Juan "Jazz Hands" Uribe will be suiting up in Dodger Blue for the next three seasons. Barring injury, we will see a lot of this fellow. The Giants weren't willing to match the $21 million that Colletti & Co. lured no. 5 to Chavez LAtrine with. I can't argue with them. Uribe was a productive and versatile player for the Giants, and had a knack for big hits in big games. But the team is already looking at an $86 M payroll for 2011 and facing potential arbitration cases with the likes of Jonathan Sanchez, Andres Torres, and Cody Ross. The Dodgers will be Uribe's fourth team in his ten years. The Giants will be shopping for a shortstop--who do you like?
" You guys have seen the free-agent list. It's not very sexy at that position," Sabean said.
Brandon Crawford will not be ready to play in 2011, same with Ehire Adrianza. That leaves Manny Burriss as the only in-house solution.
--M.C.
12 comments:
Welcome back, everyone. We had a marvelous trip to the Bay Area, seeing Zo & Akemi, & including a quick 20-minute pilgrimage to AT&T Park for a 360 degree walkaround, peering through the RF arches for a glimpse of 'where it all happened'. Zo looked marvelous, & was in typical fine form in the commentary department. We also saw Jim & Vicki Streeter on Wednesday night. Jim & I downed a pitcher of Lagunitas IPA in celebration of the 2010 World Series Champion SF Giants. Susana, Santiago, Leon, & I all wore our new Giants' Championship gear that day - luckily, Susana's shirt arrived the day that we traveled (it had been backordered).
As far as Uribe is concerned - what a smarmy situation. This & the way that the Huff thing played out, of course, are products of the on-going Coletti/Sabean drama. In the old days, no Giant would have wanted to play there, & no Giant GM would have ever let it happen. This is a different era. We have lost a warrior, but, let's face it, one who had some downside, too. He, too, is overweight, has questionable plate discipline, hits into too many DP's, & has a low batting average. On the flip side, he had many clutch hits in big moments. He didn't complain about being moved around the infield, either. I think that we did the right thing in saying 'No' to a 3-year deal. I don't think that Uribe is going to be productive throughout this contract. Because he played for our World Series Championship team & because he was popular throughout his over-achieving tenure as a Giant, it will be harder to turn on him a la Jeff Kent. But, turn on him we must. He is now Dodger scum.
I would like to see us either get Bartlett or Hardy in relatively minor trades, or sign Cabrera cheaply. The other options aren't too inspiring. I would still like us to sign Renteria, but to a realistic contract ... $3-4M?
$86 million in 2011, how is this relevant? No, don't bother with an explanation. I'm sure everyone is disappointed with Uribe, my guess is that it is the third year, not the money that was the kicker. Maybe LA would have gone 4 if we matched, just to fuck things up. Whom do I like at SS next year? No one mentioned here (well, Stephen Drew, but he is pretty much unavailable, apparently). Has Burris learned to hit? Huh, doubtful. Sounds like a downgrade at this position to me any way you cut it, and moves the Panda into the "must perform" category. Maybe Angel Villalona can get out of jail and get a passport by spring training. The test for Sabean - not to rush out and overpay for another albatross.
The payroll is only relevant in trying to anticipate the Giants moves. I figured with the big conract to Huff, that aced out Uribe, unless he went for the two-years-and-option package. The Giants are learning not to over-commit in years. That's good. As far as playing in LA goes, Juan Marichal played for the Dodgers. Ballplayers don't care about stuff like that, only fans do.
We don't have any trade bait. So I expect we will chase a free agent like Orlando Cabrera or Miguel Tejada or somesuch. The scrap heap has been berry berry good to us.
I wouldn't object to Burriss getting a shot at it. This reminds me of something I've been meaning to point out, for the record.
I'm pretty sure the 2010 World Series Champions had zero African-Americans on it. Sure we had lots of "black" men, but all of them were from the Caribbean area.
Baseball in general still has lots A-A stars, although the overall trend is that fewer and fewer young Norte Americanos are choosing baseball as a sport to take seriously.
And I'm not trying to suggest that the Giants somehow avoided employing any A-A players. I'm sure it just worked out that way. I just think it's weird and worth pointing out.
R/T Uribe: as of now I officially NEVER liked the guy.
You want Miggy Tejada? Please. By the way, anyone got one of these yet?
Hey guys! I trust that everyone had a fine Thanksgiving?
I am a little disappointed with Uribe going to Chavez Latrine, however, I can't say that I have turned on him just yet. He could very well do the noble thing and just Jason Schmidt up the place down there.
Now as far as replacements go, I don't want us to take someone from the scrap heap. Shortstop is too important a position to just stick an iron glove there (we can't count on Andres making everyone else look better ;).
I would like to see J.J. Hardy, Jason Bartlett, and even Ryan Theriot (the ol' switcheroo). If we don't get one of those guys, then I only want to see one of our guys fill the position. I don't mean Manny either. I would rather see Ehire or even Crawford there. Sure, they would probably hit 8th, but, they both have great gloves, speed, and it looks like at least Ehire doesn't mind taking a walk. Besides, I'm pretty sure that they could have at least a .631 OPS or .291 wOBA (whichever you prefer) like Manny has for his career. Many isn't even that good defensively. The only thing that he does have really is speed but his is not even anything that spectacular. I like Ehire a lot though (just putting it out there).
I wouldn't mind our lineup looking like this (eventually) next year:
Torres
Sanchez
Posey
Huff
Belt
Sandoval
DeRosa
Adrianza
Pitcher
@Brother Bob: Black is Black.
Oops. My mistake, I completely forgot about Cody (I don't know how). Here's the real lineup:
Torres
Sanchez
Posey
Huff
Belt
Ross
Sandoval (Move up higher eventually though)
Tejada (I guess now)
Pitcher
Apparently, Miggy Tejada is a Giant for the next year at about $7 mil. I consider it a downgrade, but at least we have the position filled. Not inspiring.
Tejada is indeed a Giant. One-year deal worth $6.5 M. I like the "one-year" part. He fills the whole at short. He's going to be 37 in May, but had 681 PA last season. A Sabean Kind of Guy, to be sure.
According to the LA Times, the Giants counter-offered Uribe the same deal he got from the Dodgers.
That's "hole" at short.
Raquel Welch's birth name was "Tejada."
Bill James (q.v. FanGraphs for projections) is bullish on Tejada (.279/.324/.415) and says he's good for a .320 wOBA or 100 wRC+ (league average). Uribe has almost the exact same projection. Not an unreasonable outlook for either. Tejada has a longer track record, and has always been a better hitter, but is older. Defensively he may be a touch slower, and doesn't have Uribe's arm, but can still pick it. He has an excellent health record. I'd say it is a wash.
What does Bill James say about Rocky Tejada Welch? I'd say that their range is similar but Miggy has a better OBP. However, Rocky's bases are much more interesting.
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