Notes: Albert Pujols, Power Rankings, Prospects

• As of 1/17/2010, the Giants are projected by the Hardball Times to lead the majors with 96 wins.
• According to a tweet from Buster Olney, the Giants could be a possibility to sign Albert Pujols in 2011. Aaron Rowand and Barry Zito will still be on the books next year, and the Giants will have two first basemen in Brandon Belt (assuming he lives up to the hype) and Aubrey Huff (although he'll move to OF if Belt takes over first). I just don't really see Pujols in a Giants uni'...
• Splashing Pumpkins participated with other blogs in the MLBBlogBuzz in voting on Power Rankings. Check out the final power rankings for 2011. The Giants ranked 5th. 
• If you're into sabermetrics and enjoyed the FIP video I posted earlier, Bradley Woodrum made another installment -- about LOB%. 
• Dr. B of When the Giants Come to Town has released his 2011 Top 50 Giants Prospects list. 
• Happy 26th Birthday Emmanuel Burriss!

Giants to Rely on In-House Options for Infield Depth

Good. I'm sick of this. Yes, Mike Fontenot has a terrible arm for a shortstop. Yes, Emmanuel Burriss has little durability, a weak bat, and his defense at shortstop is mediocre at best. And Mark DeRosa, of course, doesn't profile well at shortstop, not to mention the impact his wrist injury probably had on his power.

But who cares? I think I can live with a backup shortstop with a weak arm. People love to bring up age: and guess what? Miguel Tejada is going to be turning 37 next year. Does that mean that, suddenly, after playing 150+ games in 11 of the past 12 seasons, he will incur a plethora of injuries that will limit him to 60 games this year? There's no evidence to support that. He's been consistently durable throughout his career.

And in the event that Tejada becomes injured to the point where the Giants might actually need a backup shortstop to start more than 12 games, the Giants can go out and execute a trade for a shortstop, or pick one of these free agent shortstops up (it's possible that many of them won't receive contracts). In reality though, these backup shortstop options (Orlando Cabrera?! Bobby Crosby?!) are really not going to be much better than Mike Fontenot.

Please do me a favor, and stop throwing names out there like Bobby Crosby, who has managed to compile -1.3 WAR in 167 games over the past two seasons. He's just Burriss with less speed, and a little more pop in his bat.

Giants Have Interest in Renteria....Seriously?

According to John Shea, there's mutual interest between the San Francisco Giants and their World Series hero Edgar Renteria.

Let's see here...the Giants have Mike Fontenot on a one-year deal. He can play short and second. They have Freddy Sanchez as their starting second baseman. They have Pablo Sandoval starting at third, and Miguel Tejada starting at short (he can also play third). Then they have Mark DeRosa at the utility role. He can play both middle infield positions that Renteria would supposedly play (shortstop, where he's lived his entire career, and second base, a position to which he recently said he's willing to switch). Then, of course, there's the younger guys, who to be honest, probably aren't the best options: Emmanuel Burriss and Ryan Rohlinger.

So to review...at short we have Tejada, Fontenot, and DeRosa. Do the Giants really need a fourth shortstop? And if so, are Burriss and Rohlinger truly incapable of being viable fourth shortstop options?

Then we have Sanchez, Fontenot, and DeRosa at second. Do the Giants really need a fourth second baseman? And if so, are Burriss and Rohlinger truly incapable of being viable fourth second baseman options?

The Giants don't really need another middle infielder. On top of that, it's simply a waste of money to sign Renteria again. Renteria has constantly battled injuries, he's not that fast anymore, his defense is quite mediocre, he's old, he can't hit for power, he can't hit for a high average, and he'd likely cost more than Burriss and Rohlinger combined. Plus, Burriss gives the Giants speed off of the bench.

So...I truly believe that Renteria will NOT man a Giants uniform next season. And if he does...well, I can't even begin to understand what is wrong with the Giants management.

More Offseason Talk....

Andrew Baggarly, San Jose Mercury News beat-writer notes:

A lot of folks might assume the Giants are no longer interested in trading for Jason Bartlett, or to a lesser extent, J.J. Hardy and Marco Scutaro. Don’t be so sure of that yet. Remember, the front office has threatened Sandoval with a demotion to Triple-A Fresno to start the year if he doesn’t make progress in his conditioning this offseason. You can’t make a threat like that without having alternatives on the roster, and considering how important defense will be to their pitching-centric club, Tejada is a better fit at third base, anyway.

Well, it's not the case. As recently noted by none other than Andrew Baggarly, the Giants aren't in on Bartlett. He says, "Now I'm hearing Giants are out on a Jason Bartlett trade. They had $5-7 million budgeted for a starting SS and spent it on Tejada." So we're back to square one. The Giants will need shortstop depth. I just don't think Emmanuel Burriss is a decent backup shortstop. And Brandon Crawford just isn't ready...


I suppose it's a good thing that Tejada was acquired to be a starting shortstop (rather than a backup plan at third base), in that it actually somewhat justified his $6.5MM contract. But this means the Giants are still lacking depth at short, and not seeking to fix that with a Hardy, Scutaro, or a Bartlett. Unless of course, they tender Mike Fontenot a contract. I guess I could see him as a backup shortstop. He produced negative WAR with the Giants in 2010, and I've never been too fond of him (he doesn't stand out in any categories: speed, defense, average, power), but as a backup shortstop, I suppose he'll do.

I'm curious as to what the Giants' next moves are...do they need another outfield reserve, like Pat Burrell? Or is it enough to have Aaron Rowand, Cody Ross, Andres Torres, Nate Schierholtz, and Aubrey Huff?

For the price I'm not interested, but Lance Berkman is intriguing. He wants to play outfield or first base, both of which, I suppose he would add depth to (although the Giants are really not in need of a first-baseman). With a resurgence of the bat, he would be the new-and-improved Pat the Bat. Seriously. He takes walks, he has Burrell-like power, and he's a switch hitter. With dedication to fitness, he'd be as good as Burrell in the outfield. But again, too much money, aging, and there's the injury risk. An intriguing name for discussion, though, I suppose...thoughts?

Are the Giants going to get a Matt Stairs? A hitter whose primary, and pretty much only role is to be the pinch-hitter? That was the goal with Burrell, but he sort of forced his way into the starting lineup. I wonder if the Giants will try to get this. Maybe Russell Branyan or a Mike Sweeney? Probably not, though. They have an excess of position players, with Whiteside, Burriss, Rowand, Schierholtz, Ishikawa, and possibly Fontenot.

My guess at the starters for 2011:
C Posey
1B Huff
2B Sanchez
SS Tejada
3B Sandoval
LF DeRosa
CF Torres
RF Ross

So, I think the Giants are pretty much done with their offseason shopping. Some possible bench bats...names for discussion: Branyan, Sweeney, Berkman, any others? I'm interested to hear what your thoughts are...

More Pablo Sandoval...

In a recent article, Mychael Urban said the following:

Pablo Sandoval simply can’t be counted on at this point, so it’s not absurd to see the Giants going with a left-side tag team of Uribe and Tejada, with a little Mark DeRosa and Manny Burriss on the side.

Seriously? I know Pablo Sandoval had a disappointing season, but I find the notion to be ridiculous: that Miguel Tejada, Mark DeRosa, or Emmanuel Burriss are better options than Sandoval playing alongside Juan Uribe. Let's do a little comparison...for the sake of making this unbiased, I will use anonymity...I refuse to even include Burriss in this, because it should be obvious that Sandoval is a better option than him. Burriss has played mediocre defense in his career at short, and has a career slash line of .264/.329/.302; yes, I'm not making this up. Burriss has a career SLG of .302...oh yeah, and he's injury-prone. Let's move on here...

Listed are the following players' 2010 slash lines along with their current ages...

Player A: .194/.279/.258, injured for most of 2010, current age: 35
Player B: .268/.323/.409, current age: 24
Player C: .269/.312/.381, current age: 36

Hmm...so it appears that player B put up similar numbers to player C in 2010, with one exception. Player C is 12 years older. It should be pretty obvious who these players are, but in case you are unaware, A is DeRosa, B is Sandoval, and C is Tejada.

DeRosa is an injury risk, and was terrible when he played in 2010. Even assuming a full recovery, his upside is minimal -- he'll probably max out at 15 home runs, and that's at best. Meanwhile, his third base defense is mediocre, with a career UZR/150 of -5.7, as is his shortstop defense (career UZR/150 of -1.5). So, yes, it's absurd to think that DeRosa is a better option than Sandoval. Oh yeah, and to reiterate, he's 35 years old.

Now Tejada has only played third base in one season, 2010, and he produced -6.9 UZR. Just awful. In all fairness, though, small sample size. At shortstop, however, he has played thousands of games, and his career UZR/150 of -3.4 is mediocre. His offense, meanwhile, was slightly worse than Sandoval's, due to a nauseating 4.4% walk rate, and slightly less power than Sandoval. Oh yeah, and he's 36. Plus, he'd cost extra money because he's a free agent, whereas the Giants already have Sandoval and DeRosa for 2011.

Keep in mind, also, that Sandoval is due for a resurgence. I recommend that you look into this for further reading.

If Sandoval gains another 20 pounds this offseason, and comes back looking like Mo Vaughn in 2003, then yes, send him to the minors. But at this point, taking into account that he's due for at least a slight resurgence, that he has less of an injury history than DeRosa/Burriss, that he's younger than DeRosa/Tejada, and that he's never played atrocious defense, at least by UZR standards (career UZR/150 of -0.5 at third base), he's a better option to play alongside Uribe than DeRosa/Burriss/Tejada.

People are too quick to lose faith in players. Remember in August, when people thought Tim Lincecum's career was quickly coming to an end? Exercise patience, people. Sandoval's 2010 production was that of an average third baseman. He needs to lose weight, but that doesn't mean he's not worthy of the starting job at third.

San Francisco Giants Take Second Game in LA Series, 2-1

Matt Cain pitched a great game. What's new? He dueled with Billingsley for seven innings for a line of: 7 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 5 K. The game was scoreless until the 7th inning: Ishikawa doubled with one out, Burriss pinch ran for him and advanced to third on a wild pitch, and after a Velez groundout, Fontenot stepped to the plate in a two-out RISP position (runner on third). He battled and blooped an inside pitch into the outfield for an RBI single. With a 1-0 lead, Sergio Romo, who has been a fantastic setup man for the Giants, came into the game and retired the side in order. The Giants were not done scoring yet, though. In the 8th, Huff led off with a double, followed by an intentional walk to Buster Posey. After Juan Uribe flied out to shallow centerfield, Pablo Sandoval, whose biggest weakness has been his high amount GIDP (grounded into double plays), stepped to the plate. The Giants caught a break when Jansen, the Dodgers' reliever, threw a wild pitch, which allowed Posey and Huff to each advance. This eliminated the double play possibility for the Giants, which was key, as Sandoval promptly hit a groundball to second base. The throw came home and Huff sped home, taking a hard slide into the plate and scoring a second run for the Giants. He clearly took a hard hit to the shins with the slide, but nevertheless slid with all of his force, exemplifying his eagerness for a ticket to the postseason. The run would be important, as Wilson gave up a two-out opposite-field solo home run to Ethier in the bottom of the 9th. Wilson fell behind quickly to the next batter, Jay Gibbons, but worked a 2-0 count into a full count and threw 98 mph gas to strike him out swinging, bringing the Giants to a half-game deficit in both the NL West and the NL Wild Card.

The Giants' little guys -- their supplemental players -- are making the difference in these games. Ishikawa hit a pinch-hit double, Emmanuel Burriss pinch ran for him, and Fontenot knocked in the run. These contributions from bench players are the things that will win these close ballgames for the Giants - and they really have a great collection of bench players. Their speed is good in Ford, Burriss, and Velez, and they have competent left-handed hitters and defensive replacements in Ishikawa and Schierholtz. Also, Fontenot's left-handed bat is a perfect complement for Freddy Sanchez's bat (Sanchez is a much better against lefties: .348 against lefties, but just .270 against rightys.) These players become especially key in the wake of Andres Torres' appendectomy.

Notes:

• The Giants have now won 10 of Matt Cain's last 12 starts. 
• The Giants' 1.63 team ERA this month is the best mark in the majors. 
• Over the last 16 games, the Giants pitchers have been on fire with a 2.04 ERA. 12 of their last 16 outings have been quality starts. 
• The Andre Ethier home run was just the second earned run allowed by Brian Wilson in 20.0 innings since August 1. 
• Brian Wilson recorded his 43rd save...this number ranks 1st in the National League, and is tied for 1st in the majors with Rafael Soriano....Wilson now stands just five saves away from Rod Beck's SF record of 48 saves in a single season. He has nine 4+ out saves this year, an indication of his stamina as a closer. 
• Congratulations to Aubrey Huff on his newborn child!

Tomorrow: Battle of the Southpaws - Jonathan Sanchez will square off against Ted Lilly. The Giants bat a collective .229 (35 for 153) against Lilly in their careers. Believe it or not, the Giant that owns the best career numbers against Lilly is Rowand, who is 8 for 22 (.364) with a home run. Sanchez has been incredible to watch lately. He's allowed just one earned run over his last three starts (20 innings), despite walking seven in his last start. Hopefully, he'll continue to pitch well - consistency isn't his strong suit...

If the Rockies and the Giants both win tomorrow, the Giants will claim sole possession of first place in the NL West. It's not out of the question: Ubaldo Jimenez will be on the mound for the Rockies. 

Bruce Bochy - "Right now, we can't count on Andres. He just had the surgery. We have to move on. We have some good players here. I hope they respond well to some playing time."

Future Focus

September call-ups will be in a few weeks, so I thought it would be interesting to see the projections for possible September call-ups. I used a Minor League Equivalency Calculator to figure out what their stats might be in the majors, based on their performance thus far. This is of course all theoretical, but it might still be interesting to see:

These are the projections (note - they clearly will not get this many AB in the majors this year). Belt is currently with the AA Richmond Flying Squirrels, but the other four are in Fresno AAA:

Jesus Guzman: 358 AB, 41 R, 96 H, 14 2B, 12 HR, 41 RBI, 25 BB, 51 K, .269/.316/.412

Brett Pill: 430 AB, 42 R, 102 H, 24 2B, 12 HR, 57 RBI, 19 BB, 60 K, .239/.272/.380

Tyler Graham: 274 AB, 41 R, 84 H, 17 2B, 2 HR, 29 RBI, 18 BB, 45 K, .307/.339/.397, 30 SB, 9 CS

Emmanuel Burriss: 185 AB, 14 R, 48 H, 7 2B, 0 HR, 11 RBI, 7 BB, 19 K, .258/.284/.302, 5 SB, 6 CS

Brandon Belt: 144 AB, 15 R, 39 H, 6 2B, 5 HR, 24 RBI, 11 BB, 31 K, .274/.328/.483

Other notable names that I didn't do calculations for:

Conor Gillaspie, Richmond Flying Squirrels, .292/.342/.419

Thomas Neal, Richmond Flying Squirrels, .293/.361/.437

I have no idea whether any of these players will be called up. The Giants do appear to have a promising future, though, in terms of hitting.

Giants Lose Opener Against Padres

The Giants took a tough 3-2 loss against the Padres on Friday as they dropped to 3.5 GB in the NL West.

Sanchez started strong, firing bullets in the first inning. He gave up an early double to Jerry Hairston Jr. but then settled down to yield a Miguel Tejada fielder's choice and strike out Adrian Gonzalez and Ryan Ludwick.

The Giants took an early 2-0 lead thanks to their catalyst, Andres Torres. He walked, then attempted to steal 2nd. Torrealba's throw was high and allowed Torres to get all the way around to 3rd. Huff eventually hit an RBI double, followed by a Posey single and a Pat Burrell RBI ground out.

The Padres, however, wasted no time responding. Jonathan Sanchez hit Yorvit Torreabla, then gave up an RBI triple to Chase Headley and a sac fly to Scott Hairston.

The game would remain tied until the 6th, when, with runners at 2nd and 3rd, Chase Headley hit a groundball to Juan Uribe. He decided to throw home, but the runner was safe. That run would be the difference in the game for the Padres, as the Giants failed to put up any more runs.

Notes:

• Jerry Hairston Jr. made 2 baserunning blunders in the game. In the 1st, on a groundball to Uribe, he tried to advance to third but Uribe caught him in a pickle and he was eventually tagged out. In the 3rd, he tried to steal 2nd, but got caught midway and tried to turn back. He was caught in a pickle once again, and actually injured himself.
• The Padres played the game under protest. Denorfia hit a groundball that bounced off Jonathan Sanchez and rolled towards Freddy Sanchez. Freddy tried to get to the ball, but was obstructed by Scott Hairston. The umpires called him out, and the runner on third, who ran home on the play, was not credited with a run. Ultimately, this play didn't matter, as the Padres won anyway.
• Pat Burrell is a very slow baserunner, and he doesn't help himself out with the leads he takes. He took a small one-step lead at 1st, and a groundball was hit to short. Miguel Tejada bobbled it, but was still able to throw Burrell out at 2nd. Had Pat taken a lead just one step bigger, he would've been safe, and the Giants would've had runners at 1st and 2nd with no outs. The toll his speed takes on his defense is also very noticeable.
• On a ball hit to 3rd, Pablo Sandoval caught Adrian Gonzalez in a pickle and chased him towards home, eventually diving and tagging him. He did a face-plant, and momentarily hurt himself. The dive was the kind of maneuver that got him the nickname "Kung Fu Panda" but was ultimately the result of his speed; the Pablo Sandoval from a year ago wouldn't have needed to do an all-out dive to tag Adrian Gonzalez.

• In the 6th inning, Jonathan Sanchez threw a pitch that would've been wild (thus allowing a run to score) had it not been for the defensive prowess of Buster Posey. He miraculously caught the pitch. It's no wonder Aubrey Huff calls him "Jesus Christ."
• On the topic of Buster Posey, he nailed yet another man stealing, Chris Denorfia. After nailing Hairston Jr. and Denorfia, he's now caught 14 stealing this year. It's going to be a tough decision - deciding whether to keep Posey at catcher or move him to 1st base. His defense is an asset in addition to his offense, but putting him at catcher will undoubtedly hinder his offensive output and longevity. This season, Joe Mauer is battling a plethora of injuries, and his offensive numbers show it. Does Posey really have to suffer the same fate?
• One more note about Posey, his average has dropped from .350 to .329 this month. Is it just a coincidence that the Giants have not been playing as well in August as they did in July, when Posey was on fire? Definitely not a coincidence...
• Aubrey Huff absolutely crushed a ball in the 8th inning that would have given the Giants a 1-run lead. It was caught, up against the wall in right-center, and Huff was understandably furious. It could have at least tied the game, had the outfielders been positioned differently.
• Huff made a great diving stop at first in the game. His versatility (LF, RF, 1B) has been invaluable to the Giants this year, and he can actually do good work with the glove at all three positions.
• Freddy Sanchez grounded into a double play. The Giants just can't stop grounding into double plays. It's a curse. They are on pace to shatter the franchise record.
• Uribe's decision to throw home when the groundball was hit to him with runners in scoring position was ultimately the right decision, even though the runner was safe. Given the strength of the Padres' bullpen, it was probable that the Giants wouldn't score many more runs and thus couldn't afford to give away a run by just throwing the runner out at first.
• Guillermo Mota and Jose Guillen are friends. This comes as absolutely no surprise to me. The two have eerily similar personalities on the field.
• The magic of the orange uniforms, in which the Giants had sustained a perfect record of 10-0, is gone. Even its magic wasn't powerful enough to overcome the Padres.
• Freddy Sanchez and Aaron Rowand should not be penciled in the starting lineup. Ever. Burriss could've started in Sanchez's place and would've upgraded the Giants' running game, with Fontenot or Schierholtz as potential pinch runners for later innings. Ishikawa could've started at 1st, with Huff in RF, Burrell in LF, and Torres in CF. This would've given the Giants a better defense and a better offensive lineup. Aaron Rowand played a sloppy game, getting caught stealing third (picked off) and slipping on center field dirt. He was the final batter of the game, and that was possibly the worst decision ever, as he was facing Heath Bell, a pitcher with a great slider and a great curveball. Those are the two pitches that haunt Rowand the most. If Burriss and Ishikawa had played, it would've been an entirely different game.
• Jonathan Sanchez's start was not that great, but it wasn't terrible. He brought his A-game in the first inning, but couldn't rediscover that magic. At first, he was getting ahead in the count, and had a great fastball going. He walked too many batters though.
• Momentum is said to be a factor with teams. The Giants had momentum going into this series, after winning 3 of 4 and winning their most recent game with a walk-off. Unfortunately, the Padres had more momentum, a 4-game winning streak. It's improved to 5 games now.
• Aaron Rowand is most likely doomed to repeat his history and have his average drop for the rest of the season. Even though he's been better of late, he will likely not sustain that:

The Giants will now have an uphill battle, and will not be able to recapture first place during this series. And, I just want to mention, I was wrong. The Giants didn't do too well against Richard. If they are going to win any games this series, they need to attack the starting pitching, because the trio of Gregerson/Adams/Bell is impenetrable.

Tomorrow: Giants face Mat Latos. They will have to work hard offensively, because he can pitch. The Giants bat a collective .192 against him (10 for 52), but Pablo Sandoval is 3 for 9. Sandoval can drive this offense tomorrow. If not, Latos will replicate the shutout he threw earlier this year at AT&T Park. Madison Bumgarner will start for the Giants, and he'll do just fine, facing an offense whose biggest threat is a left-handed hitter. The Giants need to score off of Latos. They need to.

Let me just reiterate, I am not optimistic about the Jose Guillen acquisition. Those who say that the Giants have nothing to lose with his acquisition have no idea what they are talking about. We do have something to lose: baseball games. And if Guillen plays poor defense, and doesn't do a good job at hitting, he will be contributing to many Giants losses. Of course, if he does hit well, it will be good for the Giants, and they will have a very deep bench with Fontenot, Schierholtz, Ishikawa, and Rowand. I think that immediately putting him in the starting lineup is too risky for the Giants. Ishikawa has proven to perform well against RHP while playing great defense. The Giants didn't rush Pat Burrell like that, yet he emerged as a powerful offensive force. The Giants should do the same with Guillen, make him prove himself first, lest they repeat what happened with Ryan Garko last year.

Remember last week in Atlanta, when Tim Hudson dominated the Giants? Well, don't feel too bad. He did the same to the Dodgers on Friday: 8 innings, 3 hits, 0 ER, 6 K, 14 groundballs. It's nice to know that even when the Giants lose, we can take solace in the fact that the Dodgers suck.

Giants Acquire Jose Guillen

The Giants acquired Jose Guillen for a PTBNL and cash.

MLB Trade Rumors: "The Giants acquired outfielder Jose Guillen from the Royals for a player to be named later and cash. The Royals, who gave Guillen an ill-advised three-year, $36MM deal in December of 2007, designated Guillen for assignment on August 5th. Guillen still has $3.39MM left on his contract, but the Royals are covering some of that, according to a press release. The 34-year-old is hitting .255/.314/.429 on the season with 16 home runs in 437 plate appearances. He has logged only 169 innings in right field, so playing him regularly in the outfield would be risky. The Giants probably don't have an everyday role in mind for Guillen anyway - there's no reason he should supplant Pat Burrell, Andres Torres, Aubrey Huff, or Travis Ishikawa."

Emmanuel Burriss will likely be sent down to make room, thus leaving Nate Schierholtz as the only viable pinch-running option.

Jose Guillen's stats are as follows: .255, 16 HR, 396 AB

For comparison, here's Ryan Garko's stats from '09 before the Giants got him: .285, 11 HR, 239 AB

Guillen's slash line is: 255/.314/.429

Garko's slash line: .285/.362/.464

Let's not look too much into Guillen's history of power numbers:

SF Chronicle: "Veteran major-league outfielder Jose Guillen, who played part of the 2003 season for the division-champion A's, bought thousands of dollars of steroids and human growth hormone from a troubled Florida anti-aging clinic and had some of the drugs shipped to the Oakland Coliseum, business records show."

Guillen might benefit from a switch to the NL, which is said to be the weaker league, but with pitchers like Strasburg, Jimenez, and Johnson emerging this year as seemingly unstoppable forces, this might not be true anymore.

About Jose Guillen's personality, here's Extra Baggs on the matter:

"Guillen, well … there’s a reason he’ll be playing for his 10th major league team. But when we spoke to Bruce Bochy about Guillen on the last road trip, he was a huge proponent to add him to the roster. The skipper must feel he can keep Guillen in line, with help from his veterans. That’s good, because that’s exactly the challenge he has now."

Hopefully, Guillen will not ruin the great clubhouse chemistry that has been built that has allowed the Giants to win 25 of their last 35. And hopefully, he'll actually contribute, maybe hit a few home runs down the stretch. That might be worth it.

The Giants will be Guillen's 10th team:

1. Pirates
2. Devil Rays
3. Diamondbacks
4. Reds
5. A's
6. Angels
7. Nationals
8. Mariners
9. Royals
10. Giants

I have heard from sources that Guillen will be the everday right fielder with Huff moving to first. If this is true, Bruce Bochy has no clue what he's doing. Assuming Guillen starts in all of the Giants' remaining games, his defense will probably cost them 12 runs or so. This would be worth it, if his bat more than made up for it, but it doesn't. He'll be taking playing time away from Ishikawa, who tears up RHP.

Ishikawa vs. Right Handed Pitchers in 2010: .316/.363/.482

Guillen vs. Right Handed Pitchers in 2010: .264/.311/.462

Is Guillen really a better option for the starting lineup than Ishikawa, with his inferior hitting, atrocious defense, and his carcinogenic clubhouse attitude? I think not. Unfortunately, Bruce Bochy disagrees with me.

Giants Acquire Mike Fontenot

Giants acquired Mike Fontenot from the Chicago Cubs today in a trade. They gave up low-A outfielder Evan Crawford.

As you can see from his stats, he has absolutely no power and absolutely no speed. His fielding value for the year is negative. Frankly, Emmanuel Burriss with his speed and defense and Juan Uribe with his power would be better options as starting 2B and SS. I guess Fontenot is better than Sanchez, and will add depth while Renteria is out, but he honestly has no value as a starter. Even his platoon splits are not all that amazing despite the fact that he bats left handed (.286 vs. L, .284 vs. R). And his walk rate is mediocre. He's projected to bat .270 the rest of the season with 2 HR in 110 AB, but I would be surprised if he hit 2 HR during the remainder of the season, considering the fact that he only has 1 so far.

To summarize Fontenot: mediocre walk rate, horrible power, fielding, and speed.

Who knows, though? Miracles can happen. We've seen players unexpectedly perform well with the Giants. I'll let his bat, glove, and legs do the talking, but I don't expect much. Hopefully he won't be the next Ryan Garko.

The good: he has a high P/PA (pitches/plate appearance), and complements Sanchez, who cannot hit rightys at all (.232 avg); If he can even somewhat recapture that 2008 season while platooning, he'll be beneficial to the Giants.

What we gave up: Evan Crawford, an outfielder at Single A Augusta. He's batting .255 on the year with 4 HR in 432 AB. We don't appear to have given up much, thankfully.

Todd Wellemeyer DFA'd. Emmanuel Burriss up from Fresno.

Todd Wellemeyer was designated for assignment (one day after my post about how he is terrible) in order to make room for Emmanuel Burriss. One day after my post disparaging Bautista, he's DFA'd. One day after my post disparaging Wellemeyer, he's DFA'd. Magical stuff going on here....

MLB Trade Rumors: The 31-year-old has a season ERA of 5.68 with 6.3 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9 in 58.2 innings. Wellemeyer was a fixture in the Giants rotation before a quadriceps injury sidelined him for much of June and all of July. He makes $1MM this year and hits free agency after the season. Last night's performance and his quad injury will likely limit interest in Wellemeyer.

About Burriss: He's batting .295 this year with 6 stolen bases in 183 AB. He was also caught stealing 5 times though. He projects to be a .258 hitter without much power but his speed will be very useful, as the Giants have only one other player who can steal bases (Torres). Hopefully, Bochy will no longer pinch hit using Matt Cain, now that he has another player on the bench.