What to Expect From Dirrrrrty Sanchez in 2012
Of course, the answer is unknown. You can have an opinion, a theory, a guess….But what Sanchez does next year is likely up to the baseball Gods. Personally, I think he needs a change of scenery, preferably (for him) to a low-stress town like Seattle or Kansas City, something like that. He could probably use a fresh start. New uni, new pitching coach voice in his head, new fans who aren’t pulling their hair out over his inconsistencies. He’d probably embrace a fresh start…….
But that isn’t going to happen…….
J-Sanch is ours next year. Nobody is trading for him when his value is at it’s lowest and Sabean would be a fool to unload him when his stock is so low. And as was pointed out by Michael on the last thread, he really is the only thing that is keeping Zito out of the starting 5 next season– that reason alone is why he’s more valuable to us than what any other team would trade to get him.
Even without a fresh start with a new team, there is reason to be hopeful about Dirrrrty’s 2012. I’ve got no idea what he’s doing to prepare for next season, I don’t think he’s playing Winter ball anywhere. He’s probably best just relaxing and working out, continuing to heal his body and cleanse his mind of the negativity from last year. I think the one thing he is going to HAVE to do is take a different tactical approach to pitching. Hitters seem to be taking the approach of “if I can’t hit his stuff I will let it go by, work the count in my favor and either walk or hope for a hittable pitch late in the count.” That is countered quite easily by throwing more strikes early in the count, stealing first pitch strikes with breaking balls, stuff like that.
It’s also entirely possible that he’s trying to do that, he just has no command of his pitches. But I don’t think that’s it. When I look at him on the mound I see a guy who is too consumed, almost overwhelmed, with thinking about his mechanics and how he wants to pitch to a batter. He makes pitching just so…..hard. It probably isn’t as simple as to advise him to “Stop thinking so much and just go have fun out there.” He doesn’t look like a guy who has a personality that leans toward light and loose. But he’s got some of the best stuff in the game and he needs to let that stuff take over and stop doing WHATEVER it is he’s doing on the mound when he puts a couple of guys on base or when he can’t throw strikes for a inning or two which seemed to happen almost every game last year.
Dennis brought up the “Dirrrrty for Jose Reyes” possible trade again. He asked again, “would you do it?” Again, the answer is *no*. Of course the Mets wouldn’t have done that deal. If they took our BEST pitching prospect for Beltran, what do you think they would have wanted for a super star in his prime? But that isn’t the reason *I* wouldn’t have done it. Reyes is a free agent who will command 100-130 million dollars this Winter. No way IN HELL the Giants would have signed him this year. You don’t hand over a legitimate MLB starting pitcher who is still under team control for a 2 month rental player. And I don’t think that if we had made that deal we would have made the playoffs. Reyes gets on base and makes crazy things happen when he’s on the bases. But we still didn’t have anyone to drive him in. Of course, it’s an unknown what would have happened since it never happened, but I don’t think he was enough to get us over the top last year.
Wherever Dirrrrrty is right now, I hope he’s resting comfortably and finding some peace of mind. He deserves it and could use it. At least he doesn’t have to enter the year with the burden of being the #2. In hindsight, he probably could have done without that pressure. After he disposes of Zito in whatever farce of a competition he’s in with him this Spring, he can enter the 2012 season with a fresh opportunity for success. Whenever I see him on the mound, I’m reminded of one of my favorite quotes (from Blade): “You either make yourself miserable, or you make yourself happy. The amount of work is the same.” How great would it be for Sanchez if he made that HIS favorite quote?
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
Good stuff, Flav. I’m certainly one of the many who think the guy is out on the tiles. But that’s a good point about his overthinking shit. Krukow is always talking arm angle and his mechanics in general. The reminder to him was always slow down. The worry is that at this point in his career, he shouldn’t be struggling this much with mechanical issues. Yeah, guys lose it from time to time. Timmy did in 2010 with his awful August. But this is a game to game struggle. The onyl guy that seemed to get through to him to trust his stuff was Randy Johnson. He told him he had the best stuff on the team, and he had to TRUST that stuff. When he gets lost out there, bad things happen. Not covering bags, walks, HBPs, etc.
I’m not sold that they are keeping him, but if they do, maybe he should hang out with Bubbles, and Sanchez can adopt a more Zen approach to the game. Combine them both, and you might have a good pitcher . . .
Unfortunately, Dirty has become such a polarizing subject, even a calm recitation of his numbers last year and the radical change over his last starts, leads to a barrage of negative “remarks” not consistent with his performance..
Suffice to say that until those last two starts before he went on the DL for the first time, he pitched much better than revisionist history would have it (4-4 3.47 ERA, 1 start of 14 giving up more than 3 earned runs) . Was he still inconsistent? You bet… Still walk too many? Roger that…still a guy who should be a starting pitcher when healthy? Is the fat around a hog’s ass pork? Absolutely…
Wouldn’t everybody here have been just delighted , BTW, when new SS Jose Reyes went on the DL a week after acquiring him?( It was an ongoing injury so it can’t be argued that he wouldn’t have been hurt had he been here) As with Beltran, his September contribution would also have been too little, too late. So it’s pretty astounding that DT Denny is suggesting that ANYONE would do that deal knowing what we know now…I AM working on the Liz and Kate Hurley transaction, however. I doubt it will be regretted in real time OR hindsight..
I was not responding to your post, Chuck. I didn’t see that you had one until I posted mine- you don’t need to respond to mine, so please don’t- we both know where the other stands on this.
.
Thank you, Miss Manners . . .
If the Giants had gotten Reyes and were still alive on the final day, I wonder if Reyes would have played the whole game and jeopardized his batting title.
Be careful for what you wish for. Some of these FA are not that helpful. Only on paper. Beltran sure has merit and when going good is a very good hitter. The question is always there, how long do you commit to an FA in his middle thirties? Chuck’s mood swings are frequently more reliable than the health of a mature FA.
The trading of Sanchez is moot at this point. His value is not at it’s highest. You give up little and and get little in return. Proposed trades are laughable at best.
Hey, Nipper. Start laughing.
Even if you got over value for Sanchez, you have to wonder who takes his place. I don’t trust Vogs to come close to what he did last year, and Surkamp was hardly impressive, and no one in their right mind wants the evil one on the mound for 30 plus starts. You don’t just find guys to start 30 games and be effective at mlb level anywhere; what you get are the ironheads, wellemeyers and sadowskis of the world.
I’m on the side of looking at the tremendous progress Sanchez made 2009-2010, where every stat he put up was better, from WHIP to ERA to Ks. Yes he walks a lot of guys, but as long as they don’t come in to score and gets out the batters with RISP, so what. He has consistently been very hard to hit, and I think that stat by mlb batters says a lot. Even if he cannot duplicate 2009/10 numbers, he is much better than replacement.
What to expect from Dirrrty Sanchez in 2012?
How bout he gets traded along with Ryan Verdugo for Melky Cabrera.
I want to hear the Flappers who wouldn’t have shipped him off for Reyes defend this one.
Pitching. Pitching. Pitching.
Stockpile that shit.
Stack it up like cordwood.
Sanchez, Surkamp, whoever, hell even Zito could get lucky and find an approach that gets just enough guys out for six innings on #5 starter days. The more possibilities they have, the more likely it is that somebody serviceable will emerge for that role.
I’m pulling for all those guys and hoping that they all succeed like all hell. But I’m not wasting a nanosecond worrying or griping about what goes on between Sanchez’ or Zito’s ears. I just want one them to get some friggin guys out for six or so innings every 5 starts.
WillieD said: “Yes he walks a lot of guys, but as long as they don’t come in to score and gets out the batters with RISP, so what.”
Well, there is the issue of him taxing the bullpen if he rarely gets through 6 full. Most bullpens are designed with specialists for the 7th inning onward. And yet Dirrrrty only got through 6 complete in 7 of his 19 starts last year. He didn’t pitch past 7 full even one time in 2011.
And it’s almost entirely based on all the walks and his pitch count…..
Well, in April and May- before the drastic fall off that should have suggested to anyone that something was wrong, he made 11 starts and pitched 64 innings. The NL average for starters was 5.9 in 2011, to that point his was 5.8. But whatever- he’s by far their best option if he’s healthy. Unless Melky pitches…
Torres had had a very successful 2009 as a reserve and his great 2010, of course. Plus he had had his best minor league years in 2007 and 2008 after taking the prescribed medication for his ADD ( diagnosed years earlier)_ so while his 2011 was disappointing, there’s actually plenty of reason to think that he will regain the form of 2009/2010 if given the opportunity..
It’s a little dicier with Vogelsong since he had never had full season success at any level, even Japan, before last year. With that said, I’m sure no one expects him to duplicate his first half ( 6-1 2.17), but his second half fall off wasn’t so great as to expect a collapse this year. I’d think that they be delighted if he settled into being a respectable 4 or good 5…anything more would be great but not something to expect..
Holy cow, DMD isn’t joking.
We just traded for the 2010 Andres Torres. Sabean sees one good year from Melky and expects that to be the norm. Melky has a career .729 OPS That’s 2 pts higher than Shitholtz.
Say hello to 35 starts from Barry Zito.
Melky 7 yr avg. .275/11/66 Like we don’t already have 5 outfielders who can’t do that.
Bring back Rowand.
Wow!! did not see that one coming.
“Nobody is trading for him when his value is at it’s lowest and Sabean would be a fool to unload him when his stock is so low.”
Flav, why you want to call our GM a fool? I think this is where “mook” is more befitting.
Goodbye Dirty! I stand corrected.
Told you all they are going to trade Sanchez…but Melky Frickin Cabrera????
Looks like we got hosed…who is the first Flapper to say this is a genius move??? I wonder who would that be???
If Melky just had a career year, it’s terrible. If he was, as would be likely at 26 ( then) just coming into his own, it’s as good as they could possibly get- and it still depends on what they do the pitching spot. As always, it’s never as simple as you morons think it is..
I wonder if Twin will like this trade?
I’m a bit shocked. But that’s largely because the only lasting image I have of Melky Cabrera was a few years ago as a Yankee, when an opposing batter hit a single that rolled out to Cabrera, and the fans started chanting Melky, Melky, and just before the ball reached him he turned around to wave to the fans… of course the ball rolled under his glove all the way to the fence…. “Am I a clown? Do I amuse you?” to quote Joe Pesci. No, you don’t, Melky. Ugh. Well, hopefully he will erase that image and replace it with better ones…..
OMG, Death Threat wasn’t joking. Melky is just 27, however. His 2011 is more likely coming into his own, rather than an anomaly. Now we’ll see what’s next. As I’ve posted- trading Dirty only makes sense if they also acquire pitching- wouldn’t mind Oswalt pitching at ATT…if they intend to go with Zits as the 5, it’s an awful deal…
And looks like Andres may have to regain that form elsewhere- I think judgement has to reserved for a bit. But at least it’s not Coco Puff…yeah, one month of Reyes would have been a great deal, Death Threat. No title, no Dirty, no Reyes..
How is his 2011 coming into his own playing in hitter-friendly AL more accurate than him suckling frickin eggs in 2010 in the NL, where he is now playing? Looks like his defense is slipping from fairly average defensive numbers…I cant see him playing CF at ATT…
I guess Sabean had his fill of Dirty.
And now two other huge questions: No to Beltran? Yes to Zito? …… uh oh.
Just checking Melky’s fielding stats…his UZR/150 when playing CF (which I assume he’ll be roaming at AT&T) is -7.3 for his career.
So are we looking at Huff/Melky/Shitholtz next year? With Zito on the mound? 77-85.
calm down…lots more can happen…and will
I don’t know what to think. But Magnus DID suggest Kansas City. Who’s reading this stuff? I think Dirrrty really did / does need a change of scenery. I wish him well. I wish Melky even more well.
“I think he needs a change of scenery, preferably (for him) to a low-stress town like Seattle or Kansas City, something like that.”
Only hours after I post this he ends up in KC? Didn’t know my own strength….
This is a trade that might work out but certainly not what I consider value. I’m not a big Melky fan. But it’s a testament to what the other GM’s think of Dirrrrty right now. Trading him at his lowest value. This is disappointing and say hello to Barry Zito in 2012……
So I’m not too hot on this trade but I just noticed that Melky had 201 hit last year. You know who never had 200 hits in a season?
~~~~~~~~~Will Clark~~~~~~~~~~~
That is actually surprising…good work. But let me predict this…Melky will never have 200 hits in SF as well…
So KC needs arms and the Giants need a bat of some type in CF. Beltran must be in doubt and the rest of the FA is not strong so Dirty goes.
If Melky repeats or betters his 2011, it’s fine, as long as they also add a pitcher. I can’t believe that you supposed expert observers are making judgements already. Obviously (duh), Sabean thinks Melky’s 2011 is representative. I don’t know if it is or not, but none of you do either.
My only disappointment is that they seem to be bailing on Torres, who should always be remembered here as the man who sparked their title run.
I’m getting on board with it, mostly because I have accepted that the value for Melky was Dirrrty as he is today, not what he was before this year. And Melky doesn’t even need to repeat the same year, jsut approaching it would be fine. 44 doubles? 5 triples? 20sb’s? Who here wouldn’t settle for 38 doubles, 8 triples (that number has to go up just because of the park he’s moving into) 15 bombs and 17 sb’s????
I’d take that in a second compared to what our outfielders put up last year. Plus, he’s got to play for a contract. That’s all good.
I would think we could sign Torres again (1–1.5 mil?) and use him as an insurance plan for Melky…..
A good bench cannot be underestimated.
Well, I said Sanchie was going to be traded, and here it is. SF was done wet nursing him, and with dire straits on offense and a hole in CF, he was the guy most likely. He’ll probably tear it up a while as a Royal, maybe it will get his head together to pitch for a lousy team, pressure will be off. His value was in the toidy after a season marred by injury, I’m surprised they got a guy with a decent last season like Melky. As for Cabrera, I normally have issues with any player whose first name ends in a Y or ie. Cooky, Melky, Mookie. I don’t care about the AL, I think I’ve never even seen this guy in highlights, so I won’t diss him off the bat. He’s a career .275 BA, and .331 OBP, and he’s only 27, so maybe he has an upside still. Not a good SB % at 20 of 30, but he’s got some speed. The Braves flat released him in 2010 — not a good sign. The Braves usually are very good at talent evaluation. Verdugo’s a throw in. All in all, medicocrity for mediocrity on paper. If they get Oswalt now, they’re good to go. Because Zito cannot be the answer as #5 all season — the Pen will get shredded…
“Good to go” meaning pitching staff. They still need another bat, and solve SS…
Oswalt is not coming to SF, some other idiot will throw some money at him, probably the Rangers…
Snarkk predicted it!
Lots of people did, Zippy.
Well, there you go. Melky Cabrera for Drrrty.
Well, it is a bit unsettling that it was two for one. Giants threw in Ryan Verdugo, of whom I know little.
It makes me dizzy . . .
Melky will be a FA after 2012, he’s arb eligible and made 1,250,000 last year. Jonathan will also be a FA, is arb eligle and made 4.8M. That becomes a factor also and means that this does nothing to hinder their pursuit of free agents.In fact, it’s thought by some that this will help in acquiring Beltran…
I think John Shea summed it up well in his Tweet:
“Giants saw the best of Sanchez and the worst of Sanchez and aren’t confident they’ll see best of Sanchez again.”
Not much talk here about it: will Giants keep Cody?
He got 6 million last year and it’s not thought they’d agree to even that much, plus he’s a FA, with Rockies said to be interested. Extremely doubtful he’s coming back. But they really should offer Torres a deal- they DO need reserve OFers. And even as a .220 hitter he brought a lot to the table.
that I agree with Torres should get starts in CF even if they think Melky is going to be the everyday CF..which I would be surprised to see…
Depends on if they keep Torres, go after Beltran, trade Huff, etc.
This looks to be the beginning of a lot of moves. Wonder where/how Bubbles goes . . .
Huff’s the next guy on the trading block . . .
Trade him and Affeldt to the Yanks for Nunez. . . .
Just a question, C. Who is going to pay Huff and Affeldt the 16 million?
Some of you may have seen this already, but here’s a link. Wilson kind of being used as a prop, but funny nevertheless. The other guys couldn’t contain themselves, they must not have been ready for his schtick, or expected him to say something else. http://tinyurl.com/72crl6l
Hey, we gave ’em TWO Dirtys!!!
“Baseball America ranked him (Verdugo) 25th among Giants prospects prior to the season, describing him as a deceptive lefty who misses bats but has minus command…”
Well, Melky’s a character, if nothing else. Could be a fan favorite, if he performs. Welcome to SF. Agree that this likely spells more moves. And… I could live with this: Lincecum / Cain / Bumgarner / Oswalt / Vogelsong…
You can look up the batting stats on Melky. One thing that does stand out is that all his major batting stats are almost the same, LH = RH. He’s a true switch hitter, no drop off from one side to the other. That is a real plus…
Wow, the Giants actually picked up someone younger than 35 years old!! That impresses me right there. wow i can hear the insults all the way here in Sacramento, no it does not take much to impress me. But yeah this did.
However the trade works out I’ll miss Jonathan, and if he leaves, Torres as well. Again, they were integral parts of those misfits who brought us the title to bask in.. I understand that sports is “what have you done for me lately”, but old farts like us ought to be able to appreciate their contributions for more than a few moments in time. As he leaves, the remembrance of Jonathan should not be his struggles in 2011 but this:
Retaining Affeldt and Lopez and now this trade, Sabean is making bold moves to start the off season. The kind of moves I as a fan want to see from this club. Beltran next and bring Torres back as the late inning defensive replacement.
I like the trade.
Doesn’t this trade sign the end of any Beltran deal? Crisp still to lead off and Cabrera in right?
Absolutely not.We should pray to whatever we worship that Crisp is now out of the picture.
Thanks to our Father who art in heaven…….
Cabrera is your new lead off hitter……
I have a hard time seeing him play CF…better keep Torres around. Throw him a couple million out of the kindness of the organization…they gave Ross and Huff far more than that and Torres had a better 2011…
I never thought we were keeping Jonathan, but I would have rather see him and then dealt when his value went up. But long term, they not going to be able to keep Cain and Timmy long term and then add in Brian Wilson and J Sanchez to long term deals.
I am not convinced Lincecum doesn’t just play out his last two arb years and then heads home. Imperative to sign Cain then to a 5 year deal minimum now…
This has to be the most hilariously ill-timed post in the history of sports blogging.
Hey, I said he should go to a KC and he ended up there 4 hours later. Careful, if I wish you to a place it could just happen…..
Send Chuck to Siberia. He can learn Russian BLEEPS!
I think it increases the chances of landing Beltran, though I still think it’s a longshot. The Giants are saving a a few million in this trade, put that toward signing Beltran. I think they probably need to go 3years/45 million. Not sure if they can do that or want to do that, but you never know…….
It’s all speculation and I’m not very good at it [better at after-the-fact reflection], but on balance I like the trade because: (a) Sanchie’s value was not going to rise, not here; (b) Melky was one of the best no. 2 hitters around, with speed, avg, some power; (c) it’s a risk but it moves us in a new direction; we need it; (e) none of the above are very persuasive, but I warned you.
I salute Sanchez and any warrior from the 2010 team, even Eugenio Velez. But we need to change.
It absolutely increases the chances of landing Beltran and don’t forget that one of the problems in landing top hitters has already been addressed in two important ways- the World Championship, and the fact that Beltran proved he could hit here. ( ATT numbers in 2011: 104 AB 5 HR .327 BA .956 OPS) . They have yet to make a NET improvement with this deal, as they have to gign a decent starting pitcher now. Add Beltran and a decent hitting back up catcher and they might even be able to sneak Mudbug in there, as so many want..
are we doing any free agent predictions like last year? Mark me down with Beltran going to the Red Sox…
Yeah he seems like an East Coast guy.
Like some of you, I’ve not been enamored of Melky. He was pretty mediocre surrounded by talent in New York, and was quite lame in his one NL year in 2010 with the Braves. I don’t believe he’s known for defense or speed, although this was clearly a career-year for him in many regards. So maybe that bounceback says something for maturity. The best thing is he’s 27. However, as he hit mostly #2, we still have the lead-off role to deal with. Agree with much of what’s posted above.
I’ll echo Twin in celebrating what the 2010 guys achieved. I really like Jonathan, frustrating as his performance may be, as his struggles just made him more human to me. Even more so with Torres who’s clearly more valuable than his .220 average indicated. These guys, and others got us there in 2010.
Kudos to Sabean for a bold move. I wish Jonathan the best. And like most of you, I am expecting more moves. This is not a rebuilding year; we’re close to playoff-capable and there’s no reason to waste time.
I think this also sends a message to some players, underperformers like Huff especially, that even homegrown, 2010 favorites can get traded…
Huff gets paid no matter what.
Hey this guy is under 30? Is Sabean going for younger guys? He better!
Although the Giants have shown they’ll eat contracts, it’s EXTREMELY unlikely they eat the second 11M year of one when the guy has shown that that year is very likely to be an “up” year. Far more likely, IMO, is that he’s on an extremely short leash to produce.
Shown that that year is very likey to be an up year?
Sure, if you believe in astrology . . .
‘Very likely’ and ‘short leash’ don’t really go hand in hand.
If anything, this trade shows the front office isn’t beholden to the past. Or the backs of baseball cards.
I think there are a lot of current Giants holding their breath about where they may be going . . .
The trade proves or shows nothing about anybody else’s status. Sanchez has been the subject of trade rumors for years. Huff is not being traded. It’s been shown that Huff has had the one down, one up tendency, Making it VERY LIKELY that he will be in the starting LU opening day. He will be on a SHORT LEASH because he will need to show quickly that it’s indeed an “up” year. It may be an even shorter leash if he doesn’t the heed the warning to show up to camp in better shape this year…Got it?
BTW, it is not set where Melky will bat or where he’ll play.
Good call on Drrrty’s going to KC . . . even though you contradicted it . . .
Great call on Dirty, Affeldt, and Surkamp for McCutcheon.
Thanks, Skippy. Good call on Rios for Timmy . . .
You forgot Ort-Rod this time. And Sudden Sam…
Do you ever make a call? Oh, that’s right. You have an active one- Huff and Affeldt for Nunez.
Not appropos of this thread, but if you’re a fan of college football, as am I, you need to read the information coming out about Penn State football and the child molestation scandal there. It is beyond appalling. It is disgusting, reprehensible. If the stuff in the indictment is even half true, the holding of college athletics on a pedestal has reached new heights, or lows, as it were. Paterno is smack in the middle of the cover-up serial pedophilia conducted by his long-time assistant Sandusky. Paterno was informed in person by a grad assistant witness who saw Sandusky raping a boy in the Penn State locker room showers in March 2002. Joe did nothing but tell the AD (who did nothing) — then Joe sat on his hands. Campus police had a report as early as 1998 about similar behavior by a victim’s mother — they and the local DA did nothing. Paterno should be fired TODAY. His reputation is now in shambles, and it should be. The campus administration and local authorities were in on the cover up. If Paterno is not sacked, Penn State should suffer dire consequences to it’s reputation as an institution. If Penn State offered my two Snarkkettes full rides right now, I’d throw the papers in the trash and burn ’em…
Snarkk is ready for blood!
Thoroughly agree. If victims’ advocates ask for the firing of Catholic bishops in similar circumstances, then the same applies here. A dozen Penn State heads should roll.
No player has been the subject of trade rumors more than Sanchez over the last few years. Sabean has acknowledged , of course, that Dirty’s struggles last year hurt in getting a better deal. But no one expected last year’s struggles and injuries, of course…
Evidently Cabrera had a similar situation as Panda did. According to Henry:
“Cabrera got fat and out of shape and had a terrible 2010 season, then rededicated himself to working out last offseason. Cabrera and Sabean said that was the key to his career year offensively, and Cabrera pledged to maintain his workouts this winter.” If that bears out, the deal was a great one.
I hadn’t heard those details, Snarkk, but Joe Pa doesn’t come out looking very good if that’s what happened. They should all go down if that’s the case, but, the problem is, this is sports. Look at Worthlessburger. Absolutely no fallout from his transgressions, just a hearfelt mea culpa, and a month off. Now he’s married? What a laugh.
I think Joe Pa skates on this unless they can prove he knew more than he admits. Which is unlikely. Problem is, he;ll have to live with it.
Granted, this shit is worse than little Ben, and happened for so goddamn long, that lots of people should have known and/or done something. The fact that he had a 2nd chance camp for kids makes it all the worse. This is almost as bad as serial priests.
BLEEP!
Much of this remains allegation- the hanging should wait a bit. There have been terrible terrible abuses by every account but invidual culpability is just not proven at this point.
Yeah but this the internet where people are accused of anything at anytime.
So, don’t te4ar up those free rides yet, Snarkk.
The willingness here to suspend every bit of our rule of law is unbelievable. And do NOT pretend, as with Big Ben, that I am condoning criminal behavior. I am defending what the law provides to the accused. The presumption of innocence. In Ben’s case- the law has determined that he did not commit a crime…
Everything about the Penn State situation seems disgusting and reprehensible-and if Paterno committed a crime , he should be punished. But, as said, they remain allegations.
Agreed on the allegation aspect and should have noted so. I was once on a murder/manslaughter jury, and it was abysmal, almost shocking, how some fellow jurors did not respect, or even understand!, that cornerstone of justice.
I’ve always found it interesting that if any of our daughters were employed by a business that had a Personal Code of Conduct like the NFL’s, she would be subject to punishment for being in a position to be the victim of Ben’s alleged actions..
Haven’t seen it mentioned but does this move ensure Huff is at 1b? I would think Cabrera plays left and they bring back Torres. Or maybe Torres is gone Cabrera goes to CF and Huff to left with Belt at 1b. Besided Nate that’s not an inspiring defensive OF. Or Belt goes to the Ishikawa role. Lots of possibilities still and the OS is young.
My final comment on the PSU matter, for the night ( yeah, hurray)- These are horrible crimes, if the allegations are true, and even if Paterno has not committed a crime in reporting this to a supervisor and not the police, I think he should resign and hope he would. Supporting the rule of law as I do does not mean I support these hideous crimes, if proven..
There are 8 victims in the Penn State indictment. Here’s the document. http://www.freep.com/assets/freep/pdf/C4181508116.PDF
If one victim, I’d be willing to assume it could be a ruse by a grudge holder, or a nut. With 8, nah uh. And, it alleges the Penn State cops secretly listened to the guy confess molestation to victim 6’s mother in 1998, yet did nothing. The indictment also says Sandusky abused some boys at the Penn State facility in the years AFTER the 2002 child rape reported to Paterno the day after it happened. I have zero, zero tolerance for child molesters and their enablers. Paterno and Sandusky coached together for 20 some odd years, he became Joe’s right hand man, and JoPa was clueless? If this indictment bears true, Paterno is a scumbag…
I did not know those details. Based on what I’m seeing, even if Paterno followed the law technically, he should still resign for terrible lapses in judgment, to say the least, the least. As I said earlier, very similar to accusations against church hierarchy. It brings up the same ORGANIZATIONAL issues, not just legal. And of course the broader moral issues. Just seems to reinforce that large organizations, be they corporate, religious, or political, tend to protect their own self-interest at almost any cost.
“If this indictment bears true, Paterno is a scumbag…” My God, an “if”. No one would disagree with that. And I don’t think anyone is suggesting that 8 boys are lying. It’s just being said that you’re not allowed to execute anyone yet.
Schulman says Verdugo was key to deal; KC wanted Runzler, Giants said no.
It appears from the scouting report that I cited, that they wanted a back up Basket Case… “deceptive lefty who misses bats but has minus command…”
Now that was quick. Congrats on the call vis K.C., Flav. So Drrrty Sanchez is history. He will always maintain a solid status as a Giants hero for his performance in 2010 ~ nailing down the Division and all. This morning i was about to suggest he try some of Timmy’s medicine. As a personal anecdote it certainly helps me settle down and focus on the task at hand. Depends on the strain, of course. Oh well, shouldda, couldda. He’s a Royal now. One good thing is that he is not likely to come back and slap the Giants upside the head anytime soon. Only the most patient of hitters ever cared to hit against that guy.
Melky Cabrera, eh? Weird frontname but WTH, he’s a Giant now. Evidently not a great fielding CFer, so i’m with Twin here on sending a lifeline to Torres. VERY little chance now that SF re-signs Ross, if management sees the need for a superb defender for late innings as well as pinch-running duties. At 27 one can hardly say that last season for K.C. could yet be described as a career year. But statistically it was well and away his best yet. Of course he did get to face Twins and Indians pitching for a total of 36-38 games. Worst stat last season was the BB-S.O. ratio of 35-94. But with his recent .300+ BA it could be tolerable. Yes, more triples and fewer HRs at PhoneBill park seems probable. Not your classic leadoff man, but better than anyone else currently on the squad. Would agree that the trade makes signing Beltran somewhat more likely.
Cabrera’s not the big bat, but does rap out a lot of base hits and his .331 lifetime OBP means he will be on base with reasonable frequency and with 35-40 doubles probable, he will be in scoring position fairly often. With Franchez likely to bat second if Melky indeed leads off, he will be followed by an excellent double down batter. So though the front end of the L.U. may not be totally explosive table-setters, that pairing looks to be on base often enough that the big bats will see their RBI totals jump. He scored over 100 runs for K.C. this past season.
Provided Beltran would be agreeable to a 3-year contract the lineup would look something like: Cabrera, Sanchez, Sandoval, Posey, Beltran, Belt, Huff and Crawford. Opposing pitchers would not be scared out of their wits by the reincarnation of the ’27 Yankees or even the ’62 Giants with such an array, but they would not be able to relax until facing the 8-9 batters ~ a far cry from most of this past season.
Plenty of #5 starters out there on the F.A. market and even a fair number of #4’s if you wanna rate them. Oswalt is gonna go for pretty high bucks, so he’s doubtful. An innings eater like Aaron Harang is not unlikely, or possibly even a Bruce Chen. There’s a bunch of em who will probably go for $3-4M/yr. Giants can readily afford that even if they come to terms with Beltran.
Sabean did shoot his wad early on with this trade, moving his best commodity. So though there may be more moves afoot, i do not expect any big-name trades. A serviceable FA catcher is pretty much a must. The loss of Sanchez may well mean that SF intends to keep Runzler in the wings unless someone bowls them over with an offer for a player they could not resist. Don’t expect that, though.
Yeah, I broght up harang a while ago. Shouldn’t be too much. ABZ is in full force now . . .
During one of the last 453 threads about trading Drrrty . . .
There’s a deafening silence coming from Giants headquarters these days about Zito, but it’s highly likely he starts the season as the #5 guy. It’s either that or release him now, and that doesn’t seem as likely. If he starts the season as the #5, he won’t make it to the All-Star break still in the rotation, though. That’s for sure.
Playing for KC is truly toiling in obscurity. I had no idea Melky’s numbers were that good in KC.
Baseball America had NINE Royals among their Top 100 prospects this year, a record. 5 of those were in the top 20.
Baseball America declared the Royals’ current class to the best in the list’s history after assigning a point value to each pick over the 22 years — 100 points for a No. 1 prospect down to one point for a No. 100 prospect.
“The Royals finished with 574 points, which topped the previous best of 541 points by the 2006 Arizona Diamondbacks, who had Justin Upton, Stephen Drew, Conor Jackson, Carlos Quentin, Chris Young and Carlos Gonzalez.”
Dirty is going to a club with a bright future.
I’m skeptical. But Arizona was able to turn around their culture of losing, so anything’s possible.
Well, whatever. Just reporting a fact about how their farm system rates. Maybe they’ll waste them all, but that’s an impressive best prospect total. And Baseball America is quite respected..
Link to the right if you want to comment on the trade further..
I couldn’t name one Royal. But I imagine I’ll be following them a bit now. Think Sanchez will move on with a good yr, and test the FA mkt. He could end up back in the West division, even LA, and have some fun with Sabes and rhe G’s.
I don’t want to go to sleep on that note! One year at a time, baby, one year at a time.
I just read the Sandusky grand jury indictment. Fuck the trial, 8 victims who mostly didn’t know eachother couldn’t all accidentally tell the same disgusting story. And to know that this all went on at Penn state is impossible to comprehend. After all these guys get convicted I hope the disband the entire Penn state football program. They all knew about it but kept quiet to protect the fucking football program and those associated with it? Absurd.
If the indictment is even half true, I say Death Penalty to the Penn State football program. SMU got it for illegal recruiting and payoffs. This misconduct is in another galaxy of nefarious that is far, far beyond a little payola scandal. Paterno’s legacy is not stained, it has been destroyed…
Joe must go. Pennsylvania state police commissioner Frank Noonan said it best:
“Somebody has to question about what I would consider the moral requirements for a human being that knows of sexual things that are taking place with a child,” Noonan said. “I think you have the moral responsibility, anyone. Not whether you’re a football coach or a university president or the guy sweeping the building. I think you have a moral responsibility to call us.”
Exactly; well said. If the NCAA backs off this issue because it can’t find a technical violation of its rules, i.e., it is a criminal matter only, then something is very wrong with the NCAA. If this isn’t an institution with an athletic program out of control in the worst way, I don’t know what is…