Bleacher Report - Articles by Kevin O'Brien

Ishikawa? Garko? Or Guzman? Who Belongs at First For The Giants?

Kevin O'Brien — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 02:44:00 -0400

Let's face it. The San Francisco Giants have not had decent production from first base since JT Snow left the team after the 2005 season.

Mark Sweeney? Meh.

Shea Hillenbrand? Not one of Brian Sabean's finest Trade Deadline deals.

Lance Niekro? Let's just say Giants fans and management overestimated that guy because of his family history.

Ryan Klesko? (What? The Giants had Ryan Klesko? And they had him play first base? Apparently so ).

John Bowker and Rich Aurilia? They probably belong at other positions (and that's putting it nicely).

Thus, as you can see, in the Post-Snow era, the first baseman have been pretty meagre for the Giants.

There is some hope though, and it comes in the form of three guys, potentially.

Travis Ishikawa, Ryan Garko and Jesus Guzman.

First off, I'm a fan of Ishikawa. Am I the crazy, "don't trade him for anything" kind of fan? Not really. He's good, but he's not untouchable.

That being said Ishikawa does offer a unique skill set: he's great defensively and he is a patient hitter.

That is something that can't necessarily be said out of many of the players on the Giants roster.

However, while I do fantasize of a day where Ishikawa may turn into the next Carlos Pena, I do worry about one thing: high strikeout percentages, low walk percentages and a lack of power (even though he turned it on at times during 2009, his .387 slugging percentage in 2009 left much to be desired).

In 2009, Ishikawa had a walk percentage of 8.4 percent and a strikeout percentage of 27.3. That resulted in 0.34 walk-to-strikeout ratio (e.g. awful).

To make matters worse, Ishikawa has not been a high walk percentage guy at any point in his career. While he is patient at the plate, he has only had a walk percentage higher than 10 percent only twice: both times in Double-A in 2006 and 2008.

And that isn't bad enough, his strikeout ratios have been alarming. In his four years of professional baseball, Ishikawa has had a strikeout percentage under 20 percent only once (in Double-A in 2008).

Granted, that isn't necessarily a bad thing, but usually you need a double digit walk percentage at the very least to back up those kinds of strikeout percentages, and unfortunately Ishikawa doesn't have that luxury.

That being said, Giants fans shouldn't give up on Ishikawa just yet. To justify my Carlos Pena comparison, Pena struggled with many of the problems Ishikawa has experienced so far. In his first six years of Major League ball, he had only a walk-to-strikeout ratio above 0.50 once (his rookie year, a 22 game stint in Texas).

It wasn't until 2007, when he finally started to put up respectable walk-to-strikeout and walk percentage numbers (0.73 and 17.4 percent respectively).

Thus, it is important to be patient, and take Ishikawa's first full year into perspective, even though most "impatient" Giants fans may refuse to go that route.

Just look though at Ishikawa's and Pena's first full seasons according to Fangraphs, and you can see that Ishikawa is fully capable of budding into the long-ball threat that plays first in Tampa Bay.

As for the other two, they too offer some intriguing scenarios, though one is significantly more attractive than the other.

If you look at Garko, he is a very tough guy to solve. While his numbers over his career aren't bad, it's hard to make a good judgment on him simply because until this late July when he was traded for Scott Barnes, he pretty much played his whole career in Cleveland in a very hitter-friendly ballpark.

Sure, he can hit left-handed hitters, and he won't strike out nearly as much as Ishikawa (as evidenced by his 14.1 strikeout percentage and 0.58 walk-to-strikeout ratio).

As far as proving that he can be a good hitter at AT&T Park, however, is yet to be determined. If anything, his disappointing short stint where he hit only two home runs (and both in the same game at Coors Field) didn't exactly prove he was the missing offensive link the Giants needed.

Therefore, Garko can still turn out to be a decent offensive player, much like he was in Cleveland when he platooned at first base with Travis Hafner. However, after watching his three month stint in San Francisco, Garko seems to be expendable, and doesn't seem to fare well in AT&T Park's big dimensions.

The most interesting case, even more interesting than Ishikawa perhaps is Jesus Guzman.

Now, if you look at him strictly statistically, he is very similar to Ishikawa. In fact, if you judge him by his strikeout and walk percentages, he is practically a right-handed Ishikawa.

His strikeout percentages may be a little smaller, but for the most part, he is practically Ishikawa in the sense that he is patient, but patient in the way that he will strike out more than walk.

However, if there is anything that separates the two, it is one thing: power.

Ishikawa has only had an OPS over .850 twice in his career (2008 in Fresno and 2007 in Single-A).

Guzman has had an OPS over .850 four times, including this year in Fresno where it was .885 thanks to the 16 home runs he hit for the Grizzlies.

Therefore, Guzman is an attractive choice at first base just based on his potential at the plate, and should be considered for the first base job in 2010 when Spring Training starts. His power numbers and potential cannot be ignored despite his lack of big-league experience.

So in my mind it comes down to two players in terms of whom the Giants should play at first base. Ishikawa and Guzman both offer significant upside at the position, even if they haven't proven too much at the Major League level so far. As for Garko, he's a nice bench player, but he doesn't seem to have the skill-set to be a permanent starter.

It will be interesting to see what manager Bruce Bochy and Sabean do concerning the position. One popular sentiment seems to be sticking Pablo Sandoval at first and making Juan Uribe the starting third baseman.

As tempting as that sounds, I think Giants fans should really consider Ishikawa and Guzman a heck of a lot more.

They will bring a lot more to the table at first in the future than Uribe at third.

Is Re-Signing Juan Uribe Worth It for the San Francisco Giants?

Kevin O'Brien — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 14:43:00 -0400

Giants general manager Brian Sabean has been known for some awful deals. This season was no exception as he proved to make a disastrous blunder in signing shortstop Edgar Renteria to a two-year, $18.5 million deal prior to the 2009 season.

What did the Giants get from Renteria? A .250 average, five home runs, a .307 OBP (the lowest of his career) and 124 games, most of them played while injured (so basically I would give him 80-90 games fully healthy).

Yet, while Renteria and his $8 million per year contract is another classic "Sabean Blunder," Sabean did make one deal that should be lauded and will be interesting to look into as we enter the baseball offseason.

The Juan Uribe signing.

When Sabean signed Uribe, many thought Uribe was going to be an afterthought on this team. With Kevin Frandsen and Emmanuel Burriss the favorites to play second base in Spring Training, and Pablo Sandoval and Renteria firmly implanted at third and shortstop, respectively, many experts wondered if Uribe would even have a place on this Giants roster, let alone starting lineup.

Well, Uribe surprised the experts, much to Giants fans' delight. After going through a woeful 2008 season with the White Sox where he hit only seven home runs, drove in 40 RBI and sported a .247 batting average and a .682 OPS, Uribe broke out in his first season in San Francisco.

While rotating between second and third base and shortstop throughout the season, Uribe hit .289, sported a .824 OPS and hit 16 home runs and drove in 50 RBI.

And all this production came at around $1 million, $7 million less than what the Giants had to pay Renteria this season.

However, with only a one-year deal signed last offseason, Uribe will be a free agent this year, and that begs Giants fans and management to ask the question:

Is he worth bringing back?

For starters, it is important to realize one thing: To bring back Uribe means somebody is going to go. The Giants can't afford to give Uribe a new deal and have him play a utility role again. If he comes back, he needs to be in the starting lineup consistently or the signing will be a waste of money.

Who that person is, however, is yet to be determined (though Giants fans probably should have a good sense who it might be).

For starters, it won't be Freddy Sanchez (unless he decides not to re-sign with San Francisco, which is a possibility). Sanchez is too much of a veteran presence for another veteran like Uribe to push out.

Secondly, it probably won't be Renteria either. While getting rid of Renteria is a nice thought, chances are it's more fantasy than reality. Renteria makes too much money and is coming off too poor a year to have any trade value. Thus, as crappy as it is for Giants fans to imagine, Renteria most likely will be back at shortstop on Opening Day.

Therefore, if Uribe is decided to be brought back by the Giants management, it probably will result in this scenario:

Uribe will become the starting third baseman, and Pablo Sandoval will be moved to first base, which is probably a better fit for him and his defensive skills.

Thus, Travis Ishikawa, the Giants current starting first baseman (along with Ryan Garko, but after Garko's bad year in San Francisco, I'm not going to give him anything just yet) will likely be bounced from the roster.

That can be good or bad depending on how much you like Ishikawa. As for me, I'm torn. Yes, I love his defensive ability, but I'm also disgusted by his propensity to strike out a lot (by swinging at a lot of pitches that aren't in his zone) as well as hit ground balls.

For some reason though, I can't shake this fantasy that Ishikawa has the potential to be a Carlos Pena-esque player. Ishikawa has the kind of power and plate approach that is very similar to Pena's. Like Pena, Ishikawa is never going to be a high batting average guy. He'll probably be in the .260 range at best.

Yet once he understands what pitches he can hit, and which ones he can't, he will have the kind of breakout that Pena had while in Tampa Bay. Now, it's not going to happen right away. After all, Pena struggled as well in his stints in Oakland and Detroit. That being said though, Ishikawa seems to have made quicker progress than Pena did at this point in their careers, which gives me a little hope Ishikawa might be worth keeping in the long run.

So that's the dilemma. Believe me, I love Uribe, and I wouldn't mind to see him in a Giants uniform for the next couple of seasons. He's the kind of free-swinging, loosey-goosey player that can play three infield positions and drive in runs (he's consistently been a 20 homer, 70-plus RBI guy until 2008).

However, his OBP numbers (career .296 OBP) might be an indicator that he may not be a fit for a team that struggles in that category mightily.

It's a tough call: Should the Giants go with the present, run-driving support of Uribe? Or the Carlos Pena potential of Ishikawa?

Either way, Sabean will have to make a choice, and it will be very interesting to see what he does this offseason.

Giants Hitting Coach Carney Lansford's Firing Unfortunate, But Necessary

Kevin O'Brien — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 03:03:00 -0400

Now that the flames of the initial reactions of Giants hitting coach Carney Lansford's firing have cooled off a bit, I wanted to take a look at the overall picture about the Giants brass' decision not bring the Bay Area native back.

For starters, I understand how tough this is for Lansford and some of his fans. The guy is a Bay Area legend. He grew up rooting for the Giants, was a key cog of the great Oakland A's teams in the late 80's and admitted that this was a job he took for "sentimental reasons", according to San Jose Mercury Giants beat writer Andrew Baggarly .

Yet, the fact of the matter is this: In his two seasons as hitting coach, the Giants ranked 29th and 26th in the Major Leagues in runs scored in 2008 and '09, respectively. They ranked 24th and 30th in OBP in 2008 and '09, respectively. They ranked 28th and 30th in OPS and 27th and 30th in walks in 2008 and '09, respectively.

Ironically, this is a hitting coach that is supposedly known for preaching plate patience and taking walks.

Well, the numbers of his hitters certainly show he wasn't very effective in getting his points across.

Because those numbers are flat-out pathetic, plain and simple. Sure, the Giants won 88 games this year, but they had an incredible starting pitching staff and a much improved bullpen.

How they won 88 games is simply a miracle of God, and to think they can pull off the same kind of feat next year with the same anemic hitting really is asinine.

The Giants need something to spark the offense, and when you need a spark, it usually comes in the form of a change, either with the players, manager, or coaches.

Bruce Bochy was deemed worthy of coming back at least for another season (despite his inability to make a lineup at times), and it's too early to tell what GM Brian Sabean is going to do in terms of the roster next Spring.

So it makes sense that Lansford was pushed out after two seasons. The Giants needed to make a change, and he was the odd man out. It really doesn't get more complicated than that.

However, while I do feel somewhat sorry for Lansford that it didn't work out here in San Francisco, I don't totally feel Lansford was a fault-less victim .

Too many times have Giants fans heard Lansford complain about the hitters he had.

Too many times have the Giants fans heard that nobody was listening to his hitting instruction.

While you can partially blame that on the Giants players (I mean, it's not Lansford's direct fault that Bengie Molina doesn't know what a ball is), it also shows a vital flaw: Lansford must not be a good coach.

After all, coaches are going to get new players all the time. They are going to have to deal and adapt with the hitting styles of each individual player. They need to understand which guys have the propensity to be patient, Scott Hattiesberg-types, and which guys are going to be free-swinging, Vlad Guerrero-types.

Unfortunately, you never got the feeling Lansford understood that.

He expected every Giant to follow one model, and if they didn't follow that he seemed to give up on them easily. Granted, that may have been the result of Lansford's blunt personality (the guy wasn't afraid to say anything and everything to the media), but most likely, it was an indicator of Lansford's impatience as a hitting coach.

Maybe Lansford got a raw deal, and maybe he was just not a good fit on this roster with the kind of hitters the Giants have. Perhaps the Giants need a guy that will have to live with what he has and work around it, even if it may not fit into his "agenda."

Who that is, I don't know. Apparently, Hensley Meulens, the Triple-A hitting coach in Fresno, seems to be a popular pick to succeed the position due to his ability to take flawed hitters and improve their approaches (as evidenced with Eugenio Velez and John Bowker).

The bottom line though? As good a guy as Lansford was, he simply didn't get the job done.

The stats say it, and when push comes to shove, you have to judge him by the results. Numbers don't lie. You want to wish him luck, because he is such a likable guy, but in reality, he simply wasn't a fit as the Giants hitting coach, and this probably was a move for the best considering Bochy is staying as manager.

Sorry Carney.

Five Things Giants Fans (and Players) Will Probably Forget from 2009

Kevin O'Brien — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:08:00 -0400

I did the good parts about the Giants season already, now I figure it's time to be a little pessimistic. Granted, in the long run, this really was a good season from the boys in Black and Orange, but there was plenty to stew about if you were a San Francisco fan (and chances are, the Sabean and Bochy extensions didn't help things very much either ).

1. Merkin Valdez: Glorified Mop-Up Man

Let's face it. Valdez simply doesn't have a future on this Giants pitching staff. Sure, he can throws heat, but that's about it. He doesn't have very good second or third pitches (as evidenced by him throwing his fastball 80.3 percent of the time), he doesn't know how to locate (especially on 0-2 counts) and he can't be depended on in tight games (I think his 5.66 ERA and 1.72 WHIP say enough).

And the worst part? He's old. He's 28, and he pitches like he's only been in professional baseball for less than a year, when in fact, he's bounced in and out of the majors and minors since 2004 (granted, he was out for the year in 2005 and 2007 because of injury, but that doesn't change his old age factor). I mean, Waldis Joaquin, has better command and he's only 22. Furthermore, he has only been in the Majors for 10 games total in his career, all coming this season.

Is that a sign of how good Joaquin is or how bad Valdez has pitched for the Giants? Both I guess. Joaquin is great, and he could be a deadly stopper behind Sergio Romo, but for the most part, that is an indicator of how far Valdez has fallen.

Remember, in 2004, this guy was the next big reliever not just in the Giants farm system, but perhaps in the Major Leagues. He was being compared to a better Armando Benitez (who ironically, pitched, badly of course, with the Giants).

Now though, Benitez looks like a Hall of Famer in comparison to Valdez. At least Benitez had that good 2004 season with Florida.

2. Sanchez and Garko: The Typical Brian Sabean Trade Deadline Acquisitions

Giants fans knew it was going to happen. It had happened before countless times. Ricky Ledee. Sidney Ponson. Shea Hillenbrand.

Yes, the Giants needed to do something to get better offensively. Yes, they needed a power threat and had to solidify their middle infield (especially with Edgar Renteria having the season he was mired in).

Yet two home runs from Cleveland's Ryan Garko and 25 games from a "broken" Freddy Sanchez was far from what the Giants needed. And to make matters worse, those two "acquisitions" came at the expense of two very good pitching prospects in left-handed Scott Barnes and No. 2 pitching prospect (behind Madison Bumgarner) Tim Alderson.

I know you have to give something to get something, but this trade deadline was far too characteristic of Sabean's past deals where the Giants seemed to give up more than they received. While the Brad Penny signing in late August did ease things a bit (mainly because he performed well so cheaply), this Trade Deadline was another classic case of where less (e.g. not making so many drastic trades) probably would have ended up in more.

3. Burriss, Frandsen, Lewis, Bowker: Not living up to potential

A lot has been expected from these four guys who have come within the Giants farm system. That being said, they have not lived up to the hype in 2009 despite many fans and experts thinking big things out of them.

Despite a solid 2008 campaign, Emmanuel Burriss struggled in his transition to second base in 2009, especially defensively. He registered a UZR/150 (Ultimate Zone Rating in runs above average per 150 defensive innings played) of -8.7 (Juan Uribe playing second base this year in comparison had a UZR/150 of 10.5). And to make matters worse, Burriss was a mess at the plate as well. While his inability to hit for any kind of power was well-known prior to this year (his slugging percentage has never hit the .400 range at any level of professional ball), Burriss struggled to get on base (.292 OBP and .560 OPS) despite his excellent speed (he had 11 stolen bases in 61 games).

Basically, Burriss, a ray of hope for the Giants after posting good numbers in 2008, suddenly became a huge question mark, especially when it comes to his future in San Francisco which looks shaky with Renteria and Freddy Sanchez likely holding down the middle of the infield next season due to financial reasons.

Though if you think the future is cloudy for Burriss, his year was nothing in comparison to what Kevin Frandsen experienced. After missing all of 2008 due to an Achilles injury, Frandsen simply couldn't catch a break. Frandsen lost the second baseman job in Spring Training to Burriss, and he couldn't buy a hit during the regular season, as evidenced by his .140 average, .204 OBP, and .384 OPS.

Sure, you could complain Frandsen hasn't got his shot at the Major League level, but other than a great last couple months of the season, Frandsen hasn't really shown the Giants brass enough to merit regular playing time. In order to play, he has needed to show more in his rare playing stints, and constantly, when Frandsen needs to show something to prove he belongs, he has often fallen flat.

As for Fred Lewis and John Bowker, here are two guys who came off great starts in 2008, only to have mediocre years in 2009. Lewis eventually lost out to Randy Winn, and eventually Eugenio Velez after struggling mightily in June, and John Bowker, despite putting up excellent minor league stats (.342 average, 21 home runs in Fresno), never really found a groove in his Major League tenure this season (.194 average, two home runs in 73 PA).

It's likely that Giants brass will stay patient with Bowker, mainly because his stock is so low and he still is relatively young (he's only 26). As for Lewis, who is 28 and has played two full seasons with the Giants, the future doesn't look so bright and most likely will be gone next season to make room for Velez, Torres and even Bowker in the outfield.

4. Aaron Rowand: Continuing the "Freefall"

Giants fans have seen bad in their tenure in San Francisco. Rick Wilkins at catcher in 1997. A.J. Pierzynski in 2004. Armando Benitez's whole career as a Giant.

Yet Rowand's 2009 season may have secretly ranked down there with the worst of them.

Sure his stats don't scare you "Tony Pena, Jr."—style, but if you look deeper, you can see how detrimental Rowand was to the Giants. While he hit more home runs (15 in comparison to 13 in 2008) and scored more runs (61 in comparison to 57 in 2008) in eight less games played, Rowand had alarming stats in many other areas.

He led the team in strikeouts with 125 and ranked fifth on the team in walks with 30 (and so you know, this is a team that was in the basement of the league in terms of walks. The leader for the Giants was Pablo "I swing at anything and everything, but still hit it" Sandoval who had 52.)

Couple that with a .319 OBP and a .738 OPS (his lowest numbers in each category since 2006), and Rowand has been a flat out bust that has been a classic example of Sabean's overpriced, under-performing acquisitions.

Can Rowand turn it around? Maybe, but unless he gets a serious grasp of the strike zone, the chances of that happening seem very slim.

5. Bruce Bochy: Managing the "Right Way" (And "Right Way" meaning the opposite of common sense)

Giants fans knew Bochy played favorites. In fact, that's partially why Sabean hired him in the first place: he was one of the only managers in the league that would please the egomaniac known as Barry Bonds.

Yet that was in 2007, and in 2009 the best players available on the roster were not veterans like in the Bonds-Days.

Unfortunately, Bochy seemed to miss the memo.

While Nate Schierholtz wasn't having as great a season as many people thought, he certainly deserved some more playing time in 2009. Yet Bochy continued to rely not only on Randy Winn, but on Rowand as well, despite it being obviously clear Rowand was having an atrocious season. Bochy was more concerned about where Rowand should bat in the order at times than finding the best lineup possible, and that proved to infuriate Giants fans on more than one occasion.

Furthermore, Bochy continued to rely on Edgar Renteria even though Juan Uribe was clearly a better option. He buried Ryan Garko in September even though Garko should have gotten at least some at-bats when the Giants were facing left-handed pitching. He constantly forgot he had Brian Wilson as the closer and not Trevor Hoffman as he continued to stroll out Wilson to get four and five out saves (which usually ended disastrously).

There was so much to gripe about in terms of what Bochy did as a manager in 2009.

Thankfully, Giants fans will get to do plenty more in 2010.

Is Nate Schierholtz That Great of an Outfield Option for the Giants in 2010?

Kevin O'Brien — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:55:00 -0400

It seems that after—and, at times, during—the 2009 season, Giants fans came up with a common thought:

Manager Bruce Bochy did not play Nate Schierholtz enough.

It is true Bochy played Randy Winn way too much in right field. It is true Schierholtz had the best arm out of any of the outfielders. It is true he is a very likable player because he wears his socks high and no batting gloves (e.g. old-school).

Yet to argue the right field position should be handed to Schierholtz next season is a stretch. Sure, he had a decent year, and yes, I would rather have him patrolling right field than the aging, lame-duck-armed Winn.

That being said, did Schierholtz really have a better season than fellow outfielder Fred Lewis, whose 2009 season was much maligned by far too many Giants fans?

If you look at the stats, I don't think you can decisively say Schierholtz was better than Lewis without some argument. To say his 2009 year was head and shoulders above Lewis' is like saying Micheal Jackson was that much better a performer than Prince. (e.g. you can make the argument, and you probably in the end would be right, but it's not that black and white).

For instance, I think he gets the benefit of the doubt in two categories over Lewis:

1.) The team turned around their fortunes when he went on a hot streak of his own in mid-to-late June/early July.

2.) He strikes out a heck of a lot less than Lewis.

Here is the problem with the first argument: As my senior year Biology teacher in college told me, "Correlation does not necessarily mean causation."

Thus, just because Schierholtz went on a hot streak of his own doesn't mean he single-handily carried the Giants into the "winning zone."

Do I think his contribution at that time had an effect on the team? Of course. Was it that big, though? No, because somebody else had a hot streak that in my mind had more impact on the Giants.

Pablo Sandoval.

The Giants got off to a cold start out of the gate (which included a dreadful sweep at the hands of the Padres...yikes) because Sandoval didn't know the difference in the first month of the season between a bad, un-hittable pitch and a good one he could make contact with.

Case in point: On April 18th, Sandoval had a .195 batting average with a .250 OBP, zero home runs and only one RBI. The Giants' record on April 18th after a loss to the Diamondbacks that day was 3-8.

Once Sandoval became a better hitter, the team became better. Sans a stretch where they went 2-11 in May, once Sandoval got over the hump of that bad opening point of the season, he pretty much carried the Giants to their 88-74 record (at least on the offensive end) with his bat—evidenced by him leading the Giants in every offensive category of note.

If you want to say that with Schierholtz in the lineup the Giants wouldn't have had that 2-11 swoon, here's another argument I would put up. Lewis had nine hits in that 13-game stretch, and was still hitting .277 with a .377 OBP after the loss to Seattle on May 24.

The Giants had a lot of problems during that bad stretch of the year, but Lewis wasn't one of them.

My problem with the second argument mostly has to do with the fact with how overrated the strikeout is to measure how bad a player is. Mark Reynolds is the prime example of the faulty thinking of "experts" who think strikeouts are extremely detrimental to a player's development.

This season, Reynolds hit 44 home runs, drove in 102 RBI, and had a .349 OBP (which would be second-best on the Giants), despite setting the single-season strikeout mark (again) with 223.

What does this show? It shows Reynolds is the prototypical patient hitter. He may strike out a lot, but he also works the count to the point where he is able to get pitches that he can hit for power.

Strikeouts are only bad when you're Aaron Rowand and strike out a lot while not drawing a lot of walks. While Reynolds shows that working the count can produce big hits despite strikeouts, Rowand simply shows with his high-strikeout, low-walk numbers he doesn't have the slightest clue what a strike zone is.

Back to Lewis, though. He is more of an example of Reynolds than Rowand, at least in terms of strike zone recognition. While he doesn't have the power—as evidenced by his slugging numbers, which are poor—or the ability to drive in runs like Lewis, he certainly knows the strike zone. Lewis .348 OBP is only one point below Reynolds' and 46 points higher than Schierholtz's.

While I know most people hate the OBP stat, here is another reason why Lewis' OBP is an indicator that Schierholtz isn't that much better than Lewis: Lewis scored 16 more runs in only 10 more at-bats than Schierholtz. Basically, with Lewis in the lineup, the Giants had a better chance of scoring runs than with Schierholtz in right field, as shocking as that may seem.

Yes, Schierholtz struck out less (36 times less to be specific) but no other stat of his is considerably better than Lewis'. His batting average is only nine points better (.267 to .258), he only hit one more home run (five to four), his slugging percentage was only 10 points better (.400 to .390), and he only drove in nine more RBI (29 to 20, and even then that stat is flawed because Lewis was counted on more to score runs than drive them in like Schierholtz).

To make matters worse for "Nate the Great" fans, he did not swing for extra-base hits as well as Lewis. Lewis had more doubles (21 to 19) and triples (three to two) than Schierholtz.

Now, I'm not saying Lewis is better than Schierholtz and should be starting on Opening Day in 2010. Schierholtz does hold advantages in terms of age (he is three years younger) and defense (Schierholtz is good defensively, and Lewis is, well...mediocre is putting it nicely).

However, I think Giants fans should really come to grips with how good Schierholtz is as a player. The McCovey Chronicles brought up this point back in June, yet as you can see with the comments on the post, people were quick to put Schierholtz on a pedestal over Lewis and other Giants outfielders just because he was on a hot streak.

Does Schierholtz have potential? Yes, this season was good as long as he is able to improve in certain categories. Yet to say he is without a doubt the right fielder of the future might be a stretch.

Because if he isn't that much statistically better than Lewis, an outfielder a lot of Giants fans seem to want no part of in 2010, than I think we, as Giants fans, are getting a little ahead of ourselves.

Five Good Things San Francisco Giants Fans Will Remember from 2009

Kevin O'Brien — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:43:00 -0400

With the Giants' season officially over, I think it is time to go in retrospective mode over the Giants' 2009 campaign. While there are some things to be disappointed about (mostly concerning the Giants inability to make the playoffs for a sixth-straight year), this really was a great season by the Bay. The Giants finally have seemed to take a turn for the better, and the lofty promises and patience that was preached by GM Brian Sabean in 2007 seem to finally be coming to fruition.

Thus, with that optimism in mind, I wanted to look over five good things Giants fans will remember from this 2009 season.

1. Tim Lincecum and Pablo Sandoval are the "real deal"

To be frank, I think a lot of Giants fans were worried about these two players (because I know I was). Tim Lincecum was coming off a Cy Young Award-winning season, and Pablo Sandoval was coming off a very hot 41-game, late-season stretch.

However, the main question was this: are these two players capable of putting together back-to-back good seasons? Or are they one-hit wonders in the mold of Mark Fidrych and Angel Berrora?

Well, both guys answered the call, and not only came up with more than stellar statistical seasons, but they have both solidified themselves as concrete figures for this Giants organization.

While Giants fans won't know until later this month if Lincecum will win his second-straight Cy Young, he certainly put up the numbers to merit consideration. This year, Lincecum carried the Giants rotation on his back again, and maintained his reputation as a strikeout, inning-eating artist.

Even though his record was not as good as his 2008 campaign (he was only 15-7 this year after going 18-5 in 2008), his ERA was better (2.48 this year in comparison to 2.62 in 2008), he allowed 14 less walks, and 'The Freak" posted a better WHIP as well (1.04 in comparison to 1.17 in 2008).

And when you also factor in that he lead the National League in strikeouts again (with 261), as well as shutouts (two) and complete games (four), then the case for Lincecum to repeat as the Cy Young seems incredibly stronger.

As for Sandoval, the "Kung Fu Panda" lived up to the preseason hype many experts bestowed upon him in Spring Training. Sandoval led the Giants in every offensive category, highlighted by a .330 batting average, 25 home runs, 90 RBI and .943 OPS. Sandoval pretty much carried the Giants offense the whole season, and if the Giants are able to get a hitter to offer some protection to stocky, third baseman, then it's crazy to think what Sandoval will be capable of in terms of offensive numbers in the future.

With a little help, we could see Sandoval verge into Vlad Guerrero territory. Seriously. That's how impressive his 2009 season was considering the lack of help around him.

2. Matt Cain is a solid No. 2 starter (though not an ace)

A lot of Giants fans wondered if Cain was a victim of bad luck, or if he was simply not as good a pitcher as we once thought back when he first broke into the league in 2005. However, Cain was able to avoid the pitfalls of the last couple of years (e.g. lack of run support), and was able to put together a solid, All-Star caliber season as evidenced by his 14-8 record, 2.89 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and four complete games.

However, despite Cain's solid year and numbers, Cain faded after having a hot first half of the season. He ended up going 2-6 in his last 13 starts, with five no decisions (which aren't completely his fault, considering he had some pretty good outings during those four NDs, including a game against Pittsburgh where he threw nine innings of shutout ball).

While that late-season fade doesn't destroy Cain's reputation completely as a pitcher, any argument that Cain could be a better ace of the staff than Lincecum was discredited by the end of the year.

Cain is a very good pitcher, and the Giants should look forward to the young, dynamic punch of Lincecum and Cain for a long time. That being said, Cain should only be thought of as a No. 2 starter, and not as a potential No.1 like some people were thinking back in the first half of the season.

3. This Giants bullpen could be very good

This may be the most stable and promising the Giants bullpen has looked in Sabean's tenure as GM in San Francisco. The Giants are locked up at the closer position in Brian Wilson, who followed up his solid 2008 season with an even better 2009 campaign. Wilson pitched more innings this year than in 2008, and while he had less saves, (38 to 41 in 2008), he had a better ERA (2.74 to 4.62 in 2008), a better WHIP (1.20 to 1.44 in 2008) and a better SO/BB ratio (3.07 to 2.39 in 2008).

Yet Wilson is just the tip of the iceberg. The Giants will return Jeremy Affeldt, (who is coming off a season where he had a 1.73 ERA and 1.17 WHIP) and Sergio Romo, who will both be a lethal 7th and 8th inning set-up punch. Furthermore, the young arms in the bullpen showed a lot of promise as well. Waldis Joaquin has the potential to be a fireballer, and Dan Runzler impressed with his superb velocity and command in his short September call up. Even Joe Martinez, who struggled as a starter, showed some potential to be a very good long-reliever next year for the Giants.

I think it's safe to say that the prospects of the Giants bullpen are a lot better than the days when the Giants had guys like Jack Taschner and Matt Herges as the prime setup guys.

4. The Giants finally got some bang for their buck in terms of free agents

I remember reading a post on a blog earlier this year about the Giants, and a fan complaining that the Giants' problem was they never struck it rich with any players they signed to cheap deals. They used the Russell Branyan in Seattle comparison and said that the Giants either overpaid their veterans, or got production from within, but never really got more than they paid for when it came to free agents.

Well...that changed this year thanks to Juan Uribe and Andres Torres.

Both Uribe and Torres made a combined $1.4 million this year and yet they brought an incredible amount of production to the Giants lineup. Uribe hit 16 home runs and 55 RBI, while Torres hit six home runs, eight triples, stole six bases (and was only caught once) and posted a .343 OBP (third best on the team).

In comparison, Edgar Renteria, who shared shortstop duties with Uribe at the end of the year, only hit .250 with five home runs, and 48 RBI and he was paid eight million dollars, over four times what Uribe and Torres made combined.

I bet Giants fans wish they could've done that one again, huh?

5. Randy Johnson getting his 300th win and Jonathan Sanchez's no-hitter

I think for the most part Randy Johnson will be known as a bust in his tenure in San Francisco. He pretty much only played for three months during the season, and he was far from the "Big Unit" we knew back in Seattle and Arizona.

However, RJ will be known for some key things: his tutelage to the pitching staff (especially Jonathan Sanchez), perhaps playing his last season for his hometown team (he is from Walnut Creek) and of course, notching his 300th win.

While it was against Washington, it was a cool little moment that added to his illustrious career and also brought some much needed attention to a Giants team that hadn't got any big-time press since Barry Bonds left.

Then, after RJ notched 300, the Giants got even more press, thanks to Jonathan Sanchez, who threw the first Giants no-hitter in 33 years (the last one to do it was John "The Count" Montefusco who threw one in 1976). Sanchez's no-hitter was an incredible moment, mainly because it came from a pitcher whom many Giants fans thought was a disappointment, and was on the verge of being traded.

Instead, Sanchez turned his season around after the no-hitter, and could be a dark horse pitcher next year that may be on the verge of having the kind of breakout Matt Cain had this season. Sanchez's stuff has always been undeniable, but in the second-half, he finally was able to put it together with his command.

If he can fully get a hold of his command to go along with his great stuff, the National League better take note. Yet what makes this prospect great though is that it seems like it is capable of happening, and I don't think Giants fans like myself would feel that way had it not been for the no-hitter in late June.

And to add even more fairy dust on those two great moments from Johnson and Sanchez, it was nice to see some Giants milestones that didn't have the word "tainted" attached to them.

Milton Bradley in San Francisco Sounds Great, but Move Is Game Giants Can't Play

Kevin O'Brien — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 01:38:29 -0400

On Sept. 26, the Chicago Tribune reported that the San Francisco Giants may be one of three teams interested in the services of talented, but troubled switch-hitting outfielder Milton Bradley.

Tribune reporter Paul Sullivan, claimed the best option for the Cubs could be a straight-up swap for Giants outfielder Aaron Rowand.

Rowand, a solid clubhouse veteran, has struggled to make a dent in his two years so far in San Francisco, especially this year.

While Rowand has hit 15 home runs and drove in 60 RBI, he leads the team with 123 strikeouts, and has only drawn 29 walks.

To make matters worse, Rowand has three years, $36 million remaining on the big contract he signed in 2008.

With better and cheaper outfielder options available such as Andres Torres and even Eugenio Velez, the Giants may be better off if they could get rid of the popular, but declining center fielder.

Getting Bradley in return though is not the solution, even if it means getting rid of somebody as unproductive as Rowand.

On paper, Bradley makes sense for the Giants. The Giants struggled mightily with OBP and OPS this season, as evidenced by their team .310 OBP and .700 OPS, which both rank last in the National League.

Even though his .378 OBP and .775 OPS are significantly down from last year, he would actually rank second on this Giants team in OBP (behind only Pablo Sandoval) and fourth in OPS.

Furthermore, his 66 walks (which would be second on the Giants) would also help a squad that most likely will finish last in the Major Leagues in walks with 384.

Yet as most baseball fans all now, while Bradley can fill a need in terms of filling statistical holes for the Giants, his personality and attitude is too much of a risk for Giants general manager Brian Sabean to take.

Bradley has worn out his welcome in almost every stop in his Major League career, despite his solid numbers.

He was pretty much booted out of Cleveland, despite hitting .321 and having a .421 OBP in his last season as an Indian in 2003.

His hometown Los Angeles Dodgers got sick of his act and let him walk after two seasons, even though he hit 19 home runs and drove in 67 RBI in 2004.

Despite having a career year in 2008 in Texas where he hit 22 home runs, had 77 RBI and sported a .436 OBP, the Rangers still didn't deem it worthwhile to make an effort to resign him to a new contract.

Unfortunately for the city of Chicago, the Cubs did give him a contract, and already, after one year, they want him gone.

You could point to Bradley's decline in almost every statistical category as the reason why Cubs fans want him out of Chicago.

However, all players have bad seasons, and with two more years remaining on his contract, you think Cubs fans would at least give him one more season to redeem his mediocre performance in 2009.

Bradley though is an exception to that kind of common thinking.

Already in one season he has proved to be a distraction. He doesn't get along with his teammates. He doesn't get along with Cubs manager Lou Piniella. And lastly, he doesn't seem to mesh with the Chicago media or fans.

This is a city where Ozzie "I can't say 10 words without insulting someone" Guillen is still managing, mind you.

I know it is tempting for the Giants to make a trade for Bradley. The change of scenery, a new, more temperate manager, and a more relaxed media scene may be able to coax a big season out of the disgruntled outfielder like it did in Texas in 2008.

When you look at the whole picture though, there are just too many question marks with Bradley. And when you consider his declining slugging numbers (his slugging percentage dropped from .563 in 2008 to .397 in 2009), and the fact that AT&T Park isn't necessarily a hitter's park like Progressive Field in Cleveland or The Ballpark in Arlington, Bradley simply isn't as enticing a commodity as he was a couple of years ago.

I sympathize with many Giants fans out there. I agree with them when it comes to trading Rowand, and acquiring a big bat to make the playoffs next season.

That being said, anybody who thinks Bradley is going to kill two birds with one stone is out of their mind. I guarantee you, if Bradley comes to San Francisco, he will only accomplish one of those "wishes" for Giants fans.

I think they can figure out which one it is.

Freddy Sanchez's Surgery Cripples San Francisco GM Brian Sabean's Return

Kevin O'Brien — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:21:43 -0400

With this being the last year of GM Brian Sabean's contract, owner Bill Neukom is faced with a very tough decision.

Does he stick with the GM who has been at the helm of the Giants' front office since 1997? Or does he go a different route with somebody else calling the shots when it comes to personnel decisions?

As far as I'm concerned, everything Sabean has done (or that has occurred as a result of his decisions in the past) after the All-Star break shows why Neukom should go in a different direction next year when it comes to taking or declining Sabean's option.

First off, Sabean pulled the trigger on trading for Cleveland's Ryan Garko, who has done relatively nothing in his tenure in San Francisco, as evidenced by his .233 batting average and only two home runs in 113 plate appearances as a Giant. (It also should be noted that both his home runs came in the same game and at Coors Field.)

Secondly, Edgar Renteria has been a tremendous, and classic, Sabean bust. This is only magnified by Juan Uribe's season, which may be his best offensive year since 2005, when he helped the Chicago White Sox to a World Series title.

Not only has Uribe been better than Renteria this year in almost every offensive category despite 98 fewer at-bats, but he also came seven million dollars cheaper.

Just imagine what the Giants could have done with an extra seven million dollars to spend had they not wasted it on Renteria.

Next, Angel Villalona, a highly prized prospect a couple of years ago who Sabean sold Giants fans on as being the future of the post-Bonds era, not only has tanked on the field (he had only a .267 average, .303 OBP, nine home runs, and 42 RBI in 310 PA in Single-A San Jose this year), but now also is a suspect in a murder case in the Dominican Republic.

Villalona's future seems closer to Ugueth Urbina than Miguel Cabrera, and even then, at least Urbina had SOME time in the Major Leagues.

Lastly, Freddy Sanchez, who was traded for No. 2 pitching prospect Tim Alderson, may be shut down for the year after reports, via the Giants web site, that his knee will need surgery.

If anything, Sanchez's impending knee surgery should be enough for Neukom to send Sabean packing. Everybody knew there were some questions with Sanchez's health before the trade deadline, but Sabean "examined" Sanchez and assured Giants fans he was healthy enough to make an impact during the August-September run.

Well...Sanchez, despite a solid debut, has barely made a dent on this Giants team. He has only played in 25 games—not exactly what Giants fans expected when Sabean traded Alderson for him.

To make matters worse, with Sanchez most likely not reaching the number of plate appearances he needs to activate his 2010 option, the Giants will need to renegotiate with him on a contract next year.

Therefore, there is a possibility that Sanchez could be gone next season, and if that happens, the Giants basically lost the second-best pitcher in their minor league system for an injury-riddled player who barely played half a season.

That's the kind of thing Giants fans wanted to avoid this trade deadline. The San Francisco faithful didn't want another Ricky Ledee or Sidney Ponson half-season disaster.

Yet here we are, with that situation a possibility again.

Overall, there has been a lot Sabean should be credited for in his tenure in San Francisco, especially recently. He has set down a solid foundation around pitchers like Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain and position players like Pablo Sandoval and Buster Posey (even though Posey can't seem to find the field since being called up).

However, the mistakes of Sabean have added up too much in the recent past, and this year is no exception. Some new energy is needed in the Giants' front office to keep this team going in the right direction, and unfortunately, after almost 13 years at the helm, the Giants aren't going to get that if Sabean is still calling the shots.

Neukom, the decision is up to you. Do the right thing.

Why Giants Closer Brian Wilson Has Proven He Deserves His Role in the Bullpen

Kevin O'Brien — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 16:13:14 -0400

To be honest, I have never been that big of a Brian Wilson fan prior to this year.

I have been skeptical of his ability to take the ball in the ninth inning, and I felt that his All-Star selection last year was not as deserved as some other relief pitchers in the National League.

Even in the beginning of this season, I called him out and said that he needed to step it up if he really wanted to be the Giants' closer of the future.

How is he now?

Well...to put it nicely, Wilson has stepped up and has made my claims against him look foolish.

Because, as of now, there is no other pitcher in this Giants bullpen I want to have the ball in the ninth inning other than Wilson.

As Giants fans have seen throughout the year, many pitchers in this Giants bullpen have had their series of ups and downs.

Just when we thought Sergio Romo was being groomed as the team's closer, perhaps as soon as next season, he had a brutal stretch in July during which his ERA ballooned and he couldn't even get outs, let alone get out of innings.

The same goes with any other pitcher in this Giants bullpen. Justin Miller, Brandon Medders, Bob Howry, and even, to a point, Jeremy Affeldt. They all have been very dependable on some occasions, and well...not so much during other stretches.

Strangely enough, the guy who I thought was the most erratic reliever last year, and at times this year, has been a strong, consistent force for this Giants relief corps.

Is he perfect?

No, but Wilson's shortcomings don't seem as bad as they were a year ago.

If you look at him statistically, Wilson has improved in almost every category this season.

Last year, his ERA was 4.62. This year, it's 2.77. His WHIP last season was 1.44. This season it is down to 1.23. Opponents' batting average against him is down 30 points (from .261 to .231), his BB/9 ratio is down almost .60 points (from 4.04 to 3.46), and his K/9 ratio is up as well (from 9.67 to 9.97).

And he's doing this despite pitching more innings from last year.

In 2008, Wilson pitched 62.1 innings. This season he has pitched 65 innings, and with the Giants in the heat of a playoff run and the offense keeping games closer than they probably want, Wilson is going to see a lot more work in September.

I know there is a lot to not like about Wilson. His groundball-to-flyball ratio is down from last year (from 1.75 to 1.35), and he has matched his blown save number from last season already (six), but, for the most part, Wilson has done what the Giants have asked from him as closer.

What has sparked his resurgence?

If you want to look it casually, you could say he has gotten more comfortable in the role. After all, last year was his first year as closer, and while he did well in the first half, the second half of the season took its toll on him because he wasn't used to being in so many pressure-packed situations.

With a year under his belt, Wilson was bound to improve.

If you want to look it "sabermetrically," you could point to Wilson's change in pitch variety as a key to his success.

Last year, Wilson relied heavily on his fastball, slider, and cutter. He threw his fastball 70.9 percent of the time, his slider 14.7 percent of the time and his cutter 13.1 percent of the time.

In 2009, Wilson has almost eliminated his slider from his repertoire altogether. Instead, he relies almost solely on his fastball and cutter. He throws his fastball 69.5 percent of the time and throws his cutter 24.5 percent of the time. As for the slider, he only throws it 5.7 percent of the time, 9.0 percent less than last season.

Whether those percentages are a trend of improvement and ownership of his pitches, or a sign that he has lost confidence in his slider, who knows. However, the repertoire has worked so far this year, as evidenced by his strikeouts (72) and saves (34).

Sure, there has been a lot to be frustrated about with Wilson in the past two years. However, Wilson is the Giants' closer of the future, and, barring injury, Giants fans should get used to him coming into the ninth, not only for the rest of this year but next season and beyond.

Bob Howry a Disappointment? Not As Much As Giants Fans Want To Believe

Kevin O'Brien — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 01:56:46 -0400

It is safe to say that Bob Howry's tenure in San Francisco this season has gone without much fan fare.

With a 1-6 record, and a propensity to give up the walk-off home run (he has given up five home runs this year, and has blown three saves), Howry has been constantly hounded by boo-birds throughout the Bay Area.

If you look deeper at the stats though, Howry hasn't been as bad as Giants fans would like to think.

For instance, Howry currently has the second-best WHIP (Walks and hits divided by innings pitched) ratio on the Giants pitching staff at 1.13.

The only guy he is behind? The Ace of the Giants pitching staff, Tim Lincecum, who has a 1.03 WHIP.

Surprisingly, his WHIP is also better than more liked, and more used relievers such as Brian Wilson (who has a 1.25 WHIP), Sergio Romo (1.32) and even...gasp... holds leader Jeremy Affeldt (1.27).

I'm sure most fans will probably say, "So what! He has a good WHIP. That doesn't mean he's a good pitcher by any standards."

Yet when you have a guy like Howry, whose WHIP is dramatically better than the pitcher with the worst WHIP in the current bullpen (Merkin Valdez, who has a 1.59 WHIP, though he is to be supplanted by Joe Martinez who has a 1.94 WHIP), that has to be a sign that he should be getting more innings on the mound.

I can certainly understand a lot of people's disappointment with Howry. In terms of many of his other statistics, Howry has had a down year since his 2008 season in Chicago.

His strikeouts-per-nine innings pitched is down (7.51 to 6.36), and his walks-per-nine innings pitched has risen as well (1.66 to 2.75). Furthermore, his WPA (win probability added) this season has been awful (-1.32), even though last year it wasn't much better (-0.79).

Yet strangely enough, Howry actually has improved upon some categories this year while taking the hill for the Orange and Black.

His home run-per-nine innings ratio is actually down from his last year in Chicago (0.86 in comparison to 1.66 last year), and the .226 batting average of hitters who have faced him this season is not only dramatically down from last year (last year hitters hit .311 off of Howry), but is actually fourth-best on the team, behind only Affeldt, Lincecum and Jonathan Sanchez in that order.

Howry's season this year hasn't exactly been a replica of what we have seen from the other free-agent signing Brian Sabean inked this offseason in Affeldt. I will let fans have that.

However, to compare Howry to Affeldt is unfair. They are two different kinds of pitchers, and thus comparing the two would be comparing apples to oranges.

If anything, we should be comparing Howry to Brandon Medders and Sergio Romo, both who have seen much more time on the mound than Howry this season.

Romo getting more work lately than Howry makes sense. While Romo's WHIP is worse than Howry's, Romo makes up for his inefficiencies in the WHIP and ERA (5.04) categories with incredible strikeout-per-nine innings percentage and strikeouts-to-walks ratio

With a 10.44 K/9 and 3.22 K/BB ratios, he is first and second in those categories on the team respectively.

Thus, as evidenced by the data, Romo fills a need. He is more likely to get the big strikeout when the Giants need it, and Howry, with 6.36 K/9 and 2.31 K/BB ratios in the categories listed above, just can't do that as well as Romo.

That being said, Medders certainly doesn't do it much better than Howry.

Medders has a higher strikeout-per-nine innings ratio at 7.36, but after that, there isn't much Medders does better than Howry.

Medders' opponent batting average is higher than Howry's at .251, and his 1.42 WHIP is atrociously worse than Howry's WHIP as well.

Basically, whenever manager Bruce Bochy decides to put in Medders over Howry, the team is putting themselves in a dangerous spot. Fans may not want to believe it, but statistically, Howry is a more dependable pitcher than the erratic Medders, who has been a mess in the second half this season.

Overall, I still think Howry should be regulated to secondary set-up duty behind Affeldt, and shouldn't be kept beyond this year. That being said, those who blame Howry for the bullpen's struggles this year should quit pointing the finger at him all the time.

Yeah, he has been part of the problem with the Giants bullpen, but not as big as many would like to think, especially when compared to Medders.

The Fred Lewis Conundrum: Where Does He Fit on the San Francisco Giants?

Kevin O'Brien — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 01:41:00 -0400

Fred Lewis has had a down season in 2009. I don't think anyone (Giants fans, Giants management, Giants players, or even Fred himself) can deny that.

However, despite my own skepticism of him at times in this past season, Lewis is actually a very valuable commodity on this Giants team.

Does he deserve to be back in the lineup as an everyday player in the Giants outfield? Probably not.

That being said though, any of those who say the Giants should designate him for assignment might be a tad out of line.

For starters, if you look at Lewis' standard stat line, he isn't having all that bad of a season.

In 96 games, he has a .273 batting average, a .356 OBP (the only other hitter with an OBP over .350 is Pablo Sandoval at .379), 19 doubles (he had only 25 last year in over 200 more at-bats) and has scored 43 runs (only one less than Edgar Renteria, who has 130 more plate appearances this year).

And then, when you look deeper into the stat line, the case for Lewis is actually more surprising than Giants fans would like to think.

Lewis has the fourth-best OPS on the team at .769, ahead of outfielders Randy Winn and even Nate Schierholtz (who have OPS numbers of .691 and .767, respectively) and has the second highest walk percentage on the team at 10.2 percent (behind only Andres Torres, who is at 11 percent).

The only real knocks on Lewis this season have been two things: his strikeout numbers, and his dramatic drop in stolen bases.

This season, Lewis has the second highest strikeout percentage out of all the Giants position players at 28.4 percent (behind Torres, who is at 30.3 percent).

However, his BB/K ratio isn't that bad at 0.41. It is actually eighth-best on the team, which eases the pain of his alarming strikeout percentage and numbers.

It doesn't completely erase the pain, but it at least makes the sting of the strikeouts less agonizing.

As far as stolen bases are concerned, Lewis has declined in that area as well. Last year, he had 21 stolen bases and was caught only seven times. This year, he has only eight, and he has been caught four times.

However, it must be noted that the Giants as a team have stolen bases a lot less frequently in comparison to last season.

Manager Bruce Bochy, who ran the gamut with his baserunners last year, has settled more often for the hit-and-run call rather than the stolen base move.

The evidence of Bochy's change in policy? This year, Emmanuel Burris (who was optioned to Fresno back in June) still leads the team in stolen bases with 11, and Lewis, despite his drop, still has the third-most stolen bases on the team, behind only Randy Winn, who has 10.

Another knock on Lewis this season has been his defensive performance, and while as a Giants fan you can note that he routinely misplays balls off the wall, statistically he isn't exactly Jose Canseco out there shagging fly balls in Left Field.

His fielding value at 3.7 is actually better than outfielders Eugenio Velez (who has a value of 3.3) and Aaron Rowand (who has a value of 1.6).

So while Lewis isn't up to par defensively in comparison to other outfielders such as Winn (who leads the team in fielding value at 15.1) and Schierholtz (who has a value of 4.8), he certainly isn't the worst value defensively out there in left field for the Giants.

Overall, Lewis may not be a mainstay on this Giants roster like we originally thought at the end of last year and the beginning of this year.

However, Lewis brings something to the table that Giants are lacking on this roster: walks (which is evidenced by his OBP and BB percentage) and plate patience (which is evidenced by the lack of pitches he swings at outside the strike zone).

This year, Lewis has only swung at 19 percent of pitches outside the strike zone. The next best outfielder is Winn, who swings at 27.9 percent of pitches outside the strike zone.

As we have seen during this road trip, the Giants have done a great job assimilating hits. However, until this recent two-game stretch against Colorado, the Giants have done a poor job cashing in with runners in scoring position.

The reason? Poor plate discipline, especially with runners in scoring position and less than two outs.

One of the main culprits? Velez, who is mired in an 0-for-16 slump and has repeatedly been unable to come through with ducks in the pond during this road trip.

The main reason for his poor output probably has something to do with him swinging at pitches outside the strike zone. He currently swings a 31.7 percent of pitches outside the strike zone, which is the worst percentage of the Giants outfielders.

With a Wild Card berth still in the cards for the Giants, the need for run generation is even more evident as the Giants start to end in their swing in August and begin their first crucial September in years.

Lewis should not be buried on the bench, or worse yet, released. Why? Because, if you look at him statistically, he may be able to help the Giants' run-producing woes.

Like I said before, I'm not lobbying for him to start over Schierholtz or anybody else in the Giants outfield. I'm not saying he should be a regular starter for the remainder of the season.

However, Lewis needs to get at least some at-bats during this final month-and-a half of play. He needs to be in the lineup somewhat, because he can impact this offense in ways other outfielders, such as Velez, can't.

He is not going to change the Giants' playoff chances overnight. That being said though, he is certainly not going to hurt them either.

With Bochy's Contract Ending Soon, Does He Fit Into the Giants' Plans?

Kevin O'Brien — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 18:06:12 -0400

With Giants general manager Brian Sabean, and skipper Bruce Bochy in their last years of their contract, many Giants fans have wondered if new owner Bill Neukom will keep both guys in the San Francisco organization next year.

Sabean, who has been with the Giants as GM since 1997, can be credited for turning around the Giants after inheriting a miserable team that was coming off a last place finish in the NL West in 1996.

However, Sabean had been widely criticized for overpaying for veteran players (i.e. Barry Zito, Dave Roberts etc.), and making questionable trades (i.e. the Pierzynski deal) that set back the Giants' farm system for years.

Despite those setbacks and the amount of Sabean-naysayers and "Fire Sabean" Web sites, it is a good bet that Sabean is going to be back as general manager of the Giants next year.

With the team surpassing expectations this year, and the sudden influx of young talent in the minor leagues and on the major league roster, Sabean seems to have the Giants back on track like he promised. In 2008, he made the commitment that the team would rely on young talent rather than aging veterans (as evidenced by letting their organizational figurehead, Barry Bonds, become a free agent).

That being said, while Sabean looks to be running the Giants front office for at least a couple of more years after 2009, the ground that manager Bochy is currently standing on doesn't seem so firm.

Sure, Bochy was Sabean's hire to replace Felipe Alou back in 2006, but that was a different time and a different Giants organization.

That was former owner Peter Magowan's Giants organization, and that was a team that was consistently one of the oldest major league teams year after year.

Bochy made sense for the Giants when he was hired back in 2006.

He was a manager known for being the kind of skipper that players liked playing for. He was a guy who knew how to run a clubhouse, and was known for not butting heads in the locker room, even with the most fickle of stars.

Now, though, it just doesn't seem like Bochy fits anymore in this organization. For the most part, this Giants fanbase wants the same young influx in the lineup that they see in the rotation.

Giants fans want to see guys like Nate Schierholtz be an everyday player. They want to see Buster Posey called up and be the starting catcher in 2010. They want Angel Villalona to be the guy in a year or two at first base.

And yet, Bochy doesn't seem to satisfy those wants.

Despite Schierholtz raking in the past few weeks, Bochy has insisted on starting Randy Winn and Aaron Rowand, even though statistically they cannot measure up to what Schierholtz has been doing at the plate.

Bochy has stuck with Edgar Renteria at shortstop, even though he is having one of his worst seasons at the plate.

To make matters worse, other than Sandoval, and to some extent Schierholtz and Ishikawa, Bochy has buried his young guys in the organization in their callups.

Infielder Kevin Frandsen, first baseman/outfielder John Bowker and first baseman Jesus Guzman have all gotten called-up multiple times this year, and yet, at the first sign of trouble, they have been sent to the bench and eventually back to Fresno, simply because they need more "at-bats."

You could blame Sabean for those transactions. However, if Frandsen, Bowker and Guzman were playing at least a decent amount, do you think they would have been sent down so quickly?

I don't believe so.

And as those guys continue to get at-bats against Pacific Coast League pitching, Rich Aurilia continues to be on the roster even though he holds no value on this team whatsoever.

Molina continues to be in the cleanup hole, even though it would probably be in the Giants' best interest if they had somebody else in that big spot (how about Schierholtz and Sandoval three and four? You think that would be any worse than the current Sandoval-Molina combo?).

Bochy is a good manager overall. I honestly believe he has been good for this current team. Chances are though, the team we see today probably won't be around next year.

Molina and Winn, in the last years of their contract, could (and probably should) be gone.

After his miserable performance at the plate this year, it isn't preposterous to think Sabean will try to deal Renteria next year to any bidder that is desperate for a shortstop.

So with this team probably being radically different, and radically younger, Bochy simply isn't the kind of fit that would best utilize this team.

The Giants may need somebody who is more in the mold of being able to work with young players, and able to have patience with them.

They cannot have a manager who is apt to go with Aurilia at the first sign of trouble. They do not need a manager who two years ago went with Dave Roberts over better options at the time such as Fred Lewis.

I know I have supported Bochy for what he has done this season. He is a manager that should be in contention for the National League Manager of the Year award.

But he is a veteran players' manager. That is why they hired him in the first place.

With a young team, he will be out of his element, simply because he is more apt to trust those guys who have history rather than those guys without any, even if those guys with history are unlikely to repeat what they did in the past.

Granted, Bochy isn't somebody the Giants should replace regardless. If the Giants cannot find a good candidate to succeed him, then the Giants should stand pat and resign for a couple of more years.

After all, we've seen in the past what happens when a team replaces a manager without doing the right kind of research. Seattle, Washington and Oakland fans can certainly attest to that.

That being said, all this hoopla with Bochy depends on the Giants' plans in the offseason. If Sabean is intent on going after some big free agents in the Jason Bay and Matt Holliday mold, maybe Bochy still would have a place on this team.

Like I said before, when it comes to handling veterans and managing a clubhouse, Bochy is one of the best in baseball.

However, if Sabean continues to do what he promised, and continues to move up more and more guys up from the minors to the Major League roster next year, then I don't believe Bochy's job is safe, despite what the team may accomplish this season.

An Inexplicable Giants Season: Succeeding Despite the Questionable Stats

Kevin O'Brien — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:40:34 -0400

With a 65-54 record going into Wednesday's game against the Reds, the Giants certainly have surpassed expectations this year.

This was a team that was coming off a 72-90 season in 2008 and—sans the signings of Edgar Renteria, Jeremy Affeldt and Juan Uribe—didn't really make a splash in the offseason.

Giants GM Brian Sabean and the ownership group led by Bill Neukom passed on Manny Ramirez, even though there were relatively no suitors other than the Los Angeles Dodgers.

And still, despite the little change in terms of the roster, the Giants have succeeded and raised the hopes of Giants fans in the Bay Area.

However, when you look at this 2009 season from a statistical perspective, little makes sense in terms of the Giants success.

Granted, I am no sabermetrician by any means. In fact, this summer, I have slowly gotten more acquainted with the intense-but-effective language of baseball statistical analysis.

This summer, I have finally read the highly lauded book Moneyball by Michael Lewis. I have become a frequent reader of sabermetrics Web sites such as Beyond the Box Score and Fangraphs. And, as a college graduate with a degree in economics, I have become fascinated with the connection between economics and baseball and correlating the value of baseball players.

That being said, I am also a baseball fan, who played baseball in high school, so I can appreciate the little things that go beyond stats and numbers.

So basically, the Giants, have piqued my interest as a baseball fan who tries to balance both ends of the baseball analytical system: the objective, statistical side, and the subjective, "believe it with your eyes" side.

On paper, other than the wins-loss record, the Giants have not had that great of a season.

In team batting this year, the Giants hover around the basement of the National League in almost every statistical category of note.

In the NL this year, the Giants rank 14th in runs scored, total bases and slugging percentage. They also rank second to last in the NL in homer runs, OBP and OPS.

And in terms of an individual basis, the Giants don't have a player on the team that's reached the 20-homer mark yet, have only three regular players that have cracked the .300-average mark (Pablo Sandoval, Eugenio Velez, and Freddy Sanchez) and have only two players that crack the .350 mark in OBP (Sandoval and Fred Lewis).

The batting has been very statistically poor, more telling of a team that is hovering around the basement of the NL West like the San Diego Padres rather than one that is competing for a wild card spot.

Granted, you can credit the pitching for the Giants' resurgence this year.

The Giants pitching staff leads the National League in ERA (3.50), complete games (10), shutouts (15), strikeouts (934), and is second in batting average allowed (.237, five points behind the current NL-leading Dodgers).

Furthermore, the Giants have two stud, All-Star starting pitchers this year in Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain who both have 12 wins and ERAs of 2.37 and 2.49, respectively.

The bullpen has also been performing admirably, spearheaded by left-hander Jeremy Affeldt, who has 24 holds and a 1.81 ERA, right-handed middle relief pitcher Justin Miller, who has a 1.83 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP, and right-handed closer Brian Wilson, who has 29 saves and a 1.13 WHIP.

Yet despite those incredible pitching statistics, it doesn't automatically mean success.

In the Power Rankings put together by the sabermetrics blog Beyond the Box Score, which ranks teams according to batting, pitching, and fielding statistics, the Giants are around the bottom of the league.

The Giants ranked 22nd in the latest Aug. 12 rankings, behind losing teams such as Arizona, Baltimore, Cleveland, and even the Giants' Bay Area rivals—the Oakland A's.

So what gives? How do the Giants succeed despite most pieces of objective data suggesting they are simply a mediocre team with, as one obnoxious New York Mets fan put it on Twitter, "A Triple-A lineup other than Sandoval?"

Sometimes, baseball is just funny.

The Giants have just been a team of incredible ups and downs this year.

The Giants have an enormous amount of incredible successes, like their hot June, the emergence of the "Panda," the one-two punch of Lincecum and Cain, Jonathan Sanchez's no-hitter, and so on.

They have also had their incredible share of downs, though. The awful start to the year, the 3-7 road trip to start the second half, the Dodgers series Aug. 10-12 at AT&T Park, losing two out of three at home to the Cincinnati Reds.

Despite those depressing moments, though, the Giants seems to have had more positives than negatives. They have been a team that has been able to put things together on the field, even if they might not come in the prettiest or most statistically favorable way.

The Giants are proof that baseball sometimes goes beyond paper, and that teams can be successful, even if you can't prove it through numbers and figures.

And that is what makes this team so fun for a Giants fan. Every time you think you have figured out this team and know where they're heading, they come out and surprise you once again.

Like last night, for instance. Down four runs in a game to the Reds where Lincecum is having one of his worst starts of the year and Sandoval gets the hat trick in strikeouts, the Giants somehow come back thanks to Ryan Garko's four-RBI performance.

The same Ryan Garko that had been a bust in my mind until yesterday.

The win was also the first time the Giants had come back and won when down by four runs in a game.

Believe me, that certainly wasn't in my mind when I saw Joey Votto park one off Lincecum to make it a 5-1 game.

It really has been an amazing season to behold for Giants fans, baseball fans, and sabermertics enthusiasts alike. It simply has been baffling, but in a good way that shows not all baseball games can be absolutely predicted with numbers.

Who knows what the stats will ultimately mean for the Giants during this last month-and-a-half of the season?

Is it a sign of things to come? Or are the 2009 Giants an exception to the rules that have governed baseball and its fans and experts so firmly since Michael Lewis' book was published?

Whatever happens, I am happy about what the Giants have done this year, warts and all. As much as I like going by the numbers to help understand trends and predict results, I also am guilty of liking the Giants' free-swinging play, led by the affable and ever-interesting "Kung-Fu Panda."

As Giants coach and former Giants infielder Shawon Dunston said in the article about Sandoval in the Aug. 10 issue of Sports Illustrated, "You want to see a walk? Then go watch the mailman."

From a fan that appreciates baseball in all forms, statistical and live, I can certainly sympathize with what Dunston is saying.

San Francisco's Ryan Garko Has Been a Trade Deadline Bust So Far

Kevin O'Brien — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:41:35 -0400

When San Francisco Giants GM Brian Sabean traded minor league pitcher Scott Barnes for Cleveland Indians first baseman Ryan Garko on July 27, a lot of Giants fans were hopeful about what Sabean pulled off before the deadline.

After all, there was a lot to like about what Garko did in his tenure in Cleveland.

In 2007, Garko hit 21 home runs and drove in 61 RBI. In 2008, he drove in 90 RBI while maintaining a .273 batting average and a .346 OBP.

Furthermore, Garko has proved to be a a big-time playoff player. In the NLDS in 2007, Garko hit .364 with a .500 OBP and a home run and three RBI in the Indians' three-game sweep of the New York Yankees.

With the Giants hovering in the basement in terms of runs scored and slugging percentage in the Major Leagues, there was reason to believe for Giants fans that Garko could spark an anemic Giants offense in the last couple months of the season as they jockeyed for a playoff spot.

Unfortunately, unlike Freddy Sanchez, who has been a steady contributor to the Giants after being acquired before the Trade Deadline, Garko's production has been meager in his tenure in the Bay Area.

In 17 games and 60 at-bats, Garko is batting .200 with a .300 OBP, and a .245 slugging percentage.

The most startling statistic of all though?

He has zero home runs and only four RBI as a Giant.

Garko has shown no power at the plate, something the Giants didn't expect after he belted 11 home runs and 43 RBI for the Indians in the first half.

Then again, maybe this disappointment was something Giants fans should have seen coming.

Since 2007, Garko has gone through a steady decline as a hitter. After hitting 21 home runs in his first full year with the Indians, Garko's home run numbers declined to 14 in 2008.

And while he had hit 11 home runs this year, his slugging percentage had also steadily declined since 2007, an indicator that maybe his 2007 was an aberration instead of a sign of things to come.

After having a .483 slugging percentage in 2007, it dipped to .404 in 2008. Furthermore, while it improved to .464 with the Indians to begin the season, it has dipped to .425 since coming to the Giants, and seems like it could be around that area for the remainder of the year, or perhaps could drop even further.

Amazingly, Garko has been not much better than first base incumbent Travis Ishikawa at the plate, as hard as that is to swallow for Giants fans.

While Ishikawa's strikeout numbers are much higher than Garko's (Ishikawa has struck out 68 times the year in comparison to Garko's 41), Ishikawa has proved he can hit in San Francisco.

At AT&T Park this season, Ishikawa has hit six home runs and has a .349 batting average, .406 OBP and a .550 slugging percentage, not to mention a .956 OPS.

As for Garko, at AT&T this year, he has a .133 batting average, .235 OBP, .133 slugging percentage (ouch!) and a .369 OPS.

Maybe Garko simply was a product of Jacobs Field in Cleveland, which is widely known as a hitters park.

In his career at Jacobs Field, Garko hit 30 home runs and had a .285 batting average, .360 OBP and a .471 slugging percentage.

He hasn't hit more than four home runs in any other ballpark in his career.

The worst part of this is that the Giants had to give up a promising minor-league pitcher for Garko's anemic production.

Left-hander Barnes was 12-3 this year with 2.85 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 98 innings in Single-A this year.

Granted, it was only Single-A, but considering he was a Top-Five pitcher in the Giants minor league system, Barnes might have had a strong future in this Giants organization.

Garko may be able to turn it around in his tenure in San Francisco. There is still plenty of baseball to be played.

However, at this moment, he doesn't seem to be any more than a platoon player who should be splitting at-bats with Ishikawa.

Ishikawa should bat against right-handed pitchers and Garko should bat against left-handed ones.

He can still excel in that role and maybe change his doubters' opinions during these last couple of months of the season.

That being said, that kind of role certainly wasn't what Giants fans expected for when we gave up the promising Barnes for him back in July.

San Francisco Has a Giant Problem With Its Glut in the Outfield

Kevin O'Brien — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 22:24:00 -0400

With Nate Schierholtz back in the lineup healthy, Giants manager Bruce Bochy is put in an intriguing situation when it comes to his outfield.

Who will be the odd man out?

Already, one guy has been eliminated from consideration.

John Bowker, who has been lighting it up at Triple-A Fresno this year, doesn't seem to have a place on this Giants roster this season.

Until the July acquisition of Ryan Garko from Cleveland, Bowker's best shot at playing for the Giants would have been at first base.

Now with Travis Ishikawa and Garko platooning the first base position, a crowded outfield, and Bowker not putting up eye-popping stats at the Major League level this year, he seems to be destined to spend the rest of the season at Triple-A.

Other than Bowker, things get tricky.

When Andres Torres gets back to the lineup after healing from a hamstring injury, the Giants will be suited with six outfielders who can certainly merit consideration for regular playing time.

Torres, Aaron Rowand, Randy Winn, Schierholtz, Eugenio Velez and Fred Lewis are all players who can play regularly in the Giants outfield.

So far, two guys have earned starting outfield positions for the rest of the season:

Velez and Schierholtz.

Velez deserves regular playing time simply because he is the best option for the Giants at leadoff currently. While he does not have a lot of stolen bases, Velez's combination of ability to make contact and speed on the basepaths make him a player that the Giants simply can't afford to bench.

As for Schierholtz, he has the best arm in the Giants outfield by leaps and bounds. After spending time on the DL, Giants fans were reminded how much they missed his cannon arm with constant ducks by Winn who replaced Schierholtz in right field.

Schierholtz makes baserunners and basecoaches think twice about sending a guy home when the ball is hit to right field. Even in this series against the Mets, speedster Luis Castillo has nearly been caught twice by Schierholtz throws.

I guarantee you with Winn or even Velez patrolling the right field position, those throws would not have been close as they were.

In addition to his gun, Schierholtz is a left-handed bat that the Giants need on a consistent basis.

With a .294 batting average, .323 OBP and four home runs and 20 RBI, he is the kind of player that has the kind of pop that the Giants need for the stretch run in August and September.

So, with Velez and Schierholtz mainstays in left and right field, who patrols the centerfield position?

Basically, it will come down to two veterans that have underachieved this season:

Rowand and Winn.

Lewis is eliminated simply because he is a defensive liability, but that isn't to say he should be buried on the bench Kevin Frandsen-style.

His approach at the plate has been refreshing as evidenced by his batting average rising 23 points since July 23. Furthermore, he currently has a .471 batting average, .571 OBP and a 1.218 OPS in August.

Unlike some critics, Lewis getting starts every now and then shouldn't be out of the question. His high OBP in comparison to other Giants outfielders, and sudden resurgence in the batters box is valuable to this Giants team.

That being said, he simply can't make plays defensively in the outfield. He bobbles too many off the wall, has iron hands and takes bad angles.

It is an adventure for him out there, and because of that, he just can't be trusted to be the regular outfielder he once was.

So with Lewis out, and Torres also suited more to being a spark off the bench ala Dave Roberts circa 2004, should the Giants go with Rowand or Winn?

Whoever Bochy decides upon, it isn't going to be pretty.

Despite signing with the Giants prior to the 2008 season with the expectations of being one of the centerpieces of the Giants offense, Rowand has been a bit of a letdown, especially this season.

Rowand has struggled mightily at the plate, and while his .266 average, .321 OBP and nine homers and 45 RBI might suggest otherwise, you have to see what he's done lately to see how badly Rowand is playing.

In the month of July, Rowand hit only .190 with a .235 OBP and struck out 18 times in 63 at-bats (a high number considering he struck out 28 times in 97 at-bats in June and 22 times in 106 at-bats in May).

August has been even worse for Rowand. This month he has a .186 batting average, a .205 OBP and has struck out 12 times in 43 at-bats (his strikeout number boosted by a hat trick on August 13 against the Mets).

Sure, Rowand is a great defensive player and certainly a leader in the clubhouse. Yet his woes at the plate are simply killing the Giants offense.

As for Winn, while his July numbers were respectable (He hit .276 with a .330 OBP in July), his August numbers are even more atrocious than Rowand's.

After today's game against the Mets, Winn has hit .184 with a .262 OBP and sports a woeful .184 slugging percentage this month.

Winn is less susceptible to the strikeout than Rowand (he has only six this month and had only 13 in July in the same amount of at-bats as Rowand). However, he simply can't hit the ball out of the infield, as Giants fans have been accustomed to the sight of Winn grounding to the second baseman or shortstop on a regular basis.

In order for the Giants to continue to stay in contention for the Wild Card spot, either Rowand or Winn is going to have to improve upon their late meager performances, and perhaps claim the centerfield position during this road trip.

The Giants need stability in centerfield, and considering both Rowand and Winn's histories, either player is more than capable of being a solid producer at the position in terms of at the plate and defensively.

Whoever the odd man out is though, it undoubtedly will be a blow to that player's ego. I'm sure it won't be easy for one of them to be regulated to situational status after going into the year with expectations of being a regular starter.

Yet with a playoff berth on the line, I guarantee you both these guys will make the necessary sacrifices in order to have a chance at a World Series ring.

At this point, it is tough to say who will be the centerfielder for the rest of the year. Both guys are playing too poorly for Bochy to make a definitive decision.

The first guy who steps up and starts showing signs of life and production most likely will be the player Bochy will lean on in September.

Whether it is Rowand or Winn or whoever, Bochy and company better make a decision quickly.

After losing two of three so far in this road trip to the Mets, the Giants need to get things settled in the lineup to stop the bleeding.

A San Francisco Repeat: Giants and Dodgers' Seasons Hinge on Series Again

Kevin O'Brien — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:16:12 -0400

Despite what either team's record is, nothing can beat a San Francisco Giants-Los Angeles Dodgers series in the last couple months of the season.

The players, management, and fans all get themselves psyched up for this legendary rivalry because they all know that bragging rights for an entire offseason can be won or lost in the span of three games.

However, some Giants-Dodgers series go beyond bragging rights.

In 1951, a three-game playoff between the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers took place to determine who would win the National League Pennant.

What was produced? A "Shot Heard 'Round the World" that will resonate fondly, or morbidly, depending on whether you're a Giants or Dodgers fan.

In 1993, with the Giants needing to win one game to face the Atlanta Braves for a one-game playoff to determine the NL West crown, the Giants played the Dodgers in a must-win game.

The Dodgers smashed rookie pitcher Solomon Torres and the Giants, 12-1, and despite winning 103 games, the Giants didn't even sniff the postseason.

In 1997, with the Giants behind the Dodgers going into their September series, little-known Giants catcher Brian Johnson smashed a game-winning home run in the bottom of the 12th inning.

The Giants went on to sweep the Dodgers in two games. The series win over the Giants' hated rivals propelled the Giants to the NL West crown, and an appearance in the playoffs for the first time since 1989.

In 2004, the Giants needed a win to at least have a shot at a one-game playoff for the NL West crown. Up 3-0 in the bottom of the ninth, the wheels fell off the wagon for the Giants bullpen as walks and defensive miscues loaded the bases for Dodgers outfielder Steve Finley.

Finley hit a grand slam to win the game, and, in turn, eliminated San Francisco's playoff hopes.

To say there have been "big" Giants-Dodgers games in the past may be the understatement of the century. You might as well say relations between the United States and North Korea are "less than stellar," and Shannon Doherty may have "slightly angered" television producer Aaron Spelling.

This week's series between the Dodgers and Giants may be another one that will go down in the history of great series between these two storied baseball franchises.

Because in all honesty, there will be a lot at stake this week at AT&T Park for both the Giants and Dodgers.

The Dodgers have been a hot team all year, and, thanks to the stellar play of guys like Matt Kemp, have been in first place in the NL West since April. With multiple World Series-champion Manager Joe Torre leading the helm, the Dodgers have been dubbed as a favorite to not only win the National League, but perhaps the World Series as well.

The Giants on the other hand, started to season slow, and weren't expected to do much out of the gate. Yet thanks to a hot June, and the breakout performance of Pablo Sandoval, the Giants have been Wild Card contenders since the All-Star break, despite many experts writing them off in the beginning of the year.

Despite both teams' accolades, however, there is plenty to worry about for both teams and their fans going into Monday's game.

The Giants dropped two out of three games to the woeful Cincinnati Reds at home, despite having the best home record in baseball going into Friday's series.

The Dodgers dropped three out of four to the Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium, allowing both the Giants and Colorado Rockies to remain in striking distance in the NL West.

Fans of both teams know that their team taking, or perhaps even sweeping, this series would not only be a stepping stone for a late-season run, but would also deflate and perhaps demolish their rival's hopes and chances in terms of making the playoffs.

The only fear for both teams is that they don't want to be that team on the losing end. Sure, there are still a lot of games to play, including one more series between these two teams left at Dodgers Stadium.

Yet you have to look at another rivalry series that happened this week.

The Yankees swept the Red Sox in an agonizing fashion. More importantly though, the Yanks separated themselves in the American League East, and may have ended Boston's hopes of even making the postseason.

What happen to the Red Sox could easily happen to whatever team is on the losing end Wednesday, be it the Giants or Dodgers.

A series loss or sweep could result in the Dodgers choking away what many thought was an insurmountable division lead back in June. If the Dodgers lose the division to the Giants, it would rank up there with the 1951 Giants pennant run, when the bums from Brooklyn choked away the Pennant, despite leading the Giants by 13.5 games in August.

For the Giants, a similar kind of humiliation could send this organization into a tailspin. The Giants might not only miss the playoffs despite staying in the Wild Card running since June, but the lost mojo might spin the Giants into all kinds of desperateness in the offseason, as Giants fans have seen countless times before.

The Giants acquiring Armando Benitez? Let's just say he was a painful result of the panic caused by Finley's 2004 home run.

It goes without saying that this series will make one team and break the other. It happened during the Red Sox-Yankees, this week, and isn't impossible to think that something similar could happen between these two National League teams.

There is no recovery or second chances from this one. It is plain and simple "winner take all."

The thing is, though, it is hard to determine who will succeed and who will falter, and because of that unpredictability, this series becomes even scarier for both Dodgers and Giants fans.

Further humiliation by their rival will only sink the losing team into even further despair.

As a Giants fan, you can only hope that despair and humiliation is reserved for the hated Dodgers. After all, they have more to lose, right?

The Dodgers had the last laugh in 2004. Five years later, you think it would be the Giants fans' turn to return the favor, right?

It should be that easy for Giants fans to think that. Then again, the Giants' last series against the Reds certainly hasn't helped.

Will Ramon Ortiz Get One More Shot at the Majors with the Giants?

Kevin O'Brien — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 01:56:00 -0400

The last Major League Baseball game Ramon Ortiz pitched in was on October 1, 2007, with the Colorado Rockies. Ortiz pitched one inning of no-hit baseball, and struck out one as he earned the win against the San Diego Padres in a 13-inning, 5-4 win at Coors Field.

Since then, Ortiz hasn't touched a Major League field, but that isn't to say that the journeyman pitcher has quit playing baseball altogether just yet.

After playing baseball for the Nippon Baseball League in Japan in 2008 with the Orix Buffaloes, the 36-year-old pitcher from the Dominican Republic signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants during Spring Training this season.

However, unlike infielder Juan Uribe (who also signed a similar minor league contract in Spring Training after his contract was up with the Chicago White Sox) Ortiz has been regulated to being in Fresno all season.

That is not to say that Ortiz necessarily deserves to be playing in the minor leagues.

In 29 appearances and 10 starts, he has a 5-2 record, a 2.48 ERA and 1.15 WHIP with the Grizzlies. Ortiz may not be dominating the Pacific Coast League by any measure like Madison Bumgarner is dominating in Double-A Connecticut, but he has certainly showed that he is capable of pitching in the Major Leagues again soon.

Only two things hold Ortiz back from putting on a Giants uniform: A talented pitching staff, and his past.

Unfortunately, despite the solid numbers for Ortiz this year at Triple-A, the Giants simply don't need him, whether it's in the rotation or the bullpen. The Giants are already more than settled in the rotation with Lincecum, Zito, Cain, Sanchez and now, Martinez holding it down.

Furthermore, the Giants will have to make a tough decision on who to bump out if the Big Unit returns healthy and ready to go in September.

The bullpen isn't exactly yearning for arms, either. Miller anchors the long-relief position, and Romo, Affeldt, Medders, and Howry have the seventh and eighth innings covered, too.

And the closer, Wilson? Let's just say he's not relinquishing that position for the rest of the season.

Add that with a lot of promising arms such as Kevin Pucetas, Bumgarner and Waldis Joaquin who will be considered for a call up when the roster expands, and the chances of Ortiz getting a chance to take the hill at AT&T looks as slim as Eric Roberts getting the lead role in the next Martin Scorsese movie.

It's not just the organizational depth that hurts Ortiz chances. Let's face it: The guy hasn't shown much since 2002, where he was a key starter in the Angels' World Series rotation (trying to hold back from breaking something for a second), and went 15-9 with a 3.77 ERA.

Since that 2002 season, however, Ortiz has been a shell of himself. His ERA has only been under five once, which was in 2004. It was 4.43 in his last season with the Angels, but he only pitched 14 games that year, as well.

Furthermore, his combined win-loss record since 2002 has left much to be desired. Since 2003, his record has been 46-51 after playing for the Angels in 2003 and 2004, the Cincinnati Reds in 2005, the Washington Nationals in 2006, and the Minnesota Twins and Rockies in 2007.

With that kind of history in terms of his win-loss record and ERA, it comes as no surprise why GM Brian Sabean promoted guys like Ryan Sadowski and Joaquin over somebody like Ortiz.

As Ortiz continues to pitch well in Fresno, it will definitely be interesting to see what the future will hold for the journeyman pitcher, who many thought was finished in the Major Leagues after 2007.

After throwing a three-hit shutout on August 4th, Ortiz is certainly making enough noise to merit Sabean's attention. Does he deserve as much consideration as a younger guy like Pucetas or Joaquin? Probably not, but you can't ignore him if he's lighting up the Pacific Coast League.

To be perfectly honest, Ortiz would be a great story to a team that is chock full of them this season: Jeremy Affeldt's resurgence; Joe Martinez's comeback after getting hit with a line drive on April 9; Pablo Sandoval breaking out; Matt Cain finally getting run support. The Giants are 60-and-freaking-48. Ortiz would only add to what has been an incredible season in San Francisco.

Some Giants fans will say we don't need him, and they're probably right. But I think the situation with Ortiz goes beyond our need for him, and rather his need for the Giants to give him this shot.

To be frank, I think that chance is worth it for the Giants. He wouldn't have to be a starting pitcher or even that key of a reliever for this Giants squad. He can just be another pitcher to mop things up or lower the damage after a starter is taken out early. I certainly believe he is more than capable of handling those responsibilities.

The bottom line is that he's pitching well enough in the minors to deserve one more shot at the majors, and as history has shown, guys in his situation don't usually waste last chances. That is, of course, unless you're Tony Batista or Jose Lima, but I can make a safe bet that Ortiz is no Batista or Lima. "Lima Time" wouldn't have anything on Ortiz if he could make this comeback.

The SF "Entourage": Comparing the Giants to the HBO Show Characters

Kevin O'Brien — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 16:06:34 -0400

The popular HBO show "Entourage" is four episodes into its sixth season, and the San Francisco Giants have 44 games left in their season. With this correlation of fours, I think it is time we do a comparison between the San Francisco Giants players and the characters from the show "Entourage." Who is the Vince of this Giants team that is the figurehead of the group? Who is the fiery, Ari? Some comparison may be a stretch, and I'm sure there will be occasions where you will scratch your head and say "What?" Just bear with me though. If you are a fan of the show, and a fan of the boys in black and orange, then this is definitely something that should be up your alley.

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Freddy Sanchez Is Spark San Francisco Giants Need for Postseason

Kevin O'Brien — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 17:20:00 -0400

Say what you want about the Freddy Sanchez-for-Tim Alderson trade that happened shortly before the trade deadline: a classic example of Brian Sabean mortgaging the future on one player at the deadline, a grade-A exhibition of a GM overvaluing veteran over young talent, whatever.

At the end of the day, though, getting Sanchez will be worth it to Giants fans.

Never mind he's 31 years old or has suspect knees. Sanchez is going to be a vital cog in the Giants' playoff push these next couple of months.

I understand it is still early. Sanchez has only played in four games, hardly a big enough sample to make a realistic assumption of how he is going to affect this team during these next couple of months.

That being said, I don't need any more confirmation after today's 10-6 win against Houston.

What Sanchez has shown these past four games is a prime illustration of why he is the missing link this team has been looking for. He is a spark at the plate (exhibited by his seven hits, three RBI, and home run in his first four games as a Giant), and he is a dependable anchor at the second base position that has seen more suitors than Madonna in her heyday.

And if that is not good enough, Sanchez has made his Giants teammates better. Pablo Sandoval has been on a tear since Sanchez's acquisition. Is it a coincidence?

Perhaps, but I also feel that the "Panda" is more confident at the plate because he knows he has a solid guy hitting in front of him at the two-spot.

It is obvious that he feels more comfortable in a spot where he can help by continuing to have big innings rather than just by starting innings at the plate. Look what Sandoval has done statistically with Sanchez batting ahead of him: eight hits, two doubles, four RBI, and a home run.

There's a reason why Jeff Kent was such a great hitter when he was in San Francisco: he had an excellent hitter in front of him in Barry Bonds. Thus, it isn't a shock to see Sandoval excelling with a great hitter like Sanchez hitting in front of him, rather than an average one like Randy Winn or Edgar Renteria.

Now I know a lot of pundits will point to last season's drop-off and Sanchez's poor July at the plate during his waning days as a Pirate. Yet, I believe a variety of factors affected him in Pittsburgh that resulted in his sub-par July.

For starters, the Pirates were losers—plain and simple. GM Neal Huntington was getting rid of everybody and basically packed in the season by the end of June. Sanchez, like any other baseball player, is a competitor, and knowing that, he is playing for a losing cause took its toll on him at the plate.

In addition, Sanchez had been in the middle of trade rumors since the beginning of July, along with longtime teammate Jack Wilson (who ended up getting shipped to Seattle).

Add that with the contract negotiations that fell through shortly after the All-Star break, and I'm sure Sanchez was feeling the heat and pressure of not knowing his place on the Pirates team, or where his future was heading.

A lot of fans don't think those factors matter, but they do. Look at Jason Bay this season.

After a hot couple of months to start the season for the Red Sox, his season stats took a dip when reports came out that his agent brought up the idea of asking for "Mark Teixiera money" (e.g. an insane, unthinkable amount of cash) when he became a free agent at the end of the season.

Thus, it isn't impossible to think that Bay felt the pressure from those high standards and it took a toll on his play.

Now that he is officially a Giant, Sanchez doesn't have to deal with any more drama in Pittsburgh. He's free of all the trade rumors and he knows his place in San Francisco—as the starting second baseman.

You can see the rejuvenation out there when Sanchez takes the field or digs into the batter's box. Sure, his bum knee still shows now, especially when he is running, but the guy not only grits it out, he excels, despite this nagging presence in his body.

He hasn't had a bad at-bat in a Giants uniform and you can feel that his presence gives everyone on this Giants team confidence.

The hitters feel confident with Sanchez in the lineup.

The pitchers feel confident with Sanchez in the field. Manager Bruce Bochy is more at ease knowing that he doesn't have to go through the Ferris Wheel-lineup of Juan Uribe, Matt Downs, and Kevin Frandsen anymore.

When a team has that kind of force on a team, it bodes well. The Giants offense hasn't really broken out for good this season. They have shown flashes, but even as you watched them play, you had a feeling they were just that: only flashes, nothing concrete.

This recent stretch with Sanchez is far from that.

You don't feel it's just a flash, but rather a sign of what this team is going to be not only for the rest of the regular season, but perhaps even in the postseason this year and next.

Postseason? Should I be so bold as to say that?

I will make that prediction, though: Sanchez can help the Giants to the postseason if he continues to be healthy and stays in the lineup. He changes this team from a fringe playoff team to a legitimate one.

The Giants have the pitching—both starting and relief—and the right guys that can get hot at the plate at the right time. Just watch out for Aaron Rowand; he'll prove a lot of his doubters wrong sooner than you think.

Maybe we will regret losing Tim Alderson. Maybe we will regret losing out on that dream rotation of Lincecum, Cain, Bumgarner, Alderson and the other Sanchez—Jonathan.

That being said, I have a feeling we won't regret getting Freddy Sanchez.

Believe me, you will have the same feeling I do when we're starting postseason play in October.

Pablo Sandoval's Hitting Approach Needs To Improve To Be a Great Giant

Kevin O'Brien — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:49:04 -0400

Pablo "The Kung-Fu Panda" Sandoval has helped re-energize Bay Area baseball fans this season. After a 2008 campaign that had its moments (thanks to Tim Lincecum and his Cy Young season) but was otherwise lifeless, Sandoval and his free-swinging, pudgy-frame, massive-dip-in-lower lip ways have been a hit at AT&T Park.

Along with the one-two punch of Lincecum and Matt Cain, Sandoval has helped the Giants become winners and relevant again in the National League West.

However, despite all of Sandoval's successes so far this season, I can't help but feel skeptical about the "Panda" in terms of what the future holds for him.

Before the All-Star break, I wrote an article questioning if Sandoval could become "The Man" on this Giants team for years to come. I wondered if he could have the same kind of impact as a hitter on this team that Albert Pujols has for the Cardinals or Manny "I'm a Mountain" Ramirez has for the Dodgers.

A lot of people felt he was going to become "The Man" easily. Some felt that Sandoval was "The Man" already.

I, on the other hand, am not so sure he can become one unless he works on one thing: His patience at the plate.

Sandoval has a unique style as a hitter that echoes superstars like Vladimir Guerrero—if it's in the strike zone, he's swinging (whatever the count). It's the kind of approach I'm sure hitting coach Carney Lansford loves, even though it has produced disastrous results with some of the other players on the squad (cough...Bengie Molina...cough).

Statistically speaking, you can't argue with Sandoval's approach this season. In 100 games, he has 16 home runs, 64 RBI and a .327 batting average.

Additionally, he also has a .374 OBP, a .551 slugging percentage and a .925 OPS.

So judging by those stats, my argument is moot, right? I'm sure people will say: "He gets on base, he gets hits, he drives in RBI, what else do you want from the guy?"

When I'm talking about plate patience, however, I'm not pointing out that he's not getting on base enough, not drawing enough walks or swinging at too many balls out of the strike zone.

What I'm suggesting is that he needs to work on making better decisions when it comes to deciding which pitches to swing in the strike zone.

Look, I understand when Sandoval swings at questionable pitches with two strikes. A protective swing is what a hitter has to do when you're one strike away from getting sent back to the bench.

Yet Sandoval's propensity to swing at those questionable strikes early in the count, and when the count is in his favor, is something that he needs to change.

The reason I advocate this is because Sandoval has incredible power. I know you can't judge it solely by his home run stats (he only has 16, which is still best on the Giants team by the way), but if you have seen some of his home runs this year, you can understand what I'm saying.

Check out the homer he hit into McCovey Cove against the Phillies. Watch the homer he hit during Jonathan Sanchez's no hitter.

When Sandoval takes one out, they aren't ducks or "Wow that barely got out of there" home runs. Each one he gets a real hold of is mashed with the kind of authority that echoes Pujols and Prince Fielder from Milwaukee.

Unfortunately, Sandoval too often settles on swinging at the first strike he sees, and that is usually not something he can put power behind. Sure, I like to see him get hits and like to see him get on base, which is important considering our team OBP is the worst in the league.

However, I also get disappointed when he is only able to hit a "ground ball with eyes" on the first pitch.

If he was just a little more patient, and laid off on questionable pitches early in his at-bats, he could work into more advantageous counts, and he could get more pitches in his "happy" zone where he could really put some serious juice (no steroid reference intended) behind the ball.

Now, I'm not saying it isn't possible with Pablo.

In the beginning of this year, Sandoval had problems staying away from those high pitches away from the strike zone. He has aptly learned to lay off those now. His patience has improved, and it isn't impossible to think that it will continue to improve as he continues to see more and more big-league pitching (after all, he has only played 141 games).

Sandoval is a special player that has great hitting ability as a switch-hitter, a trait that adds more to his already tremendous value. His averages are very similar from both sides of the plate, and that makes him a nightmare for opposing managers when it comes to what pitcher to bring in to face Sandoval in the late innings.

That being said, unless Sandoval is able to hone his patience at the plate, and learns to lay off those pitches early in the count that will only allow him to hit singles, all of his amazing traits will be wasted. He won't fully utilize his power, and he'll forever be compared to Randall Simon (as many Pirates fans have noted) rather than Pujols (whom Willie McCovey compared Sandoval to in Spring Training this year).

I'm not bashing or giving up hope on the "Panda." He may be one of my favorite players since Matt Williams. In addition, I think the year he has had this season may be a stepping-stone for future success, and is not just a "flash in the pan" like some doubters might think.

However, Sandoval is not "The Man" just yet. He is close, but not quite in that upper echelon.

Once (or, as much as I hate to say this, if) he improves his plate patience, next season and beyond, he will become "The Man" for this Giants team. And...

Well...let's just say I hope you're not a Dodgers, Padres, Rockies or Diamondbacks fan.

With Sadwoski Demoted, Who Should The Giants Look to at The Five Spot?

Kevin O'Brien — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:05:31 -0400

After coming back home from AT&T Park from the Giants game on Saturday, I was carousing on my Twitter and stumbled upon this very intriguing Tweet from the San Francisco Giants' account:

"Who do you think will be the fifth starter: Justin Miller, Joe Martinez, Kevin Pucetas or Madison Bumgarner?"

With Ryan Sadowski officially getting demoted back to Fresno Saturday, and with Jonathan Sanchez firmly entrenched in the rotation with Randy Johnson on the 60-day DL, the question of who should fill the fifth-spot in the rotation is intriguing.

I have raised the question before, but that was before I knew the Big Unit's injury was as serious as it was.

In response to that question, I would automatically eliminate two names from that list:

Justin Miller and Madison Bumgarner.

In my mind, Miller has found a role on this Giants team as their long-innings reliever. There is no one else on this team that can fulfill that role in the bullpen. Every other pitcher in the pen is suited for one-inning work, two at the tops. To thrust Miller in the rotation now would leave the Giants severely handicapped in the long-relief department, and that is always a concern with guys like Zito and Sanchez in the rotation, guys who are capable of getting blown up in four or less innings.

Furthermore, Miller has always been a mediocre starter. He doesn't have a great fastball, and he is a "junk" pitcher, plain and simple. He's great for a few innings, but once he would hit the fourth or fifth inning, hitter would be able to adapt to his pitches rather easily. Miller has found a great role on this team for his set of pitching skills, and I am hard-pressed to believe that manager Bruce Bochy would deviate from his strengths now after succeeding in this role the entire season.

As for Bumgarner, I love this kid. I breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn't even considered in any trade deadline deals this past week. He is on the cusp of something special, and he was somebody the Giants couldn't lose, no matter who was available on the market (same thing goes for Buster Posey).

That being said, I don't think there is any point in rushing him up to the majors now (And according to recent reports, Bochy feels the same way as he has announced that Bumgarner won't be considered just yet for the fifth spot).

Let him dominate a little more in the minors and see what he can do in Spring Training next year. If he has a great outing in Spring Training, then give him the fifth spot in the rotation next season (which will probably be open when Randy Johnson most likely retires next season).

I just don't want the Giants to hurt this kid's confidence before he is ready for the Major League level, and with the Giants competing for the Wild Card spot, we aren't really in the position to bring up guys just for the sake of getting them Major League experience. He is only 20-years-old, and he still has a lot to work on as a pitcher. If he was out of college, and 22 or 23, then I would feel differently. However, because of his youth, I think he could benefit from finishing the year in the minors and getting a chance to start next season.

So, that basically leaves the Giants with two options: Kevin Pucetas or Joe Martinez, who has been sidelined most of the year after getting hit in the head with a ball on April 9.

I have been eager to see Pucetas get a call-up, simply because of his performance at the minor league level this season.

At 10-2 with a 3.30 ERA and 1.22 WHIP, Pucetas certainly has made a case this year for a callup. He was actually supposed to get the callup earlier after Jonathan Sanchez was sent to the bullpen, but because he pitched the day before the scheduled start against Milwaukee, the Giants opted to go with Sadowski instead.

The only concern with Pucetas is his stuff (his K-rating is a 61 on The Baseball Cube). There are a lot of camps and fans that feel Pucetas doesn't exactly have the stuff to succeed at the major league level.

Pucetas simply isn't a strikeout pitcher, as evidenced by only having 74 strikeouts in 128 IP. He doesn't have the fastball to get guys out like Tim Lincecum.

However, we have seen pitchers been successful at the Major League level without the greatest of stuff (Greg Maddux rings a bell). Furthermore, the Giants are not expecting Pucetas to be a centerpiece of this rotation, but rather a fill-in until (or if) Johnson gets healthy and returns to the rotation.

Pucetas is certainly capable of fulfilling that role, even if the best case scenario for him may be Mark Gardner.

Stuff isn't too much of an issue with Martinez as it is for Pucetas. While he is by no means a strikeout pitcher, his propensity for a K is a lot more likely than Pucetas (The Baseball Cube give him a K-rating of 82).

In Fresno this season, Martinez has a 2.93 ERA, a 1.12 WHIP and 16 strikeouts in 27.2 IP. Last year in Double-A, his stats were impressive, as he had a 2.49 ERA, a 1.14 WHIP and a 112 SO in 148 IP.

The main advantage Martinez has over Pucetas though is that he has pitched at the Major League level this season, something Pucetas hasn't done in his four-year career in baseball.

Martinez's stats with Giants aren't great by any measure. In two games, he has a 6.75 ERA, and a 1.87 WHIP in 2.2 IP.

Granted, those are only two appearances, so you can't really judge them that concretely.

At the same time however, there is a concern with Martinez that goes beyond his statline at the Major League level this season.

Can Martinez come back after getting plunked in the head with a baseball?

That kind of incident has derailed pitchers' career in the past. Granted, Martinez didn't have much of a Major League career before getting hit by Mike Cameron with a ball, but no doubt it will effect him whenever he takes the mound for the Giants anytime soon.

Can Martinez get fully comfortable on the mound again? Can he get the confidence to pitch where he's not thinking about the line drive coming at him?

It isn't easy. I'm sure Martinez is capable of overcoming his tragic accident in April, but for anyone who's played baseball can attest, it can be tough to get back in the groove after getting hit in the head with a baseball.

It's like quitting smoking or chewing tobacco. No matter how hard you try, you will be reminded on a constant basis of what happened, and those constant memories will make it tough to move on.

It will be interesting to see who Bochy fills in the fifth spot. As of now, the favorite seems to be Martinez simply because of his Major League experience (even though it isn't much), but Pucetas certainly shouldn't be ruled out. He has certainly paid his dues at Fresno, and deserves a shot to at least pitch at the Major League level this season, even if it is only as a spot starter.

Whoever the Giants go with, they can't afford to keep rotating starters that can't get the job done. If this was like last year, when the Giants were out of it going into August, then I would have no problem and would be open to seeing as many guys starting as possible.

Yet the Giants are in the thick of a playoff race, and they need stability, especially in their rotation, to continue to have a shot at the Wild Card.

Does Eugenio Velez Have a Career with Giants? One Giants Fan Thinks So

Kevin O'Brien — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 18:10:00 -0400

About a couple of weeks ago, Eugenio Velez was an afterthought. Heck, I even wrote an article on Bleacher Report about how I felt his tenure as a Giant was probably going to come to an end after this season.

After all, if you look at him and his career, there is not a lot to like. He is 27, and for the most part, during his two seasons at the big league level (roughly), Velez has been an afterthought in this Giants organization.

Going into Spring Training this season, he wasn't deemed worthy to compete with Emmanuel Burriss and Kevin Frandsen for the open second base position.

So, in order to maximize his value, Velez decided to take his skills into the outfield.

However, it didn't matter what position Velez could or couldn't play, for his batting skills that ultimately doomed him early this season as Velez was demoted to Fresno in late May after batting only .194 with a .216 OBP.

After his demotion, many wondered if Velez perhaps would get designated for assignment this year.

With Frandsen, Burriss, Juan Uribe and Matt Downs all competing for the second base job, and the outfield already crowded with Fred Lewis and Andres Torres as reserves, Velez simply had no place at the Major League level.

Then, he got his second callup this season, and suddenly, the sentiment concerning Velez has changed.

In his last seven games, Velez has batted .462 with seven RBI. Velez has been a spark plug in the lineup, and manager Bruce Bochy has found it tough to keep the hot-hitting Velez out of the lineup.

Finally, for the first time in his career as a Giant, Velez is starting to show some of that promise he showed last year in Spring Training when even commentators like Jon Miller were singing his praises as the Giants "next big thing."

However, with Freddy Sanchez acquired from the Pirates last week before the Trade Deadline, Velez's situation doesn't seem any better than it was in April.

There still aren't a lot of places to put Velez, and once the team gets fully healthy, Velez will have a hard time finding at-bats, even if he continues his hot-hitting pace.

To most people, the best solution with Velez would probably be to deal him while he is hot, and maybe find a suitor that would compensate something decent in exchange for him.

That being said, I think Giants fans should not be so haste with those thoughts. Is Velez's latest callup maybe a flash in the pan? Is it just a hot streak that may not last much longer than next week?

Perhaps, but I don't think anyone can deny that Velez has developed into a different player, especially at the plate.

Instead of the free-swinging, impatient kid we saw in April and May chasing everything and anything in and out of the strike zone, Velez has become a very good, clutch hitter.

With the bases loaded against Philadelphia in the sixth inning, Velez tattooed a hit past Ryan Howard to score two runs. Would Velez have done that earlier this year or even last year?

Probably not, especially considering in the at-bat, Chan-Ho Park was throwing all the kinds of bait Velez would have hooked upon before.

This simply isn't the same Velez we've been exposed to in his tenure in the Bay Area. Who knows what got to him?

Whether he knows this is his last chance at the Major League level, or if he just needed more time at Triple-A Fresno, Velez has certainly stepped up after a disappointing first couple of months this year.

He has become an adequate leadoff hitter, and he can be utilized anywhere, from left field to second base. Not many guys on this team have that kind of versatility, which is further reason why Velez should be kept instead of dealt this off-season.

In my mind, Velez is showing something special, and is on the cusp of being something eye-popping. Is he going to be an All-Star? Probably not, but he is going to be a productive player and a unique player that can produce a very high reward for this Giants organization.

Guys like Velez, guys who can make the adjustments to play four or five positions in the field, don't come very often, and it would be a shame to see Brian Sabean waste this opportunity because most people think that his latest performance is just a fluke.

We will have to see in the next couple of weeks whether or not Velez can continue his stellar play before we can judge him as a "fluke" or not. As great as he has hit these last seven games, it is exactly that: just seven games.

However, I have a feeling Velez has more in store, and there are better things to come with him in the "not to distant" future.

I can only hope the Giants organization has the patience to stick with him as he continues to work toward the bigger payoff that I know is coming down the road for this Giants team, and Giants fans.

With PED Revelation, Ortiz Should Be Held to Same Standard As Bonds

Kevin O'Brien — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 19:07:20 -0400

Say what you want about Barry Bonds. You can call him a liar, a terrible human being, a jerk, or whatever expletive comes to mind.

If you know him as a "cheater" though, then you better be ready to give the same harsh treatment to David Ortiz that you gave to Bonds after the New York Times reported today that he tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003.

That's right. I hope ballparks all over the nation will give the same amount of abuse Bonds went through in the twilight years of his career. Fans, who were holding syringes, steroid signs, and yelling "cheater!" every time Bonds went up to bat, better be doing that to Ortiz whenever he steps up to plate at an opposing ballpark.

It is only fair. If you hate Bonds because he is a cheater, than you need to hold the same standard to all cheaters. It shouldn't be a pick and choose buffet in terms of who you should boo.

However, I have a feeling that whatever Ortiz chooses to do, whether he goes the Bonds and Roger Clemens route and denies it, or goes the Alex Rodriguez and Andy Pettitte route and admits it, Ortiz won't get a glimmer of the hatred Bonds received.

Because after all, he's "Big Papi." The fans love him. The media loves him. Boston, one of the biggest baseball market along with New York, loves him as well.

His clutch hits got them a World Series in 2004 after 86 years. "Big Papi" helped end the "curse" along with his buddy and fellow positive-testing buddy Manny Ramirez.

So nobody is going to hold him as accountable as Bonds. Sure, there will be some negative sentiment initially, but it won't define Ortiz's career like it did for Bonds.

Never mind that Bonds was a Hall of Famer before he took steroids and Ortiz wasn't. The legacy of Ortiz bringing a championship to the Red Sox will forever outweigh the reports of his PED use.

You don't believe me? Just look at the other superstars who are getting the same pass that Ortiz undoubtedly will get.

Ramirez, who actually was suspended 50 games this year for alleged steroid use, has been pardoned by the whole Los Angeles media scene. Dodger Stadium still has "Mannywood," and the media still holds Ramirez in high esteem as one of the best hitters of the game currently.

Bonds was also held in high esteem as a hitter during his heyday, but not without the phrase "alleged steroid user" attached to it.

How many times have we seen that from Ramirez this year?

Not a lot. Maybe a bit in the beginning after his suspension, but now that he is back in the lineup, it seems like an afterthought, more of a "catch of the day" story than an actual controversy.

Not even California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was pardoned this much.

Furthermore, look in New York with Alex Rodriguez. The media killed him the first couple of months after Selena Roberts' report and his admittance at Spring Training to the mistake he made.

Now though? He's still one of the more popular hitters in the game. Opposing fans are more prone to point out his other embarrassing faults (e.g. dating Madonna, kissing himself in the mirror) rather than the one that should be embellished: the fact that he cheated with PEDs just like Bonds did.

Baseball fans will say "Well, I just didn't like Bonds, and he didn't admit to it," as an excuse to why Bonds was treated so harshly in comparison to A-Rod, Manny, and eventually Papi.

Then why didn't those fans hold "liar" signs instead of syringes? Why didn't those fans call him a "jerk" instead of a cheater?

It's all just the same web of hypocrisy that makes me fume as a San Francisco Giants fan. We as fans got ripped to shreds by opposing fans for supporting him. We were credited with "ruining the game of baseball" by cheering Bonds in his pursuit of Hank Aaron and Mark McGwire's records.

Now those fans, who usually came from the Dodgers, Red Sox, and Yankees camps, are looking awfully stupid now, aren't they?

With Bonds out of the game and unlikely to sign with any team anytime soon, no one will be able to at least take back what they said about Bonds (or at least rationalize it). People can't take back those sentiments that demonized him as the sole culprit in this steroid mess. When in reality, he was just one in a handful of superstars that was doing the same thing.

Bonds won't get that opportunity to play a team where the fans are actually jeering another player for steroid use and not just him.

I'm sure if that moment happened, I could see him smiling and shaking his head in the dugout, saying to himself under his breath "What goes around comes around."

In no way am I defending Bonds for his steroid use. He did indeed cheat and that should be recognized. Additionally, in no way am I saying he is a model person and that we should absolve him for everything he's done.

However, he has paid the price for what he has done and then some in the baseball community. His reputation is dirt, and for his steroid-use alone no team will sign him, even if he can still hit the ball like he used to.

Do you think that will happen to A-Rod, Papi, or Manny?

I don't think so. Teams will still desire these guys if they are out on the market and will still throw out an exuberant amount of cash to sign these guys.

Those three players won't even touch the price Bonds paid. They won't look like saints compared to Bonds, but they won't ever go through the same scrutiny he went through from ballpark to ballpark.

In the end, all I want to happen with Ortiz, Manny, and even A-Rod is that they are held to the same standard. I don't think any rational person can hold that against me.

If you hate a cheater, hate him because he is one, not because he is a "less-likable" cheater.

That won't happen though. The Pink Hat Red Sox fans will most likely still defend Ortiz to death. A majority of Dodgers fans will still wear their Manny dreads. A-Rod will still be cheered and revered even amongst the youngest of fans.

I guarantee you that at one opposing ballpark this year, there will be some Red Sox fans holding a "We still believe in you Papi" sign.

And chances are, just three or four years ago, those same fans were holding an asterisk sign when Bonds and the Giants came to play in their ballpark.

Sanchez-Alderson Trade Will Determine Future of SF Giants GM Brian Sabean

Kevin O'Brien — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 21:33:05 -0400

If anything, the San Francisco Giants GM has bought himself at least one more year as GM in the Bay Area.

Giants fans clamored for an offensive upgrade, as the team ranked second to last in the National League in runs scored, and Sabean came through as he was told.

On Monday, Sabean traded away minor league pitching prospect Scott Barnes for first baseman Ryan Garko from Cleveland.

On paper, Garko is what the Giants need in order to spark their inconsistent offense. With the Indians this year, Garko was batting .285 with 11 home runs and 39 RBI.

The deal did not come without some costs though. Barnes, an initially low-valued prospect going into the year, has rose his stock considerably this season in Single-A ball. This season in San Jose, Barnes had a 12-3 record and a 2.85 ERA.

However, Sabean did not stop with Garko in terms of his decision to upgrade immediately.

Today, it was confirmed that the Giants would acquire All-Star second baseman Freddy Sanchez from Pittsburgh for heralded pitching prospect Tim Alderson.

The deal certainly comes as a surprise to many Giants fans. Considering that the Pirates practically gave Nate McLouth away to the Braves for practically nothing in return, many thought the Giants would acquire Sanchez at a relatively low cost.

Many people thought in order to acquire Sanchez, the Giants would lose either second baseman Kevin Frandsen, outfielder/first baseman John Bowker, first baseman Jesus Guzman or at worst, all three.

Instead, the Giants parted ways with one of their top draft picks in 2007 in Alderson (the other being Madison Bumgarner).

While the Alderson trade does not cripple the Giants' farm system due to the amount of pitching depth the Giants have accumulated through their last few drafts, the move hurts the progress the organization was making with their farm system.

It is also a mixed signal from Sabean.

In many ways, Sabean had convinced Giants fans he was going to take a different route with the Giants' minor league players. He seemed intent on refraining from trading away their top prospects in order to get player who could make immediate, but in the end, brief, contributions.

It seemed that Sabean was sticking with that plan when he passed on making a run for Matt Holliday, and I was fine with it. As long as that was the definite long-term solution, I was up for seeing it being carried all the way through.

However, by trading away their second-best pitching prospect behind Madison Bumgarner, that solution has been dismantled at least a little bit for the time being.

Who knows why Sabean deviated so suddenly.

Perhaps he is convinced that Garko and Sanchez are indeed the missing pieces to this team, and he feels that their worth currently will outweigh Alderson and Barnes' in the future.

Maybe he believes heavily that the minor league pitching depth that they accumulated in the draft the last few years can overcome the loss of these two arms.

Whatever his reasons are, the bottom line is this:

Sabean's job will be determined on how Alderson and Sanchez pan out.

The Garko trade is also crucial to this team, but it is small peanuts compared to the trade that occurred this afternoon.

Despite how ballyhooed a prospect Alderson is, we still don't know how he will turn out at the major league level. He could be the next big thing, the next Matt Cain or the next Tim Lincecum.

Then again though, he could also be the next Kurt Ainsworth, Jason Grili or William Van Landingham.

In order for Sabean to keep his job two years from now, he will need Alderson to be closer to the latter, and he will need Sanchez to have an immediate impact when he becomes the Giants' everyday second baseman.

Sanchez needs to be as good as advertised, and worth the big prospect that was deemed "untouchable" at one point by the Giants organization months ago.

He needs to be closer to the All-Star infielder he was from April-June, and less like the player he has become in July.

Since July 10, Sanchez has suffered a 22-point batting average drop from .318 to .296. Furthermore, in the month of July, he has only batted .193 with only one RBI and scored only four runs.

His stats in San Francisco need to be a lot better than that in order for the Giants to continue to be Wild Card contenders, and for this trade to be worthwhile.

However, despite what Sanchez does during these last two months of the season, Sabean will still have a job next year.

Alderson is still a year away at the earliest in terms of making the jump to the Major League level (though considering how bare the Pirates are at this moment, he could see time at the MLB level midway through next year).

So you have to give Sabean the benefit at the doubt when his contract ends this year and they begin negotiations on his extension.

I can't imagine his extension will be very long-term. If anything, it will probably be very similar in structure to the two-year contract he signed in 2007.

Thus, fans better get used to seeing Sabean for at least the next couple of years in San Francisco.

If Sanchez ends up putting us over the top (very unlikely) and Alderson proves to be more of a bust than a breakout, it is safe to say Sabean will continue to be GM beyond his inevitable next extension.

If this Sanchez trade turns out more like the A.J. Pierzynski trade...well...

Hey, at least it will only be two more years.

Sanchez, Sadowski, Pucetas: A Three-Way Dance for the Giants' Last Spot

Kevin O'Brien — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 02:35:55 -0400

Who knows if Randy Johnson will be healthy for the remainder of the season. At 45-years of age, it isn't a foregone conclusion that he will come back from the shoulder injury he suffered in his last start against the Houston Astros on July 5.

Johnson has never really suffered from an injury like this before, so it is certainly possible that this shoulder injury may derail and perhaps end his illustrious career by the end of the season.

However, if Johnson does come back from this shoulder injury (let's hope that the MRI goes well on Monday) and is able to work back in the rotation, that leaves the Giants with a dilemma:

Who is best suited for the fifth spot in the rotation?

Do the Giants go with the Jonathan Sanchez, the inconsistent, hard-throwing lefty who threw a no-hitter on July 10?

Do they go with Ryan Sadowski, who followed up two great starts with three rather forgettable ones?

Or do they go with the unknown commodity in Kevin Pucetas, who has shone in Fresno, but hasn't proved anything yet at the Major League level?

In some ways, it is the kind of position battle that is similar to an old-school, three-way dance for the title during the glory years of Extreme Championship Wrestling.

All three guys are certainly different, and certainly have their respective talents. Yet like the old ECW wrestlers, each starting pitcher has the kind of flaws that have kept them from being truly great.

Sanchez is similar to a Lance Storm. He has achieved some success at the next level (as evidenced by the no-hitter), and his skill-set is undeniable.

However, his consistency and his struggling mental makeup have prevented him from being a real key cog in this rotation (much like Storm never had the mental fortitude or charisma to be a real serious impact star in ECW).

With a 3-9 record this year, and a 4.92 ERA, no baseball experts or fans are going to be confusing him with top of the rotation aces Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain anytime soon.

Ryan Sadowski is similar to a Tommy Dreamer. When you judge him on looks and skill-set alone he isn't all the impressive. Furthermore, his stats at any level haven't been that awesome either (in Fresno this season, Sadowski was 5-2 with a 4.11 ERA) similar to how Dreamer never really got a lot of titles in his tenure as ECW headliner.

Like Dreamer did for so many years during ECW's existence though, for two straight starts, Sadowski showed something that went beyond physical skills.

He dominated and endeared to the fans with his excellent pitching outings that had people asking themselves "Where the heck did this kid come from?" People started to be alright with Sanchez being regulated to bullpen duty because "We have this kid Sadowski."

Unfortunately, in his last three starts, Sadowski's physical skills and past has caught up with him (as it did for Dreamer during his last couple of years in ECW). Sadowski has gotten shelled and struggled with his control, especially in his last two outings.

Now, Giants fans wonder if Sadowski' two strong pitching performances against Milwaukee and Houston were just flashes in the pan, and not indicative of a bright future like the once thought.

As for Pucetas, one could liken him to Rhyno. Pucetas has been excellent this season in Fresno with a 10-2 record, 3.26 ERA and 1.21 WHIP (and would have been called up earlier instead of Sadowski had he not pitched the day before the scheduled start against Milwaukee).

Pucetas, however, hasn't played at the Major League level and many wonder if he can be successful beyond Triple-A. Stuff-wise, he isn't all that great (according to the Baseball Cube, Pucetas has a K-rating of 61, which stems from only having 70 strikeouts in 121.1 innings pitched).

Rhyno proved himself at the ECW level, but not without some criticism that is eerily similar to Pucetas.

Many wrestling fans wonder how truly great he was as a wrestler, for most of the wrestlers he beat in the twilight years of ECW wouldn't have lasted in ECW's heyday.

Unfortunately, Rhyno never got the opportunity to prove that he was up there in legacy with guys like Dreamer, the Sandman and Raven. ECW folded shortly after he won the title, and he was an afterthought in the WWE.

A similar fate could happen to Pucetas. He has only excelled against Triple-A competition, and with guys like Cain, Lincecum, and Zito instilled firmly in the rotation, Pucetas might not get much of a shot starting at the next level (even though with Sadowski struggling it is plausible to think he will be coming up to San Francisco real soon).

So now that we know which pitchers resemble which wrestlers, who will win this lethal and cutthroat three-way dance for the Giants last spot in the rotation with a NL Wild Card spot on the line?

To be perfectly honest, it could be anyone.

If you have to point to anyone, you have to narrow down the race between Pucetas and Sanchez.

Sanchez obviously has the advantage in terms of the feat achieved earlier this year and stuff-wise. At the same time, if Pucetas can come up and have an impact if called up, the Giants will be hard-pressed to keep him out of the rotation if he is piling up wins during this crucial playoff race with Colorado.

Then again, Pucetas has to prove it at the next level. Sanchez has done it somewhat. Sadowski has done it somewhat. Pucetas, on the other hand, can't say that.

It will definitely be an interesting week for the Giants. Not only will they be dealing with the unpredictability of what GM Brian Sabean will do at the trade deadline, but they will also be dealing with this very crucial rotation situation should Johnson return soon.

Whoever wins, this is clear: they need someone to have an impact and help get the Giants back on the winning track.

In the words of Joey Styles, the three-way dance between Sanchez, Sadowski, and Pucetas certainly will "be...EXTREME!"

Should the Giants Have Signed Orlando Cabrera Over Edgar Renteria?

Kevin O'Brien — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 04:42:24 -0400

First off, let's get one thing out of the way before I make this argument.

I'm assuming that for whatever reason, we couldn't sign Orlando Hudson, even though he would have come at a bargain of a price that we certainly could have afforded. Hudson would trump this argument automatically because of the better season he is having in comparison to both the Oakland A's Orlando Cabrera and San Francisco Giants' Edgar Renteria (not to mention his youth in comparison to those two).

That being said I'm assuming that we couldn't sign Hudson because we needed a shortstop to replace Omar Vizquel, and in GM Brian Sabean's eyes, Emmanuel Burriss simply wasn't a formidable fit as the everyday shortstop going into 2009 (which would've been so as it turned out). Being that Hudson is a second baseman, he would've been out of the fold.

However, I think Sabean, who made the right decision in acquiring a shortstop in the off-season, simply made the wrong call in terms of what shortstop he signed in December. In retrospect, Sabean would have been better off if he signed Cabrera instead of Renteria.

This isn't the first time Renteria has overshadowed his fellow Colombian-born infielder. In 2004, after the Red Sox captured their first World Series title in 86 years, instead of signing Cabrera, who batted .294 with six home runs and 31 RBI after getting traded from Montreal, the Red Sox opted to sign Renteria from St. Louis. The move by the Red Sox spectacularly tanked. Renteria only batted .276 with eight home runs and a .720 OPS, and he lasted just one year in Boston's pressure-packed media scene.

As for Cabrera? While playing for the Angels, he statistically had a worse season than Renteria (Cabrera only batted .257 with eight home runs and a .309 OBP).

What made the difference, however, between the two players came in terms of salary. Renteria made $2 million more per-year with the Red Sox than Cabrera did with the Angels in 2005.

In addition to the difference in money, Cabrera was a better fielder than Renteria at this point in their careers (as evidenced by Cabrera winning the American League Gold Glove in 2007, while Renteria hadn't won one since 2003), and Cabrera's teams ended up doing better in the playoffs.

The Red Sox were eliminated in the ALDS in 2005. The Angels made it to the ALCS in 2005. The Red Sox won a World Series title with Cabrera in 2004. The Red Sox didn't win a playoff series with Renteria in 2005.

Four years later, we're seeing the same things with these two.

Renteria is overpaid and underachieving (even though I hold a slight glimmer of hope in one of my previous articles), while Cabrera is playing hot and proving to be a steal considering how much the A's signed him for in the offseason. Cabrera makes $4 million this season in Oakland. Renteria makes twice that at $8 million this year across the bay in San Francisco.

And yet, despite being paid more, Renteria pales in comparison to Cabrera in every statistical category this season. Cabrera is batting .276 with four home runs, 41 RBI and a .313 OBP for the A's. Renteria is only batting .252 with two home runs, 38 RBI and .305 OBP for the Giants.

It's crazy to think how consistently overlooked Cabrera is in comparison to Renteria. Sure, Renteria has put up some great stats in the past, and is a much better physical specimen than Cabrera (Renteria's six-foot, one-inch, 200-pound body towers over Cabrera's five-foot, nine-inch, 185-pound frame), but Cabrera has proved to be a better bang-for-the buck player over his career.

Furthermore, when it comes to the Giants, Cabrera would have fit perfectly with the already goofy, laid-back personality of this team. He would have found a great niche in between the "Kung-Fu Panda" Pablo Sandoval at third and the Mohawk-sporting Juan Uribe at second.

The trio would be doing all kinds of handshakes that would make even Victor Martinez's head spin.

Intangibles and handshakes aside, the fact of the matter is that Cabrera would have offered more production at a cheaper price than Renteria. However, because of Renteria's physical attributes, and his overly-acclimated success with the Cardinals and Braves, Sabean overvalued him and paid way too much, even though he could have gotten a player with more spark and better chemistry issues at half the price.

Cabrera may not have been the more ballyhooed offseason signing, but he would have gotten the job done. When you consider how meager this San Francisco offense has been this season, especially at the shortstop position, we certainly could have used a guy like him on our squad this season.

And with the cheap price we undoubtedly would have gotten him at, who knows what possibilities we could have last offseason, this trade deadline or even next offseason.

Unfortunately for the Giants, with Renteria's mediocre play and contract still dragging the organization down going into next year, we'll never know those possibilities.

The Giants may have won the Bay Bridge Series this season, but the A's sure as heck kicked the Giants' butt when it came to signing a shortstop this year.

With Holliday a Cardinal, the Giants Must Improve On Their Own

Kevin O'Brien — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 01:45:00 -0400

With Matt Holliday going from Oakland to St. Louis for a high-value trio of Cardinals prospects (including Bret Wallace, the main prize of the deal), the chance of the Giants getting a player of real impact at the trade deadline suddenly vanished.

Don't get me wrong. I was against the Holliday deal for a variety of reasons. I knew we would have to give up too much to acquire him because A's GM Billy Beane always holds such leverage in these kinds of deals.

In addition, I didn't want to deal with Holliday's agent, Scott Boras, in the offseason, either. If Holliday helped us get into the playoffs, he would command Manny Ramirez-esque money—because Boras could point to Holliday having the kind of impact Manny had on the Dodgers when he arrived from Boston last August.

Thus, we would only have had him for two months, because we would've been unable to afford him, and he would be in a Mets, Red Sox or Yankees uniform next season while we missed the prospects we lost to acquire him in the first place.

So, when it comes to what happened with Holliday: yeah Brian Sabean! (Believe me, that is one of last times I will say that for the rest of the year).

That being said, with the Holliday sweepstakes officially over, it means only one thing: the Giants are going to have earn the Wild Card team with the squad they currently have, blemishes and all.

Granted, who knows what can happen with this squad. Things can change.

The Giants could acquire Freddy Sanchez (whom I've advocated for a very long time), or they can do the "Gammons" route and trade for Nick Johnson (whom I've not been a fan of ever since the notion was made).

However, let's be honest with ourselves as Giants fans: are those guys going to make any real impact if acquired?

Sanchez could make some impact if his acquired from Pittsburgh, but he won't be a "Holy crap did you see just who they got at the deadline? They're the real deal now" kind of a player.

He's a nice complement in the infield. He solidifies the lineup at the top of the order. He gets Matt Downs demoted.

I admit it. Those are a lot of great pluses with Sanchez in the Giants lineup.

Yet despite the positives Sanchez brings, the probable cheap price in attaining him, and my overwhelming desire to keep Downs off the team for the rest of the season, he's just not going to make us a "favorite" to win anything anytime soon—unlike Manny with the Dodgers or C.C. with Brewers last season.

The same thing goes with Johnson or anybody else the Giants acquire before or by the July 31 deadline. Holliday was the only kind of player on the market with that kind of "I'll carry you on my back" potential, and he's now in St. Louis in place of "Mr. April" Chris Duncan.

So what does that mean for the Giants come August and September?

The Giants are only going to make the playoffs with the current team fans are seeing right now, much to our chagrin. If this team wants to do something special, and have a chance for a World Series ring, they are going to have to do it themselves, without the big-name acquisition.

It's a tough pill to swallow because most of the time, this Giants offense makes me fume in disgust.

The way fly balls fall short of the fence off Bengie Molina's bat. The way Travis Ishikawa follows up three-hit performances with 0-for-4 fiascoes that literally takes years off your life if you watch every at-bat. The way every hitter on the Giants can't lay off a curve ball in the dirt.

Believe me, nobody wanted that "offensive savior" at the deadline more than me. Unfortunately, just looking at the current market, that isn't going to happen. That "savior" just isn't available.

Granted, it may be a good thing in the end. ESPN writer Jayson Stark wrote an article about how the last ten World Series champions didn't win by acquiring big-name talent at the deadline, but rather with complimentary players, and lesser-known veterans who were hungry for to prove themselves in the postseason.

The problem for the Giants, however, is those teams that did win the World Series had very good foundations as far as talent-wise. The same can't be said of the Giants. The holes on the offensive end are so glaring, that to consider this team a World Series contender is absolutely ludicrous.

Yet despite how meager their offense is, the fact remains the same: chances are, the Giants are going to need improvement from their own players, not improvement from a new player, to make a jump into the postseason. That may be a tall order to ask from this squad, and it is likely they will fall short of accomplishing that given task.

Unfortunately though, for the Giants players, management and fans, this cadre of players have no other choice.

I imagine that leaves Giants fans not feeling too good about the future. It probably makes Giants fans feel kind of like the whole world in the scene in the movie Armageddon when the one spaceship with Ben Affleck crashes, and the NASA thinks they lost that one spaceship and everyone and everything in it for good.

(Of course, ten minutes after that gut-wrenching scene, we find out Affleck, Michael Clark Duncan and Dino Velvet from 9 MM, did survive the crash.

They end up driving the drill, locating Bruce Willis and Co. in less than four hours according to the movie despite having no idea where they are, and do indeed split the asteroid and save the world, with the drill that never was supposed to be available in the first place after the ship crashed.

Unless something that crazy, unrealistic and utterly insane happens on a baseball level with the Giants, we as fans are at the scene in the movie where Liv Tyler is crying with her head down and putting her hand on a television of static.)

(Sorry...I have a love-hate relationship with Michael Bay's Armageddon and couldn't resist the urge to make a reference to Bay's Magnum Opus of crap.)

Is Edgar Renteria Due for a Second Half Breakout?

Kevin O'Brien — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:27:45 -0400

If you judge him on the first half of the season, then there is no doubt that Edgar Renteria has been a disappointment as the San Francisco Giants' everyday shortstop.

With a .254 batting average, .308 OBP, and only two home runs and 38 RBI through 81 games, Renteria hasn't lived up to the two-year, $18.5 million contract he signed back in December.

Yet all is not lost with the Colombian-born, former All-Star shortstop.

Ignore for a second the fact that the Giants are mired in an "out of the gate" slump that has resulted in them going 1-4 in the first five games of the second half of the season.

Ignore also for a moment that Renteria has batted three-for-19 in the first five games of the second half, and now seems to be bothered with an elbow injury.

Renteria actually might be due for a big second half offensively.

Statistically speaking, Renteria throughout his career has been a better hitter after the All-Star break than before.

In 1,092 first half games, Renteria has a career batting average of .285, .341 OBP, .397 slugging percentage, and .738 OPS.

In 849 second half games, Renteria has a batting average of .293, .351 OBP, .409 slugging percentage, and .760 OPS.

As you can see, Renteria statistically shows that he is a better player down the stretch, than out of the gate.

For a team that is trying to stay in the National League playoff race after being overtaken by the Colorado Rockies a couple of days ago, that may prove to be invaluable.

Granted, doubters will ask, "If Renteria is a better second half player than a first half, why has he got off to such a lousy start?"

Well, I'll say this succinctly...

It's only five stinking games!

Renteria's second half should not be solely judged by a poor five-game stretch in mid July.

(A side note, that goes for the Giants as a whole, who have ran into two surprisingly hot teams, since the break the Atlanta Braves are 5-1 going into Wednesday's game against the Giants, and the Pittsburgh Pirates are 4-2. The Giants need offensive help, that is certain. However, fans should not throw in the towel for the season because of these two series alone.)

Just look at Renteria's last couple of seasons by the numbers, and you'll see a pattern.

In 2007, with the Atlanta Braves, Renteria hit .358 with a .404 OBP, and a .850 OPS in only 39 games in the second half of the year.

With the Detroit Tigers in 2008, a down season in his career, Renteria was actually surprisingly effective in the second half of the Tigers' disappointing season.

Despite playing in 26 fewer games in the second half, Renteria improved in every statistical category after the break in Detroit.

He went up in batting average (.254 in the first half in comparison to .296 in the second half), OBP (.301 to .343), slugging percentage (.326 to .469), and OPS (.627 to .812).

Furthermore, Renteria totaled only eight fewer total bases (92 in the second half in comparison to 100 in the first half) despite having 119 fewer plate appearances after the All-Star break.

Therefore, the potential is there for Renteria to break out during this final 69-game stretch.

Additionally, if he can replicate the August numbers he produced last season, the Giants' offensive woes will start to heal.

Last year, in 25 games during the month of August, Renteria hit .294 with a .351 OBP, .494 slugging percentage, and .845 OPS. Furthermore, he totaled 25 hits, four home runs, 10 RBI, and 15 runs.

There hasn't been a month this year for Renteria that could touch those numbers (his best month so far was June where he had a .294 batting average and OBP, .354 slugging percentage, .649 OPS, and totaled 29 hits).

Whether that is a sign of him starting to deteriorate as a player or a sign that he is due for a hitting upswing, that depends on how optimistic of a baseball fan you consider yourself to be.

However, as a person that tries to balance pessimism and optimism, especially when it comes to sports, I think it could be a combination of both.

Has Renteria declined as a player? Absolutely. He simply doesn't have the power he used to have (as evidenced by the fact he hasn't hit a home run since April), and his age shows on the field in terms of his inconsistency making plays on ground balls.

However, even for Renteria-standards, this year has been an especially down one at the plate. I just can't see him going through the rest of year without having a big month.

Traditionally, it's around this time of the season where Renteria's offense starts to come alive, so that bodes well for the Giants who need a spark in the lineup at this point.

Granted, we don't know how bad Renteria's injury is, and we certainly don't know how it will affect him for the rest of the season.

As we have seen so many times in the past, a nagging injury can absolutely derail a player's season.

That being said, if he can get fully healthy, and mirror the August he had in Detroit, Renteria would certainly be a much needed help to a Giants' squad desperate for offensive help.

A better hitting Renteria wouldn't be a complete solution to the Giants' hitting woes, but it would be a step in the right direction for both him and the Giants, who still have a chance to make the postseason.

San Francisco Giants GM Brian Sabean Needs to Announce a Plan

Kevin O'Brien — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:27:57 -0400

The secrecy surrounding what Giants general manager Brian Sabean will do at the deadline is getting ridiculous.

It's almost getting as bad as Nike's "Lebron James Dunked-On But We Won't Release the Videotape to the Public" scandal.

On a daily basis, fans are forced to try and guess what Sabean and CEO and managing director Bill Neukom are going to do with the current roster after a surprising first half that had them leading the Wild Card race until they conceded to lead to Colorado last night.

There are basically two camps when it comes to what the Giants should do by the trade deadline:

There are the fans that want to make a trade, and are willing to risk some of the Giants' top prospects for an offensive upgrade.

And there are the fans who want the Giants to stay pat with their current roster, with the idea that next year is the Giants' real breakout season.

Sabean is going to disappoint one camp by the trade deadline. It is impossible for him to please both sides in this situation considering the current baseball landscape.

In order to get a real impact player, the Giants most likely will have to give up a top-tier prospect.

Who is that prospect?

The lingering feeling for Giants fans is that the player might come from the highly-lauded trio of Madison Bumgarner, Tim Alderson and Angel Villalona.

It is unknown whether it will be one, two or perhaps even all three.

After all, those are really the only players in the Giants farm system that could generate any serious value on the current trade market.

In addition to those three young guns, current Giants starter Jonathan Sanchez is in the mix of trade talks, who is coming off a solid, but not spectacular, start in Atlanta.

Yet after his no-hitter on July 10, Giants fans aren't as willing to part with him as before.

Regardless of the fans' feelings about those quartet of players, Sabean certainly has the quality pieces to make a trade in exchange for a good player.

Furthermore, Neukom has remarked to the media that ownership is willing to expand the payroll to acquire a top talent for the playoff run.

However, as we are 10 days away from the deadline, Sabean remains mum on the Giants' future.

The only things we have heard concerning deals are rumors from various sources on the Internet.

How much credibility those rumors have is still to be determined.

Chances are though, if the recent NBA offseason has showed us anything, the rumors probably don't have much credibility behind them.

We as Giants fans are being left in the dark when it comes to knowing what is going to happen to the team.

Even worse, so are the players and coaches.

With Sabean continuing to say nothing, I'm sure the players on this current team is questioning how long their current group will be together.

With more and more rumors continuing to fly off the sports blog wagon, manager Bruce Bochy is probably unsure how permanent his lineup will be in a couple of weeks.

Everybody, from the fans to the players to the coaching staff is second guessing themselves because of Sabean's unwillingness to announce a definite plan on what the Giants are going to do for the rest of the season.

That needs to stop now, not only for the sake of the Giants organization, but Giants nation as well.

It is understandable that Sabean continues to string everyone along.

He is in the last year of his contract, and with Neukom taking over for Peter Magowan, the man who signed Sabean to his extension in 2007, Sabean is still walking a thin wire in terms of his job security.

The team has overachieved this season so far, and that has certainly made things better for Sabean's image.

However, it wouldn't be a surprise to think that Sabean's next move could perhaps make or break his status as GM.

I know earlier I wrote an article about how Sabean not signing Manny might have saved his job.

Yet, even despite the recent economic recession dictating who does and doesn't keep their jobs, Sabean is in a unique situation at this point of the season when it comes to this Giants squad.

In order to be contenders, this team needs some help on the offensive end.

The recent series against the Pirates, and last night's 11-3 fiasco against the Braves were glimmering examples.

Let's face it Giants. The chances are very high that the current team isn't going to get the Giants into the playoffs.

It doesn't matter who the hitter is. Matt Holliday, Nick Johnson, Freddy Sanchez, Adam LaRoche.

An upgrade is needed regardless.

Bengie Molina can't keep staying in the cleanup spot.

Aaron Rowand needs to be dropped from leadoff pronto.

However, Sabean hasn't said a word concerning an effort to fix those glaring offensive weaknesses.

To be perfectly honest, if he has no intention of fixing those holes, that is actually not a bad thing.

Sabean has spent the last few years trying to rebuild this team from the ground up with players they acquired through the draft rather than free agency.

If he wants to see this plan followed all the way through, and doesn't want to dampen it with a trade that could sidetrack it, then that is perfectly okay.

All he has to do is come out and admit that.

Then, we can move on past these trade talks, and just hope that this current squad can finish what they started in June.

If Sabean is trying to pull a trade, but Neukom and the organization is preventing us from doing so (contrary to what Neukom said about a month ago on The Chronicle Live), that is understandable.

In this current economy it isn't crazy to think that the Giants ownership doesn't have the money it used to.

If Sabean is close to making a trade, but is just panning things out when it comes to the details, there is no problem there...

I think I am starting to make my point here.

Just say what the heck is going on!

We as Giants fans won't be mad with whatever direction he wants to follow.

Some fans will be disappointed, but we won't call for his head like rabid pilgrims during the Salem Witch Trials.

Yet the further he continues to sit in silence as the deadline approaches, and the more he continues to let the rumors in this Internet age spiral out of control, things will only get worse when it comes to his job security.

If a plan isn't announced by him soon to appease this organization and fanbase, Sabean can forget about next season.

He will only be keeping the seat warm for the next GM who will replace him after the season ends.

Shaky Economy Forces MLB Owners to Balk at Firing Inept Leaders

Kevin O'Brien — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 02:30:06 -0400

Five years ago, there is no way New York Mets general manager Omar Minaya would still have a job.

If you listen to WFAN-AM, it's a safe bet that you will hear angry callers talk about the late-season collapses and the utter catastrophe that has been the 2009 season.

It's obvious the Mets need a change.

Additionally, considering Jerry Manuel was Minaya's guy, a manager that was used as a pretense to get Willie Randolph fired and save Minaya's backside, it would be no surprise that five years ago, Manuel would be packing along with the GM.

After all, the Mets play in New York, one of the biggest sports markets in the nation.

Mediocrity is not tolerated with any sport or team in the Big Apple.

Yet despite the callers, despite the experts chiming in that Minaya should be "out as soon as possible," and despite the Mets free-falling and their future as a team looking murkier every day, Minaya can sit pretty in his office at Citi Field.

On Monday, both Minaya and Manuel were given votes of confidences by Mets Chief Operating Officer Jeff Wilpon.

Expect this to be a trend for the rest of the year.

In this economic recession, MLB owners won't be as rash as they may have been in the past to fire front office personnel or managers.

Simply put, owners cannot afford to pay buyouts on fired managers or general managers on top of the ones they newly hire.

Attendance is predictably down from last season, and owners are going to get the most mileage they can out of their current organizations whether they are successful or not.

On Sunday, Royals GM Dayton Moore said manager Trey Hillman would be back next season despite the manager's .427 winning percentage since taking over (even though, to be fair, that is better than his predecessor Buddy Bell).

Despite many risky offseason acquisitions not living up to expectations and the team being mired in the basement of the AL West, no notion has been made at all about GM Billy Beane's or manager Bob Geren's job security.

Never mind that Beane broke the "Moneyball" mold this year and signed old-timers like Jason Giambi and Nomar Garciaparra (the anti-Beane player).

Never mind that Geren hasn't had a winning record in his three seasons as manager of the A's, despite replacing a manager who led the A's to the ALCS.

With the A's a traditionally small-budget team, attendance suffering dismally, and the team's future in doubt, the A's have bigger problems to worry about than a "change of pace" in the front office or dugout.

The worst part of all this is that it isn't limited to the Mets, Royals, and A's.

You could take a roll call around the league with this issue.

With almost every team there are economic problems that will keep people in positions that normally would have gotten them fired five years ago, when the economic climate was better.

The challenges of Yankee Stadium and the A-Rod contract will probably be the reason why GM Brian Cashman and manager Joe Girardi will keep their jobs, even if they miss the playoffs for the second consecutive year.

Not even the richest and most prestigious team in baseball is exempt from the pitfalls this current economic recession has produced.

In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the firings of Washington manager Manny Acta and Colorado manager Clint Hurdle are the only firings that occur all season.

The reason those two managers got canned was simply because the fans' disapproval of those managers was actually affecting the attendance and support of those teams to such a great extent.

The Nationals were playing in front of empty seats even though they just opened up a new stadium.

The Rockies' fan support was dwindling despite having the same core from the team that made a run to the 2007 World Series.

So it made sense why those organizations made changes. They had no choice. They had to spark some interest in their clubs somehow in order to salvage something at the front gate.

It has worked in the case of Colorado, as it has played its way to contention under new manager Jim Tracy and rejuvenated the Rockies fanbase.

As for Washington, it is still to be determined whether or not there will be a difference since the firing (but with Jim Riggleman as manager and the team still the worst in baseball, there probably won't).

Basically, the economic hard times that this nation has gone through has seeped into our favorite pastime, and the days of the rotating manager and general manager door that has long been a guilty pleasure for some will be suspended for at least this season.

Owners can't simply do it unless it makes that big of a difference in the attendance, and unfortunately, there aren't a lot of cases where that would be valid.

Would attendance soar if the Mets fired Minaya?

Would those empty seats behind home plate of Yankee Stadium suddenly be filled if Cashman finally got the boot?

The honest answer is probably not, and thus, owners aren't going to be willing to pay the kind of money it takes to make those kinds of personnel changes.

Look at the case in Cleveland, where Eric Wedge still has a managerial position despite the Indians battling it out for last place in the mediocre AL Central.

He should have been fired by now. However, because of the contract extension he signed in 2007, not only are the chances of Wedge finishing out this season high, but there is also a good chance that he will back on the bench managing next season as well.

Cleveland just can't afford to buy out Wedge and hire a replacement manager. They simply don't have the funds to do it considering the current economic climate.

Wedge can thank his lucky stars the nation is mired in the slump that it is.

It is hard to determine whether or not owners suddenly standing pat on organizational changes is a good thing.

In some ways, it's good because it will give people in the organization that usually would be on the hot seat more confidence to make better decisions.

It gives them second chances they normally wouldn't get in any other time period.

Then again, the standing-still approach could backfire. After all, if incompetence is not dealt with immediately, it can spiral out of control.

Isiah Thomas and the New York Knicks showed us that.

Nonetheless, fans should start getting used to seeing more of the same in the headlines.

"(Insert team owner) gives vote of confidence in (insert General Manager or manager) with the (insert team)."

So all of those people calling into all those sports talk shows demanding their managers or general managers be fired can stop wasting their breath.

The owner won't be listening this time.