7.30.2005
Alas, Poor Yorvit
A few notes on the Winn trade:
* Of course Brian Sabean knows this team sucks, and even if it were to acquire Curt Schilling's bloody sock and win an emotional NL West race, it would get blown out of the water by the Braves or Cardinals in the first round of playoffs. The only reason I can figure he's going for it is that the fiscal rewards of simply making the playoffs are great enough to justify the risk of losing young players and taking on veteran salary. In other words, the extra few million dollars earned just by showing up to the NLDS are enough of a lure -- either because the limited partners want some return, or because the Giants want a few more mil to spend a little more lavishly on free agents this winter (yeah, right).
* The Giants brought up Yamid Haad to back up Matheny. Haad is hitting .284/.311/.493 at Fresno. They need to open a roster spot for Winn; who will it be? Let's hope it's Edgardo Alfonzo, with Feliz shifting to third base full time. Why? Because...
* Winn has a team option for $5 M next year. If the Giants don't pick it up, he could exercise a $3.75 M player option. That's a lot of money for a man whose batting stats, if you squint, kind of look like Michael Tucker's. His defense is (allegedly) better.
* This note from Will Carroll's rumor mill: "Winn will stay in left field, according to Giants sources." If true, it means either Pedro Feliz or Edgardo Alfonzo will likely be traded; if Alfonzo stays, it means the Giants will have three singles hitters (Winn, Alfonzo, Snow) playing power positions. If Feliz stays, it means I will die of a pulmonary embolism in mid-August when he stops hitting home runs and returns to his slider-in-the-dirt, double-play-ball mischief. But from my grave I will applaud the greater payroll flexibility going into 2006.
* From '02 to '04, Winn to my surprise was remarkably similar from either side of the plate. I thought he was much better as a lefthanded batter, but not really:
LHB: 1329 ABs / .349 OBP / .429 SLG / .778 OPS
RHB: 504 ABs / .353 OBP / .460 SLG / .813 OPS
This year, he's far worse from the right side: .654 OPS (vs. .770 as a LHB). This could be the effect of spacious Safeco, his home field since 2003.
* I'm not so torn up about losing Foppert. He may become a good starter, but even Seattle GM Bill Bavasi termed him a "gamble." Alas, poor Yorvit, I'll miss him. He may become as good a hitter as Doug Mirabelli, who sports a respectable career .752 OPS as a backup catcher. He may mature into a starter, but apparently no other team really thinks so, or else the Giants would have traded him long ago for Todd Jones or Kaz Matsui.
* Sabean says he's still trying to land a white whale, er, starting pitcher. Cue the jaunty seafaring jig that soon morphs into minor-key premonitions of disaster just over the horizon. A quick thank you to Brian Cashman for swooping down on Shawn Chacon before Sabean could.
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* Of course Brian Sabean knows this team sucks, and even if it were to acquire Curt Schilling's bloody sock and win an emotional NL West race, it would get blown out of the water by the Braves or Cardinals in the first round of playoffs. The only reason I can figure he's going for it is that the fiscal rewards of simply making the playoffs are great enough to justify the risk of losing young players and taking on veteran salary. In other words, the extra few million dollars earned just by showing up to the NLDS are enough of a lure -- either because the limited partners want some return, or because the Giants want a few more mil to spend a little more lavishly on free agents this winter (yeah, right).
* The Giants brought up Yamid Haad to back up Matheny. Haad is hitting .284/.311/.493 at Fresno. They need to open a roster spot for Winn; who will it be? Let's hope it's Edgardo Alfonzo, with Feliz shifting to third base full time. Why? Because...
* Winn has a team option for $5 M next year. If the Giants don't pick it up, he could exercise a $3.75 M player option. That's a lot of money for a man whose batting stats, if you squint, kind of look like Michael Tucker's. His defense is (allegedly) better.
* This note from Will Carroll's rumor mill: "Winn will stay in left field, according to Giants sources." If true, it means either Pedro Feliz or Edgardo Alfonzo will likely be traded; if Alfonzo stays, it means the Giants will have three singles hitters (Winn, Alfonzo, Snow) playing power positions. If Feliz stays, it means I will die of a pulmonary embolism in mid-August when he stops hitting home runs and returns to his slider-in-the-dirt, double-play-ball mischief. But from my grave I will applaud the greater payroll flexibility going into 2006.
* From '02 to '04, Winn to my surprise was remarkably similar from either side of the plate. I thought he was much better as a lefthanded batter, but not really:
LHB: 1329 ABs / .349 OBP / .429 SLG / .778 OPS
RHB: 504 ABs / .353 OBP / .460 SLG / .813 OPS
This year, he's far worse from the right side: .654 OPS (vs. .770 as a LHB). This could be the effect of spacious Safeco, his home field since 2003.
* I'm not so torn up about losing Foppert. He may become a good starter, but even Seattle GM Bill Bavasi termed him a "gamble." Alas, poor Yorvit, I'll miss him. He may become as good a hitter as Doug Mirabelli, who sports a respectable career .752 OPS as a backup catcher. He may mature into a starter, but apparently no other team really thinks so, or else the Giants would have traded him long ago for Todd Jones or Kaz Matsui.
* Sabean says he's still trying to land a white whale, er, starting pitcher. Cue the jaunty seafaring jig that soon morphs into minor-key premonitions of disaster just over the horizon. A quick thank you to Brian Cashman for swooping down on Shawn Chacon before Sabean could.
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