Aubrey Huff’s Defensive Style in a Picture
via Extra Baggs Seriously, though, Huff. Don’t hurt yourself out there.
Otis Anderson
Pat’s Bat
So David Pinto wrote an interesting article suggesting that Pat Burrell has a hard time hitting hard fastballs. Almost as if he read the very same article and sought to prove it wrong, Burrell crushed a 97 MPH Jonthan Broxton fastball last night. I’m certainly not saying that one at-bat proves Pinto wrong (that would be pretty stupid), but it… Read more →
Miguel Tejada – Chief Preseason Worry
Dave Cameron wrote a piece which will undoubtedly further the “Stat-NERDS hate the Giants!” narrative of the off-season. When the rage clears from your eyes, it has to be admitted that Miguel Tejada is the Giants’ weakest position player. He is also backed-up by an increasingly ugly group of options. Here’s a brief list of those options, followed by the reasons you don’t… Read more →
Roster Spot Sample Ballot
Eli Whiteside vs Chris Stewart Eli Whiteside got hurt early this spring, and Chris Stewart has taken advantage of his opportunity, thumping out a .318/.400/.545 line in a handful of at-bats. His minor league track record indicates that he might actually be a bit better of a hitter than Whiteside, but not so much that you’d actually notice. Other things equal,… Read more →
Oh Yeah, Mark DeRosa
After a busy week, I’ve been catching up on news. To me the most interesting development of the early spring was this bit from Baggs: Bruce Bochy said the word “competition” definitely applies in left field, even though in this case, it’s established vets like Mark DeRosa and Pat Burrell who are pitted against each other. It’ll be deep into… Read more →
Spring Training Bullets
Spring training is a good time to put away the statbook and pick up the camera. Azgiants.com always has great pictures this time of year. Mat Latos hates SF . . . and with good reason. Baggs covers Brain Wilson’s latest piece of performance art. Did Wilson luck out when he got drafted by San Francisco or what? He’s a good… Read more →
Giants Un-Sign Dessens, Add Lawrence
Okay, guys. That’s enough depth now. Quick reaction: wait, Brian Lawrence is only 34? And he still plays baseball? Lawrence is etched in my brain as the example of a successful low velocity sinker-baller. I also remember him as being one of those guys who didn’t seem very good but also managed to shut down the Giants. That memory, it… Read more →
Improbable Things of 2010: Javier Lopez
If there’s one dialog that’s defined the offseason of the Giants, it’s the dialog about luck. The rest of baseball chatters on about how lucky the Giants got, and then Giants fans get hacked off because that implies the team wasn’t good. Frankly, some of the talk hacks me off too. As we’ve already covered, I don’t think Matt Cain… Read more →
Dueling Algorithms
February is a pretty useless month, sports-wise. One of its few highlights is the annual release of PECOTA , Baseball Prospectus’s projection system. A lot of projection systems just tell you that a player’s future will look like his past, with some age adjustment and regression toward league average thrown in there. While PECOTA has plenty of that thrown in… Read more →
Matt Cain is Controversial. Really.
To the average fan, Matt Cain must seem like about the least controversial player on the Giants. He mostly keeps quiet to the press, doesn’t get arrested for having pot in his car. If he has any friends that look like participants in the Folsom Street Fair, we don’t see them on national television. But in the world of nerds arguing over… Read more →