Vogie on the bump tonite for the season ending series against the Padres. Got a 2 game winning streak going on. It'd be nice to finish the season on a positive note.
Quick note on the Giants season. No excuses to be made for this team. They were in the mix until the all-star break then couldn't put together anything meaningful to stay in the race. Missing Pagan, Scutaro, Panda, Vogalsong for periods at a time hurt, but still not an excuse. Gaudin did fill in nicely for Vogie but the others being out hurt. Nobody to lead off in Pagans absence hurt probably the most. Looking forward there could be some bright spots and maybe a change or two. Hopefully Crawford and Belt can keep improving on the offensive side. Belt in the three spot seemed to bring him alive as produced well there. There is some rumors Posey could move to third or first next year in order to keep him in for more games. Third could be a logical spot. He has the arm and being a shortstop in college could help. This in turn would put Sandoval at first which he played a few times a couple years ago. This could keep him healthy and off the DL. Belt could move to left which killed the Giants this year. They have the defensive players but they couldn't produce at the plate. On the mound MadBum, Cain and Vogie are shoe ins for the rotation next year. Lincecum is gonna test the market but the Giants are hopeful to keep him in SF and if I had my way they send him to the pen so he could follow in Eckersley and Smoltz. He showed he had the mentality last year in the playoffs and series. All in all it's gonna be a wait and see.
Oh yea, I heard one today from a teenage Orioles fan. The best thing about the Giants right now is you can't get stabbed outside an empty stadium. I don't think he knows I heard him. Those silly young fans and their infantile humor, hahaha.
Giants ink Lincecum for 35 mil for 2 years. Based on his recent past that may be a little steep. We'll have to wait and see if this was a good move or a Zito move.
Giants have let Zito, Torres and Vogalsong go. Frees up a lot of money to maybe go after a bat or even go after Masahiro Tanaka who just had a 30 start unbeaten streak stopped in the Japan Series. We'll have to wait and see, I hate the offseason.
Update on Vogalsong. The Giants are reported to be negotiating a new contract with Vogie. It'll be. Smaller salary but more incentive laden.
Ok, I'm gonna kinda goof around here and project the Giants lineup for next year. Only screwing around but if you think about this it does makes sense. CF - Pagan. He's the spark plug that gets this team going. Even though the Giants were pretty much out of the race when he went on the DL, they did miss him and went through several leadoff hitters with no luck. Gotta have him in there. 2B - Scuttaro. He'll be 39 at the start of next season which is by far the oldest guy on the team. But you won't find a more patient number 2 hitter out there. He takes lots of strikes with Pagan on first to give him the opportunity to steal. He is one of the better 2 strike hitters but with the age comes some deterioration of skills. Arias would be another choice to play second. He was a good fill in for Sandoval at third but has played all the infield positions. With the at bats he could be an adequate number 2 hitter. LF - Belt. Now here's where things start to get a little funky. Belt stepped up this year at the plate and showed that he is capable of being a 30 homer 90 RBI guy. A little more consistency at the plate and we'll see it happen.As far as playing LF goes, he played there a few times last year and showed ha can play the position well. This was a position that the Giants had trouble with all year. The Torres/Blanco platoon didn't work out to week at the plate. Put Belt out there and you won't take away from the defense and will add at the plate. 3B - Posey. He played short in college so it wouldn't be too much of a transition for him to move to the corner. The Giants wouldn't have to give him as many days off during the year and can keep that bat in the lineup. His numbers dropped off this year but if they can put him at a position thats not as taxing on his body he may get back to that MVP form. RF - Pence. The Giants locked him up for 5 more years which is a good thing. He's the clubhouse leader on this team and wants to lead by example. A very streaky hitter he can go on a tear which is good hitting behind Posey. Glad they were able to keep Pence on board. 1B - Sandoval. Not a stretch putting him over there as he played some there in the past. With his health issues it would be a wise move so that keep him in there. He got off to a hot start last year but after coming off the DL he was marginal. Also a move down in the lineup takes some of the pressure off him to be "The Man" and he can be his free spirit person that we all have come to know and love. Looking forward to The Panda coming back and being healthy which will be to Pences advantage. SS - Crawford. The kid is amazing in the field. Excellent range and an arm that won't quit. He's a real treat to watch out there. Gets a few more errors because of this but he saves a lot of runs as well. Reminds me a lot of Chris Speier when he was with the Giants. Crawford also stepped up to the plate this year and became a much better hitter. If he continues to improve there's no reason he can't be a 70 RBI guy in the 7 hole. C - Sanchez. Needs a little work behind the plate but with Bochy as a former catcher he can get all the help and encouragement from the person that it means the most. Good natural ability he just needs to work on a few fundamentals and then is no reason he couldn't get close to being a Yadiar Molina type player. Struggles at the plate will need to change but if he can handle the staff and make a difference out there then if he can hit .250 the Giants would be happy. SP - Cain. Tailed off this year. My opinion is that he throws a lot of pitches in games trying to find all his pitches rather then go with what is working and being a true pitcher. He'll be the ace but will need to step up and be the Cain of old in order to stay there. SP - Bumgarner. The ace in my book. Lack of run support hurt him this year. If the Giants can get at least 3 per outing he could be a legitimate CY candidate. He's probably the only one who keeps his pitch count down which is less taxing on his arm. SP - Lincecum. The Giants signed him to a 2 year $35 million contract, he ain't going to the pen any time soon. The one thing that I think works against him is age. As he gets older his body can contort like he needs it to in order to be what he was. Work on his motion in spring training and stay with it all season. His change is one of the best in the league still and it makes his fastball (which isn't what it was in his CY years) look much better the it really is. 10-13 wins would be nice. SP - Vogalsong. While it was said that the Giants let him go it was more a contract move to get his base salary lower and lace it with incentives. Vogie was just starting to get in his grove last season when he broke his finger and went on the DL. He wasn't quite the same when he came back. A good rest over the winter and a healthy Vogie can help the Giants get back to the top of the NL West. SP - Petit. He only had 7 starts at the end of the season but went 4-1. Not overpowering but he does use the whole plate and mixes what little speed he has to get the hitter off balance. Another possible number 5 is the Japanese pitcher Tanaka. He is finishing up the Japan series and won't be eligible to sign with any team until after the series is over but the Giants are rumored to be interested. With letting Zito, Torres and renegotiating Vogalsongs salary it looks like the may be looking at that option. Closer - Romo. The Serg started out great but tailed at the end. Lack of work could have been an issue as the Giants played like crap down the stretch and didn't lead many games going into the ninth. He did have 38 saves out of 43 opportunities. If the Giants can score some runs and have a lead going into the ninth his totals will go up. Overall this could be a team that can put runs on the board and a staff that can put the team in position to win. Thing is that have to play the games before we actually know how it will all play out.
The Giants have stated that Posey is gonna stay behind the plate as their number 1. They are in the market for starting pitchers and possibly a CF, the name that comes up is Ellsbury. This could move Pagan to left.
That cracked me up. Basically, Wilsons agent told the Yankees to forget about it...he's not shaving. Thats dedication to ones beard.
The beard is what made him. The "Fear the Beard" was all the big thing when he was with the Giants. Time to give it up if he wants to keep playing in my opinion.
Tim Hudson has agreed to sign with the Giants for $23 mil over 2 years. It brings him back to the Bay Area where he pitched for the A's. This gives the Giants a good solid 1-4 starters. There is still a chance they will resign Vogalsong as the fifth.
It's being reported by the San Francisco Cronicle that Josh Johnson what's to play in either SF or SD. After the season he had last year he could be a good sign for a one year deal that is incentive laced. He's younger then Vogie and could have a good go of it in AT&T park which is a pitchers park.
Giants are setting their priorities on pitching right now. They are in negotiations with lefty specialist Javiar Lopez over a three year contract. They are also taking a good look at Bronson Arroyo and a possible resigning of Ryan Vogalsong.
With Kinsler taking the second base job in Detroit I wonder if the Giants are going to make a play for Infante?
Infants would make sense for the Giants. Not too pricey and can be a good or better number 2 hitter behind Pagan. I also think him and Crawford would work very well up the middle with their range and cut a lot of singles off. Just gonna have to watch the ticker and see what happens.
Giants and Javier Lopez agree to a 3 year, $13 mil deal. Lopez only threw 39 innings last year but had 37 k's. Used primarily as a lefty on lefty specialist, Lopez was among the leaders in stranding inherited runners. Good to keep him aboard.
Dodgers sign Brian Wilson to a 1 year, $10 million contract to be the primary setup man to Jansen. Bit pricey if you ask me.
