Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Giants trade for Ryan Garko

Who could have seen that coming?

I knew I started this blog for a reason...

Now all we need is a second baseman who isn't an automatic out.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Just to show I'm not crazy...

Here is a link to the rumor mill showing the Giants are looking into trades with the Indians - more likely for Ryan Garko, more preferably for Victor Martinez.

Henry Schulman also throws out my man Scutaro as a possibility.

Andrew Baggarly also throws Garko's name out there, to go along with names we've heard a lot the past month - Nick Johnson and Freddie Sanchez.

Sabean also took his young players to task for not producing more, including Kevin Frandsen.

Looking at the trade landscape, it seems the best the Giants will do is picking up a second baseman, maybe a first baseman, and hoping that Rowand, Schierholtz and Winn can round out the outfield and be enough to make the playoffs.

Judd Apatow - love him or love to hate him

Whichever category you fall in - you can't deny the dude knows funny.

I just got finished reading a cool interview of Apatow from the SF Chronicle - a good read.

I didn't realize how many movies he's had a stake in - all of them pretty funny.

Sure, he may have overexposed Seth Rogan - but you can't fault the guy for being loyal...

Friday, July 24, 2009

Sam's potential trade targets

There are a lot of names being throw out there - here are some bats I think the Giants should target to improve this offense - it wouldn't take a lot to just get it near average.

Marco Scutaro - he is having one of his best seasons, has always been a clutch hitter and good defender. He could play second and hit second and provide a nice boost to the line up, offensively and defensively.

Scott Rolen - If the Blue Jays are serious about becoming sellers, he becomes a target - he is is paid handsomely, signed through next year, and a premium glove. While I am not crazy about Big Panda's glove at first, Rolen hitting behind him would be a definite upgrade.

Ryan Garko - the Indians first baseman is a right handed hitter with good power - he could share time with Ishikawa, wouldn't cost too much, and again, represent an upgrade to the line up with a little more pop.

Mark Teahen - a cheap option to upgrade second base, with the ability to flip him out to right, left, first and third, if needed.

Kevin Kouzmanoff - He has good power numbers, would likely be available since the Padres are nowhere near competition.

There aren't a lot of available bats this year - probably because so many teams are in it - but hopefully something gets done - that actually helps the team score!

Trade deadline watch...

Well, things are heating up
The A's apparently have gotten things started, trading Matt Holliday for a top flight third base prospect.
This shouldn't be the end for the A's - they still have some valuable trading chips. I mean, face it A's fans - the A's are atrocious - why hold out hope that Jack Cust will turn this team into a winner?
I say they slang Cust, Orlando Cabrera, maybe even Adam Kennedy or Jason Giambi, and try to restock the farm system as much as possible. With the current Economics the A's have, they should trim their major league payroll as much as possible - then add payroll when they think they just need to add a few pieces to their core.. OR, shocker, actually keep a young player they develop, for a nice change of pace.
Keith Law seems to think the A's made a good deal...
The Giants on the other hand - seems like alls quiet on the western front. The only recent news is that the Nationals (aka Nubinals) are scouting the Giants AA team, according to Henry Schulman...
Found it interesting the Giants never called on Holliday, according to Susan Slusser. Perhaps they watched him play against the Giants and look almost as bad as Jack Cust in the field.
But Schulman is pretty sure the Giants will make a deal before the deadline. Right now, the question is who? As long as it improves the team and doesn't donk off one of their top prospects, I'm all for it.
Only time will tell - I'll try and monitor the rumor mill as best I can until then...

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

GM-ing thoughts...

When I first started this blog, I thought it would mainly be me critiquing front office moves and signings, etc. While it has turned into a blog about anything I think passionately about, I do have some thoughts on recent ramblings throughout the NFL...
1. The Ravens need a receiver, especially now that Derick Mason is making noise about retirement. Fabian Washington is NOT happy, and I don't blame him.
Think they had trouble passing before? Imagine a WR core of Mark Clayton and Demetrius Williams. So what should they do?
Well, there are rumors that Brandon Marshall wants out of Denver, but he would cost at least a first rounder, probably more, then a big contract extension.
Why not make a play for Marvin Harrison? His agent says he still wants to play, and he could be a stabilizing force for that crew. Sure, he is no longer a #1 receiver, but neither is Isaac Bruce, and sometimes just getting a guy who has good hands, runs precise routes and takes pressure off the younger guys can be just what the doctor ordered.
There are some that argue Harrison might be done - so then there is also Amani Toomer. Again, not a #1, but someone who can fill the void left by Mason.
#2. Raiders - thanks for continually being a joke. The team cut rookie 6th rounder Stryker Sulak without giving him a contract!
Granted, sixth round picks don't make a lot of impact. But to cut a 6th rounder defensive end just because you signed Greg Ellis? You haven't even seen how he looks in pads! What a joke...
Here are the defensive ends on the Raiders roster: Ellis, Derrick Burgess, Derrick Gray, Greyson Gunheim, Jay Richardson, Matt Shaughnessy, Trevor Scott, and Desmond Bryant.
Other than Burgess and Ellis, I don't see one unexpendable guy on that list that isn't at least worth giving the rookie a deal to try out during training camp. Sulak had 10.5 sacks last year - here's to hoping someone picks him up and he sacks Jamaracus Russel three times, if Russell is still in the starting line up by the time they play. Honestly, this is probably the best thing that could have happened to the kid - good luck!
Lost in all of this, is my third point:
3. Is the Eagles 2002 draft maybe the best draft of the 2000's? PFT posted it last night, and I was surprised just how productive it was!
Here is the rundown: Lito Sheppard (first round), safety Michael Lewis (second round), cornerback Sheldon Brown (second round), running back Brian Westbrook (third round), center Scott Peters (fourth round), receiver Freddie Milons (fifth round), linebacker Tyreo Harrison (sixth round), and defensive end Raheem Brock (seventh round).
Now the Eagles made the mistake of letting Brock go, who has since become a productive player for the Colts. But that draft netted them two starting cornerbacks (one pro-bowler), a Pro Bowl Safety, Pro-Bowler/Offensive machine Brian Westbrook, and a starting defensive end (that ended up playing for someone else).
Can anyone come up with a better draft in the 2000's for me? I'd be hard pressed to come up with one...

I love technology

Who doesn't love technology - think about it - without the advances we have come to know and love, we couldn't text a person who talks too much on the phone and we couldn't avoid calls by seeing who is calling - among millions of other convenient little things we've come to know and love.

Well, the UFL is trying something new, and it could forever change the art of quarterbacking. A Miami based company has developed a wristband that can display the plays to a quarterback on a small flexible screen implanted in the wristband. Think about it - mixed up players can take a look to see what route they are running, and QBs would have a much easier time grasping the plays.

This looks pretty cool, and if they develop it right, it could be the single greatest invention football has seen since the sideline headset or the TV first down marker. I hope they get it right!

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Ding Dong - the Witch is dead

Sarah Palin has quit!!!
Some have the theory she is quitting to focus on her Presidential run.
Cue Nelson Muntz
Go ahead and have her run - I have no problem giving Barack a slam dunk second term.
To celebrate this occasion, I thought I'd publish some of my favorite Palin-isms... Happy July 4th to the two people who read this.

"I'm the mayor, I can do whatever I want until the courts tell me I can't.'" --Sarah Palin, as quoted by former City Council Member Nick Carney, after he raised objections about the $50,000 she spent renovating the mayor's office without approval of the city council



"I don't know if you're going to use the word 'terrorist' there." --Sarah Palin, asked if people who bomb abortion clinics are terrorists, NBC News interview, Oct. 23, 2008 (Watch video clip)

"[T]hey're in charge of the U.S. Senate so if they want to they can really get in there with the senators and make a lot of good policy changes that will make life better for Brandon and his family and his classroom." --Sarah Palin, getting the vice president's constitutional role wrong after being asked by a third grader what the vice president does, interview with NBC affiliate KUSA in Colorado, Oct. 21, 2008 (Watch video clip)



"Ohh, good, thank you, yes." --Sarah Palin, after a notorious Canadian prank caller complimented her on the documentary about her life, Hustler's "Nailin Paylin," Nov. 1, 2008 (Read more about the prank call, watch the video and see the transcript)

"Well, let's see. There's ― of course in the great history of America there have been rulings that there's never going to be absolute consensus by every American, and there are those issues, again, like Roe v. Wade, where I believe are best held on a state level and addressed there. So, you know, going through the history of America, there would be others but ―" --Sarah Palin, unable to name a Supreme Court decision she disagreed with other than Roe vs. Wade, interview with Katie Couric, CBS News, Oct. 1, 2008 (Watch video clip)


"All of 'em, any of 'em that have been in front of me over all these years." --Sarah Palin, unable to name a single newspaper or magazine she reads, interview with Katie Couric, CBS News, Oct. 1, 2008 (Watch video clip)


"I may not answer the questions that either the moderator or you want to hear, but I'm going to talk straight to the American people and let them know my track record also." --Sarah Palin, on not answering the questions in the vice presidential debate, St. Louis, Missouri, Oct. 2, 2008


"Let me speak specifically about a credential that I do bring to this table, Charlie, and that's with the energy independence that I've been working on for these years as the governor of this state that produces nearly 20 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of energy." Sarah Palin, Misstating the amount of energy produced by Alaska, which is only 3.5 percent, September 11, 2008.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Bochy - not the answer

Sometimes I wonder if the Giants are winning games IN SPITE of Manager Bruce Bochy.

One morning on the way to work, I heard analyst Mike Krukow say Bochy was one of the best managers he's been around - as a player or announcer. I almost drove my car off 680.

The team just dropped their second straight game to the Cardinals, and I put it specifically on Bochy's size ten and a half dome.

It has been well documented - when Barry Zito starts with Bengie Molina behind the plate, his chances of having a good start diminish. Two starts ago, with Eli Whiteside behind the plate, Zito took a no-hitter into the seventh inning. Barry Zito's ERA this season is 4.82; when Molina is catching him his ERA is 6.85.
Surprise surprise - Zito didn't make it out of the fifth inning today, and Molina was behind the dish.
I'm not saying it is either player's fault, but the pattern has formed. Last year, when Zito had his resurgence, it was when Pablo Sandoval began catching him. The same trend continued this year, whether it was Steve Holm, Sandoval or Whiteside catching him.
Yet, over his past ten starts, Bochy keeps trotting out Molina for most of them. Any what happened? Zito's ERA has ballooned up near 5 again.
Bochy has also shown an over reliance on unproductive players. I cannot, for the life of me, understand why Fred Lewis ever makes it onto the field unless the other outfielder on the bench pinch hit and someone is hurt.
Lewis has shown this - he swings and misses alot. He doesn't play very good defense(three errors of the six made by Giants outfielders this year, and if official scorers had their druthers, he'd have at least two more). He drops flyballs that routinely hit him in the webbing of his mitt. He is fast, yet isn't a very good base stealer (5 steals/9 attempts). He has decent power, yet cannot make contact.
But there he is, playing over Andres Torres every chance he gets. I am not saying Andres Torres is a world beater, but he is what he is - He is a solid defender, who sometimes takes the place of 12 million dollar a year center fielder Aaron Rowand as a defensive replacement in the late innings.
So while establishing he is a better fielder, Lewis must get the at bats over him because of his superior bat, right? Wrong again. Lewis, in 209 plate appearances, has 11 RBIs. 11 RBIs-I say it again because it bears repeating. Torres, on the other hand, has a higher average, higher on base percentage, and a higher slugging percentage (albeit in a much smaller sample size - 55 at bats). Oh, and he has one less RBI than Lewis - and Lewis started the season batting THIRD!!!
So what have I learned about Bochy? That he cannot see things that people who have to buy a ticket can see. Tonight, Lewis misplayed a ball in the first inning that, rather than being an out, turned into runners on second and third with none out. Both scored, and Lewis went 0-4 with a strike out and 3 runners left on base. Zito struggled again, and the Giants lost.
Molina is getting old in age - is it really an issue to give him a day off every fifth day, especially if it turns Zito into a superior pitcher? And why not give Torres a chance, who does much more things to help you win?
I know management had hoped Lewis was the left fielder of the future - that he would shore up his defensive shortcomings while hitting .300 and provide some pop from the left side of the plate. Well that isn't going to happen. Last year he blamed the bunion - this year he is healthy and worse. If the Giants want to continue to stay at the lead of the wild card chase, and hope to catch the Dodgers, Bochy is gong to have to make some changes.
What is the saying - "Madness is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result"?
Brian Sabean is partially at fault for this as well. John Bowker has 16 home runs at AAA - when do you give up on the Fred Lewis experiment and give a more productive player a chance? Bowker showed major league power last year, hit a skid and found himself back in AAA. Now he is having his best season as a pro - he has to wonder what else he has to do to make the big club.
And don't even get me started on Rich Aurilia - if he was with any other organization, he'd have been cut by now.
So far, this season has been a success. But the team still has room to grow. They need to get out of their own way and make some tough decisions on this roster to take the next step and continue the growth of this young team.
P.S. It looks like my Victor Martinez pipe dream is dead - Sabean addressed the rumors on KNBR today and said Jermaine Dye isn't available, and that Martinez would cost one of our top prospects, something Sabean isn't willing to do. While I am glad that Sabean isn't willing to mortgage the future to make a premature run at the playoffs, I still think finding a bat is a priority. The team has obvious holes at second and left field, and could probably use an upgrade at first as well. Seems like trading a reliever and a player to be named later for Mark Derosa would have been a significant upgrade to both the line up and the defense, yet the team missed the boat on that. I keep coming to Sabean's defense, but at some point you have to wonder just how "in the loop" he really is.