It turns out that the crushing chest pains I was feeling yesterday were a result of stress and not at all a sign of my congenitally defective aortic valve finally calling for the tab. Every single metric checks out great, not a sign of heart damage, and the many ER doctors and specialists who milled through my room yesterday had similar questions:

"Has anything stressful occurred in your life recently?"

"Did you see the Giants game last night?"

"Yeah, hoooooo boy." Except for the one who was a Cubs fan, and I had enough morphine in me to comfort him.

Baseball fans love lists, especially all-time-best lists. One of my absolute favorites of the form is the all-time-best team you can put together from your franchise's players. The Giants' list is just about the best, though they might finish a game or two behind the Yankees. (It's alarming how little pitching the Cardinals have to go with their amazing position players.)

Today, as I was celebrating unemployment by walking to Trader Joe's for some more Simpler Times Lager ($2.99 a six pack, but they were sold out), I wondered, "What would be the best team of Giants who are eligible for the Hall of Fame but not in it?" Sort of, "How awesome is our second tier compared to others' second tiers?" I'm limiting this to guys who spent a substantial amount of time on the Giants, but your definition of substantial might be different than mine.

• C - Tom Haller
• 1B - Will Clark
• 2B - Robby Thompson
• 3B - Darrell Evans
• SS - Alvin Dark
• LF - George Burns
• CF - George Van Haltren
• RF - Bobby Bonds
• SP - Rick Reuschel
• SP - Sal Maglie
• SP - Johnny Antonelli
• SP - Red Ames
• RP - Robb Nen

I wasn't sure how to go about this, so I pulled up the Baseball Reference pages on the 1923, 1937, 1954, 1962, and 1978 Giants, and used that as well as my memory for clues. I also hit the New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract for ideas and rankings. (I think it should be a federal law that James rewrites this every ten years. Who's with me?) This list is heavy on modern Giants in part because of my own experience, and in part because the veteran's committee has already enshrined every remotely qualified New York Giant. Seriously, go make a list of the worst players in the Hall of Fame - it will be Catfish Hunter, Bruce Sutter, and eight New York Giants.

Position-by-position justification:

Catcher: Haller was the first name to jump into my mind, and I never found anybody better. Kennedy? Brenly? Santiago?

First base: Duh.

Second base: I really wanted to put Bill Madlock at second but he just didn't play enough games there. Second base is not a loaded position for the Giants - Frisch, Kent, Thompson, and a season of Hornsby.

Third base: Yes, Darrell Evans over Matt Williams. Look, I freaking LOVED Matt Williams when he was a Giant. As a kid, I had a binder full of Will Clark and Matt Williams baseball cards. They are absolutely my two favorite baseball players from my childhood. That said, Evans played 2687 games with a 119 OPS+, and Williams played 1866 games witha 112 OPS+. Evans was more OBP-heavy, so the offensive gap is actually bigger than that. Both were plus defenders in their primes. I think Evans should be in the Hall of Fame.

Shortstop: I was thinking Bill Dahlen here, but his best days were behind him when he was a Giant, so it's not really fair.

Left field: Yay! An old baseball player! I was actually stunned when I found out that he's not in the Hall. Runners up were Gary Matthews and Kevin Mitchell. I didn't realize Monte Irvin was already in the Hall, otherwise that would have been my choice.

Center field: This one gave me fits. Of course, there was a pretty good center fielder on the Giants once, but he's in the Hall, so he doesn't qualify. Maddox and Butler didn't spend enough time with the Giants. Matty Alou wasn't good until after he left. Bobby Murcer and Felipe Alou didn't play center when they were on the Giants. I went with Bill James when choosing Van Haltren. I invite the reader to take a stroll through the non-Mays center fielders the Giants have employed. It's ridiculous. I almost went with Darryl Hamilton.

Right field: He was faster and a better defender than his son. His son was better at the other things, though.

Starting pitchers: They put McGinnity in the Hall? Really? I was going to look ever-so-smart when I chose him! Pitchers make this exercise difficult - there aren't too many good-but-not-great pitchers who have long careers and spend the bulk of their time with one team. I thought Big Daddy's playing time was marginal, but I included him... I wouldn't put Reuschel in the Hall of Fame, but he was a better pitcher than Jack Morris, who seems to get some support. I need help on the pitchers. Which hall-eligible pitchers am I missing?

Relief pitcher: Robb Nen, of course, though I did check on Beck just in case I was forgetting their stats or something.

BAbip stands for batting average on balls in play, meaning fair balls that don't leave the yard. The theory is that BAbip is more or less out of the pitcher's control - except for knuckleballers and, to a lesser extent, extreme sinkerballers - and thus we should expect it to regress to a mean over time. This mean is generally considered to be about .290, though this season the average BAbip in the NL is .299 so far.

Giants pitchers and their BAbips:

• Lincecum - .380
• Johnson - .346
• Affeldt - .333
• Medders - .321
• Howry - .318
• Wilson - .314
• Sanchez - .300
• Zito - .299
• Valdez - .289
• Cain - .278
• Miller - .271
• TEAM - .319
  

As I'm waiting for news to come out of the winter meetings - please no Cantu or Encarnacion - I'm trying to find ways to maintain my last shred of sanity through fabricated baseball fixes. I instinctively pulled for the Phillies in the World Series, and after some thought decided why that was: they took out the Dodgers, they have a couple of ex-Giants about whom I am not bitter, and they represent the National League while not being the Dodgers. So, to extend that, here's my best guess at a Rooting Order, the ranking by which I pull for one team over another.

1. San Francisco Giants - Of course.
   
2. Baltimore Orioles - I lived in Baltimore in the mid-nineties, when the O's were fun and good. The last few years have been tough.
   
3. Oakland A's - They're local, they're fun, and Beane really is great. They will go way down this list if they indeed build a stadium that is not walking distance to a bart station.
   
4. Saint Louis Cardinals - My father's team. I have an autographed photo of Stan Musial in my living room.
   
5. Chicago Cubs - I have come to believe that the Giants will not be allowed to win the World Series until every team that has waited longer 5. gets a title. Every year I root for the Cubs-Indians World Series.
   
6. Cleveland Indians - See above.
   
7. Milwaukee Brewers - Young, fun team that I can finally root for now that Selig doesn't own them.
   
8. Boston Red Sox - Getting a little tired of their eponymous nation, but I still love the way the team is run, and feel quite vindicated for my decade of insisting that, yes, the Red Sox will win a World Series before too long.
   
9. Kansas City Royals - For ten years, this was probably the best-run team in baseball. Furthermore, for some reason, all my favorite baseball writers are connected to them.
   
10. Minnesota Twins - I love that their organizational philosophy is the opposite of the stat-driven Red Sox method and they still develop good players and win a lot of games.
    
11. Pittsburgh Pirates - Thanks for Bonds and Schmidt, and for having a much longer below-.500 streak than we do.
    
12. Philadelphia Phillies - What an infield. I wish writers would realize that Ryan Howard can't be the best player in the league when he's only the fourth-best player on his team.
    
13. Tampa Bay Rays - This is a fun, young team. They'll be back in the postseason before you know it.
    
14. Chicago White Sox - When they won in 2005, it brought us one team closer to being celestially permitted to win the Series.
    
15. Seattle Mariners - The only thing that came to mind was Torres for Estes (and another guy). Lots of broken dreams in that one trade there.
    
16. New York Mets - The orange is Giant orange, yet the blue is Dodger blue. Discuss.
    
17. Toronto Blue Jays - When they were good, they looked like they would be a dynasty, drawing some 4 million fans a year and fielding the best team money could buy. Strange how things change. I guess that means that in fifteen years the Yankees will be holding a bake sale.
    
18. Detroit Tigers - LOOK, JACK MORRIS DOES NOT BELONG IN THE HALL OF FAME. IT'S NOT EVEN CLOSE. THE GUY WASN'T AS GOOD AS RICK REUSCHEL. STOP IT.
    
19. Houston Astros - Their stadium is a stupid gimmick, especially the Useless Mound of ACL Elimination in center.
    
20. Texas Rangers - Previously the Washington Senators, currently the Washington Generals.
    
21. Cincinnati Reds - I had a ticket to game 5 of the 1989 World Series, but had my hopes dashed when the Oakland juggernaut swept my beloved Giants. Somehow, the next year, I scored a ticket to game 5 of the World Series. I watched that first game anxiously, hoping to avoid another catastrophe. Rijo was brilliant, the Reds won easily, and I exhaled. Finally I would go to the World Series, I thought. It was then that I learned yet another important lesson about the fallacy of hope.
    
22. San Diego Padres - I know they're a division rival, but they just seem so "meh" to me. In my mind's eye they will always wear the McDonald's uniforms.
    
23. Arizona Diamondbacks - Won a World Series in their fourth year of existence, but at least they did it at the expense of the Yankees. And I've always liked Matt Williams.
    
24. Colorado Rockies - Baseball should be illegal in Colorado.
    
25. Washington Nationals - I liked them as the Expos. Centerpiece in several nasty baseball business dealings.
    
26. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - Thunderstix, Rally Monkey, Spiezio.
    
27. Florida Marlins - Perhaps the most cynically operated franchise in baseball, the Marlins have never won their division. Of course, they have two championships in the last eleven years. Jerks.
    
28. Atlanta Braves - Had we won in 2002, I could have let them off the hook for 1993. Still on the hook.
    
29. New York Yankees - Baseball's #1 villain, unless they're your hero. In 1962, selfishly employed a second baseman who was taller than 3'8".
    
30. Los Angeles Dodgers - Of course.

What's your rooting order?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW7q0JzWaoY

Commence derision.

I know it was an off-the-cuff response, but here's a glimmer of hope from today's Keith Law chat:

Jim (LA): Name your top 5 minor league systems.

Keith Law: (2:12 PM ET ) #1 is Tampa. #2 is Texas. Beyond that I'm less sure, having not done this as a serious exercise (I will in late January). #3 is probably the Reds - very top-heavy, but tough to ignore that much star potential. #4 Boston. #5 ... I'll say the Giants, the opposite of the Reds, lots of star power that's years away. I reserve the right to change any of those last three.

http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=18665

...and we win!

Carlos Gomez is a former professional ballplayer whose analyses focus on mechanics. He has selected his "DRAFTY" award winners for 2007, and believes that the Giants had the best draft.

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/the-draftys-the-2007-mlb-draft-awards/

The best writer in baseball, Joe Posnanski, has a neat blog entry about market size today:

http://thesoulofbaseball.blogspot.com/2007/05/its-not-size-of-market.html

Deep inside this excellent piece (read the whole thing) is a nice, compassionate mention of Bonds approaching the Record.

"I will admit, though, feeling a certain unexpected feeling about Barry as we come closer to the record. Yes, I firmly believe he cheated with steroids. I firmly believe he knowingly and deliberately cheated. I firmly believe he knew exactly what he was doing -- he was actually pretty late to the steroids party -- and I don't buy it as an excuse that baseball didn't test back then. That's lame. To me that's like saying that cheating on a test is OK because the teacher was too clueless to catch you. It's wrong. Period. And everybody knew it.

"BUT ... Barry's the greatest player I ever saw. Bar none. Not even close. As a young man, he was the greatest combination of power, speed and defense I ever saw. As an old man, he was probably the most feared slugger the game has ever known -- I think more feared than Ruth. I love baseball, of course, and it has been one of the great joys of my baseball life watching Barry Bonds play. I don't like that he cheated -- frankly, I preferred watching the svelte, power/speed Barry over the big-headed Barry who mashed balls over and over into the Bay. The steroid and human growth hormone stuff will sully his legacy and reputation, no doubt about it, and that's right. Like I say, he knew what he was doing. But I feel like, as Barry closes in on the record, that it should be celebrated. He should be celebrated. The game has never seen anyone like him. ... Maybe the feeling will pass.

"And, by the way, I don't think there's any doubt that the Commissioner should be there when he breaks the record. It's his game. It's the most hallowed record in his game. And it happened on his watch. I've read those who say it would be hypocritical for Bud to be there. I think it would be hypocritical for him NOT to be there."

"Carlos Gomez recently analyzed Cain's pitching mechanics. While I agree that Cain is a great candidate as a sleeper to break out soon, I doubt it will happen. Cain has demonstrated mediocre control since leaving Single-A ball in 2004, and that leads to occasional outings like last week's 1-0 loss to San Diego, where he was lucky to only surrender one run after allowing six baserunners to reach first base without actually hitting the ball. He clearly has the stuff to make major league hitters swing and miss, but his inconsistent control will limit his effectiveness."

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/the-best-young-right-handed-pitchers-of-2007/

I already gave him hell. I'm such a fanboy.

Do you realize that if, instead of Morris and Benitez, we had a replacement-level reliever and a replacement-level starter, we would have saved $12 million ($16 million AAV) while winning more games?

It's enough to make one ill.

As I was blowing the dust off the dirty dishes this afternoon, I mused to myself that Detroit, having lost Polanco, could sure use a decent second baseman. In fact, they're probably desperate.

Could we provide the answer? I hate to propose this when we're only three games out of the wild card, but there's a nonzero chance that Durham and his $7 million salary could clear waivers, and we would be able to plunder Detroit's spotty-but-interesting minor league system. Install Frandsen as the starting second baseman, and maybe he stays hot enough to not be significantly worse than Durham.

Do y'all think this would be a stupid move, or would it have merit? Could Durham clear waivers in the first place?

As I've said before, my second-favorite team is the Baltimore Orioles. I used to live there, and they play in a beautiful park and wear black and orange - what's not to love? The Orioles developed Armando Benitez, one of the last dying embers of their once-vaunted scouting and development operation. In 1996, he was twenty-three years old, and already showing the ability to mow down major league hitters.

That was a great year. The 1996 Orioles were one of the most interesting and flawed teams I've ever followed, combining a horrible starting rotation, a great bullpen, and a lineup that featured seven guys with at least twenty home runs, topped by a curiously inflated center fielder who hit fifty in perhaps the greatest fluke season in baseball history.

The 1996 ALCS was disgusting. Jeffrey Maier stole a home run for his home team, a horribly blown call by the umpire, and on the mound was Benitez. At the time I cursed the umpire and the baseball world's bias in favor of the not-yet-hated Yankees, but I would learn that, in fact, it was the accursed Benitez whose damning aura cast the morbid pall over the pivotal game. He was great in Game 2, entering with two men on and shutting down the Yankees, but he gave up a jack in the eighth to blow open a tight Game 4.

It wasn't all Benitez' fault, right? The rotation WAS horrible, after all, with an ace (Mussina) who was having the worst season of his illustrious career. Everything would be better in 1997.

1997 was a hell of a year. The rotation enjoyed great years from Mussina, Erickson, and Key, and the bullpen was spectacular, featuring one of the greatest forgotten closer seasons by Randy Myers, who saved 45 games in 46 chances. Setting him up was the twenty-four-year-old Armando Benitez, who would strike out 106 hitters in 73-1/3 innings of work. It was a one-two punch reminiscent of 1986 Mets' McDowell and Orosco (also a Davey Johnson team), but even better. Much better, when you consider park and league context.

Those Orioles, behind the expert guidance of Johnson, took out the feared Mariners in four games. Johnson was bold enough to bench every lefthanded hitter against Randy Johnson, including Palmeiro, and was rewarded with a 9-3 victory in the first game, which was marred only by Benitez giving up an Alex Rodriguez home run in the meaningless ninth. It seemed harmless, but it was only a harbinger of what was to come.

The ALCS started strong, with Erickson and Myers combining to shut out a powerful Indians lineup in the first game. The O's rode a Ripken homer to a 4-2 lead in the second game, despite the laboring Jimmy Key lasting only four innings. The bullpen held, as Kamieniecki threw three scoreless innings, and the home nine reached the eighth inning with their lead intact. Enter Benitez. He strikes out Branson (who?), walks Alomar, strikes out Fernandez, and walks Thome. Marquis Grissom, a free-swinging righty, was the next hitter. Today's baseball fan knows exactly what is coming next, but in those innocent days of 1997, we figured that the situation could not be more in our favor. Benitez destroys righthanded hitters, right? As everybody has already guessed, Grissom put it in the cheap seats, and the game was blown. The Indians would close it out and win 5-4.

Game 3 was blown by Myers (and catcher Lenny Webster) - not Benitez' fault this time - ruining a spectacular fifteen strikeout effort by Mussina. Mando would have his chance in Game 4, however, as he was summoned in the ninth inning, two out and a man on second, to protect the 7-7 tie. He walked Matt Williams, bringing up the weaker hitting Sandy Alomar. As you have already guessed, Alomar lined a clean single, and the Orioles lost.

The Indians had men on second and third in the bottom of the ninth of Game 5 with two out. Benitez did not pitch, and the Orioles won. This is instructive.

Armando Benitez would be summoned to pitch one last postseason game in his Orioles career. Mussina was again amazing, striking out ten while allowing only one hit in eight innings of work. Despite the feat, the score stood 0-0, and closer Randy Myers was called to protect the tie, as Davey Johnson is not a stupid manager and understands that sometimes you use your closer in a tie ballgame. Myers pitched scoreless ninth and tenth innings, so, naturally, the setup man was needed. Armando Benitez entered, struck out Grissom, and threw out Vizquel on a comeback bunt, bringing up Tony Fernandez. You know exactly what happens next - Fernandez sends the Indians to their second World Series since the sainted 1954. (Oh, the Orioles did bat in the bottom of the eleventh, but yet another unconscionably bad call ended the game. If you ever felt jobbed by an umpire, it's nothing like being an Orioles fan in 1996-1997.)

Armando would move on to the Mets, where he would only blow Game 6 of the 1999 NLCS - not a bad accomplishment, considering his track record. In 2000 Mando and his vast arsenal of gopherballs lost a duel of futility to Felix Rodriguez, which allowed him to eventually move on to blowing Game 1 of the World Series.

In 2001 he gamely extinguished the Mets' thrilling run into contention by blowing a string of saves late in the season. Thereafter he bounced around the league, posting great records in meaningless games.

I've always scoffed at the idea of a "closer mentality." I have long believed that there is no magical mental makeup that makes a great reliever a great closer. When Benitez was signed, however, I cringed. My intellect said to me, "Jeremy, he's been one of the most dominant relievers in baseball for a decade. His ERA has been 50% above league average. He's only ever been great." Still, emotionally, I could not forget those failures recorded in the other black and orange cap. I reminded myself that it wasn't my money, and that there was no possible way this great relief pitcher could continue to choke whenever he was needed most.

Armando Benitez is my least favorite baseball player. All he has ever done in his career is eliminate any possibility of his teams winning the World Series. He performs spectacularly until the one moment you need him to succeed, and then he chokes. He is the most reliable player in baseball, as he will always fail when you need him most.

I've been reading through some of the Beyond the Boxscore entries on Win Expecation Above Replacement (WXRL) and figured I could call upon the collective intelligence of the McCC community to help me iron out some of the finer details of the analysis of reliever effectiveness. So, without further ado...

First we'll use Schmidt, then we'll use Cain
Then an off day followed by rain
Back will come Schmidt, followed by Cain
And followed we hope by two days of rain.

Man, it's hard to keep track of the rosters at this point. It appears the Dodgers have signed Brett Tomko to a two-year, $8.7 million contract. Part of me thinks that, in this market, that's probably a good deal for a league-average 190-inning guy. The rest of me is elated that Dodger fans will have to put up with him for two years. Hoooooooo boy, welcome to my hell!

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2268648

I was looking at the calendar, and realized I'm long overdue to complain about this guy.

HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE?! How could Edgardo Alfonzo have become this? You remember him - the next big thing? I moved in with a Mets fan in the summer of 2000 and half our conversations were Kent vs. Alfonzo. We would weight Kent's superior power against Alfonzo's youth and defensive prowess and argue over which one was better today, and which was better tomorrow. While the former was always a split decision, we easily agreed that Alfonzo would be the better player in the future, considering that he was already one of the best players in the game at age 26.

Did you know that Alfonzo had 36 win shares in 2000? It was surpassed only by Kent's 37 and Giambi's 38 that year. By Bill James' own admission, the resolution of the win shares system is about three, meaning that one could argue that any one of these three guys was the BEST GODDAMNED PLAYER IN BASEBALL that year. If you had appeared in a puff of brimstone and told me and my roommate that Alfonzo would be manning third for the Giants in only a few years, one of us would have been crying, and, despite the practice I've had in the last half-dozen postseasons, it wouldn't have been me.

Here's some context: What if I were to tell you that, before the 2008 season, we would replace Barry Bonds with Miguel Cabrera? How would you feel? Thrilled, right? Okay, how would you feel if I told you that he did this?

  2008: .259/.334/.391
  2009: .289/.350/.407
  2010: .277/.327/.345

You'd tell me I was crazy. That's similar to what's happened to Alfonzo, except Alfonzo played a premium defensive position.

Okay, that's out of my system. I'm sure I'll be able to barely tolerate the amount of money we pay this guy until February... January 15 at the soonest.

I've been poking around baseballreference.com, looking at better years long since past, and again stumbled upon the player entry for Ron Bryant. If you don't recall, he was the slightly unhinged lefty (is there any other kind?) that won 24 games for the 1973 Giants. The following spring training, he injured his back in an accident involving a diving board and a metric ton of grain alcohol, and was soon out of baseball.

He also went to my high school, Davis, one that has had some success sending players to the NFL, but has never been known for its baseball players. Does anybody know what happened to him after his swift exit from the major leagues?

Okay, I think it's time to discuss awards, as the season has ended, but the postseason has yet to step in and alter our perceptions of our favorite (and other) players. I figured I'd start with league awards, highlighting all those deserving Giants, and then move on to Giants awards.

League Awards

Giants

Mike Matheny - Gold Glove - Catcher

In 2005, Mike Matheny was, by a comfortable margin, the best defensive player in baseball. Don't believe me?

http://www.hardballtimes.com/winshares/index.php?search=&linesToDisplay=100&sort=field&s ort2=WSAB&limit1=Team&limit2=Position&leagueLimit=Both

That's just one view, but he did a spectacular job in every defensive aspect of the position. (I do not include game-calling in this.) He blocked the plate, he threw out baserunners (not a huge percentage, but the entire staff is easy to run on), he had good hair for the highlight reel... everything. I hated this signing, but, at least for the first year, I have been incredibly wrong.

Okay, on to the other Giants deserving league awards! Ummmm... Noah Lowry could win a Silver Slugger... no, wait, damn! Jason Marquis was better! Okay, how about Omar Vizquel's Gold Glove? Well, he's a great choice, but Furcal and Wilson have better range and arms... okay... maybe we could give Barry another MVP, based on a five-year rolling average of his production? Sorry, just a thought...

Okay, congratulations, Mike! On to the rest of the awards!

NL
MVP - Pujols
      No way is Andruw Jones the MVP. Pujols finally gets one.
Cy Young - Dontrelle Willis
      Clemens was better on an inning-by-inning basis, but Dontrelle's higher number of innings pitched gives him the edge.
ROY - Zach Duke
      Zuuuuuke! ZUUUUUUUUUUUUUKE!
Gold Gloves
P - It doesn't really matter, Maddux, whoever
C - Matheny (whooooooo)
1B - Derek Lee (I love J.T. too, but Lee's got much better feet)
2B - Nobody. Screw 'em all. (PORN COP! PORN COP!)
3B - David Bell (This guy seriously needs some love)
SS - Jack Wilson (but we knew 2004 was a fluke)
LF - Cliff Floyd (Look, YOU try to find a defensive left fielder)
CF - Carlos Beltran
RF - Shawn Green (He throws hard or something)

AL
MVP - Ortiz
      I know A-Rod was actually a little better, but, really, fuck A-Rod.
Cy Young - Rivera
      Don't really know why. Lifetime achievement? Him or Buehrle. Santana rocks too.
ROY - Iguchi
      Really, I don't hate the A's. Iguchi was just more valuable than Street.
Gold Gloves
P - Heh, like it matters
C - Joe Mauer (It's time for Pudge to pass the torch)
1B - Mark Teixeira?
2B - Orlando Hudson (It kills me not to pick Brian Roberts, but really)
3B - Eric Chavez (See! I don't hate the A's!)
SS - Orlando Cabrera (Though win shares loves the Juan Uribe)
LF - Coco Crisp (Dude, his name is COCO CRISP)
CF - Vernon Wells
RF - Ichiro!

Giants MVP: Noah Lowry

This one was hard for me. There weren't too many good choices. It was Lowry, Vizquel, Matheny, or Alou (or possibly Eyre), but I felt it was no coincidence that Lowry's return to his rookie form coincided exactly with the Giants' "run." Also, he can rake.

Giants LVP: Kirk Rueter

Gosh, I love the guy. I think he's one of the most fascinating players I've ever seen. For a guy with his complete lack of "stuff" to spend some thirteen years as a league-average MLB starter is simply astonishing. That said, he was really terrible this year. Honorable mention: Alex Sanchez

Willie McCovey award: J. T. Snow

I thought there was something special about the way he accepted his reduced playing time but continued to be a leader in the clubhouse. J. T. is a pretty classy guy. Honorable mention: Scott Eyre, Brad Hennessey

Giants ROY: Matt Cain

The rest of 'em are a bunch of stiffs. OPEN CAINDAY!

I like J.T. Snow, but I try to be realistic about his value, as a first baseman cannot play defense well enough to make up for a sub-.400 slugging percentage. Still, last year was great, and he's always fun to watch around the bag. His ability to scoop up a throw while keeping his little toe on the bag is the best I've ever seen.

I had no idea how good he was, though. Check this out - you'll have to scroll down most of the way to the bottom:

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/ten-things-i-didnt-know-last-week17/

Just for the record, Linden's stats in Fresno (so far) this year:

62 G
224 AB
56 R
73 H
21 2B
2 3B
19 HR
58 RBI
155 TB
47 BB
57 K
6 SB
1 CS
.326 AVG
.446 OBP
.692 SLG

... and one hell of a Mickey Mantle impression. This is over 63 team games (not counting Monday, when I believe he was on a flight to Minnesota). Projected to 162 team games, that's 188 hits, 49 HR, 149 RBI, 121 BB, 147 K, and 15 SB (with 3 CS).

Let's hope he doesn't press too much and just keeps doing what got him here.

I noticed that Blez over at Athletics Nation interviewed Daric Barton and Kurt Suzuki, who is dreamy, but not half as dreamy as Vizquel. Here are the interviews:

http://www.athleticsnation.com/story/2005/6/8/222713/1039
http://www.athleticsnation.com/story/2005/6/6/15034/50224

We also would love to read such stories! Interview a San Jose or Fresno player and I'll bake you cookies and give you beer. Please mention nougat in your interviews.

The rest of this thread will be about the questions Grant should ask the players he interviews.

The lefty with the unnerving grimace turns 39 today. Happy birthday to one of the most promising talents to pitch for the Giants in my lifetime. Here was a guy who could carry a no-hitter into the ninth one day, and walk six guys the next. He taught me a lot of what I know about pulling my hair out during ballgames, and prepared me for such life events as the Rise and Fall of Shawn Estes.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/w/wilsotr01.shtml

What's he up to, anyway? Isn't he the pitching coach for a low minors team?

The Orioles pick high school catcher/shortstop Brandon Snyder with the thirteenth pick. High school catchers are very, very risky, but this guy is supposed to be a fantastic athlete. Sickels' comments:

"Snyder may be my favorite high school hitter this year."

"How many catcher/shortstops do you see? It says loads about his athleticism, and he has a good bat too."

What else do we know about him?

I swear I read all of Bill James' "Win Shares." I'm certain that not one of the equations included "veteran savvy" or "intangibles." Still, you'll be surprised by our early season win shares leaders:

http://www.hardballtimes.com/winshares/index.php?search=&linesToDisplay=50&sort=team&sor t2=total&limit1=SF&limit2=Position&leagueLimit=NL

In other news, what does Scott Eyre have to do to get a little love? He's no B.J. Ryan, not even close, but he's been damn fine so far.

Oh, and DYG. DYVM.

The latest report from Jayson Stark is really, really not promising.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2063397

"When is Barry Bonds coming back?

"There is no answer because Bonds, according to a number of sources, is attached to an I.V. full of antibiotics 24 hours a day -- with no end to that ordeal in sight."

This is news, right? I mean, we knew that he was battling an infection, but immobilized?

Ugh.

After he used six pitchers in a 6-3 victory over Houston on Thursday night, Alou declared he really does not like to change pitchers and would prefer not to make that walk from the dugout to the mound as often as he does.

"I wish I could just sit on a rocking chair," he said. "Just bring me a rocking chair into the dugout. That would be perfect for me at my age, 70 years old today, with a good pillow for my (backside)."

However, haunted by what he believed to be the spirits of batters laid low by Robb Nen, the "Closer that Won the West," the eccentric septegenarian would not let his pitchers stop warming up. "I hear them at night, the rotator cuffs, the elbow ligaments, asking me why? Why us? This quiets the ghoulish caterwauls, if only for a few innings," he moaned, grinding his cane into the infield dirt.

Alou cocked his head slightly to the left. "Neifi, is that... no... no, don't make me..." Trembling, wide-eyed, a gaunt hand extended toward the bullpen. "Give me... Christiansen..."

Briane Mazone, Oscar Montero and Guillermo Rodriguez have been suspended for steroid violations, as well as Joshua Cram, who had already been released.

"I hope that today's announcement will send a message that the use of performance enhancing drugs is unacceptable and that major league baseball is serious about removing them from our game," Sabean said.

http://sports.espn.go.com/minorlbb/news/story?id=2058907

I'm not the closest follower of our "prospects," but I don't know any of these guys. Does anybody have dirt on them?