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

02.28.2008
These Pitchers All Go To Eleven

SpinalTap_Edith_503The Giants are thinking about starting the year with 11 pitchers, according to today’s reports. In addition to giving the team a head start on the Spinal Tap post-game concert promotion, the decision would allow the Giants to carry three catchers and pinch-run for Bengie Molina in crucial situations.

That’s all well and good, because God knows you don’t want to get JT-Snowed late in the game. (That’s when you let a human Galapagos tortoise run for himself at second base, and he can’t score the tying run on a bloop single with two outs.)

Problem is, even if they carry 12 pitchers, the bullpen logjam will only be solved by losing a couple guys permanently. Carrying 11 to start the year only exacerbates that problem. Of course, it’s not a problem if the guys you lose suck anyway. No big boo-hoo when Scott Munter was released, after all.

But here’s who the Giants risk losing: Erick Threets, Merkin Valdez, Jose Capellan. None top prospects, to be sure, but why risk losing more young promising arms than necessary when the only short-term payoff is the presence of an extra backup catcher?

Oh, and Randy Messenger is probably out of options, too, seeing he’s got nine professional years under his belt. Again, Randy Messenger isn’t going to remind anyone of Joe Nathan, but until he had a nifty little 2003, Joe Nathan was no Joe Nathan. As Joaquin Andujar liked to say, youneverknow. Is the insurance policy of Guillermo Rodriguez’s butt cheeks on the Mays Field home-field bench really worth cutting adrift the unfulfilled promise of Messenger’s (or Threets’, or Merkin’s) arm?

Just for fun, I wouldn’t mind seeing the Giants break camp with Threets, Valdez and Capellan on the squad, with Sanchez, Misch and Taschner, not to mention one of their beloved backup catchers, all stashed safely away in AAA. If my wacky bullpen crew sets a record for blown saves in April, well, then the Giants will be forced to take measures. What do they have to lose? (Uh, besides Steve Kline.)

As Nigel Tufnel might have said, “Better to have lived and learned, love, than never to have lost.”
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[February 28, 2008 7:27 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Elliot said

Re: Threets
How does a guy with 2.33 IP of ML experience have no more options. I am not saying you are wrong, I just don't get it. I'm guessing that there is some sort of minor-league service time stipulation.

[February 29, 2008 12:57 AM]  |  link  |  reply
obsessivegiantscompulsive said

This has actually been in the news for a few weeks already. I thought I had mentioned it when you were going over the bullpen squeeze situation in a post.

But, yeah, I would rather we have all three arms than risk losing any of them. I guess we'll see what happens, who knows, maybe Kline gets traded at the end of spring training?

[February 29, 2008 11:41 AM]  |  link  |  reply
ELM replied to obsessivegiantscompulsive

The 11-man pitching staff has been in the news a few weeks? This was the first I've heard the Giants say that it's a strong possibility.