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

01.28.2008
Pheliz!

Ladies and gentlemen, senoras y senores, I give you Pedro Feliz, the newest Philadephia Philly. When was the last time you felt this relieved?

And a quick quiz. Fill in the blanks in the following paragraph:

The team's recent drafts have been downright laughable, and its once-fruitful ______ pipeline has dried up. This is the worst organization in baseball, made even more dreadful by some early moves in the ____ administration that merely upgrade the big-league squad from dreadful to bad. The future is very grim in _____.


 


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[January 28, 2008 6:08 PM]  |  link  |  reply
bpfastball said

Cue marching band and fireworks.

[January 28, 2008 6:11 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Lars replied to bpfastball

No kidding. Best news of the off-season so far.

[January 28, 2008 6:22 PM]  |  link  |  reply
ELM said

Extra points on this thread if you use the following sentence starter: "The last time I felt this relieved......."

[January 28, 2008 6:24 PM]  |  link  |  reply
bigO said

I'm free at last, I'm free at last, Thank GOD Almighty, I'm free at last!!!!

[January 28, 2008 6:47 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Brian said

Sacramento, Reagan, Oakland?

[January 28, 2008 6:56 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Johnny Disaster said

Wait for it...
The last time I felt this relieved I had to call a plumber.

[January 28, 2008 7:05 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Matt said

Ugh. This should have been a day marked with streamers and maybe a parade. Our long nightmare is over. Who would have thought that the day I learned Feliz was officially gone from our organization I would be left thinking "Well great. I wonder if our next third basemen is going to be an upgrade." 2008 Giants baseball. Catch the fever.

[January 28, 2008 7:13 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Frank said

I admit I was very pleased to read the news, but I do not think this is an unmitigated good news story. I think it more ties Sabean's hands. This is what I see as the resulting outcome: 1) Frandsen plays out of position - making if somewhat more difficult to evaluate whether he is the answer at 2b, 2) It is more difficult/unlikely that Durham gets traded/released as there is nobody Sabean trusts in the system to come up and play 3 or 4 months at either 2b or 3b, 3) we still have the problem at 3b for, at least, '09 because the earliest that Villalona comes up is '10 (ie, who plays 3b in '09?). I do concede we are likely better at 3b in '08 with Frandsen there rather than Feliz. I don't think our IF is better w/ Frandsen and Durham than it would have been with Frandsen and Feliz. Plus, we still have the 3b problem for '09, even tho Durham is gone, opening 2b for Frandsen.

[January 28, 2008 7:35 PM]  |  link  |  reply
ELM replied to Frank

Whether Frandsen plays at 3B or 2B, as long as he plays every day the Giants can evaluate his bat. If he hits, he'll be the 2B answer in '09, if not earlier. I disagree that Frandsen at 3B makes Sabean more unlikely to trade Durham. If Durham starts off well and Sabean gets a decent midyear offer for him, he's gonzo, even if Aurilia has to finish the year at 3B. Or how about this: Frandsen stays at 3B and the Giants give Velez a chance to play as the everyday 2B.

As for who plays 3B in '09: if Frandsen acquits himself there in '08, he could stay there. Otherwise, better to worry about that later than sign Feliz long-term to hedge against a possible hole there a year from now.

[January 29, 2008 3:42 AM]  |  link  |  reply
obsessivegiantscompulsive replied to ELM

I think if Velez can continue to hit OK in AAA, then the Giants might give him a chance up with us to start at 2B. And at worse, he'll be a Chone Figgins type, getting ABs in the OF, as well as MI (particularly Vizquel if he's starting to look done).

About 3B next year, if Frandsen is handling it fine, we keep him there; if he's hitting but not fielding, 2B, and we rummage around for 3B possibilities. This off-season, there were a lot of possibilities, next year there might be more. There are always options out there.

[January 28, 2008 8:33 PM]  |  link  |  reply
bpfastball replied to Frank

Wasn't Frandsen a third baseman at San Jose State? I could be wrong on this but I thought I remembered reading it somewhere.

[January 29, 2008 1:17 AM]  |  link  |  reply
obsessivegiantscompulsive replied to bpfastball

Yeah, he played there in college but apparently he didn't profile as a 3B so they moved him to 2B. I have to assume part of that was that he doesn't hit well enough to play 3B; don't know what the report on his abilities to play there were.

[January 29, 2008 2:23 AM]  |  link  |  reply
el guapo replied to obsessivegiantscompulsive

He was voted the WAC best defensive 3B his Junior year. I think he can play 3B a little.

[January 29, 2008 2:24 AM]  |  link  |  reply
el guapo replied to el guapo

that was in 2003

[January 28, 2008 9:31 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Frank said

I agree, Lefty, and I would love to see Velez get 2 months. I just don't think it is Sabean's pattern. Spetmeber call up, maybe. But your suggestion of Aurilia at 3b, Frandsen at 2b, that might work - it assumes Ort is doing ok from both sides of the plate.

[January 29, 2008 1:14 AM]  |  link  |  reply
obsessivegiantscompulsive said

Happy Days are gone at last!

No more Feliz. I guess it IS kind of sad when one of the big news during the off-season is one of your free agents signing with ANOTHER team...