* Adam LaRoche confirmed what I suspected last week. He simply didn't want to play his home games at Mays Field.
"Not to bash (the Giants) at all, I just had to weigh it. Was it worth going there for a couple of years or just riding it out and seeing what kind of options were available? They kind of started dwindling fast. When (the Diamondbacks' offer) came out, when I first heard about it, I remember telling my agent, 'Let's try to get this done.' This is a chance that I didn't want to waste."
Regarding his multiple two-year offers, LaRoche said, "They just happened to be in places I wasn't excited about."
When I floated the idea a few days ago of LaRoche taking less money to play anywhere but S.F., some commenters said it was just an excuse Sabean & Co. have used to get themselves off the hook for not signing free agent hitters. LaRoche's comments prove that, yes indeed, some hitters would rather swallow rusty nails than don the orange and french vanilla. Too bad for them, we say, but I don't think we can automatically assume it's a shortcoming of the Giant front office anymore. Thank you, Adam LaRoche, for shining your little light of truth on the situation.
Here's a little more from BP's John Perotto:
Is LaRoche right? Should left-handed power hitters avoid our bayside ballyard like the garlic fries you brought home from the game once and stashed in the fridge thinking, a little salt, a few minutes under the broiler, and they'll be good as new? Before we get to lefties specifically, you should know that Mays Field since 2003 has been MLB-average or better for runs scored. It generally surpresses home runs, but it's generous with extra base hits. Don't believe me? Look it up here."As a hitter, for whatever reason, when you're in a ballpark where you know you can drive the ball out from foul pole to foul pole, it just does something to your confidence," LaRoche said. "I felt that a little bit playing in Atlanta. I enjoyed hitting there. It was very fair. But the fact is, when you go into a place like Cincinnati or Philadelphia, some of these smaller ballparks where the ball travels well, your confidence is up. That definitely weighs on your decision."
Any left-handed slugger with an Internet connection can see that as of mid-2007, AT&T Park was by far the hardest place to hit a home run to right-center field. No surprise there. But note that it was also slightly above average for home runs to straightaway right field. I can't find similar studies for extra-base hits, nor anything updated to account for the last two and a half years, which would be quite instructive now that Barry Lamar Bonds is no longer knocking horsehide into the bay. Does Barry's absence bring down the averages to straight-away RF?
Whatever the case, you can't really blame LaRoche for saying no to the Giants. If he's already worried about it, imagine if he signed here. Every fly ball to the warning track would make him regret his decision that much more. I'm not crazy about the Huff signing, but at least it's not much financial risk, and he got off on the good foot by making light of the home-run difficulties he'll face: "If Barry Bonds can hit home runs there, I can, right?"
This is what passes for fan spirit these days: He might not solve our team's offensive woes, but he's cheap and he's funny! Levity aside, let's at least acknowledge that Huff could end up being a bargain of the century if he defies the Lunatic Fringe expectations and comes close to his 2008 numbers without butchering too many chances in the field.
* Brandon Medders will return to the bullpen. Assuming the Giants sign another reliever, the bullpen to start the year will probably be Wilson, Affeldt, Romo, Runzler, Medders, New Guy, and Long Guy (Joe Martinez?).
* The Arbocalypse is coming. Tim Lincecum, Brian Wilson and Jonathan Sanchez all submit their numbers this week. It's possible all three could cost the Giants $15 million to $20 million this year, most of that of course going to Lincecum.
