It's A Wrap

Congratulations to the San Francisco Giant  fans who proved that even with a horrible World Series hangover they could party giving Barry Zito an unforgettable thank you  and  the other players a tremendous send off for the fall and winter.  It is really truly amazing the fan base the Giants have developed in recent years with with a very efficient marketing department and K & K on television continually showing fans having fun at the the ball park. 

It is hard to determine one major thing that went wrong with the Giants plans this year since there were many but I  would consider the collapse of starting pitching as one of the main reasons which led to an over worked bull pen and eventually to the collapse of the relief staff.

The following are my thoughts on what I think the Giants will do or should do.  I have not read about a Giant cap for next year which will determine how much they can do this this off season..

Pitching:  The starters will be anchored by Cain and Bumgarner.  Gaudin and Petit have earned a shot in spring training for their work this year.  The Giants do not want to sign Vogelsong for 6.5 million.  If they can negotiate a new contract he will be back with a chance to earn the number 5 spot in the order.  The Giants will make every effort to acquire a number 3 starter.    If money was not an issue I would say resign Lincecum but it is a big issue.  I just don't believe 'Timmy' is worth some 16 million.  You can sign a couple very good major league players who could help the team with that type of money.  The Giants have signed too many players on emotion in recent years and have paid the price.

Relief Pitching:    Who is left?  Romo and then who?  Casilla and Affeldt will probably be back and the rookie Hembree pitched well in September to warrant a good look next spring.  The Giants will lose Lopez to a team like the Dodgers or the Rangers who either need pitching or have money. Some of the remaining staff I am sure will be asked to spring training with a chance to make the team.  I really don't know if the staff was lousy or just over worked so some of them should be given an opportunity in the spring.

Catcher:  Giant fans I am sure were at least mildly shocked at Posey's end of the season slump.  This should be warning next year to give him some breaks from catching every day.  Sanchez finished strong and lets hope he learned his lesson and will  report next February in shape and ready to play.

1st base:  The Giants know they need another batter that hits with some authority in the lineup every day.  They have surveyed the world and discovered that there are a few first basemen that might be available so Belt  has already been approached about playing left field next year.  Belt has finally emerged a very good consistent hitter which means he should hit in.300 range with 20 or so home runs.

2nd base:  The Orange and Black have many  problems and do not want to add 2nd base to the list.  Scutaro is under contract for the next two years and at the age 38 will be the regular 2nd baseman although he has  limited range and had a very poor year in the field.    He led the team in hitting this year playing 127 with .297 average and 31 rbi's.  Last year in 61 games with the Giants he hit .362 with 44 rbi's.   The Giants really like Abreu's bat and he will get plenty of chances to play.   

Third base:  I believe Pablo Sandoval will be back next year although there are a number of  'experts' that think differently.  Pablo got plenty of press for losing some 25 lbs in recent weeks although he looked like he  gained most of it back.  I believe Sabean will put  out some feelers regarding Pablo and see what type of offers he receives.

Shortstop:   Crawford had the same exact batting average .248 this year as he did last although he hit nine home runs to just four last year.  He really tailed off the last part of the season which might have been due to an injury.  At the start of the season we heard about Crawford being all star material but he tied other regular shortstops for the most errors with 15.  Adrianza who was brought up in September has definitely impressed and if he does well in Fresno next year Crawford should not rest on his laurels.

Utility:  Noonan made some nice plays in September and got a couple hits which will get him to Scottsdale next February.  If Arias is signed he should start at short at least against left handed pitchers and could be another option at 2nd base and has proven to be a very good relief for Sandoval at third.

Outfield:  Pence got all the money and he will be in right field for the next few years and Pagan will be leading off in center field  since the Giants win more often then when he doesn't play.  If Belt isn't at first base he will be the left fielder.   If not, the Giant fans expect a new face in left next year.  Perez certainly earned a shot    playing relatively few games for the Giant but still led the  outfielders with eight assists proving that he has a great arm.  Will there be room for Blanco and Pill?  That's what spring training is all about.

This will be the last sports related blog for the next few months.

Homer Sweeney 

 

The Not So Surprising A's!

Jim Kosimor of Michigan State fame congratulated the Oakland A's for winning the America League West on his Yahoo Talk show the other night.  He mentioned at the time that all the experts that visit his show were talking about the Angels and Rangers and no one thought the A's could do it.  Wrong!  Look at my blog at the start of the season and I picked the A's to win the AL West by 7 games.  They cinched the other night with a 7 1/2 game lead.  They win because they believe in Earl Weaver strategy of the three run homer.

I also said that the Giants would not repeat but was wrong in predicting  the Padres to win the NL West.  At that time I didn't realized that the Dodgers would bring up a player named Puig who set the league on fire.  He even woke all those over priced Dodgers who up to that time were just going through the motions in between  their trips to the stock exchange.  The rest is history showing that 220 million can buy a championship.  The Dodgers will be  taxed $7 million this year for exceeding baseball salary cap.  The Yankees will  be taxed some 29 million because they are repeat offenders.  With a higher tax hanging over their heads the Dodgers may not be quite so free with their money with the salary cap set at some $189 million for next year.

Have your noticed the silence?  For weeks we heard how Pablo had lost 25 lbs.  Now I look on television  and he looks like he gained most of that weight back.  If he has gained the weight back you can tell  Pablo "bye 'bye baby!

Homer Sweeney

Bochy Makes Another Stupid Move!

Why did Barry Zito pitch against the Dodgers at AT&T last night?  One reason was to say good-bye to the fans.  Then Bochy lifts Zito after five innings for a pinch hitter and Barry heads to the clubhouse..  This has not been a good year for the Giants and last night was another example of a stupid  move.  Barry was far from great for the Giants in his many years with the team except that the Giants would have never won either the National League or the World Series in 2012 without him.  That makes up for a lot of sins.  Hopefully Sunday the fans will start yelling Barry! Barry! so he can come out for a final curtain call that he deserves.

Homer Sweeney

Cain Loses Again

There were some starling comments made after the Giants 2-1 loss to the Dodgers.  Manager Bruce Bochy said that the bats are cold now.  It seems to me they never thawed all year.  Then there was all the praise for Matt Cain in pitching the Giants to another loss.  He gave up two home runs and that's the reason the orange and black lost.  Cain drilled Puig and the young Cuban for the second time this season embarrassed the Giant multimillionaire by hitting a home run the next time he came to the plate and that was the difference in the game.

Homer Sweeney

New York New York

The rookies were heroes today as the Giants beat the Yankees 2-1 to salvage the last game of their three game series and gain a split in their six games in New York.  Adrianza the switch hitting rookie shortstop hit his first home run which was the first hit of the game for the Giants off of the retiring nearly 50 year old pitcher Andy Pettitte.  Abreu got a key double to put the Giants ahead and Perez threw out Cano from left field on a single to preserve the Giants lead in the eighth inning.

Juan Perez returned to his home in the Bronx and continue to open the eyes of the Giants brass.  Perez was one of four Giant rookies I picked out in spring training to watch this year because  he hit a home run at a game in Goodyear, AZ that just exploded off his bat.  When he was called up in June he failed to hit but made sensational catches and throws in the outfield.  Perez was part of the September call up and now seems to have gained some much needed confidence with the bat getting a number of hits against the Mets earlier in the week and just missing a home run by about two feet Friday night at Yankee Stadium.  He certainly has made the best of his opportunity and will be a strong candidate to make the squad next February  when the Giants head to Scottsdale for spring raining.

World Series Prediction --  A Silver Anniversary == 1988 repeat Oakland A's vs the Los Angeles Dodgers 

The 49ers  --  Like I said for the last six months, do not lose a Super Bowl game!

Homer Sweeney

Weekend Comments

The Giants series win over the Dodgers preventing the big blue from cinching the NL West in front of the World Champions which made the Giant players very happy.  Pence was the hero with five home runs bringing  up the question, how much will  it now take the Giants to resign him?  Vogelsong was fair in his start and it was probably enough for the Giants to pickup his option since there are not many other good pitchers available at that price.

Regarding the 49ers loss to Seattle ---  I will  repeat what I have said for months, Do not lose the Super Bowl  game!  I happened to see part of Ohio State - Cal game with the Buckeyes whirl wind start.  I give the Bears credit for coming back because they could easily just folded in the first quarter.  Since I do not get Pac 12 Sports, I listened to most of the USC game and the greatest part of the game is the fact it was played in less then three hours compared to many college games today that approach the four hours mark. 

Homer Sweeney

The Return of Frank Robinson

Frank Robinson returned to the Giants last night not in body but in strategy.  The Giants had two on and none out in the eighth inning and Bochy had Belt the #3 hitter in the lineup bunt successfully.  Then the Dodgers naturally walked #4 hitter Posey to load the basses that set up the double play.  The Giants did not score since they  failed to allow their two best hitters to even swing the bat.  This was a Frank Robinson type strategy and the main reason I believe he is the worst manager in San Francisco Giants history.

The Giants played tonight like the 2013 Giants.  In the second inning Scurato dropped another short pop fly in right field but this time was able to force the runner at second.  Nobody every taught Scurado to use two hands.  The next batter hit a double play ball back to Cain who threw the ball into center field which has been done many times this year by Giant pitchers.  I would suggest in spring training the Giant pitchers spend twenty minutes every morning working on the pitcher to second to first double play.

Rich Aurila guest commentator on the pre game show was asked how to  pitch Dodger sensation Puig.  Never throw the first pitch over the plate related Rich because he is hitting .565 on first pitch hitting.  So what does Cain do in the seventh inning with the leading run on second he throws the first pitch   right over the plate and Puig hits a ringing double to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead.  Cain made a mistake.  That's all I have heard all year.  I am getting sick and tired of a $20 million dollar a year player making one mistake after another. 

To add insult to injury is the fact that ex-Giant Brian Wilson turned out to be the winning pitcher.  Before the game it was mentioned how strange it will be to see Wilson in Dodger blue and white.  I firmly believe that even if Wilson did not get injured he would not be with the Giants.  They cannot afford to pay all of their stars gigantic salaries and he would been the odd man out.  I am more upset seeing Urbie in blue and white.  The Giants have been fortunate that he has been injured the last two years but this year he is doing the same thing for the Dodgers as he did in leading the Giants to 2010 World Series title.

How can a last place club like the Giants keep their best infielder Arias on the bench?

Homer Sweeney

It's Been Almost Four Months

Yes, it's been that long since the Giants won more games then they lost on a home stand. The Giants come from behind win over the Rockies today not only won the game but gave them the season series and broke a long losing steak of home stand losses. 

Pence and Vogelsong are two Giants in the news.  Has Pence late season surge priced himself out of the Giants budget?  Has Vogelsong's failure in his last two games priced himself out of getting an additional year?

Tuesday night's over four hour nine inning game was one the worst baseball games I have ever watched.  In fact it was so bad I tuned the tv off after the seventh inning.  K & K the Giants tv announcers kept complaining about the slowness of the game. They timed the starting Rockies pitcher a big winner on their staff as taking 47 seconds between pitches.  They also commented that since Vogelsong has returned from the DL he has become much slower.  These pitching coaches all take Baseball Psychology 202 each winter in Florida which teaches pitchers how to rub up the ball for minutes, walk around the mound, then step off call the catcher out for a conference, pick up the rosin bag, scrape the mound with their cleats, comb their hair, clean their glasses, turn around and discuss dinner with an infielder and by that time the batter is so disgusted he swings at anything which is the purpose of all the delays.    How to ruin a great sport!  The big winner however are the concessions stands whose sale boom during four hours games.

Homer Sweeney

A Big Sunday

Three games on the Bay plus the America's Cup made for a busy Sunday afternoon in the Bay Area.  It took the Giants eleven innings but they pulled it out.  After the game the Giants media crew were discussing how surprised they were that Pagan did not bunt in the 11th inning with two on and none out.  Fleming mentioned that almost every other major league manager would have bunted in that situation.  I would like to tell Fleming that the reason is they all have taken the same course Baseball 101 offered in Florida every winter.  Bochy has learned to get a runner to third with less then two out does not guarantee a run.  Instead they allow Pagan to swing the bat and get the hit to win the game.

The 49ers got a great victory over the Packers because Green Bay has been planning six months for this game.  Happen to see a few moments of the Atlanta - New Orleans game.  Payton the Saints coach who was suspended one year for paying players to hurt opposing quarterbacks was back  The Atlanta QB goes into a slide and whack get hit right in his ribs which was called a 15 yard penalty.  The Saints #23 must has been disappointed when Ryan remained in the game otherwise he might have gotten a little bonus in his pay check.

Tokoyo was awarded to host the 2020 Olympic Games.  Don't plan on saving to go because the games will never be played.

USC football is in trouble because they play old fashion football with slow footed quarterbacks who can't pass.  Very poor recruiting.

Homer Sweeney

Will Heads Roll?

Yusmeiro Petit pitched one of the best games in Giants history last night.  He missed a perfect game by a few inches and one strike.  He only threw 95 pitches while  his pitching opponent Corbin  threw 114 or so in a game that took just 12 minutes over 2 hours to complete.  This was perfect example of how baseball should be played.  Yusmerio who we wrote about last week hit the corners with every type of pitch in really a classic example of how to pitch.  I must remind you that he had been cut twice by the Giants during the season to make room for who we are not sure but I am sure they must be great.  If I was Larry Baer I would be asking some pointed questions on who evaluates pitching in the Giants organization.  I think heads need to roll.. . .  Until Petit pitched such a great game this blog was going to be about a stupid play.  Petit was up at the plate bases loaded and one out.  Instead of just striking out and giving Pagan a chance to knock in a couple of runs he swings and hits into a double play,  

Homer Sweeney

Spring Training Follow Up and Arias

After watching the Giants play a few games in Arizona last spring I picked out four minor legue players to watch that wern't necessary on the Giants top 20 list.  Both Juan Perez and Johnny Monell had good enough seasons with Fresno to be part of the September call up.  Adam Duvall played 105 games mostly at thrd base for Richmond and hit .252 with 17 home runs.  Rudy Oropesa a very big first baseman split the season between San Jose and Richmond hitting .201 for the Squirrels and .295 for the San Jose Giants.

Is this a warning?  The Giants now have Pagan back leading off, Sandoval has lost 25 pounds and Belt has learned to be a very consistent hitter and they are still losing. . .   I can't believe that a last place team like the Giants can keep Joaquin Arias on the bench.  He has proven when he plays he hits and did you see how quickly he turned the double plays against the Padres playing second base for one of the few times in his career.  Krukow mentioned last night n TV  that it was good to see Scurato back in the lineup replacing Arias who only had three hits the previous night.  The Giants play favorites especially at second and short and it will really hurt when they lose Arias to free agency.

Homer Sweeney

Giants Lose Series Have Losing Road Trip

After losing Tuesday night when Pagan led off three innings by getting on base and didn't score once the Giants began to wonder how do you score runs.  It was nothing new they have been doing it all year.  This afternoon they changed their approach by hitting six home runs including three by Pablo as they salvaged the last game of a three game series with the Padres.  They lost five out of nine of their three city road trip.  Now they return to AT&T the park that can destroy anybodies confidence in hitting.  It is a glorious park but very unfair to hitters which is one of the major reasons the Giants don't hit.  Move in the fences and eliminate triples alley.

There have been a number of players brought up from the minors with an golden opportunity  to show what they can do.  They sure have, Nothing!  Although the comments after the game were favorable for Lincecum  I thought he pitched lousy.  Too many 3-2 pitches that weren't even near the plate.  Dump him!

A quick note on the Bay Bridge.  The pictures who the new part looking beautiful but it still takes just as long to get across the bridge.  Now I read where the cronies are not satisfied with their billions they ripped off from the taxpayers of California and they now want to work on improving the west side of the bridge.  I am sure they will get their way with legislators who have never heard of the eighth commandment of God.

Homer Sweeney

Kuiper Can Hardly Wait

Duane Kuiper remarked yesterday during the Giants lack luster loss to the Padres that he can hardly wait until Friday when he can drive across the new east end of the Bay Bridge.  The Chronicle headlines had the guts to say the bridge opened ahead of schedule.  For nearly twenty five years commuters have been risking their lives daily driving over the dangerous old Bay Bridge.  People are going to love it!  Well we know those cronies of the politicians who ripped off the tax payers big time for this project are already enjoying their gold.  The cost was four times the original estimate proposed by liars and agreed to by even worst liars. Even Governor Brown didn't want to be associated with the opening most likely concluding that pictures taken at the event could be used against him if he decides to run again for governor..  If  they built bridges in 1930's like they do almost hundred years later, Marin County would be the dairy capital of the world.  Hey, Duane celebrate by having a glass of milk on the way over to AT&T.

Homer Sweeney

Who is Yusmeiro Petit?

How does Sabean finds these guys?  What a genius!  The latest Giant find is pitcher Yusmerio Petit pronounced like small not like the fifty year old  Yankee and ex Astro pitcher.  Petit pitched very well for six innings during this last week in leading the Giants to two victories..  How do the Giants find these guys?  Desperation!  Petit impressed the Giants in spring training earning him a spot on the Fresno staff.  I don't how many Fresno pitchers were called up to rescue a faltering Giants staff before they called Petit.  They needed innings.  Sure enough he got his chance in the third inning of a game kept the opposition to a run or two for five innings and then got sent out for assignment.  The other team scouts are as bad as the Giants and he was not claimed so he signed again with Fresno. Finally more panic set in with their almost billion dollar pitching staff in ruins he got his opportunity and everybody is wondering how do the Giants do it. You be the judge. 

Homer Sweeney

Who Will Return?

The Giants took off from Phoenix after taking the series from the DBacks 2 game to 1 and on the mind of many of the players is the question, who will return next February to Scottsdale?  That's the question that will be answered over the next few month by Sabean and his crew.  Many feel Sandoval will be  traded since this is his contract year and even though he has lost nearly 25 lbs they can't trust him.  Even with the less poundage he hasn't really hit like the 'old' Panda.  I believe the Panda and Pence will be back along with the infield.  Changes will definitely be made in the pitching staff and the Giants would certainly want a new look in left field.  Many Giant farm hands are being given the opportunity to fill the void in left field but so far all have failed.

Will Lincecum return?  That's really the biggest question this fall.  If Lincecum pitches like he did Friday in Phoenix in the Giants 1-0 win he will be in demand and at least a couple to teams will offer him more then the Giants feel he is worth.  So in one sense you don't want him to be the old great Lincecum  in September.  If on the other hand he gets belted during the final month his demand will be low and perhaps even the Giants will lose interest.  So we don't want him to be too lousy either.  Lincecum will  return to Giants only if he has a mediocre so so month of September like he has pitched most of the season in which many teams lose interest and the Giants can fit him him in their budget.

All year long I have complained about Scurado bunting every time a batter leads off an inning with a double.  He did it again last Friday in the first inning.  This time however Belt hit a fly deep enough in center to score Payton from third for the only run of the game.  So look for Scurado in the future to continue the practice of bunting with a man on second and none out.  I have always maintained its the batter's responsibilty to knock in the run not just move the runner over to third were many times he dies as anyone who has watches baseball regularly can attest.

Homer Sweeney