Dec 3rd 2008 8:00PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
According to wire reports, Bob Howry is going to be paid $2.75 million to throw a baseball in 2009. Cubs fans everywhere are just happy it will be in a different uniform, as the San Francisco Giants are the ones who decided to waste money on the 35 year-old who hasn’t made an adjustment in two years.

Howry was brutal this season for the Cubs, compiling a 5.35 ERA and losing his late-innings role to an unpolished rookie, Jeff Samardzija. He didn’t walk many, so his awful numbers were a byproduct of his inability to be effective within the strike zone. He allowed a whopping 90 hits and 13 home runs in 70 1/3 innings of work. No matter how you slice the numbers, he was just unusable in 2008.

The Giants believe they uncovered the reason for Howry’s problems. He was overused by Lou Pinella and the Cubs’ staff. Not necessary his in-game work, but the number of times he was warmed up in the bullpen and not brought into the game. I would be a lot more willing to buy that opinion if he showed signs of fatigue.Continue Reading

Dec 4th 2008 2:15AM by Matt Watson (author feed)
So, you know that rumor that the Giants wanted to sign Edgar Renteria? It looks like it’s going to happen. While he doesn’t have a deal just yet, his agent confirmed to the on Wednesday that he’s making “substantial progress” toward reaching one.

In hindsight, it’s too bad the Tigers didn’t take the rumor mill a bit more seriously — had they offered Renteria arbitration, they could have received a pair of draft picks as compensation the moment he signs in San Francisco. But despite not having an obvious starting shortstop on the roster (no offense, Ramon Santiago, it’s just that you’re not very good), the Tigers were so scared by Renteria’s decline last year that they decided it wasn’t worth the risk that he’d opt to return.

So are the Giants about to sign a lemon? Not necessarily. It could be that Renteria is simply more comfortable in the National League — after hitting .276 (89 OPS+) in his lone season with the Red Sox in 2005, he bounced back to hit .293 (104 OPS+) and .332 (125 OPS+) the next two seasons with the Braves. Plus, he’s always killed the Giants at AT&T Field, hitting .344 (139 OPS+) over 104 career at-bats.

I still think the Tigers should have offered Renteria arbitration, but just because he’s likely primed for a comeback season doesn’t mean it would have happened had he stayed in Detroit.

Dec 2nd 2008 12:50PM by Matt Watson (author feed)
The Tigers have zero interest in Edgar Renteria. This was clear back in October, when the team declined his $12 million option for 2009, and it was reinforced last night when the team declined to offer arbitration by the midnight deadline.

Had Renteria accepted, he likely would have been awarded a salary on par with last year’s $9 million, which the Tigers deemed excessive given his disappointing performance both at the plate (he posted an 84 OPS+) and on the field (his .810 zone rating was among the lowest by starting major league shortstops).

But had Renteria declined and accepted a contract elsewhere, the Tigers would have been awarded a pair of draft picks as compensation. Even though the Tigers would prefer to go in a different direction, I think they should have rolled the dice and made the offer. If you believe the rumor mill, he’s already agreed to a two-year deal with the Giants.Continue Reading

Nov 26th 2008 12:30PM by Will Brinson (author feed)
Rafael Furcal is the hottest free agent shortshop on the market. This is partially because he’s better than Edgar Renteria, but also because he’s not 400 years old, even if he’s been injured a lot lately. (Although his age is probably something the San Francisco Giants are about, since he’s like drafting a rookie after the Omar Vizquel Era.)

But, regardless of the rumors that Renteria has signed with the Giants, the team is still denying it … which makes it awfully odd that when Raffy made his way out to the West Coast to eat lunch with Billy Beane, he didn’t even bother to swing by Brian Sabean’s office.
The two went to lunch and Beane gave Furcal a tour of the area. Furcal’s agent, Paul Kinzer, said one day earlier that Furcal hoped to narrow his options down to two teams this week.

Furcal did not swing by the Giants’ park while he was in the area. Kinzer said the shortstop, who has spent his entire career in the National League, already is familiar with San Francisco and wanted to see Oakland and the Coliseum because he has not spent much time there.
Hmmm. That’s weird. I didn’t realize “familiar” was a synonym for “uninterested”. Whatever though, I suppose it’s entirely possible that Furcal could ink with the Giants, but I also think it’s more likely, um, unlikely that he does. Yes, whatever that means. Seriously, though, let’s just wrap this up, Beane, and make sure the Giants get the oldest free agents possible. I don’t want to live in a world where Sabean wins with young talent.

Nov 24th 2008 4:20PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
So much for their involvement in the Rafael Furcal sweepstakes. Instead, the San Francisco Giants decided to go with the shorter-term, cheaper, older, and less productive player in Edgar Renteria. According to radio reports, the Giants have signed the veteran shortstop to a two-year deal, rumored to be in the $18 million range.

Renteria was one of many disappointing Detroit Tigers this past season, when their severely bloated payroll aided them to a last place finish in the AL Central. He had one of the worst seasons in his career, piecing together a subpar .699 OPS and a career low six stolen bases.

The bright side for the Giants is that Renteria is able to return to the NL, where he had one of the best seasons of his career in 2007, when he hit .332 and piled up a solid .860 OPS. If he can return to his ‘07 form in ‘09, the Giants could have a steal on their hands, because he is only 33 and still should have a few years of productivity left.

UPDATE: The Giants have denied the reports to their local beat writer.

Nov 22nd 2008 7:32PM by Pat Lackey (author feed)
With all of the hype surrounding Manny Ramirez, CC Sabathia, and even guys like A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe, some big names get lost in the off-season free agency hype. One guy that’s kind of disappeared so far this winter is Rafael Furcal. Everyone points to Manny Ramirez as the catalyst for the Dodgers’ run to the NLCS, but Furcal’s return late in the season had just as much to do with it as Ramirez did.

As things stand right now, it looks like Furcal may not have to move all that far to get to his new home in 2009. Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the A’s and Giants are leading early bidding for the shortstop. Both teams have seen and are satisfied with his medical records. The Dodgers are still interested, but Ned Colletti amusingly told Rosenthal, “I don’t know if we’re going to be in or out.”

The sticking point all around right now seems to be that Furcal wants four years, whie the Dodgers are slow to give more than three. I’d imagine the Billy Beane and the A’s would be, too, though he’d certainly be a nice addition to an Oakland team that’s looking to contend next year. On the other hand, Brian Sabean probably wouldn’t think twice about giving Furcal that fourth year. Do the Giants need him? Probably not, but hey, that never stopped Sabean in the past.

Nov 17th 2008 8:45PM by Jacob Wheatley-Schaller (author feed)
Baseball’s free agent signing period began a few days ago, and now we have our first signing, as the San Francisco Giants have inked left-handed reliever Jeremy Affeldt to a two-year contract.

Affeldt, 29, had his best season since 2003 while pitching for the Reds last year. In 78.1 innings, he struck out 80 hitters while walking just 25, and posted a 3.33 ERA. His 9.2 K/9 ratio was easily the best rate of his career. In the Giants’ pen, he’ll likely slot in before Brian Wilson, since only the latter has earned the “proven closer” label.

Regardless of titles, Affeldt will be the best pitcher in San Francisco’s bullpen, and having him pitch before the ninth could actually be advantageous. Not only will it give manager Bruce Bochy the opportunity to have Affeldt face as many lefties as possible, he’ll also be able to save him for key situations, rather than being “forced” to put him in for every save opportunity, which are not always high leverage situations.

The contract is only for a total of $8 million, which is a steal considering what some other relievers, such as Francisco Rodriguez and Brian Fuentes, will likely end up getting. Both aspects of this deal — the short length, and the low annual value — have to be looked at as positives for the Giants. Additionally, since Affeldt is a Type B free agent, they won’t be forced to part with a draft pick as compensation.

Nov 12th 2008 9:45PM by Nick Dallamora (author feed)
Congratulations are in order for Tim Lincecum on receiving the National League Cy Young award in just his second season in the bigs. Super thumbs up. Granted the kid should be showered with rewards for playing ball in San Fran for an entire year without demanding a trade, ultimately resulting in a hostage situation and bloodshed. Tough guy, that Lincecum.

As we mentioned before, no one cares who wins this award. So that about wraps things up on this side of the jump. Click the link for a thing.Continue Reading

Nov 11th 2008 2:45PM by Josh Alper (author feed)
Now 57 games into his big league career, Tim Lincecum has officially arrived. The Giants right-hander ran away with the National League Cy Young award, garnering 23 of 32 first-place votes, to become the second San Franciscan so honored.

It is quite difficult to argue with the selection. Lincecum led the NL in strikeouts, ERA+ and VORP, while allowing the fewest hits per nine innings. His 18 wins were good enough for second in the league, and represented a full quarter of the wins that the Giants mustered for the entire season. When you take into account the team’s bottom-of-the-barrel finish in all the key offensive categories, Lincecum’s season becomes even greater.

Brandon Webb finished second in the voting, earning four first-place nods, for the second straight season, largely because of his league-leading 22 victories. Johan Santana, who was a better choice than Webb, also got four first-place votes and finished third in the voting. CC Sabathia got the other first-place vote, even though he only pitched 17 games after his trade to the Brewers.

There’s no doubt that Sabathia was the most impressive pitcher after he moved to the Senior Circuit, but Lincecum was the best from the first day to the last. While Santana should have finished higher than Webb, I’ll settle for being impressed that the win total didn’t sway the voters enough to give Webb an undeserved award.

Nov 11th 2008 3:30PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
New Giants managing partner, William Neukom, has reportedly pushed general manager Brian Sabean to field a much more competitve team. If that means opening the pocketbook to bring in big names, so be it. Obviously, the subject of Manny Ramirez qualifies. When asked about him, Neukom replied: “I can’t say there is no possibility.” Of course, later he raved about the shape of their outfield and said that shoring any part of it up was not a high priority.

The bottom line here for Giants fans is that this sort of talk is a good thing. Management is obviously planning on increasing the payroll, which means signing a few offensive weapons is a definitey possibility. “Player payroll is going to depend on two things,” Neukom said. “First of all (is) the best thinking of our baseball guys. What does that optimal 2009-and-beyond roster look like? How do you build that roster? That’s going to have a price tag to it. The other major influence is, what can we afford?” I know what direction I’d go. There’s no reason to start dealing in the trade market when you can throw some money around, and this shows the Giants aren’t afraid to. It might not be Manny, but Mark Teixeira and several other big bats are out there. We’ll see how the Giants work.