Sunday, June 11, 2006

Giant Thoughts

by SonDog

-- Well, that's enough of the Tim Worrell experience. Don't know if he's going to be released after giving up the granny to the Pittsburgh Pirates (who apparently have the best picthing staff in the National League... at least for SF hitters.). But he should be.

-- Saying that Jason Schmidt is in a groove would be a gross understatement. This is one of the best rolls he's been on in his career. While I didn't think the Giants should over-pay for him in the beginning of the season, I'm beginning to rethink that strategy. He anchors that staff and should be signed to an extension before he's allowed to hit the open market.

-- If Lance Niekro is put on the DL with a groin injury, Travis Ishikawa has an opportunity to take over first base permanently. From Baseball America's 2006 Prospect Handbook: "Since the Giants bought Ishikawa out of his Oregon State commitment with a $955,000 signing bonus as a 21st-round pick in 2002, they have waited for him to break out. The Giants always have believed in Ishikawa's bat and makeup. He's athletic and repeats a balanced, fluid stroke, and his swing has natural leverage that produces power. He projects as a .275 hitter with 20-30 homers annualy."

I would like nothing more than to see Niekro get in a groove and start mashing, but the guy is more fragile than a glass bird-feeder hanging off my back deck (not that I have experience in comparing the two. At this point, Ishikawa is a superior defender to Niekro and arguably has the same bat. Why not see what the kid can do?

-- When will Brad Hennessey get a shot to rejoin the rotation? I don't know the answer, as it's kind of a rhetorical question, but the guy has hit 94 with sink in each of his last three outings. Maybe he's better suited for the bullpen, as he never his 94 as a starter. I dunno.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a horrendous weekend for the Giants. Doesn't Worrell have a two-year contract? They will take a big hit to release his ass but I think they should. It's not fair to the rest of the team.

Their line up struggles badly without bonds in there - mostly because of his walks. They need to make a trade. Probably for a first basemen who is right handed. FInley and sweeney are a waste against left handed pitching.

Anonymous said...

Horrendous, indeed. BH put it best a few days ago when he related Worrell's two-year deal to the two-year deal that Neifi Perez received a couple of years back. Was Sabes afraid that Worrell wouldn't be available next year? I mean, it's not like the guy's done anything in the last three years. He's shot.

At this point, I think they can still win the West if their pitching holds up. The offense is just too old all the way around to expect all of these guys to remain healthy. Hell, even the young guys in this lineup can't stay healthy. That being said, I don't see the Dodgers or Padres running away with anything and the Diamondbacks are living through a grade-A stomach punch with the Grimsley mess.

I know Frandsen is the future at second, but what do you think about them making a run at Soriano? He'd probably demand to play second, but I don't think it would be a crippling loss if Durham took a hike.

Roscoe Galt said...

I heard somebody else mention Soriano at second this week too. At least if they pulled a trade like that, they'd get some offense to go with their crappy defense (at second).

Anonymous said...

I thought about Soriano today. I've also heard Craig Wilson - which is more their style. They will get Craig Wilson and Krukow will act like he is soriano

Anonymous said...

Krukow could make Mark Carreon and Tiny Felder sound like a poor-man's David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez.

I'm thinking that Brian Sabean is the last man on the planet to understand that most of these old farts who play well into their 40's only put up good stats because they were on the juice. It's almost like the agents for these guys say, "Hey, we can't get a deal anywhere else since you're A) 49 and B) clearly too old... but let's give the Giants a shot." I'm predicting that Jason Grimsley will be in the Giants bullpen after he serves his 50-game suspension.

Maybe that's a little harsh.