Croix De Candlestick

MVN Giants Cove

2005-08-14T03:25:00.000-07:00

In case you didn't get it the first time, I can now be found here.

Burning the Midnight Oil

2005-08-08T00:35:00.000-07:00

After a much anticipated wait on my part, I have an announcement to make. Very soon I will be shifting my blogging activities to the Most Valuable Network Giants Cove, where I will be partnered with two other writers (link to the page can be found by clicking the above logo). By making this move, I hope to gain a slightly larger following than I have here at Croix De Candlestick. I'd like to thank everyone (all three of you) that faithfully read my work on a regular basis, and while I'll miss running my own blog, this is a leap into a much larger pool of readers. Unless something falls through, this will be my last post here so enjoy.

Talk About Good Timing

Right after I bash the Giant's starting rotation and stress about how much we need a solid starter, the starting pitchers start shutting opposing hitters down, and now our bullpen has become shaky. It's a tradeoff, but I'd rather have six to eight innings of scoreless baseball and one or two rocky innings than the other way around. Since losing two straight to the road warrior Rockies (14-42 away from Coors), this is what the starting rotation has done:

Brad Hennessey: 7 innings, 5 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 4 K's *surrendered 2 solo home runs

Kevin Correia: 6 innings, 5 hits, 2 runs, 6 K's, *after surrendering two 1st inning runs, Correia pitched 5 innings of scoreless ball

Jason Schmidt: 8 innings, 3 hits, no runs, 3 walks, 5 K's *77 of 121 pitchers thrown for strikes

Noah Lowry: 7 innings, 1 hit, no runs, 3 walks, 8 K's *left in 7th inning with tightness in his elbow

Brian Cooper: 7 innings, 4 hits, 1 run, 2 walks, 3 K's *started in place of Brett Tomko

Altogether, 35 innings, 18 hits, 5 runs. Thats a 1.29 ERA spanning over 5 starts, and 5 different pitchers, thankfully none of which are named Kirk Rueter. It's like I always say, good pitching wins games...and covers up the fact that the Giants haven't scored more than 6 runs in a game during that period. What's good is that the Giants don't need to score runs when the starting pitchers isn't giving any up. What's ironic is that during those 5 games, they're 3-2, and fell back 2 games in the NL West.

The culprits responsible reside in the relief corps. In those 5 games, the bullpen has pitched 9 total innings, and surrendered, 17 hits, and 13 runs, 12 earned. That puts them at an ERA of 12.00 flat. Funny...all this talk of the Giants bullpen is giving me the sudden urge to egg Tyler Walkers house. Missing Armando Benitez yet? According to the latest report, Benitez is set to come off the disabled list at earliest next weekend in Florida, which will move Walker into a considerably less high stress job as a middle relief/setup man, and allow us Giants fans to breathe a huge sigh of relief (no pun intended) once he's gone from the closer role.

Once again, thanks to everyone who read Croix De Candlestick on a regular basis. It's been a fun ride and I hope that everyone will continue to read my work at the Giants Cove. In case you missed it, links to the my soon to be home can be found on the sidebar for those of you using Mozilla, or by clicking on the logo at the top of this post.

No Dice on the Trade Front

2005-07-31T23:32:00.000-07:00

Well the 1pm deadline passed without much consequence today. I was watching ESPN starting at 12 waiting for something to happen, and much to my disappointment, I was left without any major trades to speak of.

The Randy Winn deal is a moot point if there's no follow up to it. The Giants roster is overstuffed right now, namely in the outfield, and Winn is not the solution to the Giants problems. When it was said that San Francisco wanted a "solid left-handed bat", I did not have this in mind. As pointed out here, Winn's stats bare an eery resemblance to those of outfielder Michael Tucker

Winn: .275 BA/.342 OBP/.391 SLG
Tucker: .260 BA/.338 OBP/.399 SLG

So now we have two Michael Tuckers. Hooray? I'm only hoping that Sabean made this trade with another move in mind. I'm still hopelessly clinging to the fact that Sabes claimed that it would "take a series of moves to improve, and that may not happen by the 31st". If a post-deadline waiver deal doesn't happen, then that renders this trade pretty obsolete. The Giants are likely to place someone on waivers when they make a roster move when Winn joins the team. What exactly does being on waivers mean you ask?

After the July 31 deadline, any player on a 40-man roster must clear Major
League waivers before being traded. That is, the player must be offered to the
other teams in reverse order of the standings, and if he is claimed by one of
the teams he cannot be traded. The club that made the waiver request can either
withdraw the request and keep the player or let the player go to the claiming
team, which would then have the rights to the player and be obligated to that
player's current contract.

A Giant Pitching Problem

San Francisco is still is in desperate need of a starting pitcher, with our current rotation in shambles. Jerome Williams' 3-2 with a 3.83 ERA is looking awfully attractive right now. I never thought I'd say this, but it would be nice to have Livan Hernandez back. He decided to be a consistent pitcher right when the Giants traded him. He's 39-29 since the Giants traded him, and hasn't sported an ERA above 3.60 in the last three seasons with the Expos/Nationals. He continues to have us Giants fans pulling our hair out even when he doesn't pitch for us anymore, with him emerging as the staff ace of freefalling Washington. Our rotation is looking like this right now:

Jason Schmidt: 7-6/4.56/ 58 walks in 120.1 innings
Noah Lowry: 6-11/4.59/17 HR surrendered
Brett Tomko: 7-10/4.90/140 hits in 128.2 innings
Kirk Rueter: 2-7/5.95/131 hits in 107.1 innings

Fun Facts About the Rotation:

Kirk Rueter hasn't made it past the 5th inning since June 23rd
Jason Schmidt is 1-3 in the month of July with a 4.03 ERA with 2 no decisions
No Giants pitcher has gone thrown a complete game since May 9th
A Giants starter has made it into the 8th inning only 3 times

Point in case, without a solid addition to the starting rotation, the Giants aren't going to make much noise in the NL West. It seems as though Sabean views Randy Winn as the second coming of Kenny Lofton. The key difference this year compared to 2002 though, is that Lofton was the final piece of the puzzle for the Giants; Winn doesn't shore up all too many holes in our struggling offense. What harrows me the most, is that even if the Giants do win the West, they're still going to get annihilated by a team like the Cardinals. Right now, we can barely beat the Brewers, much less a perennial World Series victor, especially without Barry Bonds.

Giants take on the Rockies tomorrow, so that should be a good pick-me-up. Or a total confidence destroyer if we get swept. Whichever.

Hot Off the Press

2005-07-30T20:17:00.000-07:00

Just found out a few minutes ago off of a Giants threads, but San Francisco has made its first, and certainly not last, deal of the deadline with the Seattle Mariners.

Mariners Get:

-RHP Jesse Foppert: 8-9 in career with 5.00 ERA
-C Yorvit Torrealba: .226-1-7, .301 OBP

Giants Get:

-OF Randy Winn: .275-6-37, 12 SB, .342 OBP
-Giants recall C Yamid Haad from AAA to replace Torrealba

This trade also hints of things to come for the Giants, who are now overloaded in the outfield. Assistant GM Ned Colletti has given centerfielder and leadoff hitter Jason Ellison the dubious title of the "4th outfielder". This makes Michael Tucker and Marquis Grissom expendable, and the most likely to be unloaded, and with Tucker's potential as a spark plug at the top of the lineup, this hints of a bigger trade to come. If Ellison was to start, that would put Winn in right, Alou in left, and shift Feliz to back to 3rd where he would replace Edgardo Alfonzo. A more realistic combination would put Winn in center field leading off, Alou in right, and Feliz in left, leaving Edgardo back at 3rd base. What it's looking like right now though is that Tucker and Alfonzo could possibly be packaged, but to whom is unclear right now. Fonzie and Tucker would be an attractive pair to the Twins at this point, with All-Star outfielder Torii Hunter down with an injury for 4-6 weeks, and their need for a 3rd baseman.

The Twins have shown their willingness to deal young starting pitcher Kyle Lohse, and left-handed reliever J.C. Romero. The Giants could also possibly be shipping out Marquis Grissom in place of Tucker, with Alex Sanchez likely to be released when he returns from the DL. At this point this is all speculation, but one thing's for sure and that's that the Giants are not done wheeling and dealing, as they now turn their attention to acquiring a solid starting pitcher.

This trade was not meant to be deal breaker for the Giants. Winn is a quality player. Nothing sensational, but quality. He's not what I would call a huge presence in the leadoff spot, but he's basically Ellison, only 31 years old and a switch hitter. No, what this deal is for, is to be a precursor to another, possibly bigger deal. Sabean knows that he has an overloaded outfield, and if and when Barry Bonds returns, it's going to get a lot more crowded. Look for another deal to come, but it might not happen before the deadline. According to Sabean,

"A post-deadline deal probably is more likely, everyone is jockeying for the right deal and waiting for the right time to act. We have to see where we are at the deadline. Nobody [in the NL West] has played well since June 1. Tight races prevent you from doing what you want to do. You have to be careful. To me, it would take a series of moves to improve, and that may not happen by the 31st."

More Action on the Trade Front:

-Red Sox have acquired former Giant outfielder Jose Cruz Jr. and cash from the Diamondbacks for minor league infielder Kenny Perez, and minor league pitcher Kyle Bono. The Red Sox get a power hitting outfielder in Cruz Jr., and Arizona couldn't care less that he's gone so everybody wins.

-Padres deal 1B/3B/C Phil Nevin to the Rangers for underachieving starting pitcher Chan Ho Park. Both players haven't lived up to potential shown earlier in their careers, and both are hoping a change of scenery will help them. Nevin moves to the homer-happy Ballpark in Arlington, while Park moves to the pitcher-friendly Petco Park. Whoo...say that five times fast.

-The Manny Ramirez trade to the Mets deal has been on, and off, and on and off again so it's not clear to whether or not it's going to happen. The Red Sox want more in return for their RBI machine, Ramirez. Manny was scratched from the lineup in today's game minutes before gametime, which raised speculation and brought the rumors back from the grave.

More deadline coverage to come so sit tight

Special thanks go out to the person who got that thread up about the Winn trade. The official press release didn't come out until about 9 pm PCT, and the thread was posted at 7:17 pm. I was going back and forth between MLB.com and ESPN.com frantically looking for the trade before I put this post up but thanks to that person I was able to get this up and running before it became common knowledge. Thanks again

The NL West

2005-07-28T13:40:00.000-07:00

The NL West has a reputation for being one of the more competetive divisions year in and year out and this season is no exception; except for the fact that only one team has a record above .500, and that team had just come off of a 8 game losing streak, during which no one gained a large amount of ground. So now I'm going to analyze all the teams contending in this division (basically everyone but the Rockies) and talk about their chances of winning it.

1. Padres (51-50, .505): The Padres are 30-19 at home, and practically the polar opposite on the road, going 21-31. On top of their sub-par road record, they've suffered through injuries to important everyday players.

Key Injuries to the Padres:

Coming off of a stellar rookie campaign, shortstop Khalil Greene has been injured for a good part of the season.
After a career year last season, second-baseman Mark Loretta went down with an injury early and although he's back now, the Padres suffered greatly without him.
Catcher Ramon Hernandez was having a fine year offensively; that is until he made a trip to the DL, where he currently is now. Hernandez is a team leader, and handles the pitching staff well, so not having that sort of presence behind the plate --oh and his 18 home runs are nice to have too-- has severely hurt the Friars.
Starting pitcher Adam Eaton was finally starting to live up to his potential, going 9-2 with a 3.42 ERA, until he hurt his finger, and now he could be out for the season. This comes as a huge blow to the Padres, who currently are doing bad enough as it is.

What Needs to Happen for Them to Contend: The Padres took a blow when Nevin nixed the trade that would have brought starting pitcher Sidney Ponson over. The Pads need a quality starting pitcher right now. When healthy, they are a very good team with a solid starting rotation and bullpen, and a good offense. For them to win this division they need to acquire a starting pitcher to replace Eaton, and they need Ramon Hernandez back.

2. Diamondbacks (49-54, .476):The D-Backs problems haven't laid in an abundance of injuries, with their team staying relatively healthy. Their main issue is their underachieving pitching staff. They thought they were set before the season began, with Javier Vazquez and Russ Ortiz topping their rotation, but Ortiz has been terrible, and is currently in the DL, while Vazquez has proved to everyone that he really is just an average pitcher with good stuff, and that his underachieving in New York wasn't because of the pressure of being a Yankee. Their bullpen is a mess, with no closer presence at the end of a game, and no quality middle relief to speak of. The only thing that's kept them afloat up until now is their offense.

Diamondbacks Pitching Staff: How it ranks in the National League

4th to Last in ERA (13th): 4.73
4th in Home Runs Surrendered: 119
5th in Hit Batsmen: 39
3rd in Highest Opponents Batting Average: .282
2nd in Hits Surrendered: 1020
3rd in Runs Allowed: 537

What Needs to Happen for Them to Contend: The Diamondbacks pitching staff is a train wreck, so it'll take more than a simple trade to fix their staff. For them to contend, their starting pitchers need to stop underachieving. They all have qualifty stuff, and have the potential to shut down teams on a regular basis but their bullpen needs to improve. At the deadline they need to get a quality relief pitcher.

3. Dodgers (46-55, .455): Nothing has gone right for the Boys in Blue this season. There have been injuries to key players, and a terrible starting rotation. So, basically their a combination of the the D-Backs and Padres problems in one package.

Overall Issues With the Dodgers:

Season-ending injury to All-Star closer, Eric Gagne. His replacement closer, Yhency Brazoban, has an ERA of 5.66 and 4 blown saves.
The Dodgers have only 2 starters with 20 or more games started, due to various injuries and inconsistent performances
Injury to power-hitting outfielder, J.D. Drew. Signing Drew is always a liability, as he has only 2 injury-free seasons in his career. He had 15 homers when he went down, so the Dodgers lost a big part of their offense when he went down
Injury to outfielder Milton Bradley. Bradley was having a career year before he went to the DL. He recently returned from the disabled list, but not having him in the lineup for a good 2 months hurt the Dodgers

What Needs to Happen for Them to Contend: The Dodgers aren't exactly a terrible team with lots of problems, rather they're a good team with 3-4 very serious problems. Their GM Paul De Podesta seems to have a knack for making big trades, so expect some fireworks on the trade front at the deadline. They need to straighten out their starting staff, but their bullpen is pretty solid, even without Gagne finishing games. Brazoban has the potential to be a dominating closer, but right now getting tossed to the lions right out of the minor leagues isn't a good way to develop him as a pitcher. They could try out Duaner Sanchez in the closer roll for a while Brazoban straightens himself out.

4. Giants (43-57, .430): The Giants have had a myriad of problems this season. The issue hasn't been lots of injuries to a few roll-players; instead its been one injury to one huge presence in the lineup. The Giants as a team are 3rd in the NL in batting average, but have had issues getting runners in lately. They set the table like no other, but then can't bring runners in clutch situations. In past seasons they have used the home run to bring runners in, but this year they are in the bottom half of the NL in round-trippers. The Giants have felt the loss of not having Bonds in the lineup this season

What the Giants Lost With the Injury to Barry Bonds

53 Win Shares
45 Home Runs *Projected Giants Leader: Feliz, 21
.609 On Base-Percentage *Projected Giants Leader: Alou, .376
101 RBI's *Projected Giants Leader: Feliz, 90
129 Runs *Projected Giants Leader: Feliz, 74
.812 Slugging Percentage *Project Giants Leader: Alou, .496
303 Total Bases *Project Giants Leader: Feliz, 248
232 Walks *Projected Giants Leader: Alou, 61

What Needs to Happen for Them to Contend: As I've said before, the Giants need another bat in their lineup and a possibly another starting pitcher. The bullpen has been shaky as of late, recording 4 blown saves in the last series against the Cubs, but they have quality arms in the bullpen so expect them to rebound. The X-Factor in the Giants contending for the NL West lies almost entirely on the return of Barry Bonds, assuming he returns this season at all. If the Giants do win the West without Bonds, they will be eaten alive in the playoffs up against a team like the Cardinals without his bat in the lineup. Closer Armando Benitez is supposed to return at some point this season, at earliest in mid-August. Tyler Walker has been an adequate replacement, but his time in the closer role will be up when Benitez comes back. I'm sure I'm not alone in this regard, but I'm still looking forward to a lineup featuring Bonds with Alou batting behind him.

The race in the NL West is going down to the wire and as of now there's no clear cut winner so buckle your seatbelts.

Projected Stats from Baseball Prospectus

Time for Speculation

2005-07-26T11:11:00.000-07:00

With the trade deadline almost upon us, I'll give a brief overview of the Giant's deadline deals in previous seasons, and highlight some of Brian Sabean's more productive July moves.

2004: Giants trade RHP Felix Rodriguez to the Phillies for OF Ricky Ledee and Minor Leaguer Alfredo Simon

Analysis: Not one of Sabean's better deadline deals. There were a number of deals that he tried to swing that fell through, preventing him from doing much more than acquiring Ledee, who was not at all productive as a Giant. Ledee now plays for the Dodgers, and Simon is still in the Giant's farm system.

2003: Giants trade LHP Damian Moss, RHP Kurt Ainsworth, and Minor Leaguer Kurt Hannaman to the Orioles for RHP Sidney Ponson

Analysis: I remember, I was watching Baseball Tonight on ESPN when this deal went through, and to this day, I still think it was a good deal, even with Ponson going 3-6 for the Giants. At the time of the trade, his record was 14-7. The Giants unloaded an oft injured prospect in Ainsworth, and an inconsistent starter in Moss. Moss was busted for steroid use, and no one's heard from Ainsworth since his last arm surgery. Ponson signed a 3 year deal with the Orioles after the 2003 season, but he was meant to be strictly a rental anyways.

2002: Giants trade Minor Leaguers Felix Diaz and Ryan Meaux to the White Sox for OF Kenny Lofton

Analysis: Lofton proved to be one of the key pieces to getting the Giants to the World Series, with the game winning hit in game 6 of the NLCS. He too was a rental player, but he served his purpose in San Francisco. In his first at-bat as a Giant he homered against the Phillies, and was always a consistent producer from the leadoff spot from the day we got him to game 7 of the World Series.

2001: Giants trade OF Armando Rios and RHP Ryan Vogelsong to the Pirates for OF John Vander Wal and RHP Jason Schmidt

Analysis: Possibly the best trade of the Sabean era, and also quite possibly the biggest rip off in the last few years, with the Giants receiving what would prove to be one of the most dominating pitchers in all of baseball, although he didn't start pitching like an ace until he got to the San Francisco, where he went 7-1. Ironically, his first start as a Giant came against Pittsburgh, his former team. I still laugh when I see Vogelsong get shelled in an occasional relief appearance for the Pirates, while Armando Rios came up testing positive for steroids.

2000: Giants trade RHP Scott Linebrink to Astros for RHP Doug Henry

Analysis: This is a trade where repercussions weren't really felt until the 2004 season. Linebrink later went to the Padres and became a key cog in their bullpen last season, developed into a premier setup man, and had Giants fans everywhere kicking themselves with the San Francisco bullpen suffering the way it was. The bullpen problems proved to be the ultimate demise of the Giants in '04.

1999: Giants trade RHP Nate Bump and RHP Jason Grilli to Marlins for RHP Livan Hernandez

Analysis: Livan definitely has his moments as a Giant. He'd pitch a complete game shutout one day, and the next he'd get shelled for 8 runs in 2 innings. One of the more frustrating pitchers to watch on a regular basis, but he did win 17 games, and on a good day was lights out. He was the losing pitcher in game 7 of the World Series in 2002, so when he exited we all knew his time was most definitely up with the Giants.

1998: Giants trade OF Daryl Hamilton, Jim Stoops and Jason Brester to Rockies for OF Ellis Burks

Analysis: Burks was always a class act, and a great Giant. He was productive in the clutch, and was one of their more consistent hitters. His time with San Francisco was up when problems with his knees forced him to exit stage left.

Sabean's deadline trades have always made some sort of impact, whether it's small or large. Last season, it was the lack of trading that made the biggest impact, with the Giant's bullpen implosion against the Dodgers, where with no other options, they turned to none other than Wayne Franklin to shut the door. Bad idea. So now, we'll address the current problems the Giants have, and discuss ways in which they can be remedied.

Starting Pitching:This has been a problem that has plagued the Giants since April. Schmidt hasn't really been himself all season, 2 starters have made moves to the bullpen due to ineffectiveness, and Brad Hennessey and Kevin Correia have been rotated in and out of the Majors more times than I can count. The Giant's team ERA is 3rd to last in the NL so something needs to happen. There have been trade rumors swirling around Jason Schmidt, but the Giants aren't likely to trade away an ace starter and make their problems with their rotation worse. Sabean was working on acquiring Jason Jennings from the Rockies, but Jennings went out with a season-ending injury, so in all likeliness his best and most affordable option right now is Mark Redman of the Pirates.

Bullpen: Once again the Giant's problem this year is a lack of closer. They thought they had this fixed by bringing in Armando Benitez, but he's out till September, while interim closer Tyler Walkers confidence has been shattered ever since surrendering the winning run in a rough outting against the Dodgers. He has yet to register a save since that game. There are no available closers on the market right now, and Sabean is not going to waste time and resources on finding a temporary replacement with the iminent return of Benitez.

Offense: The Giants rank next to last in the National League in home runs, but are 3rd in batting average. Their current lineup pails in comparison to the ones of past years, where every spot, 1 through 8, was a threat to drive in runs. A Ray Durham for Kaz Matsui of the Mets deal was nixed when the Mets rejected the offer, but Matsui isn't much of an upgrade at 2nd base as it is. There have been whispered rumors of a deal that would send Giant's pitching prospect Matt Cain to the Reds in exchange for Adam Dunn. Whether or not Sabean would go through with that deal remains to be seen, but he does have a reputation for dealing young phenoms for proven players. Other than Dunn, there aren't a lot of other options on the market right now so the Giants will have to settle for what they get.

According to the Giant's GM, the Giants are currently in "acquisition mode", even though they have not yet disclosed to the public whether or not they are going to be buyers or sellers come July 31st. If the Giants are sellers, then that will mean that they have given up on this season and are looking towards 2006. But with the weak NL West, there is always a chance to contend, with the first place Padres slumping. If the Giants can string some wins together, and acquire a starter and a big bat at the deadline, then they can challenge for the first place spot currently in the hands of team on life support right now. Think about it.

Special Thanks to Baseball-Reference.com for providing the trade records

Players on the Block: Fact or Fiction?

2005-07-23T12:57:00.000-07:00

Ok so as a part of a 2-part trading deadline feature, we'll play "Fact or Fiction" with players that could be trading in their uniform soon.

Jason Schmidt, Giants: A beat writer visiting Angel's manager Mike Scioscia's office said that Schmidt's profile was on Scioscia's computer screen. This recent report has opened up the floodgates for possible trade rumors once again, while the Giants continually assure the public that Schmidt will not be traded.

Fact or Fiction? Most definitely Fiction, in this case, the main giveaway being the fact the Giants are telling us that it won't happen. Schmidt is not particularly old and is still the staff ace. The Giants have demanded at least 2 major league ready starters and top prospects in trade offers and have been turned down, so unless a lucrative trade offer comes in at the last second, Schmidt is going to stay a Giant.

A.J. Burnett, Marlins: His name has been in trade rumors for almost a month now with nothing happening. Teams right and left have been mentioned, the most recent being the Twins and White Sox in a possible three team deal. The Marlins want to throw in struggling third baseman Mike Lowell in any deal to shed his $21 million salary, but so far no one has shown interest.

Fact or Fiction? Fact. He's the big fish of the deadline right now, and the Marlins want him gone. The three way trade between the Twins and White Sox would make sense. The Twins need a third baseman, and the White Sox could use a starter to complement staff aces Jon Garland and Mark Buerhle. Both teams have the minor league depth available to swing a deal so look for Burnett to be gone by July 31st.

Jeff Weaver, Dodgers: His name hasn't appeared in the rumor mill until recently, but apparently the Orioles would love to insert him into their rotation. If he was to be dealt, it would likely be for prospects, and would indicate that the Dodgers have given up on this year and are looking towards the 2006 season.

Fact or Fiction? Most likely Fiction, but there's still a slight possibility of a trade. The Dodger's season is now on the upswing with a recent hotstreak and the return of long-injured slugger Milton Bradley today. Unless the Dodger's get major league ready impact players in return, Weaver is going to stay in Los Angeles. Meaning, they won't trade him for prospects that are going to be ready in 2-3 years. If they're going to make an sort of run for the division title the Dodgers are going to need Weaver, or some pretty decent players in return for him.

Alfonso Soriano, Rangers: His name has come up in deals with teams from the Giants, to the Yankees. There have been rumors that he would accept a move to center field if he was traded to the Yankees, as well as rumors of him being dealt to the Giants for Jason Schmidt.

Fact or Fiction? Once again, Fiction. He has denied all rumors that he would want to go the Yankees. He wants to stay on the Rangers, and considering they traded Alex Rodriguez to get him, they likely won't move him.

J.C. Romero, Twins: Romero is a hard throwing lefty capable of setting up for any team seeking bullpen help. His name has come up in trade rumors to the Red Sox, who are in desparate need of a presence to fill injured closer Keith Foulke's shoes. He's not sensational, so he won't cost too much in return, and he won't cost much salary-wise so he would be a smart pickup for anyone who might get him.

Fact or Fiction? Fact. Every year around the deadline theres one or two average not so sensational players that are dealt and Romero falls under that category this season. He would be an ideal pickup for the Red Sox, who have just cut loose left handed pitcher Alan Embree.

Shawn Chacon, Rockies: He started his career as a starter, and was moved into the closer's role last season. The disasterous results of that experiment have shifted back into his role as a starting pitcher. This season he has been a result of being a pretty decent pitcher on a terrible team. He's 1-7 with a 4.11 ERA. On a contending team he could just as easily be 10-2 but he's unfortunate enough to be in the situation he's in now. His stock has dropped, and the teams that have been previously interested in him (Giants, Rangers, Padres, Yankees) have looked towards bigger prizes recently though.

Fact or Fiction? This one's not so clear cut as the others, but I have to say Fact. The Giants want Jason Jennings, not Chacon, the Rangers want more of an ace pitcher, the Yankees have Al Leiter so their need for an extra starter has diminished, but I could see Chacon going to the Padres. If it goes down to the wire, the Rangers might settle for him and another player, possibly Brian Fuentes in exchange for first base prospect Adrian Rodriguez.

Randy Winn, Mariners: The Yankees currently are in desparate need of a center fielder, with the Bubba Crosby experience having yet to produce much of anything. This would also solve their lack of a leadoff hitter problem, and allow them to shift the slumping Derek Jeter into the number 2 spot in the lineup, a spot he's much more comfortable hitting in. Even with all this hype, one general manage is quoted as saying Winn "can't play centerfield".

Fact or Fiction? Fact. Even with rumors of his lack or prowess in center field, I don't see how he could be much worse than Bernie Williams defensively. The Yankees need someone who can play center and hit and Randy Winn fills this need. He hits for average, with some power and a good amount of speed. He would be an ideal fit in New York. The Mariners don't want him anymore and Winn wants to play for a contender so everyone's happy.

Ken Griffey Jr., Reds: His name hasn't appeared on the rumor mill until about a week ago with many team's growing need for center fielders. Griffey wants to be traded to a contender, but apparently he hasn't been in contact with management and they have not discussed with him any possibility of being traded. He's been in the majors for 10 years and 5 seasons with one team, which gives him the right to veto any trade.

Fact or Fiction? Fiction. Griffey has said that "I don't remember the last time I saw [Reds GM] Dan O'Brien." There simply hasn't been enough effort on the part of the Reds to arrange a deal with a big name like his. There's the issue of getting enough in return for Griffey, and the problem of having to eat the rest of his fairly large salary ($12.5 million through 2008) if they do deal him. This isn't the sort of deal that can be thrown together at the last second with all the variables involved with moving a big name and a big salary.

D-Train Roughed Up...Again

2005-07-22T23:27:00.000-07:00

What is wrong with Dontrelle Willis? From the start of the season up till July 8th, he's been quite possibly the most dominating pitcher this year. Then, he gets tagged for a few runs in the All-Star game and suddenly he's human again. Following a 3 hit shutout of the Mets on July 3rd, he's given up a total 23 runs, and 25 hits in just 12 innings of work. His longest outting has been 5.2 innings in which he gave up 10 hits and 8 runs. In those last 12 innings, he's given up 3 home runs, which is 1 home every 4 innings; nearly 2 per start. The scouting report on Willis goes as follows:

Part of the problem was Willis' difficulties in improving his average changeup. He still relied almost exclusively on an 89-92 MPH fastball that he must locate to have success. His slider is a plus pitch, but he must get to two strikes for it to be most effective. He rarely throws the slider for strikes.

So basically, the D-Train's problems lie in his inability to locate his fastball and his unwillingness to develop his secondary pitches. If he's not locating his fastball, he doesn't have another pitch to turn to in the clutch. In tonights game against the Giants, Willis gave up 7 runs in 3 innings, walked 2, and struck out 2.

One bat that has begun to heat up for the Giants is that of Pedro Feliz. In his last 3 games, he's batting an even .500 with 3 home runs and 7 RBI's. The last time he was hitting this well was

All Star Selections

2005-07-03T22:41:00.000-07:00

Ok so All-Star Selections came out today so without further ado, here they are:

Starters	Starters
C: Jason Varitek, BOS	C: Mike Piazza, NYM
1B: Mark Teixeira, TEX	1B: Derrek Lee, CHC
2B: Brian Roberts, BAL	2B: Jeff Kent, LAD
SS: Miguel Tejada, BAL	SS: David Eckstein, STL
3B: Alex Rodriguez, NYY	3B: Scott Rolen, STL
OF: Johnny Damon, BOS	OF: Bobby Abreu, PHI
OF: Vladimir Guerrero, LAA	OF: Carlos Beltran, NYM
OF: Manny Ramirez, BOS	OF: Jim Edmonds, STL
DH: David Ortiz, BOS	DH: TBD

Yankee's closer Mariano Rivera

Pitchers	Pitchers
Danys Baez, TAM	Chris Carpenter, STL
Mark Buehrle, CHW	Roger Clemens, HOU
Bartolo Colon, LAA	Chad Cordero, WAS
Justin Duchscherer, OAK	Brian Fuentes, COL
Jon Garland, CHW	Livan Hernandez, WAS
Roy Halladay, TOR	Jason Isringhausen, STL
Joe Nathan, MIN	Brad Lidge, HOU
Mariano Rivera, NYY	Pedro Martinez, NYM
Kenny Rogers, TEX	Jake Peavy, SDG
B.J. Ryan, BAL	John Smoltz, ATL
Johan Santana, MIN	Dontrelle Willis, FLA
Bob Wickman, CLE

Giant's All Star, Moises Alou (Above)

Reserves	Reserves
C: Ivan Rodriguez, DET	C: Paul Lo Duca, FLA
1B: Paul Konerko, CHW	1B: Albert Pujols, STL
1B: Mike Sweeney, KAN	2B: Luis Castillo, FLA
2B: Alfonso Soriano, TEX	SS: Cesar Izturis, LAD
SS: Michael Young, TEX	SS: Felipe Lopez, CIN
3B: Melvin Mora, BAL	3B: Aramis Ramirez, CHC
OF: Garret Anderson, LAA	OF: Moises Alou, SFO
OF: Gary Sheffield, NYY	OF: Jason Bay, PIT
OF: Ichiro Suzuki, SEA	OF: Miguel Cabrera, FLA
DH: Shea Hillenbrand, TOR	OF: Luis Gonzalez, ARI
	OF: Andruw Jones, ATL
	OF: Carlos Lee, MIL

Should-be All Stars

3B: Morgan Ensberg, HOU *.287-22-59, .385 OBP, .588 SLG
C: Mike Matheny, SF *.234-8-37, .300 OBP, .430 SLG
OF: Jose Guillen, WA *.310-17-46, .359 OBP, .545 SLG
3B: Troy Glaus, ARI, *.252-17-48, .348 OBP, .503 SLG
OF: Brady Clark, MIL *.316-7-28, .380 OBP, .430 SLG
OF: Cliff Floyd, NYM *.288-21-53, .362 OBP, .561 SLG

3B: Jorge Cantu, TB *.297-13-49, .324 OBP, .502
OF: Scott Podsednik, CHI *.280-0-16, 40 SB, .356 OBP, 1 Error
SS: Derek Jeter, NYY *.310-10-35, .390 OBP, .444 SLG
DH: David Dellucci, TEX *.270-15-31, .419 OBP, .540 SLG
OF: Kevin Mench, TEX *.292-15-42, ..360 OBP, 558. SLG
RP: Dustin Hermanson, CHW *0-2, 1.44 ERA, 5 ER in 31.1 Innings

Should Not-be All Stars

3B: Scott Rolen, STL *.260-5-22, .358 OBP, .433 SLG
OF: Carlos Beltran, NYM *.262-9-40, .318 OBP, .430 SLG
SS: Cesar Izturis, LAD *.275-1-20, .322 OBP, .338 SLG, 5 SB, 8 Errors

RP: Danny Baez, TB *4-2, 2.75 ERA, 13 Saves, 6 Blown Saves, 28 K's in 36 Innings
SP: Johan Santana, MIN *7-4, 3.74 ERA, 140 K's in 118 Innings, 14 Homers Surrendered
C: Ivan Rodriguez, DET *.294-5-29, .308 OBP, .455 SLG
1B: Mike Sweeney, KC *.396-9-37, .332 OBP, .502 SLG
OF: Garret Anderson, LAA *.313-10-61, .334 OBP, .477 SLG
OF: Ichiro Suzuki, SEA *.300-6-27, .344 OBP, 18 SB

ESPN.com Covers Should-Be All Stars

ESPN.com put out a story about players who should and shouldn't be named to the All Star squad. Among them were Ichiro Suzuki. About Suzuki, writer Rob Neyer writes,

He's not one of the best outfielders in the league...Ichiro's .767 OPS ranks just 19th among American League outfielders...his .341 on-base percentage ranks 17th among AL outfielders

Personally I agree with what Neyer says. Ichiro is nothing but a familiar name, and a perfect example to how undeserving players with big names can fool voters into making the wrong decision. Plain and simple, he has high standard set in previous seasons that he has yet to fulfill. Neyer also gave an exceptional explanation to why undeservingrds that he's players are elected:

Generally, an undeserving All-Star can be attributed to one of four explanations: 1) the questionable requirement that every franchise be represented by at least one player; 2) the questionable judgment of Joe and Josephine Voter, who are allowed to vote just about as many times as they like; and 3) the questionable emphasis that managers and players place upon traditional stats like wins and RBI; and 4) the questionable tendency to favor relievers with 25 or 30 innings over starters with 100 innings

The one reason I don't agree with is the 4th one, regarding relievers. Relievers with 25-30 innings tend to be closers; players that dominate for 1 inning a game. Pitchers are used for 3 innings tops in the All-Star game and that's usually only the starter. Pitchers after that pitch for 1-2 innings. Having a closer in there that can set down a lineup 1-2-3 and then turn it over to the next closer inning after inning strategically is the best way to handle an All-Star pitching staff. If you had to choose, would you rather have closer Jason Isringhausen (22 Saves, 2.05 ERA, 26 innings, 19 hits) or starter Livan Hernandez (12-2, 3.32 ERA, 127.1 innings, 131 hits)? Isringhausen surrenders less than a hit per inning while Livo gives up more than a hit/inning. It's a simple question of who's the more dominating pitcher, and in this case, it's usually closers.

I'll go back to talking about the Giants in my next post. I just couldn't ignore the All Star hub-bub that's been going on and saw it as a perfect opportunity to write some good posts. Here's the scouting report off of MLB.com for tomorrow's pitchers: Scouting Report:

[Elizardo] Ramirez gets the call in Monday's series opener against the Giants because of the need for a spot start after Thursday's rainout and Saturday's doubleheader against the Astros. Ramirez will be making his first appearance in more than a month; his last outing came on June 3 in Colorado. The right-hander has made three starts for the Reds this season, each getting progressively worse. In his last start, Ramirez lasted just 2 2/3 innings, giving up six runs to the Pirates.
[Kirk] Rueter has yet to win a game since May 13 and has lost five straight decisions with three no-decisions, including last Wednesday's game against Arizona when he allowed only one earned run over five-plus innings and three hits. The Giants scored late to win, 4-2, but "Woody" mixed his pitches well.

Rueter has looked good in his last few outings so let's up hope that momentum can carry over tomorrow.

My American League All-Stars

2005-07-02T19:43:00.000-07:00

Well I started to post this and I got about three-fourths of the way through before the computer froze, and I had to retart that along with this post. Anyways, here are my AL All Star picks and analysis after much deliberation. My NL picks are here if you're interested. Just a note before I do post this, the voters got the AL voting right; i agree with all but a few vote-leaders. (bold indicates significant stats)

American League:

Catcher:
Current Vote Leader:

Jason Varitek, Red Sox *.308-13-33 *.378 OBP, 58 K's in 238 AB

My Pick:

Jason Varitek, Red Sox *.308-13-33 *.378 OBP, 58 K's in 238 AB

Analysis: Mainly an issue of there not being another catcher even close to Varitek caliber-wise. He hits for a decent average, and gets on base, but he strikes out a lot and has a few holes in his swing. The one main knock against 'Tek is his inability to throw out basestealers. Out of 38 possibly basestealers, he's gunned down just 9. Thats a 23% clip, which is below average. His backup catcher will likely be A.J. Pierzynksi (.253-11-31).

First Base:
Current Vote Leader:

Mark Teixeira, Rangers *.290-22-64 *56 K's in 321 AB, .358 OBP

My Pick:

Mark Teixeira, Rangers *.290-22-64 *56 K's in 321 AB, .358 OBP

Analysis: A few weeks ago I was ready to rant about Tino Martinez (.226-13-34) leading in voting, but recently Tino was overtaken by Teixeira so now that won't be necessary. This is another case of there not being anyone else to compete with the kind of numbers that Teixeira has. He's a guy who hits for decent average, above average power, drives in runs, but he also swings through a good number of pitches.

Second Base:
Current Vote Leader:

Brian Roberts, Orioles *.359-13-44 *.433 OBP, .602 SLG, 18 SB

My Pick:

Brian Roberts, Orioles *.359-13-44 *.433 OBP, .602 SLG, 18 SB

Analysis: I'll admit, I almost fell for the name game and voted for Alfonso Soriano of the Rangers, but after comparing the him to Roberts, I changed my decision. Soriano will likely overtake Roberts in the voting in the end. Roberts tops Soriano in batting average, OBP, SLG, and stolen bases. Personally I see those stats as more significant than homers and RBI's. If you were wondering, Soriano's stats are .282-20-51, .312 OBP, .553 SLG, 8 SB. Soriano hits home runs and thats what he's paid for, but he doesn't do much else except strike out. This season he's whiffed a total of 66 times in 309 AB.

Third Base:
Current Vote Leader:

Alex Rodriguez, Yankees *.324-20-66 *.419 OBP, .581 SLG

My Pick:

Alex Rodriguez, Yankees *.324-20-66 *.419 OBP, .581 SLG

Analysis: As much as I hate voting for a Yankee, I can't deny the fact that A-Rod is having the best year of any Major League third baseman. He seems to have settled into New York nicely this year after facing loads of pressure last season. A third baseman who deserves some recognition right now though is Jorge Cantu of the Devil Rays (.302-13-48, .513 SLG). He will likely represent the Rays in the All-Star Game.

Shortstop:
Current Vote Leader:

Miguel Tejada, Orioles *.321-19-60, 80 games *.367 OBP, .594 SLG, 10 Errors

My Pick:

Miguel Tejada, Orioles *.321-19-60, 80 Games *.367 OBP, .594 SLG, 10 Errors

Analysis: Again, I'm agreeing with the voters here. Tejada has been putting up numbers like these year in and year out. He stays relatively healthy, playing in all but 1 game so far this season. He's always been a player who does just about everything, except play errorless defense. His error totals from the last few years have been none too impressive, with a career high 26 errors in '98 for the A's (he had 24 last season).

Designated Hitter:
Current Leader:

David Ortiz, Red Sox *.304-19-66 *.382 OBP, .578 SLG

My Pick:

David Ortiz, Red Sox *.304-19-66 *.382 OBP, .578 SLG

Analysis: His presence was made known to the general public last year in the World Series with his post-season theatrics. He's on pace for about the same numbers he had last year, which aren't too shabby. He gets on base, and drives in runs. What more can you ask of a three hole hitter?

Outfield:
Current Leaders:

Manny Ramirez, Red Sox *.273-19-68 *.357 OBP, .542 OBP, 62 K's in 275 AB
Vladimir Guerrero, Angels *.350-14-46 *.407 OBP, .607 SLG, 25 K's in 23 AB
Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners *.298-6-27 *97 hits, 18 SB, .345 OBP, 7 Assists

My Picks:

Vladimir Guerrero, Angels *.350-14-46 *.407 OBP, .607 SLG, 25 K's in 23 AB
Manny Ramirez, Red Sox *.273-19-68 *.357 OBP, .542 OBP, 62 K's in 275 AB
Kevin Mench, Rangers *.298-15-42 *.364 OBP, .571 SLG, 34 K's in 252 AB

Analysis:
Starting with the Current Vote Leaders, we'll take a look at Ichiro Suzuki. After setting the single-season record for his last season, he hasn't been doing much of anything this season. his .345 OBP is relatively low for a hitter of his caliber, especially compared to his .414 OBP last season. He's also not hitting for a high enough average for someone who's career low in BA is .312.
Vladimir Guerrero. What to say about Bad Vlad. Well for starters, his .350 BA ranks him 2nd in the AL, and his .607 SLG ranks him 1st. The one thing that has always amazed me about him though, his ability to put the ball in play and not strike out. On the same token he also almost never walks. In my opinion the reason for his lack of strikeouts and walks is due to his swinging at the first or second pitch. He never gets to a 2 strike or 3 ball count before he puts the ball in play.
Manny Ramirez is having yet another typical Manny-like season. With the exception of the steep drop in BA, he's been solid offensively, and from what I've seen of him, not too shabby on defense either. Even with all the high-powered numbers he puts up, he still strikes out too much (something that seems to be a continuing trend with today's power hitters).
And now for the pick that may have you a tad bewildered to my reasoning: Kevin Mench. I was looking at stat sheets for a good long while before I found someone deserving of the the 3rd outfield spot. His BA is hovering around .300, and his 15 home runs put him on pace for a career high. One stands out to me the most though, is the his exceptionally high OBP. He's going at a .364 clip so far, which ranks him right up there with the league leaders. He is also a quality hitter who doesn't strike out too often, a trait that seems to be awfully scarce right now.

Well there you have it. My NL and AL All-Star picks. Final tallies for voting come out tomorrow on ESPN at 4 pm PST for those of you who are interested. Once I find out the starters, I'll post them and give my opinion to whether or not I think the fans made the right choices. The Giants square off against the Padres tonight at 7 pm PST. They are 19-19 against NL West opponents this season. I'll part with a scouting report on tonight's starting pitchers off of MLB.com:

Scouting Report:Fassero has a 5.62 ERA as a starter. He's had two excellent games -- on May 10 against Pittsburgh, he threw five shutout frames, while against Oakland he allowed only two runs over six innings. Fassero has allowed eight runs in his last 10 frames.[Woody] Williams was his own worst critic after an excellent outing against the Mariners came undone with one pitch -- a hanging slider that catcher Rene Rivera launched for a tying three-run homer that deprived him of a win. He's 1-3 since returning from a strained oblique on June 5, but he has pitched effectively with a 3.58 ERA, walking three while striking out 14 in 32 2/3 innings.

Giants Continue to Roll

2005-07-02T01:49:00.000-07:00

Ok I know I promised an AL All-Star post, but right now the Giants are on a winning streak and it might be a while before they go on a win streak like this again. The Giant's emergency starter Kevin Correia looked good after his 35 pitch first inning. In that first inning he struck out the leadoff hitter, and then proceeded to give up a 2 strike home run to utility-man extraordinaire, Mark Sweeney. From there it went downhill, although Kevin managed to limit the damage to only one more run after the solo shot. After that inning Correia didn't surrender any more runs going 5 innings and surrendering 6 hits. Late in the game, we were able to capitalize bigtime on a throwing error by Khalil Greene and score he go ahead run.

After 5 innings from Correia, the Giants then turned it over to Scott Munter, who loaded the bases. The thing about Munter is although he allows tons of baserunners, he still manages to keep his ERA at in the low 2's, namely due to his electric sinker and ability to induce the double play. So how does he get out of a bases loaded jam? Double play, inning over. Ever since he's been brought up he's had me pulling my hair out and then in an instant have me heaving a sigh of relief. His groundball out to flyball out ratio (51:9) jumps off the page. Percentage-wise, thats 6.33 groundballs to ever one flyball. In 26 outtings, he's only been scored upon in 6 of them. He's been our best reliever since he's been brought up from the minors and finally he's been getting trusted in high pressure situations. The bullpen as a whole has been rock solid during this 4 game winning streak. In the midst of the sweep against the D-Backs, the bullpen's ERA was 0.95. Today they tossed 4 scoreless innings, surrendering 3 hits, 4 K's, and 1 walk. The bullpen hasn't totally been the reason for the recent winning habits of the Giants; the starting pitchers deserve some credit here too. All it took for the bullpen to be effective was quality outtings by starters. In the 4 wins, the starters have given up 3, 1, 1, and 2 earned runs respectively. None of them have gone fewer than 5 innings. The offense has been timely and scrappy. Which brings me to the main factor of the Giant's winning: they've learned to win without Barry. The Giants have learned how win without the home run. In the last 4 games, they have hit only 2 home runs, and they both hit in one game.

Tomorrow the Giants send 100 year old Jeff Fassero to the mound. Let's hope he can go 5 innings without San Francisco down by more than 5 runs. Cross your fingers, knock on wood, and go Giants. 8 games out and hopefully counting down. I'll get that American League All-Star post up as soon as I can. It's a time consuming process so I'll do it when i have a good amount of spare time.

Back to Back Wins

2005-06-30T02:38:00.000-07:00

Ok I'm going to start this post off talking about the Giants recent flaying at the hands of our good friends across the bay. The final game of that series was possibly the most embarassing game I've ever witnessed so starting now, I'm going to forget it ever existed. Ok. The Giant's season now started 2 games ago against the Diamondbacks and now they're 2-0. The "game that shall not be mentioned" will act as a turning point for this season. The last two games a different Giants team has taken the field compared to the one who showed up through the first few games. Today they came away with a 4-2 victory over the Diamondbacks as a result of timely hitting, a solid start, and clutch relief pitching. Ok reality check here. I'm going to be honest here and admit that I havent been able to say that about the Giants in almost a month and now finally i can. The last two games though all the elements have been there which has been their main problem this year. Schmidt got the ball rolling and now let's hope it doesn't stop. Personally I expected a typical 3 inning 10 run outing from Woody but today he pitched like the player who won 16 games in '98 and 15 in '97. Now we have Schmidt and Rueter both on track, and tonight the bullpen tossed 4 scoreless innings. The one issue that still has me queezy is the Giant's defense. Today they made another 2 errors but with the pending firesale maybe Durham won't be a problem anymore.

Speaking of Firesale...

So rumors have been a-flying and Giants fans everywhere are jumping ship. There recently was an article in the SF Chronicle talking about which Giants are likely to be traded and among them were Schmidt, Matheny, Vizquel, Durham, Alfonzo, and a pair of shoes. In my opinion this is all rumors without much truth behind it. Sabean has enough of a head on him where he won't sell off players for prospects without a second thought. It's against everything Sabean's nature as a general manager to trade away certain experienced players coughschmidtcough for minor leaguers. The past two seasons there has been at least one team that's made a turnaround after a horrific first half and now the first 3 months of the season are almost over and we're approaching the halfway mark. A couple years ago it was the Marlins. Last year, it was the Astros. And both times it was a result of a managerial change. So how about stopping all this talk about dumping our ace pitcher, and let's send Felipe Alou off to a remote island is the middle of the Pacific. Schmidt isn't the problem here. The problem is the elder Alou has no clue how to handle a bullpen without working them into the ground. The Giants have talented arms in the bullpen. The only problem is that more often than not misused or used in situations where they're not necessary at all. An example: The first game of the 4 game set at home against the Diamondbacks. Giants are leading 4-0 going into the 9th inning. Up until now, Jason Schmidt has tossed 8 innings of scoreless baseball. First hitter in the 9th gets a hit, and Alou decides to yank Schmitty. Alou takes him out to a flurry of boos from the hometown faithfuls, my own among the rest. They end up using 2 more pitchers who are already overworked on a regular basis. Yes, they end up winning but Schmidt didn't get the complete game, and the bullpen was used in an unneccessary situation. Food for thought.

Tomko to the Bullpen

Is this a hint of things to come for Tomko? Rumors are floating around that he may be traded along with everybody who lives in the Sunset District. The Giants don't need a firesale right now. What they need is a change in team dynamic that will start with a new manager. Tomko isn't the problem. Good starting pitching is contagious. I have the utmost confidence in Brett's ability to turn things around on the dime based on what he did the 2nd half last season.

In short, the Giants may be starting to turn things around, Felipe Alou should be sacked, Schmidt shouldnt be traded, and Tomko should be in the rotation. American League All-Star post coming next.

My National League All-Stars

2005-06-28T17:40:00.000-07:00

Ok so MLB.com just posted the National League All-Star voting results to date, and personally I'm disgusted with the All-Star voters. So as a simple solution I will name who I think deserves to be starting the All-Star game. Here's the NL:

National League:

Catcher:
Current Vote Leader:

Mike Piazza, Mets *.264, 8 HR, 31 RBI

My Pick:

Mike Matheny, Giants *.241, 8 HR, 34 RBI

Analysis: Yes, Mike Matheny is on the sad excuse for a team that we call the Giants but right now he's tied for 1st among NL catchers in HR and RBI's and let's face it, the Giants have to send someone to the Midsummer Classic.

First Base:
Current Vote Leader:

Albert Pujols, Cardinals *.337, 20 HR, 64 RBI, .421 OBP, .605 SLG

My Pick:

Derek Lee *.386, 25 HR, 67 RBI, .466 OBP, .719 SLG

Analysis: This one's close, but Derek Lee is simply having the better all-around se ason. Pujols is a great player but he can't compare to Lee right now. Even with all the hype surrounding Lee and his run for the Triple Crown, I personally don't see it happening. But I will put my money on him winning the MVP. When you look at Pujols OBP and SLG, they're considerably better than the league average. Then you look at Lee's OBP and SLG and he's in a completely different stratosphere. Unless your name is Barry Bonds, you won't see a lot of people with SLG up around .720.

Second Base:
Current Vote Leader:

Jeff Kent, Dodgers *.297, 15 HR, 58 RBI *.377 OBP

My Pick:

Jeff Kent, Dodgers *.297, 15 HR, 58 RBI *.377 OBP

Analysis:As much as I don't like Jeff Kent, he's the best NL second baseman right now and I can't deny that. I've never been much of a Kent fan so when I say he should start the All-Star game at 2nd, I mean it. His .377 OBP leads all 2nd basemen and ranks him up there with the NL leaders.

3rd Base:
Current Vote Leader:

Scott Rolen, Cardinals *.248, 5 HR, 20 RBI *.343 OBP

My Pick:

Morgan Ensberg, Astros *.286, 21 HR, 52 RBI *.383 OBP, .580 SLG

Analysis: How in the name of all that is holy did Scott Rolen get enough votes to get into first place in voting? For a guy playing on a team with an anemic offense, the kind of numbers Ensberg is putting up are astounding, even if he does play in hitter's ballpark. Ensberg strikes out quite a bit with 62 K's in 269 AB, but he also can take his share of walks (41 BB), which would account for his high OBP.

Shortstop:
Current Vote Leader:

Cesar Izturis, Dodgers *.275, 1 HR, 20 RBI, 5 SB *.322 OBP

My Pick:

Felipe Lopez, Reds *.321, 14 HR, 48 RBI *.364 OBP, .565 SLG

Analysis:I have no clue how Izturis is 1st in voting. Lopez came out of nowhere this year and now he's the best shortstop in the National League. The only thing keeping him out of the All-Star game is the fact that he plays for the Reds. He's lost in the shuffle between big name hitters such as Adam Dunn and Griffey Jr. He doesn't take a whole lot of walks, but he still manages to get on base, hit for average, and hit a good amount of homers.

Outfield:
Current Leaders:

Bobby Abreu, Phillies *.314, 17 HR, 52 RBI, 20 SB, .432 OBP, .541 SLG
Jim Edmonds, Cardinals *.292, 14 HR, 46 RBI
Carlos Beltran, Mets *.262, 9 HR, 37 RBI, 1 SB

My Picks:

Andruw Jones, Braves *.280, 24 HR, 54 RBI, .596 SLG
Carlos Lee, Brewers *.274, 22 HR, 72 RBI, 8 SB, .341 OBP, .561 SLG
Bobby Abreu, Phillies *.314, 17 HR, 52 RBI, 20 SB, .432 OBP

Analysis:
Beltran was going to be an All-Star before he even picked up a bat this season, namely because of who he is, not what he does. For the monster contract that he was signed for, he's been a huge disappointment.
Abreu, is putting together yet another solid season and this year he's finally getting some recogition. He's always been a 5 tool player; he's just slipped beneath the radar in previous seasons. His .432 OBP is above-average, and his strikeout to walk ratio is almost 1:1; an impressive stat considering most power hitters strike out a lot and don't walk. He has 59 walks and 57 K's.
Jim Edmonds isn't having a terrible season, but he's definitely not having an All-Star season. The reasons he's tops in voting right now is because he plays for the Cards and all of their players are getting votes from the hometown loyals.
Andruw Jones has been red hot in June, and his numbers show it. With Chipper Jones down with an injury (what else is new) the other Jones has stepped up and now he has the spotlight.
Carlos Lee is 14th in voting for outfielders. That's absolutely disgraceful for the Major League leader in RBI's. His 20 homers make him one of the elite power hitting outfielders in the NL, although his .274 BA is respectable, but nothing to be jacked up about.

American League All-Star picks and analysis coming soon.

Time to Wake Up

2005-06-11T01:13:00.000-07:00

"Ok. Starting now, the Giants are going to turn it around and start winning again." You have no idea how many times I've said that in the last month and half. Well now instead of talking, the Giants need to show fans that they are committed to winning this season, or home games will start resembling Expo's games. Right now, there is nothing left to lose. At this point, it's act now or it's a lost season. The Giants need to wake up and realize how much their current roster is not working. Sabean needs to get on the phone, and shake up the roster. Trade some "key" players. Ship out Alfonzo, Durham, and/or Snow. Now, looking at the current market, the best option for the Giants right now, however unlikely, seems to be Todd Helton of the Rockies. Odds are, the Rockies aren't going to take any combination of Alfonzo and company. The other option to acquire Helton would be to ship out some minor leaguers while throwing in a middle infielder (Alfonzo, Durham or even Deivi Cruz). Just a little sidenote about the Rockies, their Rookie of the Year candidate shortstop, Clint Barmes is out for possibly the whole season with an injury. This means that they are in need of a middle infielder to finish the season. Here are some Giants Minor Leaguers that might wet the Rockies appetite:

Postion Players:

(3B, AAA) Mike Cervenak: .300-7-51 (.370 OBP) 28 years old, is ready to play for a club that will let him come up the Majors, and the Rockies could be his chance.
(OF/1B, AAA) Tony Torcato: MLB Career: 14 hits in 47 AB's, .298 BA, .346 OBP
(OF, AA) Carlos Valderamma: .322-3-27 (.375 OBP, 10 SB) Has raw speed, and gets on base. Could help fill the hole left by the absence of Aaron Miles
(OF, AA) Fred Lewis: .224-2-11 (11 SB) If Valderamma doesn't work out, then throw Lewis into a deal
(IF, AAA) Mickey Lopez: .281-4-24 (.340 OBP, 12 SB) 31 years old. Another player left by Sabean to rot in the Minor Leagues. Versatile player able to play just about any infield position.

Pitchers:

(SP, AAA) Brad Hennessy: 2-2, 4.42 ERA, No HR's surrendered in AAA this year in 6 starts
(CL, AAA) Kevin Correia: 2003 MLB as SP: 3-1, 3.66 ERA. 2005 AAA as CL: 7.42 ERA, 7 Saves. Better suited for a starting role
(CL, AA) Alfredo Simon: 4.53 ERA, 7 Saves, 4 HR surrender in 47 2/3 innings. Came over to the Giants in the Felix Rodriguez for Ricky Ledee deal during the trading deadline last season. Has split time between starting and closing. 6 starts, and 11 relief appearances

The minor leaguers named are ones that will likely not make an impact for the Giants in the Major Leagues, and therefore are better suited to filling roles on a team, such as the Rockies, plagued by injuries to position players and pitchers alike. Who knows maybe dealing someone like Snow, Durham, or Alfonzo with a few minor leaguers will be a reality check for the Giants; a reality check that will show them that not producing will result in them getting shipped out to no man's land. Right now is crunch time for the Giants. They need to shape up before not only their record, but also their morale takes a dive for the worst. Sabean is not the type of general manager to sit around and watch his team lose. He is also not the type of general manager to look for solutions in the minor leagues, so when there's a problem, the solution is going to come from a different team. Right now is the likely the most important point in this short season. The Giant's win-loss record is teetering right at the point where it's dangerously close to spinning out of control to the point of no return. Make a move Sabean. Waiting until the deadline to turn this team around won't do it, especially considering last year's deadline was a bust. It's now or never Brian.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Your 2005 SF Giants!

2005-06-06T22:36:00.000-07:00

They were supposed to win the division this year. They were supposed to win the pennant. They were supposed to be World Champions. This is a team built for winning the World Series right here and right now, and frankly they're not winning period. Contrary to what people might say though, the problem isn't a lack of Barry. The offense hasn't been the problem. The Giants are batting .272 as a team right now so thats definitely not an issue. The problem with our dear home team is that something is always wrong. At no point this season have the Giants had all their elements working for them. First, their offense has problems getting runs home. Once their offense starts hitting again, the bullpen blows 4 games in a row. Once the bullpen gets its act together, the starting pitchers cant make it out of the 4th inning on a regular basis. Then the starting pitching catches fire and the we're back to the offense slumping, and so on and so forth. Up until now, they just havent been firing all cylinders. Now, they're not firing on any cylinders. To be honest, there are no cylinders to fire on. This is a dead team right now. They are playing without flare, and without enthusiasm. Right when there's some sign of life with a 4 game winning streak, they hit a wall and lose 7 in a row. They win the first 2 against the Dodgers in a 3 game series, and have us Giants fans thinking sweep. Then they lose the last game and now we're thinking "ok 2 out of 3 isnt bad". Then they lose another one. And another. And another. And before we know it they're 9 games out of first in the cellar with the Rockies.

The Giant's real problem is Felipe Alou. There, I said it. Everyone in this city seems to think that he's the best manager we've ever seen and I'm the only person who seems to think that he's a Dusty Baker protege'. He hasn't been a good manager the last few years. Rather he's been given good teams to work with. This year his resources have been limited and he has not managed what little resources we do have. He won't let starters finish innings and he favors lefty-lefty and righty-righty matchups. In the 8th inning of 6-1 game against the Mets, Brett Tomko lets a couple runners get on with 2 outs, and Felipe decides that he'll bring in our overused bullpen. He's putting faith in a bullpen full of tired and ineffective arms when his faith should be with his starting pitchers. What does that say to a starter when his manager yanks him while he's trying to complete a game and focus on getting hitters out. He then has more to worry about than the man standing in the batter's box. Now he needs to worry about when his manager is going to take him out of the game on top of finishing an inning. When a pitcher gets the concept in his head that his manager doesn't think he can complete a game, he himself starts to think that too and then his confidence in his pitching ability is shaken too. Mike Krukow has it right when he says "Managers shouldn't put this 100 pitch standard on starters. Pitchers should be expected to go at least 120-130 pitches." You shouldn't expect that many complete games out of a pitcher if he's conditioned to go only 100 pitches a game. Livan Hernandez through 160 pitches in his last complete game, so pitchers and managers alike need to stop whining about not being able to go past 100.

It's getting to the point of no return for the Giants right now. They need to pick up their game and do it fast. Maybe Sabean can make those moves that we've been promised for 3 weeks now. This team needs a reality check, so maybe a trade is just the thing they need. Shake up the roster and see what happens. Seriously, they have nothing to lose seeing as they're already losing games.

Who Knew

2005-04-23T18:01:00.000-07:00

April 12, 2005: The Giants score 5 runs in the first inning and are up 8-5 going into the 9th inning at Dodger Stadium. As a result of costly errors and Armando Benitez, the Giants lose the game after the Dodgers score 4 runs in the 9th; A game most Giants fans would like to forget in my opinion. Since that horrendous collapse of the Giant's bullpen though, it's been lights out. Since that fateful game, the bullpen's ERA is at an astounding 1.07 mark. They've surrendered just 4 runs in the last 33 2/3 innings. With all the bad press surrounding the Giant's starting rotation and slumping offense, no one seems to have noticed just how good their bullpen has been. Today's game against the Brewers was a shining example of bullpen excellence and to top it all off, Armando Benitez is back. Although physically he didn't go anywhere, his stuff up until today hasn't been there. His splitter has been flat and he hasn't had a lot of control over his 95 plus fastball. Today he was untouchable. His fastball was on the corners with movement, and his splitter made Geoff Jenkins look like he'd never swung a bat before in his life. The only baserunner Benitez allowed in 1 2/3 innings of work was a walk and that never amounted to anything. First pitch strikes are key for Benitez with his recent lack of control, and he threw strike one right out of the blocks to all 6 hitters he faced.

The Giants finally scored some runs for Tomko. In the 6 1/3 innings he pitched, they scored 5 runs. Previous to this start, the Giants have scored 1 run in the 17 1/3 pitched by Brett. Today Tomko took matters into his own hands today with a clutch hit driving in 2 runs. Right off the bat, he had no clue that he had hit it in fair territory. As he hit it, he was looking down the third base line as the ball sailed into right field for an RBI knock.

Torcato Gone, Niekro stays
The Giants sent outfielder Tony Torcato down to Fresno after activating Moises Alou from the disabled list Friday. Due to his recent performances, Lance Niekro has earned himself a spot at the major league level for now. He will definitely be a valuable bat off the bench, and a spot starter for J.T. against lefties and on getaway days. Unbeknownst to many, Snow is 37 and needs days off every once in a while. I still maintain that Niekro has one of the better power swings I've seen, but right now he needs to learn to lay off the high fastball or else that's all he going to be getting a steady diet of in the next month. Now that the pressure's off to replace Alou, Niekro can relax as he doesn't have a pair of shoes to fill.

Fonzie's Leveled Off
Well it was nice while it lasted seeing Edgardo Alfonzo's name atop the major league leaders in batting average. As expected, he's come back down to Earth for the time being. I'm expecting him to level off around .300-.315 by the end of May. He's done more than his part in filling in for Barry's absence during this hot streak of his. Don't get me wrong, Fonzie's still batting .393 but at this point in the season, if you get out once, your average goes down 15 points and vice versa for when you get on base. Edgardo has chosen the right time to return to Earth, just as the pitching staff is beginning to come around. All the Giants need to do now is put all the pieces together and get hot offensively and on the pitching side at the same time. For a team without the best player of all time (Bonds), the Giants have faired very well with various players stepping up and Alfonzo is no exception.

Jerome Williams squares off tomorrow against Gary Glover. I'll be at that game so i'll be able to get into pretty good detail with my next entry. Until then, pray that I haven't jinxed the Giant's bullpen.

Finally

2005-04-22T18:37:00.000-07:00

The Giants got it done. Finally, they pulled out a win against someone who wasn't the Rockies. For once, it was done in the style of play expected out of the Giants without Bonds in their lineup: pitching and defense. Schmidt, although he's still not showing the dominating pitcher he was last season, is beginning to show glimpses of his former self. After allowing a 3 run homer to Chad Tracy, Schmidt settled down and managed to shut down the D-Backs and kick it to the bullpen with the Giants in striking distance. Speaking of that bullpen of ours, something woke them up. The bullpen pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings. The one criticism I have for this game, is not about the way the Giants played, but more about the way Felipe Alou managed his bullpen. Alou only left Brower in for 2/3 of an inning. Brower used to be a starter, and has the endurance to go 2, maybe even 3 innings out of the bullpen. Instead of leaving him in, Felipe opted for the lefty-lefty matchup. Brower wasn't really in any sort of jam, and yet Alou yanked him just for the matchup. Another pitcher that could have given more than inning, Matt Herges, was left in for only a third of an inning. Felipe burned through his bullpen like child opening presents on Christmas, and it almost cost him tonight's starter.

Speaking of which, going for the Giants tonight is Kirk Rueter. If Rueter doesn't show me something in his start tonight, I'm calling for Foppert. I'm trying to hold faith in the fact that Woody is a veteran pitcher, who knows when his job is on the line. So far this season Rueter has been less than impressive in his last two starts. In his first start of the season, Woody went 5 innings, gave up 3 hits, and surrendered 2 runs. A good performance, except we need him to 7 innings. If he keeps on showing that he can't be effective after the 5th inning, he would be more valuable in the Giants' bullpen more than he would in the starting rotation. For Rueter to show me something tonight, in my opinion he's going to need to last 6-7 innings and I'll be amply satisfied. Hopefully, Kirk feels Jesse Foppert breathing down his neck and lets that motivate him to show us the Woody that won 16 games in 1998.

Niekro Filling in for Alou and then some
Since he started filling in for an injured J.T. Snow, he's gone 6-16 with 2 homers and 4 RBI's. I mentioned in an earlier post how I liked Lance's swing from the get go in spring training. Last night, he hit a home run off of Russ Ortiz a la Richie Sexson. He drove it out to left using Sexson's trademark bent-arm swing. I'll be sad to see him go back down to the minors. He's made some major contributions so far and he's proven that he can hit Major League pitching. Moises Alou was activated from the disabled list today so the Giant's lineup will be all the more potent with him in there.

Let's see how this game plays out. Rueter needs to rebound, Moises needs to get his first hit as a Giant, and Fonzie needs to stay hot. Buckle your seatbelts, this one's going to be wild...

Can we play the Rockies every day?

2005-04-20T22:03:00.000-07:00

Giants linescore: 11 hits, 1 run, 1 error. Diamondbacks linescore: 3 hits, 2 runs, no errors

Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting. How a team gets 11 hits and barely manages to scratch out one run confounds me. This game was right up there with the worst played Giants games i've ever been witness to. Mental errors, and no timely hitting resulted in a 2-1 loss. The only bright spot was that our bullpen was lights out and Lowry pitched very well once he found the strike zone. He walked 5 hitters. Lowry gave up 2 hits, and surrendered 2 runs. Those 5 walks burned him, as once again, an error by defensive whiz Omar Vizquel resulted in a key run. In last night's game against the Padres, Vizquel made a crucial "error" that wasn't really scored as an error even though it should have been. How is a team that was supposed to win using pitching and defense going to win if pitching and defense isn't going to perform. Not only that, the offense suddenly can't get runners home. The Diamondbacks scoring inning was started by an unforgiveable sin: walking the pitcher. You can't walk the pitcher. He's supposed to be an automatic out so when you walk him it's just as bad as committing an error. This game just adds to the Giant's frustrations. They aren't hitting, they aren't pitching, and they aren't picking it on defense. My greatest fear is that the Giants will turn into last year's D-Backs: a team full of young players not ready for the majors sweeping the cellar with 100+ losses. I swear to God, everytime the Giants runners in scoring position, there would be 2 outs. No room for error. This game was frustrating from the get-go. First inning, one on, one out, double play. 2nd inning, one on, one out, double play. The reason the Giants record is under .500 is because they're playing sub-.500 baseball. They can't seem to catch a break, and aren't making their own breaks. One thing about the Giant's losses, is that in every loss, there have been opportunities for them to win. The Giants could just as easily be be 14-0, instead they're 6-8. They need to wake up and realize that if they finish April 15 games under .500, it's going to take all of May, June, and July to catch up to the Dodgers assuming they come back down to Earth and start losing again. We can't wait around for the Dodger's to start losing.

I Told You So
I said if Jerome couldn't make it through the 5th inning there would be trouble. Jerome pitches 4 innings; there was trouble. The Giant's had momentum. They were hitting Lawrence hard. Even their outs were line drives. They were winning 2-1, and had momentum going into that 4th inning. Suddenly that momentum shifts back into the Padres dugout as Jerome surrenders the lead due to bad situational pitching, and sub-par defense. Ok I'm going to stop dwelling on Giant's losses before I make a mad rush for the window and swan dive into the pavement.

Sorry for the jumble of random thoughts tonight. All this losing has me incredibly dissheveled. If the Giants don't start winning I might have to bang my head against a wall till I make a hole in it. (do i mean in my head or the wall? maybe both.) Schmidt needs to be a stopper tomorrow otherwise it'll be up to Rueter to win and so far this season I'm eager to see Rueter move to the bullpen.

A 1st Class Headcase

2005-04-19T17:49:00.000-07:00

Brett Tomko. What is there to say about Brett Tomko. What can be said about dear Brett is that he is following the trend of the Giant's pitching staff. Right when there seems to be a ray of hope, suddenly the Giants are down 6-1. Tomko pitches 5 innings of scoreless baseball, then comes a run in the 6th, then before you know it, the Padres drop 5 runs on Tomko like they've been hitting him like that the whole game. The answer to the conundrum that was Tomko's start last night isn't in his mechanics, or the the pitches he threw, etc., but rather it lies in the mind of Brett Tomko himself. He's a headcase. Simple as that. Last year his second-half turnaround was attributed to him going to see a psychologist. That does not bode well at all, seeing as the last thing the Giant's rotation needs right now is another underperforming pitcher. We don't need a pitcher that requires regular visits to a shrink in order to pitch effectively. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not quite as ready to crucify Tomko as I am Woody. In his 3 starts, the Giants have scored a grand total of one run while he was pitching. Average it out and you get less than a run of support per game. The Giants are batting .303 right now as a team. Not being able to score more than one run every 5 days is not the kind of performance you would expect out of a team with the major league leader in Batting Average (who seems to be on the decline with his 0-3 last night), and two guys with 13+ RBI's. The Giants can't afford to go into an offensive slump right now with the pitching staff imploding as we speak.

All They Needed Was The Friendly Confines of Coors Field
Let's face it. The Giant's middle relief corps this year has been less than impressive. Not only that, the so-called anchor to their bullpen, Armando Benitez, has been worse. You know your bullpen's in trouble when you're thinking "Man I hope Felipe goes to Jeff Fassero" when the bases are loaded and the starter is about to be pulled. Tyler Walker, Scott Eyre, Jason Christiansen, Jim Brower, and Matt Herges. Riddle me this Batman: Up until they found the save haven of Coors Field, they weren't getting anything done. Suddenly the Giants go to the Mile High City and the middle relief is lights out in the thin air. One possible explanation could be the fact that the Giants bullpen is built to get to the groundball. Herges, Brower, Christiansen, and Walker all throw a sinker. Bullpen success at Coors stands as yet another unexpected performance this season. Brace yourself Giants fans, because it definitely won't be the last.

See How Long it is Before it Snows on Niekro's Parade
Last night the rain-soaked field caused Snow to slip, and now he's down with a pulled groin for who knows how long. This comes as good news to me, as I would love to see Lance Niekro get some more at-bats before Alou comes back and Lance gets sent back down to the minors. He's got the raw power, the pretty swing, and he's not too shabby on defense either. Look for him to make some contributions as long as he stops trying to swing out of his shoes in RBI situations. One at-bat of his that stands out to me is one a week or so ago. Niekro came up with bases loaded, and went up there trying to hit it to Missouri. He ended up swinging at a pitch up around his forehead and he struck out. With more at-bats in bases-loaded type situations, Niekro could transition from "Rookie trying too hard to be a hero" to a trusted hitter in crucial situations.

A Few Words of "Encouragement" from the Boss and The Yanks Snap Out of It
In the latest temper tantrum pulled by George Steinbrenner, he bemoaned about how the Yankees "...are not playing like true Yankees". With 150 games left in the season, who exactly does Georgy-boy think he is (besides supreme emperor of the universe of course). What continually peeves me about the Yankees is that they do this every year. They start out in the cellar a good 8 games out of first and come September, they've got a stranglehold on first place in the AL East. If Steinbrenner hasn't noticed this trend by now, then I say ship him out to Iceland where we'll never have to hear from him again. Right after George pulled his little hissy fit, the Yanks go out and score 19 runs on the Devil Rays. Wow they're really rolling now. Now that they can be the stuffing out of teams that sweep the cellar every season, maybe next Mariano Rivera will be able to save a game against the Red Sox. But hey, let's not get ahead of ourselves here. The higher ups need to stop being so concerned with September in April. Teams that come out of the gate fast in April don't necessarily make the playoffs, much less finish above .500. For example, 2 seasons ago, the Royals topped the AL Central the first couple months of the season. Since then, we haven't heard much from those good ol` Royals. People were calling the Brewers to make the postseason a week ago. Since then, they've dropped 4 in a row. Point in case, the season isn't decided in April so stop stressing.

I'm off to listen to the Giants/Pads games. Buckle your seatbelts if Jerome can't get through the 5th inning.

ESPN Commentators Are Idiots

2005-04-18T21:16:00.000-07:00

The Idiots of ESPN. Catchy isn't it? It's a title that, starting now, will describe the likes of Chris Berman, John Kruk, and Joe Morgan. Chris Berman seems to think he is timelessly clever. He can't say the name of a baseball player without doing the following: "And now coming up to hit, [Player's First Name] [insert moronic nickname] [Player's last name]". John Kruk basically will jump on the bandwagon. Using last season as an example, he would say something at the start of the season such as "The Red Sox don't have a chance this year". Then when the Red Sox go to the World Series, he'll say "I was supporting the Sox the whole season." But, the main factor that keeps me from taking this shmuck seriously is his opinion on Jeff Kent. He "loves Kent's attitude". Kent's attitude was a plague upon the Giant's clubhouse for the time he was a Giant. Jeff's redeeming qualities (if any) are few. Proceeding to the next of the three stooges, Joe Morgan loves stating the obvious, doesn't know squat about the nuances of baseball, and needs to be banned from announcing. Example: "And Wagner strikes him out with the fastball. That one was way outside, not even close to the strike zone. Let's take a look at K-Zone. [K-Zone shows that the pitch hit the inside corner]". As a testament to the idiocy of ESPN commentators as a whole, the geniuses on Baseball tonight were already calling the Mets to not make the playoffs after starting 0-5. Sadly, I'm not exaggerating this in the least, so be afraid...be very afraid; because with the start of the baseball season comes the Idiots of ESPN which makes some of us fans want to scream, "Godzilla!!!"

Giant's Pitching Staff...or lack thereof

2005-04-18T21:10:00.000-07:00

Let's talk about the starting rotation. It was supposed to be our strong point. We were supposed to have 5 pitchers who could go 7-9 innings any given start. Jason Schmidt has the best stuff in the National League. Right now all I see across the board is underachieving, but so far tonight is a ray of hope for the Giant's rotation; Brett Tomko is pitching 2 hit scoreless baseball through 5 innings.

Jason Schmidt: Sure he's 2-1. Sure he pitched well against the Rockies. But come on now...they're the Rockies. Nuff said. His velocity just isn't there right now. I've been to games and seen Schmidt hitting 98 on the radar gun consistently. What makes him a dominating pitcher is the transition of speed from 98 mph fastball, to a 90 mph changeup with movement. His "blazing" fastball is currently topping the radar gun at 91. On top of that, he doesn't have a lot of command with it either. Schmidt is being forced to throw his changeup 90 percent of the time; major league hitters notice those sort of things.

Kirk Rueter: Put him out of his misery and move him to the bullpen. Pretty soon there will be resounding calls throughout SBC park on a night when Rueter gives up 8 runs through 2 innings entreating "We want Foppert!". In his start yesterday, he was giving up hits. When he wasn't giving up hits, he was giving up outs that were smacked hard enough to be hits. My girlfriend's mom summed it up perfectly. "Rueter is a pitcher who gives up hits. That how he works". Although there was a certain positive connotation to that, that's not what we need out of Woody right now. We need him to be a pitcher who "gets people out". I say give him one or two more starts and if he doesn't show any promise then we yank him and let Foppert start a few games.

Brett Tomko: Up until now I haven't been all that impressed with Tomko, although his win-loss record is not entirely his fault considering the Giants have yet to score a run in his starts this year. That's right you heard me. His average run support in this young season is 0.0 runs per game. Some of his woes so far though can be attributed to Tomko's pitching performance. He's given up 2 home runs in 10 innings. 1 home run every 5 innings, almost 2 homers per game which is not good. 15 hits in those 10 innings isn't a very impressive number, along with his 5.91 ERA at the start of the night (his 5 innings of scoreless baseball tonight have got him a 4.32 ERA now). I can see Tomko improving based on tonight's start. Tomko has a reputation for being a very streaky pitcher, and when he gets into a good groove, he's untouchable. Cross your fingers...

Noah Lowry: Lowry has impressed me since his first career start last year when he showed he could hold his own against Major League hitters in his debut against a potent Orioles offense. This year, as expected, in 2 starts he's been a little shaky but it's nothing to panic about. What we need to panic about is the 6 runs he gave up to the Rockies, and the 3 homers he's given up in 11 innings. No need to worry about Noah though. He's already proven that he can be a dominating pitcher last year, and on the brightside but not all that important, he still doesn't have a major league loss. Point in case, Lowry is going to rebound from his start against the Rockies. He's a young pitcher with the composure on the mound of a veteran.

Jerome Williams: I'm bewildered to the fact that Jerome has only started one game this season. In his one start, so far he has been the only effective starter the Giants have right now. 7 innings, 5 hit, one run, 5 K's. That was the line from his ONE START. Felipe figured he skip Jerome's start because of a day off. He didn't want Schmidt going on 5-6 days of rest, so he decided, "Hey, how about I skip our only effective starter's turn so that our ace doesn't get too much rest". I guess what I'm trying to say is that, in order for Williams to continue his effectiveness, he can't go on 10 days of rest just so Schmidt doesn't get 5. Expect him to have a solid start tomorrow night vs. the Padres. Especially at Petco Park aka The Pitcher's Paradise. If he gets shelled then feel free to say "I told you so".

That's the Giant's rotation. While I was writing that, the Padres tagged Tomko for 5 runs in an inning and now I just don't know what to say. The umpire has been squeezing him all night and a few close calls killed him. This kind of performance by our dear Brett brings me to my next point: If the Giant's offense is going to carry this team, the starting pitchers need to stop giving up 5+ runs every game.

I'm starting to like Lance Niekro
Ok so Snow pulled his groin and Niekro came in to replace him and so far in 2 AB's I'm liking what I see. I've liked his swing since I saw him go deep in a spring training game. Tonight he's homered and doubled and maybe if Snow stays injured long enough Niekro will see some at-bats. He's definitely got 20-30 homer potential in a year or two. This season will need to be one where he learns how to hit in the Majors. In the meantime, let's can Snow and start Feliz at first when Bonds and Alou get back. Ok so i'm kidding about canning Snow but maybe he should be more of roleplayer/defensive replacement giving Feliz more of an exclusive role at first.

Tomorrow I'll talk about what went/is currently going wrong in the Giants game tonight, and I'll go through our middle-relief corps and analyze their performance the first 2 weeks of the season.

Good First 2 Weeks

2005-04-17T20:14:00.000-07:00

This is a blog about the San Francisco Giants and their progress throughout the season and their offseason dealings. For a team without its two best hitters, the Giants offense has been playing solid baseball. Role players young and old have been stepping up in big ways. The aspect of the team that was supposed to carry them through the month without Bonds and Alou is as of now, the Giant's weakness. Edgardo Alfonzo is looking more like the Fonzy that hit went .304-27-108 for the Mets in 1999. All we can do is hope that his hot streak keeps up when we get our sluggers back. What I would like to know is what the Giants are going to do with Pedro Feliz when Bonds gets back. He won't move to third because our third baseman is leading the world in batting average right now. He won't move to first with Snow patrolling the bag as an already established presence. The Giants are running out of things to do with Feliz. He can't be a regular starter because there's no where for him to start and they can't trade him because he's way to valuable to just ship off for minor leaguers.

The Giants are 6-5 right now, and five-sixths of their wins have come against the Rockies. If the Giants are going to stay in the race in April without their 3-4 hitters, they're going to need to start beating teams that are actually going to challenge for first place. Once Bonds and Alou return, the Giants offense should be one of the more potent lineups in the majors. If they are going to win against the Padres in their coming series against them this week, the Giant's starting pitchers are going to have to last more than 4 innings which right now, seems like a lot to ask of them. Once we can get our starters through 7 innings, Herges/Brower/Eyre can pitch the 8th, and once we can get more work for Benitez, all we can do is hope that he becomes at least a shadow of the dominating pitcher he was last season. Right now, Benitez is pitching like a rookie just out of the minors with a cannon for an arm and nothing to back it up (a la David Aardsma). Before today, Tyler Walker has been getting shelled. He's been hanging his slider and his velocity hasn't been there. Today's outing showed the promise that came with Walker pitching 12 scoreless innings from the pen to start last season. His fastball was up around 95 mph and his sinker/slider was biting below the strike zone.

Overall, a good way to wrap up the week for the Giants with an 8-6 win over the Rockies. Tucker felt right at home at Coors but don't expect much more power out of his bat unless a mountain grows under San Diego overnight and lifts it a mile above sea level. I wasn't too pleased with Benitez' outing today but all any good fan can do is hope that he'll find his slider once he gets out of the mile high air.

Next post will cover the Giant's starting rotation and its performance (or lack thereof) in the early stages of the 2005 season. Until then, it's Bye Bye Baby