It didn’t take long for the Giants to purchase the contract of Pat Burrell, who will make his debut tonight in Pittsburgh just days after San Francisco signed him to a minor league deal. After all, he’s old, and the organization is committed to old and halting their youth movement as much as possible. (See the signings or re-signings of Rich Aurilia, Edgardo Alfonzo, Bengie Molina, Dave Roberts, Omar Vizquel, Ryan Klesko, Jose Vizcaino and Neifi Perez – just to name a few – in previous seasons.)

In calling up Burrell, the Giants had to make a roster move in the process, meaning 26-year-old John Bowker had to be optioned to Triple-A Fresno. Granted, Bowker was only hitting .207 at the time of the demotion, but the Giants, in all of their infinite wisdom, have decided that 82 at bats were enough to close the book on the outfielder for now.

I have nothing against Burrell, per se. He could turn out to be a solid pinch hitter and I would much rather see him wasting away on the bench than Bowker. But it’s the Giants’ continued philosophy (if that’s what you want to call it) towards judging hitters that infuriates me. They never really gave Fred Lewis a chance and now he’s hitting .304 as the Blue Jays’ leadoff hitter. For as good as a Giant as Randy Winn was over the years, they stuck with him too long last year while a younger, more talented Nate Schierholtz rotted away on the bench. (Speaking of Schierholtz, where does he fit in with the addition of Burrell?) And I’m still not sure who Kevin Frandsen killed to have never been given a legitimate shot at sticking with the big league club either, yet Edgar Renteria is in his second year of wasting everyone’s time in the “City by the Bay.”

San Fran has more pitching than the army has heavy artillery. Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Barry Zito, Jonathan Sanchez, Brian Wilson, Sergio Romo and Dan Runzler are only the tip of the iceberg. Prospects Madison Bumgarner, Zack Wheeler and Waldis Joaquin still await in the minors.

But for as good as the Giants are at finding pitchers, Pablo Sandoval and Buster Posey are the only successful positional talent that they’ve groomed (or are grooming) since third baseman Bill Mueller. And it’s moves like the signing of Burrell that continue to hamper their young players’ development.

Again, I’m not opposed to Burrell – I’m opposed to the idea of Burrell. This move likely means that Bowker won’t ever get a real opportunity to play, just like Lewis and Frandsen didn’t, and now maybe even Schierholtz, too. And for what? The Giants haven’t won anything worth noting since 2002 when they lost to the Angels in the World Series, yet they’ve never committed themselves to rebuilding. Watching GM Brian Sabean go through an offseason is like watching the same re-run of “Everybody Loves Raymond” over and over again. You know what’s going to happen, yet there you are, watching it unfold like a bad dream.

It’s time for this organization to change its philosophy, but with Sabean and Bruce Bochy in charge, that’s very unlikely to happen. The fact that Burrell will be in a Giants’ uniform tonight confirms that.

Photo from fOTOGLIF
]]> http://www.scoresreport.com/2010/06/04/burrell-to-make-debut-on-friday-giants-renew-commitment-to-crusty-old-vets/feed/ 0 http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/06/24/is-matt-holliday-the-answer-to-the-giants%e2%80%99-offensive-woes/ http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/06/24/is-matt-holliday-the-answer-to-the-giants%e2%80%99-offensive-woes/#comments Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:48:09 +0000 Anthony Stalter http://www.scoresreport.com/?p=20453

It’s been five years since the San Francisco Giants have made a postseason appearance, so you’ll have to pardon their fans if they’re overly optimistic about the chances of their club possibly making the playoffs this year despite a lineup that often employs Edgar Renteria as its two-hole hitter.

The G-Men are currently 8.5 games back of the Dodgers in the NL West and with the PED Predator coming back from his suspension soon, L.A. is surely to stay well ahead of San Fran in the division. But the Giants are currently one game up on the Brewers for the NL Wild Card and if GM Brian Sabean could add a player or two before the July 31 trade deadline to help mask San Fran’s biggest flaw, then the five-year playoff drought could end.

What’s the Giants’ biggest flaw you ask? Well if anyone can look at their lineup without doubling over in side-splitting laughter, then some kind of award is deserved.

The starting pitching is absolutely outstanding, with Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain headlining a rotation that also features 300-game winner Randy Johnson and the now-watchable Barry Zito. The bullpen has actually been a strength as well, with Sergio Romo and Jeremy Afeldt proving to be steady setup men for ’08 All-Star closer Brian Wilson.

But the offense is at least one bat away from being beat-your-head-against-the-wall frustrating to, man-these-guys-aren’t-half-bad serviceable.

Enter Matt Holliday.

Even though the last place A’s would love to get something in return for Holliday before he walks at the end of the season, they’re not going to give him up for a warm hug and a bedtime story just to relieve themselves of his $13.5 million salary. They’ll likely want some young prospects and as long as their names aren’t Buster Posey, Madison Bumgarner or Tim Alderson, the Giants might be willing to part with a couple of their farm pieces.

What the Giants would love is if Oakland GM Billy Beane temporarily lost his mind and took a trade package with either Fred Lewis or Jonathan Sanchez as the headliners. But the stock has never been lower on Lewis and Sanchez, so it’s highly doubtful Sabean gets any kind of decent value for those players right now.

Granted, what the Giants really need is a solid bat in the infield. Their second base production this year has been a disaster (although recent call-up Matt Downs has showed signs of being a capable bottom-of-the-order player) and Renteria’s offense goes from nauseating to infuriating on a nightly basis. Unless Travis Ishikawa suddenly gets hot (which he could – he does have two home runs in the last four games), the Giants could stand to add a bat at first base, too. (Or allow Pablo Sandoval to play 1B and acquire a third baseman.) That said, Aubrey Huff, Nick Johnson, Mark DeRosa, Troy Glaus, Luke Scott, Adam Dunn, Felipe Lopez and Adam Kennedy are all possibilities.

Also, the Giants have a 25-year old in Nate Schierholtz who is finally getting a chance to play more regularly and is starting to heat up. So with Schierholtz producing and Randy Winn already holding down the other corner spot, is there room for Holliday? Andres Torres is already proving to be a fine fourth outfielder, so if the Giants didn’t move one of their existing outfielders, acquiring Holliday doesn’t make much sense.

But if they’re looking to make a splash, then you can’t get much better than Holliday in terms of what’s currently available. He knows the NL West, he’s the middle-of-the-order bat that the Giants covet and who knows, maybe he’ll go on an Alcatraz tour, fall in love with the city and decide to sign a long-term deal.

Last year the Dodgers took a risk and traded for Ramirez and wound up in the NCLS. Holliday hasn’t exactly been tearing it up in Oakland this season, but maybe a move back to the NL is exactly what he, not to mention the Giants, need. Either way, San Fran needs an offensive piece to help end their five-year postseason drought.

The Twins and Giants have emerged as potential candidates for free agent Pudge Rodriguez.

The new possibilities, Minnesota and San Francisco, were identified by a source with a National League team in the bidding.

The Twins’ interest may depend on the health of star catcher Joe Mauer, who’s had a back issue early in camp. The Giants have Bengie Molina to catch, and he’s even penciled in as their cleanup hitter, but Pudge could get games at first base and third base in San Francisco, which is planning to employ youngsters Travis Ishikawa and Pablo Sandoval at those positions, respectively.

The Marlins play only 15 minutes from Rodriguez’s home, but they also like their young catcher, John Baker. The Astros’ catchers are struggling this spring, but they haven’t been very aggressive so far in their pursuit of Pudge, who’s played superbly for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, hitting .545 with two home runs.

The Twins make sense because Mauer’s health is a concern. But the Giants’ interest in Pudge for anything more than a backup catcher would be asinine. He’s never played third base and has limited experience at first. He obviously can still hit (he went 4 for 4 with two dingers the other night while playing for Puerto Rico in the WBC), but it doesn’t make any sense for the Giants to sign another crusty old vet to take at bats away from Pablo Sandoval, Travis Ishikawa and John Bowker at the corners. They already have one of those in Rich Aurillia.

Lo and behold, the Giants have emerged as a player in this bidding. But it remains to be seen whether they are going to be shoving big chips at Ramirez, or if they’re just hanging in the thing to position themselves in the event Ramirez gets so frustrated with the Dodgers that he’ll walk away from L.A., at any price. It’s possible the Giants are not really bidding up Ramirez, but just hoping that a Hall of Fame bargain with a chip on his shoulder drops in their lap.

Executives with other teams do not believe the Giants are serious players in the Manny bidding. They think San Francisco’s real intent is to keep the Dodgers honest, to force them to give Ramirez at least a two-year deal. And if somehow Ramirez gets angered by the Dodgers’ level of interest and decides to deliver himself to their division rival, well, all the better for the Giants.

So basically, we know now what we knew three weeks ago about the Giants: they might be interested…but they might not be interested. Sweet.

Acquiring Ramirez would come with a number of headaches — from simply having the mercurial slugger on their roster to likely having to trade one of their incumbent outfielders (Randy Winn, Aaron Rowand, Dave Roberts). But all in all, he’d probably be worth it for a team that isn’t all that far from seriously contending. They play in a soft division where 85 wins could easily equal a playoff berth.

That’s especially true when you consider three factors: (1) the market for Ramirez is severely depressed because of the number of all-hit, no-field corner bats on the market, (2) signing him would simultaneously improve the Giants’ offense and weaken the rival Dodgers and (3) it would save GM Brian Sabean from having to engineer a complex trade for a bat that would cost him one of his top young pitchers like Jonathan Sanchez.

I tossed the idea of the Giants being potential sleepers in the Manny Ramirez sweepstakes in early December and as long as they don’t go ridiculous with the length of the contract, I think it would be a great move for club in desperate need of a bat.

As the article suggests, the Giants aren’t that far away from competing because they have such a solid pitching staff, headed by NL Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum. But their lineup is comprised of roll players and lacks major pop. Adding Manny would instantly make Bengie Molina, Randy Winn (if Manny doesn’t push him out) and Aaron Rowand better, and if younger players Pablo Sandoval, Fred Lewis (if Manny doesn’t push him out) and Travis Ishikawa can continue to develop, the lineup would certainly be good enough to win the NL West.

It’ll be interesting to see if the G-Men can steal the Dodgers’ most coveted free agent.