Friday, May 09, 2008
Post-Sweep Plank-Walking
Time to take a break from obsessive activities that threaten to destroy my ability to function in civilized society to jabber a little about the Giants and their hiccup by the Alleghany this week.
I guess it's not as bad as being taken over by the Crimson Permanent Insurance, but getting swept by this band of Pirates is humiliating enough. I thought that the Giants could go into Pittsburgh, square off against maybe the worst-run franchise of the last decade (to be fair, they've gone through an ownership change for the better, but the wreckage is still there), and get out of town that much closer to .500 on their way to a shockingly successful season. As J.T. Snow said on the radio last weekend, the best way to get over the .500 mark is to make it a goal to win every series, and what better team to do that against than the freaking Bucs? The Giants should have been Donatello.
Obviously, it didn't go that way, and now the Giants have lost five of six and are starting to really resemble that boring team that everybody predicted would crash and burn into 100-loss land. I'm still holding on to that glimmer of hope that this team can will its way to like 80 wins, but these last three games were quite a downer. All that, and Stankeye fave Doug Mientkiewicz didn't even get into any of the games. Ah well.
Some encouraging things...
--Barry Zito's start wasn't horrendous, which is a backhanded compliment if I've ever heard one. The five strikeouts were the most positive sign, but he still needed 99 pitches to get through five innings, and one diving stop by Rich Aurilia kept Zito from further disasters. He was still throwing in the low-80's, so maybe he's adjusted somehow, or maybe it was a fluke and he's going to get tattooed again in his next start.
--Dan Ortmeier has been a beast ever since switching solely to right-handed hitting, and he's 3 for 10 against right-handed pitching. With the power potential he flashed from the right side last season, it'd be interesting to see him get full time work against all types of pitchers, not just lefties, with Aurilia or Jose Castillo moving to a reserve role.
--Aaron Rowand just keeps ripping, and he's at .336/.390/.523 for the year, with sparkling defense and at least one great catch per week. No, I still don't like the contract, but Rowand is small sample sizing my words right back down my throat right now.
--The return of Billy Sadler. He blew away the red-hot Nate McClouth in the 8th inning yesterday with a runner on base. The 24 strikeouts in 16 AAA innings is stunning, but the 12 walks ain't. With Brad Hennessey down trying to get himself back on track, this is a great opportunity for Sadler to establish himself. Hopefully he can be more Brad Lidge than Scott Ruffcorn in the majors.
The Phils come into town tonight. Has anybody noticed what a miserable year Ryan Howard is having? .165/.285/.331 with 51 strikeouts in 127 at-bats! If he keeps that pace up, that's 221 K's over a full season. Somewhere Jack Cust is smiling.
--To paraphrase a line from a Simpsons character, for no reason here's U2...with a buffalo, for some reason.
Ok, back to GTA.
I guess it's not as bad as being taken over by the Crimson Permanent Insurance, but getting swept by this band of Pirates is humiliating enough. I thought that the Giants could go into Pittsburgh, square off against maybe the worst-run franchise of the last decade (to be fair, they've gone through an ownership change for the better, but the wreckage is still there), and get out of town that much closer to .500 on their way to a shockingly successful season. As J.T. Snow said on the radio last weekend, the best way to get over the .500 mark is to make it a goal to win every series, and what better team to do that against than the freaking Bucs? The Giants should have been Donatello.
Obviously, it didn't go that way, and now the Giants have lost five of six and are starting to really resemble that boring team that everybody predicted would crash and burn into 100-loss land. I'm still holding on to that glimmer of hope that this team can will its way to like 80 wins, but these last three games were quite a downer. All that, and Stankeye fave Doug Mientkiewicz didn't even get into any of the games. Ah well.
Some encouraging things...
--Barry Zito's start wasn't horrendous, which is a backhanded compliment if I've ever heard one. The five strikeouts were the most positive sign, but he still needed 99 pitches to get through five innings, and one diving stop by Rich Aurilia kept Zito from further disasters. He was still throwing in the low-80's, so maybe he's adjusted somehow, or maybe it was a fluke and he's going to get tattooed again in his next start.
--Dan Ortmeier has been a beast ever since switching solely to right-handed hitting, and he's 3 for 10 against right-handed pitching. With the power potential he flashed from the right side last season, it'd be interesting to see him get full time work against all types of pitchers, not just lefties, with Aurilia or Jose Castillo moving to a reserve role.
--Aaron Rowand just keeps ripping, and he's at .336/.390/.523 for the year, with sparkling defense and at least one great catch per week. No, I still don't like the contract, but Rowand is small sample sizing my words right back down my throat right now.
--The return of Billy Sadler. He blew away the red-hot Nate McClouth in the 8th inning yesterday with a runner on base. The 24 strikeouts in 16 AAA innings is stunning, but the 12 walks ain't. With Brad Hennessey down trying to get himself back on track, this is a great opportunity for Sadler to establish himself. Hopefully he can be more Brad Lidge than Scott Ruffcorn in the majors.
The Phils come into town tonight. Has anybody noticed what a miserable year Ryan Howard is having? .165/.285/.331 with 51 strikeouts in 127 at-bats! If he keeps that pace up, that's 221 K's over a full season. Somewhere Jack Cust is smiling.
--To paraphrase a line from a Simpsons character, for no reason here's U2...with a buffalo, for some reason.
Ok, back to GTA.
Labels: aaron rowand, billy sadler, good zito, pirates are a horrible franchise, pointless terry gilliam sketch reference
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Don't Let the Door Hit You...
Matt Morris is gone, traded to the Pirates for outfielder Rajai Davis and a player to be named later. Personally, I'm ecstatic about the trade (though Morris is certainly none too pleased). Even though Morris's value plummeted to the point where Brian Sabean was essentially begging teams to take him, just the fact that the Giants won't have to pay him the remaining $12 million or so on his contract as he gives up run-scoring double after run-scoring double is enough to make me a happy camper.
It's hard to see what the Pirates want in Morris (they agreed to pay all of Morris' remaining salary...suckerssssss). Then again, why do the Pirates do anything they do? They're a team going nowhere and if they want Morris around to teach the young pitchers, well, $9.5 million seems like a lot for veteran know-how.
Morris finishes his Giants career with a 17-22 record and a 4.73 ERA in 344.1 innings. He also gave up a ridiculous 380 hits in those same innings. His contract looked silly when it was signed, and I know of a lot of fans who can shout out a big, fat "told ya so."
As for Davis, from what I've read on some Pirates blogs, he's nothing to write home about. In fact, when I was in Anaheim attending an Angels-Pirates game last month, I distinctly remember seeing Davis's name in the leadoff spot in Pittsburgh's lineup and saying, aloud, "Jesus, the Pirates suck." Not exactly a ringing endorsement. Corey Humes at MVN calls Davis basically a Quad-A player who can't hit major league pitching. Beautiful. Looking at his minor league numbers, he looks like a powerless speed guy who can take a walk, and apparently he's a very good defensive center fielder. If everything pans out, he looks like a good fourth outfielder. Sound familiar? The Giants' entire system is chock full of these guys.
Don't take that as a complaint though. Again, I'm just happy to be rid of Morris and his salary. Now the question is who will take his spot in the rotation. I'd love to see Jonathan Sanchez get another crack at starting, but unfortunately I think we're in for the next installment of Russ Ortiz. The Giants can also still make moves until the end of this month, as long as they pass a player through waivers. I certainly expect to see Dave Roberts gone, and maybe (if there's justice in the world) Pedro Feliz.
It's hard to see what the Pirates want in Morris (they agreed to pay all of Morris' remaining salary...suckerssssss). Then again, why do the Pirates do anything they do? They're a team going nowhere and if they want Morris around to teach the young pitchers, well, $9.5 million seems like a lot for veteran know-how.
Morris finishes his Giants career with a 17-22 record and a 4.73 ERA in 344.1 innings. He also gave up a ridiculous 380 hits in those same innings. His contract looked silly when it was signed, and I know of a lot of fans who can shout out a big, fat "told ya so."
As for Davis, from what I've read on some Pirates blogs, he's nothing to write home about. In fact, when I was in Anaheim attending an Angels-Pirates game last month, I distinctly remember seeing Davis's name in the leadoff spot in Pittsburgh's lineup and saying, aloud, "Jesus, the Pirates suck." Not exactly a ringing endorsement. Corey Humes at MVN calls Davis basically a Quad-A player who can't hit major league pitching. Beautiful. Looking at his minor league numbers, he looks like a powerless speed guy who can take a walk, and apparently he's a very good defensive center fielder. If everything pans out, he looks like a good fourth outfielder. Sound familiar? The Giants' entire system is chock full of these guys.
Don't take that as a complaint though. Again, I'm just happy to be rid of Morris and his salary. Now the question is who will take his spot in the rotation. I'd love to see Jonathan Sanchez get another crack at starting, but unfortunately I think we're in for the next installment of Russ Ortiz. The Giants can also still make moves until the end of this month, as long as they pass a player through waivers. I certainly expect to see Dave Roberts gone, and maybe (if there's justice in the world) Pedro Feliz.
Labels: Matt Morris, pirates are a horrible franchise, rajai davis
