January is projections season. There are a whole mess of projection systems out there, but the system that is generally considered to be the most accurate, as well as the most widely available, is Dan Szymborski’s ZiPS, which are being released on Fangraphs this year. While you, the dear reader, have likely taken a glance at these already – they’re a month old, after all – I’d like to share a couple thoughts on the projections for the Giants this year.

For each player, in addition to a short analysis, I’ll provide a prediction of whether they will hit OVER or UNDER their projected OPS+. » Continue reading “2013 Giants ZiPS Projections – Hitters”

Yesterday, the Giants announced the full list of non-roster invitees (NRIs) to major league training camp. NRIs are players who aren’t on the 40-man roster who nevertheless will start spring training with the major league squad.

Spring Training at Scottsdale Stadium

This may not sound like big news, and it isn’t, for the most part. However, every year one of these guys sneaks on to the roster and ends up contributing in a big way. » Continue reading “Giants Non-Roster Invitees And An Interesting Development”

Sergio Romo is pretty good at this baseball thing. (image: flickr/Dinur Blum)

According to the usual suspects, the Giants have avoided arbitration with everyone’s favorite pocket-sized frisbee slider machine with a two year deal for an as yet undisclosed amount. Henry Schulman is predicting a 2013 salary in the neighborhood of $3.5M, about the midpoint of the arbitration numbers submitted by both sides, with a 2014 salary in the $5M range, plus incentives. That guess seems reasonable to me, and I’d certainly expect to see incentives both for games finished that would push Romo’s salary closer to comparables for full-time closers (closer to the $10M range) and potentially for innings pitched/games available as well, considering the lingering concerns over his durability.

This post will be updated with specifics of the contract if they become available shortly.

Update: Numbers are now being reported and salary will be $9M over the two years, with $3.5M in 2013 and $5.5M in 2014. No word on any incentives or escalators.

Feb. 1, 2011, Aerys Sports began. Third Street Kings also launched on that day.

Two years later, we’re still here and the Giants have another trophy to add to their display case.

It’s been … an odd two years that included Buster Posey’s triumphant return and Alex Hinshaw being found in Iowa.

I admit, when I got into this, I didn’t know what I was doing and what to expect. It was my first year of college and I was frightened of anything that wasn’t creative writing. Here I am now: a junior, minoring in journalism, honing my editing skills, and that always fear-inducing process of looking for an internship.

I really wouldn’t have gotten to this point if Aerys didn’t help guide me to the direction that makes me happy, despite yelling about nut grafs, ledes, and wOBA. But hey, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

So thanks for letting me part of this website and happy birthday, Aerys. Lets do this again next year, yes?

Delmon Young signed with the Phillies today on a one-year, $750,000 contract that includes performance bonuses that could make the contract worth up to $3.5 million.

Whew. Deep breath, everybody.

Young was mentioned infrequently as a player the Giants could target, and on the surface one can see why. He plays outfield (“plays”), he crushes lefties, he seems to fit the Pat Burrell model of gargantuan dude who hits dingers. But there are several reasons why Young wouldn’t have made sense for the Giants. One is that he can’t play defense at all. He fails the eye test, the stats test, the sniff test, you name it. He’s a DH only at this point, which makes the Phillies’ assertion that he will play right field all the more hilarious. Mark your calendars for May 6th, folks. That’s the day that the Phillies will come to San Francisco for the first time in 2013, presumably with Delmon Young in RF. Remember what Vlad Guerrero looked like in right in the 2010 World Series? You ain’t seen nothing yet. » Continue reading “Giants: Dodging The Delmon Young Bullet”

Last Friday was the deadline for teams and players eligible for arbitration to exchange salary figures for their arbitration hearings, and as with every year, there was a flurry of signings on that date in order to avoid the hearings. The Giants had seven arb-eligible players this year: Joaquin Arias, Gregor Blanco, Santiago Casilla, Jose Mijares, Hunter Pence, Buster Posey, and Sergio Romo.

The team has, so far, come to agreements with four of them, and Sergio Romo and Joaquin Arias exchanged figures with the team. It’s worth pointing out that both Arias and Romo will almost certainly sign contracts before their hearings. The Giants almost never let arbitration cases go all the way to hearing – they’ve only gone to six hearings since the arbitration process started in the mid-’70s. » Continue reading “Hunter Pence, Buster Posey, Others Avoid Arbitration”

(Flickr/cseeman)

Earlier this week Benevolent Overlord Mac wrote up a post about Ryan Vogelsong’s appearance on the USA roster for the World Baseball Classic. Today, the complete rosters for all sixteen teams were announced, and there are nine Giants littered across the rosters of teams from around the world. Joining Vogelsong on the U.S. roster is Jeremy Affeldt. Pablo Sandoval, Jose Mijares, and Marco Scutaro will all play for the Venezuelan team, Angel Pagan and Javier Lopez will play for Puerto Rico, and Sergio Romo will play for Mexico. In addition to those eight, Giants minor leaguer Clayton Tanner will play for the Australian team.

Here’s the thing: I love the WBC. Love, love, love it. I understand why most people don’t, and I understand why many of the best players from around the world avoid it. It doesn’t matter to me. Few things get me going like athletic competition mixed with blind, fervent patriotism. Many fans out there would rather their team’s players not participate in this event, and while I understand the sentiment, I disagree. If, say, Sergio Romo tweaks his knee or his elbow pitching for Mexico, will I be upset? Of course. But I understand that that’s the sort of thing that comes with the territory of being an elite talent in a globally popular sport.

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Andrew Baggarly posted a story today that states that the Giants are in serious negotiations with Brandon Lyon, the right-handed reliever who pitched for Toronto and Houston last season. Lyon had a fantastic year last year, pitching 61 innings in his two stops last year, striking out a career high 9.3 batters per nine innings while only walking fewer than three. » Continue reading “Assorted Thoughts On The World Baseball Classic And Brandon Lyon”

January is a slow baseball month. Last January, the Giants signed Brian Burres, Todd Linden, Wilmin Rodriguez, and Gregor Blanco. Obviously the Blanco signing turned out to be pretty important in regards to how the season went, but the point is that the major signings are over. Sorry folks, the Giants aren’t trading for Justin Upton or Giancarlo Stanton and they are going to sign Michael Bourn. The time for major roster moves has come and gone.

As I laid out in a series of posts last week, the Giants have up to three roster spots still available. There’s a spot in the bullpen, a spot for a sixth infielder, and a fifth outfielder available. Let’s run down the candidates for each spot. » Continue reading “Those Last Roster Spots”

Ryan Vogelsong and family. (Flickr/randychiu)

On Monday, it was announced that Ryan Vogelsong will be joining Team USA for the World Baseball Classic.

By now, everyone is aware that Buster Posey is Captain America and that needs no further explanation.

But Ryan Vogelsong? He’s your Baseball Everyman in a sense. » Continue reading “Ryan Vogelsong And The World Baseball Classic”

I’ve taken a look at the position players, now it’s time to take a look at the pitchers.

Starting Pitchers: Tim Lincecum (probably), Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, Ryan Vogelsong, Barry Zito

WARNING: CONTROVERSIAL AND POSSIBLY UNPOPULAR OPINIONS AHEAD

About a week ago, Buster Olney created a bit of a hubbub amongst Giants fandom when he ranked the Giants’ rotation only the ninth-best in baseball. Here’s the thing – I’m not sure I disagree with him. » Continue reading “A Look At The Giants Roster: The Pitchers”