So, a couple of questions popped up in the Comments today(I still haven't figured out how to log into my own blog to add my own comments, which shows you just how technologically challenge I am):
Q1: Does anyone believe the Giants would be over .500 now if Zaidi had not come?
Q2: Where would we be without all the additions that Farhan has made?
I suspect both of those questions came from the same person and I also suspect they are trolling me, but I'll bite anyway because they are interesting questions to ponder. Alternate universes are both fun and frustrating. Fun to speculate on what might have been(my favorites of all time are what if John and Robert Kennedy had not been assassinated?). What if Willie Mays had not served 2 years in the military and played most of his home games in Candlestick Park are also big faves of mine). The frustration comes from never being able to fully exhaust every permutation of subsequent events or to test your theories and see if they pan out.
Since the start of this season, Farhan Zaidi's sluice box of a roster has definitely turned up a few nuggets and those nuggets are shining brightly as I write this. Mike Yastrzemski is a great story and is looking more and more like the "Max Muncy" pick up we all started dreaming about when Farhan took the GM job, except YtY is an even better all around player than Max Muncy. I'll give him credit it for Kevin Pillar whose HR power did not crater when he came from Rogers Center to Oracle Park. Donovan Solano has been a wonderful backup middle infielder and Steven Vogt has emerged as an upgrade at reserve catcher. So, Farhan definitely has his successes to point to and deserves the credit for those. As for his Trade Deadline dealings, Scooter Gennett seems like an upgrade on Joe Panik and cost nothing, and Farhan either was very good or very lucky to get the Braves to take most of Mark Melancon's remaining contract. I'm happy to give him the credit for that too.
Of course you could also ask the question of where this team would be without Bruce Bochy's steady hand in holding the clubhouse together and his masterful management of the bullpen. Other factors to consider are what Farhan did not do in the offseason and what he has not done since, as well as what another GM(we'll say Bobby Evans) might have done instead. We can ask if the Giants would be over .500 with a different GM and where they would be without all the post-Opening Day additions, but that also raises the question of why all those post-Opening Day additions were necessary.
OK, it's just my opinion, but Farhan's offseason was a complete failure, and yes he has an excuse as he was hired late in the offseason cycle. But don't forget his Opening Day Roster included Conner Joe and another OF who I can't even remember his name. Erik Kratz was the backup catcher. I also don't remember who the reserve MI was, but it wasn't Donovan Solano. Does anyone here believe Bobby Evans would not have been much more aggressive about putting together a roster that was ready to compete on Opening Day? Where would this team be if Domingo Santana, Adam Jones and Dallas Keuchal had been on the Opening Day roster just to name three, and yes, they were all available for prices the Giants could afford.
As for the Trade Deadline, I've already talked about how much I like the moves Farhan made, but there were moves he didn't make that may still come back to haunt him such as bringing in a veteran SP or two to bolster a rotation that currently has exactly 1 near-ace and 1 semi-reliable SP. I'll also say the farm system is looking a lot better than it did at the beginning of the season. How much of that is due to Farhan's player development ideas and how much is the normal progression of players who were already in the organization when he became GM is open to question. It's definitely not due to prospects he signed and drafted(OK, maybe Jaylin Davis can be considered a prospect and maybe he is someone to dream on).
In conclusion, do I believe the Giants would be over .500 if Zaidi had not come? I don't know, but I think it is definitely possible.
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Good post. Who knows but I think it was possible that the team would be over 500 if Zaidi didn't come. But I see the difference between Zaidi and another GM like Evans is the direction that each chooses to take the team which effects the types of moves they make. Evans would have traded prospects and signed free agents with the purpose of contending. This would have left them with a payroll close to the luxury tax and an inflexable roster. Zaidi was reportedly brought in to rebuild the team according to beat writers. Zaidi also said he wants the team to be competitive. It makes sense that he chose not to spend big money on free agents and look at young players. So far Zaidi has created a more flexible roster, flexible payroll after trading Melancons, while doing his roster churning. While the roster churning has been crazy at times, Zaidi has been operating how he has in the past with other organizations. This is definitely not his first rodeo.
ReplyDeleteFilling in several points odd confusion.
ReplyDelete1. Yangervis (?) Solarte was the middle infielder.
2. Michael Reed was an awful outfielder.
3. I think that Gerardo Parra might've been a starter, earlier this season.
4. Zaidi seems to have the "throw it against the wall and see what sticks" style of signing players. Sometimes it works. Sometimes not so well.