Note: We're actually two days into the second half of the season. Beat me up.
It's day three of the All-Star Break, and time to ask another classic midsummer question:
Am I really watching the ESPY's right now?
It's still time to look back, this time at the Worsts of the first half of 2010. Think of it as the empty portion of the half full glass that is the Giants season so far. I'd love to just waft in the optimism, but hey - do you know what time it is? it's the second half of the season o'clock! Serious time! We've got some serious decisions to make and some serious NL West opponents to consider! Play time is over, and it's time to scold all the bad children.
WORST SURPRISE
Pablo Sandoval
I wish I could pick someone else. If you had taken 2009 me and shown him the team Giants stats for 2010 up to this point, 2009 me would be convinced he were in a Twilight Zone episode about the Giants. Because 2009 me knows Pablo Sandoval is the one player he doesn't have to worry about. 2010 me is considering the benefits of sending him to Fresno for a few weeks. Your starting third baseman isn't supposed to be batting eighth, Fresno is only a few rungs below. What choice do you have when a player apparently has made a deal with the mob to ground softly into 10 double plays per week? I don't know if a trip to the minors will turn him back into the .330/25/90 guy the Giants need right now, but it might help for him to hang out somewhere where he can actually hit the ball hard.
WORST GAME
April 19, 2010 - Dodgers 2, Giants 1
The very next game after my best game pick. Mrs. Orange and I, and some Giant fan friends bravely went into enemy territory for this one, knowing that just the day before we had blanked our foes 9-0, and Zito, who had been walking on water up to that point, was on the mound. I figured we had a great chance, and for seven and two-thirds, Zito looked like a miracle-worker and the Dodgers hitters look silly. When Uribe homered in the sixth, the Dodger fans around me grew into deeper silence as my crew and I held a high-five party in our seats. Our joy was not long, however. Sergio Romo gave up the go ahead two-run homer to Ramirez in the eighth, and it was as if Manny were Dig-Dug with dreadlocks and he had hooked up his inflating plug right into my side and blew my soul to bits. After the 45-minute standing ovation and 68 slow motion replays on the big screen, the formerly silent home fans suddenly became a lot chattier. During Broxton's 1-2-3 ninth to end the game, one fellow in our row was urging Big Jon to hurry so we could begin our journey back to San Francisco...where we actually don't live. My memory of the rest of the afternoon was kind of hazy.
WORST MOVE (COMBO AWARD-PREDICTION)
Deal to be Named Later
This is kind of a cop out, but I'm combining my pick for worst move and my prediction for the second half of the season, in which the Giants give up too much and get too little in return in an effort to complete a big trade before the deadline. I see a different kind of Giants team this year, in which they're trusting their youth to make things happen. But I don't think this new era has blossomed quite enough to prevent Sabean from thinking he can duplicate his Matt Williams-Jeff Kent trick from almost 20 years ago. A trick he has been trying to duplicate just about every season since. I want my Giants of 2010 to be focused inward. A solid lineup with an almost distinct identity is starting to come together, right now. Great things can be happening. Instead of bringing in yet another outsider, why not look at what you've got, celebrate and build around what's good, and fix what's bad? What's a riskier investment of time and effort: breaking things up to bring in a veteran square peg in the hopes that he fits in and makes the rest of the team better, or sending Pablo down for a few weeks in hopes that he gets his groove back?
I hope my prediction is wrong, and the new groovy Giants - who don't actually know that they're not supposed to win series vs. the NL West opponents - finally win that division title. But I do have another prediction, one that I'm more sure of, and that I hope is right:
More Orange Fridays
Orange Fridays RULE!
ReplyDeleteOne of the things about the Giants, among the many is that they are in denial about their hitting. They have placed high expectations on Posey, but I truly feel, that they need to get after Corey Hart even if it costs them 1 pitcher. They have enough bull pen help to weather a bad 5th starter should Sanchez be included in the deal. I think one guy that is often overlooked, but a cheaper version of any first baseman is Lyle Overbay. I know. He can hit, and in a right field friendly yard, that would be a bonus. Getting Fielder or Hart for one year, or one month is not a great idea.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, the Giants could in fact make it a race without the extra hitter. They might be better off in August when races take shape and players become more readily available. They could also include Uribe in a deal if they want to get a hitter. You never know. Giants need a hitter, but really at what cost. You can't trade more minor leaguers because if you do and don't make the playoffs, you send your farm system back a couple of years.
I'd rather an offensive upgrade cost them a pitcher instead of a bat, because right now I count three consistent bats in the lineup. Trading one of them for Hart would essentially be a non-upgrade.
ReplyDeleteThey also need to pay some attention to their bullpen, because they need a lefty in there. That might be what the Dontrelle Willis move is about.