I'm not only the RotoWire beat writer for the San Francisco Giants, but I'm also a Giants fan (remember those terrible "I'm not just the president of the Hair Club for Men, I'm also a member" commercials? I digress). When writing articles for this blog, I attempt to neither narrow my scope by talking specifically about a favorite team or whine. I'll be breaking both rules with the following.
Not only is Brian Sabean a poor fit for a team that has to begin focusing on the rebuilding process, but to reward mediocrity by re-signing the GM to a two-year contract extension sends a poor message throughout the franchise. Sabean had his uses, architecting three Giants teams that won division titles, including a pennant, between 1997 and 2003. However, San Francisco went 75-87 and 76-85 over the next two seasons and stood 38-48 at the All-Star break this year.
Hey, you can't be a winning team in major league baseball every season, but in this case, pointing to Sabean's decision-making reveals an awful lot of cause and effect. The A.J. Pierzynksi for Francisco Liriano, Joe Nathan and Boof Bonser deal has been dissected ad nauseam, but there's an argument there that it's the worst trade in the history of professional sports. Then he went and traded for Randy Winn (admittedly, Jesse Foppert didn't pan out) and proceeded to sign a right fielder with a career OPS of .764 to a $24 million contract. Last year, he sent an emerging young arm by the name of Jeremy Accardo to the Blue Jays for Shea Hillenbrand, who is not only terrible but also had just got into a fist fight with his manager – something tells me Toronto shouldn't have had too much leverage in trade talks. Accardo, by the way, has a 2.63 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 37 innings this year while pitching in the AL East. Imagine what his numbers would look like pitching at AT&T Park. At least San Francisco doesn't need bullpen help.
The only reason Juan Pierre isn't wearing a Giants' uniform is because the Dodgers only slightly outbid them. And do I even need to mention the Barry Zito deal? I admit, I thought they'd at least get a couple of good years out of him, but all signs pointed to him being in decline (sinking K rate, rising BB rate), and the fact of the matter is that it was the richest contract ever handed out to a pitcher that was at least two-three years too long.
The theory behind trading the future for immediate returns wasn't necessarily wrong – in fact, it made plenty of sense with Barry Bonds presenting a short window of opportunity to "win-now" – but the execution of said theory has been an utter catastrophe. Actually, I'm not sure why Bonds' presence and a team built around youth have to be mutually exclusive.
Until this year, the Giants signed mediocre player after mediocre player (Michael Tucker) to almost purposely avoid draft picks. And when they did have an early selection, they chose with signability (read: dollar signs) as the No. 1 priority (see: Hennessey, Brad).
The Giants say they will rebuild by striking a balance between younger position players, who are developed through the farm system or acquired in trade, and free agents. Fair enough, but the writing is also on the wall that Bonds won't return next season, and something tells me he'll be a nice scapegoat. Having Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain around gives at least a glimmer of hope for the future, but it really is a shame how the team wasted so many prime years from the greatest hitter to ever live. Bonds has come to the plate this year with 199 runners on base, good for 132nd in the league. I guess that's what happens when you sign Rich Aurilia (.286 OBP) to be your No. 3 hitter.
Sabean just doesn't seem like the right fit for a team that should be focusing on three years from now. Judging from a recent interview in which he proclaimed the Giants aren't out of it and are unlikely to be sellers at the trading deadline, I'm not optimistic.