Luis Gonzalez: No Big Deal
First, off Grant nicely wrote what I was thinking on Luis Gonzalez. While he would be a horrible sign, lots of fans blew off the barn doors as if he was already signed. However:
An outfield of Luis Gonzalez, Dave Roberts, and Randy Winn, with Todd
Linden warming the bench again? Pitchfork and torch time. I refuse to believe it
all until it happens. When the Giants really started jackknifing into the
septic tank last season, Brian Sabean sounded genuinely contrite. The exact
quotes escape me, but they were something like: "Look, we built this team in
a certain way, and it didn't work. We'll have to reevaluate the organizational philosophy in the offseason."
I'd love to crawl inside Sabean's head this offseason, and figure out if those were genuine sentiments or the passing fancies of a man at rock bottom.
Sabean is always selling to the fans after the season. What he's selling this season is "younger, healthier, overall". So he might sign someone on the old side, but compared to Barry or Moises, almost anybody will be younger. But start criticizing his moves once he actually make some. Many fans were flinching like the doctor had stabbed them with the needle when the Doc was still just holding it.
Why Bochy Yielded an "Eh?"
Grant in this missive explained the collective yawn that the Bochy hire yielded:
Reasonable Conclusion: Maybe I can help. The immediate future looks bleak
for the Giants, and that's a shame. For the past ten years, the powers that be have been running around with duct tape and a plunger, trying to get one last flush from their commode without paying for a plumber. It almost worked, but now we're all about to be ankle-deep in some pretty foul stuff. Not only have the Giants refused to look at premium free agents, but they've been incompetent in developing anything more than utility players for the lineup. Even if the Giants wanted to rebuild, they don't have to talent to do it.
The open manager's slot was the last well of irrational optimism. If the Giants hired an unknown quantity like Manny Acta, maybe he would have been the greatest manager in recorded history, leading the Giants on a Hollywood-like charge through the playoffs in 2007. Now with Bochy, reality is giving us a wedgie. Whatever Bochy
is or isn't, we know for sure that his giant noggin isn't filled with magic. He isn't going to take a mediocre team and make them great. That's what is really behind the anti-Bochy sentiment.
I am not against Bochy as a manager, per se, he will probably do OK for us there, but I was much more excited by Acta or even Wotus, but Bochy is what he is, and he probably won't be more. I cannot picture the Giants winning with him, not in a substantial way. I hope to be proven wrong.
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