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?

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!

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?

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.

Washed Up Major Leaguers Seek Brains

A hopeful start by the youth-infused lineup is once again obliterated by a haggard bullpen.

But I'm sure you all are more ticked at something else:

LaTroy Freaking Hawkins.

I can't even believe he has a job. But, of course, he picks up the W, joining the likes of Chan Ho Park, Jason Johnson and Mike Hampton as baseball zombies who have feasted on the collective ineptitude of this meek, meek franchise.

And now, without further ado, your midday roundup.

Snark Alert: I really debated kicking this guy while he's down. But, ultimately, I decided to be the smaller, more petty person.

Jose Castillo (remember him?) had a bit of a reputation as a malcontent on his previous stops on his DFA Tour of the NL. So while John Bowker was nothing but classy in accepting his assignment to Fresno, what did Castillo have to say?

"I'm not happy," he said. "I'm surprised. I think I played good for this team. It was the first year I played third base."

Well, in addition to the fact that Shrekstillo made more than a few of his appearances at third with the Pirates last year, I'd like to pose this question to Jose: what, exactly, is your definition of "good"? Does it include an assessment of a .191 average post-All Star Break?

Add "delusional" to the list of colorful adjectives you may already ascribe to Jose.

Cold-Blooded: The Giants cost Geno Espineli his Olympic dreams by calling him up just ahead of the games in Beijing.

So it makes perfect sense that they would send him down just as Olympic baseball heats up. Matt Palmer is the beneficiary of Sabean's ice cold trigger finger, in a move that presumably covers the Giants if they need long-relief or spot start in the dog days.

Prospect Bonanza Continued: Baggarly (who's on a roll, I must say) reports that the Giants inked intriguing 13th-rounder Juan Carlos Perez. The D2 outfielder slipped because of visa issues, but you can't argue with the numbers. This is what Baseball America had to say:

Perez put up the craziest statistics in the state. Playing at hitter-friendly Western Oklahoma JC, he set Division II junior college records with 37 homers (one short of the overall juco mark) and 102 RBIs while batting .465 with a 1.102 slugging percentage. While his stats might be inflated, the 6-foot, 185-pounder has legitimate tools. He has a sound swing with bat speed and easy power, average speed and arm strength, and a chance to play center field. The bigger issues with Perez are his age (he'll be 22 in November) and his immigration status. A Dominican, he stayed in the United States after his original tourist visa expired, which could prevent him from gaining a work visa to play pro ball. If he gets his paperwork, he could go in the first 10 rounds.

Baggs, meanwhile, makes a comparison with this guy.

From your mouth to God's ears, Andy.

Contract Talk: A quick primer for those of you who are wondering what the difference between a major league contract (which Buster Posey signed) and a minor league contract, the more traditional contract for draftees.

Essentially, a major league contract is guaranteed, and the signee is eligible for the minimum required salary of a major leaguer, which is set at $390K this year.

Perez, for example, will get his bonus money, but will be salaried at a minor league level, which is generally peanuts at the lower levels, and, um, cashews once you work your way up.

Look Out, Earthquakes: James at A Giants Minor League Blog (a nice recent complement to the already excellent Giants blogosphere) proposes a very interesting, and likely, scenario for the Single-A Giants next spring:

Various baseball people have been musing about whether or not Conor Gillaspie should be moved to second. Here’s one reason why it might not happen. It is likely that he will begin next year on the San Jose roster with Nick Noonan who is limited to only second base. There has been some talk that Noonan might be promoted straight to Connecticut but that’s absolutely crazy. Unless Noonan makes huge strides in plate discipline this offseason, sending him to Connecticut is just setting him up to fail. So, it is likely that the San Jose roster next year will consist of Angel Villalona at 1B, Nick Noonan at 2B, Conor Gillaspie at 3B, and Buster Posey at C. That’s a hell of an infield. Madison Bumgarner will also be on that team.

So, come '09, there could very well be a dominant Giants ballclub - you'll just have to head further down 280 to find it.

Comment! Freak excluded, who is your favorite current Giant? Tough, isn't it?

DING DONG, CASTILLO'S DFA'D (And Everyone's Up)

Well, how about that for a move? (From Baggs)

Huge, huge shift today. The Giants have a whole new corner infield. John Bowker and Steve Holm were optioned to Fresno and Jose Castillo was designated for assignment. Rohlinger, a third baseman, comes from Double-A Connecticut along with Sandoval, who can catch and play first base. Ishikawa was lighting it up at Triple-A Fresno. He switches spots with Bowker, who was hitting .154 since the All-Star break.

Wow, is it me or did it just get a whole lot less suck in here?

Okay, I'm not going to go overboard, but this is a big day for the youth movement. We could conceivably see this lineup tonight:

RF Winn

2B Burriss

LF Lewis

CF Rowand

1B Ishikawa

C Sandoval

3B Rohlinger

SS Ochoa

What a difference a day makes.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go scrub OBnB of any acknowledgment of the existence of Shrekstillo. (Prances off, giggling.)

UPDATE (3:33PM): And, in typical Giants fashion, the only one of the trio to get the start is Rohlinger, who is penciled in at third and batting second tonight. Even Omar, God bless him, is playing.

WTF Is Going On? (UPDATED)

With a big shoutout to OBnB associate J2X, rumor has it Connecticut third baseman Ryan Rohlinger, not Travis Ishikawa or Pablo Sandoval will get the callup.

At this point, it only seems to be corroborated by a few posters at McCovey Chronicles.

[UPDATE (1:34PM): Brewercentric has posted a story from the exceedingly creditable PrepsOnTheNet. Still, it looks like Rohlinger is indeed a San Francisco Giant. In case you're wondering, Milwaukeeans are interested in this story as Rohlinger's a Wisconsin product.

The question remains: who goes down, or out? I imagine management makes space for Rohlinger on the 40 man by putting Merkin Valdez on the 60 day DL.]

Rohlinger could conceivably supplant Feliz Lite, a thought that sends shivers up my fandom-ravaged spine.

But he also plays second base, a position of great depth but a lot of perceived necessity, as Grant so eloquently stated a week ago.

Rohlinger, 24, hasn't put up eye-popping numbers this year in either Single-A San Jose or in Norwich, but he has shown a propensity to take a pitch, a rarity in this brain-dead hacker breeding farm system. Granted, I'd rather see this guy trot out to third at this point than Castillo.

So how does this relate to John Bowker, who was the presumptive sacrificial lamb? Unclear, unless the Giants are about to make a move, or three, that no one saw coming.

Or it could all be a hoax. Stay tuned, folks.

Freak Is Fine, Giants Still Suck; Bye Bye Bowker?

From Extra Baggs:

He’s OK, according to his agent, and expects to make his next start. The liner hit him on the tibia just below the knee. Bad bruise. You may breathe normally now.

Well [gasp] said.

Give [gasp] me [gasp] one [gasp] second.

Okay, now, in case you passed out and/or blacked out the rest of the game, I'm sure you assumed, correctly, that the other, less talented, Giants lost...badly.

Which means it's time for, you guessed it, a reactionary move!

Once again, from the always intrepid Andrew Baggarly:

All signs point to Bowker going down

Once I noticed that Travis Ishikawa wasn’t in the lineup for Fresno tonight at Portland, I went into a whirlwind trying to figure out whether he was on his way to Houston. (Late update: He pinch-hit in extra innings, so no, he wasn’t enjoying a bag of peanuts on the first Southwest flight to Houston Hobby.)

But there are indications that something is coming, as they say. For one, Brian Sabean showed up today. Demoting John Bowker is a fairly significant move given the tenor of this Giants season. It’s certainly a call that the GM wouldn’t want to make from afar. Plus, when you break the news to a player with Bowker’s potential future role in the organization, it’s probably best that the GM is in the room.

Add to that Bruce Bochy’s non-denial….”We’re talking about it” … and even with the roof closed at Minute Maid Park, you could tell which way the wind is blowing.

To me, the decision isn’t whether to send down Bowker but whether to replace him with Ishikawa or Pablo Sandoval. (I checked, and yes, Sandoval played for Connecticut tonight.)

So, though it looks like nothing is immediate, there's a good chance we'll see some type of transaction this series.

Optioning Bowker would be a blow for the half-assed youth movement for this franchise - the kid came up with a bang and had a very solid first two months in the big leagues. Right now, though, he's in a 9 for 75 slide, and sounds pretty lost in his approach.

However, the real impetus for a switch would not simply be to get Bowker some pressure-free regular ABs in the minors, but the lights-out hitting of prospect-turned-has-been-turned-prospect-again Ishikawa. Most of you remember him as a smooth fielding first baseman who had a cup of coffee with the 2006 team, only to regress and find himself in Single-A last year. But this year's been a different story altogether:

Travis Ishikawa is hitting .312 with 16 homers and 46 RBIs since his June promotion from Double-A. Ishikawa, 24, played 12 games for the 2006 Giants, backtracked last year when he was demoted to Class A San Jose (in part because of injuries) but re-emerged as a viable prospect this year.

In his first eight games of August, he hit seven homers. Of his 53 hits, 38 have gone for extra bases. Counting his stats from Double-A and Triple-A, he has 24 homers and 94 RBIs, numbers that he didn't come close to producing in any of his first six years of pro ball.

Although most local scribes feel Sando-Yeti is in the mix for a call-up, Ishikawa, who is the same age as Bowker, makes a lot more sense, both because of his fielding prowess at first as well as the logical development curve of the 21 year old Sandoval.

Then again, who said logic plays a part in any of these moves?

Carney and Manny On the plus side, Manny Burriss appears to be in the team's long term plans. But Carney Lansford thinks that he needs to spend a lot of extra time this off-season hitting from the left side. Looking at the stats, he's got a point.

AuRayLia? In the above pieces, both Baggarly and John Shea speculate that, with All-Star rookie sensation Evan Longoria out, the Rays may have an interest in Rich Aurilia. Don't know if this is a case of two reporters echoing one another's idea or an actual corroboration of a legitimate rumor, but it's worth noting.

Henry Schulman, however, appears to be plum crazy.

Who's Afraid Of Jim and Randy Wolf? For the second time this year, the Giants faced Randy Wolf while his brother, Jim, umped. Pardon me, Mr. Selig, but it would seem that with the less than holy officiating going on throughout the sports world, there would be a provision that would recuse said umpire from umping his kid brother's games.

Arms Race On a positive note, the Giants farm system has talented pitchers coming out of their ears these days. You've all heard of Madison Bumgarner (who had another magnificent start Saturday) and Tim Alderson, both '07 first rounders.

But two other heralded prospects shined on Monday:

Three left-handers in the Giants organization took no-hitters into the sixth inning Monday night. Jonathan Sanchez's effort at Houston was the most conspicuous, but he was joined by San Jose's Clayton Tanner and Augusta's Scott Barnes on the Class A level.

Gillaspie Shines And finally, while Buster Posey remains unsigned ahead of tomorrow's deadline, Conor Gillaspie has had a hot start in the Arizona Rookie League, driving in 7 runs in his first 20 PAs to go along with a .316 average.

Taking the liberty of speaking for all Giants fans, when it comes to third base, this is our most desperate hour. Help us, Obi-Con; you're our only hope.

Comment! Which youngster will make the biggest splash for the Giants?

TD Minus 6 Hours (Now With Live Blogging!)

Let's get this out of the way first: I hope you'll excuse me for my Oedipus eyes after watching Benedict Davis throw out the first pitch out in a DODGERS JERSEY.

What's worse, though, is he could have stayed on the mound and dominated this lineup. Instead, the most talented youngster Chad Billingsley did the honors, finishing off a series victory for Captain Colletti's Band o' Men.

More importantly, we're now six hours away from the non-waiver trade deadline and all sorts of interesting things are happening:

~ Manny Ramirez may be heading to the Marlins in a three-team blockbuster, although time is working against the principals.

The rumored deal would send Ramirez to Florida, Marlins outfielder Jeremy Hermida to Pittsburgh and Pirates outfielder Jason Bay to Boston, with all other pieces still to be worked out.

~ An agreement has been reached to send Ken Griffey, Jr. to the Chicago White Sox. Now Griffey, having 10-and-5 veto rights, needs to okay the deal.

~ The Yankees decided that they're the Yankees so they went ahead and bought an overpaid mercenary to replace the injured Jorge Posada.

~ And, as you all know, stars such as Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia have already been moved.

Oh, wait, I'm sorry, you wanted Giants deadline news?

Well, I'm not in the business of fabricating, but I hear Brian Sabean is working the lines hard to rid Bill Neukom of contracts to fund a San Francisco production of No, No, Nanette.

Okay, there's one piece of gossip that has the Twins looking into acquiring Rich Aurilia. Although the Twins have been rumored to be using Boof Bonser (as in the third pitcher the Giants sent to the Twins in the...wait, seriously, you don't know this story?) as trade bait, don't really see how a Rich for Boof deal makes much sense - principally, because I don't know how Rich is worth that much.

It looks like everyone, from the Marlins to the Phillies to the Tigers to the Cardinals, have rumored interest in Jack Taschner.

And the Bengie Molina to the Marlins for Mike Jacobs talk has officially reached the players' ears:

Jacobs, who has 22 home runs, said he wouldn't be surprised if he is dealt to the Giants for catcher Bengie Molina.

It's no secret the Marlins have coveted Molina, who would solidify their catcher position.

Jacobs said he caught wind on Tuesday that he could be headed to San Francisco. So when he was removed after six innings, he wondered in the dugout if he was about to be dealt.

"It crossed my mind," Jacobs said after the Marlins edged the Mets, 7-5, on Wednesday. "Nobody said anything to me."

Jacobs's average be damned, I will never ask for anything again if Sabean pulls the trigger on that deal, pulls a rabbit out of his hat and trades Randy Winn for a Crazy Crab bobblehead and moves John Bowker to right.

But, because I just said it combined with the fact that it makes perfect sense, absolutely none of those things will happen.

Baggarly weighs in. Did you know that The Franchise is half Filipino?

Oh, and don't worry, Balloonhead Bochy ain't sweatin' it - he's going fishing with Felipe.

[9:01AM]: ESPN's Jerry Crasnick is saying that Molina won't be dealt. I'm going to choose to believe that Crasnick is a damned dirty liar - at least for four hours.

[10:07AM]: Scratch the Marlins off Taschner's possible destination list - they just traded for 68 year old lefty Arthur Rhodes.

[11:18AM]: Schulman opines that nothing's brewing but has this tidbit (that I won't let myself believe):

By the way, a source told me that the Twins do want a second baseman, and the Giants and Twins have been talking. Despite denials by Brian Sabean and Bruce Bochy, they might have stuck Jose Castillo at second base throughout the Dodgers series to showcase him for Minnesota. You'll know Friday when you see who's at second base agains San Diego.

[11:34AM]: There have been some rumblings of the Giants' potential interest in Adrian Beltre, but it doesn't appear talks are going anywhere.

Looks like one of those "one man's crap is another's (salary) dump" kind of things (I really need to start laying off the poop jokes).

[1:30PM]: The deadline passed a half hour ago and there seems to be nothing doing. Deals can be announced much after the fact, but that would be giving this front office the benefit of the doubt. And that's just stupid.

Comment! Open deadline thread engage!

Silver Lining-Free Zone

I'm sure you're all aware of the skeletal plot of a contrived sports movie: a team of scrappy unheralded players perseveres through a period of complete incompetence, meeting the expectations of every outsider, only to band together and prove that the sum is greater than the value of its parts, leading to a sappy and painfully predictable ending.

This Giants team is the antithesis of that. Except you have the same general disregard you did for these guys as you did for the duration of Air Bud: Seventh Inning Fetch.

The Giants, from the top levels of management down, demise into preseason expectations is officially complete. Let's count the ways, shall we?

The Lineup: You all remember Jason Johnson, right? Oh wait, why should you? Quick refresher: the guy was a craptastic pitcher for the Orioles in the late 90s and early 2000s before eventually pitching his way out of the MLB and onto the Seibu Lions last year.

So, obviously, he shuts the Giants down for six.

To add insult to injury, Chan Ho Park came into relieve and also proceed to do away with the lineup in a cruel and efficient manner.

Don Drysdale was up in the ninth, but I can only assume Joe Torre, classy guy that he is, spared us his wrath.

Brian Sabean: He actually sold a part in Ray Durham, so there's that. And it doesn't look like he wants to buy, which is okay.

But for Ganesha's sake, snippets like these make me want to unleash the lunatic inside:

Sabean will listen to offers for Molina and Winn, but the Giants would have to win the deal. In other words, the Giants would have to receive, for openers, a young position player who could fill a glaring need. In the Giants' case, that is power. As Sabean said on his radio show Thursday, "I personally don't see those deals out there."

I'll forgo the outrage bit and simply state this opinion: I would trade Molina and Winn (and their 2009 contracts) for Pablo Sandoval and Nate Schierholtz in a heartbeat.

If anyone's offering a the Air Bud Trilogy for the entirety of their contracts, please just do it now.

But then, to destroy my spirit even more, Schulman weighs in with this:

"I think you have to be open minded because of the division we're in," Sabean said Tuesday.

[Snip.]

[In relation to Molina] The Marlins are said to be dangling first baseman Mike Jacobs, who has 22 home runs this year. John Bowker, at 24 is three years younger and, in the Giants' eyes, could become a better hitter than Jacobs.

Meanwhile, teams are stepping up conversations about left-handed reliever Jack Taschner, but again, the Giants are reluctant to deal a commodity - namely, a left-handed setup man whom the team can control for the next three years - that would not be easily replaced.

Really? Think we're all set at first with Bowker (who I love)? Not worth taking on a 27 year old plus power corner infielder who has more than twice as many homers as anyone else on our team in an extreme pitchers park?

Oh, don't know if you forgot, but John Bowker is an OUTFIELDER!

Better get used to this bunch of clowns.

And finally...

Bruce Bochy: That's right, I've turned. Jose Castillo, after doing his best Chuck Knoblauch on Monday, was out there again last night. Bochy's defense?

"We want to take somewhat of a look at him," Bochy said.

[Snip]

"I like the way he swings the bat," Bochy said.

Schulman puts it more bluntly:

Jose Castillo started at second base for the second straight game. Manager Bruce Bochy said the Giants want to evaluate him as a potential second baseman for the future.

Translation? The 2009 Bruce Bochy-led Giants will live and die by Shrekstillo.

It is an absolute disgrace that our team has once again been hijacked by a huge headed BB. Taking a look at a repeated failure like Jose Castillo while Manny Burriss toils on the bench? Hell, I'm not the biggest Eugenio Velez booster, but at least he hasn't been released by the Pirates and the Marlins.

I almost wish that Bochy copped to showcasing Castillo rather than implying that he's a part of this team's future. The Giants picked this guy up off waivers mere days before the start of the season because, lo and behold, Sabean had done nothing to address the position after the departure of Pedro Feliz.

That's like being forced to lick a piece of dog poop by the local bully, deciding it doesn't taste as bad as you thought, and making it a part of your regular diet.

(Yeah, the 12 year old in all of you should probably check out Step Brothers if you haven't already.)

I can't even look at these guys right now.

Oh yeah, the Giants lost.

Down for Keeps

Not sure how many of you had younger siblings, but I clearly remember getting an extra piece of candy and dangling over my baby brother's head, just high enough for to him reach if he jumped to get it.  Leap he did, hand outstretched clutching for this tiny piece of concentrated happiness.  As soon as he reached the apex of his jump, the fun-size bar was magically yanked out of the range of his grasp, and he descended back to Earth empty-handed and crestfallen.

No, kids.  That douchey big brother isn't Eric Roberts, it's the Giants bullpen stealing joy from the hands of Giants fans everywhere.  Each time the boys in blue hats (not the Cubs in this case) clawed their way back into the game, our illustrious relievers seemed to wag a Dikembe-sized finger in our collective face.

In the sixth inning, with the Giants trailing 3-0, John Bowker clobbered a 2-run shot that ended up swimming in the Bay to bring the Giants within one. [JUMP]

However, in the top of the seventh, Sergio Romo and a no-throw by starting catcher Eliezer Alfonzo conspired to allow two runs to score on a Soto single.  All of a sudden, it was once again a three-run deficit. [YOINK]

Then, in an exciting turn of events, the Giants got a little two-out magic when  Ray Durham (3-for-4, 3 RBI, 2 runs) snuck a shot over the right field wall to tie the game at five apiece. [JUMP]

Unfortunately for the guys in mismatched hats, Mike Fontenot, a lefty who weighs 160 lbs soaking wet, somehow managed to muscle a Tyler Walker fastball over the green tin roof in right to put the Cubs up by one going into the bottom of the eighth. [YOINK]

The rest, as they say, is history as the Giants four, five, and six hitters went up-n-down in the bottom of the inning, quieting the good half of the crowd.  Though a glimmer of hope did shine on a two-out, pinch-hit triple by Jose "Shrek" Castillo in the bottom of nine [JUMP], Freddie Lewis snuffed it when he struck out looking to end the game [YOINK].

This has to be one of the most frustrating losses of the season.  Just ask Kevin Correia, who looked good enough to win through 6.1 innings and still took the no-decision.  Just ask Ray-Ray who wants to win and look good doing it so he can get traded to a contender.  Just ask AaRow, who has shaved 52 points off his average in the last 26 games.  Hell, ask the whole team, as they've now lost 16 of their last 20 at home.

At least when I was growing up, I was the big brother and got to enjoy this sort of torture.  Now it seems all too painful.

ZitOptimistic?

Did this actually work, or was it a coincidence? Was Barry Zito actually throwing his fastball in the high 80s, or was the Cleveland gun hot? Or is it simply that the Indians offense truly sucks?

I hesitate to dare say it, but Zito looked, well, good.

No walks in his longest outing of the year. Getting ahead of hitters, pitching economically, and being aggressive with his suddenly average fastball.

And he (and the Giants) gets the deserved win.

I'm no sucker for these supposed glimmers of hope, I'll have the record show. So I'm loathe to buy into the notion that lightning struck and Dave Righetti somehow turned around Barry Zito's career.

But I can't be sure that he didn't, either.

Be sure to congratulate him.

- Despite not being called up until the middle of April and having roughly 80 less ABs than most regulars, John Bowker has pulled into a tie for the team lead in homers with 8.

- And in today's feel good story, Omar Vizquel got a hit!

Giants Offense: We Don't Get Weekends Off?

So Timmy has finally met his match. Fortunately (at least for the time being), the Giants will face Marcus Thames every three years or so.

But despite Thames's two bombs (which increased Lincecum's home runs allowed for the year by 40%) and a season-high four runs allowed, the Giants bail Timmy out and, after losing their past six in interleague play, get an elusive triumph over the Junior Circuit.

As many AL fans have found out, the Tigers, for all their offense and decent starting pitching, have been largely done in by their 28th ranked bullpen.

As Freddy Dolsi (yes, the Freddy Dolsi) and Fernando Rodney coughed up what was a solid performance by Detroit fireballer Justin Verlander, I could only hope and pray that Brian Sabean had used his rotund frame to corner Detroit GM Dave Dombrowski and convince him that Tyler Walker had some combination of traits that included "upside," "track record," and "big-boned."

Props to Freddy for another solid game with the homer and three RBIs. And, of course, big ups to Bam Bam Bowker.

Speaking of, in watching Bowker these past few weeks, I've been curious as to why his line (.269, 6 HR, 25 RBI) seemed just a bit low to me, considering how well he's stroked the ball for the better part of a month now.

Luckily, over at the absolutely fantastic blog Bay City Ball, Chris looked into this notion using things like numbers. He originally wrote this piece a week ago, when Bowker was sub-.250:

To figure this out I checked John Bowker’s FanGraphs stats page and noticed something, he’s hitting a bunch of line drives. In 154 PA’s this year, Bowker’s LD% is at 26.4% which is very solid. Check out the leaders in the National League for LD%.

(Snip)

Of course, 150 PA’s is a small-ish sample size but John Bowker is hitting line drives on par with Chipper Jones. Why are line drives such a good thing? Because of the three types of contact a hitter can make — groundball, flyball, and line drive — the line drive is the best type because they fall for hits 75% of the time. Hitters that hit a bunch of line drives tend to have high averages and good seasons.

(Snip)

To answer my question, yes, John Bowker has been a little unlucky this year. He’s hitting a ton of line drives and that’s always a good thing for hitters. If he can keep his LD% fairly high, you should start to see his overall numbers improve. Hopefully the Giants will keep sending him out there because he’s squaring up nicely on some balls right now. Keep an eye on Bowker.

Today, Chris writes:

A little over a week ago I wrote a post trying to answer the question of, has John Bowker been unlucky so far this year? The basis of my argument was that he’s hitting a ton of line drives and his BABIP was very low for someone that’s hitting line drives almost a quarter of the time. When I made the post, Bowker was hitting (.248/.299/.411) with a BABIP of .280. A week later, his line has improved to (.273/.320/.460) with a BABIP of .314.

What’s the difference between this week and last? Nothing. Bowker is still hitting line drives at a great rate but the difference is that they are going for hits. Line drives fall for hits 75% of the time and Bowker was running into a little bit of bad luck previously. I love this quote from him in the recap from SFGiants.com on his approach.

“It’s a big park, but you can’t let it mess with you,” Bowker said. “You have to hit line drives. Line drives are still hits.”

The Giants need to keep playing Bowker at first base against righties. I even wouldn’t mind seeing the Giants give Bowker some AB’s against left handed pitching, either. Great game from Bowker and it was good to see him have some good luck. His first two hits on the night were line drives that he stung.

Yes, Chris is good.

- In today's piece, he also opines that now that Willie Randolph and Rick Peterson, among others, have been mercifully canned, there is little reason to the Giants to try and nab Peterson to simply fix Zito. Zito, he says, is not the same pitcher he was in Oakland.

I agree wholeheartedly. But, like I said on Friday, I'd pick Peterson up because he's a good pitching coach and would probably improve our staff as a whole. The fact that he may be the only guy who has the ability to help Zito is icing on the cake.

- Although Brian Wilson surrendered two runs in a laborious ninth, it was strangely reassuring to me: Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera, arguably the two best closers of all time, are historically worse in non-save situations. And Brian seems to be following suit.

Now, I can hear many of you saying: "Well, Brian Wilson ain't Trevor Hoffman or Mariano Rivera."

My response is: "Well, that may be true, but your parents never loved you."

Thanks and come again soon!

Nickname Contest Winner

"Brian Wilson's gone servin', servin' U a K."
A 5-2 road trip after the boys salvage a win in a wild one at Coors.

Our favorite Beach Boy closer converts his 10th consecutive save in a 1-2-3 fashion, two outs being of the K variety. He's hasn't allowed a hit to his last 22 hitters and in the entire month of June.

It puts an exclamation mark on the terrific handiwork on the Giants bullpen, which goes 4 innings, allowing no runs and collecting 8 Ks. Extra kudos to Billy Sadler, who gets 4 of his 6 outs on swinging strikeouts and is settling in nicely at the big league level, as well as Keiichi Yabu, who bails Sadler and Taschner out of a basesloaded jam in the 7th. Yabusan secures redemption for last night in short order.

Fred Lewis's monster homer further proves the notion that he has no problems with high altitude.

The offense was very comfortable overall, as Bowker collects three hits, and a vintage Richie and Ray Durham collect two hits apiece.

As a hitter, Dirty liked Coors Field plenty. Unfortunately, the hitters he faced liked it just as much today. Tough outing for him, but in spite of allowing 7 runs in 5 innings, he gets the win. Somewhere, Matt Cain is stabbing himself with a fork.

And a (begrudging) congrats to Ray Durham, who gets his 2,000th career hit.

ThursdRay Discussion: If Ray keeps it up, what do you look for the Giants to fetch on the open market? Do you think they should trade him at all?

And how's that for a Wilson nickname?

Beltway Bowker Display

See the added spring in the Giants step? Haven't they looked like a different team? Like the ones we grew accustomed to for a short time in the early 2000s?

That's all me.

OBnB runs up its record to 3-0 yesterday and today with two more browbeatings of the Nationals in steamy DC.

(And special thanks to the OBnB fairy godmother for the awesome photos this weekend. The Fred Lewis action shot is classic. Check out all her great photos here.)

Evidently, there's a team in the NL that not only has an inferior offense to the Giants, but actually makes the G-Men look competent. Without Ryan Zimmerman, the Nats don't have a single hitter that scares you. A friend who is a Nats die-hard (yes, they do exist) told me he would kill for Randy Winn. Seriously.

Of course, after scoring 1 run in 18 innings, Zito spotted the Nats 3 runs (and 11 baserunners) in 5 innings of sloppy work. But, like him, I'll take his second win of the season.

Big props to Jon Sanchez for his stellar performance last night and the suddenly reliable Giants offense. Gotta say, we have a few hitters that make this lineup respectable.

If only they could play on the road all the time...

Notes from the stands:

- Nats fans (and soon everyone else) are legitimately scared of John Bowker. Awesome.

- Neglected to mention this in my Friday recap, but Manny Burriss has received a warm reception by Washingtonians - he is the first D.C. ballplayer to reach the majors in 38 years.

Got a chance to give (an obviously ecstatic) Burriss family my congrats. Pretty cool.

I can't wait to see them next season when he's starting at short. Just work with me.

- Freddy was warming up with a visibly warm Bill Hayes (the Giants bullpen catcher) before the 6th when Fred decided to throw him a curve (literally and figuratively), which he consequently missed. Fred was dying.

- The difference in velocity between Zito and every other reliever is a strategic silver lining to every one of his starts. The Nats were behind every fastball when Nolan Taschner came in in the 6th.

- In spite of his continued run of nice hitting, Ray Durham's complete lack of effort in the field (particularly when he failed to cover first in the second) stokes the passion of my playa-hatred.

Best quote: "Hey Ray, the inning's started!"

- Schedule permitting, I'll be there for Cainer's start tomorrow and will try to add a few more photos to the album.

Go to the Giants @ Nats Album!

Where Have You Gone, Jack Thomas?

You just had to know that former mercenary Giant Jose Cruz, Jr., entering the series in a 3 for 37 slump, would hurt us before the series was over. He did, as did Sir Lance Berkman and Keiichi Yabu's throw to the ghost of J.T. Snow, leading to a late 7 runs for the Astros and a 7-3 margin.

Ugly loss in another game in which the Giants were in the driver's seat. Also disconcerting: after sitting for a week with forearm tightness, Merkin Valdez did not look like his dominant April self, setting the table for the decisive Houston rally in the eighth. Everyone send good vibes to the oft-injured Valdez.

Ugh.

Let's focus on the positives the rest of the way, shall we?

- By Zito's standards, a decent start: his first quality start of the year as well as his first no-decision - baby steps, people. As the 'Stros showed, Zito's a guy without an out pitch. To his credit, he's been a better pitcher in his last two starts. The Zit's heeding Rags' advice to pitch as if the extra 5 MPHs aren't coming back and in the process, he's looking eerily similar to Kirk Rueter: relying on changing speeds and location, throwing any pitch on any count from the arsenal of the 84MPH fastball, the change and the hook.

It's not pretty, but, as we are painfully aware, it could be much worse.

- Bowker's recent run of good hitting was lacking in much power until last night's fourth inning shot off Roy Oswalt. Most encouraging is that JB hit a pretty good curveball over the brick facade. And once again, man continues to show leather at his home of, oh, a few weeks at first. Guy's bounced back and is now looking like a big part of the future.

- As OBnB Godfather Jeremy pointed out, FLew lost the compact swing that served him well in April once he picked up a Splash Hit last homestand. Slump ensues as longswingitis sets in. Carney calls it, and Lewis started cooking again - another reason to like the new coach.

- And finally, I know I've been harping on his decline, but Vizquel has come back from the DL and has hit the ball hard. Even better, he's doing his best Jake Taylor as I spotted him giving pointers to Manny Burriss (who started at second) throughout the game. That's good stuff.

Clutch Holmer

Steve Holm gets it done in relief of Big Money as his 2-run homer (the first of his ML career) in the bottom of the seventh helps the Giants nab the rubber match and return the favor to the Phillies.

Awesome story for the local boy. The former backup to Justin Knoedler in Single-A San Jose has looked the part in the majors coming off an improbable upset in an open battle for the backup job in spring training.

On the other hand, Jose Castillo celebrated the return of Pedro Feliz by doing his best impression, hitting into 3 double plays (two on the first pitch and two with the bases loaded) before lining a triple in a completely no-pressure situation leading off the eighth. (Unsurprisingly, he was subsequently stranded by Vizquel, Aurilia and Lewis). His struggles epitomize the Giants biggest downfall so far this season: not cashing in on baserunners. Team batting with RISP? .237.

Dirty continues to struggle as he allows three in a very wild 4.1 IPs. Also troubling: Sanchez's inability to control his emotions - a good example being his failure to cover first on a helluva diving play by John Bowker.

However, the bullpen does the job - a scoreless 4.2IPs as Sadler looks like he belongs, and Taschner, Walker, and Wilson throw a scoreless inning apiece, all without much drama. Special shoutouts to Walker, who bounces back from a recent hard-luck patch, and Wilson, who gets Burrell back with a Nen-esque series of sliders to get the 9th inning K.

All in all, a lot of positives. In addition to his ever-improving D, Bowker may have made his first adjustment (and the one many prospects never make) - in limited duty this month, he's hitting .556. Both of his hits today were opposite field against a steady diet of breaking balls. Maybe we have a keeper.

Also, Aaron Rowand is good. One hit in one official AB along with three walks boosts his average to .348 and his OBP over .400. Gamer or not, guy certainly backs his scowl up.

Great Mother's Day at the park.

- Great to see Vizquel back. Didn't get a chance to mention his solid debut in yesterday's win. Had a great turn in today's game, barehanding a wayward Velez toss and almost turning an improbable 4-6-3 early on.

Contrary to previous speculation, Durham stays active but Burriss's buddy Bo gets the axe. Best of luck to the kid who never really had a chance against big league pitching. Hopefully, it's not his last taste of the big leagues.

No Smile Tonight

"Fastball after fastball. You don't see this very often."

Those were the famous last words on the Phillies broadcast before Pat the Bat deposited a Brian Wilson 3-2, 2 out fastball into the left field seats, sealing a crushing 10th inning comeback.

Unfortunate for a number of reasons, one major one being former Phillie Aaron Rowand stood to be the hero after his go-ahead solo shot in the top of 10. Also overshadows the temporary comeback of spurned wunderkind John Bowker, who collected the first 4 hit game of his career and flashed serious leather at his new home at first.

However, the takeaway is that you can't go 4 runs on 16 hits. Stranding that many will not cut it if this team has any chance at legitimacy.

For the record, I didn't think the fastballs only approach was the incorrect one - he simply did not hit his spot on the fateful pitch.

Let's see how the kid bounces back.

On the plus side, great matchup tomorrow as Cainer faces Brett Myers.

Tim Lincecan't Control Blue, Stupid Baserunning

Good guys fall to the Rox 3-2 on a blown balk call and baserunning miscues. For now, it looks like balks, and only those mired in controversy, at that, are Lincecum's only known kryptonite.

On the Lince-o-Meter, it was a horrific start. What was that line again?


Note that the above line would make Barry Zito write an epic power rock-ballad dripping with envy. My guess is he'd even devote the killer bridge (with requisite key change) to how much he digs phantom balks.

The Rox had a "holy crap, Pedro Feliz is catching and Randy Winn is on third" moment last night when slumping soph Troy Tulowitzki hurt himself (potentially for a while) in the first. With their backup already scratched, second baseman Clint Barmes shifts to short, third baseman Garret Atkins slides to second, and catcher Chris Iannetta goes to third (the latter two being the first ever appearances by those players at those positions). Iannetta responds by hitting a homer off the kid. If only it was that easy to procure a hitting third baseman in GiantsLand.

Meanwhile, Ray Durham continues to look like someone slightly better and John Bowker continues to look like Ray Durham, putting up another 0fer and a GIDP to boot.

I still like him better than Durham.

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.