Giants Semester Report Card

Current Record: 46-35

After yesterday's game, the San Francisco Giants have completed their first 81 games of 2011; the halfway point of the season.

Here are the grades:

Batting
The Giants have terrible offense. I'm pretty sure that's common sense nowadays. Now that Buster Posey and Freddy Sanchez is gone for the season, the Giants two most consistent hitters, the Giants have turned to guys like Aaron Rowand, Miguel Tejada and Aubrey Huff to carry this offense.

What a terrible thing to do, the Giants have only produced an average of 3.52 runs a game with those guys (ranked 15th out of 16 National League teams).

Right now, Huff leads the team with eight home runs... he is also batting .244 with a team-leading 41 RBIs. Wow, that's pretty bad. Then who is next to him?

Second in RBIs is Freddy Sanchez. He has 24 RBIs and he hasn't played in weeks. Besides him, Nate Schierholtz and Cody Ross are tied for third with 23 runs driven in and they have only played in 72 and 62 games respectively.

Grade- D+

Pitching
Okay this is the fun section to write about. The Giants pitching has been supurb so far this season. With a starting rotation of Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, Madison Bumgarner and Ryan Vogelsong, and I guess Barry Zito, it's hard to lose too many games.

All starters (besides Zito) has an ERA under 3.85. That is insane. Especially when the Giants bullpen has been even better thus far (five relief pitchers with ERA's under 3.00)

The Giants lead the National League in fewest hits allowed, fewest home runs allowed, the most strikeouts and the most saves. They also rank third in the N.L. in team ERA with 3.20.

Grade- A

Fielding
This area has been pretty average for the Giants. Since Brandon Crawford was called up to play shortstop, the errors from that position have decreased. Miguel Tejada still leads the team in errors with eight, and as a team, they rank sixth in the N.L. in fewest errors committed.

What is still troubling is that they rank 11th in double plays turned with only 173. What this means is that either the pitching is so good that they don't allow runners on as often as others (which in this case is true), or they just don't get both runners when trying to turn two.

Grade- B-


Overall: B-They havent been scoreing many runs, but they are allowing next to nothing. They win almost every tight game and they have the best bullpen in baseball. 

Ten Reasons Why Ryan Vogelsong Should Make the All-Star Team

Pick him. Or else...

With the All-star weekend quickly approaching, many try to speculate what pitchers will be making the trip down to Arizona.

I am vouching for Ryan Andrew Vogelsong of the San Francisco Giants.

Here are my 10 reasons:

1. The Giants are 10-4 when he has made an appearance, 9-3 when he has started.

2. His last name is "Vogelsong." How cool is that to say?

3. He has allowed more than two runs in a game twice. In those two games, the Giants still won (7-6 @ Mets, 13-7 @ Cubs)

4. He had a streak of six games where he allowed one run or less. The Giants somehow ended up with a record of 4-2 during that span, but dang was Vogelsong good.

5. He has only lost once. In that loss he pitched eight innings, allowed eight hits, walked one, struck out 3 and ended up losing 1-0 to the Florida Marlins.

6. His ERA is second best (to Jair Jurrjens) in the league (2.07 to 2.09).

7. He already has a 2.5 WAR (Wins Above Replacement) in the 12 starts hes had. Oh by the way, that leads all Giants pitchers (second best is Matt Cain with 2.2)

8. Did you know he has a batting average higher than Brandon Crawford, Miguel Tejada, Eli Whiteside, Bill Hall and Mike Fontenot? Huh...

9. Because he damn well deserves it. What a story for this guy: he was drafted by the Giants in the 5th round back in 1998 and traded to the Pirates for Jason Schmidt where struggled on an already terrible Pirates team. He then signed with the Phillies and was quickly released, then signed by the Angels and never was given a second chance to pitch in the big leagues. That is, until he joined the Giants. Now he is one of the best pitchers in one of the best rotations in baseball. Journalists dream of Cinderella stories like this one.

10. Because he is a Giant and Bruce Bochy can do whatever he wants. Charlie Manuel did it to the NLAll-Star team back in 2009, I say Bochy picks his entire bullpen and rotation to pitch in the All-Star game. I hate the Phillies...

So there ya go, it's a pretty gosh darn convincing list of reasons why I think Vogelsong should make this years All-Star game. Hopefully he gets some national recognition when the break comes because I'd sure like to see him there.

Seed Spitters 2011 All-Star Ballot

As a member of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance, Seed Spitters is encouraged to post our own potential ballot for this years All-Star game.

As a member of the Giants chapter, my impulsive selection may seem a little... ahem, biased. Alas, I was as fair as possible.

First up, the American League:

C- Alex Avila (DET)- By far, the most productive hitting catcher in the AL. He has a .303 average, along with 10 home runs (second among AL catchers), 45 RBIs and a .918 OPS to lead the pack.

1B- Adrian Gonzalez (BOS)- Well, let's look at the numbers: .361 batting average, 16 home runs, 71 RBIs and a 1.026 OPS. Far a head in most statistics when compared to other slugging first basemen.

2B- Asdrubal Cabrera (CLE)- I'm going with my gut on this one. I feel that Cabrera has been extremely valuable to his team. Without his 12 home runs, 44 RBIs, .293 batting average and 12 steals (zero caught stolen) the Indians would look like a much different team.

SS- Jhonny Peralta (DET)- After a mediocre season, Peralta is finally hitting again, leading all shortstops in almost every category, including a .882 OPS.

3B- Alex Rodriguez (NYY)- A-Rod has been good this season. He has hit 13 home runs, 51 RBIs along with an impressive .300 batting average (not to mention a .890 OPS to lead all third basemen).

OF- Jose Bautista (TOR)- Okay, this was an easy pick. Bautista has 23 home runs (1st of AL OF), a .325 batting average, 65 walks against 46 strikeouts and a 1.123 OPS to lead the entire league. He's an All-Star.

OF-Jacoby Ellsbury (BOS)- This is where I look at speed as an important asset. Ellsbury leads the league with 35 steals as an out fielder. He is also batting .303. The next player to hit over .300 and steal some bases as an outfielder is Bautista with 5...

OF- Adam Jones (BAL)- He has been as good as any other outfielder in the AL, and on a terrible team. Thirteen home runs and 45 RBIs with a .294 batting average goes a long way, I think he deserves the spot.

SP- Justin Verlander (DET)- Dude is good this year. Leading the American League with 10 wins and 124 strikeouts, he has been lights out. He also owns a 2.38 ERA and an impressive 0.84 WHIP.

RP- Mariano Rivera (NYY)- He is second in the AL in saves (20 with 3 blown), has a 1.78 ERA (best of AL closers) and he has only allowed one home run this season. He gets my vote.

Okay, now that that is out of the way, here are my picks for the National League:

C- Brian McCann (ATL)- I wish I could choose Buster Posey, but alas, the next best is clearly McCann. Leading the NL catchers in home runs (13), RBIs (43), batting average (.300), on-base %, Slugging and OPS. Easy pick here.

1B- Prince Fielder (MIL)- Twenty-one home runs, 68 RBIs, a .305 batting average and a high 1.037 OPS. He is an All-Star.

2B- Rickie Weeks (MIL)- Fourteen home runs and a .290 batting average is impressive for a second baseman. He also leads all NL second basemen with a .858 OPS.

SS- Jose Reyes (NYM)- He has 14 triples and 28 stolen bases so far this season with a .341 batting average... enough said.

3B- Ryan Roberts (ARI)- Where there aren't many great third basemen out there in the NL, Ryan leads them all with 10 home runs and a .790 OPS. I'll give him the nod.

OF- Matt Kemp (LAD)- He leads all NL outfielders with 21 home runs, 60 RBIs, a .327 batting average and an OPS of 1.036. Whats more impressive than his power, is his speed: 21 steals this season.

OF- Lance Berkman (STL)- This 35-year-old man can still swing. Hitting 18 home runs thus far along with 54 RBIs and a .297 batting average, Berkman is well deserving of an All-Star spot.

OF- Ryan Braun (MIL)- I know there are already 2 other starters from Milwaukee, but Braun deserves this spot. Sixteen home runs, 59 RBIs, a .308 average AND 17 steals is quite an impressive first half.

SP- Roy Halladay (PHI)- The Doc is performing like the Doc. Leads NL with 10 wins, he holds a 2.40 ERA with 123 strikeouts. I'll let him start over Tim Lincecum.

RP- Brian Wilson (SF)- This is where my "homer" feelings are justified. Wilson leads NL closers in saves (23 with two blown) and wins (five), but is also top 5 in ERA (2.50) when his first few appearances inflated that number. Go Giants.

So there ya go, my starters ballot for this years All-Star game. Even though Wilson is my only Giant on that list, I still believe guys like Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum and even Ryan Vogelsong can make the reserves.

Fantasy Profile: Andres Torres

Before the 2010 season, Andres Torres was an unknown aging fifth outfielder. An afterthought.

Then he made a miraculous comeback with the Giants, playing in 139 games (64 more games than any other season in his career) becoming one of the most dangerous lead-off hitters in the league.

Last year, in Yahoo! Sports fantasy league, Torres was ranked the 99th best fantasy player in baseball, yet owned in only 28% of the leagues.

Why he wasn't owned in more leagues? He had never started for a team before, and he was at the old age of 32. Two uncertainties that fantasy owners tend to stay away from.

Despite being under the radar, Torres continued to hit, run and field like nobody knew he could.

He had an average of .268 with 16 home runs and 63 RBIs (alright, pretty average), along with a team-leading 26 steals and only one error.

He also had 67 extra-base hits with 43 doubles (4th in N.L.) and eight triples (7th in N.L.).

This year, however, Torres began the season slowly as he hit .286 with seven strikeouts, three walks and no RBIs in the eight games he played in April before going on the disabled list.

He continued playing on May 10th and has yet to reach the caliber of play he showed us last season.

Since his return, Torres has hit two home runs, 12 RBIs and has an average of .224. What is more disappointing is his amount of steals; just seven in the 44 games he has played in this season.

For those 26% of you who still own Torres, it doesn't look like you're getting his production from last season. His power is way down, he doesn't steal as often as he should and he just doesn't get on base with such a low average.

This season, Yahoo! has ranked him 672nd in their fantasy leagues, much worse than his rank from last season.

If you have him, I'm sorry to say it, but you must drop him. Where his main threat in fantasy leagues last season was speed, this year it appears that he has slowed down.

If you do drop him, make sure to keep an eye on his production. If his average raises along with the number of steals, than he may be worth picking up again.

Giants: A Broken Team

Right now, at this moment, the San Francisco Giants have nine players on the Disabled List.

Those players are Barry Zito (LHP), Buster Posey (C), Mike Fontenot (INF.), Mark DeRosa (INF/OF), Brandon Belt (1B/LF), Freddy Sanchez (2B), Darren Ford (OF), and Pablo Sandoval (although he is playing tonight against Arizona).

To fill in these spaces, the Giants have brought in Ryan Vogelsong at pitcher #4, Chris Stewart at backup catcher, Manny Burriss, Brandon Crawford and Bill Hall for the infeild, and for some reason, Miguel Tejada is still playing baseball...

Tejada is a whole other debate right now, so anyways...

With these five guys on the roster, the team looks like it has more holes in it than Swiss cheese.  With our ideal broken starting lineup being:
                              1-Andres Torres
                              2-Miguel Tejada (ugh..)
                              3-Nate Schierholtz
                              4-Aubrey Huff
                              5-Cody Ross
                              6-Brandon Crawford
                              7-Manny Burriss
                              8-Eli Whiteside
                              9-Tim Lincecum

That's a rough lineup, especially if you compare the Giants ideal starters:

                              1-Andres Torres
                              2-Freddy Sanchez
                              3-Pablo Sandoval
                              4-Buster Posey
                              5-Aubrey Huff
                              6-Brandon Belt
                              7-Cody Ross
                              8-Brandon Crawford
                              9-Tim Lincecum

Boom, but thanks to the recent plague of injuries, we probably won't see this lineup until October.

Okay so it's settled, the Giants lineup can't hit. But they are still in 1st place through 66 games, so how are they winning?

Ryan Vogelsong.

He has been a big reason the Giants are doing so well with such a horrific offense. In the 11 games he has pitched in this season (9 games started), the Giants have won eight of them. Eight.

In those eight games, the Giants pitching staff as a whole has averaged 1.63 runs against per game. Out of the 72 innings in that span, Vogelsong pitched 43.1 of them (or roughly 60%). His average game score in those starts have been 60 (above average) and he did pitch a stretch of 6 starts without allowing over 1 run.

He's been good, and thank the baseball gods that Barry Zito's injury turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Vogelsong has been lights out and he is a good reason the Giants are 10-10 since May 24th (Posey injury).

Another indicator of how good he has been is that his run support has been Matt Cain-low. I mean really low. Like 3.2 runs per game low. That means if he allows three to four runs per game, he would never win a game.

Luckily for him, he has only given up over two once this year (five on May 3rd) and he owns a 4-1 record.

Let's hope Pablo can return to pump up the Giants offense tonight, Ryan Vogelsong and his fellow pitchers will need it.

Go Giants.

Tim Lincecum: Future 2011 All-Star

Last season, Tim Lincecum was an afterthought when trying to decide who should win the 2010 NL Cy Young award.

After winning the award in his first two season, expectations were set high for the kid. He was brilliant before, why would he have a bad season now?

Bad season? I would label it as a down season due to the fact that he still pitched a heck of a season (minus the month of August). Sure, he was his worse in innings pitched, ERA, earned runs, complete games, shutouts, hits allowed, home runs allowed, strikeouts, and WHIP, but he was still selected to his second straight all-star game. 

This season, many experts didn't know what to expect of Lincecum.

He was called out for not working out hard enough by his dad and the media in August, and then he turned it around in September and in the playoffs. 

So far he has started in 12 games, winning 5, losing 4 and has posted a 2.59 ERA. Along with the low ERA, his strikeout rate is high, his WHIP is low and he is pitching like his old self again.

Today he ranks seventh in the NL in ERA (2.59), third in strikeouts (88), second in innings pitched (83.1) and top 10 in WHIP and opponents batting average (1.09 and .221).

These stats give us a pretty good idea of how well Lincecum has pitched so far this season, but when we compare him with Roy Halladay, Clayton Kershaw and Cliff Lee, he still fairs quite well.

Name	Team	Wins	ERA	Strikeouts	WHIP	Batting Average.
Tim Lincecum	SF	5	2.59	88	1.09	.221
Roy Halladay	PHI	7	2.56	91	1.07	.246
Cliff Lee	PHI	4	3.94	90	1.26	.264
Clayton Kershaw	LAD	6	2.62	87	1.10	.218

Now due to run support differences (and oh boy are they differences), wins are not a weighing factor. 

Just for fun lets compare run support for the same pitchers:

Tim Lincecum- 3.83 runs for per game
Roy halladay- 3.92 runs for per game
Cliff Lee- 3.5 runs for per game
Clayton Kershaw- 3.83 runs for per game

These numbers directly translate in the the number of wins. Because of the Giants below average offense, wins will not be used as a valid pitching stat in my all-star picks. 

With the numbers I have provided, Lincecum will probably make the All-star team for his third straight year. 

That is, unless, Charlie Manuel picks his entire pitching staff before any other teams pitcher...

Shortstop Options Looking Forward

The Giants have a massive hole in their lineup: the shortstop position.

Most of us are worrying about the catcher position after what happened to "Lord Buster Posey", but I have had a far greater concern this season. The catcher position can be solved later, perhaps Eli Whiteside can produce average numbers. We don't know yet, so let's wait and give him a chance before we pick up mediocre players such as Pudge Rodriguez, Bengie Molina or Jorge Posada.

Sheesh.

Right now, my main focus is finding a shortstop. Not necessarily a long-term solution, but a decent pick up that will last a season or two in order to let rookie Brandon Crawford develop (even though he is doing pretty well so far).

So with that in mind, I have come up with a list of possible shortstops that the Giants might want to consider trading for this summer. In the chart below, there is the name of the player, the Yahoo! Sports player ranking, the ESPN player rate, his 2010 salary and when he becomes a free agent:

Name	Team	Yahoo! Rank	ESPN rater	2010 salary	Free Agent
Jose Reyes	NYM	15	10.25	$11 million	2012
Elvis Andrus	TEX	86	6.27	$452,180	2015
Starlin Castro	CHC	94	5.51	$440,000	2016
Yunel Escobar	TOR	105	4.08	$2.9 million	2014
J.J. Hardy	BAL	892	-1.78	$5.85 million	2012
Mike Aviles	KC	230	3.18	$640,000	2015
Alex Gonzalez	ATL	252	2.69	$250,000	2012
Jed Lowrie	BOS	239	2.43	$450,000	2015
Ian Desmond	WAS	158	3.98	$441,500	2016
Jimmy Rollins	PHI	126	5.39	$8 million	2012

Obviously, the big name floating around in Giants rumors is Jose Reyes. A decent option, but worth the $15 million? Next off season, he can choose whomever offers him the most money, and the Giants don't need to bid on an injury-stricken player like Reyes. 

I think a guy like Freddy Sanchez with more speed is the type of player the Giants should be interested in. Someone who can get on base, hit for average, play respectable defense at shortstop and steal at least 15 bases a season without injuring himself  is the perfect option.

Some names that fit the bill: Elvis Andrus, Jed Lowrie (minus the speed; only 2 steals in 3 years), Starlin Castro and Jimmy Rollins. 

Now due to old age, brittle bones and a very expensive contract, lets throw out Rollins of the equation to leave us with 3 young, talented, cheap(per than a superstar) candidates. 

Here is a chart of their age, and key stats I'm looking for from this season:

Name	Age	Ave.	OBP	SLG.	OPS	HR	RBI	SB	K:BB
Elvis Andrus	24	.267	.311	.340	.650	2	18	15	30:11
Starlin Castro	22	.318	.343	.435	.778	1	25	5	25:8
Jed  Lowrie	28	.306	.354	.450	.804	3	21	0	32:13

Out of the three, I think it'll be easier to trade for Lowrie, the other two are just too valuable for their team. I know he doesn't quite fit the bill when it comes to speed, but he looks like he can be a productive hitter at the plate. Last season he had an OPS of .907 in 55 games with 9 home runs and 24 RBIs.  

To put that in comparison, Miguel Tejada's OPS this season (50 games played) is .520, Mike Fontenot's OPS (37 games played) is .706 and Crawford's OPS in 187 games in AA(He skipped AAA, and the majors is too small of a sample size) is .682. 

None of these guys are proving they deserve to stay. Tejada isn't what he used to be, Fontenot is a perfectly fine back up, and Crawford just isn't ready. 

What it'll take to grab a guy like Lowrie, I'm not quite sure, but he is an intriguing possibility to help this giants lineup.

Discussion starter: out of the players listed, who do you feel confident about on the Giants at the trade deadline and how realistic is it that we can get him?