Wednesday, January 14, 2004
The Hot Stove
Yes, I've been putting all comments about the Giants' off-season acquisitions on the back burner. Maybe it's time to comment, eh?
Also, this compulsive need to re-sign/acquire unspectacular players like Jeffrey Hammonds and Michael Tucker. Yes, we need players out there but can't we get something better? I know we don't have much money to play with.
And the worst move so far has been letting Rich Aurilia go. That leaves Neifi Goddamn Perez as our starting shortstop. Are you kidding me? Maybe we could have kept Richie in one spot in the order all year; that way he wouldn't have felt the need to take a drastic pay cut so that he could skip off to Seattle where he just might be able to find that one spot and stay there. And I still resent Neifi for hitting that damn home run in the last game of the 1998 season against us.
A.J. Pierzynski will be a decent replacement for Benito Santiago, but he won't reach that right-field porch very often.
Why did we spend money on Alberto Castillo? We already have a backup catcher in Yorvit Torrealba, who I actually thought would be given the chance to start more often this season.
And this "SBC Park" bullshit. Come on. Pick a name and go with it, Puff Daddy.
What I Like: I like the re-signing of Matt Herges. Watching him in the playoffs last season, I saw a bit of an indicator that he can bring it. He got the Giants out of at least one big jam.
I like the re-signing of J.T. Snow, simply because I like his defensive work and when his swing is flawless he shows flashes of Will Clark. He's not the best player at the position, obviously, but there's just something simply comforting about having him around another year.
And I like the dumping of Jose Cruz Jr., more for his sake than that of Giants fans. He needed to get out of town. I feared he wouldn't be able to handle coming back after his complete meltdown in Game 3.
What I Don't Like:The departure of Tim Worrell. If Robb Nen were sure to be 100% this year maybe it wouldn't be that big a deal, but then again I would have kept Worrell over Nen.
Also, this compulsive need to re-sign/acquire unspectacular players like Jeffrey Hammonds and Michael Tucker. Yes, we need players out there but can't we get something better? I know we don't have much money to play with.
And the worst move so far has been letting Rich Aurilia go. That leaves Neifi Goddamn Perez as our starting shortstop. Are you kidding me? Maybe we could have kept Richie in one spot in the order all year; that way he wouldn't have felt the need to take a drastic pay cut so that he could skip off to Seattle where he just might be able to find that one spot and stay there. And I still resent Neifi for hitting that damn home run in the last game of the 1998 season against us.
What I'm Not Sure About:Brett Tomko can eat up some innings, which will be necessary this season, but what good is that if you give up five-and-a-half runs a game?
A.J. Pierzynski will be a decent replacement for Benito Santiago, but he won't reach that right-field porch very often.
Why did we spend money on Alberto Castillo? We already have a backup catcher in Yorvit Torrealba, who I actually thought would be given the chance to start more often this season.
And this "SBC Park" bullshit. Come on. Pick a name and go with it, Puff Daddy.
