Are we actually spending money?
Word on the Street is that we're signing Armando Benitez. You may have heard of him. He got 47 saves last year with a 1.29 ERA. He's pretty good.
No details, but we've supposedly shelled out $21 mil for 3 years. That's a heck of a lot of money, and could well become another albatross. But if it gets us a ring this year, do we care?
Rumblings and grumblings from The Lunatic Fringe aside, I take this as a sign that Magowen and Sabean are going for it in 2005. You just know they're gonna get themselves a big, fat Outfielder, and you know there is NO WAY D.P. Pierzynski is a Giant in 2005. They have to save money somewhere, and he's their best candidate to begin the blood-letting. I also ponder the fate of Feliz, who may be traded (along with his expected $3 mil+ salary) for some bullpen help/payroll savings. Unless they manage to unload Alfonzo, but that may be asking too much.
Speaking of which, the Kendall trade has got me thinking. Oakland picked up one bloated contract to get a bonafide good player and fill a desperate need, while unloading two bloated contracts they didn't need, dealing from strength. Sound good to me. Let's deal bloated contracts from our strength and pick up one bloated contract we do need.
What's our strength? Well, we have a lot of starting pitchers, and we have an extra corner infielder...
How about packaging Rueter and Alfonzo for an overpaid-but-viable outfielder? I'm sure there's one out there. Maybe his name is Ken Griffey Jr.? Think the Reds would like a solid lefty in their rotation? And Alfonzo to nail down 3rd and turn the Brandon Larson experiment into a trading chip? I dunno, maybe I'm off-base, but this begins to make sense to me.
Someone give Sabean a call, we may be on to something.
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Starved for News...
So I'm Leap-frogging around the Giants BlogSphere annoyed that nobody's updated today. Then, of course, I realize that I haven't updated myself and I wonder if anyone is periodically hopping into my neck of the woods only to growl with discontent at the lack of my own updates.
I can dream.
Of course, the main reason nobody is blogging is that there isn't anything to blog about. We signed Omar. Old news. Barry won the MVP. Old and obvious news. What else is there to talk about in the off-season?
We are starving for news. Something. Anything that will get us to March. Oh sure, we were mildly interested in the happenings of the AFL, but aside from a decent (not fantastic, just decent) showing by Aardsma, there wasn't much of interest to chat about.
It must be hard for those who actually PLAY the game. They need their time off, they want to get away. But we fans- we few, we happy few- want the latest every moment of every day. Even during the season, I sometimes feel that it's not enough.
"What? We lost today? Are we playing again tonight? What!!! I have to wait until tomorrow? And it's gonna be a night game tomorrow? That's more than 24 hours without Giants' Baseball!"
And don't even talk to me about the All-Star break.
Why are we so addicted to this game? To the team, the players, the stats, the results? What drives this inner fire?
Me? I like being a part of something greater than me. I married into a family of die-hard Red Sox fans. So I spent this last post-season living vicariously through them. From the lows to the ultimate high. When the Sox won it, my father-in-law and brothers-in-law were a part of a euphoria that can't be described in words. And I want to be a part of that.
but if it's all about winning, why don't I just become a Yankees' fan and be done with it? Don't know.
But it probably has something to do with going to games at Candlestick with my Dad at the age of 11 or 12. Watching Milt May crouch behind the plate. Living through the Randy Kutcher month. Getting Dan Gladden's autograph in Arizona when you could still walk up morning of and get a good ticket in Scottsdale.
We all have those moments. I was there in '82 when Joe Morgan hit the homerun. I really was. Just as I was there in 1997 when Florida whooped our butts and the sell-out crowd left the stadium dejected, but for some reason chanting "Druckenmiller! Druckenmiller!" I got married on October 7th, 200, a date made easier to remember because that was when Estes made his bone-headed baserunning play against the Mets.
The Giants are a part of my life. And I never want to be without them. And now, in the off-season, I am starving for my fix.
How about you?
So I'm Leap-frogging around the Giants BlogSphere annoyed that nobody's updated today. Then, of course, I realize that I haven't updated myself and I wonder if anyone is periodically hopping into my neck of the woods only to growl with discontent at the lack of my own updates.
I can dream.
Of course, the main reason nobody is blogging is that there isn't anything to blog about. We signed Omar. Old news. Barry won the MVP. Old and obvious news. What else is there to talk about in the off-season?
We are starving for news. Something. Anything that will get us to March. Oh sure, we were mildly interested in the happenings of the AFL, but aside from a decent (not fantastic, just decent) showing by Aardsma, there wasn't much of interest to chat about.
It must be hard for those who actually PLAY the game. They need their time off, they want to get away. But we fans- we few, we happy few- want the latest every moment of every day. Even during the season, I sometimes feel that it's not enough.
"What? We lost today? Are we playing again tonight? What!!! I have to wait until tomorrow? And it's gonna be a night game tomorrow? That's more than 24 hours without Giants' Baseball!"
And don't even talk to me about the All-Star break.
Why are we so addicted to this game? To the team, the players, the stats, the results? What drives this inner fire?
Me? I like being a part of something greater than me. I married into a family of die-hard Red Sox fans. So I spent this last post-season living vicariously through them. From the lows to the ultimate high. When the Sox won it, my father-in-law and brothers-in-law were a part of a euphoria that can't be described in words. And I want to be a part of that.
but if it's all about winning, why don't I just become a Yankees' fan and be done with it? Don't know.
But it probably has something to do with going to games at Candlestick with my Dad at the age of 11 or 12. Watching Milt May crouch behind the plate. Living through the Randy Kutcher month. Getting Dan Gladden's autograph in Arizona when you could still walk up morning of and get a good ticket in Scottsdale.
We all have those moments. I was there in '82 when Joe Morgan hit the homerun. I really was. Just as I was there in 1997 when Florida whooped our butts and the sell-out crowd left the stadium dejected, but for some reason chanting "Druckenmiller! Druckenmiller!" I got married on October 7th, 200, a date made easier to remember because that was when Estes made his bone-headed baserunning play against the Mets.
The Giants are a part of my life. And I never want to be without them. And now, in the off-season, I am starving for my fix.
How about you?
Friday, November 19, 2004
Ch-ch-ch-Changes and a Thought
First, the more I look around at other blogs, the more I don't like what mine looks like. It just strikes me as "Blogging for Beginners" which is fine but I've been online for closing in on 8 years and know enough HTML to make the site a bit more to my tastes.
Hope this don't ruffle nobody's feathers. Either of you.
A new (to me) Giants blog On The Waterfront posts that he's worried about our starting rotation. Hmmm. Let's discuss, shall we?
Giant's current probably 2005 Starting Rotation:
Schmidt
Tomko
Williams
Lowry
Rueter
(Foppert waiting patiently for someone- read "Kirk Rueter"- to stumble)
I like this group. Especially once Rueter is a multi-million dollar long man out of the bullpen.
I see no reason to spend our hard-earned free agent money on the one position we seem to have covered. Honestly, we need a bat, we need a bullpen. FOCUS PEOPLE!
The best of all possible worlds would be to trade Rueter, put Foppert in the rotation, and keep Valdez and Cain in AAA waiting patiently for their turn. But then, anyone know a gullible GM who wants to toss money down a drain and take Rueter off our hands? Jim Bowden?
For better or worse, we have our Shortstop (In the air). For better or worse, we've given up our 1st round pick (worse) once again. For better or worse, I'm betting Sabean waits until players are / are not offered arbitration before getting his next piece (better). Unless, of course, it's Hermanson, who will force us to give a pick to ourselves, which I'm OK with.
After that. The onus is on Sabean. Get us the outfielder we want, jettison some players we don't want, shore up the bullpen. Or face the wrath of the Lunatic Fringe once again.
Tall order.
First, the more I look around at other blogs, the more I don't like what mine looks like. It just strikes me as "Blogging for Beginners" which is fine but I've been online for closing in on 8 years and know enough HTML to make the site a bit more to my tastes.
Hope this don't ruffle nobody's feathers. Either of you.
A new (to me) Giants blog On The Waterfront posts that he's worried about our starting rotation. Hmmm. Let's discuss, shall we?
Giant's current probably 2005 Starting Rotation:
Schmidt
Tomko
Williams
Lowry
Rueter
(Foppert waiting patiently for someone- read "Kirk Rueter"- to stumble)
I like this group. Especially once Rueter is a multi-million dollar long man out of the bullpen.
I see no reason to spend our hard-earned free agent money on the one position we seem to have covered. Honestly, we need a bat, we need a bullpen. FOCUS PEOPLE!
The best of all possible worlds would be to trade Rueter, put Foppert in the rotation, and keep Valdez and Cain in AAA waiting patiently for their turn. But then, anyone know a gullible GM who wants to toss money down a drain and take Rueter off our hands? Jim Bowden?
For better or worse, we have our Shortstop (In the air). For better or worse, we've given up our 1st round pick (worse) once again. For better or worse, I'm betting Sabean waits until players are / are not offered arbitration before getting his next piece (better). Unless, of course, it's Hermanson, who will force us to give a pick to ourselves, which I'm OK with.
After that. The onus is on Sabean. Get us the outfielder we want, jettison some players we don't want, shore up the bullpen. Or face the wrath of the Lunatic Fringe once again.
Tall order.
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Could we GET any older?
Numerous reports say the Giants are seriously looking to nab Steve Finley to play CF.
He's 40.
I know I just praised the possible acquisition of a 38 year-old, but now that our SS is 38, I'm starting to think age doesn't equal beauty here.
I'm 33, and the idea that the Giants may come close to a starting 8 who are all older than me baffles me to no end. Alfonzo is younger than me. Durham by about 2 months. Whoever our catcher is will probably be younger than me. That's it. Snow. Vizquel. Bonds. Grissom. Tucker. All older than me. Add Finley. Older. I thought the idea was to get guys in the prime years, between 26-29? We have NONE of those outside of catcher.
Really, I don't get it. We all made those jokes about the Arizona geezers, but we're knock-knock-knocking on their door. Maybe they can lend us their canes and walkers and we, too, can lose 111 games. Wouldn't that be fun!
Here's what I say. If you get Finley for one year, say $4 million. Fine. But that'll never happen. He's gonna get 3 years for $20 million. So here we go paying out gobs of money in 2006 and 2007 to stiffs, just when we get out from under the Alfonzo and Durham contracts.
Sometimes I think Sabean's a genius, sometimes I want to wring his neck.
What do you think? Are we too old? Can a team be too old? Will we ever get younger?
come to think of it, isn't Julio Franco available? Sounds like he'd fit right in over here.
Numerous reports say the Giants are seriously looking to nab Steve Finley to play CF.
He's 40.
I know I just praised the possible acquisition of a 38 year-old, but now that our SS is 38, I'm starting to think age doesn't equal beauty here.
I'm 33, and the idea that the Giants may come close to a starting 8 who are all older than me baffles me to no end. Alfonzo is younger than me. Durham by about 2 months. Whoever our catcher is will probably be younger than me. That's it. Snow. Vizquel. Bonds. Grissom. Tucker. All older than me. Add Finley. Older. I thought the idea was to get guys in the prime years, between 26-29? We have NONE of those outside of catcher.
Really, I don't get it. We all made those jokes about the Arizona geezers, but we're knock-knock-knocking on their door. Maybe they can lend us their canes and walkers and we, too, can lose 111 games. Wouldn't that be fun!
Here's what I say. If you get Finley for one year, say $4 million. Fine. But that'll never happen. He's gonna get 3 years for $20 million. So here we go paying out gobs of money in 2006 and 2007 to stiffs, just when we get out from under the Alfonzo and Durham contracts.
Sometimes I think Sabean's a genius, sometimes I want to wring his neck.
What do you think? Are we too old? Can a team be too old? Will we ever get younger?
come to think of it, isn't Julio Franco available? Sounds like he'd fit right in over here.
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
What Do You Do With A Problem Like Pierzynski
That headline, of course, needs to be sung to the tune of the Maria song from Sound of Music, just so you know.
Marty Cortinas of Across the Seams (a great Giants blog that you probably already know about, got to have an intimate 1 on 250 chat with Sabean and Magowan. (Do they invite random bloggers? Can I sign up for the next one?) They say a lot of things that you're better off reading first-hand.
A couple of items of note. It sure as heck sounds like D.P. Pierzynski is headed for the greener pastures of the untendered. While this may mean the Yorvit era has officially begun, it may also herald the search for another catcher.
Meanwhile, Sabean laments that they needs to find a position for Feliz to get regular playing time.
Dude! Solve two birds with one stone! Can Pedro catch?
Also, it sounds like Sabean accepts blame for, basically, making a bad trade when he tossed Nathan. Nice to hear the man take responsibility for his actions. Not that it makes it an y easier to watch Nathan become an all-star closer while our bullpen costs us a Post-Season spot, but one hopes he learns from his mistakes.
Of course, he did just sign a 37 (almost 38) year-old shortstop...
That headline, of course, needs to be sung to the tune of the Maria song from Sound of Music, just so you know.
Marty Cortinas of Across the Seams (a great Giants blog that you probably already know about, got to have an intimate 1 on 250 chat with Sabean and Magowan. (Do they invite random bloggers? Can I sign up for the next one?) They say a lot of things that you're better off reading first-hand.
A couple of items of note. It sure as heck sounds like D.P. Pierzynski is headed for the greener pastures of the untendered. While this may mean the Yorvit era has officially begun, it may also herald the search for another catcher.
Meanwhile, Sabean laments that they needs to find a position for Feliz to get regular playing time.
Dude! Solve two birds with one stone! Can Pedro catch?
Also, it sounds like Sabean accepts blame for, basically, making a bad trade when he tossed Nathan. Nice to hear the man take responsibility for his actions. Not that it makes it an y easier to watch Nathan become an all-star closer while our bullpen costs us a Post-Season spot, but one hopes he learns from his mistakes.
Of course, he did just sign a 37 (almost 38) year-old shortstop...
Monday, November 15, 2004
Omar of the Hill People
Well we've landed a Shortstop. He's 37. We signed him for 3 years.
Huh.
New Sabean goal: get an entire lineup of 35+ year-olds.
I mean hey, Bonds is a stud at 40, so obviously, the older a player, the better he is, right?
Isolated, this may not be the disaster it at first appears. The terms of Omar's deal.
2005 2.5 mil
2006 4 mil
2007 4 mil
2008 1 mil deferred
2009 .75 mil deferred
So OK, we're paying 2.5 million this year for a defensive whiz who has a knack of getting on base from time to time. (Career OBP of around.340)
That's not bad.
The big question is ging to be: is he just gonna get old? If the answer is no, then this is a fine deal. Sure, we're all suffering from sticker shock, but would you rather be the Cubs, who inked Neifi for an other tour of duty? (Even as a back-up)
At least we know, now, that Sabean was being totally honest when he said he wanted to improve on our defense. This does just that. It also ensures Code-E Ransom will not see the light of Pac Bell any time soon.
So now there's every indication that we're gonna resign Hermanson to be our closer. That can't be THAT expensive, not like a Percival or Benitez would be.
So maybe, just maybe, we have some money to spend for that outfielder we're hoping for. Or maybe we pull a Yankee and spend some money to get some reliable bullpen help outside of Hermanson (Kline?).
Basically, if this is the sum total of our off-season moves, we're sunk. If it's the beginning of the movement, this might be a decent off-season after all.
We can dream, right?
Well we've landed a Shortstop. He's 37. We signed him for 3 years.
Huh.
New Sabean goal: get an entire lineup of 35+ year-olds.
I mean hey, Bonds is a stud at 40, so obviously, the older a player, the better he is, right?
Isolated, this may not be the disaster it at first appears. The terms of Omar's deal.
2005 2.5 mil
2006 4 mil
2007 4 mil
2008 1 mil deferred
2009 .75 mil deferred
So OK, we're paying 2.5 million this year for a defensive whiz who has a knack of getting on base from time to time. (Career OBP of around.340)
That's not bad.
The big question is ging to be: is he just gonna get old? If the answer is no, then this is a fine deal. Sure, we're all suffering from sticker shock, but would you rather be the Cubs, who inked Neifi for an other tour of duty? (Even as a back-up)
At least we know, now, that Sabean was being totally honest when he said he wanted to improve on our defense. This does just that. It also ensures Code-E Ransom will not see the light of Pac Bell any time soon.
So now there's every indication that we're gonna resign Hermanson to be our closer. That can't be THAT expensive, not like a Percival or Benitez would be.
So maybe, just maybe, we have some money to spend for that outfielder we're hoping for. Or maybe we pull a Yankee and spend some money to get some reliable bullpen help outside of Hermanson (Kline?).
Basically, if this is the sum total of our off-season moves, we're sunk. If it's the beginning of the movement, this might be a decent off-season after all.
We can dream, right?
Thursday, November 11, 2004
More Moises
I've gotten some feedback on my less-than-subtle on-my-knees begging for Moises Alou to join Daddy and smack the ball around Pac Bell.
My first reaction is one of surprise. I honestly had no idea anyone ever read this thing. I should start spell-checking it.
But my second was to look at the over-arching comments and see if they're right, I'm right, or we're all right, so let's just get along.
The main knock against Mr. Moises that came out was the idea that he makes a lot of outs. I'm not so sure this is as true, at least on paper, as it may seem. In 2004, he had a .361 OBP, slightly below his career average of .367. However, it's been 4 years and 2 teams since he's matched his career average. Still, his lowest OBP in the last decade was .337., and that was three years ago in his first tour of Cubbie duty. Looking closer at that year, it looks to be an aberration in his career. Here are his OPS totals for the last 11 years:
.823, .989, .801, .796, .866, .981, .1.039, .950, .756, .819, .918
His .756 stands out as his lowest by over 50 points in the last seven years. Also, he's IMPROVED for three straight years.
Meanwhile, even were Alou to match his worst season in the past 11 years and manage a .337 OBP, that's better than the 2004 OBP posted by:
Grissom
Feliz
A.J.
Deivi Cruz
Neifi (duh over 300 at bats for a .276 OBP!)
Yorvit
And if he does what he did last year? A below career-average .361? Add these names to the list:
Alfonzo
Tucker
In fact, of the 2004 Giants to get 100 at bats, only four beat him. Bonds, of course. Snow. Mohr. And Durham (but only barely, at .364)
So while a number of Cubs fans are saying how Alou makes so many outs. All I can say is.. sounds like a perfect fit!
I've gotten some feedback on my less-than-subtle on-my-knees begging for Moises Alou to join Daddy and smack the ball around Pac Bell.
My first reaction is one of surprise. I honestly had no idea anyone ever read this thing. I should start spell-checking it.
But my second was to look at the over-arching comments and see if they're right, I'm right, or we're all right, so let's just get along.
The main knock against Mr. Moises that came out was the idea that he makes a lot of outs. I'm not so sure this is as true, at least on paper, as it may seem. In 2004, he had a .361 OBP, slightly below his career average of .367. However, it's been 4 years and 2 teams since he's matched his career average. Still, his lowest OBP in the last decade was .337., and that was three years ago in his first tour of Cubbie duty. Looking closer at that year, it looks to be an aberration in his career. Here are his OPS totals for the last 11 years:
.823, .989, .801, .796, .866, .981, .1.039, .950, .756, .819, .918
His .756 stands out as his lowest by over 50 points in the last seven years. Also, he's IMPROVED for three straight years.
Meanwhile, even were Alou to match his worst season in the past 11 years and manage a .337 OBP, that's better than the 2004 OBP posted by:
Grissom
Feliz
A.J.
Deivi Cruz
Neifi (duh over 300 at bats for a .276 OBP!)
Yorvit
And if he does what he did last year? A below career-average .361? Add these names to the list:
Alfonzo
Tucker
In fact, of the 2004 Giants to get 100 at bats, only four beat him. Bonds, of course. Snow. Mohr. And Durham (but only barely, at .364)
So while a number of Cubs fans are saying how Alou makes so many outs. All I can say is.. sounds like a perfect fit!
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
Oh Please, oh please, oh please...
According to MLB.com, Moises Alou wants to be a Giant.
Make no mistake about this, he WANTS to come here. If he were offered identical contracts from every team, he'd pick SF.
Do we want him?
Well he's old. 38. So he fits right in. An outfield of Bonds, Grissom, and Alou may well be one of the oldest outfields ever.
HOWEVER
Last year he hit .291 and smacked 39 HRs for an OPS of .919. .919!!! If he can even come close to his career average of .880, how much of a lift is that over The Tuckernator?
I know what you're saying. We don't need offence. We need pitching.
Well actually, we need a Bullpen. Our rotation is fine. I'm perfectly happy with Schmidt/Tomko/Williams/Lowry/Rueter(Foppert). That's a good group. But come on, do we want to overpay for Percival? How much would Benitez cost?
But the offence... Add Alou. Here's your line-up.
Durham
Snow
Grissom
Bonds
Alou
Grisson
Cruz
Random Catcher (Yorvit, A.J., whatever)
Suddenly, we can score some serious runs. Suddenly, we have that 2nd real threat we've lacked since El Truck Washer left town.
This is not a pipe dream... HE WANTS TO COME HERE!
Who's with me?
According to MLB.com, Moises Alou wants to be a Giant.
Make no mistake about this, he WANTS to come here. If he were offered identical contracts from every team, he'd pick SF.
Do we want him?
Well he's old. 38. So he fits right in. An outfield of Bonds, Grissom, and Alou may well be one of the oldest outfields ever.
HOWEVER
Last year he hit .291 and smacked 39 HRs for an OPS of .919. .919!!! If he can even come close to his career average of .880, how much of a lift is that over The Tuckernator?
I know what you're saying. We don't need offence. We need pitching.
Well actually, we need a Bullpen. Our rotation is fine. I'm perfectly happy with Schmidt/Tomko/Williams/Lowry/Rueter(Foppert). That's a good group. But come on, do we want to overpay for Percival? How much would Benitez cost?
But the offence... Add Alou. Here's your line-up.
Durham
Snow
Grissom
Bonds
Alou
Grisson
Cruz
Random Catcher (Yorvit, A.J., whatever)
Suddenly, we can score some serious runs. Suddenly, we have that 2nd real threat we've lacked since El Truck Washer left town.
This is not a pipe dream... HE WANTS TO COME HERE!
Who's with me?
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