Kuzul

Up against the young Dodgers’ ace Clayton Kershaw, the Giants failed to score a run. Barry Zito, too, was dealing for a while until the sixth inning, when he hit Reed Johnson with a pitch and then walked Rafael Furcal and Andre Ethier. With the bases loaded and two outs, SS Juan Uribe bobbled a groundball, allowing Reed Johnson to score.

Zito was then taken out of the game because of bad numbers against Kemp in his career. His final line: 5.2 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 3 BB, 5 K. The Giants reached base only four times in the entire game, but a few positives can still be taken from this:

First of all, Cody Ross wasn’t hitless. The man playing center, Aaron Rowand, was hitless, however. If Cody Ross keeps hitting, which he is clearly capable of, and Rowand keeps struggling, which he is clearly capable of, Cody Ross will soon be the starting center fielder.

He’s no Andres Torres, but he’s certainly a big step up from Aaron Rowand. He plays better outfield defense, and his bat has a bigger upside than Aaron Rowand, who seems to consistently linger around a .230 batting average.

The second positive, and probably more important, is that Barry Zito pitched well for the second start in a row. This means that the Giants rotation is consistently serviceable from top to bottom. For a team that is built around their rotation, this is highly critical.

The third and final positive, once again, relates to Torres’ absence. Of the Giants’ four hits, Freddy Sanchez had two of them. With Torres gone, Freddy Sanchez needs to fulfill the role of a table-setter. Batting in front of Buster Posey, Aubrey Huff, Pat Burrell, and company, he needs to get on base, so he can be the one scoring those runs.

When the Giants score three runs or more, their record is 72-22. That’s the best of any team in the majors, but they need to be able to score three runs. Tuesday night, they couldn’t score a run. And it’s excusable, because they were facing Clayton Kershaw, one of the best pitchers in the National League.

But the Giants will continue to face good pitching, though: Billingsley, Ted Lilly, Yovani Gallardo, Ryan Dempster, and the list goes on and on.

Tomorrow Matt Cain will face Chad Billingsley. It will most likely be a pitcher’s duel, as most of the Giants games have been recently. The Giants, thus, will need to execute small ball: getting bunts down, taking extra bases, etc. If there’s a runner on third with less than two outs, it’s absolutely critical that they get that guy in. There’s no excuse for not being able to hit a sacrifice fly.

The Giants are still in great shape. Only six remaining games against winning teams, 11 of their 17 remaining games are at home, and they have a couple of days of rest in the remaining weeks, which will hopefully keep them fresh. One and a half games back in the National League West, and one and a half games back in the National League Wild Card. They’re in the thick of things right now.

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Andres Torres, the center fielder and lead-off hitter, is the most irreplaceable member of the San Francisco Giants‘ lineup.

The Giants have to replace him, though, because he’s out for the remainder of the regular season following surgery on his appendix.

Naturally, manager Bruce Bochy responded to Torres being sidelined Sunday by inserting Aaron Rowand in the lead-off spot, playing center field. Rowand went hitless in five at-bats, showing how he wound up buried on the bench as the fifth, perhaps sixth outfielder (Cody Ross has played ahead of Rowand since arriving from Florida, and Nate Schierholtz is clearly more important to the Giants than Rowand, too).

The Giants can’t play the final 18 games of the season with Rowand playing center field, let alone batting lead-off. No way.

The obvious alternative to Rowand would be Ross. He’s a proven big league hitter who can play center field. Being the obvious alternative doesn’t make Ross a viable, let alone a productive alternative to the ailing Torres or Rowand.

Schierholtz? No. The club has tried dozens of combinations in an effort to come up with a consistent outfield rotation, and Schierholtz in center has never been considered an option.

Darren Ford, the 24-year-old rookie who hit a paltry .258 at Double-A Richmond, is an interesting alternative. He’s shown he can change games with his speed on the bases. The speed enables him to cover more ground in center than either Ross or Rowand. It’s possible, however, that Ford simply can’t handle big league pitching.

The Giants don’t really have time to think about what Ford, Ross, and Rowand can or can’t do. They know what Rowand provides. They likely figure that Ross would provide a little more, but not a great deal more, than Rowand.

Ford, however, provides the defense and speed that the Giants need—and, really, how much would he have to hit to hit more than Rowand?

Before falling back to the obvious fallback positions (Ross or Rowand) with Torres out, Bochy should try Ford in center and bat him in the eighth spot in the order. Bump Freddy Sanchez up to the lead-off spot. Maybe, shoot Buster Posey to the No. 2 hole—sure, he’s a middle-of-the-order RBI guy, but batting second means he’ll bat in the first inning in every game and maybe get an extra at-bat every day.

Opposing pitchers will at least give Ford a fighting chance if he’s hitting eighth ahead of the pitcher.

He doesn’t have to get on base three times a game. Ford just needs to get on base once or twice, any way he can, and then Bochy needs to sit back and see if he can steal a run in a season where one run could be the difference between a playoff spot and heading home the first Monday in October.

Bochy has surprised Giants fans lately with his willingness to acknowledge that runners in motion are more likely to produce runs than waiting for the three-run home run. Perhaps, he’ll surprise fans again and give the mercurial Ford a chance.

Ted Sillanpaa is a Northern California sports writer and columnist. Reach Ted at tsillanpaa1956@gmail.com

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A few weeks ago, the Giants acquired Jose Guillen in order to give them an extra bat to push them into the playoffs. About a week later, the Giants were awarded Cody Ross off waivers.

Since then, Jose Guillen has been the starting right fielder, with Cody Ross getting occasional playing time. This is a poor decision for several reasons…

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Apparently the San Francisco Giants are trying to set the record for most outfielders acquired in one season.

In the last three months, they have brought in Pat Burrell and Jose Guillen, and now they have brought in Cody Ross from the Florida Marlins.

The Giants claimed Ross off waivers on Friday, and he was awarded to the Giants yesterday. Ross was batting .263/.315/.404 with 11 HRs in 119 games for the Marlins in 2010.

Where Ross will fit in with the Giants is unclear at this point, but the Giants didn’t get him because they really wanted him. They got him to keep him away from the San Diego Padres, who needed a center fielder thanks to an injury suffered by Tony Gwynn Jr.

In college, we used to a call this a “Blank a-doodle-doo” block. If the Giants did indeed try to blank a-doodle-doo block the Padres, then I dig it. Ross won’t hurt the Giants, and as a matter of fact, he is an upgrade over Guillen in right.

What’s funny about all these offensive acquisitions is that it’s not the Giants’ offense that has been the problem lately. It’s been the starting pitching that’s been the problem for San Francisco. Giants starters have a 4.69 ERA in August.

Perhaps the Giants should spend more time figuring out how to get Tim Lincecum right than worrying about getting more outfielders.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

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Entering his final year of arbitration this offseason, Cody Ross is looking at what could be his final year with the Marlins in 2011. Yet many obstacles stand in his way for him to simply return for his fifth season with the Fish. 

First, Ross is having a down year by power standards. He has only belted 10 out of major league ballparks this season versus 24 in 2009, 22 in 2008, and 12 in 66 games in 2007.

Second, Cody Ross is costly for the budget-strict Florida Marlins. Ross is earning $4.4 million this season and figures to earn at least $5 million in arbitration. The Marlins would figure to win any case if Ross demands more than $5 million because Ross has had a down year yet that would expensive because the Marlins are trying to extend second baseman Dan Uggla and pitcher Ricky Nolasco this offseason with Anibal Sanchez and Michael Stanton on the contract horizon.  

The Marlins also have to have their “center-fielder in waiting” Cameron Maybin on their 25-man roster next season or he’ll have to be placed on waivers first before heading down to the minor leagues. Simply put, Maybin is out of options come next season. 

Maybin has struggled in the majors but has impressed in the minor leagues this season. Thru 30 games at (AAA) New Orleans, Maybin has hit .342 with three home runs, 21 RBIs to go along with five stolen bases. The true test will be during September when Maybin is called up to the majors for the third consecutive season when rosters expand to 40. If Maybin plays well, Ross might find himself out. 

If Ross had his usual season, would this still be the question? Maybe, because the Marlins’ only benefit of the Miguel Cabrera deal has been long reliever Burke Badenhop. Andrew Miller has lost his control like the other pitcher in the deal, Dontrelle Willis. Yet despite his horrid minor league numbers, 2-9, 5.35 ERA, is getting called back up for relief help.

The Marlins would certainly want to give Maybin a shot to fully develop being the most attractive part of that deal. Cameron Maybin is only 23-years-of-age so he still has time. 

Yet, at the end, the Marlins would be able to trade either player because they are under club control. Cody Ross might fetch more value because he is a veteran major-leaguer. The Marlins might pull off a similar deal when they traded Mike Jacobs to the Royals for Leo Nunez. The objective would be to get a bullpen arm or two in any deal. 

If I were Larry Beinfest or Michael Hill I would trade the fan favorite Ross while you can get value and take a chance with Maybin. If he doesn’t pan out, you still have Emilo Bonifacio and then Christian Yelich in a few years.

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The MLB trade deadline is almost exactly three days away, and so far the only acquisition the Dodgers have made is the re-acquisition of veteran infielder Juan Castro on Tuesday. Castro will be making his third tour with the Dodgers, and many analysts see Castro’s addition in many different ways.

Castro may be trade bait, or he may be insurance should the Dodgers move other veterans such as Jamey Carroll, Ronnie Belliard, and/or Garret Anderson.

Even though the Dodgers have been quiet so far, it may be the calm before the Ned Colletti storm. As we have seen in recent years, the Dodgers’ general manager has pulled off headline-leading moves, and there are still some rotation arms to be had.

Cliff Lee and Dan Haren are already off the market, having made their transitions back to the American League.

These slides discuss the whispers going on around the league that are focused on the Dodgers and their potential trade moves, given the remaining talent to be had.

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With the non-waiver trade deadline looming less than a week away (this Saturday), the Atlanta Braves are sitting in a pretty good spot.

Granted, they just lost two of three in South Florida from the now-.500 fourth place Marlins, but the club still holds the National League’s second-best record (57-41) and a five game advantage over the Philadelphia Phillies.

But, there is a little room for improvement.

Well, actually, center fielder Nate McLouth’s .168/.279/.265 line offers room for a significant amount of improvement (and a slumping Troy Glaus isn’t much to shout about, either—but we’ll refrain from discussing that at this time).

And the question right now is: Where is that improvement going to come from?

The first, and most painless, option is to look at the options already available within the organization.

Melky Cabrera has been a serviceable outfielder for the Braves, posting a .263/.320/.360 line with, overall, solid defense in the outfield.

But, he’s not exactly injecting any “pop” (or awesome on-base skills, for that matter) into the lineup (his most valuable asset seems to be a positive attitude in the clubhouse).

And Jordan Schafer …well, let’s just skip him (I was wrong with what I said about him earlier in the season and I’m feasting on my plate of crow right now).

The third internal option is Gregor Blanco , who was a valuable asset in his 36 games with the big club earlier this season.

In a grand total of 58 at-bats, primarily batting eighth, Blanco was able to work the count, bunt, and slap his way to a .310/.394/.362 line (two of his 18 hits were of the extra-base variet—a double and a triple).

His defense was more than adequate in center and the only real knock (besides the power—which no one expects from him) on him would be his 15 Ks—but that .394 OBP makes up for that.

All in all, Gregor was a fine option for the bottom of the Braves’ order and is, for me, the best option of any of the Braves’ “major” center field options.

But, if the Braves decide to make a move outside of the organization, who’s there?

Corey Hart-types (you know what I’m talking about) are going to demand at least one of the Teheran/Minor/Vizcaino (who is injured)/Delgado crop and it doesn’t seem reasonable to let go of primo young pitching for a player without a proven track record in the midst of a career year.

The most likely option seems to be Florida Marlins’ center fielder Cody Ross (who’s received mixed reviews as far as true interest from the Braves’ front office), so we’ll focus on him right now.

The .273/.330/.402 (which amounts to an OPS 24 points lower than Blanco’s—just keep in mind that Gregor posted his in very limited playing time…just think it’s work mentioning) line Ross has posted has come with eight homers and nine stolen bases—the former being far off pace from his 24 homers in 2009 and 22 in 2008 while the latter is the highest SB tally he has posted in his career (full season or not).

While his numbers certainly aren’t gargantuan, they are a definite upgrade over McLouth’s and Ross seems to be a much more reliable option than my choice from within the Braves’ organization (Blanco).

But, what are the Marlins going to demand from a divisional rival for a player that they’re iffy (at best) on trading?

I figure that Melky Cabrera, Zeke Spruill/Cory Gearrin, Adam Milligan/Cody Johnson (pick your combo) would be enough…but what if they demand one of the young studs I mentioned earlier?

Do the Braves pull the trigger then?

It’s a tough decision, that’s for sure—one I don’t envy.

Should the Braves go for a more reliable bat in center for the stretch run or should they stick to their guns and run with what they’ve got?

Whatever they do, I’m just hoping that Nate “McOut” McLouth is out of town by the time Sunday rolls around.

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About a week ago, it may not have seemed as though the Florida Marlins had much life left in them. They were four games under .500 and seven out of the Wild Card lead with a losing series away from becoming instant sellers at the trade deadline.
Flash forward a week later, surprise! The Marlins have reached their first goal of getting to .500 now comes the Wild Card. They control their own destiny as they embark on taking care of the Braves, Giants, and Padres before the deadline and to gain ground in the standings.
But already, this team has shown flashes of their championship counterparts in 2003. Here’s why the comparisons are vastly similar.

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The Yankees have had scouts watching the Marlins lately as the two teams have discussed a couple of players, but OF Cody Ross is one name that keeps coming up in the papers.

According to George King and Mark Hale of the NY Post, the Yankees and Marlins are not anywhere near a deal yet because the asking price for Ross is too high. The Post hasn’t said what the Marlins have asked the Yankees for, but they did report that they have asked the Braves for former Yankee LHP Mike Dunn in a deal.

Ross, 29, is in the fifth full season of his career, is an outfielder who can play all three positions, and is earning $4.5 million this year. That last part is why the Marlins are likely to deal him. He’s the fourth highest paid player on their team and is arbitration eligible after this season, which will only make him more expensive.

So maybe the Marlins are asking a lot for Ross now, but it is likely that the asking price will come down, at least slightly. It might not drop to a level the Yankees are comfortable with, but it is Brian Cashman’s style to monitor the situation until he is moved.

Ross would be perfect for the Yankees as a right handed platoon with outfielder Curtis Granderson. Ross has a career OPS-plus of just 106, not terrible, but that number jumps to 136 against lefties. Meanwhile the Yankees fears about Granderson hitting lefties has been all too real. Granderson’s OPS-plus against southpaws is a lowly 65.

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July 18, 2010: Yankees Trade Rumors: Discussing Ross, Nunez, Helms with Marlins (0)

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According to multiple reports channeled through MLBTradeRumors.com, the Boston Red Sox have joined the New York Yankees in trade discussions for Florida Marlin OF Cody Ross and RP Leo Nunez.

Both players represent affordable fixes for the Red Sox’ myriad bullpen and outfield woes. As is well known, beyond closer Jonathan Papelbon and setup man Daniel Bard, the piecemeal Red Sox bullpen has been horrible, and the outfield has been riddled with injury.

Keeping in mind that the Red Sox have breached the luxury tax threshold, cost may be as important to the team as is productivity. Ross earned a 2010 salary of $4.45 million through arbitration, and Nunez avoided arbitration by signing a one-year, $2 million contract.

Ross has approximately $1.97 million remaining on his contract, and Nunez is still owed approximately $887,000. Paying a 22.5 percent tax on every dollar over $170 million, the Red Sox would have to shell out about $3.5 million to acquire both Marlins.

Acknowledging that financial factor, both Ross and Nunez could contribute significantly to the Red Sox as they try to stay within reach of the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays in the fiercely competitive American League East.

Ross is hitting .279 and slugging at a depressed .409 clip. Defensively, Ross has proved himself well above average at both corner outfield positions this year, according to UZR/150.

Enjoying a career year, Nunez is fanning more than a batter an inning and owns a 2.79 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP.

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