5 Things to Watch in Spring Training

All of the articles and blog posts I have seen covering this subject so far seem to cover the same stuff: Will Tim Lincecum bounce back, how will Pablo's weight affect him, and can Hunter Pence Hit like he did in 2011?  Now these are definite things to watch out for, especially considering how important these players are to the team's success, but there are definitely some other important things to watch this Spring that are being slightly overlooked:

1. Brandon Belt- Belt could take a huge step forward this spring if he can add power and cut down strikeouts.  Brian Sabean said that he feels Belt could be a Gold Glove winner at first base, and that his power will come this season.  It'll be interesting to watch these things during spring
2. Chris Heston- Heston put up incredible numbers at Double-A in 2012, leading the league in ERA.  With this being his first time in Spring Training, it will be his first opportunity to show how much of his minor league success will translate into success against tougher competition.  
3. Heath Hembree- With Hembree coming back from a disappointing 2012 season, this could be his chance to show what he can do.  He battled injuries last season, so this could be a great opportunity to show that he is healthy and ready to contribute on a championship team.  
4. Barry Zito- Barry Zito has successfully become a hero in the eyes of many Giants fans.  He had many memorable outings last season, and without him, there is a pretty good chance that we wouldn't have won the World Series, or even gotten there.  Spring Training will be his opportunity to show that he can do that again.  
5. Brett Bochy- Although his chances of getting on the Giants out of spring training are low, this spring will be his chance to show what he's got.  With him being at least at Triple-A next season, his performance this Spring will be crucial, because he will want to be sure to make a lasting impression.  

3 reasons that the Giants could be better in 2013

With pitchers and catchers reporting in just two weeks, the Giants are likely done with most of their big offseason moves, meaning that they will pretty much have the same roster as last season.  Although it looks like the Giants haven't improved, there are three major factors that will drastically improve the team next season.

1. Brandon Crawford- There is a good chance that Crawford will never really be an above average hitter, but you can at least expect to see steady improvement.  I would expect to see a slight rise in both doubles and homeruns, as well as better walk rate.  After the Allstar break, Brandon went on to hit .260 with 3 hr in 181 at bats.  Although these are not stellar numbers, when you consider he does have stellar defense, and is only expected to be and 8 spot hitter, he will be much more productive than last year, and should be a great option at short stop

2. Brandon Belt- After being a very highly thought of prospect, Brandon fell off slightly in his first season, and followed that with a much improved sophomore season.  The extra experience, plus the regularity of being the everyday first baseman should be able to bump his numbers some more.  After the Allstar break, he hit .293 with a very good .362 OBP, sadly with only 3 homeruns.  I would expect a very large power increase, as well as a much more consistent approach that will enable him to be a very solid middle of the lineup guy next season.  Couple that with his great defense, and you have a very productive MLB starter.

3. Tim Lincecum- Tim Lincecum should be dramatically improved over last season.  He has been working very hard to put on a little weight, and increase arm strength.  I would anticipate him adding some speed on his fastball and improving his mechanics all around, which he was likely not able to do in the middle of a season.

Poll discussion

So for, the poll on the right is heavily in favor of Madison Bumgarner. If you disagree, or you want to discuss your reasoning, start right here!  Comment with your opinions

A Few Giants that Could Really Benefit from the WBC

If you have checked the WBC rosters, then you may have noticed how many Giants will be participating in the tournament.  Some of the more notables are Pablo Sandoval, Marco Scutaro, Ryan Vogelsong, Jeremy Affeldt, Angel Pagan, Santiago Casilla, Javier Lopez, Jose Mijares, and Sergio Romo.  Here are a list of a few Giants who could really benefit from this and why:

1. Gary Brown, Roger Kieschnick, Francisco Peguero, and Javier Herrera- With the possibility of Angel Pagan showing up to spring training three weeks after it starts, these young players now have a golden opportunity to get extended looks in the outfield, and impress a few people in the front office.  they will obviously have to make the most of their opportunity, but this should open up a few more starts for them, especially during split squad games.  
2. Heath Hembree, Dan Runzler, and Brett Bochy-  All of the people coming to spring training off of invitations will have been given the opportunity to compete for a spot in the bullpen no matter who was there.  Now, with tons of holes in the bullpen in the early weeks of spring, these three guys should probably get enough time to impress someone.  
3. Nick Noonan and Conor Gillaspie-  These two guys will likely receive quite a few starts with Scutaro and Sandoval gone.  I don't see any openings on the big league team any time soon for Gillaspie, so it may benefit him if he can impress another team and get traded.  Nick Noonan is still young and would benefit from the expirience

Overall, the Giants should get some great minor league players getting extended looks early in spring.  Don't forget to comment with opinions and things I may have missed!

How to get your topic discussed on the website

If you have a question about the Giants, or baseball in general, and you would like to see it discussed on the website, then email me (email is at the top of the page under the title), and follow me on twitter (link on the right).  Don't forget to comment with your opinions and vote on the poll on the right!

New poll

I have posted a poll on the right hand side of the page.  Be sure to vote and check back for more!

The WBC Roster

Joe Torres' Team USA roster for the World Baseball Classic was just announced this morning on MLB network and MLB.com.  The other rosters are set to be announced later this afternoon.  Here's the roster:

Infield:

Joe Mauer C/1B

J.P. Arencibia C

Jonathan Lucroy C

Mark Teixeira 1B

Brandon Phillips 2B

Jimmy Rollins SS

David Wright 3B

Ben Zobrist UT

Willie Bloomquist UT

Outfield:

Ryan Braun OF

Adam Jones OF

Giancarlo Stanton OF

Shane Victorino OF

Left Handed Pitching:

Jeremy Affeldt

Tim Collins

Derek Holland

Glen Perkins

Right Handed Pitching:

Heath Bell

Mitchell Boggs

Steve Cishek

R.A. Dickey

Luke Gregerson

Craig Kimbrel

Kris Medlen

Chris Perez

Vinnie Pestano

Ryan Vogelsong

This is going to be a fun team to watch.  Great hitters,Great Defense, and Great pitching.  I'll be especially excited to watch the tournament this year.  This will be a great thing for baseball, as it could hopefully get people around the country to be bigger baseball fans, and ultimately create a larger global fan base, while also getting prospects from new areas of the world in the MLB.  

For all of the Giants fans out there, this is also a good thing for the team going into spring.   With Affeldt and Vogelsong being seasoned veterans, they already know what they need to do to get ready for a new season.  I think it will be good for them to be pitching meaningful innings, AND it will also open up a rotation spot, possibly for a prospect to get some good innings in in the spring.  It also will open up a bullpen spot for all of the people competing for a spot next year, which we will have a lot of them.  

All in all, this is great for baseball, and I will be really excited to see how this team does, and how the tournament grows.

New Twitter Account

Just made a new twitter account and will be posting there often.  Here's the link:

https://twitter.com/GiantsbballBlog

Continue to check the site for new posts, as I will be posting much more often as spring training draws near, and don't forget to comment with your opinions and email with questions and potential topics.  My website email is at the top

League News: 3 team deal brings Morse to Seattle

It has been reported that the A's, Mariners, and Nationals just completed a three team deal to bring Michael Morse to Seattle.  Here's what everyone gained and lost

Seattle:

        Gains- Michael Morse 

        Loses- John Jaso

Oakland:

        Gains- John Jaso

        Loses- A.J. Cole, Blake Treinen, player to be named later

Washington

        Gains- A.J. Cole, Blake Treinen, player to be named later

        Loses- Michael Morse

My thoughts:

Curious to see Oakland give A.J. Cole back to the Nationals.  Maybe saw something that they didn't like in him?  That, or the Nationals still liked him and wanted him back.  

The Nationals really had no place to put Morse, and I was curious to see if they would really get much for him.  He has great power, but does not walk well, strikes out a lot, has steroid history, and has some injury history.  There is some risk but also some reward.  They got some good prospects for him, and considering that he has no place in their lineup, they got a good deal

The A's also got a good hitting catcher with three years of control.  Good trade for them, considering the fact that they didn't give too much up.  I'd like to see what he could do with a full season in Oakland.  

The Mariners also made a good trade, considering the fact that they already have two great  young catchers in Mike Zunino and Jesus Montero. The only knock on them is that they definitely could have gotten a lot more for Jaso.  He is a very patient hitter with a .850 OPS, and 3 years of team control. 

The Mariners are probably the 'losers' of this trade, but I'm glad they didn't give up any of their star pitching prospects, because I'm sure the Nationals asked.

One move the Giants should make

Although the Giants are done with all of their big spending for the offseason, they are definitely not done with all of their moves.  Even though the Giants have a solid, if not spectacular, major league rotation, pitchers can  are fragile players and can be easily hurt.  The Giants should currently be looking to add depth to the AAA rotation.

The first option I see is to resign Jonathan Sanchez.  He will obviously come very cheap considering his 1-9 record and 8.07 ERA.  While many may think his career is over, I think his best shot at a revival is going back to the Giants organization.  He pitched well with the Giants, and the pitching coaches will already have a pretty good understanding of how he pitches, and how he can improve.

The knock on Sanchez is obviously that he declined in every single statistical area.  He walked people more, struck people out less, gave up lots of hits, and extra base hits.  I do believe that he could work with the Giants coaches to at least be a good AAA ace.  This is also a low risk, high reward signing

Option number two is Jair Jurrjens.  He is just a year removed from a season where he went 13-6 with a 2.96 ERA.  He is another pitcher that took a huge statistical hit last season all across the board.  He also has trouble staying healthy, which likely contributes to his struggles.  This would be another low risk high reward signing.  I also imagine the opportunity to pitch at ATNT would be good for Jair, who is, and always has been, a contact pitcher.

 

Long Shot Trade Possibility: Giancarlo Stanton

Now, I know it sounds crazy, but I do think that this is a trade that the Giants COULD pull off, and would be worth while for the organization going forward.  When the Giants won their second World Series in three years, a lot of sports writers started talking about how the Giants could be the next dynasty team.  They are not only coming off a year where they won the series,  they are also returning next year with the same key players as last year, and have quite a few players that are either getting better (Belt, Crawford, Sanchez), but  they also have quite a few players that are poised to have big comeback years (Lincecum, Sandoval, Pence).  The one thing that the Giants could do to solidify this is add Giancarlo Stanton.

Stanton is an unbelievable talent.  He has showed early in his career that he has monster power, and could easily be the next guy to hit 50 homeruns in a season.  This is the kind of player that could easily have big power numbers at ATNT park, and maintain a good batting average in the process.  Here are a few reasons why this trade would be perfect for the Giants

1.  He fills a huge hole for the Giants who are currently in need of a good corner outfielder, and a right handed power bat

2. With the difficult wall in right field, it would benefit the Giants to have a consistent right fielder for years to come.  Stanton could be that guy because he is under team control until 2017.

3.  He is still cheap and would not increase payroll much

4.  Having Stanton would allow for the Giants to let Hunter Pence go after 2013, which would save the Giants money going forward.

Now, we all know that Stanton would be incredibly tough to get through trade, but I think the Giants have the pieces to pull it off.  This package includes Brandon Belt, Gary Brown, and then include one or two of the young pitchers that the Giants have (Crick, Stratton, Blackburn, Mejia, Escobar).

Gary Brown is relatively expendable after the Angel Pagan signing.  With neither Brown nor Pagan having the kind of bat that really suits a corner outfield spot, it may be time to let Brown go to try and get something for him in the process.  It would serve the Giants well to let go one or two young pitchers and open up a few spots in the SJ rotation and bullpen.  Now, many people wouldn't like the Belt part of the trade.  Whether or not you like him or think that he can improve, he is the starting first baseman, and the Giants don't really have any replacement options right now.

My idea to replace Belt is another trade.  With the Nationals signing Adam Laroche, it has been reported that the Washington Nationals may be interested in adding a left handed reliever in a trade for Michael Morse.  My second trade would be an Affeldt for Morse trade.  The Giants already have two other lefties in the bullpen, and have many arms in the minors on their way to the bullpen.  Morse could act as a filler while the Giants groom Angel Villalona and Ricky Oropesa.  These trades would further solidify the Giants place in history as a dynasty franchise.

A Look at the 2013 Roster

At this point in the offseason, I don't think the Giants will be making any more free agent moves.  They have spent all of the big money that they are going to spend, and will be looking to fill the remaining holes either internally, or through minor league free agents.  With that being said, here's a break down of what the roster should look like:

Starting Pitchers:
1. Matt Cain- I don't see any reason why Matt Cain wouldn't be the opening day starter.  He had an incredible season last year, and is one of the most consistent pitchers in the game.  He be able to give the Giants another quality season at the top of the rotation.

2. Madison Bumgarner- Another great Giants pitcher who should only get better with more experience.  At just 23 years old and already in his 3rd MLB season next year, expect him to make his first all star team next year.

3. Ryan Vogelsong- Although some may argue for Tim Lincecum in this spot, I think Vogelsong has earned it.  He's not the most flashy pitcher, but he is consistent, and can be counted on to get the job done.  Should be a really solid #3

4. Tim Lincecum- If Tim bounces back to where he once was, he would easily be #1 on this list.  Unfortunately, until he proves that he can do more than just come out of the bullpen, he will stay at #4.  It is said that he is working to bulk up and strengthen his arm which should help him to go deeper into games with more consistency.  I expect him to go back to where he was, but he is definitely a big question mark going into spring training.

5. Barry Zito- I think Zito will finally be able to settle in and just pitch.  He is in the last year of his contract, and San Francisco fans are much easier on him.  I wouldn't be surprised if he gets a little better next season, but he won't be much more than a #4 or #5 guy.

Starting Infield:

1st base: Brandon Belt-  I think Belt will finally be comfortable next year.  He has no competition going into spring and should be the starting first baseman.  My guess is he will have somewhere around 15-20 home runs next season while hitting around .290.

2nd base: Marco Scutaro-  Scutaro is a guy who was late to the Major Leagues, and has only gotten better with time.  I Expect a solid season out of him being a #2 hitter.  He probably won't be the hitter he was at the end of last season, but he should be solid.

Short Stop: Brandon Crawford- Crawford is an elite defender who shouldn't have to do too much at the plate to be worth giving the starting job to.  I see him turning into a solid line drive hitter with some gap power that should hit around .250-.260

3rd Base: Pablo Sandoval- Pablo is a guy with huge potential who has always had trouble being consistent. I see him breaking out next year, if he can keep his weight down.  If he can't. I wouldn't be surprised to see him sent to another team for prospects.

Catcher: Buster Posey- I see Posey competing for the MVP award for many more years.  He had an incredible groove going in the second half, and is still very young.  Should be the starting catcher for many more years.

Starting Outfield:

Right Field: Hunter Pence- He could be a real asset if he bounces back.  I think the stress of trying to compensate for the absence of Chase Utley and Ryan Howard got to him in Philadelphia.  Now after having time to adjust to another new team, and being in a contract year, I see him going back closer to his career numbers.

Center Field: Angel Pagan-  Many people have said that Pagan just had a career year in 2012 and will probably not be able to repeat next season.  This is not very accurate, because he arguably had a better season in 2010, and his numbers last season were not far from his career numbers.  Pagan should be a consistent performer at the top of the lineup next season.

Left field: Roger Kieschnick- Now I know that most would disagree with this, but I really feel that Kieschnick should be able to win the starting left field next season.  He really had a groove going last season, and was destined for a call up before his injury.  The Giants are in need of more power, and I see Kieschnick getting that opportunity.

Bullpen:

Sergio Romo, Santiago Casilla, Jeremy Affeldt, Jose Mijares, Javier Lopez, George Kontos.

I wouldn't be shocked to see Casilla traded eventually to make room for Bochy or Hembree, and to save a little money.  No real surprises here, it should be a very solid bullpen.

Bench: Joaquin Arias, Nick Noonan, Andres Torres, Gregor Blanco, Hector Sanchez, Francisco Peguero.

I see Brandon Belt being a solid first baseman, and on the days he isn't playing, Posey will be, so Brett pill may need to learn a new position to get a bench spot.    Otherwise the only surprise on here is Nick Noonan.  The Giants may want to keep him at Triple-A for another season so that he can start, but he is definitely ready for a bench role.