In the movie Contact, Jodie Foster is shot through a trans-dimensional wormhole to speak with an advanced civilization, and she finds out that she’s actually an alien and her dad was some sort of intergalactic racehorse-stud, seeding the galaxy with his superior alien genes. I can’t remember exactly how it went. I saw it at a party in college, and the sound was low. But one part I do remember was the first time she saw how beautiful the other galaxy was – her response was, "They should have sent a poet. They should have sent a poet." It was just too beautiful for words.
If the Giants actually sign Scott Podsednik, I’m just not sure what I can possibly write. But I can’t just say, "They should have sent a poet," because I’ll have to write something. There’s no way I can write something about a Podsednik acquisition and still feel adequate as a writer. It would be the Berlin Wall falling down for a foreign news correspondent; it would be the moment I’ve been training for throughout my career, and there’s no way I could live up to the pressure.
It would be an unreal acquisition. It’s the kind of deal that has failed Brian Sabean again and again and again. Podsednik:
- is a player in his mid-30s
- is coming off a season that was much better than the seasons that preceded it, which should be a red flag when trying to gauge his value
- plays a position with multiple internal options that might even be preferable if there wasn’t a huge salary difference, which there would be
- has limited value to an offense because of his complete lack of power
- has an on-base percentage that’s only above the league average when he’s hitting for a high batting average, which isn’t the case more often than not. That’s why he’d kicked around the waiver wire before last year’s surprising rebound
If the Giants got Podsednik – hell, if they’re even looking at the guy for anything more than a fourth outfielder job – it would be too hilarious and sad for words. They’ll need to send a poet. It would mean that Brian Sabean really, really, really believes that he doesn’t need to change his philosophies in order to build an offense.
Giants rank in runs scored
2005 – 15th out of 16 teams
2006 – 11th out of 16 teams
2007 – 15th out of 16 teams
2008 – 15th out of 16 teams
2009 – 13th out of 16 teams
It takes a magically stubborn man to look at that and say,
You know what, screw all of you, I’m right. I’ve just been unlucky. The key to building an offense is marginally talented, mid-30s players with speed, declining range, and limited on-base skills. The Dave Roberts debacle was an anomaly. Scott Podsednik will help us score runs. I’m right. I’ve acquired the right players year after year, but they’ve screwed me over. Not this time, bub. Podsednik will help us score runs.
I especially love the idea that if Podsednik came up through the Giants’ system, he never would have gotten a shot.
Sorry, Scott, but we’ve signed Tom Goodwin for several million more than you would make. You understand, I’m sure. But we just don’t know a thing about you. If you had some sort of history of success in the big leagues, sure, but you can’t build a history of success in the big leagues until you play, but we aren’t going to play you until you have a history of success in the big leagues. It’s a shame that there isn’t a way to interpret minor league numbers like we can with spring training stats, but that’s a project for the next millennium.
There’s no way that Sabean can honestly look at a starting outfield of Velez/Podsednik/Rowand – you know that’s what would start on opening day – and think, yeah, that’s comparable to the rest of the league. That’s an outfield that’s going to score more than the other teams. We’re moving up to the top ten in the NL, baby. There’s no way he can justify that outfield without sounding like a KNBR caller.
Well, if Velez hones his skills and performs better than he ever has in the upper minors, and if Podsednik repeats his career year at the age of 34, and if Rowand hits like he did in Philly, I mean, we’d be unstoppable, so the upside is off the charts.
Maybe it ‘s a bogus rumor. Maybe they’re looking at him on a one-year type deal to be a fourth/fifth outfielder. Maybe they’re using the rumor to get a better deal with Mike Cameron. Those maybes all make more sense than the actual rumor. So, even though I’ve been burned over and over again by the organizational philosophies of Brian Sabean, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. There is no way the Giants are really interested in Scott Podsednik. It would be the move of a man who thinks he can succeed by building an offense the same way that he built the last five bottom-feeders. It would be insane.