Comments on: …. Talk, talk

By: El

El — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 13:39:47 +0000

your farm system produces exactly zero quality position players over ten years

The plan was to draft and develop pitchers at the expense of position players.

Worked so well they signed Zito to one of the worst contracts of all time.

To paraphrase Buccaneer Coach McKay:
“What do you think of the execution of the front office?”
“It’s an excellent idea.”

By: +mia

+mia — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 19:40:35 +0000

Well, maybe this is part of the reason they haven’t been able to develop any position players. The Giants minor league system for years had a system-wide hitting instruction coordinator. Seems he tried to make more than a few Giants farmhands change their swings. Somewhere between a Jeff Bagwell and Walt Hriniak, (even if their natural swing was a Ted Williams) A Charlie Lau/Walt Hriniak theoried weight shift moving forward swinging down and trying to cut it to put backspin on the ball kind of swing. Leading with the knob (Don Mattingly, Fred McGriff, and the Giants Bill Mueller, Todd Linden, Lance Niekro, Kevin Frandsen, Nate Shierholz, Fred Lewis. This as opposed to the Ted Williams slight uppercut. A hip swing with leg power leading with the barrel. Bonds, Cepeda, Mays, Aaron, Will Clark, Matt Williams, Robby Thompson and Willie McCovey to name some of the more recognizable swings.

No mind that most baseball folks who know about these things know that to drastically alter a hitters natural swing or a pitchers natural throwing motion once they’re out of high school is problematic at best, and career-ending at worst. Nevertheless, that was the Giants hitting instructor’s theory on hitting mechanics. So instead of Gary Maddoxs and Gary Matthews and George Fosters and Jack Clarks and the guys I just listed who strode into the ball, leading with the barrel and a slight uppercut to match the path of the ball, this hitting instructor gives us guys like Linden, Frandsen, Niekro etc. And to go with those mechanics here’s a little quote on in-game plate strategy.

“You’ll never get a better pitch to hit than the first one”

So of course, he was so good at developing minor league hitters he got promoted to the Big Club where he got to ply his wares beginning in 2001. Who? No other than Brian Sabean’s New Hampshire HS teammate Joe Lefebvre.

To paraphrase Paul Harvey “Now you know some of the story.”

By: Jim

Jim — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 17:05:38 +0000

I think the Giants’ primary “mistake” has been a farm system with a stunning inability to develop position players. As much as we gnash our teeth about Dave Roberts, Randy Winn, etc., I don’t think we have more bad contracts on the books than a dozen other teams (at least we didn’t until Barry Zito), and Sabean’s trading record isn’t that bad (yes I haven’t forgotten the Pierzynski trade). But when your farm system produces exactly zero quality position players over ten years, you will be a last-place team unless you spend like the Yankees and the Red Sox. And maybe even if you do…

By: Kent

Kent — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 05:12:47 +0000

Rowand’s fine. The Giants’ mistakes were not last off-season, they were the last three or four off-seasons combined. And we can all tick off the choices by our front office that fucked this franchise up for the present and the near future. I’d be very surprised if this team doesn’t lose 100 games this season. The D-Backs, Dodgers, and Rockies are all better than last year and the Padres aren’t “that” bad. We are…that bad.

By: Aaron B.

Aaron B. — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 01:56:31 +0000

I think Grega is right too. I only wanted Iwamura as a stopgap solution for Villalona. And I wasn’t a big fan of the Rowand signing because of the length and the likelihood that he improves the Giants a few wins but not significantly.

By: marc

marc — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 04:26:17 +0000

Sadly, I think Grega is right…. it’ll be a few years before the Giants are good again. Talk about trades, talk about free agents… there’s too far to go to not just fire Sabean, fire Bochy, and sit tight. I know it’s been said a million times before, but the team had Bonds and was still awful. I think the Giants might make a run if they signed 4 Bonds(es), but that’s about it.

By: grega

grega — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 00:10:58 +0000

I would say that deal doesn’t make sense in that there’s no point in the Giants giving up any of their younger pitchers for any position players at this point. Iwamura can’t play 3rd, short, 2nd, first and left all at the same time. They’re so far away from any semblence of a team its ridiculous. It’s a given they’ll come in last in every offensive category this year and last in NL west but will they actually manage to win 70 games?

All these young players they have right now aren’t worth shit. They’re simply placeholders with low salaries until the bulk of the fossil’s contracts come off the books.

When I think of young players leading the way for the Giants I’m picturing players who are currently in San Jose, college and high school.

By: Aaron B.

Aaron B. — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 21:57:47 +0000

John, you (and Grant) hit the nail on the head.
During this off-season, I was wondering if the Giants should/could/would trade Lowry or Sanchez to the Rays for another player, Akinori Iwamura. Although 3B isn’t the ideal position for him, Iwamura would in all likelihood be the 2008 Giants’ leader in OBP and probably would provide at least as much power, if not more, than Rich Aurillia. Does this deal make sense or am I way off base here?

By: uncle joe mccarthy

uncle joe mccarthy — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 21:05:02 +0000

i know there really is nothing left to say….i just enjoy reading your rants

mia just did a good job….but it aint the same

By: +mia

+mia — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:48:35 +0000

Congress. Media. Selig. Fehr.

Great Job Guys! A Truly Awesome Performance! Thanks a lot. If you fuckers had been running World War II we’d all be goose-stepping around in kimonos and rubber samurai swords. Individually, you’re some of the most stupid, ignorant, over-educated, yet totally undignified vermin to ever strap on a three-piece suit. As individuals, you’re so short-sighted, I’m surprised you can see your own fucking shoe laces. On second thought, you cant–which explains why you wear loafers. Yet combined you’re smart enough to disgrace the National Pastime, humiliate the greatest players of an era, inflate the cost of attending a game to where you assholes now rival OPEC in gouging the Average American out of his already 45% taxed dollar.

You assholes should be given life sentences in the Attitude Adjustment Center at San Quentin and never see the light of day again.

I’m just not much interested in the current collection of Giants flotsam and jetsam. It will take effort to pay attention beyond Cain, Lincecum, Wilson.

Spending anything more than five bucks to see this embarrassing tribute to Sabean and Magowan and Baer is a waste.