The Giants sent mostly bench players and players fighting for a roster spot to play the White Sox in Glendale, AZ today so it's not surprising they didn't show much of a offense. Also not surprising was the beating the White Sox laid on Barry Zito in a scene not at all unfamiliar to Giants fans. Key Lines:
Chris Dominguez- 1 for 1. BA= .250. Dominguez played RF subbing for Nate. Now THERE's a RF arm for you, Bacci! Not sure how much ground Chris D can cover out there, though.
Melky Cabrera- 0 for 2, BB, Assist(Dunn at 3B). BA= .383. Melky has an arm too. Not sure what Dunn was doing trying to take an extra base. Ah, spring!
Barry Zito- 2.1 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 3 K. ERA= 6.61! Dismal, just dismal. Back-to-backs from AJP and Alex Rios to boot.
Matt Yourkin- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA= 1.80. I"m quite sure I'd feel more comfortable with Yourkin as the #5 starter than Zito.
If it's true, as Baggs implies, that ownership has mandated no more eating of contracts, that is just too unfortunate for words. Are they really going to insist on continuing to run Zito out there every 5'th day just to get bombed into oblivion and essentially forfeit 30 games? Do they understand the concept of sunk cost? I really hope Zito has more QS than these stinkers and it doesn't come to that, but I'm not very confident he will.
Ryan Vogelsong makes his spring debut tomorrow against the Royals in Scottsdale. Brian WIlson is scheduled to pitch too.
Around the League:
Freddie Freeman hit two dingers and is now 6 for his last 13 for Atlanta. Savvy Vets is looking good!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Baggs has a good handle on the Giants moves, but sometimes he likes to instigate a bit. I'd put the Zito all year on that side of the coin.
ReplyDeleteIt is worrisome though. I maintain if the Giants had jettisoned Rowand and Tejada the day they got Beltran instead of a month later when the horse had bolted the barn, things might have been different. It was painfully obvious they were both done. So if that is indeed part of the reason Neuks got canned - authorizing the sunk cost of Rowand - then the Zito debacle could get very comical.
The baseball side won't allow 33 starts like that. No way, no how. They are in hope like hell mode, and then when the Zito blowups come some gentle pressure will be applied, followed by some hometown crowd rage to speed it along, that will allow Baer to get to enough of the trustifarian's in line to do something. I think this is a subtle (or not subtle) hint from Baggs that some of the ownership aren't exactly keen students of the game. So be prepared for some, ahem, creative, excuses for Zito not being able to take the bump.
I wouldn't include Baer in that group. He deserves some of the heat he gets, but he has a clue about baseball. Actually I sympathize a little for the guy, he has a lot of feathers to stroke, and he's much more the guy for that particular job than Daddy Neuks.
LG mentioned Dirty Sanchez in the previous post. It's a good point, and Melky looks focused. Sabean might just have pulled off a vintage 97-02 steal, we're going to find out soon!
I think you are just about right with that analysis. When I went to the spring training game in Scottsdale, Baer came in and sat in the front row with members of his family. He's a fan too. I can't believe he's going to want to sit there and watch Zito get is butt kicked game after game any more than we do.
DeleteHopefully the issue with Neuks was more that he didn't go around and ask for permission to can Rowand than the move itself. Yes, Baer probably will be better at going to each investor and saying, "you know what? We have a problem" and proceed to explain it in terms that they understand such as "you know, we're starting to get a lot of empty seats on nights Zito pitches."
Well, the issues this spring are very similar to the issues we had last year: Zito sucking, Middle infield sucking, and who can we count on to produce after Posey, Panda, and maybe Melky. I thought they had done about the bare minimum after the Theriot signing in addressing some of these issues but they really just put some makeup on the pig and trotted her out to see if the fans would notice a difference.
ReplyDeleteI don't really notice a difference and it is discouraging. I see the middle infield being a huge concern once we get final word that Freddy is deady and will never play again. None of the other options are looking that great right now unless Burris inspires confidence or you think that Theriot and Fontenot are going to magically get younger and better.
I see the starting pitching at a huge disadvantage once the first 3 go, there are still 65-70 games that we need to figure out a way to win and with Zito and an iffy Vogelsong, those could be 40 - 50 loses right there. They will find ways to avoid giving Zito the ball like they did last year but the problem is that there isn't a decent replacement anywhere near ready.
As for the offense, consistent contribution will be the biggest challenge. Panda and Posey should do fine but put it in perspective, Colorado last year had to deal with only having Tulo and Cargo but Panda and Posey are not on their level. Pagan, Nate, Huff, and the entire middle infield looks shaky at best so where is the consistency going to come from?
I know I tend to come on here and rant about how much things suck and it probably gets old but we may be in for another extremely difficult season to watch which at the end of it will more then likely see us lose Matt Cain to Free Agency. No runs plus no Matt Cain after this year will put this team right back where we were before 2010, somewhere between sucky and mediocre.
Solution: Instead of taking a few months to give Huff and Crawford and Nate and the other garbage at MI a chance to prove themselves, I am all for a mini rebuilding process that at the very least gets rid of Huff and possibly trading Cain now or after the season starts to bring back some value for a guy who either doesn't want to be here or is letting his agent make all his decisions for him. I want to see Hector, Belt, Pill, and Blanco all on this team and wouldn't mind a starting lineup something like this:
Blanco CF
Pagan LF
Melky RF
Panda 3B
Posey C
Belt 1B
Pill 2B (a stretch I admit)
Crawford SS (for now)
Have Hector sub out Posey 2 out of 5 games and put Belt in LF during those games and either bench Pagan or Blanco depending on the situation. Do I think this lineup will win us the West.... no, but I don't think Huff or Nate or Theriot or Fontenot are going to make a hell of a lot of difference either.
I think its a nice balance to have some informed rants Pato.
DeleteSP: Let's see how Vogelsong is in a couple of weeks, apparently he pitched well today. I like how they are handling this one, it is a long season and they have some time, no need to rush a injury and make it nag all year. Zito is not getting his velocity up near where it can be effective, so that will be a mess. Surkamp has an inflamed elbow, but if they released Ortiz the same day they can't be that concerned about it. Surkamp is the hot button there, we'll have to see what happens.
RP: Hey, that's all looking good now and they have plenty of arms to throw into the fight as necessary: Hembree, Runzler when healed, Otero, the list goes on. And on.
OF: I think bacci is right, Nate is hurt. Pagan - has looked terrible but its spring training. The advantage of the uncertainty is it opens up a window for Belt. All he has to do now is hit, and the job is his. Melky has gone from whipping boy to OK in most fans book.
IF: I'm very hesitant to trust Manny Burriss one second. I'd rather hang onto the Cajuns, but its not the biggest deal if they don't. Freddy Sanchez - I'm in the minority but I say don't count him out until its over. Pill - hey, if they want to try him at 2nd, he'll do his best effort. it won't be pretty. Huff - needs at least 6 weeks before fans get on him. He will get that if he and Belt are both in the lineup.
I love me some Hector Sanchez, the sub out needs to happen. So I agree, sacrificing some defense and experience for youthful bats might be in order. With Crawford at short, there is a lot of coverage. We really don't want a 6/7/8 of Stewart/Burriss/Crawford. That look will get ugly fast. That's why I think Sanchez is making the team.
I think your lineup would win the west. I also keep mentioning Dan Murphy on the Mets. A bat without a true position and a clank glove. Don't know what he'll cost though.
Pato,
DeleteI understand your frustration, but I don't think it's that dire. IMO, the problem with the MI last year was more on defense than on offense and that's solved with Crawford and Burriss. I think both will hit better than they did last year, admittedly not a tall order.
I'm not sure I agree that Tulo and Cargo are on another level of a healthy Panda and Posey. Yes, Tulo plays a premium position, but so does Buster and Pablo gives you everything that Cargo does except the SB's. You have to factor in the offensive inflation of Coors field too.
Too early to give up on Pagan and Nate's troubles just open the door for Belt, whose floor is not too far away from Nate's ceiling, IMO.