| Author | Comment | ||
|---|---|---|---|
GiantsMissy |
|||
|
I don't believe it either. Hell, if San Francisco built a winning team everybody would want to play here. Screw the cold. The damn cold would never
legitimately stop a player from signing a good contract with a good team.
|
|||
TownDrunk |
|||
|
The Giants may be interested in first baseman Nick Johnson.
Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle notes that Johnson is "loved" by manager Bruce Bochy and would fit GM Brian Sabean's philosophy of chasing after "second-tier" free agents interested in playing by the bay. Johnson's plate discipline (99 walks in 2009) would be a welcome addition to the team. Source: San Francisco Chronicle Giants purchased the contracts of OFs Darren Ford and Francisco Peguero, RHP Kevin Pucetas and 1B Brett Pill.
Each are protected from December's Rule 5 draft. Ford, 24, already known for his world-class-speed, raised his stock a bit in 2009, batting
.300/.386/.463 with nine homers, 50 RBI, 35 stolen bases and 81 runs scored in 101 games with Class A San Jose. For a guy who didn't show much until this
season, making the 40-man roster is a real accomplishment.
|
|||
GiantsMissy |
|||
TownDrunk wrote: Call me a pessimist but I doubt he'd stay that disciplined if he were a Giant. Yeah, I'm in a glass-half-empty kind of mood today.
And you beat me to this: Giants add four players to 40-man roster |
|||
MarcoPolo666 |
|||
|
I start thinking about now who is going to be dropped from the 40-man in the coming months. The Giants had 45 guys on the 40-man in Sep (5 on the 60-day DL :
Lowry-Burriss-Miller-Sosa-Pichardo). These guys won't be on the roster any more (unless they are re-signed) :
Aurilia Howry Johnson Lowry Miller (filed for FA) Molina Penny Kelvin Pichardo Uribe Winn So 10 guys drop off, 4 are added, leaving us at 39 guys on the 40-man. I sniff the dropping of Bocock from the 40-man very soon now; if more than one FA is signed, then as each additional FA is acquired, another player will have to be dropped from the 40-man. Edit: ESPN's roster is a pile of crap (not updated since season's end) - I had to figure out who went FA, who got dropped, etc myself and I missed that Kelvin Pichardo was dropped from the 40-man on 10/30/09. So the 40-man roster currently has 39 guys on it, none of them injured (yet
Last Edited By: MarcoPolo666
11/21/09 2:08 PM.
Edited 1 times.
|
|||
Bleacher140 |
|||
|
Alas, Nick Johnson has become a one-dimensional on base machine since he missed the 2007 season to injury. His power has left him and he never had much speed
or a glove.
And of course there is that pesky injury history and his bad non-athletic body. It would be nice to get someone that would make opposing pitchers work a little, but Nick Johnson may be too flawed to give first base to..... |
|||
Bleacher140 |
|||
|
Frankly the San Francisco Giants franchise has become "second tier" and they like it.
Every quote from the front office has emphasized the pursuit of flawed second tier mediocrities. Agents of prime free agent talent have been shunned by this franchise. Discipline on the field and off the field have never been a priority with this organization. BS has never made top free agents welcome in this organization. They have been looking for "good soldiers" since the day that they got rid of Bonds. "Good Soldiers" are not going to win the championship and the only reason they are winning is that magical combination of Lincecum and Cain. Fans will be fooling themselves if they think that this franchise or any franchise can continue to produce Lincecums and Cains, once they become free agents. The window of championship opportunities started ticking last season. It looks like it will be "More of the Same" next season. Pretty foolish to squander this opportunity.
"We think we have the best general manager and field manager in baseball"
Bill Neukom - Managing General Partner - San Francisco Giants - 2/13/09 |
|||
MarcoPolo666 |
|||
Bleacher140 wrote: I'd like a half acre property in upscale Los Gatos, and I hate to squander this golden opportunity of the current real estate price collapse, but in reality I just can't afford it. The Giants are in the same boat. I wouldn't be surprised if the ownership group is scared sh*tless about the worsening economy and how it will lower attendance (and food/drink spending) for the 3rd year in a row. I really don't see how they can afford (monetarily, not figuratively) to raise the salary budget for 2011 or 2011. And a significant raise in salary would be necessary to make this team a real contender. The Giants painted themselves into this corner starting (maybe) in late 2004, when they guaranteed Bonds' extra year (06) by waiving the plate appearance clause in the contract. (They had set themselves up for it earlier by signing *so many* back-loaded and deferred-payment contracts, but it was pretty damn obvious starting in the 2005 season.) When Bonds got injured, they should have started preparing for the post-Bonds (expecting a 41-year-old man to come back as good as he was before the knee surgery was insane). They then compounded their stupidity by continuing the exact same strategy that had failed for so many years in a row : surrounding a not-quite-as-good Bonds with mediocre talent that was over paid, and whose contracts were back-loaded and with deferred payments. Adding Benitez and an ailing Alou was stupid. They compounded that by signing Matt Morris, and giving Winn that insane extension. And then they go off the deep end - throwing money at Durham, signing Bonds to the contract with so much money deferred, the Zito lunacy, and *continuing* to bring in mediocre players at top dollar (Roberts, Rowand, etc.). 2009 was the last year with any significant deferred money (that hadn't already been put in a bank account, where Bonds' annual $5M is sitting). In 2009 the Giants paid *over* $15M to guys that never set foot on the field : Bonds (07 contract), Benitez, Vizquel, Morris, Lowry, Roberts. Now they've finally managed to get out from under Robert's and Winn's contracts. What with all the payments to guys no longer on the team, the salary for 2009 was *over $100M* (even though the salary for the 25-man roster on opening day was just $82M). There's still some heavy weights holding down the buget : Zito, Rowand and Renteria. Those 3 guys accounted for almost exactly HALF of the salary of the opening day roster. The remaining 22 guys split the other half. As of right now, with the guys already signed (including spots that will probably go to FAs, but a $400k prospect can be penciled in) the Giants 2010 payroll is (drumroll please) ... almost $80M. And they still need to find a 5th starter, a couple of guys for the pen, a catcher, and a bat or two. Some could come from the minors, but there isn't a lot of money to sign FAs. I do *not* want to see the Giants start signing more stupid contracts like they have the past 10 years or so. The "gotta go for it NOW, we'll think about the future later" mentality (with Bonds) is what dug them this big, deep hole in the first place. They are finally crawling out of that hole; I don't want to see 3-year contracts for crappy players, which will keep them in that hole. The only hope for the Giants (since they aren't going to up the salary to $110M) is that some of the players already on the team have a great year or two (improvements from Schierholtz, Bowker, Ishikawa, Guzman, ...). Signing one big bat isn't going to help much (he'll be pitched around, just like Bonds was - UNLESS there are several guys who can do damage hitting behind him: we're back to my "pray some of the kids have a great year" strategy). |
|||
GiantsMissy |
|||
MarcoPolo666 wrote:It's not the amount of money they spend - it's the way they spend it. |
|||
geezer123 |
|||
|
Say Hey -
There is no magic pot of gold to buy a great player. And even if there was, there is no magic free agent to available tofix this team. The offense is horrible and no 1 or 2 signings/trades will fix it. I think the Giants offense will be just as bad next year at it was in 2009. With luck Posey, Sandoval, Schierholtz and Bowker will turn into a pretty good group of hitters. But we're looking at 2011 or 2012 for that to develop. Sabean can look for guys like Johnson and Uttley to improve the offense, but it'll still be bad. To my mind there's no sense in morgaging the future to bring these guys on (see Rowand as an example as a contact just gumming up the works). geezer123 |
|||
giantfan9 |
|||
|
Hey Marco.......you might want to check out Forbes.com. The Giants revenue went UP from $184 million in 2007 to $197 million in 2008. And it only went down
$1 million in 2009 to $196 million. And remember, that is revenue from baseball only. The money from renting the stadium (and parking lot) out goes to a
different corporation and is not counted.
Also forget about the stadium debt....as I said many times....it is a red herring. The Giants are tied for 13th LOWEST debt to value ratio in MLB. Who are they tied with? Wait for it...........the Oakland A's!!!!! They can afford it. They are making money....they just aren't spending it on the team. Forbes - Giants |
|||
Bleacher140 |
|||
MarcoPolo666 wrote:Marco: Alas, this is EXACTLY what BS plans to do this offseason. Second Tier mediocrities filling 1st base, 2nd base, catcher, and the outfield. As I wrote earlier, since they dumped on their resident superstar, they have been signing players not for their talent and the championship goal, but more for their marketing PR roles. The problem with this franchise is that this GM pays second rate player top tier dollars........
"We think we have the best general manager and field manager in baseball"
Bill Neukom - Managing General Partner - San Francisco Giants - 2/13/09 |
|||
Bleacher140 |
|||
giantfan9 wrote:Yup. I remember distinctly that during Bowtie's first press conference, he mentioned over and over that the new cable contract will allow the team to go after the top free agents. Since then? Cutting payroll. Go after second tier mediocrities. No mention of cable TV revenues. As I wrote earlier, this franchise has gone second tier ON PURPOSE. And they get all of the local media and a majority of the fanbase to defend it?? Somewhere at 2nd and King Street, Bowtie and Baer are giving each other high fives for their marketing skills.
"We think we have the best general manager and field manager in baseball"
Bill Neukom - Managing General Partner - San Francisco Giants - 2/13/09 |
|||
Bleacher140 |
|||
geezer123 wrote:Discounting the clowns in charge, I disagree with this misconception. This team could have gone after Jorge Cantu and Dan Uggla for the trades they made for the mediocre Garko and the broken down Sanchez. Insert ONE free agent this offseason to go along with Pablo Sandoval and I would argue that this offense would be credible. The fact that this franchise is going to bring in another player of Rentawreck proportions is not the way it's gotta be, but the BS way aka The Giants' Way......
"We think we have the best general manager and field manager in baseball"
Bill Neukom - Managing General Partner - San Francisco Giants - 2/13/09 |
|||
MarcoPolo666 |
|||
|
I typed in a well-reasoned, cogent, 6 paragraph reply to all of the posts after mine and the F*CKING BOARD S/W ATE IT. (I mysteriously got logged out during
the hour I was researching and typing it, and since it's posted as a "form" I can't back up to get back to my text.)
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR is all that you will get as a reply until I calm down. And maybe ever. |
|||
audrey12 |
|||
|
Congratulations. I believe this is the earliest in board history that the Giants have been completely written off for the season.
Before the winter meetings, before the FA signings, before possible lock-up of any players who aren't FA's ---
Not just by the Giants but by most of MLB. Nice to know I'm such a loser that I was actually counting the days until pitchers and catchers report.
aw
|
|||
GiantsMissy |
|||
|
I'm getting a little tired of the naysayers also, Audrey. I may be naive, but I still look forward to each season, and I still enjoy watching what is done
in the offseason. Everybody wrote off the 2009 Giants and look how they exceeded expectations. Anything is possible in baseball.
|
|||
GiantsRMyGuys |
|||
|
Well...excuse me for jumping into this pit of negativity here, but I just have to say:
YAY DARREN!!! And YAY Kevin!! way to go!! Sheesh
...With all due deference to the baseball gods...
|
|||
GiantsMissy |
|||
|
I'll have some of what you're having, GRMG.
|
|||
RobbGin |
|||
|
Rumors of Torreabla? Noooo that can't be right. Who
makes this stuff up? Oh Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
|
|||
GiantsMissy |
|||
|
Baggs has more info on the four players just added to the
40-man. Note the beginning of the second paragraph, heh. Anyway, he talks about the strengths of the players. Good reading.
|
|||