I hope Samarzija has a better year. Peavy is hot and cold and this could be his last year. If Cain is good, then I have high hopes for the Giants. On paper this is the best we have been since the decline of Lincecum and Zito.
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2016 MLB Hot Stove
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I hope Samarzija has a better year. Peavy is hot and cold and this could be his last year. If Cain is good, then I have high hopes for the Giants. On paper this is the best we have been since the decline of Lincecum and Zito.
I think Samardzija's issues are totally fixable. The Giants have two of the best pitching gurus in the business in Dave Righetti and Dick Tidrow, Bruce Bochy is a master at managing a pitching staff, AT&T Park is a very friendly pitcher's park, and the Giants' defense is light years better than the White Sox.
Cueto. Boom! Now we have a formidable rotation in place. I have questions about Cueto, but there is no doubting his quality when he's healthy and when he's dealing. In retrospect, adding those two guys was a much better play than just signing Greinke.
Now it will be interesting to see what other outfielder can be added. I'm much happier handing a big contract to Cueto then to, say, Cespedes or Upton. But now the presumptive new OF signing will be in the Dexter Fowler / Gerardo Parra class. Or I honestly don't mind giving Mac Williamson and Jarrett Parker an honest shot at winning the job in spring training.
Cueto. Boom! Now we have a formidable rotation in place. I have questions about Cueto, but there is no doubting his quality when he's healthy and when he's dealing. In retrospect, adding those two guys was a much better play than just signing Greinke.
Now it will be interesting to see what other outfielder can be added. I'm much happier handing a big contract to Cueto then to, say, Cespedes or Upton. But now the presumptive new OF signing will be in the Dexter Fowler / Gerardo Parra class. Or I honestly don't mind giving Mac Williamson and Jarrett Parker an honest shot at winning the job in spring training.
Again, they don't need to go for the top shelf outfielders like Cespedes, Upton, or Gordon. They did manage to win the 2014 World Series with Juan Perez and Travis Ishikawa in LF, after all, and last year's team scored plenty of runs despite all the injury problems throughout their roster.
I mentioned Parra and Fowler above, should probably add Denard Span to the mix.
It is a big gamble but we have to be good somewhere, like in pitching. Injuries and just plain age decimated our great arms of the past and what to do without Zito, Lincecum, Sanchez, Wilson, and Affeldt? All those guys were amazing in their peak but are not MLB worthy today on any team, except for maybe Lincecum. Where would we be if we didn't get Samarzija and Cueto? It was a terrible thing to lose our main batting average player in Aoki and this can come back to bite us in the butt. You can pitch great all season but if you can't hit then you won't make the playoffs. If any of our good hitters now get injured then there's no postseason. It's so hard just to make it there in the first place and everything has to be healthy all the way through. We can't lose Pence or Pagan for an extended period as in the past. Posey has to be healthy and even then our hitting could still be below the NL average. Aoki was a good one year fill in and kept us viable. We can't rely on the old standby Ishikawa as in the past and maybe some in the infield can emerge with constant hitting like an Aoki. We just need to get on base and that's been our strategy after Barry Bonds.
Mets wont rule out signing Cespedes but wants his price to drop. Cespedes, is a good bat but i heard he is a nut case and that's why teams don't keep him for long. Too bad he faded when the Mets needed him the most at the WS final games. If he would have kept on with his hitting, Mets would keep him. When u are a late trade deal, u have to show your worth and perform rite away for that short period of time. If he lowers his price, i say give him the benefit of the doubt and sign him again, see what happens.
I hope the Giants get Cespedes. We are looking very good, but only as good as Red Sox imho. To really surpass someone like a projected 2016 Chicago Cubs, we need to add Cespedes to our great singings of Samarzija and Cueto to make 2016 ours to lose in the NL and for all of baseball.
We never won 2010, 2012, or 2014 being considered a threat and maybe the Giants only do well when nobody expects us to do well. I don't know what it's like being considered the best at the season's entry point and then have to keep it up all year. When you are projected number #1 then everybody is gunning for you and too often there's usually not a repeat performance as most sports show for winners not being able to make a repeat performance. Just going to World Series two years in a row, even if it's not for two wins, is extraordinarily hard. I give major kudos for Texas for being able to rule the AL in 2010 and 2011, and KC for being the AL's best in 2014 and 2015.
When you go to a World Series you are the target in the league, thus the rarity of repeat performances of teams not called the Yankees, but it's also terrible to have odds sites put you at the top spot which it will do for SF if Cespedes is added to the roster. Even if we don't get Cespedes it's hard to fight against a team who has the longest gap between World Series being that last time the Cubs won it all was in 1908. If the Cubs go all the way, their long gap will make them a favorite for baseball fans outside of Chicago and there will be a massive nationwide bandwagon effect like there was with Cinderella teams like 1992 Blue Jays, 1997 Marlins, and 2001 Diamondbacks. A Cubs World Series will literally feel like the very first time. If the WS is Cubs against Yankees, it will be the biggest ever.
Here's an interesting list from Harris poll of team popularity through the years:
TABLE 1 FAVORITE MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TEAM: 1999 – 2015
“What is your favorite Major League Baseball team?”
Base: All adults who follow baseball Rank
1999 Rank through 2015 Rank:
New York Yankees 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Boston Red Sox 8 6 4 4 5 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2
Chicago Cubs 3 7 2 3 4 5 4 =4 5 4 7 4 3
Los Angeles Dodgers 7 8 =9 7 =14 11 5 =4 8 =5 4 =6 4
Detroit Tigers 10 15 5 =19 7 6 =7 8 =12 10 =5 =6 5
Atlanta Braves 1 2 3 2 3 2 2 3 3 3 3 5 6
Philadelphia Phillies 16 12 6 =13 13 18 6 7 4 7 9 =13 7
St. Louis Cardinals 4 14 13 6 6 4 9 6 10 9 =11 =10 8
Minnesota Twins 11 5 =17 =13 =21 20 11 13 9 12 =13 9 9
Cleveland Indians 5 4 =9 =19 =11 =13 =7 =25 17 =17 =13 =13 =10
San Francisco Giants 26 9 7 =10 =14 =13 =13 9 7 14 10 3 =10
Los Angeles Angels 23 =16 =25 =17 20 =23 29 =27 =25 =20 =17 =26 12
Milwaukee Brewers 21 23 23 24 18 10 =13 14 11 19 =21 8 13
New York Mets 12 3 14 5 2 7 10 11 6 =5 8 12 =14
Pittsburgh Pirates 18 =18 =9 =8 =21 =16 =23 22 =25 =23 24 16 =14
Tampa Bay Rays NA 28 28 =29 28 25 28 =17 22 26 =21 =24 16
Baltimore Orioles 9 =18 8 12 8 =13 22 =17 =20 13 =17 =20 =17
Texas Rangers 15 13 =15 21 =27 =16 =20 =15 =12 8 =5 23 =17
Oakland Athletics 19 =20 22 27 19 19 =23 =20 =23 =23 =27 =13 =19
Kansas City Royals 24 =25 =19 =22 =21 28 =20 29 19 =17 19 =10 =19
Cincinnati Reds 13 10 =19 =8 =14 9 18 =15 16 15 15 =24 =19
Chicago White Sox 20 27 27 =10 =11 21 =13 12 15 16 =11 =18 22
Seattle Mariners 6 11 =15 =13 10 8 17 10 =12 11 16 =18 =23
Arizona Diamondbacks NA =16 =17 16 =14 22 19 =23 18 =23 25 17 =23
Houston Astros 22 =20 =9 =17 9 12 12 19 28 22 =27 22 =23
Washington Nationals NA NA NA =22 24 29 26 =27 27 =27 26 =26 =23
Colorado Rockies 14 24 24 26 =25 27 =13 =23 =20 =20 20 =20 27
San Diego Padres 17 22 =25 25 =25 26 27 =20 =23 =29 =21 29 28
Miami Marlins 25 =25 21 28 =27 =23 25 =25 29 =27 =27 =26 29
Toronto Blue Jays* 28 29 29 =29 29 30 30 30 30 =29 =27 30 30
*It should be noted that the sample was limited to the United States. It is therefore no surprise that the Canadian team placed last on this list in a survey where no Canadian residents are surveyed.
We never won 2010, 2012, or 2014 being considered a threat and maybe the Giants only do well when nobody expects us to do well. I don't know what it's like being considered the best at the season's entry point and then have to keep it up all year. When you are projected number #1 then everybody is gunning for you and too often there's usually not a repeat performance as most sports show for winners not being able to make a repeat performance. Just going to World Series two years in a row, even if it's not for two wins, is extraordinarily hard. I give major kudos for Texas for being able to rule the AL in 2010 and 2011, and KC for being the AL's best in 2014 and 2015.
When you go to a World Series you are the target in the league, thus the rarity of repeat performances of teams not called the Yankees, but it's also terrible to have odds sites put you at the top spot which it will do for SF if Cespedes is added to the roster. Even if we don't get Cespedes it's hard to fight against a team who has the longest gap between World Series being that last time the Cubs won it all was in 1908. If the Cubs go all the way, their long gap will make them a favorite for baseball fans outside of Chicago and there will be a massive nationwide bandwagon effect like there was with Cinderella teams like 1992 Blue Jays, 1997 Marlins, and 2001 Diamondbacks. A Cubs World Series will literally feel like the very first time. If the WS is Cubs against Yankees, it will be the biggest ever.
Here's an interesting list from Harris poll of team popularity through the years:
TABLE 1 FAVORITE MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TEAM: 1999 – 2015
“What is your favorite Major League Baseball team?”
Base: All adults who follow baseball Rank
1999 Rank through 2015 Rank:
New York Yankees 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Boston Red Sox 8 6 4 4 5 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2
Chicago Cubs 3 7 2 3 4 5 4 =4 5 4 7 4 3
Los Angeles Dodgers 7 8 =9 7 =14 11 5 =4 8 =5 4 =6 4
Detroit Tigers 10 15 5 =19 7 6 =7 8 =12 10 =5 =6 5
Atlanta Braves 1 2 3 2 3 2 2 3 3 3 3 5 6
Philadelphia Phillies 16 12 6 =13 13 18 6 7 4 7 9 =13 7
St. Louis Cardinals 4 14 13 6 6 4 9 6 10 9 =11 =10 8
Minnesota Twins 11 5 =17 =13 =21 20 11 13 9 12 =13 9 9
Cleveland Indians 5 4 =9 =19 =11 =13 =7 =25 17 =17 =13 =13 =10
San Francisco Giants 26 9 7 =10 =14 =13 =13 9 7 14 10 3 =10
Los Angeles Angels 23 =16 =25 =17 20 =23 29 =27 =25 =20 =17 =26 12
Milwaukee Brewers 21 23 23 24 18 10 =13 14 11 19 =21 8 13
New York Mets 12 3 14 5 2 7 10 11 6 =5 8 12 =14
Pittsburgh Pirates 18 =18 =9 =8 =21 =16 =23 22 =25 =23 24 16 =14
Tampa Bay Rays NA 28 28 =29 28 25 28 =17 22 26 =21 =24 16
Baltimore Orioles 9 =18 8 12 8 =13 22 =17 =20 13 =17 =20 =17
Texas Rangers 15 13 =15 21 =27 =16 =20 =15 =12 8 =5 23 =17
Oakland Athletics 19 =20 22 27 19 19 =23 =20 =23 =23 =27 =13 =19
Kansas City Royals 24 =25 =19 =22 =21 28 =20 29 19 =17 19 =10 =19
Cincinnati Reds 13 10 =19 =8 =14 9 18 =15 16 15 15 =24 =19
Chicago White Sox 20 27 27 =10 =11 21 =13 12 15 16 =11 =18 22
Seattle Mariners 6 11 =15 =13 10 8 17 10 =12 11 16 =18 =23
Arizona Diamondbacks NA =16 =17 16 =14 22 19 =23 18 =23 25 17 =23
Houston Astros 22 =20 =9 =17 9 12 12 19 28 22 =27 22 =23
Washington Nationals NA NA NA =22 24 29 26 =27 27 =27 26 =26 =23
Colorado Rockies 14 24 24 26 =25 27 =13 =23 =20 =20 20 =20 27
San Diego Padres 17 22 =25 25 =25 26 27 =20 =23 =29 =21 29 28
Miami Marlins 25 =25 21 28 =27 =23 25 =25 29 =27 =27 =26 29
Toronto Blue Jays* 28 29 29 =29 29 30 30 30 30 =29 =27 30 30
*It should be noted that the sample was limited to the United States. It is therefore no surprise that the Canadian team placed last on this list in a survey where no Canadian residents are surveyed.
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Cardinals get Mike Leake from San Francisco and that gets rid of a good insurance policy we had. Now we have to rely on Cain and Peavy to bring it. I think our odds must have gone down some.
To keep with the deeply staffed Cubs I really hope we get Alex Gordon from the Royals. They are kind of like a good luck charm. We did great with former Royals' player Nori Aoki who was a productive hitter in his 2015 year for us, and hope to do well with former Royals' pitcher Johnny Cueto in 2016, and getting Gordon would be the icing on the cake. We have to have a new hitter approaching .300 to replace the departed Aoki and Gordon could fit right in.
If we don't get Gordon then we will have to hope some new kid coming up from the farm system could turn into a massive hitter. Great pitching alone can't win if we can't get on base. Gordon won't come cheap but if we get him, who would have expected that we got two out of three of KC's biggest World Series players (the other being Perez of course who stays with the Royals).
I don't expect the Royals to be back next year. They were crazy enough to almost win the WS in 2014 and ditch their franchise pitcher James Shields and also lose Aoki, too. So when they made it to 2015 and got the ring, I was rather surprised. But now no Cueto (who pitched an entire 9 innings in the WS) and possibly no Gordon? Who do they have left to make the entire run to make it back with Boston now being top loaded, the Blue Jays, the Rangers, the Yankees, and a few other strong AL teams?
To keep with the deeply staffed Cubs I really hope we get Alex Gordon from the Royals. They are kind of like a good luck charm. We did great with former Royals' player Nori Aoki who was a productive hitter in his 2015 year for us, and hope to do well with former Royals' pitcher Johnny Cueto in 2016, and getting Gordon would be the icing on the cake. We have to have a new hitter approaching .300 to replace the departed Aoki and Gordon could fit right in.
If we don't get Gordon then we will have to hope some new kid coming up from the farm system could turn into a massive hitter. Great pitching alone can't win if we can't get on base. Gordon won't come cheap but if we get him, who would have expected that we got two out of three of KC's biggest World Series players (the other being Perez of course who stays with the Royals).
I don't expect the Royals to be back next year. They were crazy enough to almost win the WS in 2014 and ditch their franchise pitcher James Shields and also lose Aoki, too. So when they made it to 2015 and got the ring, I was rather surprised. But now no Cueto (who pitched an entire 9 innings in the WS) and possibly no Gordon? Who do they have left to make the entire run to make it back with Boston now being top loaded, the Blue Jays, the Rangers, the Yankees, and a few other strong AL teams?
Leake? Meh. The very definition of an average pitcher. He didn't exactly flourish with the Giants, at an extreme pitcher's park with an excellent infield defense behind him. He was a good guy and could hit homers alongside Bumgarner, but I'm glad the Giants chose to bet on Samardjiza's upside instead.
I don't see the Giants playing at the top of the outfielder market. Cespedes would be fine if the Giants had unlimited wealth to draw from. I don't want Upton: he'll get too much money for not great production or defense. Gordon is a good overall player, but the type of hitter that AT&T Park just kills. Dexter Fowler is okay, but would cost a draft pick. Gerardo Parra is nearly a clone of Gregor Blanco. The two outfield bats in the Giants' farm system that are ready to try to stick in the majors are Mac Williamson (good defense, some power, can he hit big league pitching consistently enough?) and Jarrett Parker (good power, millions of strikeouts, mediocre defense). I put my money on Mac, but I still expect the Giants acquire another OF one way or another.
It's a bit too early to count any of the top teams out for 2016. Still lots of free agents on the board, and I expect the Dodgers to actually successfully complete a couple of big trades to significantly strengthen their pitching staff. The Royals may have a hard time keeping their core together, but they will have more money to spend on that in upcoming years if Gordon leaves now.
I don't see the Giants playing at the top of the outfielder market. Cespedes would be fine if the Giants had unlimited wealth to draw from. I don't want Upton: he'll get too much money for not great production or defense. Gordon is a good overall player, but the type of hitter that AT&T Park just kills. Dexter Fowler is okay, but would cost a draft pick. Gerardo Parra is nearly a clone of Gregor Blanco. The two outfield bats in the Giants' farm system that are ready to try to stick in the majors are Mac Williamson (good defense, some power, can he hit big league pitching consistently enough?) and Jarrett Parker (good power, millions of strikeouts, mediocre defense). I put my money on Mac, but I still expect the Giants acquire another OF one way or another.
It's a bit too early to count any of the top teams out for 2016. Still lots of free agents on the board, and I expect the Dodgers to actually successfully complete a couple of big trades to significantly strengthen their pitching staff. The Royals may have a hard time keeping their core together, but they will have more money to spend on that in upcoming years if Gordon leaves now.
With Boche, all we need is slightly above average to go the distance. That's what makes our team a postseason team instead of a .500 team. Any other coach with same staff may just break even but instead of 81 wins, Boche could scare 91 wins from the same staff.
I think it's because he goes by the numbers and staffs from there. There are no sentimental favorites thus the reason the usually mediocre Zito (from previous years) got #1 start in 2012 and Lincecum didn't factor in 2014. He will use who is hot at the time and rotate people, even when the fans think they know better. I have seen Lincecum, the two Brandons, Cain, Peavy, Vogelsong, Affeldt, Pence, and Pagan sit on the bench when I dissed the choices Boche made but more times than not Boche was right. If somebody says they are 100% percent but are just a hair shy of that, he sees that and possibly sits them out. He can even scope out a below average player like Ishikawa and bring him in when he's at a peak and have it pay off for an entire team. Had Ishikawa been a regular Giant all throughout 2014, that pennant winning home run would be considered one of the highlights of baseball history instead of just another good home run.
I can see Boche bringing Peavy or Samarzija to #1 spot on postseason baseball if they put up the numbers ahead of Bumgarner and Cueto and have it bring in another ring and start making us look like the 90s Yankees dynasty. We mix it up, especially on pitching and thus the change ups of #1 spot pitching like Lincecum in first WS, Zito in second WS, and Bumgarner in 3rd WS wins.
Daniel Murphy leaves the Mets and signs a 3 yr. deal with the Nationals. now what happened to him is the opposite of what happened to Cespedes. He did ok during the season then had a sudden power surge at the world series games. guess the Mets are looking for more of a clutch player. Now this makes even more space for new and improved player. did i mention how hyped up i am about Dilson Herrera, he is the future of the Mets.
BTW: Merry X-Mas everyone!!
BTW: Merry X-Mas everyone!!
That's a huge acquisition but you already have two equally great bullpen pitchers so Chapman may not be fully utilized.
Like NFL network says if you can do well for at least six innings with starters then you have something. Great closers and bullpen are not a long term solution. If your starters are solid, and healthy, then the postseason is guaranteed. You gave up a lot for him but only time will tell.
As the last century has shown us, the Yankees are literally the only team in baseball you can never count out, no matter what. I want to see where this puts you on Vegas odds sites tomorrow and it's a sure thing you won't be in the middle of the pack anymore. When my wife comes home, I am sure she will be thrilled.
We had that in SF with Wilson, Romo, and Affeldt and it got us out of trouble more than a few times. It's possibly something, if it lasts and they work together, that can get you back to the WS.
It's really a copy of the Royals' bullpen model, with three absolutely dominant guys at the back. The Giants' pen in its entirety was arguably more successful in the postseason, but it was a deeper group (add also Javier Lopez and Santiago Casilla) that lacked a dominating closer-type after Brian Wilson succumbed to injury. Managing a bullpen is perhaps Bruce Bochy's greatest strength as a manager.
LAD add Kazmir and Maeda so they definitely replaced the missing Greinke who went to Arizona. The NL west is going to be a three way battle as the Giants have Samardiza and Cueto so it's anybody's guess right now.
Cueto puts Giants up at top of NL West but these odds figured before Maeda so this changes things a lot:
http://www.oddsshark.com/mlb/mlb-odds-world-series-futures
Cueto puts Giants up at top of NL West but these odds figured before Maeda so this changes things a lot:
- Chicago Cubs +500
- San Francisco Giants +500
- Boston Red Sox +800
- New York Mets +1400
- Kansas City Royals +1600
- Los Angeles Dodgers +1600
- Toronto Blue Jays +1600
- St. Louis Cardinals +1800
- Washington Nationals +1800
- Houston Astros +1800
- Pittsburgh Pirates +2000
- Arizona Diamondbacks +2000
- Texas Rangers +2200
- New York Yankees +2500
- Cleveland Indians +2800
- Los Angeles Angels +2800
- Detroit Tigers +2800
- Seattle Mariners +4000
- Baltimore Orioles +5000
- Minnesota Twins +5000
- Chicago White Sox +5000
- Tampa Bay Rays +6600
- Miami Marlins +6600
- Milwaukee Brewers +7500
- Oakland Athletics +7500
- Cincinnati Reds +10000
- San Diego Padres +10000
- Atlanta Braves +10000
- Colorado Rockies +10000
- Philadelphia Phillies +10000
http://www.oddsshark.com/mlb/mlb-odds-world-series-futures
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That's not what I understood. There are still blackouts, so this is only good for people who want to watch one team outside their local broadcast area.
And MLB is talking about making team deals with the RSN's but that would require a cable subscription.
So LAD's acquisition of Maeda pulls them up to 16/1 up from 20/1, and SFG falls to 10/1 down from 6/1 due to increased tension now in NL West. If SF acquired someone like free agent Alex Gordon that would pull the Giants up there with the Cubs again. Gordon re-signed with Kansas City.
Cubs sit all alone at 7/1 at the top of the MLB World Series odds but they drop from 6/1, possibly from LA's stronger position.
Before all the musical chairs in November, the Dodgers were predicted to win the 2016 World Series.
Cubs sit all alone at 7/1 at the top of the MLB World Series odds but they drop from 6/1, possibly from LA's stronger position.
Before all the musical chairs in November, the Dodgers were predicted to win the 2016 World Series.
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