San Francisco Giants Devil's Advocate: Lay off Bruce Bochy, Aubrey Huff, Et Al

Friends, San Franciscans, Giants fans, lend me your ears.

It’s time to stop griping about Bruce Bochy and Brian Sabean’s personnel decisions.

If you read my articles regularly (odds are you do not), you would know that I have been ruthlessly hard on the Giants for much of the season. Strangely enough, this will not be one of those articles. At least not superficially.

Certain sportswriters, such as Bleacher Report’s Barry Shiller and Manny Randhawa, as well as Andy Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News, have called for “drastic personnel changes,” saying in so many words that not enough has been done to spark the San Francisco Giants’ anemic offense.

Anemic might be an understatement. This offense is more anemic than Calista Flockhart on an eight-day hunger strike.

On the surface, it would be extremely difficult to refute these claims. After all, the team is averaging fewer than three runs per game since the All-Star Break.

Seeing the same parade of “hitters” swinging and missing more often than an eight-year-old at a pinata party has indeed been frustrating from a fan’s point of view.

But the truth is, and I firmly believe this, Bruce Bochy and Brian Sabean have exercised nearly every viable option to give the Giants a chance to win this year.

Following Dan Runzler’s spectacular impersonation of Shawn Estes in his last start, he would seem to be the obvious demotion in place of left-hander Eric Surkamp, who is slated to start today’s game. One down. One up.

This decision is very sensible, as Surkamp will likely be occupying the fourth or fifth starting pitcher role next season should he demonstrate a modicum of effectiveness.

But the promotion of Gary Brown and Brett Pill to the active roster would create some difficulties. Granted, both players are doing extraordinarily well. As of now, though, neither player is on the 40 man roster.

While the creative “60-Day DL” loophole may be exploited to bring both of them up, it would be difficult to cast aside players who are already on the active 40-man roster in favor of a pair of underdeveloped hitters who have no major league experience, especially in the middle of a “pennant chase.”

The logistics involved are far from simple, and there are politics to be considered as well.

Now onto what seems to be the most popular talking point, at least that of one of my favorite writers, Mr. Randhawa: Brandon Belt vs. Aubrey Huff. I fail to see this as an either/or situation.

Is Aubrey Huff having an MVP-caliber season like he did in 2010? Of course not. But, when compared with the rest of the “professional” hitters on this team, his statistics actually hold up rather well.

Aubrey Huff:      126 games           .245/.301/.381                   12HR      54RBI

Brandon Belt:    41 games             .239/.338/.416                   5HR        12RBI

Prorating Brandon Belt’s statistics to match Huff’s game total, Belt would have hit three more home runs and driven in 18 fewer runs than Aubrey Huff. His batting average is lower, too, which deserves mentioning, even with a slightly higher OBP and slugging percentage.      

This is not a situation of Brandon Belt being a Rookie of the Year-caliber player unseating a feeble veteran. This is a situation of an admittedly promising rookie unseating the man who was a significant force in last year’s World Series Championship and is still putting up comparable numbers to his would-be replacement.

Now, should Brandon Belt play every day? Yes. But Aubrey Huff should play nearly every day as well. With the return of Carlos Beltran, there are now two outfield slots that are wide open. It appears likely that Nate Schierholtz will be inactive for a period of time, leaving the left-field position open for either Belt or Huff.

This situation would displace Nate Schierholtz in the event of his return. A left-field platoon among Belt/Huff/Nate would make sense, with all three playing when Beltran gets periodic rest to nurture his nagging hand injury. Cody Ross would be the everyday center fielder. Which brings me to Gary Brown.

Would you think it wise to deactivate one of the most beloved Giants from last season (not that long ago in fan/management/ownership’s eyes) and replace him with an unproven and underdeveloped Gary Brown?

Brandon Crawford hit .322 at San Jose this season. Gary Brown is hitting .331. Brandon Crawford hit .190 in the Major Leagues, perhaps because he was called up too soon. While it might be unfair to compare Brown to Crawford, the statistics behind the comparison are relevant.

Furthermore, it would be unfair to the Giants as a franchise to replace a beloved player with a new face at the possible expense of 40 points in batting average. Especially in the midst of a pennant chase.

That is even more true considering that Brown is the future center fielder and should be allowed to develop and mature at the proper pace (Stephen Strasburg, anyone?).

Brett Pill has played very well for the Fresno Grizzlies. But yes, Barry Shiller, there are too many first basemen on the club. And that is a very valid excuse, because in order to bring up Brett Pill, you would have to demote/release/60-Day-DL another player.

Given our lack of outfield depth, our woeful catcher situation and the scant platoon of infielders, the only way that Brett Pill could factor into the team dynamics is if another first baseman were sent down to the minor leagues.

That first baseman would be either Brandon Belt or Aubrey Huff. It would be ridiculous to send down either player at this point.

Brett Pill’s best chance to play Major League Baseball will come in the Rule V Draft. I wish him well.

If the Giants were to release anybody, Mark DeRosa is the obvious choice. I called for his release in early August of last season. I’m sure you did too.

Statistics would back up such a decision. But Mark DeRosa is an Ivy Leaguer, which indoctrinates in students the ability to schmooze and politic your way into advancing your career. I know this first hand. Mark DeRosa is a very intelligent, very personable, and very incompetent baseball player.

But because of his guile and persuasion, he will be able to finish the last month of his contract with the San Francisco Giants.

Barry, if you suggest releasing Mark DeRosa and bringing up Brett Pill, I would stand behind that decision 100 percent. But I don’t think that will happen.

So what can you do? Well, that is indeed the million dollar question. The Eric Surkamp moves will, at the very least, give us a fifth starter other than Dan Runzler-Estes. We have a top-flight pitching staff. But that has never been the issue.

Statistically, a lineup of Cody Ross – Jeff Keppinger – Carlos Beltran – Pablo Sandoval – Brandon Belt – Aubrey Huff – Orlando Cabrera – Chris Stewart – Random Pitcher should yield over three runs per game.

For whatever reason, however, it has not. Blame anybody you want. Brian Sabean and Bruce Bochy make wonderful scapegoats. Be frustrated that Aubrey Huff is no longer an MVP caliber player, and is now “only” a reasonably competent baseball player.

Argue that young talent should be given an opportunity, regardless of the technical complications of roster moves and the inherent uncertainty further compounded by a competitive division chase.

Who knows: Brett Pill may be nothing more than an Aubrey Huff broken wrist away from making it to the club, which given this season is not all that unrealistic.

I don’t believe in baseball karma. I don’t believe in curses. The Giants are not cursed. They are not doomed to lose. They just happen to not be coming together this season.

Three games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks is hardly shameful. Kirk Gibson’s club has been playing very well, much like the 2010 Giants.

The 2011 Giants have been playing above their heads and against a slew of injuries since before opening day. Time, luck, and the Pythagorean won-loss percentage have just caught up with them.

And yes. Odds are great that San Francisco will not repeat as World Champions this season. Odds are good that the Giants will not win the National League West, and therefore will likely miss the playoffs. At the present rate, odds are decent that the Giants might not even finish the season at .500.

But if you have been a Giants fan for at least a decade or two, you know that deep down you feel a sense of attachment to the veterans who brought you the first World Championship in San Francisco Giants history (and therefore likely your history) only last year.

If that means missing the playoffs this year, where odds are good that the team will be soundly defeated by Milwaukee or Philadelphia or Atlanta anyway, I say so be it.

And if you say that the 2011 Giants are capable of the same things the 2010 Giants accomplished, I would love to vacation on the planet you call home.

If Bruce Bochy wants to reward his veterans with playing time this year at the expense of hyped talent, let him. If and when San Francisco misses the playoffs, you can rest assured that there will be drastic personnel changes in order to entice season-ticket holders to renew their tickets for next season.

Because time is up this season. Twenty nine other clubs, many of which are more complete “teams” than the Giants, will not win the World Series this year. Strong teams like the Tampa Bay Rays, St. Louis Cardinals, and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim seem fated to miss the playoffs. We’re in good company.

And we have an awful lot to look forward to in 2012.