Posted 9:25 PM by Doug

It's Official: Labor Peace!

The owners and the Player's Association have formally reached an agreement on a new 5 year labor contract. Among the highlights:

"Amateur Draft

1. Clubs that fail to sign first or second round draft pick will receive the same pick in the subsequent draft as compensation. Club that fails to sign a third round pick will receive a sandwich pick between rounds three and four in the subsequent draft as compensation.

2. Period of time before a Player must be protected from the Rule 5 Draft is changed from three or four years from first minor league season to four or five years from year of signing.

3. Signing deadline of August 15 for draft picks other than college seniors.

Draft Choice Compensation

1. Type C free agents eliminated in 2006

2. Also in 2006, compensation for type B players becomes indirect (sandwich pick) as opposed to direct compensation from signing Club.

3. Effective 2007, Type A players limited to top 20 percent of each position (down from 30 percent) and Type B players become 21 percent - 40 percent at each position (rather than 31 percent - 50 percent)."

Posted 12:20 PM by Doug

News and Notes (* With Update *)

Ken Rosenthal reports that a new collective bargaining agreement between the owners and the player's union is "expected to be completed before the end of the World Series." Of note:

"The deal will not eliminate draft-pick compensation for departed free agents, but the current plan will be modified, the source told FOXSports.com."

However, Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News reports (link via BTF):

"The new deal won’t have any major changes from the past, but there were be several subtle alterations that will have a long-term benefit. The two sides have agreed to eliminate draft choice compensation for teams losing free agents, and they will have a slotting system for bonus money paid to June draft choices."

Update 3:30 PM: MLB and the Players Association have reached a tentative agreement on a 5 year contract. Gammons adds this tidbit:

"The new agreement will likely end draft choice compensation for losing free agents, move up the contract tender date from around Dec. 20 to early December, and other small alterations. No pay-for-performance. No salary cap.

Just labor peace and a lot of money."

***

The stats at Baseball Reference have been updated to include the 2006 season. The stat that really jumps off the page is Pedro Feliz' offensive production...or lack thereof. Are the Giants really going to give big money to a 3B coming off a season where he posted an OPS+ of 79?

***

...Expandedbooks.com has a brief interview posted on You tube with Joshua Prager, the author of The Echoing Green...

Posted 11:00 PM by Doug

"The Sun Does Arise..."

"Brooklyn leads it, 4-2. Hartung down the line at third, not taking any chances. Lockman without too big of a lead at second, but he'll be running like the wind if Thomson hits one.

Branca throws. There's a long drive. It's gonna be, I believe -- The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! Bobby Thomson hits into the lower deck of the left-field stands! The Giants win the pennant! And they're going crazy! They're going crazy! Oh-ho!"


Nearly 55 years have passed since Bobby Thomson of the New York Giants hit "The Shot Heard 'Round the World" to beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in the third game of the 3 game playoff to win the 1951 National League Pennant for the Giants. Through Russ Hodges' historic call of the most famous homerun in baseball history, baseball fans have relived the moment countless times. But, as Joshua Prager first reported in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) in 2001, there is much more to the story of the "Shot Heard Round the World" - Did Thomson know what pitch was coming?

In his new book, The Echoing Green, Prager again describes the 1951 Giants elaborate sign stealing system that invloved a Wollensak telescope and a buzzer system. The book was released today and the Wall Street Journal gives us a preview (subscription required):

"Three springs after the three-second flight of a home run, it could be stated indubitably that Branca had gotten on with his life. The pitcher had married, fathered kids, found a second profession, a second ball club, picked up by Detroit in 1953. And though famous as a loser, he had come to coexist both with Thomson and his lot. "I'll always be one of the all-time goats of baseball," Branca remarked the summer previous. "It's rough. But gee, I guess that's baseball."

The pitcher began 1954 in the bullpen. That a career was winding down was by June obvious. Branca was 28 years old.

Tiger teammate Ted Gray, 29, was also on the way out, had one more year in him. And it was now in a hotel room on the road that southpaw remembered a secret told him by former Giant Earl Rapp. Perhaps, he wagered, talk of a telescope might soothe his roommate, a vaccine against future pain. "I thought it was something he should know," says Gray. "He was downhearted." Gray turned to Branca.

"We got to bed," remembers Branca. "He just came out, 'I'm not supposed to tell you this but -- "'

Branca lay quiet as Gray spoke of signs, buzzer wire, a spyglass and bullpen, struck dumb as Gray recounted what Rapp had avowed: on October 3, 1951, the Giants stole the finger signals to both Branca fastballs."

After Prager's original article was published in 2001, Thomson felt that a burden was lifted off his shoulders.

"Thomson too was freed. "It's been brought up before and I've always been glad where it quieted down," he told WFAN radio host Christopher Russo the next day. "But you know, that's foolish. ... Getting it all out is the best thing. I feel almost like I just got out of prison."

Public deliberation ensued. Most praised Branca -- the heroic goat who had kept quiet a buzzer lest he demean a home run. Most defended Thomson -- the humble hero who still had to hit a pitch and whose alleged offense was not illegal. And while Branca condemned a team but not Thomson, Thomson condemned a home-field advantage but not a home run."

Posted 9:55 PM by Doug

Report: Free Agent Compensation is History

Maury Brown has the scoop (link via BTF):

"Ken Davidoff of Newsday reported just over a week ago that teams may no longer receive draft picks as compensation for free agents who leave as part of the upcoming CBA.

Now comes word through sources that all the clubs have been notified that this indeed will be the case as both the Players Association and MLB have come to terms on the matter."

The MLBPA doesn't like the compensation system because it penalizes teams for signing free agents, as the real cost of signing a free agent is said free agent's compensation AND the cost of surrendering a high draft pick.

As for the owners, Greg Schuler of BTF sums it up:

"This agreement would also allow MLB to do what it pleases with the First Year Player Draft. As long as free agent compensation picks were in use, the MLBPA argued that any changes to the Rule 4 Draft had to be bargained as part of the CBA. MLBPA, unlike agents, wouldn't mind terribly if the draft picks had enforceable bonus slotting and could care less how many rounds make up the draft. MLB wants to reduce the scope and cost of the draft. By removing this barrier, it makes everyone happy except the amateur players and agents."

As for the immediate impact on the Giants - assuming this report is true, the Giants will not receive compensation if their high profile free agents (Jason Schmidt and probably Ray Durham) were to sign with another team this winter. On the bright side, the Giants will not surrender any draft picks for signing high profile free agents from other teams. Also, Brian Sabean will no longer be able to forfeit the Giants' first round draft choice.

Posted 10:55 PM by Doug

Quick Hitters

...An interesting tidbit from Ken Davidoff of Newsday (link via BTF):

"Something to watch in the negotiations for the new collective-bargaining agreement: It's possible that teams will no longer receive draft picks as compensation for free agents who leave. That means that the Nationals, who opted to keep Alfonso Soriano, could wind up with absolutely nothing if Soriano signs with another club."

And, of course, it also means that the Giants, who opted to keep Jason Schmidt, could wind up with absolutely nothing if Schmidt signs with another club. On the other hand, if the Giants were to sign a bunch of high profile free agents this winter, they would not have to surrender draft picks as compensation...

***

...Bruce Jenkins floats an odd suggestion - manager of the 2007 Giants: Mike Matheny?

"While it's difficult to read Magowan's mind, he has some attractive options in Dave Righetti and Bob Brenly, among others, and a potential sleeper in Mike Matheny, assuming he (a) retires and (b) fully recovers from his post-concussion setbacks. Of all the players who began this season on an active roster, Matheny might be the most intriguing as a future manager."

The odds of Matheny managing the Giants in 2007 are probably very slim but it does indeed present an attractive option in that the Giants could work out a creative managerial contract. Matheny is due $4MM next year (including signing bonus) with a $2MM buyout for 2008 even though it appears Matheny will not play again.

I don't imgaine the MLB Players Association would happily rubber stamp any potential agreement between the Giants and Matheny in which Matheny would forfeit $6MM in guaranteed money. But maybe Matheny would accept a low salary to be the manager of the Giants, with the knowledge that he's already getting $6MM from the team...

***

...This may have been mentioned elswhere but this is the first I've seen it:

"While (Jason) Schmidt would interest still the Mets, he's been blocked on waivers and can't be traded."

The article, published before the Mets acquired Shawn Green, also mentions the Mets were in "serious trade discussions" to acquire Moises Alou. So, Alou has either cleared waivers or he was claimed by the Mets...

Posted 9:00 AM by Doug

Monday Morning Buzz

The word out of New York is that a Giants/Mets deal featuring Jason Schmidt is seen as unlikely. The New York Post (warning - New York Post link) explains:

"The Mets have long had heavy interest in Giants righty Jason Schmidt, and yesterday they made a push for the All-Star, according to an MLB team executive. But they were facing an earlier deadline, and after midnight last night, a deal was almost positively not going to happen.

Schmidt, who is 7-7 with a 3.18 ERA and will be a free agent after the season, became a 10-and-5 player as of midnight ET last night, meaning he can reject any trade. So even though the actual trade deadline is today at 4 p.m. ET, the deadline for Schmidt was basically 16 hours earlier."

The Star Ledger has more:

"Late last night, the Mets were in negotiations with the Giants in an effort to acquire right-hander Jason Schmidt. The deal is a long shot, but it was intriguing enough to both sides that they were exchanging names. Interestingly, Lastings Milledge, who'd been the key name in the Mets' murky efforts to land Barry Zito from Oakland, is not one of the names involved in talks with the Giants. San Francisco, according to a person close to the talks, would rather make Aaron Heilman the centerpiece of a Schmidt deal, adding a prospect or two around him."

For what it's worth, Jon Heyman of SI.com apparently has different sources than the Star Ledger as he reports that a Schmidt to the Mets deal would have involved Lastings Milledge:

"Mets general manager Omar Minaya was debating late Sunday night whether to surrender one of the biggest pieces of the Mets' future to acquire either Schmidt or Oswalt and greatly enhance his team's immediate chances. The asking price for both Schmidt and Oswalt is believed to revolve around multi-talented young outfielder Lastings Milledge...

...Milledge was the only key name known to be connected to the Schmidt talks..."

Posted 10:45 PM by Doug

Trade Deadline Eve News and Notes

Buyers or sellers? Or both?

Brian Sabean faces a challenging task - balancing the realities of a mediocre team and a thin farm system with the demands of his bosses who want to see a competitive team on the field for the rest of 2006 and beyond.

Jayson Stark of espn.com (subscription required) has the lowdown on the latest rumors involving Jason Schmidt:

"In a starting-pitching market devoid of juicy names, Schmidt has been the two-ton gorilla waiting to enter the room for weeks. Well, that room is now officially open. Clubs that made contact with the Mets on Sunday say they were talking to the Giants about a potential deal to bring Schmidt to New York. And the Giants were said to be listening...

...So while they're telling teams they still think they're in both the NL West and wild-card races (they're four games out in each), there are indications that the Mets have gotten their attention. It's believed the Rangers and Red Sox have also inquired on Schmidt. And there were conversations with the White Sox about him earlier in the month. So the Giants at least will have some interesting options. But they've made it clear that for someone to pull this off, it's going to be "expensive." They would want at least two players back -- either two top-tier young players they can rebuild around or one player like that and a young starting pitcher who could replace Schmidt in the rotation now and down the road. So an official of one team described this deal Sunday as "more unlikely than likely."

As the analyst at Rotoworld points out, the Giants should be able to get a good return in exchange for Schmidt, because Schmidt would be "easily the best pitcher on the market."

Another note to keep in mind - Sabean could ostensibly be trading Schmidt and two draft picks (if Schmidt isn't re-signed by his new team). I think Sabes is playing this right. If you want Jason Schmidt, it's going to be "expensive."

Meanwhile, Giants beat writer Henry Schulman has the latest from rumorville:

"Manager Felipe Alou said he had not spoken to general manager Brian Sabean since Thursday, suggesting as of Sunday morning that no trades were imminent. However, industry sources said Sabean continued to be making offers for other teams' players and fielding offers for his own.

The most likely outcome by today's 1 p.m. deadline was thought to be a minor deal, perhaps an insurance catcher or more bullpen help, although one cannot rule out a last-minute impact trade if another team lowers its demands."

Posted 10:30 PM by Doug

Like the Swallows Returning to San Juan Capistrano...

It's late July, which means it's time for Glenn Dickey's annual column where he implores the Giants to have a firesale. Here is the 2006 version of Glenn Dickey's firesale column as printed in the Examiner. Wait, Glenn Dickey writes for the Examiner? Wait, the Examiner is still in business? Seriously?

"This is an old team, vulnerable to injuries, with uncertain pitching and inconsistent hitting...

Next year will be worse.

The Giants' strategy the past six years has been to keep the nucleus of the team together and bring in, through trades and free agency, veterans who can supplement them. The strategy worked well for five years, but it is bankrupt now."

Ok, this was actually from the 2002 (yes, 2002) version of Dickey's annual firesale column, but he's basically written the same thing every year since then.

At the very least, in his 2004 firesale column, he acknowledges the Giants believe they would take a PR hit if they white flagged the season:

"Sabean has made some excellent midseason trades in the past but he's never been in the situation of having to plug two gaping holes like this. If he makes a trade to plug one of these holes, it wouldn't be enough for this season and would be a further setback for the farm system.

The fear of the Giants since moving into their new park has been that the fan base quickly would erode if the team was not competitive. That's fueled the almost frantic reshuffling of the team each season to stay in the hunt."

Whether or not trading Jason Schmidt (for Brandon McCarthy and Brian Anderson, as Dickey advocates) would be wise from a baseball standpoint is a debatable point. But I can't imagine that the Giants believe this would be a wise move from a business standpoint. Moreover, I can't imagine that Giants believe this type of move would be wise from a baseball standpoint, especially when they still consider themselves to be contenders in 2006.

Sorry Glenn, no firesale for you! Come back, one year!

Posted 11:20 PM by Doug

News and Notes (* With Update *)

Buster Olney of espn.com (subscription required) provides some insight into how the Shea Hillenbrand deal went down:

"Toronto general manager J.P. Ricciardi raved about how aggressive Brian Sabean was in making the deal for Shea Hillenbrand. Ricciardi talked to seven teams and gave them all the same speech: We're going to make a deal quickly, and whoever steps to the plate the fastest is going to get this guy. Ricciardi then presented his trade requests to each of the seven teams, and after talking with Sabean about pitching, the Giants' GM replied, "I'll call you back in two hours." And he did. "To me, that should tell the guys in [San Francisco's] clubhouse that Brian cares about making them better," said Ricciardi."

***

In looking at Jason Schmidt's Baseball Reference page, I noticed that the Giants acquired Schmidt on July 30, 2001. Assuming I'm understanding 10/5 rules correctly, Schmidt will become a 10/5 player on July 30, 2006 and can therefore veto a trade if the Giants were to move him on July 30, 2006 or anytime thereafter. It's very unlikely that Schmidt will be traded in the first place, especially in light of the Giants recent hot streak, but this is yet another reason why it would be very surprising to see Schmidt traded this season.

Update 7/25 9:00 AM: Andrew Baggarly confirms that Schmidt will be a 10/5 player on July 30, 2006:

"Schmidt will gain a complete no-trade provision on July 30, the fifth anniversary of his being placed on the Giants' roster. Players with 10 years of service time and at least five with their current club have the right to refuse any trade.

Players often request extra compensation, perks or even a contract extension for the courtesy of waiving their no-trade rights.

And Schmidt, who has two small children, isn't keen on going anywhere. He is a free agent after the season.

"Is this a place I'd want to come back to? Yeah, in a heartbeat," Schmidt said. "I'd love to retire as a Giant. But it's not always up to me. And free agency is a thing that I had a blast doing last time (in 2001)."

Posted 11:00 PM by Doug

The Trade Market

In recent years, the Giants strategy at the trade deadline was straightforward - trade prospects/young players for soon to be free agents who could help the team down the stretch run. And if you can re-sign the new acquisitions (i.e. Jason Schmidt), then great.

This year's trade deadline could bring a new dynamic. Ken Rosenthal explains:

"The Giants could gain nearly $50 million in payroll flexibility this off-season by parting with five potential free agents — Bonds, right fielder Moises Alou, right-hander Jason Schmidt, second baseman Ray Durham and outfielder Steve Finley.

But rather than overpay for other free agents — and lose top draft picks as compensation — the Giants could become aggressive traders, using their newfound spending power to absorb inflated contracts from other clubs.

The Giants haven't valued draft picks in recent years, forfeiting them in almost cavalier fashion while trying to build a championship team around Bonds. Offering financial relief to prospective trade partners would be another way to preserve young talent. Teams that make such deals generally avoid parting with top prospects."

Facing a thin free agent market and not wanting to part with the few prospects in the organization, this could be a desirable strategy for the Giants. As Rosenthal explains, the talent exchanging hands would be anything but equitable. The main asset the Giants have to offer their trading partner would be salary relief.

Rosenthal suggests the Giants are in the market for Jose Vidro. Given his injury concerns, Vidro wouldn't be the most desirable name out there. Bobby Abreu, anyone? Pat Burrell?

Jayson Stark of espn.com (subscription required) suggests a different strategy:

"The Giants are more interested in winning than they are in unloading. So they have no desire to export Schmidt just because he's about to shoot down the free-agent exit ramp. But one GM who has talked with them says Schmidt is available if he brings back a package that includes a young starting pitcher they can plug into this year's rotation and beyond, plus another piece or pieces. So while that rumored deal with the White Sox for Brandon McCarthy (plus center fielder Brian Anderson) doesn't look likely, it's the kind of trade the Giants would make.

"I don't see them re-signing him," the GM says of Schmidt. "I think he's run his course there. So they're in a funny position. Yeah, they could get hot and win the division. But how far are they capable of going if they do? So is it better to hold onto him, or is it better to get a guy like a McCarthy who can be there for the next four, five years? If you keep Jason Schmidt, he might win seven games the rest of the year. But if you trade for Brandon McCarthy, he might win five. Giving up those two wins, to me, would be worth it. And I think that's how the Giants are thinking."

While I don't believe SF will trade Schmidt unless they're completely overwhelmed, the Giants could employ a similar strategy with, say Ray Durham, Steve Finley, or Moises Alou - accept a short-term downgrade for the rest of 2006 at 2B or OF, but get a young player in return who could help the Giants in future years.

Posted 10:05 PM by Doug

More Quick Hitters

...David Smith of Retrosheet fame made a presentation at the recent SABR convention which "tests the effects of batting order on team run scoring." I'll post a link to Smith's research if one ever becomes available. Dan Agonistes has a report on Smith's presentation:

"He concluded that lineup slot of the first batter in an inning matters a great deal in a team's average scoring and that lineups appear to be well designed in that the best scoring results are seen when the man in the leadoff slot bats first in any inning. In his comments, however, he appeared to contradict the conventional sabermetric wisdom that lineup construction (in other words the order in which players appear in the order) matters little over the course of a season, however I don't believe his data really spoke to the issue."

Very interesting. Does lineup construction really matter?

***

...Just how bad is the 1B situation? We're halfway through the season and Lance Niekro's EqA (.230) is nearly identical to Jose Vizcaino's EqA (.229). And speaking of EqA, guess who ranks 2nd in the NL in EqA? Reports of the death of Barry Bonds' career have been greatly exaggerated...

***

...Baseball Digest Daily has an interview with Brian Sabean. Here is an excerpt where Sabes discusses rookie southpaw and 2006 Nathan J. Schierholtz Award winner Jonathan Sanchez:

"BDD: You also brought up Jonathan Sanchez from AA recently. Is there any thought of eventually moving him into the closer role? Do you think he's ready for that at this point?

BS: He’s very versatile. If anything, we’ve discussed him as a starter which he’s done in the past. We’re not quite certain on how or when to get him into the game. He hasn’t pitched as much as we would have liked him to, but he certainly deserves to be here. But guys like [Jack] Taschner and [Brian] Wilson, Wilson’s already been up, from AAA are going to chip in.

That’s what’s interesting about the trade market. What we’ll need to do with the bullpen or what we’ll need to do with our pitching in general, we can address internally. If we need another starter, we can add one. Pitching wise, I think we’re in pretty good shape and that includes guys like Sanchez."

Posted 8:20 PM by Doug

The Crimson Crab?

Now that we're a few weeks removed from the amateur draft, prospect hounds have had a chance to digest various scouting reports, statistics, and whatnot of the Giants draft choices. But the question still remains - which Giants draft choice has the coolest MySpace page?

Giants 8th Round draft choice Matt Klimas now has his page all decked out with Giants logos. Nice! It beats the hell out of all of the Texas Longhorns crap he used to have up there. Take notes, Tim Lincecum. Where is your Giants flare?

Fortunately, none of the Giants draftees have odd or potentially embarassing profile pics.

No, wait. Giants 37th Round Pick Lance Salsgiver (presumably on Halloween):


Oh those crazy Harvard kids. I blame Larry Summers.

But my favorite MySpace pic is this one from Diamondbacks 3rd Round choice Cyle Hankerd:


An ugly Christmas sweater party! And there is only one thing more hideous than an ugly Christmas sweater and that's an ugly Christmas sweatervest. Nice work ... girl to the left of Cyle Hankerd. But my favorite part of the picture is the girl on the far left. Apparently she didn't get the memo that this wasn't an 80s party.

Posted 8:25 PM by Doug

Quick Hitters

* Detect-O-Vision has a great post on Giants first round draft choice Tim Lincecum.

"199 K in 125 IP" is not a set of geek numbers.

199 K in 17 starts is an OUTCOME.

The OUTCOME of Tim Lincecum's pitching was a .174 AVG — in the Pac-10, with metal bats.

The OUTCOME of Lincecum's games were that the best college hitters couldn't even put the ball in play against him, despite using metal bats and a punch-bunt, drag-the-bat-across-the-zone hitting motion.

Tim Lincecum was a whale of a lot more dominating than Brandon Morrow, and Tim Lincecum was a whale of a lot more dominating than Andrew Miller."

His praise of Lincecum is certainly strong, but he does have a point. 199 strikeouts in 125 IP is 199 strikeouts in 125 IP...

* ...Lance Niekro's splits:

vs. LHP:

2005: .324/.361/.657
2006: .225/.262/.425

vs. RHP:

2005: .206/.251/.335
2006: .272/.324/.388

All of these splits are very sample sizes. And that is exactly my point. Any notion that Niekro is a LHP masher based on his 2005 splits is premature. And any notion that Niekro sucks against LHP based on his 2006 is also premature. We just don't know yet...

* ...Its been nearly 3 months since my Spring Training trip, but my Webshots album is still getting all kinds of traffic. So, for anyone who missed it, go here.

Posted 9:53 PM by Doug

715



Congrats, Barry!

Posted 11:15 AM by Doug

714



Congrats to Barry Bonds for hitting career Homerun #714.

Those of us who were lucky enough to be at the game yesterday have a memory that we will remember for the rest of our lives. Thank you, Barry.

Posted 10:45 PM by Doug

Some Minors Links

* BrewCrewBall has unveiled their new minor league splits database (link via BTF). As far as I know, this is the only place on the Internet where you can find L/R splits and home/road splits for minor leaguers. Bookmark. Now.

* First Inning reveals their list of Top 12 Giants Prospects. Its a little surprising to see a Giants prospect list and not see Matt Cain at the top of it (Cain is ranked #2).

* Also check out First Inning's projection system to see how your favorite prospect stacks up. For example here is Kevin Frandsen's weighted average projection:

2007: .288/.330/.402; GPA: .249

* A while back, BA ran a feature on Joe Bateman, official Westwood Blues Sleeper Prospect (subscription required):

"He asked our manager at the time, Fred Stanley, what would happen if he went the whole year without giving up a hit," (Trevor) Wilson said. "We told him, 'Geez, you'd probably go to the big leagues.' So he asked what would happen if he went the whole year without giving up a run."

He did it all with a stone straight face.

"We weren't sure whether he was kidding or not," Wilson said. "But hey, we teach 'em to think positive, and he's a confident kid."

A funky personality to match his funky delivery.

"Bateman's path to the big leagues will be in relief, perhaps as a version of veteran righthander Jeff Nelson. Bateman's slider has proven awfully tough on righthanded hitters."

If the Jeff Nelson career path includes posting bone chips from his elbow on Ebay, well, back off folks, because I will not be outbid.

Posted 9:45 PM by Doug

Will Clark to be Inducted into the Hall of Fame

Not Cooperstown, unfortunately. The Thrill will be a charter member of the new College Baseball Hall of Fame. He is one of only 5 players in the innaugural class of the College Baseball Hall of Fame.

Clark won the Golden Spikes Award in 1985, playing for the Mississippi State Bulldogs. He was an All-American in 1984 and 1985.

Congrats to the Thrill!

Posted 9:15 PM by Doug

Quick Hitters...

From Steve Kroner of the Chronicle's new Giants blog:

"Taking three of four from Atlanta rates as an accomplishment in and of itself, but considering how good the Braves' pitching has been for the past 15 years, can you remember a four-game series against Atlanta in which the Giants scored at least six runs in each game?

It must have happened, but it'll take some research to figure out when."

As far as I can tell, the last time the Giants scored at least six runs in each game of a four-game series against the Braves was May 23rd-26th, 1929 when the New York Giants scored six or more runs in each game of a four game series against the Boston Braves.

There were more recent instances where the Giants scored at least six runs in four consecutive games against the Braves, but those games were spread out across more than one series...

(A tip of the cap to the magic of Retrosheet.)

***

The Atlanta Journal Constituion has a preview of a new book from Braves GM John Schuelholz. Included is this interesting tidbit on how Barry Bonds was an Atlanta Brave ... for 15 hours:

"He begins the first chapter by revealing that in March 1992, Schuerholz and Pittsburgh GM Ted Simmons negotiated a trade to bring Pirates star Barry Bonds to Atlanta in exchange for pitcher Alejandro Pena, young outfielder Keith Mitchell and a prospect to be named later.

"I was euphoric," Schuerholz writes. "Barry Bonds was a Brave! . . . There seemed no limits to what we could achieve over our approaching several seasons."

The morning after the GMs agreed to terms, the Braves were setting up a news conference to announce the deal at their West Palm Beach, Fla., spring training home when Schuerholz phoned Simmons, who told him he couldn't do the deal, apparently because Pirates manager Jim Leyland was furious that Bonds was being traded with a year left on his contract.

Schuerholz's account of the broken deal:

About an hour before the announcement, I decided to call Ted Simmons just to coordinate the timing of the release.

"We have a problem," Ted said.

"What do you mean, a problem? Don't want to release it just yet? What?"

"I can't do the deal," he said.

"You can't do the deal? You did the deal! Ted, you agreed over the phone, general manager to general manager. We made the deal!"

In baseball, that's about as sacrosanct as anything gets. That had never happened to me, nor has it since, where there was a total reneging of a trade. . . .

I guess we can say Barry Bonds was a Brave for 15 hours. At that time of his career, he didn't have the right to approve a deal, so I'm not even sure if he is aware this happened."

***

As someone who has spent several thousand hours of my life playing RBI Baseball, I couldn't help but link to this RBI Baseball re-enactment of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series (link - warning video file), even though its not Giants related (Link via BTF and Deadspin) ...

Posted 10:55 PM by Doug

"Trade Barry" Billboard Mystery Solved

Dear Mainstream media:

It was a joke.


April 1st:



Same Billboard, April 4th:



Topps certainly generated buzz with their April Fools joke.

Posted 11:30 AM by Doug

Happy Opening Day!

At long last Opening Day is finally here. Be still, my beating heart.

NL West Predictions:

1) Giants
2) Dodgers
3) Diamondbacks
4) Padres
5) Rockies

I pick the Giants to win the NL West every year and I see no reason to change now.

Quick Hitters...

As of Monday morning, there were still tickets available for Opening Day at Petco on padres.com ... The weather forecast for San Diego: Monday - 30% chance of rain, Tuesday - 90% chance of rain, Wednesday - 60% chance of rain. It rains in San Diego? In April?...
***
Diamond Mind Baseball projects the 2006 season. The Giants and Dodgers both finish 86-76...
***
Noah Lowry signed a 4-year contract extension extension with a club option for a fifth year. I like it. Nice work, Sabean...

Posted 12:01 AM by Doug

A's Forfeit 1989 World Series, Victory Parade in SF Tomorrow

The Oakland A's, the San Francisco Giants, Major League Baseball and New York State Attorney General Elliot Spitzer have reached a legal agreement where the A's will forfeit their 1989 World Series Championship. Under the agreement, the Giants will be named 1989 World Series Champions.

Controversy erupted over the A's 1989 World Series Championship after Regan Books released the book Juiced detailing Jose Canseco's use of steroids and after Mark McGwire refused to deny using steroids when he testified before Congress in March 2005.

Under the agreement, the A's do admit any wrongdoing. However, they will agree to forfeit the 1989 World Series Championship.

"At long last, the dark clouds of shame and asterisks have been removed from the 1989 Oakland Athletics. At the end of the day, this was the right thing to do. We did this for the children," explained Oakland A's owner Lewis Wolff.

"Now we can move on to more important things such as extorting money from local governments to pay for a new publically-financed stadium for our private business."

One member of the 1989 A's team was in disbelief upon learning the news. "What? But they ain't takin' my ring. You'll have to pry that from my cold dead hands, mother fucker," exclaimed an incredulous Lance Blankenship, a utility player on the 1989 A's.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced that San Francisco would host a ticker tape parade on Sunday honoring the 1989 World Series Champion Giants. Because of the short notice, the only member of the 1989 Giants scheduled to attend the parade will be former Giants pitcher Russ Swan.

Bud Selig to Launch Investigation of Himself

Explaining that he was "deeply concerned" about the actions of the Commissioner of Baseball during his reign, Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig announced that he will immediately launch an investigation of himself.

"In particular, I'm very troubled by the fact that the Commissioner canceled the World Series in 1994," explained Selig. In 2003, Major League Baseball instituted a policy that prohibits canceling the World Series.

"While there wasn't a policy against canceling the World Series in place in 1994, I'm deeply concerned that it occured. And we must take the necessary steps to ensure that it never happens again. For the children."

Editor's Note: Happy April 1st!

Posted 10:35 PM by Doug

Quick Thoughts on Spring Training

* "Its only spring training. Its only spring training. Its only spring training." I've repeated that mantra to myself 10,000 times. I've breathed into a paper bag. I've even meditated. But is it ok to be a little concerned about Noah Lowry? His stats from the spring are ugly. Moreover, he just didn't *look* sharp at all. His location and command were poor.

The good news is he still some time to get sharp and work out some of his problems. Hopefully my concerns will be all for naught. After all, its only spring training.

* Joe Bateman is my new favorite sleeper prospect. This is mostly because I'm a sucker for relievers with funky deliveries. Ok, its pretty much entirely because I'm a sucker for relievers with funky deliveries. It will be fun to monitor his progress throughout the year.

* Feel free to beat me over the head with fielding stats that show Steve Finley to be a poor defender. I don't care. Finley looked very good defensively in CF. He made several nice plays in the outfield including a running catch in the gap where I thought off the crack of the bat that he had no chance to make the play.

Yes, Finley's League-Adjusted Park Neutral Real Ultimate Enhanced Zone Field Rating last year was -70. That's -70! I know.

I'm not convinced that Finley's offense will sufficiently rebound, but the dude can still cover some ground in CF.

The Nathan J. Schierholtz Award

Taking inspiration from the Harry S. Jordan Award, which the Giants organization awards to the best prospect playing in his first major league camp, Westwood Blues awards the Nathan J. Schierholtz Award to the young player in camp who most impresses me.

Previous winners:

2004: Nate Schierholtz
2005: Scott Munter

The winner of the 2006 Nathan J. Schierholtz Award is ... (drumroll) ... Jonathan Sanchez!

This is the first time I've seen him in person and he lives up to the hype. His delivery is smooth and he's got some nice zip on his fastball. As with any young pitcher, a gazillion disclaimers apply. Its no secret that young pitchers flame out with maddening regularity. He still has a loooonnngg way to go before making an impact at the major league level.

If nothing else, Sanchez could be an intriguing trading chip at the July trading deadline.

Update 11:05 PM: Hank from Giants Jottings has the scoop on Noah's most recent start:

"Noah Lowry started the game and had his best game of the spring. He threw 5 shutout innings before running into trouble in the 6th. Noah ended up pitching 5 2/3 innings, giving up 3 hits, 2 walks and 2 runs. Through 5 innings he was spotting his fastball well and both the change and the curve were working well as evidenced by his 5 strikeouts. He lost his location in the 6th, but when he left the game, only 1 run had scored."

Good news.

Posted 10:17 PM by Doug

Spring Training Photos: Sunday, March 19th - Giants vs. Brewers


Webshots Photo Album

Posted 10:15 PM by Doug

Spring Training Photos: Saturday March 18th - Giants vs. Mariners


Webshots Photo Album

Posted 10:51 PM by Doug

Spring Training Photos: Friday, March 17th - Giants vs. Cubs

Matt Cain Walking to His Car:



There's a fine line between passionate sports fan and maniacal stalker. I like to think that I'm just a passionate sports fan.


I'll post pictures from the 18th and 19th later in the week. In the meantime:

Webshots Photo Album

And Barry:

Posted 10:50 PM by Doug

Spring Training Photos: Thursday, March 16th - Giants vs. Rangers


Webshots Photo Album

Posted 9:17 PM by Doug

More Spring Training Photos



I'm back in Arizona. My internet connection here isn't the greatest, so I won't be able to add any photos to my Webshots photo album until I'm back in LA next week. Here are some photos from today's game in Surprise vs. the Rangers.

Posted 9:16 PM by Doug

Linden Gets Drilled

Posted 9:15 PM by Doug

Eliezer Alfonzo

Posted 10:32 PM by Doug

Spring Training Photos: Monday, March 6th - Giants vs. Angels


Photos can be found here at my Webshots photo album. Enjoy!

For more photos visit Giants Jottings.

Posted 10:31 PM by Doug

Spring Training Photos: Sunday, March 5th - Giants vs. Team USA


Webshots Photo Album

Posted 10:30 PM by Doug

Spring Training Photos: Saturday, March 4th - Giants vs. Cubs


Webshots Photo Album

Posted 9:10 PM by Doug

The Rocket

Posted 9:05 PM by Doug

Noah Lowry

Posted 7:30 PM by Doug

Ladies and Gentlemen ... Todd Jennings!



Greetings from Arizona. My internet connection here is sketchy, so write-ups and pictures will most likely have to wait until I get home next week. In the meantime, check out Giants Jottings for Spring Training photos and updates. And enjoy this photo of Giants farmhand Todd Jennings.

Posted 9:50 PM by Doug

I Got Nothing

Everyone has a MySpace profile. You don't? Well, everyone has one except you apparently.

Several Giants farmhands are MySpacers including Justin Hedrick, Kevin Fransden, Justin Knoedler, and Ryan Sadowski, among others.

Whether they know it or not, several SF Giants players have MySpace profiles. As is the case with many celebrity profiles on MySpace, these SF Giants players didn't actually create these profiles themselves. Rather, an enterprising fan with too much time on his or her hands created them.

Pedro Feliz' profile is an obvious fake, as is Tyler Walker's. But my favorite fake profile has to be Moises Alou's.

Why the real Moises Alou didn't create this profile:

* His "Who I'd like to meet" section reads: "a decent starting rotation, a closer." Funny, but Moises would have a little more tact.

* I don't pretend to know the man, but I have a hard time believing that the real Moises Alou would be interested in joining a MySpace group called "People who think I'm really Ric Flair when a monkey dying of the ebola virus could obviously tell I'm not!!!"

* His tagline is "I piss on my hands before EVERY game"


This whole post is a very roundabout way of saying: This has been the longest fucking winter ever. Is it Opening Day yet?

Posted 11:10 AM by Doug

The Thrill Misses the Cut

Will Clark appeared on 23 Hall of Fame ballots (4.4%), just 3 votes shy of the 26 (5%) needed to remain on the ballot.

Congratulations to Bruce Sutter on his election to the Hall of Fame. Its about damn time.

***

Previous:

Keltner List: William Nuschler Clark, Jr.
What Would Krukow Do?
The Thrill Talks Cooperstown
Will Clark vs. Mark McGwire
Around the Blogosphere: Will Clark and Win Shares
The Thrill Will Get At Least One Vote!
Hall of Fame Ballot

Others Blogging:

Beyond the Boxscore: Will the Thrill for Cooperstown

Posted 10:10 PM by Doug

Hall of Fame Ballot

I've made my case for why I believe Will Clark should be elected to the Hall of Fame, so the only thing left for me to do is to provide some more links to some really smart people who also believe that Clark belongs in Cooperstown.

The results of Baseball Think Factory's Hall of Fame Ballot can be found here. Clark appeared on 49 out of 102 ballots. Among BTF's Hall of Merit voters, Clark appeared on 25 out of the 36 ballots. Nice work, Primates! The balloting and some discussion can be found here.

For the record, here's how I voted:

* My Ballot (in no particular order):

Bert Blyleven
Will Clark
Rich Gossage
Bruce Sutter
Alan Trammell

* Not on My Ballot, but I Could Probably Be Convinced They Belong

Albert Belle
Don Mattingly

* Hall of Very Good

Andre Dawson
Tommy John
Jim Rice
Dale Murphy
Dave Parker
Jack Morris
Lee Smith

* Serra High School Hall of Fame

Gregg Jefferies

* Wait, Didn't He Pitch for the Royals Last Year?

Alex Fernandez


I'm hopeful that Clark will achieve the 5% of the vote necessary to reamin on the ballot next year. The results of the balloting will be announced tomorrow at 11:00 AM Pacific.

***

Previous:

Keltner List: William Nuschler Clark, Jr.
What Would Krukow Do?
The Thrill Talks Cooperstown
Will Clark vs. Mark McGwire
Around the Blogosphere: Will Clark and Win Shares
The Thrill Will Get At Least One Vote!

Others Blogging:

Beyond the Boxscore: Will the Thrill for Cooperstown

Posted 8:50 PM by Doug

The Thrill Will Get At Least One Vote!

The official propaganda minister of sfgiants.com, Rich Draper, has revealed his votes for the Hall of Fame.

Draper votes for Will Clark, Willie McGee (former Giant), Lee Smith (current Giants minor league coach) and Rich Gossage (former Giant) among others.

Kudos to Repoz of Baseball Think Factory for the link and for providing a running tabulation (scroll down to post #3) of the ballots made public to date.

***

Previous:

Keltner List: William Nuschler Clark, Jr.
What Would Krukow Do?
The Thrill Talks Cooperstown
Will Clark vs. Mark McGwire
Around the Blogosphere: Will Clark and Win Shares

Others Blogging:

Beyond the Boxscore: Will the Thrill for Cooperstown