The problem the Giants are knee-deep in right now is a function of the organizations inability to to roll up prospects, mostly everyday players. They have had some success with pitchers lately, notably Cain, Lincecum and Sanchez, but the addition of Brian Wilson as a closer is a huge plus.
Most teams have solid 3-4-5 guys, we really have nobody who fits securely in those slots. Rowand is a top of the order hitter, Molina is ideally a 6-7 guy. Randy Winn is a top of the order guy. All three are being asked to do too much on the offensive side.
The only problem here is, it's starting to feel like 1974-78 era mediocrity, with pitchers being the focus and the team transitioning from Bobby Bonds to Dave Kingman prior to settling down with the Clark boys as anchors of solid batting orders. This team is so far away from being a good offensive unit, it's not funny.
The 1974 team had one of my personal favorites, John D'Acquisto flash like a meteor, with a 12-14 record. Ed Halicki debuted at 1-8. Jim Barr was the staff ace, by the way at 13-9. Mike Caldwell from the Brewers was the fourth starter.
The next year, 1975, the team added John "The Count Montefusco (15-9) and Pete Falcone (12-11) as Halicki improved to 9-13, while D'Acquisto fell to 2-4. Falcone was later trade to the Cardinals for 3B Ken Reitz. Jim Barr finished 13-14.
In 1976, Barr was 15-12, Montefusco 16-14, Halicki 12-14 but D'Acquisto again stumbled at 3-8. The aces but still not enough.
The 1977 team added Bob Knepper debuting at 11-9, Barr finished 12-16, Halicki 16-12 and Montefusco dipped to 7-12. Mediocre. Mediocre. Mediocre.
The Giants finally found an ace across the bay in Vida Blue. I wish Zito could at least give them the cache Blue brought to that team and he had more mileage on him than Zito.
The problem for this era has been the inability to capitalize on having Bonds as the anchor, the loss of premium picks via the signing of free-agent to surround Bonds, the inability of the organization to develop hitters over the last ten years. Aurilia and Pedro Feliz are the only two the organization has developed on their own.
If you look at the drafts by years, beginning in 2003, you can see why.
In 2003, RHP David Aardsma was the first round pick out of Rice. HS pitcher Craig Whitaker from texas gave them nothing. The 2nd round netted Nate Schierholz from CA JUCO system, they need to see him in the bigs and begin to close the books on 2003.
Olympian (Canada) Brooks McNiven was a fourth rounder but he's pretty far down the prospect list. The fifth rounder was wasted on Mike Wagner out of U. of Washington.
Later picks netted Pat Misch (7th) Brian Wilson (24th) and not much else. If the later rounds didn't bail them out, this years draft is a garbage can.
In 2004, Giants had no 1st rounder, wasted on one of the Geritol gang. Eddy Martinez-Esteve OF from Florida State is till around, one of those 25 year old AA guys. OF John Bowker was the 3rd rounder from Long Beach State. After that, not much. Kevin Frandsen 2B (12th round), Eugene Espineli LHP from TCU (14th round) Johnathan Sanchez was a surprise in the 27th round out of Ohio Dominican College. Again a late rounder keeps this from being a total toilet bowl of a draft.
In 2005, NO PICKS IN THE FIRST THREE ROUNDS. A ballsy strategy, but maybe not so much considering the prior couple of years outcomes. The fourth round yields OF Ben Copeland from Pitt, a 25 year old stuck in AA Connecticut. Where have I heard that before? The 5th round brings RHP Daniel Griffin from Niagara, a 6-7 closer candidate, who has not really advanced rapidly so far. The later rounds yield Nick Pereira RHP from U. of San Francisco (10th round) Alex Hinshaw LHP from San Diego State (15th round) Sergio ROmo RHP from Mesa College (28th round) and Antoan Richardson OF from Vanderbilt (35th round) another 25 year old AA player. We do have plenty of those.
These three lost years have helped greatly to put the Giants in the woeful position they are in today. Later on we'll take a look at the next three years drafts, which are still in limbo. They could make the future or they could break the future of the franchise.
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