Steve Phillips of Fanhouse tells us who he thinks the buyers, sellers and teams holding are at this years trading deadline. He has the San Francisco Giants listed as buyers, and I would have to agree with him. The Giants are half a game out of the NL West behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres.
The starting pitching has been there all year for the Giants. It’s been their inability to score runs that has cost them games. This team does seem to have more of a thump in their lineup lately. Freddy Sanchez has returned from his injury and the call up of Buster Posey has really helped ignite the offense. They have Juan Uribe and Aubrey Huff both playing some outstanding ball right now. The addition of Pat Burrell also has them producing more runs per game. He brought that right-handed power that the team needed. Plus he seems to have found his stroke. You know what the saying is… “Home Sweet Home”
With that said the Giants can still always upgrade their offense. When you’re not putting out an everyday lineup like the New York Yankees. Then there is always room for and upgraded offense. Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star has said in an article that teams may have interest in David DeJesus and Jose Guillen. Bob told me via email that he hasn’t heard any rumors linking the Giants and any Royals players at this time.
The Giants beat writer Chris Haft told me via email that he thinks the Giants may need another reliever more than they need a hitter. The Giants do have the flexibility to move players around to acquire a bat, but the question is who are they willing to part with?
~King of Cali
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Going into the offseason the San Francisco Giants knew they had to upgrade their offense. Which means everyone knew Brian Sabean would have his work cut out. We know that he has tried in the past to bring in a big bat, but some players refuse to come San Francisco. Sabean offered power hitting Carlos Lee a six year $112 million contract in 2006. Lee declined the offer and signed with the Houston Astros (11-24-06) for a six year $100 million deal. I’m sure that short porch in left field (Crawford Boxes) at Minute Maid Park had him excited to play in Houston.
It’s known that the Giants will have to overpay to land free agents in San Francisco. Sabean did however happen to pull off a couple of steal deals. He brought in Juan Uribe a year ago, and he’s done nothing but produce for the Giants. They even brought him back again this year for a 1 year deal worth $3.25 million. His been a very valuable piece to this team. He’s moved all around the infield, and has been doing yard-work (raking) all season! Uribe has a .289 AVG with 10 homers, 41 RBI’s and 31 runs scored.
Another player that Sabean has brought in this year is the left-handed swinging Aubrey Huff. The Giants were the only team to offer Huff a contract. Which is probably the reason he jumped on the offer ($3 million 1-year). Barry Bonds made it look easy to hit homers at AT&T Park, but all the left handed hitters know that’s not the case at all. Huff has been known to hit monster homers when he hits them, so I’m sure that right field wall didn’t really scare him too much. Eight of his ten homers this year have been hit at home.
Huff is currently hitting .300 AVG with 10 homers, 34 RBI’s and 34 runs scored. Huff and Uribe are a big reason the Giants are playing so well right now. We knew their pitching would keep them in games, and it was up to their offense to score enough runs. Guys like Andres Torres and Freddy Sanchez are getting on base while Uribe and Huff continue to drive them in.
Uribe and Huff are hitting a combined .294 (AVG) for the season with 20 homers, 75 RBI’s and 65 runs scored. That’s some pretty nice production from the middle of the lineup.
~King of Cali
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The San Francisco Giants were able to get revenge on the Oakland Athletics. It’s nice to see the Giants playing good baseball and scoring more runs. The Giants are 13-6 since the A’s swept them in Oakland. Maybe that’s what they needed to give them a little wake up call, or was it adding two more bats to their lineup?
Things have changed for the Giants since they got swept in Oakland. Buster Posey (Giants number 1 prospect) has been called up, and taken on Major League pitching like he’s playing with kids in a backyard wiffle ball game. He’s played in 15 games for the Giants and is hitting .368 with 1 homer, 7 RBI’s and 7 runs scored. Posey is the Giants future backstop, but he’s been playing first base. He’s only started one game behind the plate so far this year. There is still plenty of time left in the season for him to get his feet wet.
Another reason the Giants have been having more success at the plate. Is the slumping Aaron Rowand has been losing some AB’s to the newly acquired Pat Burrell. Burrell was released earlier this year by the Tampa Bay Rays to make room for Hank Blalock. Burrell was only hitting .202 with 2 homers in 24 games before the Rays decided to part ways. The Bay Area native (Bellarmine College Preparatory High School in San Jose) is a man on a mission right now. He’s trying to prove to everyone that he still has some gas left in the tank.
Burrell has played in 9 games for the Giants so far, and is off to a pretty hot start. He’s hitting .375 with 1 homer, 4 RBI’s and 4 runs scored. He brings to the team that right handed power that they so desperately needed. He’s a nice piece to add to the mix, but I think the Giants still may need one more hitter before they really take off!
~King of Cali
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I’m curious as to what most Giants fans think now about Freddy Sanchez? Since the day we made the trade for him. I thought it was a great trade, but a lot of fans were skeptical. We traded Tim Alderson who was one of the top prospects in the Giants organization. He was behind Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner on the list. He was still one of our bright shining stars in the organization.
Trading Alderson made sense to me. The Giants have the great pitching, so we were able to part ways with a prospect to get a bat that the Giants so desperately needed. He was a good chip to have to pull off a trade that can land an All Star 2nd Baseman. In 2006 Sanchez was the NL Batting Champion, and who wouldn’t want to add a bat like that to their offense?
There was a lot of Giants fans out there. That were bagging on Brian Sabean for making the trade for a hurt Sanchez. I knew a healthy Sanchez would be a great addition to the Giants lineup. I really think Sanchez is the best number 2 hitter in the game. He’s a very good situational hitter. With a runner on 1st. He can go to the right side to get the runner to 3rd base. Plus he hit s for average.
In 19 games this year for the Giants. He’s 25-for-69 and that’s a .362 AVG. I’m sure a lot of fans that were bagging on him prior to his return are loving the fact that he’s a Giant now. For those of you that like to judge players by their contract. I would say the Sanchez contract is a steal. He’s locked up for this year and next year for $12 million total. That would have to go down as one of Sabean’s better signings.
~King of Cali
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This is the road trip that Bruce Bochy is showing he’s in control of this Giants party bus. The San Francisco Giants are currently 3-1 on this trip. Taking 2-out-of-3 from the Pittsburgh Pirates and game one against the Cincinnati Reds.
Bochy has made some statements on this trip, and basically telling these guys if you’re not hitting then you’re not playing. The very first bold statement was dropping Pablo Sandoval in the lineup to the 8th spot. He’s also started Pat Burrell in left field and sat the slumping Aaron Rowand. The young phenom Buster Posey got his first start behind the plate this year and Bengie Molina had a nice view from the bench. Bochy is making it clear on this road trip that he’s going to go with who’s swinging the bat, and not by who’s bankroll may be a little larger.
Molina is really slumping bad right now (4-for-52 slump), but I wouldn’t say the Giants are phasing him out at this point. There is so many up’s and downs during a season. Guys are going to get hot and cold at various times. Bochy’s job is to try to get everyone enough AB’s to keep them fresh. With that said though. I would still go with the hottest hitters at all times. The Giants have a lot of guys that can move around the diamond, so it’s very easy to mix and match lineups to go with the hot bats.
I was asked on SF Giants Rumors Facebook. If I had control of the lineup what would it be? Position and order? Well Jeff Z. from Facebook. You asked and you shall receive my Giants lineup.
This would be my starting lineup for tonight.
CF Andres Torres
2B Freddy Sanchez
3B Pablo Sandoval
1B Aubrey Huff
SS Juan Uribe
C Buster Posey
LF Pat Burrell
RF Nate Schierholtz
P Matt Cain
I look forward to seeing comments with your starting lineup!
~King of Cali
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The San Francisco Giants were able to avoid the sweep and salvage the final game of the 3 game series with the Colorado Rockies. Although the Giants were almost swept by the Rockies. They are 5-2 in their last 7 games. I’m trying to look at the positives and group it as a 7 game stretch, and not saying they lost 2 out of the last 3. Just trying to get that positive vibe going. With our offense on life-support. We can use all the good vibes as possible.
The Giants still need to figure out ways to score more runs. They are 24-6 when scoring 4+ runs. Which means if they can scratch out a few more runs a game. They can have a pretty decent record, and continue to make this NL West race a tight one. We do need more offense, and I’m sure glad Buster Posey is living up to the hype! With that said, they still can’t count on him to be on fire the whole time. Eventually he will cool off and hit a dry spell. Other players on this team need to step up. Maybe Pablo Sandoval will get hot and carry the team on his back for a while.
Last night’s win over the Rockies was the Giants 12th comeback win of the season. It’s nice to see them have some comeback wins. Last year when they got behind. You could chalk it up as a loss, and just start to focus on the next game. Which shows that they do have a better hitting team than last year. Just not good enough unfortunately. Only time will tell if Brian Sabean will pull the trigger at the trading deadline. To get more offensive help in San Francisco.
~King of Cali
Technorati Tags: 2010 SF Giants, Brian Sabean, Buster Posey, Colorado Rockies, Giants Baseball, King of Cali, NL West, Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco Giants, SF Giants Rumors, sfgiantsbaseball.net
It seems like everything has changed since my last post. There has been some highs and some lows.The Giants swept the Arizona Diamondbacks, Posey has been called up, Giants have signed Burrell, and now the Giants are trying to salvage a game against the Colorado Rockies.
Buster Posey finally is getting his chance to show Giants fans what he can do in San Francisco. Posey was hitting .349 (AVG) with 6 homers and 32 RBI’s in Triple-A Fresno. Which had fans leaving comments on blogs, calling radio shows (KNBR) and sending emails in outrage. Knowing that the Giants were struggling so bad offensively and having Posey tearing it up in Fresno. Maybe Brian Sabean finally felt the pressure and decided to bring Posey up. In 4 games for the San Francisco Giants Posey is currently 7-for-16 (.438 AVG) with 4 RBI’s.
I have heard a lot of mixed reactions to the Pat Burrell signing. He’s from the Bay Area, so it’s nice to see a local guy play for a local team. It’s not a bad signing like some fans are saying it is. He’s pretty much coming over for nothing. He’s not going to be put in left field as the everyday starter. He’s going to give us that right handed power coming off the bench. He will get some starts here and there just like any other guy on the team. If he’s hitting well then he gets more playing time. If he’s not then he’s just going to be that right handed stick with power that gets put in the game with runners on base. His job at that point will just be to try to drive in runs off the bench.
Burrell has currently played in 3 games for the Fresno Grizzlies. He’s 5-for-12 (.417 AVG) with 1 homer and 4 RBI’s. The good thing about this signing is “Pat the Bat” is going to try to prove himself. He’s basically trying to show teams that he’s not done and he’s still a force to be reckoned with. I like the signing for those reasons.
~King of Cali
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Patrick Rishe recently did a study on the worst franchises in pro sports. Since this is a Giants (baseball) blog. I will just inform you on the top 3 worst MLB franchises. The statistical analysis was gathering data from the last 5 years (2005-06 through 2009-10). The criteria was the most money spent on the least amount of victories and postseason appearances. Rishe wanted to identify teams with the highest average payroll cost per win and with no more than 1 post-season appearance in the last 5 years.
The 3 worst MLB franchises (in order) are the New York Mets, Seattle Mariners and the San Francisco Giants! I’m sure you knew the Giants had to be on this list right?
The Mets average cost per victory was $1.3 million, with a 20% postseason rate. During that 5 year span the Mets overall league record is 427-383. It doesn’t look bad when you look at the wins and losses, but they only managed to make the playoffs in 2006. That’s not good for a team that’s been over the $100 million mark each year during that 5 year span.
Now the Mariners record the past 5 years is 381-429. Which is an obvious losing record. In 2005 and 2006 they were in the $87 million range, and then bumped it up to over $100 million in 2007 and 2008. In 2009 they were just below the $100 million mark and were around $99 million. That is a lot of money that’s given to players that were not producing for the Mariners.
Yes Giants fans, we are the 3rd worst MLB franchise! I’m sure most Giants fans out there knew we were. At least based on the emails I receive about how Brian Sabean overpays veterans who are passed their prime to come play for the Giants. The Giants record during the same 5 year span is 382-427. Which is just only one more win than the Mariners to put them as the 3rd worse MLB franchise and not tied for 2nd. For those of you that think the games played doesn’t match up. That’s because the Giants only played 161 games in 2006.
Do you think Sabean and the front office are to blame or the players just under performing? Patrick Rishe told me (via email). “When teams make this list, I’d say that it’s a combination of front office people overvaluing talent, managers mismanaging players, and players under performing relative to their true ability.”
~King of Cali
Technorati Tags: Brian Sabean, Giants Baseball Rumors, King of Cali, MLB, New York Mets, Patrick Rishe, San Francisco Giants, San Francisco Giants Baseball, Seattle Mariners, SF Giants, SF Giants Rumors, sfgiantsbaseball.net, Worst MLB Franchies
We all knew coming into this season that our pitching was our strong point, and our hitting was going to struggle again. Here are some stats to show you where the San Francisco Giants are currently at compared to other 30 Major League Baseball teams.
Batting Stats
AVG: .256 (ranked 17th)
Runs: 182 (ranked 24th)
Hits: 389 (ranked 23rd)
Home Runs: 34 (ranked 24th)
Stolen Bases: 18 (ranked 27th)
OBP: .322 (ranked 21st)
SLG: .392 (ranked 21st)
Total Bases: 594 (ranked 23rd)
Pitching Stats
ERA: 3.45 (ranked 4th)
Runs Allowed: 161 (ranked 28th)
Saves: 14 (ranked 6th)
Strikeouts: 360 (ranked 4th)
OpBA: .224 (ranked 1st)
OBP: .311 (ranked 5th)
SLG: .335 (ranked 1st)
Run Support: 4.02 (ranked 24th)
Do any of these numbers surprise you? From the offensive side of things. The Giants have had some key players injured, and haven’t been able to trot out the everyday lineup they envisioned when they completed their roster in the offseason. Freddy Sanchez finally makes his return to the Giants, but Mark DeRosa has been out (wrist). Now Edgar Renteria is back on the shelf. He was placed on the 15-Day DL with a strained right hamstring. If the Giants can get all these guys in the lineup at one time. I have no doubt that they can’t scratch out a few more runs, and get more wins. No, they will not be “Murders Row” (1927 Yankees), but with this kind of pitching staff they don’t need to be. The Giants are currently 23-22 this season. It’s still not time to panic Giants fans. They still have 117 games left to play. Let’s just hope Brian Sabean and Bruce Bochy are keeping any eye on these stats as well. Lets hope they can fix the problem areas before it’s to late for this season.
~King of Cali
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Who knew all it would take is a shakeup in the starting lineup to get the San Francisco Giants back in the win column? I know a lot of writers/bloggers/media people tend to always hit the panic button a little early. I must admit I was really getting close to saying get Buster Posey up here immediately! It’s really a catch 22 if you think about it. If our offense is struggling and we have a hot hitter like Posey in Fresno. Yes, we should bring him up to help the team offensively. Now the flip side to that is do you think it’s really fair to Posey?
If Posey had to come up to be the offensive savior for the Giants. Don’t you think that would put a lot of added pressure on the rookie who’s already feeling the pressure of having to be Bengie Molina’s successor? I’m all for waiting to bring Posey up until he’s going to be assured a lot of playing time. There really is no point of bringing him up to spot start here and there. He’s better off down in Triple-A Fresno working on his catching. I mean after all, that was the reason he was starting the season in Fresno right?
Lineup Shakeup
I really liked the lineup that Bruce Bochy decided to go with in last nights game. If Andres Torres is in the lineup. He should always be at the top of the lineup. Let him find a way on base and burn rubber on the base paths. He just plays with a tremendous amount of energy that I think other guys in the lineup really feed off of. The lineup just seemed so balanced from top to bottom last night. Molina finally got to hit lower in the lineup as well as Aaron Rowand. That gives the Giants more ability to drive in runs throughout the lineup. It obviously worked last night, so let’s see if they can keep this Giants train rolling tonight!
~King of Cali
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Technorati Tags: Aaron Rowand, Andres Torres, Bengie Molina, Bruce Bochy, Buster Posey, Giants Baseball Rumors, King of Cali, NL West, San Francisco Giants, SF Giants Blog, SF Giants Rumors, sfgiantsbaseball.net
