Damn that Brian Sabean!
Bruce Bochy is ruining everything!
Geesh! How in the world could Sabean not anticipate that Mark DeRosa's surgically-repaired wrist ligament would rupture even after DeRosa was given a clean bill of health by team doctors and other physicians?
DeRosa wasn't considered that "old" when the club signed him and then got off to a fast start in April. But, hell, now it's apparent that Sabean just can't help but sign broken down old free agents—like the 35-year-old DeRosa.
The Giants need hitters. They need a veteran presence in the middle of the order. How could Sabean have not signed a frontline slugger like (name a frontline slugger who hasn't been injured or flopped since entering free agency) ?
Sure, DeRosa's a veteran. And, OK, he's put up good numbers while playing up to five different positions.
Sabean was wrong to sign him, though, because after doctors told Sabean that DeRosa was healthy, Sabean signed DeRosa and then DeRosa got hurt.
The Giants can't start Buster Posey's arbitration clock. It wasn't that important to have their No. 1 minor league hitting prospect on the roster because that fast start in April made his presence in San Francisco irrelevant. Sure, they lost a couple games in that early-season burst that, maybe, Posey could've turned around.
The Giants' long-term financial health is far more important than two, three wins in April.
Man, this is laughable! The Padres are 3.5 games ahead of the Giants in the NL West. The division is right there to be won and the Giants' brass must be held accountable for frittering away games in the spring for lack of hitting or for lack of speed. They have a kid like Posey in Fresno and they let that fast start become increasingly meaningless because the big club didn't have him around when they really needed him.
Jonathan Sanchez is running out of rope. Tim Lincecum's been brilliant. Barry Zito's bounced back from being lost in the wilderness to being incredibly good. Matt Cain's the best No. 3 starter around. Ol' Cainer..."Shotgun," fans love him! Then, out comes Sanchez to muck things up.
Sanchez had a 3.00 ERA entering Thursday's start against the Padres. It's such a luxury to have him as the fourth starter. Instead of always wondering how the club can get a hitter, it would make so much sense to build a stronger defense behind him. Cain walked six batters in Tuesday's loss. Sanchez was magnificient in Wednesday's loss.
Let's get it fixed.
Sabean just doesn't get it!
It's not easy being a Giants fan who believed that the fast start was greasing the skids for a quick, easy glide to the NL West pennant.
Everything we believed in the off-season got turned on its ear in the first month. The club pitched better than we expected and, obviously, was far more productive with the bats than anyone had reason to imagine.
We even went a couple weeks without someone demanding that John Bowker and his .200'ish batting average be inserted in the lineup. Things were really good, remember?
Now, they're really bad and we don't know what to do. So, we blame the general manager and we blame the field manager.
It's ridiculous.
Have you noticed how terribly the bullpen has performed lately? The club really thought it could win with young set-up guys like Sergio Romo and Dan Runzler?
Come on.
Hold on. We all loved them when they were mowing guys down in April, but we must've secretly acknowledged that, when the club hit the skids, we'd be able to quickly blame those relief pitchers for failing to deliver.
The Giants are exactly who we thought they were.
Well, there two positive surprises. The starting pitching has been even better than anyone anticipated...and we'd never have imagined that was possible. And, the MVP has been a player most fans wanted to run out of town -- center fielder Aaron Rowand.
Beyond that, the Giants have good-not-great bullpen, a worthless bench and an everyday lineup that could reasonably stand an upgrade at every single spot. They're not, nor have they been, in position to tweak and tinker and steam to a title.
This bunch can win or it can implode and finish far off the pace. Just consider the three key everyday players fans count on the most:
Pablo Sandoval keeps getting bigger and bigger and that makes him an increasing defensive liability at third base. The idea that a guy as young as Sandoval is struggling at bat because he's fatigued from playing every inning is a red flag. It's May 13 and the guy is already tired? (Personal experience shows me that carrying 30 extra pounds, or more, around will tire a guy out really quickly.)
Bengie Molina has gotten to that point where his thickly-muscled legs are causing him enough trouble that he's a bit of a liability once the club relies on him to hit No. 4. He's not going to be out there every single day, so...who else can hit fourth?
Juan Uribe will be in the lineup every day, even with former batting champion Freddy Sanchez returning to play second base. Wherever Uribe plays in the field will make that position a defensive liability.
Anybody still calling for Uribe to be the everyday shortstop? Didn't think so.
All that and they manage to keep Travis Ishikawa on the bench, eating a roster spot, because he's a wonderful defender at first base.
The Giants can win it all, even with the shortcomings we all knew they had all along.
Remember when we all agreed that patience was key?
The Giants were cruising in first place and the idea of bringing Posey to the big club was mocked because, how much impact could he make? Remember?
It's a long season.
Hang in there.
Things will get better and, man, after that hot start...it'll be worth the wait for Posey (starting in June) and for Bowker to get the next last chance in left field and all.
Or, not ...
It's mid-May and the club isn't scoring runs. The defense has booted games away.
Damn that Sabean! Letting Bochy foul up such a good thing!
Oh...oh...you know, one of the KNBR guys said that Lincecum is going to the Yankees?
Yep. The Yankees!
Well, the guy said that the Giants haven't mentioned Lincecum being a "career Giant" and that the Yankees have more money than any other team and that, he figured, most great players pass through New York but...
Timmy's gonna be a Yankee? Great. What else can go wrong?
How could they let us believe that the bright, happy April would become a dismal mid-May?
The Giants are who we thought they were. Who they become as the season unfolds will be up to the guys who swing the bat, throw the pitches and make the plays.
Feel free, however, to blame every loss on Sabean or Bochy and every win on the grit of a bunch of over-achievers -- and to worry about where Lincecum will be when he turns 30.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
- Login to post comments