The Giants have made their decision:
The Giants this morning will announce a Division Series roster that does not include pitcher Barry Zito, the team’s highest-paid player, a source said Wednesday night, several hours after manager Bruce Bochy said either Madison Bumgarner or Tim Lincecum would start a potential Game 4 in Atlanta.
Zito’s exclusion is not surprising, given his performance in Saturday’s possible division-clinching game against San Diego at AT&T Park. In a broader sense, this is stunning for a player who was given $126 million over seven years not only to pitch the Giants into the postseason, but also to be a face of the franchise in the post-Barry Bonds era.
It’s only stunning in that it is an admission of failure by Brian Sabean and team ownership; something that we Giants fans are hardly accustomed to. The outrageous contract they gave to an already declining Barry Zito four years ago –a contract that was an albatross almost from the minute it was signed– represents the very worst trait of Brian Sabean; he over-values proven major league players. This issue is one of the biggest complaints you’ll hear at OBM, so, for him to admit failing is pretty surprising. He never admits failure.
Kudos to Sabean and the rest of the Giants braintrust for being willing to bite the bullet.
UPDATE: Speaking about the use of replay….
There is no doubt that an effective and timely use of replay is available. It is as easy as having an umpire in a booth watching a HD broadcast. One of two simple options are available under that scenario. Either the HD ump has the ability to notify the umpire crew chief of an obvious mistake, (such as Torres’ foul/triple), or each team is allowed two challenges per game. That’s it. You could limit the challenges or not, it doesn’t matter, because each team is only allowed TWO PER GAME.
{Of course, the NFL chooses to limit what is challengeable, which is not only absurd –as it serves no real point– but, in fact, acts to undermine the effectiveness of the challenge system. Any play could change a win to a loss, and a phantom holding call on an 80-yard touchdown run is just as damaging/rewarding as a missed catch or fumble.}
Don’t bother talking to me about the time of the games, or the integrity of the game, or the built in fallibility of the men in blue. All of these arguments are flat-out absurd. There would be no significant impact to the length of the games. We already have delays when the umps gather together to discuss their limited ability to recall what they may or may not have seen; and these delays are happening while Tim McCarver is on television showing us over and over that the call was obviously and completely wrong, and anyone can see that it was.
The integrity of the game is harmed by allowing mistakes by umpires to be treated as a part of the game. The reason umpires are part if the game at all, is because the players, acting in their own self-interest, cannot be trusted to always tell it like it is. The objective umpire is the arbiter of whether the man is safe or out, whether it was a ball or a strike. There is no value added by allowing an umpires mistakes (or God forbid, his bias) negatively impact a game.
It is stubborn, pig-headedness that is preventing MLB from resolving this glaring problem, and the game is suffering because of it.
UPDATE: Via Baseball Musings, there has been an effort to set up a meeting between MLB officials, umpires, and the players:
…. Umpires’ profiles have increased in the past year, largely due to a series of missed calls in last year’s playoff games. This season, umpire Jim Joyce’s call denied Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga a perfect game only added to the focus and reignited a debate about expanding instant replay. Nearly a dozen players interviewed for this story told ESPN.com that relations between the two parties are deteriorating.
…. What the players would like to address, two player representatives said, is the growing concern among players about poor communication with umpires and what players see as a failure of accountability and transparency in the grading and evaluation of umpires.
…. (The Philadelphia Phillies’ Jimmy) Rollins said he’s noticed a change in the umpires’ patience this year. Often, he said, players aren’t allowed to question a call or get clarification about a rule because the umpire refuses to engage in conversation. Rollins also said that if players show too much emotion, like flipping a bat or shaking their head, they are much more apt to be thrown out of games than in past years. Other players echoed his thoughts.
“We’re supposed to yell at you, you know that?” Rollins said of the umps. “We’re trying to get every inch we can. You make the call, but you don’t have to keep looking back at me or antagonize and throw me out from the field while I’m in the dugout.
“It’s like umpires are taking it more personal these days. I don’t know what it was like back in the day, but looking at the footage, they’d get in these guys faces and ream them out. And umpires would stand there and when it was over they’d walk away. You’d really have to do something to get thrown out.”
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Couldn’t agree more! Well said. I remember Bob Costas saying something about how having a “wide” strike zone was like saying that a referee in basketball had a long three point line. There’s nothing to “interpret” about the strike zone. Interpretation is for critics.
The umps have decided that no pitch above the belt is a strike.
The umps have decided that a fielder does not have to to touch 2nd base with the ball in possession if he is trying to turn a DP.
The umps have decided that no pitch can be a strike if it hits the dirt, regardless of whether or not it was in the strike zone.
Tell the men in blue that they are there to enforce the rules, not make up new ones. They are employees. Nothing more.
Groundskeepers don’t get to set their own distances between bases and umps don’t get their own strike zones. Not up for discussion or negotiation.
The incompetence and arrogance is galling. Cuzzi, calling Ishikawa out because “the catcher made a good attempt to tag him”, gets fired.
Any pushback from their union gets them fucking gone.
Leaving Zito out makes me all warm and fuzzy. When the press asked him about it he looked uncomfortable. I liked that too.
ok….in 4 out of the 6 games played, there has been at least one bad call
this is not a good thing for the umps…or for baseball
forget the players union chatting with the umps…at the winter meetings the owners must push the league office to get onto this problem
timmy was sent out for the 9th, because of his 8th….he wasnt getting any pitches up
and think of the moral boost it gave to the rest of the staff
pen gets another day off….cain is pumped for his start (hopefully, not too pumped) wilson has to wait for his awesome moment
and i agree…if there was instant replay, the giants dont score that run…posey was out
and i was screaming at my computer screen….PH FOR PANDA….YOU FAT HEAD…
i thought, since bochy heard me in regards to gullen and zito, that would work…it didnt
oh, and boomer commented on panda being fat
if that guy comes into camp as big as he is now…he will not be with the team in 2011….which i sad, cuz he really has the skills to be a great player
Today is another reason I’m against replay!
When Cox walked Sandoval, I pointed out what a mistake that was, when Ross was coming up. The mistake was the Braves did scout the Giants until the last two weeks of the season, and Sandoval was getting some line drives, but we Giant observers know better than that small sample size.
Agree on letting Sandoval hit, I was wondering why they did not pitch hit, perfect sport for it.
I was surprised Lincecum pitched the 9th. Wonder if Halliday’s complete game no hitter had something to do with it?
That is going to be an INCREDIBLE matchup – if we get there, Lincecum vs Halliday. can’t wait!
halliday who?
cox over manages costing a run….then out manages bochy with pablo coming up
hey pumpkinhead….panda hasnt hit at all when turned around…you have fontenot on the bench….you dumb ass tool
way to waste a leadoff double
what is the record for hitting into dps in an lds…this team will beat it
So I was talkin’ to a friend of mine today who is plugged into a lot of the front offices and still wears a baseball uniform for a living and asked him specifically about Posey and Burrell.
Burell
“Everybody knew he couldn’t give you a full 150 games, but the smart guys figured he could give you a half of a season if he was motivated” “Sabean had nothing to lose, so he pulled the trigger and it paid off…good for him”
Posey:
“I saw him a little bit last year, and his swing looked like crap. I didn’t think much of him, so I thought he was probably tired. He was a completely different looking hitter. He’s still a stabber behind the plate, and needs work on blocking balls, but other than that no faults, he frames pitches well he’s gutty…kid’s gotta be the rookie of the year.”
And like some guys, I think part of the reason the Yankees have a lot of success in the post-season, is because they can hit. Think about it. You don’t make it to the post-season without good pitching most of the time. You’re just not going to facing a rotation of Todd Wellemeyer, Oliver Perez, and Mike Hampton. Not going to happen. Everybody has good pitching. Thats what got you there. So he who can break through the good pitching wins is the idea.
Heard Ted Robinson talking about that very same thing on the radio. Thats why the Braves and Giants are a good matchup. They’re both light hitting teams relatively speaking. And that appears to be the case with Texas stomping Tampa on the road two in a row, even though Tampa won the big bad-ass AL East.
Seems right now that if Oswalt and Hamels pitch to capability, the Phils are going to make quick work of the NLDS and NLCS whoever it is they face. Halladay is a beast. Like Maddux, only bigger, and harder-throwing. Two no-nos in one season. Unbelievable dominance.
Looks like the“players have had it” with the umpires too.
Josh: When an ump throws up his hands to call a ball foul, the ball is automatically dead. Thats part of the problem; solveable the way the ground-rule double was solved and the same way an ump can use his judgement to place runners in the event of fan interference. The basic rules of baseball would have to be tweaked and there is enough jimmy-jackin’ around because of tv commercials already. Replays break up the rhythm of the game. The problem is bad umpiring. Lots of it.
The problem is not replays. There aren’t enough fucking cameras to straighten out confrontational, error-prone, obstinate, out-of-shape fat asses who can barely get in position to call a play in the field. The problem isn’t lack of cameras. The problem is too many stumble-bum umpires with seniority. The problem is that the umpire situation is highly politicisized and there is far too much fucking penis envy and willingness to become part of “the show” instead of part of “the background”.
When Sandy Alderson was in the commissioner’s office, he started to get a handle on the strike-zone and insisting on strike zone consistency. He eventually left for greener pastures. But compared to the NBA and the NFL, MLB is in good shape.
The NBA had an official convicted of throwing games for god sakes. And the goofs in the NFL are part time employees and you’re lucky to find more than one or two per crew that isn’t social security eligible.
I’m no fan of umpires, but I am even a lesser fan of Selig bringing even more goddamn television into the game.
The major problem with replay (and why some calls are not challengable) is illustrated in a simple case:
Andres Torres hits a ball down the line, umpire on the field calls it foul. Andres keeps running, but the left fielder sees the ball called foul and doesn’t try to make a play on the ball. Now you are in a situation where the game has been irrevocably changed by the call.
Your options become:
1) Don’t allow replay on calls that stop play (NFL style)
2) Have the umpires decide where Torres would have ended up (maybe resulting in a double rather than a triple).
To avoid 1), you can encourage umpires to call all close foul/fair calls fair, but that’s essentially training your crews to *make the wrong call*, which then *requires* replay to get it right.
2) Is more in line with the precedent set by other baseball rules, but then is still subjective, which partially contradicts the entire point of replay in the first place.
This is why (so far) that baseball has stuck with instant replay on home runs.
john
only way to allow replay on balls and strikes is to change the rule regarding arguing balls and strikes
think that is gonna happen?
replay should be used for foul balls, hrs, players being safe or out, and balls caught
no rule change is necessary….and ya, it can be limited to 2 replays per side per game….but there would need to be a penalty if the call goes against the team requesting the replay, if the call stands…such as an automatic out
there needs to be replay…but not for the calls that maddon argued
balls and strikes will never have a replay
1. That is never going to happen. Not in a million years.
2. I think they already have this in place, but there isn’t enough accountability, probably union blocked.
3. Again, I believe there is a union and a lot of resistance.
4. This is an oddly specific remedy.
I don’t like the idea of using replays, but when there are a lot of mistakes being made in big games, mistakes that are getting managers tossed by the umpires who are making the mistakes, umpires who are not consulting with each other and who are only human and are bringing their egos to the job, it may actually be a good idea to expand the use of replays in “important” games, such as during the playoffs. There are about 300 cameras at each of those games, six umpires, and national attention.
I know that there are retired umpires who are calling for replays. They actually do want to get the calls right, and they don’t deserve to be demonized. With the technology available today, they could have something like an iPhone in their pocket. It doesn’t have to be a stop the game while they run off the field to a viewing room deal.
But basically, I’m against it. I want them to do a better job the old fashioned way.
Replays are wrong for baseball for all the reasons you mention. I think this solution is (1) no replays on television so fans won’t argue, (2) extensive replays internally for MLB and (3) always demote the five worst in the majors and promote the five best in AAA. Nothing like a head on a post to get someone’s attention. Ah yes, and (4) you can never be an umpire if your name is Everett or Cuzzi.
Tampa Bay’s manager Joe Maddon was ejected yesterday and has been ejected again today, both times for arguing questionable calls by the umpires. In both cases Maddon was correct; the umpires were wrong. Watching the replays on TV there was no doubt about it.
Yesterday Yankee’s right fielder Golson made a catch that the umpires ruled was trapped. Replays showed the ball was caught; the umpires were wrong.
In Sunday’s big game against the Padres, Andres Torres’ drive down the left field line was ruled foul and he was called back from second base. Replay showed that the ball was fair; the umpires were wrong.
I am a traditionalist when it comes to baseball. I feel that the umpires are part of the game. But I like to think that they are not making so many mistakes in such important games, so I’m beginning to change my mind about using replays in baseball. Particularly in important games. Umpires routinely say they just want to get it right. I think they could use a little technical assistance.
Giants announce post season roster
Pitchers (11)
41 Jeremy Affeldt LHP $4.5M
40 Madison Bumgarner LHP $0.4M
18 Matt Cain RHP $4.25M
46 Santiago Casilla RHP $0.42M
55 Tim Lincecum RHP $8M
49 Javier Lopez LHP $0.78M
59 Guillermo Mota RHP $0.75M
52 Ramon Ramirez RHP $1.16M
54 Sergio Romo RHP $0.42M
57 Jonathan Sanchez LHP $2.1M
38 Brian Wilson RHP $4.44M
All Pitchers: $27.22M
Catchers (2)
28 Buster Posey C $0.4M
22 Eli Whiteside C $0.4M
All Catchers: $0.8M
Infielders (7)
14 Mike Fontenot IF $1M
17 Aubrey Huff IF $3M
10 Travis Ishikawa IF $0.42M
16 Edgar Renteria IF $9M
21 Freddy Sanchez IF $6M
48 Pablo Sandoval IF $0.47M
5 Juan Uribe IF $3.25M
All Infielders: $23.14M
Outfielders (5)
9 Pat Burrell OF $0.3M
13 Cody Ross OF $4.45M
33 Aaron Rowand OF $12M
12 Nate Schierholtz OF $0.42M
56 Andres Torres OF $0.43M
All Outfielders: $17.6M
Post Season Total: $68.76M
The Giants opening day payroll was $96.28M.
The post season team’s payroll is $68.76M.
A difference of $27.52M.
Had the Giants opted to leave off Renteria and Rowand, not an unreasonable proposition, the post season payroll would be $47.76M (plus the salaries of whatever players took Renteria and Rowand’s places).
At the end of the season it is not difficult to argue that about half of the Giants payroll – around fifty million dollars – went to players who are either too injured or who have been too ineffective to be considered to be productive members of the team.