Hey All,
I don't know about anybody else, but I'm really looking forward to seeing these Giants hit next year.
Pablo Sandoval...the man is the John Belushi of MLB...a fat man with incredible athleticism. Hopefully, he doesn't become Chris Farley. But either way, if he can stay healthy...even if it's healthy fat...he can be a big power supply for the Giants. The man can flat smash a baseball. Health and discipline could make him the best power hitter on the team.
Buster Posey...rehabbing from a devastating injury...catching 111 games...and playing in a lot more of them at 1B...and improving dramatically in every offensive category in the second half. The man got better when other men would have become fatigued. This is a very special player. If he replicates his second half performance of 2012....385/.456/.646...a 1.102 OPS, with 23 doubles, 1 triple, and 14 HR...and only 46 strikeouts...over the course of a full season....
I really want to see Buster hit.
The two Brandons are going to be very important to watch, as both of them got better and better offensively, breaking away from the pack at last season's end. Crawford could become a plus batter at his position, and Brandon Belt could discover his HR stroke. Could...could...but attainable, given their development path.
And what about Hunter Pence simply returning to his career averages performance level? There's a lot more offense in this guy than we saw in 2012.
And Angel Pagan, banging triples. The most exciting hit in baseball, and Pagan can be a machine.
I want to see all these guys hit. Come on Spring Training. Second week in March, baby. LoneStar is going to the Zona.
LoneStar
I'm more concerned than excited about the hitting next year. I think a lot more ceilings got hit than surfaces scratched.
Pagan, Scutaro, Posey - Can we realistically expect improvement from these guys, collectively? I don't. We'll be lucky if they collectively reproduce their 2012 production.
Blanco, Belt, Crawford - Bottom of the order guys. They'll probably improve but I don't foresee that much impact.
Pence, Sandoval - This is where the room for improvement is. Pence should be a productive low .800 OPS guy and Sandoval could potentially star.
I just see a lot more room for regression than progression.
Even by your own post I don't get how you don't see at least even sided room for improvement over regression.
Pagan ( you list as a regression I would put him as an expect close to the same, look at his 2011 it was arguably better)Scutaro (you list regression I agree)Pablo ( even if he is out of shape he will be a huge improvement if he just stays off the DL, more of an improvement than any regression expedience by all of Posey, Pagan, and Scutaro.)Posey ( you list regression I would say to expect the same or more from a guy coming off an injury that gave him a year off basically is not crazy, yet I see the point he won MVP, so how can you improve on that? My answer would be you can't much, but I still don't expect regression just close enough to not matter)Pence (Look at his career stats, and compare them to his second half last year, and it is hard to come to any other conclusion than it was an anomaly and he will be MUCH better next year.)Belt (He will improve, how much is the only question)Crawford (He will improve how much is the only question)Blanco ( I don't know, but I'd say he will likely be close to the same?)
For me the overall sentiment even expressed by your own rankings (3 regress, 2 improve, and 3 improve but not by enough to matter by your standards), and mine would be more like 3 stay 1 regress and 4 improve either way you aren't talking about a huge regression from an offense that was top 3 in the NL the second half.
I grouped players together for a reason. One by one is too much of a guessing game but looking at groups like Pagan, Scutaro and Posey *collectively* it's easy as heII to see regression in that group. Could be a lot of regression.
Blanco, Crawford and Belt, there's a lot of room for failure in that group and not much of a ceiling, aside from Belt. Come on, Crawford is still Crawford, a hot September doesn't disprove that.
Sandoval is a total wildcard. He's been great, he's been bad, he's been injured, and everything in between. He could revert back to 2010 form for all we know. Or he could be a star.
Pence will improve. He won't be a .900 OPS but he'll be better.
Great contribution as always, you dumbf...
_bummer_ = a worthless bummer that contributes nothing.
Lonestar, you said it dude. As a team, these guys are nowhere near their peak.
To LetsGo:
The lousiest side of you knows no bounds. I hope for your sake you know what a little sht you project in this side of your little life.
It's the middle of the offseason, here is a great post about one of the greatest teams of recent San Francisco memory, providing surreal emotional connection and pride for our city, home to some of the greatest players in the game today...
...And all your smart A can say is "blah blah blah, stop enjoying the moment guys.." Brother, you only get One God Bless-ed Life.
Right now, in the middle of all the greatest greatness in San Francisco, go take your pity, and smallness, and cowardice SOMEWHERE ELSE.
It's an amazing, amazing time to be a Giants fan. Even as a young man, I can feel this clearly, and I don't take a moment of it for granted.
This is one of the greatest eras of any team, ever, if for no other reason that these players - our players - represent one of the great credos there is: The Whole can be Greater than the sum of the Parts. And they've proven, twice now, that it is.
Beautifully expressed stuff, and poignant Lonestar, loved it and I feel absolutely the same way man!
You're a pain in the A constantly on this board, and seem to want to bring other peoples joy down to whatever your unfortunate pessimistic state is. I'm just really fed up with it.
It's constant man.
I don't post much, but I felt the urge to. You really ruin the board sometimes. Lots of people have your opinion, but very few others rain on the parade quite so incessantly as you do.
Well put.
+1000
You got it all wrong, man. Not only do you not post often, but you must not read often either because during the season I'm always shedding optimism to the countless "The season is over" "Bochy is an idiot" "DFA this reliever" "This team stinks" threads and posters. But I also try to shed some realism to posters who think some players are beyond reproach and way better than they actually are. Then of course a never ending debate ensues. Some of it is my fault, sure, but it's not like I'm debating with myself here, far from it.
So if you want to hear nothing but sunshine and lollipops regarding the Giants, which you clearly did in this thread, I suggest putting me on ignore....... along with 90% of this board.
lonestargiantfan,
Hey man, my biggest concern with Pablo the last two seasons has been him staying healthy. I'm one of those who believes he could play at a high level regardless of his weight. He is a big guy and will always be on the big side. That's my take on it. I also think he posses incredible athleticism. With that said, I think the Giants should explore moving him over to first.
It's not that he can't handle the position. Yes, every now and then he will screw up a routine play and is vulnerable to the human element. He also will never be a Gold Glove caliber infielder covering third. Regardless how well he plays for his weight. If the Giants don't plan on keeping him long term they should explore shopping him in a year or two. The biggest issue with him going over to first in my opinion is Belt and that is a whole other conversation (Belt). If Belt struggles next season, I think the Giants should look into it. If Belt shows improvement, let him stay at first. I'm not saying Panda needs to go over to first next season. In a couple of years Panda will be an everyday man at first. Why not start exploring with this now? The move over to first could also help him staying healthy. Playing third is very demanding especially for someone of his weight. In all, I think he is a big investment (No pun intended) and the Giants should protect their investment.
I will never understand why people here think so lowly of Sandoval's defense at third. He's darn good over there. I just don't get it, he's never a concern to me at third. No one outside this board questions his defense either. Whatever you guys on this board see in his defense is not shared by anyone else, and that includes the Giants management and front office.
"my biggest concern with Pablo"
You are not allowed to voice concerns in this thread. I learned the hard way.
"No one outside this board questions his defense either. "
Bochy's defensive replacements late in the game over the last two years?