Disappointment, thy name is *Freddy Sanchez*…….
Does anyone REALLY care if Sanchez comes back or not? Of course, we all appreciate him for his role in helping bring the World Series to San Francisco. He hit .320 in the series vs the Phillies and who could forget Game 1 of The World Series (that I attended) where he had 4 hits, 3 of them doubles? He was a monster that game. And he’ll always be remembered by me as one of those great men who was integral to that amazing year…..
But the rest of his time in SF has been largely underwhelming. He showed up hurt in ’09. He was hurt almost all of last year. And as I type this, he’s still hurt. Of course, you all know about the injuries. At 34 years old, in a fairly demanding physical spot on the diamond it’s not like we’re going to see a new, re-built Freddy Sanchez. He is who he is at this point in his career. Held together with many surgical repairs, an unexpected, hard cough could send him to the DL again.
Amid reports that he finally has started throwing from 2nd base to 1st base (Woo hoo, get out the rally towels!) we now find out that he’s been taken out by back spasms. Hardly a terribly injury, back spasms are more unpredictable and annoying than anything else, he probably won’t be out too long dealing with this latest ailment. If he’s not starting Opening Day, barring any more set backs, he’ll be in there fairly close to it…..
I just don’t really care one way or the other if he is………
Second base is a super thin position throughout all of baseball. Outside of Cano who towers above the rest with Pedroia a distant 2nd and maybe Uggla 3rd (if you can put up with that batting average) there aren’t that many 2nd baseman that I get too excited about. My point being, after those guys, it’s a position of below average production. At this point in his career, even if he’s healthy (which is silly to assume) we’re talking about a guy who has no pop (outside of the occasional shoulder) and no speed who might hit around .290 if all goes well and who will move a runner along with a *good at bat*. He’ll play average defense, probably a little less than average when you realize he can’t throw anymore and those double plays aren’t gonna get turned as often as they would have if he had the arm he had 3 or 4 years ago……
Ryan Theriot, also uninteresting from a statistical perspective, at least gives you a healthy body. He’s not running on the bases the way he once did but he can at least give you a steal now and again, something Freddy can’t do. I’m also pretty confident that when he throws a baseball, his arm isn’t going to fly off along with it. I could even get behind a platoon of The Two Cajun Boyfriend’s. At least you get the left/right thing going in your favor every game. If those 2 hit a combined .275 with 5 or 6 home runs and 10 steals would that be THAT much less than what you envision Freddy giving us this year? Actually, you could make an argument that those 2 might be MORE productive than Sanchez, even if he’s healthy. You could also argue it the other way, too. I don’t know what Bill James’ projections are for those 3 but I would assume they’re all in the same ballpark, at least in terms of production………
Look, I don’t doubt Freddy’s commitment to the game, he sounds like a *gamer* and a great clubhouse guy and all that. I just don’t think that at this point it’s that big of a drop off from Freddy to *whoever* might be next in line. If he comes back, fine. If he doesn’t, I really don’t care………
I’d rather have Melky hitting 2nd anyway………
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
One more cool moment from Freddy: his at-bat in the 2010 Braves series, down to 2 strikes with 2 outs, down by one run with Ishi on first, he comes through with a clutch single to keep the inning alive. An out there puts the Braves on the fast track to win the first-round, in a game where Hinske’s homer vs. Romo ruined a lights out effort from Jonathan Sanchez. The rally, as I recall, after Sanchez was Huff’s single 5 feet in front of Jason Heyward, who didn’t dive, and then Buster’s “hit” through Brooks Conrad’s legs. Crazy to think how things may have turned out if any of those events did not happen.
If Freddy is not healthy this year, I prefer Theriot at 2nd base, where it seems based on UZR he may actually be an asset with the glove, as opposed to SS where his numbers are awful. If you don’t trust UZR, it seems the fans agree. I read a few Cards fans comments at another site when the Gs signed Theriot, and clearly nobody in St. Louis will miss him as their shortstop — they desparately needed Furcal. Fontenot, in a limited sample size, was a defensive asset at SS last year. I also wonder about Joe Panik, and how fast he will be in the mix, as the Gs are grooming him as a 2b.
Hey Craig, I’ve been a fantasy regular (actually won the first year), if there’s room I’d love to join.
I’m with you on Theriot at 2nd and not SS. Praying Crawford hits.
Sure, send me your email again
34 is not young for a baseball age so injuries especially an infielder is going to slow him down. Giants have been through this many times with aging vets.
I really like the little guy, He’s a hard player and seemed to me always hitting in the clutch. So I hope he’s not out that long and I hope it doesn’t turn into a Grady Sizemore thing.
Yeah Bozo,Im with you Mr.Glass his D alone will be missed the most.Tough week to be named Sizemore,between Grady and the A’s Scott.
I guess it depends on what Sanchez you get when he is ready to go. The late season 2010 was pretty damn good, with way high OPS numbers during SF charge to the top. Last year he was having a pretty good season too (unlike quite a lot of others) before he went down. Fact is, they couldn’t replace him last year, and I don’t see his equal btw Theriot and Burriss.
If your middle IF consists of Font, crawford, theriot and burriss, you better hope the other 6 guys in the LU rake, big time. I know it’s frustrating to hear about his injuries, but I think SF is way better with FS in the LU than without him.
But honestly, this is why I don’t give an F about ST and all the stupid daily reports. I don’t care how FS or Posey or anyone feels right now—just be ready to go when the real season starts.
“If those two hit a combined .275…” maybe in texas, but wow the offensive numbers for both of them have sucked for a few years. FS is a steady if unspectacular .730 OPS guy, .330-.340 OB and just under .400 slugging. Font OB is mendoza line .300, and T slugging .350 ish, with 2 HRs in his last 1000 ABs, while playing in warm weather parks in the NL central. Font hit .227 for us last year, 50 points worse than FS. Bottom line you are giving up 50 points or more off the OPS; these guys might not be able to knock Crawford out of the 8 spot.
As challenged as SF is to score runs, I’m hoping FS is ln the LU when season starts, and is able to stay there.
Font had a poor year in 2011, but career he is better offensively from the left side, where the vast majority of at bats come from, than Fruckie. (.267 BA, .337 OBP, .750 OPS, Font) Fruckie is .283 BA, .319 OPB .707 OPS against RHers. Our best infield offensively is Font at 2nd, Theriot at SS against RHers. Crawford needs to show he can hit above “A” ball, which he should do in Fresno.The Fruckster can platoon with Font.
At this point in his career, with all the surgeries and the age, I don’t think it’s a slam dunk to say FS is reliable anymore. Theriot hits lefties fine (I think he was over .300 last year). Admittedly, I can’t find a lot to like about Fontenot except the occasional surprise bomb. A platoon might not be the best idea between Font-Riot. I could live with it.
But with the reliability of health as well as the faster wheels that Theriot gives you, I just feel like I could live with him at 2nd if FS hits the DL again. And as I said, I’m not pining away for him to come back or anything. If he does, fine. If he doesn’t, Theriot and some small doses of Fontenot will be fine………
Freddy’s wife is pretty hot.
It’s in interesting to note James’ wOBA for each player in 2012.
Font: .310
FS: .307
Theriot: .304
Here’s a short blurb on wOBA if you aren’t familiar with it:
“wOBA is based on a simple concept: Not all hits are created equal. Batting average assumes that they are. On-base percentage does too, but does one better by including other ways of reaching base. Slugging percentage weights hits, but not accurately (Is a double worth twice as much as a single? In short, no). On-base plus slugging (OPS) does attempt to combine the different aspects of hitting into one metric, but it assumes that one percentage point of SLG is the same as that of OBP. In reality, a handy estimate is that OBP is around twice as valuable than SLG (the exact ratio is x1.8).
Weighted On-Base Average combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value. While batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage fall short in accuracy and scope, wOBA measures and captures offensive value more accurately and comprehensively.”
and I know I didn’t make it clear, but all 3 of those wOBA’s suck.
According to James, Pujols will check in with a wOBA of .422 this year. Panda, .377….
in 2001/02 Barry’s wOBA’s were like .550
Crawford’s is .282.
I know. Jesus. That is about as low as it gets.
What’s Eli’s wOBA?
Eli’s was .251 last year.
As I said, the best infield offensively against RHers is Fontentot at 2nd, Theriot at SS. Thanks for some confirmation, Bill.
Well, I’m out. I don’t want to argue about our middle infield. It’s poor no matter who plays.
I disagree with MLB being poor insofar as 2nd baseman, although regarding the Giants, yeah, that´s absolutely true. Ian Kinsler hit 32 HRs, scored 121 runs, and stole 30 bases. He is a tier one 2nd baseman, along with Cano and Pedroia.
Right below those 3, you have Brandon Phillips with .300 BA, 18 HRs, 94 runs, 82 RBIs, and 14 stolen bases. Ben Zobrist had a comeback year, with .269 BA, 20 bombs, 99 RBI, 91 runs, and 19 SB. Howie Kendrick .285 BA, 18 HR, 86 runs, 63 RBI and 14 SB. Both Weeks brothers are good, with Ritchie the power maven and Jemile the speed demon, who also hits for average (.303 last year). The older Weeks had an ankle injury last year, but was having an all star year before he was injured. What about Kipnis and Ackley? I would give my left nut for either player after the way they played last year. Also, ask Pawlie about Neil Walker . . . He traded him to me for Tabata and he will say that was the turning point in his season.
Yeah, the Giants might suck at 2nd base, but there are some good 2nd basemen playing today . . .
I assess their production in relation to where I might draft them. Of all the players you listed I would draft Cano at the end of the first round and that’s about it. The rest of them are going to high for my tastes…..
Blade, if you want a good free website you shoudl check out mockdraftcentral.com. They run hundreds of mockdrafts each week and then assign everyone an average draft position. If you’re doing any kind of a live draft you should commit that site to memory. The Yahoo and espn rankings are a fucking joke…..
Well now that has been the Giants Managements MO for awhile and Ageing vet does well one to two years and they reward him. I would have to say that the last consistant SS and 2nd baseman for the Giants was Aurilla and Kent. So sooner or later the Giants are going to have to develope some infielders and quit going after aging vets.
Not for lack of trying. Culberson, Noonan, Burriss and Panik were all first rd picks. Crawford was taken in the 4th. They signed Adrianza at 16.
Pretty good article on Surkamp but the new guy at the Merc (who is doing a fantastic job):
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/extrabaggs/2012/03/02/surkamp-patiently-waits-on-deck-prepares-for-next-big-league-shot/
That is the 2nd article in 2 days I’ve read about him that attributed his underwhelming Sept performance to fatigue. And now we hear he’s put on muscle, strengthened his core and dropped body fat. This is excellent news.
I’m willing to be take back what I said, his minor league numbers were outstanding. If he was tired, I can give him another shot I guess. 🙂
I would love to see Surkamp make a bit of a splash in ST. All the better for when Zito gets that “injury” this season that puts him and his new windup on the shelf again…
I’m in a wait and see pattern for Franchez. I don’t expect him to play more than 100 games, it might even be less. Reports I’ve heard he’s barely even starting to throw from second across his body to first yet. Marty Lurie said last night he’s barely even seen him in the field over the last week. All this tells me he’s probably starting the season on the DL. For how long, who knows? Could very well be 2nd will be a platoon position for at least half this year. All I gotta say is that in 2013, one of these supposed good players in the minors needs to step up to take the 2nd base position and make it his own. Since Kent left and Ray Ray morphed into Stonehands, 2nd base has been very problematic for the Giants…
All of the middle infield prospects hit the wall at the AA level. The idea that we should pray for a guy to hit here when he’s shown he can’t hit above “A” ball is just nonsense. They’ll undoubtedly give Crawford that chance because he does exhibit some pop. But expect Theriot ot Font or even Burriss to take over pretty quickly. Then keep an eye on Panik- they’ll bump him to AA by midseason, if he hits there he’ll be the SS by 2013, if not the EOY…
Nonsense eh? And the answer is Burriss? Yep, he’s just just torn the cover off the ball in his what seems like a 10 yr career.
Nonsense is putting another 30+ retread out there with ZERO upside and horrible defensive numbers
Never said he was the answer- however he has actually hit at both the AAA level and at the MLB level, something Crawford has never done..
As I said, they’ll give Crawford a shot because he does show he might have some pop. And I hope he takes advantage. Just don’t count on it.
Crawford has rapidly gained a cult rivalling Nate’s. But when the prayer is that he’ll outhit Vogelsong, that’s not what I’d call a lofty goal. I don’t expect Burriss to replace him, that’s why I said “even”, I expect it to be one of the “zero upside” vets. No need to get persnickety about it, though, I hope Crawford does out hit Vogey 😉
Burriss hasn’t shown any solid ability to hit so far. He’s not near as slick a fielder as Crawford.
And he has negative pop. Speed, yes, but not an accomplished base stealer at all. He needs to break out this ST, or he’s gone, he’s out of options…
He’s hit more than Crawford- but he was my 4th choice, hardly a ringing endorsement..
Ok. The brain trust must have some minimal tolerance level hitting for Crawford. I don’t know what it is, but I’ll guess it’s around .220, maybe with a .290 OBP or similar. He can take walks. If Posey has to sit for any length, and Stewie is the catcher, the top 6 better hit, because the bottom 3 are going to be abysmal…
I’m sure they do have some minimum numbers in mind. And as you say, somewhat dictated by what they get elsewhere. But regardless of the defensive numbers and knowing the M.O. here, I do not see them hanging with him long when they know they have a guy to hit .280 or so..
I see their fate decided by the long ball this year- Pablo, Posey, Belt, and Huff…plus the pitching, of course. Will they really cut bait with the Zitman if Surkamp out pitches him? I’m doubtful. All it seems to take is one “quality start” to get him 4 more starts…
I’ve heard multiple times on the two sports radio stations that the guessing is that this is Zito’s last year. If he doesn’t perform, he can then be DFA’d this coming offseason because the financial hit will be more palatable with only one year to go, plus the buyout for the option year. That makes no sense to me. It’s better to pay a guy to lose games for you than just paying him to go away so you can win some of those games with his replacement? I fail to see the logic. And, at this point down this Zitoroad, I fail to see how one or the other option saves more organizational “face”, if that were any consideration….
Too often what I think the team will do is confused with what I would do. Barry Zito wouldn’t have started a game for me since May of 2007…
theriot was so dreadful at SS that STL brought in Furcal, the “30 + retread”, who managed to pick up a ring and play well for them. I don’t like furcal, but the idea that a vet can’t give the team more than crawford isn’t nonsense. His cult is starting to remind of frandsen.
C’mn, Furcal’s track record is light years better than Theriot,s .
fuck track record, you make an informed guess on what a player will do in the upcoming year. I could care less about what a player has done in his career. It’s all about finding reasons to make excuses for why their previous year sucked (or didn’t but shouldn’t be valued as highly as it is being valued). I’m all about making excuses if they make sense.
Now, neither Theriot or Furcal have anything in last season’s body of work that would give me a reason to make an excuse for them or get excited about their upcoming year….
Furcal isn’t here, but The Riot is and I am fine with him if he needs to step in for Glass Sanchez. He just isn’t that much of a drop off. Maybe 20-25 batting average points, but he gives you some steals and he’s healthy enough to stay in the LU. And, like I said, when he throws a baseball I’m not frightened by the fear of his arm taking flight with the ball………
He’s a decent plan B at 2nd, just not a fulltime SS.
Cult of Crawford?
I don’t think it’s that far. He’s been around for 1/2 a season, punctuated by stints sent down so Cabrera and Miggy could exhibit their “talents”. The kid can pick it at SS, which stuns Giants fans used to crap SS play since Omar got the boot. That’s what it’s about. And, with this pitching staff, a SS that can pick it is a huge plus. So, understandably, the brass are right to give this kid some rope in the hitting department. I wouldn’t call that a cult, that’s good baseball…
And I wasn’t going to talk about our middle infield… GNight
Night Twin, sleep well.
The Crawford Love is coming from a couple of misguided places. For one, he’s a very good looking dude. The ladies love him, the Giants love to sell baseball to non-fans, they’re dying for him to be able to hit. He’s also got a swing that *looks* good. It does. But what he’s doing with it is stupid. He’s trying to pull everything. Is there an easier thing for a smart pitcher to beat than a young hitter (who’s not that good at hitting) who is trying to pull everything? No, there isn’t.Until he figures out how to send the ball the other way (seriously, he should talk to Franchez about this, that’s ALL the dude ever tries to do with the ball) he’s going to have trouble even dreaming about his wOBA ……
By the way. got a kick out of listening to Tolbert and Ralph on the way home tonight. I literally turned it on while Tolbert was in the middle of talking about my *4 homes games* idea for the division winner vs the WC. I liked Tolbert as a player and he has some moments on his show. But by and large I’ve always called him kind of a dope and Ralph is just a fucking idiot. Anyway, if a dope is calling for the same thing you did then you either admit to being a fellow dope or you distance yourself from the idea. I’m doing the latter. But I still love the idea of the WC’s playing each other……
Man, the Warriors should pay me not to watch them play. I think I’ve seen 4 games this year. Each game they get completely destroyed. Shit, is someone fucking with the box scores? When I watch Klay Thompson play he can’t hit a shot. When I don’t, he’s a stud. And I really like him having watched him play at Maples a few times and I totally supported the pick so I don’t want to bail on him. But goddamn, he can’t hit shit when I watch. And see? While I’m typing this and looking at the screen, I just heard him drop in a three! Only down by 20 now…….
The Dubs are afraid of .500. Every time they get within shouting distance, they lay 4 straight turds . . .
.
They are better off not getting anywhere near the playoffs.
Crawford? Well, this is the corssroads of being at the cusp of great things, or just another .222 guy who scuffles around as a utility IF. He just turned 25, so he’s at the point where he HAS to improve.
Chuck–I’m PRAYING they don’t land in playoffs and then we just need the balls to bounce our way to go top 7 or better.
I just watched Coach-Jack try to explain this game to the media. Did that dude look done or what? The only thing that might keep him from killing himself would be to stick around long enough to murder half his team. Man, he looks like he would rather do ANYTHING but coach the Warriors right now—at least tonight.
I’ve never seen a coach (at least that I can remember) who looked more desperate or beaten after a loss. He was devastated.
Dude needs to toughen up, rollin’ with the W’s means you have to tolerate an absurd about of shitty play over the course of many, many years. I could lose games like this doing one armed push ups and eating a stale ham sandwich. As a Warrior fan, this is just what we do……..
Jackson isn’t gonna cut it falling apart like that loss-to-loss………
When yer a talking head on ESPN, coaching looks a hell of a lot easier . . .
Welcome to hell, Here’s Andreis Beindras . . .
Having never done it, I can still see that coaching in the NBA looks like a hell of a gig (in terms of being tough), But coaching the Warriors, everything about the fucking Warriors, means you have to embrace misery and futility with both arms stretched wide.
I love the Warriors, I just don’t give a shit about them anymore. I know that sounds weird but it’s true. The only way to be a Warrior fan is to not get caught up in the reality of the day to day shit. Just look to the future, sing a song to yourself, click your heels together or whatever. That’s what Jackson is probably doing tonight to figure a way out of this fuckhole and back into the broadcast booth………
How can anyone take the Dubs seriously if they keep putting Biedrins out there? Seriously, the dude is the Zito equivalent. Or worse. And, they’ve already wasted their amnesty pick on a dude with only $4 million to pay, and an expiring contract. That is just totally F’d up. More reasons why I don’t give a used spittoon about the NBA. It is just a total joke league…
the amnesty thing is the # 1 compliant I have about the new ownership group. Yes, I believe they want to actually do something, owning the team isn’t just an ego thing for them.
And they’ve done some good things— The Rush trade was fantastic, the McGuire pick up outstanding. Same thing with the Robinson pick up.
But they completely whiffed on the amnesty thing and one of two things was happening there:
Either they were trying to save the dough by finding a reason to ditch a dumb 4 mil salary (instead of the Biedrens deal) or they were just THAT DUMB to think that the Jordan deal would go down. There was no fucking way that was ever gonna happen. Sterling was NEVER going to let him go. Jordan’s best friend is Griffin. Sterling is the kind of owner who you KNEW would match that deal for no other reason than because of Griffin. That’s not my opinion, anyone who knows this guy’s personality was saying the same thing. So they had NO CHANCE at getting Jordan. But they got to say “we tried”. And hey, there was a side benefit, they DID get to amnesty the cheapest deal they could amnesty. Back end cheap-o move by the new ownership? Maybe. Either that or they were just stupid.
Tolbert has been squawking about “they couldn’t have amnestied Bieds because they would have been left with no center on the roster. Really? After that deal fell through they just instantly overpaid for Brown so they obviously knew they could pick up an NBA center. And there a 10 to 20 centers in the D league who could put up *Biedren’s numbers* as a back up to Brown. (I know he’s hurt but you’re telling me they couldn’t have gone into the season with Brown starting and a D league guy backing him up? Shit, Brown was one of our best players before he got randomly hurt……..
So that’s my main rant about the W’s these days.
But I’m already over this post…….
Serenity now, serenity now………
Tolbert, who played for Sterling and knows what a dumbass he is, was asked (during the waiting period before the Clips matched) if he was the kind of owner who would match an offer sheet just to appease his best player. He didn’t even blink for a second and said “Yes, he is absolutely going to match that offer for that reason.”.
If Tolbert saw that coming how could the W’s misread such an easy read?
Speaking of SSs.
I love that Miggy is begging Beane to take him into the fold, and play 3rd base. He’ll do it for not much money, just wants to play.
Laughably, he says he didn’t play well last year with the Giants, because he was “unhappy” in SF.
HE was unhappy? WE had to watch that shit, and Sabes paid $6 million for it, including insubordination!…
POTD. Fuck Miggy.
Hey, if I watch Beane ditch all his good players and then sign Colon and Manny, goddamn right I’d put in a call to him (see: Canseco, Jose and Tejada, Miguel).
I don’t particularly dig the new wild card thing, but on paper the Giants look like a prime candidate to benefit from it.
Yep. The Dbacks look tough, should be a dogfight to win the West…
Comcast just ran some quickie blurb that said (I’m paraphrasing here as it was just on in the background) that instead of making the playoffs their last 5 times they would have made it 15 times over the same time period. How many times do I have to say “sign me up?”
I think 12 playoff teams is better.
The the G’s would have made it 20 times.
That’s not the point.
well this IS happening, and you nervous nellies can come down off the ledge after the first post season. It’s going to be exciting as hell whether the Giants are in it or not.
Yeah!