It’s been a common, if not overused, refrain this offseason: the Giants overpaid for relief pitching. Early on, before the market really started to develop, the Giants picked up Jeremy Affeldt’s $5M option for 2012 without hesitation, and then turned around and signed a LOOGY, Javier Lopez, to a two-year, $8.5M deal. Both deals were, at the time, somewhat panned… Read more →
Here’s a quick — and potentially frustrating — post. Hideki Okajima career versus left-handed batters: G PA BB SO SO/BB BA OBP SLG OPS BAbip 231 436 32 98 3.06 .218 .277 .323 .600 .269 Javier Lopez career versus left-handed batters: G PA BB SO SO/BB BA OBP SLG OPS BAbip 444 759 79 152 1.92 .223 .313 .312 .624… Read more →
It’s sort of funny, you know. I thought the Giants ought to go after a first baseman that had been highly productive in the past after winning the World Series in 2010, rather than re-signing Aubrey Huff, who was likely to decline and cost more. You know, someone like Carlos Pena. Or Lance Berkman. Someone that would fit in nicely… Read more →
Before we get down to the nitty-gritty of this week’s post, I want to extend my best wishes to Wilson Ramos’ family and the Washington Nationals organization. I was so happy to hear he’d been found safe and has returned to his family. I hope all our players in winter leagues around the world stay safe. The playoff races are… Read more →
We have almost a full plate of winter league baseball at our disposal. Every league I have committed to covering here has begun, except for the Colombian League. Team Renteria updated the league page, saying that Play Ball! is scheduled for November 18. None of the rosters have been updated yet, but now we know when Opening Day is. I’ll… Read more →
Don’t get me wrong, I like both Jeremy Affeldt and Javier Lopez, but for a team with an assumed tight budget, I can’t say I totally love this deal. SFGiants.com: The Giants retained their left-handed bullpen complement and thus addressed one of the biggest issues facing them this offseason Sunday by signing Javier Lopez to a two-year, $8.5 million contract… Read more →
Consider the bullpen of the Giants my latest fascination. Why? Because the Giants’ bullpen has been great this season, right? I wrote about it yesterday, here. (That post has since been updated at the end.) Except, I think it’s possible that it’s been a bit more than just great. It’s been spectacular. In fact, it almost seems like the ‘pen is… Read more →
The San Francisco Giants’ ‘pen is pretty good. Actually, it’s excellent. They have the second best ERA in in the National League at 2.86 (behind the Padres at 2.85). They have the second best FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) at 3.13 (behind the Braves at 3.06). They also lead major league bullpens with a 52.6 percent ground ball rate… who knew? I… Read more →
Oh, Bruce Bochy. How you push my buttons. Look, I think I’ve entered a point in my life where I’ll relax and accept most managerial moves during a game. Unless a manager is pinch-hitting for his best hitter in the early stages of the game, or he’s making Tim Lincecum play CF, generally these moves are easy to digest. The… Read more →
Alternate title: please stop letting Javier Lopez face right-handed batters. I feel like I’ve been beating the ‘don’t let Lopez pitch to RHBs’ drum for awhile now, but once again, Bruce Bochy left Javier Lopez in to face too many righties. The result was this… J Lopez relieved S Romo. L Berkman grounded out to third. A Craig doubled to… Read more →