Who will be this year's scapegoat?
by Hobbes2d on Jun 30, 2010 11:07 AM PDT
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PrintIn past Giants seasons, there has always been a scapegoat for how the season didn't go as planned. Scapegoats have mostly been made my the fans, media and management. In prior years we have seen Dusty Baker, Barry Bonds, A.J. Pierzynski, Jose Cruz Jr., Felipe Alou, Dustin Hermanson, Carney Lansford, etc. Only Baker and Bonds ever really were brought back after a season in which they received serious heat. Bonds was scapegoated mostly due to injury though, not for lack of performance. And Baker survived in 2000, only to move on after 2002.
Never once has Brian Sabean received REAL criticism for failed seasons. Nor has ownership. Yeah us here may have dished it out, but the stupid media, casual fans (who there are a lot more of), etc all seem to think the team is sincere in it's approach. Obviously if that were true some of these players might not have been blamed for the failure of an entire organization.
So because it's painfully obvious that Sabean won't be blamed this year and will keep on truckin' as the teflon man, who will be the scapegoat for this season? Mind you, they likely would not be brought back as a Giant next year. As I see it, there are plenty of candidates this season:
Bruce Bochy is the most obvious scapegoat candidate. Managers are high profile enough that making a change passifies the masses for usually at least 2 seasons. This is Bochy's fourth, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him be fired for the team's performance this year, especially if it continues to sag and leads to a losing record.
Another is Bengie Molina. While the hatred for Molina's poor play has been found here among the McCoven for quite some time, only now are people really starting to notice. Of course, it will be convenient to scapegoat Molina for his poor hitting and defense this season, as he's going to be a Free Agent anyway at the end of the season. But I can hear it now, "If Bengie had just hit like he did in 2008, we would have made the playoffs."
One potential scapegoat that might be starting to form (I hope not) is Pablo Sandoval. Sandoval is having the first real slump of his career and he was expected to carry the offense this year, and carry a more acceptable amount of weight. He has done neither so far, but I'm not really sure that is fair to put on him. Hopefully all the double plays and baserunning blunders do not lead to his being given away for pennies on the dollar just to passify KNBR and the sad sack casual fan base the Giants have.
Last but not least, and the least likely IMO, is Buster Posey. God forbid the kid goes into a real slump, which could occur just in the fact that he is stuck behind shitty veterans everyday and not given ample playing time. I can hear all the stupid criticism already for the fact that he didn't make the impact of a Strasburg or that Santana guy. Luckily I don't think the Giants are even that dumb. Larry Baer knows they have real marketing impact with a kid like Posey.
My money for now is on Bochy or Bengie. Let's just hope Panda picks it up with his bat, and Posey is actually allowed to play so that he doesn't get Bowker'd.
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I said this before and I'm sticking to it
Neukom won’t fire Bochy / Sabean for he right reasons, so I’m hoping they get fired for the wrong reasons.
Obviously any links in the above post are probably NSFW
The baseball gods do not always punish the wicked but they will not just allow people to spit in their faces -- Joe Posnanski
I wish I would stop cheating. fuck. this is jctgamer's fault -- jponry
If only Sabean/Bochy had a proclivity for getting into drunken brawls like Billy Martin. Except of course, that would mean that they’d actually have to be good at their jobs like Martin was.
And by that you mean if only some random fans from some lunatic fringe blog managed to get into a drunk brawl with them….
by Missing Barry on Jun 30, 2010 11:50 AM PDT up reply actions
I can actually attend that. Tell me one (or both) of them will be there…..
by Missing Barry on Jun 30, 2010 12:38 PM PDT up reply actions
Free booze + complimentary pitchforks and torches… what could possibly go wrong?
by KrazyKrabMeat on Jun 30, 2010 12:47 PM PDT up reply actions
The usual suspects:
Sabean, Bochy + whoever they trade for.
(Also, that stupid Purple Dinosaur will have something to do with it yet again).
BAAAAAAAAAA-AAAA!
Brian Sabean strongly encourages you to disregard the drudgery of your employment responsibilities and join him in the consumption of spirituous libations.
Bowker'd
The Giants need a corner outfielder who can hit for power and that the team will have control over for the next few years to save money. Gee, wouldn’t it be great if they could trade for a AAA player who is ready for the big league’s, has an OPS of over 1.000 in AAA, hits a HR once every 10.7 AB’s and plays adequate defense, you know someone like John Bowker.
The standing problem there . . .
. . . is that once a player has played, even fairly briefly and poorly, at a given level, sending him back one or more levels almost always produces meaningless numbers; MLEs are only useful while a player is in forward motion through the levels of minor-league play. While Bowker’s play time at the major-league level after 2008 (when he was awful) was limited, he certainly did, when he did get his few starts, show anything to suggest that he had, as many claimed he had, improved in any obvious way.
Even now, I’d be willing to give him one more reasonable-length look, but sheerly faute de mieux.
Professional baseball analyst since 1980.
once a player has played, even fairly briefly and poorly, at a given level, sending him back one or more levels almost always produces meaningless numbers; MLEs are only useful while a player is in forward motion through the levels of minor-league play
Is there evidence for this? My impression is that current AAA-to-majors conversions are largely derived from precisely that large pool of players (like Bowker, Velez, Whiteside, Downs, etc.) who bounce back and forth between the two levels.
Yes, but . . .
. . . I haven’t the patience to pull it all up. But note that Rohlinger’s numbers are right behind Posey’s and ahead of those Burrell put up—do you reckon he’s that caliber of player? And Matt Downs has a .909. And so on. Not proofs, but, I think, suggestive. (The conclusion is the result of many years of looking on, not of a recent dabble into AAA stats.)
Professional baseball analyst since 1980.
Hmmm….I’m unconvinced. Rohlinger’s MLE history is pretty poor, and even this year his MLE is decent but nothing spectacular…..Downs MLE is pretty weak, and his last couple years before that were even worse, too…..
Minorleaguesplits.com makes it so easy! :)
by Missing Barry on Jun 30, 2010 6:54 PM PDT up reply actions
At least criticize John in English!
Yes, I know that means “for lack of anything better to do,” but sheesh. It is the right thing to do.
"Row(and) will come out of this. You stay with your guys and he is one of our guys." - Bruce Bochy 05-31-10
"...and with Titanic's transverse bulkheads and watertight doors, it renders this vessel practically unsinkable." - "Shipbuilder" magazine, 1912
Good call
DeRosa will definitely get some blame because he didn’t gamer it out in spite of his flopping tendons.
WHY IS BENGIE?!
Dearest, Susan - The Patron Saint of Patience
by Lars The Wanderer on Jun 30, 2010 11:27 AM PDT up reply actions
Bam Bam is outta here after this season
by Section B, Row 1 on Jun 30, 2010 11:38 AM PDT reply actions
Pable got worse under his watch and the Giants will hit into a record number of double plays this year
by Section B, Row 1 on Jun 30, 2010 11:39 AM PDT reply actions
It should be BS and BB
BB continues to trot out line-ups that are howlers, and BS allows it.
The thing that galls me most about Molina isn’t the crappy output (I never had any doubt that his play this season would deteriorate – both with the bat and the glove), it’s that BS had the perfect path to get rid of him painlessly and profitably after last season.
If the Giants had just offerred him arb last Dec, he would have rejected the offer, because he only had a few days to decide his answer. Anybody that knew anything about his mindset knew that he held his own abilities in much too high regard in comparison to the GMs in the league. He still thought he would get a raise from his 2009 salary and a 2-year deal as late as Feb. 2010.
Is there any doubt that the Mets would have eventually signed him to a 1-year deal worth about $4M if we hadn’t been in the picture? Even though he was a Type-A, the Mets 1st round pick was protected so they would have has no hesitation on that front. The Giants could have been rid of Molina and ended up with a first round supplemental pick around #40 overall in the just-completed draft. There were some great bats and arms still available at that spot.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
I don’t think it’s right to blame Barry Bonds.
Utter frustration and futility.
Adopted 'nephew' to the ever avuncular and always awesome Jon Miller
by Johnny Disaster on Jun 30, 2010 12:21 PM PDT up reply actions
Has anyone noticed . . .
. . . that in recent times, the Giants seem to lead the known universe in staff with the initials “BB”?
Professional baseball analyst since 1980.
LOL
Yeah, I need to start clarifiying my BBs by their middle initials. There’s BLB, and then there’s BBB (Bruce Bighead Bochy). There should be no doubt that BBB needs to be scapegoated.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Brian Bocock
Brad Boyer
Brock Bond
Brandon Belt
Bob Barker
Bruce Beresford
Bobby Blue Bland
Boris Badinov
"Row(and) will come out of this. You stay with your guys and he is one of our guys." - Bruce Bochy 05-31-10
"...and with Titanic's transverse bulkheads and watertight doors, it renders this vessel practically unsinkable." - "Shipbuilder" magazine, 1912
Bill Bordley
"Row(and) will come out of this. You stay with your guys and he is one of our guys." - Bruce Bochy 05-31-10
"...and with Titanic's transverse bulkheads and watertight doors, it renders this vessel practically unsinkable." - "Shipbuilder" magazine, 1912
“It’s difficult to build a baseball team when you have the best player in the game.” /Sabean
by Into the Void on Jun 30, 2010 12:33 PM PDT up reply actions
I don’t think there will be any scapegoats. The Giants will probably finish at least strong enough for Bochy and Sabean to claim victory. Anyways scapegoats are mainly created when teams play important games. That includes playoff and world series games. If the season ends short of a playoff birth. I would think Pablo should be blamed primarily because his weight is the main reason for his unexpected poor playing. I hope Bochy and Sabean are fired though.
Vroooooooooooooooooooom!
There’s been too much fail so far to blame everything on one person. But taking that into account, I blame everything on Velez.
Osiris, Lord of the Dead, and relief pitcher for the Fresno Grizzlies.
Pablo and Tim. It’s already starting.
Matt Cain: He'll save children, but not the Dodger children.
"Out, out, Fred Lewis!" - JCTillam Gamerspeare
Trick Pitcher!
Proud father of Mike Krukow (who is more than 3 times my age)
Grab Some Pine, Meat
Still cheering for Kevin Frandsen
John Bowker: One of the 3 best OF's on the Giants roster
This was my first answer, but I almost believe the tide is going to turn really hard on Bengie really fast.
After him, though, it’s going to be Pablo and Tim.
"I just struck out looking three times, but in any other ballpark those would have been home runs." - Aubrey Huff
by howtheyscored on Jun 30, 2010 2:08 PM PDT up reply actions
Well, the Bengie as scapegoat experiment has been officially avoided.
Sorry, Pablo and Tim.
"I just struck out looking three times, but in any other ballpark those would have been home runs." - Aubrey Huff
by howtheyscored on Jun 30, 2010 11:10 PM PDT up reply actions
I sure hope not. Blaming Lincecum would be ridiculous. He’s not going to win the Cy Young every season. And he’s still a damn good pitcher.
With Pablo I could see it happening, if he keeps making first-pitch outs and mental mistakes. It’s aggravating to watch.
Osiris, Lord of the Dead, and relief pitcher for the Fresno Grizzlies.
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