Free Buster Hugs for all new FA acquisitions: San Francisco Giants 2024 onward

Let's start the Buster Posey POBO era with a new thread

This is going to be an interesting ride

Yeah it will - it coincides with the exit of the A's from the bay as well. There was a quote a month or two ago from an anonymous agent stating SF will be a huge market in the next 10 years.

“In 10 years, the Giants are going to generate more revenue than the New York Yankees,” the agent said. “They’ll have all the Bay Area, and half of the state. They’ll have their Triple-A team in Sacramento, their (Low)-A team in San Jose. They own their stadium, they’re developing around it. San Francisco, Oakland, Silicon Valley, Sacramento — the Giants are about to become the monsters of Major League Baseball.”

Quote came from a Chronicle article about the A's leaving for Sacramento, and was quoted again as part of a Brisbee article detailing how the Giants could back to contention and realize that vision.

The thing I was wondering about with that quote was the vision of the agent - was that Boras? I do wonder if he's bullish and along with Posey betting on "buying low" in the Bay. Usually you'd hear the opposite, of players or agents either using the Giants as a team to drive a price up and be non-committal.

Regardless, I do hope to see a revamped farm program. There's solid talent finally coming up, and as Grant emphasizes in his article above, it really is the way to build a sustainable winning program, and teams with those programs (along with nice locales to live in) are the ones that truly attract free agents.

I would love to know what Posey said to Chapman to get him to sign. That’s got to be their best free agent signing in ages.

Posey Press conference:
https://www.nbcsportsbayarea.com/mlb/san-francisco-giants/buster-posey-president-baseball-operations-2/1788583/?os=0&ref=app

Posey, who was given a three-year contract, will be tasked with finding a new general manager after he announced that Pete Putila won't continue in that role.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DsEuXnuU4AAgyvu?format=jpg&name=large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GY1E73ubQAEKFXP?format=jpg&name=large

Actually shocking when you remember how young he was in his rookie season. He went out there with ice in his veins!

The dude could probably still play if he wanted to. Looking good!

I vividly remember game 4 of the 2010 World Series where we had this rookie battery shutting out the Rangers. Just felt like electricity and inevitability; a magical moment with the potential for an even more magical future (that actually came to fruition). Probably how Niner fans felt in '81...

Here's to Buster bringing that vibe back. We really need it

Posey hired Zack Minasian as GM, their VP of Scouting. TIL he's actually Tommy Lasorda's godson?

FWIW I hear good things, though. Knows talent, is a people person, etc. Will be interesting how he pans out.

Adames press conference now.

He’s tight with Matt Duffy (“that’s my guy” he said twice in a row <3)

Looks like things are panning out quite well

https://www.sfgate.com/giants/article/sf-giants-broadcasters-multiyear-extensions-20230466.php

The San Francisco Giants’ beloved broadcasting team of Dave Flemming, Mike Krukow, Duane Kuiper and Jon Miller have signed new multiyear contracts this offseason, Giants president and CEO Larry Baer and Krukow confirmed to SFGATE on Wednesday.

"We signed a new deal, and we’re pretty damned excited about the whole thing,” Krukow told SFGATE.

Hell yeah that's a bad minimum necessary to sustain some fan goodwill at least

Bad -> base

Wilmer Flores home run in the Ninth inning Thursday was eerily familiar.

https://media.tenor.com/Lky-6V3ux_oAAAAC/sfgiants-posey.gif

https://media.tenor.com/Lky-6V3ux_oAAAAC/sfgiants-posey.gif

I was thinking about that while watching the game. Are the vibes back with this team?

Posey energy ~~~~~~~~~~

still riding hard for Schmidt, hope he breaks out this year

I’m really excited for Ramos, what a cool insanely strong man

Pretty incredible start to the year by going 5-1 on the road and winning with the long ball, pitching and defense. Vibing pretty hard with this team, and Adames is still ice cold.

Wilmer!!!!

Worried about Bailey a bit.

I have to talk about today's Opening Day

Verlander was horrible
11 innings
ghost runner still sick
Sloppy play
Giants made more then one error
Pass ball in the 11th should have cost them the game
19 runs, 32 hits combined
W

Posey era just feels different

Yeah Adames had like 3 errors, very generous scoring today lol

And yeah, Posey era is amazing. xVibe is like hitting 200+ rn

I have to talk about today's Opening Day

we call this a "home opener" in SF...

(i'm still all the road but will be back in SF today!)

on... oof, sorry it's early

Pass ball in the 11th should have cost them the game

All you want to do is win series, putting these wins in the bank is going to payoff later.

Sorry about my post on Friday night, ILX came back and was a bit too excited.

* Sorry about my errors in my post rather, sick = suck, calling it opening day ect...

Yeah this is super promising. Last time they started 7-1 was 2003 and they won 100 games

Matt Chapman going oppo to that big right field more is a game changer (literally)

8 - 1

Now in first place

Walk off

that was so badass, first pitch, straight off the bench. I think I heard Dave Fleming say it was Flores’13th career walk off rbi

If you would have told me the Giants would be in 1st by Sunday after the Dodgers started 7-0 and the Giants were 4-1 I'd have been shocked, but here we are.

We got a squad!

🚨 JUNG HOO LEE GOES YARD 🚨 pic.twitter.com/cDFjX3ut88

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) April 11, 2025

This team got something brewing or is it just an early season heater? Liking what I’m seeing regardless

The improvements in defense, baserunning and situational hitting is very real and were public goals stated by Posey when he joined.

The fact that the focus on these aspects of their play style have started off so successfully has been massive. The other unsung aspect of this team's early success so far is the bullpen, which has been absolutely stellar outside of Camilo Doval, who should probably be optioned at this point.

Overall, it's a pretty quick return to the style of play and clubhouse vibe/belief they had during the WS years, and to a lesser extent 2021 (that year was an anomaly in that like 5 dudes had career years at the same time).

Posey has the rizz

Nice look at Jung Hoo Lee's improved swing and his results so far via FanGraphs:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/jung-hoo-lee-is-starting-to-look-like-a-star/

https://www.sfgate.com/giants/article/umpire-tracks-down-sf-giants-player-after-game-20283189.php

To quote others on the internet, Cuzzi is indeed Charmin Ultra Soft

Going to today's game, they're in Anaheim. Verlander pitching.

Hell yeah! Enjoy! Weather looks gorgeous

Seeing "Huff" on the scorecard is triggering me.

I need to watch more Giants games so I can work out why Ramos is hitting leadoff

I need to watch more Giants games so I can work out why Ramos is hitting leadoff

Damn Walker, way to do your best Doval imitation

Had seats on the second deck, third base side out of the sun. When I originally bought tickets I didn’t realize it was on Easter Sunday. My cousin and I had a great time.

Verlander finally pitched a good game this year but in the end, didn’t matter. We got something from the catching position, hitting wise, but was from Huff and not. Should have won but sometimes the closer doesn't have it. I blame it on the human body.

There were tons of Giants fans there

This team is driving me crazy but a better crazy than these last few years.

There's still over a dozen games left to play, playoffs are most definitely in play and deserves ain't got nuthin' to do with it

Didn’t say anything about deserving, it’s just a very flawed team.

Let's just say... this absolute garbage team does wriggle into the playoffs, against all odds.

They will absolutely quickly roll over and play dead for whomever they are seeded against.

Ha I mean that's pretty much how I felt about the 2014 team. The backed their way into a post season the team felt like they should have been nowhere near.

Not saying this team will even get in, let alone make a run, but who knows? Just get in first and let's see what happens.

Eldridge called up

https://www.mlb.com/news/bryce-eldridge-giants-callup

you just gotta get into the dance and anything can happen. but the schedule is TOUGH

https://i.imgur.com/R9Cbmkt.png

the cardinals likely wont roll over and die since they still have a punchers chance.

add to that AZ just leapfrogged them in the standings.

so did the reds. they dont own any tiebreakers i dont believe. so they need some luck to go their way with teams ahead of them and they need to prob go like 9-3. starting to feel like a bit too much to overcome at this point.

The Giants need to take three out of four

Giants only have three starters and Verlander isn't going in this series

Ten walks, so far, and only one hit

They have to win

Sitting here watching the 9th - I just don't see them winning this despite being down a single run. 10 walks and 1 run? Get fucked

Yup, out with a whimper.

RIP

They tricked me a few more times but its over. One of my worst and frustrating years

It's just a very streaky team. They seem to get hot and cold together and that's pretty rough. One of the things that defined the Buster era was his and Bum's supreme emotional zen. Never got too high or low, and that cool permeated the clubhouse. No one in this clubhouse was "cool" or a true "stopper" this year which is critical to nip losing streaks before they get too destructive. Every team goes though losing streaks (see the Dodgers just a few weeks ago), but it's how quickly you can snap out of them that defines you.

You can def throw Bochy in there too as "cool". And the Core Four. I def feel they need to revamp the bullpen, clean out the coaching staff, and figure out how to get some of that vibe back.

in the past 9 games they've been leap-frogged by the D-Backs, Reds, Cardinals, Marlins (!) & the utterly terrible Braves coming in hot on their heels.

Went to yesterday's game and it was a goddamn disaster. Worst bullpen since the last half of 2016. Still a fun night at the park since it was actually warm but the last three innings were like knives to the soul

Good summary though

https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/san-francisco-giants-scores-standings-nl-west/101143/giants-cardinals-recap-christian-koss-rafael-devers

Willy Adames broke the drought!
https://i.imgur.com/VCHjVMl.jpeg

On the last day of the season to boot. Definitely making that contract worth it already. We objectively got some bats, a couple starters, and a huge crater where a bullpen should be.

Wait'll next year

They’ve got to fire Bob right

What if they bring Boch back.. his contract with Texas is up

500 is a bad turnout in the end. This team was cursed for whatever reason this year. I do like the pieces and they need a new voice.

I think one of the biggest decisions is catcher, I love Bailey but he can't hit and framing is going away. Posey is leading this team, I would love a Will Smith bur need more than a Patrick Bailey.

I love Boch but he's old, his last two years in Texas weren't that great, and we should be moving forward not looking back.

They can’t bring Bochy back, there was a reason he retired in the first place! Tim Lincecum isn’t going to come out of hiding for a second retirement.

Baggarly’s article on this has some interesting quotes:

“I know Buster is gonna do whatever it takes,” Adames said. “He doesn’t like to lose. He’s already mad, so I know he’s gonna do whatever it takes.”

BUSTER POSEY MANAGER - me

The indications are strong that Melvin could be out after compiling a 161-163 record in two seasons. The three-time Manager of the Year Award winner acknowledged after Sunday’s game that he has received no assurances beyond his contractual status that he will return to lead the club next season.

“It is what it is, “Melvin said. “We’ll see what the next day brings.”

Melvin, asked whether he has a meeting set up with Posey or other members of the front office, delivered an ominous response.

“I think I’m going to talk to somebody tomorrow,” he said.

Well.

How could Posey justify placing the blame on Melvin for missing the playoffs when the front office sold at the trade deadline, trading relievers Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval as well as right fielder Mike Yastrzemski, and then watching their bullpen collapse down the stretch? Even a marginal upgrade in the rotation, like Andrew Heaney, might have helped to stabilize a starting staff that lacked depth in September. Heck, the Giants probably should examine their 1-6 record in the seven starts they gave to Kai-Wei Teng, who had a 6.75 ERA, and wonder whether turning to Trevor McDonald earlier than they did might have resulted in a three-win boost.

Is he wrong though

I'm 100% loving this move.

On June 15th when Posey made the trade for Devers, which - let's be honest here - was a spectacular and audacious move, the Giants were 41-31, not terribly far behind the Dodgers, and in a position to win now. The pitching was largely there, the hitting was not but coming along. The pieces were in place, the GM did his job.

On July 31st, the evening of the deadline, the Giants were 54-55, in the midst of losing 12 of 14. You don't buy at that point if you're Posey because your gut is telling you it isn't the talent that is the issue with the team, it is the mindset. This failing often falls on leadership. That small stretch from July 2nd to July 11th, where they won 8 of 10 and looked like they could contend, ended up being the eye of the storm of a stretch from June 15 - August 22nd where they only won 13 games outside that 10 game stretch. They were, in fact, the worst team in baseball in the summer months. Their winning percentage from June 15th to August 22nd was 20-38. That's a .344 winning percentage over a 2 month span. Only one team sustained a worse percentage over that span and I believe it was the Rockies. Doval and Yaz were net negative players by the time the deadline hit. The fact the team got value for them and Rogers (who might very well return next year) is insanely amazing. The fact the team couldn't even play .400 ball (let alone .500) after the deadline is still insanely weak sauce and not on Posey. Somehow Ryan Walker turned into an absolute bust after arguably being our best reliever last year. Two of our other top pitchers got injured. All this to say: Posey is not the problem here. At all. At least not yet. Dude is decisive, hedging the right bets, and making bold decisions with an intention to win. It was his first year. It's more than I can say about Zaidi's first year, where it felt like no real bold decisions were made.

Melvin has a history of managing mid teams outside of his Oakland stint. I don't think he's a bad manager, per se. But if you want to contend, he ain't it.

On top of this, he was never Posey's pick. Zaidi hired him.

It's time to move on.

And yes, Baggerly is wrong, to a point. It's hard to pin all this on BoMel, he wasn't "bad"! But he is responsible for vibe, for consistency, and managing a bullpen well, all things that just never materialized under him the last two years. He was "meh". And his record partially reflected that. This team has talent more than capable of a winning record, though the bullpen really needs a lot of work, and there's teams in the playoffs that exhibit worse rosters, like the Reds.

Melvin managed that 2023 Padres team with Soto, Machado, Tatis etc and still missed the playoffs

Exactly. His teams tend to "sleepwalk".

Thought this same thought when Gabe was fired: Would this team really have been much better with a different manager?

Shuddered out loud looking over the 2023 roster earlier.

Gabe wasn't any better than BoMel. The manager of that 2021 team was Buster.

https://www.nbcsportsbayarea.com/mlb/san-francisco-giants/bruce-bochy-manager-return/1878037/

In an exclusive conversation with John Shea of The San Francisco Standard on Monday, Bochy said he “would always have a conversation with [president of baseball operations] Buster [Posey]" about the Giants, though he's currently "sorting everything out" after three seasons with Texas.

I'm not in favor of this, you just fired a Bochy type. I know Bochy is better but loke octobeard said, time to move on.

But everything is laid out for this to happen, so it probably will?

I really hope it doesn't. It'd be cool if he come on in a consultant capacity rather than an everyday manager, however

BOLD PREDICTION: 81-81 next year.

I mean given their track record going back to 2017 (2021 excluded), it's gotta be the expectation until proven otherwise.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/46685328/sources-tennessee-vitello-finalizing-deal-giants-manager

Don't know about this move but do know Bob Melvin had to go.

Yeah this is a pretty ballsy, out of nowhere hire from my perspective, but the more I read about the dude the more I'm intrigued at the least. Seems like a solid leader of young men and a good tactician but can he handle major league millionaire player drama and expectations? I guess we'll find out

feels sort of Ted Lasso-esque

Well he's not coaching a cricket team at least

I know barely anything about college ball but this coach had a .722 winning percent across 8 seasons for the Vols.

In MLB terms, that's the equivalent of 8x 117W-45L seasons.

recruitment has something to do with that - college dynasties be self-fulfilling snowballs as all the best players want to play for you

lol i did not mean to write “dynasties be” but…. so “be” it

made me look this up, notable Vols players he coached and where they were drafted:

Garrett Crochet (2020 #11, CWS)
Chase Silseth (2021 #321, LAA) (transferred out after freshman year)
Ben Joyce (2022 #89, LAA)
Andre Lipcius (2019 #83, DET)
Trey Lipscomb (2022 #84, WAS)
Jordan Beck (2022 #38, COL)
Seth Halvorsen (2023 #202, COL)
Chase Dollander (2023 #9, COL)
Blake Tidwell (2022 #52, NYM) *now in SFG farm system
Christian Moore (2024 #8, LAA)
Chase Burns (2024 #2, CIN) *transferred to WakeForest after being relegated from SP to mop-up, went on to set school records in Ks + was ACC POTY).
Drew Gilbert (2022 #28, HOU) *now with SFG so will be reunited with former coach

lots of LAA/COL pipeline, but also some SFG crossover as well.

Curious how Chase Burns performs against the Giants this season 🍿🍿