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

01.15.2008
WYSIWYG

P.M. UPDATE: I’ve put aside Foer’s Extremely Loud in favor of Bill Buford’s Heat, which a friend lent me for a limited time. The author takes a year off to work full-time for free in Mario Batali’s kitchen at Babbo, then heads to Italy for more months of unpaid work to learn the secrets of pasta and animal butchery. How does he swing it? Does he have a trust fund? No kids? (He does have a wife, who tags along to Italy.)

We don’t know how he can afford his obsession with Italian food, but we have learned everything Buford has learned, which to a foodie like me is a cornucopia of vital information in every chapter. (One tip: Don’t order pasta at the end of a shift unless you know the restaurant cleans its pasta-boiling water every couple of hours, which it almost certainly doesn’t.)

The book, in which Buford weaves several threads together seamlessly, also confirms what I’ve known since my college days of waiting tables: a restaurant is a money hole staffed by neurotic foul-mouthed employees and patronized by impatient ungrateful customers. Otherwise it’s a great business. 

***

One month until pitchers and catchers report. One month until it feels like the Giants will have to dance the 2008 Cha-Cha-Cha — the one in which their partners, wearing hobnail boots, keep crushing the Giants' little toes — with who brung 'em, or in more grammatically correct terms, with whom they've brung.

That's not really the case. Brian Sabean can wheel and deal and dazzle us all spring. Remember the Livan Hernandez-for-Jim Brower and Wayne Franklin trades? Of course you do.

But as the exhibitions roll into opening day, teams are more interested in roster filler than out-of-the-box thinking. Which makes me think that what we see, Giantly speaking, is more or less what we get on March 31.

Starting pitchers: We're getting antsy. Why hasn't Brian Sabean traded Noah Lowry or Jonathan Sanchez or Kevin Correia or Pat Misch or an irresistible combination of several of them by now and solved all the Giants offensive problems? Their ongoing orange haberdash means one of three things: 1) Teams are holding back to see how the rest of the pitching market shakes out, including the Erik Bedard/Johan Santana situations; 2) The Giants can't get the value they think their players are worth; 3) GMs are still pouty that Sabes wouldn't give them a nice shiny Caincecum for Christmas. My money is pinned to Door #2.

Bullpen: As noted here, there are plenty of candidates, plus a couple more in the minors with a very outside shot to make the roster with a lights-out spring training. But any additions would be in a support role. No major shakeups expected.

Outfield: With Aaron Rowand on board, the basic outline seems set: a Roberts/Davis platoon in left, Rowand in center and Winn in right. Either Lewis or Schierholtz will be the 5th OF. Both are unlikely to make the roster barring a trade of one of the vets.

Infield: Here's the big magillah. Dan Ortmeier and Kevin Frandsen have their champions, but neither should give the Giants pause when considering a big upgrade at the corners. Key concept here is "big." Pedro Feliz need not apply. If Frandsen is bumped from third base by the right guy and has to spend another half-year apprenticing to Ray Durham, so be it. If Dan Ortmeier becomes a younger version of Mark Sweeney, we should all be so happy. Or he could stick around and angle for Randy Winn's job in a year or two.

Catcher: Molina will be back, though Eliezer Alfonzo's performance in Venezuela this winter could make a trade of Bengie more tempting. At the least it should cement E-Alf as the backup, with G-Rod waiting in AAA in case of emergency.

If the Giants make no significant trades between now and Opening Day, at least they should have the decency of putting Eugenio Velez on the roster. The thought of Velez scampering about the bases will give us something to stay in our seats for when the Giants are at the plate. [3:40 pm update: Minor league guru John Sickles agrees with me about Velez.]

Can Sabean pull off a cool trade between now and Opening Day, or is it too late? Discuss.
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[January 15, 2008 4:58 PM]  |  link  |  reply
El Guapo said

I really don't think that Sabes will be able to deal any of the vets until the trade deadline and even then they will just be dumps for little return. I think he can deal Sanchez and or Lowry whenever he wants but that he wants more than teams are willing to offer. Right now I would take a viable starting 1B for Sanchez and a viable starting 3B for Lowry.

[January 15, 2008 7:43 PM]  |  link  |  reply
giantsrainman said

El Guapo,

What do you mean by viable?
Can you provide some examples?

[January 15, 2008 11:43 PM]  |  link  |  reply
obsessivegiantscompulsive said

Nice rundown of the Giants starting positions. Agree for the most part.

Unless the Giants trade Winn, Schierholtz is probably ending up in AAA starting in RF and Lewis would be the 5th OF. Lewis is out of options, if I recall correctly, so if he doesn't make the team, he'll have to go on waivers and probably would be lost. I don't think the Giants will do that, they would rather trade him before doing that, even Ellison was worth a Blackley (and another team - was it the Rangers? - took him on this off-season).

Meanwhile, Schierholtz has one more option plus I assume the Giants want him starting in AAA rather than sitting on the bench in the majors. Plus it gives him more time to work on his hitting and fielding.

If Ortmeier is to win any OF job in 1-2 years, I would expect him to compete for LF (with Bowker?). RF should be Schierholtz's to own, barring any injury or developmental setback.

I think the Haren, Bedard, Santana circus has sucked up all the interest on the part of other teams to trade for any of our pitchers named above. And rightfully so, even Cain and Lincecum would take a seat against these pitchers. If they have a choice of racking their brains and negotiating to get a pitcher, wouldn't you rather see if you could talk a team out of Haren, Bedard, Santana over Lowry, Sanchez, Hennessey?

I think once the feeding frenzy is over and the music stops, and the teams who end up with no Haren, Bedard, Santana in their New Year's drink will finally come knocking on cell block 24's door to speak with Sabean about our cache of young pitchers.

[January 16, 2008 12:14 AM]  |  link  |  reply
bigO said

I've already reported. Been in Peoria playing baseball at the Mariner's Fantasy Camp. This is so flippin' awesome (sooOOOO many stories too). We're 5-0 and are playing in the championship game tomorrow. Mac the M's Manager hit me fungos today and now is giving a roundtable disscusion that's pretty interesting. I'm 5 for 9 and have pitched 3 scoreless innings and will be on the hill tomorrow. Dave Henderson won't shut up ever since I told him I struck him out in highschool. Had breakfast with Brian Holman and asked him about his 8 2/3 perfect game against the A's. Tom Lampkin is just as competative as ever and even Keith Comstock's here. Remember him? this is getting me as jacked for baseball as much as I can remember in recent past so why does the team I'm a fan of have to suck?

[January 16, 2008 3:16 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Ohan said

Trade Molina, and any other vets we can dump!

I love Molina, but hes 3 years too late for this team, plus I like E-Alfo, and G-Rod. They are tough guys who play hard.

We might be able to throw him in a package to the reds and maybe dump an extra OF while were at it.

Trade these old bums and try to keep most of the young pitching! Trading only one of the Lowry, Correia, Sanchez trio would be ideal.

[January 16, 2008 4:46 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Giants Dwarf said

I just wan to second the recommendation on Heat. Great read especially if you have had any experiences in the restaurant business.

[January 16, 2008 5:34 PM]  |  link  |  reply
laz said

take your time with Heat.

[January 17, 2008 2:41 PM]  |  link  |  reply
ELM replied to laz

Thanks -- I didn't mean to imply that you were impatient. I meant that it was on loan and therefore jumped the queue.

[January 17, 2008 2:21 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Mark O'Connor said

Our feeling (over at RMC, that is) is EAT SALARY. The hell with this collection of veteran clowns like Roberts, Durham, Aurilia, etc.! Sabes has nothing to trade (except Winn, maybe) other than young arms (just say no, Bri). Cut 'em loose and give the youngsters a shot. I'd rather go 40-122 with a bunch of kids than 70-92 with overpaid vets.