The Giant Monday Notebook

Would this man look good in Orange and Black?

Welcome to what I hope will become a weekly feature here at FBB where every Monday I take a quick look at what’s going on with the Giants and offer my opinions on the pressing issues at hand. Lots to get to, so here we go…

The Hunter Becomes The Hunted
The big news today (and last night) is that the Giants are currently in talks with the Phillies to acquire OF Hunter Pence. Depending on what they would have to give up for Pence, this would be a major addition for the Giants who are in need of anyone who can hit. The big issue to me is whether or not it is worth it to sacrifice a top prospect (i.e. Gary Brown) for a player like Pence that is going to be very expensive to keep.

The Curious Case of Brandon Belt

#freeBelt

Edit: Just as I was posting this, it was reported that Hector Sanchez is headed for the DL and Eli Whiteside is being recalled to take his place.  Looks like we may get another extended look at Belt after all.  That is of course as long as Bochy doesn’t decide Whiteside is a better option.

Prior to last night’s 9-0 drubbing of the Braves in Atlanta, CSN Bay Area’s Andrew Baggarly tweeted this:

I asked Bochy if Sanchez's bat is preferable to Belt's. "Yeah, I think that's fair to say. Wouldn't you?"

— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) July 17, 2012

I’ll admit, when I first read that I thought Baggs was having a little fun with Giants Nation and making his own little back-handed jab at Bochy for his handling of Belt and Sanchez.  I quickly realized however that this was indeed a direct quote and that the joke, as it turns out, was on us.

Show and Prove

What would the Giants do without the Melkman?

After two days of basking in the glow of a Giants-dominated All Star Game, it is back to work tonight as the Giants open up a series at home against the Astros.  Given how poorly the first half of the season ended, it is imperative that this team jumps out of the gate and takes advantage of what is a relatively soft schedule the next few weeks.

A lot has been written during the break about the keys to the Giants season the rest of the way, so I decided to take a look at three issues I see that perhaps have flown a bit under the radar.  I fully believe that the Giants are the best team in the NL West, but in order to prove that they are going to have to overcome more than a few obstacles.

Hank Schulman Loses His Mind

After yesterday’s loss to the Pirates which featured a particularly ugly performance by Brandon Belt, Giants beat writer Hank Schulman temporarily lost his mind when he tweeted this:

. He's slumping because he always does with extended ABs. RT @patricksb4: Belt slumping because Bochy shot his confidence with moves?

— Henry Schulman BLUE CHECK MARK (@hankschulman) July 7, 2012

Now I have to believe he did that just to get a reaction out of people, because that claim is not based in what most people would refer to as reality.  Here are the facts.

Between June 12 and June 29, Belt started all but one game and hit .315 with a .422 OBP and a 1.033 OPS. Not to mention all four of his HRs.  Since then he’s only gotten four starts and put up a slash line of .278/.300/.744 with no HRs and an 8-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

I am the first to admit that both of those time frames are small sample sizes, but to say something like that calls Schulman’s credibility into question as he clearly did not do any research before opening his big mouth.

On a happier note, CSN Bay Area’s Andy Baggarly posted this story in which Bruce Bochy claims that he will stick with Belt at first base in the second half.  I’ll believe that when I see it, but it’s nice to hear the skipper say that.

Belt is out of the lineup yet again today, making way for Buster Posey to play first base while Hector Sanchez continues to catch Tim Lincecum.  We can only hope that Bochy is true to his word after the All-Star break and realizes that Belt needs to be out there every day and stops benching him when he has a few bad games.

A Change At The Top

Baby Giraffes can hit leadoff too you know

I’ve talked about lineup construction before, and when I last wrote about this particular subject we were still three days away from the fateful series with the Astros that included not only Matt Cain’s perfect game, but a breakout performance from one Brandon Belt.

Since that series, Belt has been a regular in the Giants lineup against righties and lefties and has proven he has the ability to hit both.  That is all well and good, but for some strange reason (I think to mess with the #freeBelt peeps out there) Bruce Bochy has refused to slot Belt in the lineup any higher than 6th.  I assume the reason for this is because Bochy and the staff view Belt as a run-producer, which is fine if the top of the lineup is getting on base with regularity.  But as Giants fans have seen over the last month or so, that has simply not been the case.

Who’s Better, Who’s Best

That Bonds guy was kind of ok.

Right then, I am back after a little ten day break spent hanging out with my parents, who were visiting from California, and watching the Giants demolish, destroy and demoralize the hated Dodgers.  The last time I posted the Giants were 4.5 games back in the NL West and now they are a game up.  I’d say it was a pretty nice break.

With Dusty Baker and the Reds in town and the Giants set to honor the 2002 team, I thought it would be interesting to compare the 2012 version of our beloved Giants to their 2002 counterparts.   What makes this interesting is that in my mind, the current Giants are the best all-around team assembled since that 2002 squad that made it all the way to the World Series.

Yes, I know, the 2010 team won the whole thing and for that we will always love that group.  But I think if we’re being honest as fans we know that team was as much about magic and timing as it was about the quality of the players on the team.  This year’s team is much more balanced offensively and you could argue even stronger in the starting rotation as Vogelsong is a massive upgrade over Sanchez.  Even with Timmy scuffling and no Brian Wilson, I really love what is happening right now with this team.  But how do they compare with that fantastic 2002 team?  Let’s find out…

Giants Association

After what can only be described as a frustrating weekend series against the Mariners in Seattle, I decided to keep it light today for fear that I may break my keyboard in anger whilst writing a series recap.  Suffice it to say a team as good as the Giants should not be losing 2 out of 3 to a terrible baseball team like the Mariners, even with King Felix on the hill for one of them.

Now that I have that out of the way, I decided to play one of my favorite games, word association.  The game is simple, I take each player on the 25-man roster and put down the first word (or two) that jump to mind.  So here we go, pitchers first.

Best catcher in the league, period

The Best of Brian Sabean

Brian Sabean is one of the longest tenured GMs in all of professional sports

If you’ve read any of my previous posts you know that I have been highly critical of Giants GM Brian Sabean.  Those criticisms are not without merit, but as the game’s longest tenured GM he has certainly had his good moments as well.  As frustrating as his old school style can be, I have no problem giving credit where it is due.  Here are what I feel are the five best moves he’s made in his 16-year career, draft picks not included.

The Curse of the World Series

A night that will live forever

We all remember that glorious November night.  We remember where we were, who we were with and that feeling that grabbed on and refused to let go for days, weeks and months after.  It was something many of us never thought we’d actually get to experience and then, as if by magic, there we all were, united by a team we long ago swore our allegiance to and supported through good times and bad.  It was a glorious night indeed.

Series Recap: Giants – Padres

Trying a little something different with the game recaps for this series as I did not do individual game recaps for the first two games.  In typical fashion, nothing came easy for the Giants in San Diego, but they were able to take two out of three against the last-place Padres.

Game 1: Padres 6 – Giants 5

Timmy Bad, Timmy Good:  This game was all about the Jekyll and Hyde routine put on by Tim Lincecum which I discussed at length here.  Once again, one bad inning doomed Lincecum, but the 8 strikeouts that followed in innings 3 through 6 was encouraging.  Even with the bad inning that put the Giants in an early hole, they still gave themselves a chance to win.