While his career line of .290/.347/.405 is certainly an upgrade over most guys on our team, that says more about us than him. This guy is 33 and we would be his sixth team in 13 years. I wonder if a career OPS+ of 96 has anything to do with it.
The Giants can certainly throw money at any ballplayer they like. I have a feeling Neukom is going to free up wads of dough over the next few seasons. Why not? They've plenty of it.
But Renteria? I keep having these anagrammatic fits and seeing "retread" in his name.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
How'd I miss this one?
Yet another piece about our wunderkind, this one by Josh Kalk at The Hardball Times (18 Nov).
JCP said it earlier, and I have to agree. Tim's 2008 campaign was the best season of pitching I have ever seen.
I'm glad other folks noticed.
JCP said it earlier, and I have to agree. Tim's 2008 campaign was the best season of pitching I have ever seen.
I'm glad other folks noticed.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Busta Wave
The league.
The story.
The stats.
We were talking about Buster Posey the other night. RotoWorld had a note about Buster and the HWL championship, thought I'd check it out.
Buster seems like he can rake, but the lack of homerun power is noticeable. Small sample size, of course. And he's young.
So, when does Buster bust his way into the bigs?
Talk amongst yourselves.
The story.
The stats.
We were talking about Buster Posey the other night. RotoWorld had a note about Buster and the HWL championship, thought I'd check it out.
Buster seems like he can rake, but the lack of homerun power is noticeable. Small sample size, of course. And he's young.
So, when does Buster bust his way into the bigs?
Talk amongst yourselves.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Good vibes flowin'
Giants sign Jeremy Affeldt.
Two years, not too many bucks. Are we seeing a new, more cautious approach from the Brain Trust? The Global Credit Crunch that is Barry Zito's remaining 5 years will do that to you!
El Lefty Malo and Bay City Ball take a look at Affeldt's positives:
Not only did he post a career high K rate, he also threw a lot of ground balls, more than 50%. If he can repeat that for two more years, and some of the fly balls that went over the fence in Cincy die in the echoing canyons of Mays Field, the Giants just got themselves a relief ace. (ELM)
You’ve got to like the strong K% coupled with an above average BB%. He also showed some groundball tendencies which is also nice to have in a reliever. (BCB)
Can't argue with that. Kevin Gibbs at Giants Cove calls it "a sweet little move" and Martin at OGC penned "Affeldt looks like the prize among relievers." We got a harmonic convergence going on, guys! This bodes well for the rest of the off-season, eh?
Special SHOUT-OUT section:
TO Big D at Giants Win for always pimpin' our site. "Walkin' the Walk!"
TO Chris at BCB (again) for this bit-- I’ll also be working on a PITCHf/x profile on Affedlt once I get my pitch database squared away.
Dude, we are not worthy!
Two years, not too many bucks. Are we seeing a new, more cautious approach from the Brain Trust? The Global Credit Crunch that is Barry Zito's remaining 5 years will do that to you!
El Lefty Malo and Bay City Ball take a look at Affeldt's positives:
Not only did he post a career high K rate, he also threw a lot of ground balls, more than 50%. If he can repeat that for two more years, and some of the fly balls that went over the fence in Cincy die in the echoing canyons of Mays Field, the Giants just got themselves a relief ace. (ELM)
You’ve got to like the strong K% coupled with an above average BB%. He also showed some groundball tendencies which is also nice to have in a reliever. (BCB)
Can't argue with that. Kevin Gibbs at Giants Cove calls it "a sweet little move" and Martin at OGC penned "Affeldt looks like the prize among relievers." We got a harmonic convergence going on, guys! This bodes well for the rest of the off-season, eh?
Special SHOUT-OUT section:
TO Big D at Giants Win for always pimpin' our site. "Walkin' the Walk!"
TO Chris at BCB (again) for this bit-- I’ll also be working on a PITCHf/x profile on Affedlt once I get my pitch database squared away.
Dude, we are not worthy!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Raising the bar
Timothy LeRoy Lincecum has set a new standard for San Francisco Giants pitching excellence. He deserved the Cy Young Award. He was the best. Congratulations, Tim! And joy to all. After all, we are all Giants.
Most likely to get the "glory":
By this I mean the hearts and souls of the fans, the acclaim, the awards; that kind of stuff. I think Matt's working man persona hurts him here. Also not having a nickname (an issue that this blog has tried to address) is a big handicap. I get the sense that Tim might be more likely to get the flashy stats (strikeouts, low BA) and we all know how the media loves that. Tim seems like a better photo op and that's probably the difference maker here.
Advantage: Tim
By this I mean the hearts and souls of the fans, the acclaim, the awards; that kind of stuff. I think Matt's working man persona hurts him here. Also not having a nickname (an issue that this blog has tried to address) is a big handicap. I get the sense that Tim might be more likely to get the flashy stats (strikeouts, low BA) and we all know how the media loves that. Tim seems like a better photo op and that's probably the difference maker here.
Advantage: Tim
Raising Matt Cain is all about raising the bar. Matt Cain is going to step it up next season. He's not going to let Tim get all the glory and hardware. He's going to kick the little pipsqueak's ass!!
Well, OK. Sorry. I'm getting pumped up for my main man!! And I'm losing it. Speaking of losing it, it's my birthday tomorrow. I will be older than Tim + Matt. And I'm going to spend money on Matt Cain. Such a deal!
Baseball-Reference is always seeking page sponsorships. And, in a sudden development, Matt's B-R page needed a sponsor! Fabulous news. (I use B-R like a drug.) I pulled the trusty old PayPal account out of the garage, dusted it off, gave it new spark plug and spent the bucks. Eighty-four Yankee dollars. That was easy--my lovely bride and I got married on 8-4-84. Eighty-four is my number!
So from now until a year from now, RAISING MATT CAIN will be the OFFICIAL SPONSOR of MATT CAIN'S BASEBALL-REFERENCE PAGE.
I'll stop yelling now.
<---Click on Matt's bobblehead box cover to go to his page.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Why Tim is about to win....
DOMINATION.
In the next few minutes, Tim Lincecum will be awarded thr National League Cy Young Award. We all know why... he dominated the league FOR THE ENTIRE SEASON. It was very likely the best pitched season I have ever witnessed.
Let me be the first to congratulate you ( even before you win! ) and wish you all the best for the next season. Surprise us all again!
p.s. If he did not win...never mind and every writer should go to hell...all of you!
Monday, November 10, 2008
Our neighbors have been busy
Looks like the A's will acquire Matt Holliday. (FanGraphs take on MH here.)
This guy is a stud. Any team would love to have a young, accomplished athlete in his prime like Holliday. The A's had some trading chips and went after one of the best players around.
How does this impact the Giants? (1) We'll see less of Holliday. That might add some wins. (2) Our Eastbay neighbors steal some headlines--AGAIN!
(1) + (2) doesn't add up to much, really. Tim Lincecum winning the CYA will steal the headline thunder right back. And beating the Rox will have more to do with OUR offense than theirs.
I don't expect the Giants to make any "blockbuster" moves to get a player of Holliday's caliber. We could sure use a guy like him, but we'll have to grow one from our crop of youngsters. Unlike Beane, Sabes doesn't have the overstock to parley with.
This guy is a stud. Any team would love to have a young, accomplished athlete in his prime like Holliday. The A's had some trading chips and went after one of the best players around.
How does this impact the Giants? (1) We'll see less of Holliday. That might add some wins. (2) Our Eastbay neighbors steal some headlines--AGAIN!
(1) + (2) doesn't add up to much, really. Tim Lincecum winning the CYA will steal the headline thunder right back. And beating the Rox will have more to do with OUR offense than theirs.
I don't expect the Giants to make any "blockbuster" moves to get a player of Holliday's caliber. We could sure use a guy like him, but we'll have to grow one from our crop of youngsters. Unlike Beane, Sabes doesn't have the overstock to parley with.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Chrome
I switched to Chrome. It's the Google browser. It's a beta. I notice it does not work with the RotoWorld widget. What say readers--fix the RotoWorld widget or dump it?
Friday, November 7, 2008
Fur-chrissakes
Do you want Rafael Furcal?
His career line .286/.352/.412 makes him very Winn-ish (.288/.347/.425) at a premium glove position. (They are rated 96 and 102 respectively using OPS+.) Furcal is 31, still in his prime, but coming off two injury-shortened seasons.
If he could be had for a 2-year deal, would you want him? Martin at OGC and Andrew Baggarly kick the tires on Furcal if you need some background.
My take? No, fur-chrissakes. Sure, he is an upgrade, but he's a short-term short-timer. I want to build a team from within and not with aging free agent "stars" unless they can solve an IMMEDIATE problem (like third base). A fellow like Mark Texeira is a true "impact" free agent. And we could sure use a thumper and a genuine major-league first baseman. I'm not sure I want to see the Giants throw millions his way, though, despite his impressive credentials (q.v. Giants Cove for a contrarian take on Mr. T). Pablo Sandoval sure tugged at our heartstrings last season and I'd hate to deny him a chance to show us his stuff. We picked up Josh Phelps as a bit of insurance for that move, and I'm feeling OK about it. As I've said many times, I'm willing to lose and if we know the team is moving in the right direction with youth, the draft, the farm system, etc.
So me buckos, what's your take on the FA market?
His career line .286/.352/.412 makes him very Winn-ish (.288/.347/.425) at a premium glove position. (They are rated 96 and 102 respectively using OPS+.) Furcal is 31, still in his prime, but coming off two injury-shortened seasons.
If he could be had for a 2-year deal, would you want him? Martin at OGC and Andrew Baggarly kick the tires on Furcal if you need some background.
My take? No, fur-chrissakes. Sure, he is an upgrade, but he's a short-term short-timer. I want to build a team from within and not with aging free agent "stars" unless they can solve an IMMEDIATE problem (like third base). A fellow like Mark Texeira is a true "impact" free agent. And we could sure use a thumper and a genuine major-league first baseman. I'm not sure I want to see the Giants throw millions his way, though, despite his impressive credentials (q.v. Giants Cove for a contrarian take on Mr. T). Pablo Sandoval sure tugged at our heartstrings last season and I'd hate to deny him a chance to show us his stuff. We picked up Josh Phelps as a bit of insurance for that move, and I'm feeling OK about it. As I've said many times, I'm willing to lose and if we know the team is moving in the right direction with youth, the draft, the farm system, etc.
So me buckos, what's your take on the FA market?
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Faster than a speeding bullet
This Internet Age thing, that is.
It is 0630 here in the State of Jefferson, I'm having my morning cup o'Peets and reading the news, surfing the 'net, and I come across John Shea:
Giants not interested in trading Cain
Yes, I still read the Comical, but only because I think I'll miss something. Idiotic notion, and hopelessly outdated in our super-cyber world. So I jump to RMC to post my happiness and share it with my blogfellows, and I see my little Roto-World widget already has the story. Normally I would pop in on a few other blogs and see if anyone has picked up the thread, but it is six-freakin'-thirty in the a-freakin'-m and I ain't getting up any earlier than I do now so I'm just going to post and be done with it.
So there.
I'm happy.
Are you?
It is 0630 here in the State of Jefferson, I'm having my morning cup o'Peets and reading the news, surfing the 'net, and I come across John Shea:
Giants not interested in trading Cain
Yes, I still read the Comical, but only because I think I'll miss something. Idiotic notion, and hopelessly outdated in our super-cyber world. So I jump to RMC to post my happiness and share it with my blogfellows, and I see my little Roto-World widget already has the story. Normally I would pop in on a few other blogs and see if anyone has picked up the thread, but it is six-freakin'-thirty in the a-freakin'-m and I ain't getting up any earlier than I do now so I'm just going to post and be done with it.
So there.
I'm happy.
Are you?
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Don't trade Matt Cain.
Chris Haft has a piece on everyone's favorite off-season topic.
Trading Cain is nuts. We have two good pitchers to build a staff around. Well, one other-worldly great pitcher and one good pitcher. Make no mistake. Matt Cain is a good pitcher. When you have a young, studly 1-2 punch you are a fool to break it up. Especially when your next-best guy is Barry Zito. Sure, Jonathan Sanchez could step up next year. That would be great. Right now, our rotation is God, demi-god, mortal, mortal, mortal. Fuck with that at your own peril.
(a wink is as good as a nod to Chris at BCB)
Chris Haft has a piece on everyone's favorite off-season topic.
Trading Cain is nuts. We have two good pitchers to build a staff around. Well, one other-worldly great pitcher and one good pitcher. Make no mistake. Matt Cain is a good pitcher. When you have a young, studly 1-2 punch you are a fool to break it up. Especially when your next-best guy is Barry Zito. Sure, Jonathan Sanchez could step up next year. That would be great. Right now, our rotation is God, demi-god, mortal, mortal, mortal. Fuck with that at your own peril.
(a wink is as good as a nod to Chris at BCB)
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