McCovey Chronicles: FanPosts

The official: Be a Giant for Halloween fanpost

Matt Rox — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 06:45:12 -0000

Hey! I think I am going to be either Lincecum OR Zito. I wonder how many others will be a baseball player or a Giants player. The colors of Halloween and the Giants=both black and orange! I encourage all people under 20 to "dress up" in a Giants uni of some kind. After all, why waste the wonderful black + Orange colors on Halloween is you don't dress up as an Giant.So folks, lets bleed black and orange!!!

Winter lines 10/12

BaronVonCurrentEvents — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 06:10:33 -0000

HWB: Waikiki 1, West Oahu 1, 10 innings

Other Waikiki Prospects:

LF/1B Todd Frazier (Reds) - 2-4, 2 2B (8), 1 RBI, .375
1B Yonder Alonso (Reds) - 0-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 1 SB (1), .318
RP David Pfeiffer (Dodgers) - 1 1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, BS (1), 3.38 ERA

West Oahu Prospects:

1B Mark Hallberg (Diamondbacks) - 1-5, 1 2B (1), 1 RBI, .265
SS Brian Friday (Pirates) - 2-4, 1 2B (1), .206
SP Chris Cody (Brewers) - 5 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO, 4.72 ERA

West Oahu and Waikiki played to a tie in the finale of their series. Waikiki scored in the first inning when two Reds prospects generated a run. Todd Frazier doubled home Yonder Alonso. The Beach Boys held the 1-0 lead until the eighth inning when West Oahu scored. The game went 10 innings without another run and it was called a tie.

No Giants prospects got into the game. Waikiki, along with the rest of the Hawaii Winter Baseball league, has an off day Monday.

AFL: off

The Arizona Fall League takes every Sunday off. Mesa visits Scottsdale on Tuesday.

Mexican Pacific League: Hermosillo 6, Mexicali 4

Giants Prospects:

C Todd Jennings (Mexicali) - 1-4, .125

Other Mexicali Prospects:

CF Xavier Paul (Dodgers) - 2-3, 2 R, 1 HR (1), 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB (1), .286
SP Travis Blackley (Phillies) - 3 1/3 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 2 SO, 1 HR, 1 WP, 8.10 ERA

Hermosillo Prospects:

DH Erubiel Durazo - 1-3 1 R, 1 HR (1), 3 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SO, .333
RP Mike Burns (Cubs) - 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO, W (1-0), 0.00 ERA

The Giants sent players to two teams in the Mexican Pacific League for the 2008 season, Hermosillo and Mexicali. Those two teams met in the second game of the season and only one Giant saw action. Todd Jennings' regular season was cut short by a leg injury so he will need a strong showing in the winter league. He began the campaign with a base hit Sunday night.

Hermosillo rallied twice, first to draw within a run of the lead and then to go ahead in the seventh inning. Erubiel Durazo put three runs on the board in the fourth inning with his first home run of the season.

Both teams have Monday off. Mexicali faces Mochis and Hermosillo takes on Guasave Tuesday.

Venezuelan League begins Tuesday
Dominican League begins Wednesday. A note about the Dominican League: Angel Villalona is listed on the Toros del Este roster. Osiris Matos and Kelvin Pichardo are also listed on the roster, though. Matos is in the AFL and Pichardo is in the HWB. I'll keep my eyes open to confirm if AnVil is playing this winter.
Puerto Rican League begins 11/06, returning for 2008 after ceasing operations in the 2007 season

A Modest Trade Proposal II: Electric Boogaloo

xanthan — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 20:31:12 -0000

Matt Cain for Prince Fielder! This is a truly new and exciting trade scenario!

Things I learned while I was on my honeymoon:

1. Tons of xanthan hate on McC while I was away.

2. Denker is released for no good reason? Frowny face.

3. Walker, Hennessey, and Correia are gone. Happy face.

4. Jamaica is freaking hot.

5. I saw more fat, old, white people than I've ever seen before while in Jamaica. If you're over 50, overweight, and ghostly white, the banana hammock is not a good look.

6. Not having the internet for a week was weird. I don't know if that says more about me or more about the world at large. This series of tubes is truly amazing.

7. Yes, I really did get married.

8. No, it was not to Judy Steffes.

9. It's good to be back!

STATS OUT,

xanthan

PS. I'll post some wedding pics when I get them as verification of the event.

Winter lines 10/10 and 10/11

BaronVonCurrentEvents — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 17:48:37 -0000

October 10

HWB: Waikiki 2, West Oahu 1

Giants Prospects:

LF Roger Kieschnick - 2-4, 1 R, 1 3B (1), 1 RBI, 2 SO, .303

Other Waikiki Prospects:

2B Tony Thomas (Cubs) - 1-3, 1 2B (1), 1 BB, 1 SO, 1 SB (1), .154

C Austin Romine (Yankees) - 2-4, 1 SO, .313

RP Kazunori Yamamoto (Hokkaido) - 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 1 WP, W (1-0), 0.00 ERA

West Oahu Prospects:

SS Mark Hallberg (Pirates) - 2-3, .240

2B Jim Negrych (Pirates) - 1-4, 1 R, 1 2B (3), 1 SO, .273

RP Daiki Kiyohara (Hanshin) - 2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, 1 WP, L (0-1), 10.50 ERA

West Oahu scratched out a run in the ninth inning but Waikiki held on to win. Daiki Kiyohara took the loss for the Cane Fires, allowing two runs. The teams matched zeroes for seven innings. Jeremy Bleich started the game for West Oahu and went six scoreless innings. Kazunori Yamamoto earned the win with two strong innings in relief.

Roger Kieschnick tripled the first run in for the Beach Boys and he would score on a wild pitch. Kiyohara allowed the runs with two outs in the inning.

AFL: Scottsdale 3, Phoenix 2

Giants Prospects:

DH Kevin Frandsen - 1-4, .364

CF Ben Copeland - 2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, .313

SS Manny Burriss - 1-3, 1 SB (1), 1 E (2), 1 HBP, .385

RP Alex Hinshaw - 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 1 HR, BS (1), W (1-0), 6.00 ERA

Other Scottsdale Prospects:

LF Chris Pettit (Angels) - 3-4, 1 R, 1 2B (1), .357

2B Shelby Ford (Pirates) - 1-3, 1 RBI, 1 BB, .308

SP Clay Buchholz (Red Sox) - 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, 0.00 ERA

Phoenix Prospects:

1B Josh Donaldson (Athletics) - 1-3, 1 RBI, .267

RP Jared Lansford (Athletics) - 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO, 0.00 ERA

RP Tim Lahey (Twins) - 1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, L (0-1), 4.50 ERA

Wins don't come easy for the Scorpions in the short AFL season. Clutch hitting won the game in the eighth inning. Shelby Ford came through with the game winning hit. Chris Nelson tied the game for Phoenix on a solo home run. Alex Hinshaw gave it up, blowing the save but earning the win when Ford bailed him out.

The Giants hitters on the team continue to do well despite the team struggling as a whole. Ben Copeland had two hits in the game and an RBI. Copeland, Kevin Fransden, and Manny Burriss are all batting over .300 so far.

October 11

HWB: Waikiki 13, West Oahu 3

Giants Prospects:

DH Roger Kieschnick - 2-5, 1 R, 1 2B (1), 1 RBI, 1 SO, .316

SP Waldis Joaquin - 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, W (2-1), 7.20 ERA

RP Steve Edlefsen - 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 7.71 ERA

Other Waikiki Prospects:

LF Todd Frazier (Reds) - 2-4, 2 R, 1 HR (2), 4 RBI, 1 BB, .333

2B Damon Sublett (Yankees) - 3-6, 3 R, 1 HR (1), 3 RBI, 1 SO, .333

RP Robert Harmon (Mariners) - 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1 WP, 1 HB, 7.94 ERA

West Oahu Prospects:

2B Haruki Kurose (Seibu) - 1-2, 1 R, 1 2B (1), 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1 E (1), .125

SP Sean Gleason (Orioles) - 5 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, 1 SO, 3 HR,

L (1-2), 7.62 ERA

RP Ryunosuke Yokoyama (Hanshin) - 2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, 7.04 ERA

What began as a close game quickly became a blowout win for the Beach Boys. Three home runs helped Waikiki score 13 runs Saturday night. Yonder Alonso homered in the third inning to give the Beach Boys the lead. Haruki Kurose doubled home a run and scored on a base hit in the later half of the inning. From there, it got out of hand. Waikiki got two more homers in the fifth inning. They tacked on four runs in the ninth. Kurose was the only CaneFires batter to hit a ball out of the infield in the game. Getting blown out is bad enough, but the CaneFires committed three errors on top of everything.

Giants pitchers in Hawaii Winter Baseball have stabilized after a rough start. Waldis Joaquin won his second decision in a row. The win against West Oahu was also his longest outing so far, and his best in terms of strikeouts. Joaquin struck out five batters in five innings. Steve Edlefsen was perfect in one inning of relief.

This series wraps up Sunday afternoon when West Oahu hosts Waikiki. Monday is an off day for the league and then the Beach Boys open a three game series with North Shore Tuesday.

AFL: Phoenix 9, Scottsdale 4

Giants Prospects:

CF Ben Copeland - 2-4, 1 2B (1), 1 RBI, 1 BB, .350

SS Manny Burriss - 2-5, 1 RBI, 1 SO, 1 SB (2), 1 E (3), .389

3B Ryan Rohlinger - 1-5, 1 R, 1 2B (1), 2 SO, 1 E (1), .200

SP Kevin Pucetas - 3 2/3 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO, 2 HR, 1 WP, L (0-1), 9.82 ERA

RP Osiris Matos - 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 1 HR, 9.00 ERA

Other Scottsdale Prospects:

C Steven Lerud (Pirates) - 2-4, 2 SO, 1 SB (1), .571

2B Shelby Ford (Pirates) - 2-3, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 1 SO, .375

RP David Herndon (Angels) - 2 1/3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 1 WP, 2.08 ERA

Phoenix Prospects:

LF Dustin Martin (Twins) - 3-4, 2 R, 1 HR (1), 1 RBI, 1 SO, .467

RF Sean Doolittle (Athletics) - 2-4, 2 R, 2 HR (2), 4 RBI, 1 SO, .300

RP Tony Barnette (Diamondbacks) - 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 1 WP, W (1-0), 3.00 ERA

The Desert Dogs beat up on Kevin Pucetas in his Arizona Fall League debut. Pucetas allowed two home runs in 3 2/3 innings. Sean Doolittle went yard twice in the game against Pucetas. Doolittle was responsible for all the runs Pucetas allowed. Osiris Matos was also victimized by the home run. Matos allowed a solo homer to Dustin Martin in the seventh inning.

The game began auspiciously for the 1-3 Scorpions. Ryan Rohlinger scored on an error in the first inning. The game remained close through the fourth inning when Scottsdale tied the score. Aaron Bates scored on Shelby Ford's base hit. Steven Lerud was thrown out at the plate on the play. That misplay ended up meaningless when Phoenix scored five runs against the Scottsdale bullpen. Ben Copeland had an RBI double in the fifth inning and Bates scored again on Manny Burriss' single in the eighth inning, but it was not enough.

All teams in the AFL get a day off Sunday. Scottsdale returns to action when they host Mesa on Monday evening.

Mexican Pacific League:

Mexicali:

RP Sergio Romo - 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 1 WP, SV (1), 0.00 ERA

C Todd Jennings - 0-4, .000

The boxscore for this game is currently unavailable. Sergio Romo earned a save in his first Mexican Pacific League appearance.

Hermosillo:

Erick Threets is listed on the Naranjeros roster but did not pitch in the season opener.

Mexicali and Hermosillo face off Sunday night.

I included this information because Romo and Jennings played. I couldn't find a box score for these games. I had to go to the stats page to find what Romo and Jennings did. Hopefully there will be a box score soon.

Venezuelan League begins Tuesday

Dominican League begins Wednesday

Puerto Rican League begins 11/06, returning for 2008 after ceasing operations in the 2007 season

A Trade for a Young, Elite Power Hitter: Chris Davis

HarbirD — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:41:57 -0000

Over the last few weeks I've heard a lot of talk about guys like Uggla, Fielder, Hardy, and even guys like Konerko and Derek lee. Most of these rumors mention trading away Sanchez or Cain. Some even say we would need to give up Alderson or Bumgarner which is the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my days.

Ladies and Gentlemen we are rebuilding. REBUILDING. We need to add young power so that it will blossom in two to three years when this team is finally contending for a world series. I've constantly been looking around and sniffing other teams minor leagues and I've finally found my man: Chris Davis.

Who:

Chris Davis is a power hitting third baseman on the Texas Rangers. Chris is a 3B/1B who broke out in the Texas Minor leagues in 2007 when he hit a combined .297/.347/.598 with 36 HR and 35 Doubles in 500 at bats in High A and Double A . He struck out 150 times, but due to his sheer power whenever he made contact with the ball it went places leading to a high average.

This year he continued his amazing breakout this year is Double A and Triple A where he hit a combined .333/.386/.643 with 23 HR and 21 Doubles in just 300 at bats. He walked 26 timems and stuck out 70 times.

Then he finally made the leap to the big show and he hit .285/.331/.549 with 17 HR and 23 Doubles in just 300 at bats. This is a very good debut and I think that in a full season he could hit 35HR and 40 Doubles to go along with a .270-.290 average. This kind of young, elite power doesn't come around very often.

Now to the defense. Chris davis can play a decent third base. According to Espn, he has a .962 fielding %, 2.45 RF, and .754 Zone Rating. This is very close to david Wright's .96, 2.51, 7.65. This show he can be a least average at third base and I think a platoon of Sandoval and Davis at first and third would be good.

Why:

So basically we add a 35Hr and 40 Double powerhouse into our lineup for a total of 6, count them, SIX years. This is why it would be better to add him that Uggla or Fielder. He has his entire prime ahead of him as next year he will only be 23 years old. We will have him cheap for three years and Arbitration for the next three. He will peak as the Giants get ready to contend for a world Series with Lincecum, Sandoval, Shierholtz, Posey, Burriss, Lewis, Alderson, Bumgarner and Others.

The Offer:

I am willing to offer Matt Cain to the constantly pitching starved Rangers who need someone to be their ace for the future. They don't need Davis especially with Smoak coming up and the fact that they have such a strong offense already and really need some good pitching. I would offer Matt Cain for Chris Davis and two MLB ready pitchers (Feldman and Hurley).

I think the Giants can afford to move Matt Cain because of our minor league depth which is headlined by Alderson and Bumgarner followed by Henry Sosa, Kevin Pucetas, Clayton Tanner, Jesse English and others. Also with the sixth pick in next years draft we could add another big time arm as there are many high school and college arms who have high ceilings.

Our 2011 and Beyond Rotation could be Lincecum, Bumgarner, Alderson, Sanchez, and Our 2009 Draftee (Crow, Matt Purke, Zack Wheeler, Tyler Matzek, Alex White, Kyle Gibson). If any of these guys flop we could always add a free agent or look to our minor league pool.

Future Batting Order:

Fred Lewis (LF), Nate Shierholtz (RF), Buster Posey (C), Pablo Sandoval (1B/3B), Chris Davis (1B/3B), Aaron Rowand (CF), Kevin Frandsen/Nick Noonan (2B), and Emmanuel Buriss (SS).

What do you guys think about that? i think that lineup is world series Caliber if all goes right.

San Fran Rays Watch

free hotdogs — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:24:24 -0000

Hey Giants fans,

I am a Tampa Bay transplant to San Francisco, and was wondering of anybody wants to meet up to watch the Rays game. We are welcome to anybody on this bandwagon....and besides, the Giants are not so different from the Rays in their make-up, at least the Giants of the second half. Since I am new to the area, I don't really know a good bar to go to, so any suggestions are welcome. You can reach me at brian.choquette@gmail.com.

How Brian Wilson Regularly Pitches

sharksrog — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:09:42 -0000

Brian Wilson inspires strong emotions. Some think he is among the game's best closers, pointing to his being tied for second in the NL with 41 saves. Others point to the seven times he gave up multiple runs despite only once pitching beyond a single inning of any game, saying he is inconsistent.

Perhaps both are right -- with the reason being that he's being misused.

When Brian pitched every day or every other day, he yielded only 8 earned runs in 34.2 innings, an ERA of 2.08. He yielded runs in only 5 of his 35 such appearances.

When he pitched every third day or longer, Brian gave up 24 earned runs in 27.2 innings, a very generous ERA of 7.81. Brian yielded runs in 13 of 28 such appearances, pitching on the eighth day once and on the seventh five different times.

To make matters worse, the rust Brian showed after long periods between appearances seems to have carried over a bit into his second appearance after a long layoff. In such games, he yielded 10 earned runs in 19.0 innings for a 4.74 ERA.

Brian's being a bit of a Jeckyll and Hyde pitcher may have had to do with whether he had been given too much rest to stay sharp or had merely pitched enough to remain sharp without being over-rested. Brian never pitched more than three days in a row, and he did so only twice.

Overwork didn't appear to be a problem with Brian. Lack of work may have been.

A few new trade names...

The Thrill — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 20:20:52 -0000

Some clown from the Chicago tribune discusses the Giant's interest in trading for a bat. I've heard plenty of the Uggla rumors but have never heard of Derrek Lee being a possibility. I believe Konerko's name was tossed around before the trade deadline. Uggla seems reasonable if the Marlin's have a fire sale but I would not touch Konerko with a ten foot pole and think Derek Lee is heading down hill and will be worthless by the time this team contends.

I felt obligated to post this article since it mentioned Matt Cain and believe we need to keep talking about how ridiculous trading Cain would be until Sabean finally hears us.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-081010-phil-rogers-mlb-whispers,0,3109300.story

How about Dan Uggla?

AmorVincitOmnia — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 18:28:24 -0000

I vaguely remember reading something here about the Marlins dumping/trading a lot of their players.

If this is true, do you think the Giants should take an interest in such a trade for Dan Uggla (if possible)?

I can picture a trade going something like this:

Jonathan Sanchez, Tim Alderson and Kevin Frandsen for Dan Uggla and a player to be named later (average MiL pitcher).

Yay or nay?

My sistah, is a prostitute.

Because she like to make money, high five!

Denker gone, WTF

haverecords — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 11:38:10 -0000

http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081010&content_id=3609965&vkey=news_sf&fext=.jsp&c_id=sf

I'm sure many of you have encountered this by now, but I've only seen Marcello's offhand mention of it, so far.

I just don't get it. It seems to me he would be worth a 40 man spot for next year: he's only 22, and it is possible (though not likely) that he might become half mediocre at defense. If not, they could always do this later. I'm not particularly high on Denker, but he isn't a throw away prospect, either. WTF.

I am now nervous about their middle infield plans, as they have also sent Ochoa packing. Not that I'll miss Ochoa much, but at least he can play both positions, and is not bocock bad at the plate. Does this mean they are trying to put Noonan on a rocket ship to the majors? Do they have strange FA machinations at SS (throwing the bank at oft injured furcal), having Burriss as backup SS and in the mix at 2b? Are we looking at Frandsen/Velez at 2b, and Burriss/ ?? at SS? And who on earth is going to be the backup SS, then? Dizzy as your rushed aaa/mlb 3B and 2B?

Rough projections if we stand pat

marcello — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 08:54:04 -0000

So, the new hot thing around here is the reformation of the Giants team. Trades and such. But I want to talk about four more years. I want to talk about this team and how it will do as currently constructed (MINUS MOTHEFUCKING DENKER. FUCK YOU SABEAN, YOU STUPID FUCK). Anyways, yeah…

Basically, what I’m doing here is trying to estimate what we’ll get at each position assuming we make no moves this offseason. Assume rose-tinted glasses and such. However, I honestly don’t know how to translate a line into VORP, RC, or anything else, so this is my best estimate. I’m even worse doing that with defense, so again just estimates. Partly, I’m hoping someone can explain to me a little how to do it. The more statistically inclined please give feedback/criticism/tear me to shreds (Anyone can give feedback, just stick to your strengths). Any criticism will be met peacefully if it’s backed up with evidence/support. The +/- here are just the difference in runs from 2008 to 2009. 10 runs is ~1 win.

Offense/Defense:

C: Bengie: -5/-5 – Just a natural, slight offensive and defensive decline.

1B: Ishikawa: +10/+10 – 1B was a disaster offensively and defensively in 2008. I honestly think these projections are conservative compared to what we got.

2B: Frandsen: -10/+10 –Frandsen can’t replicate Durham offensively but he can make up for it some defensively. The overall +- might be a little optimistic.

3B: Sandoval: +10/0 – I realize Sandoval probably won’t get the bulk share at 3B, but I guess he might. Regardless, this was another fucking wasteland for the 2008 Giants and if they can’t do better than this, shame on them.

SS: Burriss: +20/-10 – Burriss should be a huge upgrade offensively at SS (and that’s not saying much) but Vizquel and Ochoa were amazing defensively.

LF: Lewis: +5/-5 – Small improvements offensively and a small step back defensively.

CF: Rowand: 0/-5 – Defensively this year was out of line, I’m expecting some regression.

RF: Winn: -5/-5 – More a playing time concern than an actual regression. I assume Schierholtz will take some of his playing time (along with some of the playing time of Lewis and Rowand).

4th OF: Schierholtz: +5/0

Offense/Defense Total: +30/-10

O/D Total: +20

Pitching:

Lincecum: -5 – Some regression. I’d like to believe he’ll just get better, but the safe bet is the other way.

Cain: +5 – Slight improvements (every offseason I’m perpetually optimistic for him to turn into an ace and I’m hoping +20).

Zito: +10 – Hoping he keeps his velocity up for the whole 2009 season, and that the correlation of the velocity gain in the 2nd half with the improved pitching continues (thanks WalrusMan).

Sanchez: +5: I would expect small gains, but he has the possibility to break out so I think this is conservative.

5th: +5: Our fifth starter was fucking terrible all year, it will be better this year and there is the potential that it will be much better.

Pitching Total: +20

Total Total: +40

Clearly, I'm ignoring bench and bullpen here, but those are pretty finicky beasts that are slaves to random fluctuation. It's probably not worth it to try and predict something so random.

2008 Record: 72-90 (pythag: 1st: 68-93, 2nd: 71-91, 3rd: 70-92)
2009, No-changes, marcello projected record: 76-86

Opinions please.

Baseball Trivia! Matt tricks all

Matt Rox — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 07:17:07 -0000

Ok...looking up the answers is okay, ONLY after you guess wrong once first

format: Who wants to be a millionaire

100$ question: What is Barry Bonds' middle name?

A: Smith

B. Rodrick

C. Lamar

D. Santos

200$: What year did Pedro Feliz make his MLB dubut?

A. 1999

B. 2000

C. 2001

D. 1998

Who are the ONLY 2 pitchers to give up a long ball to Hank Aaron AND Barry Bonds?

A. Frank Tanana, Rick Ruschel

B. John Franco, Mike Krukow

C. John Franco, Moose Haas

D. Bob Gibson, Danny Darwin

* jumps to 1,000,000 question

Where does Tom Seaver own now?

A. Land in southern California

B. A mansion in the Bronx

C. A vineyard

D. A chess cafe

I know them all folks....Do you?

This post

jbowl — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 20:40:25 -0000

This post is a question for everyone. What would agitate you more, Sabean doing nothing or Sabean doing something? What I mean is would you rather him stand pat on the team that we finished the season with or would you rather make a move ( whatever move that is )? My feeling is this, Sign Furcal if he agrees to an incentive laiden contract worth one year and less than 8 mm maybe even less. This would give Burriss a chance to get some "seasoning" in AAA, and when Furcal walks at the end of the year, if he comes back to form, we get 2 draft picks. Rumor mill says that Furcal will be looking for a one year deal to prove hes back so is it worth the flyer? This is pretty much the only move I might like to see, since I feel that Ishi could handle first full time and Pablito could handle third and give second to Denker please ( Frandson or Aurillia for utility ). So unless Sabes gets blown away for offers on Big-money and winn, leave the rest of the team alone.

Now I dont think this is a lame trade thread or anything, but if it is let me know I'll get rid of it. Another question, does it bother you when someone says "we" when refering to a team they cheer for?

winter lines, 10/9/08

steve S — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:16:05 -0000

AFL 10/9: Scottsdale lost to Surprise 8-7 (10 innings)
(after Surprise led 3-2 after 7 innings)

Scottsdale: DH Kevin Frandsen: 0 for 3, HBP, SH, GiDP
Scottsdale: 1B Mark Trumbo: 3 for 5, 2B, 2 SO
Scottsdale: LF-RF Ben Copeland: 0 for 4, HBP, 3 SO
Scottsdale: PH Emmanuel Burriss: 0 for 1, SO
Surprise: CF Julio Borbon: 2 for 4, 2 BB, IBB, 2 SO, SB
Surprise: DH Matt Wieters: 4 for 4, 2B, BB
Surprise: 3B Wes Hodges: 3 for 5, HR

Scottsdale: RHP Kelvin Pichardo: 1.0 IP, 2 K
Scottsdale: RHP Bud Norris: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 K
Surpise: RHP Justin Orenduff: 3.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

In five plate appearances each, Frandsen and Copeland each managed to reach base just one, in both instances after being hit by a pitch. Burriss, the other Giants hitter in the AFL, struck out in his 9th inning pinch hit appearance. The Angels' Trumbo had three hits, including his first XBH, to pace the Scorpions' eleven-hit attack. Given that nearly half his hits were XBH this past season, it's mildly surprising that Trumbo's first five hits in the AFL were all singles. The Orioles' Wieters, who is very probably the top prospect in all baseball, had four hits, including two doubles, plus a walk. The Indians' Hodges, who hit 18 HRs this year and whom BA named the 16th best prospect in the Eastern League, had the game's only homer. The Rangers' Borbon, whom BA recently rated the #8 prospect in the Texas League and #11 prospect in the California League this year, reached base four times in his leadoff role.

The Giants' Pichardo threw 10 of 12 pitches for strikes in a perfect 5th inning. He and Norris, who may be the Astros best pitching prospect, were the only Scorpions pitchers among six who appeared in the game not to allow an earned run. The Dodgers' Orenduff, who had an ERA over 6.50 in the PCL this year, was the game's only pitcher to last more than two innings as he threw 29 of 40 pitches for strikes. He had a 6/1 GO/FO line, desite having a GO/AO ratio well below 1.00 during the regular season.

HWB 10/9: Waikiki lost to Honolulu 3-0 (7 innings)

Waikiki: 1B Yonder Alonso: 1 for 2, BB, SO, E
Waikiki: LF Roger Kieschnick: 0 for 2, BB, SO
Honolulu: SS Ruben Tejada: 1 for 1, 2 BB

Waikiki: RHP Andrew Brackman: 3.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 4 K--2 WP
Honolulu: RHP Satoshi Nagai: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K

Alonso, whom the Reds drafted seventh overall this summer, had one of the Beach Boys' two hits and one of their two walks. The Giants' Kieschnick had their other walk. The Mets' 19-year-old Tejada, who had a sub-.600 OPS in the high-A Florida State League this year, reached base in all three plate appearances.

In his third pro start, the Yankees' Brackman struggled with his control, throwing just 38 of 77 pitches for strikes, but he allowed just one run. Japan's 24-year-old Nagai had his six straight start with five scoreless innings. He has allowed just two hits in each of his three Hawaiian starts.

"It's not even close"

travisam — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:00:59 -0000

Hey everyone, just thought I would pass this along.

I live in Des Moines Iowa, and we have 3 umpires from here in town that are all top notch MLB umpires. All 3 of them have worked, or are still working the playoff's this year. 2 of them, Tim Mclelland of the George Brett pine tar HR fame, and Eric Cooper have a radio show here in town on Thurs. nights called "Ump's Eye View". They talk about all sorts of stuff in the game, and take calls.

Anyway, I called in last night and told them I was a big Giants fan and wanted to know who their pick for NL Cy Young award was. Cooper started to say something, and Mac jumped in and said "It's not even close." He said "Tim Lincecum, and it's not even close." He said he talked to 3 of his other umpire friends that worked Timmy this season and that he was the best pitcher they saw all year. Anyway, I thought that was cool as umpires get a closeup of every single pitch that every pitcher throws. Let's hope the voters see the same thing!!

Call-up Schedules?

KingofDucks1987 — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 06:15:30 -0000

Think about it....

Actually, I wanted to know what you guys thought about the timeframe for some of our young stars to get up to the bigs. I'm not talking about the September call-up, but rather being called up for the majority of a season. When can we expect the following prospects:

Buster Posey

Madison Bumgarner

Tim Alderson

Angel Villalona

Henry Sosa

Nick Noonan

Clayton Tanner

Wendell Fairley

Kevin Pucetas

Conor Gillaspie

Rafael Rodriguez

Just found the first mock 1st year player draft for 2009...

baseballjunkie — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 23:28:03 -0000

at least the first that this cheapskate could find on a site where I did not have to pay.

It is on some site called draftinfo.wordpress.com and the first 10 picks are:

1. Washington Nationals- Stephen Strasburg, RHP, San Diego State

2. Seattle Mariners- Grant Green, SS, USC

3. San Diego Padres- Alex White, RHP, UNC

4. Pittsburgh Pirates- Kyle Gibson, RHP, Missouri

5. Baltimore Orioles- Dustin Ackley, OF, UNC

6. San Francisco Giants- Donovan Tate, OF, Cartersville HS, Georgia

7. Atlanta Braves- Matt Purke, LHP, Klein HS, Texas

8. Cincinnati Reds- Ryan Jackson, SS, Miami

9. Colorado Rockies- Andy Oliver, LHP, Oklahoma State

9a. Washington Nationals (For failing to sign 2008 1st rounder Aaron Crow)- Tyler Matzek, LHP, Capistrano Valley HS, California

10. Detroit Tigers- Robbie Shields, SS, Florida Southern

This order seems pretty reasonable to me.

I love the pick of Tate by the Giants. And I'm sure it will drive the Braves nuts since he is likely #1 on their board. It is the kind of pick that could turn out really well if the player reaches his potential (e.g. Bruce with Cincy). But I fear the SF management might consider the pick of Tate to be too big of a risk for the following reasons:

He has leverage in that he could choose to attend college and play football (and baseball).

He has tools galore, but can he translate them into performance as a pro?

They may be more inclined to choose a college hitter

There are some pretty good pitching prospects likely to be available at #6, possibly Crow (#11 in this mock), Purke, Givens (may be chosen as a pitcher, went #15), Turner (polished HS arm who can crank it up to 97, #13), and a hopefully healthy Scheppers (went #21).

Behind the Dish

BigO — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 21:05:05 -0000

Big Money. Lil' Money. Lotta Money (Buster to you).

I've been thinking a little about the best way forward. Bengie clearly performed well this year, but he is also clearly not part of the future on this team. He's got a year left on the contract, and, one way or another, he'll be paid $6million for it. Not a bad deal, really. The thing is, if he's not part of the team going forward, then it might make sense to move him out this winter. This assumes that there is a market for him - a safe bet, to me - and that Pablito is ready to take over (yes, again). More on what you could get for him in a minute.

What I can't figure out is whether it makes more sense to arrange things so that Pablo catches in 2009, or if it is better to let him develop at a corner position if that's where he's liable to end up (see Lotta Money, above). My hunch is that you do want to see what he can do for you behind the plate this year, mostly because once you put away the tools of ignorance, well...you may well see the light (and never find out if ignorance was indeed bliss). Enough of that. Hopefully you get what I mean. It may also turn out that Posey has some major flaws as a catcher, though this doesn't sound especially likely.

So: who wants Pablo fully entrenched at an infield corner, so that he learns his place? And who wants him strappin' 'em on '09, if only to delay the inevitable? Since part of the puzzle is clearly what Bengie might fetch in the open market, I also present to you the following outrageous proposal:

Astros get Bengie (they have recently publicly said they in that market)

Giants get Miggy Tejada and lhp Tim Byrdak (or subsitute a reliever other than Valverde of your choice).

We'd either lose a chunk of change ($6.5m), or maybe the Stros cover some of it. Or maybe it's straight up, and they cover the difference in contracts.

Miggy plays 3rd, Pablo catches, and Ishikawa plays 1st (unless we go big here). Franny and Manny up the middle.

I know that Tejada was terrible last year, but that's partly why it might be a shrewd one-year move.

Anyway, skip the deal if you want. I'm mainly interested in the question in the initial segment.

OT: Blackberry Bold or iPhone?

NeifiChicken — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 17:36:15 -0000

Lame topic, I know, but I figured it's better than another "let's just try to take the 2008 Brewers and turn them into the 2009 Giants" thread.

I realize this might be even more stupid because the Blackberry Bold is not out yet, but does anyone have an opinion on this matter? The iPhone is a pretty slick device, but I've read some amazing things about the Blackberry Bold, and there is noted business advantage to Blackberry e-mail.

Is anyone here facing a similar dilemma between the devices? Any thoughts or opinions?

winter lines, 10/8/08

steve S — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 16:05:51 -0000

AFL 10/8: Scottsdale lost to Peoria Saguaros 10-7

Scottsdale: SS Emmanuel Burriss: 2 for 4, SH, E
Scottsdale: 2B Kevin Frandsen: 3 for 4, HBP, E
Scottsdale: CF Ben Copeland: 2 for 5, 3B
Scottsdale: RF Josh Reddick: 2 for 4, HR, SO
Peoria: RF Baxter: 3 for 3, 2B, BB, SF

Scottsdale: RHP Jared Hughes: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K--2 HB
Peoria: RHP Adam Ottavino: 2.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
Peoria: LHP Aaron Poredo: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 K

Burriss and Frandsen played the two middle infield positions and held the first two positions in the Scorpions' batting order. The three Giants hitters--Burriss, Frandsen and Copeland--had three of the five multi-hit lines for the Scorpions. After not playing in the AFL season opener the previous day, Frandsen led the Scorpions' fourteen-hit attack with his three singles. The Red Sox' Reddick, whom BA recently rated the #8 prospect in the Cal League this past year (right behind the Giants' Alderson and Sandoval in that ranking), hit the game's only HR. The Padres' Baxter had the Saguaro's only multi-hit line.

Neither team's starting pitcher--Hughes from the Pirates organization and Ottavino from the Cardinals--had a very effective start. Poreda, the White Sox' first round pick a year ago whom BA recently rated the #6 prospect in the high-A Carolina League this past season, was probably the top pitching prospect to appear in the game, and he pitched a scoreless 5th inning.

HWB 10/8: Waikiki lost to Honolulu 3-1 (7 innings)

Waikiki: 1B Yonder Alonso: 1 for 3, HR, BB
Honolulu: RF Dominic Brown: 2 for 3, 2B, SO
Honolulu: 3B Darin Holcomb: 2 for 3, 2B

Waikiki: LHP Yuhei Takai: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K--1 PO, 1 E
Honolulu: RHP Josh Stinson: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

No Giants player appeared in this game. Leading the Beach Boys' offense was Alonso, the seventh overall pick by the Reds this year, who hit his first pro HR in the 7th inning. The Phillies' Brown and the Rockies' Holcomb, who both had OBPs over .380 in the Sally League this year, were the only two players with multi-hit lines in this game.

Takai and the Mets' Stinson both made their second Hawaiian start. Stinson proved to me much more efficient in this start, throwing just over half as many pitches as Takai. Both pitchers have ERAs of 1.00 or lower.