- Jesse English, LHP
- Joey Martinez, RHP
- Henry Sosa, RHP
- Waldis Joaquin, RHP
The Giants roster is now at 37. They might take a flier on a Rule 5 Draftee for one spot and thus it appears that they are hoping to sign two more free agents, though if they go to three, they could drop someone off the 40 man and expose them to waivers, like they did with Brian Burres and Jon Coutlangus a few years back.
Jesse English was drafted the same year Matt Cain was drafted and actually pitched better but injuries held him back, and, according to Baggarly, "a lack of commitment." That usually do in people, but he apparently has matured since then. He had a very nice season in San Jose this year, ranking fourth in the league with a 3.19 ERA, and is still only 24. A lefty with a fastball is always a good thing (that's why they got Bumgarner).
Joey Martinez had a nice season in Connecticut, but it's pretty easy to have a good season there with that home park. Still, he did win the ERA title, so that's nothing to sneeze at either. Nothing against him, but pitchers like him without a strong fastball, it is always wait and see at every level up the system, that's just the way it is, as you never know when the hitters figure them out. Good luck to him in Fresno.
Henry Sosa flew high in 2007 but injuries derailed his 2008. However, guys with fastballs like him always get another chance to show he can still do it.
Waldis Joaquin appears to have recovered nicely from Tommy John Surgery. He could be a power arm out of the bullpen, and apparently has a plus slider as well. He was considered top of rotation material before his surgery, so if he can come back all the way, he could be set-up or even closer material.
As an adamant admirer of small ball, I'm in the camp opposed to signing a Teixeira, Dunn, type this off season. Its just personal preference but walk, steal, base hit is a much more exciting run than a homer to me. Plus, I don't see the logic that one dude hitting 15 more home runs than Molina did is going to make us a contender.
ReplyDeleteOne position that I feel would help the team the most would be a true leadoff hitter. Taking away Roberts, here's our returning leadoff guys.
Lewis in 79 starts hit .279 with an OBP of .350 and produced a solid 62 Runs but with an ugly 36 BBs and 91 SOs.
Winn did a bit better in 49 games, hitting .308 with an OBP of .375 with 32 Rs, 22 BBs, and 26 SOs
Velez got 7 games as leadoff, hitting a sad .219 with a .306 OBP, 2 Rs, 4 BBs, and 3 SOs
Burriss got one crack, went 2 for 5 with a run.
This seems to be lacking for a true small ball team to succeed. Renteria and Hudson both lack the ability to fill in at leadoff, so I don't see how they help the team offensively or even defensively. Furcal would be great at leadoff, but sadly talk of him has died down. So just wanted to get your thoughts on the leadoff spot for next year. Is it Lewis', or is he getting moved to another spot next year.
Well, the Giants have obviously changed a number of plans already, or at least are considering it (Burriss, Sandoval), so who knows. :^)
ReplyDeleteThe latest was that Lewis will be batting in a position where he can drive in runs, like 3rd, and he said watch out, as he would adjust his hitting to do just that rather than try so hard to get on base. Why he can't do both, I don't know.
A leadoff hitter who strikes out a lot isn't really that bad, as he follows the pitcher and won't be killing many rallies by striking out. The key thing is getting on base and he alright there, .350 is good.
If Winn is still around, leadoff is a position he's been OK in but with some modicum of power, he is probably more useful batting second.
Burriss is the most logical leadoff guy. By not striking out much, he puts the ball into play a lot. With his speed, he won't hit into many double plays, converting the lucky times a pitcher getting on into him getting on and stealing 2B to get in scoring position. Yet, though he doesn't walk much, he hits well enough to get on base a good percentage but his lack of power doesn't hurt as there are not as many run scoring opportunities coming from the bottom of the lineup since the pitcher is there.
Unless we acquire someone, the lineup will probably be something like this:
Burriss SS
Winn RF
Lewis LF
Molina C
Sandoval 3B
Rowand CF
Ishikawa 1B
Frandsen 2B (probably swap with Ishikawa against LHP; maybe Josh Phelps platoon, or Sandoval plays 1B, Frandsen 3B, and Velez 2b against LHP)
I would flip Sandoval and Molina, but that's me, willing to see whether Sandoval can handle that pressure or not. Bochy, being closer to him, should have a better idea if his personality can handle the pressure.
Do you need any further evidence that Sabean has not changed his ways? Punting a draft pick for signing an aging declining veteran at $9M per year.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2008/11/giants-sign-edg.html
As I commented on this rumor on ELM, I don't see what the problem is. Rebuilding teams always sign a veteran to fill a positional gap in the system. SS is a place Burriss can be OK at, but 2B is seen as his eventual position and the best SS prospect in the system, Ehire Adrianza, hasn't even played full-season ball yet.
ReplyDeleteAlso, his hitting peripherals suggest that he is not declining but rather just had an unlucky year, as his strikeout rate was still pretty good.
Furthermore, you select one instance and declare a over-arching trend: open up your eyes and look at the rest of the team right now. The majority of players on the team is from the farm system and under 30. We will lose three of the vets after 2009, and only two have contracts beyond 2010.
Look at his off-season last year. Only big acquisition was Rowand, he left 1B and 3B open, plus made 2B an open competition between a vet and young players. He didn't get any crappy vets for 1B and 3B and there were plenty of them available, and every rumor came by to the Giants because of those openings, and ultimately none of them came true.
That's pretty good evidence that he is on the right path, something Sabean hater are loath to acknowledge, and the addition of Renteria, if true, would not refute that trend, in my opinion. You are clearly having a knee-jerk reaction. It would take more to convince me that Sabean is going back on his promise to transition the team through rebuilding internally.
If he does simply this move, this would represent a compromise between the needs of a rebuilding team and the promise to season-ticket seat-holders that the Giants will be competitive in 2009. I have no great problem with it, though, again, I would have preferred to start Burriss. But I don't have 3 million ticket buyers to answer to.
So I would suggest you wait until the ink is dry on this off-season before you declare anything. Even I would not suggest that he's clearly the other way, I don't have a crystal ball on what he wants to do, but this move, by itself, does not change anything yet. I would need further other evidence to the contrary before I would make such a statement as yours.
Perhaps i was too quick to judge. MLB Trade Rumors is now reporting this rumor to be false. Baggarly is agreeing with that report.
ReplyDeleteThank God. This would've been a huge mistake....not because Renteria is necessarily that bad, but at $9M a year, he is not what the Giants need. Toss in the forfeited draft pick and you have another Tucker-like move.
If you're going to spend some serious money, spend it on a real middle of the order bat, not an aginf veteran. I'd rather see them commit a lot of money to Sabathia before they make this kind of move.
We really don't need anymore stopgap veterans. We've been down this road. All is does is take you out of the market for players that might really be worth going after. This is not a one-time instance or have you forgotten Alfonzo, Tucker, Finley, Roberts, Ledee, etc., etc. already? Hell, you can throw Rowand in that group too.
I just can't get behind this type of move. It makes very little sense.
Wow, great. According to this story from the Dominican Republic, Merkin Valdez is totally ready to be a torch launcher and take his coffee in the majors next year thanks to base therapy.
ReplyDeleteAnd the news in Venezuela is just as exciting. Playing winterball, Pablo Sandoval has already accumulated 9 vuelacercas this harvest. So he's got that going for him. Ah, long live google translator.
Thanks bobo, I love when Giants pitchers are torch launchers!
ReplyDeleteCoffee, tea, cappuccino, chai, soda, whatever he wants to drink, if we have a healthy Valdez for a full season, our bullpen will be that much better and, arguably, strong.
Whoa, whatever Pablo does with the ladies after the games are his business. Hopefully he's playing well and getting ready for next season.