Pat Burrell. Let me congratulate you, my fellow native Bay Area'er-ite. Security probably won't let me get within 100 feet, but if I could, oh boy. Hugs. Big big hugs.
Everything was right today. On our first day back from vacation, we escaped the fog with a day spent swimming in a pool full of two-year-olds in the Menlo Park sun. Then a grassy picnic, complete with the hilarity of watching two-year-olds eat quickly melting popsicles. Ever seen a dog eat peanut butter? Toddlers and popsicles are way, way better.
Then some successful shopping at Home Depot, always a satisfying manly endeavor, then the second half of today's game on the car radio. I caught a mention of the trade for Ramon Ramirez but didn't hear whom the Giants traded. No mention of the other trade. Then I got home, just a few minutes ago, and found out the Giants traded John Bowker and Joe Martinez for Javy Lopez. Hey, he was a pretty good hitter and catcher with the Brav....oh, not that Javy Lopez? This Javy Lopez? He's likely a stopgap LOOGY (left-handed one-out guy) holding down the fort til Runzler and Affeldt return. I won't lay out his numbers here. You can click and peruse to your heart's discontent. OK, fine. The Giants could use a decent lefty-stopper in the 'pen. But for Martinez AND Bowker? How did this happen? Was the market for relievers so tight that Sabean was forced into this corner? Note that the Marlins traded for the lefty specialist Will Ohman, a player the Giants probably considered, and gave away a 25-year-old pitcher with a live but oft-injured right arm who barely appeared in the bigs this year.
UPDATE: Here's how Schulman described it, with a Sabean quote, in tonight's story:
Oh, by the way, they traded Daniel Turpin for Ramon Ramirez, who seems kind of useful.
SMALL PRINT UPDATE: The Giants' 25- and 40-man rosters are up to date on my Depth Chart page. Ramirez replaces Martinez, but someone else will be bumped for Lopez. After watching Denny Bautista be absolutely horrible the past two days, I think it's an easy bet.
Everything was right today. On our first day back from vacation, we escaped the fog with a day spent swimming in a pool full of two-year-olds in the Menlo Park sun. Then a grassy picnic, complete with the hilarity of watching two-year-olds eat quickly melting popsicles. Ever seen a dog eat peanut butter? Toddlers and popsicles are way, way better.
Then some successful shopping at Home Depot, always a satisfying manly endeavor, then the second half of today's game on the car radio. I caught a mention of the trade for Ramon Ramirez but didn't hear whom the Giants traded. No mention of the other trade. Then I got home, just a few minutes ago, and found out the Giants traded John Bowker and Joe Martinez for Javy Lopez. Hey, he was a pretty good hitter and catcher with the Brav....oh, not that Javy Lopez? This Javy Lopez? He's likely a stopgap LOOGY (left-handed one-out guy) holding down the fort til Runzler and Affeldt return. I won't lay out his numbers here. You can click and peruse to your heart's discontent. OK, fine. The Giants could use a decent lefty-stopper in the 'pen. But for Martinez AND Bowker? How did this happen? Was the market for relievers so tight that Sabean was forced into this corner? Note that the Marlins traded for the lefty specialist Will Ohman, a player the Giants probably considered, and gave away a 25-year-old pitcher with a live but oft-injured right arm who barely appeared in the bigs this year.
UPDATE: Here's how Schulman described it, with a Sabean quote, in tonight's story:
I'm not going ballistic, because I'm imagining my warm hug with Pat Burrell. When Javy Lopez makes Andre Ethier look silly Sunday, it'll delay my hissy fit even more.Many fans decried the loss of Bowker, a Sacramento native with a powerful bat who opened the season as the Giants' starting right fielder. But the brass viewed Bowker as a "Four-A" player who could not adjust to big-league breaking pitches.
Sabean said Bowker's departure is a loss, "but we had to keep Pittsburgh off names that quite frankly are prospects that we don't know about, until they gravitate to higher levels, how we're going to read their talent potential. We felt we knew about Joe and John and it was time to cut the cord and make a deal like this."
Oh, by the way, they traded Daniel Turpin for Ramon Ramirez, who seems kind of useful.
SMALL PRINT UPDATE: The Giants' 25- and 40-man rosters are up to date on my Depth Chart page. Ramirez replaces Martinez, but someone else will be bumped for Lopez. After watching Denny Bautista be absolutely horrible the past two days, I think it's an easy bet.
