(no subject)
time for sports blogging galore. I'll start with the big brother to the A's, big market, big city, San Francisco Giants and the bleak future that will be the 08 campaign into a sub 500 record with little hope for 09 with the exception of 3 young hard flamethrowers.
I've seen this story before, not just with the Giants, but with my beloved Golden State Dubs. For the past 12 years, before last years Cinderella story of a late season surge and post season brilliance, the Warriors were always a team looking around the corner to find success. Every year we somehow put our hopes in some young talent that looked like he would be our franchise savior and he'd be supplemented with veterans. The problem was that none of the young studs ever panned out and the veterans seemed to be signed just a year too late and lost any semblance of skill and talent when they threw on Warriors uniform. In addition to bad contracts, bad scouting, and uneasy player personnel relations, by mid season of every year you already started counting days until the draft. To bring this back to the Giants, the Giants had one big draw, one big bat that brought excitement to the San Francisco faithful. Although he wasn't the greatest teammate or had the greatest relationships with the media or even that nice to the fans, Barry Lamar Bonds did bring the magic of baseball to San Francisco. Now that he's gone, it doesn't look good for the future of the Giant's organization. The upper management somehow forgot to plan for life after Bonds and now are trying to scramble and build something that looks like a decent baseball team when most fans know that (with the exception of our pitching) we no chance in hell to compete with the squad we're left with.
I don't claim to know how an actual sports organization works nor do I believe that I have the answers, but I do have ideas on how to get things moving in the right direction. It's going to take a few years of pretty much garbage baseball, but with patients, the team might be a playoff picture team by then. Isn't that all that us fans ask for? Exciting baseball, post season partying, and young players you can safely trust with the future of the franchise.
I'll get right to the point of my rebuilding plans. The first half of the season is going to be ugly, really ugly. Bochy is going to feel pressure from Sabean and McGowine to play the veterans which leaves guys like Schierholtz, Frandsen, Lewis, Davis, and Velez to sit tight on the bench or even spend time in the minors. That's something I've already come to terms with just because that's how this organization's been doing things for a long time. But when the all star break comes around and teams are feeling heat at the trade deadline to add players who can make an impact, I hope to go Sabean and McGowine have the foresight to play these veterans with the intent to increase their market value just for the very least to move contracts and free roster space for the second half of the season. That being sad, if none of the veterans (i.e. Durham, Roberts, Winn, Kline, Aurillia, etc) are moved or just don't have any worth to teams, I hope Bochy man's up and does what's best for the future and plays the kids. Sit the veterans and let them all play. Chances are they'll be sub 500 at the break, why can't management see that being sub 500 after the break with young players is actually a step in the right direction. It lets you know what kind of potential you really have rather than trying to run on fumes with the veterans.
So here's the plan, fine play the veterans that's cool. Since Lowry is going to be out for a while it looks like Sanchez will get starts at the beginning of the season and Correia locking up a rotation spot now, pitch both those guys into the ground. Hopefully Hennessey pitches with the same effectiveness he did last year and you have yourself some pretty good trade bate for quality prospects. And if Misch can get some run next season and shows teams something good, you have 4 quality guys to trade. If you could tag on a veterans contract to one of them for legitimate prospects, I see no reason in trying to hold on to these guys.
The future of the Giant's as it stands will rely on 3 young studs in Cain, Lincecum, and Wilson. Zito will be there by default of his ridiculous salary, which gives you 4 legitimate, game winning pitchers. Right now the Giants have 1 bat in the farm system that they are going for broke on in Angel Villalona. He's a man child, big 6 footer who was originally supposed to be a 3B is now going to be play 1b. Only 17, I don't see him coming up in the next 2 years, which is fine, but we still need to find a way to get through until then. So what do we do? Have a fire sale for the next 2 years. Other than the 2 future aces in Cain and Lincecum and the hot closer in Wilson, every pitcher should be used to acquire any prospects. Here's how I see, in the Giant's top 10 prospects list they have starting pitchers Tim Alderson (2), Henry Sosa (4), Madison Bumgarner (5), and Clayton Tanner (6). These are all very highly regarded prospects in the Giant's system. All of these guys are under 22 and any one of them could be coming up within the next 2 years. That being sad, Misch is 7th on that list with the only major league experience and is 27. What I'm saying is that Sabean and McGowan have done an excellent job scouting and picking up young starting pitching studs. Now is the time to cash in the chips for the future. We've already seen him do it with Liriano, Nathan, and Bonser. Now make the deals to get younger instead of win now players. If Correia, Sanchez, and Hennessey are good enough to be seen in the same light as Cain, Lincecum, and Wilson, don't you think other teams will see that too and will bid high mid season for pitchers to put them over?
IF Sabean and McGowan wise up and make moves with their established pitchers, here's what the rotation would look like at it's prime in the next 3 years. Cain, Lincecum, Zito, Alderson, and Bumgarner/Sosa. That's 2 hard throwing righties, possibly 3 hard throwing righties if they keep Sosa, a hard throwing lefty in Alderson, and a stable veteran (ya a little sugar coated) in Zito.
Sabean and McGowan put too much stock in the players they have now and get too attached to the guys like Hennessey and Sanchez. The fact of the matter is, the farm system bats are dried out. We haven't produced a legitimate bat since Pedro Felize (if you want to consider him a bat at all) and yet we continue to drift great pitching. It's time to cash it in. The Giant's need to take a step back from this winning now attitude and realize that if they really want to put their future in a 17 year old Angel Villalona, they have to take their chops in the years that he isn't up yet, and get the team ready for when he does. So far, the pitching will be set for Villalona to come and hopefully the outfield will be set along the lines of Rowand, Schierholtz, Davis/Lewis. The outfield looks solid for years to come, but now it's time to cash in the pitching for infield power. 3B is a priority that the Giant's have to looking to fill in the next 2 years. SS would be the next step. Get the left side of the plate straightened out and 2B will fix itself. If Frandsen can't do it, there's hope in Velez and even a better shot in Noonan. The trick is in convincing Sabean and McGowan to overstock on infielders. It's better to have too much talent than not enough.
Just a quick over view for my perspective. First things first, follow the script that you've always set for the first half the season. There's no changing now and it does you no good changing it with no value behind it. If all goes well, best case scenario is that you're hovering near 500 by the break and your Durham's and Roberts' are putting up good enough numbers for teams to be intrigued enough to take a flyer giving up minor prospects. Don't have the mindset to look for franchise players, look for guys who will compete for spots with the main goal in nothing more than freeing up cap room and roster space for other players. Second, pitch guys into the ground. Show they can hang with the teams and wow everyone. Someone's going to need a 4th or 5th starter to get over the hump mid season, or possibly a reliever for depth. Play them hard, balloon their numbers to make them look like big draws and sell as high as you can. The trick is not making Sabean and McGowan too trigger happy and making deals that don't pan out. As far pitching goes, we're in control, we have the demand, be patient and make your marks as you see fit. If nothing happens this year so be it, there's the off season and at least a good 2 years to find out which prospects you really want to supplement Villalona with. Finally, this is for Giant's fans, have patients. Enjoy Cain and Lincecum pitching 7 innings deep, blowing batters away, and being spoilers for tight play off races in all divisions and leagues. Enjoy Zito's curve ball and hope that a complete game is around the corner for every start. Enjoy the rare occasions that Wilson will get to close out a tight game with the look of someone who doesn't give a damn if you're A-Rod or Pujols or some minor leaguer who just got promoted to the bigs, he'll come at you with 99 at the letters and make you whiff on hot cutters away that. Enjoy the pitching Giant's fans, it's the start of a strong future if all is executed right. Unfortunately, Sabes and McGowan have yet to show good grades in the area of making trades with young pitchers. The one that stings the most to me is Accardo for Hillenbrand, yikes... I had such hope in Accardo to be the super closer for the future in the Giant's. I was so high on him and I knew he had the stuff to do it, then comes the trade deadline deal that brings in a guy way past his prime just so we don't have to deal with Mark Sweeney hitting third... Hindsight's 20 20, but last time I checked, Accardo fills in for B.J. Ryan having season ending surgery and saves 30 games while Hillenbrand leaves after the season to the Angels where he gets injured and basically retires from there. So as much optimism I have for how the future of the Giant's organization should make moves in regards with their pitching and veterans and as simplistic as it may seem to suck up one's pride in order to make good business moves, it's far from easy and you have to factor in human error (MUCH HUMAN ERROR) on the part of the Giant's organization as well as the other teams in baseball if they are unable to make moves that benefit not just the Giant's, but other teams as well in improving on weak areas.
I've seen this story before, not just with the Giants, but with my beloved Golden State Dubs. For the past 12 years, before last years Cinderella story of a late season surge and post season brilliance, the Warriors were always a team looking around the corner to find success. Every year we somehow put our hopes in some young talent that looked like he would be our franchise savior and he'd be supplemented with veterans. The problem was that none of the young studs ever panned out and the veterans seemed to be signed just a year too late and lost any semblance of skill and talent when they threw on Warriors uniform. In addition to bad contracts, bad scouting, and uneasy player personnel relations, by mid season of every year you already started counting days until the draft. To bring this back to the Giants, the Giants had one big draw, one big bat that brought excitement to the San Francisco faithful. Although he wasn't the greatest teammate or had the greatest relationships with the media or even that nice to the fans, Barry Lamar Bonds did bring the magic of baseball to San Francisco. Now that he's gone, it doesn't look good for the future of the Giant's organization. The upper management somehow forgot to plan for life after Bonds and now are trying to scramble and build something that looks like a decent baseball team when most fans know that (with the exception of our pitching) we no chance in hell to compete with the squad we're left with.
I don't claim to know how an actual sports organization works nor do I believe that I have the answers, but I do have ideas on how to get things moving in the right direction. It's going to take a few years of pretty much garbage baseball, but with patients, the team might be a playoff picture team by then. Isn't that all that us fans ask for? Exciting baseball, post season partying, and young players you can safely trust with the future of the franchise.
I'll get right to the point of my rebuilding plans. The first half of the season is going to be ugly, really ugly. Bochy is going to feel pressure from Sabean and McGowine to play the veterans which leaves guys like Schierholtz, Frandsen, Lewis, Davis, and Velez to sit tight on the bench or even spend time in the minors. That's something I've already come to terms with just because that's how this organization's been doing things for a long time. But when the all star break comes around and teams are feeling heat at the trade deadline to add players who can make an impact, I hope to go Sabean and McGowine have the foresight to play these veterans with the intent to increase their market value just for the very least to move contracts and free roster space for the second half of the season. That being sad, if none of the veterans (i.e. Durham, Roberts, Winn, Kline, Aurillia, etc) are moved or just don't have any worth to teams, I hope Bochy man's up and does what's best for the future and plays the kids. Sit the veterans and let them all play. Chances are they'll be sub 500 at the break, why can't management see that being sub 500 after the break with young players is actually a step in the right direction. It lets you know what kind of potential you really have rather than trying to run on fumes with the veterans.
So here's the plan, fine play the veterans that's cool. Since Lowry is going to be out for a while it looks like Sanchez will get starts at the beginning of the season and Correia locking up a rotation spot now, pitch both those guys into the ground. Hopefully Hennessey pitches with the same effectiveness he did last year and you have yourself some pretty good trade bate for quality prospects. And if Misch can get some run next season and shows teams something good, you have 4 quality guys to trade. If you could tag on a veterans contract to one of them for legitimate prospects, I see no reason in trying to hold on to these guys.
The future of the Giant's as it stands will rely on 3 young studs in Cain, Lincecum, and Wilson. Zito will be there by default of his ridiculous salary, which gives you 4 legitimate, game winning pitchers. Right now the Giants have 1 bat in the farm system that they are going for broke on in Angel Villalona. He's a man child, big 6 footer who was originally supposed to be a 3B is now going to be play 1b. Only 17, I don't see him coming up in the next 2 years, which is fine, but we still need to find a way to get through until then. So what do we do? Have a fire sale for the next 2 years. Other than the 2 future aces in Cain and Lincecum and the hot closer in Wilson, every pitcher should be used to acquire any prospects. Here's how I see, in the Giant's top 10 prospects list they have starting pitchers Tim Alderson (2), Henry Sosa (4), Madison Bumgarner (5), and Clayton Tanner (6). These are all very highly regarded prospects in the Giant's system. All of these guys are under 22 and any one of them could be coming up within the next 2 years. That being sad, Misch is 7th on that list with the only major league experience and is 27. What I'm saying is that Sabean and McGowan have done an excellent job scouting and picking up young starting pitching studs. Now is the time to cash in the chips for the future. We've already seen him do it with Liriano, Nathan, and Bonser. Now make the deals to get younger instead of win now players. If Correia, Sanchez, and Hennessey are good enough to be seen in the same light as Cain, Lincecum, and Wilson, don't you think other teams will see that too and will bid high mid season for pitchers to put them over?
IF Sabean and McGowan wise up and make moves with their established pitchers, here's what the rotation would look like at it's prime in the next 3 years. Cain, Lincecum, Zito, Alderson, and Bumgarner/Sosa. That's 2 hard throwing righties, possibly 3 hard throwing righties if they keep Sosa, a hard throwing lefty in Alderson, and a stable veteran (ya a little sugar coated) in Zito.
Sabean and McGowan put too much stock in the players they have now and get too attached to the guys like Hennessey and Sanchez. The fact of the matter is, the farm system bats are dried out. We haven't produced a legitimate bat since Pedro Felize (if you want to consider him a bat at all) and yet we continue to drift great pitching. It's time to cash it in. The Giant's need to take a step back from this winning now attitude and realize that if they really want to put their future in a 17 year old Angel Villalona, they have to take their chops in the years that he isn't up yet, and get the team ready for when he does. So far, the pitching will be set for Villalona to come and hopefully the outfield will be set along the lines of Rowand, Schierholtz, Davis/Lewis. The outfield looks solid for years to come, but now it's time to cash in the pitching for infield power. 3B is a priority that the Giant's have to looking to fill in the next 2 years. SS would be the next step. Get the left side of the plate straightened out and 2B will fix itself. If Frandsen can't do it, there's hope in Velez and even a better shot in Noonan. The trick is in convincing Sabean and McGowan to overstock on infielders. It's better to have too much talent than not enough.
Just a quick over view for my perspective. First things first, follow the script that you've always set for the first half the season. There's no changing now and it does you no good changing it with no value behind it. If all goes well, best case scenario is that you're hovering near 500 by the break and your Durham's and Roberts' are putting up good enough numbers for teams to be intrigued enough to take a flyer giving up minor prospects. Don't have the mindset to look for franchise players, look for guys who will compete for spots with the main goal in nothing more than freeing up cap room and roster space for other players. Second, pitch guys into the ground. Show they can hang with the teams and wow everyone. Someone's going to need a 4th or 5th starter to get over the hump mid season, or possibly a reliever for depth. Play them hard, balloon their numbers to make them look like big draws and sell as high as you can. The trick is not making Sabean and McGowan too trigger happy and making deals that don't pan out. As far pitching goes, we're in control, we have the demand, be patient and make your marks as you see fit. If nothing happens this year so be it, there's the off season and at least a good 2 years to find out which prospects you really want to supplement Villalona with. Finally, this is for Giant's fans, have patients. Enjoy Cain and Lincecum pitching 7 innings deep, blowing batters away, and being spoilers for tight play off races in all divisions and leagues. Enjoy Zito's curve ball and hope that a complete game is around the corner for every start. Enjoy the rare occasions that Wilson will get to close out a tight game with the look of someone who doesn't give a damn if you're A-Rod or Pujols or some minor leaguer who just got promoted to the bigs, he'll come at you with 99 at the letters and make you whiff on hot cutters away that. Enjoy the pitching Giant's fans, it's the start of a strong future if all is executed right. Unfortunately, Sabes and McGowan have yet to show good grades in the area of making trades with young pitchers. The one that stings the most to me is Accardo for Hillenbrand, yikes... I had such hope in Accardo to be the super closer for the future in the Giant's. I was so high on him and I knew he had the stuff to do it, then comes the trade deadline deal that brings in a guy way past his prime just so we don't have to deal with Mark Sweeney hitting third... Hindsight's 20 20, but last time I checked, Accardo fills in for B.J. Ryan having season ending surgery and saves 30 games while Hillenbrand leaves after the season to the Angels where he gets injured and basically retires from there. So as much optimism I have for how the future of the Giant's organization should make moves in regards with their pitching and veterans and as simplistic as it may seem to suck up one's pride in order to make good business moves, it's far from easy and you have to factor in human error (MUCH HUMAN ERROR) on the part of the Giant's organization as well as the other teams in baseball if they are unable to make moves that benefit not just the Giant's, but other teams as well in improving on weak areas.