Freddy Sanchez is at Home in the NL West

August 3rd, 2009

While I stand by my argument that the Giants gave up too much for Freddy Sanchez, and should have used Tim Alderson as trade bait for a hitter with more pop, my entire support is thrown his way now that he’s a Giant.  Yesterday, Mike Krukow made mention of how Sanchez told him that he enjoys hitting in the NL West parks because of their enormous outfields.  It certainly makes sense for a line-drive hitter, such as Sanchez.

Brian Sabean should have told us this when he made the trade, instead of reminding us that Sanchez was a “professional hitter”.  When you keep telling us that Sanchez is a “professional hitter”, all you’re doing is reminding us that most of our team is filled with “unprofessional hitters”.  (Even if it’s true, we don’t need to be reminded.)  If Sabean had told me that Sanchez owns the Dodgers and Rockies, I still wouldn’t have agreed with the price tag, but I would have definitely felt a little better about the deal.

When you look into the numbers, Sanchez is very comfortable against the Giants competition in the NL West, with the exception of the Padres. (Of course, he fits right in since the Giants can’t win in San Diego anyway.)

As for the Giants, he was a career .340, .841 OPS hitter against, and the ballpark talk wasn’t just talk.  Sanchez loves AT&T to the tune of a .378 batting average and .929 OPS.  It’s those fantastic OPS numbers against NL West opposition that are very encouraging.  WCB did say that this trade could look good if Sanchez posts an OPS over .800 in these final couple of months.

Considering that 34 of the final 57 games (59.6%) are against NL West opponents, that .800+ OPS for Sanchez suddenly seems very possible.  With all of the heavy intra-division scheduling during the regular season (44.4%), maybe Sanchez’s numbers could actually improve slightly on his Pittsburgh stats.  One things for sure:  If he beats up on L.A. and Colorado this season, he’ll fit in very quickly.

Now about that defense:

I’m going to give Sanchez the benefit of the doubt on his defense because his metrics (tied for fifth-best among all second basemen) are so solid.  However, Giants fans that saw him yesterday and the three games the Giants played in Pittsburgh have seen some very shaky fielding from Sanchez.

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Categories: San Francisco Giants | Tags: 49ers, A's, Alex Smith, Brian Sabean, Cal, Darren McFadden, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Earthquakes, Eugenio Velez, Freddy Sanchez, Giants, Greg Ellis, Javon Walker, Joe Martinez, Kevin Pucetas, Khalif Barnes, Marion Bartoli, Marvel Smith, Michael Crabtree, Mike Krukow, Mike Singletary, Patrick Willis, Raiders, Rajai Davis, Tim Alderson, Tim Lincecum, Tom Cable, Vin Mazzaro | No Comments

This One is On Righetti

July 11th, 2009

Not only is he a Cy Young winner, but Tim Lincecum apparently is also Nostradamus.  His quote on Chronicle Live last night before Jonathan Sanchez’s no-hitter:

Someone is going to throw a no-hitter and it might not be the ace of the squad.  It could be an unsung hero kind of guy. 

“Unlikely”, as Henry Schulman and Andrew Baggarly write, is the word that has been used most frequently to describe Sanchez’s no-hitter.  While no one expected this piece of brilliance from a pitcher who has struggled so much this year, we can expect brilliance from pitching coach, Dave Righetti.

Sure, the Giants are fortunate to have a lot of pitchers with great stuff, but they still need a coach to help harness that stuff.  And, great stuff doesn’t always mean great results.  Righetti obviously worked hard with Sanchez since his demotion to the bullpen.  Just as he did when Barry Zito has demoted last year, and came back a better pitcher.  From Jeremy Affeldt to Sergio Romo to Ryan Sadowski to Justin Miller to Brandon Medders, and even Lincecum and Matt Cain, can you honestly say that Righetti can get any more production from their pitching staff than they have received to his point?  Sanchez has been the one underachiever, and the Giants pitching coach may have righted that ship.        

Righetti appeared to be in tears last night as he embraced Sanchez after the final out.  It confirmed how close Righetti is to these Giant pitchers and got me thinking about a great baseball book I read from Roger Kahn called The Head Game. 

In the book, Kahn spoke at length with former pitching stud, Johnny Sain.  Many baseball fans are unaware that Sain was, not only an excellent pitcher, but a very good pitching coach.  Jim Bouton once said of Sain, the coach:

Johnny Sain didn’t try to make you pitch like he did.  He put himself in your shoes.  He had allegiance to you.  He made you think.  He was the best pitching coach in baseball.   

Sain had a number of principles he lived by as a pitching coach, but two have stood out.  One, a coach “owes his primary loyalty to his pitchers”.  Sain explained that loyalty took precedence over other important loyalties to the boss and to the field manager.  Whether you agree with it or not, it helped Sain become closer with his pitching staff and develop trust.  One of Sain’s other quotes was, “It’s better for a pitching coach to be unemployed than to be dishonest”.    

I don’t know if Righetti follows these same principles or the exact relationship between Rags and the members of the Giants staff, but those tears confirmed that there is a bond that us fans may not completely grasp.  A bond that may be developed through loyalty and honesty.  Whatever his methods, Righetti is getting great results.  It’s time we give him his just due. 

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Categories: San Francisco Giants | Tags: 49ers, A's, Aaron Rowand, Anthony Randolph, Barry Zito, Bengie Molina, Brandon Medders, Buster Posey, Charlie Manuel, Dave Righetti, Eli Whiteside, Giants, Greg Ellis, Jeremy Affeldt, Jim Bouton, Joey Devine, John Montefusco, Johnny Sain, Jon Bryant, Jonathan Sanchez, Juan Uribe, Justin Miller, Kevin Frandsen, Matt Cain, Mike Krukow, Pablo Sandoval, Patty Mills, Raiders, Roger Kahn, Ryan Sadowski, Sergio Romo, Stefan Frei, Stephen Curry, Tim Lincecum, Warriors | No Comments

Pablo Sandoval is Going to Be A Hall of Famer

June 16th, 2009

How?  How could I possibly say this about a player who’s only had 362 major league at bats?  Could the little credibility this site has be lost because of the statement above?  Maybe, but who cares?  The credibility might have been out the window when readers saw the name of this website.  I’m just one of those 42-year old bloggers who’s typing away in my mother’s basement anyway.

I can admit that I’ve been wrong plenty of times (in life, in baseball, in knowing when to say when), but one thing I can be sure of is Sandoval is going to be one of the best players in baseball for years to come.  I’ve never been more infatuated with a 22-year old Giant than I am with Sandoval.  Not Will Clark.  Not Tim Lincecum.  Not even William Van Landingham.  Is it possible I need to temper my man-crush on this kid?  Maybe, but there are too many reasons to get excited about the Big Panda’s future.

Let’s start with some of the intangibles, such as the nickname.  Whether it’s Big Panda, Kung Fu Panda, or Little Panda (as Duane Kuiper inexplicably calls him), how many 22 year olds who have only had a few months of service time are affectionately given a nickname by teammates?  The Giants players evidently saw something in this kid that they liked a lot.  And the organization did as well.  This is why he was inserted in the middle of the lineup from the time of his arrival.  Yes, the Giants lineup hasn’t been any good the last two years, but you still don’t often see a player thrown into the middle of the order immediately.  (Even the greatest catcher of all time, Matt Wieters, hit seventh upon his arrival.)   

Alright, we know Sandoval isn’t going to get in the Hall on a nickname and batting order position alone.   

One of the best things about the Big Panda is that he loves the game, respects the game, and has a better feel for the game than anyone else.  While he’s also surprisingly nimble and agile for a man his size, Giants fan can also attest to Sandoval’s smarts and heady play.  Whether he’s catching, playing third base, or first base, the Panda never misses a beat or makes a bad decision.  He may have fell down running the bases this year, but he never makes a bad play because he wasn’t paying attention or wasn’t hustling.  (He probably never even uses three negatives in a sentence like I just did, either.)  Sandoval always plays hard.  How many potential stars play hard all of the time and run out every groundball and popup?  If you’re a father, and you are trying to teach your son or daughter how to play the game the right way, all you have to do is go to AT&T Park and tell your kid to watch Sandoval the whole game.  For a fan base so desperate to find good everyday players to root for everyday, Sandoval arrived in San Francisco at the perfect time.  While there will be questions about his weight, it’s obvious that Sandoval loves the game too much to let his weight become an issue.     

Obviously, Sandoval isn’t going to get in to Cooperstown for just smarts, hustle, and love of the game. 

The bottom line is that Sandoval is going to have to become an awesome hitter if he’s ever going to be Hall-worthy.  The critics say he’s too aggressive to be an outstanding hitter.  (Only 16 walks in 387 career plate appearances.)  The problem with that analysis is that Sandoval, even if he’s swinging at pitches out of the strike zone, still manages to hit the ball hard a very high percentage of the time.  That’s why Sandoval has such a high batting average on balls put in play (.367 last year, .362 this year)                     

Don’t you think the book would be out on a guy who is the Giants best hitter?  The problem is there is no book.  “Don’t give him anything to hit” sounds like an easy strategy, but it hasn’t worked to this point.  He’s not just hitting mistakes, so we’re not talking about Jeff Francouer here.  Last night, the Big Panda hit two home runs the other way, and the second one was only a few inches from the dirt… yet he still crushed it!  Last week, A.J. Hinch suggested to the media that the Diamondbacks try throwing him something down the middle because he was hitting everything else.      

I will concede that Sandoval needs to hit for more power, but a slugging percentage over .500 isn’t bad for a guy who is still learning major league pitching and has little protection in the lineup.  The distance of his home runs suggest the power is there and it will increase as he gets a better understanding of the strike zone.  He will continue to improve because he is a smart player.  This happens with many Latin players who go on to have fine major league careers.  Just as an example, Sammy Sosa didn’t take many pitches early in his career, but later on, drew a ton of walks.  It hasn’t been a dramatic difference, but Sandoval has shown some improved patience at the plate this season.  It’s enough where we can tell that he is improving.   

As an improving 22-year old who already has an OPS over .900, the Big Panda is already one of the top hitters in the National League.  At his age, we can be sure the best years of Sandoval’s career are going to carry even more impressive numbers.  Right now, he’s the best hitter on a pretty good team.  Down the road, he’ll be an MVP on a championship team.  Perhaps almost as important, Sandoval has fun and plays the game the right way.  He’s everything that a San Francisco Giant fan should want in a ballplayer.  Enjoy every minute of the Big Panda.  We won’t ever see another one like him.  A unique player who is only embarking on the beginning of a journey that will one day lead to baseball’s elite.        

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Categories: San Francisco Giants | Tags: 49ers, Alex Boone, Andy Lee, Anthony Randolph, Barry Zito, Brandon Lloyd, Brian Jennings, Bruce Bochy, Cal, Darren Baker, Derrick Hill, Emmanuel Burriss, Frank Gore, George Powles, Greg Ellis, J.T. Snow, Joe Nedney, John Bowker, Jonathan Sanchez, Kory Sheets, Mike Nolan, Monta Ellis, Moran Norris, Pablo Sandoval, Patty Mills, Raiders, Rob Blake, Sharks, Tiger Woods, Todd Richards, Torii Hunter, Warriors | No Comments