Tag: San Francisco Giants (Page 16 of 38)

      Mikey’s MLB power rankings

      August 14, 2010 /

      Pennant races are heating up, brawls are starting to happen, and the Padres still have the best record in the National League. Ah, the dog days of summer. However, not much has changed in the upper half of our power rankings, and hasn’t for well over a month now…..

      1. New York Yankees (71-44)—I’ve been touting the Rays for a while now, and I won’t back down from that, but the Yankees sure aren’t letting go of the top spot.

      2. Tampa Bay Rays (69-46)—All that talent, and yet they were almost no-hit for the third time last Sunday. Something’s not quite right with the Rays’ bats.

      3. Texas Rangers (66-48)—They seem to be coasting now, and with an 8.5 game lead, they can afford to do that a bit. The Rangers still have the largest lead of any division front runner.

      4. San Diego Padres (68-46)—A five-game win streak has the Giants gasping for air again. Raise your hand if you keep thinking the other shoe is going to drop. I thought so. But it still hasn’t.

      5. Atlanta Braves (67-48)—Bobby Cox’ team had a huge blow with Chipper Jones out for the season, but this is a talented roster top to bottom, so they should hang in there against a charge from the Phillies.

      6. Boston Red Sox (66-51)—It’s getting to the point that the Sox have to win every game to stay in contention. Or at least every series. .

      7. St. Louis Cardinals (65-49)—They absolutely bitch slapped the Reds, sweeping them after Brandon Phillips ran his mouth. Now that’s the mark of a Tony LaRuss-run team.

      8. Minnesota Twins (66-50)—They have a hold on first place now, and they aren’t going to let go. Do you hear that, White Sox fans?

      9. San Francisco Giants (66-51)—Little losses here and there are keeping the Giants from catching San Diego. But they still lead the wild card chase.

      10. Philadelphia Phillies (64-51)—They are getting healthy and hot, and that’s not a great sign for the Braves.

      External Sports, MLB

      Giants’ Sabean throws all logic out the window, acquires Jose Guillen

      August 13, 2010 /
      April 12, 2010: Kansas City Royals' Jose Guillen (6) during the MLB baseball game between the Kansas City Royals vs Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan.

      Jose Guillen can’t play defense, can’t get on base and he can’t hit for average.

      So naturally Giants’ GM Brian Sabean had to have him.

      On Friday, the Giants acquired the 34-year-old former Royal, who is well known for having a poor clubhouse reputation. That’s something the close-nit Giants don’t need right now heading into a huge weekend series with the first place Padres (the team the Giants are trailing by 2.5 games in the NL West).

      Clearly hypnotized by his 16 homers this season, Sabean felt the need to add the outfielder despite the fact that Guillen is more useless than a chair with only two legs. Plus, his acquisition means that Aaron Rowand, Travis Ishikawa (assuming Aubrey Huff moves back to first base) and Nate Schierholtz will receive less playing time than they already are, which is befuddling when you consider that Guillen isn’t a better option than any of them.

      If I punch myself in the side of the head enough times and squint hard enough, I might see the need for Guillen as a pinch hitter. But there’s no way that the Giants actually believe this schmuck is a starter. Do you know how much ground there is to cover in right field at AT&T Park? Guillen would be an absolute train wreck and for what? A couple of home runs down the stretch? I thought that’s what Pat Burrell was for? Didn’t Sabean already acquire Pat Burrell already? I’m confused.

      The worst part is, Sabean traded away two capable outfielders earlier this season in Fred Lewis and John Bower – two homegrown players that were better defensively than Guillen and who came with zero baggage. How does trading Lewis and Bowker and trading for Guillen make any sense? Tell me what the difference is between those players, or how Guillen makes the Giants better than Lewis and Bowker? And what happens to Schierholtz? The kid entered spring training as the favorite to start in right field and after a poor couple of weeks at the plate, he became Lewis’d, Bowker’d and Kevin Frandsen’d in the blink of an eye. If I were a Giants’ farm player, I’d want to be dealt immediately because Sabean will eventually block my position with a crusty old vet. It’s only a matter of time.

      Sabean doesn’t have the slightest clue what it takes to build an offense. For every Burrell, Huff and Juan Uribe, there’s a Rowand, Edgar Renteria and Mark DeRosa (who clearly wasn’t healthy when Sabean decided to hand him a two-year deal this past offseason). For every Bengie Molina trade, there’s a Guillen, Ryan Garko and Freddy Sanchez deal right around the corner.

      I’ve never see a man make so many stupid decisions and yet retain his job for 14 years. If Brian Sabean were the President of the United States, half the nation would be underwater right now.

      External Sports, MLB

      This Tim Lincecum just won’t do

      August 11, 2010 /
      San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Tim Lincecum walks back to the dug out after the second inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field in New York City on May 9, 2010. UPI/John Angelillo Photo via Newscom

      Giants fans have been spoiled, I guess. Tim Lincecum goes out and wins two Cy Young Awards in his first three seasons, yet many have found fault in his 11-5 record and 3.15 ERA heading into Tuesday night’s game against the Cubs.

      What’s to be worried about? He’s only striking out one less batter per nine innings than he was last year and has the same walk rate as he did in his first Cy Young season.

      He’s fine! Seriously, he’s fine.

      We’re all fine.

      Then Kosuke Fukudome hits a three-run, 416-foot blast into McCovey Cove off Lincecum in the first inning last night and you realize he’s not fine. He’s far from fine. He’s Kosuke-f’n-Fukudome-just-hit-a-towering-416-foot-home-run-off-him not fine.

      There is no shortage of reasons why Lincecum is struggling right now: He’s getting behind hitters, his command comes and goes, he’s tinkering with his windup too much and his changeup often bounces two feet in front of home plate instead of finding Buster Posey’s catcher mitt.

      He’s struggling. He needs a barber. He’s out of whack. He’s in a funk. Please cut that thing, Tim.

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      External Sports, MLB

      Mikey’s MLB power rankings

      July 31, 2010 /

      It’s hard to believe July is ending today and the dog days of summer are in full swing. It also means pennant races are heating up, and this year they are more so than ever. You can safely say the Rangers are playoff-bound, but every other division lead is no greater than 3.5 games, and we have three divisions that have the top two teams separated by 1.5 games or less. How awesome is that? I mean, this could be the greatest stretch run as far as the entire league, ever. Here are Mikey’s power rankings (yes, I just referred to myself in the third person, I need to stop that!)……

      1. New York Yankees (65-37)—The Rays are inching closer, but the Yanks are still the team to beat. Adding Lance Berkman was a way for them to bully the Rays a little, like “Take that, small market team!” I also keep thinking about how they are going to sign Cliff Lee in the off-season and then they may play .800 ball next year. And really, who wants to see that?

      2. Tampa Bay Rays (64-38)—Don’t think the Yankees aren’t sweating, however. Because these Rays just sweat talent.

      3. San Diego Padres (60-41)—Seriously, when was the last time the Padres were contemplating trades at the trade deadline to bolster their team for the stretch? It’s such a great story this year.

      4. Texas Rangers (60-43)—Speaking of great stories…..the Rangers are up by 8 games in their division and could be the first team to clinch a playoff spot.

      5. Atlanta Braves (59-43)—Another great story. I wonder if Greg Maddux could come back and help these guys for a few months.

      6. Boston Red Sox (58-45)—Now these guys will definitely be the odd team out, and it almost seems like if they keep winning it won’t matter.

      7. San Francisco Giants (59-45)—Don’t look now, but the G-men are 2.5 games back of the Padres. And they have one of the best starting rotations in baseball, so they have the goods to contend down the stretch.

      8. Chicago White Sox (58-44)—Another 5-game win streak, but barely hanging on to first place in the AL Central

      9. Cincinnati Reds (57-47)—How many great team stories can there be in one year? Forget the year of the pitcher, it’s the year of the Cinderella. Sorry, Cardinals fans, I know you have a half-game lead, but Joey Votto just hit another home run. Wait, there goes another one!

      10. Minnesota Twins (57-46)—It’s just a matter of time before the White Sox fade, and the Twins are putting ridiculous pressure on them with their own 6-game winning streak.

      In the hunt: St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, LA Dodgers
      Fading fast: New York Mets, LA Angels, Colorado Rockies

      External Sports, MLB

      Torre’s mistakes bigger than Mattingly’s gaffe

      July 21, 2010 /
      June 27, 2010 Los Angeles, CA..Joe Torre of the Dodgers argues with third base umpire Jerry Crawford after a strike call by home plate umpire Chris Guccione on Garrett Anderson during the Major League Baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Yankees defeated the Dodgers, 8-6, in 10 innings..Josh Thompson/CSM.

      Lost in the double mound visit gaffe by Don Mattingly in the Dodgers’ embarrassing 7-5 loss to the Giants on Tuesday night was a series of horrendous decisions by L.A. skipper Joe Torre earlier in the night.

      Tim Lincecum sent the Dodgers’ bench into a tizzy after he hit Matt Kemp with a pitch to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning. Then reliever Denny Bautista really pissed off L.A. when he threw one high and tight to catcher Russell Martin in the bottom of the sixth (which led to L.A. bench coach Bob Schaefer being ejected after he started screaming at home plate umpire Adrian Johnson).

      In trying to send a message to the Giants that he wasn’t going to take all of their shenanigans, Torre sent his starter Clayton Kershaw (who had already thrown over 100 pitches and was starting to get beaten like a piñata) up to the plate following Martin’s fly out to left. Mind you that at this point, the Giants had all but erased the Dodgers’ four-run lead and it was now a one-run game at 5-4. Kershaw promptly struck out swinging, as did Rafael Furcal to end the inning.

      In the top of the seventh, Torre’s intentions were made clear when Kershaw threw his first pitch of the inning right into Aaron Rowand’s thigh. Johnson, who had warned both benches after Lincecum had beaned Kemp, then ejected Kershaw and Torre as Rowand took his base.

      On the surface, it appeared that Torre was just making a point that the Dodgers weren’t going to back down from their biggest rival in their home park. But when you stand back and look at the situation on a whole, it was one of the dumbest moves by a manager this season.

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      External Sports, MLB

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