2015 Baseball is Here

Welcome to the 1st Czar’s blog of 2015 celebrating our World Champion San Francisco Giants!

First, some history to get you ready for 2015 baseball, Giants style

2010 – a season never forgotten, a rally thong from a veteran and Buster Posey as rookie of the year. 

2012 – we are the champions, Zito pitches for the ages, Lincecum comes through and the Panda destroys Detroit.

2014 – Ishikawa’s channels Bobby Thompson, the most electrifying baseball moment most of us under 90 have ever seen.

2014 – Bumgarner comes in from the bullpen in game 7. 

http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/23738602/v36944613/2014-world-series-film-bumgarner-saves-game-7

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A short offseason, a spring training that did not look good and the last position battles

The G-Men went to Arizona. 19 losses, 9 wins and 2 ties later the G-Men are ready to come home tomorrow night and Friday and then go on the road again for 8 games before they come home to start the regular season on April 13th.

What happened in Arizona?  Hunter Pence broke his arm (he got hit by a pitch) and is out through the end of April (the only saving grace is that it happened early in spring training, it was a simple fracture and Hunter continues to work out). The play was generally sloppy in Arizona and Bochy got on the players for it.  The good news is that the Giants started to play better about two weeks ago and are now looking like a major league team. Can they up the intensity now? That is the big question.

The question mark for the next four games (before the opener in Arizona against the Snakes) is who is going to finally make the team. There are only a few positions waiting to be finally decided, with the most important being the last utility infield position, which is between Adrianza and Matt Duffy. 

Duffy is batting .385, with 2 HR’s (including a 2 run shot today) and 13 RBI’s.  He got the players Barney Nugent Award for the most inspirational player in camp. Adrianza is batting .234 with no HR’s and 4 RBI’s. The difference between the two, however, is that Duffy has minor league options remaining and Adrianza doesn’t.  If the Giants try to send Adrianza down they might lose him. The betting position right now is that Sabean is on the wire trying to trade Adrianza.  Duffy not making the team would not be the end of the world but I think that we need him and losing Adrianza would not be the end of the world.  After all, we lost Ishi that way, and then got him back when he was released by the Pirates.

Other battles that are over include Justin Maxwell (perhaps the only real consistent HR threat besides Posey and Pence) beating out Juan Perez for the final outfield spot, Hector Sanchez beating out Andrew Susac for back-up catcher (not a bad thing, Susac should play every day and he can’t behind Buster) and Duvall being sent down again (he’s not ready is the consensus).

On the pitching side of things, Machi beat out Kontos and Strickland for the last spot in the bullpen, and Lincecum retained his starter role over Vogelsong with strong games over the last week.

The Team Right Now

The 2015 Giants look a lot like the 2014 Giants with the exception of Michael Morse going to Miami and the Panda defecting to Boston (where he gets to eat freely without being hassled).

The Infield

Around the horn in the infield will be Buster Posey (who is looking really good!) behind the dish and ready for a great year, Brandon Belt at 1st (also looking for a break-out power year after all the injuries last year), Joe Panik (who hurt his ankle today, but the reports are that it’s just a sprain) at 2nd, Brandon Crawford (who us trying to channel Ozzie Smith with trick plays – there is a great video of his trick plays on line) at short and newcomer Casey McGehee at third.

Casey is a respected and loved player wherever he goes. He was the comeback player of the year last year in Miami, hits for high average (lots of doubles), is a solid defender and a good teammate. He just should try not to keep hitting HR’s.  His story (from his days with the Brew Crew onward) is inspirational and he fits well with the G-Men.

The Outfield

In the outfield, Maxwell and Ishikawa will probably split time with Blanco at right, Pagan (if healthy) will be in Center and Aoki (a slick fielder and good hitter for average) will take left field. This is all waiting for the return of Hunter Pence to his place at the wall

I suspect that Maxwell will go down when Pence comes back but it depends.  If Ishikawa is cold and Maxwell is hot it could be Ishi reporting to the Sacramento Grizzlies. Pagan’s health is still a question, although he swears that his back is fine and the only reason he got the shot  in his back was so that he could sleep on a soft bed. We will see.

The Pitchers

The Giant’s front line pitching staff looks strong.  Bumgarner is the best in the game (and that is taking Kershaw into account). Cain is looking good after his recuperation from surgery. Is he the Matt Cain of old?  We will see but I’m betting that he is. Peavy is a question mark because he hasn’t looked good this spring but then again he didn’t look good last season until he did.  Peavy is a gamer. 

This is Hudson’s last year and Rags is going to coddle him I expect.  He will come out of games early for Vogelsong or Petit, which is just fine.  If he can give five innings of classic Hudson ball he’s worth it.

Lincecum is starting.  He worked with his Dad on his mechanics all winter and, as usual, sometimes he has them, and sometimes he doesn’t.  This is a contract year for Timmy and he wants to go into his next uniform (probably as a Mariner) wrapped in glory.  We are all counting on him doing exactly that.

As for the bullpen, the G-Men have the best and most experienced pen in the game. Affeldt, Casilla, Romo, Lopez, now joined by Machi, Vogelsong and Petit are an experienced and awesome crew.

The Intangibles

Bruce Bochy, Ron Wotus, Dave Righetti, Billy Hayes. Roberto Kelly and Brian Sabean (not necessarily in that order).  Tim Flannery retired and there has a little shifting of responsibilities, but not much.  This is a tested group of coaches led by the best manager and the best General Manager in the game.  This is one of the main reasons why the Giants win, and why the G-Men are going back to the playoffs in September (you heard it here first J).

The Division

The NL West may be the toughest division in baseball this year. The scribes generally pick the G-Men to finish third at .500, with the Dodgers first and the Padres second. The Snakes and the Rockies have their strengths but obvious weaknesses (pitching in the case of both teams).

The Padres are loaded (they got power up the yin-yang with Matt Kemp, Maybin, Quentin, and Upton in the outfield and a solid infield) and then they picked up James Shields to bookend Andrew Cashner and Ian Kennedy (always a Giants killer).  I think that if the G-Men don’t take the division the Padres have a real shot. They are the real deal.

The Dodgers are once again the best team that money can buy with Kershaw as the face of the franchise, followed by Puig (he of the infinite mustard). They picked up Jimmy Rollins and Howie Kendrick, Adrian Gonzales is one of the best and Andre Ethier (now free from the shadow of Kemp) is hitting the stuffing out of the ball.  Their new centerfielder (Joc Pederson – very LA, three letter first name, sounds like he should be playing for a prep school or someplace like USC) looks like he may in fact be the second coming of Mike Trout, as advertised.  The only question marks on the Dodgers are the pitching. Ryu is on the DL, Kenley Jansen hurt himself and after Kershaw there isn’t a lot to talk about.

26 of the first 30 games (and the first 23) are against division rivals so we will know pretty quickly how the Giants stack up against the real opposition. The key to the division might be in the first series in Arizona,  If the Giants can handle the Snakes, then they get confidence going into the first home opening series against the Rockies and the Snakes, followed by the Dodgers.

Meanwhile, the last two exhibition games against the A’s (who are looking VERY good) loom large as a test, starting tomorrow.

Ciao, and GO GIANTS!

The Czar

Hot Stove Edition

Greetings to the Giants fans who hung in there through thick and thin, in the good years (certainly 2010 to 2014 qualify), and in the challenging years (every year since 1954 J).

The purpose of this blog post is to review some of the events that have taken place since the Parade on Halloween (what a day that was!) and the immediate post-season MLB movements that affect the G-Men.

Say it ain’t so Pablo!

The big news is that the Panda is going to the Red Sox, who essentially made him the same offer that the Giants did ($100 million for five years, with an option for six). He is taking his nick-name with him and we all wonder what a red Panda hat will look like.

Why did this happen ? Hunter Pence (after the Parade) got the crowd worked up with a chant to “re-sign the Panda.” Pablo got three WS rings with the G-Men. Pablo was the WS MVP in 2012. Pablo was one of the faces of the Giants and his energy and infectious enthusiasm touched everyone who ever saw him play (to quote Justin Verlander in Game #1 of the 2012 WS – “Wow”!). He was part of the chemistry of the Giants’ clubhouse that created the team that won three WS titles in five years. He will be missed.

My theory is that Pablo’s posse (the boys from Venezuela who are part of his entourage) convinced him that the Red Sox were a bigger platform and he (and they) could do better in the long run there. I also don’t think that the posse really liked the Giants brain trust. I have no inside information on that, it’s just supposition based on years of reports of friction.

Regardless, the Panda is gone and we all wish him well at Fenway, where he joins Hanley Ramirez from the Dodgers in what is sure to be one of the most toxic clubhouses in baseball.  Good luck with that Panda - -  but always remember that we loved you here and always will. Giants fans are not fickle. We welcomed Orlando Cepeda and Will Clark back and we will welcome you back when the time is right. You will always be a Giant to us.

What are the Giants going to do?

Pablo’s departure is not entirely a bad thing.  Yes it opens a hole at third base (the Giant’s already have a hole in left field) that needs to be filled but it also frees up a lot of cash to fill the open positions. Pablo’s regular season OPS had been trending downward for the last three years (but his OPS in the post season was unreal) so there are a lot of candidates who could potentially plug the regular season Panda gap, so to speak.

The options at third include Chase Headley (just offered three years with the Yankees but maybe the best defensive 3rd baseman in baseball) or to fill the position from inside the organization. For example, Buster Posey (if the G-Men can convince him to move from catcher and put that duty in the hands of Susac), Marco Scutaro (if he’s healthy), Matt Duffy (he might just be up for the job; converted shortstops do well at third) or another young player.   The Giants do have some good young position players who will be going all out in spring training to take the job.

If the G-Men go inside or go with a defensive 3rd baseman they could afford to add real power in Left Field.  Right now speculation centers on the Cuban guy, Yasmany Tomas, a hitter with the talent of Puig (although hopefully more mature and without the attitude) or one of the excess Red Sox outfielders (like Allan Craig, or Cespedes or Shane Victorino) any of whom would look good in Orange and Black, especially Craig, a Cal guy like Jeff Kent.

Other possibilities (dream big folks) are bringing back Melky (is the Melk man forgiven? Tell us what happened Melky – we are an understanding town) who tore it up with Toronto last year OR one of the excess Dodgers outfielders (like Matt Kemp or Andre Ethier – wouldn’t you love that?).  Right now it looks like there are a lot of candidates out there and the Giants have the money to spend.

The Giants are also in the market for a pitcher.  The choices are to re-sign Peavy, go after Jon Lester or maybe try big for Max Scherzer or James Shields. Don’t forget that Sergio is still out there unsigned. Pitching next year will be a challenge once we get past MadBum.  Cain is coming off an injury, Lincecum will be in his last year (as will Hudson) and Vogie might just be retired.

What will the rest of the winter bring?

Some of us are counting down the days until Spring Training in February and treating the Hot Stove time as winter sport.  Next week are the winter meetings so more rumors will fly and more deals will be done.

One perhaps sad note (for Giants fans, not for him) is that Tim Flannery has retired after 33 years in baseball. We will all miss his energy behind third base and will always remember him waving runners home by following them down the line and acting like a wild man. Adios Flan!

See you next year at AT&T!

GO GIANTS!

Ciao,

The Czar

The Czar's Blog - Halloween Parade Edition 2014

Welcome to our friends who love the San Francisco Giants, and to the last Czar’s blog of 2014 – the Halloween (my birthday present) Parade edition!

There isn’t anyone on the planet that doesn’t feel in awe of Madison Bumgarner after his MVP performance in the NLCS and in the World Series.  However the G-Men are a team and, as it turns out, a team of destiny.  Was there anyone in SF not watching that game last night?  I’m still speechless.

Warriors or Cockroaches – or both?

Brian Sabean said that this is a team of cockroaches – they will not die! And they did not die. Bruce Bochy, a manager that is destined for the Hall of Fame with Miller Huggins, Casey Stengel, Joe McCarthy and in the modern era, Tony La Russa and Joe Torre, said it best: “These guys are warriors.”

The first team since the “We are Family” Lumber Company (the 1979 Pirates with Willie Stargell) to win a WS game 7 on the road, and the first Giants team since the 1905 Giant with Christy Matheson to have a pitcher that essentially won 3 WS games, the last one on two day’s rest.  Clayton Kershaw might get the Cy Young and has been designated as the “Best Pitcher on the planet” but, if so, MadBum is the best pitcher in the Universe. 

Move over Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson, MadBum is now your teammate!

I was there for the Bumgarner shutout at home in Game 5, the Ishikawa walk-off in Game 5 of the NLCS over the Cardinals, the Juan Perez double off the top of the wall that sealed Game 5 and we all saw the Crawford Grand Slam in the Wild card game but nothing beats the look on Hunter Pence’s face (batting almost .500 in the WS – are you kidding?) when he comes to the plate with the swing that looks like he is trying to destroy the ball with the bat.

YES! YES! YES!

This incredible post-season was the ride of a lifetime. Every player contributed. No one was selfish and no one pouted about not playing as Bochy masterfully shuffled the players like chess pieces across the board of the game.

The Panda was clutch (the best third baseman in the game – will he return?  We hope so!), Joe Panik found his groove (especially on that double play in the 3rd last night!) and may be the best 2nd baseman to play for the Giants since Joe Morgan and Jeff Kent (although Marco Scutero and Robbie Thompson are up there also), Brandon Crawford’s arm and range was the difference in the defense (we can watch him all day long – so smooth), Gregor Blanco played a center field for the ages (up until that 9th inning error last night that MadBum had to work through), Michael Morse came through with the big hits when needed (“May the Morse be with you”), Brandon Belt’s defense and bat were key and, most important, Buster Posey was nails even though he is clearly exhausted. 

Buster – take the next two months off and savor what you just did in directing this pitching staff!  If Pence is the heart of the team, you are the brains and the will.

Think about it: 18 innings over the Pirates in the Wild Card game; which the G-Men were in only because of a great April, May and September that overcame a swoon for the ages in June, July and into August (including being swept by KC in KC).  Then the NLDS against the Nationals (probably the most talented team in baseball this side of that LA team that won’t be named), then beating the Cardinals in the NLCS on a walk-off home run in the ninth inning of Game 5 by the most unlikely of hero’s – a 1st baseman cut in May, put on waivers, picked up by the Giants and sent to AAA and then converted to LF.  Travis Ishikawa lived the dream for all of us.

Hats off to the starters and the bullpen! Hudson playing at 39, Peavy who came in from the Red Sox to replace Cain when he went down, Vogelsong (who has the best game face since Will Clark), LInceum who pitched a no-hitter and then made himself available for relief, Romo, Affeldt, Casilla and, of course, Yusmiero Petit.  We would not be there without Petit. Kudos to the bench - Arias had key hits, Duffy  and Susac were nails for rookies, Perez literally saved Game 7 with an awesome catch. 

The point is that everyone contributed (including Strickland - who appears to be a special Bochy project).  Finally don’t forget the coaches (underrated all, especially Wotus and Flan) and the front office, Baer, Sabean, Bobby Evans, the scouts (like Pat Burrell, still contributing after all he did in 2010) and all the wonderful people who are part of the Giants family – as are every one of us.

We are told that both Bochy and Pence gave a speech to the team before Game 7.  Bochy said to remember the tough teams they defeated on the road over the last five years (and make no mistake the G-Men are a GREAT road team) and that they have won (now) 9 consecutive post season series.  Pence got up and simply said to remember what he told the team in spring training – they were playing for a parade in October.

Well, it’s October and it’s parade time. We will all be at our office on California street on Friday and will be walking over to Market Street about 11 am to get our place to greet the  2014 World Championship San Francisco Giants as the floats come down Market Street.

Join us at the Parade, and then mark your calendars for the Black and Orange Big Bottle Party on December 4th at 4 pm at the University Club.  This year will be truly special and we have a 12 liter Balthazar of a specially bottled zin (made with love by the Michael David Winery) from the 2012 WS as a feature.

The next Czar’s blog will be during Spring training before the 2015 season.  The G-Men will have a major target on their back and the title of dynasty in the making.  It will be a great year and we will all be part of it. There is nothing more special than baseball.

I can’t wait!

Let me leave 2014 with this thought, and with the picture below:

“…They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time.”  - Field of Dreams

Ciao,

GO GIANTS!

The Czar

October Special #2 - The NLCS

Welcome to the 16th Czar’s blog of 2014 celebrating our San Francisco Giants!  This is the special postseason blog, hopefully the second of three (one for the NLDS, one for the NLCS and one for the WS). 

Are we having fun yet?

It was difficult to predict a month ago that the Giants would be in the final four but not only did they make the NLCS, they took the first game from the Cardinals last night 3-0 behind an awesome performance by Bumgarner for 7 and 2/3 innings. 

The end of the NLDS was pretty cool. We lost game #3 to the Nationals only because of an error by Bum throwing to 3rd rather than getting an out at first. That play was actually one of the only examples of the team not playing the Giants way we have seen in the post-season.  The Giant’s way is slow, methodical, inning by inning, base by base, grinding out every at-bat and not making mistakes.  That play was high-risk and it cost us the game.  The ship was righted in Game #4 when Vogelsong went 5 and 2/3, the bullpen took it the rest of the way and the G-Men won 3-2. 

However of note is the fact that (other than in the WC game) the G-Men scored only 2 and 3 runs in taking the NLDS, and last night in taking Game #1 of the NLCS they squeaked out 3 runs.

The Giants and the Cardinals (besides trading the NL championship back and forth since 2010) are almost identical teams.  Good pitching, good bullpens, solid players, good managers (in the Giants case great), really professional front office and great fans.  Both teams play fundamental baseball, station to station hitting, good defense and minimal errors. That’s why the games are going to be low scoring.

Game #1, however, was an example of why Giants fans should be confident going into the three games at AT&T. Bum is clearly at the top of his game, and Wainwright is clearly not.  An uncharacteristically sloppy Cardinals defense behind Wainwright directly contributed to 2 of the Giants 3 runs.  The Cardinals defense is not going to continue to play that way.

In terms of match-up the Cardinals are evenly split between right and left handed batters and the G-Men lean slightly left-handed (Crawford, Belt, Panik, Ishikawa) with two switch-hitters (Panda and Blanco) and two right-handers (Posey and Pence). Most of the Cardinals pitchers are right handers.  This favors the Giants. 

Generally speaking the Giants pitchers are better (ERA, bullpen holds, etc.) than the Cardinals staff but its close.  Frankly the fact that Wainwright is playing hurt (he is for sure) may be the deciding factor. Tonight is Lynn versus Peavy, Tuesday is Hudson and Wednesday is Vogelsong – in both cases with Petite and Lincecum right there if they falter. The Giants bullpen is also slightly better than the Cardinals and, as they say, good pitching beats good hitting.

In terms of positon players you have to give the edge to Posey over Molina (but both are great players). However the Cardinals have the edge at 3rd (Carpenter over the Panda), short (Peralta over Crawford), Left Field (Holliday over Ishikawa) and Center Field (Jay over Blanco). I give us the edge at 1st (Belt over Adams), 2nd (Panik over Wong) and Right field (Pence over anyone).

It’s a pretty even match-up on the whole and should be great baseball.

The real match-up though might be Bochy over Matheney, and that’s in the Giants favor.

But this is perhaps the Giants biggest asset!

The ALCS

Right now the Royals are up 2-0 on the Orioles, and going back to Kansas City to (I believe) wrap up the  ALCS. The Royals play fast, they play small ball and they keep coming back with big innings after being down. They have now taken 6 straight playoff games (the A’s in the Wild card, the Angels in the NLDS and 2 games in Baltimore.  My prediction (joined by most of baseball I suspect) is that either the G-Men or the Cardinals will be seeing the Royals week after next.  However I also predict that the WS will be a different experience for the Royals because the pitching they face in the NL will be a lot better than the pitching they faced in the AL -  pitching is the big difference between the AL and NL right now.  Besides, wouldn’t it be sweet to see Morse as the DL?

It’s League Championship playoff time!

Ciao, and GO GIANTS!

The Czar

PS, We would have liked to see the Dodgers in the NLCS, but it was not to be

NLDS Playoffs Giants v. Nationals

Welcome to the 15h Czar’s blog of 2014 celebrating our San Francisco Giants!  This is the special postseason blog, hopefully the first of three (one for the NLDS, one for the NLCS and one for the WS). 

If you are a NL team not worried about the G-men, you are not paying attention

The play-off’s this year are riveting.  It all started with the Wild Card games.  First Kansas City takes out the A’s in a 12 inning thriller where the lead changed hands about four times. Then the Giants pound the Pirates 8-0 behind Bum, a Brandon Crawford Grand Slam (first one by a shortstop in MLB history) and a three hit night by Panik. This looked like the Giants team from April and May.

It all started with the “yes, yes, yes” yell (supported by 40,000 fans, of which I was one) by Pence following the season ending victory over the Padres last Sunday.  He asked if we wanted another game at home – YES – YES – YES!

After the Pirates game the G-men came into DC to play the team with the best record in the regular season  – the Nationals. Peavy faced off against Steven Strassberg and behind Panik’s triple, Posey’s game winning RBI and Strickland’s 100 mph heater to get a strikeout with the bases loaded, they beat the National’s 3-2 and took home field advantage. Today it’s Hudson versus Zimmerman.

The Gigantes are simply looking like they are the coolest team in the playoff’s – nerves of steel, going about their business playing one inning at a time and making the plays they need to make. They are now 9 and 0 in postseason play going back to 2012. That might not continue but it’s a pretty cool record.

Who is hot and who is not

The Giants are not the most talented team in the playoff’s but they are clearly the most experienced and they have one intangible that no one else has – Bruce Bochy. He is a master at managing his players  - he puts the right guy in the right place at the right time. It’s positively surreal.

On the player side of things we clearly miss Pagan (not so sure about Morse) but the way that Panik has stepped up is helping to take the edge off of that loss. MadBum and Peavy are nails, and Hudson is doing well tonight. The next game belongs to MadBum on Monday versus Gio Gonzalez.

The question mark seems to be Ishikawa in left field but then again he got a huge hit in game 1 yesterday and he got the only hit early in the game against Zimmerman today. The secret weapon might just be Brandon Belt. The two hits in the Wild Card game were pretty nifty.

My take is that the Giants are a true TEAM – not a collection of superstars. Each player is a piece of the puzzle in a box organized by Sabean that Bochy puts together before each start. It’s like watching a well-oiled machine. It is just awesome baseball. Does this team compare to 2010 and 2012?– yes and no,  Yes with respect to grit, determination, Buster Posey and a shutdown bullpen, no with respect to depth on the bench, or Cody Ross or Edgar Renteria. Will any of this make a difference?  The next two games will tell or, if the G-Men win today, it’s all about Monday.

We will talk about the NLCS when we get there.

The Play-offs

National League: The only thing that has been almost as much fun as watching the Giants win has watching the Dodgers melt down.  Kershaw giving up a six run inning tells me that the LA Thugs may not get to the NLCS,  However the Cardinals are very tough (especially at home) and they are suddenly hitting home runs. If the Cards do beat the Thugs they will be very tough at home. 

American League: Does anyone not like the Royals?  What a bunch of fun kids; they play fast and they play small ball.  7 stolen bases against the A’s and it seems like they have gotten as many against the Angels.  The Royals are up 2-0 in the series (on the road) and now go home to try to finish off the Angels – who look old and tired, even with Trout and Pujols.  The other series, the O’s versus the Tigers looks like it’s over. Baltimore is making the Tigers look old and slow. 

It’s playoff time!

Ciao, and GO GIANTS!

The Czar