Standing on the shoulders of Giants

Friday, October 15

October Musings

By now, our Cody Ransom vodoo dolls neatly tucked away, most of our thoughts have turned to the retooling medicine of the off-season. I have heard rumblings of trade talk in a number of publications, yet none mention San Francisco. That might come as a surprise to some Giant's fans, who continue to harp for a marquee addition to the lineup, knowing all the while that (a) there's no money for it, and (b) even if there were, it would be better spent on pitching.

Yet we can dream. In that respect, Carlos Beltran is this year's version of Vladimir Guerrero. He is likely to end up with a $75m contract in New York or LA; unless the Astros win the whole pie that is, in which case there's a possibility that he'd stay in Houston.

In the meantime, the Yankees are the frontrunners to land both Beltran (to fill their gaping defensive hole in center field) and, more significantly, Carl Pavano, the top pitcher on the market.

Before he became a member of the Red Sox, short-stop Orlando Cabrera was number one on GM Brian Sabean's most-wanted list. But the Giants are likely to baulk at his demands of a four-year, $32m dollar contract. Edgar Renteria might be a slightly better, yet no more affordable option. Despite making some savings in the past twelve months, the franchise continues to lose money while it pays off its debts tied to the construction of SBC Park. Only between
$8-12m figures to be available for new players, as other members of the roster pick up their inflated tabs on backloaded contracts and player options.

The organization is likely to target the less expensive players, honoring their doctrinal pledge to favor experience over the extravagance of talent. Yet combing through the list of cheaper options is no less fraught with danger; the Raul Mondesi eposide is still fresh in GM's minds. Despite this, the Giant's courting should at least include that of Jose Guillen, whose bat and glove would be welcome additions to a team that struggled both with the bat and the glove. Ultimately however, with Rob Nen finally vanquished, Sabean will make the bullpen his priority.

Expect to see relief in San Francisco before long.

Sunday, October 10

Squad Profile: Dustan Mohr

First in a series of player profiles, with Rob Trevelyan


Largely confined to a utility role, Dustan performed well above expectations in 2004. Playing second fiddle to Michael Tucker, Mohr split most of his games between left and right field, posting a .981 fielding average, with 8 outfield assists in just 628 innings of work.

Mohr handled the bat well, hitting .274 with an OBP of .394. In particular he excelled as a pinch hitter, going .386 with 17 total bases in just 18 at bats. He was one of the few Giants other than Barry Bonds who displayed stern discipline at the plate, as a reward scoring 52 runs over just 263 at bats, despite not stealing a single base. He has decent pop too: His 20 two-baggers project him as a 50 doubles candidate over the course of a full season. Whether he will get his chance is another matter, although with the Giant's purse-strings being in a state of tightness, he might find himself splitting time more frequently between all three outfield positions.

Beyond the numbers, the 28-year old Mohr made his mark in San Francisco with his guile, grit and determination. He made the Giant's best defensive play of the year -- and arguably the best in the majors -- in July, and scored only the second inside-the-park home run at SBC Park in August. His sterling defense and eminent enthusiasm for the game were well received in the clubhouse, particularly in August when he hit .400 with a 1.206 OPS in 50 at bats. Once settled in San Francisco, Mohr thrived, hitting .307 and slugging .520 over the second half. Indeed, had he duplicated those feats over both parts of the season, he would have posted similar numbers to Jeff Kent.

The intriguing part is that Mohr is showing strong signs that he could develop into a legitimate hitter. In his first three Major League seasons, he struck out once in every four plate appearances while walking only 8% of the time. This season however, he cut down on his strikeouts to less than one in five, while almost doubling his career walk rate (14.6%).