just seems Ludwick would be the cheapest and most eager to head back to the Bay. I wouldn't mind him so much if the had Beltran and Ludwick sharing right with Nate, but not so much with the current team. Cuddyer and Beltran still remain free, with Beltran now gauging interest from Colorado. I stick by my guns from day one, Beltran is the guy the Giants need, and regardless of what Sabean says, they can afford him if they really want him. I just don't think that's the case, which basically means he just gave Zach Wheeler to New York for the joy of it!

Also surfacing over the weekend was news that the Giants indeed are still interested in Japanese shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima, if you believe Ken Rosenthal. The Yankees won the bid for him at $2.5 million, and could be looking to sign-and-trade him, very much like an NBA deal, if they do indeed come to an agreement with him. They have Jeter and Cano up the middle and will for years, so Nakajima doesn't really have a spot there. That's where the Giants name again comes up. Unfortunately though, Sabean didn't even know the guys name when asked about him in Dallas at the meetings, so it doesn't appear as though they've really been monitoring him, which really is disturbing. I've only seen bits and pieces here and there, but he reminds me of a more athletic, quicker Yunel Escobar, just with a threat to steal. The Yankees now have his rights and can deal him if they like what the Giants would offer. It's not something that's likely to happen, cause again, this is Sabean we're talking about and creativity just isn't his style, but if they could get him for something reasonable, why the heck not? I understand the Giants not wanting to throw dollars around at everyone out there, but common, this team is one of the richest in baseball and it can't seem to figure out it's offensive woes, year after year? I just really think Nakajima is going to be a nice player, and handles the toughest position in baseball well. If he signs as 3 year/$10 million deal, I'd send Affeldt to NY for him in a second!

Anyhow, it looks like the Giants are also out on any potential utility guys after bringing back Fontenot and declaring Burris their right-handed caddy to Brandon Crawford. I guess they wanted an offensive downgrade at short for some reason? I've met Manny plenty of times and he's an awesome guy, but he can't take up a spot on a 25-man roster, at least not with this team. Sabean should ask Ronny Cedeno and/or Ryan Theriot to come to camp on a minor league deal and promise them a spot on the 25-man unless they get hurt or tank. Not saying it's the baseball bible or anything, but in regards to Cedeno, respected Yahoo! Sports writer, Jeff Passan, has him ranked above Hairston, Furcal, Bloomquist and Gonzalez on his free agent list.

I've been meaning to put up our projected 2012 roster already, but it seems like there really won't be many more changes from what they currently have. We'll still jot down who we believe will fill out the 25-man (could be some surprises in there for you!) tomorrow.

Giants' Facing Key Non-Tender Decisions

2011-12-12T11:36:00.000-08:00

Checking in from not so sunny Southern California here, and instead of out surfing, I'm catching up on the non-tender buzz because the weather is that bad and the water is that flat.

Instead of sitting out on a surfboard doing my best Kelly Slater impression, I've instead been drawn to the curiosity of the non-tender sit going down in baseball tonight. Obviously, if your following the offseason closely, you know that tonight at midnight eastern time is the deadline for teams to offer their arbitration eligible players contracts for the 2012 season. N0t only the potential free agents that will hit the market, but more importantly just who will still be on the Giants roster come tomorrow morning. The big battle that every one's talking about is tendering either Jeff Keppinger or Mike Fontetnot to become one of the Giants 2 likely backup infielders. Between the two, Fontenot brings better defense and is the more versatile player, but Keppinger has him beat at the plate, hands down. That said, I don't think I'd tender either a contract if I were Sabean. Keppinger, with his track record, could command nearly $4 million, and I could see better options than Keppinger hitting the market after tonight. The Giants have plenty of other arbitration eligible players, but none in danger of losing their job. The one possibility being Manny Burris. Boch and Sabes have been talking him up, but that could be an attempt to build his value. I really can't see him and Crawford holding down short in 2012.

As far as some potential non-tenders that the Giants could look at, I mentioned Ryan Theriot back in November, and still see him superior to Fontenot with the bat if the Giants are looking for a tougher out off the bench. There are a ton of players up for arbitration who won't likely be let go by their respective squads, but there are always those few surprise candidates.

As for possible utility infielders that could be let go are Boston's Jed Lowrie and although a lot less likely, Miami's Emilio Bonifacio. I'd even consider a trade for either, though I'm not sure how Bonifacio's defense would handle playing most his time at shortstop. He'd be a tremendous insurance policy for Freddy Sanchez though, I'll tell you that much. Lowrie's a nice player too, and could actually be a decent starting shortstop for the Giants but I highly doubt Boston lets him just walk like the pundits are saying. Any 27 year-old who hits 9 HR and has an .971 OPS in just over 100 ab's has major potential. Ideal target for San Francisco even if he doesn't get released. There aren't really any outfield candidates I see that could be let go, outside of Garrett Jones, who'd make a nice 4th or 5th outfielder and first base option, though the Giants already have two similar players in Huff and Belt. The name I heard surface today was D-Backs 28 year-old lefty, Joe Saunders. Ahh, yes please. Saunders would be a nice challenge to Zito for the fifth spot and provide the team another left-handed option. If they're serious about shoring up their pitching, again, they need an upgrade or backup option for that fifth spot.

Either way, we'll know a lot more come midnight!

Giants' Winter Meetings Review

2011-12-09T14:30:00.000-08:00

After an extremely quiet first three days in Dallas for the 2011 Winter Meetings, things picked up at a record pace on day four. One of the games biggest stars, Albert Pujols, found himself a new home in LA with the Angels, and he was quickly joined by C.J. Wilson to really solidify an underachieving Angels squad from last year.

As active as it was Thursday, the Giants were quiet after their deal for center fielder Angel Pagan, and Brian Sabean and Co. are relaying information that leads one to believe the Giants are done making any impact moves for their starting lineup. I still expect a utility infielder to come on eventually, though Sabes and Bochy are adamant that Manny Burris will start the year as the teams utility infielder/right-handed shortstop option. I like Manny, and on a deeper team with better starters, I think he makes a lot of sense as a utility/pinch run option, but the Giants don't need anymore light-hitting players on this roster. If they indeed plan to start the season with an outfield of Cabrera-Pagan-Schierholtz, left to right, as well as having Crawford at short on a daily basis, then I don't care how much Buster Posey heals and Pablo Sandoval contributes, this lineup will be identical to the 2011 group. Now, there's still plenty of time in the offseason for the Giants to change their tune, they've done so more than once in the past, and if a guy like Josh Willingham or even Carlos Beltran can't find a destination they like, then maybe the Giants sneak in and make a play for one of them. But right now, Sabean is giving all indications they aren't even considering another outfielder now that Pagan's around. I liked the Pagan deal as far as the the value of the trade, but I did fear that Sabes would consider him the final piece to the offensive puzzle when they still have needs.

I do think Pagan is better than Torres and will be in 2012, granted he returns to his normal defensive self in center and hits closer to .300 than .250. However, because they've failed to address their number one need heading into this offseason, and now appear content with where they stand, I have a hard time giving them any grade above a C/C- for the work they've done since the offseason started. They've essentially added two, top of the order, speedy contact hitters with average OBP's, yet they still don't have a guy on their roster who's a threat to hit 30 jacks in a given season or a shoe in for 100 RBI like most winning teams have. Pablo could be that guy, but he's more of a gap-to-gap line drive hitter than a real big home run threat. Now I'm not advocating that you need a player who hits 30-40 HR's a year on your roster in order to win, but with the questions at 2nd base and Sanchez's health, your .200 hitting shortstop, and your first basemen coming off a .240, sub-.700 OPS season, your offense needs more tinkering than a couple of speedy singles hitters.

Anyway, with the Winter Meetings now concluded, the next big step on the MLB calender will be the arbitration deadline date which I believe is December 12th. The Giants have decisions on Jeff Keppinger and Mike Fontenot and it wouldn't surprise me if both were non-tendered. Also, after that date, their will be a whole new slew of free agents hitting the market, so it's conceivable Sabean is waiting until that market opens up before getting to serious with any free agents.

Now, I'm off to Southern California for a week, and will try to take a small break from posting during that time, but certainly check back as I'll have the laptop and if something noteworthy goes down, I'll be all over it. Regular daily/bi-daily posting will return next Thursday! Hopefully Carlos Beltran has signed and the Giants have traded for Alexi Ramirez by then! Hey we can wish can't we?

W.M. Day 3: Giants Finished for Offseason?

2011-12-08T00:14:00.000-08:00

If trading for Angel Pagan really killed any shot at retaining Beltran or getting another adequate power bat in here, than I'm starting to dislike the deal a little bit.

Sabean said in a mini-conference after the Pagan deal was announced that he Giants are "tapped out" as far as resources in both trade and free agency, and he doesn't expect another significant move before next season. They essentially said goodbye to Cody Ross and have apparently stopped what little talks they've had with Beltran's camp, and appear to be focused on bottom-of-the barrel infielders. If they don't succeed there, they're fully content with Manny Burris and Mike Fontenot backing up Sanchez and Crawford. The only thing worse than the last few sentences I posted would be that the Giants are planning on dealing Lincecum or Cain, but they may as well if they continue to diminish their offense. If they enter 2012 with their current bunch, I actually believe they would have declined over the team they ended with in 2011, and that's saying a whole lot. Granted, Buster Posey will be back and Huff will improve, they'll have the .200 hitting Crawford at short full time, along with a light-hitting, defensive oriented outfield. A first basemen who's largely hit or miss and a 2nd basemen coming off a season in which he missed 2/3 of with an injury that could haunt him throughout his career. That's a lot of questions for a team 2 years off a Championship!

Let's all hope Sabean is saying these things to send a message to agents/teams that he doesn't need to make another deal, thus lowering the asking prices, cause if this is the team we get in 2012, I predict a mirror image of the 2011 campaign. Time for Mr. Sabean to get creative and get a shortstop like Nakajima or move for a guy like Willingham. This team needs hitters and/or a shortstop who can handle the bat. If they fail to add one or the other, it's going to be another nail-biting year in SF in which the Giants come up short!

Breaking! Giants Send Torres to NY for Pagan

2011-12-06T19:07:00.000-08:00

Well, this one caught me a bit off-guard, even though I knew the Giants were actively involved in trade talks. But judging by the package they gave up, and the player they're getting in return, I think the Giants made out ahead in the Torres/Pagan swap.

The main question I have though, is how this will effect the rest of the Giants offseason plans and their pursuit of a power bat. Just hours after our post suggesting the Giants could deal for more outfield help, they indeed strike a deal, but it wasn't for exactly the type of player they needed. So, this deal really could go either way, but as far as the players involved in the deal, I do think Pagan was the best, especially if he shows up in pre-2011 form. Pagan would now would appear to become the everyday center fielder, with Melky Cabrera slated to move to a corner spot. There's a chance Pagan could enter as a fourth outfielder if the Giants are serious about starting Huff in left and Belt at first, but I'd be surprised if he's not starting in center on opening day. As good and surprising a year Andres Torres had in 2010, Pagan's was equal and better in some categories. Angel is the more talented ballplayer with more upside though he's had some questions come into play about his passion towards the game recently in NY and that's something you'll never hear of Torres. Pagan is a switch hitter who's four years younger and hits better from the right side, which again, improves the top of the order. He hasn't spent much time at the leadoff spot during his time in New York because of a guy named Jose Reyes, but his contact average, high on-base percentage and speed make him an ideal candidate. Now I do think this deal could definitely benefit the Giants, but again, like with the Cabrera deal, it all depends on which Pagan shows up in 2012. The one thing this deal cannot do is allow the Giants to become content with their current outfield, because if they enter with what they have now, it'd be one of the worst in baseball!

To sum this move up in a few sentences, the Giants got themselves a better baseball player than Torres, and a solid leadoff candidate. Torres was most likely facing a non-tender anyway, so I see this deal as more of Ramirez for Pagan. Ramirez is a significant loss for the bullpen, but luckily they have the depth to overcome that. Another aspect of this deal is that it opens up a spot on the 40-man roster for the Giants to possibly sign an infielder or a corner outfielder without releasing anyone. Also with Pagan and Cabrera each explosive players, I think it would be wise for Bochy to consider using them in the 1-2 in the order and move Sanchez down to 7.

Bottom line, this deal is very similar to the Cabrera/Sanchez trade. As long as Pagan shows up healthy and hungry in his walk year, and they can adequately replace Ramirez in the pen, who was a solid middle reliever for them, I'm confident the Giants will wind up the winners in this deal.

Giants Still Testing the Waters

2011-12-06T14:44:00.000-08:00

What promised to be a very active Winter Meetings in Dallas has gotten off to a very quiet start. Outside of Jose Reyes signing with Miami, and a few small scale deals here and there, nothing of note has surfaced in Dallas yet, certainly not for San Francisco.

Instead of looking for ways to add offense in any capacity possible, Brain Sabean and the Giants brass have been more focused on working with what they have and saving money for long-term deals for their young pitching. I agree that Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum's long-term status in San Francisco needs to be prioritized, but having it dictate their whole offseason planning and jeopardizing the potential 2012 roster shouldn't be the byproduct. Because it's the Winter Meetings, and every baseball writer, blogger and serious fan are staying glued to their team's twitter feed, plenty of rumors have surfaced. One of the ones that caught me by surprise on Monday were the reports that the Giants put in a bid on Japanese shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima. I've seen limited clips of Nakajimi through youtube and highlight video and I actually do like him as a player. He's right-handed with a steady bat and good glove, and would appear to be a good fit as a platoon partner for Brandon Crawford, but the price for bidding and the eventual contract is too big a risk in Sabean's eyes and he immediately shot that rumor down almost as quickly as it surfaced. Instead, it's been the same cast of characters that we've been hearing for most of the last couple weeks like Alex Gonzalez and Ryan Ludwick as well as potential strategy for if the team stands pat.

One piece of information that I found noteworthy in the first two days of the Meetings is that the Giants are indeed open to trading for offensive help. It makes a lot of sense when you consider how thin this free agent market is with impact hitters, and the price the few are demanding because of it, but I just don't see the Giants stocked with enough young talent right now to make any significant deal without drastically dipping into their minor league depth. There has been talks that they are shopping relievers, but the one thing that is easy to come by this time of year is a relief pitcher, so it's hard to believe a Ramon Ramirez would have much return value. That said, there are certainly some intriguing offensive options out there on the trade market. The White Sox are supposedly entering "Fire-Sale" mode after dealing Sergio Santos to Toronto, and are now shopping Carlos Quentin. Another name that has been kicked around this week, as well as back before the deadline before the Giants nabbed Carlos Beltran, is B.J. Upton. The 27 year-old's average has taken a major dip in the last couple of seasons, but his power is developing and he'd be a terrific add to the spacious outfield at AT&T Park. However, the other piece of info I found interesting is that there doesn't seem to be a big market for Carlos Beltran right now. Apparently only a couple of teams have expressed serious interest, and although the Giants keep saying they don't expect him back, I still think he's their best bet at getting/retaining an impact bat this winter.

Winter Meetings Preview

2011-12-04T13:10:00.000-08:00

We're just 24 hours away from the start of the Major League Baseball's Winter Meetings, and with many of the top free agents still looking for homes for the 2012 season, it promises to be a busy week.

Just how busy the Giants get this week though is anybodies guess. They have been extremely quiet since their trade for Melky Cabrera in early November, and as the offseason moves along, it's looking more and more like that was their big move of the winter. Their still is an outside chance they bring back Carlos Beltran, but Sabean isn't going to get into any bidding wars for the aging outfielder and that's what it would likely take to get him to return to San Francisco. Instead, Giants beat-writer Andrew Baggarly is speculating the club will look to a 2nd-teire free agent to help round out their starting outfield. The name that I immediately think of if Beltran is indeed off the table is former National and A's left fielder, Josh Willingham. The 32 year-old outfielder put up huge numbers in a spacious Oakland Collesiuem in 2011, with a career high in home runs with 29 and RBI with 98. His batting average didn't exactly shine, as he finished at .248, but he still managed a +.800 OPS due to his slugging and ability to take walks. He really reminds me a lot of Jeff Kent, and I think he would fit very nicely out in left field as a shoe in for 25 HR/90 RBI. He isn't the greatest outfielder defensively, but his career .262/.361/.831 line would currently rank 2nd to only Pablo Sandoval on the entire Giants roster, so there's no doubt he'd be an upgrade. He's younger and healthier than Beltran, and wouldn't cost as much. He'd also slot into left field and keep right open for Nate Schierholtz and possibly Cody Ross.

Another name Baggarly mentioned is Coco Crisp, who played alongside Willingham in Oakland last season. Crisp is nowhere near as productive with the bat as Josh, but has game changing speed and plays a gold-glove caliber center field. However, that's not exactly what this lineup needs. They need a #4 or #5 hitter like Willingham, who can protect Posey and Sandoval, hit the ball out of the ballpark and get on base with consistency. The part that comes into question next though, is what kind of money Willingham is currently seeking? The Giants will also be searching for a shortstop/utility infielder this week at the meetings, as they've been linked to two players in particular in Jerry Hairston and Alex Gonzalez. I've already voiced my displeasure towards the interest in Gonzalez in previous posts, so just scroll down for those thoughts. Hairston would bring much more value than Gonzalez as the Giants already have a good gloved, low on-base shortstop figuring to get tons of playing time in 2012. Also, Hairston could provide insurance for Freddy Sanchez at 2nd base as well as spell Panda at third. If they added Hairston, they wouldn't need to keep another infielder on the bench, and that's a value in itself. Another infielder who could be a wild card for the Giants is Rafael Furcal, though he'd probably be considered more as a starting option than as a utility/backup to Crawford.

Other than a power hitting corner outfielder, and a solid middle infield/utility player, the Giants could also be looking to deepen their starting rotation, and add a backup catcher at the meetings. Don't expect them to look into any household names, but this market is very deep with 2nd-tiere starters, and after the success they had with Ryan Vogelsong in '11, they'll certainly be scraping the bargain bin for pitchers they like. One potential target could be Jerome Williams, who went 4-0 with a 3.68 era in 6 starts for the Angels last year, his first MLB action since 2007... As far as backup catchers, the one guy I think would be a perfect fit in San Francisco for a year off the bench would be Jorge Posada. He's still got something left in the bat and would be fine starting a handful of games a month at catcher.

Sabean Looking into Gonzalez, Shortstops

2011-12-01T14:58:00.000-08:00

The Giants may have narrowed their search for a new shortstop in a shrinking market, but it's hardly the guy you were hoping for when the offseason started up last month. After announcing Sabean and Bochy had their contracts extended through 2014, the Giants went public with their interest in free agent shortstop Alex Gonzalez.

First, the big news from this week regarding the Giants was the announcement of the renewal of both Bruce Bochy and Brian Sabean's contracts through the 2014 season. At the conference call, we heard much of the same talk that the front office has been spewing out this whole offseason; "Pitching is Priority #1" and "We Won't Make a Big Splash in FA". These announcements should come as little surprise to any Giants' fan, but I'm a little unclear on what exactly Sabean means by "Big Splash" free agent. We all knew they weren't going to be in on Fielder or Pujols before the offseason even starter and Sabean made it quite clear that the top shortstops, Jose Reyes and Jimmy Rollins, won't be heading to San Francisco any time soon either. My question for Sabean and the front office is, however, what exactly constitutes a Big Splash signing? Do they consider Beltran a "Big Splash" signing, cause I do and if they're publicly backing off Beltran already, that would rub me the wrong way. Sabean and Baer have been so vocal this winter about wanting to shore up their pitching and lock up their young arms for the foreseeable future, yet what young pitcher on the rise is going to want to stick around a place where he'll struggle to hit double-digit wins, despite putting up CY Young numbers, just because the team can't figure out free agency for the life of them.

Onto the latest report surfacing from Giants headquarters, that they indeed are seriously considering bringing in Alex Gonzalez to split time with Brandon Crawford at shortstop. I hate this idea for more than one reason, and feared these two crossing each other's paths weeks ago. Gonzalez is still an adequate defender up the middle, but is one of the easiest outs in baseball. He's got power, but hasn't had an OBP over .300 since 2007. I fear Sabean just see's his 23 HR/88 RBI 2010 season and ignores his .642 OPS. The Giants don't need another declining shortstop with average power and no on base skill. None of these over-the-hill veteran shortstops have worked out in the slightest for the Giants, yet here they are, right back at square one. Sure, Renteria won a World Series here and had his moments in the playoffs, but it was Juan Uribe out there down the stretch. The problem facing the Giants though, is the lack of middle infield options on the free agent market, but if it's going to come to this, I'd just assume see them bring in Jerry Hairston as the utility guy and hand Crawford the job. The only veteran shortstop coming off a down year I'd consider, and only on a cheap one-year deal, is Rafael Furcal, just because he's got attributes that can help a club even when his bat is slumping.

Giants Slowly Assessing Free Agency

2011-11-28T13:00:00.000-08:00

We're nearly into December, which tends to be the most active month of the player movement season in baseball, and the Giants have been extremely quiet since their Jonathan Sanchez/Melky Cabrera swap early in the month. However, I do expect things to take off here in the next couple of weeks with anticipated Winter Meetings starting up on December 5th.

Once the Meetings start, we're certain to see a flurry of moves and things start to fall into place, but I must say how surprised I am at the lack of movement early on so far. All the elite talents are still available and normally the dominoes don't fall until those guys sign. One domino who may be out of the Giants mix in 2012 is 2010 NLCS MVP, Cody Ross. The Giants failed to offer Ross arbitration before last weeks deadline, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's the end of the road for Cody in the orange and black. Ross has expressed on numerous occasions that he wants to return and I believe him. His injury early then the rough stretch in July and August really weighed down his year. He did manage to get right and end on a good note, hitting .310 with 4 homers and 10 RBI in the final 13 games. Not to mention, the longer the offseason goes on without the Giants adding to their outfield dept, the better chance Cody Ross has at becoming a large part of it again in 2012, even if he's not a full-time starter. I personally think that if the Giants could improve their outfield to the point where Ross and Torres could be their 4th and 5th outfielders, that would be ideal, then use Ross like a younger, better defensive version of Pat Burrel. I would have no qualms about rolling with Schierholtz in right with Ross caddying, as long as they put a thumper out in left. (Carlos Beltran continues to make the most since for this team!)

If you look at this team on paper right now though, they aren't overly impressive, and it's not just starting players they're missing either. Not only are the corner outfield spots un-determined and questions surrounding shortstop and 2nd base, this team needs to add depth this winter as well. According to Fox Sports, the most recent name linked to the Giants in terms of utility guys is someone who could bring real value to this team in a number of ways in Jerry Hairston Jr. Not only does Hairston posses a streaky bat with pop and decent speed, the dude can play 6 positions on the field and plays all of them surprisingly well. When you think of an ideal utility infielder, Hairston is the guys that comes to mind pretty quickly and I think it would be great to have a guy like that support Sanchez in his return as well as insurance for Crawford and Sandoval. It would be wise of Sabean, if at all possible, to also obtain more of a natural shortstop to have in the mix too just in case Crawford tanks. Hairston can spot start and would be fine if they got him, but I was thinking more along the lines of a Ryan Theriot (depending on whether he's non-tendered). Another reason why the Giants probably haven't yet added a utility infielder or catcher yet is because they want to see the list of players that get non-tendered by the December 12th deadline. So if your waiting for baseball's hot stove to heat up, especially on the Giants front, you'll be waiting no more come early December. Time to stay glued to the MLB Network!

Up Next: 2012 Projected 25-man roster: Barring a big announcement or personnel move involved with the team, we'll be getting our first of two roster projections for next years Giants. It's still early in the offseason, but we always like to put up a roster prediction before December and the winter meetings, then look back in spring training and see how much we missed by. Again, the Projections will be based on players available that I believe the Giants and Brian Sabean would pursue. It is not necessarily the way I'd search for players or fill out my roster is I were in charge, just the way I see the Giants rounding out due to budget, players available, and positional needs.

Potential Fifth Starters for SF to Consider

2011-11-22T12:58:00.000-08:00

After dealing Jonathan Sanchez away earlier this offseason, it opened up a spot in the Giants starting rotation. Barry Zito currently holds the spot, but the Giants haven't exactly give him a vote of confidence or made any kind of guarantee to him and could very well be assessing some free agent starters.

We all know that the team's top priority in free agency is to shore up their outfield and add some depth to their shortstop position, but one thing I think they're doing behind the scenes so to speak, is exploring some of mid-level starting pitcher options. After the success the Giants had with Ryan Vogelsong in 2011, they could find themselves again scraping the barrell for depth in their rotation, and there are a surprising amount of effective starters out on the market. Obviously they don't need to get in on the top guys like C.J. Wilson and Roy Oswalt, but this market is deep with 2nd-tiere starters who could fit very well at the end of a rotation. Javier Vazquez would be awesome for a year, but he's going to get $10 million or to keep playing and the Giants don't need to spend that kind of money on a pitcher. So the first name that pops up on the list is former Athletic, Rich Harden. The 30 year-old's injury history will likely limit him to a 1-year deal, and if someone gets Harden on an incentive-laden contract, they'll get a steal. I was secretly hoping for the Giants to add him during the waiver-trade period when he was placed on waivers and they needed a starter, but it never happened. Imagine a healthy Harden behind Timmy, Cain, Bumgarner and Vogey! He's probably the most talented of the 2nd-tiere starters and is also the youngest. The 2nd name that comes up is Chris Capuano, who had a terrific rebound season for the Mets last year. Capuano threw 186 innings with 168 K's and a 4.55 era with New York last season, although his 27 home runs allowed needs to drop.

After Capuano and Harden, I might look at Aaron Harang. The former Reds ace had a very nice comeback year with the Padres in 2011 after his era ballooned to 5.32 in 2010. Harang went 14-7 with a 3.64 era in 28 starts for San Diego in '11, and really took advantage of throwing in the pitcher friendly confines of Petco Park. He went 8-5 with 3.05 era at home, and I could envision the same success at AT&T Park if he were to pitch half his games here. Again, these aren't guys who are guaranteed successes, but based on the 2011 season they had, and the type of contract they'll likely receive, they all could be cheap alternatives to entering 2012 with Barry Zito as the fifth starter and nobody behind him. It's inevitable that somebody in the rotation will have to miss some time next year, and right now, the teams 6th starter is Eric Surkamp, who showed he still has plenty of developing to do before he can be counted on. As for guys coming off injury, Erik Bedard, Paul Maholm and Ben Sheets are a few who, if healthy, are mid-rotation arms in a good rotation. However, Bedard and Maholm will likely get more money elsewhere, while Sheets may be too big of a risk at anything more than a deal packed with incentives. If Sheets can throw though, and would take a one year deal to prove himself, San Francisco is certainly an appealing spot to go pitch.

Shortstop Update: The Giants made an effort to get Clint Barmes to play shortstop with Brandon Crawford and even offered him more money, but the Pirates offered him the exclusive shortstop duties which sold him. Barmes was intriguing because he has some pop, hits right-handed and is an outstanding defender up the middle. Now middle infielders are signing like crazy, and I just hope Sabean stays smart. By that I mean steering clear of Yuniesky Betancourt and Alex Gonzalez, who are both right up Sabes' ally (black holes in terms of OBP). The one vet coming off a less than stellar year, who I wouldn't be opposed to signing under the right terms is Rafael Furcal. His bat awoke for St. Louis after the trade while showing his value on defense and would be fine in a platoon situation with Crawford for a year and $4-6 million. Ryan Theriot could be an option to if he's non-tendered next month.

Beltran Still Makes Most Sense for Giants

2011-11-19T13:18:00.000-08:00

With the Giants continuing their search for outfield help after acquiring Melky Cabrera earlier this month, they have to keep circling back to Carlos Beltran, as he still remains the best fit for the Giants outfield.

We just talked about Beltran possibly heading to Boston in our last post, and Brian Sabean has already gone on record as saying that Beltran would likely be out of the Giants price range. However, despite rumors of him close to signing in Boston, the fact that it hasn't happened yet could signal that he's still keeping his options open at this time. He fits so well with the Giants for a couple of reasons, one of which his contract demands aren't actually that outrageous. He's apparently looking for a 2-3 year deal and it's not like he tore it up so much in 2011 that he's going to command a huge annual salary. In this market, where mediocre players are getting multi-year deals, Beltran at 2 years and $15 million per season doesn't look so bad. Not to mention, if they miss out on Beltran, they're almost assuredly going to sink that money into another corner outfielder, and Beltran is the best one on the market. Another big reason why he fits so well here is because he's a switch hitter and effective from both sides of the plate, which really helps out the middle of the lineup. The Giants need another good hitter to go with Sandoval and Posey in the middle and Beltran is really the ideal fit. I know signing Beltran comes at a risk with his balky knees, but he showed me with his finish in 2011 that he can still put up big numbers in a hurry and his 5.7 WAR still proves his value. If he were asking for 4 years and $60M+, then no, but the fact is he just fired Scott Boras, and isn't asking for the moon.

The names after Beltran when talking corner outfielders is less than inspiring. Other names out there who would be cheaper options over Beltran, but also much less effective hitters, include Ryan Ludwick, Jason Kubel, Cody Ross and Grady Sizemore. Now compare the 2011 seasons between those guys and Beltran and again, you'll being realizing that Beltran on a 2-3 year contract isn't a bad option. I don't see them going after anyone else who will cost a whole lot of money, so money shouldn't be too much of an issue. They could be saving that money for a shortstop, but it won't be Jose Reyes, and I'd personally rather roll with Crawford at short and spend the money on Beltran than give Jimmy Rollins a 3-4 year deal. Then there's the fact the Giants dealt away their top prospect just a few months ago to acquire this guy, and they probably did so thinking they at least had a shot at retaining Beltran after the season. At the same time, the Giants are telling everyone who will listen that they're main goal this offseason is the secure their own players who are scheduled to hit free agency over the next few years. Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain have been the most talked about, but there's also Pablo Sandoval, Brian Wilson and Buster Posey, who are all in line for big raises in the near future. They need to be careful with their money right now, no question, but they still need a bat and Beltran is their best option.

40-Man Roster Notes: The Giants made some organizational moves Friday, assigning a few key minor leaguers to their 40-man roster and protecting them for the upcoming Rule 5 draft. Among the names added to the roster was former top-prospect Angel Villalona. If you remember, the 21 year-old was the focus of a murder investigation in the Dominican Republic. The charges have since been dropped though, and the Giants will be retaining Villalona and inserting him back into their system this spring. This is a big move for the organization, as they'll be getting back a bright young hitter who's just 21 and was one of the teams top prospects before the incident. I'd expect Villalona to start off in San Jose in 2012, and hopefully he puts the last two years behind him.... Other notable prospects added to the 40-man was outfielder Roger Kieschnick, infielder Charlie Culberson and reliever Hector Correa.

Rumors Swirling Around San Francisco

2011-11-16T11:49:00.000-08:00

While the Giants haven't done anything of note since their trade for Melky Cabrera earlier this month, it hasn't stopped the rumors from rolling in as MLB's Hot Stove heats up.

What appears to be the most likely of all rumors surrounding the Giants lately, is Carlos Beltran likely headed Boston on a two-year deal. Beltran said he'd prefer to stay in the NL but could very well see Boston as a spot with a legit chance at 2 World Series runs over the next 2 seasons. Add a healthy Beltran to Bostons lineup and they've got themselves a huge upgrade over J.D. Drew. This shouldn't be too surprising of news though, as Brian Sabean has already stated that he believes Beltran wouldn't fit into the Giants budget. Now the focus is turning to who may be replacing Beltran in right field for SF. The name of the week as far as free agent outfielders has been Grady Sizemore, who the Giants have apparently expressed some interest in. I like Sizemore, and don't think a 1 year deal with an option would be a bad idea, but I don't see Sizemore having interest in coming to the Giants. I think he wants to stay in the AL with a team that can hit so he can boost his value via a short-term contract. Seeing that playing for the Giants would mean changing leagues and moving to an average lineup in a spacious yard doesn't exactly jump out to hitters trying to make a comeback, it's hard to believe someone like Sizemore would make that move. Another name that was tossed around on KNBR on Wednesday who I think would love to get is Carlos Quentin from the White Sox. Supposedly Kenny Williams is shopping the power hitting outfielder and has had talks with an unknown NL team.

The only trouble with making a trade for Quentin or any other significant hitter now though, is that the Giants are really running short on trade ammo. I think the Melky Cabrera deal was their big trade of the winter and any other upgrade they make will have to come via the free agent market. That poses a bit of a hurdle though too, as most of the players who would be upgrades and players the Giants could use are either too expensive, or type A free agents who would cost them a draft pick by signing at this point. I think that's why they have had interest in Sizemore, cause he's got huge potential yet isn't a Type A free agent. Josh Willingham and Michael Cuddyer are two corner outfielders who are Type A's who the Giants probably like, but wouldn't want to part with a top pick in exchange for. Shortstops Jose Reyes and Jimmy Rollins are obviously type A players as well and if the Giants are pursuing one of them, they're doing it extremely quietly. Reyes looks bound for Florida, and Rollins would then become the premiere shortstop and I'd expect him to cash in on that opportunity. Speaking of speedy infielders, another name that was linked to the Giants this week was Seattle utility man Chone Figgins. Apparently the Mariners are over Figgins after his .188 average last season, but he's owed over 20 million the next 2 seasons and Seattle would need to eat nearly all of that to make him palatable for anyone. I doubt the Giants would have interest, though if they could send Seattle a bad contract in exchange, and use Figgins in the utility role, it may be worth a look.

Roster Note: The Giants did make a minor league move Wednesday, signing former Braves center fielder Gregor Blanco to a minor league deal. The 27 year old outfielder has had a couple of decent seasons for Atlanta and KC as a reserve and has a respectable .358 OBP in over 700 career at-bats.

Giants Facing Key Personel Decisions

2011-11-14T14:25:00.000-08:00

The Giants took care of one of their big up coming arbitration cases by dealing Jonathon Sanchez to the Royals rather than sinking upwards of $8 million into him for 2012. However, they still have a few big decisions to make with players who were huge during their 2010 Championship run.

One of the big names who won't be facing arbitration, but someone the Giants must make a decision on is Cody Ross. It's no secret that Ross was a major disappointment in 2011 after winning NLCS MVP in 2010, but a lot of his slow start can be attributed to injury. Then after the Carlos Beltran trade, he seemed to become the odd man out. Still though, Sabean and Co. need to determine whether or not they'll give Ross the two-year deal he's seeking (likely for $7 mill per year). Right now, the only guy assured to be in the Giants 2012 starting outfield is Melky Cabrera, so they will definitely be exploring their options over the next couple months. Another key outfielder they need to make a decision on is Andres Torres. Now, Torres doesn't have the track record that Ross does, so he won't cost nearly as much as Cody as he hits arbitration, but he's still going to command roughly $4 million or so. If I were to bet on which one has the better chance at returning I'd say Torres hands down. He's a better defender than Ross and has that speed that could play well late in ballgames, even if he doesn't have a regular spot in the starting lineup. I feel that if they do bring Ross back, it will have to be as a starter somewhere, and I really want to see this team upgrade their whole outfield if possible. Cabrera was a nice start, and I think Torres is a perfect 4th/5th outfielder, but they still have at least two spots they need to lockdown.

Other prominent arbitration eligibles include Jeff Keppinger, Mike Fontenot, Nate Schierholtz, Sergio Romo and Santiago Cassilla. I don't think there is any doubt that Schierholtz, Romo and Cassilla will return, likely on 2-year contracts rather than going through arbitration. The question I'm wondering about is what they plan to do with Keppinger. He was a very solid player for this team after coming over from Houston in July, and with his versatility, I think he's got to be a priority for Sabean. Keppinger's return would make Fontenot expendable, as they both play the same positions, and I would definitely go with Kepp out of the two. Not only does Keppinger have a stronger bat, he can play the corner positions in the infield and could provide this club with the presence Mark DeRosa was supposed to. Not to mention, Freddy Sanchez is still very much a question mark heading into spring 2012. It's still uncertain as to whether or not he can make the strong accurate throws from up the middle and from 2nd base on double plays. He had major surgery on his shoulder and did it late in the season rather than right after the injury happened, which will likely cause him to take it easy yet again next spring. It would be very reassuring to have a solid vet like Keppinger on the roster as insurance.... The two big names to hit arbitration this year are Pablo Sandoval and Ryan Vogelsong. Both players solidified their spots on this team in 2011 and should receive multi-year deals before 2012.

New Giants Hot Stove Video Up @ UnifySports TV!

Sabean Must Upgrade Shortstop

2011-11-10T17:46:00.000-08:00

Coming off their first big move of the offseason in obtaining Melky Cabrera from the Kansas City Royals, plenty of fans are wondering whats next! One of the biggest needs on the team lies up the middle at shortstop, where offense was non-existent in 2011.

Rookie Brandon Crawford had his moments, especially early on after his call-up, but had his batting average well below .200 for most of the season. His glove and arm at short are 2nd to nobody in the organization, and it's what kept him up at the big league level for so long, but when a guy is hovering around .200, that's a tough bat to keep in the everyday lineup, especially in the NL. The Giants had one of the leagues worst offenses last year and cannot afford to just hand the reigns over to Crawford until his bat improves. Brian Sabean said early on that the Giants are strongly considering sticking with Crawford at short for 2012, though that could just be strategy on Sabean's part letting any potential free agent know that they feel confident in the UCLA alum. That was proven by the fact that the Giants were the highest bidder for free agent shortstop Willie Bloomquist, who decided to return to Arizona for less money. I don't care what Sabean tells the media, this team needs to upgrade at shortstop, no matter who else they bring in to play outfield/first base, and I'm glad Bloomquist decided to return to AZ rather than coming to the Bay Area. This shortstop market does have some bargains who I think would be nice additions to this roster. I know everyone is talking about Jose Reyes and even Bay Area native Jimmy Rollins, but I don't think the Giants will want to spend the type of money for one of those guys and they don't necessarily need get one of those guys to upgrade the position.

Now, don't get me wrong, after Reyes and Rollins, there's a pretty significant drop off until the next free agent shortstop. One of the guys I believe would be a good fit, and a guy I was kind of hoping they'd get with Jeff Keppinger from Houston this summer, is Clint Barmes. The former Rockie and Astro is a highly underrated shortstop, and has a potent right-handed bat. I really do think that out of all the shortstops who will be looking for new homes this winter, Barmes appears the best fit for this team when taking financials into account. His career average isn't anything noteworthy (.252), but the last time he got 500 at-bats in a season, he hit 23 homers and drove in 76 runs. He's basically a guarantee for 15 homers and 60 RBI and will hit around .250. Imagine if the Giants had those numbers out of their shortstop position last season, while getting defense that's on par with Brandon Crawford's! I also don't think Barmes will cost too much and could probably be had for something like 2 years and $8-10 million or so. Outside of Barmes, a few of the names include Rafael Furcal, Jamey Carroll, Alex Gonzalez and Ronny Cedeno. Furcal had an intriguing last few months with St. Louis, but his bat did not show up in October and wouldn't pose much of an upgrade over Crawford at the plate. With the Giants interest in Bloomquist, one would assume they'll also inquire about Carroll, who's game is very identical to that of Willie's. Gonzalez is essentially Pedro Feliz at short, and Cedeno is a right-handed version of Crawford. So, unless they get Rollins or Reyes, or possibly wait for some non-tenders, you can start to see why Clint Barmes really does make some sense.

Also, with the recent trade of Jonathan Sanchez, it may prompt Sabean to look into other viable 5th starter candidates, and one guy who I think would fit in great would be Aaron Harang, who is coming off a big comeback season with San Diego. Another one is former Padre Chris Young. When he's healthy he's got outstanding stuff and is a potential #2-3 starter. Only problem with him is that he hasn't been healthy too often in recent years. Still though, If he's on pace to start Spring Training at or around 100%, I'd sat he's definitely worth a flyer. There are plenty of other guys too who would be upgrades to Barry Zito and insurance to the rest of the staff, but those two names jump out as potential steals on a 1-year contract.

Giants Deal Sanchez, Get Melky Cabrera

2011-11-07T12:25:00.001-08:00

They started out a lot quicker than I was anticipating, but the Giants made their first move of the 2011/2012 offseason, trading Jonathan Sanchez to KC for outfielder Melky Cabrera.

It's a very run-of-the-mill trade and not one that has the Giants comunitty necessarily "buzzing". Never the less, one of the Giants biggest problems this season was that leadoff spot and center field, where Andres Torres failed miserably in his attempt to repeat 2010's performance. In comes Melky Cabrera, who had an all-star, break-out 2011 season that saw him hit .305 with 18 homers, 87 RBI and 20 steals, and he should immediately grab hold of one of the outfield jobs and likely the leadoff spot. What's a little concerning though, is that despite his .307 average, Cabrera only managed a .339 OBP, and he's never been a very high on base type of hitter so he's not a typical leadoff guy. Also, his defensive range suggests he's not a prototypical center fielder either. KC had him hit 2nd in the order quite a bit in 2011 and that seems to be a spot where he was most comfortable, but it's also a spot that Freddy Sanchez has all but nailed down. Therefore I don't see anywhere else for Cabrera to hit besides leadoff, where his OBP was only marginally better than Torres'. I'd like to see him hit lower, but still, even with the mediocre OBP, his strong bat should play well atop the Giants order, ahead of Sanchez, Posey and Sandoval. Also, taking into consideration what the Giants had to give up to get Cabrera, this really isn't a bad deal. Jonathan Sanchez had his moments in San Francisco, the big no-hitter in 2009, and a few solid outings in last years postseason, but I think we've all seen what Sanchez is and I don't see him changing a whole lot. He's closing in on 30, is a free agent after next season, and although he was traded while his value was low, it may never get any higher!

This will also likely bring an end to all the "will they trade Cain/Lincecum this winter" speculation. There is no way that Sabean deals two starters in one offseason with the lack of depth the Giants currently have. This also helps free up some money to help their pursuit of a middle of the order hitter. They saved themselves from having to dip into free agency for that and it probably saved them another multi-year deal to a mediocre talent like Coco Crisp. Again though, this does leave the rotation in a bit of a flux, as they appear to have their starting 5 lined up, but have little in terms of insurance behind those guys in case anything goes wrong. I see Sabean looking to the scrap heap, like he did last year with Ryan Vogelsong, in order to add some depth to the rotation. But what you need to take out of this deal, is that he got a 27 year-old all-star caliber outfielder for a pitcher whose value was falling off the map and may have been all dried up by the middle of next season. That's what gets this move a thumbs up! Worse comes to worse, they swap Torres back in and Cabrera becomes a tremendously versatile 4th outfielder. It's just too bad they didn't deal Sanchez when his value peaked, or after Vogelsong started dominating early in the summer.

And as promised, here is our first crack at how we believe the Giants' starting lineup will fill out over the remaining winter months:

2012 Lineup Prediction:

CF Melky Cabrera
2B Freddy Sanchez
3B Pablo Sandoval
C Buster Posey
RF Michael Cuddyer (3 year/$30M)
LF Brandon Belt
1B Aubrey Huff
SS Clint Barmes (2 year/$8.5M)

A Look Back at '11: How to Fix It

2011-11-01T14:49:00.000-07:00

Even though their offense was dreadful, the Giants managed to keep the season interesting until the final week or so of the season, so they don't have too far to go to improve their chances at returning to the postseason next year. In the 3rd and final segment of the 2011 Season in Review, we take a look at what the Giants must do this winter to get back on top in the NL West!

As good as the pitching was, it's caused some people to start to question whether or not Brian Sabean plans to break up that fine staff in order to get more offense onto this roster. At the end of the year, it was put in papers that Sabean would "consider" parting with either Tim Lincecum or Matt Cain if it were to make a big enough offensive impact. I don't agree with that though, as good as this teams pitching is, they really don't have a bunch of arms knocking down the door to get to the big leagues like Cain, Lincecum and Bumgarner did. If they decide to deal one of those guys, it almost guarantees Barry Zito gets 30+ starts in 2012, and as much as the offense could improve, that doesn't sound like a reasonable plan to me. At the same time, they don't have the cash to throw at an Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder, either of which would improve the offense 10-fold, cause they still have to pay Aaron Rowand next year and have a few more Barry Zito seasons left as well, and those 2 take up over $30 million of payroll. Still though, they have a little bit of cash freeing up and do likely have enough to get involved in a move for a guy like Michael Cuddyer or possibly a re-signing of Carlos Beltran. Either way, I definitely see Sabean adding to the outfield this winter.

As well as a reasonable big bat, this team needs a solid leadoff hitter, and a shortstop. As much as the Giants like Brandon Crawford's defense, I highly doubt they'll put all their eggs in his basket heading into 2012. With them needing both a leadoff hitter and a shortstop, one immediately thinks of Jose Reyes. The Giants had interest in him during the season, and I think had they dealt for him instead of Beltran, and gotten 2 healthy months out of him, they would have cruised back to the playoffs. The top of this team's order at the end of the year was a mess. I was hoping they'd even upgrade just marginally in a guy like Coco Crisp, but they failed in that regard. Now, that being said, I don't want them to give out big dollars to a guy like Jimmy Rollins. I could definitely see Sabean giving him Aaron Rowand money and his bat absolutely falling out in AT&T Park. I'd rather overpay for Reyes than give Rollins 4+ years any day. I have a gut feeling that Rollins ends up in orange and black though! If they don't add a leadoff hitter via shortstop, then they have to do so in center field. There's no way they can hand the job back to Torres after the 2011 he just had. I still think Crisp would be a reasonable gamble on a one year contract, or possibly even Juan Pierre for a season or 2.

Most of all though, this lineup needs to get healthy and in shape. They need Aubrey Huff to show up next spring as the 2010 Huff, not the drained, overweight 2011 version. They needs Buster Posey to be ready from the get-go and they need him to regain that daily role behind the plate. They need Freddy Sanchez to heal up and stay healthy for a full year to stabilize the top part of the batting order, no matter who ends up leading off for them. They also need the young guys like Schierholtz and Belt to step up their consistency. None of these are unreasonable things to ask, and all could very well happen in 2012. I do see Sabean adding to the lineup, but only a piece or 2, and they won't be Reyes or Fielder, but if these things I mentioned just above do take place, then they won't need to be Reyes or Fielder. It could be Clint Barmes and Josh Willingham, and this team would still be in fine shape. The talent's here already, and as long as they get a determined bunch coming in next spring, things will be just fine.

Up Next: First 2012 Lineup Prediction!

A Look Back at '11: What Went Wrong

2011-10-25T12:35:00.000-07:00

Well, we started our season review off last week here, with the things that went right with the 2011 San Francisco Giants. Today, we break down what kept them out of October and from defending their Championship this Fall.
First off, as you can probably guess, this one doesn't take a rocket scientist, because even those not close to this organization, knew exactly what the 2011 Giants problem was and you can sum it up in 2 words: No offense! However, it goes a little deeper than just that. This team was last in the league in offense because of a few reasons. No, you can't blame it all on Aubrey Huff or Andres Torres, and although it's an easy scapegoat, you can't blame it all on the injuries to Buster Posey or Freddy Sanchez either. They lost Sanchez, but Jeff Keppinger came in and did a fine job in his place. Maybe not quite up to Sanchez's standards defensively, but a strong contact hitter who certainly didn't hurt the team. The one injury that did really hurt though, was losing Buster in late May. The moment, the second that happened and I saw Buster on the ground in agony, I had a bad gut feeling about this 2011 Giants team. Still though, they managed to hold onto first place well after they lost Posey, and even kept afloat with Pablo Sandoval down for 6 weeks. What happened with this team is they hit a wall after the All-Star break. Everything was looking up heading into that break, they had a decent lead in the West, they were pursuing a big bat (Carlos Beltran), and it looked as if they all but had the NL West sealed up.

Then the second half came, and contrary to what they did in 2010, this team descended badly in the later months of the season. They looked old and tired, and one even content (that ones for you Aubrey) with losing. I saw no fire in this team in the second half, and I don't want to blame it on the Beltran trade, but that's when things really hit the wall. Not only did Carlos start extremely slowly then get hurt 2 weeks into his Giants tenure, he didn't start paying off until the last 2 weeks of the year, in which the team was basically eliminated. But I still don't blame Sabes for that deal, because a healthy and productive Beltran would have made all the difference in the world (as we saw in late September). Plus, at the time, the Giants were just one solid bat away from becoming favorites to repeat, it just didn't work out. I do blame Sabean for the Orlando Cabrera deal though, and not because I think Thomas Neal will become a stud someday, but only because I knew Cabrera was no improvement over the Tejada/Crawford/Fontenot mix they already had going, and it seemed like Cabrera never really fit in with this team. At the end of 2010, the Giants were a mix of younger, hungrier group featuring an effective Cody Ross, a healthy Buster Posey, a determined Aubrey Huff, and an above league average leadoff hitter who looked like he was coming into his own. They got none of that in 2011, not a single one of those players came close to what they did in 2010 and that's where this team lost it.

Even after teams like the Yankees and Red Sox win, they go out the next winter and look re-tool and get stronger. The Giants didn't do that, they stood pat, added Miguel Tejada and hoped for an exact repeat of what they got in 2010. That was wishful thinking. Even World Champs need to reload and assess their clubs before the following season, and the Giants failed in that department. When Buster Posey went down, they failed again to sure up the one position that was absolutely killing them, and rode it out with Whiteside and Stewart at catcher. Again, don't know why they choose Orlando Cabrera over even a marginal upgrade a catcher... Bad decisions, out of shape players, and injuries are what happened to the 2011 San Francisco Giants. But fortunately, with this pitching staff, a healthy Buster Posey and an all-star Pablo Sandoval set to return, it shouldn't be too hard to fix.

Texas Should Get it Right 2nd Time

2011-10-19T12:05:00.000-07:00

Last year, we all know, the Texas Rangers were no match for the potent San Francisco Giants pitching staff, but this time around, they face a starting rotation that isn't nearly as imposing.

I just wanted to get a quick World Series preview/prediction out of the way with the series starting tonight, not that I have any outstanding interest in it. I do think the Rangers are the better team and should win, but I also would have never picked St. Louis to make it out of round one with their pitching, so they have been surprising people all month long. It should be a high-scoring series and the Rangers have more ammo. Even with Albert Pujols destined in what could be his final year in the Red and White, I see Texas winning in 6. They were there last year and have looked good all postseason long and I just don't see the Cards knocking them off. I think the Brewers would have certainly been a better matchup because of their strong pitching, but if you like offense, you should be in for a treat over the next 2 weeks. One thing the Rangers will need to have happen though is C.J. Wilson step up and rebound in game one vs. Chris Carpentar. I give the slight edge, starting pitching wise, to St. Louis, so Wilson's starts have to be wins. The bullpen edge goes to Texas hands down. With Alexi Ogundo able to eat up 3-4 innings at a time, the Rangers only need their starters to get the ball into the 2nd half of the game for their lights out pen to take control.

Series MVP: Josh Hamilton (hits .500 in the series and carries Texas' offense)

*GBB NOTE: I have a new addition to the family scheduled to arrive this week and will be out of town, most likely, through the weekend. We probably won't get to Part 2 of our Season in Review until I get back, but be on the lookout for quick thoughts on the World Series games, or Giants tidbits that may arise over the weekend. More along the lines of today's post rather than our typical 1,000+ word article!

A Look Back at '11: What Went Right

2011-10-18T17:31:00.000-07:00

In the first part of our 3 part end of season wrap, we'll talk about some of the main things that went right with the Giants in part one, the things that didn't go so well in part 2, and what needs to be done in order to get back where they were in 2010 in part 3.

Obviously, as we've been harping all year, and since the season ended, the starting pitching, and really the pitching staff as a whole, was brilliant. There's really nothing more Bochy and Sabean could have asked out of guys like Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner and Ryan Vogelsong. In the bullpen, the same guys who were nails in the playoffs last fall, picked up right were they left off as Jeremy Affeldt, Javier Lopez, Santiago Cassilla, Ramon Ramirez and Sergio Romo were the main passages from the starters to closer Brian Wilson, who battled some physical problems late which cost him nearly a month of play, but still notched 36 saves and sported a solid 3.11 era. None of the Giants starters won over 13 games, because of lack of run support, but they the main four all had era's under 3.21 and one guy in particular, Ryan Vogelsong, came out of nowhere to become another anchor to this staff. He really picked up the slack were Jonathan Sanchez and Barry Zito left it (more on that in the next post), and he did more than solidify his spot in 2012's rotation, he showed he may be worth a extending a few years at the right price for San Francisco. Although outside of their top-4 starters, things get a little sketchy, they really can't ask for a better base for their rotation as well as a plethora of relievers heading into next year.

As rough as things went overall offensively for this team this season, there were still a few positives to bring out of 2011, believe it or not. The main of which being Pablo Sandoval's re-ascension back among the top-tiere 3rd basemen in the NL with his 23 home run/.315 average year while missing about 1/4 of the season. The ceiling the 25 year-old Panda and 24 year-old Posey have in middle of their lineup is sky high right now and that is a something this team hasn't had in a long, long time. Not since Will Clark and Matt Williams has this team produced 2 home grown daily players with all-star capabilities, and with the way most people expect Brandon Belt to expand in his sophomore season, they could be getting another young phenom in the mix next spring. Belt had a roller coaster year in 2011, but finished off nicely, going 14-43 (.326) with 4 homers and 6 RBI in the final 2 weeks of the year. The Giants sent him to the Dominican for Fall Ball to work on a few things, and I expect him back and hungry in 2012, ready to force his way into the lineup somewhere. Another nice development the Giants saw happen this year was the defensive play of rookie shortstop Brandon Crawford. The 25 year-old proved his glove certainly belongs, and showed some glimpses with the stick, although he probably needs a full year at Fresno to fine tune that swing... All in all though, really tough year for the Giants offense.

Anyway, here's the Giants Baseball Blog awards for the 2011 Giants, pointing out top pitcher, team MVP, top rookie, surprise player and defensive player

Team MVP: Pablo Sandoval- Without him, the Giants may have scored 300 runs all year.
Top Pitcher: Tim Lincecum- Was his normal freakish self with low era and high K numbers!
Standout Rookie: Brandon Belt- Up and down year, but showed he's going to be the real thing.
Surprise POY: Ryan Vogelsong- Nothing else really needs to be said!
Defensive POY: Brandon Crawford- The guys glove was so good up the middle that he was a daily player for most the season while hitting below .200!

Up Next: PT. 2, What Went Wrong

Giants Minor Leagues Low on Big Talent

2011-10-13T12:22:00.000-07:00

After the the trades Sabean made this July, sending away Zach Wheeler, Thomas Neal and others, the Giants farm system was sure to take a hit. They're really banking on 2011's class to help re-invigorate a dying system.

There just weren't a whole lot of players who stuck out in the Giants system this season, and those who did, found their way up to the big league roster. Obviously, there are still a few elite guys like Gary Brown, Francisco Peguero and Joe Panik to help re-shape this farm system, but their pitching, which has been their strength for the better part of the last 1/2 decade, is no longer as deep as it normally is. It's like the team's philosophy has changed and all the sudden they have a plethora of power hitting prospects who have huge holes in their swings. Now Brown (.336/14/80/54) should start 2012 as the teams top ranked prospect, but 2011 top pick Joe Panik (.341/6/54, 69 games) will be right on his heels. Then I'd expect Francisco Peguero to round out the top 3, giving the Giants three positional players as their top-3 prospects for the first time that I can remember. Peguero quietly put up another very effective year, to the point where I was surprised the Giants didn't give him a look see in September. He figured out how to hit in the Eastern League, which a lot of Giants prospects can't seem to do, hitting over .300 with with a team-high .763 OPS. Another guy who had a standout year with the bat was 2009 supplemental pick, 20 year-old Tommy Joseph (.270/ 22/95) who really came alive in the 2nd half in the Cal League. Because of that power potential, Joseph will always have value, problem is finding him a position he can play comfortably.

On the pitching front, things are pretty thin at the moment, and if your wondering if the Giants may deal a starting pitcher for offense this winter, it may not be the case. 2011 Supplemental pick, Kyle Crick, who supposedly gave the Giants the confidence to deal their top prospect in Wheeler after they took him in Junes draft. However, even if he is the next MadBum or Cainer, he's just out of high school and even on an accelerated path, still 2 full years out. The only other guy close to the top-10 as far as Giants prospects coming into the year, besides Wheeler, was lefty Eric Surkamp, and he was less than spectacular at the big league level in his brief stint. He did go 10-4 with a sub-2.50 era in AA Richmond, and can pitch, but doesn't have overpowering stuff and needs to learn to throw with confidence and trust his location. He's probably destined for AAA Fresno to start 2012, but he could be in line for some starts again if he can improve in that area. Other than Surkamp though, as we saw in September, it's Barry Zito or Jonathan Sanchez. The Giants really don't have a bunch of options, and should they trade Sanchez, they better be willing to dip into free agency for some insurance. That's if Sanchez even has any value at this point. The best thing to do in his case would be to let him come to spring training and show baseball he's back, rather than try dealing him after the year he just had.

The Giants strength is still their pitching, don't get me wrong, but depth has become and issue, so much so that it likely will keep the Giants from dealing anyone away this winter. The relief front is a whole other story, as the Giants are stacked with them, and could package a guy like Romo with a solid prospect like Peguero and really get themselves a bat that way. I know there are plenty of teams looking for proven late-inning bullpen help, especially a closing-type 28 year-old.

The March Towards 2012 Starts Now

2011-10-08T15:40:00.000-07:00

I know I didn't dedicate a whole boat load of time to breaking down, inch-by-inch the positives and negatives of the 2011 San Francisco Giants, cause to me it came down to 3 simple things. The loss of Posey and then the complete fall of offensively by Aubrey Huff and Andres Torres, and the complete lack of a #5 starter all year long.

The Giants pitching was there all year, sure guys like Bumgarner and Vogey hit some bumps in the road, but I know that Dave Righetti will tell you he's more than happy with the way his staff threw as a whole (minus the 5th spot in the rotation), from their ace Tim Lincecum, all the way down to closer Brian Wilson, these guys were nails yet again. However, Barry Zito and Jonathan Sanchez delivered less than stellar outings in the final months of the season, as the Giants lost everyone of their starts down the stretch, and many weren't even close. To me, that sums up the Giants 2011 in a few short sentences. They had enough to win the division even after Posey went down. The Giants replaced Freddy Sanchez adequately, but they failed to do so with Buster, which still bogs me to this day. In mid July, this team looked all but assured a spot in the 2011 postseason. Remember when Beltran had just arrived in Philly with the Giants and the buzz around that time was incredible, a playoff like atmosphere, yet it seems like that was the one series that ended up doing the Giants in. That was their last real push of 2011 before they simply ran out of gas. But now with the MLB Postseason flying by (Championship Series' all ready), time to start putting in motion a plan for next years team is just weeks away. Let's hope the Giants learned from their mistake-full 2011 campaign, and right the ship.

It's still early October, so I don't want to start jargaining off potential trade scenarios or Free Agent targets, because so much can happen between now and the end of October. However, I am in very good position to give my 2 cents on what should happen with the guys the Giants currently have on roster and whether some of them should have a spot on 2012's squad. Believe or not, the Giants do have some big money coming off the books in the realm of Mark DeRosa ($6M), Miguel Tejada ($6.5M) and Cody Ross ($6M+), among others, and will have a little wiggling room for upgrades, and by golly, with the way these guys played last year, it would be hard for anyone not to be an "upgrade on that bunch. Ross was streaky, but hit below .250 and had 13 homers while Tejada suffered through one of the roughest season I've ever seen an ex-MVP go through. Again, I don't think any of these guys should be back in any role at all. Possibly DeRosa as an instructor/hitting coach as he seems to be good on the bench and a solid teacher. Anyway, I very much believe the 2012 Giants could feature just a portion of the 2011 opening day lineup they trotted out. Just to throw out an early guess for the heck of it, I could see Sabean entertaining the ideas of FA's like of shortstop Jimmy Rollins, a (Bay Area native), as well as Mike Cuddyer (who he's always had trade interest in) and quite possibly Coco Crisp (they need a leadoff guy, and he seems to fit what the want financially and possitionally). Wouldn't surprise me if at least one of those three are with the Giants in Scottsdalle come February though.

Note: First (of three) GBB Giants Mock Lineup: 2012 - October 31st!

Drama Surrounds Giants' Losing Season

2011-10-04T13:04:00.000-07:00

Well, anytime you follow up a World Series Championship season with a full on tanking in the 2nd half of the season like the Giants did, blame was bound to surface and fingers were going to be pointed.

On the forefront of the Giants end of season headlines, is a lot of panic surrounding the teams future, especially offensively. The Giants were so bad this season at the plate, that it's prompted some fans in the area to call for extreme measures in order to upgrade the offense, some even suggested dealing away the team's franchise starter, Tim Lincecum. Now, I highly doubt the Giants are entertaining the idea of dealing Lincecum away for offensive help, but it's been widely speculated that he's hesitant on taking a long-term deal with this team because of the offensive uncertainty. Some people are fearing that Lincecum will bolt for greener pastures, and a better lineup, once he's a free agent, so their thinking is why not turn him into a great hitter while his value is still extremely high. While I certainly can see where these people are coming from, I still think Tim Lincecum is the last guy this organization can afford to lose. Lincecum is the face of this franchise and is a perfect poster boy for this laid back, tight-nit group. I have a very hard time fathoming any situation in which Brian Sabean could drastically improve this team by dealing away his 27 year-old ace. That said, I think it's quite obvious that the Giants need to shake things up on the offensive side in order to right their ship, and dealing away a pitcher may be only way to do just that, but Cain and Lincecum should be as untouchable now as they were 2-3 years ago. The pitching is the strength of this team and should be for years to come. You get rid of Lincecum or Cain, and you change the whole makeup of this team and deliver a major blow to the starting rotation.

The Lincecum trade idea is just one of the overreactions you'll see from fans after a disappointing year in which the expectations where so high, especially after the Giants cruised for the first 4 months of the year. Another thing popped up recently too, something that I was completely unaware of before I heard it, and that was Mike Krukow's comment on how the Giants turned their backs on Aubrey Huff, one of leaders of this team during their championship run. I don't remember the comment, but apparently Huff stated that "you can't be good every year" when discussing his struggles at the plate. It was obvious during the season that Huff wasn't 100%, and things just got worse as the season wore on, but I didn't know how careless he was towards his conditioning. The Giants players easily picked up on this and lost a lot of respect for their thong-totting first basemen when he actually went public with his nonchalant attitude towards his "off-year". I'm not going to sit here and beat this topic to death, but I certainly hope this only drives Aubrey Huff to comeback stronger that ever in 2012. The Giants are stuck with him for another year and paying him over 11 million next season, so they really need this guy to rebound, and if he wants another multi-year deal, he's going to have to show up next year in top shape. Brandon Belt is playing in the winter league right now, and you can tell he's going to be hungry for a spot this spring, and if Huff returns in the same physical shape as he did in spring this year, he should lose his spot to Belt. The Giants have already sat Barry Zito and his $18 million down, and cut Aaron Rowand and his remaining $13 mill, so I don't think they'll have a problem sitting Huff.

It's too bad they couldn't pull it out in the end, because right now Arizona is no match for Milwaukee, and I have no doubt the Giants would be better equipped for playoff ball than Arizona. That said, the Brewers are no joke, and I don't even know if the Phillies will be able to slow them down. They're getting hot at the right time, a lot like the Giants did in 2010, and it wouldn't surprise me the least to see a Texas/Milwaukee Series with the way things are looking right now. Texas is also thriving right now and can out-slug anyone, while the Brew Crew have a tremendously balanced team, with speed, power, and a deep pitching staff.

Giants' Dissapointing 2011 Comes to End

2011-09-28T18:48:00.000-07:00

They managed to stay in it up until the final week, but overall, I don't think any person linked to the Giants, whether it be a fan or player, who would tell you they were satisfied with how the 2011 campaign went following the teams first World Championship.

They had a commanding lead in this division at the all-star break, and it looked like they were all but certain to return to October play and get to defend their championship, even having lost 2 key players in Buster Posey and Freddy Sanchez. They made a couple of additions before the deadline, and all the sudden, the team tanked. I don't know what exactly went wrong in the final two months, but I don't believe it was a chemistry issue. What I think happened to this team, is that they just hit a wall. After that big run last year, and everything that happened this season, I think the first half took a lot out of them, and players who were having bad years seemed to be getting worse. They never really had a ton of offense all year, but when they were winning, they were getting the clutch hit, and playing tremendous defense behind their rock solid pitching staff, but there's only so long that formula will work with a sub-par offense. After everybody got healthy and the infusion of youngsters like Brett Pill and Brandon Belt allowed tired vets to rest a bit, we saw some life in this team. Beltran showed what he could do when healthy as he finished the season on a tear, but I just don't see the Giants throwing big money at him after the way they finished the season. Had they made the playoffs, it would have been a much more likely scenario, but I believe we've seen the last of Beltran in the Orange and Black. Just hoping the trading of Zach Wheeler doesn't come back to bite this team too badly in the end.

They did finish the year with a loss, but it came in a series win over Colorado, so it was good at least to see the team fighting even though they were out of it. I still don't know why Bochy was intent to keep trotting Torres out to center field and place him in the leadoff spot when there were other younger options available, but I really don't know why he put Torres back there in the first place when Cody Ross got hurt. Why this team was playing any veteran besides Carlos Beltran and Pablo Sandoval regularly was beyond me, but Bochy still managed to get some young players like Connor Gillaspie and Brett Pill some long looks, both of whom I see very much in the roster mix heading into 2012. However, on the mound, Eric Surkamp finished the year of in less than spectacular fashion after his quality two-start debut in the bigs, and I no longer pick him as the favorite for the #5 rotation spot next spring, and this team will either need Jonathan Sanchez to return to form, or go grab another starter in free agency, cause they don't have a bunch of depth there that is ML ready right now. We'll be breaking down the season in a much more specific basis in the next few posts before we get ready to dip into the offseason and explore on what the Giants can and will do to improve themselves. Just wanted to get up one last post for the 2011 regular season, a year that can't be labeled as anything other than an all-around disappointment for San Francisco.

Giants Officially Eliminated

2011-09-24T21:52:00.000-07:00

Well, they certainly made it a little bit interesting with the late September win streak, but they suffered a couple key losses over the last few days that has sealed their fate.

I was a little surprised by their late season push, but as I typed a few posts back, it was just too little, and too late. As it was, they were going to have to go through 2 teams to get to the wild card, so their best bet was to stay alive in the division until this series here, but AZ clinched on Thursday, before they even arrived at AT&T Park for the weekend set. When that happened, the Giants then had to hope for the Cards and Braves to tank, but neither has so the Giants haven't been able to gain any ground on either. And fittingly enough, it was their offense that finally did do them in. They've lost 4 of their last 6 ballgames and scored just 5 runs in those 4 losses. Their starting pitching is putting a bow on another terrific year, especially by the two aces, Cain and Lincecum, but the lack of run support only allowed these guys to combine for a 25-24 record. That's not a good sign when your 1-2 starters are doing their job but barely walk out of the season above .500, and Lincecum actually has the chance to finish the year below .500 if he losses his final start of the season next week.Ryan Vogelsong also will wrap up his terrific year and 2011 story on Monday vs. the Rockies, and Vogey will look to finish off strong, sitting at 12-7 with a 2.88 era in his first year back in the Major Leagues since 2006. Madison Bumgarner was also a pretty good story, starting off the year 2-9, only to finish up ridiculously strong (12-13, 3.32 era) and show tremendous poise for a kid barely 22 years of age.

We definitely saw this organizations strength in 2011 in their pitching staff, top to bottom. The bullpen also was tremendously efficient in 2011, and is one of the top-5 bullpens in the NL, but this teams offense was slow to get going, and some guys never really did. Players who were catalysts in the offense a year ago were relied upon to deliver in the same capacity again in 2011, and they just couldn't do it. The injuries to Pablo Sandoval, Buster Posey and Freddy Sanchez in the first half also kind of signified of what was to come, as this team had a rash of injuries throughout the whole season. I kind of had a bad feeling in my gut about this season as soon as I saw Posey take that hit from Cousins, before I even knew the extent of the injury, cause I knew it wasn't going to be a 15-day thing, and at that point, Posey was by far their best offensive player. In his absence though, Pablo Sandoval filled the shoes of the #4 hitter very well, and picked up the slack for Buster there, and the Giants would have probably been just fine had Aubrey Huff and Andres Torres each hit over .275 and the shortstop spot not have been such an offensive black hole. Then things should have definitely been fine after Carlos Beltran and Jeff Keppinger came over in trades, who each really improved the lineup, but again, the guys who were here before the trades, minus Pablo and Nate Schierholtz at points, continued to weigh the team down.

The Giants didn't have a great offense in 2010 either, but the difference between that lineup and the 2011 version was that the 2010 lineup was stocked with clutch hitters. Juan Uribe was clutch, Edgar Renteria was clutch, Posey and Sanchez were clutch and so on and so forth, but the Giants didn't have these guys in 2011. I want to see the organization stress that this offseason when assessing players. Look at their average with runners on and in scoring position and get guys in here who can hit in those situations. They'll have a healthy Posey and Sandoval they get to build around for 2012, which is a great young nucleus already, but they're going to have open spots in this lineup and they have to upgrade those spots either through trade or free agency, and the three main ones that come to mind are center field (Ross likely leaves as FA, and Torres likely moves into Rowand's former role), right field (not expecting Beltran to return) and shortstop (doubt they hand Crawford the job after hitting just .200 in the big leagues).

Giants Hanging On By Thread

2011-09-20T14:27:00.000-07:00

I have to admit, with the way the Giants finished up August and started September, I was fairly certain they weren't going to the postseason. But with a little over a week left in the season, here they are, still hanging onto hope by a thread and doing all they can to keep their chances alive.

The Giants have all the sudden hit an 8-game winning streak and it's rejuvenated their season, albeit in the very final stages. The youngsters like Belt and Surkamp have provided a nice shot in the arm, but it's really been about that middle and combo of Carlos Beltran, who's definitely found his groove as a Giant, again, about a month later than everyone would have hoped, but it's happening at least. His presence though has been absolutely huge for Pablo Sandoval though, who's just turned into a power hitting machine since Beltran's arrival. For most of the season, Pablo was hitting the ball hard, but still didn't have an overwhelming number of homers at the all-star break, but now you look up and all the sudden he's at 22 on the year and coming very close to that amazing 2009 campaign he had. Put the Giants in first place in the West and take back those 6 weeks he missed because of injury and you'd be looking at a certifiable MVP-candidate. Again though, you have to credit Beltran at least a little bit for Pablo's improvements. Now that Beltran himself has gotten hot too, it's forcing pitchers to go after Pablo more and we saw what happens when they do on Sunday in Colorado (3-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI)! They say truly good players make people around them better, we'll, we're finally seeing that come out in Beltran, and I think it will show the Giants brass that they indeed need to pursue another big bat in free agency, be it Beltran or someone else, they need to enter next year with Sandoval, Posey and some other big-bat in the middle to have a formidable 3-4-5.

But, we can't start talking about next year just yet, as the Giants are just 3.5 back in the Wild Card and still breathing in the West with a series still to play vs. Arizona. What we've seen happen during this win streak is the offense break out, but the pitching, especially starting pitching, slip just a little. They can't have that any more. They're facing a hot team in the Dodgers right now and have to deal with Clayton Kershaw and Matt Kemp and they need their pitching on point to beat both of them. At least the Giants get to counter Kershaw with their own ace in Timmy, and it's a good thing too because Lincecum has been lights out in his last 2 starts. The Giants also have the bearded one back in the bullpen, as he threw in the 8th inning of Sunday's game and had a perfect 1-2-3 inning. I'd assume he'll retake his closers role immediately and stay there for this last week, even if he's not %100. The Giants are making it interesting, which is something we all would have taken 2 weeks ago, and it looks like this season could very well come down to the final weekend. It's time to put up or go home but the Giants have already shown that you can't bet against them or count them out until they're actually out!

Giants Offense Showing Up Too Late

2011-09-16T14:55:00.001-07:00

I just got back in town last night in the midst of a Giants' 6-game win streak that has kept a candle, albeit a small one, lit for their playoff hopes, and their 2011 team MVP is really the one behind it.

Pablo Sandoval's season hit a pinnacle Thursday night as the Giants 3rd basemen hit for the cycle, going 4-4 with 2 RBI in his dominant performance, hitting his 20th homer of the season and raising his average back up to .308. Panda had 4 hits and 4 RBI in the sweep over San Diego and went 3-4 with a couple of RBI in the win that started this mini win streak. In fact, it hasn't been just Sandoval though, the entire Giants offense has seemingly picked it up here in mid September, but they're a little late to the dance. Sure, they're still technically in it, and I'm not at all holding out hope, but with just 12 games to play, the Giants are still 7 out in the West and 6 out in the Wild Card, so their chances are very slim. That hasn't kept the offense from exploding the last few games though, as they scored 8 or more runs 3 times in these last 6 wins. Cody Ross has really broken out in a big way himself, as has Carlos Beltran, who's finally found his groove in the Orange and Black. Beltran had 3 homers in the last 4 games and has raised his average up from the mid .270's to .297. Ross' average is still shockingly low for the way he's played lately, as he's still at just .237, but he's been a big part of these last 6 games, finally giving the Giants a steady leadoff hitter for the first time all season, albeit of the unconventional type.

Through all the offense, the team's strength, it's starting pitching, has not went away by any stretch. Ryan Vogelsong was the latest benefactor of the newly improved offense, as he kind of struggled through 5.1 innings vs. the Rockies, but the Giants put up an 8 spot to back him, including 5 in the first 2 innings, which really relieved some pressure from the right-hander. Timmy didn't quite get the run support Vogey did in the game prior, but got the 2 solo jobs from Beltran and made them stand up with a solid, 7 inning/1 run/4 hit/6 strikeout performance vs. the Mat Latos and the Padres. What's really surprised me though, is the bullpen, which has stayed very strong in absence of their hoss, Brian Wilson. Santiago Casilla is 3 for 3 in save opps. and has solidified the spot, so the Giants can save Willy for a possible postseason series or one game playoff should they get that far. Again, there is only 12 games left, but if the Giants go, say 10-2, or 9-3 and the Braves do the opposite, then they could sneak in. It's time to start rooting for whoever is playing Atlanta as well as Arizona and do the double scoreboard watching in these last 2 weeks. At least this team is going out with a fight, and aren't just taking it as a lost season and throwing in the towel.

Giants Bats, Season Quietly Dissapearing

2011-09-12T16:12:00.000-07:00

Well, I would apologize for the 4 day absence from posting (been out of town and can't doing posts on my 2005 laptop), but there simply hasn't been anything exciting to even talk about. The Giants have fallen to a desperate 9.5 games out of first and have all but been eliminated in the West, and are playing like it.

Bruce Bochy has started the full on youth movement, going with Brett Pill at first and Brandon Belt in left field now on most days, and who can blame him. In an offensive nightmare that has been the last 6 weeks, these youngsters have at least breathed some fresh air of life into this offense, but it's been too little too late, and the injury to Wilson was basically the tell-tale of the season. At that point, you pretty much new things weren't good, even though the Giants were still very much alive when he did get hurt. Again though, Bruce Bochy is handling this thing the right way. It's not like he's throwing in the towel and playing all rookies, if you hit, you play at this point, and it doesn't matter about salary anymore. Right now it's all about figuring out who's going to be a part of your 25-man roster in 2012 and that's why I think the Giants ought to be doing with Hector Sanchez what they're doing with Pill and Belt. Each starter only has a few starts left so it's not like it's going to be a hardship on the pitching staff to have a rook back there, and the Giants owe it to him cause they're out of it and he earned it with his play in the minors this season. If he could be a nice offensive backup to Posey next season, that would be great. I've had about all I can take of Eli Whiteside and Chris Stewart.

My other big question for Bochy right now is why not play Darren Ford? I guess they either really don't think he'll ever hit enough to be a factor at this level, or there's something physically wrong with him, cause he's looked good up here in his brief time and would be much more exciting to watch in center than Justin Christian out there each night. Ford must still be hurt because I think the Giants would rather be using him in some of these situations that they aren't, even though he's on the active roster. Play Ford! It just goes to show you how brutal this offense really is because Jeff Keppinger's hitting, and Beltran is starting to hit and they're still not scoring. They're starting to use Brandon Crawford out at short more and giving Eric Surkamp the 5th rotation spot, and it looks like the only vets who are guaranteed time now are Beltran, Sandoval and Kepp and that's the way it should be. The Giants will have big decisions coming this winter on Keppinger and Beltran and they need to see them play. So far, I really would like to see Kepp back as the utility guy/insurance for Freddy/possible shortstop. He's been a rock since coming over from Houston and fits really well in with this ball club I think.

By the way, I know I continue to say it, but I really like Surkamp and can't wait to see him throw vs. the Padres Monday night. He's going against the rejuvenated Aaron Harang, so he'll have a tough match-up, I see him doing well in his 3rd career start. My prediction: 6 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 5 K. I know it's been just 2 starts, but I think the Giants have finally found a 2nd reliable lefty to pair into their rotation with Madison! He was a college guy and has done well at every level, why not?

Giants Enter Youth Movement as Season Slips

2011-09-07T18:13:00.000-07:00

The Giants are 7.5 games out of first in the NL West as I type this, and depending on what the D-Backs do tonight, they could fall a season-low 8 games below. But that's not the only reason the Giants have gone into a September youth movement, they're simply beat up physically.

I'm on one of the weird computers again, so I'll keep my post short and sweet, but today I wanted to talk about the young Giants, both those getting a look at the Major League level and those still down in the minors and prepping for the Fall League. First off, as far as the young guys who are here, Brett Pill and Darren Ford need to be playing daily. Torres is pretty much toast for the year in center, so why not role with D-Ford, who at the very least, could prove himself more valuable than Torres when it comes to roster spots in 2012. Not to mention, Ford seems to swing it better in the bigs than he has in the minors this season, and scores virtually every time he's on base. Not saying he's a savior in center field, but with all the holes the Giants have in their outfield in 2012, Ford should be firmly in the mix. Speaking of outfield, it looks like the Giants are also into the idea of playing Belt in left field possibly full-time in 2012 splitting time with Huff at first, until Huff's deal runs up after next season. I fully expect the Giants to explore the free agent market big time in the outfield this winter (we'll talk that in a later post) but it's looking like Belt could have one of the spots locked up. That would leave center and right as spots to potentially upgrade. I think the club views Schierholtz as a 4th outfielder and won't want him as a starter entering 2012.

As far as some other players, I'm a bit surprised the Giants haven't resorted to using Hector Sanchez more and more often and easing him into the mix. I'm sure that the Giants would love to have his bat behind Buster next season if he can handle the pitching staff, but we won't know unless we see. Unlike Sanchez, Brandon Crawford has no question about his defense, but his bad could ultimately keep him from becoming even a utility guy. He needs a big fall league and Spring Training to make this roster in 2012. The same can't be said for Eric Surkamp. He's looked like he was in for a rough one vs. the Pardres yesterday, then held his own, completed the five innings and got his first big league W. It wasn't his best outing, but he showed already that he can pitch when he lacks his elite stuff. I keep saying it and saying it, but I'm very stoked the Giants pocketed this guy at the deadline. I don't want to say Wheeler becomes the next Tim Alderson (last top Giants pitching prospect dealt who hasn't amounted to much in 3 seasons in Pittsburgh) cause I think he actually is going to be a good ML starter, but so is Surkamp, and at least the Giants hung onto one of em. Who knows how htis Kyle Crick will be, who Giants scouts are going gaga over, so after Surkamp, the cupboard's pretty bare. There are some guys with lights out stuff, but nobody who's succeeded above A-ball. With Barry Zito's time very possibly done in San Francisco, Surkamp could and should be (barring an unforeseen signing) the #5 going into spring 2012

Speaking of A-Ball, again, in high-A San Jose, the Giants produced an offensive powerhouse. Outfielder Gary Brown had a tremendous year, .336/14/80/53, and could start helping as soon as the 2nd half of 2012. Another outfielder ready to help is Francisco Peguero, the reason the Giants felt OK with dealing Thomas Neal. Peguero's developing power and speed and reminds m of a slightly less powerful Delmon Young. Tommy Joseph (.270/22/95) had a terrific second half after a slow April/May.

Giants Slipping Away After Loss to AZ

2011-09-05T12:49:00.000-07:00

The Giants had their chance to get right back into the NL West race this weekend vs. Arizona at AT&T Park, and things couldn't have started off better Friday night with their new star going 4-4 and them winning in easy fashion. The next two games couldn't have been more opposite.

Instead of the Giants moving to within 3-4 games of the D-Backs, they will enter Monday a whopping 7 games down with slightly over 20 left. In essence, they'd need Arizona to pretty much tank in these last few weeks, and they themselves would need to go on an absolute tear, something they haven't done since the all-star break. A lot of people declared the season "un-officially" over Sunday after the lose, and while their backs are certainly against the wall, I'm waiting another week or so before I make any declarations myself. I still am not at all overly impressed by D-Backs roster, and I still think they could hit a hiccup. Sure, they have some young stud hitters like Justin Upton, Chris Young and Miguel Montero, not to mention Aaron Hill has regained his all-star form since he arrived in the desert, but their bullpen is average at best, and their rotation, save for Kennedy and Hudson, aint that special. I guess in comparison though, their offense blows the Giants out of the water, and right now, the Giants pitching staff isn't even at full strength, so they don't have that huge edge on Arizona there right now, and they just don't have any momentum. They're losing at home, they're losing on the road, they're getting injured left and right. I'm not going to make any excuses for this team, cause I don't need to, but I kind of knew the chance to repeat went down with Buster in May.

What's irritating to me though, was listening to Marty Lurie on KNBR today, a host who is absolutely starting to get on my nerves. All he cares to talk about are the guys they should look at for next year and refused to hold Hensley Muellens accountable for any of the Giants hitting woes. I'm not blaming all the Giants suffering on Hensley, the Giants simply don't have a lot of talent in their lineup, but I would like to see the Giants hitting coach more active in helping the veterans in big slumps like Aubrey Huff and Cody Ross. Surprisingly though, Cody Ross has taken off a bit since being inserted into the #1 hole in the lineup. Cody hit another homer to lead off the game against Daniel Hudson Sunday, but that was all the Giants would put on the board against the D-Backs #2. He narrowly out-pitched Ryan Vogelsong who took another tough luck loss despite throwing 7.2 innings of solid ball, allowing just 2 runs and 5 hits with 6 K's. Again, a Giants starter has to be left wondering what more he can possibly do to help this team win games.

The first thing I'd like to see done, is Hector Sanchez inserted into the lineup everyday at catcher for a week and see what he does. It's not like he'll hurt the pitching too much and the Giants could use the stick (remember Panda in '09). Then I'd try out Brett Pill at 2nd and move Kepp over to short. Maybe not the best defensive middle, but defense is not what's killing this team right now. Kepp' can't be that much worse than Cabrera or Tejada at short and Pill was supposedly serviceable at 2B in AAA and was ripping the snot out of the ball. The Giants don't need to make a whole youth movement makeover and give up on the year yet, but maybe a youth infusion could rejuvenate this squad.

Beltran, Giants Get D-Backs in Game 1

2011-09-03T11:54:00.001-07:00

Those who were waiting for Carlos Beltran to come alive in a Giants uniform can wait no longer. The highly-anticipated outfielder had his best day as a Giant and just seems to be getting better after a 4 for 4 day with a homer and 3 RBI.

Carlos was just a double shy of the cycle and lifted the Giants offense in perhaps the most crucial game of their season to date. What's even better news to take out of it, was that he tore it up hitting right-handed, which was supposed to be giving him problems with the right wrist/hand. They lose that game one vs. the D-Backs and they're all the sudden 6 back with no momentum on their side, but Matt Cain would not allow it. Not only did Beltran tear the cover off the ball, but Cody Ross had the game he's been looking for, really since the all-star break ended. He had a homer and a double going 2-2 in the leadoff spot and getting on base 3 times. Perhaps the best performance of all though cannot be overlooked, and that was the effort Cain put up in a virtual do-or-die game for the Giants. Sure, if they lose, the season isn't over, but it sure would have felt like it. So Cain stepped up, going 8 innings of 5-hit ball, allowing 2 runs and a few walks but getting out of trouble like he normally does when he let's runners on. Santiago Cassilla,who by the way now sports a 1.32 era, shut the door in the 9th in a non-save situation, but did so in impressive fashion fanning 2 D-Backs. Overall, the Giants finally played Friday how Sabean and Neukom were anticipating them to play after they got Beltran (13-35, 2 HR, 5 RBI in last 8 games) and Keppinger (.297/2/as a Giant) to aid the offense.

What's going to be interesting to me over the last few weeks of the season is how the Giants go about the closers role. Obviously Brian Wilson's shoulder inflammation is a bit of mystery cause nobodies saying much about it, but actions speak for themselves, and he isn't throwing, so that's not a good sign. It just goes right along with the tough injuries the Giants have faced this season, but I think the Giants should be able to overcome this and allow him to ease back should they win the West and play in October. I have no problem with Sergio Romo or Cassilla or Javier Lopez shutting the door in the 9th right now and I believe all 3 can get the job done. Right now, it looks like it will be Romo as the main guy, which would be my 1st choice too after the year he's had and his familiarity with late-innings. Not to mention, I've heard more than a few players say he's got the nastiest stuff in that Giants pen, including Wilson. People are panicking that the rockstar closer is out and probably for the year, but if there was one spot the Giants could afford and injury, it was the bullpen because of the quality they have there. And while the Giants did lose one clubhouse leader to the DL, they got another one back in Pat Burrell, who was in the lineup Friday and was on base 2 times. I wouldn't mind seeing Burrell and Belt in a flat platoon in left the rest of the way (leaving Schierholtz in his familiar 4th OF role).

September Call-Ups: It's that time , the Giants made a few of their September call-ups yesterday, adding IF's Manny Burris, Brandon Crawford and Connor Gillaspie as well as outfielder Darren Ford. Hector Sanchez and Eric Surkamp, the Giants new young 5th starter, will be back with the team in a few days once their 10-day mandatory option runs out. I'd also expect to see a few more relievers added to the bunch as well as Nate Schierholtz when he comes off the DL next week.... And speaking of minor leaguers and names of the past. Former Giants' top-prospect, first basemen Angel Villalona, is reportedly eligible to re-join the organization this fall after clearing murder charges in his home country. Villalona is still just 21 years-old and was a top-5 prospect in 2008, so it should be very interesting to see where he lands in the Giants farm system, or if they even accept him back (I'm sure they will after spending $2 million to sign him in '06).

Giants Bite the Bullet, Tejada and Rowand Out

2011-08-31T11:26:00.001-07:00

Fans who've despised Brian Sabean's desire for over-the-hill veterans and players who have passed their prime had to breath a little easier when they went online today and read the latest Giants news.

The Giants have cut ties with their second highest paid player, Aaron Rowand, and finally admitted the center fielder never came close to fulfilling expectations the team had for him. ARow had a few clutch hits in his time as a Giant, the last 2 opening days stick out especially, but let's face it, he was never going to be a starting outfielder for this team again, and there's just no reason to keep him and his $13 million ego on the pine. I've heard teammates say a lot of good things about Aaron Rowand, but with my few dealings with him, I've never been a fan. I met him at a Giants event in '07 and he gave a real "brush off" type of attitude. Then there was his interview this year in Chicago which he praised Chicago, but declined to say a word about San Francisco and his teammates when asked in the interview (then had the audacity to call out Bruce Jenkins for reporting the story). But these aren't the reasons Rowand's DFA'd. The dude forgot how to hit a baseball and either failed to work on his game or simply declined at an amazing rate. Either way, a change of scenery will be best for all parties, but the only thorn left in the Giants side is the huge dollars they'll be committing to nobody in'12 ($13 million). I'm sure talk of Aaron Rowand on this blog isn't quite over yet, he'll pop up somewhere, but I must say, I'm happy I won't be forced into watching him and his bazaar, useless, uncomfortable batting stance that yields no results.

A lot of the stuff said about Rowand, can be said about Tejada, just on a smaller scale. The big difference with Miggy and Rowand though, is that the Giants aren't biting nearly as big of bullet by letting him walk. Tejada was on just a one year deal and was free after this season anyway, so the Giants are only out a month's pay on his contract. That to me was a no brainer, especially after Tejada made the whole organization look bad by 2nd guessing a bunt call, then actually calling timeout to argue with Tim Flannery about the call he just received. I think he forgot he was hitting .230 with zero pop and little run production, so I don't know exactly where that outburst of attitude came from, but I'll bet you it had a lot to do with his release Tuesday. I'm honestly surprised Tejada lasted this long to tell you the truth, cause he looked odd with this team, like he didn't fit in from day one.

So, the Giants are finally putting their foot down and with those two moves, they basically are telling guys, we don't care what we owe you, we don't care who you are or what you've done in the past, if you're not producing and are an anchor to this team, then your gone. I can't tell you how psyched I am to see Sabean and Co. starting to take that approach, just wish they would have done it about 2 weeks sooner and maybe we wouldn't have been in this mess. Now some fans are going to see these moves and take them as a sign of the team throwing in the towel, releasing veterans in favor of younger un-proven guys for the playoff run, but if you've watched those two play this year, you know how little of an impact these guys were actually having on the field. To me, it's not a white flag at all, it's a cry for help if anything. It's a message to the young guys that if they're doing their job in the minors, they'll get a look, and if they aren't at the ML level, then you'll be set aside. The two guys taking their spots are Pat Burrell and Brett Pill. Burrell returns from the DL and gives Boch his right-handed pinch hitting weapon back and, depending on how Burrell is swinging, another option in LF. Pill's a guy we talked a bunch about in this post, so check it out for more on him, but he'll play some 1st, 2nd and a little outfield I'd assume and must be thinking to himself, FINALLY! Pill has done as much as any minor leaguer with the Giants the last 3-4 years to not get a shot in the Bigs.

Minor League Depth Put To Test

2011-08-28T14:09:00.000-07:00

With the rash of Giants' injuries that's wiped out a good portion of this clubs top contributors, the Giants have been calling on more and more minor leaguers to step up and fill some pretty big shoes.

The latest and perhaps biggest minor league call-up came Friday, as the Giants brought up new top pitching prospect, Eric Surkamp, who was absolutely dominating AA Eastern League batters. Surkamp was 10-2 with a 2.02 era in 142 innings in AA, striking out 162 batters while sporting a WHIP slightly over 1. With Jonathan Sanchez and Barry Zito each shelved with ankle problems, the Giants basically had to call on the 23 year-old lefty by default, but he sure didn't pitch like an emergency starter Saturday in Houston. The newest Giant went 6 solid innings, allowing just 1 run on 6 hits with 4 strikeouts. He got out of trouble a few different times and really looked a bit like Bumgarner and Cain in the way he was able to mow through the Houston Astros despite allowing a few base runners. I was extremely psyched that the Giants ended up holding onto the prize lefty with all the trades they made and prospects they dealt, cause I truly think this kid's going to be a solid big leaguer. The Giants will need that to be the case too because it looks like Jonathan Sanchez's ankle injury is serious enough to shelve him for the remainder of the season and there just aren't any options after Surkamp with Zito down. The Giants could still add another veteran starter as insurance before the 31st, but Surkamp's solid showing may allow them to hold off. It would sure be something if this kid can supply that shot in the arm this pitching staff needs and provide a boost for the September run.

Speaking of September, it can't come fast enough for Bruce Bochy, who's seen his team ravished by injuries all season long, and a whole slew of them in August. Boch has been relegated to using Mark DeRosa way more than he should and I like DeRosa, but his wrist has turned him into a fraction of the player he was before he came to San Francisco. With Sandoval and Keppinger each banged up, the Giants need some help on the infield, and I think a guy like Connor Gillaspie would bring more to the table than DeRosa right now. Another guy who's really tearing it up in AAA and having perhaps the best year of any Giants' minor leaguer is 26 year-old 1B/2B Brett Pill. Unfortunately his main position is first base, and he kind of got lost in the shuffle behind Brandon Belt, but Pill has been a monster this year in Fresno, finally realizing his power potential, and has always been a solid average guy. Because of Belt, the Giants tried Pill out at 2nd base and the outfield as well, so he can play either of those positions too. He's hitting .310 with 24 HR and 104 RBI so far this year, and hit 35 HR with 193 RBI in 2009/10. He's one of the guys I'm definitely looking forward to being called up September 1st.

Other minor league Giants that should get the call-up September 1st and factor into the mix is outfielder Darren Ford. The speedy center fielder would probably be up with the club right now, but he's been injured and was slow to get going with the bat, but has come around in August. Still, he'll be up and be used as a pinch runner/defensive replacement quite often when the rosters expand. Hector Sanchez, who's bounced all around the Giants system this year will likely re-join the club in a few days as well. Sanchez came up for a day on the 23rd and had an RBI hit, then was sent back down the next day to make room for Surkamp. Besides youngsters like Sanchez, Ford and Gillaspie, the Giants will also likely be getting Pat Burrell back when the calendar turns, which will also help out a ton. Burrell's days as a starting left fielder are likely gone, but it will be nice for Bochy to have him on the bench to pinch hit.

Beltran Finally Makes Impact

2011-08-25T18:56:00.000-07:00

In his first start since coming off the 15-day DL, Carlos Beltran finally showed why the Giants sent their top pitching prospect to the New York Mets for the All-Star right fielder.

Beltran had his best day as a Giant, hitting a Tim Stauffer sinker on a line into the arcade above the right field wall. Beltran finished the day 2-4 with his first home run since July 20th, and it couldn't have come at a better time. The Giants got yet another outstanding performance out of their ace right hander, as Timmy shut down the surging offensive juggernaut that are the San Diego Padres. Although they've had a down year all the way around, ever since the Padres inserted former Giant farmhand Jesus Guzman into their lineup, they've turned into a team to be reckoned with when at the plate. Not to mention, they always seem to play their best ball against the Giants, but Lincecum had their bats quiet all night, going 8 strong innings, allowing just 4 hits with 7 strikeouts. The one number that was a little high for Timmy and cost him his shot at a complete game were the 5 free passes he handed out to San Diego. Outside of that, he was his typical Timmy self, and if you take away that little blooper down the right field line that Beltran nearly came up with, he would have had his shutout. In this save situation, Boch went with Santiago Cassilla, and there aren't many relievers in baseball having the type of year Cassilla is, so I'd expect to see him stick in that role until Wilson or Romo return. If your wondering about Heath Bell, who the Giants claimed off waivers yesterday from San Diego, I wouldn't expect him to head north to San Fran. They did it more so to block him from Arizona rather than take him for themselves. He certainly would make the bullpen freakishly strong, especially if Wilson comes back strong soon, but he won't come cheaply.

The other standout offensively on Wednesday night was Brandon Belt, who continues to impress with the more consistent playing time he's getting. He played left field and did so in front of perhaps the greatest left fielder of all time, certainly the best in Giants history, in attendance. Barry Bonds was in the first row next to the Giants dugout and was getting about as much camera time and attention from fans as the actual ballgame itself, and just maybe he is the Giants good luck charm. The new left fielder had another multi-hit game, going 2-3 with a double and a run scored. Belt's average is slowly but surely climbing, and he's now sitting at .243, so it's good to see Bochy recognizing that and making it a point to get the giraffe into the lineup. He's again in the lineup Thursday night and hitting in the 7th hole. Also in a new spot in the lineup is shortstop Orlando Cabrera, who I've been lobbying for to get a shot in the leadoff spot. He got on just one time in 4 at-bats Wednesday, but I just think he's a much better option there than guys like Rowand, Ross and Mike Fontenot. Bochy again has Cabrera in the leadoff spot Thursday, so he's another guy to keep an eye on to see if he could possibly be the Giants answer at leadoff where they've been below league average all year long. With a few days left for waiver trades to go down, I'd love to see the Giants snag a center fielder/leadoff man, so hopefully Torres returns strong, or Cabrera works out, cause you don't win a division or get very far in October if your leadoff guy is hitting .230.

Why Heath Bell Won't Be a Giant: Like I said at the top of the post, I highly suspect the Giants only had intentions of keeping Bell away from Arizona by claiming him, but it just so happens, they could actually use a guy like Bell right about now. Still though, San Diego is looking at two supplemental picks if they hang onto him and he inks elsewhere this winter, but the risk there for SD is that he accepts arbitration and wins $15+ million. So there is incentive for the Pads to deal him rather than risk him accepting arbitration, but they'd still want at least one top prospect, a la Eric Surkamp or a Gary Brown-type guy, and he's just not worth it for a month rental.

Belt's Bat Saves Giants in Houston

2011-08-22T13:57:00.000-07:00

Well, the Giants got some more bad news on the injury front this weekend in Houston, but thanks to Brandon Belt, they were able to salvage the finale Sunday and move back to within 1.5 games of first in the West.

On the injury front, Brian Wilson's arm was bad enough to the point that they DL'd him, which I'm sure was the last thing they wanted to do with Sergio Romo already down. Luckily, the Giants bullpen hasn't missed a beat without their two best arms, even though the team struggled again in Houston. They were shut down in the first two games, as they were shut out in game one, then Madison Bumgarner was rocked in game 2. They did, however, manage to figure it out just in time to avoid being swept back to San Francisco though, thanks in large part to the bats of Brandon Belt and Pablo Sandoval. Brandon Belt has all the sudden found his stroke at the big league level, and I think it's going to be impossible for Bochy to sit this guy with the way he's played this last week. Belt had a 2-HR game earlier on the trip in Florida in the only game the Giants won there, then had the day of his young career Sunday at home in Houston, going 4-5 with another HR and 3 RBI. The hit total and RBI total were each career highs at the big league level, and more than anything, a statement from Brandon Belt that he can help this offense in a big way. The Giants don't win the game though if not for outstanding relief work in place of emergency starter Dan Runzler, and one big swing of the bat by Pablo in extra-innings. Sandoval hit the game winning 2-run homer in the 11th inning to send the Giants back to San Francisco on a positive note.

Now, with their return home, the Giants should have some reinforcements on the way. The club is very much hoping to have their all-star right fielder back in the lineup on Tuesday when he's eligible to come off the DL. If not Tuesday, Carlos Beltran should return to the Giants lineup at some point this week, and I expect him to take off when he does. I'm just going to be very curious as to what Bruce Bochy does with the lineup card once Beltran does return, cause someones going to be the odd man out. With the way Belt is swinging the bat, I'm sure Bochy wants to have him in there more often than not, and he also has to find a spot for the teams best defensive outfielder and one of their steadier bats, Nate Schierholtz. The logical choice would be to just throw Belt at first and move Huff into a bench/platoon role, but I just don't see that happening. Huff has started to pick it up a bit with the bat lately (.294/3/6 in August) and we all know how Boch likes those vets in a pennant race. Therefore, I could see Schierholtz losing the most at-bats once Beltran returns, with Belt getting 1/2 the starts in left and about 25% of the games at first, which would put his bat in the lineup 3 out of 4 nights while still giving Schierholtz and Huff plenty of at-bats. I'd still like to see Beltran in center with Nate in right and Belt in left, but that won't likely happen.

Offense Spiraling Downward

2011-08-20T12:40:00.000-07:00

The Giants were shut out in the series finale in Atlanta Thursday, and were once again held scoreless in Houston Friday night, as their offense continues a tailspin of epic proportions.

How this team is still 2.5 games out of first in the West with the way they've played since the calendar turned to August is beyond me. Perhaps the worst game of the stretch came Friday night, as the Giants rolled into Houston to take on the worst team in baseball, and had their rear-ends handed to them in a 6-0 loss. Within 24 hours of being shut down by Braves rookie left-hander Mike Minor, the Giants went up against another quality left-hander in Wandy Rodriguez, and were once again held scoreless. The batting order Bruce Bochy trotted out was one of the worst I've seen the Giants use in a couple of seasons at least, featuring a top-3 of Aaron Rowand, Mark DeRosa and Cody Ross. No Beltran, no Pablo and no Keppinger. In fact, Nate Schierholtz was the only hitter in Friday nights starting lineup with an average better than .244, so it really shouldn't surprise anyone that the Giants were held scoreless. There are some PCL lineups that would have had a better go of it than what the Giants showed Friday night, but that's what happens when your squad is banged up late in the year. The Giants had to put another player on the DL Friday after Eli Whiteside suffered a concussion, prompting the re-call of Hector Sanchez and I wouldn't mind seeing him get some at bats this time around. He was briefly called up earlier in the year, but had only a handful of at-bats before being sent back down to Fresno.

As far as the other injured Giants go, the Giants are desperately hoping to get their big fish, Carlos Beltran, back into the lineup when he's eligible to return from the DL Tuesday in San Francisco. Seeing that the wrist was supposedly barely bad enough to warrant the DL stint, I would expect him to be back Tuesday, or shortly thereafter. Hopefully by that time Pablo Sandoval and Jeff Keppinger will each be feeling a lot better too, and can resume their everyday roles, cause we're seeing what this offense is like without those guys in there and it's not pretty. I'm still very curious to see what's going to happen at the leadoff spot. Bochy has tried Rowand, he's tried Ross and he tried and re-tried Andres Torres, but they just can't seem to get anything consistently going in that spot. Torres is starting his rehab assignment in AAA and is eligible to return in 10 days, but he may not be returning to his starting center field spot. With the waiver-trade deadline approaching, and the Giants desperate for a spark for their offense, primarily in the form of a leadoff hitting center fielder, I wouldn't put it past Sabean to go out and grab someone. We talked before about Coco Crisp and Angel Pagan each going through waivers, and I really think either of those guys would help. If they can't get someone via waivers, it's time for Bochy and Sabes to consider giving Darren Ford a look see.

Catching Situation: With Whiteside now shelved for at least a week, it could prompt Sabean's search for a backstop on waivers. Chris Stewart is a fine defender and OK getting a start per week, but he's one of the worst hitters in the big leagues in an offense that's been putrid. 21 year-old Hector Sanchez should get another brief look, but Bochy probably won't give him too much time (Boch likes experience in pennant races). If the Giants weren't desperate for a catcher 2 weeks ago, they sure are getting there now and the guys I'm looking at are Ramon Hernandez and Ryan Doumit. I have no idea if either will go through waivers, but if they do, the Giants should kick the door down to obtain one.

Injury Bug Ripping Through Giants

2011-08-17T12:58:00.000-07:00

The Giants have lost the first two games of this important 4-game set with the Braves, and ballgames are not all this team has been losing. Over the last week or so, the Giants have watched nearly 1/2 of their lineup go down with some sort of injury, and it's landed their prize trade acquisition on the DL.

What has been discussed about as much as pertaining to the Giants over the last week is when the heck is Carlos Beltran going to get back into the lineup. What was supposed to be a minor tweak of his right hand has now turned into a 15-day DL stint, leaving the Giants without their 2nd best hitter until at least August 22nd (retroactive to Aug. 7th). Joining Beltran on the DL is top set-up man Sergio Romo, with right shoulder inflammation, and leadoff man Andres Torres (contusion) leaving the Giants paper thin in the outfield. Those three could also soon be joined by Jonathan Sanchez, who pulled a Barry Zito and sprained his left ankle coming in to field a bunt. That's four, very important pieces to this team that will not be able to help for a while, and it's caused Bruce Bochy to do some interesting things with the lineup. On Tuesday night, do to the lack of outfielder options, he put Aubrey Huff and Brandon Belt each in corner outfield spots flanking center fielder Cody Ross. Outfielders Aaron Rowand and Nate Schierholtz as well as 2nd baseman Jeff Keppinger are also banged up and weren't available Tuesday, though it's not likely they'll need DL stints. Even Pablo Sandoval was forced out of the game on Monday night because of a foot injury.

With the injury bug spreading through this team like a bad flu, it's very plausible Brian Sabean could feel obligated to go out and try and bring in help via the waiver wire. Three names that surfaced Tuesday as players who have either been put on or cleared waivers that I believe would be perfect additions to this team right now are a couple of A's, Coco Crisp and Rich Harden. With Torres now down with injury, and having a real off year in general, I think Sabean would be open to the idea of bringing in another center fielder/leadoff option. I don't want to say Crisp is in the league that Kenny Lofton was, but remember what a spark K-Lo brought to the Giants when they got him in that summer of '02? That's exactly what this lineup needs, a jump start at the top, something they haven't really had all year long. Torres has never gotten going, and it hurts because Keppinger was hitting well in the 2-spot. The other leadoff/center field candidate who doesn't intrigue me as much as Crisp but still would be an upgrade is the Mets' Angel Pagan. As far as Rich Harden is concerned, I think after watching Sanchez pitch the last few outings and now the injury pretty much proves they can't expect anything from him the rest of the way. With Zito shelved, that leaves a plethora of un-experienced minor leaguers as options for the 5th starters spot, and believe it or not, it's going to be a place that the Giants need a solid arm and Harden has looked strong since his return July 1st.

Note: Also unavailable in Wednesday's game was all-star closer Brian Wilson, who's suffering from an inflamed right arm and had it checked out by Dr. James Andrews. The check up revealed no damage and Bruce Bochy believes Wilson should be ready to go by the weekend, but you never like to see shoulder inflammation at this point in the season in your star closer. That's something that can stick with you the rest of the way and that's not what the Giants need. With top non-closing reliever Sergio Romo shelved for the next 2 weeks, the Giants absolutely need Wilson available so they're not so short handed. Until Willy's ready, I expect Santiago Cassilla or Ramon Ramirez would get the nod in a save situation.

Brandon Belt Returns With 2 HR Game

2011-08-15T12:11:00.000-07:00

Well, the first game of the Marlins series looked a lot like what we saw all home stand from the Giants, good pitching, and very little offense. Luckily, they sparked the offense enough to salvage the last 2 games and win the Florida series, thanks in large part to the bat of Brandon Belt.

With Carlos Beltran missing the last week of play with his bum wrist, the Giants haven't had anyone really step up and fill his shoes. Cody Ross had a nice game 2 in his return to Florida, and Aubrey Huff has picked it up a lot in the month of August, but the only 2 guys in this lineup that are playing up to their standards are Pablo Sandoval and Jeff Keppinger. Brian Sabean and Bruce Bochy each knew that they needed another bat up here while Beltran's recovering, and the team once again recalled top prospect Brandon Belt, who's destroyed AAA pitching this year and really has nothing left to prove down Fresno. Belt responded in a big way, hitting 2 balls out of Sun Life Stadium for his first multi-home run game in his big league career. Giants fans all across the Bay Area that had been pining for more Brandon Belt had to be thinking in their minds "Ha, I told you so!" With Aubrey Huff's struggles at the plate this season, the Giants have given Belt a few brief looks at first this season, but he's never been given a big stretch of playing time at once in the big leagues and Giants fans are hungry to see what he can do. I get the logic in playing Huff down the stretch in the pennant race, but it's mid-August right now, I don't think throwing Belt out there for a week's stretch of games will hurt the team, and it may end up paying huge dividends.

Not that I'm advocating relegating Huff to the bench. If the Giants offense is going to "Go" and they're going to reach the playoffs and make noise there, they need Aubrey Huff to be Aubrey Huff. Why not give him a 5-7 game stretch to just regroup and work on his swing, then if Belt isn't hitting after that, then Huff re-takes his spot, if Belt is hitting, then they use Huff accordingly. That's kind of how I'd do it right now. It's still not clear whether Carlos Beltran will land on the DL with this nagging wrist issue, but it certainly wouldn't surprise me, and that would open up another spot in the outfield so Huff and Belt could each be in the same lineup. The Giants just don't have enough offense to pick and choose who they play, they have to play the guy who's hitting, and right now, it certainly looks like that's Brandon Belt. The Giants recent losing stretch has cost them their strong hold of first place in the West, and for the first time in months, their looking up at a team in front of them. Now there's 6 weeks of baseball left, so a 2 game lead is really nothing. The Giants need to just forget about Arizona for a little while and concentrate on getting back to where they were in August of last season. It was about this time last year that the Giants went on the epic tear that ended with a parade down Market Street.

The Giants' road trip heats up a little bit today as they start a 4-game set with the Braves in Atlanta. It's the Giants first trip to ATL since they beat the Braves in the NLDS last fall and you know the Braves will be hungry for some payback. This should be another great measuring stick for San Francisco to see exactly where to stand against the NL Wild Card favorites.

Sanchez's Struggles Cost Giants Series

2011-08-10T17:45:00.000-07:00

The Giants have lost their mojo, and if they don't get themselves right on this upcoming road trip they're going to find themselves looking up at the Arizona Diamondbacks before long.

What was supposed to be the teams strength, the starting pitching, was really roughed up this whole home stand. Jonathan Sanchez's start on Wednesday was just the boiling point, as it was Sanchez's second start since returning from the DL and 2nd ugly loss in is many starts. The Giants 28 year-old lefty continues his Jekyll and Hyde season which has seen him really tank in his last 4 starts, including the last 2 before his DL stint. Over those last 4 starts, Sanchez is 0-3 with a 9.88 era and 15 walks in just 17 innings pitched. Wednesday was basically those 4 starts in a nutshell, as all 4 batters Sanchez walked came around to score. The DL stint apparently did nothing for the left-handers confidence for effectiveness, cause he looks like a deer in headlights out on the mound. It's a tough situation for the Giants now too, because all the sudden, they have themselves a little problem with their fifth starter. We've seen Barry Zito get rocked in his last few starts so it's almost like a pick your poison situation for Bochy now. Do you want Sanchez, who has better stuff but will likely walk 4-5 batters a night, out there or Zito, who's much more accurate, but also throws just 84 MPH and has become a batting practice pitcher on most nights. I don't really expect the Giants to bring any youngster like Eric Surkamp up to throw in the heat of a pennant race, so it makes me wonder if the Giants would actually look into bringing in a 5th starter through waivers, a la Brad Penny from a couple years ago. There are a ton of starters out there who could get put on waivers, like Bruce Chen, Javier Vazquez and Rich Harden.

While the pitching was roughed up pretty good all home stand long really, the offense looked even worse. Carlos Beltran missed the whole Pirates' series and could miss some time in Florida as well. On a positive note, one of the guys who the Giants are really hoping turns it around for these last months is slowly starting to get it going. Aubrey Huff has started contributing on a much more consistent basis over the last few games, hitting .400 with 1 hr and 3 RBI over his last 7 games. He's gotten his average up to the .250 mark, which is the first step, and he just has to keep chipping away. It's especially key for the other outfielders and Huff to step up big with Schierholtz and Beltran each down. That includes Andres Torres, who's been way too easy an out in the leadoff spot. I really believe a solid .275 hitting leadoff man would really help kick start this offense, and it's really to bad Sabean couldn't find someone before the deadline to help out. There's still a chance he could look to upgrade the roster, mainly catcher and center field, if anyone of note gets put on waivers. That list includes Coco Crisp and Juan Pierre as potential leadoff hitters to look for this August. I'm surprised the Giants didn't go harder after Coco Crisp, who I'm sure the A's would have parted with before July 31st. I'm not sure what it would have cost the Giants in trade, but I sure know that Crisp's .275 avg. and 37 steals would look pretty nice in center right about now.

The One That Got Away? It sucks watching the Giants offense take a nose dive, while one of their former farm-hands is absolutely tearing the cover off the ball for the Padres. Jesus Guzman, who spent 2009 in the Giants organization, has gotten a look with San Diego and he's been one of the best hitters in baseball since taking over at first. The 27 year-old first basemen enters the weekend with a .350 average, 6 HR, 30 RBI and 21 runs in only 123 at-bats (roughly 33 hr and 160 RBI projected into a full season) as the Padres new first basemen and their heir apparent to Adrian Gonzalez. I know their not in it now, but Guzman is young and will likely have the Giants kicking themselves a few times over the next few years for letting him slip away. Dude can rake!

Giants Salvage Finale Vs. Phillies

2011-08-07T14:51:00.000-07:00

A wild weekend series that saw a bench clearing brawl and the Giants lose 3 out of 4 despite getting terrific starting pitching came to a close Sunday, and despite the rough weekend, the Giants escaped the mess still clinging to first place in the West.

Lincecum was huge as stopper on Sunday, going 7.2 innings allowing 7 hits and a run with 5 K's en route to his 10th victory on the season. The starting pitching was really strong all weekend outside of Jonathan Sanchez's blunder on Friday night. Bumgarner and Cain each gave up an early lead, but ended up with strong starts overall. The bats didn't step up until finally showing some signs of life Sunday. The Giants collected 13 base hits, but only 2 went for extra-bases, and they didn't hit well with runners in scoring position, so they only came up with 3 runs on those 13 hits. Two guys who haven't had a problem with runners on are a couple of the newest Giants, Orlando Cabrera and Jeff Keppinger. Their new second basemen led the team's offensive charge with a 4-4 afternoon and came up with a key sac fly in the 6th that put the Giants 2 runs ahead of Philly. Their new shortstop continues to have a knack for the clutch situations, as Cabrera had a double and a big sac fly in the 5th inning that put the Giants ahead of the Phillies for the first time all weekend. We talked about Cabrera's value to the team in our last post, and he just keeps impressing. He's a rare veteran who brings a burst of energy to the field like he's still a rookie. Plus, they haven't missed a beat defensively from Crawford to Cabrera, and he's more potent with the bat than I was expecting.

I can't necessarily say the same about fellow newcomer Carlos Beltran. The star right fielder has been especially quiet since trading in the blue and orange for the black and orange, and if you take away his 3-hit game vs. Arizona Wednesday, he'd be sub-.200 with the Giants with an OPS in the .500's. He's now played 11 games with San Francisco, and has 45 at-bats, so his transition period should be over with, and I'd be surprised and somewhat concerned if he doesn't fire up this week. Even though he himself hasn't hit since coming over to the Giants, he's had a positive effect on the middle of the order, Pablo Sandoval especially. The Panda has been a monster since moving into the 4th spot behind Beltran, and the guy in front of Beltran, Jeff Keppinger, is starting to reap the benefits as well. I think Carlos is still pressing just a bit and trying to do a little too much. I don't think it would be a bad idea for Bochy to sit him down for a game just to kind of settle him down. He's been on go and hasn't gotten a breather since the Giants traded for him and he arrived in Philly on the 28th. He was removed in the 7th inning of Sunday's game with a bothered wrist, but it's not anything that should cost him any games. Regardless, I hope Bochy gives him a much needed night off Monday vs. Pittsburgh and allow him to start fresh on Tuesday.

Giants Right Offense In Time For Philly

2011-08-04T13:17:00.000-07:00

Well, the Giants barely escaped that Arizona series with sole possession of first place in the West, and things aren't about to get any easier.

The Philadelphia Phillies arrive in San Francisco today for a big re-match of the series in Philly in late July which the Giants took 2 games to one. It was only about a week ago, so it's still pretty fresh in every body's memory, as are the comments made by Charlie Manuel about the Giants starting pitching, Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum especially. Luckily for the Giants, they got out of their offensive skid just in time to keep hold of 1st place and inject some confidence into the lineup in time for a big 4-game weekend set with their newest rival. The Giants broke out for their biggest scoring output at home this season Wednesday, and all of their new toys contributed in big ways. Carlos Beltran went 3-5 with a triple and an RBI. Orlando Cabrera was 1-4 but had a 2-run double and drove in 3 on the afternoon hitting in the 5-hole. Cabrera has looked very strong up the middle on defense and looks focused with the bat in his hand, and I'm starting to feel a little bit better about his addition. Jeff Keppinger also continued his steadiness in a Giants uniform with a 2-hit day as well. The guys who were here before the trade also played well, as Cody Ross and Aubrey Huff, each in need of big games, each had one. Pablo Sandoval also continued his tear with another multi-hit effort driving his average up to .309.

It wasn't just about the offense on Wednesday though, the Giants got a strong start out of Ryan Vogelsong who played the role of stopper extremely well. He had some spotty control early, but ended the day going 6 innings, allowing just 1 run with 7 strikeouts and improved his record to 9-1. Tim Lincecum also pitched pretty well on Tuesday night, but unfortunately, the Giants offense didn't show up and the bullpen didn't hold up their end of the bargain that night either. Still, it was very key for this team to get going in that finale so they aren't heading into this Phillies series on a 6-game losing streak, cause Philly has been red hot since the Giants left them last week. Ryan Howard has come alive over the last week, and Chase Utley is heating up after a slow return from his injury, but the big change the Giants will be seeing in the Philly lineup for the first time is their new prize acquisition Hunter Pence. Now the Giants won't just be able to trot out a lefty to get Howard/Utley/Ibanez with Pence sandwiched in between them. Pence not only provides the Phillies with just a replacement for Jayson Werth for the first time since he left, he's an upgrade over Werth if you ask me, and he makes that lineup a whole lot better and more dynamic. This is an early August match-up with a late October feel, and it should be interesting to see where the Giants stand on Sunday.

Trades Yet to Pay Dividends

2011-08-02T16:13:00.000-07:00

Since the Giants made their blockbuster deal and added Carlos Beltran to their roster, they've won just one time. Granted, he's only played 5 games as a Giant, a 1-4 start after obtaining the sought after right fielder isn't the start Brian Sabean had in mind.

Beltran took a few games to get acclimated, but he looked a lot better at home in Monday night's loss to the surging Diamondbacks. Despite the teams 5-2 loss, Beltran put up his first multi-hit game as a Giant going 2-4 with a triple. Surprisingly, it hasn't really been the offense that's tanked here these last few games. Sure, they haven't been on fire, but the Giants pitching has hit a rough patch over this last week. We saw Madison Bumgarner and Barry Zito each get lit up in Cinci, then Matt Cain turned in his worst performance in months on Monday night to allow the D-Backs to move within 1 game of first place. Cain threw 5 2/3 innings, allowing 8 hits, 3 walks and 5 runs, certainly a night to forget for the 26 year-old horse. It started off well for the Giants, with Cody Ross possibly finding his new home at the leadoff spot. Ross homered in his first at-bat in the bottom of the first, and ended up going 2-4 on the night. With Andres Torres and Aaron Rowand both struggling, Ross, Schierholtz and Beltran are the team's top outfielders and if they can find a way to have them playing together like Boch did Monday, then I think it will benefit the offense. I also like slotting Ross in the leadoff spot ahead of Keppinger and Beltran where he's certain to get some fastballs.

So the Giants will hand the ball to their ace Tuesday night and ask him to give them some more breathing room atop the division. Tim Lincecum is coming off an impressive performance last week in Philadelphia when he shut down the Phillies lineup despite being struck with the flu. The Giants don't necessarily need him to keep the D-Backs off the board all night, but I think it's crucial that Timmy has a clean couple of innings to start the game so the team doesn't get down early. That's been a big problem for the team, and even with Beltran in tow, they still don't really have an offense built to overcome 3-4 run deficits. Some say the team has struggled these last few days because their chemistry has been disrupted, but I don't buy that one bit. There isn't one player on the Giants who would tell you they don't want Carlos Beltran in town and although a lot of the fans didn't care for the Cabrera trade, plenty of Giants have already voiced their endorsement of the cagey shortstop. There was certainly going to be an adjustment period for these new players but that's not going to last more than a week. I'd be surprised if we don't see things turn around tonight behind Timmy.

Giants Make Another Move, Add Cabrera

2011-07-30T20:32:00.000-07:00

Well, I can't say I completely love this deal like I did the Beltran trade, but the Giants felt they needed to add one more hitter before Sunday's 1 PM trade deadline and Sabean apparently felt Orlando Cabrera was the best, most attainable option.

Now, don't get me wrong, Cabrera is an upgrade over what the Giants are currently trotting out to shortstop each night, but only slightly, and I think they could have packaged Neal up to get someone of more value. Thomas Neal (pictured) isn't an A-prospect, but he's no slouch, and with Cody Ross, Pat Burrell and Carlos Beltran all coming off the books next year, the Giants could have used the extra insurance in the outfield. While the Beltran deal does get an A in my book, this one is more like an average C, C+ move. Cabrera's numbers are pretty identical to those of Miguel Tejada's, and his defense isn't as good as Brandon Crawford's. He's hitting a modest .244 with 4 homers and 38 RBI and was slowly losing playing time to rookie Jason Kipnis. My guess is that Cabrera will come in and hit in the lower part of the order, either 7th or 8th, and although the Giants could still go after an upgrade behind the plate, I don't see them doing anything else between now and tomorrow's 1PM deadline. There were a couple other names floating out there linked to the Giants as well, and they were Baltimore first basemen Derek Lee (since dealt to the Pirates) as well as Houston Astros center fielder and leadoff man Michael Bourn but I just don't see anything else serious materializing. They could get a backstop before the waiver deadline of August 31st, but I'd expect closer to Pudge Rodriguez than Ramon Hernandez.

Something tells me Sabean watched these first two games in Cincinnati and made the decision that he wanted to add more offense to shortstop without getting a big drop off in defense from Brandon Crawford. Tejada is becoming a defensive liability out there and this move allows him to move around the infield and be more of a utility guy. The Giants had thoughts of adding Cabrera this winter too, but felt they'd get more offense out of Tejada and added him instead. Should be interesting to see if Cabrera will be in Cinci Sunday for the Giants finale. The one area where Cabrera will absolutely help, and is probably a large reason why the Giants got him, is in the clubhouse and during pressure situations down the stretch. He's a guy who's been to the postseason 6 different times and knows how to play on that stage. I don't think the Giants would have felt comfortable trotting Brandon Crawford out there in a potential NLCS game as he's still trying to get his legs under him at the big league level. He's been great defensively, but his sub-.200 average left too much to be desired offensively. Not that Cabrera is a whole lot better, he's a vet and the Giants are pining hopes that he'll be their "Edgar Renteria" in October this year.

Lincecum Strong, Giants Beat Philly Again

2011-07-29T12:18:00.001-07:00

Well, their prized new acquisition went 0-4 with a couple of K's, but the Giants got a gutsy return performance from ace Tim Lincecum to complete their series victory over the Phillies, once again frustrating Philly fans and getting into the head manager Charlie Manuel.

Although Lincecum was probably still feeling many effects from the flu that's had him down all week, he rose to the occasion Thursday night, throwing 6 shutout innings allowing just 3 hits while striking out 6. After his team was again shut down by Giants' pitching, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel called the Giants pitchers "good pitchers, not great pitchers", which to me is a comment out of pure frustration. I don't want to jump on Manuel and beat this to death cause I really don't care what he thinks about a team who all the sudden has his number, I'd rather talk about what good baseball the Giants have been playing. Especially on the pitching side of things. Pablo Sandoval and Nate Schierholtz each had nice games Thursday and drove in runs to help support Timmy. Also, even though he didn't have a direct impact with the bat, I think Carlos Beltran's presence was felt throughout the lineup and everyone was carrying a new level of confidence. Apparently Beltran suggested to Sandoval to try and go the other way before his first at-bat vs. Kendrick, and the result was a Sandoval solo homer to left field. Beltran also made very nice grab in right field that had everybody holding their breath a bit as he landed on that surgically repaired right knee and carved out some ground in right field.

Again though, it was really all about the arms vs Philly, the one bad start by Zito turning into a loss, then the two dominant outings by Cain and Lincecum. Had the Giants thrown Philly killer Jonathan Sanchez at Philly instead of Zito, I'm sure things would have come up different, but we'll have to wait until early next week before Sanchez reclaims his spot over Zito. Matt Cain more than atoned for Zito's ugly outing Wednesday with 7 innings of 1 run ball with that 1 run being of the unearned variety. The Phills couldn't touch Cain or Timmy, then when Bochy brought in the left-handed relievers, it really exposed the Phillies middle order hitters. They're so left-handed heavy and the Giants have such good left-handed relievers that the Giants just match up terrifically with Philly as each team stands now. It's prompted talk in Philadelphia that he Phills will try desperately to add Hunter Pence before Sunday's trade deadline in order to break up all those lefties in the middle for Philly. The Giants themselves may not be done either, in fact I'm kind of expecting Sabean to make another move. The Giants have had upgrading catcher on their mind ever since Buster Posey went down in May, and they may be squaring off against the best possible target this weekend in Cincinnati.

Ramon Hernandez has been the latest name linked to the Giants, and I think it would be a great move to get a .300 hitting catcher with some power and solid defense in here. Although Whiteside's bat seems to be picking up, his defense and decision making is falling off the map and I just can't imagine this guy behind the plate in the heat of late playoff game... Also, the Giants have yet to announce a starter for the Sunday game in Cinci which is supposed to be Zito's spot. Sanchez just threw for Fresno on Wednesday so he won't be ready, some have even mentioned new top pitching prospect Eric Surkamp as a possible replacement for Zito Sunday, but I doubt he makes the jump up from AA. I expect Zito to get the start and depending on how it goes, it could be his last one in quite a while for the Giants.

Carlos Beltran Coming to Town

2011-07-27T18:26:00.000-07:00

It was a deal that's been in the making for the better part of the month, and it appears to have finally come to fruition Wednesday. The Giants will send top pitching prospect Zach Wheeler to New York for outfielder Carlos Beltran, the top bat on the trade market, in a deal expected to be announced Thursday.

I've been discussing Beltran here a lot in recent weeks, so you know I'm pretty pro-Carlos Beltran, I just really hoped the Giants could get the deal done with Peguero or Surkamp and could have hung onto Wheeler. I've seen Wheeler pitch, and I think he can be a #2 of 3 starter, but he hasn't dominated the minors like Cain, Lincecum and Bumgarner did and he's not really standing out in A-ball this season, so who knows when he'll be ML ready. Also, the Mets had other offers for Beltran who was the prize bat of this market by far, and the Giants made a bold move in order to ensure their spot in the playoffs and boost their chances for a repeat. Beltran should come right in and take over the everyday job in right where he's most comfortable, forcing Cody Ross Nate Schierholtz and Brandon Belt scurrying for AB's in LF. It's also possible Beltran could see some time in center field too if Andres Torres can't get his batting average up. Carlos Beltran easily becomes the Giants best outfielder since the Barry Bonds era and is quite possibly the biggest trade deadline acquistion in decades for the San Fran. Wherever he's playing, he'll be entrenched into the middle of the batting order with Pablo Sandoval and Nate Schierholtz, giving the Giants two strong switch hitters in that middle which bodes very well for late inning relief match-ups. My guess is that Beltran will hit 3rd in front of Sandoval, Huff and Schierholtz. It should also be interesting to see what happens to Brandon Belt's PT, and who exactly will be out of a roster spot with the arrival of #15?

Though I wasn't hoping for the departure of a top prospect, I do approve of this move. The Giants don't need to eat all of Beltran's remaining salary which adds more to the pot for a potential contract extension after the season. Speaking of which, I do think Sabean and Co. will be very serious about keeping Beltran in San Francisco beyond this year. Even though the Giants dealt from strength, Wheeler was their prized arm in their minor league system and I don't think Sabean dealt him away without any plan of trying to keep Beltran for a few more years if all goes well. The Giants do have a few bright young outfielders in the minor leagues, but nobody too close or with the extra-base power of Beltran. Plus, a potential Giants lineup for 2012 that includes Beltran, Posey, Sandoval, Belt, Sanchez and Huff (hopefully he rebounds) is mighty compelling. I just hope that this deal doesn't mean less playing time for Schierholtz. Nate's having a much better season than Cody Ross, and until Ross gets into one of his hot streaks, he should be relegated to left-handed pitching and righties he's crushed in the past. Then again, with Torres' struggles, it wouldn't surprise me to see Beltran in center flanked by Schierholtz in Ross a lot of nights as well. Again, no matter how you look at it, the Giants gave up a quality young arm to get a very good outfielder who'll help them win now and drastically help out their faltering offense. I give the deal a double thumbs up, now if Sabes could get him to ink a reasonable 3-year extension, that would be icing on the cake!

Back on the field, the Giants just finished off a win over the Phillies to even up the series at 1 apiece for Thursday's rubber match. Beltran apparently left Cinci Wednesday and is expected to be in the lineup for the finale in Philly. The Giants will either trot out Tim Lincecum if he can finally shake the flu, or it will be Vogelsong. Either way, the Giants will be in good shape going up against Kyle Kendrick who's very hittable if the Giants can be patient. It should also be noted that he Giants may not be done on the trade front either. I still think they would like to upgrade catcher if they can.

Beltran, Outfield Decision Looming Large

2011-07-26T15:19:00.000-07:00

We're now just 5 days away from Sunday's MLB trade deadline, and like I said in our last post, it appears to be a 2-team race for the services of Carlos Beltran. The two favored teams happen to be starting a crucial 3-game set tonight vs. each other, and by the end of it, I'd be willing to bet that on either Philly or San Fran will make a move to grab Beltran.

There is the rumor floating out there that the Braves could be in the running as well, but they'd probably jump in only if Philly or the Giants can't get a deal done and the price for Beltran drops. Either way, their is no reason for the Mets to hang onto him at this point. If they keep him and offer him arbitration, he could take them to court and win $18-20 million bucks for 2012, though chances of him not landing a multi-year deal with someone after this season he's had isn't likely. So if it came down to it, would the Giants eat the salary and sweeten the pot with a prospect like Francisco Peguero or Thomas Neal? I'm starting to think they just might be. I've been saying all along this team is definitely good enough, as is, to win their division, just because the Rockies are having an off-year and the Dodgers are a mess. It would be a dissapointment if they didn't win this division. But the point of adding Beltran isn't to help him get you to the playoffs, it's to help you win it all, and that's what Sabean should be focusing on right now. We've mentioned B.J. Upton here a few times as well, but he's going to cost more in trade than Beltran and isn't as effective right now in his career as the Mets outfielder. Upton would still improve this teams offense by bringing in power and speed as well as providing a 26 year-old all-star to build an outfield around, but the Giants don't need another sub-.250 hitter in their lineup and that's where Upton's at right now. The more I look at the Giants situation and the trade market, the more Beltran's starting to make sense. We can't forget that if the Giants don't get him, another NL contender will and be that much tougher in October!

On the field, as I said, the Giants are taking on these vary Phillies in a match-up of last years NLCS and you know that Philly will be hungry for some payback and the fans will be wild. If you thought the Brewers/Giants series over the weekend was exciting, fasten your seat belts for these next three cause they're bound to be nail-biters. Unfortunately, the Giants got some bad news right off the bat, as ace Tim Lincecum was scratched from Friday's start and replaced by Barry Zito due to a flu. So Zito will have the honers of taking on bright young right-hander Vance Worley, and this is going to be a huge test for Barry. Jonathan Sanchez is pretty much through with his rehab work and rearing for a chance to get back on the mound for the Giants, and if Zito bombs tonight, it could happen sooner than later. There was speculation that Sanchez would re-join the Giants in relief if Zito kept his strong pitching up, but Sanchez has worked as a starter during his assignment which tells me the Giants indeed plan to return him to their rotation. Luckily for Zito, most all of Philly's thump comes from the left-side of the plate, so he won't be totally exposed out there, but this 83 mph fastball paired with that live yard doesn't bode well on paper. Offensively, the Giants need some production out of that bottom of the lineup if they're going to keep up with Philly's offense. Their 6-7-8 hitters for Tuesday are hitting a combined .236!

Trade Talk: Besides the pursuit of Carlos Beltran, things have been pretty quiet on the Giants rumor front. Surprisingly, I haven't heard them asking about any catchers or shortstops, both areas where the Giants are sorely below league average. They may be banking on Mark DeRosa returning and playing 2nd while moving Keppinger to short, but I sure hope they're not pining hopes on a guy who's spent the last 2 seasons on the shelf. I know the catching market isn't booming with potential targets, but I don't know if I can put up with another 2 months of Whiteside's soft hitting and overrated throwing arm. I think personally think Miguel Olivo's 14 home runs and 45 RBI would look beautiful in the 7th or 8th spot in San Francisco without missing a beat behind the plate.

Strong Pitching Prevails Over Brewer Bat's

2011-07-24T15:42:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that the Giants offense cannot match blows with powerful teams such as the Brewers, so they need their pitching and defense to be on point in these types of series, and they received some tremendous outings from their starters this weekend.

The Giants finished off the 3 game set on Sunday with a 2-1 win over the NL's top offense behind the arm of 21 year-old lefty Madison Bumgarner. MadBum had a rocky start in the first inning allowing a solo big fly to Ryan Braun, but that was all the scoring the Brewers would do on the afternoon. Bumgarner settled down after that and was nails, going 7 2/3, allowing just the 1 run with 8 strikeouts. Over the whole weekend set, the Giants allowed the Brewers to score just 8 runs, thanks to the starting performances by Bumgarner, Matt Cain and Ryan Vogelsong. Cain and Vogelsong didn't even have their best stuff, but Vogelsong still pitched well and won his 8th game despite some rocky control. Cain did suffer the only loss in the series opener on Friday night, as he was out-dueled by Shawn Marcum, but he didn't pitch badly. I said in Friday's post that this series would tell us a lot about the Giants and whether or not they can beat a team with great offense as well as strong pitching like Milwaukee's, and although they prevailed and won 2 of 3, the Brewers were just a couple swings away from a series sweep, that's how close it was. It also proved a wise move by Bochy to skip Barry Zito's turn in the rotation this weekend, cause I think he would have been doomed vs. this right-handed heavy lineup.

The Giants had very little room for error this weekend, and when they made one like they did on Friday night, it cost them. Overall, they looked strong, they pitched well, got good relief, got some timely hits and played pretty good defense, but I still see room for improvement, especially offensively. Pablo Sandoval came back down to earth a bit this weekend, and Nate Schierhotlz has quieted down a bit but a guy who has really disappeared over the last few weeks has been Cody Ross. The outfielder really has been quiet all year long after exploding in the postseason last year and it could be his spot that's in jeopardy if the Giants indeed add another outfielder like Carlos Beltran. In 9 games since the all-star break, Ross has just 1 home run and 5 RBI paired with a .133 average and a .510 OPS. That's hardly the production the Giants can afford out of a corner outfielder and it wouldn't surprise me to see Ross start to lose a little bit of playing time to Brandon Belt in the outfield. Belt has gotten just one start in the outfield since his return and it came Sunday. He went 2-2 with a walk vs. Brewer ace Yovanni Gallardo and played a nice left field in the process. I said it in out last post and I'll say it again, Belt needs to be playing a near daily basis, whether it's at first base, left field or a combination of the two, he needs at-bats.

Also, speaking of Carlos Beltran, it seems like we can't get through a single post lately without mentioning his name, and with the deadline just days away, things are starting to heat up. According to Yahoo! Sports reports Sunday, the Beltran sweepstakes is narrowing down to just a few teams, and those close to the situation believe Beltran to be on the move and it will be either the Phillies or the Giants that end up with him. The Giants have supposedly been most active because they're willing to take on Beltran's contract but they cannot agree with the Mets on what prospect(s) would got to New York in the deal. The Phills don't have the money to pay Beltran his $6M over the next 10 weeks, so they'd need to give the Mets at least 1 of their top-3 prospects for Beltran's services. I think this gives the Giants the edge in acquiring him if they choose to do so, but they'd still likely need to part with at least one young promising player.

Brewers vs. Giants: Playoff Preview Series?

2011-07-22T13:14:00.001-07:00

Well, we're still over a month away from Postseason play, but as things currently stand on July 22nd, this Brewers-Giants match-up could very well be a preview of a possible postseason series, with an atmosphere sure to match that of October baseball.

Right away we get a playoff caliber pitching match-up Friday night between All-Star's Matt Cain and Shawn Marcum. Cain has really been terrific all year for the Giants, as evident by his 2.99 era and 1.09 WHIP. His walks are way down this year and it's allowed him to go deeper into games and factor into more decisions. In his 2 starts since the All-Star break, Cain has thrown 12 innings, allowing just 1 earned run on 8 hits with 13 strikeouts. After Cain, the Giants will trot out fellow All-Star Ryan Vogelsong vs. Randy Wolf and then Madison Bumgarner vs. Yovanni Gallardo in game 3. Needless to say, all 3 should be fine pitching matchups, but at home with the three arms the Giants are set to throw at the Brewers, I feel pretty good about the Giants chances. Cain and Vogelsong have been great, but Bumgarner has been the tough luck pitcher on the staff this year, with twice as many losses as wins despite terrific numbers. I'm also looking forward to seeing how Bruce Bochy fills out his lineup card now with Keppinger in the mix. I was a little surprised he wasn't out there Wednesday vs. Clayton Kershaw, but I absolutely expect him to be a regular in this lineup and entrenched into the #2 spot unless he absolutely tanks in his first few weeks as a Giant, which I don't see happening. Keppinger isn't an All-Star and is probably a notch below Freddy Sanchez, but he's a darn good hitter and a very tough out (.305 avg with just 7 K's this season). He should strengthen the top part of the order for this team and allow it so Bochy doesn't need to keep using .220 hitters in the 2 hole.

The Brewers also, along with the Giants, are one of the few teams said to still be in the Carlos Beltran sweepstakes as apparently the Mets are asking for either prospects or for a team to absorb the remaining $6 million left on Beltran's contract. If that 2nd option is on the table, it would put the Giants in excellent position to grab Beltran without having to give up anyone too promising in return. They'd still have to give up a prospect or 2, possibly someone as high up as Thomas Neal, but it wouldn't cost them Brandon Belt, Hector Sanchez, Zach Wheeler, Gary Brown or Erik Surkamp. Having a chance to get a star like Beltran without having to give up too much in return may be too good for the Giants to pass up. That said, even if they do pass on Beltran, it doesn't mean they don't have their sights set on somebody else. We all know Brian Sabean, and I highly doubt he's just sitting on his hands right now. The Keppinger deal was a nice additive to the infield and strengthens the team up the middle, but in order to keep up with the offense of teams like Milwaukee and Philadelphia's, the Giants will need another bopper in the middle of that lineup. It doesn't need to be Beltran, but I really think he may be the most logical option. Sure, Hunter Pence or B.J. Upton are a lot younger and better long-term options, but in order to get one of those guys, the Giants would most assuredly need to part with at least one of Zach Wheeler and Brandon Belt combo.

Brandon Belt Makes Splashy Return

2011-07-20T12:53:00.000-07:00

Just before he got beamed on the wrist and missed about a month of action, Brandon Belt was quietly heating up and appeared primed to break out at the Major League level. Now that he's 100% healthy again, he's picked up right were he left off.

Belt carried the Giants on Tuesday night, going 2-4 with with a homer, his 2nd, and 3 RBI to back another strong effort by Madison Bumgarner. Belt got the start at first base in place of the struggling Aubrey Huff, and got the start their in Wednesday's game as well. It should be interesting to see what Bochy and Sabean do now that Belt is back and playing effectively. I doubt the Giants will turn Aubrey Huff into a bench player and keep throwing Belt out at first base, so that means one of them will likely need to move to the outfield for more at-bats. I think we'll eventually see Belt out in left-field, but again, if he's getting regular playing time in the outfield, that means that either Cody Ross or Nate Schierholtz would be out of a spot. That said, Belt is the teams future, and I think Bochy should do whatever is necessary to get this guy into the lineup if he's producing like he did Tuesday night, and if the way he played in Fresno is any indication, Belt isn't going anywhere. This could also change Sabean's trade strategy as we inch closer to the July 31st trade deadline. It was highly speculated that the Giants were focusing on adding another outfield bat, but with Schierholtz's emergence, Belt's promising play and the addition of infielder Jeff Keppinger, Sabean should shift focus to potential catchers.

Speaking of the Keppinger deal, I think it leaves the Giants in excellent shape for these last 2 1/2 months of the season. As I type, they're up 2-0 on the Dodgers after 2 games and have their ace on the hill going for the sweep, they have increased their lead to 4.5 games in the NL West and are are a comfortable 16 games over .500. They're playing extremely well, yet 1/2 the guys in their lineup will tell you they need to pick their game up, so I'd say the Giants are in tremendous shape right now. Pablo Sandoval has started another mini-hit streak and looks as focused at the plate as I've ever seen him. He's spiked his average up to .315 and climbing as he's settled right into the 3 spot in the batting order. The Giants also added Keppinger without having to part with anyone of their top prospects, which gives them a .300 hitting middle infielder on the cheap. I really like this move, as it gives the Giants a true starting 2nd basemen (or shortstop) and allows Mike Fontenot to move to a utility role while Tejada is on the DL. Keepinger will also provide insurance at short in case Brandon Crawford falls off the map again, and will likely get a lot of time there vs. left-handed pitching. Either way, I expect him to be in the lineup and hitting in front of Sandoval in the 2 hole, starting Friday night. Keppinger was hitting .307 with 4 homers and 20 RBI in 160 at-bats with Houston.

Trade Deadline Notes: Well, since we're within striking distance of the MLB trade deadline and there will be tons and tons of rumors thrown out over the next week and a half. The Giants aren't going to stand pat after adding Keppinger, and already Sabean is said to be turning his focus to another player. The Giants could add a center fielder. Andres Torres hasn't had a strong season and the Giants have expressed interest in the Mets' Carlos Beltran and Tampa's B.J. Upton, each center fielders. Then there's the guy said to be at the top of the Giants radar lately, Minnesota's Michael Cuddyer, who Sabean was originally interested in as a 2nd basemen. Sabean could re-visit the idea of adding Cuddyer and playing him at 2nd base, moving Keppinger to shortstop. However, the position I think the Giants will most likely upgrade between now and the 31st is the catcher spot, even if it's only a move to get a back-up to Whiteside with more offensive potential. Eli Whiteside and Chris Stewart have had some nice moments, but down the stretch, I'm not so sure that's who the Giants' brass will want behind the plate. Cinciantti's Ramon Hernandez, Florida's John Buck and Seattles Miguel Olivo are likely at the top of the list, so I'd definitely keep an eye on those guys between now and the 31st.

Giants Stay Hot, Take 3 of 4 in San Diego

2011-07-17T17:46:00.000-07:00

Some fans were a little worried about how the Giants would start the 2nd half, that they may flatten out a bit after the All-Star break, but if this first series is any indication, this team looks just as good as they did in the first half, and have reinforcements on the way!

Matt Cain pitched brilliantly Sunday, just a day after Barry Zito struggled through his roughest start since his return from the DL last month. Cain went 6 strong innings, allowing just 1 earned run on 3 hits and 2 walks to go with 9 strikeouts. However, he didn't factor into the decision because two other un-earned runs crossed the plate while he was on the hill and he actually departed with the Giants down 3-2. Like they do so often in tight games though, the Giants wouldn't go down without a fight, and had a couple of un-likely heroes come through for them in the late innings. Andres Torres, who's shown some signs of life since the 2nd half started, had the game-tying single in the 8th inning, then catcher Chris Stewart came up with the big go-ahead suicide squeeze in the 11th inning. Brian Wilson then came on and did what he does best, made it interesting, but got the save. I was a little surprised Wilson did get out of this one though, as he allowed 3 free passes in the inning, which typically will lead to at least 1 run. However, Stewart made a great play on a bunt attempt and turned it into a double play which saved the game for the Giants. Once again, their bullpen was tremendous, throwing 5 scoreless innings in which they allowed just 2 hits and Wilson's 3 walks. Jeremy Affeldt, Sergio Romo and Javier Lopez bridged the gap between Cain and Wilson and did so perfectly.

Offensively, the Giants had a pretty good weekend in Southern California. Torres and Nate Schierholtz each had multi-hit efforts and an RBI Sunday afternoon, but it was the teams' effort on the base paths which stuck out for me in this game. They stole 7 bases on the afternoon, 2 by Torres, Schierholtz and Burrs and one by catcher Eli Whiteside. I don't have all the box scores in front of me, but I'd say the 7 steals were the most by the club in a single game this year, and I hope we see a lot more of it in the coming games. A lot of people don't realize what kind of speed the Giants actually have on their roster. Not one single player in that starting 9 is what you'd consider to be a slow runner. Aubrey Huff is probably the slowest of the bunch, but I wouldn't call him slow. Schierholtz is one of the faster guys on the team, and I definitely would like to see him running more often like he showed Sunday. Same thing with Burris and Torres. A huge part of those two guys' game is their running abilities and they need to put it in the opposing pitchers head that they will indeed take off at any given time. As I watched Bochy over the years, if there is one are in which I'd like to see him a bit more aggressive is the running game. This team can't rely on the 3-run homer every night, so in order for their offense to create those runs, they need to get aggressive and creative.

Health Report: As I said at the top of the post, the Giants will be gaining some re-enforcements very soon. They just got back Mike Fontenot and he's already making an impact, going 7-20 with 3 runs scored in his first few games back from the DL. Also in the midst of a rehab assignment as we speak and on the doorstep back to the majors is Brandon Belt. I was surprised the Giants didn't recall Belt when they put Pat Burrell on the 15-Day DL, but I think it's only a matter of days before he takes Hector Sanchez's spot on the roster. Belt is on fire in Fresno, hitting .354 with 3 HR and 8 RBI and an OPS just shy of 1.200 over his last 10 games. Again, I assume that the Giants won't be carrying 3 catchers for much longer, and the next move would be most certainly to bring Belt back. That said, with Nate Schierholtz's emergence, the Giants don't really have an everyday spot for Belt, which could also be why he's still down in Fresno (why call him up if he's just going to ride the pine?). Either way, a team desperate for offense shouldn't keep their best offensive prospect down when he's major league ready now, and I don't see any positive by having 21 year-old Hector Sanchez up here as a 3rd catcher when he should be piling up AB's in Fresno!

Mark DeRosa and pitcher Jonathan Sanchez have also begun rehab assignments with each player down in San Jose this weekend. DeRosa's really been obsolete this whole season and ever since he signed with the Giants, trying to overcome a surgically repaired wrist. DeRosa had a double and a walk in his first rehab game with San Jose, and although it will likely take him a few weeks to get back into the swing of things, a healthy DeRosa can only help out the Giants infield depth. Sanchez has been on the 15-day since late June with what's being labeled as tendinitis but was primarily meant to just give Sanchez a few weeks off to rest and re-evaluate his approach so his rehab won't be nearly as rigorous.

Bumgarner Strong in 2nd Half Opener

2011-07-15T15:14:00.000-07:00

Well, the formula that worked very well for San Francisco in the first half won them the first game in their unofficial 2nd half Thursday night. They got a great starting performance and great relief work, but were shutout through 8 innings until finally tying the game in the 9th and winning in the 11th.

Madison Bumgarner got the nod to kick off the 2nd half, his first start since July 6th, and he was brilliant. He allowed just 1 run and 7 hits with no walks and 4 K's over 6 innings vs. the Padres, but didn't get a decision because the Giants failed to give him any run support. It's something that Bumgarner has gotten used to by now, so even though he's not getting great run support and despite his 4-9 record, the 21 year-old hasn't let it faze him whatsoever. He just keeps on going out there and throwing quality ballgames and his wins will certainly come in due time if he keeps it up. All-Star Pablo Sandoval kept his hitting streak alive with a 2-hit night with 2 RBI, but the biggest swing of the night came off the bat of Aubrey Huff in the top of the 9th, and the Giants are hoping it's a sign of things to come for their first baseman in the 2nd half of the season. Huff hit a home run off of Heath Bell, a guy who's been deadly vs. Giants hitting over the years, sending the game into extra-innings where the Giants feel very comfortable. Aubrey had a rough first half, and although he's knocked in a fair amount runs, his 8 home runs and .240 batting average in the first half were down drastically from the 26 HR/.290 campaign he put up last year. Still though, I don't believe Aubrey Huff is washed up or done with by any stretch, so I'm expecting a big finish out of him in these last few months.

Outside of Huff, if the Giants aren't planning on adding any outfield help, they really need Andres Torres to step it up as well. There has been a lot of talk of Carlos Beltran possibly joining the mix, and if that were to happen, one would think it would be Andres Torres' spot who he'd take in center field. With the emergence of Nate Schierholtz and power/clutch hitting from Cody Ross, Bochy probably wants those two in the lineup on a near daily basis, leaving Torres, who's fallen off badly in 2011 after a breakout 2010 season, the odd man out. That said, the Mets are holding Beltran in high regard and have said publicly they won't deal him unless they get a top-prospect in return, so even though he appears to be a nice fit for San Fran, chances of them actually dealing for him are a lot less than 50-50. Right now they really need Torres healthy and confident heading into this 2nd half, or else they're going to have to look elsewhere for a leadoff man. A .224 average and .317 OBP just aren't ideal for the #1 spot in the lineup. Problem is, the Giants don't really have a better option for that top spot. Again, I think Schierholtz would be a nice fit, but Bochy seems to want him in a run producing spot, so you see why Torres all the sudden becomes the center of attention in the 2nd half.

Also, I really think the Giants are going to need to add some catching depth. I think this team as is should definitely win the West, but that shouldn't be the Giants only goal. With their strong pitching, even without one of their premiere players in Buster Posey, this team has a legitimate shot at winning another championship. Right now though, I don't think this team could get through Philly again unless they get another bat and can upgrade the catching department, even just slightly.

Roster Note: The Giants placed Pat Burrel on the DL Friday and called up 2011 catching phenom Hector Sanchez. We've discussed Sanchez in our minor league report just recently here, so click on that or type Hector Sanchez into our search box in the upper-left for more details about the player. I really like the move, giving the Giants an offensive threat behind the plate and giving a shot to a player who really deserves it. I've compared him to Pablo Sandoval in his quick rise, now lets see if he can succeed like Pablo did during his first stint in the Bigs at the end of the 2008 season.

Revisiting the Draft With Brian Foley

2011-07-13T15:59:00.000-07:00

As promised, we caught up with Brian Foley, the College Baseball guru and host of College Baseball Daily, and asked for his thoughts on the Giants draft last month. Here you go:

Q1) What are your thoughts on Joe Panik, and how long do you think before we see him in San Francisco? He's already started off red hot with their Single-A team, showing power and average, and kind of reminds me of Stephen Drew. Do you think he'll be a Buster Posey-type, sort of overnight success, or does he still have a few years of development to undergo?

B.F.) Panik was the best shortstop I saw with my own eyes this season. I was extremely impressed with his hitting while he is a solid defender but will not win any gold gloves though. Panik seems to do all the little things right from moving players over and coming through in the clutch.

Video: College Baseball Daily Joe Panik Scouting Video

Q2) Would you have selected Panik when the Giants did, or would you have gone another route? He does fit a organizational need at shortstop, but wasn't projected in many mock drafts to go in the first round and many feel they could have gotten him in the compensation round. Do you think that's true, or did the Giants make the right choice?

B.F.) I think the Giants made the right pick with the need in the organization but I was surprised that Panik was a first round pick. Another reason why they selected Panik is the signability of him over a high schooler who will be demanding “overslot” money.

Q3) After Panik, the Giants took a bunch of College players. They grabbed another catcher in the 2nd round in Oregon State's Andrew Susac, who many thought would be a first rounder. Within their first 6 picks, the Giants ended up with 5 College players grabbing USC first basemen Oropesa in round 3 and then pitchers Bryce Bandilla (Arizona), Chris Marlowe (Oklahoma State) and Josh Osich (Oregon State). I think Osich projects out to be the best of all three arms. Give us a your thought on each these players selected within the top-5 rounds.

B.F.) Susac is by far the most highly regarded out of the five players as he probably should have been a first rounder at Oregon State but never put “it” together with the Beavers.

Oropesa is a pure power hitting first baseman that has a future as a DH-type player. Every time I see him, he is hitting bombs including this one off of UCLA's Gerrit Cole.

Video: Rickey Oropesa Homers of Top Pick Gerrit Cole!

Bryce Bandilla served as a reliever throughout the 2011 college season where he appeared in 32 games and struggled with his control walking 36 batters in 46.2 innings.

Osich was outstanding all year for Oregon State but had some injury issues at the back end of the season which dropped him. I would consider Osich the best candidate to get to the league if healthy first.

Q4) One of my favorite picks of the draft was Arkansas Baptist JC outfielder Kentrell Hill taken in round 10. I've heard many scouts compare him to Miami-Dade JC sensation Brian Goodwin. Are you familiar with the toolsy outfielder, and do you think he has a future in the Major Leagues?

B.F.) If he puts it all together, he will be in the major leagues as scouts were drooling over all the tools that he possesses.

Q5) Who was your favorite pick in this Giants draft, outside of the obvious choice of Panik?

B.F.) David Fischer from Uconn. If they sign him he could be a good middle reliever at the next level. I also like Michael Williams out of Kentucky as he could be a solid “backup” catcher to Buster in the coming years.

Q6) As always, give us a give us your grade on the Giants draft?

B.F.) I would say it is a B and could be a B+ depending on how many of the guys that they sign.

Giants Take 3 Game Lead Into Break

2011-07-11T15:45:00.000-07:00

Well, is it me, or did that first half kind of fly right by? It seems like it was only yesterday that the players were getting their rings on the field during the ceremony, and all the sudden we're at the All-Star Break. Either way though, we're here, and if you told the Giants they'd be 3 games ahead in the NL West and without Buster Posey and Freddy Sanchez, they'd take it in a heartbeat.

The Giants started off the weekend series with Brian Wilson blowing the save Friday night, but he got chance for redemption Sunday, and he cashed in to give the Giants the series win and seal the 8th victory for fellow All-Star Matt Cain. As good as Cain was in tough situations Sunday, and as well as everyone pitched all weekend, the man who really stuck out in this series for me was Nate Schierholtz. Nate had 2 more RBI and 5 more hits in Saturday and Sunday's game, including a 4-4 day Sunday to raise his average up to .293 after being in the low-.260's 10 days ago. The kid started getting regular playing time with all the injuries that the Giants have suffered this season, and like I said in the last post, he just keeps getting stronger with the more at-bats he gets. His numbers entering the break don't really jump out at you until you look at the amount of at-bats he's had. While most Giants' regulars are up above 300 at-bats, Schierholtz got just over 200 in the first half, so his numbers, with regular PT, would look a lot better. I'm very curious to see how he does in the 2nd half and what Bochy decides to do with the outfield when Cody Ross comes back after the break. I really think Schierholtz has nailed himself into the Giants lineup vs. right-handers, but will still likely give way to Burrell or Rowand vs. lefties. Who would have thought Nate Schierholtz would be the one to step up in Posey and Sanchez's absence?

He hasn't done it alone though! The Giants added another all-star to the mix Monday, as Pablo Sandoval got named as an injury replacement. Pablo has been focused since opening day, but is now in the midst of a career-high 21-game hitting streak and has been the one constant in the Giants lineup before and after the broken hand. I think it's great for Pablo to be there as he probably would have challenged for the starting gig had he not got injured and missed a month. Still though, even with the missed time, his numbers and value to the Giants couldn't be ignored by his own manager. Over the last couple of weeks, it's really been all about Pablo and Schierholtz carrying this offense. Add that to the fact that the NL is paper thin at third base this year and you get a very deserving player in the Panda. The 24 year-old will appear in his first all-star game, but one that I think we all knew would eventually come when we saw him burst onto the scene in 2008. He becomes the first Giant homegrown position player to make the squad since Matt Williams in the 90's and something tells me this isn't going to be his last either. He joins fellow Giants Tim Lincecum, Ryan Vogelsong, Matt Cain and Brian Wilson on the NL All-Star roster headed up by manager Bruce Bochy.

Up Next: Giants 1st Half Review/Grades and a look ahead to the 2nd half Thursday!

Brian Blows Another One

2011-07-09T14:44:00.000-07:00

Well, Brian Wilson has had a very up and down last couple of weeks, starting with the water cooler incident and ending with the most recent struggle last night with Wilson allowing 2 runs in a tie game. The Giants lost that game after being shut down by Francisco Rodriguez in the bottom half of the inning and lost a game on the D-Backs in the NL West, who enter Saturday now just 1 game back of the Giants.

The Giants two All-Star pitchers weren't particularly sharp Friday night, as Ryan Vogelsong only allowed 2 runs but labored through 7 innings, allowing 5 walks and 7 hits while striking out just 2 Mets batters. He did manage to get out of tough situations and kept the Giants in the game, but he'd be the first to tell you he wasn't on his game Friday night. The same can be said for closer Brian Wilson who's now either lost or blown a game in 3 of his last 5 outings. Wilson came in in the top of the ninth trying to preserve a tie game and get the Giants back up to bat, who were gaining momentum with the knuckler R.A. Dickey finally out of the ballgame, but was unable to do so. He left a cutter out over the plate to notorious Giants killer Scott Hairston, and Hairston did what he does best against the Giants in late inning, tie ballgames. I can't tell you how many times Hairston has hit a home run against the Giants to give his team a lead, whether he was with Arizona, San Diego and now New York. After Hairston's home run, Andres Torres failed to run down a deep line drive off the bat of Angel Pagan, who also had a great night at AT&T Park for New York, and that run also ended up coming around to score, charging the Giants closer with 2 runs, 1 of which was earned. That swing of the bat by Hairston was all the Mets would need though, as the Giants were unable to come up with anything in the bottom half of the inning.

It wasn't all bad news for the Giants however, Nate Schierholtz continues to cement himself into the everyday lineup with yet another impressive showing. "The Great" hit one over the right field wall that got wet, and drove a deep fly ball to center field that netted the Giants other run, making Scheirholtz the Giants only offense Friday night. Pablo Sandoval hit a double early off Dickey, but the guys behind him had a tough time with Dickey. That really was the case for most of the Giants lineup, as nobody had a multi-hit game, which is rare even for the Giants. Getting back to Schierholtz though, the 27 year-old has absolutely staked his place amongst the Giants regulars and proven he is too valuable vs. right-handed throwers to take out of the lineup. In 8 games this July, Nate is 12 for 32 with 3 homers, 6 RBI and 6 Runs and is now hitting .280 with 7 HR and 29 RBI and 5 steals on the year in a hair over 200 at-bats. Mix in that his defense in right field and you have what is shaping up to look like another Randy Winn. Winn was always a nice player, but didn't really peak until his late-20's when he started getting ample playing time, and then he took off. I really think that is the case here with Schierholtz. Now I'm not ready to go on record saying he's going to be a future batting champ and all-star like Winn was, but he's rounding into that .280-.300 hitter with 20-20 potential and terrific defense, and that is very much like Randy Winn in his prime.

Beltran To Travel With Giants: Well, I'm not taking it as sign of a potential deal-in-the-making with Beltran flying to the All-Star game with the Giants all-stars like many are, but I do find it a little interesting that he wouldn't just fly on his own? I know it's just a short skip over to Phoenix, but the Giants who desperately need offense, and Beltran, who will be a free agent after the season and is very available for trade could end up being a nice match and I certainly find it interesting he'll be kicking it with the Giants during the trip. Again, their is likely no significance to the flight arrangement, but if ever their was a time for the Giants to recruit via player influence, now would be it.... Also, the Giants finally be getting back their utility infielder, Mike Fontenot, who's been out half the year on what originally seemed like a 15-day minor groin strain. The infielder will likely figure right into the 2nd base mix as he takes the place of the DL'd Bill Hall.

GBB's All-Star Selections, Giants Notes

2011-07-06T11:52:00.000-07:00

The AL and NL All-Star rosters for July 12th's mid-summer classic were released Sunday, and as usual, there were many snubs and guys left off that were absolutely deserving while guys who weren't as deserving managed to sneak onto the teams. So here is the way we'd fill out each team's 32-man roster, including 6 replacement options for each team (3 position/3 pitchers):

American League All-Star Team

Lineup:
CF Jacoby Elsburry Bos
LF Curtis Granderson NYY
1B Adrian Gonzalez Bos
RF Jose Bautista Tor
3B Alex Rodriguez NYY
SS Asdrubal Cabrera Cle
2B Robinson Cano NYY
C Alex Avila Det
P Jered Weaver LAA

Reserves:

1B Miguel Cabrera Det
1B Paul Konerko Chi
3B Adrian Beltre Tex
3B/OF Alex Gordon KC
OF Adam Jones Bal
SS Johnny Peralta Det
OF BJ Upton TB
OF Adam Lind Tor
IF Michael Young Tex
C Victor Martinez Det
C/1B Carlos Santana Cle

Pitchers:
SP Justin Verlander Det
SP James Shields TB
SP Michael Pineda Sea
SP Gio Gonzalez Oak
SP C.C. Sabathia NYY
SP Scott Baker Min
SP Felix Hernandez Sea
SP Dan Haren LAA
RP Kyle Farnsworth TB
RP Mariano Rivera NYY
RP Sergio Santos CWS
RP Chris Perez Cle

Replacements:

OF Melky Cabrera KC
1B Mark Teixeira NYY
SS Elvis Andrus Tex
SP Alexi Ogando Tex
SP Phil Humber CWS
SP C.J. Wilson Tex

This wasn't a very easy roster to pick, as there are a lot of guys who have had deserving years like Dustin Pedroia, Brennan Boesch and Mark Teixiera who wouldn't make my squad, but every year you have a few of those type of players. What I think is a crying shame is that Derek Jeter is the voted starting SS for the AL while J.J. Hardy doesn't even make the team... Jose Bautista is the top vote getter, and rightfully so, he's been the best in the game over the last year and a half... The AL is stocked with power hitters and strong starting pitching and should take this years game if they play like they can. Ideally, Scott Baker is replaced with someone more deserving, but Minnesotta has to have a rep and he's the most deserving.

National League All-Star Team

Lineup:
SS Jose Reyes NYM
2B Rickie Weeks Mil
CF Matt Kemp LAD
1B Prince Fielder Mil
LF Ryan Braun Mil
RF Lance Berkman Stl
C Brian McCann Atl
3B Aramis Ramirez ChC
P Jair Jurrjens Atl

Reserves:

1B Ryan Howard Phi
1B Joey Votto Cin
OF Carlos Gonzalez Col
OF Hunter Pence Hou
SS Troy Tulowitzki Col
OF Justin Upton AZ
OF Mike Stanton Fla
2B Danny Espinosa Was
3B Pablo Sandoval SF
C Miguel Montero AZ
C Jonathon Lucroy Mil

Pitchers:

SP Cole Hamels Phi
SP Roy Halladay Phi
SP Tim Lincecum SF
SP Cliff Lee Phi
SP Tommy Hanson Atl
SP Matt Cain SF
SP Clayton Kershaw LAD
SP Ryan Vogelsong SF
RP Craig Kimbrel Atl
RP Joel Hanrahan Pit
RP Heath Bell SD
RP Brian Wilson SF

Replacements:

SS Starlin Castro ChC
OF Andrew McCutchen Pit
1B/OF Michael Morse Was
SP Johnny Cueto Cin
SP Jeff Karstens/Kevin Corriea Pit
RP Drew Storen Was

In the NL, you have to take a Pitsburgh starting pitcher, they've been great, even with limited run support. Either Karstens or Corriea, but Hanrahan will likely get their spot... I take Lincecum not on what he's done over the last few weeks but what he's done for the Giants for the last year, Vogelsong and Cain are more than deserving. The NL's bench is pretty thin though with Daniel Murphy being the 2nd most deserving 3rd basemen (hence Pablo Sandoval as possible replacement). Even the guy with the best numbers there, Aramis Ramirez, wouldn't sniff the AL roster, though their top-7 hitters do match up well with the American League's. The NL looks slightly outmatched again this year in overall depth, though with better pitching and the starting lineups are evenly matched! Like with Baker in the AL, Mike Stanton should be replaced with McCutchen on my NL roster, but outside of Gaby Sanchez (roster already stocked with 1B'men), he's the man in Fla.

__________________________________________

Giant Help on the Way: Finally, it looks like a couple of key Giants are making good progress on their rehabilitation assignments. Brandon Belt has accelerated his rehab assignment and is now in Fresno after 2 impressive games in San Jose. and should be ready to return when the Giants return from the all-star break. As long as he picks up where he left off, he'll give the Giants a valuable left-handed power bat in left field and another option to relieve Huff at first. Also on the amends is infielder Mike Fontenot, who should immediately grab stronghold of 2nd base when he comes back, though he's been less than stellar during his rehab in Fresno. Manny Burris could stick to play vs. lefties, as he's much stronger from the right-side. Either way, the Giants should be a much deeper, stronger team upon their return from the break, and that's an interesting prospect to think about seeing how well they've managed while using so many different 2nd basemen since Freddy Sanchez went down... That said, they may have another injury to deal with yet, as Cody Ross went down with a bum hamstring in yesterday's game. If he goes on the DL, Belt could be called up sooner than later and become the starting left fielder while Schierholtz mans right.

Giants Just Miss Sweep of Detroit

2011-07-03T13:46:00.000-07:00

The Giants had more than a fair shot at sweeping the Detroit Tigers Sunday, and returning to AT&T Park Tuesday a season-high 13 games above .500. However, something that rarely happens, became a recurring theme on this road trip; the Giants bullpen imploded.

It's tough to say in hindsight, but I'm convinced that had the Giants bullpen been on their game like they have most of this season, the Giants could have went 6-1, if not 7-0 on this mid-west road trip. Brian Wilson had his share of struggles in the Motor City, as we all know by now, but luckily the Giants prevailed in both those games. They couldn't do it a third time on Sunday, however, after providing their season's best starter a 3-1 lead into the 6th inning and things were looking right on point. Ryan Vogelsong wasn't bad, but like in Chicago, he again didn't have his A-stuff out there, as evident by his 4 walks in 6.2 innings. He's normally uncanny with his command and control around the strike zone, but in his last two starts, he's lost a bit of that accuracy. Still though, even through his 4 walks, he allowed just 4 hits in nearly 7 innings, and only made one damaging mistake to Brandon Boesch in the 4th which was hit out for a solo home run. In the 7th inning though, the defense (Ross and Miggy) made a mistakes behind him and, then Affeldt, who's been awesome over the last few weeks, and Santiago Cassilla, who's been one of the best relievers all year long, were unable to hold down the lead for "V". The two allowed 4 runs to cross the plate while they were on the mound in the 7th and 8th. And unlike Saturday night (15 runs scored), the Giants didn't have any left over offensive firepower to overcome the late-inning deficit, allowing a Vogelsong winning effort to be turned into a Jeremy Affeldt L.

Even though the trip ended bad, and the Giants will likely endure a quiet plane ride back to San Fran, there were a lot of good things that happened in this road trip, mainly the offense showing some signs of life. Somebody who I really thought the league had adjusted to and was not long for Major League pitching was Brandon Crawford, but the kid did some re-adjusting of his own this road-trip and added 30 points to his average along with a home run and 7 RBI in 5 starts. He was a huge part of the Giants win Friday night and really could make an argument for being the MVP of this road trip, as he looked like a completely different player than what he showed most of June. A big part of the kids recent success has been his improved plate approach and patience. He's not trying to pull every strike he gets like he was after he started off hot and wanted to be a home run hitter. He makes good enough contact to where he can just go with a pitch and drive the ball, and he did that this road trip driving numerous outside pitches to the left-center field gap area, over the shortstop's head. When he gets to thinking like that and taking that approach, the home runs will come and his average will climb quickly like it has over the last week. Migeul Tejada was also very active at the plate on this road trip, though he made a key error in Sunday's game that helped the Tigers score a run. Tejada himself added 10 points to his average on the road trip and hit two of his 3 home runs and knocked in 6 of his 24 RBI over the last week.

All-Star Team's Set

It was selection Sunday for the MLB mid-summer classic today, and as expected, the Giants had there foursome of pitchers named to the squad, but not a single position player from the reigning World Champs. There really weren't any surprises, as all four pitchers selected were very deserving. Ryan Vogelsong will make the trip to Arizona for his first all-star game in his long, trying career, and may end up starting that ballgame on July 12 with the way rotations are shaping up. Joining the NL era-crown challenger will be returning all-stars Tim Lincecum (6-6, 3.04, 122 K's) Matt Cain (7-4, 3.02, 92 K's, 1.09 WHIP) and Brian Wilson (24/28 in save opps, 3.02 era, 36 K's in 38 IP), who are all well deserving. I found it interesting that Timmy, "V" and Cainer were all selected by Boch while Wilson was a player selection. It's too bad Wilson had his scuffle just this weekend cause it's ballooned his era up 60 points and WHIP up about 25 points in just 2 bad outings but he's still got numbers any manager would take out of their closer at the halfway point. Buster would have started if he were healthy, but instead, Pablo Sandoval is the one positional guy who could somehow manage to find his way onto the team if someone gets hurt or decides not to participate and Panda continues this hot hitting over the next week (He most certainly would have made it had it not been for those 5 weeks he missed throughout May and early June). And he has his manager on his side to pick him if a spot opens up and Pablo fits the bill... We'll have our own version of who we think should have filled out each respective teams roster in our next post!