Sunday, September 25, 2011

Game Wrap 9/25/2011: D'Backs 5 Giants 2

The Giants are playing out the string now. Too bad they don't really have anyone to step in for a start or two to let Timmy and Cainer hang it up early. Key LInes:

Andres Torres- 2 for 4, HR(4). BA= .224. Andres Torres was as responsible as anyone for the Giants winning it all last year. His regression this year was all the way back to his days kicking around the fringes of baseball. His salary with the leverage of arbitration won't be what Cody Ross would get, but it's also not nothing. Right now, he's barely a replacement player. Big decision. Do the Giants offer him a contract or not?

Carlos Beltran- 2 for 4, HR(22), Assist. BA= .303. Say what you will about Beltran, but right now he and Pablo are about the only legitimate threats in the Giants lineup. If they don't re-sign him or else get another top offensive player in the offseason, next year's offense could be even weaker than this year's.

Dan Runzler- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 6.26. Runzler has not allowed an ER in his last 10 appearances, which admittedly include a lot of 1 batter stints. Has he done enough to convince the Giants to jettison Affeldt and his salary?

The Giants now return home to SF for the final 3 games of the season facing 3 meaningless games against the Rockies. Ryan Vogelsong caps off his amazing season against Jhoulys Chacin in the first one tomorrow evening.

7 comments:

  1. beltran is a pro hitter and a star player

    but he is also a buzz kill

    have a good time in the al carlos

    im very perturbed that bochy announced that the final 4 games would be used for evaluation

    really hope that was said to cover his butt for benching huff (who shoula been benched in august)

    cant really evaluate anyone in 4 games

    timmy hit the record books today....joins gaylord and a few other pitchers as the only guys in history to have over 200ks and a sub 2.75 era....and still have a losing season

    the fact that this team is gonna finish with a wining record is a miracle

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  2. Aloha Drb,

    The Giants have no choice but to offer Torres a reasonable contract because he's the only (CF) on the roster. If he doesn't sign, I don't think his case will go to arbitration. Maybe the luxury of having 2 LHP like Affeldt and Lopez is something the Giants can't afford anymore, but the DBACKS proved this year why the bullpen is so important to winning teams. Please no Runzler!

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  3. Bacci,

    Here's what's a "buzz kill": The Giants lineup when Beltran was on the shelf!

    Anon,

    Well, they either have to offer Torres a contract or else sign some other FA stopgap to fill the position until Gary Brown is ready. If they do tender him a contract, they are committed to the arbitration process.

    The Giants have an option on Affeldt for $5M. A lot of people think they will not exercise the option and try to re-sign him for less. Problem is the lefthanded FA relief pitching market is about as bare as you can get. There is likely some team out there who would be willing to spring for $5 M for a guy like Affeldt.

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  4. Aloha,

    Didn't know they would be committed to the arb process, then they should non tendor Torres and look for a FA stop gap (upgrade). Torres made $2.2 mil and hit only .220 which doesn't justify a new contract. Hopefully the Giants will have enough payroll to pick up the option on Affeldt and re sign J Lopez. I'm on the fence with R Ramirez. I've read that Sabean will take care of the pitching 1st before concentrating on other needs, which is the right way to go..

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  5. The market for lefty relief is crazy thin. Lopez will get looked at hard and if Affeldt isn't tendered the contract odds are he's going to get a 2 year deal easy, 5MM per. Tough choices ahead. There are 11 lefty free agents right now, including 41 year olds Darren Oliver and Arthur Rhodes. Pretty confident saying our guys are the cream of the class.

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  6. They might be able to negotiate with Torres prior to the arbitration deadline. If they tell him they won't tender him a contract, and offer something like $1 M, he might figure he won't be able to get anything better on the open market and sign without a formal contract tender for arbitration.

    Yeah, the lefty relief market is incredibly bad.

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  7. I think we should tender Affeldt a contract. I really do think he is a decent lefty and could be worth something if we fall out of contention at the end of next year. I also think Lopez is really valuable and should be given a 2-3 year contract. Romo is probably one of the best relievers out there. We should lock him up soon before he gets too expensive. Wilson is getting too expensive. I think he is set to make 8.5 mil next year. If we fall out of contention next year we should trade him if Hembree looks ready.

    What is there to say about Torres? I think he should either get a Burrell type contract or be non tendered. 2 million or more for his play this year was ridiculous let alone getting a raise. I think the competition with Christian, Brown, and Graham should be interesting.

    We definitely need to tender Keppinger a contract to help Sanchez.

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