McCutchen to Yanks
Thank God the Giants front office hasn’t gone completely off the rails. They traded McCutchen for what will basically amount to the second coming of Agent 000. And that’s fine. They were so up against the lux tax line they were going to have problems bringing up rookies for Sept call ups. Think about how lame that is for a second…..
And now they have the freedom to do so.
Later days, ‘Cutch. You led the team in pretty much every offensive category but I honestly can only remember a handful of your at bats. I’ll look back on your time in SF the way I look back on Steve Carlton’s time in SF.
Great obituary . . . Umm, I meant post. 🙂
He had that walk-off HR vs. the Dodgers early in the season that was memorable, but nothing much else stands out to me.
He had a 1.7 WAR and a .772 OPS for the Giants. Obviously not the impact player we were hoping for.
My son and I attended that walkoff game–extra innings, Gearrin screw up, on-deck Posey celebrating like mad when Cutch hit his bomb. My view of McCutchen was messed up all season just because of that early triumph. I strained to find things to enjoy, to admire in his play. Really strained, sometimes. A burden has lifted: I’m glad he’s moved on. If he has heroic moments for the yanks, I’ll be glad for that too. Adios, hombre.
Entered my local market this morning (Piazza’s), first one in as usual. Babe by Stix was playing softly on the speakers. All of a sudden the sound bumped up for some reason and as I was walking the aisles alone I thought “this is the best this song has ever been.”
It’s a great pop song from Dennis DeYoung that most of the band hated.
DeYoung is no longer in the band. They tour with a soundalike guy replacing him.
They hated it because it sucked.
Did you get your lighter going???
it would have been inappropriate if I’d broken out the lighter in Aisle 5 at 7am….
Interesting numbers from blade end of last thread re: Giants O not much improved from last year. At least pitching is better, lowering ERA from4.50 to 3.80 range and allowing 100 fewer runs. Ways to go tho for pitching numbers to get closer to elite teams in the league and yes the park does help them in that regard.
Kuip mentioned Belt the other night and he’s been awful since he returned. August he’s 8 for 50 0 bombs 1 double his only XBH. His numbers eerily similar to Cutch—expected more out of both, myself. Belt to Yanks offseason makes a lot of sense for both teams.
Trading away Cutch doesn’t hide elephant in the room–still need to find more O and power. The FA market for OFs mostly sucks and most players are 30+. Marwin Gonzalez and DJ Le Mahieu look like best hitters available overall.
I put that Belt to yanks idea on the table this last off-season but dont see the Yanks biting…
The Giants got two of the Yankees prospects ranked 20-25 in their system. I think I predicted they would get a couple prospects ranked 10-25 in the Houston system should they have made a trade with them. Nothing wrong with what they ended up getting from the Yankees. In fact this young pitcher has put up pretty good numbers YTD. Couple that with the salary releif and these are exactly the kind of moves the Giants should me making.
McCutchen will be a trivia question in 5 years, not 10.
I think the guy didn’t want to be here. Not sure I blame him…
Like others have said there is no way Bum would clear waivers with his favorable salary. Best case scenario is a team like the Yankees falls short of the World Series (hopefully to the ‘Stros) due in large part to their lack of a front line stud starter and the Yankees overpay in the offseason for Bumgarner out of desperation.
It’s a shame the Giants ownership felt they still had a chance prior to the non waiver deadline. Guys like Smith and Watson could have brought back similar if not better talent than what they just got. The trade market for middle relief in the offseason is usually nil.
Exactly. Good comment.
Great thread Flav. You nailed it in regards to how I will (barely) remember McCutcheon.
I have been out of the loop. Busy as hell with my daughter’s wedding tomorrow, rehearsal and rehearsal dinner tonight, planning a weeklong trip to the North Coast (taking the trailer up to a Fort Bragg Monday morn), and a dear friend who has been terminal (liver and other issues related to alcoholism) finally succumbed yesterday morning. So my shit has been all over the place, and not here at Flap Universe.
Was happy to hear that the Giants FINALLY traded Cutch. Maybe this middle IFer will turn into a serviceable player. Most important to me, and Zumie alluded to this last night, is that they have stayed under the tax threshold, and now have the financial freedom to move some minor league pieces up and down for eval down the stretch.
Busy day, heading over to my friend Don’s house (who just passed) to hang with his family and kids. We were neighbors for about 12 years while our kids grew up together. Don and I coached little league together. Lots of fond memories. Then right into the wedding stuff later today. Looking forward to the coast and relaxing.
Make it an awesome weekend Flappers far and wide.
Congrats on your daughters wedding day!
Thanks much, Wilco. Appreciate it.
My best wishes to your daughter, Chuck. And take care of yourself, too. That’s a helluva a load. The north coast should be relaxing in early Sept.
Thanks, Mike. I appreciate it brother.
Let’s hope the Niners are playing well come Nov-Dec, so when Sabes sends Bum to the Yankees, the lunatic fringe will have a distraction.
Bum to the Yanks makes too much sense. So, it won’t happen…
You know, I’m reading The Most Dangerous Book, a huge literary history of the novel Ulysses, and I came across a quotation from Teddy Roosevelt that included “lunatic fringe.” Who knew. (TMDB digs into the cultural and political bases for censorship of all sorts in the USA and Europe.)
Chi–congrats on the wedding. Do you like the guy?
Chi, you let your daughter marry before meeting me? Same road chuck went on!!!
Bum will be a Giant for life and hopefully donning a Giant hat as he heads to Cooperstown…
Congrats on your daughters wedding 👰 Chuck! Hope the guy is cool 😎 and not a honky hologram..
Just curious but does Sabean only make deals with 2 GM’s YanksPitt??
Pretty much. He comes across as being very aloof and probably not well liked. We constantly hear how the Giants are always “asking too much” for their players and he overvalues them to the point that trades rarely take place and when they do they tend to be with the same organizations. Humility is not his strong point.
Thanks for all the congratulations and well wishes guys. It truly men’s a lot coming from a bunch of knuckleheads like all ya’all. Seriously, this blog is family, so thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Flav – yes. Love the young man my daughter is marrying. While they are opposites in many ways (there’s that “opposites attract” thing, again), they truly are a great match for one another. I welcome him into my family with open arms.
And Flav, with all the shit recently going on (both positive and surreal) in my life, it has given me reason to pause and reflect on the many things for which I am grateful . One of those things on which I reflected the other day was this blog. I will never be able to thank you enough for keeping this community alive and thriving. This collection of misfits (and yes, I am right there with you all!) truly means a lot to me. I have made some great lifelong friendships here, and that says something.
Out to mow the lawn before the day ramps into rehearsal/rehearsal dinner mode. It should be a wild, and very fun ride.
Make it an awesome weekend, girls.
GO GIANTS!
Congratulations Chi to you and your daughter! Long ass day/night for me too. Heading back to the world. Three flights and 23 hours in the air and airports . . . 3:22am and have been up since 1:40am. Ugh!
Safe travels my friend. Giants schedule is out for next year. Wrigley.
Nice CBS sports headline:
Giants’ Juan De Paula: Traded to Giants….huh???
DePaula&Avelino sounds like a Dominican Republic 🇩🇴 law firm..
Unbelievable but true,The A’s just picked up “The “Human Rain Delay” Correy Gearrin!!
How many freakin relievers do they really need??
I was just talking to a guy this am about McCutchen and how it seems Sabean only deals with 3 or 4 teams. Bucs, Yanks, Rangers, Rays. No idea how many he talks to, but sure seems he pulls trigger with some usual suspects for some reason. The local scribes should dig and do a refresh story on that, but I won’t hold my breath…
You lost the local scribes at “should dig.”
As opposed to whatever the fuck he was doing while playing for the Giants.
Ha, no shit!
Apparently not. He ain’t here yet…
That walkoff homer in “extra time” against the Dodgers…
Congrats on the wedding, Chi! Very cool!
Steve Carlton. Perhaps my favorite pitcher of that era. Saw him beat SF, 2-0 at the Vet. Saw him outduel Seaver in Cincy. A lasting, somewhat pathetic memory: The Giants had just gotten him. He was in the dugout. A Saturday game, probably NBC Game of the Week. They showed him playing around with a baseball in his hand. He was trying to learn, or practice, the grip for the split-fingered fastball, to salvage his career. Didn’t work. He was either giving up a homer or a strikeout, which coincidentally is baseball today! (Mark McGwire, too, in his last days: homer or strikeout.) A final irony for Lefty was this: he was famously mum, stoic, silent, toward reporters, for years. Then, when he was on the skids, you couldn’t shut him up. He was some kind of weird survivalist, had a getaway home in Montana or some shit.
Chi will be a cool father in law to have…
Thanks, Loo. Any praise coming from you is high praise.
I seem to remember a lot of pre-season BS from McCutchen about how much he wanted to wear a Giant uniform…
Chi, congrats on your daughter’s wedding!
Thanks, Mac. Gonna be a magic day, tomorrow.
Ill give Cutch some credit, he didn’t disgrace the uniform compared to several other worthless trades,David Green,Manny Trillo,Ken (automatic DP)Reitz,Penis Cabell,AJ Jackoff, the list goes on and on…
“Penis Cabell.” LOL
Some new blood…
1. Joe Panik (L) 2B
2. Alen Hanson (S) SS
3. Evan Longoria (R) 3B
4. Brandon Belt (L) 1B
5. Austin Slater (R) RF
6. Chris Shaw (L) LF
7. Gorkys Hernandez (R) CF
8. Aramis Garcia (R) C
9. Andrew Suarez (L) P
so many of those guys could/should be in the minors…..Looking forward to seeing Shaw’s swing…..
Something I’ve always wondered: How do the Yankees get away with telling their players they can’t have facial hair? Seriously, what if one of the players just said “Go fuck yourself, I’m growing a beard…”
I agree. What’s the MLBPA say? It’s a stooopid relic from the Steinbrenner Seventies.
guessing Diggity was at this….
He did…
exactly! great pull. So why the fuck could this dude do it but everyone after this is shaving like some braindead lemming?
That photo was taken at Spring Training. I didn’t even know the Yankees still made players shave their beards.
Didn’t he suck on a Lolly pop? I never watched the show, but I seem to recall reading about his character doing that (to quit smoking?).
Yeah, he always had a lollipop. Great ’70’s cop drama, if you liked that sort of thing. I did.
He owned a top notch horse that he named Telly’s Pop…
same reason we had to ditch Cutch
Sabean was on KNBR this afternoon sounding tired and demoralized. He knows fixing this team is a monumental task. I don’t see why he wants to stick with it. Someone new could maybe bring some new energy to things.
Sabean can ride off into the sunset as a very successful GM, overall.
Agreed. I would jettison the entire FO except David Bell. All of them. Tired, listless, and out of ideas. I’m tired of hearing Sabean complain about player performance, without acknowledging he’s the dude that put them all together. Let Bell decide what scouts and minor league people he wants to keep. Bochy and all the coaches, gone. Start fresh virtually from soup to nuts. The Cards fired their manager in mid season, and they’re in the hunt. And, they’re not exactly a crazy ass organization. Get rid of this ossified management — they got 3 in 5, they’re good to go the rest of their lives. Move over, and let somebody else fix this mess…
Well said.
POTD
Maybe Baer can look up long enough from the real estate development project to care about the team.
not sure I agree; maybe I do. But you got me thinking about it, that’s for sure.
Good call Snarkk. I’ve been advocating this for weeks now.
In junior high, before they were called middle schools, we had to read a short story called Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia.
Panik played that ball like he has scoliosis…
Shaw doesn’t look like the answer…
Not since about Matt Williams has there been a Giants rook who’s been the answer.
Buster?
Yeah, I thought of him, but Matty was at a different level as a hitter, at least imo. Huge power and RBI’s.
Inauspicious debut for Shaw. He might want to try taking a pitch.
It seems like Reyes has been around since the ice age.
Hanson might be better off in the 49er secondary…
That kid the Giants got for Cutch, Abiatal Avelino, has 15 HR’s and 65 RBI between AA & AAA this year. Agent 000 has 15 for his entire professional career. So not a fair comparison, imo. Maybe he turns out to be a serviceable player at some point, which is more than anyone could ever day about Burriss.
The not-so-brilliant fan trying to interfere with Slater’s double. The usher should warn him.
Suarez seems to have found his second wind the past couple of starts.
Bum, D-Rod, and Suarez look to be the core of the starting rotation next season, and that’s pretty solid. Holland possibly, too. And Jeff Contract will get a spot until he gets injured. Then Stratton will get that spot.
A decent rotation, with some youth in it.
.500 or bust!
And Blach if needed.
I don’t ever want to see Smardja again…
I’m done with him, too; but the contract will guarantee his spot.
Cant see Holland being signed…someone like the As or another AL team will give him a 2 year deal. Not worth it for the Giants…
Flav, I was at that Day on the Green!!!
Passed out by 2nd base during Metallica….
I was a huge Scorpions fan…their late 70s early 80s material is still solid. Saw them first in ’84 I believe and caught a drumstick at the end of the show (think I have told that tale befor) but by summer of ’85 Scorpions seemed ancient…RATT was awful…
Hell yeah it’s still solid. I rock those tunes all the time. UFO today.
Nice DP!
Yeah Shaw!
Nice moment for Shaw.
Atta kid Shaw.
Chi sorry for your loss. Hope everything else wedding and vacation go smooth.
.500 team, nothing wrong with that. Cards spent the first 4 months of the season playing .500 ball before they took off behind Carpenter and new mgr.
College football up and running, i’m out.
Slater looks so stiff and mechanical playing the outfield lately. I don’t remember him looking that way earlier in the season. Maybe he was and I didn’t notice.
Yeah Garcia!
Awesome for Garcia!
His mom in tears. Great moment.
The two rooks a big factor tonight.
No cheapie for the kid, that was a bomb!
Great swing, too. He shortened his arms on the inside pitch, and still powered it out.
I referenced Turner the other night doing that and hitting one out.
His old man was hilarious! Good for the kid.
Mlb channel just showed the Garcia home run and his family’s reaction….awesome! Where is he from??
Florida.
Cool. Glad his family made it for this moment…first start right?
Yeah, first start.
He could be a decent backup…and Posey should be moved primarily to first…
Ramirez has shown pop in the minors, as many has 17 homer in a season. Not much batting average, but he’s strong. On the homer starved Giants, any ball that lands in the seats is good.
Jesus, Garcia. My name memory has sucked lately.
Belt breaks it open.
Some info on Garcia from Wikipedia:
“Garcia attended Pembroke Pines Charter High School in Pembroke Pines, Florida. The St. Louis Cardinals selected him in the 20th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft, but he did not sign a contract with them.He enrolled at Florida International University (FIU) to play college baseball for the FIU Panthers. In 2014, Garcia was named the Conference USA Baseball Player of the Year and a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award.
The San Francisco Giants selected Garcia in the second round, with the 52nd overall selection, of the 2014 Major League Baseball draft. The Giants signed Garcia to a contract with a $1.1 million signing bonus.”
McCutchen who?…
I know. I was just thinking it feels like that trade happened three weeks ago.
In junior high, before they were called middle schools, we read a short story titled ‘Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia.”
Garcia again for the RBI. Have a night, dude!
The guy with Krukow’s daughter has arms like artillery cannons.
That was Krukow’s daughter? Wow.
Krukow mentioned his wife and daughter, but not the guy. I wonder if there’s a back-story to that omission.
At one point he leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.
Now that was a fun inning.
Yay!!! Good to see Clint!