Friday, April 15, 2005

Veterans, Shmeterans

I'm bummed, courtesy of the Los Angeles Bums of Los Angeles.

Am I panicked? No. Take a looksie here and one can easily see that, based on won/loss records alone, there isn't any reason for panic.

But is there reason for great, great, overwhelming concern? Oh yeah, you bet your ass there is.

It's not the losses, it's the manner in which the Giants are losing. It's who they are losing to...heck, it's who they've beaten.

The only team the Giants have beaten up on is the train-wreck-disguised-as the Colorado Rockies. No, no fears of last place or cellar-dwelling -- the Rocks have got a lock on that spot.

However, if one looks at the the other three teams in the division: the Padres, Diamondbacks, and Dodgers, one can easily that there's a good chance that all three of those teams will be competitive, and frankly, the Giants cannot afford that. It would have been hard enough to win the division this year even with Bonds and Moises healthy, and only the Padres and Dodgers to contend with. But if the D-Backs stay healthy, one must add them to the mix.

Adding a 3rd team to the NL West mix is very, very bad for the Giants, especially given the drubbing the Dodgers have put on them, and the fact that the Giants only victory against the Dodgers was basically handed to them.

Hang onto your seats, folks, because these next 10 days will show us all we need to know about the Giants as they currently stand (excluding injured players). They do get to play the Rockies again, but this series will be in Colorado, and thus will be more difficult than the first one in San Fransisco. But even should the Giants sweep the Rockies again, please, hold the applause -- the four games afterward vs. the Padres and Diamondbacks will tell a more complete story.

Other stuff:
  • Jason Ellison really cannot look any worse in the outfield than he has. Not to beat a dead horse, but if he continues to struggle (and he ought to be on a short leash), then the Giants had better hand the job to Michael Tucker and call up...well, I'd like to see them call up Brian Dallimore, because they also still need to find some source of extra offense as well as someone who can play right field without looking like he's a rookie on just about every play. I suppose, were they to send Ellison down, the most logical choice would be Todd Linden...again. But I'm going to make the large assumption that Dallimore could play right field better than Ellison right now, plus he'd replace Ellison righty for righty in the lineup.
  • Well, the bullpen settled down in the last game, but of course, another leak had to be sprung -- this one by the name of Brett Tomko. I keep expecting Tomko to start kicking ass and taking names, but he just keeps getting his ass kicked and called names instead.
  • Hey, I thought Mike Matheny called a great, great game? Lost in all of these bullpen implosions has been the pitch selection by our esteemed defensive catcher. I don't have near enough evidence to even think about levelling an accusation towards Matheny, but I've read on a site or two that some want to blame Dave Righetti for the bullpen failures. If we can see clear to blame Righetti, then we should really be able to blame Matheny, who is the guy who puts the type of pitch and location down to these imploding bullpen pitchers.

Well, that's enough rants and raves for now. Tonight is Poker Night, and I'm on a 3-session non-winning streak, and I'm quite upset over it. Daddy needs a new pair of shoes!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm with you man- I don't know that it's Matheny's fault the relievers can't hit their targets, but I do know they all looked pretty good the day Torrealba caught.

AS for panic, other first-place teams include: Brewers, Not-Expos, Bluejays. I don't really think those folks will all be hoisting pennants in Sept.

Finally, shades of Robb Nen? Last year I remember hearing all spring: Robb Nen is coming. But he never did. Obviously Bonds' injury is not the same, but then again he is 40. OR maybe Alou never rebounds from this injury he has for the first time in three years after having it annually for many years? I don't know that it wouldn't be crazy to panic and go looking for a good reliever or a decent bat in the outfield, maybe your old pal Stairs? Except a righty.

Eric Byrnes! Who isn't happy sitting in Oakland anyway, as it looks like they've already decided he'll leave when his contract is up (whenever that is). He'd be a huge upgrade in CF over Grissom too, so if Alou and Bonds do make it back, he can stay right in there. There's also the Vernon Wells bandwagon, although now that Tor. is off to a good start I don't know they'll pitch in the towel yet.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps, if a left fielder from the minors is what's needed, the Lord of the Blog will deem it fit to remember his aging, senile ole' Pappy once said - "Rickey Henderson is still the best overall power/fielding/lead-off/base-stealer that ever was, is, or will be -- and he can be had cheap."


And, by the way, do I detect a paternal influence in those lists of groups and authors?

Good thing I never taught you anything about cards. I certainly hope you have at least enough luck to GET OVER IT when you lose. Can't resist - here's a little down-home advice on the philosophy of a winning card player: "Learn to recognize when a stupid mistake has been made, because another one will be right behind it... especially if you are the player who made it."

Anonymous said...

Perhaps, if a left fielder from the minors is what's needed, the Lord of the Blog will deem it fit to remember his aging, senile ole' Pappy once said - "Rickey Henderson is still the best overall power/fielding/lead-off/base-stealer that ever was, is, or will be -- and he can be had cheap."


And, by the way, do I detect a paternal influence in those lists of groups and authors?

Good thing I never taught you anything about cards. I certainly hope you have at least enough luck to GET OVER IT when you lose. Can't resist - here's a little down-home advice on the philosophy of a winning card player: "Learn to recognize when a stupid mistake has been made, because another one will be right behind it... especially if you are the player who made it."

Anonymous said...

They could have used Rickey 3 years ago, or whenever he played a season with the Dodgers. But Sabean (or ownership) has a Rickey-block and utterly refused to do it. But I can't believe that Dunston, Jeffrey Hammonds, or any of the other bench OF guys were a better choice. I'm sure Rickey could steal home, since he's one of the last guys to have learned that from Billy Martin.

BB