"May"-Hem: One Frustrating Week for Giants Baseball Fans

The Giants still have a chance to come out with a win from the Padres in this series. I'm trying to stay that optimistic. Jonathan Sanchez is on the hill, and for some reason, I have that feeling that Sanchez will deal and help the Giants avoid an 0-6 start to the season against the Friars. After all, he's pitched  somewhat well in the past against the Padres.

However, this isn't about the series against the Padres solely. It goes beyond that. The Giants so far this week have been frustrating the living daylights out of us fans. Here are some reasons why:



The Giants' Ineptitude Against the Padres This Series


Check out the game graphs from yesterday and today's losses on Fangraphs.

I'm sorry. That sucks. It sucks because when you look at the graphs, you realize we just have gone downhill and haven't clawed back in the slightest this series against a team that we are better on paper against. (At home nonetheless!) It sucks to see the Padres doing the damage this series, and it's guys like Jerry Hairston Jr. and Yorvit "I can't hit against anybody but the Giants"  Torrealba.

Ugh...I'm getting sick to my stomach. Looking at these graphs makes me feel like the Duke brothers at the end of "Trading Places."



Brian Sabean Saying "Triple-A" Doesn't Matter

I hate Sabean. I hated him before and I hate him even more after he made some asinine comments in an article by San Jose Mercury Giants beat writer Andrew Baggarly in regard to the prospect of bringing up Buster Posey. Here's a "gem of wisdom" from the longest tenured general manager in Major League Baseball.

"Triple-A baseball isn't very good," Sabean said. "I'm going to tell you that right now. Especially from a pitching standpoint. Anybody who can pitch is in the big leagues."

Lunacy. Sabean makes absolute no sense and ends up sounding not only like an idiot, but a blowhard idiot to boot. (And I'm not the only one saying it's dumb either.)

Look...we get it Sabes. You don't want bring up Posey and mess up the arbitration process like you did with Tim Lincecum. We know you can't say that to the media. However, you have reasonable excuses. Say you're "Behind Bengie and Eli (or "Whitey" as Bruce Bochy likes to call him) for the time being." Say "Posey could use half a season working with Madison Bumgarner."

But to say "Triple-A baseball isn't very good?" Come on. You know you aren't going to win that argument, and you just make the Giants organization and Giants fans look foolish.

I wish I could write pieces like this about Sabean, but it's times like this that prove time and time again why Sabean is such an overrated (and over-employed) general manager.


Bengie Molina: "Mr. Outspoken."

I really like Bengie. I do. He's the best catcher we've had in a Giants uniform since Bob Brenly and he is a great clubhouse guy that has worked well with our pitching staff. Furthermore, it is very hard to find a decent hitting catcher these days, let alone a good one like Molina, so you have to feel, as a Giants fan, we've been pretty lucky these past three-plus years.

Yet, Molina seems to be wearing out his welcome with the Giants. First off, he hasn't made things easy with the Posey situation (apparently, he's "frustrated" with how it's being handled). Secondly, on his personal blog, Behind the Mask, he went on a bit of a tirade against ESPN, which poked fun at his speed (or lack thereof) on Sportscenter. Here's a little tidbit from his post today:

"Look, you can say I'm the slowest guy in baseball or in  all of sports or in the entire world. I don't take issue with that because I AM the slowest guy. I have always been the slowest guy. I can't challenge that criticism. But ESPN's intention was not to criticize but to humiliate."

I'm sorry Bengie, but I just got to disagree with you on these two things. First off, I know you're ticked that you didn't get offered more money this off-season. I know you got screwed over by the Mets, and you deserve to be angry. But nobody forced you to sign this off-season with the Giants. Heck, even Giants management implored you to not sign with the Giants. You knew Posey was the catcher of the future and still, you signed anyway. You don't have any excuse or leeway to complain about this.

In terms of point two, it's ESPN. Everybody gets made fun of there. What else did you expect? Have you watched Sportscenter the past ten years? That's just the nature of how the show is. Furthermore, if you don't want anymore criticism (I saw the telecast, it's really not that bad) then don't attract any attention to yourself. Nobody would have remembered the slow-mo of you running home beyond today, but because you brought it up, it'll be talked for at least a few more. Let sleeping dogs lie Bengie. ESPN poking fun at you for something you know to be pretty obvious is nothing to cry "murder" over. It could have been worse.


Mark Derosa's Wrist Problems

Another reason for my dislike of Sabean. He commits $24 million this off-season to Mark Derosa and Freddy Sanchez. What happens? Sanchez begins the year on the Disabled List because of off-season knee surgery, and now, Derosa claims that his wrist surgery this off-season was a "total failure" in an article in the San Jose Mercury.

DeRosa said he "didn't feel great" when he started to hit before Giants camp opened, "but I just figured that was part of coming back from wrist surgery. And in spring training, you can kind of dance around it. You can feel good and get a couple of windblown doubles in the gap, and everybody thinks you're ready to go."

That's awesome. Not only did Sabean sign one guy with injury problems (simply because he needed to save face after trading away Tim Alderson), it appears that he signed two this off-season (three if you count Edgar Renteria the previous season). What makes this even better? Remember '51's boy Fred Lewis is doing serious damage in Toronto. Here's what he's doing with the Blue Jays:

1.) Batting leadoff (something Giants fans said "He couldn't do.")
2.) Hitting .296 with a .813 OPS, 10 doubles, 13 RBI, 14 R and 3 SB.
3.) Being clutch (wonder how the guys at Bleacher Report feel about this article now) and winning Blue Jays fans over (Bluebird Banter said that it would be a travesty if Lewis is taken out of the lineup in favor of a Edwin Encarnacion at third, Jose Bautista in the outfield, lineup when Encarnacion returns).

But I guess we just had to sign Derosa, right?

Poll Recap Results: Which Free Agent Acquisition Did You Like the Most?

Tried to write a couple of longer posts, but nothing came to fruition, so I'm just going to do a recap of the poll results (and put up a new one later tonight).

Here is the poll that just closed.


Which Free Agent Acquisition Did You Like the Most this Off-Season?

Aubrey Huff: 3 votes (13 percent).
Mark Derosa 8 votes (34 percent).
Todd Wellemeyer 3 votes (13 percent).
Guillermo Mota 0 votes (zero percent).
Byung-Hyun Kim 1 vote (one percent).
Santiago Casilla 0 votes (zero percent).
Denny Bautista 0 votes (zero percent).
Tony Pena, Jr. 0 votes (zero percent).
Horacio Ramirez 0 votes (zero percent).
None (They were all lousy) 8 votes (34 percent).

Reactions: Overall, I'm not surprised. I really did not like any of the signings for the most part. Huff in my mind is past his prime and isn't going to be a 20 homer hitter like everyone thinks. Wellemeyer had a good spring, but it's only a matter of time before he cedes the fifth spot in the rotation to someone else (be it Madison Bumgarner, Kevin Pucetas or someone else). Gullermo Mota is Guillermo Mota. Everyone else? I'm not even going to waste any time.

(Okay, I will. Kim was released and everyone else is in the minors. There. Great acquisitions, right? At least our farm system will have veterans to keep Matt Kinney company.)

The only one I sort of liked was Derosa. As a player, I think he can offer a lot. He can take a walk and he can hit with some power. Furthermore, he developed late in his career, so I have more confidence that his regression will be less staggering than a guy like Huff who peaked earlier (sans 2008, an aberration year). My only problem is that Derosa doesn't seem to fit on this team. He's great when he has potent hitters around him, but when he's supposed to be one of the main run producers? Well...that might be a little too much.

I voted none, but in all honesty, I can live with Derosa tying for the win in this poll. At least it wasn't Huff or Wellemeyer. Then I would have been really down.

BTW: Retro Matt Cain tonight against the Pirates! Another No-Decision!

The PG Beat: Opening Day, Lincecum Deals, Derosa Homers, Hufff = Sean Casey 2.0?

It's back! And I love it to boot!

Baseball season returns as does the Postgame Beat. Now, this Postgame Beat won't be obviously as long or as complete as PG Beats in the past, but it will still happen people! This is Giants baseball after all.

Anyways, what a way to start off the season. The Giants won 5-2, Aaron Rowand gave his usual 0-for-5 fielding practice for Astros infielders, and John Bowker proved he belonged in the lineup with a long single and a great catch in left field.

To be specific though, here's a few more condensed thoughts from the game:

-- Tim Lincecum looked awesome. Last year he looked shaky against the Brewers, but he got some decent offensive help in that one because Jeff Suppan was on the mound for the Brew crew. Today, he didn't need much help from the Giants offense. The line says it all: seven IP, zero walks, seven strikeouts. That's dominance ladies and gentleman, plain and simple. Going into the year, I thought it was impossible that Lincecum would three-peat the Cy Young. After today, I don't think it's so farfetched.

-- Mark Derosa. Put it on the board...YES! (Sorry to rip from the homer Chicago White Sox announcers). Derosa may not be the total answer to the Giants offensive woes, but he looked pretty good. He drew a walk that sparked the Giants three-run inning second and his homer in the eighth pretty much locked it up. If Derosa continues these solid at-bats, he'll make Giants fans grateful that Brian Sabean forked out the cash for him in December.

-- Aubrey Huff didn't have a bad game. But I was incredibly startled by him out there. He looked incredibly skinny and the way he swung...well, he kind of looked like Sean Casey. Yes, the eight homer hitting Sean Casey who is now an analyst for MLB Network. Now, it is only one game, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Huff put up Casey-in stats. His swing just didn't seem to have a lot of power behind it and he doesn't seem to be the Huff that was putting up 20-homer seasons in Tampa and Baltimore. Like I said, early, but I'm not all too hopeful.

So that's the first PG Beat of the 2010 season. Hopefully, there will be plenty more to come. Go Giants and best of luck to Barry Zito tomorrow.

Injuries, Injuries, Injuries...And It's Only Spring Training!

The Giants are only three games into Spring Training and yet injuries are already an issues. Here's a rundown of guys who are going through some injury issues at this time:

• Freddy Sanchez is recovering from surgery on his knee and is expected to miss Opening Day and perhaps begin the year on the Disabled List. (Sanchez signed a two-year, $12-million dollar contract this off-season).
• Mark Derosa still hasn't played a game yet as he continues to recover from wrist surgery last October. He expects to take batting practice sometime this weekend. (Derosa signed a two-year, $12-million dollar this off-season as well).
• Travis Ishikawa is recovering from a torn ligament in his foot that has put him in a boot all week. He suffered the foot injury while slipping down some stairs, apparently. However, Ishikawa has taken grounders and hit some soft toss, but he is still day-to-day in terms of being game-ready.
• After a solid Spring Training debut where he hit two doubles, Emmanuel Burriss re-injured his foot against the Seattle Mariners. Burriss fractured his foot last season, but thankfully, there were no fractures this time around. How this affects his 2010 season and his speed (his most valuable asset) is yet to be determined. Let's hope it doesn't affect him like Fred Lewis' foot problems sapped his speed in 2009. (Update: Andrew Baggarly reports via Twitter that Burriss actually re-fractured his foot and will be in a boot for four weeks. Seriously, what is with Giants second baseman and injuries? First Frandsen in 2008, now Burriss? I would be asking for a trade if I were Matt Downs. Some bad Karma going on. Ghost of Robby Thompson, perhaps?)

So, four injuries hit four players who are needed/expected to make an impact in 2010. The one I feel the most for is Burriss, mainly because his speed is such a strength of his (in fact, his only strength considering how much he dropped defensively last season) and I wonder if it this foot injury is going to linger with him like Lewis' foot surgery did in 2009 (where he went from 21 stolen bases in 2008 to eight stolen bases in 2009).

Ishikawa I'm also concerned about, but from what it sounds like, it could be serious but it could also be minor as well. We'll need more time to determine whether or not it will truly have an effect on him in 2010 (and if it does, then...well...we might have some problems defensively at first base without our best defensive infielder in Ishikawa).

As for Derosa and Sanchez? Well...it's frustrating. $24 million for damaged goods (in the grand scheme of things it certainly could be worse). Oh well, let's hope that they can get healthy soon so they can make those contracts worth it. After all, it's only Spring Training and the Giants are 3-0 going into today (but like I said...it's only Spring Training).

Mark Derosa is officially a Giant, but does it makes sense for San Francisco?

For the first time since Freddy Sanchez's re-signing, Giants General Manager Brian Sabean finally made a major move this off-season (of course, unless you consider Tony Pena Jr. signing big news, which I necessarily don't). He signed Utility player Mark Derosa to a two year, $12 million dollar deal.

First off, this probably is a solid move, regardless of what some Giants fans may think. Is it sexy? Of course not, but it is a low risk acquisition, which is what the Giants need after years of high-risk, somewhat irresponsible free spending (see: Rowand, Aaron; Roberts, Dave; Zito, Barry). And besides, even if Sabean was willing to go back to his "gunslinger" (e.g. thoughtless and incomprehensible) ways, this isn't the year to do it. The only real players who would make sense in terms of being worth big money contracts would be Matt Holliday and Jason Bay, but Holliday is represented by Scott Boras (e.g. nothing is going to happen because Sabean and Boras get along as well as North and South Korea these days) and Bay has stated publicly that he doesn't want to play in San Francisco (he is on the verge of signing with the Mets anyways).

So, with so few options left now, Sabean made a conservative signing in terms of Derosa. Sure, Derosa is coming off an injury plagued season, had dramatic dips in terms of batting average, OBP and OPS, and will be 35 by next season. However, Derosa does add more power (he had 23 home runs last year), can play multiple positions (such as third base or left field) and did come relatively on the cheap if you look at his WAR converted to Dollars scale on Fangraphs.

Granted though, Derosa isn't a sure fire signing. As bad as this sounds, Derosa does somewhat reek of Aaron Rowand. He's coming off a big power year in a relatively homer-friendly park (e.g. Cleveland, which was the launching pad for Ryan Garko) and at his age, he's likely to decline, especially considering the wrist injury he's coming off of after getting traded to St. Louis. If Derosa isn't healthy (and I'd say the chances are 50-50 he isn't) then there is a high possibility that Derosa may suffer in San Francisco's spacious AT&T park like Edgar Renteria in 2009, or simply not see the field enough to justify his acquisition like Freddy Sanchez's second half last season.

If Derosa DOES stay healthy (and that's a big IF), and he is able to somewhat replicate what he did in Chicago in 2007 and 2008, I can see Derosa having an impact on this Giants team.

However, not as a third baseman.

If anything, manager Bruce Bochy needs to play Derosa in left field for this deal to have any credibility. First off, I don't think Pablo Sandoval going to first is the answer. Is Sandoval perhaps playing a little out of position? Maybe, but his problems have more to do with his arm rather than his glove. After a full year at third, I think Sandoval has learned what it takes to be a major league third baseman. This isn't the Miguel Cabrera situation where Cabrera couldn't make a move laterally. Sandoval is actually very nimble for his size, and to put him at first, in my mind, would be a waste of his surprisingly athletic ability.

Furthermore, moving Sandoval to first would be pretty much it for Travis Ishikawa, who I'm not ready to give up on. Is Ishikawa there yet? No, absolutely not, but he showed significant progress after a slow start in 2009. The guy does need to be able to hit on the road better, but I think a platoon of Ishikawa and Jesus Guzman would be sufficient enough for a Giants team looking to make the playoffs next year.

Where Derosa really needs to go for the Giants is in left field, simply because the left field position currently is so unproven. Eugenio Velez was a product of a hot month. While he did show better plate patience and had a better approach at the plate in the second half last season, Velez's history of poor starts in his career should be a caution for all those championing him to be in the starting lineup on Opening Day. As for Torres, he has good speed and had an excellent year (his best season so far in the majors), but again, it is hard to determine whether or not he will be able to replicate the season he had last season. There is just so little history on the guy to fall back on, and it would just be too much of a risk for the Giants to make Torres an everyday starter. As a platoon guy he's great, but the Giants need more proof from him that he can play left field everyday for the Giants.

In additon, left field might actually be a better position for Derosa, especially defensively. First off, his UZR/150 numbers in terms of playing outfield last year are actually better in comparison to him playing third base (31.2 in 2009 when playing outfield, -8.7 when playing third base). Thus, defensively, he is not that much of an upgrade over Pablo Sandoval (Sandoval had a -6.7 UZR/150 last year). Sure, defensively, according to UZR/150, Derosa may be worse than Velez (who has a UZR/150 of 46.1 when playing left field last year), but what Derosa will offer offensively should efficiently supplant Velez despite the difference defensively. Derosa has a better history compared to Velez in terms of OBP and OPS, and those are two categories the Giants need to drastically improve after their offensive debacle in 2009.

So, Derosa should be solid player for San Francisco in 2009. I am confident enough (and optimistic enough) to make that statement. Will he reach that 23-homer mark again like he did last year? Probably not, simply because Cleveland Indians players have not transitioned well to AT&T Park recently (cough...Garko...cough). However, to think his OBP and OPS numbers will dip under .320 and .750 again may be far fetched. Sure, age will come up and creep up on Derosa (simply because it does at 35), but I think Derosa is capable of having a solid season where his numbers in those categories could fall in the .340-.360, and .780-.800 range in terms of OBP and OPS.

That being said, for this signing to really have an effect, Derosa must play left field. Even if the Giants make a big splash signing in the Adrian Beltre (which would move Sandoval to third, but probably won't happen) or Adam LaRoche (which would supplant Ishikawa, and could happen) mold, Derosa is better suited to being the starting left fielder on Opening Day for the Giants.

Because in all honesty, an Opening Day lineup with Eugenio Velez may not be the best idea. He is relatively unproven, and probably better suited as a utility player. Having him start everyday to begin the 2010 season most likely will expose his inability to be a starting player, and will hurt the Giants playoff chances early on.

Is that a little pessimistic? Perhaps, but just look at Emmanuel Burris last year and you'll understand my concern.