Thursday, March 30, 2006

The First Step is Admitting You Have a Problem

Hi, my name is Martin and I am no longer Biased - I am an Obsessive Giants Compulsive. I am compelled to post in the middle of the night my thoughts on the San Francisco Giants. I was even caught by my wife posting on our wedding anniversary (fortunately, I was able to make it up to her plus she's a great person), but I just had to comment on a diary on McCovey Chronicles.

My Philosophy

I was reading through the various blogs and websites devoted to the Giants and baseball and the comments placed there by posters and it got me thinking about how each person's philosophy affects their view of the Giants and how they are doing. And I'm no exception, I'm aware that my own personal biases affect how I interpret things. My perspective is definitely skewed, though I do try to be aware and account for them when I can. I've written a bit about my philosophy, specifically in my blog intro paragraph and my profile section, but I thought I would spend one post on it extensively, with my first post here, just to be clear to readers of this blog what they can expect from me, what they can expect to see in my blog, how my view on things has come to be.

No Spin Zone

I honestly and truly want to view the Giants objectively and without rose-colored glasses. It might be that I hold one particular opinion strongly, but it is not because I refuse to change, but rather I refuse to change my opinion if I think I am correct or at least is convinced that you are wrong. And I'm aware that sometimes I'm wrong so I'm always testing and re-testing my beliefs, to put myself in the other person's shoes, to be sure that I have what I feel to be the correct and clear view. I guess that's the obsessive part (or is it the compulsive).

I've always been blessed (or cursed, depends on the situation) by the fact that I tend to see both sides of the arguments, or at least is aware enough to account for both sides of the argument. Makes me seem wishy-washy at times. Plus then I go into this soliloquy and the listener's eyes glazes over (I guess this is compulsive).

And while my background is definitely that of the geeky scientific type whose favorite character (and one whom I most identify with on that show) in Star Trek is Mr. Spock, I am also a touchy-feelie guy who can accept subjective, qualitative types of information. Like for now, I still believe in clutch hitting, I just don't believe that any study that has researched it thus far, and that I've read, has done it correctly yet. And I believe that pitchers like Rueter exist. And there is something terribly wrong with how park factors the way it is being generated right now, but I just cannot figure out yet what the correct way is, though it involves how some parks are skewed by the players who happen to hit well there and how the schedule is now imbalanced towards the parks in your division, so the park factor has to reduce it's overwhelming reliance on the home stats.

But I am definitely a saber-type of guy, I believe that there are things that can be drawn out of the numbers that human observation cannot capture adequately. However, I do believe that there is value to scouting, that there are qualities about a prospect's state of mind and maturity that cannot be measured completely in a survey plus qualities that you can only see by observing the players. I believe that there are qualitative factors in how a player goes about his business on the diamond that a good scout should be able to see. The old "maturity" factor. Nonetheless, I do believe that scouting is definitely still an art that a forward-seeing baseball organization will someday start to develop into a science (the A's appear to have a start towards this, don't know their situation enough to definitively say so).

The Clear

I have been realizing over time that my perspective about the Giants also is misunderstood by some as a bias for the Giants. When I write about my research into the Giants and their methods and strategies, I take a question that I myself would like answered or that I've seen others bring up and I thought, "hey, that would be interesting to investigate". I do my best to not allow my own personal opinions affect what I'm looking for, to not have it taint my research.

Then I present the results, whether it makes the Giants look good or look bad or look like an idiot or whatever. I don't take any pleasure in deluding myself into thinking a team is good when they are not. I am happiest when I think I got a clear picture of what's really happening.

I am not one of those sports fanatics who totally identify with their team and feel that they are a reflection of me. The team does not have to do well for me to be happy. I simply love my team and follow them, come hell (for most of my first quarter century of following them), come highwater (for most of the Sabean era).

I love a 16-14 slugfest as much as I do a taunt 1-0 game (well, maybe not quite as much, I admit I am a homer lover, but I can greatly enjoy a low scoring game that is well-pitched). I simply want to know what to expect from them: for the season, for the series, for the game, for the rest of the season. I like knowing what to expect and then seeing if the team meets them or not.

Thus I was able to enjoy watching the Giants during the 70's and 80's even though in terms of pennant and playoff success, they were a total dud. And, of course, I have enjoyed the Sabean era greatly, winning is definitely, infinitely, better than finishing in the second division continuously. And I enjoyed 2005, though I was definitely disappointed as I expected a lot more, but I knew the Giants would be toast without Bonds, and then additionally losing the production from not just a handful of our most important players, but most of our players, meant that I expected a limping team the rest of the season, not good, but that's life sometimes. You just need to know the various scenarios that might play out, and be prepared for them.

Dark and Stormy Night

There has only been one period of time that I didn't follow baseball assiduously and that was after the strike of 1994 that took out the World Series. One big thing was that I had been waiting all those years for the Giants to have big homerun hitters and Matt Williams and Barry Bonds were having a year worthy of the Mantle-Maris battle in 1961. Both were not only battling for the homerun title, both were within reach of the coveted 61 of Maris. That's something people forget when they say that Bonds was "abnormal" the year he hit 73, when he is on, he hits them good.

I felt totally robbed of that experience. Whether or not they actually did it was not the point for me, I wanted to see if history was in the making or if it was another Brett .390. On a related note, Tony Gwynn was batting .394 and I wondered if I would get to see and experience a .400 hitter. Totally robbed.

The biggest thing however was losing the World Series. Even back then I believed that baseball was not equitably sharing everything. And I didn't even know about all the details of how teams can keep revenues, I was just aware of the lack of sharing of local media revenues and the lack of 50/50 sharing of even game receipts.

This was also the first strike that I was not backing the players, though the owners had their own problems that I wasn't backing them either. And McGwire infuriated me with some of his statements made during the strike too, though I cannot remember now exactly what he said. All I could think of was, "you obviously don't care very much for the fans, you've forgotten how it feels to be a fan." That's something that most baseball players go through, not just McGwire, but still that stung since he was acting as a spokesperson for the players.

On a personal level, it stung extra bad because that's the year my father-in-law passed away. I had just gotten married the year before and while we were awaiting our first child, we found out that he had stomach cancer. He was a big Giants fan like I am and was teased by his family for always having his transistor radio and his earplug everywhere he went during baseball season. That endeared him to me because that's similar to what I did throughout the 70's, listening surreptitiously to the Giants broadcast on KSFO when I was suppose to be sleeping.

I was looking forward to spending family events talking about the Giants with him or watching games together, but that never got to happen. I was hoping that the Giants would perhaps make the playoffs and make his final days a little bit bearable, but not only did that not happen, the players went out on strike just before he left us and he didn't even get the pleasure of listening to the regular season for his last remaining days.

I boycotted baseball for the most part - I still paid some attention to major happenings, I couldn't go cold turkey - until I was sucked in like everyone else when McGwire and Sosa had their homerun race of the ages. But the hurt from that still lingers, I sometimes catch myself wondering if he's watching from above and what he's thinking: he was a good man, a good person.

Dealing with Reality

At one point while reading about reality shows, I realized that baseball could be considered one of the first reality shows: it's something that people do in normal life that's played out for entertainment in front of an audience, following a set of rules for competition and championship. And the reality of the situation is what I prefer to deal with.

I see many a fan who spend their time living in the past - and I know I do it from time to time as well - raging at the windmills and the fates, but the past is the past, Neifi has been signed, Tucker has been signed, now we need to move on and figure out what the hell the Giants could have been thinking when they signed them and how we best can use them as the reality is this: they are here and nothing I can write will change that.

In some case, like Neifi, you cannot find any adequate reason for the signing, it is like the stone figures on Easter Island, it's just there, you don't know why or how, it is just is. In other cases, like Tucker, you find that the Giants were being cheap by trying to cobble together a better right-fielder by platooning Tucker with Hammonds instead of keeping Cruz or trying to get Sanders again. And while you don't agree with the plan ( they should have signed Vlad instead - see I can wallow with the best :^), you can at least see what they were trying to do and it made some sense given the team situation, though I certainly would have chosen the alternative option, the one where we get Vlad.

And some people complained about the deal losing a draft pick for Tucker, but they forget that the reality of the situation was that it was either the draft pick or signing Tucker. There was never a condition to get both. The budget was tight and Sabean made the choice to have someone who could help now versus someone who might give some help in 4-6 years, if ever. Given how Hammonds flamed out and how Linden was not ready yet, luckily the Giants had Tucker to help man the outfield as the starter. He and Mohr took up the slack there and provided good offense, Tucker had an OBP of over .350 and OPS of 765. Teams contending for a title normally don't put an unproven and, worse, unsuccessful (at the major league level) player like a Linden in at the beginning of the season - there is too much risk of poor performance with no backup plan that's economical.

Glass Half Full

I will admit that I tend to be a glass half full type of guy. I try to take the positives of a situation. That's a direct result of my father dying just before I was 16. It helped me cope with my loss and is my philosophy for life. This has allowed me to cherish and enjoy those moments of joy while a season is swirling down the toilet, whether it's a complete game 2-hit shutout by your prized pitching prospect or another walk off homer by Barry Bonds.

But I don't ignore the empty half of the glass though. I know it is there and I know that you cannot ignore it. Else the puzzle is incomplete and you are living and viewing the world with rose-colored glasses. Which brings me back full circle to what I was first talking about at the very beginning of this post and an end to my philosophizing.

Play Ball!

These are my guiding principles for my blog, for better or for worse. I cannot promise that I will be perfect (though that is my compulsion), but I can promise that I will seek to understand and illuminate whatever moves that the Giants do with their baseball team (my obsession). I will also share my love of baseball and, in particular, the Giants, in my postings. And I will try to teach, best that I can, the principles of analyzing baseball players that I've been slowly synthesizing from the various books on baseball statistics that I have been reading.

Labels

1984 Draft (1) 2007 Draft (15) 2007 Giants (52) 2008 Draft (22) 2008 Giants (53) 2008 season (6) 2009 Draft (18) 2009 Giants (87) 2009 season (24) 2010 Decade (12) 2010 Draft (11) 2010 Giants (137) 2010 NL ROY award (1) 2010 season (19) 2010's (3) 2011 Draft (9) 2011 Giants (84) 2011 season (8) 2012 Draft (11) 2012 Giants (93) 2012 season (11) 2013 Draft (3) 2013 Giants (39) 2013 season (5) 2014 (1) 2014 draft (5) 2014 Giants (79) 2014 season (16) 2015 Draft (4) 2015 Giants (50) 2015 season (10) 2016 Draft (1) 2016 Giants (45) 2016 season (6) 2017 Draft (3) 2017 Giants (27) 2018 Draft (8) 2018 Giants (50) 2018 Season (8) 2019 Draft (1) 2019 Giants (27) 2019 season (2) 2020 Decade (1) 2020 Giants (9) 20201 Draft (1) 2021 Giants (3) 2022 Giants (2) 2023 Giants (14) 2023 season (1) 2024 Giants (7) 25 man roster (10) 25th man fallacy (1) 3B (1) 40 Man Roster (10) 49ers (1) 5-day rotation (1) 51/49 decisions (1) 6-man rotation (5) 89 Quake (1) 89 World Series (1) A-Ball (1) A-Gon (1) A-Rod (3) A's (6) AA-Ball (1) Aaron Rowand (25) Abiatal Avelino (1) accomplishments (1) ace pitcher (2) ace starter (3) Adalberto Mejia (6) Adam Duvall (5) AFL (4) aggression (1) Albert Suarez (5) Alen Hanson (3) Alex Cobb (1) Alex Dickerson (2) Alex Hinshaw (3) Alex Pavlovic (1) Alexander Canario (2) All-Star Game (1) almost perfect game (1) Alonzo Powell (1) Amphetamine (3) analysis (24) Andre Torres (14) Andres Torres (2) Andrew Baiiley (1) Andrew Bailey (1) Andrew McCutchen (2) Andrew Suarez (5) Andrew Susac (11) Andy Baggerly (2) Andy Sisco (1) Andy Suarez (9) Angel Joseph (1) Angel Pagan (17) Angel Villalona (30) Anniversary (1) appendicitis (1) Aramis Garcia (2) Arbitration (19) Armando Benitez (5) Armando Gallaraga (1) art of failure (1) Asia-Pacific signing (1) assessment (1) Astros (3) At the Rate They Are Going (1) ATT Park (1) Aubrey Huff (20) Austin Jackson (2) Austin Slater (5) Award (4) BABIP (3) Bam Bam Meulens (1) Barry Bonds (30) Barry Zito (77) baseball (1) Baseball America (3) Baseball Prospectus (6) Baseball Prospectus Bias Against Giants (4) baseball strategy (9) Baseball Study (18) baserunning (2) batting peripherals (1) batting stance analysis (1) batting title champion (1) Beat LA (9) bench players (4) Bengie Molina (14) Benjamin Snyder (1) Bert Blyleven (1) best manager (2) best practices (2) Beyond the Box Score (1) Bias Against Giants (1) Big 6 (9) Big Picture (3) Bill Hall (1) Bill James (1) Bill James Handbook (2) Bill Mueller (1) Bill Neukom (21) Billy Beane (3) biography (1) Blake Riverra (1) blog news (3) Blog Philosophy (3) Bob Howry (2) Bob Mariano (1) Bobby Evans (4) Boston Red Sox (1) Brad Hennessey (5) Brad Penny (2) Brandon Bednar (1) Brandon Belt (50) Brandon Crawford (25) Brandon Hicks (1) Braves (5) breakout (2) Brett Bochy (4) Brett Pill (9) Brewers (1) Brian Anderson (1) Brian Bannister (3) Brian Bocock (2) Brian Cooper (1) Brian Horwitz (3) Brian Ragira (2) Brian Sabean (50) Brian Wilson (14) Bridegrooms (6) Bruce Bochy (36) Bucky Showalter (1) bulllpen (8) Bullpen (33) Business Plan (23) Buster Posey (102) Byran Reynolds (2) Byung-Hyun Kim (1) Cained (4) call-ups (3) Candlestick Park (1) Cards (13) Career Prospects (4) Carl Hubbell (1) Carlos Beltran (4) Carlos Gomez (1) Carney Lansford (2) Carson Whisenhunt (1) Carter Jurica (1) Casey Kelly (1) Casey McGeHee (3) catcher injury (5) catching (3) CBT penalty (1) CC Sabathia (1) censorship (2) CEO (2) Chad Gaudin (5) Charles Culberson (5) Charlie Culberson (3) Chase Johnson (3) cheating (1) Chillax (1) Chris Brown (1) Chris Gloor (1) Chris Heston (19) Chris Lincecum (1) Chris Marrero (1) Chris O'Leary (1) Chris Ray (4) Chris Shaw (4) Chris Stewart (4) Chris Stratton (30) Chris Strattton (1) Christian Arroyo (7) Christmas (1) Christopher Dominguez (4) Christy Mathewson (1) Chuckie Jones (2) Clay Hensley (3) Clayton Blackburn (10) Clayton Tanner (3) Closer (9) closer by committee (3) Coaches (4) coaching changes (1) Cody Hall (2) Cody Ross (8) Col (1) Comeback Award (1) Commissioner (1) comparison (3) competitive advantage (1) Competitive Balance Tax (2) Competitive Cycles (2) competitiveness (2) Conner Menez (1) Connor Joe (3) Connor Nurse (1) Conor Gillaspie (25) contender (1) contract extension (3) contract negotiations (2) contract signing (7) Coordinator (1) core competency (1) Core Rotation (1) Cory Gearrin (5) Cory Guerrin (1) Cory Hart (1) Craig Whitaker (2) Cubs (1) Curt Young (1) cuts (1) Cy Young Award (5) cyber-relief (1) D-backs (16) D-gers (36) D-Rocks (3) D-Rox (17) D.J. Snelten (3) Dallas McPherson (1) Dan Ortmeier (11) Dan Otero (2) Dan Runzler (6) Dan Slania (3) Dan Uggla (1) Daniel Carbonell (1) Daniel Slania (2) Dany Jimenez (1) Darren Ford (1) Dave Righetti (1) Dave Roberts (11) David Aardsma (1) David Bell (1) David Huff (2) David Loewenstein (1) Decade of the Giants (12) decline (1) Defense (11) Deferred Money (1) deleted comment (1) Denard Span (3) depth (1) Dereck Rodriquez (7) Derek Holland (18) Derek Law (11) Detroit Tigers (1) DFA (3) DH (2) Dick Tidrow (2) dictionary (1) direction (1) Dirty (1) DL (3) dodgers (15) Donald Snelten (1) Donovan Solano (1) Draft (11) Draft Analysis (27) Draft Bonus (7) draft list (3) draft philosophy (2) draft signing (3) Draft Strategy (12) Draft Study (9) Draft Success (4) drafting (5) Dres (16) Drew Pomeranz (1) DRS (1) Dynasty (3) Earl Weaver (1) Edgar Renteria (13) Eduardo Nunez (4) Edwin Escobar (5) Ehire Adrianza (26) Eli Whiteside (4) Elimination game (1) EME (2) Emmanuel Burriss (18) end of an era (1) epic season (6) era (1) Eric Byrnes (1) Eric Surkamp (6) Erik Cordier (1) Eugenio Velez (12) evaluation (3) Evan Longoria (3) Evan Longoriia (1) extension (7) fan outrage (10) fan rants (2) fanfest (1) FanGraphs (2) Farhan Zaidi (35) feature reliever (1) felony conviction (1) Fielding (5) Fielding Stats (4) finger injury (3) first post-season press conference (3) Francisco Peguero (4) Fred Lewis (3) Freddie Lewis (17) Freddie Sanchez (4) Freddy Sanchez (7) Free Agency (8) free agent misses (1) Free agent possibilities (28) Free agent signing (22) Free agent signings (21) front office (3) Gabe Kapler (1) Game Score (3) gamer-tude (1) Garrett Williams (1) Gary Brown (26) Geno Espinelli (1) George Kontos (10) Ghosts of Giants Drafts (2) Giants (10) Giants Announcer (1) Giants blogs (3) Giants Chat (4) Giants Classic Rotation (1) Giants Defense (4) Giants Draft (15) Giants Drafts (8) Giants Farm System (34) Giants Franchise record (2) Giants Future (66) Giants GM (12) Giants Greats (3) Giants hitting manual (1) Giants Leadership (1) Giants manager (1) Giants No-Hitter (5) Giants Offense (34) Giants Offseason (24) Giants Pitching (10) Giants President of Baseball Operations (3) Giants Strategy (44) GiDar (1) Gino Espinelli (1) glossary (1) Gold Glove Award (1) good players (4) good will (1) Gorkys Hernandez (2) Graphical Player (1) great players (4) Gregor Blanco (18) Gregor Moscoso (1) Gregory Santos (1) Guillermo Moscoso (2) Guillermo Mota (2) Guillermo Quiroz (1) Gustavo Cabrera (4) Hall of Fame (10) Hall of Shame (4) Hank Aaron (5) Happy Holidays (2) Hate mail (1) Hayden Birdsong (1) healthy (1) heart-warming (1) Heath Hembree (8) Heath Quinn (1) Hector Correa (1) Hector Sanchez (12) Heliot Ramos (11) Henry Sosa (8) HGH (1) Hidden Game (1) high expectations (1) high school focus in draft (1) high velocity hitters (1) high velocity pitchers (1) hiring (2) hiring process (1) Hitter's League (1) Hitting (19) Hitting Coach (1) hitting mechanics (3) hitting pitchers (2) hitting streak (1) Hitting; (1) Home Run Career Record (7) Home Run Hitting Contest (1) Hunter Bishop (4) Hunter Pence (25) Hunter Stickland (1) Hunter Strickland (9) Ian Gardeck (1) Idea (4) IFA (1) improvement (2) Indictment (1) Infield (1) injury (7) instant replay (2) instructor (1) Interesting Question (1) International Free Agent Pursuits (5) International Signings (5) interview (5) Investment (1) Ivan Ochoa (2) J.P. Martinez (1) J2 (1) Jack Taschner (4) Jackson Williams (3) Jacob Dunnington (1) Jacob Gonzalez (2) Jacob Junis (1) Jacob McCasland (1) Jae-gyun Hwang (1) Jake Dunning (2) Jake Peavy (39) Jake Smith (1) Jake Wong (1) Jalen Miller (1) Jandel Gustave (1) Japanese Starters (1) Jarrett Parker (10) Jason Heyward (1) Jason Maxwell (2) Jason Stoffel (1) Javier Lopez (5) JC Gutierrez (3) JD Davis (1) Jean Machi (6) Jeff Kent (1) Jeff Samardzija (28) Jeff Suppan (1) Jeremy Affeldt (12) Jeremy Shelley (2) Jerome Williams (1) Jesse English (2) Jesse Foppert (1) Jesus Guzman (4) Jimmy Rollins (1) Joaquin Arias (14) Joe Panik (18) Joe Torre (1) Joey Bart (5) Joey Martinez (2) Johan Santana (1) John Barr (1) John Bowker (22) John Thorn (1) Johneshwy Fargas (2) Johnny Bench (1) Johnny Cueto (31) Johnny Monell (1) Johnny Rucker (1) Jonah Arenado (1) Jonathan Mayo (1) Jonathan Sanchez (49) Jordan Hicks (1) Jordan Johnson (1) Jorge Soler (1) Jose Canseco (1) Jose Casilla (1) Jose Guillen (3) Jose Mijares (3) Jose Uribe (2) Josh Osich (9) JT Snow (1) Juan Perez (6) Juan Uribe (9) Juggling Monkey (1) Julian Fernandez (7) Julio Urias (1) Jung Hoo Lee (2) jury (1) Just Say No (1) Kelby Tomlinson (5) Kendry Flores (2) Keury Mella (2) Kevin Correia (2) Kevin Frandsen (22) Kevin Gausman (3) Kevin Pillar (2) Kevin Pucetas (10) KNBR (1) Kung Fu Panda (30) Kyle Crick (16) Kyle Harrison (5) laid off (1) Larry Baer (3) Larry Ellison (1) Lead-off (2) leadoff (1) left-handed (1) Lew Wolff (1) LHP (1) Lineup (17) lineup construction (4) Lineup position (1) links (1) Logan Webb (3) Lon Simmons (1) long relief (2) Long-Term Contract (22) long-term planning (3) losing streak (1) Lucius Fox (3) luck (2) Luis Angel Mateo (2) Luis Matos (2) Luis Toribio (1) lunatic fringe (1) Mac Marshall (1) Mac Williamson (12) Madison Bumgarner (185) Mailbox (1) Malcolm Gladwell (1) management change (3) management issues (5) managerial value (5) Manny (1) Marc Kroon (2) Marco Luciano (3) Marco Scutaro (12) Mark DeRosa (8) Mark Gardner (1) Mark Melancon (4) Marlon Byrd (1) Martin Agosta (7) Marvin Miller (1) Masahiro Tanaka (1) Mason Black (1) Mason McVay (1) Matsuzaka (1) Matt Cain (160) Matt Chapman (1) Matt Daniels (3) Matt Downs (2) Matt Duffy (8) Matt Graham (1) Matt Holliday (1) Matt Krook (2) Matt Moore (15) Matt Morris (2) Mauricio Dubon (2) Mechanics (4) Media (17) Media Bias (17) media hypocrisy (1) Media Trade Idea (3) Medical (1) Mediocy (11) Mediots (6) Melk-Gone (1) Melky Cabrera (14) Melvin Adon (1) memories (1) mental (1) Merkin Valdez (8) Message in a Bottle (1) methodology (2) MI (1) Michael Conforto (1) Michael Main (1) Michael Reed (1) Michael Trout (1) middle infield (2) Miguel Cabrera (2) Miguel Gomez (1) Miguel Tejada (5) Mike Fontenot (3) Mike Ivie (1) Mike Kickham (9) Mike Leake (11) Mike Matheny (1) Mike Morse (10) Mike Yazstremski (2) milestone (1) minor league (1) minor league contract (4) minors (11) mismanagement (1) misnomer (1) mistakes (2) MLB (2) MLB stupidity (2) MLB Success (7) MLB Trade Rumors (1) MLBAM (1) MLBTR (1) MLE (1) Mock Draft analysis (8) Modern Portfolio Theory (1) Modus Operandi (2) MPT (1) MVP (2) Natanael Javier (1) Nate Schierholtz (45) Nathanael Javier (1) Nationals (1) Naysayers (2) Negotiations (1) Neil Ramirez (1) NewPQS (8) Next Gen (1) Nick Hundley (2) Nick Noonan (27) Nick Pereira (1) Nick Vander Tuig (2) Nick Vincent (1) NL Champions (2) NL West (29) NL West Division Title (20) NL West Future (1) NLCS (22) NLCS MVP (2) NLDS (8) Noah Lowry (14) non-roster invitees (2) non-tenders (3) Nori Aoki (4) NPB (1) NRI (1) Oakland A's (4) OBP (1) oddities (1) Offense (4) offensive era (1) ogcPQS (6) Omar Vizquel (3) one-run games (3) Opener (1) openers (1) Opening Day (6) opening day pitcher (3) opening day roster (11) Optimism (1) Osiris Matos (2) Outfield (3) overturned (1) Ownership (7) Pablo Sandoval (97) Padres (1) Panda (6) Pandoval (1) passing (1) Pat Burrell (15) Pat Misch (5) Patrick Bailey (1) Payroll (11) PECOTA (1) Pedro Feliz (12) PEDS (10) Perfect Game (2) perjury trial (1) personal (2) Personal Reminiscence (2) Pessimism (1) Pete Palmer (1) Pete Putila (1) Pete Rose (3) Peter Magowan (2) Phil Bickford (3) Phillies (7) philosophy (1) Phoenix Theory of Rebuilding (1) Pierce Johnson (2) Pitch Count (3) pitch framing (1) pitch value (1) Pitcher hitting 8th (1) pitcher’s health (1) Pitchers League (1) Pitching (27) pitching analysis (4) pitching development (3) Pitching Rotation (89) pitching staff (6) pitching strategy (2) plate discipline (1) platoon players (2) Play Ball (1) player acquisition (1) player budget (2) player development (7) playoff (2) playoff analysis (2) playoff hopes (37) playoff roster (2) playoff rotation (6) Playoff Success (27) Playoff Win Effective (3) Playoff Win Efficient (2) Playoffs (44) postmortem (2) PQS (109) press conference (2) pressure (2) priorities (1) Projected Record (6) projection (2) projections (2) promotion (2) prospect (3) prospect analysis (7) prospect future (1) prospect handling (1) Prospect of Note (3) prospect promotion (1) prospect study (2) Prospects (46) quality starts (1) questions (1) radio great (1) Rafael Rodriquez (8) Rajai Davis (2) Ralph Barbieri (1) Ramon Ramirez (3) Randy Johnson (10) Randy Messenger (2) Randy Winn (14) Rangers (5) Ranking (4) rant (1) raspberry (1) rationalization (1) Ray Durham (5) re-sign (2) realist (1) Rebuilding (5) Rebuilding Myths series (1) rebuttal (1) Red Sox (1) Reds (5) rehab (1) reliever (3) relievers (1) Relocation Concession (2) Research (2) resource scarcity (1) rest for starters (1) Retired (3) Retirement (3) return (1) Reyes Moronta (3) RHP (1) Ricardo Genoves (1) Rich Aurilia (7) Rick Peterson (1) Rickie Weeks (1) Ricky Oropesa (3) right-handed (1) risk mitigation (2) risk profile (1) Roberto Gomez (1) Rockies (2) Rod Beck (1) Roger Kieschnick (13) Roger Metzger (1) Ron Shandler (2) Ron Wotus (1) Ronnie Jebavy (1) Ronnie Ray (1) rookie debut (1) Rookie of the Year (1) Roster (4) rosterbation (2) Rotation by Committee (1) Rotation Chaos (1) ROY (2) Royals (3) Rule 5 (2) Rule 5 Draft Pick (5) rumors (9) run differential (1) run prevention (1) run production (1) runs support (1) Russ Ortiz (11) Russell Carleton (1) Ryan Garko (2) Ryan Klesko (4) Ryan Rohlinger (2) Ryan Theriot (3) Ryan Vogelsong (93) Ryder Jones (2) Sabean Naysayers (7) Sabermetric Thoughts (6) sabermetrics (5) SABR (1) Salary speculation (3) SALLY (1) Sam Dyson (7) Sam Long (1) Sam Selman (1) Sam Wolff (1) San Jose Giants (1) San Jose Relocation (3) Sandro Fabian (2) Sandy Rosario (1) Santiago Casilla (9) scenarios (1) Scott Boras (1) Scott Harris (2) Scott McClain (2) Scott Shuman (1) Scouting (2) Sean Hjelle (5) season review (1) secret sauce (2) Sergio Romo (17) Seth Corry (6) SF Giants (2) Shilo McCall (1) Shohei Ohtani (3) Shohei Otani (2) Shooter (1) shutouts (1) Signature Song (1) signing (13) Silly-Ball (3) South Atlantic League (1) South Bay Rights (1) SP usage (1) spin rate (1) splits (2) Sports Illustrated (1) Spring Training (16) stabilized stats (1) standings (1) starting CF (1) starting lineup (19) starting pitching (96) starting rotation (4) Statcorner (1) State of the Giants (1) statistics (2) STATS (1) Steamer (1) Stephen Vogt (1) Steroids (7) Steve Edlefsen (4) Steve Johnson (3) Steve Okert (8) Steven Duggar (7) strikeout rate (2) Sue Burns (1) sunk costs (1) superstition (1) tactics (1) talent evaluation (4) Tax (1) team culture (1) Team of the 2010's (2) Team of the 2020's (1) Team of the Decade (4) Team Speed (1) Team Support (1) Thank You (2) The Evil Ones (tm) (1) The Giants Way (2) The Hardball Times (1) The Hey Series (19) The Hey Zaidi Series (4) Thomas Joseph (3) Thomas Neal (9) Tigers (4) Tim Alderson (17) Tim Hudson (39) Tim Lincecum (195) TINSTAAPP (1) Todd Linden (3) Todd Wellemeyer (6) Tommy Joseph (3) Tony Watson (4) Top 100 Prospects (1) Top 14 Roster (1) Top Draft Position (4) top Giants prospects (5) top player list (1) top prospect list (6) Trade (12) Trade Analysis (22) Trade Idea (9) Trade PTBNL (2) Trade Rumors (30) trading (1) training staff (2) Training Tool (1) Travis Blackley (1) Travis Ishikawa (47) Trevor Brown (5) Trevor Gott (1) tribute (1) Tristan Beck (2) turning point (1) Ty Blach (23) Tyler Austin (1) Tyler Beede (10) Tyler Cyr (1) Tyler Horan (1) Tyler McDonald (1) Tyler Rogers (2) Tyler Walker (2) umpire mistake (3) Umpires (3) USA Today (1) utility (1) Voros McCracken (1) Waiver Roulette (1) Waldis Joaquin (5) walks (1) Wall of Fame (1) WAR (4) Warrior Spirit (1) Wendell Fairley (10) What-If Scenario (3) wild card (1) wild card race (1) Will Bednar (1) Will Clark (1) Will Smith (7) Will Wilson (3) Williams Jerez (1) Willie Mac Award (1) Willie Mays (1) winning on the road (1) Winter League (1) winter meetings (3) World Series (28) World Series Champions (13) WS Ring Bling (1) xBABIP (1) xwOBA (1) Yankees (1) Yusmeiro Petit (40) Zack Cozart (2) Zack Wheeler (9) Zaidi MO (2) Zaidi Rotation (3) ZiPS (1) Zito Role (2)