Giants rally late and mining for nuggets of gold

4/22/13: Giants rally late and walk off in the ninth

These highlights are from earlier in the week but watching three of Posey's AB's and Belt's walk-off demonstrates the quality that should make both great hitters for a long, long time -- the ability to hit the ball hard the other way. You watch these games and baseball TV shows and sometimes you have to watch the entire 2-3 hours of mundane, sometimes uneventful activity in order to mine the 2-3 minutes of golden nuggets you are looking for.  

Posey crushes two to the opposite field and another HR to dead center. Belt's game-ender goes the other way. 

I was watching the Showtime series "The Franchise" the other day, which chronicled the Giants 2011 season. During the show, Carlos Beltran is in the cage with some of the other Giants -- Sandoval and Torres I think -- and he gave probably the best two minute hitting clinic I think I've ever seen. 

One of the things he mentioned was "in the cage, hit everything the other way". Great advice. He said during the game, your reaction will kick in and you will pull the ball. 

Here it is. From the 10 minute to 12 minute mark. It sounds really great in Spanish too, BTW. Thank God there are sub-titles. Great stuff. 

The Franchise: Episode 5 FULL LENGTH

Giants Make Decision on Beltran??

If this happens, we know the total cost of the Rent-a-Beltran program. One top-flight, potential top of the rotation starter in exchange for a roll of the dice on defending the crown.

A crown that it now seems like the bulk of the rest of the team had little or no interest in defending.

One reason why it is difficult to evaluate trades when they are made. Using 20/20 hindsight when more information is available, makes it more informative and clearly more fun.

Score this one a bust, although at the time Sabean can be excused for trying to inject some life into an otherwise life-less squad. IMO, this team needed a bit of a heart-transplant. Beltran was asked to provide something he had no ability to provide.

Giants Make Decision on Beltran:

Jon Heyman reports that the Giants are no longer going to try to re-sign Carlos Beltran. Because when you add an .809 OPS outfielder like Melky Cabrera and take away a .910 OPS outfielder like Beltran, your severe offensive problems are all better.

Brian Sabean on Beltran: “Hopefully this shows we mean business” | Extra Baggs

JUST SO YOU KNOW - THIS IS WHAT GIANTS FANS MAY BE MISSING DOWN THE ROAD - Zach Wheeler

Yes, Wheeler could end up being a top of the line starter like Tim Lincecum. He could also end up like Tim Alderson, who the Pirates are still waiting on. Remember one time, not so long ago, Alderson was as highly regarded as one Madison Bumgarner. Just think of where the Giants would be if the Pirates had demanded MadBum instead of Alderson in the Freddie Sanchez deal.

Some interesting comments from Brian Sabean on the Giants internal mindset leading up to the deal.

Brian Sabean on Beltran: “Hopefully this shows we mean business” | Extra Baggs:

"Giants GM Brian Sabean just held a conference call to discuss the acquisition of Carlos Beltran, which is official. The Mets are getting top pitching prospect Zack Wheeler and kicking in roughly two-thirds of the $6 million still owed to Beltran this season.

The major news points, then on to the Sabean transcript, with the best stuff bolded for easy reading…

–Sabean said the organization has to be serious about defending its title. The city, fans and the players deserved an acquisition like this.

–The Giants decided to give up Wheeler only after vice president Dick Tidrow, Sabean’s most trusted advisor and the Henry Ford of pitching development, assured him that the farm system has enough power arms to absorb the loss."

–Sabean hopes to use the $4 million in savings to help the club in other areas, but the market for a catcher or shortstop has not gotten any riper. If the Giants can address those positions, it’s more likely to happen with waiver deals or claims in August. Sabean is still looking for offense, though.

-Bill Hall was activated from the 15-day DL and designated for assignment to clear a 40-man roster space for Beltran. The Giants still must option a player to create a 25-man roster space today, but it won’t be Brandon Belt who goes down. Sabean deferred to Manager Bruce Bochy, but said Belt is likely to play a role similar to what Travis Ishikawa did for last year’s club.

Not so long ago these were the guys on the Untouchables List. Posey and Bumgarner have hit, still waiting on Gillaspie and Noonan and Alderson = Sanchez, Freddie.

Q: When and how did you make up your mind to sacrifice a prospect like Wheeler for a rental player?

“Carlos is the player we coveted all along. As we knew what the price of doing business was, we tried to create other options. It became apparent no matter which way we turned, we’d take a hit on our prospect list. In this case, as we were getting close to make the deal, we crossed the bridge with trading a pitcher over a position player with almost equal potential.”

“You look at the (Dan) Runzlers and (Heath) Hembrees of the world, folks we consider with power arms, plus what we did in this year’s draft. Dick Tidrow does such a good job with pitching talent. We didn’t think Wheeler would impact our situation in the immediate future. So frankly, it’s our job to find or develop another Wheeler.”

Q: Another question about Wheeler…

“Wheeler’s got a lot of potential. There’s some missed development time. Quite frankly, we go with Dick Tidrow’s advice and guidance. While he felt we were giving up a quality arm, he felt we did have inventory. Our sandwich pick, (Kyle) Crick, was very much like a first-round pick. We chose the pitcher because we’ve been pretty good at developing pitching on our end and we think we’ll continue to do that.”

I like the comments about inventory / spare parts and agree for the most part. Even after parting with Wheeler and potential future closer Jason Stoffel, the Giants have LHP Eric Surkamp and RHP Heath Hembree looking pretty good.

After those guys, RHP's Jose Casilla and Jorge Burcardo look like they will be solid if not spectacular contributors. Further down the line RHP's Seth Rosin, Stehpen Harrold and converted IF Jake Dunning are showing well at the A-levels.

What bothers me right now is the flat-lining of the LHP's in waiting. Clayton Tanner is scuffling 3-8, 4.60 in AA. Ryan Verdugo at 6-4, 3.83 in AA is showing well and may be the best of the bunch right now. Aaron King has back-tracked his way to AAA Fresno and Mike Kickham is struggling at 2-6. 4.54 in Lo-A ball. So on the southpaw front -- after Surkamp -- the cupboard is starting to look pretty bare.

Actually looking at the list, I would not want to see the Giants give up any more pitching prospects in future deals.

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Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. -- Isaiah 40:30-31

Giants To Acquire Carlos Beltran: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com

Zack Wheeler, P, San Francisco Giants


Zack Wheeler 2008 UA All-American - Baseball Factory


This is the most recent rumor out there, but if true, if it ONLY costs the Giants Zach Wheeler and no other prospects -- I make this deal. The Giants will be challenged to either make another deep run this year with Beltran and / or re-sign him long-term to make the sacrifice of Wheeler worth it.

Wheeler is a premium prospect, but his stats have been a bot uneven in the early going in Low-A. He is still a long way from The Show and the path is littered with the corpses of young pitching phenoms who never made the climb. Met fans have to be disappointed if this is all they haul in for Beltran.

The deal may be delayed 24 hours until Beltran, as a 10 / 5 guy, approves. That is reportedly a mere formality.


Giants To Acquire Carlos Beltran: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com:

"The Giants have the worst offense of any National League contender, so today GM Brian Sabean pounced on the best hitter available.  The Giants and Mets reached a tentative agreement that will send right fielder Carlos Beltran and $4MM to San Francisco for pitching prospect Zack Wheeler, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports."

The Price for Beltran may be declining - Giants among favorites

Yankees unwilling to give up top prospects for Jimenez - NYPOST.com:

The Mets were described by multiple sources as having moved off A-level prospect requests for Carlos Beltran. They shot high for a few weeks, seeing if someone would break for the best hitter available in this market. But a variety of obstacles such as the inability to offer Beltran arbitration and his $6 million-ish price tag the rest of the year meant the Mets were never going to get elite youngsters such as Philadelphia's Domonic Brown or San Francisco's Zach Wheeler.

"An official from a team involved on Beltran said, 'It doesn't matter how good [general manager] Sandy Alderson does [his job], there is only so much he can get for Carlos Beltran for two months. They will get a good return, but not a headline good return.'

As of yesterday, the Mets were talking two- or three-prospect deals with the Giants, Braves, Phillies, Red Sox and Rangers; and the Brewers continued to call, though their prospect base is viewed as weak. The way the Mets were trying to arrange the deal was if they could get a prospect they really like then they only would need one other prospect from lower down in the system. But if the main cog was not as alluring then they wanted three prospects as a way to deepen their system.


Mets officials insisted they had not defined a front-runner, but the Rangers remained very aggressive. Meanwhile, many outside officials believe the Giants ultimately will end up with Beltran with one saying, 'It is hard to see how it won't be San Francisco. They can take on the most money and I think that is what it is going to come down to.'"

Giants Trade Rumors continue

Still torn on who I would most like to see. All depends on who has to go to make it all happen. It looks like the Cards are serious about dealing Colby Rasmus with the White Sox stepping up. The Rays call-up of their next phenom in waiting, Desmond Jennings, makes B.J. Upton all the more expendable. Soriano and Beltran are still on the hook as well. For those two veterans, the amount of salary dollars paid and by whom further complicates the equation.

Add one of these guys, sprinkle some Brandon Belt into the lineup more frequently and the return of Tejada / DeRosa from the DL and the lineup could make a late playoff push similar to last year.

Getting to the nitty-gritty at the trade deadline - MLB - Yahoo! Sports:

"As one general manager put it this week: “[B.J.] Upton and Rasmus are better long term, but if I want to win this year, I’m getting Beltran.”"

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POSTGAME NOTES: Brian Wilson’s five-pitch save ends a playoff-charged night, SF fans toy with Plush, Runzler drawing attention | Extra Baggs:

"Why all the ink on Runzler all of the sudden? Well, I keep hearing that other clubs are bringing up his name in almost every trade proposal. I’m pretty sure the Giants would not sacrifice Zack Wheeler, Gary Brown or Brandon Belt to get Carlos Beltran. But would they cross the bridge with Runzler and maybe Francisco Peguero? Would that be enough for the Mets?

Wherever Beltran goes, you can bet the Giants will be active on him until the end."

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Extra Baggs:

"GM Brian Sabean stopped by the dugout and said there is nothing imminent on the trade front, but that the Giants continue talk to multiple teams, not just the Mets about Carlos Beltran. He said with a thin talent pool, he would actually like to see a couple more teams fall out of their respective races — he didn’t name them, but the Chicago White Sox, Tampa, Minnesota and Cincinnati fit the mold — to improve the selection. He said flatly that at present, he doesn’t think the Giants can improve their situations at catcher or at shortstop because of the slim pickings.

Relating to shortstop, I asked Bruce Bochy if it’s possible Jeff Keppinger might see some time at short and he said possibly, even though he hasn’t played there this year.

As for Beltran, Sabean intimated that with several teams in the hunt, it likely will go down to the trading deadline as the Mets look for the best possible deal."

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San Francisco Giants Baseball (SF Giants Rumors):

"With the trading deadline drawing near, Sabean say the Giants do have the flexibility to take on payroll, and said it’s tough to give up a premium prospect.
“We certainly won’t give up an untouchable (prospect),” says Sabean."

New Beltran Trade Wrinkle

If the SI.com article referenced is correct and the Mets are only looking for a single prospect, this may be do-able. I think B.J. Upton would have a more dynamic impact, he seems like a consummate NL player, but the Rays would look for the top-tier arms in the organization, without question.

New Beltran Trade Wrinkle

From Adam Rubin of ESPN New York comes word that the Mets are willing to cover the roughly $6 million left on Carlos Beltran‘s contract to facilitate a potential trade.

“From what I gather, they are asking a lot for him because they are willing to pick up all of his salary,” the source told ESPNNewYork.com.

Jon Heyman of SI.com reported similar information earlier today, writing that the Mets “are willing to eat all or most” of Beltran’s remaining salary if they can get a top prospect in return.

The prospects are the major consideration, of course, but this is also an indication that Mets are attempting to expand the field of potential suitors to as many teams as possible. Beltran may not approve a trade to the Pirates or Indians, for instance, but the fact that they are involved in the talks could raise the stakes for teams like the Giants and Red Sox.

According to Heyman, Beltran would approve deals to the Giants, Tigers, Rangers, Red Sox, Phillies and Yankees among clubs that have expressed interest.

MLB Trade Deadline News 2011: Buster Olney Thinks B.J. Upton Makes Sense for Giants - SB Nation Bay Area

Upton is the guy I would most like to see the Giants go out and get to invigorate the offense.

Maybe Colby Rasmus or Michael Cuddyer after that. Alphonso Soriano may still be available and worth the risk.

Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes and Aramis Ramirez are lesser fits due to money, years under contract or the bugaboo "He's a heck of a player when he decides to play". Who wants a guy who doesn't want to play for extended periods of time? Of course, that comment may have been made about Upton and Soriano a time or two as well. There are reasons these guys are available.

I would list Brandon Belt, Gary Brown and Zach Wheeler as off limits in any deal, but almost any package of other available parts would be worth it. IMO.


MLB Trade Deadline News 2011: Buster Olney Thinks B.J. Upton Makes Sense for Giants - SB Nation Bay Area:

"We're still about two weeks out from the MLB trade deadline, but the rumor mill continues to churn out new stories. ESPN's Buster Olney stated on his blog Sunday that the San Francisco Giants would be a terrific fit for Tampa Bay Rays Outfielder B.J. Upton as Tampa continues to weigh it's options with the 26 year old outfielder. "

Here's Buster's breakdown of the situation, which I remind you is purely speculation:

San Francisco doesn't typically make deals with the Padres, who have Ludwick, or with the Athletics, who have Willingham, and they might not want to pay the necessary price for Beltran. Upton would fit the Giants' park with his defense, and he would be under control for San Francisco through next year.

The stumbling blocks for such a deal are plentiful, especially with the Giants unwilling to trade top prospects for big name players right now. That would likely mean an outfielder on the Giants roster would have to go, and I don't see the Rays taking Pat Burrell back, picking up Aaron Rowand's gigantic contract, nor do I see the Giants letting go of Nate Schierholtz, Cody Ross or Andres Torres right now. The Giants need a bigger bat than Josh Willingham or Ryan Ludwick can bring (especially now with Ludwick slumping) and if they don't want to pay the price for Beltran, they might be digging through the wavier claim pile once more looking for gold.