Giants sign Span to 3 yr deal

[dredinis21]

Sorry, but this rotation does not hold a candle to that '10 rotation.

Timmeh 1.0
Matt Cain when he was still an uber-stud
Jonathan Sanchez before he completely self-destructed
Madison Bumgarner, the kid who bathe in champaign, but couldn't drink it.

Vs...

Bum, the legend
Cueto, hopefully not injured
Samardzija, the big tipper
Peavy, the 4IP wunderkind
Cain, the horse (racetrack or glue factory?)


I do like the fact that EVERY member of the rotation this year has been a legit Ace at some point in their career and have all started MULTIPLE season openers, except Can, who has only pitched one.

I wonder if there has ever been a rotation before with 5 pitchers with opening day start experience.

The word you missed was POTENTIALLY. If Cueto pitches as he has for the majority of the career and not as he did in a half season in the AL, his stats surpassed Cain's super stud years. Scrabble, when he wasn't tipping pitches, was a dominant inning eater compared to Sanchez's consistent inconsistency. Peavy is exactly as you described him, and Cain, if he can get back to where he was, allows us the depth in our staff that our 2010 group didn't have.

Kind of a side note....I would compare Sanchez to Peavy (innings wise) in that Sanchez threw so many pitches trying to strike everyone out, he seemed to be out of a lot of games after the 5th/6th inning. Peavy, OTOH, just doesn't have the endurance like he used to and changes into a gas can after like 75 pitches, which often times gets him to the 5th inning. The difference is that Sanchez could pull an occasional gem out of his ass and go the distance. If Peavy could pitch a complete game this season, I'd lose my shit.

 

[calsnowskier]

Bob Fitzgerald mentioned something I have not heard mentioned anywhere yet.

Span is a splits monster. He destroys righties, but has not hit lefties well since about 2012. Conversely, Pagan destroys lefties and struggles against righties.

Perfect platoon-mates while also adding depth to the OF.

So maybe Blanco and the kids will still man LF?

 

[LHG]

Bob Fitzgerald mentioned something I have not heard mentioned anywhere yet.

Span is a splits monster. He destroys righties, but has not hit lefties well since about 2012. Conversely, Pagan destroys lefties and struggles against righties.

Perfect platoon-mates while also adding depth to the OF.

So maybe Blanco and the kids will still man LF?

If that is the case, that means the Giants carry 5 outfielders. Do you see them breaking camp with only 7 relief pitchers?

 

[calsnowskier]

If that is the case, that means the Giants carry 5 outfielders. Do you see them breaking camp with only 7 relief pitchers?

First, it was Larry Kreuger, not Bob Fitzgerald...

Yes, I think the Giants go with 5 OFers (Pence, Span, Pagan, Blanco, Mac/Parker). Further, the Giants typically start the season with a light bully since everyone is fresh. And with 3 expected 200+ pitchers, I think their "walking weight" will be 12 pitchers. Going with 13 last year really handcuffed the offensive flexibility.

 

[tzill]

If that is the case, that means the Giants carry 5 outfielders. Do you see them breaking camp with only 7 relief pitchers?

I'd be shocked if they DON'T carry 5 OF: Herk, DSpan, Oxy, Shark, Parker

 

[SFGRTB]

It's pretty normal to carry 12 pitchers. And it was necessary to carry 5 outfielders with some of the guys they've trotted out in the past (Bonds, Burrell, Morse, Huff, DeRosa etc.). This year, they could get away with 4 OFers and 3 backup infielders I think, if they want to get a backup for 3rd base. I wonder if EA could back that up though, allowing the Giants to get for the best bat available, regardless of position. Blanks, Parker, Mac, "good story player".

 

[msgkings322]

Yes, I have been down on most of their moves and, in the case of Span, have stated my reservations on him since the end of the regular season. I'm not a fan of long term deals to pitchers and felt that Span was not much of an improvement over Blanco. Considering that the Giants will probably start Pagan in left or platoon him with Blanco, that is who Span essentially replaces in the lineup. While tzill mentions that Span was very good defensively a few years ago, I've heard that he's lost some of that in the past couple of years.
I know I've been a downer on these moves but come spring training and the regular season, I'll be rooting for them and hoping very much that each of them make me eat crow on my pessimism regarding their acquisitions. I'd much prefer that.

The problem with your stringency is that if you don't want to give out 5 year deals to pitchers, guess what? You don't get any good pitchers, because that's what they cost. So then you either trade for them, in which case you basically give up as much value as you get, or you wait and pray they emerge from the minors. We are 3 time champs with money to spend in a major market filling the park every night, we do not have to do it like the Astros or KC.

We can play in this sandbox. We have a window, if in 3-4 years we have a player or two not earning their money guess what? That's how it works. And we probably got another ring or two for our trouble. Having Zito's terrible contract didn't stop us from kicking ass.

We have one of if not the best FOs in the game. They know everything you are worried about, and 10x more. They've earned our trust.

 

[Mays-Fan]

The problem with your stringency is that if you don't want to give out 5 year deals to pitchers, guess what? You don't get any good pitchers, because that's what they cost. So then you either trade for them, in which case you basically give up as much value as you get, or you wait and pray they emerge from the minors. We are 3 time champs with money to spend in a major market filling the park every night, we do not have to do it like the Astros or KC.

We can play in this sandbox. We have a window, if in 3-4 years we have a player or two not earning their money guess what? That's how it works. And we probably got another ring or two for our trouble. Having Zito's terrible contract didn't stop us from kicking ass.

We have one of if not the best FOs in the game. They know everything you are worried about, and 10x more. They've earned our trust.

The Span signing is an excellent value in terms of a weighted average outcome. If he stays healthy his production should easily outweigh his cost. As a GM this is all you can do - there are no guarantees. You sign 10-12 guys to post-control contracts and hope most of them work out. What makes the difference is running your whole organization with excellence. Developing the minor leagues. Judging free agent talent. Developing the fan and revenue base. Building and maintaining a great ballpark in the right location.

The no-risk alternative is to hope your minors produce enough good players. But that way you might make the playoffs every ten years, and you might make the World Series every 50 years.

 

[Mays-Fan]

Meant to add here that the signing of Span feels like putting in the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle, or finding that last transaction that completes a bank reconciliation (feel free to add your own favorite analogy).

 

[dredinis21]

The problem with your stringency is that if you don't want to give out 5 year deals to pitchers, guess what? You don't get any good pitchers, because that's what they cost. So then you either trade for them, in which case you basically give up as much value as you get, or you wait and pray they emerge from the minors. We are 3 time champs with money to spend in a major market filling the park every night, we do not have to do it like the Astros or KC.

We can play in this sandbox. We have a window, if in 3-4 years we have a player or two not earning their money guess what? That's how it works. And we probably got another ring or two for our trouble. Having Zito's terrible contract didn't stop us from kicking ass.

We have one of if not the best FOs in the game. They know everything you are worried about, and 10x more. They've earned our trust.

This is exactly my sentiments. Of course, in a perfect world, we trade a can of Copenhagen, a bag of balls, and a spittoon and receive Trout in return to man CF for a decade. But based on what was available, the budget we are working with, and the pressing team needs vs. farm development, this was as close to a realistic HR as the FO could possibly hit. Cueto and Scrabble have risks, but to me, their shitty KC and Sox experience of last season respectively were outliers, not their norm, and a return to the NL for both could/should bring them closer to their career averages based on familiarity. To me, it's a wise investment. Span has injury concerns, but at 10 mil per for 3 years, he was IMO the best fit at the right price for our team. It allows us to integrate Mac/Parker without feeling as if they HAVE to man a starting position.