Word out of Giants front office...platoon in left field

[SFGRTB]

I can live with it, he was scary to face from 2010-2012 before falling off a cliff last year. He's only 31 so it wouldn't be too far fetched to say that he could regain some of that form.

He'll definitely be coming out of games early, which means the Giants probably aren't done adding some depth out there, even with JCP around.

 

[calsnowskier]

Pardon my ignorance on the matter, but I have question in regards to dWAR. Is it only good to use the stat on a certain postion (like OF)? I only ask, because I looked up JT Snow's dWAR, who I was a huge fan of growing up, and noticed (to my surprise) he had a career dWAR -11. So either Snow's defense was overrated or the dWAR is limited in its use? I'm just curious.

I do not pretend to fully understand oWAR and dWAR. I only know that they are metrics used to gage a players effectiveness.

I look at BR's versions (the stats can very from site-to-site since each essentially use their own calculation). I also found that I was applying them incorrectly when I looked into them based on your post, so thanks for that. I was adding oWAR and dWAR to get their WAR and BR specifically says not to do that (the positional multipliers would be applied twice if that is done). His career WAR is 4.0, not 1.1, as I stated earlier.

Because of my ignorance of the details of the two stats, I cannot get into a long debate over the usefulness of them. I tend to trust people who like them, and I trust BR enough to give them the benefit of the doubt. If you do not trust the stats (I am not saying you don't), that is your prerogative, and I would love to lurk on a discussion on them.

Regarding Snow and his horrible dWAR representation, that is shocking. It really does lead me to question the value of the stat.

 

[SFGRTB]

Apparently, Morse will be the everyday LF. They had to give him hat in order to sign him.

Yuck.


Pagan
Scoots
Belt
Posey
Pence
Sandoval
Morse
Crawford

Morse has a career 1.5 WAR. His dWAR is -6.6!!!

A least we will be prepared for interleague games.

Solid. Hopefully we can start seeing a consistent lineup (i.e., guys sticking in their spots). It would not surprise me if Crawford get promoted to that 2-spot eventually either. If he hits well, and Scoots sits a lot, Boch might just find it beneficial to bat Crawford second to keep some continuity 1-7 and have Scoots/Arias/Abreu/Adrianza man the 8th spot.

 

[calsnowskier]

Solid. Hopefully we can start seeing a consistent lineup (i.e., guys sticking in their spots). It would not surprise me if Crawford get promoted to that 2-spot eventually either. If he hits well, and Scoots sits a lot, Boch might just find it beneficial to bat Crawford second to keep some continuity 1-7 and have Scoots/Arias/Abreu/Adrianza man the 8th spot.

I agree about Craw. I have been singing his praises as a #2 for a couple years now. However, if Scoots is available, he HAS to hit 2. He is the perfect 2, and we are playing to win, not develop.

Come 2015, though, Craw should be the reg 2.

 

[sfsportsfan]

Smh. Meant signing. My b.

You're right, the money doesn't match up at all. But the point is we can win with a subpar defensive LF who's pulled in the 6th or 7th. It really depends which MorseCode(going to try to get that one going) shows up offensively. If he can hit like PTMFB did, which is a big if, I love this deal.


I've also always been high on Morse so that may play in to it. Though he'd be an MVP candidate last year...I'll admit it.

 

[SFGRTB]

I agree about Craw. I have been singing his praises as a #2 for a couple years now. However, if Scoots is available, he HAS to hit 2. He is the perfect 2, and we are playing to win, not develop.

Come 2015, though, Craw should be the reg 2.

Yeah, hopefully in Scoots off-days (there should be plenty), Boch gives Crawford a shot there. I feel like hitter's just rot in the 8th spot, especially young hitters, so getting up to the 2 spot should hopefully boost his confidence every few days.

 

[tzill]

This is a classic low risk/high reward signing. If it doesn't work out, we're slightly overpaying a PH/DH. If it does, we could reap some real WAR on this one. In any event, we're talking about the #7 hitter, not a big deal in the long run. One more bullpen arm and I think SabeySabes is done. Payroll stands at $153.7MM.

 

[calsnowskier]

This is a classic low risk/high reward signing. If it doesn't work out, we're slightly overpaying a PH/DH. If it does, we could reap some real WAR on this one. In any event, we're talking about the #7 hitter, not a big deal in the long run. One more bullpen arm and I think SabeySabes is done. Payroll stands at $153.7MM.

I don't see any more work for Sabes to do outside of a bunch of non-roster invites. I think we have enough internal options for the last bully spot to not have to worry about filling it from outside on a no-compete basis.

 

[tzill]

ZiPS projection for 2014:

Dan Szymborski @DSzymborski
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Mike Morse ZiPS in SF: 253/304/415, 105 OPS+, -9 DR, 1.2 WAR (110 G)

Seems a bit low to me, but even then at $6MM it'd be decent value.

 

[tzill]

I don't see any more work for Sabes to do outside of a bunch of non-roster invites. I think we have enough internal options for the last bully spot to not have to worry about filling it from outside on a no-compete basis.

Figuring that Romo/JA/KCya/JLo are locks, and Petit as the long guy, that leaves two spots for:

Hembree
Dunning
Machi
Kontos


I could see them picking up another arm in the $3MM range.

 

[Reefer]

I'm surprised that more people aren't happy with this signing. Its a 1-year deal, which means if he sucks then no long term problem and he should be motivated to make the next deal. If you look at his stats from his 3 years in Washington before his move to the AL, they were pretty legit. I'm optimistic he could have Burrell type of impact and we'll see a lot of 6 inning games out of Morse. I'm not sure what others were expecting, but agree with Tzill, this offers that low risk high reward that we should have been looking for. I like the idea that after Belt, Posey, Pence, Panda, there is legitimate HR power coming up after that. We know he doesn't play D, but in LF I'm not that worried about him, especially having Blanco come in during the late innings.

 

[tzill]

I'm surprised that more people aren't happy with this signing. Its a 1-year deal, which means if he sucks then no long term problem and he should be motivated to make the next deal. If you look at his stats from his 3 years in Washington before his move to the AL, they were pretty legit. I'm optimistic he could have Burrell type of impact and we'll see a lot of 6 inning games out of Morse. I'm not sure what others were expecting, but agree with Tzill, this offers that low risk high reward that we should have been looking for. I like the idea that after Belt, Posey, Pence, Panda, there is legitimate HR power coming up after that. We know he doesn't play D, but in LF I'm not that worried about him, especially having Blanco come in during the late innings.

I pretty much agree. However, this signing comes down to -- can he stay healthy? If so, we are going to reap the shit outta that contract.

 

[tzill]

Projected 2014 roster:

SP: Bum/Horse/Freak/Huddy/Tron
RP: Romo/JA/KCya/JLo/Smalls/Toffee/YMCA
Starters: MVP/BB9/Moped/Panda/Stamos/Herk/Oxy/Beast
Bench: Chez3/Kobe/NotBobby/Shark/JCP

Batting order:
Oxy CF
Moped 2B
BB9 1B
MVP C
Herk RF
Panda 3B
Beast LF
Stamos SS

against LHP:
Oxy
Moped
Panda
MVP
Herk
BB9
Beast
Stamos

 

[SF11704]

I pretty much agree. However, this signing comes down to -- can he stay healthy? If so, we are going to reap the shit outta that contract.

I'm pretty stoked about 2014. Can't wait to put 2013 way behind us. I just got the feeling that we have given a contract to ......... MTMFB .....

 

[tzill]

I'm pretty stoked about 2014. Can't wait to put 2013 way behind us. I just got the feeling that we have given a contract to ......... MTMFB .....

Mike The Mutha Funkin Beast?

 

[tzill]

This from Jeff Sullivan:

Brian Sabean wanted right-handed power. Just like how Kevin Towers wanted right-handed power, before swinging the Mark Trumbo trade. Morse is right-handed and powerful, so, that’s that. Blanco’s left-handed and the owner of ten career dingers. He’s good on the bases, he’s good in the outfield, he’s good at drawing walks, and he’s good at making contact. There’s one thing that Blanco doesn’t do well. There’s one thing that Morse does do well, when he’s healthy. The Giants seem to prefer what Morse can do, and if they’re right about that, then we simply don’t have the information to say so. If Morse is truly the better bet for the Giants this year, then there are a lot of things we’re getting wrong.

I’m sure we are getting a lot of things wrong, but not that much. It’s fine to make Blanco a fourth outfielder, because most teams need at least four outfielders, and Blanco is super useful. It’s important to have depth, and there’s nothing wrong with Brian Sabean looking to make an upgrade. But now he’s in a situation where, if his third outfielder gets hurt, his team is probably better off overall. If the Giants end up in a place where they need to swap Blanco for Morse, that shouldn’t hurt them, and what that tells you is they probably didn’t find an upgrade at all. They upgraded their right-handed power, but last year the team with the most right-handed home runs was the Brewers. It sure seems like there are a lot of better ways the Giants could’ve gone, and as much as Morse might bounce back offensively, he’s a poor fit for the roster and the league.

Kevin Towers set his sights on right-handed power and overpaid in assets. Brian Sabean set his sights on right-handed power and seems to be overpaying in playing time. Morse is not going to cost much, and there is no long-term commitment. But he’s probably not really going to help the team win. He’s a bounce-back offensive candidate committed to the wrong opportunity.

 

[SF11704]

Mike The Mutha Funkin Beast?

yes ... got that from your lineup!!!!

 

[SF11704]

This from Jeff Sullivan:

Morse is not going to cost much, and there is no long-term commitment. But he’s probably not really going to help the team win. He’s a bounce-back offensive candidate committed to the wrong opportunity.

I understand the argument but I also feel that it's empty and short sighted. It's only the wrong opportunity if Morse doesn't bounce back AND we lose. I also think this is a 162 game opportunity. There can be many positive and negative swings within 162 games. I expect the ups and downs. If this was a 19 game opportunity (playoffs only) then I agree that it's the wrong opportunity. But, over 162 games ...... nothing ventured .... then nothing gained.

 

[msgkings322]

This from Jeff Sullivan:

Brian Sabean wanted right-handed power. Just like how Kevin Towers wanted right-handed power, before swinging the Mark Trumbo trade. Morse is right-handed and powerful, so, that’s that. Blanco’s left-handed and the owner of ten career dingers. He’s good on the bases, he’s good in the outfield, he’s good at drawing walks, and he’s good at making contact. There’s one thing that Blanco doesn’t do well. There’s one thing that Morse does do well, when he’s healthy. The Giants seem to prefer what Morse can do, and if they’re right about that, then we simply don’t have the information to say so. If Morse is truly the better bet for the Giants this year, then there are a lot of things we’re getting wrong.

I’m sure we are getting a lot of things wrong, but not that much. It’s fine to make Blanco a fourth outfielder, because most teams need at least four outfielders, and Blanco is super useful. It’s important to have depth, and there’s nothing wrong with Brian Sabean looking to make an upgrade. But now he’s in a situation where, if his third outfielder gets hurt, his team is probably better off overall. If the Giants end up in a place where they need to swap Blanco for Morse, that shouldn’t hurt them, and what that tells you is they probably didn’t find an upgrade at all. They upgraded their right-handed power, but last year the team with the most right-handed home runs was the Brewers. It sure seems like there are a lot of better ways the Giants could’ve gone, and as much as Morse might bounce back offensively, he’s a poor fit for the roster and the league.

Kevin Towers set his sights on right-handed power and overpaid in assets. Brian Sabean set his sights on right-handed power and seems to be overpaying in playing time. Morse is not going to cost much, and there is no long-term commitment. But he’s probably not really going to help the team win. He’s a bounce-back offensive candidate committed to the wrong opportunity.

Like I said, better than nothing, but not by much.

 

[calsnowskier]

Like I said, better than nothing, but not by much.

I disagree.

By signing Morse, we need to drop someone from the 40-man and we need to drop someone from the roster post-ST. He takes PT away from someone like JCP. He commits errors that lead to runs, which lead to frustrated pitchers, which lead to more bully pitches, etc, etc, etc.

I am talking up my frustration with the deal more than I really feel in order to make a point. I am now a fan of Morse's and I hope that he has a great year and I am proven wrong (again). I just think the team is stronger without him. The only thing he offers is depth early in the season.