Official 2023 San Francisco Giants Off-Season Thread - Jung Hoo Lee signs with SF 6-years $113 Million

[dland24]

:

Gregor Blank-O

I can't dislike the guy. He's not a major league starter. The Giants were doomed from the start with this outfield. Team makes too much money not to get a legit left fielder.

Agreed.  I actually like Gregor Blanco as a 4th outfielder.  But the way Sabean constructed this team was just a disaster from the start.  Signing Torres to platoon with Blanco was absolutely idiotic.  And as much as I strongly believe that Pagan's contract was exponentially too large, if we had a good left fielder, it wouldn't have mattered (obviously if he stayed healthy). 

If there is anything negative that came with winning the two World Series titles in the last 3 years, its that Brian Sabean has job security.  I strongly believe that he should have been fired YEARS ago, and the fact that he got lucky with his typical Sabean moves, pretty much saved his job.  If we fail to make the postseason this year and next year, I will be back on the fire Sabean bandwagon.

 

[jumpmanfromdabay]

Problem is we didn't upgrade in LF before season started. We had Melky for 3/4 of the season last year!

 

[jumpmanfromdabay]

Gregor Blank-O

I can't dislike the guy. He's not a major league starter. The Giants were doomed from the start with this outfield. Team makes too much money not to get a legit left fielder.

Out of anybody who's played LF this year for us, I take him 70% of the time

 

[dland24]

Once again, I come back to Brett Pill.  Why isnt this guy given a REAL shot, given our offensive struggles?  Dude is absolutely RAKING in AAA.  It just really bothers me that he has never really gotten the opportunity to play everyday, and we give Brandon Belt every chance in the world.  I understand this is a business, and there is money invested in Belt and not Pill.....but if you dont want to bench Belt, why not stick Pill in left field?  Give him a chance to play every day for a couple/few weeks.  Lets see what he can do!

 

[dland24]

On a related note, we never really gave Nate Schierholtz a chance to play every day either, and I wonder why.  He was a highly touted a prospect as Belt is.  Yet, he didnt get a real shot with us.  And look at what he is doing in Chicago.  He is going to finish the season with 20+ jacks.

 

[lazyj10]

Didn't Nate get a few long oppurtunities though? I recall a 0-25 type run.

I think that, plus him speaking out sealed his fate.

 

[dland24]

Based strictly off of memory, Nate never got a Brandon Belt type shot.  He was never run out there on an everyday basis like Belt has.  I find that very interesting because you cant use the money excuse with him, as he was a 2nd round pick.

 

[dland24]

[h1]Are the Giants suffering from Curse of the Dawg?[/h1]
by Paul Gackle | July 25, 2013

•  

Are the baseball gods punishing the Giants for removing their most notorious fan from the front rows of the left field bleachers?

Everyone has an explanation for why the defending World Series champions are struggling this year, but if you listen to the bleacher bums in section 139, the Curse of the Dawg is the only plausible answer.

If you're a real Giants fan, you don't need an introduction to Dawg, aka Tim Perrin of Concord. You've met the scruffy landscaper through broadcaster Mike Krukow, you remember when he was the Chicken Man during the Barry Bonds years, and you may have noticed his absence from left field since May 12, the day he reached over the fence and interfered with a flyball off the bat of Marco Scutaro.

At the time, the Giants were seven games above .500 and sitting in first place in the National League West standings.

After his ejection, Dawg said, an awful feeling sank into the pit of his stomach.

"I knew I'd messed up," Dawg said. "I felt that bad I did that — I should know better."

When Dawg, 54, returned for the Giants' next home game, he was told he could no longer take his seat up front. If he wanted to attend the game, he'd be watching from the 25th row.

The May 12 incident was Dawg's second strike; he'd interfered with a ground-rule double by J.T. Snow eight years earlier and he wasn't getting another mulligan.

Dawg, who's been a fixture at Giants games since he was in his teens in the mid-1970s, left the park with hurt feelings and hasn't returned.

A week after the incident, Ryan Vogelsong broke his right hand while batting, and three days later, Angel Pagan suffered a hamstring strain that has turned into a long-term issue. In the weeks that followed, Pablo Sandoval, Santiago Casilla, Chad Gaudin, Joaquin Arias and Jeremy Affeldt joined them on the disabled list. Entering Wednesday's game, the Giants had compiled a 22-34 record without Dawg.

Curse or no curse, the fans in left field say the experience just isn't the same without the team's No. 1 fan, which is why they're wearing orange T-shirts that say "Free the Dawg."

He adds to the atmosphere, they say, using props, like his tape measure (for home runs), magnifying glass (close calls), hook (when pitchers get pulled) and rabbit ears (when he knows the left fielder is listening to his heckles). Whenever the Giants get a hit, he runs down the front row and slaps everyone's hands; if they draw a walk, he walks.

"He's my family," said season ticket holder Sylvia Lowtznhiser. "Where is he? I miss him terribly."

Even the ushers, who claim hundreds of fans have asked about Dawg since his departure, are confused.

"He's probably given us less problems than anybody," said an usher, who asked not to be named out of fear of retribution. "He doesn't drink, he just has fun. He puts a lot of smiles in the stands."

The Giants say Dawg is free to attend games; he just can't sit up front. Dawg has offered to return without his glove, promising to stay away from the wall when the ball is hit to left field. Can a compromise be reached?

"He'd cut off his arm before he'd do that again," the usher said.

Maybe the Giants are cursed or, perhaps, they have just run out of luck after an incredible three-year run. But at this point, they might want to take Dawg up on his offer; they could use all the help they can get.

Paul Gackle is a contributor to The San Francisco Examiner. He can be reached at pgackle@sfexaminer.com and followed on Twitter @GackleReport.

Seems plausible.

 

[lightweight champion]

Just off the top of my head the only times I can vividly remember Schierholtz playing is when he was subbed in for Burrell for defensive purposes

 

[lazyj10]

Based strictly off of memory, Nate never got a Brandon Belt type shot.  He was never run out there on an everyday basis like Belt has.  I find that very interesting because you cant use the money excuse with him, as he was a 2nd round pick.

I agree with you in the sense that no one has gotten a Brandon Belt type chance...I agree w/ you there. However, I'm saying, the chances (plural) Nate got were significant and he had ONE stretch I remember where I thought he was going to be legit. Then he'd go 5 for 42.

 

[daprescription]

As bad as that stretch was, I'd take Schierholtz over Torres in a Milli-second. At least you know you are getting defense with him .

 

[lazyj10]

Yeah, I'd take a guy who can't swing over someone whose mentally inept, too.

 

[lb510]

Sell Sell Sell.

Sabean will be on knbr @ 5

 

[rawex5]

Pretty sad what's going on, but at least we won't be the worst...

The sports usage of the term "fire sale" is most especially used in Major League Baseball, where the most infamous fire sale occurred in 1997. Weeks removed after winning the 1997 World Series the Florida Marlins began trading away several of their high salary players and key cogs in the championship run, with Moisés Alou and Al Leiter among the first of many to go throughout the off-season and well into the 1998 season. This ended any realistic chance of the Marlins' defending their title. They plummeted to a 54-108 record in 1998, the worst ever by a defending World Series champion.

but they had a fire sale.

 

[jecca650]

damn free the dawg!! ive chopped it up with homie before and dude is nuts lol. what a fuqing disappointing season this has been.

 

[TheGodFresco]

Giants got Moscoso from the cubs, he pitched pretty good for the As a while back

 

[sfc415]

WHY

 

[lb510]

Why ask why. We suck.

 

[dland24]

I cant wait until the day we have a real first baseman. Belt Cant hit and made two critical errors today.

 

[lb510]

^ didn't catch the first one. Similar type play?

 

[rawex5]

Welps.

 

[jumpmanfromdabay]

 

[boris]

I cant wait until the day we have a real first baseman. Belt Cant hit and made two critical errors today.

He's pretty painful to watch. 

 

[jumpmanfromdabay]

Didn't see the game but idk how he has a long of a rope as he has!

 

[dland24]

^ didn't catch the first one. Similar type play?

No the first run was a baserunning blunder.

The situation was the bases are loaded with one out in the 7th. We are down 1-0. Belt is om first and Franceur bloops a single and two runs score. Schierholtz's throw skipped past the catcher. Belt starts to run from third even though the pitcher is right there backing up the play. Jackson picks the ball up and Belt just stops half way between home and third. Jackson runs at him and Belt still doesnt move. Belt tries to run by him when he got close, and was tagged out. Huge mistake and cost us a potential big inning. Who knows how the inning plays out if it was 2nd and 3rd with 1 out instead of runner on 2nd with 2.