Marty Lurie Talks San Francisco Giants Baseball
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Giants:This year's past & future by Ed Stern

Marty; This may be a time to do somewhat more than just look at last night’s game. At least, mention it in the context of what has been going on since the start of the season. It is true that it ain’t over till it’s over, but the past frequently can foreshadow the the future.

Fans, Ed Stern a dedicated Giants fan gives us his thoughts this morning on the team and a look at its future in his article. Ed knows baseball and especially the Giants, click below for another perspective on the Bay Area’s other team.
Thanks,
Marty As the season began an evaluation of the team, it’s strengths and weaknesses was made. From this beginning until today a constant theme was to address the club’s day to day performance in the context of the opinion early offered of it’s personnel. There was a major turnover of players from last year’s winner, the major loss being Kent. Additional players, Durham and Grissom, have performed far beyond reasonable expectations and management deserves credit for their acquisition. At the start of the year one had no reliable basis for evaluating the impact these two would make. There were, however, clear areas of potential weaknesses identified. These were, in no particular necessary order of importance, the left side of the in field, Aurilia and Alfonzo. Aurilia didn’t appear to be the hitter he had been a few year’s ago and Alfonzo, who was targeted as the person able to pick up the slack left by Kent’s departure, had, in his two previous years with the Mets, failed to hit with men on base, as evidenced by his record over that period of time of driving in only 50 runs in each of those years. The loss of Nen was an obvious problem, the proposed solution being a closer by committee. The substitution of Moss for Ortiz, irrespective of the salary justification offered, made no sense. Ortiz was a proven starter who had come thru in important clutch situations, the World Series,for one, and Moss was a relatively untried left hander with a propensity for wildness. The outfield, assuming that Cruz was going to fill the right field spot adequately, still needed two major league outfielders to fill in and come off the bench as pinchhitters. Bernard and Rivera didn’t measure up, as should have been evident to any knowledgeable observer. The bullpen was suspect, Worrell was being penciled in as the most likely “closer”, which left them without a proven setup man, Rodriguez had not pitched back to his glory days as a setup man, for much of the previous year. The concerns expressed at the start of the year have, for the most part, accurately described what has happened up to this point in the season. Aurilia and Alfonzo have a major responsibility for the club’s failure to bring in runners from a scoring position. Alfonzo has not brought his average up to .230 and gives little indication that he is going to in the future. Aurilia fails to hit with men on base and has consistently hit into double plays, leaving Bonds standing there with the bat on his shoulder. Alou, according to late reports is thinking of benching, not simply resting, Alfonzo. This is over due. They may be saddled with Aurilia altho one might reasonably conclude that they would be better off with Perez playing shortstop. The outfield situation is an absolute disaster, with much, if not all, of the problem to be laid at the door of Sabean. It starts with the misguided impression that Bernard and Rivera were major league hitters who could come off the bench and give them pinchhitting power and a rest for the regulars upon occasion. It didn’t take long to dispel that impression. Rivera has been released, Bernard is on the DL and, when he isn’t, he is hitting .186. Today, the team has been left with the incomprehensible situation of not having a single outfielder ready to play other than the three regulars. There was talk in the press today that Alou was thinking of benching Cruz, who has been one of the major culprits in failing to bring runners home. Who does Alou have to take his place? The potential weaknesses which were discussed during the opening days are no longer “potential”. They are here right now and have been for some time. Unless serious steps are taken to redress the failures this team may be going nowhere, even in a division which is as weak as the one they are in. The Dodgers, with the worst hitting infield in the majors and the lowest batting average in the National league, a team completely dependent on their pitching, is the only competition on the horizon. Arizona is looking to the return of their two starters in good physical form. This may not happen. What is distressing, among other aspects of their situation, is that the team has a great deal going for them. They have Bonds, they have proven pros, Grissom, Santiago,Durham, and Gallaragga. off the bench,a dominent pitcher in Schmidt, Snow, who, even tho he is now a proven .275 hitter with little power, lends a professionalism to the club with his fielding and certainly can be a productive part of a winning team. Moreover, one of the very attractive parts of the club is the young pitchers who show great promise. It is unfortunate that they are continually forced to pitch in situations where the game is on the line because of the failure of the team to score runs with men on base. Every once in a while it would be nice to see Williams, or one of the others, pitching in a game where each pitch isn’t a potential for disaster. To conclude, this team’s prospect is up for grabs. They need help. Alou needs to make some gutsy calls, which may call into question some of the decisions made early on by management. Sabean needs outfield help which is so obvious that one is reluctant to mention it. If Ainsworth comes back,healthy, in a short time, a decision must be made respecting the fifth starter, Moss or Williams. Much depends on how Williams does with his next few starts. It would be helpful if he shows enough maturity to move Moss out of the rotation. It ain’t over till it’s over and it has a long ways to go. It coiuld be a very interesting time for the Giants or it could go downhill fast and be over before anyone wants it to be. Ed

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