SO FAR 

MAJOR LEAGUES

First off, I must admit I am shocked to find this team in third place as of June 8th 2008 if you want to think about it this way were ahead of the reigning NL champions and a preseason contender in the pad's. In my mind Brian Wilson has been only one of the pleasant suprises this season he's 2nd in the league in converted saves and has only blown 2. Tim Lincecum has been absolutely dynamite he's currently 2nd in the league in era and k's and up there in wins as well he's exceeded everyone's wildest, most optimistic expectations and tis is only the beginning. AAron Rowand has earned every cent of his 5 year 60 million dollar contract is 5th in the nl in batting and is leading the gigantes with 8 hr and had 36 rbi's 2 boot. Benji has been arguably the best catcher in the nl of not all of baseball and is fourth in the nl in batting leading the team in rbi's and had 6 hr's. Jonathan Sanchez has been great so far providing a steady diet of k's and a fancy 3.7 era to boot Fred Lewis has shown flashes of promise but inconsistent as of late, Merkin "Lerkin" Valez pre-injury and Alex Hinshaw have emerged as long term bullpen fixtures. Zito had been a GIANT (no pun intended) dissapointment and has made Brian Sabean and co the joke of baseball. And to think were only 1 and a 1/3 into a 7 year 126 million dollar deal for a pitcher that resembles Pat Misch. Cain has been wildly inconsistent, yes he has pitched better than his numbers would indicate but I expect a big rebound, going into the season I expected another step forward unfortunately it's been a step back but theres time to re-coup. I'm not going to comment on other players because most won't be wearing a giants jersey after this year 

DEADLINE 

Thanks to some decent play by some veterans we have roster flexibility.

We need to trade Benji at the deadline for a solid b level prospect. Yes you might think I'm crazy but, Molina is 34 he won't be here past next year and your re-building and he's a good piece to use to acquire a young infielder or outfielder  

Trade Randy Winn for a bag o' chips in order to call Up killer Nate from Fresno whoose hitting .295 9 hr 40 rbi's (i think) and a lovely ops of .900 he'll be starting for us next year time to bring him up for good 

Trade Durham for anything 

Callup Travis Ischiwsa (however u spell it) to Fresno it seems he's figured it out putting up good numbers in a terrible hitters park. 

Callup Eddy Martinez Esteeve from Conneticut to he's rakin' and woken up from the dead

Minors

Madison Bumgarner has been outstanding this year in the South Atlantic League and is 5-2 with an absurd 2.2 era which comes out to a 1.49 era for the season if you take out his first start of the season in 57.1 ip and 64 k's not 2 shabby!  

Charlie Culberson has been struggling mightily in Low A and is batting around .189 with 24 errors and an ops in the mid 400's however he has risen his average 100 points in a month so he's heating up 

Jackson Williams our all glove no stick C from Oklahoma in the first round last year is hitting a robust .138 1 hr and 1 .410 ops and 33 k's compared 2 nine walks ouch ....

Nick Noonan is meeting expectations in Low A and is hitting .285 with 3 hr and 33 rbi's but also has 14 doubles so more power can be comming 

Thomas Neal a converted of playing 1b who is a good prospect in his own right got off to a blistering start before settling into a may slump has hit .271 7 hr and is slugging .450 on the year 

Angel Villalona has gone through his share of growing pains and is hitting .237 with 7 hr

in low a he also has 13 doubles so more power should be on the way, don't forget he's only 17

and only a month older than me. 

Tim Alderson has been doing great in the extremely tough high a california league with a 6-2 record and a 3.27 era in 65 ip and 50 k's he has exceeded expectations and then some and has more k's than Porcello with only a slightly higher era in the tough cal league and don't forget the league Porcello pitches in (Florida State League) is the hitters equivalent of the Cal League. 

My Personal Fav Wendell Fairley is in extended spring training refining his skills before he makes his debut in short season ball most likely but also arguably has the highest upside on this list 

Henry Sosa has returned from injury to dominate the cal league so far who is 1-1 with a 2.03 era and 16 k's in 13 ip and batters are hitting .216 against him expect a callup to AA by the end of June 

Pablo Sandoval has been raking and then some he's hitting .368 with 10 r and 47 rbi's as the Sj giants catcher however, before u freak out realize that he's repeating a league though he is age apprpriate and his defense at catcher is still shaky at best 

Clayton Tanner has been putting up a respectable 5-4 with a 3.99 era and 41 k's in 57 ip 

Jesse English my breakout canidate comming into the year has been downright disgusting in san jose with an 8-2 era ans a 2.88 era with 59 k's in 62 ip he's been the ace of the san jose staff  

Adam Cowart has been ok with a 5-4 record and a 3.41 era which doesn't look all that bad until you look at the fact that people are hitting .297 off him so those numbers are luck 

I already touched on Nasty Nate

THE DRAFT 

At first I was upset by the Posey pick becuase the switch hitting 35-40 hr power gold glove d sounded too good to be true but after my initital anger subsided I realized a couple of things. How many 35 hr first baseman are there compared to .300 20 hr 80 rbi gold glove catchers? I then realized that unlike Smoak Posey's value lies in his ability to handle a game, call a game his defense and then his bat which just happens to be very good ( i knw college stats are "worthless" supposedly) but he outhomered Smoak and it's not like he plays for a team that plays nobody. "If faced with the question if you are a rebuilding team would you rather have Pudge or Justin Morneau I would choose pudge" here's the thing yea I'll be the first to admit Smoak will out homer Posey and drive In more runs however, a 30 hr 1st baseman isn't nearly as rare as a franchise gold glove Catcher that provides sustainability to your team for a decade. Also the Giants had Posey ranked higher than Smoak so it clearly wasn't for need we also have another big bopper in Angel V Smoak might have Been the sexier pick but he was the right one. Quickly: I loved the Connor G pick provides a future sweet swinging 3b that drives in runs and hits for a robust average I like the Roger Kieshneck pick who has the tools of a 1st rounder but "played" himself out of the 1st round same for Brandon Crawford

 

 

 

hello nat's fans its your scouting director bartonboi comming here to give you my current thoughts heading into next weeks mock draft.first off here are our picks. 

• 1st round: #9
• 2nd round: #55
• 3rd round: #87
• 4th round: #121
• 5th round and out: +30 (i.e. 151, 181, etc)  I think the Nat's will follow last years draft strategy and target high end talent and go over slot to sign them as a result I'm targeting high upside players. 
• Fir our first pick I'm targeting 3 players Gordon Beckham, Kyle Skipworth and Aaron Hicks 
• I expect Skipworth to be gone with Beckham falling to us if Chicago passes up on him. Hick should be avaiable regardless
• Beckham would be the ideal pick due to his potenial and the glaring weakness in the minors and the majors at ss (desmond and king aren't that good) and he should only need 1-2 years in the majors  
• Skipworth would be the next pick due to his high upside the fact that he plays a premium position (not drafting for need only a plus) and catchers with his offensive potential are extremely rare. 
• Hicks is the most probable pick i see becuase, more than likely he'll be readily avaiable and his tools and upside asa center fielder will entice bowden and co to take him 

"But bartonboi what about the second to fifth rounds?" 
im glad you asked in the second round my target is currently Zach Putnam i think his ceiling of a solid 3 (that should move fast) in the second round is a steal and is the poor man's Tim Hudson and he isnt far away from the majors 
if  putnam is gone I plane to target Alabama hs of Destin Hood who is very comparable to giants 1st round pick Wendell Fairley from a year ago 
other possibilities are: anthony hewitt and jason castro 
3RD Round 
I'm a huge fa of former nfl lineman's son Daniel Schlereth who profiles as a hard throwing lefty setup man heres his scouting report http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/events/draft_report/y2008/index.jsp?mc=schlereth 
Sonny Gray yes, sonny gray is around 5'11 180 but who cares isnt tim lincecum 2? Gray would have been at the top of most draft charts had he not sprained his ankle running out a grounder in april as a result he's been shut down, but that shouldnt impact his pitching in any way he does have a strong commitment to Vanderbilt but so did Jake Mcgeary with a mid 90's fastball and power curve 2 boot its worth the risk  other possibilites are: Destin Hood   4th ROUND 
Ricky Oroespa was a probable first round pick comming into this season thanks to his huse raw power and strong arm but he's struggled this season and fallen down draft charts but if anyone's worth the risk in this round its him others: Gray/schlereth 
5th ROUND 
Tyler Landorth: speedy jc shortstop with solid tools but game changing speed drafted by the giants last draft but didnt sign. also has above average power but struggles to make contact 
Jake Jeffries solid average catcher for UC Davis but has no glaring holes nor and weaknesses should be fringe average starter at highest level 
Harold Martinez consensus top 15 overall selection heading into season has struggled mightily this season and fallen out of the first 3 rounds all together but has a high upside and is similar to Marlins 3b Matt Dominguez but with better bat  
suggestions? 

Breakout Players:
Jeremy Hermidia-builds on last seasons second half performance to put up up .310 22 hr 108 rbi season
Carlos Quentin- benifets from trade to white sox and hitter friendly  confines of cellular field to put up line of .290 25 hr 100 rbi
Rickie Weeks- comes in to the season with healthy wrist and valuable experience puts up .300 20 hr 80 rbi and 30 sb and thanks ryan braun and prince fielder for batting in front of them
Dallas Mcpherson fresh off two year 7 million dollar with Giants rewards them with .286 31 hr 109 rbi's and a whopper sized 123 so ( i wish)
Joba Chamberlain/Phil Hughes form nasty 1/2 punch Joba goes 17-9 3.12 era 185 ip 175 so Hughes 16-9 3.4 era 175 ip  145 so
Matt Garza the righthanded Scott Kazmir goes 18-7 3.21 era 181 so

Dissapointing Players
Carlos Silva goes 4- 11 4.8 era in 112 ip before neededing tommy john surgery  
Andrew Jones fresh offhis 2 year 36 million contract  becomes slower in cf which leads him to be replaced by the woefull juan pierre goes on to hit .214 18 hr 68 rbi's while platooning with Andre Eithier which leads to Ned Colleti being fired

 I'll have more predictions later gtg feel free to add your own and comment

According to reports the MAriners will give up: Adam Jones, Chris Tillman, George Sherill to the Orioles for Erik Bedard
The Mariners will be losing a possible 30/10 man that comes with gold glove defense  a .280-.300 average and his fair share of stikeouts
In Chris Tillman they lose their top pitching prospect who was roughed up once promoted to high a as a 18 year old and has the potential to be anywhere from 1-3 starter
George Sherill is a very good underrated reliver who posted a 2.26 era with 56 strikeouts in 45.2 innings this year but is pretty much non factor in this deal UNLESS, he becomes the Orioles closer.
for:
Erik Bedard a 28 year old staring pitcher who up until his injury on August 25th was the leading candidate in the cy young race BUT, he has had 1 healthy full season and last year was his only dominate season

this trade has many positives and negatives 1. it gives he Mariners an amazing Felix Hernandez, Erik Bedard 1,2 punch. He's only 28 so it's very possible he's just entering his prime. 3. you sell a whole bunch of tickets and have two cy young contenders on your staff. time for the negatives 1. you give up a potential superstar in Adam Jones who could have hit .260 20-25 hr 80 rbi's an gold glove defense this year. 2. you lose your top pitching prospect and a reliable reliver. 3 Erik Bedard could leave in two years
now lets look at how the mariners rotation stacks up to the Angels rotation because this trade was done to compete with the Angels this year
                                     Angels
Mariners:                    1. John Lackey
1. Felix Hernandez   2 Kelvim Escobar
2.Erik Bedard             3. John Garland  
3.Carlos Sliva            4. Jered Weaver  
4 Jarrod Washburn   5.Joe Saunders
5. Brandon Morrow

To me The Mariners have the better rotation they have better 1,2 starters but a slightly worse 4 starter but the difference in 1,2 starters give them the edge  and Morrow>Saunders

lineup
Mariners                                                            
1. Ichiro                                                            
2 Johjima                                                            
3.Beltre
4.Sexson  
5.Ibanez
6.Balentein
7.Betancourt
8.Lopez
9.Vidro (dh)                                                                      

To me the Angels have a clear edge top to bottom the 3,4,5 of Vlad, Hunter, Kotchman>Beltre, Sexson, Ibanez
                                                                          Angels
                                                                           1.Figgins                                                                                                                2.                                                                        2. Kendrick
                                                                             3. Guerreo  
                                                                             4. Hunter
                                                                             5. Kotchman  
                                                                             6. Anderson (dh)  
                                                                             7. Matthews
                                                                            8. Napoli
                                                                            9. Wood or Aybar

Bullpen:
Angels  
K-Rod  
Shields
Bootcheck
Speir
Mosely
Oliver

EDGE: Angels arguably best closer in baseball with another great reliver in Shields and solid supporting cats that should only get better. But Mariners have great closer with ok supporting staff
Mariners
Putz
Batista
o' Flaherty
Green
Lowe
Rowland-Smith
White

In review this trade puts the Mariners very close to the Angels with a superior rotation but a mediocre lineup and a mediocre bullpen with great defense in Sukuki, Beltre, Betancourt. The Angels have a good rotation a good-well above average lineup good bullpen and a good defense (of plus kotchman) but the Mariners sacrifice a lot of their future for a 2-3 year stretch run. If the Mariners don't win the division or make the playoffs Bill Bavasi will once again be an idiot

Poll

The Mariners will ......... Because of this trade

9%

win the division

14 votes

5%

win the wild card

8 votes

79%

be above .500

122 votes

5%

be below .500

9 votes

153 votes | Poll has closed

hello Giants fans it's time to discuss the future of the Giants first of I don't think were nearly as bad off as everyone thinks we are due to out excellent young pitching and talent in the lower minors I'm not concerned at all about their talent but rather who oversees there development. (cough,cough sabean) anyway without much further ado I think we could be competitive by 2010 and 11 and I think very very competitive lets take a look....

2010 Lineup
c.Eliezer Alfonco backup Jackson WIlliams
1b. No real Solution right now free agent signing
or villanona might have to move here
2b.Nick Noonan .300/370/450
ss.My boy Charlie Culberson .280/350/420
3b.Angel Villonona .275/400/550
1f.Nate Shirholtz .270/320/480
cf.Wendell Fairley .280/340/440
rf.Fred Lewis .255/320/400
note: to tell you this looks like a very promising lineup to me I think Villinona,Nonan,Fairley and perhaps even Culberson have the potential to be all stars and I feel Alfonzo,Lewis,Shirholtz should be solid regulars o those lines are just huge guestimations of there potenital
bench:
Ortemier
EME
Ishkawasha?
Frandsen
Davis
Burris (for now had dissapointed me lov the steals and batting average but...in low a playing against 19 year olds)

Rotation:
1.Lincecum
2.Cain
3.Zito
4.Lowry
5.Henry Sosa
note:I think theres a potential log game of sp which is a great problem to have but at the same time I'm worried that potenital aces Madison Bumgarner and Tim Alderson will be hard pressed to get a chance remember this is only 3 years from now so they will be only 21 so no pressure but its a definite future problem. Also note I'm a big Johnathan Sanchez fan but I'm very concerned his growth has been stunted by Sabean this year and that due to our wealth of starting pitching in the present and future he may be best served as a rp......

RP
Vince Chulk
Brian Anderson
Brian Wilson C
Brad Hennessey
Johnathan Sanchez
Jesse ENglish
DAn Griffith
Jack Taschener

what do u guys think?

Poll

by 2011 the giants will....

8%

be solid contenders

7 votes

49%

below .500

43 votes

14%

above .500

13 votes

27%

rebuilding

24 votes

87 votes | Poll has closed

hey guys as a huge Giants fan I'm starting to get very worried about the Giants ability to sign 10th overall pick Madison Bumgarner who says he wants kershaw money who was drafted #7 overall much more polished and by the hated dodgers. First of all I always thought we should have drafted Heyward and Dominguez over someone like Bumgarner but if were gonna draft him at least sign him! So what do you guys think what is Bumgarners upside? would u have rather drafted someone else?

(from minor league baseball .com)

10. San Francisco Giants: Madison Bumgarner, LHP
Of all the top first-round picks, this one could be the frontrunner to not work out. Rumor has it that Bumgarner is looking for Clayton Kershaw money. Kershaw, also a high school lefty, was the No. 7 overall pick in last year's draft and, by most accounts, was a much more polished pitcher than Bumgarner coming out of the prep ranks. Bumgarner is a University of North Carolina recruit, but there have been grumblings that he'll head to San Jacinto Junior College if he doesn't sign, so he can re-enter in 2008. Of course, that could be a bargaining ploy.

who else is going who has gone? how early do gates open 2 hours before i assume but you never know how many people are usually at the game? How was the game?

but.... i hear now maybin wont play injury not serious just a precaution and with olsen in the bugs whoose going to take their spots? last minute roster scrambling anyone know?

also for whoever has been to fanfest do the future game players sign on a particular day? thanks again

anyone know whats up with him he hasn't pitched since May 14th I am a big fan and I feel he has a lot of potential but can never seem to stay healthy anyone any info?
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Hello everybody I have tickets to this years futures game anybody know when rosters are released or when the gates open for autographs and everything thanks also anyone who has gone before how was it stories/autographs please share. Also anyone been to fanfest how is it is it worth gowing I know there are cool exhibits and all but are the free autos good? and hows the memorbilia show?

whoever takes over for me third roun=dan duffy austin bailey johnathan bachanov gary brown
fith round =micheal taylor james adkins nolan gallagher in that order
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