Just glancing at what I wrote about our two major off-season acquisitions makes me all teary-eyed.
…. In my relentless criticism of the Edgar Renteria signing, I have been accused of worshipping home runs, ignoring cutting edge statistics, and forgetting how horrible shortstop was for the Giants last season. Hmmm….. Lemme see.
I like the work the boys over at Baseball Prospectus put out, so let’s see what their projection system, PECOTA, says about Renteria:
It says that Renteria has an 8% chance of having a breakout season, a 29% chance of being better than last year, and a 36% chance of collapsing. It projects him at .280/.341/.410, with 8 home runs, and 60 runs scored and driven in. Upgrades for sure over last season’s debacle, but overall, just 1.9 wins over replacement.
Renteria is currently running out a .253/.327/.374, which is quite a bit worse than his projection. Orlando Cabrera –who I complained was Renteria's equal, and who labded a contract worth roughly 20% of
what Renteria got from Old 401K Sabean– is at .240/.302/.269, which, while horrible, would certainly make the savings look worthwhile.
And as for Mr. Johnson, well, he's now at two terrific starts and four horrible ones, which, of course, is what happens when you are older than me and still being paid to be a top-flight athlete. In his last 600 or so innings, Johnson has allowed a staggering 100 home runs, a rate that is something like 25% greater than his career average. Sure, he'll get strikeouts, that's what he does, but if the Giants really want to do something interesting, they ought to consider making him a middle reliever.
He could ramp it up a notch, be a little more overpowering, and put less mileage on his arm. As a middle reliever, who knows, he might be able to pitch for three or four more years. As a starter, his days are numbered.
Since we're talking about me, I'd also like to remind everyone that I predicted the Dave Roberts debacle, and was wrong on Zito. Que sera, sera.
Taking a female fertility drug:
Just Manny being Mandy.
If you know there’s a witch hunt, don’t ride around on a broom.
john,
for right now, im done with talking about the inadequacies of the team
its a dead issue
today, the snakes fired bob melvin
they and other teams do what this org refuses to do…make someone accountable
either you have a rebuilding team…or you dont…cant have it both ways
but bochy and sabean are trying to have it both ways and as a result, they are causing great harm to the kids, and not helping the vets in the slightest
btw, i really came here to read your take on manny and all the hubbub it has stirred
the hypocrites are running amuck again
when do you think congress will be scheduling another round of hearings….FOR OUR CHILDREN MUST BE PROTECTED
Here is former Cy Young Award Winner, strikout for troops king, face of the Giants franchise, and highest paid player in Giants history on the sophomoric twitter.
“# Manny’s gone for 50 games. time for the Giants to capitalize.
about 9 hours ago from mobile web”
I guess when you a guy is OPSing 930 against you lifetime, you’re pretty much relieved.
What a fuckin non-professional splooge.
After recovering from the original shock I have come to think the signing of Randy Johnson is a (qualified) good thing. I believe he is a good influence on all the other pitchers. He provides an experienced, respected older presence in the rotation that I think was badly needed. Zito was clearly unable to assume that role himself and I think his (Zito’s) improved performance may have a lot to do with Johnson taking over that role. It even seems possible that Zito may be transformed into something not quite so monumentally tragic. That would be a very good thing. I am inclined to give the Giants the benefit of the doubt on this and recognize it as a pretty smart move.
Renteria? Well. Not so much.
Good points. Especially taking the pressure off Zito. I am not a proponent of the RJ signing…but, feel he brings more to the table than just his personal statistics…and those are the things that never show up in statistics. Just wish he had the ability to eat up innings better…he kills our pen…and that also dosen’t show in the stats.
My #1 rant is saved for Rowand. Find an AL team who is in need…and make a deal. I do not like the Renteria or Uribe deals…but, they are proving me wrong. I hope it continues.
I watch a ton of baseball…and there are many teams far worse off than the G’s….including the Yanks. With all the failures in NYC,,,the last thing it needed was for the Yanks to tank. They were suppose to lead the city out of its slump. Not any time soon.
I’ve turned optimistic…based on what I see in other cities. Yeah…we could be a lot better…but, we have pitching….and that rules.
Just resolve 1b…once and for all. Sandoval is fine at third. 34 games and 281 chances…no errors. Not bad for a catcher.
I still agree with +mia about the Gigantes mgmt…or lack of…and I will never forgive this organization for the treatment of Bonds.
Still believe it can be done this year.
Win now…or go home.