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Dickey: Giants waited too long to deal
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Related Topics: SAN FRANCISCO
SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - July traditionally is the month that separates the pretenders from the contenders in baseball, as it has been for the Giants this season. Because his team was playing in the pathetic NL West, general manager Brian Sabean deluded himself into thinking that the Giants had a shot at the postseason. When they had to play nine games against top teams from the East and Central, eight of which the Giants lost, that dream was shattered.
So, the changes are finally starting, with the trading of Ray Durham to the Milwaukee Brewers, giving the Giants a chance to give younger players a shot.
“We stayed true to our word,” said Sabean. “No matter where we were in the standings or what we thought our chances were, we needed at some point to turn our fortunes to our younger players.”
Yeah, sure. And there really is a Santa Claus.
In fact, this move came after the Giants had already played 98 games, with only 64 remaining. At that point, Fred Lewis and John Bowker were the only two young players among the nine Giants hitters with more than 150 at-bats. There is no doubt in my mind that, if the Giants were, say, just four games out, Sabean would have stuck with the geezers. But when the Giants fell eight games off the lead and behind three other teams, even Sabean had to face reality.
The truth is, this trade could have been made before this. The Giants got outfielder Darren Ford, a 22-year-old who has great speed but has been hitting only .230 in Single-A ball, and pitcher Steve Hammond, a 26-year-old left-hander who is a combined 7-8 with a 4.09 ERA during his stints at Double-A and Triple-A this season. Both are likely to spend the bulk of their careers in the minors.
The Giants still need to unload Rich Aurilia, though he won’t bring much, to make room for Bowker to play every day. As it is, manager Bruce Bochy usually benches Bowker against left-handed pitching, which is impeding his development. The way a left-handed hitter learns to hit left-handed pitching is by swinging against left-handed pitching. Bowker can’t learn sitting on the bench. If he looks bad occasionally, so what? I’ve talked to him, and he impresses me as a poised young man, able to handle the pressure.
I’ll be convinced that Sabean is serious about rebuilding when he trades outfielder Randy Winn, who is a good player, but neither part of the Giants’ future nor much help now — a corner outfielder who had only five homers in the first 98 games. Nate Schierholtz, who is hitting .312 with 13 homers and 60 RBIs in 83 games for the Fresno Grizzlies, should be the Giants right fielder. At 24, Schierholtz, a Danville native, is part of the Giants’ future — and he hit .304 in 112 at-bats with the Giants last season.
Since the Giants haven’t worked out a way to let Omar Vizquel retire gracefully, they should use him mainly in a mentoring role to give middle infielders Emmanuel Burriss, Ivan Ochoa and Eugenio Velez the chance to see if at least one of them can be a starter. All of them have shown potential, but overall, they’re still largely unknown quantities.
This season has always been about auditioning players for 2009 and beyond. It’s a shame it took Sabean this long to figure that out.
Glenn Dickey has been covering Bay Area sports since 1963 and also writes on www.GlennDickey.com. E-mail him at glenndickey@hotmail.com.
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Examiner Reader said:
interesting and stimulating article... I am not sure about the idea Selig doen not want Bonds in baseball...
1 agree | 1 disagree
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examiner reader said:
Bonds is as bogus as Ben Johnson, yet you rant on about him. Besides being pathetic in your unrequited admiration for him you have lost any and all objectivity about him. Barry Bonds, prior to the Mark Mcquire, Sammy Sosa era, was the ultimate five tool player. 6ft 1 inch tall 185 pounds he was without a doubt a first ballot Hall of Famer. Suddenly (in his early thirty's) he grows to 6-2 and 250 pounds. the fact is that you choose to ignore these facts by saying "he never failed a drug test" astounds me. We know that his trainer probably had a reason to stay in jail but i have absolutely no idea what yours is?
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Examiner Reader said:
It's time to move on... bring back the Bulldog! Orel would be a great GM, his ties to LA and the Dodgers runs deep. He's played, coached, worked in the front office of the Texas Rangers... So what are they waiting for. Time to rid the Dodgers of all the people Ned brought to LA, Stan Conte, can pack his bags too! quick before he throws another GM and owner under the bus to save his own skin!!!
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Examiner Reader said:
Frantz = Jim Rome wannabe
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Examiner Reader said:
what the giants need to do is to get her heads out there butt and get some solid bats.
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Examiner Reader said:
Hey Frantz: Barry Bonds isn't responsible for the hi price of gas or 4000+ soldiers killed in Iraq. In comparison, Barry's a saint.
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Examiner Reader said:
Hmmm...the media. Gotta love these hypocrites. Love to judge other people but think the media are a godsent to the masses.BB was an all-star long before the Bash Brothers started using steroids. Don't believe what the media tells you.
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Examiner Reader said:
What do you know about Barry Bonds? It was the media that killed the former Princess Diana. People like you.
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examiner reader said:
what a collection of mutts! the giants are the county pound of baseball!
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Examiner Reader said:
giants are a complete mess.. they dont know how to bring up young tallent and foster it into confident everyday players.. the organization for years has been built on established players.. it is kind of like a person who switches professions and has no clue have to work in the new arena.. the giants. baring a small miricle are in for years of a tough learning curve in terms of bringing up tallent.. but it is sooner better than latter.. hopefully the area of overpriced soso free agents is coming to an end
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Sam in Reno said:
As you point out, the truth will be told if Bowker (who leads the team in HR's) sits against left handers. If he has to play Aurilia put him at third and sit down that slug Castillo. Castillo is a bad fielder and mediocre hitter. There is a reason he was cut by Florida and Pitsburgh.I have never seen so many errors and doubles hit past this guy at third.
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Examiner Reader said:
You have no idea what this man has really accomplished until you pick up a bat and play at a level above little league...how about you just write about the game and leave the personal vendetta's out of it...
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John P Slevin said:
Finally, a writer who admits that coverage of Bonds is based on personality disputes he's had with writers. Sports writers who assail Bonds are far from reaching the level of excellence in their profession that Bonds has reached in his profession. They are supposed to be writing about baseball...not settling scores.
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Alameda said:
Jealous...I know your jealous...cause you have no skills...and Barry has set records...you WISH your little words could have the same power as a SPLAH HOMER...JealousI now your jealous
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Examiner Reader said:
Great observations and pretty basic. I think you'll find that most of us Fans agree with you.
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Examiner Reader said:
This team is old as hell and Bochy and Sabean LOVE IT! Forget about evaluating the rookies, let go after thw NL West title while we're 12 games under .500. We're 7 games backs out of first but in reality we are 2 games out of being in LAST PLACE in the West. HELLO!!!! We're freaking closer to last place than we are to first.
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Examiner Reader said:
they play the old guys because the other guys suck and wont get any better
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Examiner Reader said:
Glenn, do you feel guilty about accepting a paycheck?
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Examiner Reader said:
Come back Barry! All is forgiven.
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Lloyd Christmas said:
Personally I think they gave vizquel and other veterans more playing time in order to try and get some value for them on the trade market. Vizquel is worth more with a swing than with out.
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