Felipe

This would bother me less if I thought someone might actually question Felipe on this decision, but judging from the past there will likely be no mention of this in the paper tomorrow.

So who replaces Felipe next year?
Do the Giants fill from within with Righetti or Wotus? Or do they go outside?

Personally I have always liked Righetti but I know that a lot of people on this site don't feel the same. If Wotus or Righetti don't get the job then I don't have a problem with the Giants going outside as long as whoever they hire isn't named Hargrove or Bowa.

We should really focus on getting pitchers that can throw complete games, that would keep Felipe from making as many stupid decisions.  Unfortunately that would require that Sabean be competent, so I guess I'll just go sit in my corner and cry about our terrible management for the next few years.

I also agree with you that given the status quo (another sub-par, mediocre season with lots of "meaningful games" but no real hope of accomplishing anything of significance), Felipe will most assuredly be back next year.  ...Unless, there is a change even higher in the organization.  Brian Sabean is the one we as fans need to focus on seeing removed.  

Brian Sabean is the one who hired Felipe.  And he's also the one responsible for putting this team together.  You're right when you say that the Giants will never win with Felipe as manager.  But I'm even more certain that you could resurrect John McGraw from the great beyond, and even he wouldn't be able to win with this current collection of flotsam and jetsam that Sabean calls a "contending baseball team".

I just think Sabean is played out, and has shown increasing signs of this since the end of 2002.  I think it happens to most GMs after a time.  Seems to me that GMing is pretty much a young man's game.  The best ones often seem to have an initial stretch where their passion, their ideas, and their energy produce some great deals, some great decisions and some very good (even great) teams.  But it does seem as if even the best MLB GMs wear down over time, and end up losing those qualities that made them effective in their heyday.

So, really, I think the time has come for Magowan to get Sabean's resignation, and bring in someone with fresh energy and some fresh ideas. Someone with an energetic, intelligent approach to the job. I think Sabean used to be that guy (or close to it), but clearly he ain't it anymore.

My point isn't that it's an either/or question between Alou and Sabean.  The point is, they both need to go.  And the beauty of replacing Sabean with some new blood in the GM's chair?  

Felipe would be the first to go.

Honestly, is this not something he could say after virtually every series-50+ times per year?  Is this what he thinks of SF Giant fans?  "The other guys played good."  Thats it?

The observations by Josh, and others above this post are entirely with merit--backed by facts.

What do Giant fans get? The kind of arrogance and ignorance we've come to expect from elected government officials, rogue cops, white collar felons, and Dodger fans--not the manager of the not-so-long-ago "jewel franchise".

We think its tough being fans and observers? Imagine what it is like playing for such a  manager. The season becomes an endurance test. Its not so much about winning anymore as your first priority.  The games become a game within a game of individual cma (cover my ass) and finger pointing.  Each predictable arrogant or meddling lineup change, substitution, pitching change, raises the bile level, and churns the sour stomach.  You play your heart out, and he does inexplicable things that eventually foil you.  You run out of faith and you run out of desire.  You go into "professional mode".  You do your best to concentrate on your job and your job alone from minute to minute--but after awhile, your heart just isn't in it anymore. And that takes you out of the "zone".  Not real visible to most of us, unless you're looking for it.  The game and the players at this level are really athletic and really fast--just ask Kevin Frandsen how fast the game is at the MLB level.

It's not apparent to most fans or media. Guys like Kruk and Kuip will occassionally slip something by accident, but are quick to follow it up with something "positive".  I guess the most familiar term used is "funk".  That underdefined term used to explain what appears to be the inexplicable.  

Our guy, today--Lowry is not 100% physical.  Just watching him on the mound one could tell he was uncomfortable--I caught glimpses of a few early innings at a restaraunt where they had the sound off.  From what I saw, he pitched his heart and his ass off with his C+ game.  

This is a facet of what I meant, when I alluded to "managing personalities".

This game to me illustrates the biggest difference between Baker and Alou.

First of all, no way Bake lifts Accardo.  But just for arguments sake, lets say he stays with Accardo, but the results are identical.

Here's what Bake would have said.

I stayed with Accardo, because he looked strong out there.  He's a great kid with closer potential and we had to give him that chance.  Lowry pitched his heart out today even though he didn't have great stuff, he held them down and neutralized one of the great hitters in the game in Vlad.  We made some mistakes on the field today and it cost us.  But I'm proud of our pitching staff.  They know our hitters are struggling right now, and they are busting butt to pick them up until they get it going again.  Sabaen assures me he is going to try and get us the offensive help we need, so we're just trying to hang in there--and our pitchers did their part.  Jeremy made one mistake to Izturis, and it cost us.  But he's a smart kid with a lot of talent, and he'll learn from it. I don't believe he will repeat that mistake. Looking back, maybe I should have pulled him, its easy to second guess, but I'm interested in Jeremy developing as a complete pitcher too, and I wanted to give him that chance to pitch out of it.  He'll get 'em next time, you'll see.

Not "The others guys played good."

Josh is right to be upset.  Its not that we're losing. It's not even that Felipe is a dunderhead. Its that he treats us, and worse, our players like dunderheads.

He needs to retire going into the All-Star Break.  Get our guy lined up now, Magowan; whoever it is. Somebody who can jumpstart these old broken down bastards and young pitchers into believing in themselves and each other.  And bring in Craig Wilson or Sean Casey--it almost doesn't matter other than it will be a break in a new direction with new field leadership.   The 10th man can only do so much.

Right there, in front of everybody. He forgot what he was doing when even he should have known, "Gosh, I'm on the mound doing something, but what was it? Oh yeah, when I'm on the mound I pull the pitcher." It was awful. It was telling. It was the single thing that convinced me that anything we were going to do while he's here would be despite the guy who mysteriously loses his train of thought doing the one thing he's actually had withdrawl pains from since the end of the game the night before.

Since then I've regularly seen managerial moves that make me question whether I know anything about baseball at all, even though I know for a fact that I do, but I haven't been surprised by one. Felipe's awful. He's just... so awful...

Winning 100 games in '03 probably put the kibosh on any dissent over his wacky in-game managing, his handling of the pitching staff, or his apparent indifference to firing up his players. The last 2 1/2 seasons, however, it's very clear the Giants clubhouse has not been a very happy place, and whatever improved 2006 ambiance we've heard about from Barry or Moises is purely due to the influx of some good clubhouse guys (Sweeney, Kline, etc.). But notice how you NEVER hear a Giants player talk about how much they enjoy playing for Felipe. There's respect/resigned acceptance for his authority, but he's pretty much the anti-Dusty. And Dusty, for all of his faults, got us within three innings of a World Series title.

I'm tired of this lifeless treading water. Sabes needs to blow this shit up, starting with the manager.

How do you come up with your topics for your FSN columns?  Would it at all be possible to "vent" a bit about a certain senile skipper in ways that Kruk, Kuip, Miller, etc. can't?  I guess what I'm asking is do you have any topics that you've been told are "no-no's"?  I'd love to see what kind a response you'd get from an honest apprasial of our current management team (Sabes included).

the managers most important job is getting the best players on the field most of the time.  Other than the asinine VizII at 1B there's not much you can do when your bullpen ERA is about 6.

I mean, it's not like he leaves guys in there too long.