Quick Spring Check– Who’s Hot, Who’s Not
With so many regulars missing from Spring to play in the WBC there are going to be a lot more at bats for the *fringe crew* to impress (or *depress*) Bruce Bochy.
Who’s Hot:
Francisco Peguero: He’s hitting .550 with a 1.321 OPS. Torres better get that oblique straight, fast.
Brock Bond: the guy the Giants drafted by mistake is turning out to be a nice little story. His career almost ended by way of concussion a couple of years ago, he’s shown up raking. He’s hitting .500 with a god-like OPS of 1.583. The scouting report is that he doesn’t do any one thing great but he does everything well. Sounds like Marco Scutaro to me.
Who’s luke-Warm:
Brett Pill: He’s been a little better than luke-warm. He’s hit 2 bombs. He needs to keep the bombs coming.
Cole Gillespe: Hitting .261. I’m not really following him but he’s in danger of becoming lost in the crowd if he doesn’t step it up.
Who’s Not:
Gary Brown: He’s k’d 6 times this spring. That’s second highest on the team. The leader?…….
Roger Kieschnick: ….who’s k’d 7 times and who’s hitting .238 (same as Brown).
Kensuke Tanaka: leads the team with 4 errors (the rest of the team combined has 6 errors). If he can’t field or hit why would we want him on the team?
Angel Villalona: He’s hit a bomb and probably a few In and Out’s but that’s about it. He’s hitting .167.
Nick Noonan: He’s 1 for 19. Next…..
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
Flav, your post is gold. Why? I only get bits and pieces of the fringe guys. This isn’t because the info isn’t available to me – it is. However, I am on this trip and coupled with WIFI being hit and miss, it’s hard to fuck around trying to get a connection, much less research obscure baseball players.
Your post has a synopsis on each of the minor league players trying to make the big club and I appreciate this info being in one place that I can access easily. Thanks.
New post on my blog about my one full day in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia . . . In Nepal now and it’s like being on an alien planet. Even the fucking plane ride was the strangest airline flight I have EVER had. Approximately 75% of the passengers were guest workers. You have to understand that these people are very primitive and many have never lived in a home with running water, much less had a lesson with plumbed toilet facilities. None of them I suspect have even been on a plane.
Why do I mention this? The restrooms were trashed with piss and shit within an hour of taking off. Flight attendants were constantly telling passengers to sit down when the seat belt sign was lit. When food was served, many passengers rudely thought this was an opportunity to stuff food into their coats and they asked for more. I observed all this shit going on and had no idea what the fuck was up, until I spoke with a flight attendant and asked her. She said that guest workers comprise about 1-3 flights per week and I was unfortunate to have had flown on one. She told me to avoid the restroom if at all possible. Unfrickingbelievable.
The passenger near me did the following during our trip: 1. Picked his nose constantly and put it on the seat in front of him; 2. Tried to open orange juice in a fruit cup container and a yogurt as well – spilling most of it on him; 3. He stared at his meal for what seemed like minutes, then figured out from watching me, to use the plastic fork his meal came with; 4. Had his seat reclined before takeoff; 5. Didn’t have his seat belt on during takeoff or landing (flight attendant missed both); and, 5. Had his window shade closed because I suspect he thought the plane was going to crash and didn’t want to watch. Meanwhile, another passenger got up while the plane was landing, telling the flight attendant that was running down the aisle to stop him, he had to go to the bathroom. Total fucking chaos.
OK, back to the cozy United States and baseball. 🙂
That’s fucking hilarious, Steve. Probably not at the time of the flight for you, but to hear it from here, and trying to imagine all the shenanigans, it is pretty damned funny. You will probably reflect on this at some point in the future and find it all amusing. Happy Trails my friend.
No, I actually was laughing my ass off too Chi. Sure, I couldn’t use the restrooms for 4 hours, but that was remedied by not drinking too much liquids. The guy picking his nose was fascinating. For him, it was the most natural thing in the world to pick his nose and not give a fuck who knew or who watched. This shit was repeated by other passengers (whom I forgot to mention were mostly from Bangladesh). There were a few white women (mostly young) on the flight where you could see visible disgust written all over their faces, especially after exiting the toilet. LMFAO. You really had to be there. Oh, almost forgot – when the plane was still taxing toward the gate – not stopped – they all got up and started opening up the luggage bins. By that time, the attendants gave up and forget about a line waiting for the door to open. They all tried to start walking down the aisle, pushing the person in front forward, even though the cabin door hadn’t been opened yet. Just imagine this shit happening in the U.S. I think the on board Air Marshall would have shot a few of them. LOL. 🙂
Reminds me of a “Lonely Planet” (later called “Globe Trekker”) travel episode years ago. The host “Ian”, an English comic who was the best host of that travel series, was in Ethiopia. He took a train trip of 12 hours or something. After an hour or two into the trip, they showed him going into the train bathroom in the rear of the car, he just opened the door, looked in, and shook his head “NO”, and went back to his seat. This went on about every 2 hours, with each succeeding visit the same result, but each time his grimacing and crossing his legs with bladder and/or rectal pain got worse and worse (and funnier and funnier). Finally, about 10 hours in, he can’t take it anymore, absolutely has to go, so vows on camera to tolerate whatever horror is in there, now worse after a train car full of people using it for 10 hours. He walks back, opens the door to the can, walks inside, the door closes. 3 seconds later the door opens, he has an ashen face, and says “NO BLEEDIN’ WAY” or similar, and walks back to his seat. Hilarious!…
The player Flavor is thinking of is Cole Gillespie, Conor Gillaspie is gone, traded this spring for White Sox minor league pitcher Jeff Soptic..
Brock Bond does not have a rep doing of everything well. His his rep is as a guy who gets on base- a valuable asset, but maybe not enough to offeset that that he doesn’t do anything else well…he’s not considered a prospect. People will have to die for him to make the team- he has a shot because some of the favorites are on ventilators..
Obviously, my pick for the last last utrility infielder spot (Nick Noonan) has not helped himself so far. With Abreu having some injury problems, the favorites are Valdez and Tanaka, but don’t rule out Theriot, still unsigned. He wants to be regular, he’s probably going to rethink that..
Tanaka was a GG fielder in Japan, ignore his ST errors.
I like Theriot, if only because he has been here and helped the team previously. Theriot IMO could help the Giants again. I hope he does sign with us.
I agree…have always wanted Theriot back, but as Michael mentions, I have heard he is looking for a team where he can start/get more playing time. Not sure I see that happening.
Schulman predicted yesterday that the Cards will re-sign Theriot now that Furcal is on the gurney headed to TJ surgery.
I’m wondering if the Yanks might be interested in Pill? They have a young Second baseman named Angelo Gumbs playing for the Riverdogs that we should get. Mudbug to Gumbs to Belt in 2016 has a nice ring to it.
Michael – not tracking on your comments on the utility spot. How are Valdez and Tanaka the favorites for the final utility spot? Valdez has gotten into 9 games and is hitting only .214. Tanaka is at .222. Tanaka has swiped a couple of bags.
And I don’t get your comments on Bond. Collectively, since being drafted in the 24th round, he has hit .332 in the minors with a .442 OBP…OPS of .820. I think he has the inside track for the last utility spot. He won the batting title in 2009 while at AA, and was a AAA all star in 2010.
I have always like Kieschnick, but he hasn’t done much to help his cause this year. It’s too bad, he was having a really good year last year before ending up on the wrong end of a tussle with an outfield wall (he would have been called-up last year). He has some pop, too.
I don’t see Pill making the club…only chance is as a bat with potential power off the bench, and I think the team is going to want someone with a bit more flexibility in the OF. I think Peguero has the inside track here, but I don’t see him as a threat to Torres (I think Torres has a spot locked up – OF: Pagan, Pence, Torres, and Blanco are in).
Not sure who has the inside track for a bullpen spot. Gaudin is getting the most reps so far, and his numbers are good, but will the team want that last spot to be a leftie?
chi from what I’ve read Bond’s D is a bit suspect. Because of injury they haven’t had Tony Abreu on the field and expect him to get a long look for the INF spot when he’s healthy.
A lot more ST to go so it’ll be interesting to see how things shake out. We will know more once you get down there and start giving us reports.
Read my comments on Bond- they are dead accurate on his status. He’s 27, can’t run, field, or hit with power. First person to mention 2 HRs in ST goes to Room B and gets out the same day Pickled Gringo does. As to Tanaka and Valdez, they have (along with Abreu), always been the favorites. They are both good defenders which does have some value for some.
As I said, Bond’s best shot is is if the other guys go feet up. I’m actually rooting for him.
Valdez isn’t expected to hit, he’s the most versatile of the group, a trait Bochy values. Sorry if this rots somne socks but I follow this stuff more than the rest of you, propbably because I don’t have a life. Whatever.Brock Bond has never been considered a prospect- think of him as a midget Brett Pill prospect wise. In both cases, they can only make the team if others fuck up. Bond is actually giving himself a chance, but he won’t be buying a home even if he does break camp…
Thanks for the additional comments. Given the Giants place a lot of credence on defense (and that is big when you have a team that relies heavily on your pitching staff), I can see this being a liability for him (his FP and RF numbers are not great). I was more replying to your comment “His rep is as a guy who gets on base- a valuable asset, but maybe not enough to offeset that that he doesn’t do anything else well…” and more specifically the “doesn’t do anything else well” part. He has overall hit for good average and his OPS doesn’t really suck for a 2nd bagger. Sure, he doesn’t hit for power, but not a lot of 2nd basemen (and that has been his principal position) do.
Anyway, I really don’t give a rats ass who wins that final utility spot, outside of them having someone who can play multiple positions and help the team. Theriot would be my first choice, but that has been discussed above (him wanting to start more/wanting more playing time).
Getting on base includes getting hits. I don’t have a fucking stake on who wins the spot, either. I just don’t see a singles hitter with no speed or defending skllls making the team. But as I’ve said- that was my shitty profile as a suspect so I do root for him.
they want someone who can also backup SS. They told Tanaka he has to prove he can handle it or else. Bond can only play a little 3b but I guess with Arias, that’s covered.
my comment in the main thread about Bond was basically a direct quote from Kuiper, a former second baseman. He was saying that Bond does all the little things well, all the fundamental things, like moving a runner over–stuff that doesn’t show up in the box score. And then he compared that quality of Bond to Marco Scutaro.
Right now, I prefer him over Tanaka because I think he’s a better hitter than Tanaka and he’ll more likely be used off the bench late in a game.
I haven’t checked his defensive metrics, mostly because I think those metrics have huge flaws, but the only reason I wouldn’t want Bond is if he is absolutely terrible at defense.
I want more home grown guys so that’s another reason I want him over Tanaka.
Bond grew up a Cardinals fan so that’s my main critique of him so far. 🙂
Kuiper referred to offensive sklils- which he has. He is terrible defender- take my word for it. Bochy has kindly said he’s “not known for it”. But Tanaka isn’t his main competiton anyway.
Hey Craig – we all have our flaws…I grew up a Cards fan, too (my choices growing-up in Northeastern Oklahoma were really the Cards or Royals), and my parents and all their fans were huge Cards fans, too. Once I got to NorCal in ’77, I knew I was here to stay and started following the Giants (wanted to be behind a local team). The Cards now? They are right there with the Bums and Yankmees on my hate meter.
I had not looked at his defensive stats, either. If he truly is that awful, then I can’t get behind that. I think the important points for the final utility IFer spot is first, good defense, and secondly, the ability to play both 2nd and SS (and potentially 3rd, if required). Sounds like Brock is a defensive liability…
Whatever,he’s a a good story, that’s really his main appeal. Every team in baseball passed on him in the Rule 5, which should tell you how much value is placed on those offensive skills. The problem they have in filling that last spot is that no one except Tanaka can play 2nd well except maybe Noonan. And only Valdez is a good defender at SS. Remember when they were actually looking at trying Pill there?
Ha. I had forgot about that (looking at Pill in those regards). Reminds me of visions of Aubrey playing 2nd base…something I would just as soon forget. I wish Theriot would soften his stance on wanting to start, etc. He would be an excellent guy to fill out that last utility spot.
Kieschnick has 1573 PAs in the minors, 1433 ABs. Allowing for his injury last season, he’s at the point and age where this is his season of decision. If he doesn’t break out offensively in AAA this year, and force the Giants to play him or trade him, he’s not going to be more than maybe a cuppa coffee major leaguer, at best, IMO…
Agree snarkk. He was having a really nice year last year before his injury. If that had not happened, he would have cerainly been called-up, and who knows how the lack of that injury would have impacted his spring this year.
Regardless, I just like the guy’s make-up. He has good speed, better than average defensive skills, and hits for some power (all of this, of course, when he is healthy). I’ve read takes on him from Evans, Tidrow, and other players etc., and they all say he is a talented player. He’s just a guy I have been pulling for over the last couple of years.
Blade, that is too fucking funny. Was it the Borat movie where hes on the plane with all the other passengers and their goats, pigs, and chickens running up and down the aisle?
So, Romo throws 26 pitches yesterday, and per Schulman, Giants management may be in a snit about it. OK, maybe it’s early for that many, but is it really? Wouldn’t he be throwing bullpens with more pitches than that? If he’s supposed to be the closer, he’s got to have some durability. I find the situation amusing and a little perplexing at the same time…
Tanaka sucks sushi balls
He stinks as a fielder,he throws 7 hoppers to Belt from 2nd base ferchrissakes.
He totally has Steve Sax and Macky Sasser throwing disease .
Cannot see him making this team.
Brock Bond is a better option.
So, Timmy is scratched from his second consecutive start, but is supposedly going to start tomorrow. Any cause for concern? If not, what about if he misses a start tomorrow?
I’m not worried about the blister. If he gets roughed up tomorrow, I still won’t be worried, he’s barely pitched to any live batters so far. If he gets roughed up all spring, then I’ll worry…
His ST numbers have always sucked. And that is not what I am potentially worried about (potentially, because I am not worried at “this point”). What worries me is that if he misses another start or two, it could affect the number of starts he has to stretch-out and get his pitch count up in preparation for the regular season.
True to all that, too. But, given his last year’s suckage, I want to see some rays of improvement with control and location, even if it comes late in ST. I don’t want to hear any more incessant “he’s working on his mechanics” from Kruk, even if he is…
From a John Shea article on the US team for the WCS:
Despite 11 seasons in the majors, Affeldt already received several pointers from U.S. pitching coach Greg Maddux, a 355-game winner. For example:
“He asked, ‘When is the pitch over?’ And I said, ‘Is that a trick question? I don’t really know what you mean.’ He said, ‘When is the pitch over?’ I said, ‘Why don’t you just answer it? I’d rather not sound stupid, you know.’ He said, ‘The pitch is over when it hits the glove.’ ”
Affeldt agreed.
“He said, ‘Well, if you think that, you’ll stay on your pitch longer.’ A lot of guys will let the ball go and pull off. But if you use two eyes and look at the glove and wait for the ball to hit the glove, it keeps you on your target.”
My reaction to this thing with Maddux could go two ways. 1. He’s FOS and was jacking Affeldt around. 2. The guy has 355 Ws in MLB, maybe Affeldt should listen.
I’m going with #2…
I’m going with 2…
Yep, and now that I think about what he said, it adds explanation to the fact that he was one of the best fielding pitchers ever. He stayed in position to field balls hit up the middle or to either side — or right at him…
I knew the dude had racked-up a lot of awards, but I went and checked…
4 Cy Young awards…
and EIGHTEEN Gold Glove awards.
All to go along with the other kazillions of awards he won…
Without a doubt, one of the best fielding pitchers ever…hell, one of the best, period. And, he was a pitcher in the truest sense…I can’t recall anyone who could locate a pitch the way Maddux could.
And what makes Maddux even more irritating is that he was a very good bunter, too. (grin) He did every possible thing a pitcher needs to do to help himself get lots of Ws.
Agreed there, zum.
I never understand why pitchers don’t work as hard as they possibly can on (i) bunting, (ii) hitting/slapping the ball for butcher boy and similar situations, (iii) fielding from the mound, throwing to first and second, and running to first to take a throw, (iv) keeping the runner close at first AND second. The (iv) has always pissed me off about Timmeh. He should be working on his move and keeping runners close at first AND second, since he’s terrible at it. Sure, he hasn’t had to worry much about it before, but he does now. Affeldt is a horrible fielding pitcher, does he work on it at all during the season? If I were an NL pitcher, particularly a starter, I’d get under the stands every freekin’ day in those inside cages and work on my bunting and situational hitting. You’re already sitting on your ass 4 days between starts, so work on something…
Tanaka probably misses his great pal, Mr. Fuji…
Now, that’s a tag team going back to when wrestling was wrestling, and the fake stuff was really fake, for real.
Later on, Fuji and Tanaka could have been Iron Chefs (Japan)?
Tanaka was also the Japanese secret service agent helping Bond in “You Only Live Twice”, an underrated film in the Bond series.
I was a big fan of Kinji Shubuya, myself. Born in Utah, not Japan. Very big in the Bay Area and across California in his heyday. Kinji vs. Ray Stevens. Now, THAT was a grudge match. Frequently…
how do you remember that shit? it all comes back but i couldn’t have made that pull with a fucking tractor.
Tanaka the secret service guy of Japan I remember well because I’m a big fan of the old Bond (Sean Connery) series. Japan, post war in the 60s and after the Tokyo olympics in ’64 was still very “out there” as a movie locale in the late ’60s, quite different and exotic. And, the old Bond movies always had a local contact helping Bond, and you always wondered if he was a double agent or something. Jack Lord played Felix Leiter of the CIA at least in one of those flicks, can’t remember which one. As for Kinji, when I was a kid I used to watch the wrestling matches on TV, they were on after school sometimes on film, I guess. Kinji was mostly the bad guy, of course, with the Japanese stereotype. But, Ray Stevens was big in California, too. Big blond guy, I think he had a sleeper hold, or jumped off the ropes with a pile driver, or something — they each had a gimmick. Kinji’s was just to look mean, and kinda grunt a lot. Pat Patterson and Pepper Gomez were big, too, when I was a kid. I remember ’em well. Fuji and Tanaka came somewhat later, I think, in the mid or late ’70s. I vaguely remember ’em, by then I wasn’t paying attention to wrestling much anymore. I went to one match once as a kid, it was a hoot. The falls and punches were faked and pulled much more obviously live than they looked on TV, so that kind of put me off of it. I couldn’t tell you who the WWF or WWE guys are today…
Sheeesh, God bless Blade for LOLing when I’d be POBARing (pissed off beyond all recognition). Bochy sounds pissed — and worried — about Romo’s 26 pitches.
I think this signals from Giants management that Romo really isn’t going to “the” closer this year. Having a conniption small or big enough to call Romo the next morning and make sure he’s OK and to be honest with the Mexico managers tells me they don’t believe he’s durable enough to be the everyday closer. And, I agree with them. We’ll be at closer by committee again, and frankly, I’m not going to sweat it. It worked last year, so why not again?…
Too bad for Romo yesterday. He gets the blown save because the leftfielder dropped a very catchable ball.
Tonight, Mexico is off to a good start, ahead of the U.S. 2-0 so far.
Romo should be able to roll out of bed on Christmas morning and throw 26 fuckin’ pitches…
I like it.
The “beddy bye” slider…
he’s not brawny enough for that
You know, Bonds used to light up Maddux pretty good too. Don’t care how many PEDs you’re on, try hitting that guy’s pitches with location and movement 400 ft. Nobody else could…. F the clueless sanctimonious mofos that don’t think he deserves the hall.
right on matey
tell it like it is
I’m going to guess, if the Giants are going to have a designated closer instead of the committee, that Casilla will be the guy not too long into the season. Or, just a wild thought, if Timmy struggles as a starter again, they’ll pull a “Righetti” and make Timmy the closer before the All Star break.
Watching the U.S.-Mexico game at the office. Co-worker asked why isn’t Posey on the team. I answered, “Because Dickey’s on the roster!”
And Torre is the manager…
I don’t like national teams.