5.31.2004
The Tenuous Ten
Driving back from the boonies tonight, we caught the final few innings of the Giants' tenth straight victory. From the highlights, it sounded as if the G's knocked off a floundering team. Hillenbrand made no attempt on what should have been a double-play ball; Brower scored on an errant Bautista throw; a three-run ninth started with an egregious muff by Cintron. Stick a fork in the snakes.
Checking the reports on the two games I missed (wins eight and nine), I still maintain that the Giants are doing what a good team should do -- beat up on the weaklings -- but certainly aren't doing it decisively.
Apparently I'm not the only one seeing the clouds attached to the silver lining. Alou made some reference in the weekend's papers to fans and writers who just can't be satisfied, and Krukow echoed Alou's sentiment ("boy, I tell ya, that really ticks me off, like the Giants were out there playing the Little Sisters of the Poor or something") on the post-game rap tonight. Kruk and Alou are right. Ten in a row is ten in a row. I remember a few years back the Giants were on a roll and Baltimore and Tampa Bay came to town. Should have gone 6-0 or 5-1 against these two horrendous squads, but the Giants limped away with a split. Ten in a row against a team of emergency AAA call-ups would be worth celebrating.
But arguing whether the Giants winning streak is a real winning streak or asterisked because of the quality of the competition is beside the point. Anyone who watches this team every day could only duck the obvious by placing one's head deep into the sand. This team has major holes. Do not be lured into complacency by a ten-game win streak. I'm enjoying it, yes, don't worry, but if anything this gives Brian Sabean even greater imperative to go out and do what We have been begging him to do since last November:
- get a big bat behind Bonds.
- get another legitimate starter.
- bolster the bullpen.
Unfortunately, with the Giants' thin farm system and budget ceiling, we shouldn't expect more than one of these three things to happen. If so, hopefully it's the first one.
The Beltran speculation is starting to heat up, by the way. Peter Gammons reports that "the Royals want a young third baseman, catcher, second baseman, outfielder and pitching, so Baird hopes to get three of the five if he deals Beltran."
Does Pedro Feliz count as a young third baseman?
His trade value has never been higher, even though everyone except Jose Valverde knows there's no need to ever throw him a strike. Trade him, Brian. If not for Beltran, then for someone else.
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Checking the reports on the two games I missed (wins eight and nine), I still maintain that the Giants are doing what a good team should do -- beat up on the weaklings -- but certainly aren't doing it decisively.
Apparently I'm not the only one seeing the clouds attached to the silver lining. Alou made some reference in the weekend's papers to fans and writers who just can't be satisfied, and Krukow echoed Alou's sentiment ("boy, I tell ya, that really ticks me off, like the Giants were out there playing the Little Sisters of the Poor or something") on the post-game rap tonight. Kruk and Alou are right. Ten in a row is ten in a row. I remember a few years back the Giants were on a roll and Baltimore and Tampa Bay came to town. Should have gone 6-0 or 5-1 against these two horrendous squads, but the Giants limped away with a split. Ten in a row against a team of emergency AAA call-ups would be worth celebrating.
But arguing whether the Giants winning streak is a real winning streak or asterisked because of the quality of the competition is beside the point. Anyone who watches this team every day could only duck the obvious by placing one's head deep into the sand. This team has major holes. Do not be lured into complacency by a ten-game win streak. I'm enjoying it, yes, don't worry, but if anything this gives Brian Sabean even greater imperative to go out and do what We have been begging him to do since last November:
- get a big bat behind Bonds.
- get another legitimate starter.
- bolster the bullpen.
Unfortunately, with the Giants' thin farm system and budget ceiling, we shouldn't expect more than one of these three things to happen. If so, hopefully it's the first one.
The Beltran speculation is starting to heat up, by the way. Peter Gammons reports that "the Royals want a young third baseman, catcher, second baseman, outfielder and pitching, so Baird hopes to get three of the five if he deals Beltran."
Does Pedro Feliz count as a young third baseman?
His trade value has never been higher, even though everyone except Jose Valverde knows there's no need to ever throw him a strike. Trade him, Brian. If not for Beltran, then for someone else.
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