Jeff Fletcher | May 23, 2010

I know a few Giants fans out there are pining for Pat Burrell, who was released by the Rays. I can’t imagine that Burrell would help them much. Think of it this way, the Rays thought so little of him that they were willing to pay him to play for someone else.

And another thing: Someone who has shared a clubhouse with Burrell told me that he’s one of the worst guys he’s even come across in baseball. I don’t know if that’s true, but there ya go.

I think the Giants should probably see what it takes to get Prince Fielder.

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Jeff Fletcher | May 21, 2010

Don’t get excited. I’m not about to say that I have any information that the Giants are going to be in on Roy Oswalt, who has requested a trade from the Astros. I just wanted to use this opportunity to write about what I think is a common misconception.

“My team doesn’t need Oswalt. The pitching is fine. The hitting is the problem.”

Frankly, every team needs Oswalt. As long as a team has a starter who is significantly worse than Oswalt — and they all do — that team can get significantly better by adding Oswalt. Period.

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Jeff Fletcher | May 19, 2010

My FanHouse colleague Tom Krasovic, who is based in San Diego, wrote this story last night. Kras has apparently come to the conclusion that the Giants are in need of some offense, so he asked Bruce Bochy if the Giants have enough. Bochy, as you’d expect, was noncommital.

“That’s a question we have to answer,” Bochy said. “We think we do. We’ve got to go out and prove it. We’re a little nicked up.”

Nicked up? Yeah, Freddy Sanchez and Edgar Renteria will solve all their problems when they come off the DL.

There’s also a note in that story about how Bochy had to have his dog put down. Bummer.

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Jeff Fletcher | May 18, 2010

The A’s, ironically, are probably playing the best of any team in division, relative to their expectations. The A’s were a team that figured to be a little under .500, maybe hovering around break-even, while the other three teams were all expected to have winning records, just like last year. So far, the Angels, Mariners and Rangers have been disappointments. Anyway, here’s a breakdown of the division I wrote for AOL FanHouse.

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Jeff Fletcher | May 17, 2010

Former Giants minor leaguer Garrett Broshuis wrote his feelings on why Buster Posey should not be in the majors now.

Of course, it’s the same thing I wrote last week, but I guess it sounds better coming from him.

(Can you tell I did this whole post from my iPhone?)

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Jeff Fletcher | May 17, 2010

Just talked with a scout who recently saw Sacramento.

He said that Chris Carter has big power potential, but he still has some work to do offensively, and he can’t play defense. Carter apparently is a mistake hitter right now, and if a pitcher has the command to pitch him backwards (throw offspeed or breaking balls in fastball counts), Carter has trouble adjusting. He’s apparently not very disciplined right now, either. As for defense, the scout said Carter can barely even bend over.

As for Michael Taylor, this scout said that he looks “stiff” at the plate. He said he has the same problems as Carter when it comes to thinking his way through an at-bat and being ready to hit anything other than a fastball. He also said that Taylor is not as close to the majors as Brett Wallace (although we already knew that) and he’s also not as good as Wallace.

What did he like? He said the best hitter at Triple-A is second baseman Eric Sogard.

This scout also liked what he has seen from Adam Rosales in the big leagues, by the way.

(I just added that Carter photo on my iPhone while laying in bed. Yeah, I know it’s too small.)

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Jeff Fletcher | May 17, 2010

If you read Justin Duchscherer’s comments on Saturday, after he had to be scratched from his start, he seemed to be resigned to the fact that he was going to have to have another hip surgery, one that would end his season. This afternoon, though, he was slightly more upbeat.

Duchscherer still hasn’t seen the doctor — he’ll be scheduled later in the week to visit the specialist in Nashville — but for now, anyway, he’s holding out hope that he can avoid the operating table.

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