This post will be short because there isn't much to say beyond the numbers. The Giants' performance against Oakland isn't worth breaking down, although the word "breakdown" does sum it up nicely.
The facts: 14 hits, 1 run, 0-for-19 with runners in scoring position. Three losses to complete a 1-6 road trip. That was the Giants' weekend.
I've been a Giants fan since 1971. I've seen 100-loss seasons. I've seen epic collapses. I've even seen a World Series derailed by an act of God. But this may be the low point. You can use a lot of flowery language, but folks, they suck.
They hit early in the season, so now we hear the front office talking about a "slump". This isn't a slump. A slump implies that the team really can hit, that this is just a statistical aberration and soon eveything will return to normal. But what if April was the aberration? What if "normal" is "suck?"
It's hard to beleive that suddenly this team is going to hit. They are what they are, and what they are is wretched. It seems that every night some middle-of-the-road pitcher gets his letter at the expense of the Giants, who are becoming rather adept at making Walter Mitty look like Walter Johnson. There are pitchers all over the league with 5-plus ERAs whipping out their pocket schedules with breathless anticipation of their spot in the rotation coming up against the Giants. Wanna fatten up that resume? The Giants will oblige.
The Giants didn't hit last year, and they didn't hit the year before that (or the one before that, or...). For 2010 they corrected that issue by adding Mark DeRosa and Aubrey Huff. Say what?
Forget the wishful thinking that permiates the San Francisco front office and look at the Giants line-up. Specifically, look at the top five spots in the line-up. Is there ANYONE on that slate who would be hitting in that spot on a contender? Rowand hits lead-off because he has been a failure everywhere else. Torres is a reserve for 75 percent of the teams in MLB. Huff, Molina? They have six hole written all over them (and Bengie has space for some big type). Only Panda belongs, and IMHO he's much better suited for the five spot.
The Giants do not possess a single elite bat. They have a plethora of guys made for the bottom half of the order, the bench, Triple A, or performing wet clean-ups in the dairy aisle. And I'm not hopeful they'll acquire a premiere stick anytime soon.
Look at the track record. Every year they field a team of B and C-level hitters. Evey year they claim to address the issue by acquiring more B and C-level hitters. Somewhere around the first of August, Sabean will have his annual session with the media where he'll acknowledge the weakenss without accepting any fault, something along the lines of "Yeah, we didn't hit as well as we expected, but no one could have anticipated Player X would (insert problem here)." Never mind that Player X invariably (a) was injured when he was acquired, (b) has never been an elite player, or (c) both.
The 2005 Giants couldn't hit. In 2006: enter Steve Finley, Mark Sweeney, Shea Hillenbrand and Jose Vizcaino (again). That team couldn't score either, so the 2007 Class of Heroes consisted of Ryan Klesko, Dave Roberts and Rich Aurilia (again). Fast forward to 2008 and add Rowand and Jose Castillo to the mix. Last year it was Renteria, Uribe, Whiteside and a flyer on Jesus Guzman, plus the in-season acquisition of Ryan Garko and a lame Freddy Sanchez.
Anyone detect a trend here?
Either the Giants don't know how to win or they aren't interested in doing so. The last impact bat this team acquired was one Mr. Barry Bonds, and that was in 1993 -- noticiably BEFORE Sabean took the helm. Notice I refuse to ackowldge Jeff Kent, because those with any kind of memory will recall Sabean crowing about the key to the deal being one Julian Tavares. Kent was a throw-in to cover the position at third base vacated by the loss of Matt Williams in that deal. It should be noted that Kent moved to second only because he was miserable failure at the hot corner, and in the process Sabean rid the Giants of the last impact positon player produced by the organization.
The solution is clear. Sabean must go, and anyone who subscribes to his theory of team building must go in the purge. This is not in infection, it's an infestation. You can't spray a little Black Flag and be rid of this pest. You have to tent the building and fumigate, or burn it to the ground and start with a clear lot.
That won't happen under current management. Sabean's response at season's end, for the humpteenth consecutive season, will be to supplement his team of also-rans with more of that same ilk, pronounce the problem solved, then sit back and feign shock and disappointment when the same pathetic drama unfolds once more.
'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." -- George Santayana.
Sabean is a one-trick pony. Given unlimited resources and oportunity, he would still assemble a team comprised of bench and role players. That preference was given full voice when he defended the signings of the likes of Michael Tucker over Vladamir Guerrero -- a move which he MUCH later admitted was a mistake yet conveniently has omitted from his learning curve. He also unzipped his fly in the matter of player evaluation when Nathan and Liriano departed in favor of a one-year rental of AJ Pierzynski, or when he dealt two top pitching prospects (Alderson, Barnes) for a gimpy second baseman (Sanchez) and a marginal first baseman (Garko) who didn't even survive until the next spring training.
Yes, the Giants are still above .500, but for how long? It seems only a day ago they were 17-10 and on top of the world. Now they are in freefall, and the bottom is nowhere in sight. This team cannot win, not as constructed.
The way to start the rebuilding process is to get a new architect.
The facts: 14 hits, 1 run, 0-for-19 with runners in scoring position. Three losses to complete a 1-6 road trip. That was the Giants' weekend.
I've been a Giants fan since 1971. I've seen 100-loss seasons. I've seen epic collapses. I've even seen a World Series derailed by an act of God. But this may be the low point. You can use a lot of flowery language, but folks, they suck.
They hit early in the season, so now we hear the front office talking about a "slump". This isn't a slump. A slump implies that the team really can hit, that this is just a statistical aberration and soon eveything will return to normal. But what if April was the aberration? What if "normal" is "suck?"
It's hard to beleive that suddenly this team is going to hit. They are what they are, and what they are is wretched. It seems that every night some middle-of-the-road pitcher gets his letter at the expense of the Giants, who are becoming rather adept at making Walter Mitty look like Walter Johnson. There are pitchers all over the league with 5-plus ERAs whipping out their pocket schedules with breathless anticipation of their spot in the rotation coming up against the Giants. Wanna fatten up that resume? The Giants will oblige.
The Giants didn't hit last year, and they didn't hit the year before that (or the one before that, or...). For 2010 they corrected that issue by adding Mark DeRosa and Aubrey Huff. Say what?
Forget the wishful thinking that permiates the San Francisco front office and look at the Giants line-up. Specifically, look at the top five spots in the line-up. Is there ANYONE on that slate who would be hitting in that spot on a contender? Rowand hits lead-off because he has been a failure everywhere else. Torres is a reserve for 75 percent of the teams in MLB. Huff, Molina? They have six hole written all over them (and Bengie has space for some big type). Only Panda belongs, and IMHO he's much better suited for the five spot.
The Giants do not possess a single elite bat. They have a plethora of guys made for the bottom half of the order, the bench, Triple A, or performing wet clean-ups in the dairy aisle. And I'm not hopeful they'll acquire a premiere stick anytime soon.
Look at the track record. Every year they field a team of B and C-level hitters. Evey year they claim to address the issue by acquiring more B and C-level hitters. Somewhere around the first of August, Sabean will have his annual session with the media where he'll acknowledge the weakenss without accepting any fault, something along the lines of "Yeah, we didn't hit as well as we expected, but no one could have anticipated Player X would (insert problem here)." Never mind that Player X invariably (a) was injured when he was acquired, (b) has never been an elite player, or (c) both.
The 2005 Giants couldn't hit. In 2006: enter Steve Finley, Mark Sweeney, Shea Hillenbrand and Jose Vizcaino (again). That team couldn't score either, so the 2007 Class of Heroes consisted of Ryan Klesko, Dave Roberts and Rich Aurilia (again). Fast forward to 2008 and add Rowand and Jose Castillo to the mix. Last year it was Renteria, Uribe, Whiteside and a flyer on Jesus Guzman, plus the in-season acquisition of Ryan Garko and a lame Freddy Sanchez.
Anyone detect a trend here?
Either the Giants don't know how to win or they aren't interested in doing so. The last impact bat this team acquired was one Mr. Barry Bonds, and that was in 1993 -- noticiably BEFORE Sabean took the helm. Notice I refuse to ackowldge Jeff Kent, because those with any kind of memory will recall Sabean crowing about the key to the deal being one Julian Tavares. Kent was a throw-in to cover the position at third base vacated by the loss of Matt Williams in that deal. It should be noted that Kent moved to second only because he was miserable failure at the hot corner, and in the process Sabean rid the Giants of the last impact positon player produced by the organization.
The solution is clear. Sabean must go, and anyone who subscribes to his theory of team building must go in the purge. This is not in infection, it's an infestation. You can't spray a little Black Flag and be rid of this pest. You have to tent the building and fumigate, or burn it to the ground and start with a clear lot.
That won't happen under current management. Sabean's response at season's end, for the humpteenth consecutive season, will be to supplement his team of also-rans with more of that same ilk, pronounce the problem solved, then sit back and feign shock and disappointment when the same pathetic drama unfolds once more.
'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." -- George Santayana.
Sabean is a one-trick pony. Given unlimited resources and oportunity, he would still assemble a team comprised of bench and role players. That preference was given full voice when he defended the signings of the likes of Michael Tucker over Vladamir Guerrero -- a move which he MUCH later admitted was a mistake yet conveniently has omitted from his learning curve. He also unzipped his fly in the matter of player evaluation when Nathan and Liriano departed in favor of a one-year rental of AJ Pierzynski, or when he dealt two top pitching prospects (Alderson, Barnes) for a gimpy second baseman (Sanchez) and a marginal first baseman (Garko) who didn't even survive until the next spring training.
Yes, the Giants are still above .500, but for how long? It seems only a day ago they were 17-10 and on top of the world. Now they are in freefall, and the bottom is nowhere in sight. This team cannot win, not as constructed.
The way to start the rebuilding process is to get a new architect.
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