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The real reason the Giants didn't sign Barry Bonds*

By Pizza Cutter | December 1, 2008 | Statistically Speaking

I know why the Giants didn't keep Barry Bonds* around. And no, it had nothing to do with steroids. OK, maybe it did. It had nothing to do with the fact that he was said to be a jerk in the clubhouse. OK, maybe it did. It had nothing to do with collusion. Or maybe it... anyway. I say that the real reason that the Giants didn't re-sign Barry Bonds* was actually... Fred Lewis? Let's consider for a moment the total value of a baseball player, his hitting, fielding, and baserunning prowess, along the same lines that Justin Inaz has suggested. If we just look at hitting prowess, Bonds* vs. Lewis is no contest. But let's see what happens when we consider fielding and baserunning in the equation. Take a look at what Bonds* did in 2007 and what Lewis did in 2008. Both played primarily in left field. I used...

Read more | 4 Comments | Tags: Barry Bonds, Fred Lewis, San Francisco Giants

Thanksgiving

By Kevin Gibbs | November 27, 2008 | Giants Cove

I am thankful for many things, most of which are too cliched or sappy to warrant posting. Therefore I will restrict myself to items in keeping with my suave, carefully cultivated public image.1. I am thankful for Giants baseball. We may be a poorly run franchise years away from competing for anything meaningful but we have the best uniforms, best stadium and best announcers in baseball. 2. I am thankful for Madison Bumgarner, Buster Posey, Angel Villalona and the rest of our prospects. Although mocking the Giants' system has been a long standing tradition for bloggers and pundits alike, over the past several years the Giants have put together one of the stronger farms in baseball.3. I am thankful for the National and the Weakerthans. My two favorite bands have helped to make the countless hours I spend at my desk seem less interminable. 4. I am thankful for all...

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Happy Thought of the Day

By Kevin Gibbs | November 26, 2008 | Giants Cove

Despite the likelihood that the Giants will not win very many games next year, the organization as a whole is far healthier than it has been in a long time. Sabean et al. have done a tremendous job rebuilding our parched (and plundered) minor league system through both smart draft choices and international free agent signings. While I still don't trust Sabean to make particularly wise deciisions at the major league level and while it seems we will forever be a hair's breadth away from signing an aging veteran to a bloated long-term contract, at least successful player development allows the team to absorb FA blunders better....

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Brian Sabean, free agency, San Francisco Giants

UPDATE: Renteria signing not happening?

By Nick Cannata-Bowman | November 24, 2008 | Giants Cove

After Kevin and I both spend time writing up the pros and cons of Edgar Renteria as a Giant, our parade is ruined by here-say reports and the Giants front office.MLB Trade Rumors fills us in by telling us that the Giants are still speaking with Rafael Furcal's agent, would would indicate that a Renteria signing isn't imminent. Henry Schulman of the SF Chronicle states that the Giants front office is denying reports of an alleged signing period.Paul Kinzer, Rafael Furcal's agent claims that he and the Giants front office talked just an hour ago, saying that "unless the Giants did it (signed Renteria) in 10 minutes, which I don't think they did, they weren't close."Could the Giants be waiting until the Tigers offer Renteria arbitration? In doing so, we'd keep our second round pick. More updates will be in as they come......

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Renteria

By Kevin Gibbs | November 24, 2008 | Giants Cove

As per mlbtraderumor.com (a name that does not exactly inspire confidence), the Giants have inked Edgar Renteria to a 2 year 18 million dollar contract. Let's start out with the blindingly obvious (except perhaps to Brian Sabean), Renteria was not a good player last year. In fact, his 2007 campaign represents a pretty significant step back from his career norms. Renteria posted a 699 OPS last season, neither slugging (.382), getting on base (317) or stealing bases (6) with anything approaching adequacy. His defense also faired poorly in detroit, as he posted a -9 on the +/- system (an average shortstop would have saved about 8 more runs per year than Renteria). At age 33, he is unlikely to bounce back significantly over the life of this contract.However, the alternatives to signing Renteria (assuming a complete and utter lack of creativity on the part of Giants management [a given])...

Read more | 2 Comments | Tags: Edgar Renteria, San Francisco Giants

Edgar Renteria a Giant?

By Nick Cannata-Bowman | November 24, 2008 | Giants Cove

MLB Trade Rumors is telling us that according to WFAN, the Giants have signed shortstop Edgar Renteria to a two year $18 million contract. The move would give the Tigers the Giants' second round pick in the next draft.Renteria, 32, is a career .290/.347/.405 hitter, but is coming off a pretty God-awful season playing for Detroit. That said, I'm not completely sure what to think of this move. On one hand, it's a short-term deal so it won't harm us for that long. Renteria is two years removed from hitting .332/.390/.470 for Atlanta, plays an OK shortstop for his advanced age, and would likely thrive as a gap-to-gap hitter in AT&T Park (he's a career .344/.398/.505 hitter in San Francisco). Projections from Bill James say that Renteria is likely to bounce back and hit .286/.345/.406 with 11 homers and 84 RBI's, making for a pretty solid season out of an...

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Orlando Hudson

By Kevin Gibbs | November 21, 2008 | Giants Cove

Orlando Hudson seems the type of player tailor-made to evoke my cunningly acerbic wit (or less charitably, my clever blogger know-it-all snark). A 31 year old 2nd baseman whose offense is certainly a product of his home field and whose last season ended as a result of injury hardly strikes one as a desirable free agent target. However, despite the obvious setup, I cautiously approve of the Giants' interest in Hudson.Allow me to voice my concerns before I delve into why I like Hudson. Baseball players not named Omar Vizquel peak as defenders in their early 20's. The defensive decline which occurs proportionally with age may be gradual or abrupt but it is inevitable. In terms of offense, Hudson will not post an OPS above 800 (as he has the past several season) if he signs with the Giants. Not only does he lose the offense inflating environs of...

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Hot Stove report: Bay Area lures Sabathia, Pedroia builds case for big money, free agent predictions

By Brandon Rosage | November 21, 2008 | The Pitch

Just a few weeks away from Major League Baseball's winter meetings, "The Pitch" fans the flames of the Hot Stove by shuffling through all of the latest CC Sabathia, Manny Ramirez, Mark Teixera and Jake Peavy reports. Hosts Joe Aiello and Brandon Rosage also evaluate the MVP and Cy Young Awards and how the winners might be affected in the market today and down the line, including Boston's rising star Dustin Pedroia. Listen in and participate via e-mail (thepitch@mvn.com) or in the comments. And don't miss Brandon Rosage's new web video talk show "Boom, Outta Here," which spends its latest episode discussing Pedroia's shot at a new Red Sox deal....

Read more | Discuss | Tags: audio, Boston Red Sox, CC Sabathia, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, MLB, New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals

Could the S.F. Giants win the division in 2009?

By Evan | November 17, 2008 | MVN Outsider

The San Francisco Giants haven't been relevant since 2002 except for it's mercurial slugger, Barry Bonds.They could be relevant again in 2009.Yes, the Giants lost 90 games last year, but they were only 12 games back of the division winning Los Angeles Dodgers. Compare that to the 75-86 Oakland Athletics, which finished 24.5 games back. With a couple tweaks here and there, the Giants could win the division in 2009, and it's not as far fetched an idea as you may think it.The Giants have two young, dominant pitchers heading up their staff in 2008 Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum and his sidekick, Matt Cain. Two other young players in Jonathan Sanchez and Noah Lowry also offer promise, but Barry Zito remains the laughingstock of baseball. If Zito can ever get it together, this is one deep rotation. If not, they can still compete with the best of them.2008...Read more

Read more | 7 Comments | Tags: MLB, San Francisco Giants

MVN Awards: NL Cy Young - Tim Lincecum

By EJ Fagan | November 9, 2008 | MVN Outsider

Words don't do Tim Lincecum justice. Watch the video (warning: there's sound): I'm no pitching mechanics expert. Really, I throw like a girl. But I've watched enough baseball in my time to know genius when I see it. Lincecum's delivery, designed by a team of Swiss supercomputers, has been the subject of a lot of debate. 9 teams decided to pass on him in the 2006 draft, due to their disbelief that a 5'11", 165 guy could throw so hard for so long without having to receive a prosthetic elbow. The Rockies pick up their 6'7" righty Greg Reynolds, and Tigers their 6'6" lefty Andrew Miller, but the Giants went for the midget. How does he do it? I really don't know. The experts tell me that he creates torque using the lower half of his body better than anyone in recent baseball history, and that Lincecum uses leverage and...Read more

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Baseball, Cy Young, MLB, MVN Awards, National League, San Francisco Giants, Tim Lincecum

Being the GM: 2009 San Francisco Giants

By Evan | October 13, 2008 | MVN Outsider

This series is predicated on educated guesses, past history of the team/general manager, rumors that have been out there for a while, and actions that I feel could be taken. This exercise is me playing GM to inspire conversation and a new way of approaching things. Moves that I complete as previous GMs of teams will carry over here. Trades only include principal, significant players. Brian Sabean is tenuously hanging onto his job and needs to find a power hitter somewhere. Writers are clamoring for him to trade Matt Cain, presumably for Prince Fielder. Sabean (smartly) dismisses this talk. When you have a top two of Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, you don't entertain trade proposals. The Giants have an up and coming catcher in Buster Posey and a solid backstop already in the bigs in Bengie Molina. Kevin Frandsen is en route to return from injury and Manny Burriss...Read more

Read more | 4 Comments | Tags: Adam Dunn, Greg Maddux, MLB, San Francisco Giants

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