SB Nation User Blog: Dan from NM

Manny Ramirez to ABQ

Dan from NM — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:59:34 -0000

Manny Ramirez to ABQ

Dear McCoven,

I come to you humbly because my reputation is on the line. Manny Ramirez is in Albuquerque this week to prepare for his return to the Dodgers.

My friends, aware of my Giants' fandom, are dragging me to the game on Wednesday, with hopes that I'll develop some witty anti-Manny heckles. Any suggestions?

Thanks much,
Dan from NM
Member, Southwest Chapter, McCovey Chronicles

Hector Sanchez Among Top DSL Prospects

Dan from NM — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 20:29:58 -0000

Hector Sanchez Among Top DSL Prospects

Baseball America writes up the Top 19 prospects in the Dominican Summer League. It's subscriber-only content, but BA says Sanchez had "superlative" performance, a "feel for hitting and for the strike zone" and rough defense behind the plate.

Sanchez is a switch-hitter who played catcher and first base last year with a .348/.458/.502 line. He walked more than he struck out. He's 19 this season.

Sabean said he expects to solve third base internally, with Pablo Sandoval getting the bulk of time...

Dan from NM — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:47:40 -0000

Sabean said he expects to solve third base internally, with Pablo Sandoval getting the bulk of time despite his inexperience at the position.

http://www.mercurynews.com/giants

Four Giants on AZL Top 20 List

Dan from NM — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 16:54:43 -0000

Four Giants made the top 20 prospect list for the Arizona League. Baseball America has a nice write up here.

No. 4 Ehire Adrianza, SS

No. 9 Jose Casilla, RHP

No. 17 Kyle Nicholson, RHP

No. 20 Wendell Fairley, OF

Buster Posey gets mentioned in the intro as the best prospect in the league, but he didn't play enough to make the list.

It's nice to see some recognition for Adrianza, a teenage shortstop. He gets praised for his defense, and he may just be able to hit a bit, too. I think Baggs was talking him up, too, particularly as a possibility for a promotion to Augusta, but he got hurt.

All in all, not a bad haul for rookie leaguers.

Schulman: Posey deal not done

Dan from NM — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:23:44 -0000

Henry Schulman says the Giants are denying they have a deal done with Buster Posey or that they're talking about $7.5 million. A Pittsburgh newspaper is also reporting that baseball officials deny all aspects of the Posey deal outlined in the Mercury News.

To further confuse matters, Baseball Prospectus says the Giants and Posey are just dotting the i's and such, and the Giants' Web site says team officials are talking privately like he's signed.

What to make of it all? I don't know. I think it's pretty unlikely that the Giants would bring him in for a physical if the deal wasn't close, as they did last week. And I don't think Baggs would report on it if he had any doubts.

I'm a worrier by nature. I think he'll sign, but I'm not certain.

If this goes down to the deadline, it's going to seriously interfere with all the drinking I have planned.

TV Station: Gillaspie Signs

Dan from NM — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 20:44:36 -0000

A television station out of Kansas is reporting that Conor Gillaspie signed with the Giants and is on his way to Arizona. Supposedly, he's going to get slot for the No. 37 pick, which is surprising to me 'cause I thought he'd get more.

Also, Andy Baggarly recently reported that the Giants are in the "finishing" stages of negotiations with the top four picks.

I suspect Gillaspie's deal will be a 2009 contract and that he won't play in games this year.

Giants call up Burriss, cut Davis

Dan from NM — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 21:24:29 -0000

Wow. I'm surprised, but the Associated Press reports that the Giants are calling up Manny Burriss and cutting Rajai Davis.

They must have a ton of faith in Burriss. He hasn't really done much above Augusta, and he's already in the bigs. On the one hand, I'm pleased they like what they see in the guy, but on the other, I'm skeptical that he's ready. I wonder whether he'll steal some time from Bocock.

Milb.tv and the Little Giants

Dan from NM — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 16:51:38 -0000

I caught a few innings of Augusta here. The Minor League Baseball site is now offering video of minor-league games, which I hadn't noticed before. I was able to watch parts of two games for free. (I'm pretty sure you have to buy a $30 subscription eventually.)

Anyway, here are some thoughts:

Madison Bumgarner looks very athletic. Tall, lean, well-built legs. He just looks like a pitcher.

Bumgarner appears to throw across his body. I've never heard anyone mention this before, so it might just be the angle of the home-plate camera. And it could be that all pitchers throw across their body slightly -- I really don't know. In Bumgarner's case, he appears to step slightly toward the left-handed batter's box in his delivery. Does anyone think this is a big deal?

Waldis Joaquin looks a little soft around the middle. He's not the long-and-lean type. Not that it matters necessarily. He throws straight over the top, with a fairly short stride to the plate.

Angel Villalona is a big guy, but probably not excessively so. He looks powerfully built, though a little big around the waist.

I suspect some of the prospect watchers here might be interested in getting the Milb.tv package. Could be a great way to get extra looks at our youngsters.

Top Dominican Rejects Giants' Offer

Dan from NM — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 04:31:29 -0000

I often daydream about the Giants plowing an obscene amount of money into amateur talent. Say $10 million for draft bonuses and $5 million for international players. You could build a farm system pretty quickly for the price of one year of Rowand or Zito.

The Giants aren't going to win anything in the bigs this year, and their minor-league system is in the bottom third, according to Baseball America. My one hope for the off-season: bringing in high-ceiling talent at any level.

The Giants have been unable to trade for Edwin Encarnacion or Andy LaRoche or Lastings Milledge or any of the advanced players I dreamed of.

I've slowly turned my eyes to the international market. The Giants' most promising prospect from Latin America, Angel Joseph, was unable to sign because of a paperwork problem.

Now this make my heart go pitter-patter: Baseball American reports that Edward Salcedo, the top Dominican prospect available, has rejected the Giants' offer of $2.5 million. I hope negotiations aren't over.

Salcedo is a right-handed-hitting shortstop with first-round tools. He's represented by Boras. It's hard to know whether he'd be worth the money, but, damn, if any team needs to take risks and spend money on youngsters, it's our Giants.

Cleveland is supposedly in the lead for Salcedo, but I'm hoping the Giants push for the kid. Also, I've had four beers and my judgment is bad. Links:

http://www.perfectgame.org/players/playerprofile.aspx?ID=123749
http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=743
http://mvn.com/mlb-indians/2008/02/06/the-myth-of-edward-salcedo/

Matt Cain and other pitching notes

Dan from NM — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 20:33:25 -0000

My sister sent me a text message about midnight announcing that 2008 would be "great." In the spirit of optimism, I present some cheery pitching-leader notes from the The Bill James Handbook 2008:

10th in ERA, Cain, 3.65
Seventh in Opponent BA, Cain, .235
Fourth in Pitches Per Start, Cain, 104.7
Seventh in Pitchers Per Start, Zito, 102.8
Sixth in Quality Starts, Cain, 22
Sixth in Opponent SLG, Cain, .366
Sixth in Opponent OPS, .678
Eighth in HR per Nine IP, Cain, 0.63
10th in Holds-Adjusted Save %, Hennessey, 86.5
Third in Relief Opponent BA vs LHB, Sanchez, .160
Fifth in Relief Opponent BA vs RHB, Wilson, .145
Second in Fastest Average Fastball, Cain, 93.2
Second in Total Pitches 95+, Lincecum, 647
Ninth in Highest % Curveballs, Zito, 18.3
Sixth in Opponent OPS vs. Changeups, Zito, .636
Fifth in Hits Per 9 IP, Cain, 7.79

The bottom line: Matt Cain is a stud. He's durable, throws hard and is tough to hit. I'll admit I've gone a bit gaga over Lincecum, but, damn, did Cain ever have a great year!

I didn't include every mention among the league leaders, just the ones I found most interesting. I suspect Lincecum would have made more lists if he'd met the 162-inning minimum for rate stats.

Happy New Year, everybody. Spring training starts next month.