Interestingly, the Giants chose Baseball Digest Daily to put out a press release regards the Sabean extension:
…. “When you look at Brian’s body of work over his 11 seasons with the Giants, it’s evident that he is a shrewd baseball man who will find a way to get this team back to where we all want it to be,” said Magowan. “While we are certainly disappointed with the way that things have gone this season, I’m fully confident that Brian and Bruce (Bochy) will get us back on the right track. I look back on the job Brian did his first year as General Manager in 1997, when we clinched our first NL West title in eight years and compiled 22 more victories than the previous season. After the 2002 National League Championship season, he had to almost completely retool the club – and the team still went on to win 100 games and the NL West in 2003. I believe that he’s the person to get the job done.”
That’s called living in the past.
For more refreshing candor, here’s the SF Giants release:
…. Magowan said that he considered Sabean’s overall record, which includes four postseason appearances by the Giants between 1997 and 2003. “I have a very good working relationship with Brian,” Magowan said. “I trust him and I believe he trusts me.”
The timing of the announcement also was significant, given the proximity of the July 31 trading deadline. Now, Sabean won’t feel like a potential lame duck as he plots the franchise’s future.
“It puts Brian in a much better position to do what he feels he needs to do in terms of making trades and whatever assessments are necessary to make, than would be the case if we were to wait until the October or November time frame,” Magowan said. “We can get a running start on the ‘08 season by making these moves now.”
…. Sabean said that the Giants would remain open to making trades that would bring the team players such as outfielder Randy Winn or right-hander Livan Hernandez — young yet proven veterans in their late 20s or early 30s who aren’t saddled with enormous contracts.
But Magowan said that obtaining “rent-a-players” such as first baseman Shea Hillenbrand, which cost the Giants promising reliever Jeremy Accardo last July, won’t happen.
…. the Giants will continue to focus on nurturing their own talent — especially position players, who the Giants have struggled to produce in recent seasons. Matt Williams, who played with the Giants from 1987-96, is the last All-Star hitter to rise through the organization. Since Williams’ departure, Bill Mueller and Pedro Feliz are San Francisco’s lone draftees to have emerged as everyday players.
…. Magowan said that although the Giants have tried to win and develop players simultaneously in the last several seasons, “I think the emphasis has been more on winning than developing. It’s a balance, and the balance is always in flux because you might feel you’re just a player or two players away. If you’re several players away, you put more emphasis on developing.”
Magowan cited the Dodgers, Padres, Braves and Mets as examples of teams possessing a decent mix of homegrown talent and players obtained through free agency or trade. “We don’t have that strength of balance on our team,” Magowan said. “We have to strive to try to get a better one in the future.”
Ummm…. let me see…. OK, Magowan cites the Hillebrand deal as a bad one. That’s good, because it was fucking atrocious, as bad as the AJ deal, in it’s own way. On the other hand he does seem to be saying that he thinks the Giants are one player away. Yeah, if you mean one player away from 75 wins. The only way the Giants are one player away is if that player is A-Rod. Other than that miracle, Magowan better have a plan for cloning Superman.
And, as for comparing the Giants to the Mets and the rest of those actual contenders, the difference between the Giants and that group is that those teams have homegrown stars, not homegrown Pedro Feliz’s. By giving away top picks in an effort to save money on draft picks, the Giants have virtually assured themselves of another five years of no position players from their farm system, which would be a real impediment to the old, “balance between homegrown and free agent talent,” horseshit they’re running by us right now, especially since there hasn’t been a top-flight player come out of their minor league system in twenty years.
In the meantime, we’re now three and a half seasons away from the 100-win team that was punted from the playoffs by the Marlins, who had rebuilt from the ground up in about fifteen minutes; and we’re pretty much worse at every single position on the diamond. How’s that for progress? And it only took three years to do it.
7 Backtalkers
does peter m listen to the words that come out of his mouth???
the reason the team doesnt have the balance of fa’s and home grown, is because that is not the sabean philosophy
the fact that not one impact position player has been developed in this system for 11 years, should have given peter m pause to reflect
is there another team anywhere in the mlb that has failed to develop even 1 impact player???
im not talking allstar, im talking about an everyday player that is important in the lineup
if pete goes away tomorrow, no one will notice
and it makes sense that peter m lives in the past, cuz his gm most certainly does
and we will all find out the truth in regards to this orgs future, in just 2 short weeks….so stay tuned
[...] Original post by John [...]
I am puzzled and disappointed by this. It’s not re-signing Sabean by itself that bothers me, although I think this is a mistake. It’s the fact that McGowan announced in the spring that he’d decide Sabean’s future at the end of the season, and then halfway through the season, when it’s obvious the Giants stink, THEN McGowan decides to re-sign him!
What happened between March and July to convince McGowan that Sabean is the man for the job? Was it the Giants’ ability to take command of last place? Was it Dave Roberts giving us $5 worth of production for the $18 mill Sabean signed him for?? Was it Niekro and Linden being the latest Giants’ “prospects” to prove that the Giants’ farm system is a wasteland???
Really, given that McGowan was obviously not sold on Sabean back in spring training, I want to know what new information McGowan has acquired in the last four months, that convinced him to upgrade his evaluation of Sabean’s job performance.
I too questioned this decision. Sabaen was not only given a reprieve, but rather an extended endorsement worth millions. Truly mind-boggling in light of the events of the current season. Perhaps it is the timely and win producing batsmanship of Messrs Durham, Aurelia, Winn, Feliz, and Sweeny. Or maybe it was the stellar first-half pitching performances of Vinnie Chulk and Barry Zito. Or maybe its that Love train known as the Giants rocketing down the tracks towards their first Div Championship since 2003 that had Magowan convinced it was imperative to sign Sabaen now. Before some really brilliant ownership like Tampa Bay or Kansas City came a knocking. Or maybe it was because Sabaen took a page out of Scott Boras’ book.
I always find it interesting (and not funny) and am never really surprised when rich sports owners–likely cutthoat and hyper-competitive about everything in their insular little world(s)– eschew their own best interests in lieu of nebulous silliness like loyalty, heart, and strength derived from intentional inflexibility. And, while we’ve long debated the strengths and weaknesses of Brian Sabean and his tenure, this is a new step toward the absurd. To REWARD a baseball General Manager based on the current state of the franchise is a move either done out of fear of change, underestimating the knowledge and patience of the fans, underestimating our position vis-a-vis EVERY other NL West club, or smoking crack. Maybe all four.
I really went into the wrong line of work.
See Magowan is the problem, not Sabean. This guy doesn’t have a clue. Watch us resign Bonds too this offseason. This team is doomed.
Here’s a mildly optimistic thought: Just because Sabean’s been signed to an extension doesn’t automatically mean the Giants will keep him on as GM for the next 2.5 years. It’s commonplace to release *players* before their contracts expire (some of whom make more $ than Sabean), so I assume the Giants could do this to a GM, too. Maybe McGowan’s thinking is “I can’t sign up a new GM before the trade deadline, and if I want Sabean to make trades for the future then he needs to believe he is part of it. I can always fire him this off-season (or next) if things aren’t working out.”
The above is probably wishful thinking, but I prefer to lie to myself about this then to face the reality that we have just signed on for two more years like the last three. It is really, really, hard to be optimistic about this organization right now…