Who Else's Fifth Starter Has A Cy?

Ring in Boxing Day by celebrating the arrival of Randy Johnson to your San Francisco Giants. The Big Ugly (can I still call him that?) gets $8 million for one year.

The lanky lefty will ensure the Giants rotation is 60% Cy Young winners.

Maybe we can melt a couple down and fashion a Silver Slugger or two.

Fool's Gold Crappy Substitute For Real Kind

As those weirdos across the pond say, Happy Christmas. Accept this early bounty of gifts, in the form of links, from your friends at OBnB. While the Yanks ponder offering a long-term deal to Danny Almonte, us fans of mere mortal (okay, incompetent) franchises are left to review lists of mythical prospects that we may or may not ever actually see on the television.

Okay, so I'm a little bit bitter about the Mark Texeira deal. (So is this guy, and he actually matters.)

The good news is that there are a couple of nice recently published breakdowns of the Giants minor league system.

Alex Eisenberg at Baseball-Intellect has a Giants top 15 prospect list, found here and here, that includes fantastic videos of the team's top prospects.

Meanwhile, the great John Sickels at Minor League Ball released his top 20 Giants prospects list this morning, complete with the snarkiness of SportsNation commenters.

And speaking of SportsNation, the fans continue to rank the prospects at McCovey Chronicles. They're all the way down to 22, but it looks like those crazed McCoven are going to keep voting until they get to J.R. Phillips.

Go ahead and enjoy those. I think I'm going to go start a Manny Ramirez rumor.

(By the way, Giants propagandist Chris Haft posits that the logjam the Teixeira signing creates in the Yanks lineup may bear some dredges in a trade possibility.)

FU Fine Reaction to WBC (and Jeff Passan)

In a column today, Yahoo's Jeff Passan opines that American players simply don't have as much national pride and that is why talented player after talented player is turning down Team USA manager Davey Johnson's desperate recruiting pleas.

Among those expected to decline an invitation is our own Tim Lincecum, otherwise known, quite literally, as The Franchise.

It would seem that Passan's assertion that Lincecum, Cole Hamels, Josh Beckett and other WBC party poopers are just un-American is a bit simplistic. I mean, those guys all seem decent enough, right? Guys who gave it all for championships and are pretty much beyond reproach in the effort department. They don't have a Bondsian, Cobb-esque stigma that would make it seem like they're all about themselves, others be damned.

Well, Jeff has an interesting perspective. Here's another perspective, which I'd like to dub "The Right One." If you were one of the 18 to 24 solid major league pitchers in 2005 and you pitched for your respective country during the '06 WBC, well, chances are you weren't as good in 2006. And, perhaps most importantly, many didn't recover at all.

In a completely unscientific sample, I present...

"Good Pitchers Who Were Not So Good After the 2006 WBC" (Catchy, huh?)

Jake Peavy: Which one of these seasons is not like the other? Peavy remains the poster boy for post-WBC traumatic suck syndrome. His meteoric rise into this generation's Kevin Brown (no knock on your personality, Jake) was severely curtailed by his workload for Team USA in 2006.

Although he pitched over 200 innings in 2006, his ERA shot up from 2.88 in '05 to 4.09 that year, and he pitched with shoulder discomfort the entire season. Peavy's sublime talent and overall build won the war of attrition, eventually, and he came back in 2007 to win the Cy Young. Some, however, weren't as lucky...

Chad Cordero: Cordero was coming off a stellar season as a full-time closer for the Nationals, posting a 1.82 ERA and racking up 47 saves. His 2006 saw that ERA shoot up into the 3s and his decline continued into 2007, when he battled injuries. Cordero tore a labrum in early 2008 after struggling with his velocity, and is currently a a free agent.

Bartolo Colón: Here's a good example of a patriotic foreigner who gave it all for his country. The 2005 Cy Young winner (seriously, look), Colón has been completely awful since his stint for the Dominican Republic. He's compiled a 5.50 ERA in just 194.6 innings combined over the last three seasons after throwing for 200 in seven of the eight seasons prior.

After pitching on an incentive-laden deal with the Red Sox, Colón is hoping to land another Missouri contract for 2009.

Freddy García: García had been prone to lapses in consistency, but overall, was a horse of a pitcher, amassing 200 innings pitched in five of his first six seasons through 2005, to go along with a 3.93 ERA in that timeframe, including a 3.87 in '05 with the White Sox. After? 4.79 in the 289.3 innings he's managed to pitch over the last three campaigns with three different teams while struggling with shoulder injuries.

The 33 year-old García is currently seeking work.

Dontrelle Willis: Permanent WBCitis doesn't just afflict 30 somethings negatively. Coming off a brilliant 2005 in which he finished second in Cy balloting, the 24 year-old Willis manned up for the Jeff Passans of the world and participated in the WBC. The herky-jerky lefty has never been the same.

The Bay Area native is working to get his career back on track with the Tigers after spending a bulk of the season in the minors...

A couple of pitchers from the WBC came back fine, namely Carlos Zambrano and Johan Santana. But the list is no longer than those who regressed considerably from 2005, many (Estaban Loaiza, J.C. Romero, Huston Street) of whom I didn't list above.

As for the notion of mandatory pitch limits in the WBC, I'll leave you this comparison: 65 pitches in Scottsdale against the A's split-squad team in close quarters with the trainers and coaches that know you well is slightly different than the same number of heaves in a high-pressure competition. I'd hope the body of evidence above proves that.

So, sorry, Jeff, Davey Johnson can't have Timmy. And, while I'm at it, he can't have Matt Cain.

None of them, however, are unpatriotic. They're smart.

P.S. We'll gladly donate Randy Winn again.

Where Are They Now? (Hint: It Rhymes with Fatlanta)

Remember Lance Niekro, the Travis Ishikawa of a few years back? The kid with the famous surname bucked the family business and got into hitting. The first base prospect that never really developed but got a big league shot anyway because, hey, we can't sign a 63 year-old Andres Galarraga to another contract, right?

Anyway, after a brief retirement, he's back. As a knuckleballer.

Niekro, who as recently as 2006 was vying to become the Giants' everyday first baseman, is exiting a brief retirement from baseball and will attempt a comeback at age 30 as a right-handed knuckleball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves.

The Braves have signed Niekro to a minor-league contract and will bring him to spring training to see if he can extend the legacy of his late father, Joe, and his uncle Phil and make his living floating baseballs to major-league hitters.

As for all players trying to make a mid-career position switch, I'll be rooting hard for the guy. The fact that he's a former Giant and a knuckleballer makes it way cooler.

Dirty Is Filthy; Giants In On Wiggin...ton

With fantasy season around the corner, fake GMs are emerging from various fake winter meetings in the far recesses of basements everywhere to find a whole new round of 2009 statistical projections. Among the most discussed of these projections are those of our very own Jonathan Sanchez. Bill James, the Godfather of Sabermetrics himself, pegs Sanchez as a 3.90 ERA / 1.40 WHIP pitcher next year. And while James's prognostications tend to be the most optimistic, all the systems peg Sanchez as a particularly unlucky pitcher in 2008 and who stands to improve as chance factors such as BABIP (batted average of balls in play) normalize and as the 26 year-old improves with experience.

Last month, FanGraphs put together an even wonkier breakdown of Sanchez's 2008 season for the die-hard statheads. Among the highlights:

On the bright side, Sanchez struck out almost a batter per inning over 158 innings – not an easy feat. Despite not throwing terribly hard (his fastball averaged 91 MPH), he showed a remarkable ability to induce swings-and-misses – in fact, batters swung and missed at 10.9% of his Sanchez’s pitches, the 9th highest total in baseball. Pitchers who induced higher rates of swings-and-misses were a who’s who of major league baseball’s best pitchers: CC Sabathia, Scott Kazmir, Ryan Dempster, Johan Santana, Cole Hamels, Edinson Volquez, and John Danks. That’s some elite company.

It seems that other GMs are certainly on to something as they continue to try to bamboozle and hoodwink Sabes into giving the kid up. Last season may turn out to be, on the surface level, the worst Dirty ever has.

Wigginton Update: The tireless Tom Dierkes has the Giants in on the bidding for Ty Wigginton's services, according to a number of sources. It seems that Sabean was kicking some said tires on Wigginton via trade ahead of last week's non-tender deadline, as well.

Extreme Utility Player Makeover

As I mentioned a couple days back, last night's non-tender deadline bore some potentially intriguing fruit, including a very attractive option in Ty Pennington, er, or Ty Wigginton, rather.

The 'Stros attribute the move solely to the financial crunch, and, given that there's no reason not to believe them, this pickup would be a step up from your run of the mill reclamation project.

Did I mention that Wigginton plays third, second, first and even outfield in a pinch? Did I also mention that he can hit for power? And he's even from the right (left) coast, so in the first time he explores free agency as a player of stature, there's presumably an interest to come out West.

Please Santa Sabes, don't sign Rich Aurilia, God bless him. Tell ole' Billy Boy to pony up a few mill more and get this guy. Two years. It's a good thing.

Other non-tender names that would intrigue me: Takashi Saito, Chris Burke, and Daniel Cabrera. Find the full list of non-tenders here.

Unit and Giants May Be Ugly Enough For One Another

Randy Johnson is zeroing in on the Giants as his preferred landing spot, according to John Shea.

Randy Johnson is being wooed by both Bay Area teams. He seems to prefer the Giants.

"Randy's really interested," one of his agents, Barry Meister, said Thursday, the final day of the winter meetings. "We made a check list of everything that's important, and San Francisco checks off on every box. They're in the National League. They'll be competitive. They train in Arizona.

"San Francisco has a lot of appeal."

Brian Sabean seems to be biting, saying he'd consider a one year deal.

With Noah Lowry a massive question mark and the back-end of the rotation being in less than stellar shape, a one-year deal may not be a bad idea.

Plus, it gives the marketing department, long since upset with the lack of milestones to celebrate with the departure of Barry Bonds, something to look forward to. Best of luck on the "It's 300 Wins, Who Cares If Most Of Them Came With Teams You Hate?" mini-season ticket package.

Rule 5 Draft Highlights: In Your Face, Boredom!

Bay City Ball has a good rundown of the just completed Rule 5 Draft.

Players Acquired: RHP Luis Perdomo (MLB Phase, drafted from Cardinals), LHP Matt Yourkin (AAA Phase, drafted from Marlins)

Players Lost: OF Ben Copeland (MLB Phase, drafted by Athletics), C Elio Sarmiento (AAA Phase, drafted by Rangers), 2B Kyle Haines (AAA Phase, drafted by Phillies).

A bit of a bummer about Copeland, who I liked as a fourth outfielder type, until I realized we already had twenty of them.

In a mild surprise, the Giants retained the rights to Jesus Guzman, a third baseman the Giants signed away from the A's last month. Though a bit old for the league at 24, Guzman absolutely mashed AA pitching and figured to be a low-risk, high-reward signing. Having him around for spring training and beyond is obviously a plus.

Random Rumor-Mongering

With the CC Sabathia non-sweepstakes behind us (leaving Brian Sabean more petulent and whiny than usual), the Giants offseason seems to have taken a turn for the boring.

Sabean has reaffirmed that the Giants will not go after Mark Teixeira, inferring he's not a player worthy of the franchise money he will assuredly get, though you could have fooled me. And Bruce Bochy has gone so far as to pencil in his 2009 lineup publicly, which ELM broke down nicely (pun intended).

Realizing the possibility of management returning to the mean (read: ineptitude) and not addressing the notion of Bengie Molina hitting cleanup, or that Rich Aurilia inexplicably remains on the radar, there absolutely has to be a third way. There are no less than four different ways to address the power vacuum where the team can stay competitive in the short-term while not hurting the long-term at all.

Dollars aside, Edgar Renteria's short-term deal is a good model: there isn't likely to be anyone ready at short for at least two years, and even though Renteria's defense is in decline, he's light years above anyone else the Giants trotted out there last year.

Sign Pat Burrell to a two-year deal that includes a first baseman's glove
Burrell is among the plethora of middle-tier free agents feeling the economic crunch. A Bellarmine product, there's been much talk he'd love to play for his de facto hometown team. Judging by his career stats at Pac Bell, I could see why.

He's a butcher at first? Maybe. He played first in the Phillies' farm system after playing third in the collegiate ranks only to shift to left to accommodate the indomitable Rico Brogna. He really hasn't played much at first since as the Phils have trotted out Travis Lee, Jim Thome and Ryan Howard for stretches during Burrell's tenure.

For two years, I'd give him a shot to be coached up by J.T. Snow. He's only 31, so the guy isn't on the downslope just yet.

And for those of you that think that he'd be "blocking" Travis Ishikawa or John Bowker, I commend your post-J.R. Philips/Desi Wilson/Damon Minor/Lance Niekro/Dan Ortmeier belief that a marginal Giants first base prospect could actually, you know, work out...

Sign or trade a bucket of baseballs for Ty Wigginton
Wigginton is arbitration-eligible and has been mentioned as a candidate to non-tendered ahead of tomorrow's deadline. The Astros simply can't afford him given their current financial situation, and should they even tender him, it shouldn't take much to get him as long as the Giants pay his salary.

Wigginton is a rich man's Rich Aurilia. He can play three infield positions and plays an adequate third. He hits for power. And the only reason his team doesn't want him is financial. Once again, he blocks no one and gives you insurance in a very fluid infield. Wigginton also allows you the ability to trade Molina if the right offer comes along and have Pablo Sandoval slide behind the dish.

Beyond the Boxscore even had Wigginton as one of the top ten third basemen of 2008. I like...

Offer Henry Sosa or Kevin Pucetas for Adrian Beltre
Beltre is good. He plays a good third. He hits well. He hits like .440 well at Pac Bell.

And given yesterday's trade, I'm not convinced that the new guy in Seattle's at all an improvement over the old guy. He certainly, at the very least, isn't interested in winning in the next two years.

As for the fact that Beltre's in a contract year? You retain roster flexibility and cost certainty. If the guy goes off, maybe he's apt to re-sign. He's certainly shown an affinity for the West Coast. You only got him for one of your mid-level prospects at a position where you're stacked...

Offer Pucetas AND Sosa for Dan Uggla
Not Jorge Cantu. Not Jeremy Hermida. Don't trade Sanchez. But this is an attractive package of decent pitching talent to a team with it's own cost certainty woes. You don't give up your top level prospects, and you bring in a proven power guy at a position of need. And you control him for a few years yet...

There are some moves that I wouldn't advocate, particularly signing Adam Dunn, who has hit hideously at Pac Bell and has a way that seems to sour teams and fans on him alike.

There's a legitimate case to be made for doing nothing, although I certainly won't. But you, my friends, can. Isn't the Internet terrific?

Comment! What you got, Armchair GM?

UPDATED: Sabathia To Yanks Close?

(UPDATE (7:30AM): The deal looks done. Seven years at $160M(!) Glad the big fella was able to leverage one concrete offer and a number of non-offers into a contract nearly as bloated as him. But seriously folks, I'm glad it's the Yanks who are going to go seven on a guy who threw 1.6 million pitches last season and makes Mark Mangino look positively svelte.)

The increasingly dubious chorus of unnamed sources say a deal between CC Sabathia and the Yanks is close following Brian Cashman's pilgrimage to San Francisco.

Unsure what to think what with the crappy game of telephone that transpired at the Bellagio this week, so take it for what it's worth. Whatever happens, we will look back at this as one of the biggest lose-lose personnel decisions the Giants have faced. Why, oh why, couldn't Sabathia have been a free agent in 2006?

UPDATED: Supreme Confidence ≠ Supreme Competence

(UPDATE (1:39PM): The Intrepid One says that Sabathia may well have declined the Yanks' $140 million offer, and that the Giants have met with him. Baggs also says that one exec says the Brewers may now be the frontrunner.)

Via the most excellent MLB Trade Rumors, word around the Bellagio is that the Giants are "supremely confident" that they will sign CC Sabathia, according to Inside the Dodgers.

(I'll leave it to you all to run with that title.)

That's an extremely stray rumor that Tom Tony Jackson concedes is based on hearsay, but the notion that the Giants are interested would seem to be corroborated by Ken Rosenthal's report that management plans to meet with CC in the Bay on Saturday.

Between Sabathia continuing to drag his negotiations out and the Giants non-denials, it looks like the smoke here is legit.

Which begs the question, if Bill Neukom is in a mood to make a 1992 Peter Magowan-esque free agent splash, wouldn't Mark Teixeira make a whole lot more sense?

Cajun Boy Fans Rejoice At Thought of Encarnacion

On the heels of a Jonathan Sanchez for Jorge Cantu rumor that left many quite disturbed, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that the Giants have engaged in some tire kicking in regards to Edwin Encarnacion.

Encarnacion's glove at third is suspect, and although his power numbers spiked last year, his average did tumble from his 2007 level. Still, the 25 year old is already a proven commodity at a position of big need, and, unlike Cantu, his plate discipline seems to be improving markedly.

Comment! So is Dirty for Encarnacion a more palatable deal? Does anyone prefer Cantu to Edwin?

Renteria Signs

The Giants have inked Edgar Renteria to a two-year, $18.5 million deal with a $10.5 million club option for 2010.

If the strategy is that he's a placeholder until the Noonans, Frannys, Poseys, and Mannys develop, then so be it.  Let's just cross our fingers that he isn't keeping SS warm for Sabean's inevitable scramble to sign a 36 year old Derek Jeter to a five-year deal  in 2010.

Having already signed two free agents, Old Sabes was at the height of his myopic rhetoric during the announcement:

"He is a complete player on both sides of the ball, a clutch performer and a winner," Giants general manager Brian Sabean said in a statement Thursday announcing the deal. "He has the hardware to show it with the awards he has garnered and a World Series ring. We look forward to seeing him in a Giants uniform." 

It's a bit of a stretch to call him a complete player at this stage in his career, but here's to hoping that he can benefit both from a return to the National League and from leaving a team with as toxic a mentality as the 2008 Tigers.

Howry Signs

One year at $2.75M with appearance bonuses that can increase the total. There doesn't appear to be a vesting option for a second year. Find a full breakdown here.

Further Proof That We're All Banging Our Heads Against the Wall

Yahoo Sports's Tim Brown reports that the Giants are closing in on Edgar Renteria. Big whoop. The Giants requested his measurements as soon as the Tigers declined arbitration.

But there is some far juicier news within his piece:

Needing offense and an overhaul of the left side of their infield, the San Francisco Giants believe they are closing in on signing shortstop Edgar Renteria and have discussed a trade that would send left-handed starter Jonathan Sanchez to the Florida Marlins in exchange for third baseman Jorge Cantu.

Sanchez, 26, was promising but ever inconsistent in 29 starts in 2008 for the Giants, whose offseason strategy is to part with some young pitching to upgrade one of the worst offenses in baseball. Released by the Reds last December, Cantu, also 26, turned his career around with 29 home runs, 41 doubles and 95 RBI for the surprising Marlins last season.

Heading into the offseason, I would have much preferred to make a move for Dan Uggla, especially considering that a throng of Giants fans nearly stormed Willie Mays Plaza last offseason pretty much demanding the Giants sign Cantu.

Instead, as we all know, Kevin Frandsen's Achilles snapped and we were stuck with the unnamed loser of the Marlins third base competition.

That being said, Cantu is young, plays a position of need, albeit somewhat poorly, and had a had a solid power output in a pitcher's park. He's a hacker, but he's also heading into his prime, and has hit for power throughout his young career.

Comment! So do you trade Dirty for him?

Howry Reaches Age of Giants Consent

In 1994, the Giants selected Bobby Howry in the fifth round of the amateur draft. The big lug was a hard-thrower, and he ascended through the system at a nice pace, projecting as a solid late-game reliever.

Of course, at the age of 25, Howry's precociousness shook Brian Sabean to the core. Howry's advanced learning curve threatened to undermine Sabean's entire personnel management philosophy (in short: baseball players as fine wines). Offended by Howry's inexcusable prodigious talent, Sabean came up with a solution: stash the kid somewhere else until he actually possessed the veteran savvy so necessary to achieve success in the big leagues, somewhere no Giants fan would ever see him.

Hence, The White Flag Trade.

But a short decade later, it seems Sabean has deemed Howry adequately ripened, at least according to team propagandist Chris Haft. Coming off a 2008 season that it evokes such Giant names as Walker, Bautista or perhaps, dare I say it, Poole, it's easy to see why Sabean likes this guy.

All kidding aside, for a one to two year moderately priced contract, this is the kind of low-risk, medium-reward deal I'd like to see the team make. Howry's a year removed from a solid season at Wrigley, and, in the topsy-turvy world of relievers, there's a good shot he returns to that form going from a hitter's park to a pitcher's park. Plus, due to the Cubs decision to not offer arbitration to Howry, he comes sans compensatory pick.

Most importantly, keeping with a theme that I like, the guy exhibits a rarity in the Giants bullpen of recent history: control.

Between Howry and Jeremy Affeldt, you'll have a couple proven vets to step into a bullpen mentorship vacuum to help out the kids with potential in Sergio Romo, Billy Sadler and Alex Hinshaw. Granted, if Sabean gives Howry a deal that comes close to his last contract, and my reaction may rival this.

Cyber Monday Deal on Edgar Renteria!

The Tigers decline to offer arbitration to Edgar Renteria, paving the way for Edgar to join the Giants without losing a second-rounder.

As long as it's a two year deal, and upon further reflection, I'm perfectly fine with the move. Although many fans are clamoring to see a youth movement, there is little else in the middle infield cupboard besides Manny Burriss, who, in spite of a nice rookie campaign, has a long ways to go as a major league hitter. Kevin Frandsen is coming off a big injury and isn't necessarily a guy you hand a starting position to, and Eugenio Velez is best-suited in a utility role, preferably one that doesn't require him to play defense.

And, even with Renteria on board, one will have to play second.

Two years of Renteria provides a bridge to the Nick Noonans and Charlie Culbersons of the world. Or perhaps even Buster Posey the shortstop, though I wouldn't hold my breath on that one.

And, even if Renteria succumbs to old age or a catastrophic injury, the length of the deal won't cripple the organization by any means. (Unlike some people.)

Rent-A-Shortstop (UPDATED)

(UPDATE #2 (5:10PM): Per Baggs, the report is "premature, or just plain wrong," which makes sense given the upcoming arbitration deadline. If the deal has been reached in principle, Baggarly opines the leak severely undermines the Giants' position to retain their pick as the Tigers can now offer Renteria arbitration and be assured of getting a pick. Very reminiscent of the Yankees situation with Gary Sheffield a few years back.)

(UPDATE (3:18PM): Jerry Crasnick tells MLB Trade Rumors that the report is false, according to Renteria's agent. Meanwhile, Schulman says that the Giants and Rafael Furcal remain in contact. Ordinarily, reports of a deal are summarily denied by player and team until the contract is finalized, but there seems to be some serious questions as to the validity of WFAN's original report. The Giants nation turns it lonely eyes to you, Andy.)

Judging by the free agent posturing, it had become clear that Brian Sabean was intent on cobbling together a team that could contend in the porous NL West. And, today, Sabes made his second strike in free agency, signing shortstop Edgar Renteria, according to WFAN in New York. Unconfirmed details of the agreement: 2 years at $18 million.

Off the top of my head, a quick Point Counter Point -

Point: There's little in the way of organizational depth at shortstop position in the system, so it makes some sense to supplement the team there through free agency.

Counterpoint: Manny Burriss presumably shifts to second base, diminishing his value.

Point: Two year deal.

Counterpoint: $9 million a year to a 33 year old coming off a season in which he accumulated a Neifi-esque .699 OPS. Oh, and the Giants also forfeit their second-rounder.

Point: Renteria has been historically terrible in the AL and and a solid hitter in the NL. He's a year removed from an .860 OPS with Atlanta.

Counterpoint: That doesn't explain his decline defensively last season, when he posted the fourth lowest Zone Rating in the majors.

Point: The entire Tigers team was caught up in a highly contagious malaise that affected team morale.

Counterpoint: Expecting players in their mid-30s to experience a major revival is the height Sabeanmetric cognitive dissonance.

I could go on (Renteria's second half turnaround or the fact that the cold hard statistics belie the common belief that he's a clutch hitter) but I'll leave it to you to for further consternation.

My favorite part of this deal is the deal the Giants didn't make: by not giving a long-term deal to Rafael Furcal, the team avoids committing a long term monies to a guy who could go all Edgardo Alfonzo on us on a dime. Furcal's coming off a 36 game season, and backs are the trickiest of body parts to project. Even Alfonzo was healthy the year before Sabean signed him.

Comment! Open Renteria consternation thread.

First Blood

The Giants strike first in free agency, signing Jeremy Affeldt to a 2 year, $8 million deal.

The deal strikes me as, well, really good. Not sure what Brian Sabean's angle is here, but this is a great short-term deal to a guy who is underrated, at least statistically. From FanGraphs:

Based on 2008, Affeldt has shown an entirely new skillset as compared to his major league career, adding a couple of ticks to both his fastball and curve, which have transformed him into one of the game’s best left-handed relievers. Because his curve is a legitimate second pitch, he shows almost no platoon split, and is equally effective against both LHB and RHBs. His stuff is clearly closer-worthy, and while he has no experience as the 9th inning guy, some smart team would be wise to give him a two or three year contract for setup man money and watch him blossom into one of the game’s best relief aces.

But before all of you go out and celebrate the rehabilitation of Brian Sabean's baseball grey matter, be warned - the needless long-term deal to Rafael Furcal may be forthcoming.

Dissident Dis

Evidently, Chris DeLuca of the Chicago Sun-Times was the lone writer to omit Tim Lincecum from his ballot altogether.

Our good friend Tim K. wrote him this letter in response:

from: Tim K [email redacted]
to: cdeluca@suntimes.com

Chris,

Hi, how are you? Before today I didn't know who you were, but I'm not sure if you know this, but you got written up in a few national publications earlier this morning following the announcement of Tim Lincecum's Cy Young award win. I noticed that not only did you not vote for him to win, but you didn't even rank him in your top 3. You totally omitted him from your ballot. That was a little bit curious to me, so I had a few follow up questions, if you don't mind. They are listed below:

1) Do you even like baseball?
2) How long have you been writing about sports? How did you get a job at the Chicago Sun Times? Are you related to someone who works there?
3) Is the stress of being one of the official Cy Young voters too much for you? In other words, are you somehow trying to get your privileges revoked?
4) Where have you been living for the last 8 months? How is it possible that wherever it was did not have access to Satellite Television or the Internet?
5) Are you from Florida? I ask because I'm wondering how difficult the Cy Young ballot was to complete as compared with the 2000 Presidential Election ballots. Must be close, if not harder.
6) Are you doing this for attention?
7) Okay - here's a fair one: Did you intentionally leave Tim Lincecum off of your Cy Young ballot?
8) Really?
9) Seriously?
10) What is wrong with you?

Thanks,
Tim K.
San Francisco

ConCyLation Prize

In the harsh world of Bay Area sports, for today, justice is served.

Congrats, Timmy.

Destiny Spits on the Giants

So Peter Happy ends up being the guy who gets the game winning hit in the clincher of the World Series, eh?  That hurts worse than the beartrap that's attached to the canker sore on my tongue.

It is a bit reminiscent of The Polish Catcher Not To Be Named leaving for the White Sox and winning a ring the next year.

Scott Eyre is another former Giant who is dancing after last night.

In other news, Aaron Rowand is punching himself in the nads for following the money to the West Coast, but hopefully this team will take him to the Promised Land at some time in the 37 years left on his contract.

It ain't all bad: Big ups to Bay Area natives Jimmy Rollins, Pat Burrell (Bellarmine HS) and Brad Lidge (Sacto) for getting their first rings.  All three are solid players and great ambassadors of the Bay Area way to play.

Comment starter: Any other notable Giants who left and went on to win a ring or have huge years immediately thereafter?

Lincecum Wins Player's Choice

In what is turning out to be a historic election season, our very own Tim Lincecum comes out as democracy's big winner today, collecting two player's choice awards: The Sporting News' Pitcher of the Year and The Players Choice Award for Outstanding Pitcher. A huge congrats to The Franchise for the first and second of what is hopefully many awards.

Before you start laying down your Cy Young bets, bear in mind that neither are necessarily a precursor to winning pitching's highest honor: only 4 of the last 8 recipients of the Player's Choice and 3 of the 8 Sporting News honorees went on to win the Cy.

Schulman, however, finds a couple votes for Timmy in his unofficial exit poll.

Programming Note: Speaking of elections, I'm sure many have you have noticed the relative radio silence of the blog since the season's close. That is a result of the blogupational hazard of actually having other employment - principally the kind that pays. Mine is linked to these here elections, so publishing may be uneven until then.

Democrat, Republican, Green or other, however, all partisans are welcome here, except perhaps for Lasordans.

Until too long, my friends. In the meantime, I hope you've all taken the time to check out the biggest Cinderella story, possibly, well, ever in these Tampa Rays. If you can displace your jealousy with the hope for our very own boys to pull off this kind of turnaround, it's actually kind of fun to live vicariously through them.

Just try not to compare the teams too closely...

72-90

Barry Passable

And then there was the cessation of the lost season of Barry Zito, who, despite one of his better starts of the year, fell to 10-17.

With 17 losses, Zito now carries the distinction of possessing the most losses in a single season by a Giant in 23 years.

There's nothing more I can really add about our favorite male model/$126M pitcher that hasn't already been said.

So I'll leave the 2008 post-mortem at this: at least he's not him.

Ugliest Teenagers Take Each Other to Prom What was once presumed to be impossible is now a reality: the Giants have renewed their contract with the Connecticut Defenders.

Why? Default, that's why. No one else wanted the Giants, and, similarly, no one else would take the Defenders. The match is actually too perfect not to happen.

Here's hoping the Defenders rumored move to Richmond, Va. comes to fruition - contrary to popular belief, the aura of the frozen tundra does not, in fact, transcend football.

Comment! Best joke thread.

Dirty Dismissal

For Jonathan Sanchez, a season that started with so much promise ended with a whimper.

And if I were a betting man, which I am, I'd wager that Kevin Correia may have thrown his last pitch as a Giant. With all the young pitchers in the system, it makes little economic sense to keep the six year vet.

Plus, he kinda sucks.

Kudos to Andy Baggarly for this awesome find from last night's otherwise nausea-inducing proceedings:

They fielded nine rookies in the seventh inning: Catcher Steve Holm, pitcher Billy Sadler, first baseman Pablo Sandoval, second baseman Ryan Rohlinger, shortstop Ivan Ochoa, third baseman Conor Gillaspie, left fielder John Bowker, center fielder Eugenio Velez and right fielder Nate Schierholtz.

How long has it been since a major league team simultaneously fielded nine rookies in a major league game? [Snip]

Almost 25 years to the date, according to the hard-working folks at the Elias Sports Bureau. The Los Angeles Dodgers fielded nine rookies on Sept. 20, 1983, in a home game against the Houston Astros.

To counter this uncharacteristically youthphilic behavior, the Giants signed J.T. Snow to keep the average roster age at a Brian Sabean mandated minimum.

But seriously, folks, in case you didn't hear, he'll take the field this weekend with the starting lineup and get a nice sendoff from the fans. Class move.

Baggs also reports that Travis Ishikawa took the night off to be with his brand new baby. Congrats to Travis, and huge props to Baggs for using the occasion to recall tales of Harry Caray lore.

HEY! This provides me the perfect opportunity to link one of the best impersonations of all time!

Bye Bye Cy?

Soul crushing start for The Franchise last night. For the glass half full types, Timmy did eclipse Jason Schmidt's San Francisco K record, notching his 252nd.

Perhaps more importantly, with Lincecum's Cy hopes all but a glimmer, the braintrust (and I use that term lightly) may finally be convinced to forgo risking his health and skip his final extra start.

JLev, who's generally known as a crotchety contrarian, and I actually see eye to eye on this point. But maybe we're too indoctrinated by the elitist, wine and cheese Baseball Prospectus pitcher abuse points crowd, and it's possible we lack the hairy-chested, red-blooded, beer-swilling attitude of the "throw 'em out there and let God sort 'em out" mentality the Bruce Jenkinssssss of the world espouse.

So let me ask you - if Brandon Webb throws a stinker in his next start and opens the door a crack for The Freak, do we try to let the kid storm through it? Do you think, perhaps, that the reason the kid was uncharacteristically mediocre yesterday have anything to do with the fact that he has thrown 383 pitches in the three starts prior?

Let me ask: are we off our rocker for suggesting this behavior is completely reckless? After all, the great ones (Marichal, Gibson, Koufax) ran up high pitch counts regularly and they were fine, right? Responses rife with needless passion and angst encouraged.

Tuesday Afternoon Fun

My high school physics teacher once said that Tuesday is the worst day of the week, at which point I replied, "I'd say any day where I have this class is the worst day of the week."

I never did well in that class.

Digressions aside, here's a little something to spice up your Tuesday from way back in the vault. Start the clip at 1:19:

Shelly

It's the last day of summer camp.  In your hormone-infused awkward way, you have spent the last four weeks trying to get the second hottest girl at camp to let you get the goodies.

You have heard her gripe about how her boyfriend back home doesn't really listen to her.  You've been the benefactor of a number of arm squeezes and "Oh, you're so sweets."  You even copped a tiny feel while slow-dancing at the "Lucky Louie's Luau" dance in the dining hall.

Unfortunately, it became clear about a week ago that you probably wouldn't get any because she wouldn't want to forsake her beau.  "There's always next summer," you tell yourself.

You spend the last night on a moonlit walk, hand in hand, exchanging vows that you will keep in touch during the school year and even sketch out a plan for a winter-break visit.  On the porch of her cabin you say goodnight, she gives you a peck on the cheek, and you hug her as tight as you possibly can.

If you are the Giants, you then proceed to sneak in through the backdoor and hook up with her fat friend Shelly in her bunk as she watches, horrified.  You mortgage the future hottie for the immediate sow and you don't think twice.  This is what the Giants are doing with Tim Lincecum.

While the Giants remain hopelessly far out of playoff contention, not only do they continue to grope the fat girl, but they do so unabashedly.

Lincecum is presumably this team's best player.  He is also one of their youngest.  He is under team control for four more seasons at bargain basement prices and stands poised to lead this squad back to relevance in the very near future.  Why, then, when discussing pitch counts and pitcher stress am I hearing his name mentioned in conjunction with the likes of Mark Prior (done), Kerry Wood (limited), and Livan Hernandez (the opposite of Tiny Tim)?

Shouldn't we have shut this guy down already?  Isn't this the point in the season where a young arm is already stretched-out and each subsequent toss leads to exponential and not linear additional damage?

For your consideration: Over his last seven starts, Lincecum has averaged, averaged over 120 pitches.  That includes a 138 pitch outing which was the most by any pitcher this year and an outing in which he didn't get past the fifth, but managed to throw 92.  He has thrown more pitches this year than anyone in the Major Leagues.  He is seventh in the bigs with 215 IP and he has two starts remaining.  Am I going crazy here?

Additionally, Lincecum leads the league in Pitcher Abuse Points (PAP), a Baseball Prospectus metric meant to measure the stress or abuse that a pitcher takes over the course of a season.  Some of the names that have been near the top in PAP over the past few years:

- Daisuke: led the league last year, missed time this year
- Jason Schmidt: top-6 in '04, '05 and '06, do I need to say anything else?
- A.J. Burnett: top-5 in '02 and '07, top-10 this year and he has missed time in three of the last five years
- Wood and Prior: both top-5 in 2003, Prior again in 2005 and neither has been the same since

There are more examples, but I don't need to keep going.  You get the picture.

"But he might win the Cy Yooouuuuunnnnggg," you keep whining.

No.  No he won't.

Brandon Webb won his 22nd game last night making him practically a shoe-in for the award.  The BBWAA gets to see very few of Lincecum's games and may not realize how dominant he's been, so they look at W's as a default.

Timmy realizes this and has asked to pitch an extra game on only four days rest.  This game, the last of the season, is against The Bums and beating them would actually help D-Bags reach the playoffs.  This is a double-whammy in that not only does it hurt Lince's arm, it also helps Webb's CY chances if his team makes the playoffs.

In our earlier analogy, the attractive young maiden is the allure of, oh I don't know, a winning season somewhere down the line, while the pig-faced, pock-marked Shelly is the illusion of this year's Cy Young race and the benefits that such an award brings.

We are risking the future, nay The Franchise, for almost no payoff whatsoever.

Tiny Tim need not climb directly to the top in his first full season of major-league service.  He will compete for this award many times in the future.

Well, he will compete for it if he makes it that far without his arm flying off.

For discussion: Should the Giants have already shut him down?  Should they let him pitch tonight in his last scheduled start and then be done?  Or is the temptation of a Giants CY winner enough to let him pitch on the last day as well?

Further reading: Olney talks about Lincecum in the beginning of today's blog (subscription required).

Shades of '82

With Rich Aurilia playing the part of Joe Morgan.

Still, have to agree with Bobblehead Boch when it comes to playing spoiler: September euphoria ought to be limited to the spectrum of actual contenders, not those teams that barely stave off 100 losses.

Comment! So what role are the Giants playing next September?

Webb'd Feat

Brandon Webb collected his 21st win against the G-Men last night despite surrendering three runs in the first inning.

Webb also drove in a pair to make him 4-for-8 with six RsBI against the Giants this year.  That's Zambrano-like.

Tiny Tim takes the hill tonight looking to pick up his 18th W and bolster his Cy Young campaign.  The man he must best?  A five-time CY winner and Wet Rat.

Question:  If Webb gets to 23 wins, does it make Lincecum's achievements moot in the eyes of baseball writers?


 

Mission: Destroy Brandon Webb

San Francisco losses pile up in the desert - perhaps, may I speculate, due to the losses of Freddy Lewis and Manny Burriss - but, no matter. Because, for tonight, the real drama of the 2008 season continues: can The Franchise win the Cy Young?

Tonight, the offensive offense can redeem itself for the past two stinkers by hanging a crooked number on Timmy's chief competition in Brandon Webb, whose unpleasant September has put the hardware within his reach.

Relish the rarity of having a vested interest in the outcome of the game and cheer on Dirty and the troops.

- Power Vacuum: Both Schulman and Baggs mention the necessity of looking outside the organization in the offseason for reinforcements in the lineup, a list that includes Prince Fielder, Pat Burrell and Adrian Beltre.

Serious question marks with all of them, but man, does this make me depressed enough to pick up someone not coached by the Giants minor league instructors:

Haren played mind games in the eighth, after Conor Gillaspie came off the bench and made crisp contact on his first major league hit [Ed: Congrats, kid!]. Pinch hitter John Bowker was next. Haren turned to the scoreboard and noted that the rookie had drawn 19 walks all season.

"I didn't throw him one strike," said Haren, who offered a succession of splitters that Bowker swung through. "He's up there trying to tie the game, so I tried to take advantage of his aggressiveness."

Simply wow, both on JB's ineptitude and Haren's shocking candor.

Comment! Of Fielder, Burrell and Beltre, who makes the most sense for the Giants at this juncture?

A Shot of Hennessey

Evidently, it's good for what ails ya. Unfortunately, Brad's second gem in a row, this one of a complete game variety, can't bail out San Francisco.

And, since it has been a couple of days, let me ask, what the heck has gotten into Eugenio Velez? Even in last night's tough loss, the man who challenges Juan Pierre for the MLB Double Crown of speediest/smallest head was nails at the plate yet again.

For a team playing out the string, there has been plenty to watch for, including Velez's recent surge, the continued domination of the Pablominable Snowman, Ishikawa Redux and The Freak's race to the Cy Young/catastrophic arm injury.

Tonight's reason to watch: to play the pretend game where you have any idea how Matt Cain is going to pitch.

A. U. Haynio.

In spite of a blown save by Brian "Frown" Wilson, the Giants' lineup got a walkoff in the ninth against the venomless D-Backs.

In this game, while the kids played a big role, it was actually the work of the ----- WAIT A SECOND, this isn't the same story at all.  This game was about the kids, most specifically, A-U-Haynio Valez.  Four RBI, a double, a walk-off triple (his second walkoff in as many days, although OBnB failed to note it).  He is Manny Ramirez-clutch right now, and even playing decent defense (zero errors yesterday!) as he makes a bid to be this team's everyday starting 2B in 2009.  Worse things have happened.

At the top of the order, Win, Win, Win with Randy Winn looked great again, with three knocks to move his average to .315, which would be the highest of any everyday Giants Starter if the Pablominable Snowmandoval weren't swinging a scorching stick.

And Brad Hennessey was a welcome sight, providing a quality start on 100 pitches and leaving the game with his team in the lead.  If he were pitching every fifth day for this team, he'd realize he could do a lot worse than a No-Decision given that sort of effort.  Better luck next time.

Also, don't miss Baggs today - everybody loves a little rookie hazing, and Kuip said this morning that Manny Burriss was the French Maid and "shook his toosh like he knew what to do with it".

Thanks Geritol!

In spite of a blown save by Brian "Frown" Wilson, the Giants' lineup got a walkoff in the ninth against the venomless D-Backs.

In this game, while the kids played a big role, it was actually the work of the older dudes that got it done.   

Barry Zito turned in a Lincesque performance, going six innings and striking out nine, while only allowing two runs and driving one in at the dish. 

Food for thought:  If we throw out the horrendous performance of two weeks ago in Cinci, Zito has averaged more than seven innings over his last four starts with a 2.17 ERA and a 2.9 K/BB ratio.  Me likey.  Me likey very much.  It begs the question, is Zito finally settling down into his Lard Lad-sized contract or is it just Zito's MO to start horribly every year and then get hot when it matters least?  Only time shall tell, but this fan hopes it's the former. 

On the offensive side, Grandpa Richie had a three-hit game for his seventh time this season and continues to show that he is a valuable asset to a club full of whippersnappers.  Omar Vizquel added a hit and two walks (one of them intentional) and scored a run on the way to the win.

In other news:

- Giants first-round sandwich pick Conor Gillaspie made his Major League debut when he pinch ran for Bengie Molina in the sixth inning.  While he was thrown out at second on a fielder's choice, he was given a warm reception by the somewhat slim hometown crowd.

- Brandon Webb sat down with Baggarly to talk about the Cy Young race and Tim Lincecum before the game.  My favorite piece from that article came when the two discussed what criteria should be considered when handing out the CY:

Q: And what about who has the most wins?
A: The thing with wins is we’ve got no control. You could have a 1.00 ERA but if your team doesn’t score, you’re going to go 0-30. It’s not something you control. That’s why the wins and losses are skewed.

There you have it, folks.  Lincecum's win total doesn't matter to BWebb.  Too bad he's not a member of the perenially thick-headed Baseball Writer's Association of America.

Happy Dance

I guess the Cy race ain't over just yet.

Unfortunately, the win wasn't without a crappy casualty. Get strong and come back well next spring, Manny.

Many of you have inquired as to the reasoning behind the Giants shocking callup 2008 sandwich pick Conor Gillaspie. Per usual, looks like Andy Baggarly has the best theory:

So why call up a guy that you don’t intend to play?

I have to believe that Gillaspie’s promotion is part of a predraft understanding. It’s no secret that Gillaspie thought he should have been a first-round pick instead of falling to the supplemental first round. I’ll bet this was a way for the Giants to appease him into taking MLB’s suggested signing bonus of $970,000 – which puts the team in a little less hot water for going way, way, way over slot for giving $6.2 million to fifth-overall choice Buster Posey.

In return, Gillaspie gets a 40-man spot and all the requisite benefits — plus he’ll spend four weeks making a prorated portion of the major league minimum salary, which is $400,000. That’s roughly $66,000, not counting meal money.

Pretty good kickback right there.

Far be it for me to look down on opportunism, so I'll just say I hope the kid can back up his chutzpah come 2009. It looks like we might need a second or a third baseman.

Stupid Yeti Humor

A ten run inning by the 2008 San Francisco Giants is like getting a ridiculously hot girl's number - sure, you'd like to think it's a sign of things to come, but you know you're far too unattractive to expect a repeat performance anytime soon.

My jackassery notwithstanding, nice job, kids. I fall in love with the Pablominable Snowmandoval a little more every day.

Sabean: Burriss Likely to Replace Vizquel at Short

There must have been something in the Colorado River Compact, because Brian Sabean came back from Denver displaying a bit more chutzpah than his usual listless self in his fireside chat on KNBR last night.

Among the revelations in Sabes's brief flirtation with candor:

- Manny Burriss is penciled in to start at shortstop next year and all indications are that he will be given every opportunity to be there long-term. Omar Vizquel will not be back.

Ivan Ochoa will compete to be the primary middle infield backup, but, in a miraculous moment of clarity, Sabean now does not view him as an everyday player.

- Pablo Sandoval is likely an everyday player next year. What position that may be at is anyone's guess, although, given that he seems to be unaffected by the position carousel he's riding thus far, the current setup may continue through 2009.

- Regarding the position prospects, Sabean seemed to be strikingly emboldened by the success of the youngsters this year, and said he's not constrained by anything but the player's ability to play at the big league level to promote him.

Taking into account the past production and polish of '08 draftees Buster Posey, who was just promoted again, and Conor Gillaspie, those guys should be in San Francisco in less than two years and maybe even in one.

- With respect to 18 year old wunderkind Angel Villalona's arrival at Pac Bell: "anything's possible."

- As for offseason plans, Brian sees third base as the position most likely to be upgraded with a power bat, given the current free agent landscape, although I'm not sure what landscape he's looking at. Suffice it to say, his past flirtations with the likes of Hank Blalock and Joe Crede renders this poseur beat writer nervous.

- Sabean said he's looking to move pitching for hitting help, and his third base evaluation may make more sense if you include possible trade targets, with names like Beltre, Atkins, and Kouzmanoff potentially available.

Other names I would throw out at third would include Brandon Wood, Jorge Cantu, and Dallas McPherson.

But despite reports of Tigers owner Mike Ilitch ordering an offseason slash in payroll, my personal white whale (no pun intended) Miguel Cabrera probably isn't going anywhere.

- Other nuggets Sabean peddled: Fred Lewis and his toe may be heading to surgery given the recent leveling off of his play, giving Nate Schierholtz an extended look; absent an outside addition, Kevin Frandsen and Eugenio Velez would compete for the job at second (no mention of Travis Denker, although I hope it's an oversight); and an extension for Randy Winn will be discussed this offseason.

Comment! You can make one move this offseason: what do you do?

Yipee Ki-Yay

What a day for Scott McClain, who's 363rd career homer in the pros is the first of a big league variety. Our very own Crash Davis had two more RBIs by way of run-scoring singles en route to a nice 3 hit debut as the Giants throttled the Rockies.

And JLev would kill me if there wasn't a serious shoutout to Nate Schierholtz for his four hit outing.

Cy Go Cy Go Cy Go with Cy Go

Don't feel too bad, Tim, you'll have plenty of chances for more.

And, despite the heartbreaker, big ups to Nate Schierholtz, who backed up his Olympic medal with a nice debut.

Good Takeaways From A Bad Long Weekend

- Dirty returns and puts together a nice quality start; San Francisc still loses.

- Manny Burriss at shortstop. I'm not sure if Sabchy is grossly inept, doesn't care, or is pulling an Andy Kaufman on the Lunatic Fringe, but I guess it's better to have a completely obvious good idea later rather than never.

If Manny can hold down the position, and all indications are that he can, it frees up second base for a spring training competition between Kevin Frandsen (who's rehab from an Achilles rupture seems to be progressing), Travis Denker (who has put together a nice stat line since his demotion to Fresno), and Eugenio Velez.

- Yippee ki-yay, Scott McClain got called up!

Call me a sap, but I want this guy to get one good year in the majors. I can't think of a better team for him to do it than this rudderless ship. Do you have any better ideas for acquiring a dirt cheap power-hitting corner infielder?

- Speaking of power-hitting corner infielders, The One just had the best month of his pro career.

- The Franchise goes tonight. For those of you haven't noticed, NL Cy Young frontrunner Brandon Webb hasn't been all that in his past two starts.

Another dominant outing by Timmy and, at the outset of September, he could be in control of his Cy Young destiny.

Comment! Why will you watch the Giants this September? Or, perhaps, why won't you (you bandwagon fan)?

Terrifying Thought Of The Day

From today's Baggarly piece on last year's embarrassment of then-rook Timmy after missing a team charter:

The next day, Bonds couldn't turn down the opportunity to undress a rookie in front of his teammates.

"Bonds showed us something," Zito said. "He calls a meeting and he's like, 'Are you kidding me, Timmy? This is ridiculous.' He gave him the itinerary and said, 'Dude I don't want this thing to leave your sight the entire trip.'

Video Game Good

Back by popular demand...

Yeah, he's pretty good.

Huge congrats to a huge man-child on his first (huge) major league dinger.

Comment! Your case for Tim Lincecum, Cy Young Award Winner.

Reports of My Demise Exaggerated, Giants Are Different Matter

Despite the large amount of revenue OBnB generates, a few other (theoretically) necessary responsibilities reared their ugly heads at once, putting me out of commission.

Luckily, the break absolves me of the false sense of jubilation that may have come with a five game winning streak for this plucky but ultimately doomed young team. With their second straight loss to the defending NL champion (remember that?) Rockies, the boys in black and orange showed this bunch is still a work in progress.

Happy trails, Matt Palmer. And welcome back, Osiris.

And now, with apologies to The Rock, I give you my Wednesday Rundown:

- Pablo Sandoval is good. I read this article about how Class A San Jose was completely galvanized by his arrival, only to fall back to the pack when he was promoted to Double A Connecticut, at which point the Defenders surged. It would have been good to link and relate to the recent improvement of the Giants.

But I couldn't find it, so take my word for it. To make up for my eroding search engine eagle eye, check out this interview Sandoval did with Defenders beat reporter Joe Perez upon his promotion to Connecticut in June.

Hope this kid sticks - he loves the game, and not in a creepy 'phile Favre way.

- A pleasant byproduct of Sandoval's callup has been the recent rebirth of Big Money's bat. Since Sandoval's arrival on August 14, Molina's batting .333 with 11 RBIs, his most productive stretch since early July.

Though it's been easy to be tough on the big guy after his ridiculously hot start, it's easy to forget he's played the most demanding position on the diamond without much respite, on 34 year old knees to boot. Baggarly did a piece on Molina couple days back:

For now, the focus with Sandoval is short-term. But Molina knows that teams seldom let their best offensive prospects stay behind the plate. Their production inevitably suffers because of the grueling nature of the position.

"You should see Bengie when he takes his shirt off," a teammate said. "He has bruises all over."

Molina acknowledged that because of numerous foul tips, there have been times this season when he could barely grip a bat.

"Yeah, but I don't have any excuses," Molina said. "I want to be out there every day and I do the best with what I have."

Molina is committed to guiding Sandoval behind the plate. He'll do the same for Buster Posey when the No. 1 draft pick (fifth overall) arrives in major league camp next spring.

But Molina wouldn't be surprised if Posey eventually moves, too.

As you may have noticed, the Giants have no shortage of good guys behind the plate.

- And speaking of Posey, who I seriously just this moment realize has a name ripe for nicknames should he flameout (God forbid), his professional career has begun in a smashing fashion. In 4 games in the Arizona Rookie League, Posey's hitting a Sandovalian .438 with a dinger and 3 RBIs.

Turns out there's no shortage of talent behind the plate either.

Are we sure Brian Sabean's still the GM?

- Finally, everyone (and by everyone, I mean the media) needs to shut up about this CC Sabathia nonsense. Hey, I love that the Giants can still be a preferred landing spot for any blue chip free agent, but the organizational pitching budget would appeared to be tied up in, well, not CC Sabathia.

Giants LOB one to Rockies

Cold (or even mild, temperate) summer nights at Pac Bell are no fun unless the Giants are scoring, and these days, the faithful along with the Lunatic Fringe know: that scoring is not going to come from home runs. So when these scrappy, fast, aggresive young kids go out and get hits - EIGHT of them - we hope that some of those baserunners come around on consecutive hits, sacrifices, and seeing-eye ground balls. For one inning last night it seemed that would be the case, but then the bats - and the luck - fizzled. Despite yet another 3-for-4 performance from "Win, Win, Win, with" Randy Winn and another 2 hits from Fred Lewis in the 2 hole, the offense never came alive in a manner worthy of the word RALLY.

Matt Cain is back to his losing ways, giving up an astronomical 3 ER in 6 IP, succumbing to the ever-Giant-killing Yorvit Torrealba (2-run HR) and failing to score from third (or even cause a collision) on a fielder's choice by Aaron Rowand.

Venite Adoremus tonight, though, as The Kid looks to stop the losing. Matt Palmer, that is, looks to stop the losing, at 1 loss. Why, who did you think this blogger was referring to?

A Tale of Two Yetis

Bengie "Sas-Squat" Molina lifted a three-run blast and drove in five runs, while up-and-coming catcher/possible third base solution Pablominable Snowmandoval added two hits and one RBI to come from behind and beat the more-miserable-than-ever Padres.

Randy Winn also notched three hits and was on base four times, raising his batting average to a team-leading .306 for the season.

Kevin Correia worked a solid six innings lasting long enough to get himself and the team one more W in a nice stretch of baseball.

Having won five in a row, the Giants now seem poised to make a run at Colorado for the third spot in the NL West.  The pennant it ain't, but at least it's something to shoot for.

Walk/Run-Off Wonders; The Posey-Sandoval Question

Another walkoff win for the Little Giants, who have taken to playing at home in a way their much older predecessors did not.

In typical San Francisc (the omission of O is intentional) Giants fashion, the fateful ninth inning run was scored without a hit - praise be to Manny Burriss's batting eye and feet as well as Kevin Gregg's wayward accuracy.

And give credit to big Matt Palmer, who bounced back from a horrific debut to go 6 and 2.

Also, I've noticed I've been remiss in lauding Dandy Randy Winn for hitting in a manner so hot, Paris Hilton's thinking of suing.

Future Ruminations: While watching Pablo "Runaway Beer Truck" Sandoval motor around in one of his frequent trips to the basepaths, I thought to myself, this 22 year old could be really the future at catcher.

Then I realized we just signed him.

But, with apologies to Ivan Ochoa, our situation at shortstop is a little less rosy. However, do we already have a solution?

Many of you heard about Buster Posey playing all nine positions in a game this past season at FSU. His prowess at all nine positions was due in part to the fact that he was recruited as a shortstop, playing there his freshman year before transitioning to catching.

Now although the Giants just made a huge investment in Posey, it's not as if shortstop is a position of far less scarcity, particularly given the fact that Posey's bat would play just as well there. In addition, Posey, who's game has been compared to Craig Biggio's, might have a longer career by playing a less physically demanding position.

With his mid-90s fastball and leadership skills, heck, we may even get our own Derek Jeter out of it.

Bear in mind, my sole impetus for the idea is due to the absurdly small sample size of Sandoval's major league career, notwithstanding his sublime year in the minors. But Sandoval is producing at the major league level and looks to have a lot of potential at the position, having thrown out 44% (30 for 68) of basestealers in the minors - and he can do it with both hands, too! Sandoval, already looking like he belongs in The Show, is only seven months older than Posey.

The case that Sandoval could shift to first to make room for Posey is a little bit of a tougher pill to swallow, mostly because of the continued ease at which you can either find or develop power hitting first basemen, Brian Sabean's struggles aside. It would be a waste of Sandoval's skills behind the dish to have him at first, anyhow.

So I leave it to you: is this a terrible idea? How do you envision the 2011 infield?

24 and Out

Turns out that even when Brian Wilson blows a save, the luck of the Irish bails him out.

Give the guy credit for the third longest save streak in Giants history, as well as the manner in which he handled blowing the save drew a happy contrast with one of his celebrated predecessors.

A bummer ND for Cainer, who continues his strong second half.

But how about that Pablo Sandoval? Since the kid looks to have some moxie, the Giants are once again having him take grounders at third. Let's hope a late career position switch - Fred Stanley et al tried working him in at third in the minors but it didn't stick - doesn't Bowker his hitting.

Cantu Buy Me Love

Once upon a time, there were three third basemen. Each of them had risen through the minors at a steady clip and made their general managers really super excited. Before long, all three of them had been promoted to the major leagues!

Once they got there, the young ballplayers had their ups and downs.

The most powerful one needed a couple of tries, but he started improving, only to hurt his back.

The youngest had one of the better rookie seasons in history, hitting 28 HRs and driving in 114, only to regress in his second year.

The last of them, well, did okay. He was not as shiny a prospect as the other two, but, relative to the players around him, he was pretty good. Of course, when he got to the majors, it only took a couple of years for his GM to figure out that, despite his unyielding belief in magic, his marginally talented third basemen wasn't getting better.

So, only a few short years later, all three were out of job.

If you were Brian Sabean, and had literally no prospects at the position, who would you pick?

The answer, of course, is none. Instead, just wait for a smart GM like Larry Beinfest to sign all three to minimum deals, and pounce on any scraps Beinfest may be so kind to throw back.

Here we are, about a half a year later, and the Marlins are once again defying expectations, partly because of the solid bat of Jorge Cantu (the youngest one), who's having his best season ever. So you can understand that, in leading his Marlins to a victory over the G-Boys, I cursed Sabes with an extra fervor last night.

In case you don't know the rest of the story, Dallas McPherson (the most powerful) is leading the minors in home runs for the Marlins AAA affiliate, ready to replace Cantu at a moment's notice should he get injured. (That's called depth, Brian.)

The marginally okay one, as we all know, was Jose Castillo, who was last seen storming Lord Farquaad's castle with a giant gingerbread man.

Meanwhile, the life cycle of third basemen continues in San Francisco, as the Giants now have their very own marginal prospect's career to ruin.

If you were wondering, said marginal prospect put up another 0-fer last night, bringing his average down to .095.

If You Kent Say Something Nice...

On the heels of a tough four game sweep at the Big Orange, Barry Zito, he of seven shutout innings, and the kids leading these Giants to a series victory is sweet music to my ears.

Sweeter music to my ears? Down the 5, Giants über villain Jeff Kent is doing his damndest to tarnish the legacy of what I'll grudgingly admit is a Hall of Fame career.

His latest offense? Assailing the virtual patron saint of the Dodgers, a man so revered as a baseball institution, many Giants fans are even able to look past his association with our hated rivals and genuinely appreciate his contribution to the national past time.

Yes, Jeff Kent verbally assaulted Vin Scully.

Evidently, Kent was miffed that Scully (along with most multi-celled organisms) believed there may be a correlation between his hot bat and the presence of Manny Ramirez in the lineup. His message to Scully: you talk too much.

I'm not going to launch into a massive diatribe but simply point out that, for a guy that is probably be a first-ballot inductee, he will most likely have the least fans of anyone else who shares the same honor. Maybe that's not why Kent plays the game, but I hope, once he walks away, he realizes that something ain't right about a superior career that no one besides yourself appreciates.

Sanchez Shut Down?: KNBR reported this morning that management may use Dirty's shoulder strain as an excuse to shut the lefty down for the rest of the season. Smart move, in my opinion: Sanchez has thrown more innings this year already than he has in any one of his other pro seasons.

With any luck, there may be something to play for next year. Sanchez, although he had his ups and downs this season, showed quite a bit in his first year as a starter, consistently ranking near the top of the league in Ks. Hopefully, he'll be back stronger and wiser in 2009.

Comment! With little left to play for this season, should the Giants shut down their other two horses in Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum?