Gamer Defense

The way Aaron Rowand plays defense reminds me of some career advice my father-in-law dispenses. He said that if you do your job competently, you don’t typically get noticed. What gets you noticed is when you fix a problem. So, says he, sometimes you might need to make it look like there’s a problem that you’re solving, and you can get noticed and given credit for your “great work.”

Rowand is generally competent out in CF (problems with the accuracy of his throws to home aside). To me it seems that he’ll sometimes make something look so much harder than it really is, so that when he makes the play it looks great (flopping on a dive, running into the wall, general Gamer! stuff). He makes it look like there’s a real problem, which he takes care of.

I’m sure it’s not a calculated move on his part, but his approach sometimes gives the impression of great defense, when really it’s just regular defense, sometimes done to look really good.

Castillo vs. Feliz, the final round

End of summer has been busy for me - I haven't been able to dutifully tend my blarg. So I'm a few days late with my final comparison between the Giants' now-former third baseman Jose Castillo and his predecessor Pedro Feliz. I've compared both fellas twice before (most recently on June 1), and with Castillo being DFA'd on August 13, now is the time for the final head-to-head.

Note that Feliz has been on the 15-day DL since July 26-ish, so the games played and such won't be equal, but I think the more general stats will still be instructive to compare.

Let's start with offense. In 112 games through August 12, Castillo had 96 hits and 150 total bases (including 28 doubles, 4 triples and 6 homers). He also grounded into 16 double plays (it seems like soooo many more). Feliz, in his 99 games through July 25, had 87 hits and 144 total bases (almost as many as Castillo had in 13 more games), which included 17 doubles, 2 triples, and 12 homeruns. His GIDP number was 12 (it seems like soooo many more). Feliz was sporting a .256 batting average when he went on the DL (he's actually been fairly consistent with the bat); Castillo's BA dropped to .244 when he was DFA'd (his production suffered greatly since the break).

The last time I compared the two, their OBP/SLG/OPS numbers were actually pretty similar, with a slight edge to Castillo. This time around, however, we can see how Castillo has been struggling - his .290/.381/.671 is a pretty big drop, while Feliz stayed pretty steady at .304/.424/.728.

And although Feliz had far fewer games, his RBI total still far exceeds Castillo's, at 46 to 35. Castillo's strike out total of 71(!) was far more than Feliz's 42. Castillo had become even more of an offensive liability since the break.

On to defense. The number of games each started at 3B was still similar - 103 for Castillo, 97 for Feliz. Yet Castillo recorded 15 errors to Feliz' 8. Comparing FPCT/RF/ZR, Castillo sits at .934/2.34/.774 (which is yet another drop from his numbers on June 1, which were .950/2.65/.806); Feliz is much better defensively at .968/2.79/.828 (again, consistent with his June 1 numbers).

I was getting very nervous with the front office talk of keeping Castillo around this year and next to see if he could be a productive member of the team. His numbers are worse than mediocre - and he's not going to get any better. So I was relieved when he was DFA'd - that meant that management had wised up and determined that his offensive and defensive futility were not going to be a part of the necessary rebuilding.

Rich Aurilia is currently doing respectably at 3B, while rookie Ryan Rohlinger gets an accelerated promotion and a chance to impress management. So far he seems overwhelmed at the plate, and he's already made a couple of errors, but I'll enjoy watching him play much more than I ever could stand to watch Castillo (who, in turn, was less stomach-turning than Feliz - go figure). At least I'll have the eternal optimism that youth can improve and contribute before cynicism and disappointment creep in.

All too familiar

Conversation I had with my fella while watching the game last night after the Braves scored their 11th run in the 9th inning:

me: We can turn this off now.

him: You've already watched this game before?

me: Yeah, about 100 times this season.

Just speechless

So the non-waiver trade deadline came and went today. And the Giants look just like they did yesterday.

Aargh.

This is sad for so many reasons (in no particular order): the team sucks so bad nobody wants any of the players; now we have to keep watching the players that are NOT the future play, while the players that ARE the future sit on their asses on the bench; and, perhaps most of all, we get to watch the same shyte for the rest of the season.

I'm left pretty much speechless. And sad.

(For a brief recap of Brian Sabean's conference call after the deadline today, check out Andrew Baggarly's blog today.)

I love you, but. . .

It's no secret that I love Omar Vizquel. He's amazing in the field (even having lost a quarter step at the age of 41), and shows great hustle and dedication to the game. But this season, he's been the suck at the plate. We can blame it on his pre-season knee surgery or the fact that he's a hundred years old, but it's a fact that he cannot hit the ball much.

I'll never suggest that we trade or DFA him, though. I agree with those who say that his career has been far too distinguished for him to be unceremoniously dumped in what is likely his last season.

Nonetheless, he should be sitting on the bench a lot more.

I bring this up because of the latest comments from Big Head Bochy about Vizquel's play after the All-Star Break.

But first, a little background. Back at the end of June, Omar was hitting .156. Bochy met with Vizquel, and Vizquel told Bochy that it was okay to bench him to play Manny Burriss more often. The idea was that Burriss would not just start against LHPs, but he'd get some starts against righties, too. The result? Omar plays 9 of the next 12 games, leading into the All Star break. Manny starts in 3 games. Hmmm. It doesn't look like Omar was sitting much. His BA dropped as low as .148 during that time, and leveled back "up" to .159 by the break.

Now we come back from the All-Star break. Omar starts in 2 of the first 3 games after the break. On July 22, both Bochy and Sabean sit down with Vizquel to tell him that he really really really will be playing less in the second half, so that Burriss can play more. Said Bochy at the time "In a week or so, Burriss will get more playing time." (Presumably the one week time frame referred to the approaching non-waiver trade deadline.)

As described by Janie McCauley (AP), "Bochy has said this before, but this time sounded more serious about actually doing it."

In the first four games after that discussion, Omar played in three and went 5 for 10, including 3 hits in Thursday's game. The result? Vizquel was in the line-up again on Friday and Saturday (that's starting in 6 of 8 games since the break). Bochy's comment? "He's swinging the bat well. I just wanted to get him back out here."

Bear in mind, 4 of Vizquel's 8 hits came against the hapless Nationals, so context is important here.

I don't know what it will take to get Burriss some more playing time. It would appear that Bochy and his never-ending love for the veterans will keep predominantly in the line-up, as a result of Omar's small-sample size decent showing over the last few games (mostly against a craptastic team) after a lengthy break.

I guess what it comes down to is the fact that even if a well-rested Vizquel can get a few cheap hits, he is not performing as well as Burriss can at this point. He may be one of my favorite players, but I think it's pretty clear that he's not the player he was. Time to prepare for the future.

Free Manny Burriss!

The Unemployed Barry Bonds

I'll admit it - I am totally and completely a Joe Posnanski fan. I've referenced his blog a couple of times here, when it looks at Giant-related stuff.

A few days ago he did a bit on "Barry Bonds' fuzzy math" that I enjoyed. Go read it. And read some of his other stuff - he's an excellent writer (I'm trying to figure out a way to rip-off his use of asterisks - I like that device).

If you're too lazy to click, the gist of the piece is that Bonds' agent, Jeff Borriss, had been telling anyone and everyone that he'd offered Bonds to all 30 teams for the pro-rated minimum, and nobody took him up on it. Turns out, Borriss never contacted the KC Royals, for one. It's not like they'd sign him, but it makes for a good blog entry.

Do we suppose that Bonds will remain home in Beverly Hills all season?

There's No Science in Baseball!

I was browsing through Newsweek on-line, and came across this "Sports Science" article: Why Lefties Make Better Baseball Players. Overall, an interesting read.

But the part I liked best was this little bit about the efficacy of sliding into first base, from a science perspective:

The only time you should slide into first base is if the first baseman is getting pulled off the bag by a wide throw so he has to tag you. In that case it might get you under the tag. But otherwise you're faster overrunning it. Now there are people who swear by diving. Their argument is that when you dive and your feet leave the ground you keep the same speed but get your hands out in front of you. Only, there's air friction. Though, I think if diving was in fact better, people would probably do it more.

I mainly liked it because of my man Omar Vizquel. Sliding into first base head-first is definitely "Omar Style." It's amazing how often it works for him (and frustrating how often it doesn't).

Now that I've paid tribute to him, it's time to point out that Vizquel should really retire now. I hate to see his lifetime stats dragged steadily downward this season, while he struggles to get any kind of offense going. He can use the knee as a reason, and get out with some dignity. Please?

Temporary Baseball Withdrawal

Enough of the All-Star break. I miss the Giants!

For the first time in years, this year's All-Star game was actually worth watching (well, except for having to listen to the most godawful announcing team of all time - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, who apparently couldn't be bothered to actually watch and comment on the game, which FOX didn't really show much of anyways). Okay, maybe it was worth watching only up until the point when the NL lost (AGAIN), but that's a discussion for another day.

But even with a (relatively-speaking) good game to watch over the break, I still find this part of the season to be the most painful. I want Giants baseball, and I want it now. Off-days are bad enough. I flounder about, aimlessly wandering the streets until the next game. But at least it's only one day. Having to wait 5 days for a game is simply excruciating. I can't wander the streets that long - my kids would run out of kibble.

My kids are probably enjoying the break, though, since they don't have to watch baseball and ask questions like "Why do the Giants stink so bad?"

(Check with me after tomorrow night's game when the Giants face C.C. Sabathia, then ask me if I'm still excited for the return of Giants baseball.)

Out with the old. Please.

I know I've played this song before. But for the love of Willie Mays, can we PLEASE get on with the business of rebuilding?

Bruce Jenkins put it best in his latest 3-dot Lounge:

As the standings deceive, and fans shake their heads in disgust, you wonder if the Giants will ever grasp the solution: Get the usual-suspect veterans out of here as soon as possible. It's a dead-end street, a needless roadblock to progress. The notion of winning this year's N.L. West is one of the all-time pipe dreams.

While we rebuild, apparently we can't decide which minor-league players to have come sit on the bench behind the old men. Travis Denker just got sent down to San Jose, ostensibly because his hitting was deteriorating without regular at-bats (from Henry Schulman's latest Giants notes). Ivan Ochoa was called up from Fresno in Denker's place, since his offense has apparently been surprisingly good. Now what sense does it make to bring up another hot bat (as Denker's was), if you're just going to sit him on the bench? Aren't we going to see the same deterioration in Ochoa's offense if he just sits behind old Ray? This makes little sense. Bochy needs to play the guys that the team brings up.

And finally: I watched the Giants' series opener against the Cubs Friday. Cain pitched a pretty good game, allowing no runs through his 7 innings. But the poor SOB still got a no-decision (after Tyler Walker gave up a 3 run homer in the 8th). The only way this guy is going to get a win is if he pitches a shut-out and hits a homerun for the winning score.

What are the chances of the Giants winning the next two games to build momentum going into the All-Star break? Yeah, I don't think they have a chance in hell, either.

Hitting the links

Sounds like the NY Mets are looking for a corner outfielder. Ryan Church is back on the DL, and Moises Alou isn't the sturdiest player anymore. According to this NY Post sportswriter, Randy Winn might fit the bill.

And are the D'backs interested in Barry Bonds? Eric Byrnes is probably done for the season, and according to Nick Piecoro, it sounds like management has at least discussed Bonds, who could help the team against lefties. Management didn't deny Bonds was a possibility, and in fact it sounds like he has been seriously considered.

Part of me wants to see Bonds play again, but not in the NL West division. I was kinda hoping he'd spend the rest of the season with Detroit, or another AL team I could root for. Which would definitely NOT be the Red Sox, who apparently also have discussed signing Barry for the rest of the season (even though it would be "three months of a PR nightmare", according to Curt Schilling).

Of course, for now he's still home in Beverly Hills, but someone is going to get desperate enough eventually. I should prepare myself to see him in another uni sometime this season.

And from John Donovan's mailbag over on SI.com:

Barry Zito is putting up numbers that will have him unemployed sooner rather than later. Is this the worst dropoff from a former Cy in history, and perhaps the worst free-agent signing in history?
-- Steve, Birmingham, Ala.

The contract -- $126 million for seven years, is definitely up there, isn't it, Steve? Absurd the second he signed it before the start of the '07 season, almost regardless of how he ended up pitching. I do want to point out, though, that Zito's decline has been more gradual than people realize. He never has duplicated that '02 level, but he had a couple of passable years right after that Cy. Not great years, but passable. And then he kept falling. The dropoff has to be among the worst for a pitcher who is still young and, by all accounts, healthy. Bartolo Colon dropped off after his '05 Cy, but that was injury related. Eric Gagne has fallen pretty badly, too.

I should point out that Gagne was a PED user during his peak - I suspect that explains his fall more than anything else.

Apparently now that they have C.C. Sabathia, the Brewers are interested in reliever Jack Taschner along with Ray Durham (to be used off the bench). Interesting. What would they give the Giants in return?

Tempering all this trade talk is Will Carroll's report on Baseball Prospectus that "the Giants have waved off inquiries on anyone but Rich Aurilia and Ray Durham." If this is true, then the Giants will only delay their rebuilding process yet again.

Giants and trades, past and future?

I saw a groovy spreadsheet that Brendan Bianowicz of MLBTR put together, detailing Brian Sabeans's complete trade history (Yankees and Giants). Interesting collection. Of course, there are a few that will always stand out (good and bad), no matter what else Sabean does in his career. Have a read.

As far as trades go for this season, Sabean has told Henry Shulman of the SF Chron that Lincecum, Cain and Sanchez are off limits. Sabean also says he's not thinking of trading Winn or Molina, but apparently the team is shopping Durham, Vizquel and Aurilia.

I'd be happy to see Durham go. He wore out his welcome with me a couple years ago. He may still swing the bat on occasion, but he's lost his speed on the base paths, and his brick-like glove aren't any help. Vizquel is still a sentimental favorite, but I have to admit his offense is likely gone, not to return. Aurilia is putting up a pretty good season, but if he can bring a prospect, I'd give him a fond farewell.

Andrew Baggarly of the Merc points out that the team called up Eugenio Velez (after sending down Brian Horwitz), and wonders:

Curious, I thought they wanted Velez to play every day at Fresno. Looking at his stats, he obviously turned things around and began playing with confidence again. I wonder about the timing, though. Could a Ray Durham trade be closer than we thought? How much will Velez play this time? All good questions to ask management tomorrow.

Might I hope that Ray moves on? But has Velez improved enough in Fresno to avoid the boneheaded play of earlier this season? I had originally been a Velez supporter (expecting him to improve with time), but after a few weeks of his poor baserunning and pathetic attempts at the plate, I found myself celebrating his demotion. Let's see how he does this time around. I still have enough misplaced optimism to hope for the best (the season hasn't completely beat me down yet).

As an aside, Baggarly has posted today's lineup - Velez isn't in it. More Durham showcasing, perhaps?

And finally, this may be old news, but I'm not particularly pleased with the Giants' promotion of Eliezer Alfonzo. My first post was about this guy testing positive for PEDs. He acknowledged the mistake initially, and apologized to the fans (does he have any?), although now I understand that his claimed story is that he took some tainted bronchitis medicine over the winter. Whatever. It would seem that the Giants want nothing to do with Barry Bonds, who never tested positive for stuff (although yes, I'm sure he used along with everybody else), but call up some mediocre player who was stupid enough to juice with today's penalties. Whatever.

Pinch of this, pinch of that

The Giants' series against the Indians this week was rather enjoyable, even if we were denied the sweep last night. It was nice to see Zito bring some good mojo in the first game of the series. That Cliff Lee kicks some major ass. I cannot hold the Giants' loss to him against them. And nice debut by Sergio Romo! Suck it, Vinnie Chulk. (Side note: are the Phillies interested in Chulk? LOL at the Phillies.)

But I do continue to be saddened by Omar Vizquel's decline at the plate. His average is down to .165. Whether it's his knee or just the inevitable result of age, he doesn't have much left offensively. Now that the sentimental Cleveland series is over, perhaps we'll be seeing more of Burriss at short. It's time to begin preparing for the future.

I want the Giants to win the series against the A's starting tonight at NetAss Stadium (that is what it's called, isn't it?). I'm tired of the A's pwnage of the Giants over the last few years. Let's get 'em!

Now, to catch up on some interesting Giants stuff around the intertubes:

The Cubs have scouted Fred Lewis, but they don't seem to be too serious at this point. I wonder who the Giants would get in return in such a scenario?

Big topic of late: Barry Bonds. The homerun god still sits at home in Beverly Hills, waiting for a job. His agent says he'll play for the league minimum. But still no takers.

I'm not sure I buy the collusion argument - owners are too concerned with making money to let someone go unsigned if they think he can help. I think it's a combination of the fact that Bonds was made the poster boy of PED abuse (even though we now know that many of the game's "stalwarts" were just as juiced) and his prickly demeanor. I don't think either reason should keep him at home, though. I'd expect he can still swing the bat a bit. With that in mind, there are a couple of opinions out there on who could benefit from the big guy:

Joe Posnanski (I love the way this guy writes) thinks that the KC Royals should sign Barry. After pointing out the obvious plus of getting him for the league minimum, he points out that

. . . as far as I know, Barry Bonds didn’t kill anybody. He didn’t assault anybody. He didn’t throw any games. He didn’t bet on any games. He didn’t get caught drinking and driving. He didn’t have any false gods, didn’t make any idols, didn’t covet any neighbors donkeys, didn’t steal, didn’t do much of anything that more or less half the other ballplayers in the game are doing. No team OWES Barry Bonds a shot, but I also think of America as a place that takes chances on people. I certainly do not see why a team couldn’t GIVE Barry Bonds a shot.

And as I've mentioned, the steroid issue isn't unique to Barry. Posnanski says "The steroid stain? Come on, there are heavy steroid users playing everywhere in baseball, and just because we don’t “know” who they are doesn’t mean anything. It’s like the old 1960s Mafia types — maybe you couldn’t convict them in court, but you sure knew they were around."

Overall, Posnanski's reasons why the Royals should sign Barry can be applied to most other teams, too.

Over on sabernomics.com, JC Bradbury makes the case is made for why the Braves should sign Bonds. Bradbury addresses the steroid issue simply - Bonds has been a good player since PED testing was instituted, and is a good player without PEDs. Can't argue with that.

For me, I thought at the time that it was the right decision for the Giants to let Barry go after last season. It was time to start building a post-Barry team. But now that management has bungled that task ("Come out and see the kids (as they ride the bench)!"), maybe the Giants should take a look at what benefit Barry might provide. He may even be good with the young guys - he was starting to do some mentoring last year. That wouldn't hurt.

Whaddya think?

Odd Ends

Oh happy day - Vinnie Chulk is gone:

The Giants purchased the contract of right-hander Sergio Romo from AA Connecticut and designated right-hander Vinnie Chulk for assignment.

W00t!

Next, I'm surprised that this didn't happen to the Giants. Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners hit a grand slam against the Mets, the first grand slam by an AL pitcher in 37 years (the DH rule was instituted in 1973). I suppose we should be glad the Giants just walk opposing pitchers.

And, today the Giants play an interleague game in Cleveland for the first time. This marks the return of Omar Vizquel and Giants' broadcaster Duane Kuiper. I enjoyed Andrew Baggarly's article on the return in today's SJ Merc.

Baggarly's quotes in the article from Joe Posnanski's blog post about why he loves Duane Kuiper got me interested enough to seek out the original post. I recommend that you read it here. Just one more reason to love Kuip. He's one fantastic sonuvabitch.

And finally, as we all know, Bengie Molina is the slowest player in the history of baseball. We're not the only ones to notice. See this description of one of Bengie's at bats in KC (from the same guy who loves Kuip):

. . . Bengie Molina hit a hard ground ball into the hole between short and third, Kansas City’s Mike Aviles dove, smothered the ball, got to one knee, recited the Gettysburg Address, solved two Sodokus, took three ballroom dancing classes, grew a full beard, became fluent in French, got his Masters in finance, recorded an album of Tom Waits covers (oh no, wait, that was Scarlett), invented a practical electric car and then threw to first where he just barely threw out Molina by eight steps.

That's good stuff.

I've got two positives, and one Zito

After much time spent looking high and low, I do have two positive things to say about my team:

One: Bowker has a really nice swing, and some great potential. I like this kid.
Two: After another craptastic effort on the mound Wednesday, the Giants may skip Zito's next start.

Okay - so the second one is really just me slyly slipping my cranky pants back on (hey - I found a happy thought; I've earned it). But seriously - did you see the game Wednesday? In the top of the second, ZIto issued a lead-off walk to an American League pitcher. One who was hitless is his only two previous at-bats. That's some special kind of horrible. His entire outing lasted just two innings. I would calculate how much per inning he was paid for the suck, but that would make me very sad.

There's lots of ink (both virtual and real) being expended on Zito and his god-awful season. Let's look at the highlights, shall we?

An excellent analysis from Jonah Freedman on SI.com last week talks about "five reasons Zito may never again be the ace the Giants were hoping he'd be." Can't say that I disagree with any of it, with the exception of one quibble. In his discussion of Zito's contract, Freedman says that none of the other teams chasing Zito was willing to match the Giants' offer. Today on the Razor and Mr. T show, Brian Sabean claimed that at least two other teams were willing to pay that much or more. I don't find that entirely believable, but there it is.

There's also been quite a bit of discussion about Zito's mechanics, of course.

Zito was quite abrupt when Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News asked him about whether he'd considered pitching from the other side of the rubber. I'm sure Zito has had lots of questions about various aspects of his delivery, and rightfully so.

Now that Rick Peterson, Zito's former pitching coach, has been fired by the Mets, folks are talking about bringing him to SF to help Zito find his former self. Technically, Peterson is still under contract with the Mets through 2009, so who knows if that would work.

And even if contractual issues weren't a factor, Buster Olney writes that Brian Sabean doesn't like the idea of the Giants bringing in Rick Peterson, saying it wouldn't be fair to Dave Righetti (from MLBTraderRumors.com - I'm too cheap to spring for ESPN Insider status). Seems to me that despite Rags' other abilities, coaching Zito doesn't seem to be his strong suit right now, and the team should welcome any help it could get.

Also check out the McCovey Chronicle's discussion of Zito, er, Tossy McDufftapper.

All in all, there's definitely something broken here. Sabean was noncommittal about what the solution might be during his program today with the Razor and Mr. T. He knows that Zito isn't performing. He and others in the Giants organization keep pointing out that Zito's bullpen sessions are great, but that he just can't seem to execute in game situations. I really don't care if Zito can throw well all by himself. He's just not getting it done come game time. And considering the huge investment the team has made in this guy, all possible solutions need to be on the table, whether this includes bringing in Peterson somehow (even if it hurts Rags' feelings), having Zito slow it down a bit in Fresno until he can translate good bullpen tossing sessions into good games, or whatever. C'mon Giants Front Office - show us some problem-solving skillz.

Nope

Nothing yet.

Wearing my cranky pants

Okay, so once more the blarg has fallen on fallow times. But this time I have a good excuse. Well, kinda.

I'm wearing cranky pants, that's why.

Here's the deal - I love my Giants. Love. Like want to marry the team and have its babies. Well, figuratively speaking, anyway. And right now the negative is just too easy pickins. I want to write about the stuff I love about the team. Once I find it.

Otherwise, I'd be writing about Bengie getting his feelings hurt ("There's no crying in baseball"), or advocating for a trade for Durham before he resorts back to complete offensive suckage to go with his brick hands. I might even make fun of Walker or Chulk (so many ways!).

Whaddya say - what kind of good stuff are you feeling about the team right now?

I'm gonna go chase down my Giants rainbow, and bring it back here as soon as I can. So I can take off my cranky pants for just an afternoon and put down something good about the team I love.

And then I'm pulling those cranky pants back on and letting loose. I'm looking at you, Jose Castillo.

Castillo vs. Feliz - the rematch

It seems that every time Jose Castillo steps up to the plate with a runner on first, I expect him to hit into a double play or strike out in some ugly way. I am not inspired by our current third baseman.

A few weeks ago, I compared Castillo to the guy he replaced, Pedro Feliz.

Some of the stats are still remarkably similar (note: all statistics were from the start of the day, not including games played on Monday). Both have 85 total bases. Castillo has 50 total hits to Feliz' 52. Castillo has hit into 11 double plays (is that all?), with Feliz laying claim to 9 (is that all?). Batting averages are both similarly mediocre: .255 and .259. OBP is close, too: .308 to .297.

The big difference offensively? Castillo has an anemic 19 RBIs, compared to Feliz' 28 (not monster numbers for certain, but better than what Castillo's putting out). And Castillo has struck out 36 times to Feliz' 20 whiffs.

And, of course, defensively Feliz is better. His FPCT/RF/ZR is .972/2.89/.816; Castillo is .950/2.65/.806. Feliz has 4 errors; Castillo has nearly double that at 7.

The Giants are woeful on offense. A middling bat such as Castillo needs to at least make up for that with stellar defense. And that's just not happening. Every now and then he gets lucky and, say, starts a triple play. But day-to-day, he's limited and not as effective as the team needs him to be.

My conclusion last time I compared the two fellas: "But despite all this, you'll never catch me wistfully wishing that we still had Happy Pete, though. I cringed every time he stepped up to the plate. At least with Castillo the expectations are extremely low, and he meets those low expectations nicely." I suppose one part is still true - I don't wish that Feliz were still with the team. But I think Castillo and the way he barely meets his low expectations are not helpful to a team that needs to develop and nurture its young talent. Other positions need to play crisply to help the rookie infielders hone their craft. Castillo is not the man for the job.

Of course, the question still remains - where do we find someone who is?

Misch not a starter

During the McCovey Chronicles Gameday thread during Pat Misch's last start, I brazenly declared that Misch was not a starter. Looks like I was right. From the Merc today:

Pat Misch, who remains winless in 10 starts and 26 career appearances, apparently will not get another chance in the rotation. Manager Bruce Bochy said he would use Thursday's travel day to skip Misch and the club would consider other candidates - Brad Hennessey, perhaps? - to take the mound when the Giants need a fifth starter again June 10.

I'm glad Bochy listened!

Hennessey looks like he's regained some confidence as a starter down in Fresno. His appearances in relief this season turned disastrous. If he is named the starter on the 10th, let's hope he's righted himself.

Stay tuned for an updated Castillo vs. Feliz!

Stuff

Okay, lame entry name. But it seemed to fit today's blarg - just "stuff" I've been looking at today.

I was amused by Bruce Jenkin's bit in today's SF Chron how Alex Hinshaw wears his hat. Sir Alex wears his hat with a flat brim, pulled down low and a little cock-eyed. I found a photo from his SJ Giants days that shows how he likes it:

Obviously, under normal circumstances, I'd have to say he's wearing it wrong. You just gotta bend the brim. Otherwise it's geeky. I'm making sure that my kids learn the proper way to wear a cap. But for some reason, I just like the idea of this guy wearing his cap this way. And so long as he keeps doing what he's been doing, I'm not gonna mock him for it, either.

Andrew Baggarly of the SJ Merc reports that the Giants are looking to deal some of the bullpen. Specifically, they're shopping around Thighler Walker, Vinnie Choke, Erik Threets and Brad Hennessey. I'd be happy to see Walker and Chulk go. I watch them pitch through the corner of one half-closed eye. Threets had the misfortune of going on the DL only to see Sir Alex's rise, displacing him from the 'pen; Threets' rehab assignment has to end today, and there's no room on the roster. He's got some real potential - it's a shame that the Giants can't keep him. Hennessey seems to have improved after his demotion to Fresno, where he's been starting. He may have some value.

I don't know what kind of players the Giants are looking for in return. Obviously there are needs on the corners, but I don't know that any of those guys can bring enough power or defense to the team. Some solid infleld/catching prospects would be good - as we've seen this season, the organization is kinda thin with regard to guys that can come up from the minors and perform at the big league level.

Should Cain be moved to the bullpen or even designated as the closer? MLB.com Giants beat reporter Chris Haft addresses this issue in his recent mailbag. Cain has had the misfortune of some awful run support over the last season-plus, which has led to a lopsided W-L record, considering his ERA and overall performance (although he's been a bit more spotty of late).

Haft notes that if Cain couldn't make it as a starter for some reason, he wouldn't be surprised to see the Giants try him in the bullpen. I'd only want him there if he were the closer - his stuff is too good for periodic short relief. Right now Wilson (NL leader in saves) is doing just fine as the closer, so I wouldn't want to mess with that. I want to see Cain stay in the lineup and work through his current rough patch. At some point, the guys will have to give him the offense he needs to pick up some more wins. And if that didn't work out, and the closer job still belongs to Wilson, I'd rather see a trade for a heavy bat.

And lastly: Awesome sweep of the D'backs. This gives me immense bragging rights against my nieces and nephew who root for the snakes. Who would have thought that my hapless Giants could take the series, let alone sweep it? I can't help but love this team.

Out with the old, in with the old?

If you haven't yet, be sure to check out Henry Schulman's article today in the SF Chron.

I've been annoyed this season not at the Giants' losing record (I think it's safe to say that we all expected that), but at seeing all those old guys in the line-up day after day after day.

We're all familiar with the strategy of past years of signing veterans (nice way of saying "old guys") to surround Barry Bonds in an effort to win a title (which was unsuccessful). With the departure of Bonds after last season, the idea was to begin rebuilding - finally getting some of the boys from the farm system up and starting anew. Unfortunately, the team still had some old guys signed from last year still on the roster. And now we're seeing more of those old guys this season, and far less of the young guys.

Granted, a couple of the kids demonstrated that they weren't ready for everyday play at the big-league level. Velez and Bocock come to mind. At least we know that now. And if the consistent play of the old guys showcases them enough to get some attention on the trade market, then maybe it's worth it in the short term.

But if the trade deadline comes and goes, and I'm still seeing Aurilia and Durham out on the field every day, I'm going to be one cranky fan. I'm not prepared to endure a pathetic season this year, and then go through it all again next year while we delay the inevitable.

How embarrassing to be him

A former Giants org player (released before the season) was traded for 10 bats.

Jose Castillo is worth at least 20 bats, don't you think. Good maple ones?

Should he stay or should he go?

I'm still catching up on topics from the last week. On Monday, Tim Kawakami from the Merc wrote in his blog (about which Giants are keepers and which ones aren't. He explained his criteria in the condensed version of the blog in the paper:

Simple rules. Given what we've seen so far, which Giants and A's players could play a productive role on a championship-level team now and into the future?

That's my definition of a "keeper."

Bottom line: out of the 27 players that Kawakami looks at, he only considers 5 to be keepers. Of those 5, 3 are pitchers (obviously Cain, Lincecum and Wilson), and two are outfielders (Rowand and Lewis, although Kawakami doesn't think Rowand is worth the money).

I can't argue with those keepers. Good call.

There are some other non-keepers that are no-brainers. Castillo (Pedro lite). Velez ('nuff said). Aurilia (sentiment only goes so far, Richie). Zito (can we get a refund?). Walker (either really good or really bad - too much of the latter). Chulk (aka batting tee). Durham (old slow guy).

I think there needs to be a third category. Maybe some guys wouldn't "play a productive role on a championship-level team", but they still have some value, intangible or otherwise.

For instance, Omar Vizquel. Yeah, he's past his prime. His defense is still good. And I think he improves the players around him. Plus, I'd like to see him start working on some coaching skills. If we work it right, maybe we can keep him in the organization once his playing days are done. I wouldn't want to trade him away.

Burriss. He's raw. And the bigs isn't the best place to develop. He could use some more seasoning. But he plays hard, and seems to have to tools to improve. I'd like to see him stay with the team to see what he can be.

As Kawakami points out, Ortmeier hasn't "won over Bochy." And he is 27. But at the least, he's a good fourth fielder. We've burned through a bunch of these kinds of guys over the last few years. Until we're sure we have another good option, let's hang on to this guy.

For the rest? Can't say as I'd miss any of them. And that's probably the most disappointing part of the team this year. There aren't that many guys to get excited about.

Who are you following this year? Who should we keep, and who can go?

A Bit of This and That

Okay, so I've let my blarg go a bit. I'm going to claim that the demands of real life have interfered. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

The Giants' world has been busy the last week. I'll hit a few miscellaneous points that had caught my attention.

First off, I'm just lovin' the new managing partner's name. Neukom. Nuke 'em. The possibilities. . . Plus, he's a lawyer. It gives me hope that one day I, too, can run a baseball team. Well, once I make $100 million to invest in a club (a girl can dream!). I read through an article about Neukom. The quote that stands out most to me is from a former law school classmate (who is now president of the Seattle Mariners), who said " he doesn't like to lose." That gives me some hope - maybe he'll be willing to do something to get this team moving forward. And the dean of Stanford Law School says "He has the audacity to really set ambitious goals, and then he does it by sheer force of personality." That could also bode well for the Giants.

But will management be willing to go so far as Kevin Towers, GM of the last place Padres. He said "I'm certainly not going to watch this for another four months," he told reporters yesterday. He also said, "We've got some hungry players down below looking for an opportunity. There's not one player in the system who is going to turn it around. If we make changes, it will be wholesale." The Giants management has taken hesitant steps in the direction of bringing up the kids, but we continue to see the old (and ineffective) veterans in the line-up day to day, with the kids on the bench. And the results have been predictably dismal.

On the plus side, though, Eugenio Velez has been sent back down. I was initially a big supporter of Velez. He was fast and bold. But really, it turns out that he was inattentive and made bad decisions. His defense was suspect. And he got picked off way too often. As Bochy said: "It's a few things. He's been struggling at the plate. He's getting frustrated with that. It looks like his defense was affected. That, and the pickoffs. It seems like no matter what he did, things didn't go right for him. This is the right thing to do, send him down and get his game back." He wasn't ready for the bigs just yet, and it wasn't the place for him to learn. Sabean acknowledged as much: "It's obvious he doesn't have major-league playing time and doesn't know how to perform day in and day out offensively or defensively."

Next up: Taking a look at Tim Kawakami's blog about which players to keep, and which should go.

Castillo vs. Feliz

As an indication of the sorry state of the Giants, one of the bigger controversies of the season is the Castillo vs. Feliz debate. Much to my delight, the Giants let Pedro Feliz go to the Phillies during the off-season. Much to my dismay, though, they then failed to sign a 3B free agent that could provide some pop to the line-up. Instead, the Giants claimed Jose Castillo off waivers (after he'd been cut by both the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Florida Marlins - now there's a ringing endorsement).

Once you crunch the numbers, it appears that the players' stats are pretty similar, although Feliz does have the advantage on defense (Castillo's FPCT/RF/ZR is .931/2.35/.774; Feliz' is .960/3.05/.816). They've both grounded into a similar number of DPs (9 for Castillo, 8 for Feliz). Total bases are also close (57 to 53), as are RBIs (14 to 16).

Surprisingly, Castillo has more strike-outs - 20 to Feliz' 13. I say "surprisingly," since Feliz swings at all kinds of slop - high hard ones, balls in the dirt. Heck, I could imagine him swinging at a ball behind him if the game were on the line. Yet, Castillo manages to strike out more - he is impatient at the plate (but at least he's not swinging at pitches behind him - yet).

But despite all this, you'll never catch me wistfully wishing that we still had Happy Pete, though. I cringed every time he stepped up to the plate. At least with Castillo the expectations are extremely low, and he meets those low expectations nicely.

Unfortunately, the Giants don't have any third basemen in the minors that have any hopes of succeeding in the majors. So what are the Giants plans for the hot corner? Can we hope for a trade this season to bring a bat and defense to third base?

"Development at a major league level"

I enjoy any chance I get to listen to the Razor and Mr. T on KNBR, especially when they have folks from the Giants' organization on. Once you get past Ralph's long expository questions (where he seems to ask and answer half a dozen questions before he runs out of his own answers and finally settles on a question for the guy to answer), sometimes there are some interesting nuggets to be found. For me, one of those nuggets was the perhaps inadvertent admission that some of the Giants young players are, in fact, being developed up in the bigs, instead of in A-ball. For anyone who's watched a Giants game season, this isn't exactly news. But it was somehow satisfying to hear that the Giants are aware that their guys are in over their heads, regardless of the frightening implications for the players and the season.

Yesterday, while interviewing Bobby Evans, the Giants Director of Player Personnel, Ralph asked about the goals for the team this season. Evans said that "It's a tricky thing. . . . With young players, you're going to have players that struggle. . . . When you're developing at a major league level, or finishing the touches of development, it's going to have its bumps in the road."

And this is what it comes down to - development of the young players is occurring at the major league level, not in the minors, where you'd normally expect such development to occur. And that's why we are seeing boneheaded base running, sloppy defense, and guys with a poor approach at the plate. It also speaks poorly for the development of position players in the Giants organization if so few (or any?) of those players are truly ready for this level.

Sure, we're getting some flashes of excitement. We haven't seen guys running hard around the bases like this in years. But at the same time, if we don't start seeing a general mastery of the basics by the kids, then we will have wasted yet another season. And we may have ruined the prospects for these guys by rushing them into the majors before they were ready.

But as usual, I'm hoping to be proven wrong. Let's hope that by the end of the month, we see a team of guys that display at least a basic competence at the major league level. If not, then it'll be a really long summer.

Zito - All better now?

After spending 10 days in the bullpen, with exactly zero relief appearances, Barry Zito gets the ball for a start tonight against the Pirates. Apparently, two bullpen sessions was all he needed to fix what ailed him. Do you buy it? Not me.

Maybe Bochy thinks that Zito would have a better return against a weaker Pittsburgh offense. Of course, Bochy made the announcement about Zito's start yesterday, before the Giants got whupped by Pittsburgh's "weak" offense. Can Zito fare better than Sanchez and Hennessey? I suppose that at least he won't have to hear the hometown boos at AT&T Park.

I'm skeptical that two bullpen sessions without a batter in the box were enough to take care of Zito's control problems. Zito says "I think you can achieve those things in the bullpen if you put yourself in that frame of mind. Yeah, you're not in a game situation, but you can achieve those things with a catcher." But what else could we expect him to say?

Obviously Zito needs to get out of the first two innings cleanly. I'd imagine that if he gets hit hard in the first inning in particular, his confidence will suffer enough to sink the game.

But I'm hoping to be proven wrong. I want to see the Zito that the Giants overpaid for. Although for tonight, I'd settle for him making it past the third inning.

Eugenio - Oh no!

The young Giants have added a bit of excitement to the team this season. Emmanuel Burris' smackdown on Carlos Ruiz at home plate to score in the fourth inning of today's game against the Phillies is something we haven't seen much of with the elder Giants of recent years (wouldn't want to break a hip, see). The effects of that play will be felt in the clubhouse for a while - that kind of thing can charge up a team. And it may have made Ruiz nervous during the top of the eighth inning when Aaron Rowand charged the plate on Jose Castillo's triple - Ruiz appeared to shy away from hard contact.

But on the flipside, the young guys are error prone. Today's example: Eugenio Velez. In the top of the 5th, Velez failed to dig out Jose Castillo's throw from third on Eric Bruntlett's grounder with no outs. Castillo was credited with an error, but it could just have rightly belonged to Velez.

And then in the bottom of the ninth, with the score tied and two out, Velez let a routine grounder go under his glove, to allow the winning run to score from second base. Ouch.

This is a game that easily could have gone to the Giants. At this point in the season, Velez has to make those plays. I am no fan of Ray Durham (especially his defense), but if Velez keeps this up, I may want to see some more of Ray, and less of Velez (I know - the horror!).

Velez will have at least tomorrow off to ponder his play today. Let's hope he spends some time working on his fielding basics.

Comcast game broadcasts and Dodger blue

Prior to the season, FSN Bay Area relaunched as Comcast SportsNet Bay Area. For the most part (with one glaring exception described below), the change has been limited to the microphone logos. The network kept Kruk and Kuip (the best in the business), although Dave Flemming is rotated in for play-by-play now from the radio side.

My gripe with the new management? The graphic at the top of the screen. The bar is Dodger blue. Hated Dodger blue, people! With a red accent. Neither of these colors are in any way related to the orange and black of my beloved Giants. Would it really be that difficult to follow the FSNBA mode of using orange and black for the graphic? I get that Comcast's corporate colors are blue and red. So fine, keep the logo in the corner of the screen the same - fly the colors there. But for the game summary graphic? Let's see some Giants colors. If I can get those, I'll even forgive CSN for those awful post-game broadcasts from ACME Chophouse.

The Giants need to get one of these guys

Pitcher Micah Owings came in to the D'backs - Astros game today in the 6th inning as a pinch hitter, and hit a two-run home run to tie the game (which the D'backs then went on to win). This guy's batting stats put any of the best current Giants hitters to shame. Oh, and he can pitch pretty well, too.

It must be baseball season - the first 50 game suspension

So the first 50 game suspension has been levied, and it's SF Giant Eliezer Alfonzo (who started the season in Fresno).

He's admitted his guilt and apologized to his family, teammates and the fans (he has fans?) for his "mistake."

What kind of idiot uses any kind of performance enhancing substance in today's baseball climate? And so soon after the release of the Mitchell report? The scrutiny on players right now is intense, and it seems colossally stupid to juice in today's baseball. Instead of accelerating his return to the bigs, he has drawn 50 days of sitting (minus the accompanying paychecks) and has likely hurt his chances of a call-up by the Giants (who are trying real hard right now to appear squeaky clean after the exposure in the Mitchell report).

Bad move, Eliezer. Bad move.

Why a blog?

Why? To save my family and friends the agony of having to listen to my endless opinions and rants on baseball in general and the San Francisco Giants in particular, of course.

Actually, my family and friends will still be subject to my endless opinions and rants, but now I can inflict them on a (hopefully) wider audience.

And now, for the first pitch . . .