Michael McGauley's San Francisco Giants fan blog

I thought that ship had sailed? I also thought it was certain that Bengie Molina would be a New York Met in 2010. New York was dangling a two year deal, but Molina's camp wanted a third year option. Something went terribly wrong in the negotiations, and the two sides parted ways, which is good news for the Giants! It's hard to get greedy in this current market place, especially when you're an older player (who turns 36 in July), and playing a demanding position like catcher. I thought Molina might have ended-up in the American League where he could also be a DH.   Whatever happened at the end of last season (not playing hurt?), I say forget any bad blood that may have bubbled to the surface between Molina and the Giants, and welcome him back behind the plate with open arms. The pitchers love him. He's a club house presence and leader. He will be an excellent mentor to the young Buster Posey. He comes at a relative bargain for one year and $4.5-million, and can hit! Fortunately though, he won't be relied upon to bat clean-up for San Francisco this year (assuming the off-season acquisitions come through as expected). Molina should be much more comfortable further down in the order as a number-six hitter, behind a 3-4-5 combination of Sandoval, Huff, and De Rosa. Now I'm digging this line-up a lot more than I was just a couple of weeks ago.  Yorvit Torrealba? Rod Barajas? Bengie's going to be a better hitter than both of those guys. Last year, Molina struggled through some injuries, but still managed to play in 132 games and had 491 at-bats. The rest of the pertinent numbers: 130 hits, (only) 52 runs scored, 25 doubles, 20 homers, 80 RBI's, and an incredibly low 13 walks...Yikes! That's reflected in a .285 on-base percentage, but a fairly solid .265 batting average. Molina drove in 95 runs with 16 homers and 33 doubles in 2008; with a .292 average, and .322 on-base percentage. So, assuming he plays most of the season, you know roughly what kind of numbers you're going to get. But what if Posey is ready to go mid-season and gets the call-up? That remains to be seen. I would say Eli Whiteside begins the year as Molina's back-up with Posey down in Triple-A Fresno.  By-the-way: Torrealba sported a .351 on-base percentage and a .291 average in just 64 games with the Rockies last season, sharing time with Chris Ianetta. It's hard to really compare any other stats with fewer than half the number of at-bats, but Yorvit did manage to work 21 walks in just 213 at-bats. So, he would easily have more than 50 BB's with 500 A.B's. Barajas, meanwhile, had a descent season with the Blue Jays in 2008 as far as power numbers (19 and 71), but his batting average and on-base were dreadful in roughly the same number of at-bats. So, considering Bengie's familiarity with the Giants' pitching staff, and his overall better hitting, he was clearly the best choice of the three. The fourth choice, Miguel Olivo, had already signed with Colorado -- essentially replacing Torrealba.   Merkin Valdez, who was designated for assignment earlier last week, has been traded to Toronoto for cash considerations. Valdez just never realized his potential, but maintained a dominant fastball even after returning from

Continue reading ""Bengie Molina is Back in the Squat for San Francisco""

 Hey, we all wanted another bat, right?   I like Aubrey Huff, but I certainly like the 2008 Aubrey Huff better than the 2009 version. I was lucky enough to go to the old Yankee Stadium in July of '08, and saw the Yanks beat the Orioles on a sweltering Wednesday afternoon. Aubrey Huff was smack in the middle of a potent Baltimore Line-up with Brian Roberts at the top, Adam Jones second, Nick Markakis batting third, followed by Huff in the clean-up slot, and Melvin Mora hitting fifth. Huff was batting over .300 at the time, and drove in his 72nd RBI in that game (in July!) -- I remember, because I just looked it up; July 30th, 2008. He went on to finish the season with 108 RBI's, 32 homers, 48 doubles, 182 hits, 96 runs, a .360 on-base percentage in 598 at-bats and 154 games played. Sounds pretty awesome, right? Well, last year was not so good. His average dipped to .241, with 15 home runs and 85 RBI's in time split between Baltimore and Detroit; following a mid-season trade. He had far fewer at-bats though (430), and only 109 hits, so I think it's a matter if consistency and playing everyday for Huff to be successful. I would say probably

Continue reading ""Is Aubrey Huff the Final Piece to the Off Season Puzzle?""

 HAPPY NEW YEAR to all Giant fans! College Football is nearly complete, and the Super Bowl is a month away...  And before you know it, Spring will be back in the air, and pitchers and catchers will be reporting to spring training in about six weeks. Personally, I just can't get enough baseball (thank you MLB Network), and keep hoping the Giants will make some more moves to improve on an 88-win season in 2009. Yes, they re-signed Juan Uribe (because he couldn't get a multi-year deal elsewhere), and picked-up the versatile Mark De Rosa; however, that's just not enough for me. Assuming Bengie Molina doesn't return (he's been offered two years by the Mets), another bat must walk through that clubhouse door come spring training. Brad Penny walked away from the Giants, who seemingly made a comparable offer to the one year deal he inked with the Cardinals ($7.5 million with incentives that could boost the deal closer to nine-million dollars). Penny joins Cy Young runner-ups Carpenter and Wainwright in a solid rotation, and Matt Holiday appears certain to remain in a line-up featuring the great Albert Pujols. Maybe Penny thought the Cards were closer to the NL Pennant than San Francisco. One pitcher who will not be in Arizona this spring is 46-year-old veteran Randy Johnson, who has officially announced his retirement after twenty-two seasons and 303 victories. A 10-time all-star, 5-time Cy Young Award winner, and World Series MVP, Johnson's accomplishments stack-up against almost any other left-handed pitcher

Continue reading ""Randy Johnson Officially Announces His Retirement""

 Just sheer domination that didn't necessarily show up in the win column! Fifteen victories equals a Cy Young?  Let's look at ALL of the numbers to really appreciate how great Tim Lincecum has been through his first two-full seasons with the Giants (he did throw 146-plus innings in 24 starts in 2007). Back-to-back Cy Young Awards do not come around very often (see: N.L. stand-outs RJ and Maddux, each with four straight, and Sandy Koufax with three of four; Clemens, Palmer, McClain, and Pedro each went back-to-back in the A.L. ([Clemens did it twice; ten years apart]). The difference? Lincecum has done it twice in two full years by the age of 25! So how do you follow up a CY YOUNG AWARD WINNING SEASON??? You work even harder to improve (by perfecting a third pitch), and that's exactly what Lincecum did after winning his first CY in 2008 with an 18-and-5 record, and 265 strikeouts in 227 innings. Lincecum worked 225 and one-third innings this year, and went 15-and-7 with 261 strikeouts. No, that doesn't sound any better until we delve deeper. Check this out - in roughly the same number of innings pitched, Lincecum allowed fourteen

Continue reading ""Tim Lincecum Captures Second Cy Young""

Well, that's one more issue resolved. See ya later Randy Winn - the softest number three hitter in the history of the game! I don't even know WHY he batted third for the Giants even once this season. He hit two homers the entire year! Granted, a descent number two guy when hot (or even better: number-seven or -eight), but that just didn't seem to materialize for very long stretches this year. Everyone in the Giants' organization seemed to think (or convince themselves) that Winn would recapture that initial magic when he was first acquired at the 2005 trade deadline from Seattle. I mean the guy was raking for a month straight, and had some real cartoon-like numbers as I recall. He never got back to that level for any sustainable length of time, but was able to parlay six inc

Continue reading ""Goodbye Randy Winn""

As expected, Freddy Sanchez has re-signed with the Giants for two years and 12-million-dollars. That's certainly one mystery solved, and for a discounted rate too! Sanchez has something to prove to the organization, and the fans, after a disappointing end to last season. A three-time all-star, and 2006 N.L. batting champion, Sanchez was hobbled by knee and shoulder injuries that limited him to just 111 games between the Pirates and Giants. He did hit a respectable .293 with seven home runs and 41 RBI's. 

Now, that certainly doesn't sound very impressive, but consider the "up-side" of his potential. When Sanchez won the batting title in '06, check out some of these numbers: 157 games played, 200 hits, 53 doubles, 85 RBI's, and a .344 batting average (.378 on-base). In 2007, Sanchez played in 147 games and collected 602 at-bats! He had 77 runs scored, 183 hits, 42 doubles, eleven homers, and 81 RBI's. All of that to go with a .304 batting average; however, ZERO stolen bases. Freddy doesn't run much - how about 10 bags over his entire career. Well, you can't have it all.

Continue reading ""Freddy Sanchez will be the Giants' Second Baseman in 2010""

  

  Do we really blame Carney Lansford for a bunch of over-anxious, free-swinging hitters?  The stats certainly don't lie.  Only the Padres, Pirates, and Astros scored fewer runs than the Giants' 657 runs in 2009.  San Francisco's 122 home runs was second-to-last in the N.L., behind only the Mets, who stroked just 95 homers with a half-injured team in their brand-new, spacious Citi Field. Walks: 392 for the Giants was dead last in the league (the Rockies had 660 walks to lead the league). And that leads us to on-base percentage; where the Giants ranked last at .309!  That is just dismal, anemic, pitiful....any other good adjectives to throw in there?

  Bottom line, this has been a consistent problem for the Giants for several years now. They never really replaced Bonds and Kent - the last time they had a legitimate three-four combination in the batting order.  Yes, they've built up the pitching big time. Yes, Pablo Sandoval can rake. But that's not enough -- we need two or three more hitters like Pablo. Hey, you've got to give up something to get something, and the time is now to part with a starting pitcher, and acquire a bat. It's not the most desirable scenario, but consider the lack of available sticks in free agency. In addition, they will have to invest some money to keep the young guys happy (Tim Lincecum and Brian Wilson are due for BIG raises, and I say, give them whatever they want!).

Continue reading ""Carney Lansford the Scape Goat for Giants' Offensive Struggles""

  I don't know about you, but I'm proud of the Giants' progress in 2009, and look forward to better things in 2010.  Did anyone have ANY expectations this team would remain competitive well into September?  -- 82 wins to date with a possibility of 88 wins for the season (if they sweep their last two series). But aside from the final week of the regular season, what has to happen between now and spring training next year to get this squad ready to role?  Of course, I have several opinions, and would enjoy some dialogue with other fans. Here we go:    First Base: Travis Ishikawa is not the answer on an everyday basis.  More likely, Travis is a late-inning defensive replacement and spot starter. Should we assume that Pablo Sandoval will&

Continue reading ""Let's Talk About Next Year's Giants""

   It's hard to believe only 10 games remain in the regular season for the Giants, trailing Colorado by four games in the N.L. Wild Card race.  Although it's still mathematically possible, I just think these guys are collectively gassed (mentally and physically).  Even if everything goes their way between now at the finish line, who wants to watch a three-game sweep at the hands of the Dodgers or Phillies.  Is it still best-of-five in the first round? Hey, no one expected them to contend this late into the season -  it's been an entertaining product despite a frustrating lack of offense.  All I can say is just 10 more days of Randy Winn, Fred Lewis, and Dave Roberts' expiring contract -- good bye, and good luck to you all.   The

Continue reading ""Giants Begin Final Home Stand of the Season""

  As an optimistic Giants' fan, I must say I've enjoyed THIS season more than any in recent memory.  The hopes of reaching the play-offs as a wild card still intrigue me; however, I know a lot of things would have to go our way in order to make that happen. First, the Rockies need to go on a nice, long losing streak, but that probably won't happen.  We can only control our next series, and that lies in Arizona.  Fortunately, Danny Haren pitched Sunday, so we won't have to deal with him.  Doug Davis going up against Barry Zito tonight.    But let's look at this rationally for a moment.  Last year: 72 wins....This year: 80 wins with a couple of weeks still to go. Seven more wins possible?  That would be 87 wins for the ye

Continue reading ""Giants Limp out of L.A., Dropping Two of Three; Head to Arizona""