Anger Management Time: Shopping Affeldt?!?!?

Ken Rosenthal reported earlier today that the Giants are shopping Jeremy Affeldt and Ramon Ramirez. WHY??!?!? Here is the exact quote from MLB Trade Rumors.

 

Giants Trying To Trade Affeldt Or Ramon Ramirez

By Tim Dierkes [November 30 at 9:10am CST]

The Giants have a ton of money tied up in the bullpen right now, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, so they're trying to move Jeremy Affeldt or Ramon Ramirez.

They just picked up Affeldt's option, and now they are saying they need salary relief? I can understand shopping Ramirez because they have talented right handed relievers(Sergio Romo, Brian Wilson, Santiago Casilla.) But Affeldt is one of only two proven lefties in the bullpen, and he's proven himself extremely valuable. So maybe he's a little pricey, but the Giants are the ones who decided to pick up his option and not renegotiate a cheaper contract. Sometimes I really wonder about Brian Sabean (Subject A- Orlando Cabrera trade. The Indians were getting ready to release him, but Sabean trades away a much needed outfield prospect to get him... But I digress.)

Affeldt is more than just a valuable reliever, though. He's a team leader, and was the Giant's nominee for the Roberto Clemente award for two years in a row. He supports multiple charities, and when asked to, he stepped up after the Bryan Stow beating and addressed the crowd on fan violence. Hopefully the rumor that he is being shopped is just that- a rumor.

Affeldt speaking out against fan violence at the first Giants-Dodgers game after the beating of Bryan Stow

My Giants Christmas List

If I could pick the Giants lineup that I want (realistic lineup, anyway) here's what it would be.

CF- Melky Cabrera

The newest addition to the team

Ideally, Melky would replicate his 2011 numbers and be the catalyst the Giants need at the top of the order. Until Gary Brown gets here, anyway.

2B- Freddy Sanchez

If Freddy can stay healthy and hit consistently, he will be an asset to the team just as he was in 2010 and the beginning of 2011.

3B- Pablo Sandoval

Pablo successfully lost the forty pounds management told him to lose, and with it came a slimmed down Panda with a beefed up bat. His defense also came to play last year, and he was a Gold Glove finalist this season.

C- Buster Posey

There is nothing I am more excited for in the 2012 season than the return of Buster. By the time Opening Day rolls around, it will have been almost 11 months of no Buster for Giants fans. He's the brains and leader on the field, and is the best player on the team. He just needs to do his Buster Posey thing, and all will be well by the bay once more.

LF-Carlos Beltran

Arrival of Beltran- Beltran thinking, "What a sucker this guy is. He gives up his top pitching prospect for me? And gives me his number?!"

After Beltran Has Been Here For a While- Beltran thinking, "What a sucker I am. I came here? They think I'm the best hitter on the team. And I aint' even that good!"

Now I know with the above pictures, I make it sound like I hate Beltran, which I don't. He's just not my favorite, but he is a proven hitter. Notice, though, how I want him in left field. I don't care what he played when he was back with the Mets. He's with the Giants now, and they have a better defensive right fielder than him. So Schierholtz is going in right field, and Beltran can suck it up and play left. If the Giants sign him to maybe a two year deal with an option for a third, that will be a nice addition to what else they have, while not being stuck with him for too long.

1B- Brandon Belt

The poor guy's just too confused.

Brandon Belt was moved up and down from San Francisco to Fresno so many times he doesn't even know what to think. Aubrey Huff was a disaster last year, but was never yanked of his starting job. Brandon Belt proved he had power in plenty of situations, and really, really needs to be given a chance.

RF- Nate Schierholtz

Game saving catch against the Dodgers!!!

Nate Schierholtz has the stellar glove and speed to play right field at AT&T park, and started to hit much better last year. He was a late-inning hero several times, and deserves to get the starting role for the year.

And that leaves none other than....(drumroll)...

SS- Brandon Crawford

If the Giants obtain Beltran, they will already have a much better offense than last year, which means Crawford needs the starting job. His defense is exceptional, and I would consider him one of the best defensive players on the team. His bat is coming around, as he showed in the Arizona Fall League, and he is able to put himself on base. Starting him WILL PAY OFF (can you hear me, Bruce Bochy?)

So, relatives, you keep asking me what I want for Christmas. Well, if you can find a way to make it happen, this is it.

*Congratulations to Brandon Crawford, who was married today!! Sorry I wasn't able to buy you your pizza cutter.

Starting Crawford

Someone else also sees the obvious upsides to Brandon Crawford, too!

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/950841-san-francisco-giants-why-brandon-crawford-is-your-2012-starting-ss

The Best Picture Ever

I found this earlier, and it made my day. It's a picture of Brandon Crawford and Buster. Sort of...

You would think it would be a little weird to wear a shirt with your teammate's face plastered on it.

By the way, Brandon Crawford is getting married this Saturday in Hawaii. BEST OF LUCK, BRANDON!!!

Brandon Crawford Is Better Than You Think: How Bruce Bochy Caused the Giant's Mudslide to 2nd Place

The slide pretty much began on a hot night in Cincinnati. It was July 30th, and the Giants were facing the Reds for the second time in a road series. They had just played a 13 inning game the previous night and lost to Edgar Renteria and his walk-off single. In the bottom of the 6th, the Giants did a double switch and had Affeldt replace Casilla and had Fontenot come in for Brandon Crawford. I happened to be sitting in the stands that night, and was disappointed to see Crawford trot back to the dugout. Later that night when we were back at our hotel, I became extremely sad about it. It had just been reported that the Giants had acquired Orlando Cabrera from the Indians for minor-league outfielder Thomas Neal. That was the last of Brandon Crawford until roster expansion in September, and it was the beginning of the Giants fall to second place in the NL West. Now Orlanda Cabrerror- excuse me, Cabrera- was going to try (and fail) to fill the Giants "gaping hole" at the shortstop position.

But hold on a second, folks. With Crawford there, was there really a "gaping hole" at shortstop? Every Giants fan knew that he was an excellent defender, and made plays that Tejada, Cabrera, and Fontenot could only dream of making. But Crawford was constantly harped on for his lack of production at the plate, and the Giants acquired Cabrera to get a slight boost offensively as well as veteran leadership. Cabrera finished the season hitting .222 and Crawford had a batting average of .204, neither of those very good at all. What some people didn't notice was that while Cabrera had the better batting average, he had an OBP of .241 while Crawford's was .288. Crawford showed much more patience at the plate than Cabrera, and provided much better defense than Cabrera (hence the name "Cabrerror"), who helped lose what turned out to be an important game against the Braves by committing an error in the bottom of the 9th. Let's not go into that right now, though. With Crawford's better glove at shortstop, the pitchers could find a little more comfort in the fact that they don't have to have a minor heart attack every time the ball is hit to short. After Crawford was sent down, the Giants lost 21 games from July 31st to September 5th, until Crawford made his next big league start. They had fallen to 2nd place in the division, and wouldn't recover.

*Sigh* Fail. Epic, epic fail.

 While Crawford was exiled to Fresno, the Giants lacked a solid defensive shortstop which, along with other things, cost them down the stretch. Crawford was added back to the roster when it expanded on September 1st, which was a poor move. By doing that, Sabean had made it so that if the Giants made it to the postseason, they could not add Crawford to their postseason roster. That would leave Cabrera to play shortstop in the playoffs, which by now everyone knew would not work. Bochy didn't start Crawford again until September 5th, and after that the Giants did not lose a game in which Crawford started from that night to September 18th. Some people seemed to forget that Crawford was just a rookie, and were placing way to much blame on him, when he didn't do too terrible of a job in his first year. He was called up from A ball after Buster's accident, and after he hit his historic grand slam people expected him to fill Buster's shoes. That was a task that was impossible for anybody, because it's Buster Posey they're trying to replace, which just can't be done.

Brandon Crawford, while not an excellent hitter, helped the Giants out in many ways in 2011, which Bochy and Sabean failed to see. When they sent him down, the Giants also went down. They crashed down in a huge, fiery, injury-stricken wreck.

Maybe Bruce Bochy will actually look at Crawford next season, and see the talent he has right in front of him.