Quick Pitch

Ready for more Sabean and Bochy?

2009-08-04T11:37:00.000-07:00

I'm watching Baggs' live chat this morning. This exchange came up:

Q: Bruce Bochy and Brian Sabaen's contracts are both expired after the season. How successful do the Giants need to be (playoffs? world series appearance?) for Neukom to bring them back?

baggs: Pretty good chance they'll be back based on the team's progress to date. Remember, Neukom's goal was to be .500 this year. They're ahead of schedule. And they had what most observers believe was another decent draft. The minor league system is healthier. It seems like Neukom has a great respect for the way Brian and Bruce go about their jobs. When I asked him just prior to the All-Star break if Bochy deserved credit, he said yes, the manager has created a good esprit de corps and has put players in position to succeed. I've been told all parties intend to honor a pledge not to negotiate extensions until after the season, but I wouldn't be surprised if they've already come to some kind of loose arrangement. If they go to the playoffs, it'll be all the more automatic.

Are we ready for more of these two? Have the GM and coach done well enough to come back for more? Admittedly, the Giants have done much better this season than I anticipated. But I can't help but shake the feeling that the team could have done even better with a different skipper.

"Zeet Games"

2009-07-13T11:23:00.000-07:00

There's a new baseball stat, courtesy of Tim Kawakami: "Zeet Games": http://tinyurl.com/lsbt4k. The leader in ZGs? Barry Zito, of course.

Sadly, Randy Johnson has also logged a number of Zeet Games.

I have to agree with Kawakami - when does management decide that Zito is hurting more than helping in the wild card race, and stick him in the 'pen?

I'm suspicious of my mailman. . .

2009-04-06T18:28:00.000-07:00

I've subscribed to Sports Illustrated for at least 15 years. My absolute favorite issue is the annual baseball preview issue. And yet, for the last 8 years, I have never (and I do mean never) received this issue in the mail. All other issues (including the swimsuit issue) arrive week in and week out without fail. But the baseball preview issue? Never comes.

I've had a number of years to ponder why. And I have no good answer. So I let the irrational part of my brain try to figure it out. And my crazy side determined that my mail carrier is a stinkin' baseball preview issue thief. I'm picturing someone sitting in the post office, sorting mail, and saying "This here Sports Illustrated baseball preview issue has a GIRL's name on it. No way a girl likes baseball, so I'm sure she won't miss it if I take it home to read in the john." And so he does. And then I never get it (although I suppose I should be grateful that the mailman doesn't deliver it a week later after enjoying it on the throne).

So today I put in my annual request to Sports Illustrated for a replacement copy.

And I'm gonna give my mailman the stink eye next time I see him.

Barry won't be a Twin (duh)

2009-03-13T12:49:00.000-07:00

The Twins have passed on Barry Bonds this year. The GM says their OF is fully stocked, and they don't need a cranky old man with creaky knees (you gotta read between the lines to pick up on that last part).

Should we expect 30 stories about each team that passes on Bonds?

As much as I would have liked to see Barry play one more season, I'm not sure I want to see 44 year old Barry try to strap on the elbow armor at this point.

Google Calendar Hates Baseball!

2009-03-09T10:35:00.000-07:00

Okay, maybe not. But I did discover yesterday that Google Calendar has made adding a SF Giants game schedule to your calendar a lot more difficult than it used to be.

It used to be that when you wanted to add a public calendar to your own, you could browse through a "gallery" of calendars, searching by calendar title, to find the one you want. There would usually be a few SF Giants schedules available, complete with broadcast info. You'd pick one you like, click on a little doo-dad button thingy, and it would be added to your calendar. Easy-peasy.

So in anticipation of the start of the 2009 season, I opened up my calendar and clicked on the "Add" button, only to find that there was no more browsing capability. Turns out Google decided it was too hard to maintain the list (umm, isn't finding and pointing to information kinda what they do?), so they killed it off last month. It took a bit of searching through the Google Calendar support forums to figure this out. Funny thing - Google puts all sorts of crap up in the top corner of my calendar page to point out the useless stuff they add to the calendar, but they don't bother to tell you about the useful stuff they take away.

At any rate, to add a public calendar now, you need to know the URL. How the hell am I supposed to know the frakkin' URL of a public calendar that somebody makes? Fortunately, the SF Giants schedule page offers help to add the schedule to your Google Calendar. Unfortunately, the URL they give you is incomplete and useless (at least using Firefox on Mac - YMMV).

Not one to give up easily, I perused the page source and found the correct URL, and finally added the schedule to my calendar.

For those of you who want to try this at home, ignore whatever the SF Giants schedule page tells you to do. Here's the right URL: http://mlb.mlb.com/soa/ical/schedule.ics?team_id=137&season=2009

Now go ahead and add in the schedule, so that you never miss a game!

Interesting Perspective on A-Roid

2009-02-15T22:43:00.000-08:00

I spent some time reading what FoxSport's Jason Whitlock had to say about not just Alex Rodriguez and his little steroid problem, but the issue of steroids in general and where the real culpability may lie (hint: not necessarily the players, but maybe the owners).

I don't have much time to add commentary right now, but wanted to post the links to Part I and Part II. Go read 'em. I may get a chance to write something about it later.

Giambi

2009-01-07T22:10:00.001-08:00

The best part of the Jason Giambi signing? It wasn't with the Giants.

No worries, though. I'm sure we'll find some aging has-been who could never recapture his steroid glory days to sign before the season starts.

(Yes, I know this blog has been woefully ignored for many many many months. I hope to remedy that. I'm almost over my denial at the underwhelming off-season so far, and get back to writing a bit here and there about the team I love.)

Gamer Defense

2008-09-01T18:57:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-19T18:29:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-06T13:06:00.001-07:00

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

2008-07-31T22:06:00.001-07:00

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. . .

2008-07-26T23:32:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-18T23:43:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-07-18T23:00:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-17T17:06:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-07-11T23:47:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-09T11:28:00.000-07:00

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?

2008-07-08T15:26:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-27T19:13:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-24T14:14:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-19T23:06:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-16T20:28:00.001-07:00

Nothing yet.

Wearing my cranky pants

2008-06-09T15:16:00.001-07:00

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

2008-06-02T22:10:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-02T19:06:00.000-07:00

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!