You bet. After last week’s finish to that horrible homestand, I never would have guessed we’d see the Giants finish off a 6-3 road trip by sweeping the first place D’backs. Some terrific pitching, some hard work, and some luck all added up to a nice change, multiple wins in a row.
Durham has begun his annual month-long offensive binge (you know, the one that makes his final numbers seems so much better than they really are), so it’s time once again to talk about whether our GM can finally trade him for some youth, prospects, or a real hitter.
Winn has gotten a few hits, Fred Lewis still seems like a major league hitter…. this has been a nice time for the beleaguered Gigantes.
Zito (1-8) has regained some of the form that led him to be considered such a free agent gem a year and a half ago. He’s been much better since the “bullpen” move, with an ERA around 3 since his return. He’s still getting some of the worst offensive support of any pitcher in baseball, and if the trend continues, he’ll be lucky to win 8 games all year, but, he’s obviously making adjustments, and they are –to some degree– working.
Brian Wilson landed his league-leading 16th save.
It’s been fun to see some signs of progress.
UPDATE: I’m here, I’m here. (lol)
Seriously, Durham must must must be dealt. You have to get something for him now. Not just this season, but now. He will never have more value than he does at this minute. Sabean has stood pat and missed opportunities to get value for his over-paid “veterans” after they’ve gone on short little spurts of good play, (like how he missed on Matt Morris). Now is not the time to repeat that mistake.
Deal him. Almost any young player or players would be worth the move.
13 Backtalkers
trade him, trade him, trade him – Durham is giving the impression of being worthwhile, the team isn’t half as frightening as I would have imagined, this could be close to the peak of the season – get something or things that at least adds up to something above replacement level value. And quick.
Who are you and what did you do with John? I did note though that you did let him write at least one paragraph (the Durham paragraph).
Trade him? Come on! We just pulvarized the D-Backs! We have a winning record against the Cards! This is a playoff team! Time to trade some of those youngsters for Proven Veterans! Let’s make a run at this!
sabeans working on bringing alou and delgado to sf for johnathan sanchez as we speak
trade ray? sure….no one wants him
but right now, the mets are hurting for both of and pitching help
we can trade winn and a couple of arms (henny and someone) for some of the mets studs at aa binghamton
we gotta trade winn….cuz if we dont, nate is gonna rot in fresno
So…who’re we drafting? And, when Lincecum’s arm falls off, what are we going to do to Bochy?
Bochy will have to be given cement overshoes….I was looking around at Giant’s stats, and was surprised (even though I’d seen many games) at how many innings Lincecum is pitching. Bad idea….
This concern is silly. Lincecum pitched 177 innings combined last year in Fresno and SF and is on pace to pitch a little over 200 this year. This is normal acceptable growth in innings pitched even in today’s era.
and how many pitchers threw 200 innings in 2007 and how old were they? hmmm?
I just had to look
19 pitchers, in the NL, so about 1.15 per team, pitched 200 innings in 2007. That’s 23% of all rotation spots.
Our own beloved Matt Cain pitched an even 200, and was the youngest at 24 – no one else was younger than 27. Lincecum is the same age as Cain (which I didn’t realize).
So how about them being (in 2008) the ONLY pitchers under age 27 who pitch(ed) 200 innings? I’m not sure that being part of the top 23% of starters in innings pitched, and 3 years younger than anyone else in that class, consititutes “normal”.
By the way, in the non-DH AL, there were 19 as well, and 1, Carmona of the Indians, under 27 (he’s a year older than Caincecum). And currently out for 4 weeks due to injury.
Concern over young pitchers and their use is never silly.
We are not going to trade Ray….
Ray Durham is a valued member of the Giants. Now that the team is in contention, we need to value the intangible contributions made by veterans like Durham, Visquel, Winn, and Molino. To trade any of them would upset the developing chemistry of this fine team.
We have had some strong interest in Bowker, though, and think we can bring a veteran presence into the clubhouse for him. Remember how Mike Sweeny anchored the pinch hitters spot? We would like to bring onboard another veteran pnich hitter, and Bowker doesn’t seem to fit into our long term plans, at least not until he get another ten years of experience at this level.
Barry Zito is the ace of the young staff. He has had a few setbacks since joining the Giants, but I believe that is his over-eagerness to achieve, which has impeded his rhythm somewhat. Look for Zito to have an outstanding year with the Giants, perhaps winning 15 games, despite his horrible start. Next year, we expect a rejuvenated Zito to win 20 games for us.
With the team in contention again, we are considering a trade of one of our young, unproven starters for a proven clubhouse leader, such as Gary Sheffield, Several teams have inquired about our surplus of fine young starting pitchers, and this team needs another veteran outfielder to help teach the youngsters how to play the game the way it is meant to be played.
Watch for a major move before the all-star break. We would have made a move sooner, but the unfortunate incident with Noel Lowry, means we have to get Noel healthy before we can consider moving one of our other starters. Noel is a great presence on the mound, he reminds me a lot of Woody, who anchored our staff for so many years.
We have not had any discussions with Barry Bonds, but think perhaps he could help us make a stretch run if we are in a good position after the All-Star break. Barry’s agent tells us his legs are fresh, and with Barry’s new vitamin regime, ready to play daily when called upon.
Thank you Giants fans for keep the seats full during the post Barry period.
Good to see you’re still alive John. Totaly agree on Durham…just do not see many takers. Maybe at the trading deadline, an AL team will want him. I think we just witnessed the high point this season. This team can only go further downhill. This team is trying to build around AT&T Park…speed game, but has the worst home record in all of baseball. Strange as it may seem, they play better in yards that play small. Go figure. The bull-pen will be shot by the All-Star break the way Bochy utilizes it. Rags must also have some blame hear.
As for Durham, check the discrepency between his batting avg and avg. with runners in scoring position…pathetic. The line-up needs a complete revamp. The current one will never win. Castillio needs to bat 7th or 8th. Bat Winn lead-off. Lewis needs to bat second where he will see less breaking balls. Molina should bat 5th…but with this team…probably clean-up. With a few tweaks, this team might be able to play .500 ball the rest of the season. Hinshaw needs to be the set-up guy. I like Walker…but, he’s not the guy for the job. Too many blown opportunities.
Sad that the Gigantes save their worst for home.