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Sabean: Burriss starting SS in 2009

tko5 over on the official Giants forum recapped the Sabean show today.  Probably the most interesting piece is that Manny will be the starter at short next year, and they hope to get him 145+ games.

 

Personally, I'm stoked.  Burriss has easily been one of the more pleasant surprises this year, and clearly has more talent than the other youngsters he's competing with.  Ochoa might be able to field, but we don't have a ton of need for him or his weird way of wearing his hat.  Velez can throw himself under a trolley for all I care; I'd much rather see Denker in his place.

 

I'd love to see this starting for the first half of next season:

1b: Ishikawa

2b: Frandsen

SS: Burriss

3B: Pablo

LF: Lewis

CF: Rowand

RF: Schierholtz

C: Bengie

Sure they're not going to win it all.  Sure not all of them will pan out.  But I'll be damned if the last few games that have featured most of these players haven't been the most exciting in ages.

 

This FanPost is reader-generated, and it does not necessarily reflect the views of McCovey Chronicles. If the author uses filler to achieve the minimum word requirement, a moderator may edit the FanPost for his or her own amusement.

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Just caught some of it

He seems high on Burris and Pablo, not so much on Ochoa

"I think I was the best player I ever saw"
Willie Mays, you ain't kidding

by CB30 on Sep 4, 2008 4:36 PM PDT   0 recs

I’d say Ishi would be the week link in that lineup.

Zooperstars, they quack me up!

by Goofus on Sep 4, 2008 4:36 PM PDT   0 recs

Oops, meant to add that if you put a name like Dunn or Texiera in Ishi’s place, that lineup seems pretty ok.

Zooperstars, they quack me up!

by Goofus on Sep 4, 2008 4:37 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Agreed. At least he looks like a Giants 1b though.

Proud adopter of Jason Jarvis: let's see YOU pass an online music course without cheating!

by Gaahl on Sep 4, 2008 4:49 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

How about Fielder?

MLB trade rumors says they want Cain.

I know. Cain sucks.

bringing you moral turpitude since 1963

by Idaho Nick on Sep 4, 2008 7:24 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Fielder wouldn’t do so hot in the phone booth.

proud father of the newly acquired Brandon Crawford..

by Azmanz on Sep 4, 2008 9:57 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

not sure

I mean, the park isn’t going to help any lefty slugger, but check out Fielder’s bombs for the year. It almost seems to me that the fact that he doesn’t hit any in the 60-70 degree range would be to his benefit at the booth.
He’s no Adam Dunn when it comes to hitting for distance, but he is tied with Carlos Delgado for 2nd in baseball with 11 “no doubt” shots.

by BigO on Sep 5, 2008 1:50 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Declining numbers and increasing weight (can’t believe he weighs 270, more like 300)…. i wouldn’t jump on it so soon. Plus he is going to be entering arbitration soon.

Cain has a nice, undervalue contract that lasts until 2011 (no doubt about exercising the option).

by silentearth36 on Sep 4, 2008 9:59 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

so there is no misunderstanding

declined numbers this year, not so much a career trend

by silentearth36 on Sep 4, 2008 10:00 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Well

When you have a 3 year career that goes from good to bondsian and then back to good it’s kinda hard to pull any sort of trend out of that.

Eugeniooooooo!!!!

by FairweatherFan on Sep 5, 2008 7:59 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

He’s been trying to lose weight by eating vegetarian, isn’t he? Well, I can’t think of many places in the world that would be worse for vegetarians than Milwaukee, and man places in the world that would be BETTER than San Francisco.

"He called the sh** POOP!" -- Adam Sandler

by JRPhillips on Sep 5, 2008 9:41 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

San Francisco definitely has way more man places than Milwaukee.

Farewell, Ray. We'll miss your smile and your sugar. Welcome, Steve Hammond "Eggs". Throw strikes.
comics | cartoons | Nattowear

by Natto on Sep 5, 2008 9:47 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Damn, I hate typos...

There are, however, a lot of man places around San Francisco… For example, I used to drive past Stud on my way home. I do believe that’s a man place.

"He called the sh** POOP!" -- Adam Sandler

by JRPhillips on Sep 5, 2008 10:34 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Really?

No wonder they looked at me so funny when I tried to buy lumber there.

All I asked was “You guys got wood?”

Like Barry Zito, I'm mildly half-OK.

by EliminateMe on Sep 5, 2008 2:04 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

A better idea than becoming vegitarian

For losing weight:

Don’t eat so fucking much.

Eugeniooooooo!!!!

by FairweatherFan on Sep 5, 2008 9:47 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

That’s just crazy talk!

Regardless, I can pretty much guarantee you, San Francisco is a better place for a motivated person to drop some lbs and stay in shape than Milwaukee could ever be.

"He called the sh** POOP!" -- Adam Sandler

by JRPhillips on Sep 5, 2008 10:10 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Just out of curiosity

you ever actually BEEN to Milwaukee? Or anywhere in the mid-west? Just wondering.

by bondslegend on Sep 5, 2008 12:30 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Naturally, no.

Why on earth would anyone go THERE?

I’ve been to some parts of the Midwest. And I’m not hating on Milwaukee or anything. But I do believe it’s well-established that Milwaukee tends to be a far friendlier place to the out-of-shape than it is to vegetarians and/or the in-shape. This is a reinforced notion for me by the people I know who do live in Milwaukee. This is, of course, a gross generality and is in no way applicable to all citizens of the fair city of Milwaukee, nor is it applicable to all citizens of the greater Midwest.

Mind you, I’m very open to the possibility that I’m wrong. You may feel free to tell me I’m a total dipshit and don’t know anything on this subject. I’d be okay with that.

"He called the sh** POOP!" -- Adam Sandler

by JRPhillips on Sep 5, 2008 4:04 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

I’ve never been to Milwaukee either, nor do I know anyone who lives there, but I’ll jump at the invite to tell you you’re a total dipshit.

:-P

Zooperstars, they quack me up!

by Goofus on Sep 5, 2008 4:25 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

...

And I’m okay with that.

Sort of… =(

"He called the sh** POOP!" -- Adam Sandler

by JRPhillips on Sep 5, 2008 4:34 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

I have been to Milwaukee

The problem for the overweight isn’t the food, it’s that there is, almost literally, a bar on every corner.

There are alot of bars in SF as well, just not as many, not in residential neighborhoods, and not built into people’s garages.

VAE PVTO DEVS FIO

by Bhaakon on Sep 5, 2008 8:19 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

I’m pretty sure he’s not doing it to lose weight, anyway.

My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.

by howtheyscored on Sep 5, 2008 1:24 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Let's hope Velez can put it together enough to be a useful bench player

And I think that looks pretty solid.

Eugeniooooooo!!!!

by FairweatherFan on Sep 4, 2008 4:40 PM PDT   0 recs

I am still concerned, however

That Pablo may be a little over his head. His performance thus far has been extremely impressive, but the sample size is small enough that I’m less than convinced.

Same goes for Ishikawa. I happen to think Burriss is going to stick.

Eugeniooooooo!!!!

by FairweatherFan on Sep 4, 2008 4:44 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

I never noticed Ochoa wearing his hat weird.

Farewell, Ray. We'll miss your smile and your sugar. Welcome, Steve Hammond "Eggs". Throw strikes.
comics | cartoons | Nattowear

by Natto on Sep 4, 2008 4:40 PM PDT   0 recs

Yeah, totally. It’s all high on his head, sort of like Omar.

Proud adopter of Jason Jarvis: let's see YOU pass an online music course without cheating!

by Gaahl on Sep 4, 2008 4:50 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Sabean and the McCoven on the same page? I am cautiously optimistic.

by rotorueter on Sep 4, 2008 4:43 PM PDT   0 recs

I know. It’s really wierding me out.

by chilibean_3 on Sep 4, 2008 7:11 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Clearly he’s given in to the lunatic fringe.

Trent Kline: Decentish. Also, my website is called ChatterBalks Dot Com. It's not being updated right now. Hope for more at your own risk.

by groug on Sep 4, 2008 9:11 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

He IS the lunatic fringe. But then, maybe he always was….

I've come to the conclusion that the two most important things in life are good friends and a good bullpen. - Bob Lemon, 1981

by Lyle on Sep 5, 2008 5:52 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

wow

I didn’t expect them to come out with this so soon. I guess they must be really impressed with the way he adjusted from the left side after Lansford told him he’d better.
I like it. Presumably no stupid J.J. Hardy trades…

by BigO on Sep 4, 2008 4:44 PM PDT   0 recs

Burriss @ SS

Given current production, is worth about 3 wins offensively over Ochoa, 4.5 over Vizquel.

The lineup suggested above has an outside chance of making it interesting next season IF Pablo hits like we think he can hit and Frandsen approximates a 2008 Aurilia season.

Eugeniooooooo!!!!

by FairweatherFan on Sep 4, 2008 4:49 PM PDT   0 recs

problems with that are...

a) We’re comparing him to two of the worst SS in baseball. Burris would still be below average

b) We can’t really get a read for defensive production at SS for Burriss

Still, I’m all for playing him at SS if the Giants can’t find a suitable option this off-season

by NeifiChicken on Sep 4, 2008 5:00 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

This is true

However, when looking at how this team may do record wise next year, it is a valid comparison.

One of the most glaring reasons that this offense has been as poor as it has been this season is because of the automatic out @ SS.

Bocock → Vizquel → Ochoa has been the literal equivalent of a second pitcher in the lineup, all season.

Replacing that with something that is even just slightly below average (Like Burriss) makes a big difference, hence the 3-4 win improvement.

The added bonus is guys like Burriss have the potential to get better.

Eugeniooooooo!!!!

by FairweatherFan on Sep 4, 2008 5:12 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Giants SSs

are at -20 runs this year (Chris Dial Offense plus defense). That’s about 2 wins. I doubt you can say Burriss is likely to be much above replacement value, so 2 seems way more likely than 4. Unless you think Burriss is a Vizquel-class defender.

FIRE BRIAN SABEAN

by zenbitz on Sep 5, 2008 5:14 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

At first I read your subject line as Burriss ass...

Then I realized what you were doing there… But it still looks suspiciously like you either think Burriss is a jerk, or you like his rump.

"He called the sh** POOP!" -- Adam Sandler

by JRPhillips on Sep 4, 2008 5:07 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

you mean over a whole season, correct?

btw, are you using WAR? just outta curiousity

Adopted Giant: Aaron King

Wearing the crown by 2011. Or at least the LOOGY hat

by baetown415 on Sep 5, 2008 10:10 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

WPA/LI

And yes, over a whole season.

Eugeniooooooo!!!!

by FairweatherFan on Sep 5, 2008 10:33 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Thumbs up to Sabean on this one. It is clearly the right move, and I was scratching my head before when they were considering Burriss at SS. One more position player spot filled by a young, cheap player. Good deal.

by sunnyd100 on Sep 4, 2008 4:50 PM PDT   0 recs

Great to hear. I hope the improvements he’s made WRT plate discipline are real and will be continued next year (and I hope that he can find some way to get more doubles out of his speed.)

Matt Cain: He'll save children, but not the Dodger children.

by jponry on Sep 4, 2008 5:05 PM PDT   0 recs

The rest of the interview

1) Vizquel not coming back (shouldn’t have even been a question, really)

2) The Giants considering an extension for Winn. I’m speechless.

VAE PVTO DEVS FIO

by Bhaakon on Sep 4, 2008 5:21 PM PDT   0 recs

WHAT

Matt Cain: He'll save children, but not the Dodger children.

by jponry on Sep 4, 2008 5:42 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

you cannot be serious.

by Sammy Danger on Sep 4, 2008 6:42 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Nope, it's dead to real

Sabean highlighted all of Winn’s off-field value to the team, then offhandedly mentioned that the team will be looking at the possibility of offering him an extension as part of their offseason preparations.

VAE PVTO DEVS FIO

by Bhaakon on Sep 4, 2008 6:54 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

RANDY WINN PUTS BUTTS IN THE SEATS

Matt Cain: He'll save children, but not the Dodger children.

by jponry on Sep 4, 2008 6:59 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Plus, we can’t get rid of him right before his record breaking season! We can only do that the season after.

My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.

by howtheyscored on Sep 4, 2008 8:54 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Who else would do Wells Fargo ads with Lisa Stevens? Lewis is just not experienced enough to handle the load on his own.

Farewell, Ray. We'll miss your smile and your sugar. Welcome, Steve Hammond "Eggs". Throw strikes.
comics | cartoons | Nattowear

by Natto on Sep 4, 2008 7:12 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Who else would do Wells Fargo ads with Lisa Stevens?

J.T. Snow’s son.

Only 835 games until the end of Zito's contract

by thehavenot on Sep 4, 2008 7:18 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

this

¿Julio is tourist in San Francisco? Harper's Bizarre!

by hairball on Sep 5, 2008 11:56 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Puls, without Randy how can it be a Winn/Win situation?

by tyrannoman on Sep 5, 2008 9:54 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

If it was just Fred it’d be a Lewis/Lose situation, and we can’t have that!

Trent Kline: Decentish. Also, my website is called ChatterBalks Dot Com. It's not being updated right now. Hope for more at your own risk.

by groug on Sep 5, 2008 11:29 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

I'd keep Winn...

..if that meant we were trading Rowand.

"Don't trust anyone under the age of 30" - Brian Sabean

by Smotheredinhugs on Sep 5, 2008 6:02 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

To all the teams who’re just dying to take on his contract?

What man? Which man? Who’s the man? When’s a man a man? What makes a man a man? Am I a man? Yes. Technically I am. - FotC

by jcb9 on Sep 5, 2008 8:55 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

I’m happy with both. I’ve always liked Winn though, since he was rookie. So my judgment may be clouded.

by chilibean_3 on Sep 4, 2008 7:16 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

So...

what position is Nate going to play then?

There are two ways to argue with a woman, and neither of them work. --Carlos Boozer

by samlet on Sep 4, 2008 11:31 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

What position is open on Fresno’s roster?

My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.

by howtheyscored on Sep 5, 2008 12:01 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Hater!

I've come to the conclusion that the two most important things in life are good friends and a good bullpen. - Bob Lemon, 1981

by Lyle on Sep 5, 2008 6:10 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Listening to the Sabean show, I really got different impressions on what he said. He said they’re looking to Burriss as the starting shortstop, but mostly because it’s hard to find a good shortstop in the trade or FA market. He said it’s easier to fill other positions. As for Randy Winn, he said they would decide in the offseason whether to offer him an extension or not. I would expect them not to offer him one, especially if Nate does anything at all this September. As for CC Sabathia, I certainly didn’t hear him say he was interested. He said if they can get a starter on the FA or trade market that might enable them to trade another starter for a big hitter, but he expected the market on Sabathia to be off the charts. When’s the last time Sabean made a huge trade anyway?? All these machinations we want to see in the offseason are never going to happen. Make a big trade for a bat, sign a big FA pitcher. That requires too much time and effort for our GM!! He’d rather stand pat, make a couple of minor FA signings, and avoid another AJ trade like the plague.

Brian Sabean's new dad: Firm believer in corporal punishment

by rxmeister on Sep 5, 2008 7:53 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

He’d rather stand pat, make a couple of minor FA signings, and avoid another AJ trade like the plague.

That makes two of us.

Travis Denker can hit a little. That's why I drive his bus.

by oldjacket on Sep 5, 2008 8:51 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Yeah, I'm good with him avoiding more AJ trades.

"He called the sh** POOP!" -- Adam Sandler

by JRPhillips on Sep 5, 2008 9:45 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Yeah, I'm also good with him catching the plague.

I'm adopting a true Giant and an awe-inspring gamer: tk. "Atta babe."

by Mayor of 311 on Sep 5, 2008 9:49 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

So Burriss is going to start at SS like Ortmeier is going to start at 1B right?

Make me proud again Hen

by AndYourBirdCanSing on Sep 4, 2008 5:22 PM PDT   0 recs

The Kiss of Death

Sabean anointing a young player as a future starter is like an NFL owner giving his coach a vote of confidence.

Disfrute Los Gigantes every day at www.leftymalo.com

by leftymalo on Sep 4, 2008 6:08 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Yes, but they gave Ortmeier every chance to take the position. He just failed to do so.

by chilibean_3 on Sep 4, 2008 7:17 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

I’m waiting for the inevitable “Psyche!!!”

My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.

by howtheyscored on Sep 4, 2008 8:55 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Those 70 Spring Training ABs sure told us a lot!

Trent Kline: Decentish. Also, my website is called ChatterBalks Dot Com. It's not being updated right now. Hope for more at your own risk.

by groug on Sep 4, 2008 9:12 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Truth is, however

Ort hasn’t done ANYTHING since then to prove them wrong.

Sometimes the coaches may see something with a guy that they don’t need 100’s of AB’s worth of bad results to confirm.

A bad approach is not subject to SSS issues.

Eugeniooooooo!!!!

by FairweatherFan on Sep 5, 2008 8:01 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

True

but he’d never done anything BEFORE then to prove them right, either. His minor league career gave no indication that he was remotely up to the task and, like Linden, he was a switch hitter who’se weak side swing was from the left (always trouble). The fact that they were right to dump him doesn’t make them right (or even not stupid) for coronating him starter to begin with and then sitting on their hands all winter and thinking they didn’t need to do anything about 1B.

Get the hell out the way Bengie, Pablito's hit the show!

by Roger on Sep 5, 2008 11:40 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

He lost the job in Spring Training. His 64 ML AB’s told us nothing about him. The fact that the player that was essentially replacing him was Jose Castillo is a crime.

What happened when the coaches saw something with a guy that they liked. It took them 356 AB’s to give up on Castillo. 1848 over his career. I don’t think the coaches looked at Ortmeier and said “this guy needs to not get an opportunity to show us what he can do.”

Bengie Molina: stretching doubles into singles since 1998.

by jasomack on Sep 5, 2008 12:31 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

All he had to do was show he could handle MLB pitching in the Spring. Hell, he just had to show he could handle the scrubs and the job was his. He was given his chance and he failed to take it.

by chilibean_3 on Sep 5, 2008 10:47 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

That’s not a chance, though. That’s giving him a _. And that’s not a fill-in-the-blank right there. That’s just a blank. No player can reasonably prove ANYTHING in Spring Training.

If the team made their decision on Ortmeier because of Spring Training, that’s an absolute joke, and asserting that they reasonably could have made their decision based on those at bats is nuts.

No, I’m sure they, more than likely, made their decision based on over 2000 crappy minor league at bats and roughly 200, at the time, far crappier major league at bats. Let’s not fool around with this. Ortmeier NEVER had a chance. He was always regarded as a last resort non-prospect that the team would rather have anything to replace with. They just didn’t say so much because that would be some awesome PR right there.

My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.

by howtheyscored on Sep 5, 2008 1:34 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

A young player can’t prove anything in Spring, but a young player can win or lose a job. I agree that him being pretty meh up to that point is part of the reason he was pushed back. I believe, though, that if he had shown in spring