Some things I’d Like to Know Right now

Posted in Uncategorized by Flavor on January 13, 2011

1) How is Mark DeRosa’s recovery coming along? If he’s healthy that’s huge for our flexibility next year. The dude can play almost any field position

2) Pablo Sandoval on a scale. I’m not interested in Aurilia “bumping into him” at a mall. Stand on a scale once a week and have the results posted on a website or facebook or whatever.

I don’t see why the Giants beat writers can’t provide us info on those two topics…..

Brandon Belt: Everyone says he could win the job. I think he’s at least a half a season in AAA away, maybe a full season……

But if those 3 guys, or some combination of them, work out for us we are absolutely good to go in 2011……

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xootsuit said, on January 13, 2011 at 7:54 am

I think a lot of the players enjoy their privacy in the off season.

Daniel Brown published a piece in the Merc yesterday about the 49er QB situation. The article contains the following two passages, separated by a number of paragraphs — to soften the insult, I suppose:

“Harbaugh fielded several questions about the quarterback situation last Friday without once mentioning Smith during his introductory press conference.”

. . .

“Harbaugh . . . spoke only in general parameters about what he wanted from a quarterback. He said he wanted someone who brought ‘athletic instincts, accuracy, timing, decision making, leadership, intelligence — you could keep going on and on.'”
zumarust said, on January 13, 2011 at 8:24 am

IMO, if just ONE of those 3 Giants makes a solid contribution, it’s huge. Burrell could end up the opening day starter in leftfield, with Panda or DeRosa at thirdbase.
The dream would be if Belt has a terrific Spring Training, and they feel comfortable starting the season with him at firstbase, with Huff in left.
Rough Trade said, on January 13, 2011 at 9:02 am

I haven’t given one second thinking about Sandoval’s weight.
IMO, Hounding Pablo and making public his weekly progress would only have a negative impact. The less said about him and his weight loss the better.
Unca Chuck said, on January 13, 2011 at 9:04 am

Well, there should be a happy medium between weekly reports, and absolutely nothing . . .
Rough Trade said, on January 13, 2011 at 9:27 am

If I’m the G’s, I tell the media to back off. It certainly didn’t help last yr. He has a trainer to help him and he knows his career is at stake. If that’s not enough to motivate him, c’est la vie. But hounding him and embarrassing him isn’t the answer.

Not expecting much from DeRosa. But I don’t think well really know what he’s got until he plays a few weeks of regular season games.

Think Belt is just as ready as Will Clark was in 86.
TedSpe said, on January 13, 2011 at 9:35 am

You know what I can’t figure out (or what *else* I can’t figure out) is wasn’t Sandoval in Santa Clara over the weekend at an autograph show? Didn’t anyone see him? Or was he covered up like the Elephant Man?
- zumarust said, on January 13, 2011 at 9:48 am
  
  He is a man. He is not an animal.
  - zumarust said, on January 13, 2011 at 9:48 am
    
    Actually, panda’s are animals. Nevermind.
snarkk said, on January 13, 2011 at 10:45 am

I don’t think it’s too much for these beat writers to work a little bit and give us some real info on Pablo, instead of the regurgitated Aurelia and other pablum that we get once in a blue moon, especially from Schulman. I don’t even know where Baggarly is. I think this lack of info is part laziness on the beat writers, lack of wherewithal and support these days in the media that employs them, and too close a relationship with the team. This is about a guy who the Giants touted early and through mid season as a key part of the team. Then the wheels came off and stayed off. They had a 50 foot long friggin flag of Panda hanging from the exterior wall of the park, for Pete’s sake. If he’s in New York or Chicago, the media probably would have a guy assigned to try to steal a look at the scale when he weighs, or pay somebody to get that info, and actually have an article every week about his progress and relationship of the training with the team. What would be wrong with knowing who his trainers are, where they are, what work he’s doing, and why the hell the Giants are apparently so hands off on the whole thing. We don’t really know any of that. It’s not like that is all state secrets material. I luv that the Giants won the Series. But with them, when they want us to buy the goods its “come on down, see Panda and buy Panda shit”, but when the goods turn out to be a little faulty, they turn Soviet and want no questions, give no info…
- TedSpe said, on January 13, 2011 at 11:11 am
  
  I see nuthingkt!! Nuuuuuthingkt!
Bozo said, on January 13, 2011 at 11:16 am

I’m not worried about Panda, yet. About not reporting on him, Chris Haft said this in his mailbag “Neither the Giants nor Sandoval will discuss the results of his regimen.”. If an influx of Panda hats starts showing up in Fresno, then I’m worried.

DeRosa is a weird one for me. I keep thinking that the glut of outfielders and the Font signing is/was insurance because the Giants may not be sure about him.

I don’t see Belt breaking camp with the big club, unless there is an injury or Ishi is traded. Even with an Ishi trade, there still might not be a spot for the kid to get enough playing time.
- snarkk said, on January 13, 2011 at 11:56 am
  
  Well, being a reporter is all about digging info from lots of sources when the obvious sources clam up. The Giants and Pablo aren’t the only sources. Lots of people have cell phones. The Giants beat guys don’t want to ruffle any feathers, they will never be mistaken for Woodward and Bernstein; more like Oscar Madison…
Flavor said, on January 13, 2011 at 12:13 pm

Most newspapers have cut so many things, including salary, it’s entirely possible that Baggs in on unpaid time off right now.
- snarkk said, on January 13, 2011 at 12:39 pm
  
  Give more money to Baggarly, then. Balance it out by cutting Kawakami’s time. I swear everybody here on the Flap could and do write better stuff than most of his. A lot of it is just utter bullshit speculation….
zumarust said, on January 13, 2011 at 1:03 pm

The Giants obviously want to keep the Panda’s progress on the down-low because they’re not entirely confident he’s going to be successful with his weight-loss program.
You know, there’s a thought that some time in AAA wouldn’t be a bad thing for him at this point. He needs to transition from the ‘man-child stage’ now to the ‘man stage.’ He needs to grow up and realize he may be fizzling away his baseball career. The Giants benefitted from his youthful enthusiasm the last couple of years. Now, they need to see him transition beyond that.
snarkk said, on January 13, 2011 at 1:40 pm

At this stage I’m not counting on DeRosa for anything. Zilch. A serious wrist injury in baseball is not a trifle. If he can play, great, that should be a big help with Uribe gone. If the wrist blows up again, oh well, Sabes will need to get creative…
PawlieKokonuts said, on January 13, 2011 at 2:52 pm

This sounds more doomer than intended, but, yeah, DeRosa, Panda, Belt can all be huge positive factors. Nevertheless, let’s be realistic: it is extremely unlikely that the Giants repeat as World Series winners. The odds are simply against it historically. It is a very difficult feat in baseball. Very unusual. Possible? Yes. Do I want it? Of course I do. We all do. But likely? No. Not even if all factors — pitching, rookies, veterans, hitting, defense — are working exceedingly well. It is simply a tough challenge. But don’t get me wrong: every molecule in my aging body yearns and hungers for this to happen, for the basking to continue and to turn into a rapturous reprise.
- snarkk said, on January 13, 2011 at 3:14 pm
  
  Totally agreed here, Pawlie. But, certainly they’ve got a good shot at the division again, barring catastrophic pitching injuries. As we’ve seen, once you’re in, why not us? If Belt impresses during Spring, I say bring him up from the beginning, ship Ishi off in a trade. If Belt is up, Ishi means there are two many first basemen around…
- Rough Trade said, on January 13, 2011 at 3:35 pm
  
  It’s a difficult feat in any sport, pro or college. I’m not expecting it, but obviously it would still be a helluva lot of fun to be back in the postseason.
Unca Chuck said, on January 13, 2011 at 3:31 pm

Pawlie, the thing is, the West is ripe for the winning. Colorado is their biggest competition at this point. Decent pitching, above average hitting. The Dogs? They have strengthened their starters, but their pen and closer are major issues. Add in the fact that the divorce proceedings are front page news down there, and you have distractions up the wazoo. Guys lke Ethier and Kemp could easily fall off the wagon by June and play their version of Manny-ball.

SD was weakened themselves without A Gone. Their pitching is top notch, but they all burned out, as well as their relievers. Bochy was an absolute master at getting all he could out of the many different guys he used from the pen all season. Buddy Black ran them ragged til they all faded in September.

AZ is AZ. Also-rans at this point. They’ll strike out 4,000 times as a team.

That leaves the Giants. Hittisng is still a concern, but Panda should do better than last year. Somewhere between 2009 and 2010. Closer to 2009 one would hope. DeRosa remains the big ??? With Franchie on the shelf for anundetermined time, DeRosa needs to fill in, or get healthy, or both. Still and all, for these guys not doing much so far, this team is worlds better than the one that took the field on 4.1.2010.

All this team has to do is reach the playoffs. Once in, this is the scariest team out there.
Rough Trade said, on January 13, 2011 at 3:45 pm

I don’t think anyone in the G’s front office is losing sleep over whether DeRosa makes it back. After all, they won it without anything from him last yr and they have Ross and Burrell back and add Tejada. Much more significant to their chances are the strides made by Pablo and Belt.
delmardennis said, on January 13, 2011 at 3:50 pm

Showtime wants to produce a show a la HBO’s “Hard Knocks” on the Giants.
Doesn’t make it any easier to repeat when ya go Hollywood.
- snarkk said, on January 13, 2011 at 3:57 pm
  
  I say forget that. Let AmyG ask a few extra questions. That’s hard enough to take…
  - delmardennis said, on January 13, 2011 at 4:11 pm
    
    Cut Amy some slack. Cammy Blackstone never brought us a championship.
zumarust said, on January 13, 2011 at 4:10 pm

It’ll be interesting to see how things play out next season, and if Sabean will need to make moves again in the last few months. He was on quite a roll in the second half of last season.
zumarust said, on January 13, 2011 at 4:14 pm

But I have to say- Sabean and the Giants get a huge pass from me this 2011 season. One thing I wish, as a 49er fan, is that I had savored those Super Bowl titles even more at the time.
The entire 2011 season is a World Series victory parade across the nation, as far as I’m concerned.
- TedSpe said, on January 13, 2011 at 4:16 pm
  
  Considering the trophy’s on tour, you ain’t kidding
PawlieKokonuts said, on January 13, 2011 at 4:40 pm

amen ditto yes true of course amen again makes sense GO, GIANTS 2012!
- PawlieKokonuts said, on January 13, 2011 at 7:03 pm
  
  I meant 2011, but, sure, 2012, too.
Unca Chuck said, on January 13, 2011 at 4:50 pm

Shit, the Niners march through the NFL was incredible. Their 20 year run as a top tier team was epic. Attending the riots in SF in 1981 was fun, scary, crazy, and dangerous, all rolled into one. I had season tickets on and off from 1980 to 2004, and started going to games in 1968.

Kezar fog, seagulls, abject insanity in the final days of Kezar when the team finally made playoff noise, only to be crushed by Dallas 3 years in a row as the Niners moved to the Stick. Nolan losing at the hands of his mentor, and the Morabitos losing interest and selling the team as it crumbled into dust through the 70s.

Eddie and Walsh brought some life to the team. By 1980, I started getting jazzed as the offfense was coming around. Even with Steve DeBerg running the show and no one but Freddie Solomon as WR. The Niners were scoring points, but the defense was horrible. They were literally signing DBs off the streets.

Then came the epic draft of 1981, and 3/4 of the all pro defensive backfield was drafted, and Dwight Hicks anchored the crew. Throw in Hacksaw Reynolds from the Rams and Fred Dean in a stupendous (and I’m sure one of the most hated in SD) trade, and you have an instant killer defense.

The rest was unbelievable joy. That is lasted for so long was even more special. The poor guy who couldn’t really enjoy it was Walsh himself. Eddie rode his ass to the point of burnout by 1988.
- Nipper said, on January 13, 2011 at 5:14 pm
  
  BLEEP!
stixwiz said, on January 13, 2011 at 7:13 pm

What a buncha worry warts. Giants still have the best pitching in the business. Phillies come close, though. After those guys re-acquired Lee, the New York Times baseball writers fell all over themselves anointing the pinstripes in red as one of the greatest rotations ever. Tommyrot! Lee, Hamels, Oswalt and Halliday all were losers facing the Giants in our Championship run.

So we have a few question-marks on the field. Who doesn’t? Pablo reverting to Pandaform alone could jerk the squad into a major offensive threat, provided the rest of the gang performs at a level reasonably close to that of the Champs. DeRosa? A nice plus if he’s physically up to it. If not? He’s not a huge marker in the plans. Will anyone have a fall from grace? Could happen. But its not likely to become a trend and certainly not likely to go viral. These guys have learned how to win and it looks like it has become a comfort zone. Don’t expect a lot of pressing from the ’11-Model Gigantes.

Winning the Big One was totally a team effort. Guys rose to the occasion. Example: Cody Ross in the Post-Season. They pick each other up. One thing that can be said for sure about the ’10 World Champs is that they very well defined the word “team”.

Brandon Belt. He could be the Natural. Looks like a 5-tooler from everything i’ve been able to determine. Best thing about his situation is that the team is not depending on him from the get-go. Sabean is going to treat him much like Posey and the Undertaker last season ~ unless, of course, he has a breakout and dominant Spring Training. My expectation at this point is that he will be the starting first baseman by mid-season. A bonus in that instance is if he has an impact akin to that manifested by Buster for the World Champs after he took over behind the plate.

Imagine for a moment Panda, Posey and Belt synchronously going explosive, say, somewhere around the end of July and maintaining the pace. Move over Tulo and CarGo. You guys are outnumbered at the plate and your pitching is not a match for The Freak; the Horse; Drrrty Sanchez and the lugubrious Undertaker. And for closers fear the Beard.

This team could falter, flounder and flop. Injuries could happen. The luck factor could revert to its 1958-2009 form. Complacency could set in. But that’s not what i expect. Last January i predicted 94 wins. So they fell a couple short ~ discounting one stolen by a bad umpiring call in that game against the Mutts. This team will win a hundred games.
Flavor said, on January 13, 2011 at 7:21 pm

100 games? Ballsy call…….
stixwiz said, on January 13, 2011 at 8:22 pm

100 games is not so ballsy if that pitching staff continues to get solid defense with the plus of an offense which rises a bit to being one of the top four of five in the league. Even without an early contribution from Belt, anything much from DeRosa and a reversion from Pablo to Panda, the April ’11 team on the field is much stronger offensively than the April ’10 model.

Echoing your opener, Flav, solid performance from any of the three, added to what we saw in September and October last year and the Giants have hitting sufficient to give their commanding staff sufficient edge to win close to two games outta every three. Those 1-0 and 2-1 losses, particularly within the Division, will become relative rarities.

The one thing which could throw a monkeywrench into the scenario would be a key injury or two, particularly if it would involve the rotation or Posey. Sabean’s policy of versatile position players would tend to cover most other positions fairly well. Though the team could still use an upgrade at backup catcher and a sixth starter, all other systems appear to be set for a repeat.
unca chuck said, on January 13, 2011 at 8:37 pm

The injury bug is a worry for every team.

95 wins? Sure. They have to get fat in theiir division…………
snarkk said, on January 13, 2011 at 9:58 pm

Way too early for predictions. Other than I predict we’ll do some basking the entire season. YOUR SF GIANTS, World Series Champeeens. Gotta luv it…