Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com say the Giants haven’t given up on Beltre. The Giants remain in contact with Scott Boras regarding free agent Adrian Beltre, but the sides aren’t close to a deal.
Beltre is the best pure third baseman left on the free agent market. The Giants and Boras remain some distance apart on the years and dollars it would take to sign Beltre. Sources have told Ken Rosenthal that Beltre is looking for four years and $36 million.
Brian Sabean has downplayed the chances of the Giants signing Beltre when asked at the winter meetings. The Giants are also pursuing Mark DeRosa as an everyday third baseman.
King of Cali thoughts: I’m glad to hear the Giants haven’t ruled Beltre out. I think he’s a good free agent to sign. I would rather have Beltre playing third than DeRosa. Beltre didn’t have the greatest numbers last season, but he’s still got that right handed pop that we need. There is also rumors going around that the Red Sox might be done trying to sign Beltre. Which means his options can be dwindling.
~King of Cali
Technorati Tags: Adrian Beltre, Brian Sabean, Free Agents, Giants, King of Cali, Mark DeRosa, MLB Hot Stove, NL West, San Francisco Giants Baseball, Scott Boras, SF Giants Blog, SF Giants Rumors, SF Giants Rumors, Winter Meetings
King of Cali thoughts: Well I’m just glad that didn’t come from Bay’s agent or Bay himself. I’m sure there is truth to that statement. Giants fans would love to see Bay sign with the Giants. The only way he would come to San Francisco is if the Giants way overpaid more than anyone else. Bay can get what the Giants would offer him in Boston. He would want to go where he can get his money and win. Not to a team where he can get his money and lose and see his batting stats drop cause it’s a pitchers park. With that said… Let’s sign him! =)
~King of Cali
Technorati Tags: AT&T Park, Free Agents, Giants, Jason Bay, King of Cali, MLB Hot Stove, MLB Trade Rumors, NL West, Peter Gammons, San Francisco Giants Baseball, SF Giants Baseball, SF Giants Blog, SF Giants Rumors, Winter Meetings
Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com says trade talks between the Giants and Marlins for Dan Uggla are getting “warmer”. Dialogue continues between the clubs, but they have yet to agree on names.
King of Cali thoughts: Giants and Uggla rumors were going on since last year. There is no denying the Giants interest in him. The more and more I hear about this trade. The more I want it done. Uggla is not a guy that will hit for average, but he’s a guy that has solid pop. He’s a righty and right handers that pull don’t have a problem at AT&T park. It’s the lefties that hit it to no-mans-land. Let’s see if Sabean can get this deal done.
~King of Cali
Technorati Tags: Brian Sabean, Dan Uggla, Free Agents, Giants, King of Cali, MLB Hot Stove, MLB Trade Rumors, NL West, San Francisco Giants Baseball, SF Giants Blog, SF Giants Rumors, Winter Meetings
Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com reports that the Giants have signed Tony Pena Jr. He’s a shortstop that turned reliever. Pena struggled offensively and move to the mound midway through this year. He went 1-2 with a 2.33 ERA over 10 outings in the Royals farm system.
Pena is a free agent and currently pitching in the Dominican Winter League. He’s 2-0 with a 5.14 ERA in 17 relief outings.
King of Cali thoughts: I have never heard of this guy, but he doesn’t sound to bad as relief pitcher. He’s not the signing that we all have been waiting for, but at least we know the Giants front office is alive and not home on Christmas vacation.
Technorati Tags: Baseball, Free Agents, Giants, King of Cali, MLB Hot Stove, NL West, San Francisco Giants Baseball, SF Giants Rumors, SF Giants Rumors, Tony Pena Jr, Winter Meetings
Posted on December 11th, 2009 by admin in
Q&A
Here is a Q&A that I did with Ann Killion. I’m sure a lot of you out there know who she is. She’s an award winning sports columnist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Here is a little background on her. She’s been a Bay Area sportswriter for the past two decades. She covered the 49ers as a beat writer for a couple of (glory) years in the early 90’s. She’s been a general sports columnist for most of her career. Which means she’s spent a lot of life writing about the Giants, particularly Barry Bonds and his milestones and scandals. Ann says the Giants are definitely her bread and butter. She left the Mercury News last summer and is now working for SI.com and Comcast Sports Net Bay Area.
King: What are your thoughts on Bill Neukom after his first year in charge?
Ann: I haven’t spent that much time around Neukom though I did sit down with him the day he took over. I think he’s very lawyerly – pragmatic and analytic. He might not have the emotional connection to the team that Magowan had, but that could be a good thing. He’s unlikely to make mistakes like giving Barry Zito a ridiculous contract because he looks good or outbidding phantom bidders so as not to “humiliate” Bonds. The team improved during his first year. I think he did the right thing in holding off on contracts for Bochy and Sabean. In terms of spending, I think the jury is still out.
King: Sabean has said the Giants will be after second tier free agents. Who do would you say should be the Giants number 1 target as a second tier free agent?
Ann: I’m not too excited about any of the names. Jermaine Dye peaks my interest a little because he’s local, coming off a decent year and is a great guy. But there’s no one I feel strongly about out there.
What are your thoughts on Tim Lincecum hitting arbitration with two Cy Young’s under his belt?
I think he’s going to be a very rich young man. And – unlike a lot of overpaid athletes – he deserves whatever he’s going to make. I’m a big Lincecum fan.
King: There has been some recent talk that Buster Posey can be the next Joe Mauer or Brian McCann. What type of a player do you see Posey turning into?
Ann: I think if he could be the next Mauer the Giants would be very lucky. I think he shows a lot of promise but is still about 12 years old.
King: We all know Bonds was the poster child for the steroids era. Do you think he will get voted in to the Hall of Fame, or do you think he will be on the black list?
Ann: I’m a Hall of Fame voter and I can’t tell you. I think all the guys from the steroid era are on the black list right now. I think Bonds will likely have to wait a few years. I’ve written in the past that I think baseball needs to take some responsibility for its own legacy, rather than just foisting it on the writers. Maybe a blue-ribbon committee with Hall of Famers like Hank Aaron could provide some guidance. I think overlooking the “morals” clause is ridiculous – it’s part of the voting guidelines. Everyone says, ‘well Bonds was a Hall of Famer before he cheated.” My response to that is: doesn’t that make it even worse? It’s a problem.
King: What do you think the Giants really need to improve this team?
Ann: Get a bat. Just like last year and the year before.
King: You have covered a lot of sports, so what’s your greatest sports memory of all?
Ann: That’s a hard one. Most of my goosebump moments have come at the Olympics – I’ve covered the past eight and seem some crazy things. Covering the Tour de France in 2004 was amazing – especially the time trial up the Alpe d’Huez. The 2002 World Series is definitely up there on the list of memorable events. My favorite assignment of all time was covering the 1998 World Cup in France – incredible!
King: Do you see the Giants turning into a force in the NL West in the near future with the pieces they currently have in place?
Ann: Yes. Their pitching is so fantastic. And the Dodgers appear to be headed toward chaos, thanks to the divorce of the MCourts. If some of the Giants prospects, like Posey, turn into the real deal, I think they’ll be back in contention.
King: Giants fans are desperate for a World Series Championship. I’m telling myself that McGwire and Canseco were probably on the juice in 89, so I will take that as a forfeit. Giants are now the 1989 World Series Champions. =) Would you agree with me?
Ann: Hmmm, if I follow that logic I’m pretty sure there wouldn’t be any teams to award a championship to in the past decade-plus. Including those Red Sox championships…But I agree that McGwire and Canseco were on the juice – everyone talked about it even back then.
King: Thank you very much for taking the time to do this Q&A for us Giants fans. Is there anything that you would like to let Giants fans know about you?
Ann: My late father was so excited about the Giants moving to San Francisco he stood on Market Street in the tickertape parade welcoming them, with my older brother on his shoulders. He was a die-hard Giants fan and I grew up with Giants games as the background noise to my childhood. He didn’t like it when I became infatuated with the Swingin’ A’s in the 70s. Sharing Giants games with him late in his life was a real pleasure – I am happy that he lived long enough to see the new ballpark. One of these days he might look down on his team winning a World Series. Maybe.
King: Ann does have her own site. You can check it out at annkillion.com, and you can also follow her via twitter.
~King of Cali
Technorati Tags: Ann Killion, Barry Bonds, Baseball, Free Agents, King of Cali, MLB Hot Stove, MLB Trade Rumors, NL West, Q&A, San Francisco Giants Baseball, SF Giants Blog, SF Giants Rumors, Tim Lincecum, Winter Meetings, World Series
Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reports that the Giants have offers on the table to more than one free agent. Sabean said “Nobody at this time is close to saying yes.” Baggarly believes the players are Mark DeRosa, Nick Johnson and Scott Podsednik, but he hasn’t been able to confirm that.
The Giants also spoke with the agents for catcher Rod Barajas. When asked about a trade for Dan Uggla. Sabean said “I’ll make a blanket statement: We’re not in any trade discussions that are close to happening as compared to the free agents.”
King of Cali thoughts: DeRosa, Johnson and Podsednik are not sexy names, and sure aren’t the big power bats that we need. Anyone of them would sure help though. Our offense needs help anyway we can get it. By Sabean going after 2nd tier guys. He would need to make a couple moves to boost our offense.
~King of Cali
Technorati Tags: Dan Uggla, Florida Marlins, Free Agents, Giants, King of Cali, Mark DeRosa, MLB Hot Stove, MLB Trade Rumors, Nick Johnson, NL West, Rod Barajas, San Francisco Giants Baseball, Scott Podsednik, SF Giants Blog, SF Giants Rumors, SF Giants Rumors, Winter Meetings
Andrew Baggarly of San Jose Mercury News says the Giants are downplaying their interest in
Florida Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla. Other sources have different understanding of the club’s level of engagement. The source suggested the Giants might be making a subtle misdirection play to get the Florida Marlins to take a lesser return.
Baggarly also says Uggla would welcome a deal to the Giants and we haven’t’ heard the last word on these Uggla to the Giants rumors yet.
Shea does say technically, Bonds hasn’t retired, and he won’t retire. In hopes some team will call.
King of Cali thoughts: I think all of us in the baseball world know these Uggla rumors are not going to die anytime soon. It’s obvious the Giants really want Uggla, but they don’t want to part with any top prospects. I believe they are trying to say they are out to get the Marlins to panic and take a lower deal. The Marlins want to move Uggla to take him off the payroll and get some prospects in return.
Now Bonds was the GREATEST PLAYER OF ALL TIME! I’m sure I’m going to get some bad comments by saying that, but it’s true. At least in my eyes. It’s sad to see the way his career ended. For whatever reasons the Giants decided to move on from Bonds, but he was still good enough to help other teams out there. Bonds was pushed out of the game. Like a bully pushes a kid off a swing.
~King of Cali
Technorati Tags: Barry Bonds, Dan Uggla, Giants, Home Run King, King of Cali, MLB Hot Stove, MLB Trade Rumors, NL West, San Francisco Giants Baseball, SF Giants Blog, SF Giants Rumors, Winter Meetings
Andrew Baggarly of San Jose Mercury News says Brian Sabean expressed his annoyance with agent Scott Boras. Boras made some comments yesterday about Adrian Beltre and the San Francisco Giants. Boras said the Giants can’t win with a meager offense and Beltre should interest them.
“Well you know, I never knew that we needed any more offense,” said Sabean, tongue firmly in cheek. “I’m shocked to hear I’m the last to know. Scott’s a very smart man. He’s got enough money to buy a club. Maybe that’s the route he should go.”
King of Cali thoughts: We all know that Boras was just pumping up Beltre and trying to get the Giants to start a bidding war for him. Boras is really good at his job and getting teams to start bidding wars and way over pay for his clients. Sabean on the other hand knows he got screwed on over paying for Zito, so I’m sure that’s why he had a comment ready to fire back at Boras. I think it’s just a bummer now to know that the Giants are not interested in Beltre. He’s the kind of hitter we need to add to our lineup. Someone with power that can drive in runs.
~King of Cali
Technorati Tags: Adrian Beltre, Brian Sabean, Free Agents, Giants, King of Cali, MLB Hot Stove, MLB Trade Rumors, San Francisco Giants Baseball, Scott Boras, SF Giants Blog, SF Giants Rumors, Winter Meetings
Today Giants GM Brian Sabean did a chat with fans on MLB.com. Here is the script of the chat log.
Sabean: Hello everyone, coming live to you from the winter meetings in Indianapolis! Thanks for joining me today. Lets get started with your questions.
treal_jay: Brian, position player-wise, what are the Giants most critical needs in order of high to lowest priority?
Sabean: Regardless of position we need to improve our offense. Pablo will be the fourth hitter and we will need to be able to place someone in back and in front of him.
k90sdrk: Do you think posey is ready to catch at the major league level and how consistent will he be in a 162 game season?
Sabean: We are not sure. Having said that he is ahead of his own development schedule and has been named the minor league player of the year so it may come to that with him being our catcher and if so we are willing to take that risk. Because he’s played so little professional baseball it’s hard to predict what he will do in his first major league season.
dbgiant21: Do you expect to pick up a “Juan Uribe” this off-season, such as Nick Greene, or would it be preferred to use homegrown players?
Sabean: We consider Juan a super utility type of talent at this time, we don’t know of our ability to re-sign him. If he does not re-sign we will look internally at people like Burriss or Rohlinger who can play the middle of the infield.
mescalbean: Mr. Sabean, thank you very much for the opportunity to ask a question; my question is this: on the basis of the 2009 season, have the Giants seen enough of Bowker, Ishikawa and Schierholz to determine whether they can be starter-calibre ballplayers?
Sabean: Short answer is probably not. Having said that they will be given ample opportunities in spring training to distinguish themselves.
eddiesf: Which team in our division do you think will be the biggest challenge to our ball club in 2010?
Sabean: I’m not sure but the West seemingly has a shot gun start every year. From recent history it’s usually up for grabs every year. Our goal is to be in position to win the division.
nomobonds: If both Bumgarner and Posey are on the major league roster next year who in your opinion will be the organizations top minor league prospect?
Sabean: Runzler, Joaquin and Martinez have a chance to make our 12-man staff. I’m going to monitor very closely the progress next year with Crawford, Peguero, Neal and Kieschnick.
nomobonds: Performance wise, which Giant impressed you most last season?
Sabean: Sandoval because of the fact that he met our needs and expectations and actually surpassed our expectations.
sucio1: Hello Brian, my question is are you confident that if the Giants are not able to fill their needs via free agency and/or trades that you could field a competitive ball club in 2010?
Sabean: Yes, by virtue of our pitching staff and it’s depth.
Sandals: Since losing Brad Penny to the Cardinals, do you plan on looking for a starting pitcher this off-season? Or would you be comfortable with a rotation that contains both Sanchez and Bumgarner come April?
Sabean: Because of Bumgarner’s talent alone he is very capable of being our fifth starter, but much like the Posey situation we want to be sure that we are not rushing him. As a result we will continue to look at other options. Bumgarner very well though could be the fifth starter.
Sandals: Are you looking into signing Tim Lincecum to a long term deal this year? Or if not, could it be done next off season?
Sabean: At this time we are going to wait until January and us filing our number for arbitration and then view their filing number to decide if there is a window or opportunity for more than a one year deal. Or decide it’s more prudent this year to go with a one-year contract and if that’s means going to arbitration then we are prepared to do so.
gintssoxfn: I’m a Giants season ticket-holder and look forward to the upcoming season. What are plans to strengthen lineup, especially at LF and 1B? Any interest in players just a level below the top dollar guys – players like Blalock, Nady, etc.
Sabean: We are exploring opportunities to upgrade at 1b and in the OF from a run production standpoint.
APeeler: Your best guess as to what level Thomas Neal will start next season.
Sabean: Probably double-A at the beginning of the year. Who knows at the end of the year where he’ll end up. He played very well in the Arizona Fall League against older and more experienced players.
APeeler: What is the best part of the winter meetings?
Sabean: The Fellowship.
strakman1: how are the health issues with renteria and sanchez?
Sabean: They seem to be doing fine with their off-season rehab programs and will be thoroughly evaluated at the first of the year to get a time table to start baseball activity.
bond1942: Will Garko be tendered a contact this week?
Sabean: We have until Saturday at 9pm to make that decision and as of now we have not made that decision yet.
Sabean: We feel that these meetings are productive at putting our roster together. We don’t feel pressure of having to do something while we’re here. We are prepared to act in a timely fashion when the right opportunities present themselves.
Sabean: Thanks everyone for joining us today. Happy Holidays and we will talk to you again after the first of the year.
~King of Cali
Technorati Tags: Brian Sabean, Free Agents, King of Cali, MLB, MLB Hot Stove, MLB Trade Rumors, NL West, San Francisco Giants Baseball, SF Giants Blog, SF Giants Rumors, Winter Meetings
Chris Haft of MLB.com reports that GM Brian Sabean offered strong indications Tuesday that the Giants won’t pursue free-agent outfielders Johnny Damon and Jermaine Dye. Who apparently are too old for the club’s taste.
“The Pudge signing is not going to help in our situation, ” Sabean said. Pudge signed a 2 year contract with the Washington Nationals for $6 million. This pretty much has set the market for the remaining catchers. The Giants may have to end up giving the starting catcher position to Posey next season. Sabean flatly stated that the Giants won’t approach Molina, who remains unsigned after serving as their No. 1 catcher for the previous three seasons.
The much-discussed possibility of a trade for Florida second baseman Dan Uggla, who would bolster the offense, also seems remote, at best.
King of Cali thoughts: Finally Sabean and I are on the same page. I’m glad he’s going to pass on Damon and Dye. These guys are later in their career and will be on the decline. If our team was already set and were adding a piece like them. Then lets go for it. That’s not the case for us right now. We are trying to fill some big holes right now.
If we can’t get a cheap one year catcher. Then lets just give the job to Posey and use that money elsewhere. If Posey has some struggles. He can share time with Whiteside. I’m sure Posey will be fine though. I’m sure most of us have had some on the job training?
It’s obvious that the Giants are very interested in Uggla, but this deal is never going to happen. The Giants will not give up Bumgarner, and they can’t afford to give up Sanchez now. If Penny would have re-signed. Then the Giants would have traded Sanchez for Uggla already.
~King of Cali
Technorati Tags: Brian Sabean, Dan Uggla, Free Agents, Giants, Jermaine Dye, Johnny Damon, King of Cali, MLB Hot Stove, MLB Trade Rumors, NL West, San Francisco Giants Baseball, SF Giants Blog, SF Giants Rumors, Winter Meetings
