It was reported today that the Mariners signed well-worn right-handed pitcher Jamey Wright and assigned him to the team.
In order to clear roster space, the M’s optioned right-handed pitcher Chad Cordero to Triple-A Tacoma, but Cordero elected to become a free agent rather than accept the minor league assignment.
It’s not a move I understand at all.
With Wright, 35, you know exactly what you are getting, and it isn’t very good.
Wright was released by the Indians after 18 appearances, in which he posted a 5.48 ERA with terrible ratios.
Wright has a career ERA of 5.03 over 16 Major League seasons.
After being released by the Indians, he made 10 relief appearances for the Oakland Athletics’ Triple-A team in Sacramento, and he didn’t pitch well there either (9.00 ERA with 23 hits, nine walks, and 16 Ks in 14 IP).
Wright opted out of his minor league contract to sign with the Mariners.
Meanwhile, 28-year-old Chad Cordero is working his way back from the major arm injury he had in 2008, when he had surgery to repair a torn labrum.
Labrum tears are now generally harder to come back from than blown elbow tendons because shoulder injuries more often result in reduced velocity after surgery and rehabilitation.
Cordero hadn’t pitched well for the M’s this year (6.52 ERA in 9.2 IP with 10 hits and five walks allowed and six Ks), but that’s no worse than what Wright did in Cleveland this year.
Cordero also made 17 appearances at Triple-A Tacoma this year, where he posted an unimpressive 4.12 ERA but had fine peripheral numbers (19.2 IP, 19 hits, and four walks allowed, and 22 Ks).
That’s far better than Wright’s work at Triple-A Sacramento.
Unlike Wright, Cordero was once a great pitcher, and Cordero is still young enough to make a comeback.
Why a going-nowhere club like the 2010 Mariners would essentially elect to trade in a 28-year-old pitcher with great upside for a 35-year-old pitcher who was never very good to begin with, I simply don’t understand.
Meanwhile, the San Francisco Giants should give serious consideration to making Cordero an offer—particularly if he is willing to pitch two weeks at Triple-A Fresno first so he can show he’s still got something.
The Giants could use another right-handed middle reliever, given the command problems many of their middle relievers have had.
While it’s likely that at least one Major League team will offer Cordero a Major League job without a Triple-A audition first, the Giants can offer Cordero the chance to play on a contender by the end of July.
It marks the Show’s midway point even though most teams have played 88 contests, which is seven past the actual hump in the 162-game slate.
Regardless, the breather in the figurative middle of the season means it’s time for every club to take stock of the first half and decide what the modified plan of attack will be for the last three months.
More specifically, it’s about time to decide whether you’re a buyer or a seller.
To be or not to be…a contender.
For some, that’s easier said than done.
For the San Francisco Giants, it’s an especially tenuous time because the squad is obviously a contender in the National League West and the Wild Card.
As flawed as the team may be, nobody else in either race can claim to be running on all cylinders.
That generally means general manager Brian Sabean would be looking for shiny toys to shore up the roster.
Namely, a big bat.
The perception of San Francisco is that it’s all pitch and no hit. In reality, the pitching hasn’t been as good as its reputation, and the hitting hasn’t been as bad.
The arms have still been excellent, but the sharp edge that both the rotation and bullpen began the year with has disappeared. Walks and sloppy innings have replaced it.
Meanwhile, the offense has been anemic, but the emergence of Aubrey Huff (.295/.384/.544 and 17 HR), Buster Posey (.350/.389/.569 and 7 HR in 137 AB), Andres Torres (.281/.378/.483 and 17 SB), and the steadying presence of Freddy Sanchez (.285/.348/.360) have given los Gigantes a solid quartet of contributors.
What’s more, Buster and Franchez didn’t join the lads until late May, whereas Torres spent most of April in a platoon before running away with a regular spot in the lineup.
That putrid smell wafting from the bats should smell a lot sweeter as those three pile up the PT.
Finally, the overdue trade of Bengie Molina to the Texas Rangers has allowed Posey to assume the catcher-of-the-future mantle. Consequently, Gerald Demp the Third no longer needs to jam up the works at first base.
With the kid behind the dish, it’s opened up more playing time for first baseman Travis Ishikawa (.354/.394/.538 and 15 RBI in 65 AB), outfielder Pat Burrell (.286/.365/.484 and 5 HR in 91 AB), and outfielder Nate Schierholtz.
Nate the Great’s been struggling of late at the plate (take that, Dr. Seuss) so his numbers won’t blow your skirt up, but his fleet feet and cannon arm are large assets even when his bat goes limp.
Plus, he hadn’t been seeing regular plate appearances so don’t judge the 26-year-old too harshly.
Ultimately, jettisoning Big Money has created some semblance of consistency in manager Bruce Bochy’s game of musical lineup cards, and the early returns have been promising.
Since the Molina trade on July 1, the Orange and Black has seen its runs-scored per at-bat jump to 0.18—San Francisco had registered a 0.12 R/AB from April through June. That’s about a 50 percent hop.
Granted, the post-trade sample size of 11 games is quite small and eight of the contests came against the Milwaukee Brewers and Washington Nationals (two of the less impressive pitching staffs in the National League).
But it bears mentioning nonetheless, especially because the Gents were matched up with Ubaldo Jimenez (whom they roughed up) and Stephen Strasburg (whom they did not) for two of those 11.
Translation: there’s reason to believe the Giant offense will continue to improve on the season’s back slope, just as there is to believe the pitching will rediscover its April/May rhythm.
Nevertheless, trade rumors are very much driven by public perception.
Names like Prince Fielder and Corey Hart of the Brew Crew have been most frequent, but the Nats’ Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham have surfaced, as have the Kansas City Royals’ David DeJesus and Jose Guillen .
The two Royals could probably be acquired on the cheap, so I wouldn’t necessarily be against either addition.
DeJesus is steady across the board, but not spectacular in any facet; plus, he’s 30. Guillen is one-dimensional and 34—enough said.
So the asking price shouldn’t be prohibitive. The problem is that, while neither would be too expensive, neither would be an emphatic upgrade.
Which begs the question, why insert another body into an already crowded outfield situation?
Depth is fine, but only if it doesn’t cost a genuine prospect.
On the other hand, the remaining blips on the rumor radar—Dunn, Fielder, Hart, and Willingham—would all be considerable improvements. Each one would also cost an arm and a leg.
The snag here comes in two flavors of budgetary inefficiency.
Mr. Sunglasses at Night or Willingham would immediately become the best outfielder in Orange and Black, unless Huff plans to make this a yearlong renaissance. Unfortunately, the brass would be walking right into a nightmare:
—Check the links, both players are having career years, so SF would be buying high on both players. That’s no bueno.
—Hart enjoys the protection of Fielder and another beast in Ryan Braun. Willingham has Dunn and dazzler Ryan Zimmerman to do the heavy-lifting. They’d be moving from third fiddle to first (or very close to it) as a Giant.
—Miller Park is a band box and Nationals Park has to be a better offensive yard than AT&T Park just because of the scalding D.C. summers. The deep alleys of the City’s jewel and the heavy Bay Area air crush all newcomers holding a bat.
To me, that list screams bad ending to a bad beginning.
On the other hand, the two bigger fellas would require the Price-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named and would be short-term solutions.
Thankfully, Adam Dunn seems like a non-starter, because he’s a free agent following 2010.
The Prince would be a slightly longer rental, since he hits the market following 2011, but who really cares?
The Burly Brewer is represented by a coprophagous (which is a fancy way of saying “s***-eating,” so it should be more popular) insect that will DEFINITELY have his young lefty slugger in the free agent waters following the expiration of his current deal.
There’s also this suspicious little home/away split in almost the exact same number of plate appearances: .275/.414/.544 with 12 HR at home vs. .256/.387/.445 with 8 HR on the road.
So the club would have to mortgage the future and part with one of the rotation studs for a guy who isn’t necessarily a lock to solve its offensive woes? And who’s gonna walk after a year and a half?
No, thanks.
The Giants are most definitely contenders as MLB’s second act opens, which means extra bullpen arms and bench help will probably join the roster.
But when it comes to the big-ticket items, San Francisco should walk away.
The Oakland Athletics have a few players that are deserving of an All-Star invitation, including Kurt Suzuki, Ryan Sweeney, and Andrew Bailey.
Despite how great all of these players are playing right now, Trevor Cahill is the most deserving of any.
The 22-year-old right-hander is from the Southern California area and should be returning there to represent the A’s in Angel Stadium. Cahill is 7-2 on the year with an impressive 2.88 ERA.
Of his 12 starts, 10 have been “quality starts,” and the team has won nine of the games started by Cahill.
Trevor Cahill has won his last six decisions, which is the longest winning streak by an A’s starting pitcher since Dan Haren in 2007.
Cahill is a laid-back guy who has very quietly put up a great season; hopefully the right people are taking enough notice that Cahill will be able to join Bob Geren in Anaheim.
With multiple players having good seasons, it is possible that the Oakland Athletics will have multiple All-Stars for the first time since 2004, when Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder were both selected.
The Giants sent catcher Bengie Molina to Texas today for RHP reliever Chris Ray and a player to be named later in a deal that developed very quickly. Giants management is extremely good at keeping trade negotiations secret until a deal is announced.
In terms of the players involved, I think the Rangers got the better end of the deal. While the OPS of Rangers catchers so far in 2010 is pretty close to Bengie’s for the Giants, the Ballpark at Arlington is a much better place to hit than AT&T Park in San Francisco, not to mention Bengie has played in the AL before.
Ray has a solid 3.41 ERA, but with a line of 31.2IP, 24 hits, four HRs, and 16 walks allowed and only 16 Ks, I’m not particularly impressed. Who knows, though, he might be another former American Leaguer who has a jump in performance coming to San Francisco. As mentioned, SF is a better place to pitch than Arlington.
The Giants’ move is obviously intended as addition by subtraction. There had been rumblings that the Giants intended to get Buster Posey more starts behind the plate, and now, he clearly will.
Bengie also has about $2.4 million left on his 2010, one-year contract.
If the Rangers have agreed to assume all of the remaining $2.4 million, and there’s a good chance they did, given what the Giants received in return, then the Giants will have some money to assume salary if, and when they trade for an outfielder who can hit.
I’m a little sad to see Bengie go, as he was a good Giant. However, you can’t be too sentimental if you want to see your team win.
It will be interesting to see how Posey does as the starting catcher. After a torrid start, he’s only hit .146 (7-for-48) since June 12.
Posey has the talent, and I’m convinced he’ll be a major league star if he stays healthy. However, it remains to be seen how quickly he adjusts to the adjustments the NL’s pitchers made after his first couple of weeks in the league.
Nobody can accuse me of being hypercritical of the San Francisco Giants’ management, including the Bay Area’s two most bullet-ridden targets.
For all his warts, I’ve always believed general manager Brian Sabean’s gotten more heat than is justifiable. Meanwhile, Bruce Bochy got the 2009 team to overachieve, which is usually evidence of a good manager.
Consequently, somewhere in Bleacher Report’s vast archives, I’m on record as supporting the two-year extensions both men received.
Sabes is still gold in my opinion. Bochy, though, is a different story.
The Giants have the talent to seriously contend in the vulnerable National League West.
The pitching staff, even while experiencing a bit of a correction since its torrid start, is one of the best in the Big Leagues. The offense is torture, but the San Diego Padres are in the process of proving that’s not a deal-breaker if you get plus contributions from the arms and leather.
San Francisco cannot pick it with the Fathers and its bullpen is inferior, but the Orange and Black starters are better than San Diego’s. Perhaps even enough to make up the difference.
The problem, however, is Bochy’s predilection for veterans that sometimes borders on psychosis.
Unfortunately for the City’s faithful who are calling for the kids, it’s not a new one. This is from a 2004 Hardball Times article discussing the skipper while Bochy was still with the Pads:
“Bochy has a maddening tendency to play mediocre veterans over promising or unheralded youngsters…it is frustrating to watch him with young talent, because it appears that he will not give young players a full-time shot.”
Sigh.
At the moment, the raving masses want the heads of Bengie Molina, Aaron Rowand, Edgar Renteria, and/or Juan Uribe now that he’s cooled off.
Through differing quantities of spittle, the more fanatical fans (check the comments, some are hilarious) scream for Nate Schierholtz and Posey to assume everyday roles while rotating the vets to keep them fresh.
With Huff, Pat Burrell, Rowand, and Andres Torres jostling for playing time in the outfield, the argument for devoting a spot to Nate the Great is a tough one to see. He should definitely get more of a run than Bochy’s been giving him, but I’d pump the brakes before entering “make him a regular” territory.
On the contrary, the lunatic fringe is spot on in their demand for more Gerald Demp the Third.
At the moment, there is only one plausible explanation for Molina’s continued presence in the lineup. Namely, the stud on the mound that day must demand it.
Even then, I’m not so sure you can justify penciling in Bengie, but I don’t have to deal with the clubhouse egos and chemistry, nor can I pretend to have a handle on the battery dynamics at a professional level.
In other words, I’d give Boch the benefit of the doubt should that development come to light.
Unless that’s the case, however, Posey is the only plausible option.
The kid is not just a promising rookie, he’s a blue-chipper of the Jason Heyward/Mike Stanton ilk. The only newbie with more Major League-ready talent is that dude who throws for the Washington Nationals. Maybe I’d recall his name if he got a little more hype.
In a very short time, Posey’s established himself as one of the team’s leaders in plate discipline and patience—both of those skills usually come after experience has polished raw talent.
His 3.76 pitches per plate appearance land him near the league average, which is a substantial improvement for many Giants. Combine that with a quiet calm and ease befitting a grizzled old-timer, and you have an asset that should be working through slumps—he’s currently in a bad one with seven hits in his last 47 at-bats—on the field.
The former Florida State Seminole shortstop has especially sparkled defensively, whether he’s parked at first base or dropping signals wearing the Tools of Ignorance.
And there’s the rub.
It’s not pleasant to say because Bengie Molina has been an outstanding Giant during his four-year tenure. His contributions have made Molina the first catcher identifiable with the organization since Bob Brenly.
Benito Santiago is the only other backstop I can remember that became part of the team’s backbone, and even that only lasted for a cup of coffee.
Nevertheless, Big Money has gone Big Molasses and it’s killing the club in every facet.
Since coming to los Gigantes, Molina has never been lauded for his defense. He’s been one of those rare breed of catchers whose value lay in his offense and, perhaps, his ability to receive a quality game.
Further narrowing his potential contribution is his absolute and shocking lack of speed. The portly 35-year-old must thump to contribute with the lumber. Otherwise, he becomes a rally-killing roadblock.
As of this writing, Bengie was notching a .257 batting average, a .312 on-base percentage, and a .332 slugging percentage.
Obviously, almost all of the Puerto Rico native’s hits have been singles. A closer look reveals that’s precisely the case—of his 52 knocks, six have been doubles and three have been home runs.
Singles represent 83 percent of his offensive output.
That’s a fatal statistic for someone who runs like he’s carrying several pianos on his back. In thigh-deep mud.
It means you can’t bat him first, second, seventh, or eighth because he turns anyone behind him into a station-to-station pawn, and Molina doesn’t create anything except outs on the basepaths.
But you can’t put him third through sixth because he’s not producing any power and he’s not hitting well enough to drive in runs (.224 with RISP).
If the eldest of the Flying Molina Brothers were a defensive whiz like Yadier, fine, jam him into the eight hole and pray for rain. Of course, we covered that—he’s not a whiz, not even close.
Again, the San Francisco Giants have the pieces to make a charge at the NL West pennant, but the margin is thin. Until Buster Posey is playing regularly, at least one of those pieces won’t be on the field.
Take a peek at the San Francisco Giants’ active roster and you’ll see a curious thing. You’ll see Pablo Sandoval and Buster Posey checking in at a green 23 years of age—the Kung Fu Panda’s birthday is coming up in August whereas Gerald Demp the Third just had his in March.
There’s also newbie reliever Dan Runzler, who’s recently turned a grizzled 25.
Other than those three, there’s nobody else on the 25-man docket wetter behind the ears than stud right-hander Matt Cain (who turns 26 on October 1).
Perhaps it doesn’t jump off the page if you’re not amongst the team’s die-hards, but Cainer also happens to be the longest-tenured Giant player. He entered the organization soon after being drafted as a 17-year-old in 2002 and made his big league debut about a month shy of 21 in 2005, making this his sixth year by the Bay.
Granted, the margin’s not exactly huge.
Southpaw starter Jonathan Sanchez and closer Brian Wilson would join up in 2006. Meanwhile, the infamous Barry Zito deal would be signed before the 2007 season as would Bengie Molina’s first contract with the franchise. Lastly, the ’07 campaign saw Tim Lincecum’s much-anticipated premiere as well as Nate Schierholtz’s less heralded one.
Nevertheless, it bears mentioning that not a single player who suited up with Cain during his first experiences in Major League Baseball is still donning the Orange and Black.
That’s pretty crazy when you consider how young he still is and the fact that the Gents current roster doesn’t exactly give off that new car smell.
I mention this because his experience-beyond-years is underrated, like pretty much everything the Quiet Kid has done with San Francisco.
You might say it’s an odd time to be singing the praises of the Alabama native, considering he got absolutely torched by the Houston Astros on Thursday. I mean, he got battered from start to premature finish—Matty served up a three-run bomb to Hunter Pence in the first inning that might as well have been on a tee.
Carlos Lee, the dormant Lance Berkman—I drafted him in one fantasy league because he always seems to hit .400 against my make-believe squads and this is what I get, awesome—and rookie catcher Jason Castro each hit lasers off los Gigantes’ second ace. Luckily, only Castro’s ball left the yard, otherwise Cain’s final line would’ve been even uglier than it was.
And it was already every shade of ugly—2 2/3 IP (or eight outs), 9 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 HR, and 4 2B. Yeah, that’s six hits for extra bases in less than three innings of work.
Oof.
Ironically, though, all that carnage should give you a better understanding of just how excellent the product of Tennessee high school baseball has been thus far in 2010.
Despite all the hideous Houston gore, Cain saw his earned run average skyrocket all the way up to 2.72 and his WHIP balloon to 1.10. Opponents can’t exactly brag about their .219 average, .61 HR/9, or .624 OPSA, either. Finally, his 1.9 wins above replacement ties him for ninth-best in the National League.
Those are superlative numbers even in a vacuum, but reconsider just how awful his twirl against the ‘Stros was. Of course, the statistics don’t tell the whole story.
Any assessor must also appreciate the intangibles.
Everyone realizes the San Francisco Giants are defined by their pitching staff and Lincecum sets that unit’s pace. But the two-time Cy Young struggled through a brutal month of May as his command abandoned him. When the Freak lost his control, the Giant ship lost its rudder.
Enter Matt Cain—with No. 1A in shambles, No. 1B stepped into the void.
Lincecum posted a 4.95 ERA, a 1.54 WHIP, a 5.70 BB/9, and was oddly hittable as the opposition tallied a .244 average for the entire month.
By contrast, Cain was a virtually untouchable workhorse—6 GS, 44 2/3 IP, 1.81 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, .154 BAA, .468 OPSA—and threw consecutive complete games without allowing an earned run. If not for his worst start of the season until the Houston debacle (against the San Diego Padres on May 12), he would’ve given Ubaldo Jimenez some stiff competition for Pitcher of the Month honors.
Instead, he had to settle for playing the Franchise’s role perfectly.
Actually, he one-upped his diminutive stablemate because Lincecum’s always enjoyed ample run support with San Francisco. Cain, on the other hand, constantly seems to draw the iron from the offense’s blood—he somehow managed to lose three May starts, including one of the complete games by virtue of a solitary, unearned run.
Regardless of what the record says, the youngest member of the starting staff led by example and became the reliable option at the front of the rotation that had gone missing.
In the process, he did as much as anyone to rescue the Giants’ season from sliding off a cliff.
Matt Cain’s demeanor and approach won’t earn him much attention outside the Bay Area, but the locals already revere him.
Thanks to his performances on the mound, the rest of baseball is beginning to catch on.
Even after absorbing Tuesday’s loss to the visiting Baltimore Orioles, the San Francisco Giants are humming along now that May is but a memory.
Since the calendar flipped to June, the Gents (quick note—I don’t care that the New York nickname was Gints and neither does anyone else in the Bay Area) are 9-5. If you include the last five games of a mediocre preceding month, San Francisco is 13-6.
So things are good for the baseball-conscious in the City.
Nevertheless, there are three glaring and potentially enduring problems with the club.
Forget about the recent rockiness from the bullpen and the struggles out of the No. 5 slot in the rotation. Neither is serious.
The ‘pen has too many talented arms for this stretch to be anything more than the periodic lull that even the best units suffer. Dirt merchants like Sergio Romo, lefty Dan Runzler, lefty Jeremy Affeldt and newcomer Santiago Casilla all have top-shelf arsenals plus each fireman has shown signs of snapping back to form in their latest outings.
More importantly, closer Brian Wilson hasn’t been perfect, but he’s been consistently dandy. There’s little sense in hitting the panic button when the most critical arm isn’t inducing ulcers.
As for the final spot in the rotation, it admittedly hasn’t been pretty.
But that can be said of virtually every team in Major League Baseball and Todd Wellemeyer has actually been splendid at home—2.97 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, .209 BAA, .606 OPSA and 1.71 K:BB in 36 1/3 IP.
Granted, Wellemeyer’s been the batting practice pitcher every group wants to face on the road, but he’s currently hurt i.e. he’s moot for a while.
Joe Martinez is now manning the position and, though the results weren’t what fans wanted to see in his first start on Tuesday, there is ample reason to be optimistic.
Martinez was erratic as a starter in 2009 but remember he was coming back from that fractured skull courtesy of a Mike Cameron line drive. Those episodes tend to rattle a hurler so it’s not unreasonable to overlook the initial returns.
In 2010, the 27-year-old was tossing it nicely at Triple-A in the Pacific Coast League. His line of a 3.06 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 2.36 K:BB in 67 1/3 IP in 11 GS is quite fine considering the PCL is apparently like playing in an entire league full of pre-humidor Coors Fields.
Furthermore, Martinez twirled it better than his final line (6 1/3 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K and 1 HR) looked. His sinker was working; the grounders just found too many holes. That could be attributed to a range-challenged defense, but it seemed more like bad luck.
Regardless, the Orange and Black pitching is rarely cause for concern.
Nah, the three biggest bugaboos facing the squad now and potentially for the foreseeable future are catcher Bengie Molina, shortstop Edgar Renteria and center fielder Aaron Rowand.
Let’s work from the easiest solved up.
Molina is simple—the pitching staff loves him enough to justify his presence even when not hitting and his lumber is showing signs of life after an atrocious May. Giant fans also need to remember that backstops are rarely a source of offensive production and that’s OK because they contribute in so many other ways.
Bengie doesn’t do everything well in the Tools of Ignorance, but he does enough to win the praise of some very good pitchers. If Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain are happy, so am I.
And he’s only on a one-year contract so if Big Money goes Big Arctic again, Buster Posey’s here to stay.
Renteria’s imminent return isn’t too tough a situation to deal with, either. It actually could prove to be a positive moving forward if handled correctly by all involved.
Once the veteran finishes his rehab assignment (from a hamstring strain), he’ll expect and receive playing time. Fine, except it can’t come at the expense of arguably the Giants’ best hitter to date and the man who’s been patrolling the hole in Edgar’s absence.
Juan Uribe leads the team with 41 runs batted in and is tied with Aubrey Huff for the lead in home runs with 10.
His 41 ribbies are also a high for all MLB shortstops. His tater total is good for second in that regard, his .843 OPS ranks third and his .289 average is tied for fourth. If you’re hip to those sexy sabermetrics, his wins above replacement (WAR) is 1.8, which trails only Troy Tulowitzki’s 2.1, Derek Jeter’s 2.0 and Hanley Ramirez’s 1.9.
In other words, Uribe must play as much as possible.
The keys, however, are health and versatility.
Los Gigantes have two crucial bats that demand playing time, but would benefit from rest due to injury issues.
Uribe, who is dealing with a balky hammy of his own, is one and the other is Freddy Sanchez, who has been raking since finally recovering from off-season surgeries to knee and shoulder. Both have been invaluable so they haven’t seen much down time, but a blow here and there would probably be beneficial come August and September.
So Renteria, whose bat was blazing prior to the hamstring snag, shouldn’t disrupt the mix too much or dilute the suddenly respectable offense.
He can be used at short to directly spell Uribe. Additionally, he can be used to rest Sanchez, third baseman Pablo Sandoval, or first baseman Posey thanks to jack-of-all-infield-trades Uribe (and a touch of the Kung Fu Panda).
As San Francisco fans have seen, Uribe can play second base or the hot corner with excellent ease. Since Pablo can also play a quality first sack, manager Bruce Bochy essentially has a game of musical chairs on his hands.
If you want to get really creative, the 34-year-old Renteria could even be used to give fellow sore spot Molina a break. Uribe would move to third, Sandoval to first, and Posey behind the dish.
Finally, Renteria’s contract is also up at the end of ’10.
If he hits, SF gets the best of both worlds—it eases off some valuable assets without losing production. If he doesn’t hit, there’s less artificial incentive to play him.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about Rowand. The center fielder is a large and sincerely troublesome thorn in the franchise’s side.
A-Row’s been swinging a flaccid noodle since mid-May (sub-.200 BA, sub-.300 OBP). It’s gotten so bad that he’s begun to lose reps because (A) he’s shown no hints of pulling out of the massive slump; and (B) the Giants have Andres Torres, Aubrey Huff and Pat Burrell smoking the ball while flashing adequate-to-insane leather.
Further complicating matters are the atrophying five tools of Nate Schierholtz on the bench.
Usually, the answer is easy—bench Rowand until someone cools off or he gets hot. The rub is that the Giants must deal with an unusual kick to the groin—Aaron’s bloated contract for five years and $60 million, running through 2012.
That money is a sunk cost , but try convincing baseball executives and managers. The average member of that group will tell you it’s not sunk because Rowand could still be productive again and they’ll waste at-bats or innings in tribute to the idea.
To a degree, the logic is sound.
Aaron Rowand is notoriously streaky and that means a hot one might be just a matter of time—the gamble could pay out. But the San Fran lineup isn’t all that prolific even when cruising along; it can’t afford 0-fers when there’s a more attractive option available.
Right now, the fellas have four such players.
Uh oh.
Aaron Rowand doesn’t seem the type to become a distraction nor does he seem like the sort who would be thrilled about cooling his cleats. Yet it’s almost impossible to justify his presence on the field as anything but a defensive replacement at the moment.
Something’s gotta/will give.
Which means the San Francisco Giants could find themselves in a particularly awkward spot. For two more years.
Call it Christmas in June for the usual suspects in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Given the warm yuletide season around here and the scorching hot couple of days the City’s seen recently, the analogy works splendidly. The only real difference is that baseball is being played at the Oakland Coliseum and AT&T Park.
And it’s in the outfield of the jewel formerly known as Pac Bell where the anti-Brian Sabean ogres will (soon) find their unexpected present.
I’ll ruin the suspense—underneath the fancy paper and shiny bow is a 33-year-old, allegedly broken down, no-range left fielder who spent the last two (unsuccessful) years in Tampa Bay as a designated hitter.
Ray fans would probably say he’s more accurately described as a designated out.
Aging beauty, thy name is Pat Burrell.
But before getting to the San Francisco Giants’ latest Hail Mary to save their struggling offense, let’s address a quick bit of housekeeping.
When I say anti-Sabean ogres, I don’t mean his skeptics at large—the man has given Giant die-hards PLENTY about which to be skeptical over his tenure so I can’t blame everyone who wants new blood.
Instead, I’m screaming directly into the deaf ears of the geniuses who pretend the general manager has never done a darn thing right.
The ones who will tell you the former New York Yankee amateur talent scout who inked Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, and Andy Pettitte (amongst others) got lucky when Jeff Kent was “accidentally” acquired in the famous Matt Williams trade.
The ones who pretend Brian had a gun to his head when he was “forced” to draft Tim Lincecum.
The double-jointed magicians who surely are working up some crazy explanation for the 2010 excellence (to date) otherwise known as Aubrey Huff. Or to contort away the resurrection of Freddy Sanchez from the ashes of injury.
In other words, the snark is reserved for Brian Sabean’s unreasonable detractors.
If you play it close to the middle and simply aren’t a fan of the Giant GM, stay out of the crossfire because my rubber bullets aren’t meant for you. I don’t want, need, or expect a consensus.
Back to the point—Mr. Burrell.
I’m sure the hew and cry around the Bay for the next few weeks will be about the at-bats now earmarked for a guy on the wrong side of 30 who is neck-deep in decline. Even if Pat the Bat hasn’t been brought aboard to be anything more than a menacing name off the bench, certain fans will be apoplectic about the chances that could be better spent on developing potential young studs like Nate Schierholtz and John Bowker.
The logic will go like this—the dude hasn’t been useful since he hit more than 30 bombs for the eventual World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies in 2008.
Even that season, he only hit .250, fanned way too frequently (136 times), played a brutal left field, and had his offensive numbers bloated by a bandbox. Since then, Burrell’s had a full season worth of plate appearances in a more realistic baseball stadium and didn’t produce squat.
Despite being a cog in one of Major League Baseball’s premium batting orders with Tampa, he authored the following horror story: 496 AB, 54 R, 21 2B, 16 HR, 77 RBI, 67 BB, 147 K, .218 BA, a sub-.680 OPS, and 8 GIDP (much to any Giant fan’s terror).
So the questions will be some form of, “What, pray (or prey) tell, are Los Gigantes thinking?”
What is the point of trying to revive a bleeding pulse in an equivalent (or worse) yard for lumber work, a hideously inferior lineup, and under adverse circumstances considering he’ll either be a pinch-hitter or actually have to play both sides of the ball?
There might even be a profanity or two sprinkled in to spice it up for the hoi polloi.
To be honest, the invisible question mark hanging over San Francisco isn’t totally unwarranted. Nevertheless, there are several things that turn insanity to sanity and they won’t make it into the public grousing.
As it’s usually the case.
Before anyone gets carried away, I’m not talking about his performances while with the Fresno Grizzlies. Forget that nonsense for a whole slew of reasons too numerous to list here.
Nope, we’re talking legitimate rays (yes!) of hope.
First and foremost, there is the price—a Minor League contract means San Fran is only on the hook for the prorated Big League minimum. That’s not cheap to you and me, but it is a relatively minuscule amount in the cuckoo world of professional sport economics.
If the move works, you’ve got yourself a wonderful bargain. If not, you pay the sunk cost in the span of a good home stand and return the plate reps to the kiddie corps.
Clean and easy.
Granted, you could make the same observation about paying some hack sports columnist to swing the bat and that wouldn’t make it a wonderful idea to pay me to don a Giant uniform. There’s gotta be the sincere threat of contribution otherwise the Gents are just setting fire to good money.
That’s generally a bad idea, no matter how little. Consequently, there must be at least one reason to believe and it can’t be too ridiculous.
Which brings me to my ace in the hole.
I’ve got a little birdie on the inside of the Burrell nest and it told me there is no way to overstate how miserable the guy was in Tampa. Word is he literally hated every second of his stay in so-called Florida—not that the organization or area is evil, just that it was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad personal fit.
There was also the nasty little matter of an arduous divorce—as opposed to the picnic variety, I guess. By contrast, playing in the cavernous confines of AT&T might not be so tough.
Especially when you remember Burrell is a Bay Area native, rocked high school ball at Bellarmine Prep in San Jose, and has only ever tasted success in the Show’s National League time slot.
Naturally, my insider also leaked that ol’ Pat is as happy to be in the City as he is to be out of Tampa. Bears mentioning when you realize how complete the train wreck was down there.
Now, as we near the end, allow me to pump the brakes a bit.
None of the above guarantees that Pat Burrell will snap back to his thumping ways or even be a valuable San Francisco Giant. It’s hardly scientific and he’s certainly zeroing in on a birthday that will bring a precipitous/permanent decline.
But he’s not necessarily there yet.
Baseball is an insanely difficult game even when your noggin is screwed on tight.
It takes a special, special ballplayer to play like a winner when he feels like a loser. So it shouldn’t be a huge surprise if Burrell let the dark St. Petersburg days affect his play.
Nor would it be a miracle if the one-time MVP candidate started knocking the pearl around with more authority.
As the saying goes, stranger things have happened.
Yes, Buster Posey’s phenomenal season debut has been nothing short of sensational. Heck, I’ve already heard Giants brass refer to Posey as “the Savior” or “the Messiah.”
But who could really blame them?
Following a 1-6 road trip that included a five-game losing streak, the Giants were in dire need of offense. They combined to score one run in the entire series versus the Oakland A’s. The last time the Giants were held to one run in a three-game series dates back to their days in New York.
Sure, the Giants needed some pop. In their desperation, they experimented with different lineups and even sent Aubrey Huff to left field to make room in the infield.
Now they’ve finally answered the outcry of Giants fans, and Buster Posey has arrived in a big way. In two games, he’s helped paced the Giants to two wins and captured the attention of the Bay.
Posey has been the messiah.
With his two-game performance, it’s only natural to expect more of Posey.
The problem is, it’s only been two games—and Posey is only a rookie, not Joe Mauer.
Sky-high expectations of Posey are simply unfair.
Despite 17 at-bats last year, Posey is a rookie. Expecting too much of a rookie is unwise, considering adjustment to the big leagues is crucial in their quest to become regulars. However, Posey can take solace in playing in San Francisco as compared to the media giants of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, etc.
Posey has already stated the high expectations do not affect him. Unfortunately, fans often forget ballplayers have feelings. I find it hard to believe Posey has simply dodged the high expectations.
More so, the Giants’ offensive woes have prompted fans to embrace anyone who gives the team even the slightest boost (a la Andres Torres). Unfortunately, Posey is not the bat fans have long awaited.
Unless the Giants trade for a bat such as Prince Fielder, it’s going to take a multitude of quality bats to solve the Giants’ offensive puzzle.
Posey is only a piece of this puzzle, not the final piece.
As far as his season debut, it’s obvious he’s not going to hit over .700 forever. Heck, nowadays even hitting over .400 is unrealistic. He’s simply on fire, plain and simple.
What Giants fans can look forward to, however, is his on-base percentage, which hovered well over .400 in the minor leagues. In a lineup of free-swinging Giants, Posey will be welcomed. Again, though, he probably isn’t capable of singlehandedly transforming the team.
The best way I can sum it all up is like this: Put yourself in the shoes of Buster Posey. All these expectations and names are put on you, and you are expected to produce day in and day out as a rookie. You are one person, not the whole team. Is it possible to save an entire lineup by yourself?
This is what Buster Posey is faced with. An anemic offense combined with a desperate fanbase has created unfair and unrealistic expectations of…a rookie.
Don’t be mistaken—Posey has Joe Mauer potential (with less power). But a little bit of space and time to grow will allow Posey to earn the title of “The Messiah.”