Summoning the Ghosts of Clark and Williams

Published by on November 1, 2006 | 3 Responses

Everyone remembers the stretch during the mid-90′s of horrible first basemen that played for the Giants. The list went a little something like, Mark Carreon, Todd Benziger, and J.R. Phillips. Yeesh! Thats a hard list to read for even the most hardcore of Giants fans. Eventually J.T. Snow landed in San Fran and put together a really nice run but those days are over. Now J.T. is just a distant memory in many saddened fan girls minds. The tandem of Neikro and Hillenbrand was a tough pill to swallow, one that I couldn’t fully keep down before blowing garlic fry chunks all over the place.

First base is up in the air again. Who will man it in 2007? I have a sneaking suspicion that Brian Sabean will try and bring back Shea Hillenbrand to play first. Even though he filed for free agency yesterday I am cautiously negative. Hillenbrand has said that he wants to come back but I want something more than a warped Dr. Doolittle playing first next year. I could paste in all sorts of stats right now to try and tell you how uninspiring Shea is but I’ll spare you the extra words. Hes just not very good.

Enter Patt Burrell. Philly isn’t the most civilized sports town on the planet and they really don’t like Burrell. I mean, really don’t like him. Hes a 0-3 day away from getting battery acid and beer bottles chucked at him. Heres why I think he would be a great fit for the Giants. His contract, even though expensive, runs out after 2008 and he would be a good stopgap until something better comes along or if EME can stay healthy enough to make it to the majors. Pat is good for 30 HRs, 100 RBIs, and a high OBP. The only thing that concerns me with acquiring Burrell is that he has a no-trade clause and has already stated he wouldn’t waive it to go to Baltimore because they aren’t a contender. Gulp.

Across the diamond, third base is another question mark. Giants fans cling to fond memories of Matt Williams like a life preserver in a angry ocean. While the post Williams-era hasn’t been as bad as the post Clark-era, there have been some car crashes. Russ Davis, Edgardo Alfonso, and Pedro Feliz have all left bruises. Thank goodness the Giants may pursue options at third other than Feliz. Aramis Rameriz would be a fine option but he will be heavily coveted and pricey. I suggested a week ago that the Giants give a good hard look at Akinori Iwamura to play third. It makes too much sense, hes young, proven, and versatile. He also would get a shorter contract than Ramirez and cost less in the long run.

Now thats over with, I am getting out my Ouija board to contact Matt Williams and Will Clark to see if they can still snag grounders.

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obsessivegiantscompu
obsessivegiantscompu

According to the article in SJ Mercury, it was Burrell's agent who said that Burrell would forgo his no-trade option if it was the Giants, so the clause is no obstacle, the only obstacle now is finding something the Phillies would be willing to take that the Giants are willing to give up. I'm not sure what would get it done, I'm not really sure what the Phillies would want specific player-wise. But you got the right idea, they probably want an OF prospect as "replacement" in their farm system and some reliever types. They probably could use some starters too, Madson and Floyd didn't work out for them last year, so they probably wouldn't mind a starting pitcher prospect. But I think if the Giants play their cards right, like shift money by giving the Phillies, say, $4.6M in 2006 then get $4.6M from them in 2007, that and Benitez would be good enough to get Burrell, as that would free up $10M in 2006 for them to bid on top free agents like Soriano, Lee, and now JD Drew for their OF or even a good/top starting pitcher. I would rather not give up any prospects to get Burrell and I don't think that's necessary to get Burrell because that clause that made you worry the deal is not doable, it actually puts us in the catbird seat, the Phillies can only deal him to us, not to anyone else, and they have a small window of opportunity now to deal him and save money for other acquisitions, before free agents sign with other teams. So their choice is keep Burrell, who is not part of their long-term plans, or trade Burrell for Benitez for a chance to pick up Soriano, Lee, or Drew, meanwhile they have Victorino and others as backups if they fail to sign someone. If the Giants can play the game right, I think they can get the trade done without giving up prospects.

Chris
Chris

Good point Obessive, I had forgotten about Pat's 'Bay Roots'. I really do think he would be a good fit at 1B but the no-trade clause is going to be a stumbling block. What prospect would you send? Do you think Benetiz, Fred Lewis, and Brian Anderson would get it done?

obsessivegiantscompu
obsessivegiantscompu

Pat grew up in the south bay area and went to high school in San Jose, so I would think he would be happy to come back to a team in this area: http://www.jockbio.com/Bios/Burrell/Burrell_bio.h.... He was actually a 3B in college, and was trained to be a 1B coming up the Phillies system, so he could probably play either position for us, with some practice in spring training. That could make it more comfortable for him and he might hit better. Nice dreaming getting good players at 1B and 3B, I assume the Giants are still targeting getting Bonds, so he and Burrell would suck up about half of the $45M that the Giants supposedly have to spend, with still RF, 2B, 1B/3B, and C open, plus some relievers and perhaps another starter. We should be able to package Benitez with a prospect or two to get Burrell, depends on what they want in return, but we might have to give up a good prospect to do this deal.