Our nightmare is over

Published by on December 13, 2011 | 39 Responses

Giants keep Fontenot, non-tender Keppinger and Whiteside.

Fontenot signed to one year deal. Keppinger and Whiteside Non-Tendered.
December 13, 2011 12:41 am via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite
@extrabaggs
Andrew Baggarly

This his hardly news, but it’s December and real, actual, baseball news is few and far between. On this subject, the Giants made the right call: Keppinger offers zero positional flexibility and it became clear that while he hits singles, he doesn’t do much else. He also runs like his lower-half has been dipped in carbonite.

On the other side of the ledger, Mike Fontenot gives the team some positional flexibility (he can moderately play SS, 2B, and 3B) and with nearly the same upside (or nonside) with the bat, even though he does it in a different way than Keppinger. I’m not sure if the team is truly considering using Emmannuel Burriss in any capacity, but Fontenot should help keep Burriss glued to the bench, or stuck in the minors.

In the end, it’s a shocking notion, but your utility man should have some actual utility about him.

—

UPDATE: I’d be remiss if I didn’t include by favorite Mike Fontenot image in this post.

Fontenot-Crawford super team, engage.

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39 comments
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rog61
rog61

Can I just mention that I would really have liked to sign Willingham for 3/21?

Ryan
Ryan

As John Mclaughlin says: "NEXT ISSUE!"

marcellosfg
marcellosfg

There are lot of baffling comments on this pretty straightforward post.

Chris Quick
Chris Quick

Welcome to the hot topic of Mike Fontenot and Jeff Keppinger. I hope you enjoy your stay.

Andy G
Andy G

I agree when did this become a hot topic? We make big moves to get two everyday starting outfielders, and then when it comes time to decide between two perennial util players who our 25th man will be, all of a sudden everyone has something to say. We're probably just frustrated as more and more of us realize that in terms of offseason moves...this is about it. (With the exception of maybe another util bat, maybe right handed, maybe at SS. Uhm. Edgar anyone?)

thermalito
thermalito

Fontenot was horrible last year. I can't understand why getting rid of a .300 hitter in favor a guy who barely hit .200 all year is the "right move". This was the wrong move and the Giants look well on their way to being just as bad offensively this year and they were last.

Chris Quick
Chris Quick

Can someone explain to me where the "Keppinger is a .300 hitter" myth comes from? As we all know, batting average isn't the best way to evaluate a player, but Keppinger owns a career BA of .281; he hit .255 for the Giants; and the only time he's ever hit over .300 is for 67 games with the Reds (.332) in 2007.

Andy G
Andy G

Keppinger, at the time the Houston trade was announced last year, was batting .307 on the year. He then hit .255 down the stretch for us. I know for a fact that Keppinger's BA was at .307 at the time of the trade announcement, because like any diligent SF fan, I did my research on him before he took on the orange and black. What was basically happening was Keppinger, a .281 career hitter, was having (other than a half season with the Reds) the best year of his career, both in BA and OPS. In my mind, the career numbers were not super indicative precisely because he was having his 'breakout' year. I was so excited because at the time, he seemed like the perfect plug to fill in the Freddy Sanchez hole. I had delusions that with him in the 2-spot, followed by Panda and then Beltran when we got him, we might repeat with an excellent pitching staff and average/above average offense. But then all that plummeted because, like so many others, he had to hit at AT&T park. Which, and I'm trying to keep the faith as an SF fan, but AT&T does not bode well for Pagan and Melky and everyone's expectations that their career years will be reproduced next year.

Johnny Disaster
Johnny Disaster

I was going to call you a myth buster for this post, but then I became concerned you would accidentally shoot a projectile through my neighborhood.

Johnny Disaster
Johnny Disaster

Leaving aside the argument over the usefulness of BA, I think the point is that Jeff Keppinger has never once had a full season where he batted over .300. Usually, a player that gets referred to as 'a .300 hitter' will have had at least one full season where he was in fact hitting .300 or better.

oldjacket
oldjacket

Man, I really want to move on from this issue, but I can't stand it when people blame the park. AT&T kills left-handed power, but it's fine for right-handed hitters and it doesn't hurt batting average from either side. When you're a .281 hitter you're going occasionally hit .300 for a couple months, and you're ocassionally going to hit .260 for couple of months. When you're Jeff Keppinger - a a .281 hitter who doesn't walk, run or hit for power - those .260 months offer just a little more than plugging in Emmanuel Burriss.

TSF
TSF

Keppinger had a 2011 BA of .300 before he was traded to the Giants. He maintained that going into August, but his BA was submarined by his abyssal September. Kepp had some impressive clutch hits with the Giants in that August, which were made all the more visible and memorable because he was healthy and the rest of the offense had evaporated. But lost in that August was Keppinger's limited range even at 2B, and once his BA started slipping in September his weaknesses became much more obvious.

mackdown
mackdown

Mike Fontenot batted 227 last year and is a career .263 hitter. Keppinger is a better bat by any measure.

rog61
rog61

nor wRC+ or OPS+ or oWAR.

Liem
Liem

OBP and SLG% must not be measures?

Liem
Liem

Also, where does the myth about Keppinger being good in fielder come from?

Phil Coates
Phil Coates

Couldn't disagree more with this move. Keppinger is one of the hardest men to strike out in all of baseball. He is a pro and a capital second asset. In my opinion Fontenot can't hold a candle to Keppinger at the plate or in the field. He not a crowd favorite to be called Fonty, Donty. might be more appropriate.

Tom Harmon
Tom Harmon

The problem is that Fontenot is an inept multi-position player . Keppinger had potential while Fontenot has already shown us what he is . Tom

rog61
rog61

Fontenot's a 31 year old veteran of 535 major league games. Keppinger's a 31 year old veteran of 586 games. I'm not sure how either of them qualifies as an unknown quantity. Really it's pretty remarkable how much the two are mirror images of each other, right down to an identical career OPS+ (92), identical wRC+ (91), and virtually identical career WAR (5.3 v. 5.2). There's almost nothing to distinguish between the two except the side of the plate they hit from and the near certainty that Keppinger would have a hard time outperforming a Molina brother at the SS position. I suppose the only unknown between them is when exactly their decline phase will kick in hard. It looked this year like Keppinger's was already doing so, but as Huff as showed a good winter's workout regimen can sometimes slow that down.

Liem
Liem

I'll disagree that Keppinger had potential. Keppinger and Fontenot are the same age and have roughly the same amount of time in the league. As far as hitting is concerned here are the numbers: Fontenot .263/.332/.406, Keppinger .281/.332/.388. Basically Keppinger's knack for getting singles makes up for Fontenot's walks, but Fontenot has slightly more pop. As for fielding there is no comparison. Fontenot beats out Keppinger handily in UZR at 2B, SS, 3B and 1B. The Fans Scouting Report supports the UZR, too. Bottom line: Fontenot is a slightly better hitter, fields better, and possesses versatility that saves a roster spot. Also of note: if the Giants acquire Theriot, not only could they have an All-Cajun middle infield, but they could also have three LSU Tigers!

Shankbone
Shankbone

I think you were being nice to Keppinger with the Carbonite reference. You didn't bring up his noodly inaccurate arm for example. The Giants were very nice as well, playing up his 1st/2nd/3rd capabilities. Good fill-in, but a very flawed player. If The Riot lasts a little while on the market and his price gets driven down to Hobbit levels, I think his poor defense can be overlooked as a 2nd MI bat with Fonty. You get R/L coverage and unlike Manny B Ryan T can actually hit a little. He doesn't play 3rd/OF like Burriss and isn't a good pinch runner though. Maybe the G's value that more. I'd love for Manny B to breakout like they are saying, I just don't see it happening. An all Cajun backup IF would be funny, and could hit a little more than we're configured.

rog61
rog61

I think people really separate the immobile defense from the bat in ways that aren't necessarily helpful as well. That incredible stiffness and lack of athleticism is sure to affect his offense as well going forward.

Nivra
Nivra

But Keppinger's bat is unstoppable!

rog61
rog61

But I have to say I don't understand the drum beat for Theriot. He's been essentially a replacement level player the last two years. He managed to be an even worse hitter than Keppinger last year, and I don't that his defense is any better. He's not Manny Burriss, I'll give him that, but Conor Gillaspie might be able to give him a run for the money.

rog61
rog61

He can stand between 2b and 3b right enough. To go further than that might be stretching the fabric a bit taut.

Shankbone
Shankbone

Exactly! They are ying/yang Cajun style. Not bad for cheap backup MIs. If we didn't have a shaky rookie/injury problem there I wouldn't even think twice about Theriot.

Chris Quick
Chris Quick

Theriot seems a lot like Fontenot to me. Neither can really play SS, and they both look nearly the same with the bat. Fontenot is probably the more flexible defender, too.

Shankbone
Shankbone

He can play short and he's a right handed bat. The bar is set pretty low at this point. Conor G can't play short. I hope they try him at 2B to get him some versatility, maybe that would help him break through. The Riot and Keppinger are neck in neck with one ahead in OBP and the other in SLG, but they're both basically singles hitters so The Riot might win that one, but definitely wins on athleticism and utility (as does his cajun brother Fonty Font). Emphasis on the bar set low. All I'm saying is Theriot might be a nice backup plan if he's cheap enough. I'll root for Burriss, but I'm not buying managements claims.

@bajadon1958
@bajadon1958

Burriss has not had much sample size, hurt a lot. Better rh hitter and can get on base via bb, unlike Kepp. He is prime to breakout, like Nate started to last year before injury.

Mickie
Mickie

what a sad and stupid message to say. The Giants will get exactly what they are paying for, another lost year,. Keppinger runs rings around Fontenot, with or without carbonite, whatever that is. But time will tell. Too bad some writers don't know baseball.

Ryan
Ryan

"Keppinger" and "Runs" do not belong in the same sentence.

Liem
Liem

Whenever someone on-line accuses another person on-line of "not knowing baseball", he usually means "you don't agree with me and I'm too immature or craven to respond with any evidence that will support my position." Chris and the other writers on this site take time and effort to put together these stories and provide a plethora of evidence for us, the readers, to judge them. Not only does this writing require "knowing baseball," but it also requires some degree of bravery to put their opinions in the open to be scrutinized by readers like us. The least we can do is be respectful in our scrutiny.

WebGem
WebGem

I thumbed you up for appropriately using the word "craven" on a sports site.

DavidG
DavidG

I liked Keppinger, he is the better hitter if the two, and managed to come up with some good hits in tough situations. He didnt just hit singles, he it a fair amount of doubles as well.

rog61
rog61

When you say better hitter, do you mean higher BA? Because by any other measure the two were nearly identical hitters last year. Same OPS, same wRC+.

Elliot
Elliot

I think the funniest part is that Fontenot's hand is at Crawford's wrist. It looks like Crawford is totally messing with Fontenot. "Hey. Bet you can't reach my hand."