The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again. - A. Bartlett Giamatti
Thoughts from the first two days of spring training:
- No talks for a long-term deal for Tim Lincecum as of yet. He cannot pursue free agency until after 2013, but a contract similar to what Matt Cain and Noah Lowry signed a couple springs ago would be mutually beneficial for him and the Giants. One, the Giants have, as Andy Baggarly states it, "cost certainty" with him; two, Tim could sign for an even bigger contract at the end of this proposed one; and three, his salary is guaranteed if (God forbid) he gets injured.
- Henry Schulman writes that Fred Lewis reported to camp fifteen pounds heavier in muscle. From this photo taken by Giantfan9 (don't forget, Giants Jottings is back up for spring training), it does look like he's heavier in the quad area.
Excuse my irrational spring training optimism, but couple Lewis' extra muscle and recovery from his bunion surgery, he could very well hit 20 HR's this season (though all the projection systems have knocked him for last season's unsustainable .367 BABIP and predicted only 9-10 HR's for him).
- Speaking of power, guess who's leading the Giants in spring training HR's? Buster Posey. He hit four today, including one to right field, giving him a total of six to date. It's hard not to be excited when you could have this guy in the majors sometime this season.
- Something interesting to note: Giantfan9 reports that Pablo Sandoval isn't working out with the catchers, which means he'll most likely be working the corners once full squad training begins. His playing 1B/3B will get him more AB's than if he only played catcher. However, Sandoval's offense and glovework make him more valuable at catcher. We'll see how this goes over the course of the spring.
6 comments:
Hurrah to ignoring homework to read RSS feeds instead!
1) I think Lincecum stated a desire to year-by-year for arbitration.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2008/08/lincecum-prefer.html
More money down that route I suppose. Lincecum did lead the league in teh PAPs last year, no? I'd be terrified about his arm falling off in the midst of a 72-90 campaign, ala Rich Harden...
2) BABIP for hitters is sustainable over multiple campaigns. From Derek Jeter to Luis Castillo, there are examples of hitters consistently having above league-average BABIPs. Whereas pitchers almost inevitable regress back to the mean, hitters (and Lewis) could possibly hold up. 20 Homers in whatever-you-call Giants park (A's fan here) seems excessive though.
1) I remember that article. However, in more recent posts by Andy Baggarly and Henry Schulman, Lincecum's agent is open to negotiation for a multi-year contract.
Henry Schulman
Andy Baggarly
I agree, a year-by-year contract deal would net him more money, but job security would be non-existent if his arm falls off in the middle of the year (God forbid). Yeah, Lincecum did lead the league in PAP's last year, and I'm frightened about what could happen this year seeing as he'll likely rack up even more innings pitching at the start of the rotation.
2) Lewis could hold up as long as he continues hitting line-drives at the rate he finished with last season, or possibly higher (18.4% LD%). His xBABIP, then, is .304, while the projection systems have him ranging from .330 to .347, which makes sense since he has the speed to beat out infield dribblers.
Anyways, I would settle for splitting the HR difference between irrational spring training yay (tm) and the projection systems. 15 is more or less an achievable goal.
:) Nice to get some feedback on a comment.
On a tangent because I feel this should be on your APUSH study guide.
'Your right--Teddy Roosevelt is the Pie Traynor of presidents"
A world without random baseball analogies to Presidents is not a world worth living in.
Bobby Crosby
2008 28 OAK AL 145 556 66 132 39 1 7 61 7 3 47 96 .237 .296 .349 76 OPS+ 194 0 2 0 0 18
Orlando Cabrera.
1 Yr. 4 million.
2008 33 CHW AL 161 661 93 186 33 1 8 57 19 6 56 71 .281 .334 .371
Renteria.
2008 32 DET AL 138 503 69 136 22 2 10 55 6 3 37 64 .270 .317 .382 84 OPS+ 192 2 5 1 0 1
2 years/$18.5M (2009-10), plus 2011 club option
:) Owned. The school newspaper preview made me cry a little bit. Nothing like a 76 OPS+ to reinspire faith in Crosby!
Hahaha, I cringed a bit inside when we decided to leave Crosby in as one of the "top offensive performers." I have half a mind to write an article filled with OPS+, FIP, WHIP, and BABIP just to throw everyone for a loop. You should hear the baseball discussion some guys in my morality class have. It's painful.
Eh, in hindsight, the Giants overpaid for Renteria, but at least they don't give up a draft pick.
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