Sheer Randomness: Week 2

Several things to get to, so lets get started...

Timmy!!!

Giants ace and consensus best pitcher on the planet, Tim Lincecum, picked up his second straight NL Cy Young Award today after leading the league in strikeouts with 261 and finishing second in ERA at 2.48.

The win marks the first time since 1981 that a National League starting pitcher has won the Cy Young with fewer than 16 wins, and only the third time overall that feat has been accomplished. It's also a sign that baseball writers are finally starting to see the fallacy in using wins as the main statistic used to judge starters.

As a Giants fan this is also a very sweet victory after Pablo Sandoval was passed over for the Silver Slugger Award at third base.

Giants On The Hot Stove

Those who know me know that I am a die hard San Francisco Giants fan, and I've written on this blog just how excited I am for the 2010 season.

Much of that optimism and excitement obviously stems from the sudden uptick in the team's farm system as well as the major league success of home grown talent like Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Brian Wilson and Pablo "Kung Fu Panda" Sandoval.

On top of that is the stated intention of new managing general partner Bill Neukom to build a winning team on what he calls the "Giants Way". A greater emphasis on player development and sustaining success from within is the main focus of the "Giants Way", which in the opinion of this Giants fan is the way to go.

For too long standard operating procedure was to use the minor leagues as a breeding ground for trade bait as the big league club supplemented their ranks with veteran free agents. A practice that not only proved (for the most part) futile, but ridiculously expensive as well.

Monday Musings (The Tuesday Edition)

Welcome to a special Tuesday Edition of Monday Musings thanks to the Labor Day holiday. I won't bore you with my golfing exploits over the weekend, so on with the show...

• The college football season started with a bang and picked up right where last season left off with upsets a plenty.
  
  Three top-25 teams lost to unranked opponents (Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh), another was beaten badly by a lower ranked team (Clemson) and Michigan found a way to lose their second-straight home opener.
  
  This is why I love college football, because for those five teams it will be virtually impossible for them to win a national championship. Every game counts equally and there is no room for slow starts.
  
  
  
  Oh, and they're OK too.
  
  
• Tennessee head coach Phil Fullmer may never set foot in the state of California again. At least he won’t if he’s smart.
  
  
• Cliff Lee became the major league’s first 20-game winner after he tossed a complete game shutout against the AL Central leading White Sox.
  
  Lee now has credit for 20 of Cleveland’s 66 wins, which is remarkable. What’s even more impressive is that in seven of his wins the Indians have scored four runs or fewer and he picked up no-decisions in four games in which he gave up two runs or less.
  
  He hasn’t lost since July 6th and has won six straight decisions giving up eight earned runs and seven walks in 47.2 inning pitched. Dominant doesn’t quite describe what Lee has done this season and he should be a lock to win the AL Cy Young Award.
  
  
  
  
• There are reports that the Bengals’ wide receiver formally known as Chad Johnson has legally changed his name to Chad Ocho Cinco. This might be at the same time the dumbest and greatest attempt to market ones self in the history of sports.
  
  One thing is for certain, if the NFL allows him to put Ocho Cinco on the back of his jersey (and I can’t see how they can stop him now), his will be the most purchased jersey in the league and it won’t be close.
  
  
• Ricky Williams got a one-year contract extension with the Miami Dolphins. I have him on 1,400 yards and 8 touchdowns, no joke.
  
  
• The San Francisco Giants have lost six of their last seven games and Barry Zito got lit up by the Reds on Friday. Order has officially been restored to major league baseball.
  
  
• The Knicks traded for Patrick Ewing Jr. apparently hoping to distract fans from the awfulness that is the New York Knicks. Honestly, it will be pretty cool to see Ewing emblazoned on the back of a Knicks jersey once again, but they still suck. A lot.
  
  
• Tiger Woods and his wife Elin are reportedly expecting their second child sometime this winter. This of course brings into question the story about him injuring his knee while running. You the man Tiger!
  
  
• Brazilian superstar Robinho signed with Manchester City, favorite club of Oasis front man Noel Gallagher (new album in stores Oct. 6, yay!). This after powerhouse Chelsea thought it had the inside track on the 24-year-old.
  
  
  
  I’m sure no one reading this will care, but anytime a talent like Robinho switches clubs it’s worth mentioning in my book. Thus ends the soccer portion of the program.
  
  
• Vijay Singh won his second straight tournament by demolishing the field at the Deutsche Bank Championship, firing a final round 63 on his way to all but securing the $10 million bonus that goes to the winner of the FedEx Cup.
  
  At 45, Singh looks as fit as ever and even his often-balky putter seems to be behaving for him.
  
  I am supremely impressed by Singh who looks like he could play until he’s 55 without losing a step. He still hits it a mile and has the experience and moxy to do some serious damage in the majors next year.
  
  
• Olympic gold medalists Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh lost for the first time in 112 matches when they were beaten by the American team of Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh.
  
  The loss came just over a year after their last defeat, which was also at the hands of Youngs and Branagh.
  
  Say what you want about beach volleyball being a fringe sport, but you have to be impressed by the total dominance May and Walsh have shown over the last year.
  
  
• Cal beat Michigan State 38-31 on Saturday in spite of senior quarterback Nate Longshore’s two crucial interceptions in limited duty.
  
  
  
  I have no idea why Cal head coach Jeff Tedford continues to run him out there, but here’s hoping Longshore’s terrible effort on Saturday will further tighten sophomore Kevin Riley’s grip on the starting job and decrease the amount of playing time Tedford gives his senior QB.
  
  
• Lastly, the LPGA is trying to pass a rule that requires its members to speak English or face suspension from the tour.
  
  While it’s true that a growing number of the best players in the world hail from non-English speaking countries, making it mandatory for them to learn the language or lose playing privileges is out of line.
  
  For a game that markets itself as a global competition the LPGA has clearly over-played its hand in this instance. They could never get this kind of rule passed on the men’s tour, and they are foolish to think they can do it for the women.
  
  The LPGA needs to be happy about the rise in their popularity as a tour and keep its greatest assets, its players, as happy as possible and this is no way to do it.
  

The Power Of Expectation

The year is 2003 and expectations are high.

The San Francisco Giants, fresh off a heart-breaking loss in the World Series the year before, finish the regular season by winning the NL West by 15.5 games and with 100 wins overall.

They boast the best hitter on the planet in Barry Bonds who wins his sixth MVP at season's end and Cy Young runner-up Jason Schmidt who rips off 17 wins and an ERA under 2.40.

Without question this is a team with their sites set on a return trip to the World Series and a chance at redemption.

Things seem to be going to plan after game one of the Divisional Series with the Wild Card-winning Florida Marlins after Schmidt tosses a three-hit shutout to give the Giants a lead in the five game series.

Then, seemingly without warning, the Giants begin to fall apart. Game two sees the Giants cough up two separate leads and commit two costly errors, a theme that would ultimately be their undoing.



Game three is more of the same as Giants right fielder Jose Cruz Jr., winner of a Gold Glove in 2003, commits a terrible error in the bottom of the 11th inning with the Giants leading 3-2. His muffed fly ball leads to a Marlins rally on Giants closer Tim Worrell and makes the series 2-1 in favor of the Marlins.

As if written in some sort of sick script it's 2002 World Series goat Felix Rodriguez on the hill for the Giants when the Marlins score twice in the bottom of the 8th inning of game four which ultimately propels them to a win in the game and the series.

The Marlins will go on to win the World Series over the Yankees, making it two years in a row that the Giants will lose to the champions of baseball. A small consolation to Giants fans.

The series loss precipitates one of the worst trades in baseball history as the Giants trade relief pitcher Joe Nathan and starting pitching prospects Boof Bonser and Francisco Liriano to the Twins in exchange for catcher A.J. Pierzynski.

Nathan, who was coming off two appearances in the series with the Marlins in which he gave up four hits and three earned runs in a third of an inning, goes on to become one of the most dominant closers in baseball for the Twins.

Bonser earns a starting job for one of the better teams in baseball, while Liriano becomes one of the most electric starters in all of baseball before succumbing to an injury the next year.



Pierzynski meanwhile plays one very average season for the Giants, becomes a locker room cancer and bails the very next year.

The Giants haven't sniffed the playoffs since and have suffered through several seasons of management trying to recreate the 2002-2003 magic with aging veterans and larger-than-necessary contracts.

The reason for the fall is simple of course, and the answer is expectation. So painfully close were the Giants to a World Series ring that GM Brian Sabean and the rest of the team's brain trust were basically suckered into trying to win now at any cost.

Along with the Pierzynski trade, another byproduct of the expectations was the signing of past-his-prime closer Armando Benitez and the subsequent loss of their first round draft pick in 2005.

That pick could have been used on any number of big time talents from that draft including Jacoby Ellsbury, Clay Buchholz, Matt Garza and Colby Rasmus, all of whom were drafted after the Giants would have picked at #22 overall.



How did the Giants do in the 2005 draft? Only one of their picks, left-hander Alex Hinshaw who made his debut this year, has even made it to the major leagues. Ellsbury meanwhile is the starting center fielder in Boston, Buchholz has a big league no-hitter to his credit, Garza is proving to be a big time pickup for the first place Rays and Rasmus ranks as one of Baseball America's top 10 prospects in all of baseball.

Fast forward to today, June 4, 2008, my 28th birthday.

The Giants find themselves nine games under .500 and in third place in NL West, and all things considered I couldn't be happier. The difference? You guessed it, expectations.

The 2008 season for the Giants brought with it some of the lowest expectations in quite some time thanks to the departure of Bonds and the acknowledged rebuilding efforts of the front office.

Some were calling the Giants the worst team on paper that they had ever seen (ahem, Buster Olney), and here they sit in third place and with the fifth pick in the upcoming draft. Things are looking up if you ask me.



They have a true ace and one of the most exciting young pitchers in the game in Tim Lincecum. Solid starters behind him in Matt Cain and Jonathan Sanchez. Hell, even that terrible contract they gave Barry Zito doesn't bother me so much right now.

It's been a lot of fun to watch the Giants finally give some young players a shot to prove they can play in the big leagues. Players like Fred Lewis, Emmanuel Burriss, John Bowker and Brian Wilson have all been pleasant surprises and more than a breath of fresh air.

Ultimately this team may end up as the worst in baseball record-wise, but honestly I couldn't care less. Watching these kids grow together as a team and seeing them play hard and surprise a lot of people (D-Backs, hello) has made this expectation-less season already one to remember for myself and Giants fans everywhere.

Thanks Peter

It was announced today that San Francisco Giants managing partner Peter Magowan would be stepping down effective at the end of the 2008 season, just a year after the single most important player acquisition in the team's history (Barry Bonds) became baseball's all-time home run king.

Some believe that Magowan's inclusion in the now infamous Mitchell Report precipitated this move and that he was more or less forced out by MLB Commissioner Bud Selig in order to avoid sanctions against the Giants.

Whatever the reason for his departure, as a fan of the Giants I simply would like to thank Mr. Magowan for all that he did in returning my favorite team to prominence and respectability.

People forget that before the 1993 season the Giants were dangerously close to being moved to Florida by then owner Bob Lurie. Magowan however stepped in and purchased the team along with an investment group and the course of team history was changed.



Bonds was signed shortly thereafter and a team that was by all rights dead in the water surged to 103 wins and to the brink of a playoff berth.

The next 10 seasons would see the Giants win more regular season games than any team other than the Braves and Yankees, as well as a World Series appearance in 2002.

Perhaps Magowan's biggest contribution to the Giants and the city of San Francisco however was the move to have what is now AT&T Park built and ensure that the team would remain in the city by the bay for a very long time.

Many people outside of San Francisco don't know this, but that gorgeous ballpark was built entirely with private funding. So while cities across the country pined for new ballparks and looked to public funding to make their dreams a reality, Magowan was able to make the seemingly impossible happen.

It was Magowan's willingness to do what it took financially as well as stay out of baseball operations for the most part that made him a success with the Giants.

Not everything has gone right for Magowan since he took over the team in 1993, but for my money there are very few owners out there who could have done a better job.

A Damn Shame

Word out of San Francisco today is that AT&T Park, the "house that Barry built" as I like to call it, will no longer feature the likeness or record numbers that the greatest player in franchise history achieved while he was a member of the organization.

While I can understand the removal of Bonds' image on the left field wall that signified his pursuit of the all-time home run record, I am quite upset that the team will not be displaying the number 762 inside the ballpark.

762 of course being the number of home runs that Bonds has hit to this point in his career; a career that appears to be over as no team has expressed real interest in the 43-year-old slugger.

Think what you want about Barry, but the fact remains that he is the all-time home run leader and for the one place in the country where he is beloved to basically disavow any connection to him is unfortunate.

In fact, not only do I think they should feature his record number prominently inside the park, but should he sign with another team at some point they should be updating it as he adds to the record total.

It's the least they could do after their shotty handling of his departure from the team, which included a preemptive announcement from owner Peter Magowan that Bonds would not be asked back in 2008.

"We're very respectful, at least I am, appreciative of all the contributions he made to the Giants over all that long period of time, but the time came when we needed to go in a new direction," Magowan told reporters.

A new direction I understand, because on the field the team has more than its fair share of holes to fill. But it's a disgrace in my opinion to not pay tribute to the man that single-handedly changed the fortunes of a franchise that was not all that far away from relocating to Florida prior to his arrival.

How quickly people forget that it was Bonds who energized a half-dead fan base and led the Giants to 103 wins in 1993.

It was Bonds who carried the team to the World Series in 2002.

And it was Bonds whose performance from the time he signed spurred the Giants to the third-most wins in all of baseball from 1993 through 2004.

How quickly they forget.



There is a way however that Magowan and the Giants can rectify this situation and make it clear that they're not simply bowing to Major League Baseball or letting legal concerns take away from just how much Bonds meant to the team and the city of San Francisco.

And that way is to erect a statue of Bonds alongside the one of his godfather Willie Mays, so that every time a person walks into that glorious ballpark they know exactly who it was that put it there.

A Plea From A True Fan

As you have probably noticed, I am a die hard San Francisco Giants fan. They are the one franchise in all of sports (sorry Niners) that I feel truly connected to on an emotional level.

Anyone who knows me knows that the one and only time I cried over a sporting event was game six of the 2002 World Series. Five run lead with eight outs to go. Russ Ortiz on cruise control. Thanks Dusty.

Honestly just thinking about it makes me well up from time to time.

Anyway, I'm getting off track.

Fast forward to 2008 and my how far my Giants have fallen. Gone are the days when opposing teams would have to account for the force of nature that was Barry Bonds. He always made them a legit threat, no matter how bad they seemed to be.

Unfortunately the comfort zone that having Barry around created, led to a philosophy of building with older players to win now, instead of keeping an eye on the future and acquiring young talent to step in when the time came.



Sure they've developed an impressive array of pitching prospects lately, but as Matt Cain's 7-16 record with a 3.65 ERA in 2007 showed, you have to be able to score runs.

To hammer home just how bad they are this year, in a recent ESPN.com fantasy baseball article they posed the question, "Does the 'offense' make every Giant unownable?"

While I still think Cain and uber-sensation Tim Lincecum have value, the question is a legitimate one.

Luckily for the Giants they have the perfect opportunity in front of them to get their young guys regular playing time. "Prospects" like Kevin Frandsen, Dan Ortmeier, Fred Lewis and Nate Shierholtz have been held back long enough by the win-now attitude.

Except for the most dilusional of fans, no one expects them to be any good, what better time could their be to find out what they have in terms of young position players?

But instead of that they insist on hanging onto aging vets like Ray Durham, Rich Aurilia and Dave Roberts, all three of whom I like and respect as ball players, but this is not their time and should not be their team.

Consider that as prospects go, none of the guys the Giants have are all that young. Frandsen, who projects as a part-time third and second baseman by manager Bruce Bochy, is 25 years old.



Lewis, who has flashed his impressive set of tools on a number of occasions only to get sent back to the minors, is 27 and out of options. He'll be backing up Roberts in left and Randy Winn in right.

Shierholtz is 24 and because he still has options figures to be the odd man out and be sent back to Triple-A despite being arguably the most talented of the bunch.

Add in speedsters Eugenio Velez (25) and Rajai Davis (27) and you have a group of guys with skills but no place to play with the team set up as it is right now.

Non-roster invitee Brian Bocock (23) looks like he might get some early season playing time, but will be replaced by 40-something Omar Vizquel as soon as the veteran shortstop gets healthy.

Only Ortmeier (26) is assured of regular playing time as the team's starting first baseman heading into the season.

Look around the big leagues right now and you see an overflow of young talent getting the opportunity to play, and that's no fluke.

More and more organizations are realizing that the young guys can contribute to a winner and if nothing else can be served better in many cases by getting their feet wet at the highest level.

What could it possibly hurt for the Giants to go young all over the field and find out once and for all if this group of guys can play in the big leagues and be solid regulars?

If I were running things my opening day lineup would look like this:

C - Bengie Molina
1B - Dan Ortmeier
2B - Kevin Frandsen
SS - Omar Vizquel (if healthy)
3B - Eugenio Velez
LF - Fred Lewis
CF - Aaron Rowand
RF - Randy Winn



Sure, that lineup squeezes out guys like Durham, Aurilia and Roberts, but in order to move forward and build for a future without Barry, I feel it's necessary to start now.

That lineup would at least showcase some speed and playmaking ability with Velez and Lewis both above-average runners and base stealers. Something Bochy and the Giants front office have been promising since it was decided Barry would not be back.

Everyone in baseball knows the Giants are going to be one of the least exciting teams in baseball in 2008. The least they could do is give their fans a reason to be hopeful and play the young guys.