Avoiding One Hundo
Riding the wave of this lengthy 2 game win streak, we are now back in a position to not lose 100 games. With 10 games left, we need to go just 4-6 to avoid it. I really don’t care anymore. After reading the quotes from Sabean in the article posted yesterday I feel like he’s at least conscious and considering the obvious problems we have. Fixing them might be too tall of a task but he’s not thinking “a tweak here and there.” That’s a good thing. He knows we are weak and slow and terrible. Let’s see what he can do in the off season to build a team that is able to succeed in the juiced ball era…..
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
Carlos Gomez is the type of FA the Giants might look into for CF…
Is the svelte Panda slowly coming around?
With the infield hit and grounder to third?
The key word was “slowly”…
Hey I’m just amazed Pence got on out of the infield.
Maybe SF can pry young OF talent from Yanks Cards or Stros. I’m sure Sabes has a list of players in mind from different orgs, based on his own and other scouts/analysts look at what they’ve done.
But I’m still trying to figure out who the Giants have to trade. Sabes quote (which I misquoted yesterday): “We definitely need to get younger, more athletic and improve our defense, which has been atrocious.” Spot on, though you wonder why Baer or Evans never put it like that.
Belt and Panik sound like only guys that might bring back what he’s talking about. But dumping those 2 off wouldn’t help IF D. Sabes think that is less important? Would he stick Arroyo at 2b/someone new at 3b?
I would think though any trade package would have to include Strick for pen help to another team. Giants have surplus of RHP down there and Strick consistently puts up pretty good looking numbers, though watching him all the time gives a different impression.
He probably has to trade Bumgarner. his trade value is greater than his on the field value.
Wow, that would be exciting Flav. You really think Evans would do something like that? I just don’t see it.
There were other parts of Sabes/Jenkins I just saw today. Sabes puts in a dig to SABR guys by making a point of value of clutch play and the guys who make them and that it isn’t random circumstance
. “…as a pitcher, it’s what you do in traffic. Can you get that groundball to the IF? Can you strike somebody out with the bases loaded? And if you’re at the plate, I’ll kiss your ass on Main Street if you tell me certain hitters don’t have a nose for an RBI, the big clutch hit.”
Adds, “It’s an art form, a higher level of talent.”
I don’t think Evans would do it but I do think Sabean would and we’ve already seen him be dramatic and bold once before (granted a long time ago). I think Sabes is coming back full force to fix this mess or at least do things differently than Evans…..
also, you can take the saber perspective Sabes has and still appreciate the deeper numbers they have to offer. It’s not either/or.
Oh no. not the ‘clutch hitter’ argument! Was it Twin that railed against this? I know how James feels . . . !
There is also mention by Jenkins (not Sabes) of potential off season targets. One of them he lists is Royals 3b Moustakas, having a breakout year with 36 bombs.
He does hit LH, age 28, and hit for more power away from Royals yard but had pretty consistent season with only one bad month and wasn’t total liability vs. LHP. And to Sabes point, .289 and 1.000 OPS with 2 outs RISP.
Thoughts?
It’ll be interesting to see how Moore does today vs. the Rox, who have absolutely battered him in three starts this season, including one in S.F. Since the Giants are bringing Moore back, it would be a little encouraging to see him have a good outing against one of the teams he faces multiple times per season.
4.2 – 7 hits, 4 earned runs, 3 walks, 98 pitches.
That’s how he does. That’s how he always does.
He’s a more affordable Zito, who they’re praying has Zito’s fluke 2012 in him somewhere…
Yeah, it could happen I suppose. I NEVER thought Zito would be the savior.
““We’ve always paid attention to the numbers. You’d be crazy not to. But you’ve got to have a balance. Whatever the SABR people believe, I’ll go to my grave believing that when you come right down to it, as a pitcher, it’s what you do in traffic. Can you get that groundball to the infield? Can you strike somebody out with the bases loaded? And if you’re at the plate, I’ll kiss your ass on Main Street if you tell me certain hitters don’t have a nose for an RBI, the big clutch hit. To the SABR people it’s random circumstance, and I just can’t rationalize that. It’s an art form, a higher level of talent. Guys like Barry Bonds or Mike Krukow, they didn’t give a damn about what the numbers told you about the opposition.”
The randomness of the game provides plenty of room for a deliberately ignorant nimrod like Sabes to succeed. No, you can’t rationalize it because that would require you to exercise rationality. I do like “groundball to the infield.” A smart stats guy must look at joining SF’s front office somewhat like Stanton thinks about playing at ATT.
Who would possibly take Belt now with the big contract and concussion issues?
He’s untradable – at least for now.
Bum’s more likely to get extended than traded.
Dangerous road to travel down when you think you’re smarter than everyone, my man. Been there. Don’t wanna go back.
Plenty of people way smarter than I am choose willful ignorance.
How many ‘brilliant’ GMs out there have won 3 in 5 years? Like Flan said, this isn’t about a mystical convergence of the planets that allowed the Giants to reel off what they did. It was hard work from a group of men who had a common goal and worked hard to get there. Was there luck? Sure, scattered around the wins, but what of the Dodgers? Are they idiots for not being able to win in the playoffs?
Yeah, Flan is Mr. Space Cadet, peace love and granola, and he talks of harmony, kharma, and shit like that, but he also understands that this was a monumental achievement by the Giants, and it wasn’t because of anyone but themselves.
The greater game wanted to laugh off the 2010 WS win as a fluke. 2012 was seen as another high improbability due to all the elimination games. By 2014, well, there has to be something about what we were doing. Blind luck all the way, James?
Neither extreme is useful. If this was all so easy it wouldn’t take the Cubs 108 years to win championships, Boston 88, Cleve whatever the fuck they are, and our 56 year drought, because random chance determines the outcome, right?
Lies, damn lies, and statistics. In that order.
I said it before, and it isn’t baseball, but the point is still valid. When the Warriors were forced to deal Chris Weber after his bitching with Coach Nelson, they traded him for Tom Googliota. A similarly sized and shaped player at the same position who had fairly similar numbers.
But I’ll bet you $1,000,000 every GM in the league would take Weber over Googs. Numbers don’t mean everything.
When Matt Moore was 24 he went 17-4. Post surgery he hasn’t come close to putting up wins like that. But I really believe he’s got something useful in him. We’ve seen dominant starts from him. Maybe he’s a headcase I dunno. But I don’t think there’s anything physically wrong with him and am hopeful he has a nice bounce back year in 2018. And I don’t think it’s crazy to hope for that. He’s done it before. He’s fucking 28. Let’s go. Giddy up.
I would say that Sabean had some enlightened moments. The willingness to pay middle relievers big money was groundbreaking, with Affeldt and Lopez. After the Bonds era, Sabean knew he needed to tailor the team to the ballpark, emphasizing pitching and defense. They lack the pitching quality and outfield defense lately, so the ballpark isn’t much help lately.
Rags turned around a lot of pitchers’ careers as starters and relievers.
Sabes hit gold with a lot of scrap-heap guys. Scoots, Glasschez, Pat the Bat, Huff, Ross, Theriot, Renteria, Uribe, Mota, Casilla, none of these guys were the splashy signings other teams were regularly doing.
I’m sure I missed a bunch, and maybe Sabevans ain’t gonna hit this many solid finds, but i guess it’s the law of averages?
I should be so lucky.
Well I’ve heard Sabes doesn’t want his past role and is just happy scouting a prospect from Little Rock are Bum fuck Egypt. Booby’s role isn’t much anyway cause the 3 stooges Booby,Sabes, & Baer will still have the final call on any trades!
So many of the Giants’ GM moves in the last few years haven’t worked out, including the drafting. It really caught up to them starting at the mid-point last season.
I read a thing that probably explains why Bellinger lasted until the 4th round in 2013. He was a high school player apparently committed to playing college ball. The Dodgers gambled a 4th round pick on him, offered him several hundred thousand dollars, and he took the money and run.
The Giants won today! I forgot it was a day game. Maybe I should forget more often! 🙂
99 here we come?
Skinked on Bart yet again
Zumie is there something to this law of averages? Is it kharma? We hit on so many has-been barrel scraping types that we have to miss a bunch now?
If that’s the case then we should be drafting a fucking HOF outfielder one of these days.
Hopefully!
Moore was great today. We need him, hope he can keep this going next year.
And he lowered his ERA to 5.20.
Idk man, I still think Giants could find a better player for $9 mil.
9 million is peanuts.
The Phillies keep putting off the Dodgers’ division-clinching party.
It’s pretty dang funny. Still searching for their lost mojo.
Baseball’s Mr. Mojo Risin’…
Wearing the jersey style that Chris Sales cut up in the clubhouse, and got suspended for..
Autograph-gate.
“Pat Neshek is upset with Zack Greinke.
The Rockies reliever referred to Greinke as a “turd” because the Diamondbacks starter refused to autograph some baseball cards. Neshek claimed in a message board posting on his autograph memorabilia site that Greinke agreed to put his name on three “league leader cards” at the All-Star Game but then later reneged and denied ever agreeing to it.”
Latest members of the big club:
Jake LaMotta
Bernie Casey
D-Backs’ win tonight means there’s a good chance the Dodgers will clinch the division vs. Giants this weekend.
How much do you think McCutcheon has left? He’s seen his best days behind him, but he’s light years ahead of anything we have. I don’t think it would take too much to get him from the Pirates.
Looks like we have a great chance to get the number 1 pick. 2 at worst. Phils beating the Dodgers again. Love it
“Blind luck all the way, James?” No, that’s not what I said. A .285 hitter is likely to be a good offensive player, while an 850 OPS player is indisputably good (and likely to have a high batting average or slugging percentage or lots of RBIs or . . .). You can ignore the OPS number and have success with your faith in 285 hitters and whatever other sheer nonsense you want to believe in. That is Sabean. Over the long run, reality wins out and those who cling to the mythical 285 hitter with the nose for an RBI, lose more than they win. That is how the stats do not lie. I just hope Sabes doesn’t blame the data geeks SF management has for this season’s debacle.
What do you think of Compu-box?
About as much as Jack in the Box..