San Francisco Giants: Help Wanted!

Just like last season, the San Francisco Giants are in dire need for offensive help, but unlike last season, it is injuries that is the cause. With catcher Buster Posey injured this week in a play that will likely end his season, he becomes just the latest casualty in an incredibly unlucky 2011 season. Currently on the disabled list sit the aforementioned Posey, Pablo Sandoval, who actually seemed to be recovering from his offensive doldrums last season, Mark DeRosa, role player Mike Fontenot, and speedster Darren Ford. Aubrey Huff, who was the team’s all-around leader last season, bats a measly .223, while newcomer Miguel Tejada brings an atrocious .212 batting average to the table (this really gets put into perspective when you note that pitcher Ryan Vogelsong is actually batting .308). Power-hitter Pat Burrell leads the team with an astounding five homeruns, tied with Sandoval who has been out for nearly thirty games. At the same time, Freddy Sanchez tops out the team in hitting, with a .298 average. In other words, somebody help!

Sandoval should be set to return in a couple of weeks, but the Giants are going to need more than that. While the pitching is still holding strong, helping the Giants astoundingly remain in first place, while the offense bats .240 and is second-to-last in the National League in runs scored, the Giants need to make a trade to bring in some offense. One cannot be picky here; just get someone. There have been many names thrown around, ranging from Jose Reyes to Ivan Rodriguez. The Giants are allowed to be desperate here, but it does not mean they have to be. Just listen to WFAN in New York and you will hear some of the dumbest calls ever made to the station. Fans of the Yankees and Mets are smelling blood in the water, and see that if the Giants are so hard up for offense, they must be willing to trade pitching. Sophomore Madison Bumgarner is the name that nearly every caller wants, and I have heard proposals such as Reyes for Bumgarner, and even Yankee fans getting in there, wanting to give the Giants their top catching prospect Jesus Montero for Jonathon Sanchez. New Yorkers always want to think they can get a Filet Mignon for the price of a Morning Star boca burger, but come one now!

One caller even told Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts, who host a midday show on WFAN, an asinine proposal of Josh Thole for Bumgarner, to which Benigno responded, “Yeah, sure! Give us Sanchez too!” It really is quite funny, because everyone seems to be enamored with the Giants from coast to cost. Mike Francesa has even had to dismiss disillusioned callers and their fantasy-like wishes.

The Giants will not trade Madison Bumgarner or Jonathon Sanchez. Nor will they trade Tim Lincecum for Jorge Posada. Anyone that thinks a deal involving those three makes sense, get your head out of your behind. Desperation never worked in anyone’s favor, except the trading partner that exploits it. If the only way the Giants can get help is by trading a pitcher, than I would rather stay the course and miss the playoffs. Saving this season is not worth jeopardizing the next three. If the Mets want to get rid of Reyes so bad, then I would offer Miguel Tejada and a prospect: take it or leave it. The Mets would save a tremendous amount of money while the Giants would not be overpaying for a rental. That helps out the infield, but then the Giants need to fix their catcher dilemma. Eli Whiteside is a good backup, but by no means is he an everyday player. The Giants have contacted the Nationals regarding 39-year old Ivan Rodriguez (.211, 2 Hrs, 14 RBI), which would be a decent stop-gap for this season. I would also inquire about Jorge Posada on the Yankees, whose .174 batting average would fit right in.

The disgruntled catcher has caused Yankee fans to forget his past greatness and jump on the What-Have-You-Done-For-Me-Lately bandwagon. The Yankees could send him to San Francisco for a prospect or two and never see him again. There, Posada can get back to actually catching (he does not seem to love the designated hitter position) and help the Giants’ young pitching staff. It could serve as a reclamation project of sorts, that they tried, and succeeded, with Pat Burrell who was also unhappy DHing and struggling with the Tampa Bay Rays early last season. His career was thought to be over too, and look how that turned out for the Giants in the long run.

San Francisco Giants: “Catch” Me if You Can

So far this spring training, the San Francisco Giants have used six catchers. Two of them, Johnny Monell and Jackson Williams did not have a shot at making the major leagues. Bengie Molina will be the number one catcher, but the question is who will be his backup? Buster Posey, Eli Whiteside, and Steve Holm have all been given a look so far, and each has had a taste in the major leagues at some point, with the Giants, over the last few seasons.

Below, we will examine each one of these four catchers and at the end, hopefully reach a decision on who the two should be.

Bengie Molina

For the last three seasons, Molina has proven to be one of the main catalysts in the Giants offense. In his first season with the team, he set a career high in RBI’s with 81. In his second season, he topped that with 95. And in his third season, he set a career high for homeruns with 20.

He has done everything asked of him, which includes playing stellar defense and working the Giants ultra-young pitching staff. It was for that reason, that I wanted him to re-sign in San Francisco this off-season, amidst talks he was looking to go elsewhere.

So in my opinion, Molina should get the majority of playing time this season and towards the end of the season, they could call up Buster Posey, who can learn from Molina. Being a free agent at the end of this season, he could then go on to another team, while passing the torch to the Giants top prospect catcher.

Buster Posey

Late last season, the Giants gave their phenom top prospect a look at the major league level. He would only go 2 for 17, but in the 40 innings he caught, he had a perfect fielding percentage. For a rookie catcher, this is almost just as important, as his offensive skill can be tapped into, but defense, sometimes, is never learned.

This spring, Posey is making a strong case that he should remain in the majors at the start of the season. He is batting .389 along with 1 homerun and 8 RBI’s, and if performance so far was an indication on whether or not he deserves to make it, then he would. But unfortunately, the situation is more complex.

The Giants, recognizing that Posey may be ready, have begun to experiment with him at first base. To me, this is the worst thing they can do. Remember when John Bowker first got called up two seasons ago? He was playing right field and hitting homeruns left and right. Then the Giants tried to get versatility out of him and make him a first baseman as well. It may be just complete coincidence, but his average and power production went down significantly from there, and has playing for Fresno within two months.

Giants fans want to see him in the majors now, but they must remain patient. You can never be too careful in being patient with young players, and putting him at first base just to get him at-bats is the wrong thing to do. Posey is a catcher, and should remain one, even if it means having to wait until next season to see him.

Eli Whiteside and Steve Holm

Whiteside was the epitome of being a backup catcher, when he played for the Giants last season. Nothing fancy, nothing glaring; just a simple role as the backup catcher. He played solid defense when he came in late in games in relief of Molina, and bat .228 while hitting 2 homeruns and driving in 13, in what was in first season in the majors in four years.

That job belonged to Steve Holm the season before last, and although he hit for a better average that Whiteside, he has not gotten much of a look this spring, leading me to believe he is out of the realm of possibility for getting that backup catching job.

Final Thoughts

Bengie Molina will start the season as the Giants’ number one catcher. He should get the majority of the playing time, and should catch the games where Lincecum, Cain, and possibly, Pucetas pitch. His experience will continue to further their development.

My choice for the backup will go to Eli Whiteside. He worked very well with Jonathon Sanchez last season, including his no-hit performance, and could also relieve Molina on days that Zito pitches, because the veteran does not need a mentor like the other three.

As I said earlier, Posey should remain in the minors where he can continue to develop his skills, so that next season, he can replace Molina as the starting catcher for the Giants. Should Molina get injured, though, I would not be surprised to see him called up right then and thrust into the role immediately.