Well, it's taken some time for me to get over the first-base poll. Not that Will Clark is a poor choice. On the contrary. It just seems Willie McCovey is the logical choice, being as the website is named after him. That's all I have to say on the matter. Long live The Thrill.

Results of the first-base voting: Will Clark 45%, Willie McCovey 32%, J.T. Snow 20%.

This is the poll for the all-time favorite San Francisco Giants closer. To avoid ridicule, the imposition of over analysis, and the like, please vote for your FAVORITE player at each position. It doesn't necessarily have to be the best, meaning if Dan Gladden is your fave in CF, it's your prerogative to vote for him over Willie Mays. Regarding WRITE-IN VOTES ... do it! Click "other", put the name of your favorite IN THE TITLE OF A COMMENT.

I read a rumor the other day that the Braves may look to trade Jair Jurrjens for a bat. Any chance this actually happens? At 23, Jurrjens is one of the best young pitchers in basebal, and is not yet arbitration eligible. I don't have the link to the actual rumor, though the one justification given in the snippet I saw was that he is a Scott Boras client. I'm not sure why that is a factor for a non-arbitration elibible player.

So, two questions for Braves fans: 1) Is it realistic to think the Braves would trade Jurrjens? 2) Any interest in Luke Scott and a prospect package in exchange for him?

Alright, here it goes. I've been really looking forward to this one. I believe this one is going to appease many of the people who have been upset by the lack of old-school representation. Of course, I could be wrong. There is certainly a clear-cut fan favorite for every generation. Only one way to find out fer sure though.

First, the results from second base and lefty starters. I'm calling the second-base voting for Jeff Kent, who registered 50% of the votes. Robby Thompson registered 43%.

Favorite left-handed starter is Kirk Rueter by a landslide. Here are the results: Woody 45%, Dave Dravecky 11%, Noah Lowry 11%, Vida Blue 11%, Shawn Estes 10%.

This is the poll for the all-time favorite San Francisco Giants first baseman. To avoid ridicule, the imposition of over analysis, and the like, please vote for your FAVORITE player at each position. It doesn't necessarily have to be the best, meaning if Dan Gladden is your fave in CF, it's your prerogative to vote for him over Willie Mays. Regarding WRITE-IN VOTES ... do it! Click "other", put the name of your favorite IN THE TITLE OF A POST. Once again, I'm listing just the cream of the crop.

The last trade idea I posted didn't inspire a lot of conversation, and perhaps it didn't warrant much. Maybe the reason for this is the two players involved in that proposed trade are neither top prospects, nor are they well known. I realize it's difficult to assess fringe players. This was evident in a similar post from a year ago; a smackdown querry between Michael Aubrey and Travis Ishikawa. The memorable response from that one was something to the effect of: Neither of them are very good. Well, I suppose by a higher standard of prospecting, this is true of many of the guys I've posted about.

So I'm trying a different approach. Luke Scott and Willy Aybar are in interesting and similar situations. They each performed quite well in the '09 season. Each probably deserved more playing time than he received, but they were dealing with a lot of competition at their respective positions.

Now, the reason this is applicable to minor-league ball, and the grounds for my posting the subject at this site, is a straight-up deal for these two players could likely involve some lesser-known prospects. So in proposing this trade, I'm hoping not only to gauge the value of Scott and Aybar, but to inspire some conversation about prospects of value and interest who could conceivably be involved in such a trade. Also welcome is anyone wanting to propose such a trade involving either Scott or Aybar going to another team.

The second-base poll was as close as I had anticipated. I am surprised, however, at the outcome. Personally, I voted for Jeff Kent. Going in though, I had Robby Thompson picked to take it at 3:2. Kent actually had a massive lead early on, but Thompson closed the gap. I think it's safe to call it, but if anyone still needs to cast a vote, here is the link:

http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2009/10/8/1077582/all-time-favorite-sf-giants-second

The current second-base poll is as follows: Jeff Kent 50%, Robby Thompson 42%.

I am calling the pinch-hitting poll for Candy Maldonado, who received 19% of the votes. Second place was approximately a four-way tie between Felipe Crespo, Mike Ivie, Nate Schierholtz, and (write-in) Mark Sweeney.

Now, in honor of the Carlton Chronicles re-dux, this is the poll for the all-time favorite San Francisco Giants left-handed starting pitcher. To avoid ridicule, the imposition of over analysis, and the like, please vote for your FAVORITE player at each position. It doesn't necessarily have to be the best, meaning if Dan Gladden is your fave in CF, it's your prerogative to vote for him over Willie Mays. Regarding WRITE-IN VOTES ... PLEASE, when casting a write-in vote, check other on the questionnaire, then below title a comment with ONLY THE PLAYERS NAME. Any thoughts, statements, etc. should go in the body of the comment. Anyone else voting for the same write-in candidate, PLEASE respond to the previous player comment by titling your comment with ONLY A "+1". If you would like to clarify a "+1" comment, please include the player's name in the body of the comment.

Hello Crawfish Boxers. I've hardly ever posted here, but a topic came up at another board and I wanted to get the Houston perspective on the issue. 'Tis the season where the baseball world inevitably starts talking possible trades. Of course, par for that course is one team's fanbase coveting another team's fan favorite, with the former deluding themselves into believing the player can be had. If there's one thing I've always respected about Astros fans, it's that they embrace their likeable heroes.

So, I'm looking for a point-blank perspective of Hunter Pence. The impression I've gotten is that he is one of the biggest fan faves to come along since Craig Biggio. I'll pose the question bluntly, so please take it with a grain of salt. I'm really just trying to prove a point. Thanks.

The foremost reason for this post is to gauge the respective values of Brandon Boggs and Trevor Crowe. So, like John's Crystal Ball projections, please don't take the trade proposal all too seriously. It's just a hypothetical scenario, the purpose of which is to measure people's perceptions of the players, organizational needs, etc.

So, Would trading Brandon Boggs for Trevor Crowe be a fair deal? Both have been described as fourth-outfielder types. And both are playing for teams that have a lot of competition at their respective positions. Crowe is a natural center fielder, and will likely have to prove himself there to maintain a big-league career. The Indians have plenty of depth in CF with Grady Sizemore, Shin-Soo Choo, and Michael Brantley. Boggs has power potential though he has pretty much been relegated to left field. The Rangers, however, currently have David Murphy and Nelson Cruz at the outfield corners, while Marlon Byrd will most likely be departing via free agency.

So, What are your thoughts on the balance of this trade proposal?  

I think it's safe to call the right-handed pitcher fave as Tim Lincecum has been anchored around the 55% mark for a couple days. It was fun to read the spirited support for Juan Marichal, as well as people sticking up for Jim Barr, Ed Halicki, Bill Laskey, Bill Swift, and many others. A bit of trivia: Anyone know the first time Bill Swift pitched at Candlestick Park?

So, as it stands, the favorite right-handed pitcher voting is as follows: Tim Lincecum 54%, Juan Marichal 19%, Matt Cain 8%, Jason Schmidt 8%.

As for the voting for favorite pinch hitter, votes are still trickling in. So here is the link if anyone still wants to chime in: http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2009/10/4/1068451/all-time-favorite-sf-giants-pinch

This is the one I've really been looking forward to. I'm keeping the selections to the cream of the crop, so please feel encouraged to use the OTHER choice if necessary. This is the poll for the all-time favorite San Francisco Giants second baseman. To avoid ridicule, the imposition of over analysis, and the like, please vote for your FAVORITE player at each position. It doesn't necessarily have to be the best, meaning if Dan Gladden is your fave in CF, it's your prerogative to vote for him over Willie Mays. Regarding WRITE-IN VOTES ... PLEASE, when casting a write-in vote, check other on the questionnaire, then below title a comment with ONLY THE PLAYERS NAME. Any thoughts, statements, etc. should go in the body of the comment. Anyone else voting for the same write-in candidate, PLEASE respond to the previous player comment by titling your comment with ONLY A "+1". If you would like to clarify a "+1" comment, please include the player's name in the body of the comment.

First of all, what a freakin' baseball game that Tigers/Twins elimination match-up was!! I can't wait to see Web Gems on Baseball Tonight. (For the top five, I'm guessing: 5 - Orlando Cabrera 4 - Ryan Raburn 3 - Curtis Granderson 2 - Brandon Inge 1 - Nick Punto.)

As for the all-time favorite SF Giants pinch-hitter, it's too close to call at this point. I'm going to ask people to rec the thread to allow as many people to cast votes, as there are four players within seven votes of one another. And that doesn't even count the write-in support for Mark Sweeney. So here is the link, if you would like to rec it and/or if you would still like to cast a vote.

http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2009/10/4/1068451/all-time-favorite-sf-giants-pinch

As it stands, here is the current voting: Candy Maldonado 18%, Mike Ivie 14%, Nate Schierholtz 14%, Felipe Crespo 12%, Joel Youngblood 9%.

This is the poll for the all-time favorite San Francisco Giants right-handed starter. To avoid ridicule, the imposition of over analysis, and the like, please vote for your FAVORITE player at each position. It doesn't necessarily have to be the best, meaning if Dan Gladden is your fave in CF, it's your prerogative to vote for him over Willie Mays. Regarding WRITE-IN VOTES ... PLEASE, when casting a write-in vote, check other on the questionnaire, then below title a comment with ONLY THE PLAYERS NAME. Any thoughts, statements, etc. should go in the body of the comment. Anyone else voting for the same write-in candidate, PLEASE respond to the previous player comment by titling your comment with ONLY A "+1". If you would like to clarify a "+1" comment, please include the player's name in the body of the comment.

For the many organizations turning to the speed-and-defense philosophy, the ability for leadoff hitters to work strike zones and earn walks is still somewhat of a lost art. Maybe it's because I grew up watching two of the best leadoff hitters in the history of the game, Rickey Henderson and Tim Raines, that I am a tough critic. One of the things that distinguished their style of batting leadoff was their ability to draw more walks than strikeouts. There have been a lot of great base stealers to break into the big leagues over the past few years. But in my opinion, most of them -- Dexter Fowler, Jacoby Ellsbury, Nyjer Morgan, Michael Bourn, and Julio Borbon -- tend to draw too few walks and strike out too often.

This year, Chone Figgins became one of the premier leadoff hitters in the game. Yet, he didn't do anything as a hitter he hasn't done before. He has hit around the .300 mark his entire career, as he did this season, finishing at a .298 clip. What made this season special for him though was the increase in his walk total. He drew 101 walks this year (though he did still strike out 114 times) which caused his OBP to spike. The most he had previously walked in a season was 65 times.

Two of the old-school leadoff prototypes that have really caught my eye this season are Padres outfielder Luis Durango and Blue Jays prospect Darin Mastroianni. Both are making names for themselves because of speed-and-defense tools. Durango had never been much of a base-stealing force in years past, swiping no more than 17 bases in a season heading into this season. He stole 44 bases at Double-A San Antonio this year though. And in addition to hitting .281, the switch-hitting Durango produced a .390 OBP by walking 81 times against 70 strikeouts. Mastroianni is one of the biggest stolen-base threats in baseball, swiping 70 bases between High-A and Double-A this year. He produced a .400 OBP, though more because of his hitting prowess in the Florida State League where he posted a .325 average. A right-handed hitter, he totaled 74 walks and 83 strikeouts. Both are predominantly singles hitters. Defensively, they both appear to be above average fielders with plus arms -- although the latter is a summation based on assist totals.

So, my question is: If you had to choose one to build around as a leadoff hitter, which one would you pick?