When the Giants Come to Town, It's Bye-Bye Baby

07.09.2007
All This Chitter-Chatter 'Bout Schmatter Schmatter Schmatter

Mark Buehrle is off the market. According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, that makes Jose Contreras the most coveted starting pitcher. In a TV appearance, he also mentioned Eric Gagne and Mark Loretta.

I’m not sure why Contreras. His own teammate Javier Vazquez is having a far better year and also has a fat contract that, in the wake of Buehrle’s extension, the Sox probably have no intention of paying past this winter.

Odder still, Olney made no mention of Matt Morris. Is that because the Giants have no intention of trading him? Sabean has been tight-lipped about it. But a quick scan of the standings shows at least six teams in contention outside the NL West who should be starving for a dependable starter: Seattle, Atlanta (especially if John Smoltz is down for the count), Cleveland, Philly, Milwaukee, and the Mets (Pedro Martinez’s return is no sure thing). You could also add the Cardinals, still on the fringes of the NL Central race.

Of those teams, some are more desperate than others. The Mets have seen their once-vast lead shrink to two games over Atlanta and 4.5 over Philly. You think there’s a wee bit of pressure on Omar Minaya for an upgrade? Up north, Seattle could be making a run in Ichiro’s last season. Milwaukee is 4.5 up but the Cubs are charging hard. The Mets and Milwaukee are loaded with position prospects, some of whom may be blocked by current major leaguers.  

If the Giants want to trade Morris, this is as good a time as any. If Brian Sabean’s job hangs in the balance of the next few months, how he handles the next three weeks could tip the scales to one side the other.

My biggest fear is that in the post-All-Star glow, and with Bonds soon to break the home run record (thus bringing the season’s other big marketing photo-op to an end), the Giants brass won’t want to make any moves that carry even a whiff of rebuilding. In other words, that they’ll be more worried about selling tickets in the lull between #756 and Sept. 30, 2007 than about 2008 and beyond. You’d think that would be ridiculous. Then again, signing Bonds to a $20 million contract when he had no other suitors was kind of ridiculous, and paying $126 million for Barry Zito was definitely ridiculous. Then there’s Rusty the Mechanical Man: off the charts of ridiculosity. At least Rusty wasn’t guaranteed seven years.

UPDATE: A post over at the McChronic alleges that Buster Olney said that a New York Post reporter went on TV and talked about rumors of Brian Sabean being let go after the All-Star Break. Jesus, I can’t believe I’m propagating this. First of all, if it’s even true that a Post reporter said this, it’s not substantiated enough to appear in the New York Post itself — at least when I type Brian Sabean into the search engine at nypost.com. Second of all, even if it were in the New York Post, dot-com or otherwise, it’s still the fershlugginer New York Post, and it would be about as credible as, as… Vladimir Putin’s commitment to democracy! (For those of you who skipped the last comment thread, that’s an inside joke.) Moral of the story: the Internet is nothing but a nest of lies. Lies! Go read a book or do a crossword puzzle.
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[July 9, 2007 6:14 PM]  |  link  |  reply
the gene hackman said

so, what's a six-letter word for utter disappointment?

[July 9, 2007 6:35 PM]  |  link  |  reply
ogc said

I don't think that we can get as much for Morris now as we might over the off-season, unless we find another idiot Kazmir trade done, in which case, adios Morris.

Most teams usually don't want to give up their best young guys just for a run at the pennant, though Morris would be good for that.

However, if the Giants want to sign someone big in the free agent market over the winter, selling off Morris now will make it harder for management to seem like they want to be a winner come the winter.

That is important to some potential free agents, like, for example, an A-Rod. It is one thing to lose because players didn't perform, but if you sell off Morris now, it could seem like you are not wholely committed to winning. If they win to the end, they can at least point to that to potential free agents and tell them that they will be key player who perform where others didn't and change us into a winner.

[July 9, 2007 7:59 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Boof said

I agree that we can't get as much for Morris now, but I don't agree that they shouldn't jettison him if they get the opportunity. Getting rid of that contract and freeing up that money actually send the right meassage about the commitment to winning, rather than sticking with the aged old veterans that are past their usefulness.

[July 9, 2007 7:59 PM]  |  link  |  reply
BawLa said

Here is my question: Do we wait until mid-june to make the move? Morris has a 2.60 ERA at home, and barring any changes in the lineup order, he will face the dodgers and braves at home after the break. Do we let him lower his ERA to peak his trade value? I say yes.

I look at a team like Detroit, who needs relief pitching and can't help but think we could have a potential marriage. They are definitely contending and I'd wager they have some talent in their minors that we would covet. Correia has a sub-3.0 ERA versus Lefties. Hennessey has a 2.38 ERA versus Righties. Correia lacks focus and Brad lacks a compeditive attitude, so they are expendable IMO. Kline has a 1.59 ERA versus lefties. There are options.

It would be a miracle if Sabean can move ANY of our position players, but he should have an easier time retaining talent by trading our pitching. Biggest holes to fill: 1B, 3B, OF, SS - in that order.

[July 9, 2007 10:10 PM]  |  link  |  reply
ELM said

>so, what's a six-letter word for utter disappointment?

sorrow
dismay
fiasco
BarryZ

[July 9, 2007 11:26 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Josh said

In defending the signing, Sabean said there were other suitors for Bonds. Do you not believe him?

[July 10, 2007 2:09 AM]  |  link  |  reply
ELM said

>Sabean said there were other suitors for Bonds

I hadn't heard that before. Where did you hear/read it? And if he said it, no, I'm not sure I believe him.

[July 10, 2007 2:11 AM]  |  link  |  reply
ELM said

>Do we let him lower his ERA to peak his trade value?

I have a feeling teams may wait a couple more weeks to pull their trade triggers, anyway. So the Giants may have to cross their fingers that Morris doesn't spit the bit his next couple of starts.

[July 10, 2007 1:12 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Josh said

This is the Sabean comment I was referring to. As quoted in the Chronicle:

Sabean suggested he knew of another suitor during last week's winter meetings and said, "You can presume this: If he hadn't signed with the Giants, he would have signed with somebody else. I guarantee you that. He was there for a reason, and I know that for a fact."

Source:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/12/12/SPGHEMU1DQ1.DTL&hw=Sabean+Bonds+suitors&sn=002&sc=795

[July 10, 2007 2:32 PM]  |  link  |  reply
ELM said

OK, thanks. That's a pretty strong statement, though you can also parse it this way: "If he hadn't signed with the Giants FOR $20 M ALL BUT GUARANTEED, he would have signed for somebody else FOR A LOT LESS MONEY."