It was the Giants turn to unleash withering offense on the D'Backs and even their spring training record overall and against their division rivals. Key Lines:
Angel Pagan- 2 for 4. BA= .429
Melky Cabrera- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .429. The two trade aquisitions are off to good starts.
Aubrey Huff- 2 for 3. BA= .400. Huff signals that he's not going down without a fight.
Brett Pill- 3 for 5, 3B, SF. BA= .500. Pill picks up where he left off last September.
Ryan Theriot- 2 for 3, BB. BA= .667.
Mike Fontenot- 3 for 4, 2B. BA= .500. The Cajuns had good games.
Hector Sanchez- 3 for 3, 2B, SF. BA= .800. Is The Hector white hot or what? He's out to win a roster spot and maybe more depending on Buster's health. IMO, Hector is a better offensive option than either CStew or Whiteside. He would make it easier to rest Buster or play him at first base more often.
Andrew Kown- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. I think Kown could get the job done as an emergency starter if it came to that.
Ramon Ortiz- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. Ortiz is back for a second round with the Giants on a minor league contract.
Justin Fitzgerald- 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K. Big RHP is a sleeper.
Brian Burres- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. Burres started the game but came out early due to a swarm of bees that delayed the game in the top of the 2'nd inning for 41 minutes.
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I really like this team. I like the cheap and spirited LSU duo. I like Pagan. I have high hopes for Belt and Hector Sanchez. I like Huff. That might be a minority view at this point. And Melky seems to be coming in ready to play, a good sign.
ReplyDeleteFrom the beat writers: Pagan loves playing behind this pitching staff. "If we put up 3 or 4 runs, it's over."
He just might be the straw that stirs the drink here. The team needs some big energy from somewhere. Lots of nice guys, competitive all, but they need that extra push. Here's to hoping Pagan is the guy.
And to clarify from last post, I like Schierholtz and am rooting for him, I just think we might need to acknowledge his limitations. He can be awesome as a 4th OF if Belt does shove him aside. He's a gamer ballplayer, I'm a big fan.
I will always like Huff for what he did in 2010. If the Giants trade him, thats good because it means more playing time for Belt and Pill. But if Huff stays, I will root for him to do well.. Its not his fault that the Giants gave him that 2 yr $20 mil contract. I would like to see Huff give the Giants their monies worth in terms of offensive production. They are paying Rowand something like $12 mil and he's no longer there, and paying Zito $20 mil to be a 5th starter. I'm rooting for Schierholtz to be the starting right fielder, not 4th outfielder.
DeleteLG
It seems like every year there are one or two players that you either hope do really bad so that management is forced to cut them or do really good so they have more trade value in the hopes that management trades them away. Either way the team would be better off without them. Huff is that guy for me this year.
ReplyDeleteI love what he did for us in 2010 but I think last year was the real Huff and this year he is not only blocking Belt like he did last year but he is also the key to opening up this roster and providing an opportunity to give some young talent a chance to prove themselves. Without Huff we would be talking about a Belt/Pill platoon with Buster 1-2 days a week filling in at 1B. This would also open the door for Dirty3 to catch when Buster is at 1B which would essentially make it a competition between Sancho/Belt/Pill for opportunities.
The upside to getting rid of Huff is pretty obvious as I think most Giants fans would love to see the young prospects get a chance to shine and I think you can argue that even if Huff has a decent year it still won't be good enough to take away playing time and development for the young guys. If any team out there is looking for a 1B or DH (Milwaukee?, Texas, New York now with Ike out with the fever), the Giants should hand them Huff on a silver plater.
The only downside really is losing a good veteran who was a good Giant but kinda outstayed his welcome. Huff is a more tolerable version of cousin Eddie from the Vacation movies, entertaining in small doses but not someone you want staying over for the holidays. The future is now and unlike past years, the young players we have waiting to take over are looking like they can handle the challenge. Only thing left to do is give them the chance.
So Huff to the Mets, pick up 4/5th of his salary, you throw in Kickham/Rosin/Both and you get back Daniel Murphy because Freddy can't go.
DeleteWho makes the trade?
It solves our 2B problem (offensive side), gives us a superior RH bat and solves the lopsided LH bat issue we have going, and we give up money and 1-2 promising arms. Murphy is a nice piece but not essential to the rebuild, and Huff is essentially free and fill in for the year.
I was thinking the Mets might be interested in a guy like Huff now that Davis is hurt. Maybe we can get Wheeler back for him! jk
ReplyDeleteits gonna be almost impossible for the giants to dump huff
ReplyDeletewhat happened last season showed the league that huff's issues have very little to do with enviroment, and everything to do with a lack of work ethic
no one is gonna trust him...
the fact is, as usual, the org painted itself into a corner
a belt/pill tandem is not only cheap, but productive
and i take the enthusiasm of new players with a grain of salt....lets see how they feel after 2 months playing at the belle
the crowds may pump em up....but the wall, air and wind is gonna smack them down
but pagan is just saying what we have all said for the past 2 seasons....give this pitching staff 4 runs, and they cant lose
I don't see it as painted into a corner. I see it as having options. I do think Huff is tradeable if he has a good spring.
DeleteHe may have to enjoy a good entire first month of the season in order to work himself onto another team that actually wants him. If Hector rocks it this Spring, it gives the Giants a much better incentive to start Posey's season off easy, give him a lot of reps at 1B in the early going, and have Huff prove it as a part time player. If Huff can contribute to a big degree in a limited roll, I think that would have other teams wondering whether they can pick up a strong piece at 1B for a song, and perhaps allow the Giants to strengthen a weakness, like backup SP or 2B replacements (as Shankbone suggested).
DeleteEither way, strong springs I believe mean nearly nothing to other teams, especially coming off such an abominable year as The Thong currently is. Either way, if Huff stinks, he's gone. If he's good, he's gone via trade. B. Belt - your time is rapidly approaching!
I know that the SABR's scoff at ST performances, and with good reason. I think real life GM's and managers pay a lot of attention to it, whether it is justified or not.
DeleteYeah, I understand that Matt Kemp is not going to lose his starting position with a bad spring and Eli Whiteside is not going to be the starting catcher with a good one, but things like whether a player coming off a bad season looks healthy and/or is swinging the bat well makes a big difference in how they are viewed by their team and opposing teams.