2007 Giants team thread (1 Viewer)

[commisholio]

Didn't see a Giants team thread, so figured I'd start one now. Team has been very streaky so far, with a craptastic 2-7 start followed by a 7-1 run to get 1 game above .500. If the early going is any indication, the G-men match up well with the Rocks and the D-Backs and poorly with the fathers and the evil Dodgers.

Things to watch:

Love him or hate him, Barry Lamar Bonds is still one of the most dangerous and entertaining hitters around.

Will the Giants find or develop a second power bat? Todd Linden? Anyone?

Can Zito pitch well enough to come remotely close to justifying his contract? How can he?

Will Cain throw a no-hitter this year? If I had to pick one pitcher to bet on, it would be Cain. .201 career B.A. against is sick.

Will the G-men bring Lincecum up? When? For whom?

How far can the starting rotation carry this team with an average-at-best offense and a shaky bullpen?

Hopefully it will at least be interesting for another year.

 

[posty]

Didn't see a Giants team thread, so figured I'd start one now. Team has been very streaky so far, with a craptastic 2-7 start followed by a 7-1 run to get 1 game above .500. If the early going is any indication, the G-men match up well with the Rocks and the D-Backs and poorly with the fathers and the evil Dodgers.Things to watch: Love him or hate him, Barry Lamar Bonds is still one of the most dangerous and entertaining hitters around.Will the Giants find or develop a second power bat? Todd Linden? Anyone?Can Zito pitch well enough to come remotely close to justifying his contract? How can he?Will Cain throw a no-hitter this year? If I had to pick one pitcher to bet on, it would be Cain. .201 career B.A. against is sick.Will the G-men bring Lincecum up? When? For whom?How far can the starting rotation carry this team with an average-at-best offense and a shaky bullpen?Hopefully it will at least be interesting for another year.

I think that they should get rid of Russ Ortiz and bring up Lincecum...

 

[commisholio]

I think that they should get rid of Russ Ortiz and bring up Lincecum...

Right now all the starters have been more than solid, including Ortiz. He looks to me like the same Russ Ortiz that we saw from 2000-2002 - I don't see how they can get rid of him while he is still pitching this well.He beat the D-backs 4-2 on Friday night and they paid him for the privilege.My guess is they will wait until there is an injury or until one of the starters has 3-4 bad starts in a row before they bring him up. Alternately, if the bullpen is a huge mess still in June, I could see them making him a set up guy or closer. God knows no one has much confidence in Benitez.

 

[RenegadeGM]

I think that they should get rid of Russ Ortiz and bring up Lincecum...

Right now all the starters have been more than solid, including Ortiz. He looks to me like the same Russ Ortiz that we saw from 2000-2002 - I don't see how they can get rid of him while he is still pitching this well.He beat the D-backs 4-2 on Friday night and they paid him for the privilege.My guess is they will wait until there is an injury or until one of the starters has 3-4 bad starts in a row before they bring him up. Alternately, if the bullpen is a huge mess still in June, I could see them making him a set up guy or closer. God knows no one has much confidence in Benitez.

Might not be a bad idea to go the Santana route with Lincecum... the Giants bullpen is pretty brutal, so why not bring him up to pitch a role in the 6th-8th innings? Then let him compete for a rotation spot in 2008.

 

[commisholio]

I think that they should get rid of Russ Ortiz and bring up Lincecum...

Right now all the starters have been more than solid, including Ortiz. He looks to me like the same Russ Ortiz that we saw from 2000-2002 - I don't see how they can get rid of him while he is still pitching this well.He beat the D-backs 4-2 on Friday night and they paid him for the privilege.My guess is they will wait until there is an injury or until one of the starters has 3-4 bad starts in a row before they bring him up. Alternately, if the bullpen is a huge mess still in June, I could see them making him a set up guy or closer. God knows no one has much confidence in Benitez.

Might not be a bad idea to go the Santana route with Lincecum... the Giants bullpen is pretty brutal, so why not bring him up to pitch a role in the 6th-8th innings? Then let him compete for a rotation spot in 2008.

Certainly a consideration. I think they're weighing immediate needs versus long-term growth and believe that he'll maximize his upside starting in AAA for now. I wouldn't complain at all if they brought him up and put him in the bullpen this year a la Papelbon or Santana.

 

[commisholio]

Another nice win for the G-men last night. Solid start for Matt Morris, decent relief in from the 'pen, and just enough offense. Randy Winn had his first decent offensive game of the year, maybe he'll get hot and provide some much needed offense. Benji Molina also is hitting pretty well to begin the year, but he must be the slowest player in the league.

Looks like Bochy has settled on Brad Hennesey and Jack Tashner as his right and left handed, respectively, 8th inning guys. If you need holds in your fantasy league, these guys are likely available and will get a few. The rotation has been amazing in providing leads to the bullpen, so ride 'em while they're hot.

Benitez is 5 for 5 on saves, but has a WHIP above 2, and is not making for comfortable 9th innings for Giants fans. Nonetheless, his stuff looks miles better this year compared to last year, and you might be able to trade relatively cheaply for him and get lucky. It is a contract year for Armando, so he is very motivated to do well - he has lost quite a bit of weight by cutting out booze and changin his diet. Hopefully he can get the hits and walks down to a more reasonable 1.2-1.4 per inning.

 

[posty]

I don't understand the love for Ortiz... The guy is carrying a 1.50 WHIP and a 4.35 ERA...

Two of the outings were against teams that are barely hitting .240 as a team...

 

[commisholio]

I don't understand the love for Ortiz... The guy is carrying a 1.50 WHIP and a 4.35 ERA...Two of the outings were against teams that are barely hitting .240 as a team...

Well, the game against the Pirates he totally shut them down for 8 and 2/3, then ran out of gas and gave up a meaningless 3 run bomb that inflated the ERA. He has been the Russ Ortiz of old - he's got his 91-93 MPH cutter back. He always used to drive Giants fans crazy with walks, but he didn't allow a ton of runs by getting a lot of double plays and avoiding HRs. I expect him to do well (especially for a 5th starter!) with runs allowed and wins, but his WHIP, his BB/9, and his K/BB won't be that good because he issues too many walks.

 

[Regular Crust Pizza]

Count me as one ofthe people rooting against putting Tim in the bullpen. His future is as a starter. What will get him closer to realizing his potential? Innnings. He's only pitched about 125 innings in a season before. He needs to acclimate himself to pitching a full season, 200 innnings. He's not going to get close to the innings out of the pen he would starting even if in AAA. I think it's more important for his future he get acclimated to pitching a full season than acclimating to major league hitters.

The success he's having so far in AAA after being in High A last year shows he doesn't need too much more seasoning in the minors and can adjust to hitters without moving through every level. I think he could come into the majors and have immediate success. He'll have his stuggles obviously, he needs to get his control straightened out a bit. What will get him closer to realizing his potential is innings rather than acclimating to hitters, when he's should he can come right in and have success.

I'd be alright with the giants calling him up right now as long as it's a starter, or somehow the giants' playoff hopes depend upon it.

 

[Regular Crust Pizza]

I don't understand the love for Ortiz... The guy is carrying a 1.50 WHIP and a 4.35 ERA...Two of the outings were against teams that are barely hitting .240 as a team...

Well, the game against the Pirates he totally shut them down for 8 and 2/3, then ran out of gas and gave up a meaningless 3 run bomb that inflated the ERA. He has been the Russ Ortiz of old - he's got his 91-93 MPH cutter back. He always used to drive Giants fans crazy with walks, but he didn't allow a ton of runs by getting a lot of double plays and avoiding HRs. I expect him to do well (especially for a 5th starter!) with runs allowed and wins, but his WHIP, his BB/9, and his K/BB won't be that good because he issues too many walks.

As scary as it sounds, he's been pretty good so far. Although he'll probably get bombed in LA tomorrow because I said that.

 

[commisholio]

Armando Benitez really, really, really sucks.

 

[Regular Crust Pizza]

Armando Benitez really, really, really sucks.

I don't know if it can emphasized enough so I'll go ahead and say it again. Repeat after me.Armando Benitez really, really, really sucks.

 

[commisholio]

On the Brian Sabean show on local sportstalk, he indicated that "the Benitez situation will be resolved within 24 to 48 hours." My guess is they're getting rid of him completely in some manner.

Brad Hennessey got the save last night with Benitez unavailable and I bet that he will get the first shot at closing. If he fails, Russ Ortiz and Jack Taschner will also get a shot, unless the Giants trade for someone outside the organization.

 

[commisholio]

Giants have confirmed that Hennessey gets first crack at closing. If he fails, they'll try Ortiz, Taschner, and Correia, bot necessarily in that order.

 

[commisholio]

Well, this pretty much sucks.

The season has reduced to:

can the Giants get any decent prospects for Morris, Klesko, Winn, Aurillia, Feliz, and/or Vizquel

and

please lose more games than anyone else in order to get the #1 pick and draft a bonafide young stud hitter.

 

[Regular Crust Pizza]

Well, this pretty much sucks.

The season has reduced to:

can the Giants get any decent prospects for Morris, Klesko, Winn, Aurillia, Feliz, and/or Vizquel

and

please lose more games than anyone else in order to get the #1 pick and draft a bonafide young stud hitter.

I think Sabs is allergic to those, that's the only explanation I can see for so many years without one...I guess ineptitude would be a reason also.