THE 100-YEAR-OLDS OCCUPATION: Giants 2008 goddamn thread

*fastens seatbelt*

SF scored 683 runs last year which was the lowest in MLB except for the Nationals w/ 673.

Gone: Bonds (21 win shares) & Feliz (13 win shares) = 34 win shares
Added: Rowand 23 win shares

Definitely my vote for worst offense in Baseball.

Yeah but they know politics now thanks BARRY!

Why, because of all the grand jury stuff? '

Oh, you mean the other Barry.

Be fair, Shasta, how many win shares did Scott Williamson have last year?

Barry Zito Sock Alert.

The starters intend to wear stirrup socks, a staple of bygone eras, as a demonstration of solidarity amongst themselves. Noah Lowry and Tim Lincecum displayed the look Friday while throwing off bullpen mounds.

* * * *

"It's more of a symbol of camaraderie than anything," Lowry said. "We're not worried as much about the look as everybody trying to say that we're on the same page here. Because that's what we've got, a tight-knit group."

* * * *

Although the Giants haven't settled upon a fifth starter, Jonathan Sanchez, a candidate for the role, already has agreed to wear stirrups. Kevin Correia, the favorite to claim the No. 5 spot, sounded prepared to follow suit. "They're talking me into it," he said."

I think the Giants will get Crede or some dude who can replace a bunch of Feliz's Win Shares, but I don't think Rowand will top like 13 this year.

Benji Molina is the slated clean-up hitter.

PECOTA projects:
.278/.316/.426 with 12 HRs (31 XBHs). 18 walks.

are there any other clean up hitters with a .742 OPS? on how many other teams would this guy bat 8th/9th?

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/pics/dave_heaverlo_autograph.jpg

Bengie Molina-C- Giants Feb. 21 - 11:48 pm et

Bengie Molina was excused from drills on Thursday because of a strained left quad.
Who knew he moved fast enough to strain a quad? Molina's status for Friday's workouts is uncertain.
Source: Giants.mlb.com

Rich Aurilia-1B- Giants Feb. 21 - 11:47 pm et

Rich Aurilia didn't go through full drills on Thursday after tweaking his right hamstring.
Aurilia should be ready to go in a day or two.
Source: Giants.mlb.com

Omar Vizquel-SS- Giants Feb. 21 - 11:46 pm et

Omar Vizquel was limited by Thursday by an inflamed left knee.
It didn't take long for the ancient Giants to start suffering nagging leg injuries. The only surprise is that Ray Durham wasn't involved. Vizquel said the soreness is of no concern.

OldLOL

Christ.

wow. this is so going to be the worst team in baseball in '08.

and yet somehow this will all be blamed on Bonds

I have a weird feeling that they'll be surprisingly good, but I don't know what I'd be basing that on. Maybe 75 wins? Just a hunch, probably completely wrong.

over the last 3 seasons they have averaged 74 wins.

this team is far worst than any of those teams.

I say 100 losses.

I hear you guys on the 2 good young pitchers, but with diminished, old, injure prone vets playing behind them... matt cain is destined to have a worse record than he did in 2007 (7 wins + 16 losses).

http://www.baseballmusings.com/archives/024741.php

Giants predicted to have worst offense in MLB:

"We continue to look at team offenses for 2008 with the San Francisco Giants.
Aaron Rowand

Aaron Rowand
Photo: Icon SMI

In 2007, the Giants scored 4.22 runs per game.

I plugged in a likely lineup to the Lineup Analysis Tool, using the Marcel the Monkey predictions from Tom Tango. The numbers for pitchers are based on the team averages from 2007. The lineups rate as follows:

* Best: 4.23 runs per game
* Given: 3.99 runs per game
* Worst: 3.71 runs per game

This going to be a very sad year for the Giants offense. Even with Bonds in 2007 they posted the second lowest runs per game in the majors. Not one person in the starting lineup is projected to obtain an OPS of .800. No one looks to get on over 35% of the time, and only one player is projected to slug over .450.

It's really sad to see once good offensive players like Omar Vizquel and Ray Durham fall apart like this. The Giants really need to blow up this lineup and start over."

I have truly, honestly been reading this thread thinking "b-b-but the Giants won the Superbowl!"

Get that optimism out of here.

And so it begins:

Vizquel out 4-6 weeks.

Arguably a better team without him in the lineup.

Good thing Sabean spent $5.3M on resigning him...

"Barry Zito's spring got off to a forgettable start Saturday, as the lefty recorded only two outs while giving up eight runs in the Giants' 23-5 loss to the A's."

omg

dying

This makes me happy.

http://msunderestimated.com/BarryZito.jpg

Bring on the Denker.

OK, this is piling on, but still...

1 0 4 4 9 0

Lowry's pitching line or the numbers on the hatch on Lost?

Supposedly there are tons of scouts at the game to check out Lowry as tradebait for a legitimate 3B....

LOLWRY

whoops

OWRLY?

^^^^^quality anagram

Zito's spring:

0 wins 3 losses
17.18 ERA
0 strikeouts
6 walks

I guess he's taken being the 4th-best starter on the Giants to heart.

omg! He dated hilary duff?! craddle roberrr!

He isn`t much of a craddle robber... I thought he was like 40 lol.. but he is only 29, and Hilary is 20.. thats not too bad.

Girls can be so mean.

Deriving dating PECOTA from exhibition stats, that is. Meow!

The Padres' B-team is whoopin' up on Timmy the Kid today.

I've grown tired of being a Johnny Sanchez apologist.

what was the worst major league team in the modern era?

i am gonna say the expos

which year?

1991?

Could they make a run at the 2003 Tigers (43-119)?

Whahaha Frenchy just pulled Zito one out shy of a QS shutout for 39 year old Keichi Yabu because Aaron Rowand can't catch a routine can of corn.

Love Spring Training.

Giants lose to their triple a team.

CRIKEY.

EASY SOLUTION: AAAers = WELCOME 2 THA MAJORS; PRO TEAM = SAY HAY-LO TO FRESNO

Haaaa -- Kuiper & Krukow just cracked that the Splash Hits sign in RF should be replaced w/ an Infield Hits sign.

Also, kudos to SF for giving bloggers and man-children across the US loads of giggles by keeping Bocock up. :p

Save that filth for the mound.

That's the general idea!

</ManShow>

And so it begins...

Barry Zito takes the mound...

- R. Furcal ground rule double to deep left

- A. Ethier popped out to shallow left
- M. Kemp singled to center, R. Furcal scored, M. Kemp to second advancing on throw

- J. Kent homered to deep left center, M. Kemp scored

4-0 in the 2nd.

Giants have zero plate discipline. I would love to see their pitch per plate appearance vs. the rest of the league at the end of the year.

it's too bad they didn't resign Feliz but it looks like their new guy is even worse so hmmm....

and I'm not done yet. The Giants 2 biggest signings of the paste two seasons add up to $186 million: Zito and Rowand.

Zito was as ineffective as predicted, almost boringly so...

But the kicker is Rowand who was the lone free agent "superstar" positioned to replace Barry Bonds... and to commence the season, Bochy slots Rowand in the 6 spot in favor of Rich Aurilia in the 2 hole. Hmmm.

paste = past

Not a good day for Bocock.

and so it begins...

• A light collision involving rookie shortstop Brian Bocock and Roberts that left Roberts on his knees, his glove flung into left field.

• A dropped popup by second baseman Ray Durham, leading to a run.

• A couple wild pitches.

• A passed ball.

• Two missed cutoff men by center fielder Aaron Rowand.

• A man (OK, the rookie Bocock) getting picked off first in the eighth inning, in a five-run deficit.

• A few unnerving moments leading into the bottom of the eighth, in which the Giants appeared content to go it without a left fielder. (Which, come to think of it, would have been a suitable tribute to the man who was supposed to have been holding the franchise back.)

^^tim brown on yahoo

161 more to go, chums!

3-0, top of the second: Krukow and Kuiper were talking about how they didn't think the Giants were going to be able to come back from a lot of three-run leads this year. Way to give up on YOUR TEAM in the top of the 2nd, Giants announcers!

;_;

Il n'ya pas de pleurant dans le baseball. Vous savez celui..

Way to give up on YOUR TEAM in the top of the 2nd, Giants announcers!

I would trade 1,000,000 blindered rah-rah jerks like TAKE YOUR PICK for that kind of actual god-honest truth from my broadcast team.

Tim (DC): Worst full-time positional player to start the season: Luis Hernandez?

Joe Sheehan: Brian Bocock, who was one of the worst players in the California League a year ago.

The Giants are going to set some kind of record for Cha-Cha Bowls to go.

________

Mattymystique (Waltham, MA): is Bocock actually going to start? Now that Durham is back on the field won't he and Velez hold down duties until the Viz returns?

Joe Sheehan: As of today, it still seems that Bocock is the starter. I got that from both the MLB.com depth chart and a related story about how playing time will go. I admit, I was surprised myself.

I don't think Velez can play SS, but maybe I'm thinking of Frandsen.

I would trade 1,000,000 blindered rah-rah jerks like TAKE YOUR PICK for that kind of actual god-honest truth from my broadcast team.

Essentially I agree with this, but it's opening day in the second inning! Also, Kruk and Kuip aren't exactly the most objective broadcasters.

Sometimes even homers can smell a fart.

Brian (Boston): Is there a worse hitter on the 25-man rosters than Kevin Cash?

Rob Neyer: (1:00 PM ET ) Oh, sure: check out Brian Bocock.

Why pick on Bocock (dude had 2 walks yesterday! That's probably more than his entire minor league career) when Sabean's horrible scouting and management put them in a position where when their 40something SS goes down they have zero organizational depth so they have to promote a low A player?

Velez was primarily a SS at some point during his storied minor league career, no?

wau, i had no idea that Frandsen is out for the year. He played (poorly) some SS last season.

So how much are Giants going to pay for Jay Gibbons?

THE SOCKS DON'T WORK

I am taking heckle requests for tonight's game.

They don't have any room for Gibbons, do they? The outfield is pretty full, and they'd be better off letting Fred Lewis or Rajai Davis play, or at least letting Dave Roberts try to justify his dumb contract.

Gibbons could play 1B but is he that much different than Rich Aurilia?

can we a least get one double?

*at

Hey SABRs, Bocock has got on-base in 4 of his first 7 MLB plate appearances.

The Giants have still yet to hit an XBH. LOL @ SLG.

LOL @ Rowand still batting 6th (BA = .600)

Cain = out, meaning time for the bullpen to blow the game.

44,054 at Dodger stadium tonight.

and Cain's brilliant effort goes to waste yet again.

and game. these games could write themselves.

wonder how they are going to lose this game?

Oh I was wondering how Furcal was called out, I thought he scored on Ethier's double.

Aaron Rowand OFA from Center to nail Furcal at 1B = !

and Cain's brilliant effort goes to waste yet again.

Dude 114 pitches in 5.2 IP is C+ level work at best. The word you're looking for is "gutsy."

Yeah, I wasn't looking at his walk line, just concentrated on the 3 hits/0 runs. I forgot how many guys he walks a game, it's pretty bad.

But if you're grading 0.00 RA/ERA and a 1.23 WHIP ball as C+, then I guess that is your gig, cowboy.

T Walker looks good, at least.

I think you mean fat.

And happy.

good game

lol

Gah, I have to reacquaint myself with the feeling of going to bed in a bad mood every damn night.

haw

Gibbons could play 1B but is he that much different than Rich Aurilia?

I guess Aurilia can't play 3B anymore? I like him better than Jose Castillo.

Why isn't Velez starting somewhere?

But if you're grading 0.00 RA/ERA and a 1.23 WHIP ball as C+, then I guess that is your gig, cowboy.

I ain't grading on no curve. Throw strikes and get through 6 is all I'm saying.

of course gibbons COULD play first, but just b/c he is technically, physically able, doesn't mean he SHOULD.

ORYLA can and from what I've read will still play third, at least before the injuries hit and the organization realized that the AAAA position "prospects" couldn't hack it in the "Show."

small victories:
down 11-2, the Giants get their first XBH of the season.

lol 13-2

small ball

WHEN IT RAINS IT POURS

Brian "Worst Player in Baseball" Bocock watch:

.300/.429/.300 through 4 games. His 4 walks putting him in the top 3 in MLB.

We're gunning for you, '03 Tigers. Watch out.

.300/.429/.300 through 4 games. His 4 walks putting him in the top 3 in MLB.

.308, .526, .308! Will he get an extra-base hit this year?

1-5, can we win two out of the next 10 at home?

I actually stayed up to watch the end of the Pads / Gints throwdown. And it turns out I actually stayed up to watch seagulls circle the upper regions of PacBell like vultures, and to hear Matt Vasgersian (sp?) make reference to Suzanne Pleshette (sp?) and bird poop, and to hear the SD color guy make the Nelson noise (HA HA) in ref. to an outstanding 1-3 non-force DP turned against the Giants (featuring a great throw by AGonz, and Kouzmanoff blocking the 3B bag in expert fashion), and to watch Bengie Molina's entire front torso (funbags & partyball in unison) bounce hypnotically around the bases in glorious jubilation.

His 4 walks putting him in the top 3 in MLB.

Rey Ordonez finagled a walk once in a while, too. Sometimes unintentional!

already have two wins out of three, damn you!

The Padres' offense is not very good.

=THREE WIN STREAK=

i guess this is pretty old, but still lol nonetheless:

http://zembla.cementhorizon.com/archives/006953.html

Ah, that's better.

The Cain curse continues.

Less Bocock, more Bowker.

Bowker, clearly HOF material.

Oh and LOL @ new last place team!!!

I know I just jinxed us but dammit when else will I get the chance to gloat like this?

I will give Sabean credit:

Getting ANYTHING for Matt Morris and that stupid contract is a genius move.

Anything = the guy we just DFA'd.

We have a better record than I thought we would.

This team is bad at being terrible.

I should've named this thread NO BARRYS CLUB.

The NL West is a four-way race (for last place).

Brian Wilson loaded the bases 2x last night. Good job.

The NL West is a four-way race (for last place).

One of these things is not like the other...

LA Dodgers 9 - 12 RS: 91 RA: 82
Colorado 9 - 12 RS: 93 RA: 111
San Francisco 9 - 13 RS: 70 RA: 105
San Diego 9 - 13 RS: 74 RA: 106

Wait -- the Giants actually DFA'd Rajai? I thought Lee was jh0shing! I just saw that the A's claimed him! What the heck?!?!

lol @ Torre

Wait -- the Giants actually DFA'd Rajai? I thought Lee was jh0shing!

They still win the Morris trade though.

Timmy looked really good tonight. Nice win.

Shasta will be CRUSHED if they win 73-75.

I have them at 58 wins.

As Rajai went 3-4 with a triple in his A's debut, I keep telling myself "small sample size."

The Giants really don't need another guy with his skill set, but I'm surprised they couldn't find anyone to trade something for him.

they are now in second place on a three game winning streak, Sanchez was awesome tonight. never would have believed it a month ago.

*second in the west that is

wau @ zito

Three more healthy innings.

Pat Misch with the quality start!

ESPN is reporting that Giants are moving Zito to bullpen. Can't find this yet online however.

http://news.google.co.jp/news?hl=en&q=zito&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tab=wn&scoring=n

http://www.knbc.com/sports/16041566/detail.html

"Zito, 29, won the Cy Young award in 2002 with a 23-5 record and 2.75 earned-run average when he was playing for the Oakland A's, the team he left after the 2006 season. "

;_; RIP

what the fuck went wrong with the guy? i have a hard time believing just how bad he's gotten.

Steve Blass to thread

Too much time spent on the tuneage?

Barry, if you're out there, this will cheer you up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQ0sFNI0TBc

Maybe Zito will be the next Mo Rivera!

More like the next Moe Syzslak.

I don't see what the big fuss is. He's going where he belongs.

Also, for once I'm glad for the IRS.

Yahoo! news posted a really mean, awful-looking picture of him with the story.

http://l.yimg.com/a/i/ww/news/2008/04/29/zito-full.jpg

I don't think he usually looks like that. It looks like he has rabies.

Somebody needs a hug ;_;

my Giants fan friend says that if Zito had been benched from the day 1, the Giants would be over .500 in April.

Barry Zito is back into the starting lineup starting Wednesday without ever making a relief appearance.

doesn't matter either way as their true colors, losing all these recent games, came about. moving up to second place last week was never going to last. too bad, i was starting to have fun with it.

Zito was alright tonight...

Yeah, but only 5 IP in arguably his best performance of the year.

No decision! Zito's finally earning his scratch.

finally they give some run support to Cain.

in a bizarre way i'm actually enjoying this season (-Zito), i know, i'm not normal.

The team has more charisma this year, I think. You're seeing a lot more of the personalities of the players, and the team is largely faster and scrappier than last year's team. And the pitching has been pretty strong.

Actually, they remind me a lot of the A's! They're pretty similar teams in a lot of ways, even if Oakland has more offensive talent.

Sweep!

This team is fun to watch, I don't care if they are not so good.

Lest you think that the team has officially embraced the Kidz, our first baseman is playing with a kidney stone in his bladder.

I heard about that on the radio this morning! Brian Murphy was impressed.

the Giants are fun to watch, i have MLB Extra Innings but didn't expect this kind of passion this year.

Watching Zito pitch however is pure agony, as i get ready to turn off this Mets game because of an eight run fifth. ouch!

I was at the game tonight. The defensive effort on both sides was not good.

^^

Me too.

God awful.

Glad I saw the Denker home run, through.

They showed a Zito warm up pitch from the mound that sailed about 30 feet off target.

ALL OUT ALL SEASON

I wonder what Tim Lincecum thinks about Barry Zito?

something you don't see everyday. home plate umpire missed the out call at home. next inning fan interference, so men on second and third, pitching change. they come back from commercial and awarded the Giants the run, saying that run would have scored (or correcting their mistake).

final score is a victory for SF, 8-6 with Detroit leaving two man stranded in the ninth. extra run saved this game and have never witnessed a make up call like that before.

It will be interesting to compare Zito's WHIP vs. Lincecum's ERA by the end of the season.

2-4.2 healthy innings every five days = not valuable?

Zito last night:

"It's ironic. When you're on the road, you get cheered if you give up hits. At home, you get booed. But that's all part of it. It's just up to me to (buck) up and do it."

Vizquel, 41, is in a 7-for-69 slump (.101 average).

who is this guy SF has pitching today? pretty impressive.

go two and two against the best team in the league and are outplaying this Dodgers team, tie breaker tomorrow. Zito even pitched well tonight.

is this false hope or can they make noise this year because the west is so bad?

Zito's first home win of 2008 comes on July 5th. Slow starter is right.

acclaimed Lincecum profile:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/tom_verducci/07/01/lincecum0707/index.html?eref=fannation

Thanks for that link.

omar vizquel 2008:

.150/.221/.170

his ops is slightly higher than Chipper's BA.

that article = aw.

http://flickr.com/photos/27273803@N00/467931505/sizes/o/

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c246/DJBassriderX/meh.jpg

I think there's actually a Giants player that I like:

Geno Espineli

I saw this guy pitch in the AAA all-star game.

Dude rocks the high sox/stirrups = A+
Bringing the flat-bill cocked hat back (seems like noboby has been doing it in MLB for a few years)
Crafty lefty with this junky cross-body Randy Johnson slangy throw
Steps actually towards first instead of towards the plate
Throws nasty junk with decent location

Basically everything you'd want out of a LOOGY.

He got called up a week ago and looks pretty nice.

You don't like Lincecum?!!?

ZITO OUTDUELS PEAVY
ZITO OUTDUELS PEAVY
ZITO OUTDUELS PEAVY
ZITO OUTDUELS PEAVY
ZITO OUTDUELS PEAVY
ZITO OUTDUELS PEAVY
ZITO OUTDUELS PEAVY
ZITO OUTDUELS PEAVY
ZITO OUTDUELS PEAVY
ZITO OUTDUELS PEAVY

(Yeah WTF Shasta? How can you not like Lincecum?!)

Steps actually towards first instead of towards the plate

hay guys the only game i've seen live was giants - bluejays in 2004. i was very drunk and it was fun. since then the giants have kinda been my team. as a self-loathing sheffield united fan I feel that, now that they really suck, I can make an honest effort to make them my own without any danger of chasing success. OK, this has been true since 2004, but I will be writing my phd thesis during next season and will need a distraction.

So I want to learn more about the team before next year. the only sources I have are the one time every two weeks they get broadcast live on NASN and I read http://www.sfgate.com/sports/giants/. I know the rules, I get the jargon, but I don't know too many names or any history. Any other websites I should be reading?

For history, Wikipedia is probably a good bet. The names of Giants past you should know include Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal, heh heh Gaylord Perry, Mel Ott, Christy Matthewson, Leo Durocher, Bill Mueller, Barry Bonds.

As for current joes, you don't have to know more than Lincecum and Cain, maybe Jonathan "Dirty" Sanchez. Cain is the most emo-worthy, as he's fat and ugly and has snakebitten luck. Lincecum is the undersized and unorthodox pitcher upon whom all Giants fans have pinned their hopes. Also, the Giants will be saddled with Zito for 5 more years and what, $100 million.

You are obliged to hate: the Angels, the Marlins, AJ Pierzynski, the Dodgers, AJ Pierzynski, the Braves, the Rockies, Mike Piazza, and Armando Benitez.

You try to forget: Francisco Liriano, Joe Nathan.

Bonus points for knowing that every so often, they wear Gigantes uniforms.

Here's a quick recap of some major moments:

http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nl/sfgiants/sfgiants.html

Here's a video of Willie Mays v. Mickey Mantle in the Home Run Derby:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0vGWiB6ryU

Bill Mueller

Seriously, Leee, this is starting to worry me.

Especially when you forget Will Clark!!!!!!!

!!!!!!

?

Will Clark was one of the world's biggest assholes though. He was the proto-Jeff Kent.

Thanks Leee, just spent a good hour on Wikipedia (and thanks for the links polyphonic).

As a Giants fan, what do I think about Barry Bonds?

They are managed by one of the worst GMs in the biz.

Will I be able to get tickets for Marlins vs. Giants on the 19th or 20th on the day of the game, or should I get them now before I leave town?

You will be able to get tickets.

As a Giants fan, what do I think about Barry Bonds?

He is innocent until proven guilty! (*wink*)

Will Clark was one of the world's biggest assholes though.

hi dere LEO DUROCHER is on the damn list too -- singling out Neuschler for his aw-shucks puckishness (don't mind my editorializing) & neglecting LD's more storied stature as King of all Baseball Assholes is like talking up Manny as the best RH hitter of the past 20 years while standing next to A-Rod!

My knowledge of baseball douchebag history is limited, I admit.

Study it. It's IMPORTANT.

Durocher played a noteworthy role in erasing baseball's color line. In the spring of 1947, he let it be known that he would not tolerate the dissent of those players on the team who opposed Jackie Robinson joining the club, stating:

"I don't care if the guy is yellow or black, or if he has stripes like a fucking zebra. I'm the manager of this team and I say he plays."

He greatly admired Robinson for his hustle and aggression, calling him "a Durocher, with talent."

Seems like a swell cat. Too bad about all those mob ties.

I don't know why I left off Will Clark (was my fav player before '93) and Matt Williams.

As a Giants fan, what do I think about Barry Bonds?

What polyphonic sez.

Why do I hate the Angels? Same reason I hate the Dodgers or something else?

There's the NorCal/SoCal rivalry, and the more important issue that the Giants lost the 2002 World Series to them in fabulously heartbreaking fashion.

Also, add the Diamondbacks to the hate list; the Giants have been in SF almost 40 years longer than the Dbags have existed, and still the Dbags have won more World Series championships than the SF Giants.

Zito: just 6 more losses to 20 on the year!

Bonds joined Giants television commentators Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper in the booth for the first two innings, referring to Giants center fielder Aaron Rowand as "Scott Rowand."

Oh god Lincecum hit in the leg by a liner taken out of the game please be ok.....

Zito, just four more to go!!!! You can do it!!!

Some good news: Yay Tim Franchise ok!!! And Giants called up a buttload of kids, one of whom is AN OCTOPUS:

Pablo Sandoval is ambidextrous.

"I was a natural left-hander as a kid, but I wanted to play other positions: shortstop, third base, catcher," Sandoval said. "So when I was 10 years old, my brother (Michael) taught me how to throw right-handed. He was a third baseman, four years older than me, got to Double-A with the Twins. I started throwing right-handed. It came easy to me."

[...]

For the record, Sandoval can throw harder and farther right-handed and no longer carries left-handed mitts. In his locker, he had a first baseman's mitt and catcher's mitt.

Lincecum's year clearly better than Webb's after last night.

EUGENIO!

GRACE: DEJECTED.

Gary Huckabay in BP yesterday:

Tim Lincecum threw 138 pitches against San Diego last night.

Let me make this as clear as I possibly can.

That is utterly, completely, and colossally reckless, stupid, arrogant, and just plain lazy. Send in all the nasty emails calling me a geek who’s never played you like. Feel free to point out that Lincecum’s “just different”,”rubber armed”, or a “freak of nature”. It’s still mind-blowingly stupid, risky behavior. A couple of undeniable facts:

(1) People I respect have told me “Lincecum’s just different.” Perhaps. But the truth of the matter is that you don’t know that. No one can tell me they know, with any reasonable degree of certainty, that Lincecum can stand up to mindless, pointless abuse better than anyone else. He might be less capable of doing so. We just don’t know.

(2) The gain for the Giants having Lincecum throw those extra pitches last night was zilch. Perhaps less. The Giants were 15 games under .500 going into last night. If they win out, they could end up .500. Those pitches could have been thrown by Carol Channing for all the real world value they had. For that matter, one of the kids could have been thrown out there and perhaps learned something.

So why take *any* risk under the circumstances? So Lincecum could have a shutout for the CY race? Seriously? That outweighs the strategic risk of exposing your only potential franchise cornerstone to injury that could instantly destroy his ability to perform at an elite level?

If Giants fans wonder why their team is in such dismal shape, last night was a microcosm of it. This organization hasn’t shown any ability to look past a single game, much less past a season and towards, say, potential stability and success. Last night wasn’t even a joke. It was a farce.

To those of you who will feel compelled to write in and say “Tim didn’t want to come out,” my response is pretty simple…My four year old wants to eat a bunch of ice cream too. It’s kind of my job to make sure he doesn’t. And it’s kind of Bochy’s, Sabean’s, Baer’s, and the entire occupancy of the Giants front office’s job to keep completely moronic things from happening.

Clearly, they’re not up to the task.

haha

You guys, this is a long tradition in SF started by one Dusty Baker. Just witness the long careers of Jason Schmidt, Robb Nen, Mark Prior and Kerry Wood.

http://www.sjgiants.com/ConPics/Con1148/news_pablo_sandoval_plate_Damon_Tarver.jpg

SANDOVAL

HE'S AMBIDEXTROUS!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/plechazunga/pablo_sandoval_ambidext.jpg

Nice send-off for Vizquel.

Lincecum not getting the loss, Cy Young voters.

I got second-row (Lexus Dugout Club) seats vs. the Padres July 9. Psyched. Are they kinda below-ground?

Pablo Sandoval was under my radar til this week. wow.

He's really fun to watch, and his fielding is always an adventure.

If they released Zito, the Giants have a playoff caliber pitching staff. They'd need to add at least 2 bats in order to score any runs of course, but still, I think they might have a chance in a short series.

Release Zito and replace him with whom? Zito's the third or fourth guy in the rotation as of right now, behind Lincecum, Cain, and now, Sandowski. I wish gygax were still around to talk some sense into you, Shasta.

you forgot the big unit. Zito is #5 and belongs in AAA.

with ollie perez

For the majority of the season, Sanchez (5.30 ERA) was five, while Zito (4.82) and Big Johnson (4.70) were basically swapping between three and four. I hate the guy as much as you, but you are wrong, d00der.

Zito and Johnson have been equally mediocre, and Sanchez is bad news.

Here, Shasta, have some uncontextualized stats to wash down your WRONG SANDWICH:

They've played 80 games and their pitchers haven't allowed a run in almost 14 percent of them.

http://www.montereyherald.com/sports/ci_12757389

I think they're a better team with Sanchez in long relief / lefty stopper role.

Zito with a nice start.

Romo may be the best closer in the Giants' bullpen.

So is this team legit or what? They keep winning. Also what kind of insane trade ploy are they going to hatch? They should acquire Shea Hillenbrand again.

they are good because they also get to beat up on the padres and diamondbacks 40 times a year

They're 2-6 against the Padres so far.

Giants have a sub-avg SOS ranking (20th out of 30):

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/stats/rpi?season=2009&sortColumn=sos

that said, they rank 5th in Expected Win%:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/stats/rpi?season=2009&sortColumn=exp_win_pct

Looking at that you can't help but sympathize with the Rays... if the season ended today they would not make the playoffs despite being one of the best teams in the AL.

sorry for british but what is strength of schedule? measure of how good their regular season opponents are?

precisely.

good luck uk

ty

They should send down Ishikawa and try Bowker again.

Looking at Shasta's link, I see the Giants have allowed the fewest runs in MLB. That explains alot.

Ask and ye shall receive

John Bowker is likely to be recalled from Triple-A Fresno on Thursday.
Bowker has torn up the PCL this season, batting .345 with 17 homers, 63 RBI and a 1.055 OPS. Not needing a fifth starter again until July 20, the Giants could use the extra bat. Wednesday's starter Ryan Sadowski is the most likely candidate to be sent down.

I didn't want Sadowski to get sent down! Cruel irony.

This is like when I found that monkey paw.

how about that

Great game last night.

Personally, I'm still non-plussed. why? they're still making mediocre moves at the trading deadline. Garko? Ok maaaaybe Sanchez is ok, but that's the best they can do? I feel like the Giants are constantly looking for these B and C list players with the hopes that one of them will be a breakout star like Sandoval. But Sandoval's are one in a mil.

Sandoval to me is like a Francoeur (or if you're a Giants fan: Jerome Williams) type of flash in the pan young talent.

or maybe i just think early 20s players in the mid 250# range who swing at everything are due for a little regression... would like to be proven wrong btw.

I'd like to see Panda lose 20lb for sure.

boxx is right, this is the exact same kind of marginal tinkering that Sabean was doing when we still had a Barry worth paying for.

Girl sitting near me at J. Sanchez's no-hitter was a huge fan of Sandoval's ass, FWIW.

Is losing 20lbs going to help Panda's plate discipline? The again I thought the league would figure him out this year and they didn't so maybe Im wrong about him falling off a cliff..

Shasta, Sandoval is a better player than Francoeur ever was (at every level) and has had greater sustained success at the major league. Not saying he won't regress, but I somehow doubt that he's going to collapse the way Frenchy or Williams did.

Is losing 20lbs going to help Panda's plate discipline?

I don't know, but playing baseball overweight is bad news long-term. Big dudes never seem to sustain success for very long. For every Tony Gwynn there were like fifty John Kruks.

Zito with 5 straight quality starts... wtf.

Just got a text from Bobby Evans. The Zach Wheeler deal is done. His text arrived 4 minutes before the deadline. Baseball America is reporting the bonus is $3.3 million.

The Giants aren't confirming that figure, but Evans did tell me it's a 2010 contract, which means Wheeler will not pitch in the minors this year. He will work out in Arizona then take part in the fall instructional league.

Posted By: Henry Schulman (Email) | August 17 2009 at 08:58 PM

Which Giants starter has the best ERA since the allstar break?

Omar Vizquel?

oh alex, you should be familiar with omar vizquel as he is on the Texas Rangers, the team that dominates your A's regularly.

LOL I didn't realize that actually. I don't even look at the boxscores of other teams (or even my own team.) I've been following a lot of Midland Rockhounds games instead. Go Chris Carter!

get-r-done sabean. maybe Molina could teach Posey how to draw a walk.

Impending free agent Bengie Molina is hoping the Giants will offer him a two-year contract extension.
Molina and his agent haven't begun discussions with Giants management, but a two-year deal makes sense for both sides. Catching prospect Buster Posey still has some work to do in the minors and Molina has posted relatively impressive numbers from the cleanup spot this season. He could also act as a mentor to the 22-year-old Posey. "I would have given him a lot of advice," Molina said Thursday, "on how to deal with the pitching staff."

Dang, rough way to lose a game.

season over?

RIP.

Duane Kuiper's home run call: "This is bad news, folks."

The Giants suck but holy shit at Zito... how long can he keep this up?

since all-star break:

8 games, 3W-2L
EIGHT QUALITY STARTS
ERA: 2.06
WHIP: 1.15
BAA: .218

Twitter's loss is the Giants' gain.

holy shit @barryzito

They should try to trade him!

According to Mike Krukow, Santana "is the best music to snowboard to, bar none."

Jonathan Sanchez is following Zito's lead:

since the ASB:

3.59 ERA
1.20 WHIP
.196 BAA

How close is that Bumgardner(sp?) to the major leagues? I wonder if Sanchez gets shipped out in a package for a 'big bat' in the off-season or if Sabean is cool with Randy Winn in RF for the rest of the decade. If the Giants ever decide to get some offense they'd be a legit threat for awhile.

I think I heard talk much earlier in the season that he'd be ready for a Sept. call-up this year, but I may be wrong. Polyphonic?

I think I heard talk much earlier in the season that he'd be ready for a Sept. call-up this year, but I may be wrong. Polyphonic?

I heard that he's not coming up this year, but we'll see. Also, the Giants are in the mix to get Brad Penny.

Zito, Lincecum and Cain up against the Rox next. Why do I think the Wild Card race is going to get tighter...

Zito vs Marquis on MLBN tonight

and Jeff Kent in the booth for an inning, how special

he got booed heartily when he was "honoured" before the game

zito's ERA under 4 btw

Watching my fantasy league pitchers on tv -- guaranteed kiss of death. I should never get Extra Innings.

I'm happy for Barry Zito. He seems like a cool guy by baseball standards.

alyssa's engagement and marriage closed a painful chapter in his life. this new found peace has allowed him to get back to his old cy young self.

Buster Posey got the call-up today.

Be interesting to see how a rook calls a game for a few Cy Young winners but fuck the Giants offense sucks and he has mashed the ball at all levels.

Totally blown away by Sanchez AGAIN btw... him and Zito have carried these guys for the past 6 weeks.

Sanchez since the All-Star break***:

ERA 3.35
WHIP 1.17
BAA .190

***Does NOT include his (near-)Perfect Game.

Penny looked okay today, not a bad pick up. Too bad the Giants needed a bat more than a 5th starter but whatevs.

Only 2 K's tho. Dudes K/9 has sank like a stone ever since 2007.

Yeah against the best team in the NL and World Series champs, dawg. This ain't no Vicente Padilla going 5 innings against the D-bags.

Has there ever been a bigger divide between a single team's pitching/defense vs. hitting?

How many teams can give up 3 runs in as many games and lose 2 of 3?

Not to be an annoying homer but its all I know:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/pl/player_search.cgi?search=2003+dodgers

Its more bullpen than starter related but its kinda similar. Less wins I guess.

16 LF Rickey Henderson .208 .321 .306

Lincecum look like skinny goth kid

Dan Runzler's 2009:

Team        Level `G     W-L	ERA	IP	H	BB	K	SV	WHIP
AUG (sf)	A	19	1-1	0.68	26.1	8	13	45	11	0.80
SAN (sf)	A+	19	1-0	0.84	21.1	8	4	26	5	0.56
CON (sf)	AA	7	3-0	0.96	9.1	5	7	11	1	1.29
FRE (sf)	AAA	2	0-0	0.00	2.0	2	0	1	0	1.00
SFG (NL)	MLB	1	0-0	0.00	0.1	0	0	1	0	0.00

3 pitch K tonight, but all 5 levels in one year is pretty good right? How common is that in this day and age?

Zito finally had a bad-ish start (only 4ip, 5bb), but somehow the Giants find a way to win another 3-2 game thanks to the bullpen.

Jesus Christ, Penny is a massive douchebag.

2009 butthurt player of the year

i saw the clip and could not for the life of me figure out what his problem was. is he channeling Clemens or something?

Giants allegedly calling up Bumgardner. Whether its to play or to shag foul balls in the bullpen like Posey remains to be seen.

He may be starting tonight.

Lincecum's back is strained from carrying the team, amirite lol

PECOTA=adjusted playoff odds

COL 84%

SF 13%

Should probably try to win games against the Padres imo

NL Pitcher VORP

Lincecum 64.7
Wainwright 64.3
Haren 62.6
Carpenter 62.0

Yikes:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/giants/detail?entry_id=48000

One of his teammates knows how to beat a murder rap in the Dominican. He should be ok.

If had an OBP of >.320 he might have been the best offensive player in the Giants organization including MLB.

always giggle a bit when i see a thread with "100 YEAR OLDS" in the title is bumped by morbs

I was basking in Bengie Molina's AMAZING .289 OBP at Dodger Stadium on Sunday. Hollee shit.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/nl/giants/2010-01-14-giants-organizational-report_N.htm

I cringed every time an announcer would talk about Molina taking Pablo Sandoval under his wing during last season..

And I hate the Giants...

PECOTA '10:

Benjie Molina: .280/.317/.434, Defense: 96-C
Buster Posey: .274/.349/.422, Defense: 72-C

meaning not too different of a VORP projection giving either the majority of the PAs.

but here's the crazy thing:

breakout/improve/collapse
BM: 10/37/29
BP: 17/45/24

they're really closely matched, just on opposing ends of their careers.

ok, i'm starting to get excited about this year!

i'm trying to stay positive... but it seems like their biggest gain in the off-season was sandoval's prescription goggles.

how fat is the panda? i heard he's bigger than LY: t/f?

i for one am happy to find out what would've happened if CC never became a pitcher

Panda looked pretty portly on mlb tv last night doing fielding drills.

Fat Ichiro was a much better name than this pixar mickey mouse shit

well dude has quite a bit more power than ichiro, long live drives vs. slappy chops/running out infield grounders. not really the same animal imo.

.001 difference in OBP

Joe Mauer and Albert Pujols had a .001 difference in OBP last year but they're pretty different.

Giants resuming their tradition of butt-hurtedness already

Barry Zito worked 1 2/3 innings and allowed a run Thursday in the Giants' 5-3 win over the Brewers.

The story from the game will be that Zito plunked Prince Fielder in apparently retaliation for Fielder's "bowling pin" home run celebration against the Giants last year. Fielder was fine, and he ended up going 1-for-2 in the game. Still, it was a message sent.

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/11/2010/03/500x_tim-lincecum-giants-snuggie.jpg

i imagine his life being like brad pitts in true romance only w piles and piles of money.

so Bumgardner looks hurt?

Seems like it. From what I read he's barely been able to get up to 90 on the gun.

Theres also murmurs of Lincecum being hurt because hes lost some speed on his fastball, but seems like its too early to start that kind of speculation.

too much doobage.

Lincecum will be fine, he had great stuff in his last game.

Wellemeyer looked great today getting out of those first and third situations with no runs.

not sure what happening with Bumgardner but we don't need him right now...

the Giants sign extensions with Brian Wilson, Jeremy Affeldt and Matt Cain. still not sold on Wilson because of all the people he gets on base. signing Cain however and not having to deal with it is a strong move on managements part.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/preview10/news/story?page=10expertpicks

Jim Caple,
ESPN.com

East champ: Yankees
Central champ: Twins
West champ: Rangers
Wild card: Rays
Champion: Twins

East champ: Braves
Central champ: Cardinals
West champ: Giants
Wild card: Diamondbacks
Champion: Giants

WORLD SERIES: Giants over Twins

BOLD CLAM ITT

what happened to Pandoval going to first?

also why dont u ppl start a 2010 thread?

Sandoval is the worst, he just chased three balls in the dirt.

Lincecum is in mid-season form, surprised after that horrible spring. good game overall with the bats doing some damage.

yeah, we need a new thread or change the title of this one.

Look, any of these jokers are welcome to start a new SFG thread, I'm done with this team (until September).

Or we can just use this thread: Sublimated Erotic Desire 2010