September 2nd, 2009
One of the biggest reasons why I wouldn’t mind seeing a new regime replace Sabean-Bochy is the overreliance on veterans. Of course, I’m saying this after veterans Edgar Renteria and Bengie Molina deliver two of the biggest hits of the season in the last week. The veterans should still play a little, but it’s a fallacy when managers and GM’s think that veterans need to play more down the stretch because they’re “gamers” or because “they’ve been here before”. There’s an all-too-common belief within baseball that playing younger players means you’re giving your team less of a chance to win.
In many cases, younger players can be better options than the veteran “gamers”, especially when those veterans are already below average players. Of course, “below average” is a kind phrase to use for most of the Giants hitters. There are many examples of younger players helping teams in stretch runs, but in the NL West, we don’t have to look much further than the 2007 Rockies. They were essentially “giving up” on their season when they called up Ubaldo Jimenez and Franklin Morales in August. Of course, those pitchers were instrumental in their amazing September run. Prospects can make your team better. They shouldn’t be players who are only given time when your team is out of the race.
Those prospects can only become good major leaguers with experience. If they’ve dominated Triple-A pitching, they aren’t going to become better major leaguers by continuing to hit off of those same Triple-A pitchers. John Bowker may be better hitter in the future, but I can concede he is probably a below-average major league hitter right now. Still, I’d rather have him taking away some at bats from Randy Winn (especially against lefties such as last night), who is also a below-average hitter. At least, Bowker can get better with the experience.
I’m not saying the vets shouldn’t play, but this was supposed to be a season where we were going to find out a lot about the Giants positional prospects. The organization wasn’t really strong in upper-level positional players, but there are still quite a few unknowns within this franchise. I feel like the Giants have wasted part of this season by not giving enough at bats to guys like Bowker, Kevin Frandsen, Jesus Guzman, Nate Schierholtz (remember when he had 18 at bats through May 1st), and, yes, even Fred Lewis (Bay City Ball’s reasoning for Lewis to play more.). Odds are, most of these guys won’t ever be everyday major-leaguers, but good organizations find a way to get these type of players enough at bats to find out. Unfortunately, with the Giants, they’re still unknowns.
As pointed out at Inside Baggs, the Giants average just 3.58 pitches per plate appearance, which is the lowest in the majors by far. Of the 16 NL teams, they’re 15th in runs/game, 15th in HR’s, 16th in walks and 16th in on-base percentage. If the Giants found a way to give guys such as Frandsen, Bowker, and Lewis more at bats, would these numbers be much worse? I don’t think so. There’s even a decent chance they may be better.
Even more frustrating, the Giants didn’t even call up Frandsen when teams were allowed to expand their rosters yesterday. And, while Sabean and the rest of the brass think its unfathomable, calling up Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner may be the difference between a playing baseball or playing golf in October. When you’ve got a chance for a championship, you go for it. I don’t care about affecting one’s service time or hurting veterans feelings. If calling up Posey and Bumgarner means that the team has to wait until June, instead of May, before calling them up to the major league roster again so the Giants can steal an extra year of service time, then so be it.
Think of this scenario: The Giants wait until May before they call up Posey and Bumgarner, the team misses the playoffs, and when the team calls up these players in 2010, both immediately take off and adjust smoothly to major-league competition. Giants fans will be ticked off that these guys weren’t allowed to make an impact in the previous year’s pennant chase. And, even worse, the Sabean-Bochy tandem may be awarded contract extensions this offseason. The same guys who continually rewarded veteran players with at bats despite mediocre offense from those veteran players.
Renteria, Winn, Molina, and Aaron Rowand all deserve their share of at bats, but this year, they’ve been given too many at bats. While it’s a positive that these guys have mostly played solid defense, they should have been given more days off earlier in the season in favor of younger players. If they were, maybe they would be even more rested for this stretch drive.
This has been touched on at McCovey Chronicles, but even more frustrating for Giants fans, is the Giants organization lack of patience for younger players. Eugenio Velez got off to a hot start upon his recall, and that earned him plenty of extra at bats. Bowker didn’t and he was back in Triple-A before he knew it. You may not want to hear another Rockies example, but Carlos Gonzalez was scuffling with a .188 average on July 6th. Now, after over 500 career plate appearances, he looks like a future star. The Rockies didn’t demote him to the Pacific Coast League, where he has already dominated. They kept him on their major league roster, and now it’s paying major dividends.
Can you imagine if Pablo Sandoval got off to a 4-for-45 start last season? He might have struggled to get consistent at bats on last year’s and this year’s team. The only reason the Giants committed to him everyday was because he started raking right away. Sandoval is a rare case, because most hitters take time before they learn major league pitching.
It’s actually pretty simple. The more major league at bats a team’s young hitting prospects receive, they will either become better players or at least a team will find out about their long-term chances. In baseball economics, because of service time, younger players that perform well are extremely valuable. The Giants organization’s lack of patience and commitment with younger players may cost them this season but, more importantly, has also hurt their chances in 2010 and 2011.
Categories: San Francisco Giants |
Tags: Aaron Rowand, Bengie Molina, Brian Sabean, Bruce Bochy, Buster Posey, Carlos Gonzalez, Edgar Renteria, Eugenio Velez, Franklin Morales, Fred Lewis, Giants, Jesus Guzman, John Bowker, Kevin Frandsen, Madison Bumgarner, Pablo Sandoval, Randy Winn, Rockies, Ubaldo Jimenez | No Comments
August 7th, 2009
As I watched Livan Hernandez get lit up in San Diego by the worst offense in the league last night, I couldn’t help but think about Omar Minaya and his incompetence as Mets general manager. No matter what your feelings are toward Billy Beane and Brian Sabean, I think it’s safe to say they certainly aren’t among the worst ten general managers in the game (I think they are, at least, in the top fifteen). The thing I can respect about Beane and Sabean is that they have stayed away from old, veteran has-been’s holding down starting rotation spots these last couple of seasons.
There may have been a time when Beane and Sabean turned to retreads, but not anymore (no, Randy Johnson doesn’t qualify considering his sub-4 ERA last season). In today’s game, general managers need to be smart with their payroll and it makes no sense to pay a veteran like Hernandez $2 million (with incentives) or Tim Redding ($2.25 million!!! Is Minaya in bed with Redding’s agent?), when you can easily find a minor leaguer who can do a better job at the minimum salary.
That’s why it’s always better to turn to the Vin Mazzaro’s of the world, or even lesser prospects such as Joe Martinez and Ryan Sadowski. It’s better than the 5.08 and 6.61 ERA’s that the Mets have received from Hernandez and Redding this season. If the Giants and A’s were throwing out these types this season, we’d all have pitchforks.
Omar Minaya sucks, and we didn’t even have to bring up the awful Oliver Perez contract.
(more…)
Categories: Oakland A's, San Francisco Giants |
Tags: 49ers, A's, Adam Snyder, Alex Smith, Barry Zito, Billy Beane, Bobby Convey, Brandon Jones, Brian Sabean, Cal, Derrick Burgess, Donte Stallworth, Freddy Sanchez, Giants, Jay Richardson, Jeremy Roenick, Joe Martinez, Jonathan Sanchez, Kenny Stabler, Kevin Riley, Kyle McLaren, Livan Hernandez, Madison Bumgarner, Michael Crabtree, Omar Minaya, Pablo Sandoval, Raiders, Ray Guy, Ryan Sadowski, Sharks, Shaun Hill, Stanford, Tim Redding, Trevor Cahill, Vin Mazzaro, Warriors | 1 Comment
July 24th, 2009
My disdain for Lew Wolff, because of his desire to get out of Oakland, has been well-documented on this site. Many probably wonder why I’m making such a big deal out of something considering the A’s, if they go to San Jose, won’t be moving very far away. My issue is that the A’s have historically been a huge part of Oakland’s community. As Rickey Henderson is enshrined in the Hall, I think of the great impact he had on that community, particularly African-Americans. You almost never see a community produce the local team’s greatest player, but that’s the case in Oakland. The greatest Athletic is clearly Rickey Henderson. If you don’t think that made a big deal to fans going to games in the 80’s and early 90’s, then you weren’t paying attention. Sadly, there haven’t been many good African-American players playing for this team in the past decade plus. That, along with Lew Wolff’s greed and the team playing in the worst stadium in the league, explains the dwindling A’s attendance numbers.
Much has been made about the lack of African-Americans in baseball, but the East Bay has been an exception to the rule in this country. Some of the biggest African-American names in baseball are the East Bay’s own Jimmy Rollins, C.C. Sabathia, and, despite his struggles, Dontrelle Willis. These players, and other local products, undoubtedly were impacted by Henderson and other outstanding black A’s players from the 80’s and early 90’s. In fact, in an article by ESPN’s Tim Keown a couple of years ago, Sabathia spoke of this very impact:
The reason I wanted to play baseball was the A’s. They had Dave Parker, Rickey Henderson, Dave Henderson, Dave Stewart—guys I could look up to. Right now, the A’s have Milton Bradley, and that’s about it. I don’t think I’d be playing baseball. I think it would probably be football, because that’s what I see.
I’m sure Rickey Henderson, while at Oakland Tech, was just as impacted by the championship teams of the early 70’s, and African-Americans such as Vida Blue, Reggie Jackson, and Billy North. Maybe Sabathia and Henderson would have liked those same great A’s teams the same if they played in San Jose, but I doubt it. Part of the appeal for many East Bay African-Americans to go to A’s games in the past, outside of the cultural familiarity, was the team being in their backyard, BART made the games even more accessible, and the games are very affordable.
(more…)
Categories: Oakland A's |
Tags: 49ers, A's, Adam Dunn, Adam Kennedy, Alan Johnson, Alex Smith, Barry Zito, Billy North, Brett Anderson, C.C. Sabathia, C.J. Watson, Conor Gillaspie, Dave Henderson, Dave Stewart, Don Nelson, Dontrelle Willis, Giants, Jimmy Rollins, Jonathan Sanchez, Justin Duchscherer, Kevin Pucetas, Lew Wolff, Madison Bumgarner, Mark Cuban, Raiders, Rajai Davis, Reggie Jackson, Rickey Henderson, San Jose State, Sharks, Stanford, Thomas Neal, Tim Alderson, Vida Blue, Vin Mazzaro, Warriors | 1 Comment
July 10th, 2009
I haven’t said much about Pablo Sandoval not be selected for the All-Star game because this “last man vote” was great publicity for him (not that he wants it). Most of the baseball world was finally taking notice of what Giants fans have been watching all season: A portly but athletic, versatile, fun-loving, smart, high-effort guy who is a breath of fresh air because he plays the game the right way.
Despite the newfound publicity, it won’t be a big deal nationally if Sandoval doesn’t make the All-Star game as an injury replacement. While his numbers dwarf many other players on the team, it’s an East Coast media-driven country. Down the road, however, when Sandoval is getting the same type of respect as Albert Pujols (and he will, as we’ve made clear before), this slight will look moronic. Sandoval is going to consistently be one of the top five players in baseball in the next five years, while playing in a pitcher’s park. Historians will look back at his first full season and wonder why he wasn’t playing with baseball’s best in mid-July.
(more…)
Categories: San Francisco Giants |
Tags: 49ers, A's, Bill Neukom, Buster Posey, Charlie Manuel, Freddy Sanchez, Giants, Ian Kinsler, JaMarcus Russell, Jason Giambi, Jesse English, John Bowker, Kent Huskins, Madison Bumgarner, Pablo Sandoval, Raiders, Rickey Henderson, Rob Blake, Scott Hairston, Sharks, Stephen Curry, Steve McNair, Tim Alderson, Tim Lincecum, Warren Sapp | No Comments
July 9th, 2009
If it happens, I’ll lead the parade, but I’m not going to start rejoicing yet. Chris Cohan is likely going to be stingy as hell, and will probably wait until he receives a bid over market value, which may take awhile. Plus, it also takes some time, after a price is agreed upon, for the sale to go final.
On to the Thursday links:
The sale won’t be at a discount, as Marcus Thompson writes. He also blogs about it here.
Tim Kawakami says that Cohan knows its time to go… and TK blogged about it in Talking Points.
The new owner needs to hire savvy basketball experts, writes Cam Inman.
This could be Christmas in July, writes Monte Poole.
Warriors fans don’t know black or white, but they know bad, as Ray Ratto notes.
And, by the way, Stephen Curry signed his first Warrior contract.
As for the reduced salary cap, Rusty Simmons and Kawakami address the effect on the Warriors.
Giants
A John Bowker callup may be coming soon.
(more…)
Categories: Golden State Warriors, Oakland A's, San Francisco Giants |
Tags: 49ers, A's, Andrew Bailey, Angel Villalona, Buster Posey, Chris Cohan, Claude Lemieux, David Duval, Freddy Sanchez, Giants, John Bowker, Kurt Suzuki, Madison Bumgarner, Matt Holliday, Max Zhang, Pablo Sandoval, Ray Wersching, Ryan Sadowski, Shane Victorino, Sharks, Stephen Curry, Tim Alderson, Tim Wakefield, Warriors | No Comments
July 7th, 2009
I’m not mad at Bruce Bochy and I don’t blame him solely for Randy Johnson’s shoulder strain, but I can’t figure out why he sent the Big Unit out for the fourth inning on Sunday. It was obvious to everyone in the ballpark, and particularly the Giants dugout, that Johnson hurt himself swinging the bat in the bottom of the third inning. A number of us watching the game on television were thinking that he wouldn’t pitch the rest of the game
There are a number of reasons he shouldn’t have been out there for the fourth inning. First of all, he’s 45! Why take any chances with a guy who’s obviously pitching on his last legs? Second, the bullpen was well rested considering Ryan Sadowski and Tim Lincecum were coming off consecutive seven-inning outings. If you factor in the long man, Jonathan Sanchez, had a day off Saturday and could have pitched 2-3 innings on Sunday, Bochy had more reasons to go to somebody other than Johnson. Finally, not only is the bullpen well-rested, but it’s an eight person bullpen. If you’re going to carry 13 pitchers (which you usually shouldn’t), than you have more reasons to go to the pen earlier than you would normally want to. Bochy clearly made a mistake considering Johnson’s velocity and command were way off in that fourth inning. (Not to mention the throwing error that ultimately sealed his fate.)
(more…)
Categories: San Francisco Giants |
Tags: 49ers, A's, Alex Rios, Armando Benitez, Bengie Molina, Bob Titchenal, Brett Anderson, Brian Sabean, Brian Wilson, Buster Posey, Emmanuel Burriss, Giants, Jed York, Jonathan Sanchez, Madison Bumgarner, Max Zhang, Nomar Garciaparra, Pablo Sandoval, Randy Johnson, Ryan Sadowski, Ryane Clowe, Scott Hairston, Sharks, Steve McNair, Tim Lincecum, Warriors | 1 Comment
June 24th, 2009
In professional sports drafts, nobody really wants to make the safe pick. Usually, teams should take whomever they think is the best player. Sometimes, though, that is also the safe pick. If Stephen Curry is there for the Warriors at #7, they should take him.
The only argument I hear against Curry in these parts, is that he is too similar of a player to Monta Ellis. That’s a dumb argument to make against a draft prospect because we don’t know if Ellis is going to be here for the long term. Why should we hold Ellis in such high regard and think he’s here for the long haul when he has been upset with the organization before? With or without Curry, Ellis could, at any point, demand a trade and force his way to another organization. Then, not selecting Curry, could really look stupid. Ellis is also a type of “special needs” player. I say this because he’s not a point guard, will never play on a winning team as a point guard, yet he thinks he’s a point guard. The best case for Ellis to play on a winning team is to be a shooting guard, playing next to a big point guard… like Baron Davis. This way, the defensively deficient Ellis can guard point guards, while someone like Davis can guard the twos. Big point guards like Davis, however, are extremely hard to find.
(more…)
Categories: Golden State Warriors |
Tags: A's, Baron Davis, Brandon Morrow, Brian Sabean, Buster Posey, Cal, Dave Stewart, DeMar DeRozan, Don Nelson, Giants, Jahvid Best, Jordan Hill, Jose Canseco, Kevin Frandsen, Madison Bumgarner, Matt Downs, Matt Holliday, Monta Ellis, Pablo Sandoval, Richard Jefferson, Sharks, Stephen Curry, Tim Alderson, Tim Lincecum, Vernon Davis, Warriors | No Comments
June 22nd, 2009
Sorry, I haven’t posted anything since Thursday. I got lazy. Maybe if I had the energy of those losers starting the wave in the upper deck yesterday, I wouldn’t have waited four days. Speaking of which, if you’re at a baseball game, are older than 16, and you’re trying to start a wave, you are pathetic. And, you’re not a Giants fan. Don’t even bother showing up again. We don’t need your short attention spans at our games. Sometimes, I miss the 15,000-20,000 die-hards that loyally showed up to the ‘Stick.
The Giants ten-game trip that starts tonight in Oakland is one of three lengthy (10 or more games) road trips remaining on their schedule. It might be the toughest road trip of the year because they’ll face two above-.500 teams (Brewers and Cardinals), plus the aces of those teams, Yovani Gallardo and Chris Carpenter. Considering Jonathan Sanchez will likely be starting twice, and the A’s will be looking for revenge, it doesn’t make things any easier. It could be a very pivotal trip for the Giants bullpen that has performed much better at home than on the road as you can tell by the numbers below.
|
RELIEVER
|
HOME ERA
|
ROAD ERA
|
|
WILSON
|
2.14
|
4.63
|
|
AFFELDT
|
1.29
|
2.03
|
|
ROMO
|
4.15
|
0.00
|
|
VALDEZ
|
1.59
|
5.59
|
|
MEDDERS
|
1.76
|
4.20
|
|
HOWRY
|
5.79
|
3.00
|
|
MILLER
|
1.93
|
2.81
|
Only Sergio Romo and Bobby Howry have posted higher ERA’s at home, and Romo obviously has a very small sample size. Valdez’s splits are particularly glaring, although he wasn’t helped by that Washington disaster three weeks ago when the Nationals scored six runs in the eighth inning in the opening game of the last ten-game road trip.
(more…)
Categories: San Francisco Giants |
Tags: 49ers, A's, Barry Zito, Bob Bradley. Aaron Rowand, Bobby Howry, Brandon Medders, Brian Wilson, Bruce Bochy, Chris Guarnero, Dallas Braden, Giants, Jeremy Affeldt, Jonathan Sanchez, Jordan Hill, Justin Miller, Kasey Kahne, Kevin Frandsen, Lance Armstrong, Larry Riley, Madison Bumgarner, Matt Downs, Merkin Valdez, Nnamdi Asomugha, Pablo Sandoval, Raiders, Randy Winn, Rich Aurilia, Ryane Clowe, Sergio Romo, Sharks, Tim Alderson, Trevor Cahill, Warriors | No Comments
June 15th, 2009
The hardest part of coming off the bench is you feel like you have to produce every time you go out there. - Nate Schierholtz
One of the benefits of having a stellar pitching staff is that a team like the Giants can afford to experiment with positions that are offensively challenged. It’s particularly easier to experiment with players that are good defensively. Nate Schierholtz has proven to be a good enough rightfielder that Bruce Bochy can start him everyday for the next 3-5 weeks without it costing the team.
Hopefully, Bochy, who sounds like he’s open to the idea of Schierholtz playing more often (and admitted that he’ll start tonight), will give him more than just a couple of starts to prove that he deserves to play everyday. I don’t care if Schierholtz goes 0-for-20, he should start every game (against lefties and righties) for the next three weeks… at least. It still won’t be a big enough sample size, but Schierholtz deserves some kind of an opportunity. An opportunity where he doesn’t have to look over his shoulder or feel he has to “produce every time”.
(more…)
Categories: San Francisco Giants |
Tags: 49ers, A's, Barrett Robbins, Brett Anderson, Cal, Chad Billingsley, Eric Chavez, Fred Lewis, Giants, Jerry West, Kevin Mitchell, Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Madison Bumgarner, Mark Kotsay, Matt Cain, Nate Schierholtz, Pablo Sandoval, Pau Gasol, Raiders, Rickey Henderson, Syd'Quan Thompson, Tim Lincecum | No Comments
June 12th, 2009
It is, of course, the 20 year anniversary of the only time the San Francisco Giants and Oakland A’s ever met in the Fall Classic. There’s been a lot of focus this week on Chronicle Live commemorating that Bay Bridge World Series, and remembering the earthquake that was such a part of the Series. Before the game tomorrow, the Giants will honor their 1989 pennant winning team.
I bring all of this up because that A’s-Giants World Series we witnessed 20 years ago is something that is very unlikely to happen again, at least in most of our lifetimes. All we have to do is look at history and find out just how rare it is to see a local, natural rivalry championship matchup such as this one.
The Dodgers and Angels have shared Southern California for almost 50 years and have never come close to meeting in the World Series. The Cubs and White Sox met in the World Series once… 103 years ago. The Yankees and Mets have played in New York together for 47 years and have only met once (2000). And that’s despite both teams usually having top five payrolls for the last decade. The Royals and Cardinals have shared Missouri for 40 years, and have met once (1985). Ohio rivals Cleveland and Cincinnati have never met in the World Series despite having over 100 years of history.
(more…)
Categories: Oakland A's, San Francisco Giants |
Tags: 49ers, A's, Bob Geren, Brandon Jennings, Brandon Morrow, Bruce Bochy, Cal, Fred Lewis, Giants, Greg Papa, Jeremy Wells, John Bowker, Jonathan Sanchez, Jonny Flynn, Kentwan Balmer, Lew Wolff, Madison Bumgarner, Michael Crabtree, Mike Singletary, Nate Schierholtz, Rajai Davis, Richard Quick, Stanford, Tim Lincecum, Vin Mazzaro, Warriors | No Comments
