SF Giants: 2009 Champions! Then what? - Page 3

Sparrow · 09-06-2009, 12:19 PM

11/23/2009

I got a very nice message from Rich Harden saying he was leaning towards becoming a San Francisco Giant. I'm hoping he isn't leading me on. Still no word from Ankiel, Holliday, or Bedard. I'm feeling anxious.

David Ortiz and Miguel Tejada are on waivers. I won't be claiming either but it's interesting to see both those names on the waiver wire.

Sparrow · 09-06-2009, 12:27 PM

11/24/2009

John Barr just informed me about an 18-year old Aruban reliever named Quincy Spitsbaard. He doesn't seem to have much of a future, but he is pretty refined for an 18-year old and we'll give him a chance. He has been offered a minor league contract and I fully expect him to sign tomorrow.

In a move that makes no sense Phillies traded away Jason Donald to the Blue Jays for Bill Murphy. Donald just finished destroying AAA. Murphy got destroyed in AAA and the big leagues.

The Red Sox traded away Will Middlebrooks to the Pirates for Tony Pena. This makes sense for both teams to me.

Still no news from my free agents, but Ortiz and Tejada are no longer on waivers and both are with their original teams.

Sparrow · 09-06-2009, 12:50 PM

11/25/2009

When the Marlins gave me a call asking about Brain McCann, my first reaction was not a chance. When they mentioned they would part with Uggla, I paused but still was not a big fan of the deal. I stopped to think about it and realized that Uggla is a huge power upgrade over McCann, and my 2B. With Marson and Witter in AAA, I should be able to replace McCann and this would bring a real HR hitter/run producer.

When I asked for Michael Stanton to be included, and Oscar Tejeda, the response was sure, just throw in Chris Jacobs. I didn't even know this Chris Jacobs was on my team, I had to look him up. So welcome Uggla, let's score some runs! It is tough to lose McCann, but I think this makes us better now and in the future. Fans overall supported the trade with our support growing from 62 to 63.

Stanton and Tejeda were both sent to Augusta (Low A).

In other news, the Pirates offered me McLouth who has been playing really well. Problem is they wanted Lincecum, Misch, and cash. I didn't return the call.

Sparrow · 09-06-2009, 01:03 PM

11/27/2009

Pat Gillick (the Diamondbacks GM) offered Byrnes again, this time for Eugenio Velez. I'm still not interested.

Gillick made another trade getting Chad Cordero sending Michael Stutes to the Mariners. Coredero has fallen on hard times, but he was pretty good and is still pretty young, so this is a low risk move.

Mariners traded away another MR for a SP shipping Sean White to the White Sox for Stephen Sauer. Neat.

Still no word from the free agents, including the kid from Aruba.

Sparrow · 09-06-2009, 01:08 PM

11/29/2009

Apparently Eric Bedard is not foolish, and he is considering my offer. Just accept man!

Sparrow · 09-06-2009, 01:13 PM

11/29/2009

But it's just Quincy Spitsbaard. He's been assigned to the Arizona Giants.

In other news the Yankees shipped Hideki Matsui to the Seattle Mariners for Odalis Perez and Steven Hensley. Seems like the Mariners won this one. Matsui can still a little bit.

Sparrow · 09-06-2009, 02:19 PM

12/01/2009

I have been so conscious about free agency I forgot about the Rule V draft. Looking over the group of payers, well, they all seem to be Giants! Other than members from my own team, there is no one that interesting, and I don't anticipate making any selections.

I decided to put Lou Marson, Eduardo Morlan, Austin Jackson, Nick Weglarz, and Luis Lebron on the 40 man to protect them from the draft. This puts 37 players on the 40 man and means I will have to waive someone if I'm lucky enough to sign my 4 target free agents. This also leaves a number of good players available for the taking, but I don't want to stock my 40 man full just to waive everybody. I'll post again tonight after the draft to inform everyone if we lost anybody, and if so who to whom.

Sparrow · 09-06-2009, 05:43 PM

12/01/2009

The Giants had the 26th pick and passed every selection. No Giants were selected in the draft!

Sparrow · 09-06-2009, 05:47 PM

12/2/2009

The Orioles sent Radhames Liz to the Cubs for Hak-Ju Lee. Liz has some potential and is major league ready. Lee is a good defender, and fast, but I don't think his bat will play in the big leagues. Win for the Cubs.

Sparrow · 09-06-2009, 05:50 PM

12/3/2009

The Dodgers just announced a 3-year extension for Matt Kemp at around $5M a year. He is clearly worth it and a staple in the Dodgers lineup.

NYY #23 · 09-06-2009, 05:57 PM

First, congratulations on winning the World Series. Second, nice read so far. Looking forward to see whether Holliday signs. That price seems like a heck of a deal.

Good luck in 2010!

Sparrow · 09-06-2009, 05:58 PM

12/4/2009

The Diamondbacks are by far the most active team so far this winter. They made another trade and sent me two trade proposals.

I had already rejected Eric Byrnes for Eugenio Velez, so Gillick though maybe I felt like I wasn't offering enough so this time he gave me the opportunity to not just trade Velez but to include Henry Rodriguez too! I'm losing respect for Gillick.

The second offer from Gillick was Byrnes (surprise surprise) for Javier Fernandez. Fernandez is a fast, excellent defender who is already 22 and playing in the Arizona league. Byrnes is clearly the better player but I am just not interested in taking on the $11M.

The Diamondbacks have traded Jon Rauch (terrible 2009) to the Braves for Martin Prado and Chris Shehan. Rauch still can pitch so I don't mind seeing him leave the division.

Ankiel is indicating that he is leaning towards becoming a Giant but that he isn't going to rush into any decisions. Waiting, waiting, waiting.

Sparrow · 09-06-2009, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NYY #23

First, congratulations on winning the World Series. Second, nice read so far. Looking forward to see whether Holliday signs. That price seems like a heck of a deal.

Good luck in 2010!

Thanks for following and for wishing me luck. I couldn't believe Holliday wasn't looking for a bigger deal. I have a hunch I will be outbid though and that I will end up needing to up the offer (which I will do). I just hope if I am outbid he gives me a chance.

Sparrow · 09-06-2009, 06:09 PM

12/6/2009

Max Ramirez (who I tried to get earlier in the year) is now a Padre. The Rangers get Will Venable. I think Ramirez is a more feared hitter, or will be, though my scout, John Barr, disagrees. So I guess there is no clear winner here. I'm not looking forward to facing Ramirez game after game however.

Seattle sent Mario Martinez to the Pirates for Jimmy Barthmaier. I don't know enough about either of these guys to care.

Sparrow · 09-06-2009, 06:23 PM

12/7/2009

Rich Harden has agreed to become a Giant! This rotation (Lincecum, Sanchez, Cain, and Harden) has to be the best in baseball. Hopefully Harden will be able to stay healthy. He was a Type A free agent so this will cost the Giants a draft pick, but we'll take it!

In 2009, Harden had an ERA of 3.2 winning 11 games and striking out over a batter an inning.

In other news, Brooks Lindsley, a 23 year old LF, has been promoted to San Jose (High A) from Short-Season A.

Billy Sadler was also officially told he is now a MR and not a closer. He didn't mind.

Sparrow · 09-06-2009, 09:50 PM

12/8/2009

Holliday sent me a message informing me that my offer was, by far, the best so far. I'm starting to get excited. I have to ask, what's wrong with the other teams for not putting up a legitimate offer. I wonder if I'm the only team with a serviceable budget.

I'm starting to worry about the McCann/Uggla trade. Frandsen/Velez were reasonable 2Bmen. I'm not sure Marson is ready to catch at the next level. If not, what do I do. I'm pretty sure I need to put someone behind the dish. I'm leaning towards Witter at this point but he's not even on the 40 man. Looks like I am about to waive a couple players in the near future.

Sparrow · 09-06-2009, 09:55 PM

12/9/2009

In a move that nobody cared about the Diamondbacks sent Steven Register to the Mariners for Barry Enright. The D-Backs and M's have been super active this winter. Some of these trades are starting to feel like it is simply because the GM's are bored.

John Barr came back from France with word on a Chinese reliever named Siu-chung Shih. He is not very good and I am not offering him a contract.

Sparrow · 09-06-2009, 10:04 PM

12/11/2009

Winter meetings are here. I'm thinking of skipping all the events and hanging out on the beach. I'm not really looking to make any trades right now, and already have offers out to free agents. Besides, I'm about to punch Pat Gillick in the face. He made two more formal proposals, trying to get me to take Eric Byrnes. I wouldn't even trade one baseball bat for him, leave me alone! If Byrnes retires, I'd love to invite him up to my office to watch games, he seems like a great guy, but I don't want him in LF.

Oh and Arizona made another trade. The moved Ramon Troncoso (great 2009) to the Rangers for Robbie Ross (numbers were terrible in A ball).

The Nats sent Willingham and John Higley to Baltimore for Jesse Crain. None of these guys had a very good 2009.

I'm off to the beach, these meetings are going to be tedious and filled with uninspiring trades and trade offers.

Sparrow · 09-06-2009, 10:06 PM

12/12/2009

Quiet for a winter meeting day. The only news is the Rays extended Joe Nelson for two years. The total contract is worth $6,320,160. For two consecutive years he has been a lights out reliever. Utterly dominant.

Sparrow · 09-06-2009, 10:13 PM

12/13/2009

The baseball universe is upside down as there were four trades today, none involving the D-backs. They did present a new option to unload Byrnes to me though. Oh, and Victor Ortiz, the NAts GM, is now also on my bad side. He offered me Roger Bernadina for Brian Wilson, Austin Jackson, and $599,000. Seriously? I'm real happy Wilson is on my team.

Since no trades involved the NL West, or big name players, I will ignore them today. After all, I'm a GM, not a journalist.

09-06-2009, 12:19 PM	#41
Sparrow All Star Reserve Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 803	Harden Leaning Towards the Giants 11/23/2009 I got a very nice message from Rich Harden saying he was leaning towards becoming a San Francisco Giant. I'm hoping he isn't leading me on. Still no word from Ankiel, Holliday, or Bedard. I'm feeling anxious. David Ortiz and Miguel Tejada are on waivers. I won't be claiming either but it's interesting to see both those names on the waiver wire.

09-06-2009, 12:27 PM	#42
Sparrow All Star Reserve Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 803	International Talent? 11/24/2009 John Barr just informed me about an 18-year old Aruban reliever named Quincy Spitsbaard. He doesn't seem to have much of a future, but he is pretty refined for an 18-year old and we'll give him a chance. He has been offered a minor league contract and I fully expect him to sign tomorrow. In a move that makes no sense Phillies traded away Jason Donald to the Blue Jays for Bill Murphy. Donald just finished destroying AAA. Murphy got destroyed in AAA and the big leagues. The Red Sox traded away Will Middlebrooks to the Pirates for Tony Pena. This makes sense for both teams to me. Still no news from my free agents, but Ortiz and Tejada are no longer on waivers and both are with their original teams.

09-06-2009, 12:50 PM	#43
Sparrow All Star Reserve Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 803	Blockbuster Trade!!!!!!! 11/25/2009 When the Marlins gave me a call asking about Brain McCann, my first reaction was not a chance. When they mentioned they would part with Uggla, I paused but still was not a big fan of the deal. I stopped to think about it and realized that Uggla is a huge power upgrade over McCann, and my 2B. With Marson and Witter in AAA, I should be able to replace McCann and this would bring a real HR hitter/run producer. When I asked for Michael Stanton to be included, and Oscar Tejeda, the response was sure, just throw in Chris Jacobs. I didn't even know this Chris Jacobs was on my team, I had to look him up. So welcome Uggla, let's score some runs! It is tough to lose McCann, but I think this makes us better now and in the future. Fans overall supported the trade with our support growing from 62 to 63. Stanton and Tejeda were both sent to Augusta (Low A). In other news, the Pirates offered me McLouth who has been playing really well. Problem is they wanted Lincecum, Misch, and cash. I didn't return the call. Last edited by Sparrow; 09-06-2009 at 12:55 PM.

09-06-2009, 01:03 PM	#44
Sparrow All Star Reserve Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 803	Still not Looking to Acquire Byrnes 11/27/2009 Pat Gillick (the Diamondbacks GM) offered Byrnes again, this time for Eugenio Velez. I'm still not interested. Gillick made another trade getting Chad Cordero sending Michael Stutes to the Mariners. Coredero has fallen on hard times, but he was pretty good and is still pretty young, so this is a low risk move. Mariners traded away another MR for a SP shipping Sean White to the White Sox for Stephen Sauer. Neat. Still no word from the free agents, including the kid from Aruba.

09-06-2009, 01:08 PM	#45
Sparrow All Star Reserve Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 803	Bedard considering my Offer 11/29/2009 Apparently Eric Bedard is not foolish, and he is considering my offer. Just accept man!

09-06-2009, 01:13 PM	#46
Sparrow All Star Reserve Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 803	FA Signs! 11/29/2009 But it's just Quincy Spitsbaard. He's been assigned to the Arizona Giants. In other news the Yankees shipped Hideki Matsui to the Seattle Mariners for Odalis Perez and Steven Hensley. Seems like the Mariners won this one. Matsui can still a little bit.

09-06-2009, 02:19 PM	#47
Sparrow All Star Reserve Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 803	Rule V Draft 12/01/2009 I have been so conscious about free agency I forgot about the Rule V draft. Looking over the group of payers, well, they all seem to be Giants! Other than members from my own team, there is no one that interesting, and I don't anticipate making any selections. I decided to put Lou Marson, Eduardo Morlan, Austin Jackson, Nick Weglarz, and Luis Lebron on the 40 man to protect them from the draft. This puts 37 players on the 40 man and means I will have to waive someone if I'm lucky enough to sign my 4 target free agents. This also leaves a number of good players available for the taking, but I don't want to stock my 40 man full just to waive everybody. I'll post again tonight after the draft to inform everyone if we lost anybody, and if so who to whom.

09-06-2009, 05:43 PM	#48
Sparrow All Star Reserve Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 803	Rule V Draft Results 12/01/2009 The Giants had the 26th pick and passed every selection. No Giants were selected in the draft!

09-06-2009, 05:47 PM	#49
Sparrow All Star Reserve Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 803	Cubs-Orioles Trade 12/2/2009 The Orioles sent Radhames Liz to the Cubs for Hak-Ju Lee. Liz has some potential and is major league ready. Lee is a good defender, and fast, but I don't think his bat will play in the big leagues. Win for the Cubs.

09-06-2009, 05:50 PM	#50
Sparrow All Star Reserve Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 803	Strengthening the Enemy 12/3/2009 The Dodgers just announced a 3-year extension for Matt Kemp at around $5M a year. He is clearly worth it and a staple in the Dodgers lineup.

09-06-2009, 05:57 PM	#51
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112	First, congratulations on winning the World Series. Second, nice read so far. Looking forward to see whether Holliday signs. That price seems like a heck of a deal. Good luck in 2010!

09-06-2009, 05:58 PM	#52
Sparrow All Star Reserve Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 803	Diamondbacks Relentless 12/4/2009 The Diamondbacks are by far the most active team so far this winter. They made another trade and sent me two trade proposals. I had already rejected Eric Byrnes for Eugenio Velez, so Gillick though maybe I felt like I wasn't offering enough so this time he gave me the opportunity to not just trade Velez but to include Henry Rodriguez too! I'm losing respect for Gillick. The second offer from Gillick was Byrnes (surprise surprise) for Javier Fernandez. Fernandez is a fast, excellent defender who is already 22 and playing in the Arizona league. Byrnes is clearly the better player but I am just not interested in taking on the $11M. The Diamondbacks have traded Jon Rauch (terrible 2009) to the Braves for Martin Prado and Chris Shehan. Rauch still can pitch so I don't mind seeing him leave the division. Ankiel is indicating that he is leaning towards becoming a Giant but that he isn't going to rush into any decisions. Waiting, waiting, waiting.

09-06-2009, 06:09 PM	#54
Sparrow All Star Reserve Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 803	More Trades (Giants Not Involved) 12/6/2009 Max Ramirez (who I tried to get earlier in the year) is now a Padre. The Rangers get Will Venable. I think Ramirez is a more feared hitter, or will be, though my scout, John Barr, disagrees. So I guess there is no clear winner here. I'm not looking forward to facing Ramirez game after game however. Seattle sent Mario Martinez to the Pirates for Jimmy Barthmaier. I don't know enough about either of these guys to care.

09-06-2009, 06:23 PM	#55
Sparrow All Star Reserve Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 803	Rich Harden Signs! 12/7/2009 Rich Harden has agreed to become a Giant! This rotation (Lincecum, Sanchez, Cain, and Harden) has to be the best in baseball. Hopefully Harden will be able to stay healthy. He was a Type A free agent so this will cost the Giants a draft pick, but we'll take it! In 2009, Harden had an ERA of 3.2 winning 11 games and striking out over a batter an inning. In other news, Brooks Lindsley, a 23 year old LF, has been promoted to San Jose (High A) from Short-Season A. Billy Sadler was also officially told he is now a MR and not a closer. He didn't mind.

09-06-2009, 09:50 PM	#56
Sparrow All Star Reserve Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 803	Dreaming of a Holliday 12/8/2009 Holliday sent me a message informing me that my offer was, by far, the best so far. I'm starting to get excited. I have to ask, what's wrong with the other teams for not putting up a legitimate offer. I wonder if I'm the only team with a serviceable budget. I'm starting to worry about the McCann/Uggla trade. Frandsen/Velez were reasonable 2Bmen. I'm not sure Marson is ready to catch at the next level. If not, what do I do. I'm pretty sure I need to put someone behind the dish. I'm leaning towards Witter at this point but he's not even on the 40 man. Looks like I am about to waive a couple players in the near future.

09-06-2009, 09:55 PM	#57
Sparrow All Star Reserve Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 803	Enough Already 12/9/2009 In a move that nobody cared about the Diamondbacks sent Steven Register to the Mariners for Barry Enright. The D-Backs and M's have been super active this winter. Some of these trades are starting to feel like it is simply because the GM's are bored. John Barr came back from France with word on a Chinese reliever named Siu-chung Shih. He is not very good and I am not offering him a contract.

09-06-2009, 10:04 PM	#58
Sparrow All Star Reserve Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 803	Winter Meetings 12/11/2009 Winter meetings are here. I'm thinking of skipping all the events and hanging out on the beach. I'm not really looking to make any trades right now, and already have offers out to free agents. Besides, I'm about to punch Pat Gillick in the face. He made two more formal proposals, trying to get me to take Eric Byrnes. I wouldn't even trade one baseball bat for him, leave me alone! If Byrnes retires, I'd love to invite him up to my office to watch games, he seems like a great guy, but I don't want him in LF. Oh and Arizona made another trade. The moved Ramon Troncoso (great 2009) to the Rangers for Robbie Ross (numbers were terrible in A ball). The Nats sent Willingham and John Higley to Baltimore for Jesse Crain. None of these guys had a very good 2009. I'm off to the beach, these meetings are going to be tedious and filled with uninspiring trades and trade offers.

09-06-2009, 10:06 PM	#59
Sparrow All Star Reserve Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 803	Quiet Day 12/12/2009 Quiet for a winter meeting day. The only news is the Rays extended Joe Nelson for two years. The total contract is worth $6,320,160. For two consecutive years he has been a lights out reliever. Utterly dominant.

09-06-2009, 10:13 PM	#60
Sparrow All Star Reserve Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 803	4 D-Backless Trades 12/13/2009 The baseball universe is upside down as there were four trades today, none involving the D-backs. They did present a new option to unload Byrnes to me though. Oh, and Victor Ortiz, the NAts GM, is now also on my bad side. He offered me Roger Bernadina for Brian Wilson, Austin Jackson, and $599,000. Seriously? I'm real happy Wilson is on my team. Since no trades involved the NL West, or big name players, I will ignore them today. After all, I'm a GM, not a journalist.