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 Should Make Pitch for Derek Jeter

The San Francisco Giants are fresh off a world series victory and about to lose their starting shortstop Juan Uribe, to the Los Angeles Dodgers as sources are now reporting that he is close to signing a three-year deal with them. The Giants will be in desperate need for someone to fill his void, with no one in the system capable of putting up the numbers that he did—Emmanuel Burriss and Eugenio Velez have shown nothing but ineptitude.

Mike Fontenot is a player who could perhaps fill the void, but he is more suited for a platoon and fill-in role, as he is more experienced, and is a better contact hitter than some of the free-swinging Giants. It is because of this that the Giants should look to the free agent market to land themselves a shortstop, and the one player out there who is drawing attention almost daily in the papers, is Derek Jeter, who is frozen in contract negotiations with the New York Yankees.

Jeter, 36, is rumored to be seeking a six-year deal worth ~$150 million, a contract which would bring him to age 42 and pay him $25 million a season. The Yankees maintain that they will not budge from their first and only offer so far of three-years, $45 million, a deal that will pay the aging star a more realistic number. Is Jeter worth what he is seeking? Absolutely not, if you are looking at what he can provide from here on out. But if you want to look to the past and thank the player that has led this team to five World Series Championships, made the All-Star team eleven times, and all while keeping his reputation spotlessly clean with the media, then he is worth that much. One could make the argument that had George Steinbrunner still been alive, none of this would be happening, but he isn’t, and now the career-Yankee, and first ballot hall-of-famer, who will achieve his 3000th hit this season, barring injury, is standing at an impasse with the most powerful team in baseball.

It is because of this that the Giants should make him an offer. Perhaps if he does not get what he is looking for from the Yankees, he would take a smaller deal elsewhere. I would suggest something along the lines of three-years, $60 million. An amount offering to pay him more than the Yankees, but still keeping the years at a realistic number. Jeter’s play dropped off dramatically this season—his average fell more than 60 points, his hits went from 212 to 179, homeruns from 18 to 10, and strikeouts rose from 90 to 106. His numbers were not bad, by any means, but it has obviously caused some concern with Yankee brass.

If the Giants were to sign Jeter, they would have some veteran stability in the infield, something that they sorely needed on the left side of second base last season. As good and clutch as Uribe was—hitting 24 homeruns and driving in 85—he was a defensive liability (as is Sandoval). Jeter’s defense may not be Gold Glove-caliber anymore, despite winning the award this season, but his range is definitely greater than that of Uribe, and he will provide something much more valuable than anyone on this current roster, and that is patience at the plate.

People often wonder why Yankee games last three hours, and that is because they know how to hit. They take bad pitches and force the pitcher to throw strikes, something the Giants have not done since the Barry Bonds-led years in the mid-2000′s. Uribe and Sandoval led the way in free-swinging. It has it benefits, such as Uribe swinging so hard he would almost fall over, guaranteeing that if he made contact, the ball would leave the yard, but much too often he found himself striking out or hitting into a double play. This is something that plagued the Giants heavily, and was the main reason why it took this team until the final game of the regular season to clinch a playoff spot.

I do not think it is realistic that the Giants will get Jeter; for the most part, this is just thinking out-loud. I believe that Derek Jeter will be a career-Yankee, something that fans have been wanting for essentially his entire career. But if these negotiations keep on dragging, and it does not look like a deal is in place, then the Giants should field him an offer. After all, if he signs in San Francisco he would not be labeled a traitor. The Giants and Yankees are not rivals, nor do they regularly even play each other. If he is going to leave New York, than the Golden State is one place he could go.

Giants Advance to NLCS, Bobby Cox Bids Farewell; NLCS Preview

This National League Division Series between the San Francisco Giants and Atlanta Braves was a whirlwind of emotion—every single game was decided by one run, and every game could have gone either way. The series featured outstanding pitching, mind-boggling horrific defense, and frustrating offense. The series also featured the end of one of the most brilliant managerial careers in all of baseball, the final game of Bobby Cox.

As last night’s game ended with a ground out and a throw to first, sending the Giants into celebration, Cox looked up briefly before walking briskly into the clubhouse. The Atlanta fans chanted his name and he came out, removed his hat, and waved to the fans. The Giants stopped their celebrating and saluted Bobby Cox, who acknowledged them back with a tip of his cap. It was then that it hit me, just how emotional this series was. Each game was stressful and down to the wire, and I wanted badly to be happy, but I could not help but tear up as Cox walked into the dugout, and off of the field for the final time in his 51 year baseball career, the last 19 years of which was spent with one single team, the Atlanta Braves.

Bobby Cox said goodbye to managing after spending the last 19 seasons with the Braves.

I watched Cox’s teary eyed press conference and could not help but feel sad. I never liked the Braves, but he was managing there since before I was born. I cannot imagine baseball without Bobby Cox in the dugout. As he gave his final post-game press conference, he stopped mid-sentence and tried to hold back the tears. After pausing for a few seconds, he said, “A grown man shouldn’t do this”, before collecting his thoughts and continuing on.

In Bochy’s press conference, he referred to Cox as a “genius” and someone who he always admired. Cox returned the compliment by stating that if he had to lose to someone in the playoffs, he did not mind that it was to Bruce Bochy.

To Bobby Cox, I congratulate you on an amazing career, and hope that you will stick around in some capacity in Major League Baseball. It is suspected that he will be returning to the Braves as a consultant for the next few years.

On to the Giants, they now have to end their celebrating and look to the NLCS, a series they have not played in since they defeated the St. Louis Cardinals en route to the 2002 World Series. Deep down, I want to believe that anything is possible, and that the Giants have a chance, but after looking at the rotation and lineup of the Philadelphia Phillies, I do not think it is possible–my gut tells me the Phillies will be the 2010 World Series Champions.

The Giants will hang with them in pitching. The first three games of this series will feature incredible match-ups between Tim Lincecum and Roy Halladay, Matt Cain and Roy Oswalt, and Jonathon Sanchez and Cole Hamels.

Halladay tossed a no-hitter in his only playoff appearance this year, and the first of his career, while Lincecum struck out 14 in a complete game shutout in his first playoff appearance. Matt Cain was solid but could not defeat the Braves in game two, while Oswalt was the only pitcher to allow a run (four) against the Cincinnati Reds lineup. Sanchez himself threw a no-hitter last year, while Hamels was the MVP of the Phillies when the won the World Series two years ago.

For fourth starters, the Giants have Madison Bumgarner, who won last night’s game to send the Giants to the NLCS. The Phillies, meanwhile, could use Joe Blanton. It is expected that the teams will only go with four starters, as Lincecum and Halladay will pitch on short rest late in the series if they have to.

When it comes to bullpens, both teams are very even, but I would give the edge to the Phillies as they have more experience. They also did not surrender a run in three games against the Reds. They have lefty specialist J.C Romero, long-reliever Jose Contreras, and also Chad Durbin, Ryan Madson, and closer Brad Lidge. The Giants have a lefty specialist of their own in Javier Lopez, flamethrower Santiago Casilla, and adrenaline junky closer Brian Wilson. Sergio Romo, who usually finds himself in the eight inning, had a nightmare series but ended up getting credit for the win in game three.

For the Giants to even have a chance in this series, they need to find some hitting. The Giants went 2-0 without Pablo Sandoval in the lineup, after he was replaced by Mike Fontenot. Sandoval had a horrific series at the plate with absolutely no discipline and a high susceptibility of grounding into double plays. Another Giants power hitter, Juan Uribe, found himself swinging the bat like a woodsman trying to chop down a tree. The two went a combined two for 20, and Uribe also needs to take a seat. He can be replaced by Edgar Renteria, who is a clutch hitter with a short swing, plays better defense, and is also two for two in pinch-hitting appearances in the NLDS.

Cody Ross has come up with clutch hits for the Giants, driving in game-winning runs in two NLDS games.

Giants catcher Buster Posey also had a big series, going 6 for 16, while Burrell and Huff struggled, even though Burrell did hit a three-run homer in game two. The real hero so far in the post season has been late-August waiver pickup Cody Ross. The right-fielder has gone four for 14 with a homer and three RBI’s. He drove in the only run in game one, and drove in the two go-ahead runs to win game four. He also has decent speed and a good arm in the outfield.

The Phillies, meanwhile, have no shortage of power in their lineup as any player at any given time can crank one out of the yard. Though the Giants hit more HR’s in the NLDS than the Phillies did, the threat in Philadelphia is still greater, and will have a larger effect on the pitching staff. They have multiple threats with Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Raul Ibanez, Jayson Werth, and Shane Victorino. Even if their numbers were down in the regular season, that still doesn’t mean that they can’t wake up in this series.

I’m still not going to make a prediction in this series, just like I did not make on last time. The edge is going to the Phillies, but with the Giants pitching and some timely hitting, anything is possible. All I know is, everyone will be watching Saturday afternoon for game one’s marquee pitching matchup between last year’s Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum, and this year’s award favorite Roy Halladay. This has the potential to be the greatest post-season pitching matchup in at least the last ten years.