***San Francisco Giants Thread (1 Viewer)

[Fullback Fro]

Saw something I thought I'd never see at a baseball game last night, a Bengie Molina triple. It was quite a sight to see him trucking around second and arrive at third without a throw. If I could see a Giants pitcher throw a no hitter and the G-men win the World Series, my baseball watching life would be complete.

the funny thing is that he basically watched it for a while. He thought it was out so he was loafing to first. When he saw it bounce off the wall he went from 1st gear to his top gear 2nd for the last 180 ft. There are a few dudes who could of scored off that if they floored it right off the crack.

 

[Eephus]

Former Giants TV play-by-play man Gary Park has died. He broadcast games of some mostly bad teams in the 70s and 80s and was a long-time sportscaster for KTVU-TV.

He was a smooth talker with a Hall of Fame tan. There was something surreal about intro shots featuring his orange-brown face and 80s blazer superimposed on an Astroturf field. I remember him rambling on for over an inning about places he dined and shows that he saw during some East Coast road trips, and the way he enunciated "bat-ter".

Park wasn't one of the all time greats but there's always some sadness when a guy you've watched hundreds of times passes on. RIP.

 

[Dickies]

Zito!

 

[Eephus]

Zito!

 

[commisholio]

Nice little run the G-men are on right now. It is fun to watch.

Also, Albert Pujols is ridiculously good.

 

[Eephus]

The Giants had some tradeable commodities and they come away with Freddy Sanchez and Ryan Garko?

Sanchez is a decent enough player but he's probably the worst active three-time all-star/batting champion in the game. He fills a hole but not the big one in the middle of the batting order. It remains to be seen if Tim Alderson will pan out but this looks like another classic Sabean move: trading upside for average big leaguers. At best, the trade could end up as a minor win for the Giants and a first round playoff exit. The worst case scenario is trading a 21 year old guy with #2 starter potential for a soon to be free agent.

Madison Bumgarner had better be as great as his name.

 

[snitwitch]

The Giants had some tradeable commodities and they come away with Freddy Sanchez and Ryan Garko?Sanchez is a decent enough player but he's probably the worst active three-time all-star/batting champion in the game. He fills a hole but not the big one in the middle of the batting order. It remains to be seen if Tim Alderson will pan out but this looks like another classic Sabean move: trading upside for average big leaguers. At best, the trade could end up as a minor win for the Giants and a first round playoff exit. The worst case scenario is trading a 21 year old guy with #2 starter potential for a soon to be free agent.Madison Bumgarner had better be as great as his name.

My biggest problem with the trades is the lack of power combined between the 2 of them.I am not sure it's so bad trading Alderson, if Bumgarner pans out. I heard people were saying Alderson might not be all he was cracked up to be? And the G-men have 2 great young starters in lincecum and cain.

 

[Daywalker]

Sanchez and Garko are solid sticks. Granted not much power. Holliday was available. But I imagine Oakland was much more interested in B. Wallace then Alderson.

SF is leading the wildcard and these trades will only help. Lincecum and Cain in the playoffs gives SF as good a shot as nearly anyone in the NL.

I'd take Philly over anyone in the NL. But I think SF and St. Louis are on par ahead of the Dodgers with the current rosters.

If I was the Dodgers I'd be all over J. Vazquez. ATL has plenty of pitching and Vazquez makes decent coin. A move of Either for Vazquez would make sense for both teams. Pierre goes into the starting lineup and whatever minor league talent LA has they can move to try to get another stick to put in the mix.

 

[Sammy3469]

The Giants had some tradeable commodities and they come away with Freddy Sanchez and Ryan Garko?Sanchez is a decent enough player but he's probably the worst active three-time all-star/batting champion in the game. He fills a hole but not the big one in the middle of the batting order. It remains to be seen if Tim Alderson will pan out but this looks like another classic Sabean move: trading upside for average big leaguers. At best, the trade could end up as a minor win for the Giants and a first round playoff exit. The worst case scenario is trading a 21 year old guy with #2 starter potential for a soon to be free agent.Madison Bumgarner had better be as great as his name.

Yeah...I would have thought they could have gotten something more for Alderson, but maybe other teams are worried about his average FB. However, you are getting a relatively cheap 2B for the rest of this year and next (his $8 million contract vests if he gets to 635 PAs which will be close) plus whatever draft picks when he becomes a FA and signs elsewhere.

 

[thecatch]

Alderson has lost a lot of his luster this year. Keith Law currently projects him as a #5 starter. I'm not a Sanchez fan but he's a mild upgrade at a low cost, and this offense wasn't in a position to turn down any form of improvement.

 

[Eephus]

Alderson has lost a lot of his luster this year. Keith Law currently projects him as a #5 starter. I'm not a Sanchez fan but he's a mild upgrade at a low cost, and this offense wasn't in a position to turn down any form of improvement.

I guess we'll all have to wait and see. Minor league pundits seem to be split on Alderson's upside. Minor league pitchers without high SO rates don't project well in some models but 21 year olds with command have some value. I would have liked to have seen the Giants combine Alderson and Barnes in search of a bigger bat but presumably the front office tried that without success.Except for the Nathan/Liriano fiasco, Sabean and Tidrow have done a good job of assessing young arms. I hope they did so this time because their collection of minor league pitching is a lot thinner that it was last week.

 

[Regular Crust Pizza]

Alderson has lost a lot of his luster this year. Keith Law currently projects him as a #5 starter. I'm not a Sanchez fan but he's a mild upgrade at a low cost, and this offense wasn't in a position to turn down any form of improvement.

I guess we'll all have to wait and see. Minor league pundits seem to be split on Alderson's upside. Minor league pitchers without high SO rates don't project well in some models but 21 year olds with command have some value. I would have liked to have seen the Giants combine Alderson and Barnes in search of a bigger bat but presumably the front office tried that without success.Except for the Nathan/Liriano fiasco, Sabean and Tidrow have done a good job of assessing young arms. I hope they did so this time because their collection of minor league pitching is a lot thinner that it was last week.

I don't feel as bad about that as a couple years ago. Really Liriano has had what half a year of being above average? Still I'd rather have Nathan than a year of whatshisface. I feel pretty confident in trusting the Giants' scouting on pitching.

 

[badmojo1006]

20 Years ago, Dravecky's comeback game. Threw out the first pitch tonight

 

[commisholio]

Well that sucked bloated donkey balls.

 

[Eephus]

Well that sucked bloated donkey balls.

At least there's Carlos Santana bobblehead night to look forward to

 

[Eephus]

Well that sucked bloated donkey balls.

At least there's Carlos Santana bobblehead night to look forward to

 

[Regular Crust Pizza]

They needed that so bad. Keep it up through the weekend boys.

 

[Eephus]

They needed that so bad. Keep it up through the weekend boys.

 

[Eephus]

This team has more resilience than hitting. Zito has been outstanding over the second half

 

[Regular Crust Pizza]

This team has more resilience than hitting. Zito has been outstanding over the second half

1.92 ERA since the break. Sounds like he's learned how to pitch without the contract looming over his head.

 

[Eephus]

This team has more resilience than hitting. Zito has been outstanding over the second half

1.92 ERA since the break. Sounds like he's learned how to pitch without the contract looming over his head.

The miracle of long toss

 

[thecatch]

big sweep

 

[commisholio]

big sweep

 

[Regular Crust Pizza]

Penny could be a great pick up. If doesn't pan out, oh well, we didn't give anything up for him. He's got more riding on this as a free agent next year than the Giants do I think.

 

[Regular Crust Pizza]

Here comes Buster.

 

[commisholio]

Here comes Buster.

Pretty excited to see how he does. Even more excited to get Bengie out of damn clean-up.

 

[Regular Crust Pizza]

Saw something I thought I'd never see at a baseball game last night, a Bengie Molina triple. It was quite a sight to see him trucking around second and arrive at third without a throw. If I could see a Giants pitcher throw a no hitter and the G-men win the World Series, my baseball watching life would be complete.

You know, one of these happened this year. I sure as hell didn't think we'd even be in the running for the second at this point in the year when this was written.

 

[Regular Crust Pizza]

You got to be kidding me. We hold the defending world series champs to 3 runs in their house and we lose the series. Un####ing believable.

 

[Mr. Brownstone]

This team would be scary good if they could hit the ball with some regularity.

 

[Regular Crust Pizza]

Can we go back and spread some of those runs out over the last few days?

 

[thecatch]

well it was a good run

 

[Eephus]

Need some magic over the next eight games.

 

[Eephus]

Still hanging around. 3 1/2 games isn't insurmountable but the next two games will be key.

116 pitches for Lincecum last night, so I guess he's alright.

 

[commisholio]

Still hanging around. 3 1/2 games isn't insurmountable but the next two games will be key.116 pitches for Lincecum last night, so I guess he's alright.

I'm not going to get excited unless they sweep the Rockies again. Of course, since they're the Giants, they'll suck me back in only to lose in the most painful manner possible at the last minute. Lucy and her football don't have anything on this team.

 

[Regular Crust Pizza]

Still hanging around. 3 1/2 games isn't insurmountable but the next two games will be key.116 pitches for Lincecum last night, so I guess he's alright.

I'm not going to get excited unless they sweep the Rockies again. Of course, since they're the Giants, they'll suck me back in only to lose in the most painful manner possible at the last minute. Lucy and her football don't have anything on this team.

After the dodgers series I was just about write them off, but they always seem to pull something together at the last possible moment before they get too far out. Cain needs to be himself tonight, not whoever that guy was last time out. Hopefully the lineup learned something from the experience and keeps taking pitches.

 

[commisholio]

Bochy is great with the pitching staff but horrible with the lineup and pinch hitting decisions. I can't decide if I want him back next year. Really? Pinch hit for Rownads but not Rentaria? Really? WTF Boch.

 

[Eephus]

Bochy is great with the pitching staff but horrible with the lineup and pinch hitting decisions. I can't decide if I want him back next year. Really? Pinch hit for Rownads but not Rentaria? Really? WTF Boch.

Tough crowd Commish Keeping this team in contention into mid-September is enough to earn Bochy a job next year. Watching Dustyball for years made me appreciate how in-game tactics are only a part of the manager's job. Bochy has kept the club on an even keel since he's been here which seems to be a bit of the skipper's personality. They haven't fallen apart on or off the field. He can probably be criticized for sticking too long with his veterans but some of that is required to keep a clubhouse happy. Winning is good prevention for squabbling and apathy but playing hard as a team was a characteristic of the 90 loss teams of the past two years.

 

[Twilight]

LINK

Giants top prospect Angel Villalona has been detained in connection with a murder that occurred in the Dominican Republic on Saturday night, according to a report by the Associated Press.

A police spokesman in La Romana, in the east region of the Dominican Republic, told the AP that Villalona, 19, is the prime suspect in the shooting death of 25-year-old Mario Felix de Jesus Velete.

"The incident occurred Saturday at around 11 at night, and the main suspect is Angel Villalona," said Adrian Urbaez of the Dominican National Police.

Villalona turned himself in to local authorities Sunday afternoon.

"The Giants were disappointed to learn that there was an incident in the Dominican Republic last night in which an individual was killed and one of our Minor League prospects, Angel Villalona, may have been involved," the team said in a statement released Sunday. "We will monitor the situation closely and trust that the judicial process in the Dominican Republic will resolve the matter promptly and fairly."

"We know there was an incident and that there is one person dead, but we don't have the details of the case," said Frank Micheli, president of the Azucareros del Este team in the Dominican Winter League. Villalona is affiliated with the Azucareros for winter baseball.

According to the AP, Villalona will appear in court Monday and could face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.

"It's a shock, obviously," said Giants catching prospect Buster Posey, who began the season with Villalona at high-Class A San Jose. "But I don't want to comment too much on something I don't know about."

Posey raved about Villalona's personality. "I loved him," Posey said. "I enjoyed being around him."

Right-hander Waldis Joaquin, a fellow Dominican who played with Villalona at low-Class A Augusta last season, didn't address his former teammate's case specifically. But Joaquin pointed out that in his country, people occasionally shoot first and answer questions later if they're being hassled by a group.

"Maybe if you have five people in one fight, you don't want to leave, and if you have a gun, you [fire it]," Joaquin said.

Villalona, ranked No. 48 in MLB.com's preseason Top 50 Prospects list, made headlines in 2006 after receiving a $2.1 million signing bonus with the Giants as a 16-year-old. The deal represented the Giants' first and most noticeable move in its renewed effort to obtain talented players internationally.

The Giants brought Villalona along slowly, due to his youth and inexperience and also to allow him to gain an understanding of American culture gradually. After playing on the rookie-ball level in 2007, he rose last year to Augusta, where he hit .263 in 123 games with 29 doubles and 17 home runs. Former Giants outfielder and manager Felipe Alou, now a special assistant to general manager Brian Sabean, likened Villalona to Andres Galarraga, the five-time All-Star first baseman who hit 399 home runs.

Villalona, who signed as a third baseman but was moved to first base, impressed enough other observers to be selected for the World Team in the 2008 XM All-Star Futures Game at Yankee Stadium. Before this season, Baseball America rated him as the Giants' third-best prospect behind left-hander Madison Bumgarner and Posey.

Villalona hit .267 with nine home runs and 42 RBIs in 74 games with San Jose in 2009 before being shut down in early July with a quadriceps injury.

Villalona was expected to return to the United States soon to begin participating in the Giants' instructional league camp in Arizona.

 

[commisholio]

Bochy is great with the pitching staff but horrible with the lineup and pinch hitting decisions. I can't decide if I want him back next year. Really? Pinch hit for Rownads but not Rentaria? Really? WTF Boch.

Tough crowd Commish Keeping this team in contention into mid-September is enough to earn Bochy a job next year. Watching Dustyball for years made me appreciate how in-game tactics are only a part of the manager's job. Bochy has kept the club on an even keel since he's been here which seems to be a bit of the skipper's personality. They haven't fallen apart on or off the field. He can probably be criticized for sticking too long with his veterans but some of that is required to keep a clubhouse happy. Winning is good prevention for squabbling and apathy but playing hard as a team was a characteristic of the 90 loss teams of the past two years.

Yeah, that's why I say I can't decide. The team HAS overacheived and overall you have to be happy with the results compared to the past few years. Some of the decision making is just horrendous, though. And Gawd I hope there's been some mistake with Villalona. I'm by no means confident that he'll make it to the majors and be an impact bat with his K/BB ratios, but it would sure suck to lose him like this.

 

[Regular Crust Pizza]

Ok. Now I'm ready to give up hope for this year.

It's been a lot better of a season than the past, and we should all be thankful for that if nothing else.

 

[Eephus]

If the April line had been a .500 season, I would have bet the house on the under. There's been a lot to like this year: breakouts from Cain and Sandoval, a return to form by Zito, and generally good performances from the bullpen. But it's unacceptable for a guy like Eugenio Velez to lead your OFs in SLG, and a Felizesque .309 team OBP is worse than last year's mark. The bar has been raised for 2010. It's going to take a lot more than 25 games of Freddy Sanchez to make this an adequate offensive team.

The Villalona case is obviously troubling. The pictures of him being led to the courtroom in a bulletproof vest are a rare glimpse into the Dominican judicial system. I hope justice is served. His future in baseball is secondary. Here's an interesting perspective from Giants farmhand and Villalona teammate Garrett Broshuis.