Uninvited Company
Finally, no longer in sole possession of first place. We’ve been alone at the top since May 15th. This slow, painful slide back to the masses was inevitable and possibly just what the team needs. We haven’t played like a first place team in over a month. Maybe not actually being one (alone) will be what finally awakens these slumbering Giants.
It is PATHETIC that the Giants have coughed up this lead with the Dodgers playing barely above average AND without Clayton Kershaw. But you get what you deserve, ultimately, across the course of 162.
Span is mercifully being rested today. Nunie at the top. Blanco ensuring 2 pitchers hitting in a row at the bottom.
Núñez 3B, Pagan LF, Belt 1B, Posey C, Crawford SS, Panik 2B, Pence RF, Blanco CF, Samardzija P
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
Pence needs to sit as well…nauseating game last night…
We do need this win and at least come out of this road trip 4-5…I think we would have been satisfied taking two in Philly and getting one in DC and two in Miami so if we take today, would be just a game behind out expectations…a Miami sweep would have been sweeter…
Did not see your post Pete before I posted. I will be totally happy with a 4-5 swing.
Pence is the definition of pressing. He watches good pitches go by and swings at dogshit pitches 2′ wide and ones in the dirt. At least the fuckng videos have stopped. I guess it’s hard to be cute when you are batting .108 on the past 8 games.
“Mercifully rested…” Span wasn’t exactly the only guy with an 0-fer yesterday. DFAing him and eating his contract wouldn’t help the team unless a lot of other guys get going. But if anyone thinks Blanco is a better option you got your wish.
Panik is 4-40, .100 BA since returning. Span had 3 hits 3 runs scored night before in half dozen ABs..
Nunez “The Spark” is hitting .229 as a Giant.
Pence? Belt? Struggling would be an improvement.
It’s a team wide thing. Giants last year were a top 5 offensive group–this year 12th NL in slugging.
If it’s any consolation, the high powered Orioles (3 game series at ATT Friday) have scored 3 runs in 2 games at Mausoleum and dropped 2 in a row to the Triple A’s.
Yes. As I have been saying for a while now, the team needs some adversity, and giving up first place is a part of that, IMO. Sure, it would have been great to see them go to the wire and win the West, on their way to Four in Seven, but we all know that this is NOT how this team rolls.
Get a win today and go home with home four of nine on a tough east coast swing…the way this team has been scuffling, I would see that as a plus.
My daughter and I are going to Sunday’s game. If things stay as they are now, we will see Dr. Dreadlocks, which is cool, as I have yet to see him pitch. We’re taking the ferry in from Vallejo…give me a Bloody Mary please…make it a double!
That is how you do a game Chi…
Yeah, the one good game a week shit has to stop. We did win a lot of close games heading in to the break. And now we are losing them.
this is kinda cool
Bad ass…B-Craw gets IT.
in case you want to feel old this morning
Very cool.
Willie, we all agree Blanco doesn’t deserve all these starts he’s getting. Parker should have been in there. Even for centerfield, Parker would be OK; Blanco’s defense is over-rated. Blanco makes a great catch once in a while, but he also occasionally makes flubs.
Zum, I wish Parker was here too. It’s more a reaction to the never ending Span bashing that to me is tiring. Span had a nice game the other night (plus 7 hits in Philly and game winning HR) but gets zero props in 400 posts and yesterday it’s back to the snarky stuff.
He’s had a disappointing season, but other than Pagan I think you could say that about every other regular and of course Blanco.
Even Crawford has only 10 HRs–he led team with 21 last year.
For me, it’s just that I didn’t know much about Span before, and I bought into a lot of the Giants’ hype in the off-season. Some of it is optics, too, for sure. The gray in the beard, the weird flat-footed batting stance. It just helps create an aura of decline and disappointment about him. If Bochy batted him lower in the batting order, I probably wouldn’t care as much.
It wouldn’t surprise me if we hear at the end of the season that he was playing hurt this whole season.
Span had a ton of injuries last season, and then surgery or more than one. As I said before, to me the dude looks like he’s playing old. If he’s still recovering, that’s on Sabevans…
I lost track on how many times Blanco missed the cut-off when he was getting regular time. I stand by my comment from weeks ago when Pena was sent packing. I would have DFA’d Blanco there. And yes, Parker should be on the club now, IMO.
Yeah, it’s team-wide, whatever this creeping malaise is. If we don’t stand our ground, how will we find our way out of this maze?
I felt old when Freddie Lynn retired . . .
Lol, that’s gold
Our outfield as a whole is “the sick man of Europe,” to use a history reference about the Ottoman Empire, I think.
As a half-Turk…I Iike the shout out…
I’m interested to see how Giants handle Nunez and what he can do for the team going forward.
He is not a patient hitter, more in the “You can’t walk off the island” mode. He runs well obviously but is he a real base stealing threat every time he gets on? And can he pump up the OB to increase that threat?
Is he really the every day 3b of future, or some other position?
And where does he best fit in the LU? At the top (first or second) or further down after middle guys Belt Posey Craw? So far there’s been flashes of good, lot of mediocre and a few really bad.
Plus, the only reason he was an “AS” is because someone on the Twins had to be selected.
Yes he is. Or he should be. Bochy is averse to stealing, but Nunez is blazing fast and should be able to make it about 80% of the time. 28-7 success rate is good enough. Nunez may not take walks, but this team needs something other than Z-Span in the lead off spot. He gets on by hitting. he shouldn’t be wasted at the bottom of the lineup.
This Phelps starter today is a guy the Marlins pulled out of the Pen, he’ll last 4 innings, maybe 5 tops if he stymies the Giants, and that’s certainly possible. Clearly a scramble game planned by Donny. This is one the Giants should win. Samardz needs to show something. The guy hasn’t had a good start in two months. If I were him, I’d give Stanton nothing, nothing even near the plate…
Samardz will have it easier keeping pitches away from Stanton — just saw he’s not playing today…
MLB.tv free game today.
WillieD – I think definitely Nunez is in the plans for next year. He will be arb eligible and is making only 1.45 this year. With a bump, he will still be cheap, and can play multiple positions (something Bochy and crew have always valued).
His lifetime OBP is only .313, so I don’t see him becoming a walking machine. He is what he is…a free-swinger.
And I do not see him in the plans for a permanent 3rd sacker. I think he keeps the seat warm until Arroyo is ready.
So maybe Blanco gets a couple of hits today. Ah, baseball. 🙂
The Stennett/Craw pics are awesome!
Good on you Willie for your Span posts!
I ask again, what did you Span-bashers expect from him this year? Did you think he was gonna hit .320 and be in the running for league MVP???? If you did, you are out of your fucking minds! He’s a lifetime .280 hitter, coming off injuries, who was signed in the latter stages of free agency after all the more desirable players had already been signed. He is pretty much giving us what anybody reasonable would expect from him. Yeah, yeah they are paying him $10 million a year and for that he should be Ted Freaking Williams.
Gimme a break, in this day and age in MLB, $10 mil for a CF is chump change.
Span is the logical result of an organization that can’t develop it’s own outfielders…
there is more pressure and focus on the leadoff guy than pretty much any other guy in the LU. If they are successful, the rest of the offense usually is too. Look what Billy Hamilton has done the last couple of days. He’s got the Cardinals muttering to themselves. I did expect Span to be better. If he’s not going to hit a lot of doubles I expect him to get on first base and steal 2nd more often. Put yourself in scoring position. He hasn’t done that enough this year. Just getting on first base at an average clip (for a leadoff guy) doesn’t cut it with me. He does nothing exceptionally well. That also doesn’t fly with me. Nunie is much faster and a better base stealer with more power. That’s who I want on top.
Yeah.l, o agree with Flav that Nunie should be leadoff.
But his speed is irrelevant if Bochy refuses to use it. Down 3 in the 5th inning the other day with one out Bochy didn’t the to run him . He naturally was doubled up.
10 games here, and 2 attempts, 1 successful.
Wake-up Craw!
Progress for Pence, I guess.
Oh boy. Will Smith time . . .
It’s a trippin’ thing for the Marlins that, if they make the playoffs, Gordon can’t play in the playoffs.
Good move Boch . . . Better now, than later.
You are correct, sir. Smarge was on the brink of wildness.
Huzzah!
Read all the comments . . . Willie, you’re spot on regarding numerous comments you made today. Props! This is a team wide malaise and you really can’t lay the blame on any one individual. Regarding Span, I’m also in his camp – I just didn’t expect all that much from him when they signed him. Nice player, but no superstar. He is what he is. That being said, since every one of the potential lead off hitters are scuffling, you might as well throw a dart and you’d be fine. Sort of like the stock market in the 1990s, i.e., a chimpanzee could have thrown a dart at a “board of stocks” and still made a million bucks in that “go go” market.
If you had a lot of money to start with. That’s one of the things about the stock market, it overly rewards those that already have a lot of money. The DOW has gone up 10,000 points during the Obama years, which is incredibly impressive and noteworthy, but I think the average Joe Six-pack is wondering how much that benefited him.
well, it can also ruin a lot of people with money, too. I have a dozen friends who were wiped out in ’08.
I agree Zum. This is especially true with Millennials who mostly avoid the stock market like the plague. Main reason being is that they have been burned at least 3-4 times in the last 16 years (e.g., “Dot Com” recession in 2000; 9/11 attack; bear market 20% loss of 2007-2009 “great recession”). Consequently, they have not participated in the stock market much . . . to their own detriment, since other than real estate or commodities, such as gold, you’re up shit creek without a paddle regarding other types of yield.
Sorry, zum, but that’s just not true. 401K’s are largely filled with stocks and some bonds and nest eggs are built nation wide by millions of people. It takes time, diversification and consistency, but you don’t need to have a lot of money to be rewarded. People who think investing in stocks is about trying to hit the big winner like in a game of craps or some kind of lottery are missing the point. I speak from experience on the 401K. I’ve worked at the same place for 25 years and it’s pretty amazing how the thing grows if you just leave it alone, keep contributing and let it do its thing.
Ok that was probably a ball but I’ll take the 3rd out….
1 run in nearly 2 full games. Jesus. I agree with anyone who said this is a team wide malaise and I’m not BLAMING Span I just don’t like him and I’m stoked when he’s out of the LU. But my main man Nunie isn’t doing anything to pump up the O so whatever, as Blade said, throw a dart and put that guy at the top.
With all the technology now, it is the most frustrating thing for baseball fans (and players, I think) that each umpire has their own personal strikezone. It’s ridiculous, and I don’t think would be tolerated in other sports, in regards to officiating. The homeplate umps need to be held to some kind of standard on that, but apparently it doesn’t happen. Last night, it looked like (to me) the ump was giving righthanded pitchers curveball strikes on the outside of the plate that lefthanders weren’t getting on the left side of the plate.
The so-called “wrap-around” strike.
What a difference it makes to a pitcher like Bum, or Moore, or Kershaw, if the ump is giving that wrap-around strike or not.
my favorite thing about robot umpires would be listening to Kruk give his break down of one before each game:
“this robot umpire is a lot like yesterday’s, in fact he’s got the exact same strike zone as yesterday’s ump and every ump before him. He calls balls balls and strikes strikes. Back to you Kuip.”
lulz. Practically on the ground laughing. Anoint yourself a “Loo POTD” or whatever they’re called.
Hey, Blade, Chuck, I know this isn’t the extravaganza that the East Coast Flapapalooza was, but I think both of you guys are going to the Wednesday, Sept 7th Giants game in the Himalayas, uh, Denver.
Let me know your seat numbers. I’m in Sec 222, Row 2, Seat 5.
Yep, my last “extravaganza” before my 3 month trip to SE Asia. 🙂
Where u sitting? We’re club level apparently.
No tickets yet. I suggested scalpers to Chi . . . Waiting word from him.
By the by, definitely pack a hoodie at least. September (if you recall) is when the weather usually turns. It could be nice, but more likely you’ll freeze your ass off.
Span was signed relatively cheap near the end of free agency…I agree he is what he is…which should be the 9th hitter..
And Richmond here we come…
Pence swinging at the dirt again. Bring up Parker!
turned tv on. Watched Span strike out, Pence strike out. Turned tv off….
That’s good cuz Nunie just struck out too!
Lulz
Is there a way to get Duffy back? Just wondering, anyway, the Giants are still at the top. Sure it could all go to hell in a hand basket, but the Da Bumms won the division the last 3 years, the Giants won a WS within those 3 years, so like in 2010 “Don’t stop Believing”
For once I don’t want to to that play-in game.
Dude. Many of us loved Duffy and the way he played the game. That ship has sailed so let it go. We have the pieces to win it all! Our boys, up and down the line-up, and on the pitching staff, just need to PLAY TO THEIR CAPABILITIES!
GIDDY THE FUCK UP! Let’s do this!
Baah. What that as bad as it sounded? I will say, Flem, Miller, Kruk, AND Kuip have all been ragging on these umps all series.
Let’s go Steady Santy . . .
*gulp*
Woo hoo! Ballgame! A series win!
Just me, but that’s on whomever is positioning the outfielders (or did Blanco make that decision?). Just play it straight/normal and that’s the ball game. Instead, he’s playing Ichiro as a dink hitter when everyone knows that Ichiro does have some power . . . OK, moot point, as they just won, but man oh man, that could have hurt.
Positives to take from this game? Quality start by “Alphabet” and the 4 relievers did well.
They don’t score, we win. Hey, we take a series!
Man – this has been one crazy-assed morning for me (I was just able to come-up for air). Was not able to follow the game at all until the middle of the 8th, and I did so while I was on a webex meeting. Great to get the win! B-Craw with the game winner, again.
And we need our pitching staff to continue toeing the line. Great job by Shark to keep zeros on the board for 5.2 innings and for the bullpen to close it out.
The way our boys have been struggling, I am happy we are coming home 4-5 on this tough east coast swing.
Four in Seven!
Humm Baby – Let’s Do It Again!
Regarding tickets for the Rox-Giant game on Sept. 7th, I am definitely going. There are three other folks in our Denver office who are going, too.
Blade, I thought you were leaving prior to the game? If not, I will plan to score you a ticket, too.
I have not bought tickets yet. Great lower box seats are available behind the dugouts for $40. The folks with whom I work are down with that.
More to come. Steve – you have any druthers on where we sit?
You want to be on the 3rd base side during the day (what time is the game?). Sun is intense. Otherwise, $40 is fine Chi. Thank you much for the ticket . . . I will reimburse when I see you.
7:15 start, so I don’t think the sun will play much into it. Will let you know my plans (ticket location and cost) before pulling the trigger.
Great win. Hats off to Smardz for coming up big when we needed it. Had the game on in the background while at work. Marlin TV guys were talking about how he threw more off speed stuff than usual. Did you guys notice that as well? That has been one of my complaints about him—that he doesn’t change speeds enough.
Man, Pence looks awful. Has me laughing thinking about the time Zum mentioned sports being almost as cruel as the animal kingdom. MLB pitching is just eating him alive right now.
that’s been the big thing around here today–talking this am about his new curve ball and a change up that he said he would use more. For the life of me I don’t understand why it took him so long to do this. Oh wait, I do know, baseball players are dumb as fuck
2 game winning hits for the Crawdad in the series!!!
just nit picking but that ball Nunie *struck out* on was nearly a foot outside. Just saying.
The biggest surprise was that he didn’t actually swing at it!
good one.
There was some shoddy-ass behind-the-plate umpiring going on in this series. There was one yesterday, full count, and Moore got tagged with a walk where it was clearly a strike (even Miller was saying that according to StrikeFX, the ball was clearly a strike). That kind of shit is what will have you calling for robots calling balls and strikes in a heartbeat!
I didn’t see this one, but it looks like Shark bounced back and kept the team in the game. Winning 2 of 3 from Miami after the rough start to the trip is a pretty nice turn around. I’m sure Craw is going to miss Florida.
Willie, Sandog, with regards to Span, I don’t think anyone has put the onus for the team’s struggles on him alone. Clearly the whole lineup has been stinking it up lately. But he was brought in to basically do one thing and that’s lead off and set the table for the other guys. He has not done that and so far Bochy seems unwilling to try something different. Yeah, he had a good series in Philly but he’s been back to more of the same in Miami.
Paying a guy millions of dollars to do what he was brought in to do gives the fans and the team certain expectations and rightly so. Other guys have been criticized too, it’s not just Span. He’s not even playing to his 162 game average and that’s just disappointing. Maybe Pagan or Nunie wouldn’t do any better, but I think it’s high time to find out.
Great post, LJ. I am with you big time! Span needs to sit a few games, and then hit down in the order until it is proven over a number of games that Pagan or Nunie is not better. I would go with Pagan.
I appreciate your posts LJ. Question for you…what kind of numbers are looking for from Span to consider him doing his job?
That’s a good question Sandog. I don’t have specific numbers in mind, but something closer to his seasonal averages would be nice, e.g. more steals and getting on base more often. He’s 32 now, so maybe that’s an unrealistic expectation, but it’s hard to get a lineup going when the leadoff spot is stagnant. I got the 162 game average thing from baseball reference, so you can check there and see if you come up with a different take.
I guess I was expecting a more dynamic guy and I just haven’t seen that. If he were to get hot for 2-3 weeks or something, I think we’d see the offense start to wake up. Being on base and distracting the pitcher and being a general pain in the ass is always a good thing for an offense.
Pagan has a history of being an excellent lead off hitter, but he’s no spring chicken either. When he was at his best, he could wreak havoc with the other team.
RIP John Saunders, dead at 61. Good broadcaster
Yeah, one of the few at ESPN that wasn’t trying to be a smarmy frat boy.
I just saw a photo of him and now know who he was. As Unca said, he was one of the good ones at ESPN. No idea what the cause of death was . . . 61 is quite young to pass away.
Just saw the video of Hannah Storm breaking the news at ESPN. Impossible not to get choked up a bit when you see/hear something like that. He was a good one, indeed. This year can’t end fast enough. Too many damn good people have left us way too early.
Pagan can’t seem to steal bases anymore. Which is why i like Noonie for the job. Plus if he gaps one, he’ll be on 3rd. Telling Bochy to run him, though, is a different kettle of fish. .
Well, the flipside is Nunez is a lifetime .313 OBP guy. That is not what you need from a top of the order guy. Pagan has been more than adequate as a lead-off guy for us. Steals are nice, but I think getting on base is more important. I still would put Pagan in the lead-off before anyone else to see how things shake out. Span ranks 101st in MLB in OBP. Of course, a handful of those at the top are guys who only have a handful of ABs. Bottom line, Span needs to significantly raise his OBP.
I agree, Pagan can lead off. He’s done it before…
Galvis 3-run bomb, Phils 3-1 in the 7th.
1-0 win? Somebody tell the Giants they are playing baseball, not soccer…
Howard 3-run double, Phils 6-2 in the 9th.
So sorry to hear the news about John Saunders.
A good outing from Smardj is such a big lift for the team and the fans.
Back in first!
Interesting the wording they’re using with Prince Fielder. They’re not saying “retired,” they are saying “his career is ended,” meaning of course, that he’s still getting paid, but physically unable to perform.
Chris Shaw is a big boy…6’4″ 235…
Quick conversation with Arroyo but got his sig on a single ball and the boys got his and others..mission accomplished…
Beede looked smooth real smooth…123 first. Hit 95 on the gun…
I can’t recall (and don’t want to look it up to prove) but I believe the Giants in 2010,2012 or 2014 had a similar imbalance in late July or early August with offense and pitching totally out of cynic; and then it came all together down the stretch…An imbalance in the last 9 games…
Now they are home sweet home and for this home stand I’m predicting 8-2 record….
What the hell do I know…
But I do think the Bums just got kicked off the wall with their loss today..IMO.
time for a salute to the flag and a shot.
Arroyo struck out on a nasty 96 mph fastball first AB. Beede gives up leadoff double and then gets a grounder to 2b and then 1b makes the throw to 3b after the put out wildly and ball ends up in LF run scores on error…one of the fans behind me near first base was yelling for him to throw to third, so I told him he is to blame for the error..
Shaw the big boy crushed one to center…triple and scores in base hit up the middle. Forgot to mention Osich is apparently on the roster…anyone know why??
Technically, Osich is rehabbing, I think.
Thanks for the awesome report, GH!
Crawford has the all-important Willie Mac Award locked up…
For the guys who were here for the Flapalooza, you were lucky weather-wise. You wouldn’t be able to fuckin’ breathe here till next week…
Pawlie conveyed just about the same thing Loo last night . . . Said he had a window air conditioner in his bedroom and was going to run it all night. Ha.
I was thinking the same thing of how the Giants lucked out heat-wise in Philly last week.
It’s only heat…hell, I would do it to hang with you guys again!
Yankees on the hook for ARod’s contract (approx. $26 million) . . . However, the Yanks will benefit this Friday, when they raise ticket prices 500%.
You’ve got to be kidding on the NY weather Loo. That Friday night game we went to was the hottest night I’ve ever experienced—and I grew up in the Sacramento Valley. I felt like passing out was a possibility for me on the subway ride home afterward. If it is hotter than that, I feel for you.
That’s funny Loo. My parents, (mom and stepdad live 30 minutes away in Galveston) are in Jersey this week visiting family. Yesterday they were bragging about how much cooler it was up there. Perspective I guess.
It wasn’t as bad yesterday. The bragging’s gonna stop soon…
Beggarly on twitter calling for Giants to put Blanco on “DL or something” and he’s “hard to watch” right now…
Hey Carlos Gomez is available! I kid, I kid.
I think we could all argue endlessly about the LU, which seems pointless waste of blog space.
Nunez is definitely the better athlete, just not sure he’s a better ball player than others. He’s not hitting much for SF and his OB is .325, above what Chi posted for his career.
Fwiw, Pagan and Span have almost identical OB and have had for a long time.
Pagan has more XBHs in 100 less ABs, so his BA and OPS are higher. So he gets more hits (and HRs) but doesn’t get on any more times, or steal more bags (10 vs. 12). But whatev.
I do NOT think Bochy holds Nunez or anyone else back from stealing; imo it’s on them to get the jump and go.
Posey has 6 steals—I can’t believe that Bochy has anything to do with any one of them.
As far as scoring runs, Giants are 5th in league (with Span at leadoff) 4th in BA 3rd in OB but only 12th in slugging and 8th in OPS. I think their numbers for most of these stats are in line with what they did last year, except for slugging. Panik and pence downfalls have hurt a lot there along with what Duffy did at the plate.
I still believe it’s a team wide problem and outside of Pagan resurgence, most Giants hitters haven’t been as good as last season. Even Belt, post AS break is straining. I thought they would light up hitters yards like Fenway Yanks and Philly, didn’t happen.
And O’s still having trouble scoring vs. Triple A’s, scoreless through 4.
I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see a waiver wire pick up of an outfielder, a la Cody Ross….
I’d still love to have Markakis who seems to have re-discovered his power stroke a bit lately…
Time to break out those “Fire Sir Bam Bam” tee shirts again?
I’ll take a “Fire Kelly” one. 🙂
Bill Murray tweeted, “Every Olympic event should have one average person competing for reference.”
Very true. My 7 year old was commenting on how “easy” water polo looked. I told him it’s probably the most physically exerting sport I ever tried.
Wilcojoe’s 8:08pm . . . All kidding aside, I want him.
By all indications, Gomez busted his ass off over there. Per the GM and manager, it wasn’t for lack of effort or desire that he failed. Two years ago, that dude was a stud. If I am the Giants, I take a chance on him.
You don’t want him. Trust me. I know he has a tremendous track record but I can unequivocaly say he was one of the worst players I had ever seen in his time in Houston. His numbers were really taking a dive before the Astros landed him and they just got worse as time wore on. Not only could he not make solid contact, his defense which was a strength, just went to shit. I think it’s all mental, though. Which means he could return to form, but I don’t think it’s going to happen changing uni’s. There is something deeper going on there. He needs some time away from the game to have any chance at recovering what he once had, imho.
I hear you Joe and I know he has been terrible this season. I only have two words in response . . . Wait, four words, Cody Ross and Aubrey Huff.
Also, this is the team that gave Dan fucking Uggla a chance. Sheesh, we all knew he was going to face plant if only because of his age and last relevant season was . . . umm, about 4-5 years before he came to us. Gomez is still young, so as you said, I think it is mostly mental with him.
Most teams would have DFA’d him by the end of May. Luhnow is taking a lot of heat for having made some terrible trades, despite all of the talent they have acquired from years of sucktitude. Here is a list (off the top of my head) of players he has traded or let walk:
JD Martinez
JA Happ
Mark Melancon
Jimmy Paredes
Jonathan Villar
Vince Velasquez
I am sure there are several more, but those are all legit major leaguers that he let walk before they had significant major league playing time.
He has yet to make one substantial trade that has benefited the club. I think he was afraid to admit another mistake and thus stuck with Gomez as long as he could.
Salivating at having Villar . . . Same deal with Martinez, Melancon, Velaquez, and Happ. Paredes had a nice season in Baltimore last season, but not doing so well this season (forgot who he is with now – Toronto?).
I think Paredes is with Philly. Yeah, he took a big step back this year. But yeah, I would take everyone of those other guys.
Speaking of Texas teams, the other one, the Rangers screwed up too – the November 2013 trade between the Tigers and Rangers, in which Fielder was sent to the Rangers and Ian Kinsler to the Tigers, turned into a major win for Detroit in terms of on-field performance.
Since the trade, Kinsler ranks fifth among position players in WAR at 16.4, behind only Mike Trout, Josh Donaldson, Jose Altuve and Adrian Beltre. Fielder ranks 422nd at 0.4.
Markakis seems to fit the bill of a Sabean grab. I could totally see that going down.
Wotus was mocked a bit the other day when a reporter asked him what do the Giants hitters need to do, and his answer was something like “Go up there and be ready to hit”. Yeah, not ground-breaking insight, but watching some of the hitters, it makes you wonder. Are they going up there feeling defensive? unconfident? Unconfident wouldn’t surprise me, given the recent poor offensive performances. Being “ready to hit” means thinking about their approach, every pitch, considering the situation. Moving a runner over, etc., which the Flap often bemoans the team’s seeming inability to do so during this tailspin period. How else to explain the likes of Pence watching good pitches go by and then swinging at crap? I don’t want the guys swinging out of their shoes, but having a plan, or certainly at least an idea, of what they’re going to do as they get in the box, seems to be a lost art with these guys of late. Of course, winning will bring back a bit of the swagger. Swagger also can infuse winning. Gotta interrupt the cycle at some point. I’m actually hoping now for a Cody Ross. Markakis certainly would do.