The Giants played another crisp game, this time on the road against the BrewCrew. Hey! Who needs Bryce Harper? Key Lines:
Drew Ferguson CF- 1 for 1, BB, SB(2). BA= .111. Ferguson hasn't hit much in the early going but he's made some nice defensive plays and stolen a couple of bases. Maybe his all around skills will keep him in the running long enough for the bat to wake up?
Mac Williamson LF- 1 for 3, HR(1). BA= .111. Mac gets his first hit of the spring and it's a dinger! Go Mac!
Austin Slater RF- 1 for 3, 3B. BA= .333. Slater is kind of the forgotten man in this mix but he's off to a pretty good start to the spring.
Levi Michael 2B- 1 for 1, HR(1), BB. BA= .600. Michael seems like a long shot to win a roster spot but he's quietly been on fire.
Chris Stratton RHP- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 4/1. ERA= 4.50. Much better results in his second spring start for Stratton who is out of options.
Ty Blach LHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 4.50. Blach pitched well again except for that walk and dinger in his second inning of work.
Melvin Adon RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 4.50. Adon is apparently hopping onto the fast track and will be pitching in a relief role this season.
Sam Coonrod RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 0.00. Always nice to strike out the side even if it's in the 8'th inning of a spring training game.
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Next up, Madison Bumgarner makes his second start of the spring against the Reds in Scottsdale in the first night game of the spring. Steven Duggar and Buster Posey are expected to make their spring debuts.
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We can stop waiting for Bryce. He signed with the Phillies for 13 yr/$330 M. Yeah, you read that right, 13 years! The Giants reportedly offered ONLY 12 yrs/$310 M which is actually a slightly higher AAV. So yeah, all that speculation that he wanted to be on the west coast and closer to his family and wasn't diggin' Philly? It was all BS. He was going to the highest bidder, period. Wish Bryce the best, especially when those Philly fans decide he's not living up to his price.
As for the Giants, Farhan Zaidi has always hinted more than strongly that he has a few other options up his sleeve. Let's see what those are. Personally I'm OK with seeing if he and Bochy can cobble together a California Dreaming team out of the Motley Crew that's in camp, but Farhan will still be a chump if his promises of rabbits up his sleeve prove to be empty.
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Would have been great if Harper signed with Giants, but a 13 year contract is mind boggling. I was shocked the Giants were willing to give 12 years! Would you be critical of Baer not getting the Harper signing done? As for Zaidi, a few months on the job is too little a sample size for me to determine how good he'll be as Giants president. I remember Preller making all those splashly moves when the Padres hired him and it flopped, to his credit he's done a great job building up their farm.. It's possible that some of those options that Zaidi mentioned may have dried up since Harper signed so late. I doubt that anything he does to improve the roster now will measure up to signing Harper anyway. He's learning the Giants need to develop their own hitters, since it's tough to sign free agent hitters to come and hit in Oracle park. Earlier it was LeMahieu spurning them. Doc I think you were right earlier when you said the Giants were keeping their spending down because they were eyeing Harper. I'd like to see how the 2019 season plays out and see what other moves Zaidi will make, to get a better idea of what kind of President/GM Zaidi will be.
ReplyDeleteAs I have said many times, I am not convinced Bryce Harper is THAT guy you should tie your franchise to for the next 10 years let alone 12 or 13. He's not a great fit for the ballpark and I see him as a risk to not age well. Fivethirtyeight has an interesting article about how Harper may well already be on the downside of his career(interesting that it came out the day he signed. I am sure that is not coincidence). On the other hand, if you think he's THAT guy you would go 12 years/$310 M for, why not 13/$330? Or why not tack on another $100 M in deferred money to be paid out over the following 30 years?
DeleteWhat I'm annoyed about is I think this team can compete in 2019 and opportunities were missed while Waiting for Bryce that aren't coming back. On the other hand, the Motley Crew is an interesting bunch. Let's see if an OF or two emerges from the pack by the end of spring training. If not, there may be opportunities for trades and free agent pickups later in the month when spring roster cuts start in.
I don't think Z is Learning I believe this was more driven by Ownership wanting to keep seats full, Z understands this Team has been neglected for so long it needs a complete Make Over. Could the Core bounce back?...........maybe but unlikely not after what they have shown since 2014.
DeleteI trust Z knows what he is doing.
Just read something interesting that it was Zaidi leading the Harper pursuit and not Baer. It also mentioned that Zaidi may have changed his thinking on Harper during his evaluation of the organization after he came on board. I know Farhans moves have been under whelming to this point but I'm willing to wait and see as he gets to know his new organization and players.
ReplyDeleteNot surprised if Zaidi was leading the charge for Harper. I've thought that was likely all along and yes, I believe that is why the Giants have spent essentially no money around the Hot Stove so far.
DeleteProbably a blessing in disguise that Harper isnt coming to SF. It does however leave a lot to be desired with this lineup and with all the pitching options I think I’m ready to start the rebuild. Trading MadBum now makes a lot of sense since it would give Suarez and Stratton and possibly Beede a chance to show what they have this year. I don’t really see any other moves they could make to realistically compete this year so why take the risk of waiting and having MadBum go down with an injury or worse yet underperform and lose his trade value? Tank it this year and develop some of our youth while getting Farhan a top 5 pick in the draft to build with. I’m ready and I think most Giants fans are too
ReplyDeleteI was with you until you got to "...most Giants fans...."
DeleteI think Bummy's trade value is at least as likely to rise by midseason as drop so I say if they can add a piece or two between now and the season, go for it. If not, see what happens with the current crew. They can always start their firesale at the All-Star Break.
That was literally the last thing I said so you were with me to the end! The risk is real of MadBum losing trade value and also the inability in the past of the Giants to make trade deadline moves for prospects has me concerned. The last 2 trades of Nunez and Cutch for fringe prospects are the only success stories to speak of in recent memory. Maybe you are right and MadBum pitches his A off but that would likely mean this team is around .500 and would present another issue of whether to go for it or not midseason. That IMO is the worst thing that could happen as it would affect our draft pick, muddy the vision this year possibly preventing trades that could help build our system, and likely still not result in a playoff birth. If we arent going to be good than I would rather be bad and let the kids play while building up the farm.
DeleteReports are Harper wanted a CA team to far outbid Philly because of state taxes. Hannity must be his tax guy. All in all, he made the decision he felt was right for his family. I would have liked to see him in SF even if the length made me nervous.
ReplyDeleteI suspect we’ll see some relievers traded. Phillies suddenly have a logjam of MLB quality OF.
OK, the Harper saga is over..Part of me wanted him..Part of me wanted to steer clear.In the end, I'm glad the Giants didnt sign him for the terms it would have taken
ReplyDeleteAs for the team going forward, I can not seeing it tanking this year..not with all the vets on the roster..not with this being Bochy's last year..They will try and cobble together the best team they have and see if the vets can all put it together for a run...ANd in the likely event that it fails, hopefully some of the vets have had good years and are tradeable (including MADBUM)by the deadline...
As gfor the game yesterday, I watched it and it was sure nice to see MAC put one out..I reallly hope he gets his bat back in shape this spring and claims a job..Fergurson looks like a decent reserve OF that Farhan would like...The three guys that looked really impressive were ADON, COONROD and STRATTON..We all know Stratton can be very good when he's on..Hope he finds consistency..And ADON was thrwoing pure gas...and Coonrod wans't far behind..Just one insignificant pre season game..but good signs!
SteveVA
I'm with you on The California Dreaming Team ...........Lets Play Ball!
ReplyDeleteMarch 1st, guys. I believe we might see Duggar and Posey today. That was their time table for returning.
ReplyDeleteIf Posey, Bum, Longoria, Belt, Williamson, Panik, Duggar, Slater, Samardzija, Melancon can stay healthy ALL Season we should be in good shape and competitive.
DeleteI’m really glad that is over with. I was pretty torn on Bryce but now I am really looking forward to see what Farhan does moving forward. I’m hoping that part of his plan is to still compete now & invest in this group of players (Posey, Crawford, etc) that are still under contract for the next 2-3 years. My hope for the next 2-3 years is that they utilize their payroll within a reasonable amount to the CBT to compete and then go over it at the trade deadline if need be (big if) to put them in a good position to win the title. Along with not giving up any of their current top 3 prospects. I think I can accept any outcome to the next 2-3 seasons as long as those things are achieved. If Cot’s Contracts numbers are accurate the Giants are currently $34M under the CBT. That is far to much money under the CBT to go into this season with such unproven OF production.
ReplyDeleteTanking is baseball makes less sense than basketball and football. The very best player is not often the 1st pick. Too many vagaries and late development in BB.
ReplyDeleteIt's best to try to compete, fill the seats, try to make smart picks, and develop your players and keep looking for Max Munchies (intentional misappropriation).
Zaidi wasn't hired to build Rome in a day.
Bochy's predilection for vets probably doesn't play well with what Farhan wants, so, it won't matter this year as long as he doesn't lose players without options because he likes Maybin and Parra too much.
Go with it, Giants, stay away from old has beens, try new shiny toys!
Amen Brother!
DeleteIt's time to get behind the 2019 Giants and believe in the players we have, enough OF envy. This OF looks great to me: Mac W LF, Duggar CF and Parra RF - start with two from Ferguson, Gerber and Slater for 4th and 5th. Shaw and Maybin to AAA to hit every day until red hot. IF looks great with Longoria and Panik hitting well already, Panda and Solarte 4th and 5th. Deep SP (MB, Stratton, Holland, Samardjiza, Rodriguez, Suarez, Pomeranz, Blach - Cueto comes back in September for the playoff run). Super deep BP (Adon, Melancon, Smith, Watson, Moronta, Dyson, Black, Venditte, Bergen). Posey back with power, I think Vogt might win backup and Garcia plays in AAA until red hot. That is a strong team!
ReplyDeleteLove it!
DeleteOT - how is Strickland doing this ST? glad he is gone
DeleteI'm probably crazy, but I think an OF of Mac, Duggar, Ferguson and Parra could put up a cumulative fWAR of 6-8. If The Core and pitchers all turned in career average seasons, Giants would contend.
DeleteLarry Baer WTF!!!!
ReplyDeleteLet's hope someone is better than Sandoval and makes the 25-man roster. If he is still among the "best" the Giants have, how can it be a "great" year.
ReplyDeleteHe has barely and not often even been replacement level since 2014.
If it's entirely Bochy's choice, we'll see Sandoval, Maybin, and Parra.
Zaidi might not have signed Hundley just because he knew that BB would give him the benefit of the doubt over everyone else.
time to get as many prospects as you can get this season!! nothing wrong with stocking the farm!!
ReplyDeleteLarry Baer Video going Viral Viral Viral on Internet - our very own Teddy Baer !!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwT54X0sJIc