Jeff Fletcher | May 29, 2009

I am about to go play in the World Series of Poker! The logo on the left is linked to my WSOP Twitter page (separate from my professional Tweets), which is where you will be able to see updates on my progress, as well as get links to photos and audio reports from Vegas.

I’m starting on Sunday and hopefully won’t be stopping till late Thursday night! (Although I’m only booked for two nights )

Hopefully when it’s over I’ll have an even better story to tell than I did in 2006.

Good luck to me!

Category: Sideshow | 3 Comments »
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Jeff Fletcher | May 27, 2009

Great entry in Andy Baggarly’s blog today in which explains what the Giants are really doing with regards to Matt Cain. Of course, I never believed that were actively “shopping” Cain, because I know that’s not Brian Sabean’s style. Any GM has got be open to listening on just about anyone. To not do it, as Billy Beane always says, would be malpractice.

I want to take issue with one thing Baggs wrote…

We’re not talking about an impending free agent like Nick Johnson here. We’re talking about a player with similar service-time attributes as Cain…

Snip

Cain has incredible value – probably as much as Dan Haren when the A’s dealt him. The Giants will not be seeking a Haren-type deal for prospects, though. (See “similar service-time attributes” above.)

To that I say, why not? (Questioning the Giants here, not Baggs)

(more…)

Category: Giants | 1 Comment »
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Jeff Fletcher | May 26, 2009

Today at FanHouse I have a story on Russell Branyan. In case you didn’t notice, Branyan is having a great year for the Mariners. The big first baseman is hitting .305 with 10 homers, and a .988 OPS.

How does this apply to the Giants? Because Branyan is the exact type of guy the Giants never get. He was sitting on the free agent market, ready to go to Japan, when the Mariners came in and signed him for a mere $1.4 million.

The point is that you don’t always need to sign a big name to get big production. You just have to out-evaluate the other GMs. Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik (who had seen Branyan when both were Brewers employees) obviously saw something in Branyan that no one else did.

One of the ways that GMs score big is when they pick someone up off the scrap heap and hit the jackpot, like the A’s did with Frank Thomas in 2006, or the White Sox did with Carlos Quentin last year. When was the last time the Giants got more than their money’s worth out of someone they acquired, either via trade or free agency?

Still thinking?

You probably have to go back to Benito Santiago, signed for a bucket of balls in the spring of 2001.

Invariably, the Giants have done the opposite. They grab someone who is maybe a year or two past the peak of his career, and overpay to ride him downhill (see Morris, Matt; or Alfonzo, Edgardo). They’ve tried some reclamation projects, like Edgar Renteria and Randy Johnson this year, but they have still managed to pay full price, so there wasn’t much financial upside. At best, they’d get what they paid for.

The way to build a team is to concentrate on the guys at either end of the payroll spectrum. You need big money superstars or cheap guys, either those still under salary control or veterans signed to discount deals. The guys in the middle, all those 32- to 36-year-olds making $5 to $9 million, will get you into trouble more often than not.

The Giants would be better off signing nine Benito Santiagos for $1 mil apiece than one Edgar Renteria for $9 million.

Category: Giants | 6 Comments »
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Jeff Fletcher | May 25, 2009

I’m paraphrasing here from a conversation I had with him this morning, more details of which are published at FanHouse.

“The most important thing we had to do this year was to start to develop the youngest rotation in the big leagues. I think some of those young guys are starting to show some progress and that’s ultimately where our future lies.”

By the way, don’t look for Vin Mazzaro to make his big league debut on Friday for the doubleheader at Texas, although there has been some speculation (even by me) that he would be up for that game. The A’s view that as a one-start assignment, so they probably don’t want to bring up a guy like Mazzaro and have to send him right back down. They also don’t have an open 40-man roster spot for Mazzaro right now. Believe it or not, they don’t even have any more guys to put on the 60-day DL to make a spot.

There are still a few days to go, though.

Category: A's | 3 Comments »
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Jeff Fletcher | May 24, 2009

The Mercury News reported today that Giants GM Brian Sabean is more willing than ever now to trade one the sacred cows of the organization to finally get some offensive help. My take on this is over at FanHouse.

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Jeff Fletcher | May 22, 2009

Today I talked to a scout who just got done watching Sacramento. Among the things he told me:

• Vin Mazzaro is ready for the big leagues right now.
• He likes Eric Patterson. Says he can really hit, despite his lack of a position.
• Sean Doolittle still looks very good.
• Ryan Webb also looks like a big leaguer.

By the way, check out FanHouse on Saturday for an short interview with Kurt Suzuki.

Category: A's | 2 Comments »
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Jeff Fletcher | May 19, 2009

The A’s, whose pitching has been abysmal on this trip, are going to try two new guys. Today they recalled Edgar Gonzalez  and Chris Schroeder, sending out Sean Gallagher and Gio Gonzalez.

To make room on the 40-man roster, they released Javier Herrera and put Eric Chavez on the 60-day DL. I don’t think either of those are too significant, since Herrera’s development had stalled and Chavez was already not coming back anytime soon.

I’ve been saying it for a month about the A’s: They looked like they had good pitching and lousy hitting in April, but in reality it was the other way around. This trip has shown part of that. That said, they’d better start hitting or they’ll have lousy hitting and lousy pitching.

(UPDATE: The odd part to all this is that the A’s didn’t recall a catcher. Guess Landon Powell is doing better today.)

Category: A's | 6 Comments »
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