Yeah. Um. It's Me...Really!

This is an "I'm not dead" post. The lack of time that I've had in the last bunch of months to write anything that would've meant something to somebody has been a bit disheartening, but I have made the mental committment to myself to get back to writing, and back on track...

...only problem is, I have so little real idea as to what's going on with the team that I'm going to have to take a bit of time to catch up. Oh, sure, I'm aware of the big headline news stories, players acquired, players let go, etc., but I haven't any clue what any of it means because I haven't even attempted to think about it.

Well, I'm gonna try that out here in the next week or so, then get to typing stuff.

So until that time, for the few of you that still may check in occasionally, thanks, and no...I'm not dead.

So, what now?

Jason Grimsley has been reported as linking many big league players, including such names as Miguel Tejada, Andy Pettitte, and...wait for it...Roger Clemens, in using performance-enhancing drugs.

So...what now? Is your world rocked yet? If so...why?

C'mon, did any of us really think that Barry Bonds was going to be the only guy to villify? It's unfortunate, because a player like Clemens has an escape clause much like Mark McGwire's -- retirement. If Clemens simply doesn't bother to try and pitch in the majors again, this will serve to dim any potential scrutiny, although I imagine it will still be intense.

But, just not as intense as it could be, or should be, just because he won't be playing anymore.

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't want to see Clemens go through exactly the same things that Bonds has gone through, because I see Clemens in the same type of light that I see Bonds in -- an incredible athlete, in whom the greatness resides to be considered one of the best players of all-time, regardless of whatever types of drugs they took.

However, forgive me if I wonder at how this will be handled, as well as any other evidence that may come out to point the finger at the future Hall of Famer. While I'm sure the media will jump on any juicy bits of news and shoot it to the top of the broadcast, the public's reaction to any building of circumstantial evidence and testimony will be the thing to watch.

Many people who are dead-set against Bonds qualify their remarks by pointing out all the "tainted" records, saying Bonds is ruining the game's integrity, etc.

Hm. I'm thinking Clemens would "ruin" the game just as much, only he'd be doing it on the pitching side of things.

But still, it's all moot. Let's you and me both be realists -- there isn't any way this side of Heck that Clemens will be villified, scrutinized, and hated on as much as Bonds, because just about everyone likes Clemens. Think about it -- one of the only players I can think of off-hand that both Yankee fans and Red Sox fans adore, not to mention the entire state of Texas, and probably anyone above the age of 40. No matter what evidence, no matter if it's proven beyond doubt that Clemens took PED's, it will never reach Bonds' level.

We shall see how it turns out. I have had the attitude of ignoring much of the news carousel around Bonds over the past couple of years, but I readily admit I will not be doing the same with this story.

And....cut. That's a wrap.

As I said before, it was unlikely to begin with, but now it's strayed into the region of Well-Nigh Impossible. The Giants aren't going to see post-season play in 2006, and more's the shame, because the NL playoffs could've benefitted from the Giants special brand of mediocrity. Now they'll have to settle for the mediocre mediocrity of every other team that's going to make it, with the exception of the New York Mets, who have the gall to actually be good.

Onto other, more prevalent things...

I've decided that though it doesn't make a whole lot of economic sense, I want to see Ray Durham return on a two-year contract. Should the Giants re-sign him? More to the point, should the Giants sign him to a multi-year contract?

Probably not, and definitely not, but I still want to see Durham hit one more season, while realizing that Durham won't want to sign a one-year contract at this stage of his career -- especially with the numbers he'll have behind him coming out of this season. I don't see any team signing him for more than three years tops, regardless, but the two-year is a feasible thing, and may not even hurt too badly -- depending on the total payout, of course. I'm thinking his current salary level sounds about right (7 million per), but I can see him getting some team to pay him eight or nine million per, because there's always a team or two that will overpay.

But neither here nor there. It makes the most sense for the Giants to let Durham go, given that they've never really gotten full value out of him due to the games he's missed due to injury while with the Giants. It's a nasty coincidence that the best offensive year he's ever had comes in the final year of his contract, but that's the way the cookie crumbles...as he'll be 35 years old by the time next season rolls around, it's unreasonable to expect him to repeat this production.

Still want him back...on a one-year contract...but since that won't happen, a two-year contract. One more good season of 130 games played, very good offense for his position, and barely acceptable defense at 2nd base (I think Durham's double play savvy makes up a bit for his otherwise mediocre play defensively). Meanwhile, Kevin Frandsen backs him up, gets some significant playing time filling in for Durham whenever he's injured and playing a bit more around the infield and pinch-hitting, and hopefully is ready by 2008 to take over full-time --at which point the Giants trade Durham over the winter of 2007/2008.

Yep, got it all figured out, I do.

I also don't want to see Shea Hillenbrand back. The little home run tear he went on a bit ago was nice, but he's been here for 50 games now and still hasn't done squadoosh overall. I'm going to beat the Craig Wilson drum over the winter again, and hope that this time Brian Sabean dances to the rhythm. This is assuming that the Giants aren't going to spend big money at 1st base -- which they actually shouldn't be able to, because the free agent market for 1st baseman in 2007 is thin.

The only palatable free agents at the position over this winter, to my mind, are Wilson, Wilson, and Wilson. Every single other player is in their 30's, and many in their mid and upper 30's, and either declining, or no good to begin with. The only problem is that Wilson could be in high demand...but given that the Pirates took Shawn Chacon in exchange for him perhaps bodes well. Wilson isn't really good enough to get into a bidding war over -- I'm thinking something in the five million-per range would probably be both palatable for the Giants and a realistic price tag.

While I'm at it, I also wonder if Pedro Feliz will be brought back. I think it likely for five reasons: 1) although his offense still stinks for a 3rd baseman, he's basically the same offensive player the Giants have been smitten with these past couple of years, so there isn't really any reason the Giants will think differently of him now, 2) his glove and durability are both good, 3) the free-agent market for 3rd base looks just as bad as the 1st base market, 4) meaningless milestones like this year has seen Feliz hit career highs in both HR's and RBI, and he may top 100 RBI total for the year, and finally 5) the Giants really ain't got jack-shit behind Feliz in the minors.

He'll probably be back, and they'll probably sign him for another couple of years -- I'll throw up in my mouth a little, and attempt to fortify my psyche against another couple of years of watching Feliz flail away at the dish.

In any case, enough aimless rambling for now. I got some sleeping to do.

Gotta gloat and laugh...and, gloat and laugh a little more

After watching the 2nd half (and missing the 1st half, dammit) of the Michigan/Notre Dame game...excuse me, the Michigan obliteration of Notre Dame, I just had to put up a small post of satisfaction.

If anyone follows the Wolverines at all, you know what they're problem has been in many recent years has been -- early season losses, and specifically, early season losses to the Irish. It's always a test, because many of the teams that usually start the season ranked in/around the top 10 don't play anybody in the first couple games -- play so-so teams, blow them out, protect their ranking. Michigan always has that early season test, and they've failed it more often than not in recent years.

Not this year. Heh. 47-21 Michigan.

Gotta figure this will catapult Michigan deep into the top 10, depending of course what the other top 10 teams do today -- but none of the other top 10 teams will have as impressive a win as this, a blowout of the 2nd ranked team in the nation on their own home field. So...we'll see.

On another college football note, I'm also getting a good guffaw over the troubles of Miami, a program which I can't stand -- I think the Hurricanes are probably the most suspect program the nation has had in the last 20+ years. Now, I don't mean suspect in the sense that their teams haven't been good, I mean suspect in how their program has been run.

But my laughter is because of the annihilation they suffered at the hands of Louisville today, 31-7.

Not only was this the FIRST EVER time that Louisville has beaten Miami, but they were blown out after stupidly stomping on Louisville's insignia at midfield -- firing the Cardinal up, and also firing up their funeral pyre at the same time. The arrogance of that is ridiculous, and to see them get open-hand slapped after such an idiotic move is so satisfying it borders on the...okay, it isn't quite that good, but it's very nice.

Perhaps now Miami will shut up, and play football. Perhaps now the people who rank the division 1-A teams will realize that Miami just isn't any good, and stop giving them a ranking based on history rather than reality. The way Miami ended last season should have been a harbinger of this (their offense has been almost non-existent for a while against division 1-A opponents), and when I saw their pre-season ranking I almost retched.

Ah, whatever. Michigan blew out Notre Dame, and Miami got smacked around -- only thing missing would've been if Ohio State got upset, but you can't have everything.

Uh-oh

Looks like Luis Gonzalez and the Arizona Diamondbacks will part ways at the end of this season. Gonzo is an older, veteran player who still seems to have retained a portion of his former skills, thus the chances of him playing next season are pretty good.

Do you know where I'm going with this?

Don't do it, Brian Sabean. Just...just don't do it. It's an unlikely move at best, but still, I feel it's necessary to say it. Gonzo is simply a Sabes type of player through and through, and that scares me...of course, anytime any formerly-good 35-plus player hits free agency, it scares me. But Gonzo's won a World Championship and brings such an abudance of good clubhouse vibes, it's often seen falling out of his pockets as he walks down the street. His veteran savvy is so puissant that passerby often say things like, "You know, Gonzo has some really puissant veteran savvy". And that really speaks volumes, because people don't just walk around the street using words like "puissant" everyday, you know.

Or, something like that. Sometimes my metaphors fall a bit short. You get the idea -- just deal with it.

The move for Gonzo to make is the American League/DH move, because his throwing arm...that is, if we can actually call it a throwing arm...is a huge liability for any NL team. He'll also probably need a hitter's park, because playing half of his games in Arizona has helped his offensive stats to some degree over the years.

But, enough on that. The Giants have two more games with the St. Louis Cardinals, both of which they must win. With only 15 games left to go, the Giants will soon be in a position where they'll simply have to win out to stand a chance. They do have the three games with the Dodgers remaining at the end of the season, so it's also imperative that the Padres take their remaining two games vs. Los Angeles, because that will better the Giants chances overall (the Giants don't play the Padres again, so the "control their own fate" thing is out of the window with San Diego).

Well, I digress. it all starts with the Giants winning, anyway, and they'll have to at least do something like go 11-4 the rest of the way to stand a chance -- and that'd be a fairly slim chance, too. Everytime they lose from here on out, it's another nail or three in their coffin.

The instructions seemed so simple...

1. Find control panel on thigh, on the left side of left leg
2. Unscrew control panel door
3. Find "Care" button
4. Switch to "Off" position

I think I'd better call the Help Desk, because although I flicked that switch to the "Off" position a couple of weeks ago, it hasn't worked yet.

I still care.

Caring, however, is one thing. Hope is altogether something else. By now, I've found that I've completely exhausted my supply of that particular...

...hey, what's that? Laying on the floor over there...got some kind of inscription or lettering on it...I think it reads:

H...O...P...E

Wait, there's a bit more...

L...E...S...S

Alright, just kidding about that last part. The Giants previous too-many-teams-in-front-of-them-to-overcome syndrome has vanished, leaving them with one, single team in front of them, only a tantalizing two and one-half games in front. Just imagine if Armando Benitez had simply not blown one of those saves earlier in the season...well, while we're at it, let's imagine world peace, too, and short lines at the DMV.

Death in the Family

I hope that didn't sound too dramatic, but recently my truck died, causing my commute to lengthen by about an hour and for me to lose a bit of enthusiasm to write something on this blog after work...or even on my days off.

Looks like I should be picking up something this week, so my quality of life ought to improve enough from that to make writing something not be such a chore. I will acknowledge that the Giants got just hot enough that I suppose writing off the season isn't really possible, as they're only a couple games behind in the race for the wildcard...or, as I call it, the mildcard (none of the teams in the hunt for this spot are particularly impressive).

Oh, and if you value your sanity, don't buy Everquest. The nickname for that game is Evercrack, and that's not without reason.

One eye on next season

Eliezer Alfonzo. Nuff said.

(I really hate that expression, but it just seemed to fit.)

As the season wears on and he continues to run a SLG over .500 and a decent batting average, it's becoming harder to figure out what the Giants might do next season at the catcher position. Alfonzo isn't as good as Mike Matheny defensively, but when you can hit 40 points better and SLG about 150 points better, that doesn't matter as much. For all intent and purposes, I'd have to say that I can't believe that Matheny calls a better game than Alfonzo, either.

Unfortunately, the Giants are in one of those positions with Matheny where I don't see Aflonzo unseating him next season, assuming Matheny recovers from his problems stemming from the concussion he sustained. Admittedly, it'd be a bit cold to hand Matheny's job to Alfonzo after Matheny's missed all this time with as serious an injury as he has had. We've all heard many professional team sports athletes talk about losing a starting position while injured, and it's usually a semi-taboo thing to do.

Unless...

Well, unless the Giants believe Alfonzo is that much better than Matheny. It's good that Alfonzo's used the last couple of games to throw in some clutch hits, because the main thing he's going to have to build in the next month plus to solidify any claim he might have on the position next year is reputation.

Matheny's got it, he doesn't.

This also would be assuming Alfonzo can keep these numbers going through the end of the season. He's had over 200 plate appearances now, so it's becoming a bit harder to write it off as a streak, or him playing over his ability. He's still got plenty of offensive holes (like a veritable ton of strikeouts and hardly any walks) that have me worried, but again, as long as he can hit for a decent average and hit for power like he has been, it's worth those problems -- just keep batting him in the 8th position.

Okay, now I'm just confused

At the point last week when the Giants had lost 13 of 16 games and were playing the red-hot Dodgers, I put forth my theory on the ebb and flow of the Giants fortunes to my friend Lucky Luis as that series began. I told him that a sweep of the Dodgers was in the making -- not because of anything to do with the rivalry between the teams or because I thought the Giants were any better than the Dodgers, but because the Dodgers were red-hot and the Giants were ice-cold -- a reversal of fortunes was due each team.

Okay, I was wrong about that.

However, the Giants part of my ill-conceived theory is happening now. A sweep of the Padres and the taking of the first game vs. the Dodgers in this series has given them their second five-game winning streak of the year, the first of which was right before they proceeded to lose 13 of 16...meaning that if you combine all those streaks the Giants are 13-13 in their last 26.

The script now dictates that the Giants go ahead and sweep the Dodgers, more for confusion's sake than anything else. It would muddy up the division again, just when it looked like a clearer image was coming into focus. It looked like the Dodgers were putting themselves forth as the class of the division (right after it looked like they were putting themselves forth as the dregs of the division), and it looked like the Giants were putting themselves forth as the dregs of the division (right after it looked like they were putting themselves forth as the class of the division).

Confused? Yep. Ya oughta be, cuz I am, too.

What other division you've ever heard of has a team win five in a row to take the division lead, only to lose 13 of their next 16 and fall into last place, while the team that was in last place, losers of 13 of 14, turns around and wins 17 of 19 and takes the division lead?

How is it that the Giants have take seven of the last eight games vs. the Padres, yet the Padres are still two games ahead of them?

I'm wondering how the oddsmakers are figuring out any odds on any of these team in the NL West to win the pennant. Then again, I'm wondering why anyone would be silly enough to make a bet on which team is going to win this division.

UPDATE: Hm. I turn on the game, it's the 2nd inning, and it's 8-0 Dodgers with a man on 3rd and no outs. I'm guessing the theory is in a little danger of not becoming true. Shame 'bout that.

Done

I was trying to figure out, a bit before I wrote this, whether my desire to write...something...here was stronger than my desire to write that single word of finality to drive home the last nail in the Giants' coffin for the season. Both were pretty strong desires, as I haven't written anything in a week and a half (sorry, for those who care), and I've been waiting for the moment to come where I could, at last, give up on the team.

But, oddly, a oh-so tiny seed of joy has crept it's way into my brain, and found the soil there just fertile enough to extend its roots -- the Giants finally designated Jose Vizcain'to for assignment yesterday, recalling Kevin Frandsen from Fresno.

Thus ends the Let's Waive Goodbye to Jose Vizcaino Count-Up, which began on May 23rd, and should've ended on May 24th...instead ending on August 14th, 83 days after its inception. A few of you noticed I stopped updating it around day #45, because it became too depressing -- every time I updated it, I was reminding myself that he was still on the team, breathing and stuff.

All in all, the Giants wasted 135 plate appearances on him. I am not certain how much time I wasted watching him, but it was a little bit more than Too Much.

Here's something to think about: if Ray Durham keeps up his current pace in both offensive production and playing time, he'll end up around 135 games played and a little over 500 plate appearances. Do the Giants re-sign him? Do they even attempt to re-sign him? If not, what do they do for a 2nd baseman?

Anatomy of a win

Trying to figure out the Giants and the NL West is an exercise in futilitism and frustratocity.

The win finally came, as we all knew it would...eventually. But if the Giants have been the epitome of mediocrity this year in most areas, one thing they do very well is steal the joy out of a win -- this time with a near-meltdown in the 9th inning, for once not caused by Armando Benitez (though in true team spirit he did contribute a walk to the only batter he faced). The meltdown was courtesy of Brad Hennessey, student closer.

I'm not quite understanding the reluctance to give a greater role to Kevin Correia, whose done every bit as much as Hennessey this year, and actually more in a sense -- Correia's big improvement is a bit more believable than Hennessey's to my mind by virtue of the 10 more games he's pitched in, and the fact that Hennessey's success is largely attributable to his newfound ability to not allow hits...and allow me to be skeptical that that will continue. Matt Cain had a lot of success at the end of last year, mostly due to not allowing hits, and we've seen what that "ability" has gotten Cain this year.

In any case, I am at least mildly pleased at the win. It isn't a loss, of course, which helps. Shea Hillenbrand went deep, and Moises Alou's bat woke up. Those are nice things. Will it help the Giants make a run at the division? I don't think so, but the division doesn't seem interested in leaving behind any of the teams. The Giants, Dodgers, Diamondbacks and Rockies have had some horrible stretches in the last month and change of baseball, and the division (okay, the Padres) just refuses to put any distance between themselves and the slumping team-du-jour.

Three and a half games back. No matter how you slice it, that isn't a large lead. No matter how you slice it, with this team, it's both right around the corner and miles away at the same time.

Yep, that fits

Follow up the biggest winning streak of the year with the biggest losing streak of the year.

And today is the trading deadline.

But man, it's a good thing Brian Sabean got Shea Hillenbrand and Mike Stanton, because otherwise things would be worse.

Oh, wait a minute...getting swept by two of the worst teams in the NL is about as bad as it gets, isn't it?

And wonder of wonders, Armando Benitez figures prominently in the loss last night to the Pirates.

...if anyone needs me, I'll be kicking small, cute animals and taking lollipops from small children in an attempt to balance the scales.

Mike Stanton, eh?

...whatever.

I see your true colors, shining through

All part of a well-orchestrated plan, you see.

There may have been a few of you who came by here after the Giants won their 4th and 5th games in a row recently, looking to see if I had anything to say about the team. After all, in winning the third game of the series against the Padres the Giants had not only won that series and catapulted themselves into 1st place in the NL West, but the five wins in a row qualified as their best winning streak all year, the first time they had won more than three in a row at any point this season.

Yes, well, I had a few things to say, and most of them complimentary, too, only I have been working some extra hours lately, have been messing with my new Dell computer, and had a wedding to help with and attend.

And, to be quite honest, I wasn't convinced the team had turned some magic corner.

A sweep against the Padres might have done it, but even after Armando Benitez added his unmistakable nine-million-dollars-per-year touch to that series and put the kibosh on the sweep, I still would've been counted amongst the believers with a series win against the Nationals.

I believe, alright -- in the power of gravity, and in the fact that the Giants are the moon, and .500 is the Earth.

Benitez, of course, was front and center again this time, ending all hope of winning this series with another blown save. Now, if you saw the game, you could be one of those who want to throw Ray Durham in the fire along with Benitez, as Durham wasn't able to make a play on a grounder that could possibly have resulted in an inning-ending double play. That's fine, but the leadoff walk and single given up by Benitez had just a bit more to do with it...plus, Durham's been carrying the team offensively lately.

Benitez? He's just been offensive. I'm so tired of him, even if he looked like this I wouldn't want to see him on the mound.

(That's a bald-faced lie. If Armando Benitez really looked like Elsa Benitez...nevermind. That'd just be freaky, come to think of it.)

I admire the Giants in their quest to get their money's worth out of Benitez, but enough is enough. A 1.65 WHIP is enough. A 68% save conversion rate is enough (and we all know it could've been worse). His pedestrian 1.31 k/bb ratio is enough. His lowest-in-his-career 6.92 k/9 rate is enough. His highest-in-career .816 OPS against is enough.

Enough. This isn't the pitcher you signed, and he's pitching the worst he's ever had in his career since 1995 -- that is, unless you compare his first injury-filled season with the Giants in 2005, that is, which was almost as bad.

Enough. He's bringing down the team, and no spin you can put on it makes it better for his teammates or the fans of the franchise. His velocity and break on his pitches is back...so what? He stinks. Whether he'll continue to stink like this the rest of his career is up for debate, but the Giants cannot afford to find that out. Since they've shipped off Jeremy Accardo for Shea Hillenbland, they've got two options for closer: Kevin Correia and Jonathan Sanchez. Personally, Correia gets my vote because he seems to have much better control this year than in previous seasons.

In any case, although I haven't a clue as to what they could do with Benitez, if they are serious about trying to keep this team in the race, it's time for some good ol' addition-by-subtraction. He's fleeced you and the team, Brian Sabean, and now it's time to cut bait. I think we all want off of the roller coaster.

Better to be lucky...

Well, just another series won while getting outscored -- this time by the count of 19-12. But you know what they say, losses and wins are all that matters. The margin by which you lose or win is irrelevant.

However, I can't help but think it's a bit disconcerting that the Giants have run up a 3-3 record after the Break so far, with the deficit in the losses being: eight, four, and nine. The margin of victory has been: two, one, and one. The scoring in the Phillies series was 23-12, in case you were wondering.

I'm thinking if that trend continues, the Giants won't be a contender in the NL West for long, even if all the other teams are still doing the Mediocrity Dance.

Now we come to another one of those important stretches. Twenty-three of the team's next thirty-two games are against divisional opponents, with the nine games that aren't being against the Pirates and the Nationals, two of the worse teams in the National League.

Any takers on the Giants record in those 32 games? I'm going to go out on a limb and say they'll compile a 16-16 record.

In what probably is the weirdest thing is that even with the Giants as ho-hum as they are, they aren't only in the divisional race, but they're second in the wild card race, too, behind the Cincinatti Reds and their .526 winning percentage (Giants are two games back).

Sidnote: This should be my last entry on my old computer, what with UPS's attempted delivery of my new one yesterday. I'm expecting them to try again today, and I'll be ready and waiting for them. I think the odds are about 2 to 1 that regardless of how easy the setup is, I'll have trouble getting it started.

Wonderful

I'm glad the Giants pitching staff got all of this out of their system, all in one game. Now they can go back to, you know, not sucking so darn much.

But, as usual, the NL West can't get away from itself -- the Diamondbacks are the only NL West team that won yesterday. The AL West and NL West just ought to randomly re-arrange the teams within the division, just for kicks...except that I bet that whatever the new arrangement would be, the teams still wouldn't be able to get too far away from .500.

An interesting discussion is over on Grant's site, where several people are chiming in on whether the Giants should take Craig Wilson or Sean Casey, both of whom have come up in the rumour mills as players Brian Sabean could be pursuing.

I don't necessarily think that Wilson is a better overall player than Casey, but I do not doubt that given their current salaries and the Giants specific needs, Wilson would be the better selection.

Casey is the better hitter in terms of accumulating hits. If my team only needs a single, well, he's darn good at that. However, the Giants have quite a few guys that are quite capable of hitting a single. It's not as if Casey has zero power, but being a left-handed line-drive hitter going against the wall in right field definitely won't improve his power numbers, not to mention that Casey doesn't really have the speed to take advantage of balls hit to Triples Alley.

So, Casey, I think, would end up as a J.T. Snow with a higher batting average and somewhat less defensive abilities. Is that what the Giants want? Is that what they want for 8.5 million dollars, which is what Casey is making this year?

Wilson hits right-handed, so his power stroke shouldn't suffer much here, if at all, and his large advantage in power is the biggest reason why I prefer him to Casey. Wilson isn't quite a slugger, but he's close enough. Wilson also makes only 3.3 million, which is 5.2 less than what Casey makes, and could be an easier, cheaper acquisition for Sabes. Wilson also can play outfield, 1st base, and even catch if need be.

And, if we keep half of one eye on the future, Wilson is a younger player and should the Giants be interested in retaining his services past this year, he would have a few good years left in him.

Call me ye of little faith, but I'm making the assumption that Sabean won't have some better deal in the works for Miguel Cabrera or Justin Morneau, and that other, premium-hitting 1st basemen would cost the Giants more than they have to give (like Nick Johnson) -- even if they were available.

So, get Wilson, and bat him in front of Barry whenever possible to see if there's still some of that hitting-in-front-of-or-behind-Bonds-will-net-you-many-more-hittable-fastballs magic left.

This makes me mad, even though it shouldn't

First of all, let me just say that acquiring Aubrey Huff hardly would have been the answer to the Giants offensive woes. He's a solid bat, although he's not putting up the kind of offensive numbers you'd want from your 3rd baseman, or for your 1st baseman.

Acquiring Huff would've put Mark Sweeney in a bit of a twilight zone, as there'd be no real reason to have Sweeney on the team -- Huff plays all of the positions Sweeney plays, bats lefty, and is a better hitter overall. That is, unless the team DFA'd Jason Ellison, and used Sweeney as a 5th corner outfielder...they do have both Steve Finley and Randy Winn to play center, after all. But still, a left-handed bat at 1st base isn't really what the Giants need, unless it's a really, really good one.

So, what I'm saying is, although something might have been worked out, I wasn't really miffed that the Giants didn't get Huff.

That is, I wasn't until Huff runs out and hits an important, game-breaking home run in his first game with his new club, the Houston Astros.

I shouldn't really be mad -- there are other opportunities out there for Brain Sabean, although those don't seem to be many (psst...still Craig Wilson). The Giants still have time, after all -- they were in a worse position last year and still made a race of it at the end. And after all, this was just one game.

Then I thought about it for a sec. The Astros are one of the few teams in the NL with an offense just as bad as the Giants, and their situation in their division is undoubtedly a worse one than the Giants', what with two teams in the Cincinatti Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals that are not only further ahead in the division, but definitely look like better teams (the Cardinals' strange recent losing streak notwithstanding).

But, well, the Astros are doing something about their offensive problems, and they're doing it now. They aren't waiting for their fortunes to change, they weren't going to wait and see if Jason Lane regained his 2005 form, to see if Preston Wilson could match his numbers in Colorado (heh, don't hold your breath, Houston), etc., etc.

They went out and got somebody who will help. Huff likely isn't the answer for the Astros, either, as Houston's biggest problems occur outside of the friendly confines of the Juice -- their offense suddenly turns into a much improved version of Jose Vizcaino on the road, which incidentally, still sucks (.761 OPS at home, .694 OPS on the road). Huff isn't the kind of player that will change that all by his lonesome little self.

But can he add a win, maybe even two over what Lane was producing so far this year? Yep. Can the Giants us someone who will add a win or three over what Mark Sweeney and Lance Niekro would produce?

Yep.

Like I said, Houston didn't exactly solve their problems with Huff, but at least they're moving in the right direction. Better.

Not Gon' Do It

Not going to talk about it. And I think you all know what I mean, too. If it happens, it happens, but I try to keep this blog off of the "hot" topics du jour, and most of the times that means I don't talk about Federal indictments and the reticence of personal trainers.

It's Orange & Black Baseball, not Orange & Black Speculation & Gossip.

Besides, plenty of other folks are going to talk about it, and most of them are either better writers or smarter than I, so I am quite comfortable letting others say all that there is to be said.

Hooray for me

I'm gettin' me a new computer. It'll be shiny, it'll be black, and it's best feature is...

...that it isn't this piece of crap I've had for six years.

I've been fighting with this thing for the past couple of weeks. It seems to have this preternatural sense that a new computer was in the works and is doing its darndest to go down in flames. Battling with the thing to simply boot up correctly has been a big part of why my number of entries in a week has dropped off recently.

Oh, and I'm also da laziest basstad whut eva did write his own blog-ting dere.

I'm planning...hoping...to take an hour or two and put something nice together to break down the 1st half for the Giants, but I want to make sure I'm putting out some new information along with some of the stuff I've been finding throughout the 1st half. The day that would happen would be Wednesday.

Meantime, might I suggest some reading? Lefty always has an interesting thing or three to say, and he muses on the Giants 2nd half chances here. John Perricone, in a fit of...something a bit unexpected from him, thinks the Giants didn't do too badly in the 1st half over here.

Grant talks a bit about the rumours that Jason Schmidt could be on the trading block here, and Big D does some All-Star reflecting down yonder.

I'm making the mistake of actually listening to the ESPN guys talk about All-Star game strategy, and why one team has an advantage over the other.

Listen, fellas, it's the All-Star game. There's really good players on both sides, and both the NL and the AL are capable of crushing the other team provided they have a good day. They seem to think the AL has a big advantage.

Yes, guys, I wholeheartedly ag....I totally ag...

(snore) (snore)

Horrible, yet not worst!

Look at the standings.

The Royals no longer have the worst record in baseball. That particular distinction now belongs to the Pittsburgh Pirates -- at least, for however long it takes for the Royals to go on a losing streak at the same time the Pirates play a little .500 ball.

Whatever. This is, without bullshit, the happiest I've been looking at the standings all year. No joke. I've avoided talking about Kansas City for fear that I might instinctively open my veins at how horrible there were...and still are.

But the fact is that they've played some decent baseball lately, powered mostly by a winning record in interleague (what does that say about the National League?), and some smattering of wins before and after interleague. They're offense now actually exists, albeit on the scale of amoeba and other single-cell organisms.

And I've got to give some props to three players on the team: David DeJesus, who has simply sizzled since coming off the DL in late May, John Buck, who isn't on fire or anything, but is...productive, and fueling a lot of hopes that he might actually be as good as they were hoping he'd be when they got him in the Carlos Beltran trade, and Mark Teahen, who was demoted to triple A Omaha with the following line: .195/.241/.351, and since being brought back up has done some raking and is now at: .263/.316/.431 -- oh, and he also came over in the Beltran trade.

Oh, there's still plenty to work on -- Teahen and Buck still have pretty horrible k/bb ratios, and DeJesus is still managing to be fast yet seemingly have no real base-stealing ability, but with the career paths that Teahen and Buck were on last year it's simply wonderful to see them being productive enough to be major leaguers. And DeJesus is a stud whether or not he steal bases.

I just wish that they had taken DeJesus for the Royals' All-Star instead of Mark Redman -- at least David has All-Star numbers, even if he's only played in about half the team's games this year. Heck, they could've taken Jimmy Gobble or Elmer Dessens out of the bullpen before they took Redman, but...

...of course the move to make was to somehow find a way to make the Royals a bigger laughing stock than they already were, so they took Redman. Genius.