San Francisco Giants

By E.L.M. Just when the Bay Area's own Pat Burrell gives us a little cheer with his home run to beat the Dodgers last night, here comes a little rain on our parade. Maybe I should say, here comes a parade that... Just when the Bay Area's own Pat Burrell gives us a little cheer with his home run to beat the Dodger...

By E.L.M. Baseball is a science and an art. When it comes to picking the talent, we need the sharpest baseball eyes: people who can pick the 16-year-old arm out of the cornfield. We also need to be very well informed with all that is at our fingertips. We need to be smart about that. It’ll be a blend…...

By E.L.M. I was talking to a friend this morning who whined about a possible Dodgers-Red Sox World Series. “I wouldn’t know who to root for,” he said. “Whom,” I replied. “What?” “He’s on second. Never mind. Are you kidding me? You’re putting... I was talking to a friend this morning who whined about a possibl...

By E.L.M. I’m back from vacation with a ton of stuff to report and comment on, but I’m blazing away at work. To start, I’ll comment on one small part of the state-of-the-Giants conference the brass held yesterday: the decision to retain Bruce Bochy and his...

By E.L.M. Hmm, I wonder how our nation’s horrific financial mess will affect the Giants this off-season…. [Phone rings in a corner office in a sleek downtown highrise.] Bob The Banker: Neither a borrower nor a lender be, this is Bob, how may I...

By E.L.M. Rich Aurilia’s two-run double to take the lead against Washington on July 24. Not exactly a crucial moment in team history, but it was one of the year’s most exciting games, one of the year’s most tenacious at-bats, and perhaps the last gasp of the old Giants guard that brought us so much j...

By E.L.M. Unless Molina goes nuts, no Giant will finish with 20 homers. Molina leads with 15.  Accordingly, the Giants are a whisker away from the lowest slugging percentage in the National League. OBP, too. Tonight's game will help, but they're perilously close to the worst offense in the league. Last...

By E.L.M. 3) Don’t do anything stupid: Impossible. All GM’s do stupid things, or things that turn out stupid. The real test is how many, and whether a GM compounds them. The Giants’ neglect of the farm system was stupid; Brian Sabean is addressing the problem. Paying expensive mediocre veterans to fi...

By E.L.M. Every ball hit to Velez at second base makes me nervous, too. How much more on-the-job training will the Giants give this guy? Will his defense ever be adequate? Scratch that: If he can't hit better than his career .684 OPS, it won't matter. I'm very upset.

By E.L.M. Though it might take more: the national media still has a psychological barrier to overcome. The Giants can’t count on Peter Gammons waxing rhapsodic about them playing the fewest number of meaningless games. They get no slack in many quarters; from indignant keepers of the sacred base...

By E.L.M. With the obligatory sympathy to Matt Cain, who once again last night got the now-trademarked Matt Cain Treatment, I prefer to note Pablo Sandoval’s performance. Of the Giants’ four measly singles against the dominant Dan Haren, Sandoval had two and...

By E.L.M. But this isn’t the first time Giants management has wounded Molina’s pride. Brian Sabean infamously said Bengie’s clock was “winding down” after picking Buster Posey in the draft. Sabean backpedaled and said he meant Molina’s contract, not his skills, but it was stupid stupid stupid. Mol...

By E.L.M. I was all set to run a post on the Giants’ run of good health this year. It hasn’t been a spotless record — Correia’s oblique, Rowand’s broken ribs (but no DL time), Vizquel’s knee and the lost years for Frandsen and Lowry all shook things up a bit — but there were no devastating injuries. 

By E.L.M. With the unlikely emergence of Pablo Sandoval as a solution at third base next year, it’s possible the Giants’ thoughts about Beltre have cooled. But let’s say the Giants are set on Beltrifying their ‘09 lineup. Obviously Cain and Lincecum are out of the question as trade bait, but what ab...

By E.L.M. Our old friend Livan Hernandez is throwing tonight for Colorado, and if the Giants can’t muster a bunch of runs against him, it’ll be the latest and saddest indication of their chronic offensive anemia. Livan has some embarrassing numbers this year,...

By E.L.M. In the outfield, Fred Lewis and Aaron Rowand are in left and center. Randy Winn and Dave Roberts make no sense on the same roster, so I see a trade. More likely the Giants try to pawn off Roberts and eat most of his ‘09 salary. I just don’t see the Giants handing Nate Schierholtz the starting RF job...

By E.L.M. Still, a W's a W, and sheesh, stay hot Randy Winn, now hitting .444 in August. Brian Sabean is working on that two-year, $22 million contract extension at this very moment. Two best at-bats of the night: Dave Roberts leading off the 9th with a walk, taking some very close pitches, and Molina fol...

By E.L.M. PLODAG: Kevin Correia didn’t have great stuff but got his act together and should have gone 7 innings with only 3 ER. He’s thrown a few good games in a row. If it weren’t for the oblique injury, what kind of season might he be putting together?

By E.L.M. Ouch. The Giants just demoted Eugene Espineli, the guy who was supposed to go to the Olympics. His promotion to S.F. last month trumped his Olympic berth, but now, just as Team USA begins its competition, he’s back in Fresno. I... Question: If Posey signs a major-league contract, is he immediatel...

By E.L.M. Big roster changes for the Giants: UP: Ryan Rohlinger and Pablo Sandoval from AA, Travis Ishikawa from AAA. DOWN: John Bowker and Steve Holm to AAA, Jose Castillo designated for assignment. There were rumblings of this over on the McChronic... Big roster changes for the Giants:

By E.L.M. The other raised hackles this weekend came Sunday, when Bruce Bochy let Matt Cain throw 126 pitches and ultimately give up a two-run double to Manny Ramirez with two outs in the seventh. You might object because of the pitch count, or the in-game strategy — why not walk Manny with an open bas...

By E.L.M. PLODAG: Rich Aurilia, with two doubles and a walk. It's not his fault the Giants only scored one run. I'm still lobbying for the Giants to re-sign Richie to a cheap one-year contract for '09 as a utility infielder. The Upside: Sanchez, for five no-hit innings, but also Sadler. He could have fold...

By E.L.M. It’s going to be very interesting to see how the Giants attempt to rebuild their bullpen for next season. If Sabean and Co. really think they can contend, do they spend money on a proven set-up man or two? Add this to the flippy-floppy file: Baggarly also notes on his blog that Lincecum and Matt...

By E.L.M. No, no, no! Cover your eyes, kids! The word for today is "lucky." Cain, on a roll since the All-Star Break, had the great good fortune to face a Braves lineup with no Chipper Jones, no Mark Teixeira, a horrifically slumping Jeff Francoeur, and the fearsome Omar Infante batting sixth. Mark Kot...

By E.L.M. OK, it’s not so shocking if you’ve watched the Giants day in and day out. They’re dead last in the majors with 61 home runs and on pace for 90. They won’t break the major league record, as teams in... It’s not quite a dead pool, but place your bets here on how many home runs the Giants hit the rest of the w...

By E.L.M. Problem is, the Giants will also soon decide whether to ease back on Tim Lincecum. Doing so would open a second gap in the rotation for more Triple-A filler. Steve Hammond, who came over in the Ray Durham trade, is one enticing possibility, and there’s a vacant spot on the 40–man roster.  

By E.L.M. It might not be over. If placed on waivers, it’s doubtful anyone would claim Aurilia or Dave Roberts. Randy Winn: perhaps. Bengie Molina: probably. But those who pass through can be traded. Aurilia is the best bet to still go somewhere, perhaps Vizquel if a team decides it really really needs an...

By E.L.M. Granted, this was the Nats’ lineup, which makes the Giants’ second-stringers look like the Gashouse Gang. If you cried in March at the prospect of Bengie Molina, Cleanup Hitter, try a little taste of Austin (“.216 / .314 / .324 in 245 PAs”) Kearns in the fourth spot. No matter. A four-hit shut...

By E.L.M. So what if Seattle is willing to dump Adrian Beltre and his $12 M in 2009 — and Schulman says the Giants think he’ll improve in a return to the National League — for a middling prospect and lots of salary relief? He wouldn’t be blocking anyone in the Giants’ system. One year of Beltre in ‘09...

By E.L.M. Between Rich Aurilia’s determination to fight off nasty two-strike pitches and Tim Flannery’s hoppy, skippy, arm-waving effort to guide Bowker home, Aurilia’s two-run double in the 8th inning last night is probably the play of the year so far. Flannery’s moves — click here and watch t...

By E.L.M. Bengie Molina is signed through ‘09 at what now seems a reasonable price: $6 million this year, $6 million next year. For all Sabean’s free-agent follies of late, the Molina contract is proving a wise one. (Or if you prefer, a lucky one.) With his reasonable contract, his stellar reputatio...

By E.L.M. Here is Sunday morning's pre-game blurb on the Mercury News Website: "Caution planned for ace: Tim Lincecum will make his first start today since the flu prevented him from attending last week's All-Star Game, and the Giants won't push their...

By E.L.M. You might even read "showcase" into the move to bring back Steve Holm, who according to Baggs' Blog could swap places with Eliezer Alfonzo tonight. Perhaps the Giants heard rumblings of interest in Holm, and they want to make sure he gets a little major-league PT before the deadline. Baggar...

By E.L.M. This is the easiest post in the series. The top four in the Giants rotation should be with the team when it breaks camp next year. Barring injury or trade (a standard caveat for all prognosticationary punditry such as this) Lincecum,...

By E.L.M. Step 3: Trade Randy Winn. His replacement would be Nate Schierholtz, whom frankly I don’t think will be as good as Winn, not this year, not ever. But we need to find out. If Winn asserts his no-trade clause and the Giants still want to audition Schierholtz, they’ll have creative roster decisi...

By E.L.M. Before we discuss bullpen strategy between now and April 2009, I want to answer a bullpen-related question reader Frank asked last week: Step 1: Keep Wilson healthy and help him mature. If all goes well, the Giants won't have to worry about the closer role for several years.

By E.L.M. Giants 4, Cubs 2: Thanks to Tim Lincecum, we’ll spend the All-Star break not stewing over a crummy losing streak but remembering a victory that underscored how the Giants must play in the next year or two or three to become respectable...

By E.L.M. PLODAG: Randy Winn, with two walks and an opposite-field double. Question: What drives you most nuts? Barry Zito walking the bases loaded, Jack Taschner walking the first batter he faces, or Ray Durham swinging at a 2–0 pitch leading off the 7th inning in a tie game? Discuss.

By E.L.M. Apparently Giants CF and all-around red-ass Aaron Rowand isn’t happy about the Giants’ efforts in New York. I can’t blame him, and neither can Bruce Bochy, who held a pre-game meeting yesterday to tell his squad they’d better not mail...

By E.L.M. LF Lewis SS Burriss CF Rowand C Molina 1B Bowker RF Schierholtz 3B Castillo 2B Frandsen P Lincecum  Are you worried about Timmy? Have the Giants handled him properly this year? If he makes the All-Star team, should the Giants let him appear? Discuss.

By E.L.M. First-Half Comeback of the Year: Three-way tie between Keiichi Yabu, Tyler Walker, and Ray Durham. Durham’s defense is still subpar, and he only has two home runs, but he’s once again a productive member of the offense after being one of the worst position players in baseball last year. T...

By E.L.M. Vinnie Chulk’s Giant days have come to an end. The Giants have designated him for assignment and called up Sergio Romo, the Merc’s Andy Baggarly reports on his blog. (UPDATE: Chris Haft reports Chulk won’t accept a minor-league demotion if... 66 IP / 35 H / 4 HR / 15 BB / 106 K

By E.L.M. Giants 4, Indians 1: Is Barry Zito back? Tonight was by far his best game of the year, and in his post-game interview he said his attitude was more or less, fuck it, I've got nothing to lose. In the... Giants 4, Indians 1: Is Barry Zito back? Tonight was by far his best game of the year, and in his post-...

By E.L.M. Watching Friday’s game, in which the A’s took advantage of Barry Zito’s wildness and the Giants did absolutely nothing with the very charitable Greg Smith’s six walks, I had a bad feeling about the entire weekend. Matt Cain’s second straight strong outing. Perhaps he’s about to go on a tear....

By E.L.M. 2) Convince Bruce Bochy to play Randy Winn in center field once in a while. Aaron Rowand isn't going anywhere, and the more wear and tear he avoids, the more likely he'll excel deep into his 5-year contract. So when he's in a slump as he is currently (.219 / .265 / .313 in June), why not give him an...

By E.L.M. …at least no one baseball-related. I hope Threets’s mom or other family members love him no matter how shaky his fastball command. But the hard-throwing lefty who was out of options went unclaimed when the Giants cut him, and he’s... …at least no one baseball-related. I hope Threets’s mom or oth...

By E.L.M. It's easy to untemper my excitement, though, with the realization that the Giants -- yes, these Giants, the ones I (and you and you and you, and yes, you) thought by now would be about 40 games out of first place -- are five games back and generally playing worthwhile baseball. Not great baseb...

By E.L.M. Thoughts about the Giants' weekend in Washington, where the nasty heat and humidity made me wonder why I would ever complain about my home turf's cool, foggy summers: * If Barry Zito can go five innings and only give up... Thoughts about the Giants' weekend in Washington, where the nasty heat...

By E.L.M. But the Giants countered, stoked by Fred Lewis's triple that would have been a 420-foot home run anywhere else. In fact, if Fred hadn't watched it and jogged for the first five seconds, he probably would have had an inside the park home run to win the game outright. Instead, he had to wait to sco...

By E.L.M. Of all the sticky personnel moves between now and April 1, 2009, the Giants seem to have miles to go to figure out third base. The outfield is fairly settled: Lewis in left, Rowand in center, and Schierholtz in right.... Of all the sticky personnel moves between now and April 1, 2009, the Giants se...

By E.L.M. Bruce Bochy said on the pregame show today that Cain has gotten too fastball-happy, teams are looking for it, and he’s not commanding it as well. That could explain the home runs. And home runs on their own aren’t terrible. It’s the free stuff that kills us.

By E.L.M. Thanks to Randy Winn’s Chase Field-flavored vitamins and a side helping of largesse from the D-Backs in the 8th inning (walk, error, hit batter, walk = tying run), the Giants fly home with a desert sweep and a 6–3 road trip. Who woulda thunk? Not me, especially after that stinker of a homesta...

By E.L.M. I definitely think they have and a NL pennant is proof of that. The humidor has changed Coors Field. To win in Coors, the Rockies need pitchers who can keep the ball on the ground and pitch to the defense – which was the best in baseball history a year ago.

I'm not sure Kevin Frandsen is the answer if the Giants want to make a run at the playoffs. Frandsen may be the heir apparent, but he's not the here-and-now. (Let's put it this way: in 56 at-bats he hit worse than Jose Vizcaino.) So if trading Ray-Ray means replacing him with Frandsen (K-Fran? Fr...

Round two of your favorite game show, Trade Bait! I could also see the Giants trading for a third baseman and sliding Feliz to first, but his hot-corner defense has become an asset. Dither, dither, dither. Would they really trade him? But if Feliz goes, who fills his shoes?

More likely, the Giants won't get top value unless they dangle Noah Lowry, Matt Cain, Jeremy Accardo or Jonathan Sanchez. Maybe, just maybe, a contending team desperate for a closer would take Benitez. I doubt it. Same comment goes for desperate/third baseman/Pedro Feliz or desperate/se...