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.'

Walk-Off Weekend

It was only fitting that on a weekend where Barry Bonds made what was, sincerely, a touching return to the House That Bonds Built, the Giants won a series against their hated rivals for their performance-enhanced Gipper.

Of course, they had to use a decidedly different means to the common ends (winning) that mostly defined the Bonds Era, using small ball, the mistakes of the opposition, and blinding speed(!) to eke out walk-off victories on Saturday and Sunday.

As a wise fictional San Franciscan once said, the bad times fade away, and the good ones adhere themselves to your memory. For Saturday at least, I found myself agreeing wholeheartedly when it comes to the (really) big guy, particularly when he closed his speech with this gem:

"It's weird for me not to be in uniform with the Dodgers right there. You heard me Torre, I beat you before and I can beat you again. I haven't retired. Thank you."

Comment! In what capacity, if any, should Bonds be recognized by the Giants once he officially retires?

Bravos, Bums, Buster and Bonds

The good? A nice series win on the shoulder of The Franchise on Wednesday.

The bad? The return of Bad Zito, who, among other things, continues this cast's frustrating inability to put away the most has of has-beens, giving up a three run shot to 34 year old catcher Danny Ardoin, a guy who hasn't hit a home run in three years.

The ugly? Six days out, Buster Posey, the supposed future of the Giants, still hasn't signed, joining third rounder Roger Kieschnick and fourth rounder Brandon Crawford in the calling-Sabean's-bluff crowd. Things could get ugly around these parts if the front office pisses away any goodwill it garnered with it's first position player oriented draft in eons.

Before you throw yourself out the nearest window, check out this interview Eric SanInocencio conducted over at Baseball Digest Daily Live with Jim Callis at Baseball America on the issue of the signing deadline and the situation with Posey.

Callis thinks Posey, as well as Pirates pick Pedro Alvarez, who went #2 overall, will sign in the last hour, and throws out a few reasons (think green and presidential) why it makes a lot of sense for them to do so.

(Callis draft discussion starts at about 20:00, Posey discussion at 27:45.)

Also, Boch thinks Barry Bonds could be back at Pac Bell tonight.

Youth Got Served!

Another day, another victory for these baby Giants.

In a shocking twist, they did so at home.

For Matt Cain.

This ain't July's Giants, that's for sure.

One of my favorite developments: the double play combo of Ivan Ochoa and Manny Burriss, both of whom are putting on a defensive display as well as swinging nice bats.

The triumphant return of Steve Holm certainly ranks up there as well.

My least favorite development? The continued presence of Jose Castillo in my life in any meaningful capacity. Thus, understanding the so-shallow-you'll break-your-neck-if-you-dive depth of the position, it filled me with great hope and pleasure to hear KSN (Wichita) report that the Giants have come to terms with 2008 sandwich round pick (and third baseman) Conor Gillaspie, fomerly of the wonderfully named Wichita State Shockers:

The 37th pick overall will receive slot money for that pick, which is around $975,000 along with other un-disclosed incentives. That was the deal-maker enticing the Shocker All-American to sign.

Gillaspie will begin his pro career in rookie ball for the first few weeks. The Giants plan to give him work at both second and third base before the season comes to an end.

Gillaspie was perceived by many to be a first round pick and was mostly regarded as a great value pick where the Giants picked him up. We wrote this on draft day:

Conor Gillaspie, 3B, Wichita St., at #37. MLB.com compares him to...

Bill Mueller.

That being said, he's the defending Thurman Munson Award winner in 2007 Cape League play, an honor that's gone to the likes of Berkman and Jeter (and [Justin] Smoak in 2006).

Good news, indeed. But with deadline to sign draftees now just ten days out, snippets like these make me a bit queasy regarding the remaining three of our top four picks:

Buster Posey, the Giants' first pick and the fifth overall selection, is one of seven top-10 picks who've yet to sign. Of the 16 players in the supplemental round, though, Gillaspie, the 37th pick, is one of only two who haven't come to terms.

[Snip]

Among third-round selections, Roger Kieschnick, the Giants' third pick and the 82nd overall choice, is one of only three unsigned players. Brandon Crawford, the Giants' fourth pick, is one of just six unsigned players in the fourth round.

"I know [Director of Player Personnel] Bobby [Evans] has been having a lot of discussions with all of those guys," [Giants' Special Assistant John] Barr said. "We're working on finalizing all those guys."

Gulp. If this blog ceases to be updated August 15th, can one of you find a sub-letter for me and take care of Fido?

In other news: remember Barry Lamar Bonds? It has seemed this year like maybe the Giants don't.

But in an interesting development, he has been invited to return to Pac Bell this Saturday as part of a tribute to the great outfielders of the Giants' fifty years in San Francisco. No word yet regarding his attendance.

Should shape up to be a fun week for a Bonds-starved media corps.

HGHappy Birthday

Happy 44th, big guy.

Check Your Head

Me (two days ago):

Horwitz makes his first start - I'm not holding my breath for a Bowker-esque first full game.

Brian Horwitz (a 4 for 8 with a homer later):

Check yourself.

And Bri Rock is born. (Click here if you don't get it, you weird, slightly off-putting, but not really rebellious emo kid.)

Once again proving I don't know jack, Bri Rock and the 1927 New York Yankees decided to call it a game early in a drubbing of the New York Wets the Bed.

In another cruel-life counterexample to my ill founded assertions, Jonathan Sanchez is looking like a pitcher that has a plan, even out of the stretch, and his run of good starts continues. (He's also starting to look pretty comfortable at the plate.)

An interesting contrast to the starting pitcher for the Mets last night, Oliver Perez, another lefty with filthy stuff and a questionable mound presence. When it's all said and done, Sanchez's career arc could very much mirror Ollie's - fits of inconsistency (as last night's outing displayed) interspersed with absolute brilliance. Although it seems he's been around forever, Perez is, at 26, only a year senior to Sanchez.

And a huge congrats to Big Money for his 1,000th hit. Molina's quickly becoming one of my all-time favorite Giants. From the big guy:

"It means a lot to me. It's like most of the guys hitting 3,000. I know and understand I'm not a superstar. I'm not a Hall of Famer. But to get to 1,000 hits for a guy who wasn't supposed to sign and signed for $1,000 - $750 after taxes - for a guy who wasn't supposed to make in the minor leagues, for being the slowest guy in the world, to get 1,000 hits is really an honor for me. ... No scout in Puerto Rico gave me a chance to be a pro."

P.J. Martinez makes his long-anticipated return tonight. New Yorkers wonder what they'll get.

Meanwhile, San Franciscans wonder which kind of washed up ace they'd prefer: the injury-prone kind or the untalented kind. We'll get a first hand look tonight.

- A lot of prognosticators are licking their chops, as David Ortiz gets hurt, giving the Bonds to Sox as DH rumor momentum.

- Threets DFA'd. Best of luck to the hard throwing lefty.

- The Giants have expressed interest in Sac State's Gabe Jacobo, potentially as a fourth or fifth round pick. Jacobo's an athletic power hitter without a clear position - he was a prep shortstop before playing first in college.

- Define AAAA.

- Scary thought: "Hey kids, getting hurt's part of the game. And remember, one big stolen base does in fact a career make."

Discussion Junction (yeah I like that): With Randy Winn continuing to jack up his trade value and the young guys looking good, who do you think will be manning the Giants outfield on game 162?

???

Who were those guys?

Excuse my confusion, but those mysterious men in gray scored in double digits - for the first time all season. (They were the second to last to get there, however, with the Royals still reliably being the Royals.)

I gave Feliz-lite grief yesterday for his atrocious hitting with the bases loaded, but the team as a whole entered last night's play hitting .094 (3 for 32) in such situations. In yesterday's win, they went a blistering 3 for 4.

Jonathan Sanchez acting the part of poised pitcher while the opponent's starter repeatedly got rattled? You had to see it to believe it. In the words of Boch:

"He's just really growing as a pitcher. He had it all going tonight, and aside from the command, he was very composed. It's great to see how poised he has become."

Some great stuff from opposition press about the throttling the Giants delivered last night. Melvin calls it their worst loss of the year. Fantastic.

A legitimate leadoff hitter, cleanup hitter, and #5 hitter really does wonders for an offense. It's too much to ask that Bengie and Rowand keep up this whiffle ball streak, but it does underscore what the presence of one legitimate power bat could do for this team.

If only there was one available...

As for that #6 hitter - well, he had a good game, actually a good month, but I still say he kills any of our fathers if he gets a chance.

I can't wait until his value invariably bottoms out with a bottom injury and he gets traded for Shea Hillenbrand.

Some more good news: with yesterday's win, the Giants move to 5-3 and clinch a winning road trip.

Bad news: a suddenly decent Big Wet Rat takes the mound against Zito tonight.

More Trouble for Barry

Durham's back and hitting 7th.

In other news:

Superseding indictment breaks up perjury counts against Bonds

Translation: Barry's not out of the woods yet. Although the feds have offered no new allegations, four counts of perjury have been separated into fourteen.

I'm no lawyer, but if they couldn't nail him before, I don't think Barry and the Legal Defense All-Stars are suddenly sweating now. However, it probably diminishes what little chance we had in seeing Bonds in a Major League uniform ever again.

A sad epilogue continues. But I'd still rather be him than Clemens.

This is for you, Barry. Dated but awesome:

And for those of you who haven't seen that before, I kid you not, it's 100% real.

Pirates' Booty (Kicking)

"You can't stop Nate McClouth, you can only hope to contain Nate McClouth."
- Anonymous

An ugly loss tonight in which Dirty gave up seven runs on six hits (and three walks) in 4.1. True to form, Sanchez was graceful in defeat:

Sanchez wasn't happy with what he said was a too-flat PNC Park mound.

"I was trying to adjust, but I was leaving the ball up a lot the whole game. That's why I got hit," Sanchez said. "That's the worst mound I've ever pitched (on). It was flat."

Of course, graceful is a subjective term.

Brad Hennessey was predictably awful in relief, and prodigal son Jose Castillo did his best Pedro Feliz impression by smacking an utterly meaningless 3 run homer to cut the deficit to 8 in the 8th frame. Oh, and since the indomitable southpaw Zach Duke took the mound, Bruce Bochy decided to play the matchup game and sit team left-handed batting OPS leader (by a large margin) Fred Lewis for the equally indomitable Dan Ortmeier. Note that tonight was the beginning of a string of 6 straight games in which the Giants face lefties - and they only get better. Manager on down, a disgusting display all around.

All of a sudden, the Giants are looking down the barrel of three straight losses (and a potentially disastrous road trip) with Barry Zit0-6 making his triumphant return tomorrow night.

Worst of all, nobody even seems to care about this early May Giants-Pirates game tonight. I mean, it's not like Indiana has a baseball team or anything.

- The MLBPA is up to it's old tricks, as they launch an investigation into possible collusion by owners, citing the cases of future Hall of Famers Barry Bonds and Kenny Lofton, who remain unsigned.

Kenny Lofton is old. And not that good. And also not really a good clubhouse presence. So there's that.

On the other hand, although Bonds is old, he's also still pretty good. So what's the hangup? Let me point to the real world applicability of this situation:

Interviewer: "Well, you seem to have an impeccable track record, quite an impressive resume, indeed. What would your salary demands be?"

Interviewee: "Really, anything. I mean, you would think I'd command a premium salary, but try me. Seriously, lowball me if you like, my response may be surprising."

Interviewer: "That's very interesting to know. Before we proceed, is there anything further that may affect your work that you would like to disclose to Acme Corporation?"

Interviewee: "My teamwork issues aside - off the record, on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being intolerable and 10 being totally cool, what's your honest opinion of federal indictees cutting out of work early for their grand jury proceedings?"

Interviewer: "Thanks for stopping by."

Kreepy Korner Kurse Klifted

Ruminations on the paranormal aside, it appears that at least one of the inhabitants of Barry Lamar Bonds's former locker room estate has got it going, as Matt Cain finally picked up a win last night over the Rockies.

Cain was wildly effective (not in a good way, but not in a bad way, either) as he allowed five walks and four hits in 5.1 innings of shutout ball.

In other news, the offense (with this "hell, it's something different" lineup) managed a couple of timely bloops and bases loaded walks to make the goose egg stand.

But the real props, once again, have to go to the bullpen. Starting with The Incredible Chulk, who stranded both runners he inherited from Cainer with one out, through to the again impressive Tyler Walker and tentatively consistent Brian "Smile" Wilson, the Giants recorded their fourth shutout, all of them preserved by the bullpen.

And here's a telling, if not slightly dated, stat as to the bullpen's effectiveness so far this young season from Henry Schulman at the Chronicle:

The Giants lead the league with 90.2 percent of inherited runners stranded. In seven games through Wednesday, the bullpen allowed six runs in 252/3 innings, a 2.10 ERA.

Other quick hits:

- It's official, Barry Zito is the most expensive long reliever in history. For this year at the least, however, he is the second most expensive reliever overall - that title belongs to Mariano Rivera, who makes $15M to Zito's $14.5M. Yes, Zito's deal is backloaded.

- I hate to admit it, but Ray Durham is heating up, hitting .333 (10 for 30) in his last 10 games. However, he hasn't exactly been a run producer, knocking in just 2 runs in that time.

- On the flip side, John Bowker is officially in his first major league slump; his average is down to .224 after going 1 for his last 18.

- In ex-Giant news, Matt Morris may be done after his release from the Pirates. Always seemed like a good guy - as I've said before, I'm not going to fault someone for signing a ridiculous contract offer that they're not really worth. Sabean gave the guy a three year deal in 2005 when the Cardinals already thought he was done. Good work there. The silver lining for Morris is this may give him a head start on a new career.

Good luck, Matt - and keep us in mind if you need a coaching gig, our guy isn't cutting it (but that's a post for later).

- And finally, I'm sure you've seen it, but still, ewww.

What to do with Barry Zit0-6

Amid Bruce Bochy's strong insinuation after yesterday's abomination of a start that Barry Zito may be out of the rotation and off to the bullpen, DL, or somewhere else, the local press hits come rolling in.

(Photo courtesy The Snitch)

Rick Hurd of the Contra Costa Times believes it's all about confidence, pointing to Zito's shockingly recent excellence in the 2006 ALDS:

Trouble is when it goes missing, because it takes more than devouring videotape for mechanical flaws to get it back. Zito's lack of velocity and inability to command the zone may be killing him -- his eight-pitch leadoff walk to Jerry Hairston Jr. set the tone for a six-run, 39-pitch first inning -- but when Zito speaks of "not being aggressive, not attacking the strike zone, and not pitching to contact," it's worth wondering if his troubles may be originating elsewhere.

It would make sense, because self-confidence and success go together like the chicken and the egg, and right now, the wolf has invaded and eaten both.

"Obviously, it's not great," Zito said of his confidence. "But it's not bad, either. I know what I've done, and what I can do."

Lowell Cohen of the Press-Democrat has a good "Behind the Music" report of the clubhouse following yesterday's game:

It happened in the clubhouse after Zito had failed again - eight runs in three innings, an unacceptable start. Zito was getting ready to speak with the media. He didn't have to speak. He had been yanked from the game hours before and he could have gone home and no one would have blamed him. But he waited to answer all the tough questions because he sees that as part of his job. A public-relations man stopped him, said the manager wanted him.

Zito apologized to the writers and walked down the long hallway to the manager's office and walked in and shut the heavy door. Bochy told him the Giants are thinking of making a change with him, the pitcher with the third-largest total contract in baseball. Options include skipping a start, putting him in the bullpen or letting him take his next turn as usual.

Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News points to concerns, voiced by the ominous "Giants officials" about his mechanics and a possible too many chefs problem:

There was little new in Zito's analysis. He faulted himself for not being aggressive enough, but said he hasn't "delved into the intricacies" of why he has failed to do so.

Zito has consulted many pitching gurus throughout his life and Giants officials have felt at times that the left-hander had too many people whispering in his ear - especially when he arrived in spring camp last year with a totally new delivery that was soon scrapped.

But Zito said he is working only with Bochy, pitching coach Dave Righetti and bullpen coach Mark Gardner.

"I'm not going out there knocking down anyone's door looking for solutions," Zito said. "The solution is inside me and it's up to me to turn it around. Nobody can tell me a magic key that's going to turn it. It's me and my own will and my strength."

And crazy Uncle Scott Ostler believes it's something, ahem, supernatural?

It's hard to pinpoint what's wrong with Zito, but the answer could be as simple as: location, location, location.

Not the location of Zito's pitches, although that's a huge worry. The bigger problem might be the location of Zito's locker.

The row of four locker stalls along the north wall of the clubhouse, once the kingdom of Bonds, has become Kreepy Korner.

The other resident of the Korner is Matt Cain, who is 0-2.

Zito and Cain, the Giants' Nos. 1 and 2 pitchers, have started 11 games and have a combined 0-8 record.

Actually, got to give Ostler some props there - he's got a point.

Dare we utter the unfathomable, though? That perhaps, belying his sweet demeanor and leadership role, that there's something else going on with Zito? There haven't been too many cases where a pitcher suddenly loses MPHs off his fastball at the age of 29.

Personally, I don't believe that Zito messed with PEDs, but it's only a matter of time before someone does voice that concern, media personality or otherwise. This contract is gathering steam in the national media as one of the worst ever, and speculation about the whereabouts of Zito's fastball will only escalate.

Unfortunately, it seems that the trials and tribulations of one Barry that seemed to drag down this team have been replaced by the trials and tribulations of another. Will this have a similar effect the team? And what do you think is up with Zit0-6?

Five Things

Being a recent East Coast transplant, my love of the Giants is treated by quizzical looks. Looks that scream "why would you follow THAT team? They don't win, they're poorly managed, and they don't even have their own network!"

Of course, these people don't quite understand the nuanced approach associated with rooting for your home team blindly, regardless of their highs and lows, and prefer to follow the closest team with a recent World Series title, if not the cleverest marketing strategy.

That being said, an associate has requested a primer on Los Gigantes in advance of possibly advancing them as his primary NL team. So, I present to him, in an open letter on OBnB:

"Five Things You Need to Know About the San Francisco Giants"

1. Remember entitlement? Fuhgeddaboutit.

Many teams win World Series. One every year, in fact. Contrary to popular opinion among Giants fans, many fans of other teams remember their last World Series victory. The oft-repeated sentiment of fans of teams that aren't very good is "well, one of these days they'll recreate that magic they had that glorious season." They may be an Angels fan, or a Royals fan, perhaps an Orioles fan.

As a San Francisco Giants fan, that glimmer of hope doesn't exist. We don't feel entitled because, well, you need to feel like things go well for you, sometimes, to be entitled. When things are going well, you need to replace your feelings of cocksureness with those of impending nausea and possible diarrhea. Things don't go well for the San Francisco Giants - it's an objective historical fact.

This run of failure is not an anomaly since the last great achievement. This is the norm.

(Note to Cubs fans: Losing is kinda your thing - it actually makes you who you are. I mean, at least your team gets the "loveable loser" tag. We're kind of the loser that no one really likes, the one who hangs out under the bleachers, biding his time before the next crop of girls come by playing his own derivation of solitaire with Magic cards.)

2. Peter Magowan DID NOT save the San Francisco Giants

Peter Magowan is portrayed by national media types (national including the Bay Area sports media, which is largely unimpressive) as the grocer mogul/Brooks Brothers "senior gentleman" model who stopped the team from moving to Tampa Bay by making a last minute push to acquire the team and keep them in San Francisco.

That's not what happened. Owners blocked the move, led by those from the Dodgers and the Padres as to not threaten regional rivalries and overtax players with multiple cross-country odysseys for interdivision play every year. When the owners vetoed the deal, Magowan and Co. got the team at a discounted rate like a fat guy at an after Thanksgiving turkey sale.

3. Brian Sabean is wrong

He just is.

See: Zito, Barry; Pierzynski, A.J.; Perez, Neifi; Tucker, Michael/1st Round Pick

4. Barry Bonds is not evil, he's just the bestest steroid user ever

Villify him as long as you recognize that, fundamentally, he's no different than Rick Ankiel, Mark McGwire, Andy Pettite, and any host of busted users.

And shut up with your asterisk - you don't think just as many pitchers were juicing?

We're not proud of it just like the rest of fans are not proud of the era. Guess we'll live with it just the way we did with segregated baseball, rampant amphetamine use, and players gambling on their own games.

5. Embrace the anger

This team will make you angry. It's an organizational philosophy, from top to bottom, to mismanage, mangle, and in all other ways snatch failure from the jaws of success at all possible points. We're talking ownership, personnel decisions, gameday management, players, minors, the whole goddamned ship.

If you care, this will make you angry. Learn to channel that as it can be a powerful force. Last year, I got so angry after a terrible loss, I crocheted a replica of the roof of the Sistine Chapel - in one night, WITHOUT the aid of crack.

*******************

If I think of more, I'll post them. In the meantime, what does the average OBnB reader think? What advice would you give to an aspiring Giants fan? Leave a comment.