Brady Quinn

Jennifer Love Hewitt

Seriously….

17 Responses to “…. Separated at birth”

1. Robert says:

   November 20, 2009 at 12:46 am

   The Giants have a two time Cy Young award winning pitcher on their staff and the GM has asked “Where do we go from here?”
   The Giants will finish third or fourth in the NL West.
   Sabean has dismissed the possibility of pursuing top tier free agents to fill the void in the team’s offense. Link
   That’s it. They’re not even going to try.

   Reply
   • +mia says:

     November 20, 2009 at 9:57 am

     Somebody, a few months ago somewhere, tried to depict the Giants as a top tier franchise in terms of on-field performance this year because they had 88 wins. Well first of all, if you finish in third place in a 5 team division, I don’t see how that is considered a top tier team. While 88 wins is damn nice compared to 72 wins, its not good at all, when you finish 4 games behind 2nd place and 7 games out of first. Its barely above mediocre. A swing of 7 games and they would have been at 81W 81L, instead of 88W 74L. Thats 7 games over .500. Thats not top tier and its barely 2nd tier. And its no accident that its second tier.

     To quote from Tim Kawakami’s take on the Brian Sabean press grovel yesterday. Here is Sabean virtually echoing the opinions of many here (at least those of the smart guys ) when it comes to the Giants as a second tier team:

     Sabean: “…Quite frankly, there are a lot of nice opportunities with that second tier. There are some people that are going to help, maybe in some cases just as well as the higher-priced free agent, including the numbers of years you’d have to give somebody.

     We have some flexibility, as you know, because Pablo can play third and first. And if we had to, Sanchez could also play third. And in the outfield, we know we have to get better at, especially offensively…

     -Q: Holliday and Bay are the big names… Have you gauged their possible interest? Do you think either of those guys would have genuine interest in coming to the Giants?

     -SABEAN: We have not. I don’t think that they would have genuine interest based on the field that they’re going to be involved in. Why would they?

     I would like to know who the fuck Sabean is talking about when he talks about some “second-tier” player helping “just as well as the higher-priced free agent”

     You mean like Edgar Renteria? Aaron Rowand maybe? Freddy Sanchez? Dave Roberts? Ryan Klesko? Edgardo Alfonso? Brett Tomko? A.J. Piersynski? Randy Winn?.

     I found the “we have to get better in the outfield” comment particularly charming. You mean like in 2006 when you gave a big fat multi-year contract to Randy “Two-Bombs A Year” Winn? Or like in 2007 when you gave a big fat multi-year contract to Dave “Herve Villechaize” Roberts? Or in 2008 you gave a big fat multi-year contract to Aaron “Fenceface” Rowand. Or like in 2009 after having a dead nuts awesome oufield you started to build up your infield offense with yet another multi-year contract just to treat Giants fans to the awesomeness of Edgar “.635 OPS” Renteria.

     Yep Brian. Love those second tier signings. Incredibly shrewd.

     Reply
2. trantor says:

   November 19, 2009 at 10:47 pm

   I did not think Lincecum was going to get it, either, for two reasons, wins and the way he faded a little down the stretch. Congrats, Timmy!

   I expect Sabean will try to sign Timmy up for a 3 year extension, to avoid arbitration, perhaps 3 years for $30-35 million. Lincecum might be more favorably disposed to accept a modest deal for 3 years security because of his late season back injury – call it just in case money, and it would be good for both teams, while giving both options in 3 years.

   I don’t expect a Holliday siging, Sabean indicated he was going to wait, to try to get a “better deal” – on some flawed player other teams overlook. cringe

   I am holding my nose for what is sure to be a doozy of a signing for the outfield. Think 35+, middling batting average, some HR power, few walks and a gold glove 5-10 years ago. Lets hope at least it is an AL player who could show some improvement moving over to the NL.

   Reply
   • +mia says:

     November 20, 2009 at 9:19 am

     As John points out, Wainright and Carpenter split the voters. Its really no more complicated than that, despite what all the flapping gums at ESPN and those that have a vested interest in creating something out of nothing would have us believe. Any one of the three would have been good choices for those that are interested in such things.

     And like everything else in MLB, even its awards and recognition and championships are eroded and soiled by the relentless cacaphony of player denigration from msm, whom Selig has sold out to in exchange for his annual $6 billion dollar revenue stream.

     I care about as much about the BBWA recognition clusterfuck as I do about the fools in charge of HOF membership.

     I follow MLB for a number of reasons, very little of which have to do with individual recognition or awards.

     Team Championships

     The pure grace of the game.

     The amount of incredible talent and hardwork and even- temperament required for an individual to consistently excel

     Individual excellence displayed in a team setting over the course of Spring, Summer, Autumn. A beginning. A Middle. An End.

     The daily opportunity to celebrate all that is good about the human condition, and criticize much of what is bad

     None of them have to do with what msm wants me to think. None of them have to do with my rooting interest for a fucktard with no life whose only sense of self-worth comes from a piece of paper that tells him he has temporary stewardship over a National Institution and the parking privileges thereof.

     I don’t care who gets the plastic jesus statue. What I care about is what I saw in the context of what I love about this game. And that is something that msm has no say in whatsoever.

     Fuck em. And the Sabean horse they rode in on.

     Reply
3. JoJo says:

   November 19, 2009 at 6:29 pm

   Waiting for an apology for your September 12th Post entitled “The End” where you wrote the following:

   “Meanwhile, the lack of offense has another casualty, with Tim Lincecum’s bid for his second Cy Young Award now gone to the wayside. He’s had seven no decisions or losses in games in which he’s gone at least seven innings and given up 3 runs or less, which means that he has no chance of catching Wainwright or Carpenter, since neither one of them has lost in a month. All in all, a decidedly depressing finish to a decent enough run.”

   What were you thinking?

   Congrats to Tim, most of us knew he had it in him.

   Reply
   • John says:

     November 20, 2009 at 1:00 am

     Well, with all due respect, Jo Jo, Lincecum winning the award had nothing to do with him “having it in him.” He won because, as I wrote multiple times in the backtalk sections, , given the won loss deficit, his only chance to win was to have Carpenter and Wainwright split the Cardinals vote. Which is exactly what happened.

     So, what, exactly, am I supposed to be apologizing for?

     Reply
4. +mia says:

   November 19, 2009 at 5:14 pm

   I Shit You Not

   Already the fat fuck Ratto is arguing that Lincecum’s award is going to cost the Giants money and in the process Lincecum is hurting himself because now the Giants won’t be able to sign Jason Bay–and maybe even cause them to lose Matt Cain.

   Unless the Giants are suddenly going to blow up their budget, which is anathema to Neukom and the lesser investors, Lincecum’s second Cy Young, a historical award in that no pitcher has ever before won it in each of his first two seasons, will cost the Giants flexibility on outfielder Jason Bay, who just told the Boston Red Sox that four years and $60 million isn’t going to get it done. It might take a few lesser outfielders off the table. It might even squeeze them on Matt Cain.

   And the Giants beat writer Henry Shulman didn’t even vote for Lincecum! What the fuck. That alone should disqualify the chode from ever drawing a paycheck for reporting on something he clearly does not understand beyond what he learned from the firm of Fleer, Donruss, and Topps. Not knowing what a chode was, our intrepid reporter, using his alias, Robert S to sleuth out some answers, managed to satisfy his curiosity in short order. He is an investigative journalist you know.

   Reply
   • B says:

     November 19, 2009 at 9:54 pm

     Screw signing Jason Bay anyways. Overrated. Holliday or bust! I actually thought Schulman gave a pretty reasonable argument for his Cy ballot. Baggs, on the other hand, really blew it. His arguments were just awful.

     Reply
5. uncle joe mccarthy says:

   November 19, 2009 at 2:06 pm

   wake up dude

   timmy won his second consecutive cy (i think it shoulda gone to carp or wainright, but whatever)

   and the gyros and their idiot manager are now screwed, cuz no way does timmy sign a long term for small money

   so the idiocy of overpaying zito, rowand and rentwreck again rears its ugly head

   and if there is again no offense next season…you know the kid is out of here no matter what the giants offer

   eff sabean and the orville redenbacker clone

   Reply
   • John Patrick Tener says:

     November 19, 2009 at 3:29 pm

     Carpenter or Wainwright???

     Yes, Lincecum barely won the Cy Young. But all you need to know is the second column from the right:

     http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=pit&lg=nl&qual=y&type=6&season=2009&month=0

     Scary who gets to vote on these things. The voters often make awards meaningless. This Cy race just wasn’t even close. Lincecum was historically good in terms of K’s per 9. Look at the 8.2 WAR.

     Reply
   • B says:

     November 19, 2009 at 9:53 pm

     The good news is when Lincecum hits free agency, Zito, Rowand and Renteria are all off the books.

     Reply
     • +mia says:

       November 20, 2009 at 10:02 am

       Don’t kid yourself. Lincecum will be long gone and Cain will have been traded before he hits free agency. You have to remember. The Giants are about the bottom line first. They keep the bottom line strong by continuing to do an excellent job of marketing the ballpark experience.

       Their per capita revenue on ticket sales is amongst the highest in MLB. Never lose sight of that fact. Neukom liked the status quo. Hence the 3 years to Sabean and Bochy. The Giants are in a state of almost perfect financial equilibrium when chaos reigns around their baseball brethren. Promise them anything, but continue to give the same old shit. Its worked for 10 years, and continues to work. Its time tested. Nothing will change given unchanging circumstances.

       Reply
       • B says:

         November 20, 2009 at 2:22 pm

         Lincecum is a nice piece of marketing for them, though. He is everything Zito was supposed to be, in addition to being a true ace. Assuming he stays relatively healthy, I think the Giants will do everything they can to keep him around well past his 6 years of team control.

         Reply
         • +mia says:

           November 20, 2009 at 6:20 pm

           Its going to be pretty simple. Priorities

           1 Size of Contract
           2 Chance to win a championship

           Giants will be somewhere around #3 or less on size of contract when he hits free agency.
           His chances of winning a championship with a cast of “second tier” players is about fucking nil.

           Neukom isn’t about to part with more money than Steinbrenner, Henry, the Dodgers or the Angels.

           The MLB central pool punishes the achievers and rewards the losers. Which is why the good players migrate to the successful teams in free agency.

           Do you think CC Sabathia is happier in New York or Cleveland. Would Nick Swisher rather be in the House of Al Davis or Yankee Stadium? Same for Johnny Damon. Would A.J. Burnett rather be back with Florida along with Red Sox ace Josh Beckett or earning millions more with a WS ring.

           And so it goes. Current Management. Current priorities all stay in place.

           He’s gone.

           Bank on it

           Reply
           • B says:

             November 20, 2009 at 7:15 pm

             We’ve paid Zito, we’ve paid Bonds, Lincecum is easily the next logical choice to build around. Honestly, I don’t see how we don’t make every effort to keep him. You know I’m not quick to defend ownership or Sabean, especially, but I just think resigning Lincecum fits exactly into what our strategy has always been. I think there’s more evidence we’ll keep him around than evidence against it.

             Reply
             • +mia says:

               November 20, 2009 at 8:44 pm

               I don’t disagree with your point. What I am saying the Giants can jump up and down until the brown cow jumps over the lazy fox, but there are teams that are going to outbid them and being like anybody else, Lincecum will follow the money AND THE opportunity to win a championship.

               Its not up to the Giants where Lincecum is going when he reaches FA. Its up to Lincecum and there is no way any player like him is going to want to stay with a team that is saying out loud that it is trying to sign second tier players.

               Reply
6. Kevin says:

   November 17, 2009 at 10:04 am

   haha, get a little bored during that terrible mnf game?

   Reply