SMALL PRINT UPDATE: Now listening to 50 Foot Wave’s new EP Power + Light, streaming here.
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Jack Taschner will remain a Giant for now. The team plans to tender a contract to the frustrating lefty, who is eligible for arbitration. The Special Agent has oscillated wildly in black-and-orange; with the signings of new relievers Jeremy Affeldt and Bob Howry and semi-emergence of Alex Hinshaw, it was an open question whether Taschner would be asked back.
On his blog, Baggs quotes Sabean saying Taschner needs less pressure: “He just needs to pitch somewhere in the pecking order where he can relax and have some success.” Last year he was “overexposed.” I’m not sure what that means: unless you’re the mop-up man who only comes in when one team is ten runs ahead, there’s always pressure for big-league pitchers. At some point, he’ll have to get key outs, and now Sabean has publicly sowed doubt about his cojones. It’s not going to help Taschner’s trade value, either. Once again, ill-advised comments from the mouth of Sabes.
(I recommend you read the main part of that blog entry, in which Baggs sketches out the subtle dynamics of free-agent pursuit that often seem lost on fans who scream for their team to go after one player or another.)
Barring a Taschner trade, the bullpen picture is clearer. Sabean slotted six of the seven spots with Brian Wilson, Howry, Affeldt, Sergio Romo, Taschner and a third lefty, probably Hinshaw. No surprise there, though Hinshaw might need more time in AAA to work on his control. His walk rate last year was frightening, and his minor league track record also holds concern. The only time he posted an acceptable walk rate was his brief stint to start the year in Fresno (15 IP, 4 BB).
Who are the candidates for the final bullpen spot or spots? If healthy, Merkin Valdez is in, but I am afeared after news of his latest surgery. Billy Sadler, like Hinshaw, showed flashes of promise in his long look this year, but the wildness in and out of the strike zone (walks + home runs) needs to improve. He’ll be 28 years old next year, and his results have yet to match his arm. I wonder if the Giants have thought about converting him into a starter?
Like last year, Keiichi Yabu could sneak in with a strong spring training. His main strengths are inducing ground balls and the ability to pitch several innings at a time. Yesterday’s Rule 5 pick Luis Perdomo will compete, too. Osiris Matos had a cup of coffee in the bigs this summer, but I expect he and fellow 40–man rosterite Kelvin Pichardo will start the year in AAA.
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Prepare yourself for the Blogs By Fans post-winter-meeting roundtable discussion. Part one, in which our fearless but melancholy leader Depressed Fan asks Kingman of Loge 13 about the Mets, is here. (DF, who blogs about the Yankees here, says the Mets are winners of the winter meetings; I can’t disagree.) Next up: Kingman asks me about the Giants.
