The Minnesota Twins will be hard
pressed to win the Central Division
for the third consecutive year,
but who else is going to challenge?

By Amaury Pi-González [Read more →]

The San Francisco Giants are ready to
defend their National League West
title starting Monday April 5 in Houston,
but this might be a tough year for
Felipe and the veteran team.

By Amaury Pi-González [Read more →]

The only thing not Wild about this
“Wild West” Division is the Texas
Rangers. We can all agree they
are the solid pick for last, but
for the other three teams ?

By Amaury Pi-González [Read more →]

Last year the Giants won 100 games. They were so far in front of the other clubs that the last 10 games of the season were meaningless. If Cruz, who was celebrated for his fielding throughout the year, even if he was a loss at bat for most of the year, hadn’t dropped a fly ball that a bush leaguer woiuld have caught. the team could have beaten Tampa Bay in the playoffs.

It was no mystery, at the start of spring training, that the club faced uncertainties with the pitching. Schmidt ended the year with arm problems and Nen was lost the entire season. They hadn’t resigned Worrell, who had pitched well in the closer role. They were looking for a fifth starter, as so many clubs are experiencing these days.

The word now, from knowledgable observers, is that, in addition to pitching woes, without Bonds in the lineup the Giants are a worse hitting team than the Dodgers. It may be a cause for wonder why anyone is picking them to finish ahead of the Rockies.

A realistic look at the club today is in order. Last year they won 100 games. No club does that if they aren’t playing at a high professional level. No one can reasonably contend that this wasn’t a good ballclub last year. Removing Bonds from the lineup and then forming an opinion respecting the team’s ability is not meaningful. The other clubs would like to see Bonds removed from the lineup but, unfortunately for them, the last time I looked it appeared that Bonds was still on the team. There is no point in debating whether the Giants are a better hitting team than the Dodgers if Bonds is not playing. They probably are a better hitting team than the Dodgers, even without Bonds. But they are not without Bonds.

What has the team done since the end of the 2003 year? For one thing, they removed the three least productive players on the team which, despite them, won 100 games. Those three players are Cruz, Aurilia and Santiago. The pundits who are showing a lack of respect point to what they consider a loss of offensive strength by the departure of these three. Continual reference is made to the “pop” in Aurilia’s bat which it is contended will be missed.

For some difficult to fathom reason, all of these opinions respecting Aurilia’s “pop” overlook his actual performance these past two years. They continue to be beguiled by his performance in 2001, an aberration in a career that extends at the major league level for nine years. The past two years he has averaged 14 homeruns and 60 rbis. This is not exactly A-Rod numbers. Coupled with his clearly established lack of range in the field his departure will not be sorely missed.

Cruz was a disaster at bat the last three quarters of the year. Most of the hitting stats referred to in asserting how much power the team loses by giving away Cruz were stats produced in the opening days of the season. Even so, he ended up hitting .250. As for Santiago, he is far gone, both offensively and defensively. The pitchers much preferred throwing to Torrealba. Santiago, as well as Aurilia and Cruz, consistently hit into more double plays than good hitters should.

As for the admiitted problems with the pitching— the spring training season so far has offered some encouraging signs. Schmidt apparently has overcome what was troubling him at year’s end. Nen has been throwing without pain although he still needs to face opposition hitters. Hermanson may be the fifth starter thay need. Williams must overcome the so-called sophomore jinx and give them a reliable number two starter.

The bench, which was a disaster last year has been strengthened. The trio of outfielders contending for time in right field provides bench strength lacking in 2003. These are three reasonably good, major league players. They will collectively perform at a higher level than Cruz, not a difficult task.

Perez will give the team far better defense than Aurilia. He may not have any “pop” but overall the club is better with Perez playing shortstop than Aurilia. Catching is bound to be improved with Pierzynski and Torrealba.

This is a ballclub which won 100 games last year and could be an improved team this year. It is not worthy of despair. It may not win 100 games this year but it should be odds-on to win the division.

.

L [Read more →]

Marty; The pitchers have reported, the rest of the team will be there in a few days and spring training is upon us. The real world of baseball is once again, thankfully, here, and we can open the sports pages to meaningful matters. The free agents have made their commitments and we need no longer bewail the fates which allow the rich to get richer and the improvident to complain the world is unfair.

Good to have Ed Stern back with us with his first spring training report on his favorite team. Ed’s analysis on the Giants is superior to any writer’s column in the Bay Area!

Thanks, Ed….
[Read more →]

Marty; good to have you back. Glenn Dickey wrote a few weeks ago that “Giants have dealt themselves into corner”. Some of his observations are well taken; others are open to dispute. Open to no dispute is his reference to the Giants pitching problems and their, impossible to justify, giving up of Ortiz, a 22 game winner and Ainsworth for the dubious privilege of having the services of Moss and Ponson for a few months. Sabean, and particularly management which thought it was a good idea to give up Ortiz in order to save a few bucks, have much to answer for.

The Giants won 100 games last year and left the rest of the division far back in the pack. If they can come up with at least one respectable starter, if their closer situation doesn’t become a disaster zone, they should do as well as they did last year. However, Dickey says that the team now faces a “serious power shortage”.

In support of that contention, he points to the loss of Cruz, Aurillia and Santiago. These three don’t bring to mind Mays, McCovey and Cepeda. One finds great difficulty in locating the power these three abysmal hitters provided. Cruz was an absolute disaster for the better part of the year, Aurillia had his career year in 2001 and hasn’t been a productive hitter since then, and Santiago is way over the hill, as both a catcher and a hitter.

Not only has Aurillia deteriorated as a hitter but his fielding has always left much to be desired. Teams considering him today are talking about playing him at third and one even mentioned playing him at second. When informed of these attitudes Aurillia was quoted as saying,” Am I really that bad?” The answer is “yes”.

It is true that the team could use a right fielder who can hit meaningfully behind Bonds. However, the team last year started with an outfield which had as their 4th and 5th player Bernard and Rivera. One outdid the other in futility. For much of the time they played with the three starting outfielders and Feliz, an infielder, their fourth fielder, and, it should be kept in mind, the third player in the outfield was Cruz, who couldn’t buy a hit for most of the year.

They have added Pierzinski, a move Dickey rightfully describes as “great”. In addition, Alfonzo should play as well as he did the last half of the year, including post season. He was feeling his way the first half of the season. Their outfield is much stronger with the addition of Hammonds, Tucker and Mohr. It is a better team than last year’s if the pitching comes around and we are still to hear from Sabean on that score. Not the least of the improvement will come from the defense, notwithstanding the loss of Cruz as a fielder.

The shortstop position will be fielded far better than it was with Aurillia. Snow has been retained, a wise move. He can hit well in the 2nd slot and still fields better than almost any other player at first.

Arizona and LA have been weakened. The division is the Giants to lose and it is unlikely that they will.

[Read more →]

This year’s flurry of activity, with teams filling open spots in their lineups irrespective of the cost and others dumping high priced productive players because of budgetary concerns, once again raises serious questions concerning baseball’s present structure. By way of example, looking at the Yankee/Red Sox operation and comparing it to the Brewers problems may be enlightening, although nothing said here is going to come as a great surprise to any devoted follower of the game. [Read more →]

October no longer marks the end of the baseball season. The intervening months, November to April, when play begins, are devoted to filling those positions which ownership feels need strengthening. Weaknesses are perceived and the hunt, designed to overcome such weaknesses, begins. It begins however, for the most part, for those teams which have the financial ability to attract free agents without concern respecting budget. The prime example is the Evil Empire, also known as the Yankees, although there are a few other teams in a similar position. [Read more →]

Interesting stories in today’s sports pages respecting both the Giants and the A’s. With respect to the Giants, the headline is “Forget about Guerrero, Sheffield as additions.”

Ray Ratto is of the opinion that the Giants will not spend the money needed to get either of these right fielders. He may be right. If he is, the sentiment recently mentioned here, that Sabean wants to win it all now, should be modified to “Sabean wants to win it all now, if it can be done within the budget.”

[Read more →]

Once again, Sabean has let it be known that rebuilding is not the name of the game as far as the Giants are concerned. The trade for Pierzynski is, among other considerations, a message to those free agents sitting out there, that the team is intending in 2004 to make it to the World Series. There are a few free agents available who are capable of turning this team into a prime contender for the ultimate prize. One of them, for example, is Gary Sheffield. [Read more →]