Richmond and San Jose Set 2012 Rosters (Updated: With Giants and Grizzlies Notes to Come)

As the Giants start to figure out today who will and won't be on the active roster for Opening Day, the San Jose Giants and Richmond Flying Squirrels have already released their 2012 Opening Day rosters. This doesn't really come as too big of a surprise since both teams are opening up tomorrow. Here are some things I noticed about the rosters.

(Update as of 2:30 p.m. mountain time) The Giants just announced their 25-man roster and consequently, the Grizzlies just unveiled their roster as well. Will have another post to come. The biggest change to this post is that Ehire Adrianza is NOT going to Richmond, but Fresno after all. He is off the Squirrels' list and is now on the Grizzlies roster page. Will have thoughts on the Giants and Grizzlies in a post sometime later today 



San Jose Roster Notes

• Though there were rumors that Jarrett Parker would make the move up to Richmond with draft classmate Gary Brown, the Giants decided to keep him in High-A to start the year. The move is probably a wise one, since Parker struck out a lot at the plate, and didn't have a steady position with Brown patrolling center field. Now, he most likely will get to play his natural position of center field (his main competition is Chris Lofton, who's athletic but a lot less skilled than Parker), which should give Giants fans and scouts a gauge of how good he is defensively. Hopefully Parker can make some adjustments and cut down on the whiffs that hurt his stock so heavily last season.
• It will be quite a battle to see who'll be playing in the middle infield in San Jose. Joe Panik predictably makes the move to the California League after mashing in the Northwest League the previous season. However, he won't simply be handed the position, as he will be competing with Carter Jurica, the Giants' third round pick in 2010. Jurica has the experience factor on Panik, as he played in 50 games and put up a slash of .250/.355/.383 in 212 plate appearances for San Jose in 2011. However, Panik profiles as the better player overall, for Jurica did commit 14 errors last year at the shortstop position. The best seems to be that Jurica will start at second and Panik will be the shortstop on Opening Day.
• Despite not playing at all last year due to signing late, Ricky Oropesa will start the year in San Jose. With his power potential, he could have a big season, especially in terms of power numbers and home runs. He may strike out a lot, but I could see him having the kind of season in the Cal League that Roger Kieschnick had in 2009 in the CL.
• Some notable absences from the list were Aaron King, Michael Main, Ryan Scoma, and James Simmons, who were all released, according to this post on the McCovey Chronicles. King and Main were once top pitching prospects in the Giants and Rangers systems, respectively, but injuries and ineffectiveness have derailed their careers.

Richmond Roster Notes

• Tommy Joseph makes the move up to Double-A and it'll be interesting to see how the Giants will handle him in Richmond. The Flying Squirrels will have Johnny Monell back behind the plate, but it's obvious that more upside rests in Joseph. Because of Monell's presence, it wouldn't be surprising to see Joseph split a lot of time between catcher and first base in 2012, especially if he continues to hit in Richmond like he did in San Jose in 2011.
• The Flying Squirrels will have an interesting outfield setup with Wendell Fairley, Juan Perez and Nick Liles battling for two spots. Right now, I'd say the favorites are Perez (whom I like a lot) and Liles (whom I'm not much a fan of, but more so than Fairley) for the right and left field positions, respectively. Center field won't be up for debate as Gary Brown should and will have the position on lockdown barring injury.
• The pitching staff lacks big-time arms or names, but it should be interesting nonetheless. Michael Kickham looks like the most intriguing prospect on the Flying Squirrels staff, but don't count out Jake Dunning (who's No. 26 on my list), Justin Fitzgerald (the Squirrels' projected Opening Day starter), Austin Fleet (who could transition to more of a starter after spending most of the time in the bullpen in Augusta and Richmond last year) or Craig Westcott (who went 13-4 with a 3.42 ERA in SJ last year). They may not dominate like Eric Surkamp a year ago, but they do have some potential to have good years in the EL.
• Chris Dominguez looks slated to be the starting third baseman for the Squirrels and safe to say, it's a big year for him. He got off to a hot start last year when he made the transition from SJ to Richmond, but he struggled down the stretch and ended finishing with a .244/.272/.403 line for the year. The power potential with Dominguez is there, and his arm strength is probably the strongest out of any infielder in the Giants system. That being said, his ability to make consistent contact as a professional has been lackluster at best. At 25 years of age, he doesn't have much time left on the clock.

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.

Rowand Up, Torres Down in 2010? It Might Happen, Giants Fans

The popular sentiment of Giants fans these days seems to be this: bench Aaron Rowand, and replace him with Andres Torres, who is better suited to hit leadoff than Rowand, the Giants' current candidate.

Granted, I can't necessarily dimiss the idea. Torres is coming off a great year, and Rowand isn't. Rowand is a good defender, but statistically, Torres was better last year (Torres' had a 3.7 UZR in center field last season while Rowand sported a 1.3 UZR).

However, even though the stats from 2009 may favor more playing time for Torres and less for Rowand in center field, Giants fans shouldn't jump on the Torres bandwagon too quickly. While Torres may be a good player off the bench for the Giants roster in 2010 (especially considering he's might be of one of the better baserunners on the 40-man roster along with Eugenio Velez and Emmanuel Burriss), it is highly unlikely that he will duplicate the numbers that he posted in 2009. Additionally, while Rowand didn't exactly set the world on fire in 2009, there is a strong chance Rowand is due to improve in 2010.

Here are a few cases for my thought that Rowand should be the main man in center field over Torres for the Giants:

1. Torres most likely won't repeat his power numbers, while Rowand is more prone to stay around the same, perhaps even improve.

Here are Torres' power stats in 2009: six doubles, eight triples, six home runs, .533 slugging percentage, .876 OPS, .263 ISO, 12.5 percent HR/FB ratio.

Those really are incredible numbers, almost TOO incredible to be perfectly frank considering Torres' history.

In his Minor and Major League career, Torres only hit more than six home runs once (11 in 2008 with the Iowa Cubs, the Chicago Cubs' Triple-A affiliate). Granted, Torres has always had solid slugging and OPS numbers in the minors, but that may be more caused by his speed rather than natural power. From 2006-2008, in four Minor League stints (one Triple-A stint with the Minnesota Twins in 2006, a Double-A stint with the Detroit Tigers in 2007, a Triple-A stint with the Tigers in 2007, and a Triple-A stint with the Cubs in 2008), he accumulated 39 triples.

39! That's some absolute speed on the basepaths folks!

Yet here's a huge red flag when it comes to Torres repeating his 2009 numbers in 2010: the .263 ISO. Torres is not a .263 ISO hitter. The only other time he cracked the .200 mark was in 2007 with the Tigers' Triple-A team where he posted a .214 ISO. As far as his ISO in the majors, it isn't even close. The second-highest ISO he posted in the Majors was .077 in 2003 with the Tigers. (e.g. Walt Weiss territory.)

Another red-flag for Torres is his HR/FB ratio, which was an astounding 12.5 percent, third best on the team in 2009 (behind only Pablo Sandoval and Juan Uribe). His HR/FB numbers were nowhere close to that in his four seasons in the Majors prior to 2009. The second-highest HR/FB ratio for Torres? 3.1 percent in 2003 with Detroit. (He had a zero percent HR/FB ratio in 2002, 2004 and 2005, but he only played a combined 30 games during those three seasons.)

(Note: I could not find batted ball statistics for Minor Leaguers, so that's why I omit them here).

As for Rowand, 2009 was a little more typical for him in terms of power numbers in comparison to 2008. He posted a .419 and a .158 ISO, not to mention a 10.3 percent HR/FB ratio. Granted, those statistics aren't great by any measure, but they are least consistent with what we expect from Rowand. In his nine Major League seasons, he has only posted an OPS under .420 four times. (Although two of the four times were with the Giants...ouch!) Furthermore, Rowand has a career ISO average of .168 (in comparison to Torres who has a .139 ISO) and a career HR/FB ratio of 12.2 percent (in comparison to Torres who has a 7.1 percent HR/FB ratio).

One thing I think that could bode in Rowand's favor in 2010 was his dip in Line Drive percentage in 2009.  Rowand averages 19.7 percent in career line drive percentage. In 2009, that number dipped to 16 percent, the lowest percent of his Major League career. That total was probably affected by his increase in FB percentage (38.9 percent) and Infield Fly Ball percentage (13 percent, his highest percentage since 2005).

I don't think Rowand has a 16 percent line drive percentage in 2010, especially with a better hitting coach aboard in Hensley Meulens (Let's face it, Carney Lansford and his overly intense, counter-productive behavior probably wasn't helping him). If Rowand puts up better line drive numbers, chances are his power numbers will correspond as well.

2. Rowand is better at making contact than Torres.

Blasphemous. Or at least that's what Torres fans are saying. "Rowand can't hit the broad side of a barn!" is probably the most common phrase shouted at Rowand, but you know what? The stats say Rowand makes better contact at the plate.

In 2009, Torres posted a contact rate of 72.3 percent. Also, he made contact on 46.2 percent of pitches outside the strike zone and 84.1 percent of pitches in the strike zone.

Rowand? He posted a 74.8 percent contact rate, making 51.9 percent contact rate outside the strike zone and 85.2 percent contact rate on pitches inside the strike zone.

That is a big and surprising difference, especially considering the fact Rowand has earned a reputation of swinging and missing early and often (then again, his 25.1 percent strikeout rate and 0.24 BB/K ratio certainly didn't sway many Giants fans to believe otherwise). Yet according to the numbers, Torres may not be that much better a hitter as many Giants fans would like to believe. If given regular playing time, his stats most likely would look pedestrian to the point where they would be comparable, if not worse than Rowand's.

3. Torres' high BABIP doesn't bode well for 2010.

Torres posted a .347 BABIP in 2009, third-best on the team of hitters with 20 or more plate appearances behind Pablo Sandoval and Fred Lewis. Now, BABIP numbers aren't a bad thing. For the most part, groundball hitters have very high BABIP numbers, and Torres is a groundball hitter, so...

Stop right there! Torres was NOT a groundball hitter in 2009. He posted a 0.69 GB/FB ratio in 2009 along with a 49.5 percent flyball percentage. Rowand in comparison had a 1.16 GB/FB ratio and a 38.9 percent flyball percentage. So, if anything, Rowand is more of a groundball hitter than Torres, and Giants fans know that Rowand doesn't have the speed to be that kind of a hitter.

Torres does have the speed to be that kind of a player, but for whatever reason, he wasn't able to do so in 2009 and hit more flyballs than groundballs (15.5 percent more to be exact). Was last year an aberration for Torres? It could be. In 2002, 2003 and 2005 at the Major League level (again, no Minor League batted ball stats), Torres didn't have a GB/FB ratio below 1.81. That being said, his last stint in the Majors was 2005, and it is obvious by his power numbers in the Minors that he seems to be more inclined to try and hit for power and swing for the fences rather than just make contact.

If Torres continues that approach, chances are he won't have a BABIP as high as .347 at the Major League level again. Sooner or later, his luck will run out and his BABIP will hover around the league average of .299, which will make his stats look a lot more pedestrian than numbers he put up in 2009.

As for Rowand, he hovered around the league average in BABIP (.318) last season. If he can catch some breaks and get that BABIP to rise (which will if he can improve that line drive percentage like I said before), then Rowand's stats will look a lot better than in 2009.


The bottom line? I know Rowand makes more money and chances are, because of his contract and "gamer" status (which isn't a bad thing by the way), he will probably start in center field on Opening Day. That being said, Torres will be a very interesting player to watch in 2010. There is a good chance he could prove me wrong and continue to put the heat on manager Bruce Bochy to play him more. If he can utilize his speed better, he certainly will be hard to keep out of the lineup, especially if Rowand struggles.

However, if Torres regresses dramatically and posts lower numbers at the plate from a year ago, well...don't say I didn't warn you.

Schierholtz the Man in Right for the Giants Now, but Don't Count Out Bowker

I expected it anyway, but now I'm making it official: I'm accepting the fact that Nate Schierholtz will be the starting right fielder for the San Francisco Giants on Opening Day. Yes, I have questioned Schierholtz's ability to play right field every day for the Giants, but for the most part I'm fine with the decision by manager Bruce Bochy. Randy Winn is gone, and Schierholtz is the best defensive and offensive replacement. He has no minor league options on his contract left either, and thus, deserves his shot to play every day at the Major League level.

However, should Schierholtz falter to start off the 2010 season, Giants fans should immediately be looking at one guy to replace him: John Bowker.

Now, I understand Bowker had a terrible 2009 with the Giants and that he cooled off in 2008 after putting up solid numbers to start off his Major League career. Furthermore, even though Bowker wasn't terrible defensively for the Giants in the outfield in 2009 (he had a 3.3 UZR in the outfield last season), he certainly can't compare with Schierholtz with the glove (he had a 5.1 UZR last season).

Offensively though, Bowker could provide more upside than Schierholtz next season. And, considering the team is in need of players to step up around Pablo Sandoval, that aspect of Bowker's game should be greatly considered by Bochy next season.

First off, if you look at the projections, Bowker surprisingly fares much better than Schierholtz in 2010. According to CHONE projections (which was deemed competitive in comparison to Bill James projections by some), Bowker is expected to do better in Schierholtz in nearly every category. CHONE projects him to hit more home runs (15 to Schierholtz's 11), more RBI (62 to 49), score more runs (57 to 50), draw more walks (43 to 19), have a higher OPS (.805 to .782), and accumulate more runs above average based on wOBA (8.3 to 3.8).

Now, I understand projections are only projections (after all, CHONE did expect Sandoval to hit under 20 home runs next season). That being said, I think there are a couple of factors that could make Bowker's projections a reality next season, should he be given a chance to play regularly.

1.) Hensley Meulens was named the Giants' hitting coach this off-season.

For those who don't know "Bam-Bam," he was the hitting coach in Fresno last season. Why is that such a big deal? Well, Bowker put up unbelievable stats at the plate last season in 104 games with the Grizzlies. Bowker hit .342 with 21 home runs, 83 RBI, and scored 82 runs, had a 1.047 OPS, a .447 wOBA (weighted on-base average) and accumulated 41.3 runs above average based on wOBA in 2009 at Triple-A.

Yet the biggest stats of importance in Bowker's case last year in Fresno? A 16.4 percent walk rate, a 17.5 strikeout rate and a 1.16 BB/K rate. He never had a BB/K rate over 0.40 at any level until last year in Fresno.

And who was the guy that helped Bowker become a more selective and better hitter at the dish (not to mention earn "Triple-A Player of the Year" honors)? That honor belongs to Meulens. To make things better, chances are he will continue to work with and help Bowker transition that Triple-A success to the Major Leagues, now that he's the Giants' hitting coach in 2010.

Granted, those numbers are at Triple-A, and if anybody remembers, Todd Linden hit 30 home runs and posted a 1.120 OPS in 2005 at the Triple-A level.

That being said, even in his best season at Triple-A in 2008, Schierholtz only posted a 0.41 BB/K ratio. Thus, though Schierholtz could hit for power at the Triple-A level (he hit 18 homers in 2008 and had an OPS of .958), his free-hacking approach certainly doesn't bode well for success at the MLB level, especially after 2009 where he posted a pedestrian 0.28 BB/K ratio and .702 OPS.

There is also one more reason why Bowker could prove to be a valuable asset to the Giants outfield in 2010 over Schierholtz:

2.) Bowker's HR/FB percentage

Now, Bowker's HR/FB (home run to flyball ratio) was nothing special at 9.1 percent, but it looks really good in comparison to Schierholtz, who had a HR/FB ratio of 6.2 percent in 2009.

To put it in perspective, Schierholtz had a lower HR/FB percentage than Eugenio Velez and Fred Lewis (that's right, Giants fans' favorite whipping boy).

What does this mean? It means that Bowker has a better potential to hit with more power than Schierholtz (as did Velez and Lewis in 2009), and with a team devoid of "power hitters" around Sandoval (unless you consider Bengie Molina and Aubrey Huff to be decent power hitters), the Giants need all the offensive production they can get. With Bowker, the Giants' lineup has a home-run potential. With Schierholtz, chances are they will just get groundballs (as evidenced by his 44.6 groundball percentage and 1.28 GB/FB ratio in 2009).

Now, I know everyone will say "that's just one season" in terms of comparing the HR/FB ratios between Bowker and Schierholtz. However, if you look at 2008, the numbers are even more in Bowker's favor. In 2008, Bowker had a 10.5 percent HR/FB percentage. Schierholtz? He only had a 6.3 percent HR/FB percentage.

Just to make it known, I'm not hoping for Schierholtz to fail as the Giants right fielder. There is a lot to like about Schierholtz: he's incredible defensively, and he's a gamer. The latter quality probably isn't so important (since Aaron Rowand is technically a "gamer" too), but the former definitely is. If there's anything Giants fans took for granted in 2009, it was Randy Winn's defense. AT&T Park's right field is a killer position to play, and Winn made it look easy (his 9.6 UZR and 16.5 fielding runs above average based on UZR proved that in 2009). Schierholtz not only is capable of handling the position as well as Winn, but he might do better because he has a better arm than Winn.

That being said, aside from his defense, I do feel Schierholtz is a limited player with the bat. He doesn't provide power and he doesn't have enough plate patience to make up for his lack of power. On the flip side, Bowker provides so much more upside with his bat, and with a new hitting coach for the Giants (one that knows Bowker's strengths and weaknesses inside and out) and a better opportunity for regular playing time in 2010, it isn't impossible think that Bowker can put up numbers closer to his 2009 in Fresno rather than his 2009 with the Giants.

Sure, Schierholtz is the fan-favorite for now, but if the Giants really want to improve their offense in 2010, Bowker may prove to be the better option overall. If Bowker has a solid Spring Training, don't be surprised to see Schierholtz feel the heat if he struggles out of the gate next season.

Giants Opening Week Observations

Despite an opening day win, it's been a rough start for the Giants during Opening Week

Sighh..........

After a promising opening day where we actually scored 10 runs despite a lousy pitching performance from Tim Lincecum, the Giants look like they're going to finish like everyone expects: at best, in the middle of the pack, at worst, near the cellar.

The problems this season appear to be the same problems from a year ago:

A.) no run support.

B.) inconsistent pitching.

The problem for the staff last year and so far this season is they have really rough "bad" innings. Randy Johnson looked great for four innings, and then he gives up a three-run bomb to the pitcher Gallardo. Same thing with Jonathan Sanchez. Strikes out the side in the second, and then gives up two homers to journeyman catcher Henry Blanco. I think the inconsistency on the staff can be credited to the offense somewhat, especially since it seems as if the staff is throwing a lot of pitches because they're not confident that their team can cover them, so they're trying to strike everyone out. The Giants are pretty solid defensively, so I don't know why the staff doesn't trust their defense more (even tough it isn't as good as last year). Yeah, runs is going to be a problem, but if you're throwing 100 pitches by the fifth inning, you're not doing your team very good. Lincecum, Johnson need to cut their pitches, quit trying to get the big K's and just trust the defense. It'll make for quicker innings and thus get the offense in and out more often which might help them out. Batters can get more into a rhythm and the staff won't feel the weight of the world on their shoulders.

Nonetheless, bad rhythm or not, this Giants offense needs a lot of help. Bengie Molina is going to have that big day every now and then, but he is no way consistent enough be the cleanup hitter. Fred Lewis is doing pretty well to start off the year, but he would best be served at the bottom of the lineup in the seven or eight hole. You can tell he just doesn't like being the target of a pitcher in the three hole, as he looks very uncomfortable up there. I don't think he should be leadoff, because he doesn't get on base well enough, but in a seven hole position, I think he could see more pitches to hit, which would benefit his free swinging style.

Overall though, the whole lineup is a mess. I could go on forever about who doesn't fit where (Randy Winn at leadoff, Emmanuel Burriss in the lineup period). There really is just not a lot to like about this lineup, which makes me angry on why we didn't look into Manny Ramirez more. Sure he would have been a cancer, but god...Lewis at three hole followed by Molina? They really thought they could contend with that combo? Ramirez would have made this lineup jettison because really, all you need is that one great hitter followed by that good complimentary hitter. The Giants have plenty of candidates for that. Pablo Sandoval is a bit hit or miss kind of guy, but he could be that good hitter to follow Manny and even Aaron Rowand, with the way he's swinging, could have been a solid five guy to follow Ramirez as well. Rowand is hitting great lower in the order, which he has always done in his career. His best years in Philly and Chicago were when he was batting in the six and seven hole, not the three like he did last year. I really hope Bochy doesn't move him, even though I'm sure he'll be tempted because he's hitting the best out of anyone in the lineup. Rowand will revert to last year's form I think if he is moved up. Then again though, if I had to choose between Rowand or Lewis, I probably would go with Rowand just because he seems more consistent than Lewis and he has that veteran savvy that Lewis doesn't quite have.

Here are some quick awards for the first week:

Best offensive player:

Randy Winn

Honorable mention: Lewis, Rowand.

--Winn has looked good. He has shown good pop and good patience at the plate so far. He looks a lot like how he did a few years ago when he first arrived with the Giants, which I think is a good sign. Lewis really has had a good start as well and is statistically better than Lewis, but I like Winn a lot more because he has 3 SB in comparison to Lewis' zero and he has one of the team's 3 home runs. Rowand is another close pick because he has come up with some clutch hits. However, Winn so far has just looked better overall in my mind at the plate out of the three.

Best pitcher:

Matt Cain

Honorable mention: Bobby Howry

--Cain looked awesome against the Brewers. He was on target, looked confident and didn't seem to let the "let's not score runs for Matt Cain" factor that has haunted him the past two years affect him. Great performance and I think he could be the guy the Giants will be leaning on until Lincecum gets his stuff and mojo back. Sanchez looked great at times, but he also looked awful on others. He really needs to get his control harnessed. His stuff is awesome, but he just gives up that mistake pitch way too often. The honorable mention goes to Howry because he looks like a fantastic set up guy. I wasn't to keen on him, but I think he could give the Giants a good 8-9 inning combo along with Brian Wilson.

Most disappointing:

Tim Lincecum

Honorable mention: Randy Johnson, Burriss, Edgar Renteria

--This was tough, mostly because there's a lot to be disappointed with in the Giants so far. Guys I didn't list on my honorable mention include Sandoval (who's batting .217 with a sub .300 OBP) and Travis Ishikawa (who's batting average and OBP is .211). The reason I didn't put those guys on though was because I expected Sandoval to get off to a slow start because he had so much hype going in. He's actually doing better than I thought considering the pressure put on him by the media and the fans. As for Ishikawa, I didn't expect much from him period. I think he's the second-coming of Lance Niekro: a high profile farm system guy that is not as good as advertised.

Lincecum takes the award naturally because he's coming off a CY Young season and he's off to an awful start. One bad start is one thing. Sabathia had a bad first start this season. But two is never a good sign, especially considering last year Lincecum did all of his damage in the beginning of the season. I don't think he's going to completely implode, but anybody thinking that he's going to match his CY Young numbers from last year is crazy. Renteria is an honorable mention because he was the Giants big signing, is my starting shortstop on my fantasy baseball team "Bring Back Barry" and he's batting .190. I'm not even going to be patient with this guy. I'm dropping him tomorrow. As for Burriss, I was never really bought on the idea of him being the starter this year.While Eugenio Velez has turned into a total bust and Rich Aurilia is way too old, Burriss in my mind just doesn't cut it as the starter. I don't think any amount of ability on defense is good enough to merit playing time with a .111 average. The worst part of this situation is out of the entire possible second base candidates, Juan Uribe is looking like the best option. That's right, Juan "I can't take a walk to save my life but I was still able to win a title" Uribe. I don't know how we couldn't have gotten a Craig Counsell-like second baseman. Anything at this point is an upgrade.

Granted it's just a week and maybe next week Burriss might make me eat my words with a seven hit week. But I'm not that much of an optimist and I'm not that hopeful the Giants are going to do better than third in this division. And considering how weak this division is, it makes the state of the Giants even more depressing.

Now if you don't mind, I'm going out to the bar while wearing my Eliezer Alfonso jersey-shirt.

(A question though for the road. I'm going to incorporate this now more often in the blog)

Giants 2009 Season Question

How Will the Giants Do This Year?

They will overcome this slow start and win the division
They will come in second place behind the Dodgers.
They will hover around third or fourth, but won't be the worst team
They're awful. Looking to 2010 already.

View Results

Myspace polls

Opening Day Thoughts

Little else beats the beauty of baseball's opening day

Yeah, I know, Opening Night was Sunday and Opening Day was technically yesterday. I know how time works. But since the Giants did not play on Monday and opened up Tuesday, I wanted to wait until today to recap my favorite moments from Opening Night until tonight. Either way, whether it is too late or not late enough, what a great couple of days of baseball. Furthermore, the addition of playing fantasy baseball for the first time has made this baseball season even more intriguing for me.

So here it is, a semi-recap of my baseball experience from Opening night until the end of Opening Day.

Opening Night:

Braves-Phillies

I really was mad about this game in retrospect for a variety of reasons. First of all, my sister, who goes to college in Philadelphia and plays softball for Villanova, has suddenly adapted herself as a newly-born Philadelphia Phillies fan. She loves Chase Utley because she thinks he is hot, went downtown for the clinching game (which eventually got postponed so she missed out) and for Christmas, she bought me a World Series champion T-shirt. I wear the shirt, but it's kind of weird because I have no like for the Phillies (even though I love that Dick's Sporting Goods commercial with Jimmy Rollins taking balls in the chest "Happy Gilmore" style) or no connection to the team whatsoever. I just wear it because a.) it's a good looking shirt and b.) nobody in the state of Washington has a Philadelphia anything shirt.

Yet while my sister's relation to the Phillies does make me steam a little bit, nothing made more angry when I found out two of my main players in Fantasy (Ryan Howard and Chipper Jones) were ineligible for scoring because games for Fantasy started the 6th, and didn't included the 5th game. Granted, it wasn't all that bad for Howard because he went 0-4 with a strikeout. But I had Chipper Jones who went 2-4 and those points would have helped my matchup on Monday when I had absolutely no offense from anybody and a couple of rainouts to boot.

So...basically, I watched the game for fantasy reasons mainly and they contributed absolutely nothing fantasy-wise because they were ineligible due to the asinine move of ESPN scheduling games before "Official" Opening Day. And to make matters the worse, it wasn't all that great of a game. The thing about watching a Derek Lowe start is that while it is fast, it is boring. You don't see any big hits because all he throws are sinkers and when its on, all you get is ground balls. That's all the Phillies did. Ground ball to second, ground ball to third, ground ball to second again. Thankfully, the Braves provided some fireworks with some big home runs from Brian McCann and the immortal Jeff Franceour, but unfortunately, I started the game late and it was already a 4-0 game the time I turned on the TV. The only real exciting part in my time watching the game was the bottom of the ninth where Mike Gonzalez nearly choked away the game, only to redeem himself by getting Howard out looking and Ibanez out to end the game. I have never been a big Gonzalez guy, for even in his days in Pittsbrugh I thought he was fringe-major league player at best. Nonetheless, he got the job done and my friend who has him on his fantasy team was lucky enough to get the save.

Opening Day:

First game: Mets-Reds

The Red Sox-Rays game has been postponed so I get a chance to watch this one in between classes. Not much offense in this game. Johan Santana is mowing them down, and even Aaron Harang doesn't seem to be having an imploding day like he usually has. While I don't like the Mets very much (even though I do like them more than the Phillies), I'm paying attention to this game because of Carlos Beltran, who is on my fantasy team. I know it's not a great pick, especially since his reputation has somewhat deteriorated since coming to New York. He's known for putting up stats but he doesn't seem to do anything more than get his nice little stat line each and every night. From a Mets fan's perspective, that sucks, but from a fantasy owner's perspective, I have no problem with that. As long as Beltran gets 30 and 100, I don't care if he causes the New York locker room to mutiny against him.

Beltran has a decent game. Goes 1-4 with a walk, not bad but not great. Daniel Murphy hits a big home run in the 5th inning off of Harang which is the main highlight of the game. Who is Daniel Murphy? Isn't he a Nascar driver? Yeah, I know, I was asking those questions too, which just goes to show you how much I care about this game. Will say this though, Mets bullpen looks good, much better than it ever did last season. Sean Green, JJ Putz and Francisco Rodriguez combine for 3.1 innings of hitless ball. I don't think their bullpen could go .1 innings last year without giving up a hit. While this is nice to Mets fans, I'm not so sure if their bullpen will be worth as much as they paid in the off-season. I think K-Rod is great, but closers like him who come off big season usually have a down season the following year, especially if they've just gotten big money. I don't like Putz either. I think Putz is a one-year wonder, and I was never impressed with him any time in his career before he had that big season two years ago. On an optimistic note, an overrated Putz and a K-Rod on the decline is heck of a lot better than an DL-prone Billy Wagner and Scott Schoenweis coming into the ninth.

Side note: Does anyone enjoy K-Rod's post-save celebrations anymore? I hate them. It's like he won the World Series each and every save. Hey K-Rod, we know you're thankful, but god, don't act like you single-handedly won the biggest game in your career each and every time. This and Roger Federer's on his knees celebration after winning each tournament are probably the most overexposed and overexcited celebrations in sports.

Second game: Indians-Rangers

I have no liking for either team, but after listening to Bill Simmons American League preview podcast, I am intrigued by the Rangers this year, especially since I don't think much of the Angels or A's in the AL West. I love the Rangers batters. Ian Kinsler is a beast, Josh Hamilton is a pure masher and I think Michael Young has been one of the most under-appreciated middle infielders in the past five years. Furthermore, I have been intrigued by their young guys like Nelson Cruz and Jarrod Saltalamacchia (trying spelling that one blindfolded) who have good pop in their bats. The only problem with the Rangers and has been the case ever since they acquired A-Rod is that they have no pitching. Kevin Millwood was good maybe four years ago, and even then he was fringe-good at the best. Vicente Padilla is about as dependable as a cheap cab ride to the airport, and that's pretty much it. Who else can pitch on the Rangers? Adam Eaton? I don't know why the Rangers don't dish guys like Hank Blalock while they can. They have so much depth in their offensive farm system that they don't really need guys like him. The worst part too is that even when they do get some good young arms, they trade them away. The Rangers could have Edison Volquez, but they traded him for Josh Hamilton. Hamilton is a very good bat, but the Rangers have plenty of bats. They need at least one above-average pitcher.

Cliff Lee really has a bad game, much to the dismay of my Cleveland Indians friend. Young gets two hits, Kinsler gets three hits, and Blalock and Saltalamacchia both hit home runs. I had a feeling this would happen. Granted, it's only one game, but Lee has always been an up and down pitcher. One year he's great, the next he's awful. I don't think he's going to have as awful year this year as he did two years ago, but anybody who has him on their fantasy team would best be served if they dish him while his value is hot.

Wow...9-1 Rangers and Millwood actually looks all right. Maybe this could be a dark horse year for the Rangers.

Third game: Yankees-Orioles

C.C. Sabathia is making his Yankees debut and I like C.C. because I have this weird connection to him like everyone has that connection to Kevin Bacon. One of my cousins went to high school with him and actually knows him a little bit from a class. Furthermore, my high school baseball coach and Global Studies teacher my freshman year, was a scout for the Rays that actually coached him on a competitive team during the summers. So because of all those weird connections, I have this strange gravitation toward Sabathia.

Only he gets absolutely shelled this game. I mean, shelled. 4.1 innings, 8 hits, 6 earned runs, 5 walks and no strikeouts. Anybody who picked him as their top pitcher pick is pulling out their hair and the city of New York has just declared a state of emergency after Sabathia's dud and Mark Teixeira's 0-4 performance that included him leaving 5 men left on base. Granted, I think Yankees fans are being a little too rash, but then again, when you do pay over 300 million for two players combined and they have terrible first outings, well...let's just say you don't exactly have a good night's sleep that night.

Fourth game: Mariners-Twins

I hate the term "second-favorite team." It compromises fans everywhere because it makes people question how genuine fans of teams really are. However, in order to describe my relationship to the Mariners, I probably would have to say that they are my "second-favorite" team. I used to live in Spokane for six years and my family used to go to Mariners games quite a bit. In fact, we lived during the 1995 "Refuse to Lose" season which was probably the most entertaining baseball season of my life, just as if not even more entertaining than the 2002 Giants run to the World Series. So I have a soft spot for the Mariners and as their organization and city sport-wise are on their last legs, I feel even more inclination to support them.

The Mariners look great against the Twins. Felix Rodriguez looks great like he usually does in the beginning of the season and the M's get great performances from Franklin Gutierrez, whom I think really could be a sleeper this year for the M's (I like him the most out of all their young guys including Matt Clement and Wladimir Balentin). But the best part of the game? Seeing Junior again in a Mariners uniform. God, it's great. I thought I was 10 years old and watching the movie "Little Big League" again after he hit that home run. I really think that this will be a good year for Junior now that he's back in Seattle. You can just tell he really like being back as a Mariner. There's a pep in his step that you didn't see last year in Cincinnati or his disastrous short-run in Chicago with the White Sox. His stats still may not be awesome, but I think they'll be better than most people think.

Fifth game: Angels-A's

I loathe both these teams. I hate the A's because A's fans are a condescending bunch that they think they know everything because they have Billy Beane as GM and have read Moneyball. They don't take into consideration that they have one of the worst ballparks in the league, that their owner is a jerk and that the young guys that apparently Beane is all about have actually been worse than advertised. I mean, really, what has Bobby Crosby, Eric Chavez or Mark Ellis done lately?

I also dislike the Angels strongly as well. I'm still bitter about losing that World Series loss to them and that stupid monkey. Heck, one of the reasons I think me and my girlfriend broke up this semester was because she was an Angels fan and I think that was bad karma from the start. But every year, I always hear how good the Angels are going to be and how they're going to win it all. Yet every year they don't. They lose to the Red Sox every year be it in the first round or ALCS. The thing is, while the Angels have mashers, they're clutch-less. How many times has Vlad or Juan Rivera came through when it really counted?

The game is an absolute Angels-fest. Dallas Braden shows how flawed the A's really are. He would barely be a three starter on a good team, but he's the No. 1 guy for the A's. That's how overrated the A's staff is. Granted, he wouldn't be the opening day starter had Justin Duscherer been healthy, but nonetheless, I just don't see much talent at all in these pitchers that Beane keeps ballyhooeing and I don't see the A's winning the division despite all the hoopla about them getting Matt Holliday, Jason Giambi, Nomar Garciaparra and Orlando Cabrera (even though I LOVE Cabrera. He's a free-swinging care-free shortsop. The game needs more guys like him). Those guys' numbers will shrink in the A's football stadium and the pitching isn't nearly good enough to make up for the decrease in offense.

That's it for now...look out for my next post, which will be solely dedicate to the Giants opening day game against the Brewers.