Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category
Check out this video of the Giants playing in their old digs at the Polo Grounds in MLB10 The Show. I’ve never seen the Polo Grounds in such detail in a video game. They’ve even got the functional on-field bullpens located in right and left-center field. With all due-respect to PacBell, the Polo Grounds is going to be my home stadium for my Giants team.
Tim Lincecum was busted for pot possession the other night. So now the world’s fastest swimmer (Phelps), the world’s fastest runner (Bolt), and the best pitcher in the National League are all confirmed dope smokers. I thought that stuff made people lazy and unmotivated. Oh well, when are they going to start classifying it as a performance enhancing drug?
The Giants have signed manager Bruce Bochy to a 2 year extension following a season in which they had the league’s worst offense. This is no way to support the 2.8 million fans who showed up to Giants home games this season despite the economic crisis. Bochy is a champion of mediocrity. He’s done very little to build up this organization, and has actually done a lot of harm by getting rid of minor league talent in exchange for guys who will earn him just enough wins to not get fired, or in this case get a contract extension. It’s like a bonus for not making the playoffs. Who’s running this team, Rachel Phelps?
While sorting out some old issues of Baseball Digest today, I came across a 20-year-old issue declaring Will Clark would be among the superstars of the 1990s. At the time (July 1989), it seemed like an easy prediction to make. Will the Thrill was one of the best players in the National League from 1987 through 1991 and was destined to have a Hall of Fame career. So what happened?
Will Clark lost some of his power in 1992, and then he lost everything in 1993. His slugging was down to .432 and he hit only 14 home runs. He never fully recovered from that season, although he did put up decent numbers as he finished his career with the Rangers, Orioles, and finally the Cardinals. He ended up with a .303 career batting average and 1200 RBI. Still, these weren’t the numbers expected from someone who was supposed to be the superstar leading the Giants in the 90s. He received 4.4% of votes from writers on his first Hall of Fame ballot, falling below the 5% level required to stay on the ballot the following year.
I think Giants fans will always look fondly on that golden age of baseball when we had Clark and Kevin Mitchell and came just 4 games away from a championship.
Jonathan Sanchez once looked like the perfect mid-season trade bait for the Giants. Now MLB Rumors is reporting Sanchez’s poor pitching over his last 9 starts has dropped his stock so low that he’s no longer considered a valuable trade asset. The Indians, one of the few teams interested in Sanchez a couple months ago, are now longer very interested and would only consider using Sanchez as a middle reliever.
The Giants have signed Shingo Takatsu to a minor league deal. He will play for AAA Fresno as soon as his paperwork is filled out. Takatsu last pitched for the Mets in 2005 after finishing 2nd in Rookie of the Year voting while playing for the White Sox in 2004.
The Giants are looking towards the future with their selection of high school pitcher Zach Wheeler with the 6th overall pick in the 2009 MLB Amateur Draft. Wheeler is a lanky right-handed pitcher out of Brownwood High School in Texas. He’s listed at 6′4″ and 180 lbs, so I’m sure Giants trainers are going to try to get him on a diet that will bring him up to around 200-210 lbs. Wheeler throws a variety of pitches, which will make his development a lot easier. One thing I really like about this kid is that he tends to throw his stuff down in the zone. When he misses, he misses low, which should help to keep him out of trouble against the power hitters he’s going to be facing very soon. One problem I see is in his delivery. As you’ll notice in the video I’ll post below, Wheeler has a very pronounced “inverted W” in his delivery. That’s the form his arms make right before his throwing arm whips around to deliver the ball. Pitchers who have this inverted W tend to develop elbow and shoulder problems that can nag them their entire career. If you don’t believe me, go ask Mark Prior. Assuming the Giants pitching coaches are aware of this tendency, it’s nothing they can work out.
Tim Lincecum hasn’t had a win in three weeks despite pitching well in his last start against the Padres that ended in a 3-2 Giants loss. Lincecum has dominated the Braves throughout his short career. The Giants are currently on a 4 game losing streak and the offense has looked a bit impotent lately.
- March 2010 (1)
- November 2009 (1)
- October 2009 (1)
- June 2009 (4)
- May 2009 (1)
