The Return of Angel Villalona: San Francisco Giants Baseball (SF Giants Rumors)

So, Angel Villalona returns? Amazing what the justice system cranks out. Cleared of homicide, eh? Bet that looks good on ones resume. Probably doesn't help clubhouse unity and chemistry one bit either.

Everyone deserves a second chance, sure. But I can hope that Angel plies his trade elsewhere, can't I?

San Francisco Giants Baseball (SF Giants Rumors):

"If you haven’t already heard… Angel Villalona said Tuesday that he’s dropping his $5 million dollar lawsuit against the San Francisco Giants. Villalona has been cleared of the homicide charges, and the Giants have decided to reinstate Villalona to their farm system.
 
Villalona Scouting Report
 
The scouting report on Villalona prior to his time away from the baseball field. He has a chance to be an above average hitter with flat out raw power! He’s projected to be a middle of the order type hitter. Villalona has made the transition from third to first base."

Giants prospects review

With the calls increasing for the call-up of Buster Posey and/or Madison Bumgarner and two months worth of games in the book, it's about time to update the Giants prospect list.

We waive good-bye to 25+ age prospects LHP Dan Runzler, RHP Henry Sosa, RHP Kyle Nicholson, RHP Daniel Otero and LHP Craig Clark. Runzler is contributing as a spot starter at the major league level. With his stuff, if he can harness it, he could be a valuable late-innings match up reliever or a potential future closer. Sosa shows promise when healthy. The rest are still toiling in the minors, thereby solidifying their status move from prospect to suspect.

New addditions include last years draftees, RHP Zach Wheeler, C Tommy Joseph and RHP Jason Stoffel, all of whom impressed in limited work late season or in this years camp. Wheeler is a potential top of the rotating starter, Joseph has an impressive power bat, but his glove may transfer to the infield if Posey develops as expected. Stoffel could be a solid mid-rotation starter or a power arm out of the bullpen.

Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner retain the 1-2 spots. The high-risers are OF Thomas Neal, who moved from #5 to #3 and OF Francisco Peguero, moving from #13 to #7. Stock falling list includes #B Connor Gillaspie, statistically a solid bat, may be the type that scouts have to see everyday to appreciate. Gillaspie moved from #3 to #12. RHP Waldis Joaquin fell from #7 to #11 and RHP Jose Casilla fell from #9 to #15. Both battle health and/or command issues.

On the Latin American front, reports indicate the Giants may be the top contender for Dominican OF and top all around International position prospect, OF Eskalin Vasquez. He is a RF with a strong arm and good power. A $2M bonus is expected, so it is good to see the Giants have not become gun shy after the Angel Villalona fiasco.

Also, according to Baseball America, the Giants have signed Cuban RHP Reineir Roibal, a top young pitcher who defected in 2009.

It is the strength of the Latin American team and the scouting and player development staff that will plant the seed for the Giants long-term success.

Post Season baseball awards and AFL results

Cy Young Award winners:
AL - Zach Greinke
NL - Tim Lincecum

MVP Award winners:
AL - Joe Mauer
NL - Albert Pujols

I can't argue against either of these four choices. Mauer may be the face of baseball as Jeter moves on in years, a solid, Ripken-Jeter personality that will help market the game for the next ten years. Pujols is making up for the years he was blocked by Bonds. Greinke and Lincecum both toiled for sub-par teams with dominance and flair.

Special congratulations to Tim Lincecum for his second consecutive Cy Young. Timmy may have benefited from a tug of war among voters to figure out who was the top Cardinal candidate. The vote splitting between Carpenter and Wainwright had to help Lincecum.

Is it just me or does it seem as if voters are more likely to reward a pitcher from a bad team who pitches at the elite level but less likely to do the same for a hitter? I know Andre Dawson won NL MVP a while back, but I see that and raise you a Steve Carlton. It just seems like here is a different standard for hitters--perhaps because they are out there every day--as far as voters holding them more accountable for a teams success.

Anyway, maybe this balances out the infraction with the pipe. At least he didn't pull an Angel Villalona and cap somebody....allegedly. Maybe somebody should tell Timmy he's about to become the face of the franchise and be paid accordingly, he can't be getting caught with a bowl of weed like he was some high school junior in his mom's car. Embarrassing.

Speaking of prospects, future starting catcher Buster Posey did in fact flirt with the Mendoza line for most of the Arizona Fall League before "rallying" to end somewhere around the "Bud Harrelson" line. Even more disturbing was the increased strike out rate. Somewhere in the 100+ K's per 500 AB's rate. I don't know if this is enough for Sabean to go cuckoo for Benji Molina or if perhaps bringing in a veteran backup catcher who could play a week or two at a time may be the better answer.

I would have preferred that Posey cleared things up with a knockout AFL stint, but he didn't, so the door is open for Sabean mischief and tom-foolery. Hopefully, they've instituted some sort of multiple levels of organizational sign off before he goes running naked through the field of old, overpriced free-agents with the corporate checkbook in one hand and Lord knows what else in the other.

On a brighter note, both OF Thomas Neal and SS Brandon Crawford both hit around or over the .300 mark most of the year. Both should begin next year at AA-AAA level and will be no more than a phone call away.

I didn't see anything out of any of the pitcher's stats that made me think a major league position was in the future. But I could be wrong.

Giants renew the Sabean-Bochy show for two years

San Francisco Giants general manager Brian Sabean, left, and manager Bruce Bochy ponder questions during a news conference Monday, Oct. 5, 2009, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/giants/detail?entry_id=49464

As expected, the Giants have extended the contracts of general manager Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy. The deals go for two seasons with club options for 2012.

As we all knew, Neukom approached this with a lawyer's mindset of setting and reaching objective benchmarks. That the Giants went from 72 wins last year to 88 this year boded extremely well for Sabean and Bochy to return.

The last line is good enough reason for Bochy to be retained, Sabean just got sucked in by the organizational euphoria. Hopefully, they don't get too giddy and think "we're only a player or two away" and overpay for another lousy free agent.

The organization still has to digest the Renteria-Rowand-Molina deals.

The credit for the turnaround really belongs to the scouting department. Another good year from Linceum, Cain showing signs of being a big time pitcher, a big hit with Sandoval rocketing through the organization, hope for the future with big time prospects like Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner showing signs of being big league ready.

All of these recent developments can be laid on the doorstep of the scouting department and the player development staff.

How about the future? On the major league roster, Jonathan Sanchez needs to have a breakout, plus .500 year and provide a power lefty arm to the starting rotation. The team needs to flesh out the 1B and corner OF positions with some combination of Travis Ishakawa, John Bowker, Nate Schierholz instead of Randy Winn and Freddie Lewis. A healthy, returning Freddie Sanchez helps add some diversity to the lineup, but more power from the traditional power spots in the lineup is a MUST.

From the minors, another good season even after the Angel Villalona debacle. After Posey officially comes off the prospect list (100+ Major League AB's) and Villalona is removed due to his transfer to the Dominican Penal League, who's next?

Michael McBryde comes off the list (25 year olds become suspects) and he really has not hit enough to be much more than a AAAA player. SS Brandon Crawford stalled a bit at AA, but he looks good to be a potential heir apparent once the Renteria contract expires. Conor Gilaspie seemed to regress a bit, but his numbers continue to be second to Posey in the organization. Ehire Adrianza continues to impress at Low-A. He's likely never going to light it up with the bat but he is a defensive wizard. Nick Noonan continues to struggle with plate discipline and that may be his eventual downfall. Of the potential power hitting, corner OF front I think Thomas Neal may have vaulted past Roger Kieschnick as a prospect. Both need to perform at the AA level before any definitive conclusions are drawn, but Neal may be a high riser.

OF prospect Wendell Fairley continues to languish. He has all the tools, it seems he just can't figure out how to use them. Charlie Culbertson may be odd man out at SS, perhaps a move toward 2B is in his future. Hector Sanchez showed promise at the Rookie level as a 19 year old catching prospect who hits. Rafael Rodriguez is only 17 and I am not falling into the "Villalona trap" of ranking teen-agers in the top ten anymore.

On the pitching front, the Bumgarner question need to be settled early. His late season drop in velocity may be a concern. Was it his youth contributing to his lack of durability rather than arm issues? He did pitch well after the drop, bit if he pitches into the 90's, he's a top of the rotation prospect, lower than 90 he may be a Noah Lowry clone. Either way, he should not be counted on for more than 150 innings if he's in the major league rotation. We have to find out what Kevin Pucetas can do as well as Daniel Otero in the bullpen. Both are 25, so we should be seeing about the best we're going to get out of both of these guys. Henry Sosa and Kelvin Pichardo are next on the "let's see what we have" crowd.

Dan Runzler made a meteoric rise through the organization. He is 24 years old so not as great a surprise. Jesse English, another LHP may surprise. There is no shortage of young, left handed prospects in the organization. Craig Clark add his name to the list this year. Ben Snyder LHP showed signs of life, but needs to do it at the AA level or above.

Of the draftees, Third round pick 3B Chris Dominguez showed some power at the short-season level. It will be interesting to see where he is placed next year. Seventh round pick 2B Nick Liles could be a surprise.

Giants prospect Villalona suspect in DR murder

According to the San Francisco Chronicle and MLB.com, Angel Villalona--one of the Giants top prospects--is a suspect in the murder of a man in the Dominican Republic.

Not a good note to close the curtain on this season.


http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/giants/detail?&entry_id=48000

Angel Villalona suspected of murder in Dominican

Angel Villalona, the Giants first base prospect who at the time was given the largest signing bonus in team history at $2.1 million, has turned himself into authorities in the Dominican Republic and is suspected of a homicide. The story can be found here.

The Giants are expected to issue a statement shortly.

Villalona spent the season with Class A San Jose, which won the California League championship last night, but was not with the team because he was hurt.

GIANTS REVIEW: DO YOU KNOW THE WAY TO SAN JOSE?

According to SF Giants beat writer Andy Baggarly the Giants may assign the following prospects to San Jose to start the season:

Madison Bumgerner, LHP
Tim Alderson, RHP
Buster Posey, C
Angel Villalona, 1B
Nick Noonan, 2B
Conor Gilaspie, 3B

Are you kidding me? That's six of the Giants top ten prospects!! This would make me more interested in the fortunes of the San Jose Giants than the San Francisco Giants, at least for the first month of the year. After that, Alderson, Posey and Gilaspie may be moved up to AA Connecticut.
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RHP Kelvin Pichardo may have committed career suicide with his 50 game suspension. Kelvin was a borderline prospect to begin with so this does not help in any way.
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The Giants acquired RHP Hector Correa from the Marlins for catcher Ronny Paulino who had previously been acquired from the Phillies for LHP Jack Taschner. Good move, Taschner was not going to be on the early roster and there are plenty of lefties especially if Lowry is as sound as he appears so far.

Correa, 21, was the 3rd-best prospect in the New York Penn League in 2007. Originally a 4th round pick in the 2006 Draft by Florida. He is 6-3, 165 and is considered a legitimate prospect, although he has been bothered by some arm injuries in the past.

Baseball America had this to say about Correa, who they ranked as Marlin's 22nd best prospect:

Correa ranked right behind Mike Stanton and Gaby Sanchez at No. 13 on this list a year ago, but he mistakenly tried to extend that momentum by pitching through a shoulder problem that wound up costing him four months of mound time in 2008. His rehab path was bumpy at times, though for the most part he showed the necessary discipline. Team officials believe he learned his lesson after trying to conceal an injury. Correa manged to return for a fall minicamp and showed only slightly diminished velocity. Intead of humming fastballs at 91-94 MPH and touching 95 MPH like he had in 2007, he worked mostly at 90-92. He has a low-80's slider that shows good bite, but he remains more comfortable using a changeup that shows excellent action. The shoulder problems came as a surprise because he has a loose arm and smooth, easily repeatable delivery, which allows him to throw strikes. his frame is lean and projectable. He's a good athlete with plus makeup. Correa will open his third straight season in low Class A, with hopes of finally advancing in 2009.

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Back to the big club. The remaining issues to be ironed out seem to be centered around 2B and the corner positions. Travis Ishakawa seems to have made the most of his opportunity at 1B and Pablo Sandoval continues to hit wherever he goes. Rule 5 3B Jesus Guzman is pushing for a spot on the roster as well with his bat. Manny Burris may be pushing ahead of Kevin Frandsen at 2B. More versatile. This would leave Eugenio Velez's chances of sticking relatively low. Maybe a fifth OF?

Former White Sox 3B-SS Juan Uribe is making a late push and if he does you wonder if that leaves room for Rich Aurilia.

The pitching staff seems set.

Starting Pitchers:
Lincecum
Randy Johnson
Matt Cain
Barry Zito
Sanchez or Lowry

This order would be a plus as well and if that's the case, advantage Sanchez over Lowry. Zito - Lowry back to back is too much of the same kind. Two lefthanded "finesse" pitchers back to back may give the fans whiplash watching all the bombs flying out of the yard.

Finesse is one of the terms for a pitcher where it could be a compliment or a curse.
A compliment is the Jamie Moyer - Greg Maddux examples. A curse when it's a polite way of saying the dude just throws oozing pus.

Here's how the bullpen appears to shake out:

Brian Wilson, Closer
Bobby Howry, RH Set up
Jeremy Affeldt, LH Set Up
Merken Valdez
Alex Hinshaw
Luis Perdomo
Billy Sadler ??? May be odd man out.

Still shapes up as a weak offensive team with potentially solid pitching. A team that may struggle to keep its head above .500 and worst case sinks to the bottom of the division to keep the Padres company.

PITCHERS AND CATCHERS REPORT

Hard to believe when the temps up here in Illinois are 32 degrees or less, but it's that time of year again. Everybody starts 0-0 and every fan starts the season with visions of playoff berths dancing in their heads.

Maybe even the Giants. It just won't be this year. Perhaps 2010.

So what do we have to look forward to this year Giant fans? More Dave Roberts, Randy Winn, Rich Aurilia and Bengie Molina? More of the struggles of Barry Zito? YES. But wait, there's more.

Waiting in the wings are the eventual replacements for the pile of wasted salary mentioned above.

THE GIANTS TOP TEN PROSPECTS FOR 2009:

1. Madison Bumgarner LHP 6-5, 225
2. Buster Posey C 6-1,190
3. Tim Alderson RHP 6-6, 220
4. Conor Gilaspie 3B 6-1, 200
5. Angel Villalona 1B 6-3, 240
6. Pablo Sandoval C-1B-3B
7. Nate Schierholz RF 6-2, 215
8. Henry Sosa RHP 6-2, 185
9. Kevin Pucetas RHP 6-4, 225
10. Nick Noonan 2B 6-0, 180

The list is more than half-filled with guys who could help this year and others who are 2010 prospects and beyond, but it is shaping up to be the beginnings of transforming the franchise into one that builds more from within.

Bumgarner, Alderson, Villalona and Noonan are futures.

Schierholtz has to be in his put-up or shut-up year. They have to make room for him or move him.

They need to figure out what is going on at the corners (1B and 3B) so they can decide where to slot Sandoval. Pablo seems like he can hit at any level. He is a defensive plus behind the dish and a minus at 1B or 3B. So why he is going into the season as the projected 3B, I don't know. I'm sure the entire pitching staff is hoping Gilaspie can hit enough to play at third.

If Gilaspie fits at third, Sandoval perhaps shares time with Ishakawa at first until Posey is ready to take the reins from Molina behind the plate.

Eventually Noonan takes over at 2B and Ehire Adianza, a defensive wizard, takes over for Renteria at SS. Adianza seems to have risen ahead of Charlie Culbertson and Brandon Crawford as heir-apparent at SS.

Among the pitchers, Sosa helps fill middle innings in the bullpen and Pucetas is rising as an insurance policy against Noah Lowry not returning at 100% from elbow surgery. Pucetas works fast, has a good mix of pitches and competes well. His size is a plus, but he may need more seasoning at AA or AAA before arriving later in the year.

Scott Barnes, a LHP from St. John's impressed enough that he will get a solid look in camp as well as LHP's Ben Snyder and Clayton Tanner. You can never have too many left-handers. From the right side Kyle Nicholson seems to be the most impressive RHP that could earn a spot.

The Giants 2009 season may be much like this nations economic woes, we're just looking for signs of a turnaround. EEEEEEKKKKKK!!!!!!!

GIANTS LOOK TO THE FUTURE

Although I am really happy for the success of the Rays this season, it strikes me as sad that I have to hope that an organization with a history and tradition as rich as the Giants may have to follow the Rays path to success.

Lord knows the current game plan of searching out every washed up, has-been, aged free-agent veteran and overpaying him has not been working lately. Unfortunately, the latest rumors have the Giants interested in Derrek Lee, Paul Konerko and Dan Uggla.

Now Uggla might make an impact and he is still young enough, but not if the G-men have to give up any young pitching. PLEASE!!!

A small ray of hope for the organization is contained in the most recent edition of Baseball America (Oct 19th) minor league post season scouting reports. The cover of the issue features "teen sensation" lefty Madison Bumgarner. Great, first a romance novel name and now the term "teen sensation". With all this attached to his name, is this guy destined to flame out like Leif Garret or what?

Seriously though, BA has him ranked as the top Sally League prospect this year. Other quotes I liked attached to his name were "94-95 MPH fastball", "ever-improving breaking ball and change up", "pounds both sides of the plate", "hits his spots with precision" and exhibits a killer instinct".

All good things to hear about the organizations top pitching prospect.

Others mentioned:

Arizona Fall League Participants:
Kelvin Pichardo, P (AA)
Kevin Pucetas, P (A-San Jose)
Ben Copleand, OF (AAA-Fresno)
Emmanuel Burris, INF
Ryan Rohlinger, INF



Nate Schierholtz, OF - 13th ranked PCL (AAA) prospect


Tim Alderson, RHP - 6th ranked California League prospect
"best attribute is impeccable command", "dominates without overpowering stuff", "fastball sits at 88-92", "aggressive and willing to work inside", "changeup is developing".

Pablo Sandoval, C/1B - 7th ranked California League prospect
"equally adept from either side of the plate", "can pull the ball to hit for power or take pitches the other way", "shows good discipline", "looks less comfortable on defense", "threw out 46% of base stealers".

Angel Villalona, 1B - 6th ranked South Atlantic League prospect

"showed tremendous raw hitting ability", "several observers questioned conditioning", "hitting will improve once he gets a better grasp of the strike zone".

Nick Noonan, 2B - 9th ranked South Atlantic League prospect
"sweet swing that produces line drives to all fields", "plus runner", "sound offensive mechanics", "plate discipline slipped", "going to hit for more power".

Conor Gillaspie, 3B - 5th ranked Northwest League prospect

"consistently put the barrel of the bat on the ball", "should hit for average with gap power", "speed and athleticism play up thanks to his instincts and aggressiveness", "so-so range", "soft hands and solid arm strength", "has necessary work ethic to get better defensively".

Ehire Adrainza - SS 4th ranked Arizona League prospect
"terrific instincts, quick first step, above average range and soft hands", "switch hitter with smooth stroke and good bat speed","extreme contact hitter..can develop enough power to hit 12-15 homers per year".

Jose Casilla, RHP - 9th ranked prospect Arizona League

"90-95 MPH fastball", "pitches down in the strike zone", "hard, late braking slider.

Kyle Nicholson, RHP - 17th ranked prospect Arizona League


Maybe in the future, with all these prospects, I'll have something more constructive things to write about the Giants season into October.

GIANTS PROSPECTS - DOWN ON THE FARM

GIANTS PROSPECT - NATE SCHIERHOLTZ


If you wanted to know the reason for some of the pessimism regarding the future of the Giants at the major league level all you have to do is look at the stats from some of the higher rated pitching prospects in the minor-league system.

First thing that jumps out is that the better prospects are at the lower levels. Alderson and Bumgardner are 1-2 on almost any ranking of Giants pitching prospect you can put together and you can see where they play.

Luckily for the G-man so far, there stats bear out the excitement most scouts continue to show for these two. Bumgardner's 10.10 K/9 rate and low WHIP jump off the page.

Level...Name...............Ht...Wt...Age..WHIP...K/9...BB/9...HR/9
Hi-A....Tim Alderson.......6-6..217..20..1.25...7.80..2.90...0.30
Low-A...Madison Bumgardner.6-4..215..19..1.01...10.10.1.68...0.34
Hi-A....Henry Sosa.........6-2..185..23..1.16...9.42..2.31...0.84
Hi-A....Kevin Pucetas......6-4..225..24..1.07...7.60..1.95...0.25
AA......Ben Snyder.........6-2..224..23..1.17...7.47..2.07...0.27
AA......Kelvin Pichardo....6-0..215..23..1.07...8.10..4.05...0.68
Hi-A....Joe Patterson......6-1..210..22..1.32...10.50.4.13...0.358
Hi-A....Dan Otero..........6-3..205..23..1.06...8.73..1.36...0.00
Low-A...Andrew de la Garza.6-4..200..24..1.05...9.18..1.55...0.17
Hi-A....Clayton Tanner.....6-1..202..21..1.48...6.90..3.33...0.00
Low-A...Daniel Turpen......6-4..215..22..1.31...7.70..1.88...0.19
Hi-A....Dan Griffin........6-7..245..24..1.41...7.42..4.06...0.35

Sosa and Pucetas are Futures Game alumni and highly regarded. Sosa's HR/9 rate seems a little high this year, otherwise the stats are not-to-hot, not-to-cold. The same could be said for LHP Ben Snyder, although all three have good WHIP's and Sosa's 9.42 K/9 rate is nothing to sneeze at. Anytime you see that rate over 1K per IP, you know the pitcher is fairly dominant at that level. It's what drew my attention to D'Acquisto year ago when the Sporting News used to post the minor league leaders.

Pichardo is interesting, a short RHP (that's generally a negative) with a low WHIP, a pretty good K/9 (positives) balanced out by the high BB/9 and HR/9 (negatives). Hard to see him progressing beyond the AAA level.

Joe Patterson is a LHP with a high K/9 offset by a high BB/9. WILD THING!!!!! He'll get the long look lefties get though. Same with de la Garza, low WHIP, high K/9 an a lefty. I smell promotion here. Otero has a good K/9 and outstanding HR/9 rate.

Daniel Griffin's size says closer, his high WHIP and BB/9 rate say not at the MLB level. Too bad.


Here are the stats from the 25 and older club:

Level...Name...............Ht...Wt...Age.WHIP...K/9...BB/9...HR/9
AAA.....Geno Espinelli.....6-4..195..26..0.95...7.44..1.08...0.00
AA......Brooks McNiven.....6-5..180..27..0.81...3.39..2.36...0.74
AA......Garrett Broshius...6-2..185..27..1.19...4.50..1.90...0.27
AA......Adam Cowart........6-2..190..25..1.44...4.20..1.54...0.45

I guess you can see why Team USA may have wanted Espinelli, based on these stats. McNiven will play for Team Canada. But I just saw where Nate Schierholtz has been added to the Team USA roster. Good for the red, white and blue...but given the choice, I'd have let them keep Espinelli and move Shierholz to the big club.

Broshius and Cowart look like they should be dusting off their resumes.
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GIANTS PROSPECTS DOWN ON THE FARM:

CLASS..PLAYER, POS............AB..R..H...RBI..AVG
LoA....Villalona, Angel 1B....4...0..2...1.....253
AAA....Schierholtz, Nate RF...5...1..1...0.....309..2B(20);newest Olympian

CLASS..PITCHER.......IP...H..R..ER..BB..K..ERA
HiA....Sosa, Henry...5.0..6..2..1...2...3..4.31

THIS IS WHY BASEBALL IS NOT LONG FOR THE OLYMPICS

and not over-the-top levels of PED use as some folks would have you believe. I read an article by the well-respected, former White Sox strength and conditioning guru Vern Gambetta which posited this theory as part of a defense of the sports of Track and Field and Olympic Weightlifting, and their rather long history of PED abuse at the Olympics. Unfortunately, Mr. Gambetta should know better how things work and what's really going on in the world and not spew this kind of misinformation, but hey, whatever.

Here's how it goes:
We don't send our major league players to compete/smile for the TV networks/sponsors bearing checkbooks.
We don't send our top-level prospects.
Now we're trying to protect our fringe prospects from having to go over there and compete.

The Giants 26 year-old, left-handed pitcher Geno Espineli was called up from Fresno recently after he had been named to the Team USA roster.

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http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/22/SPVS11T4TE.DTL

Espineli glad to forgo Olympics for the bigs
Henry Schulman

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

"All I heard is the Olympic rosters have to be set, and (being in the majors) will end up being more permanent than I thought," Espineli said. "Of course I like the idea of going to the Olympics, but once I learned I was coming up to the majors, that quickly became an afterthought.

"I'm more than happy to be here as long as possible. I hope it's until the end of the year."
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Espineli has been having a good year for Fresno, but he has not been one of the franchises more cherished and valued properties. His name rarely appeared on any one's list of organizational top prospects and if it appeared at all it was because the author produced a rather long list.

And the Giants aren't the only franchise playing this game of musical chairs with the Team USA roster. If it goes on long enough the roster is going to look like a Who's Who of future Rule 5 draft picks. And if you don't know what that means, you just don't know...

But I'll spell it out for you:

1) No Gold medal for team USA. Guaranteed.

2) No medal at all for Team USA.

3) No TV ratings potential for the IOC, the USOC and any of the other alphabet soup organizations that rule the Olympics with an iron fist.

4) No TV ratings or marketing potential = No TV or sponsor money for the WHORES.

5) No money for the whores = No nookie for baseball in the Olympics

Bye Bye, Baseball.....Bye, bye Olympics.

If I didn't know better, I would say that MLB is actually giving the Olympic poo-bahs one final middle-finger salute, but maybe I'm giving MLB a little too much credit.
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(REAL) GIANTS PROSPECTS DOWN ON THE FARM:

CLASS....PLAYER............POS...AB..R..H..RBI..AVG

AA.....Sandoval,Pablo.......C.....7...2..3...6....343....HR(5),2B(9)
LoA....Villalona, Angel.....1B....5...2..2...1....250....HR(12),2B(21)-walk-off home run

Sandoval continues to rake. Villalona looks like he's starting to catch on a bit as well. They're so cute as that age.

On the pitching side:

CLASS PITCHER...........IP..H..R..ER..BB..K..ERA
HiA....Pucetas,Kevin.....5.0..6..2...2...0...1..2.55
LoA....Bumgarner,Madison.7.0..5..3...2...2...6..1.85

Bumgardner is one of the top young pitchers in the organization, so it's good to see his numbers are solid. Both are a couple of years from Frisco.

But it beats looking at the big club's numbers. But if I were going to do that for a second or two, I couldn't help but notice the following:

A 19-31 home record vs. a 23-27 road record. The road number is about right, but even a .500 record at home bring these sad-sacks to a 48-52 record overall, only 1 1/2 games back. By the way, the list of teams under .500 at home is a virtual roll call of the leagues cellar dwellers. The Padres are on the list, or the Giants would be in the cellar.

You wonder though, if the relative lack of attendance this year and the overall lack of fan excitement doesn't account for some of the Gigantes miserable home record this year. Just a thought. By the way attendance is down approx. 10% from last year, with more downside on the horizon next year if the team does not make another splashy free-agent signing.

And by splashy, I mean a successful kind of splashy like Bonds, rather than the belly-flop kind of splashy like Zito.

HAPPY 44TH BIRTHDAY SHOUT OUT TO BARRY LAMAR BONDS, STILL THE THE B-POPE, UNTIL PROVEN OTHERWISE.

Gotta give it up to current Yankees management.
They lose Jorge Posada (left-hander power-hitter) to the DL...
after previously losing Hideki Matsui (left-handed power-hitter) to the DL....
and yet they respond by adding Richie Sexson, a right-handed power-hitter and Dave Kingman clone, while the B-POPE doesn't get a call.
While the Yankees post-season chances get smaller every day the Rays stay in it...
And there's no collusion????
Riiiiiiiiiight?
OK Bud, whatever you say.

GIANTS PAST - GIANTS FUTURE (R.I.P. BOBBY MURCER)

Sad new that ex-Giant and "Yankee Forever" Bobby Murcer passed away.

Although he did not have his best years with the Giants, in my mind is the consummate example of the huge benefit the short porch in RF @ Yankee Stadium gave to LH pull hitters.

His power numbers dropped like a rock when he had to hit in Shea Stadium for a season while Yankee Stadium was being renovated and then when he went to Candlestick to play for the Giants.

Hell, he didn't show all that much power with the Cubs, but then back to Yankee Stadium to finish his career and while the power returned somewhat, he was relegated to part-time status.

It's not his fault, it is what it is. It does demonstrate the weakness of using statistical analysis alone to make solid determinations about a ball-player.

BOBBY MURCER CAREER STATS FROM BASEBALL REFERENCE:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/m/murcebo01.shtml

1973 27 YRS. OLD @ Yankee Stadium 22 HR 95 RBI .304 AVG.
1974 28 YRS. OLD @ Shea Stadium 10 HR 88 RBI .274 AVG.
1975 29 YRS. OLD @ Candlestick Pk. 11 HR 91 RBI .298 AVG.
1976 30 YRS. OLD @ Candlestick Pk. 23 HR 90 RBI .259 AVG

It seemed like the negative attention that 11 HR season attracted, for a middle of the order type player, Murcer changes his swing to get the power numbers and hurts his average. Although, I would take 23-90 in the middle of this years lineup right now. I'm not sure Durham or Molina get there, but we shall see.



The Giants continue to bolster the farm system by making the Rodriguez signing official. He will team with Angel Villalona and appear on top prospect lists for the Giants for three or four more years to come.
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http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/international-affairs/2008/266516.html

Giants Set Record For Rodriguez

Dominican outfielder gets $2.55 million bonus

By Ben Badler
July 15, 2008

After months of rumors, the deal is finally done: Rafael Rodriguez is a San Francisco Giant.

Rodriguez, an outfielder from the Bani in the Dominican Republic, signed yesterday (his 16th birthday) for a $2.55 million bonus, the largest bonus ever for a Latin American hitter, excluding Cuban defectors.

"He is one of the better position players on the international market this year," Giants scouting director John Barr said in a press release. "We scouted him extensively this season with many people on our staff evaluating him. To a man, we all agree that Rafael is the type of player that we want to bring into the Giants organization."
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What we need are for the older prospects, this years collegiate draft to come through fast. There is a gaping hole in the Giants farm system from AAA to High A. The AA Connecticut club is loaded with 25 and older suspects that need to be moved up in the organization or out of it.

The better prospects from the last two years drafts are still toiling primarily in Hi-a and Low-A ball. This is due mainly to the loss of high draft picks from signing the free-agents that would surround the B-POPE, BLB.

Some of those free-agents are still around clogging up roster spots that could be used for the few minor-leaguers who border on prospect status. Out with Vizquel, Winn, Aurilia, Durham. In with Schierholz, Martinez-Esteve, Ishakawa and whatever other borderline prospect we have down there. Maybe you find another John Bowker, maybe you don't. And if you find one it doesn't serve the organizations "we're moving on and getting younger" approach to have guys like the afore-mentioned veterans clogging up roster spots and lineup spots.

Being this close to the division leaders is a "fools gold" that is going to fool management into thinking the team is in actual contention. This will lead them to hold on to these ancient mariners past the initial trade deadline where theses guys can make the playoff and World Series roster for the tam that trades for them. This is when these guys have there highest value. If you hang onto them thinking they could get hot and with the pitching staff we have, we could be right back in this thing in a week, you're going to give them away for next to nothing by late-August or September.

Get what you can for them now, preferably some Double-A or Triple-A level players and take you chances with them down the road. The next year or two is going to be tough enough as it is until the Bumgardeners and Aldersons and Villalonas make their mark.

And that's not even thinking about the contributions Posey and Gillespie will make.
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GIANTS PROSPECTS DOWN ON THE FARM - FROM BASEBALL AMERICA:

CLASS....PLAYER,POS.........AB..R..H..RBI..AVG
LoA.....Villalona, Angel 1B..3..0..2..0....248

CLASS....PITCHER...........IP...H..R..ER..BB..K...ERA
LoA....Bumgarner,Madison...7.0..4..0..0...0...11..1.79...W (9-3)

FUTURES GAME

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080626&content_id=423442&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp

Since the Giants seem determined to put the past behind them, and the present is nothing to write home about, all that's left for Giants fans is the future.

As part of MLB's All_Star Game festivities, the Futures Game, made up of the best prospects from minor league baseball, provides a glimpse into the future for fans.

The Giants placed OF Nate Schierholz and RHP Kevin Pucetas on the Team USA roster. The World team roster will include uber-prospect Angel Villalona (the youngest player in the game) and late addition C Pablo Sandoval.

In a sense this may remind Giants fans of the one of the biggest weaknesses in the organization right now. The lack of quality major league prospects at the upper levels (AAA and AA). It seems as if they are loaded with guys at those levels who are turning the corner from prospects into suspects. The AA Connecticut team is loaded with 25 year old position players who are not exactly tearing up the league. This type of player will at best develop into a role-player type, or a borderline starter/bench player.

The better prospects are still in Low-A or High-A ball. The Giants are still paying the debt incurred by the loss of premium draft picks for signing some of the free-agent has-beens who still dot the current roster and were unable to push the Bonds-era teams over the hump to a championship.

THE REST OF THE GIANTS 2008 HAUL

The top of this draft looks like it could provide solid help for the G-men quickly. Buster Posey should make a near immediate impact behind the plate. If Conor Gillespie can approach the Bill Mueller comparisons, that would make most Giant fans very happy. If the system is able to squeeze out one solid starter from the combination of Crawford and Kieschnick, then this draft goes from very good to GREAT.

The farm system is helped even further by the report that the Giants signed 16 year old Rafael Rodriguez as a free agent. He has been compared to "Vladimir Guerrero because of his size and power with the bat" according to one ESPN report.

He would immediately join 18 year old phenom Angel Villalona at or near the top of the Giants prospect list.


HERE'S THE OTHER DRAFTEES:

Conor Gillaspie, 3B Wichita State University

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/events/draft_report/y2008/index.jsp?mc=gillaspie

After a strong Cape season, Gillaspie has followed up with an excellent junior campaign. He's a terrific hitter and has been over .400 for most of the year. His lack of power makes it hard to profile him anywhere other than as a Bill Mueller-type third baseman. There are worse things to be, of course, and a team that values what Gillaspie can do will surely take him.

Roger Kieschnick, OF Texas Tech University

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/events/draft_report/y2008/index.jsp?mc=kieschnick

Kieschnick is a potential five-tool corner outfielder who could hit for power and steal a few bases. He plays a fearless outfield, getting to plenty of balls and showing off a good arm at times. The one knock is an issue with his mechanics at the plate that concerns some about his hitting ability at the next level. Still, an aggressive college outfielder -- in a weak class of outfielders -- who has those tools should get plenty of interest.

Brandon Crawford, SS UCLA

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/events/draft_report/y2008/index.jsp?mc=crawford

After his first two seasons at UCLA, Crawford seemed poised to be one of the top collegiate middle infielders in the class. But a rough Cape season appears to have carried over and he's lost some confidence in his game, both at the plate and in the field. Some added thickness to his lower half has taken away a little of his quickness, though he's still a solid shortstop. If he can right himself, he's the kind of player who usually sees himself go off the board within the first couple of rounds.