The Most Terrible Rumor of Them All
The imaginary dance between Puig and the Giants continues. This is from mlbtraderumors.com:
“For what it’s worth, it wasn’t long ago that the Giants reportedly showed interest in Puig, who has a couple important connections in San Francisco. Zaidi and manager Gabe Kapler were both members of the Dodgers organization during at least part of Puig’s run with the Giants’ archrivals from 2013-18.”
I’m not sure knowing Z and Kapler constitutes *important connections*. He’s been in the league for 7 years I’m sure he knows a lot of people in the game.
But, I will say, at least Z and Kap don’t hate Puig the way we know the Giants old management regime did. Actually, that’s a guess, maybe they hate him more, almost everyone in the Dodgers org hated Puig when he was there.
Still, Kap does appreciate a nice male physique and Puig certainly fits that bill. I’d like to think Zaidi only appreciates the shape of a number and isn’t swayed by the look or personality of other humans. So these are the two best arguments I can come up with for why the Giants might now want to sign Puig. Also, Bum is gone.
There is still zero evidence that Puig would want to come to SF. It’s a million miles away from Miami, it’s also not a team that’s even close to something the mainstream media would be covering on the basis that we stink (and 98% of Puig’s existence is getting people to look at him). It’s also not a park conducive to hitting home runs, besides the peak of his biceps, that’s all he cares about.
So, it’s never been a fit and it’s not one now. I’ve gotten to the point where I look at the Giants and they’ve been so boring for so many years I wouldn’t fall apart if Puig was signed. It would at least be a little interesting to watch his antics.
But as a baseball player he’s always been overrated, he’s death to clubhouse chemistry, and now that he’s on the wrong side of his career curve he would contribute nothing to the team in terms of wins.
If you want to take a look at what an empty .800 OPS looks like see what Puke did with Cleveland last season in 207 plate appearances:
2 bombs, 25 runs scored, 23 RBI’s, fucking worthless. But hey, shiny .800 OPS!!!!
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
If the contract was reasonable from a money and length of contract perspective, I say roll the dice. Also, I do feel he would contribute to wins, how much is arguable. He would represent an upgrade over any of the current OFers, and the dude has a cannon for an arm.
This from another article I read on the subject: “Cuban baseball reporter Francis Romero revealed the news on Twitter in the afternoon, writing “Yasiel Puig is very close to sign with San Francisco Giants, a source tells me. The contract amount is unknown, but would have a one-year option.”
Romero may not be a household name like some reporters, but he has been proven to be accurate in the past. He might be best known for reporting on the agreement between MLB and the Cuban Federation. He is best known for his reporting on Cuban baseball.
The two sides may not be able to make the agreement official yet, however, given MLB’s freeze on transactions.”
WTF…giddy-up.
Too many red flags that show he isn’t a fit. Z and Kap I’m sure know Puig well and could have signed him at any time since he’s been available all offseason. Instead they went with good guy Pence and Ruf. Ruf hammered the ball and still might not make it–Puig didn’t have an AB all spring.
Yes there is still the cannon arm, but he dismisses cut off men entirely and still runs bases like a rookie.
First half last year he hit 20 HRs in Cincy in 300 ABs. Then afterwards 4 in 250 mostly with Tribe. Only the walks in Cle kept OPS up as he hit way more doubles than bombs.
Didn’t like it there? OK what would he like about SF, not HR friendly and way cooler at all night games.
Plus, he’d basically be a platoon player…at 29 he’s looking for next big deal somewhere. He used to complain when Roberts platooned him; no way he’s an everyday starter for SF.
A+ post.
.
If Giants ever get going again I think Kap under Z/Harris is gonna run them ala Roberts, lot of platoons and running guys all over diamond like LA does with Chris Taylor Kike Hernandez and Muncy. Pablo sticks and backs up 3b or 1b, so does Flores at 2b/1b. Solano and Dubon can play 2b SS and Dubon will be in CF some too vs. LHP. Yaz can play CF and RF and so can Jaylin Davis. So Kap goes with who is hot and does ton of L/R platoon stuff mixing LU and adding in occasional B Hamilton sightings amid all the musical chairs.
Pence will be a keeper too. In a shortened season with expanded rosters he could probably last as part time OF for 6 occasional innings and play LF or RF vs. LHP for Dick. Having brought him back no way they just waive him into oblivion.
Agree.
Last night after he tweeted about Kapler nixing the Puig rumors on the radio, Baggarly re-tweeted a fan who reminded everyone that a shortened season with reconfigured leagues or divisions almost certainly would include a universal DH. Puig might be useful to the Giants in that role. I still think it won’t happen. But . . . .
More important, I suppose: this pandemic may fatally infect the NL with the DH.
“Never let a good crisis go to waste”
R Emanuel
If they rejigger the leagues to be one Cactus league and the other Citrus, the DH will be a certainty. With a limited schedule and the new pitching restrictions on minimum batters and also to argue agaisnt injuries to pitchers, I can see the gears of Manfred’s Head going to a DH for this season scenario. Also, we know they are adding one roster position, but with also potential limited extended spring training, keeping more bodies per team I could see rosters at 28-29 instead of 26. Allows for extra hitters to take up the DH spots for NL teams. Would allow the bleeding heart Giants mgmt to keep Panda and Pence and likely a Billy Hamilton to be a defensive/pinch runner bench player and Solano and Wilmer Flores (I guess one of these two would start at 2b if the Dubon in CF experiment goes well enough) along with giving a couple roster spots to the Jaylin Davis/Austin Slater types.
Will just be a couple of million to sign him for whatever this year turns out to be. I thought since last season along with DracuLoo Giants would make an effort to sign him and stars all align for low-risk signing. Gives fans at least something to watch on what we all expected was to be a very long season…
Latest would-be plan I’ve seen floated uses three hubs for the games — Fla, Tex and Az.
mlb just announced that every team is free to propose its own bailout program for season ticket holders. Sort of like Mike Pence reassuring the governors that the blood’s on their hands. Giants are supposed to tell their seat owners what their options are tomorrow. A class-action Calif.-law unfair competition lawsuit got filed in LA federal court last week. The lead plaintiffs are Mets fans from NY. The Milberg firm is representing them (google Milberg Weiss, if you’re interested). I have no idea yet what the theory is — why Calif. law should govern a season ticket contract with the Mets. I’m vaguely intrigued. You’ve got to imagine the Giants will offer some sort of good credit-back deals. The last thing high-draw teams want now is a season-ticket holder stampede out the gates.
Guys, what have you seen that makes you think ANYONE has a plan out of the mess we are in. They will start to open up with restrictions. Since physical distancing will still be part of the plan I wouldn’t expect the contagion to skyrocket. However, until we know more about it AND have greatly enhanced testing program I just don’t see how you get a squad of 30-?? (player, coaches, trainers) together for months at a time, isolate them from their families and play in parks where people sit 6 feet apart. Maybe someone smarter than me knows of a way. Otherwise, it is just idle speculation like Alex Rodriquez coming to the Giants. (Remember that one– -I used to rag on TF about that).
I just read an article about a nursing home on the East Coast. Out of about 75 people over 50% tested positive. Of those more than half had no symptoms. Two weeks later most of these had symptoms. This is a different animal that the common flu.
Puig is an absolute poster child for a hot-headed Latin with a chip on his shoulder. Still more interesting than anyone on the roster than Pablo.
Calif. may be happy to have the Giants (Pads, Angels, dodgers, a’s) all try to play a truncated but televised season in Az.
I remember the ARod ribs twin received on the splash. He outdid that debacle the day the team announced the Rowand signing. The Giants had to be bold now, to build on this big move. The Giants needed to trade Lincecum to Toronto for Alex Rios!
Yup, Twin loved Rios – also used to regularly push for Michael Cuddyer.
He was also against my blockbuster proposal of Lowry, Feliz and Taschner for a young Ryan Braun.
Even SOAD backed me on that one…
I haven’t posted anything like this for a while, but our editor’s continued skepticism of the validity of OPS as the measure of a player’s value on offense spurred me to look up a random pre-HR era team. The first one I picked:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CIN/1923.shtml
The OPS is similar to Cleveland’s last year with their 226 HRs and the team run totals are similar, too, given the 154 game schedule.
If you project out Puig’s actual numbers to cover all of of Cleveland’s PAs last year, and the team had a shiny 800 OPS like Puig, yet collectively hit just 60 HRs, I guarantee you they would still have scored a lot more runs than they did hitting those 226 bombs.
no.
Yes, it is a fact.
the stats he produced are fact. 2 bombs. 25 runs scored. 23 RBI’s. At best he might triple that over the course of a full season in Cleveland though 621 plate appearances is a stretch. But even tripling it he’s still coming in with a painfully below average stat line in today’s game.
A team with an 800 OPS will score more runs than the Indians did last year. Even if they hit only 60 HRs. And there is no GM in baseball today who would look at the runs scored and RBI totals for 200 PAs and use a projection like yours to predict what Puig might do in an upcoming season.
You’re all over-thinking it.
He’s an entertaining upgrade who’ll be on a one year deal in a surreal season.
Why the fuck not?
And what’s our “good guy” culture done for us lately, except bore us half to death?
I can’t tell one Tyler or Austin from the other…
As the medical scientists learn more about the virus from autopsies, they’re finding that the virus can aggressively attack more organs than previously thought. It’s hard to imagine a lot of athletes signing on to be guinea pigs in some kind of altered ‘20 season as new things about the virus are still being learned. Plus all the other reasons why a ‘20 season is a bad idea.
The seriousness of COVID-19, the infallibility of OPS, the greatness of the Beatles . . . there are some truths various Flappers are never going to accept.
COVID 19 is serious, The Beatles being great or shit is totally subjective, and nobody is doubting OPS as a tool to evaluate a player. It’s just not the only way. 207 plate appearances is representative enough. An .800 OPS is very good. His production was not. That’s a fact, Jack. Spin it however you want, it doesn’t change 2 bombs, 25 runs scored, 23 RBI’s.
I was actually poking a little fun at our obsessions.
Anyone making a decision about whether or not to sign Puig isn’t going to pay a bit of attention to the numbers you’re dismissing him with. They are irrelevant.
untrue. And there are a lot of other factors GM’s will be considering including his effect on clubhouse chemistry.
The pleasant clubhouse chemistry has only made them a losing team that gets along well with each other.
Who needs it?
In an extreme case like Puig, his personality is certainly a factor. There’s age etc. As for his stats, I’m guessing they’d be looking at his season long performance.
If I say so myself, my 2:59 post makes the most sense…
you’re 2:59pm is fine. I really don’t care at this point if they sign Puig. There is the entertainment factor to consider and I’ve grown pretty tired of watching all of these interchangeable white guys striding to the plate in the same, common underwhelming fashion….
For those of you that are tired of me and my Doomer talk (I think I might have been Twin’s first named Doomer) and/or want to know how we are going to play ball and when, I have a simple solution. Forget all the rest and just concentrate how the Govt. is going to handle the Tyson food chain problem. Some of the big meat processing plants are almost as bad as nursing homes. Today, Trump is supposed to “executive order” that they stay open. How? Trump brags that it will limit “liability” problems. What “liability”? The workers? Mandate the workers go back to work? How this is solved could well be a template of how Major League sports can and will open up.
Look at this. All those years ago, and here I am. Still a Doomer. TF was right.
While the Beatles were busy coining a cute Crickets-like name, the Stones were bold. They dove into American roots music, esp. the blues, and emerged authentic. Their very early recording of Buddy Holly’s Not Fade Away is one of the great covers of all time (Holly’s original, of course, being a quasi-cover of Bo Diddley). The Beatles’ contemporaneous cover of Til There Was You provides a good comparison.
Dealing with the meat processing workers should be as simple as proper protective gear and daily fever checks. I am actually concerned with the stories of farmers thinking of just killing off livestock instead of finding a way to circulate the product at least to food bank services…wasting all those animals would be tragic!!
Put another way James, I don’t have a way of looking at this but I wonder how many free agents who were available this off season had an .800+ OPS in 2019 and still went unsigned. Was Puig the only one? Or were there scores of .800 OPS guys who are still littering the free agent list?
Over the season, he was a league average player. He’s a volatile, pain in the ass who’s exiting his prime and who never lived up to his first couple of years.
I’m not against adding a guy who’s got a clubhouse presence problem. Plus, while I don’t think people ever REALLY change I do think they can fake it for a while. It’s not a big risk for the Giants to sign Puig. They’re going no where either way. But it is probably a reason Puig can’t get a gig–
I’d bet Puig would respect the vets with all their rings and scale back the nonsense.
Bum was the only guy he had a problem with and that was mostly theatrics, IMO…
And I think Puig would love him some Panda….Cueto likely would have an influence as well…
We are slowly winning Flav over Loo!!!
Next thing you know he votes for Trump:))))))
lmao
Ok maybe a stretch….
Im less concerned about athletes being able to compete especially baseball players. I realize this Covid is a beast but warm/hot weather should kill this rampage and then we prepare for the winter. Expanding to include Texas sites does make sense (isnt there an indoor stadium in San Antonio as well). That would give at least 6 indoor stadiums correct between the 3 states and if you go two daily games would allow 12 games (24 teams) a day. If they start July 1 and play through end of October (4 months) I think they could play 100 games per team. Someone check my math.
If you could add one more indoor venue, that would be 14 games a day (can they play in Vegas new Raiders stadium???), just off current normal schedule by one game. I think you could get then to 115 game schedule roughly or if you wanted to just play through end of Sept about 86 game schedule. I could live with that. You would need just 4 venues for playoffs Miami/Tampa for Citrus League playoffs and you could go both Dallas/Houston for Cactus League playoffs and WS in AZ.
I think it is easy keeping the players safe. Dugouts for just the coaches and starting 9 or starters could sit in stands behind the screen. Bullpen and bench players out in the dugout non-starting pitchers in the clubhouse…
Players can rent houses in one of those three states if they want to keep their families with them and teams could rent floors in hotels to keep away the public. I even think limited fan attendance is possible spread out. Gives Flav a fighting chance to catch a foul ball!!!
The only thing wrong with your ideas is science.
Speaking of grocery stores, was at one today and still no bloody tater tots. Toilet paper and cleaning products…ok! Who is eating all the god damned tater tots??? First day some of the frozen pasta dinners we grab has been available…
The Beatles are objectively great, it’s not a subjective issue.
It would be like saying Mozart’s music isn’t great, or “The Grapes of Wrath” isn’t a great novel.
Ask anyone who writes songs how great the Beatles are. All our favorite bands would acknowledge the greatness of the Beatles.
The great ones in anything have a way of ironically making their craft look kind of simple. Willie Mays was so great he made playing baseball look kind of simple. It’s the paradox of greatness.
Care to weigh in on Tater Tots, Zum?
This is the earliest footage of the Beatles performing, playing a song from a set at the Cavern Club, before they had a record contract. No contract yet, and they were already the most popular band in England from sheer word of mouth.
Uh oh, “Grapes of Wrath”? Couldn’t you have used “Moby Dick” instead?
No, the Grapes of Wrath is perfect for my comparison. Captain Ahab, meanwhile, surely had some relevant sympathy.
One of the creepiest endings in a book. Wrath that is.
The Beatles/Stones comparison is just so tired. Sure if you love a rock band with heavy blues, the Stones are going to be preferred. If you’re more into creative and well-crafted pop/rock, the Beatles are the preferred. And people can like both. The bands themselves have been friends throughout the years.
For the record, for several years, the Stones followed the Beatles’ lead on new directions in music.
I was just kidding. But you’ve sort of wandered from your “objective” argument.
Well I hope we’re not too messianic
Or a trifle too satanic
But we love to play the blues…
Admittedly, I’m not a big fan of blues music.
Zumiee I already posted last year what Quincy Jones thought of the Beatles in terms of their musical talent. He thought they were terrible. Agree or disagree, THAT is a subjective take from someone deeply embedded in the music industry. Saying they were objectively great is just silly. It’s fucking music.
in case you forgot:
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/feb/07/quincy-jones-the-beatles-were-the-worst-musicians-in-the-world
First of all, Jones is wrong about the musicianship. Harrison and McCartney are two of the finest musicians in rock history.
Putting that aside, since when does a band have to be great musicians to be great? It’s all about the songs. Was Mozart a great musician? I have no idea. But he wrote transcendant music.
I get Jones’ frustration. He’s standing up for great black musicians who never got the fame and riches of a lot of the white musicians.
The Beatles and the Stones were influenced by black music, of course.
again, these are subjective takes. A lot of people would agree with these takes, of course. But not everyone–thus, making it a subjective take.
There was no doubt institutional racism that made it very hard for black artists to get their big opportunity.
I’m not aware that Jones has ever had much involvement with rock music. I’m not sure he really gets how and why rock music evolved the way it did.
Clearly Chuck Berry and Jimi Hendrix were hugely important famous black rock stars.
the bigger question I have is, why do you care if Quincy Jones thinks the Beatles were terrible musicians? Or if other people don’t share your opinion that the Beatles were a great band? It shouldn’t really bother you if you think about it.
Well, I don’t in general care what people think about the Beatles. but sometimes I’ll post a response to something posted on a blog or Facebook.
“I was just kidding. But you’ve sort of wandered from your “objective” argument.”
It’s always a challenge to acknowledge that something is great, if you don’t like it. But it’s the essence of something being objectively great.
The Bulls of the ‘90s were great, but I never liked them, so I won’t watch the documentary.
There are some great operas, but I’ll probably never like opera.
“Gravity’s Rainbow” is a great novel, and Pynchon is great, but he’s no fun for me.
May I recommend Vineland, Inherent Vice, or Bleeding Edge? All a lot of fun. Relatively short, too. And if you’re still resistant to Pynchon, just watch the Simpsons episodes on which he appeared, via his real voice but with a bag on his cartoon head. Very good tv. One of those episodes, now that I think about it, had a Moby Dick subplot.
There’s no defensible canon of objectively great works. But hell you can’t like everything.
Top 5 Corona Beatles songs:
Get Back
Help!
It’s All Too Much
Nowhere Man
You Won’t See Me
I love the beatles and have since they first showed up over here. Paul Mccartney has to be the king of writing silly music that is purely simplistic but is transformed into something at times profound. Like this for example:
Someone’s knockin’ at the door
Somebody’s ringin’ the bell
Someone’s knockin’ at the door
Somebody’s ringin’ the bell
Do me a favor
Open the door and let ’em in
The inclusion of the sad-sounding trumpet was a great by Paul.
“great move” I meant.
I always thought McCartney had a real knack for writing catchy intros…
He is an amazing song writer. like Dylan, Mccartney has that knack for putting words together. Add Lennon’s stuff and the Beatles were unique and pretty much uncopyable. I guess uncopyable is a real word.
Pretty sure we’ve covered this but here it is again – the only thing worse than the Beatles (who suck) is the endless droning of their fans about how great they were. Count me as a no on Puig too.
Get a guitar, learn to play it, then work your way through their catalog. It would likely change your opinion.
You can get their whole catalog in two books. It’s like reading Da Vinci’s notebooks or something. Very fascinating.
What makes you think I don’t know how to play guitar? People don’t have to like them because you do, zum.
Subjective take that I agree with
“Actually, this afternoon, John and I were listening to a stereo LP of The Beatles — in which the voices come out of the one side and the backing track comes out of the other. When you actually hear the backing tracks of The Beatles without their voices, they’re flippin’ lousy!”
— Pete Townshend
I happen to belong to a private Facebook group inspired by Robert Christgau, the rock critic. It’s populated by music nuts who have record collections in the 5 figures. Many of them are critics themselves who write for Spin, the Voice, Pitchfork et al. A recent thread that a huge number of these folks, who’ve listened to way more obscure music than is reasonable or imaginable, contributed to was an album by album ranking of the songs on each of the Beatles’ records.
Townshend is a complex character. He’s ripped his own band way more than he ever ripped the Beatles.
The Who are one of the greats in rock. There are a lot of great bands, especially from that era.
By the way, Jones called McCartney and took back what he said about the Beatles.
https://ultimateclassicrock.com/paul-mccartney-quincy-jones/
Gee I wonder why he took it back, lol
And the #1 Beatles Solo Album . . . George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass!
He’s so fine. Hare Krishna. Guru Brahma.
“A recent thread that a huge number of these folks, who’ve listened to way more obscure music than is reasonable or imaginable, contributed to was an album by album ranking of the songs on each of the Beatles’ records.”
I would read all that.
Speaking of The Who, The Who Sell Out is my favorite of theirs. Great songs, and with the fake commercial jingles between songs, like it’s all one big radio show.
Just saw this…interesting they are contemplating 3 divisions instead to keep travel minimal. And there is a reference of starting the season in FL, AZ and Texas and then teams playing in their home ballparks. The story puts the season game total in the 100-115 range. If it is a 10 team division then you likely have to play 10 games against each division opponent making it 90 games from home ballparks. Then probably 2 games against each division opponent in their spring training sites that will make for a 108 game season. 18 games in 18 days so maybe starting mid-June and then teams returning home to start the home seasons on July 3rd. That is 90 days between July 3 and Sept 30. Add in double headers for off days?
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.usatoday.com/amp/3039275001
“I always thought McCartney had a real knack for writing catchy intros…”
Coincidentally I have been thinking about this lately. How their songs opened was very important to them, and producer George Martin.
The drum roll that starts “She Loves You,” the awesome opening guitar chord of “A Hard Day’s Night,” which is actually 2 or 3 chords put together (still debated about by fans, and complicated by the fact the Beatles themselves seemed to remember it differently what they did there), the twisty opening guitar riff of “Drive My Car,” and on and on.
You Tube is a huge help. Harrison put his capo on the 7th fret for “If I Needed Someone” and “Here Comes The Sun.” OK, mystery solved on that.
I think the most fun thing I learned about the Beatles lately is that at the end of the big medley at the end of Abbey Road, the 9 short guitar solos are done by:
Paul, George, and John, in that order 3 times, for 9 different solos. It just seems like a fun way for them to end their Beatle careers.
Yoko didn’t ruin the Beatles. Abbey Road couldn’t have been better. The band members (except Ringo) were ready to move on. And Ringo did have a successful solo career.
ah poor Hendrix. Had quite an interesting career as r/b session guitarist. Just read auto bio of Jerry Wexler who knew him in Atlantic/Stax/Muscle shoals days. I’ll try and find his quote.
Btw, we visited the Chihuly museum in seattle as a vendor comp. On the way in noticed Hendrix theater nearby I’ve not ever had chance to check out.
sports channel showing Warriors game at NY Knicks feb 27 2013. warriors (Mark Jackson Jarett Jack andres biedrins) do lose this one too but…
Knicks were coached (quite successfully at time) by Mike Woodson featured Melo Tyson Chandler J R Smith off bench Jason Kidd Iman Shumpert and won 50 some odd games and division.
This shit is so fucking RAD
Andrew can’t spell…
It was a Nobel try . . .
Meant to put this here, not higher.
Top 5 Corona Beatles songs:
Get Back
Help!
It’s All Too Much
Nowhere Man
You Won’t See Me
Well done!
Top five CV19 Stones songs:
Gimme Shelter
Sympathy for the Devil
Street Fighting Man
Ventilator Blues
It’s All Over Now
“And the #1 Beatles Solo Album . . . George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass!”
I can see that. I rank it and John’s first solo album as the two best. George’s is a double album so it has that advantage. 🙂
Top 5 Hendrix Covid songs:
I don’t live today
Manic depression
All along the watchtower
The burning of the midnight lamp
(No) Crosstown traffic
Loo said at 2:59 yesterday, in relation to signing Puig:
“You’re all over-thinking it.
He’s an entertaining upgrade who’ll be on a one year deal in a surreal season.
Why the fuck not?
I agree…Giddy the fuck up and sign that clown. If for nothing else, pure entertainment. And IMO the team will be better offensively.