Is The Magic Gone Already?

23 games into the 2011 season and the Giants are a mediocre 11-12.

They look mediocre too.

The hitting is mediocre, the defense is mediocre, and even the pitching is mediocre.  Is this really the same team that had the majors best record over the last 50 games or so last season?

The naysayers are probably having a field day with the Giants record right now.  There were some prognosticators who were predicting that the Giants would finish in fourth place this season.

Fourth Place!

I have been mostly upbeat about the Giants so far this season despite their early season struggles.  I keep comparing them to last season when they had a rough start to the season.

But this isn't last season.

Are we going to keep living in last season?  Is every development from the 2011 season going to be looked upon in context to last season?  The simple answer is yes.  We are going to be hearing comparisons to the Giants of last season until this team does something that makes us believe that last season was not a fluke.  We can't help it.

It is really tough to separate the two seasons from one another.  Even though last season has nothing to do with this season, there is nothing else for us to really compare what is happening with the Giants to.  Later in the season, we can look back at this stretch of the season and compare things but that probably won't start until around the all-star break or so.

This and that;

• Looks like Mark DeRosa is going back on the disabled list.  I'm not surprised about this development. I am somewhat surprised about the timing of it.  I thought that he would go on the DL when Torres got back.  But we will get a little glimpse of Emmanuel Burris.  It's either going to be Burriss or Ford who go down when Torres is healthy.
• Madison Bumgarner pitched like the guy we were all hoping that he would be against the Pirates yesterday.  But he got Matt Cained as the Giants failed to score a single run on the day which dropped his record to 0-4.  Hopefully he can string together 2 good starts in a row and get that first win next time around.
• Ryan Vogelsong gets the start tomorrow against his old team.  The Giants have been really high on this guy and he is really set up to succeed.  Really, all the guy has to be is a serviceable #5 starter until Zito is healthy.  Hopefully he can make the decision to activate Zito a tough one.

I'm reading "A Band of MiSFits" by the San Jose Mercry News' Andrew Baggerly.  I'm only into the third chapter right now, but I will do a review of the book when I get finished with it.  (no promises on how soon that will be)  It's interesting looking at some more of the background on the storylines that we followed as the season progressed last year.  For example, the reasons that Buster Posey was brought up when he was are explored a little more in depth than was possible during the season. 

It's a good read so far.  I got it from Amazon.

Giants land Tejada for one year.

The San Francisco Giants signed Miguel Tejada to a one year deal for $6.5 million dollars.  The Giants are now paying two former Oakland A's about half of the entire payrolls the early 2000's teams were pulling down.

I don't hate this deal.  I don't like this deal.  I do think it's a little much for a guy who will hit .260 and give you maybe 10-15 homers.  Couldn't they get that much production from Emmanuel Burriss?

Probably, but they wouldn't get the leadership that a guy like Tejada brings to the table.  Unless it's a major injury, this guy isn't going to miss a whole lot of time on the field.  At one point Tejada was the active leader in consecutive games played.

His power numbers actually went up when he came to San Diego last season in a ballpark that is just as pitcher friendly as AT&T is.  There have been scouts out there who said that that Tejada is going to be the free agent bargain of the season.  So this could be a diamond in the rough type of signing.  Not Aubrey Huff type diamond in the rough but good for the value.  A guy who got stronger in the second half of the season at 35 years is not necessarily a sign of a guy who is breaking down.

Tejada is more of a third baseman at this point in his career so this could be a challenge to Pablo Sandoval.  Although if they wind up playing Tejada at third they still have a hole at short.  Mark Derosa has played short in his career, but he is more of a left-fielder at this point and I would suspect that the Giants are really hoping DeRosa fills more of that Super-Utility role that Uribe has filled for them the last few seasons.

Lastly, I still think the Giants can make a move for Jason Bartlett of Tampa Bay.  The price has got to be right however.  He is young and cheap.  His hitting style would probably play well in the spacious AT&T park.  There is no guarantee that Sandoval is going to be counted on and Tejada at third with Bartlett at short would be a real possibility.

Now to paint my Miguel Tejada Atheletics bobblehead orange and black!

Lincecum defeats Oswalt.

GIANTS 3 - ASTROS 1

Tim Lincecum only allowed one unearned run in 8 innings against the Astros.  He has defeated Roy Oswalt in all 3 matchups they have had this season.  Oswalt only allowed 2 runs over 7 innings and if there was ever a guy worthy of hard luck loser it's Oswalt.  He held the Giants to just 6 hits and all of them were singles, all 7 hits the Giants mustered tonight were singles.  His record is 5 and 9 with a 3.08 ERA.  Compare that with Lincecum's slightly better ERA and an 8-2 record.

It's finally official.  Mark DeRosa will have season ending wrist surgery.  I wonder what took so long to finally make this announcement and I almost feel like the Giants didn't really believe the injury was as severe as DeRosa was letting on.  In the story from the Mercury news there is one scary sentence:

"The Giants would like to salvage something from their investment in DeRosa, but Groeschner couldn't be certain that the veteran will be completely recovered and healthy for 2011."

Wow.  What a disaster this guy was.

Nate watch:

Nate came on in the 7th as a pinch runner for Pat Burrell.  He got a single in the 9th to drive in Juan Uribe.  Hopefully this 2 out RBI gets him a start or 2.  As Duane Kuiper said during his AB in the 9th: "Here's a guy who could benefit from a start or two."  (I'm paraphrasing)

So close yet so far

Freddy Sanchez was unable to get the ball in a spot where it was uncatchable for one of the few times this season. In fact, it was only because of a tremendous play by Lastings Milledge that the ball didn't fall in for a hit. But the Giants ultimately fell to the Pirates 6-3 behind yet another shaky road start from Todd Wellemeyer.

Bruce Bochy raised some eyebrows before the game when he filled out his lineup card and he had Pablo Sandoval hitting 8th. I guess he was sending a message to his young, free swinging, slugger. Which I have no problem with, but at the same time he lets Bengie Molina, who is in an even bigger slump, continue to hit cleanup!?!?! I'm just going to leave it at that.

Buster Posey got yet another hit and also got some time behind the plate. Why not let Buster bat third? Not sure but I bet it has to do with how he handles the pitching staff.

Pat the Bat began his Giants career as a bench player by starting in left field. He went 1 for 4 which is consistent with his career .250 average!

A few words about everyone's favorite Panda: Don't worry. He is 23 years old. He will work it out. I really believe that his current struggles are more from a mental standpoint than any physical issues. He just needs to mature as a hitter and hone those incredible skills he has.

On the farm:

The Grizzlies defeated the Sacramento River Cats 4-3. Bret Pill hit his 7th homerun of the season and knocked in 3 runs. Tyler Graham went 3 for 3 with a walk and raised his season average to .385. John Bowker and Mark Derosa each went 0 for 4. No word on how Derosa's wrist is feeling.

The Nate report:

Nate finally got a plate appearance. He walked as part of the near rally in the 9th inning. Once again, he illustrated his value to the club by getting on base at a time when they needed baserunners.

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The arrival of Pat the bat?

According to the San francisco Chronicle John Bowker was optioned to AAA last night.  No corresponding roster move was immediately announced, but it has been highly speculated that Pat "The Bat" Burrell will be the guy who takes his place on the roster.

It's kinda hard for me to get excited over the addition of a guy who's career BA is is .253.  A guy who was released by the Tampa Bay Rays after batting .202 with 2 HRs in 84 ABs to start this season.  All of this after he hit a whopping .221 last season.  Bowker was hitting .207 in 82 ABs this season with 3 HRs.  He did at least hit .342 with 22 HRs last season for AAA Fresno.  I don't know what the Giants gain here.  It seems to me that they swap 2 guys who are performing about the same.  The only differences that I can see are A. Burrell bats right handed while Bowker is a lefty.   B.  Burrell is 7 years older than Bowker.  C. Pat Burrell's wife is HOT!
But not so fast.

Mark Derosa went 3 for 4 while playing DH for the Grizzlies last night.  He did show a little pop by hitting one double and he had an RBI.  This development is somewhat surprising since the other night after going 0 for 4 for single A San Jose, DeRosa really sounded like he was convinced that he would not be back with the team until after he had another surgery.  Could the Giants be delaying the roster move until after DeRosa tests his wrist on the morning after?  I'm not sure but  I guess stranger things have happened.

I'm becoming increasingly perplexed with the Giants roster moves.  If Burrell joins the club like a lot of people, including me, expect and DeRosa comes back from his injury then the Giants really have a dilemma.  Edgar Renteria is also expected to come back from the DL in about a week or so and then some unpopular decisions have to be made. 

If Renteria comes back first, the guy who gets sent down is almost assuredly Matt Downs.  This will get some fans upset but if Renteria can play anything like he did before he was hurt then it will be a good move.  If DeRosa comes back next, the Giants will have to make one of the most unpopular moves of the season.  The outfield at that point would consist of: DeRosa, Rowand, Torres, Schierholtz, Burrell, and Huff.  The guy who would appear to be the odd man out would be Schierholtz.  However, if the Giants send nate down he would be Designated for Assignment and I'm not sure the Giants are quite ready to lose him.  (although by the way they have handled him I'm not totally sure if that's true.) 

So what happens?

That means Buster Posey goes back to Fresno.  He has options and there is no way the Giants are going to release either Bengie Molina or Eli Whiteside.  They said from the beginning that he was only up temporarily and they really want him to learn how to catch. Even though being mentored by Bengie would be the better way for that to happen but since these are the Giants, they do things whatever way they damn well please.

Down on the farm:

Eric Hacker took his third loss of the season, giving up 6 runs on 9 hits in 5.0 innings.  He is now 7-3 with a 4.42 ERA after starting the season 7-1.  He's been bumping around the minors for 7 seasons.  This is his now or never moment.  He started the season looking as if he may get called up before Madison Bumgarner but now he looks like a guy who has spent 7 seasons in the minors.  If he can make an adjustment and get back to where he was a few weeks ago then he is still a prospect. However, if he has 2 or 3 more starts like this, he may not even be with the team any longer.