Catching Up: Offseason Notes

October has been a pretty boring month for Giants fans the past 6 years, since watching the Dodgers lose in the postseason can only go so far; sure it’s nice, but it’s not entirely fulfilling. Luckily, the Giants have been pretty busy this month, so let’s get caught up.

- The biggest piece of news so far this month has been the re-signing of Brian Sabean and Bruce Bochy to 2-year contract extensions. Neither was a surprise, since the Giants’ ownership group seems to be content with the status quo, but there’s an argument to be made the extensions were both mistakes. Bochy made a number of questionable calls down the stretch, refused to play small ball and bunt runners over, and stubbornly stuck with guys like Randy Winn and Edgar Renteria when it was clear they weren’t getting the job done. Sabean, meanwhile, constructed a fantastic pitching staff and surrounded it with one of the weakest lineups in Giants history. Plus, the ballclub is still hamstrung financially by the awful contracts he handed out to the likes of Barry Zito, Dave Roberts, Armando Benitez and Aaron Rowand. So why bring both of them back?

On the phone with Rick Ankiel's agent. Probably.

Sabean’s been the GM since 1996, and it seemed like now would have been a good time to bring a fresh perspective to the job. The Giants had a number of internal options, including VP of Baseball Operations Bobby Evans, Senior Director of Baseball Operations Jeremy Shelley, and Senior Advisor Ron Schueler. Sticking with Sabean is probably the safe choice from the ownership’s perspective, but his track record over the past several years is more than enough evidence to conclude a change should have been made. He gave $21 million to Armando Benitez, for God’s sake! What more do you need?

As for Bochy, the most exciting thing about him is the size of his gigantic head. He’s boring, he has no historical ties to the Giants, his merits as a game manager are questionable, and he relies too much on veterans even when they’re not performing. He was given a lot of credit for keeping the team on an even keel all year, but what does that really prove? Like Sabean, Bochy was the safe choice. The Giants could have gone after Bob Brenly, who spent nearly his entire playing career in San Francisco and won a World Series managing Arizona. They could have promoted Double-A manager Steve Decker (325-185 combined record over 5 seasons), who would have brought a more youthful energy to the position and who’s familiar with many of the Giants’ young players, having managed them in the minors. Or they could have finally given Ron Wotus his shot. Nope, we’re stuck with Bochy, just like we’re stuck with Sabean, which means Winn is going to be re-signed to a 2-year deal and will be batting 3rd in September even though he’s hitting .260. Awesome.

What’s the best thing to come out of these extensions? Two more years of the Brian Sabean Show on KNBR 680, of course. Kicking the tires with due diligence since 1996.

Yep...same mustache.

- Hitting coach Carney Lansford was given his walking papers (thank God), and then proceeded to blame the Giants’ hitters for his failures. As quoted by Andrew Baggerly of the San Jose Mercury News, Lansford said, “(N)ever take a hitting coach job with an offensively challenged team…I wish I had more offense to work with, but I had what I had. I don’t know what I would’ve done differently. I did not work out.”

Now, I’m sure every hitting coach would like to coach the Yankees’ lineup, or Philadelphia’s, or Anaheim’s, etc, but shouldn’t a good hitting coach be able to get the most out of his hitters in spite of their skill levels? No one expected the Giants to be the ’27 Yankees with that lineup, but it’s a fact that many of their hitters underperformed last year. Eugenio Velez is a good example. After a lousy April, he was sent down to Triple-A and looked like his days as a big leaguer were over. After learning a new approach at the plate while in Fresno, he came back to the big leagues and turned himself into a serviceable player with the potential to contribute every day. Why didn’t Velez have this awakening under Lansford’s tutelage? Why wasn’t Lansford successful in teaching Velez (or most of the other hitters, actually) how to bunt? Why was the team’s plate discipline so poor, and why didn’t it improve over the course of the season? Why did Lansford still have the same mustache he had in 1989? It was obvious a change had to be made.

The smart money seems to be on Fresno hitting coach Hensley Meulens taking over for Lansford in 2010. After his success in the minors with hitters like Velez, John Bowker, and Jesus Guzman, it’d be interesting to see what Meulens could do with the big league roster.

Yusei Kikuchi. Photo from USA Today.

- The Giants are one of 7 teams interested in Japanese teenager Yusei Kikuchi, according to Nikkan Sports of Japan. The website NPB Tracker lists Kikuchi as a 6’0”, 180lb left handed starter, with a fastball that touches 96mph to go along with a curveball and a slider. He’s apparently garnered tremendous press in Japan, both for his skill as a pitcher as well as his pending decision on whether or not to skip Japan’s professional leagues altogether and go straight to the Majors.

I’ll admit that I know nothing about Kikuchi aside from what I’ve read and seen online, but if the Giants are successful in signing him, it signals a renewed commitment to international scouting and player development. It started in Latin America (signing teenaged players like Rafael Rodriguez and the now incarcerated Angel Villalona), and now there seems to be a organizational movement towards scouting the Pacific Rim. If the Giants can start outbidding teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, and Mariners for premiere Japanese talent, it’ll open a number of possibilities that weren’t there even a few years ago.

- The Giants’ Double-A affiliate is moving from Norwich, Connecticut to Richmond, Virginia next season, and with it came a name change: no longer the Connecticut Defenders, the Giants’ new minor league team will be called the Richmond Flying Squirrels. I don’t know what to make of the name, but I’m sure the logo’s going to be awesome.

Coming up this week: bullpen grades. Until next time, thanks for reading…and go Phillies.

Tags: Armando Benitez, Bob Brenly, Bobby Evans, Brian Sabean, Bruce Bochy, Carney Lansford, Edgar Renteria, Free Agents, Japan, Norwich, Off Season, Randy Winn, Richmond, San Francisco Giants, San Francisco Giants Blog, Steve Decker