Rangers/Giants In Lead For Beltran (2 UPDATES)

The New York Mets are making progress with both the Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants in trade talks involving outfielder Carlos Beltran. The Indians actually offered to take on Beltran's entire salary, but Beltran refused to go there using his no-trade clause.

As I stated earlier this week I think the Rangers make a lot of sense, and I would think Beltran would want to go there since they are most likely going to be in the playoffs. That being said, Beltran has stated his desire to play in the NL, unless it is the Red Sox so it will be interesting to see if he uses his no-trade clause again here.

I would still have the Rangers as the favorites, but we will have to wait and see. No matter what Beltran will be wearing a different jersey after the trade deadline.


***UPDATE***

Or not...

Beltran is not going to the Rangers, tweets Rosenthal. The Giants are his presumed frontrunner.

It is also being said that Boris wants Beltran to go to SF, because they have the money to resign him in the offseason.


***UPDATE 2***

The Mets have agreed to send Beltran to the Giants for Zach Wheeler. The Mets are said to be sending back a lot of money. Beltran has 24 hours to agree to the trade, which isn't expected to be an issue.

Giants GM Brian Sabean Is A Whiny Bitch

"Why not be hard-nosed?" Sabean told the radio station. "If I never hear from Cousins again or he never plays another game in the big leagues, I think we'll all be happy."

"He chose to be a hero, in my mind, and if that's his flash of fame, that's as good as it's going to get, pal. We'll have a long memory," Sabean told KNBR. "Believe me, we've talked to (former catcher Mike) Matheny about how this game works. You can't be that out-and-out overly aggressive. I'll put it as politically as I can state it: There's no love lost and there shouldn't be (ESPN)."

It sucks you lost one of your best players, but this crying about it has to stop. There isn't anything illegal about what Cousins' did, and to go on and on about this is a joke. One top of that to come out and say you are going to get some on-field revenge is fucking stupid. All this is going to lead to is some suspensions, and if I was the MLB I would fine this guy for making comments like this. The whole MLB is making a big deal out of nothing. Yes, it sucks a very good player got hurt, but shit happens and players get run into all the time and don't get hurt. It was just bad luck..... MOVE ON.

Posey Done For A Long Time

"Buster Posey sustained no knee damage in his collision with the Marlins' Scott Cousins, Giants head trainer Dave Groeschner told reporters, including Al Saracevic of the San Francisco Chronicle, meaning he may be able to return to the Giants this season. It was feared he was out for the season following Wednesday night's scary incident at home plate.

Posey is expected to be out six to eight weeks or longer after suffering a broken fibula and severely strained ligaments in his left ankle. The 2010 Rookie of the Year underwent three MRIs on Thursday to determine the extent of the injury (CBS Sports)."

There were a lot of worries that he destroyed his knee as well, but he was lucky and it's fine. If Posey does return it won't be until very late in the season, so the Giants have started to look around for a replacement catcher. One name that has already come up is Ivan Rodriguez, which seems like the perfect stop gap option.

As for this whole "we need to change the rules to protect catchers"... Shut the fuck up. There doesn't need to be a rule change every time a guy gets hurt.

Barry Bonds Is The Man

Not only is Barry Bonds the guilt free home run king and best player to ever play baseball, but he has a heart of gold. Despite the media's effort to make Bonds the villain and downplay everything right he does, Bonds has been the first in line in helping out the family of severely beaten Bryan Stow (the Giants fan that was nearly beaten to death outside a Dodgers game). Barry Bonds has agreed to pay for both of Stows kids college tuition, 12-year-old Tyler and 8-year-old Tabitha.

It sucks that the media and stupid half wit fans painted such a bad picture of Bonds because this story is right up there with the best of them. It's unlikely that Stow makes a full recovery and the man who beat him is caught and has 1 million dollar bail.

There You Have It America; Bonds Didn't Knowingly Use Steroids, Now Stop Judging

You know what Barry Bonds was convicted on yesterday? For being tricky.

Good Job America way to waste everyone's time and money and let a bunch of sports columnist convict the man on hearsay.

Bond's was convicted of Obstruction of Justice, but on the other 3 counts of steroid use he was found completely innocent. Know what came out of this trial? nothing that everyone didn't know. His trainer lied to him about what he was using and he didn't know what the cream was.... good job court.

Everyone can say what they want about Barry Bonds but you can't say that he knowingly cheated the game of baseball. It's an outrage that the public is still going to convict him, that he still won't be allowed into the Hall of Fame, and that baseball as a sport are going to put up a wall during the "Steroid Era" up and not let these great players in. A damn shame.

In case you don't know Barry Bond's credentials here they are:
1. Holds record for most MVP awards (7) and consecutive MVP awards (4) (1990, 1992-93, 2001-04)
2. Holds records for most home runs in a season (73)
3. Holds records for most walks in a career (2,512)
4. Holds record for consecutive seasons with 30 homeruns (13).
5. Only player in 400 home run and 400 stolen base club
6. Only player in 500 home run and 500 stolen base club
7. 14 time all star (1990, 1992-98, 2000-04, 2007)
8. One of four players in 40-40 club (40 home runs and 40 stolen bases)
9. Holds record for most consecutive seasons with .600 slugging percentage or higher (8)
10. 5-time SF Giants Player of the Year (1998, 2001-04)
11. 14-Time All-Star (1990, 1992-98, 2000-04, 2007)
12. 7-Time Baseball America NL All-Star OF (1993, 1998, 2000-04)
13. 3-Time Major League Player of the Year (1990, 2001, 2004)
14. 3-Time Baseball America MLB Player of the Year (2001, 2003-04)
15. 8-Time Gold Glove winner for NL Outfielder (1990-94, 1996-98)
16. 12-Time Silver Slugger winner for NL Outfielder (1990-94, 1996-97, 2000-04)
17. Led the Major Leagues in home runs (1993, 2001)
18. Led the NL in batting average (2002, 2004)
19. Led the NL in on base percentage (1991-93, 1995, 2001-04, 2006)
20. Led the Major Leagues in slugging percentage (1990, 1992-93, 2001-04)
21. Led the Major Leagues in extra base hits (1992-93, 2001)
22. Led the Major Leagues in on base percentage (1992, 2001-04)
23. Led the NL in runs (1992)
24. Led the NL in RBIs (1993)
25. Led the NL in walks (1992, 1994-97, 2000-04, 2006)
26. Led the NL in intentional walks (1992-98, 2002-04, 2006)
27. Led the NL in runs created (1992-93, 2001-02, 2004)
28. Led the Major Leagues in total bases (1993, with 365)
29. Led the Major Leagues in runs created (1993, 2001-02, 2004)
30. Led the NL in games (1995)
31. Led the NL in extra base hits (1992-93, 2001)
32. Led the NL in at bats per home run (1992-93, 1996, 2000-04)
33. 3-Time NL Hank Aaron Award winner (2001-02, 2004)
34. Led the Major Leagues in batting average (2002, with .370)

Pretty fucking impressive. He's a legend to the game and the fact that John Q. Public and Baseball Writers can dismiss this trial and say petty arguments like "his head grew" or "look it him from his rookie year to the year he broke the record" are just uninformed people.

So to all the Bonds haters out there...... Suck a dick

2011 MLB Preview: San Francisco Giants

2010 Record: 92-70

Hitting:

1 Andres Torres OF
2 Freddy Sanchez 2B
3 Buster Posey C
4 Aubrey Huff 1B
5 Pat Burrell OF
6 Pablo Sandoval 3B
7 Miguel Tejada SS
8 Cody Ross OF

The key to this lineup will be how Tejada and Sandoval play. If Tejada can hold it together at 36 years old and put up similar numbers to what Uribe gave them last season (24 HRs) then they will have a solid lineup. Saying that, Sandoval needs to have a serious bounce back year. In 2009 he his .330 with 25 HRs and 90 RBIs, but last year he batted only .268 with 13 HRs and 63 RBIs. That is just not going to cut it. Early reports say that he is much better shape, so hopefully that will help him out. The Giants do have a much of underrated guys in this lineup. Aubrey Huff is a guy who quietly puts up numbers every year. Last season he batted .290 with 26 HRs and 86 RBIs. I expect he will have very similar numbers this year. Obviously Buster Posey is one of the best young catchers in the game. Another big question for the Giants though will be the health of Freddy Sanchez, who is coming off his 2nd shoulder surgery. He hasn't been able to really stay healthy since 2008. It would be nice is Cody Ross played anything like he did during the playoffs for them also.

Pitching:

1 Tim Lincecum SP
2 Matt Cain SP
3 Jonathan Sanchez
4 Madison Bumgarner
5 Barry Zito SP

Brian Wilson CL

Other then the Phillies this is the best rotation in baseball. Still, there are some things to be alarmed about. Lincecum’s ERA was almost a full run higher than the previous season. He was a double-digit loser for the first time, and he lost all his starts in August. He was able to bounce back in the playoffs, but there are always some concerns about how he will hold up longer term due to his frame. Matt Cain might be the most underrated pitcher in the majors, but he made a name for himself last playoffs not allowing an earned run over his 3 playoff starts. Jonathan Sanchez is coming off his best season as a pro, and is just a strikeout machine. Madison Bumgarner is still only 21 years old, and he seemed to just get better and better as last season went on. Obviously Barry Zito is the weak link in this rotation, but for a #5 guy he isn't that bad. They also shouldn't have too much concern about their bullpen with "fear the beard" Wilson closing out games.

Overall:

Their pitching will put them in contention once again this year, but I do worry about this offense. It is asking a lot to have a 36 year old player play SS, and on top of that Pat Burrell is no spring chicken either. The Giants need everything to work out perfectly again this year for them to keep up this run. Sandoval putting up 2009 number would certainly help.

2011 Record: 89-73

Top 25 Under 25 - # 17 Buster Posey

BUSTER POSEY - C, San Francisco Giants

Buster Posey is the first champion on our list. While some might think that should push him up higher in the rankings, I think it is a little difficult to do that given his very small sample size. Last season was his first look at the bigs and he didn't even start the year in San Francisco. That being said, his production was tremendous and by all accounts he should be a middle of the order run producer for years to come.

Posey has been on the baseball radar for some time, dating back to his freshman season at Florida State. He played Shortstop at the time and was among the best at his position in the collegiate ranks. At the suggestion of an assistant coach Posey switched to Catcher for his sophomore season and instantly became a hot prospect at the very thin position. By the time he was a junior Posey showed good ability behind the plate and was named the collegiate player of the year. He was also the Golden Spikes award winner, another player of the year award.

With a full trophy case Posey left FSU for the MLB draft and was selected 5th overall by the San Francisco Giants. While everyone raved about his ability to put the bat on the ball, there were some that questioned if he'd have enough power at the next level. Posey answered those questions by raking at every stop along the way to San Francsico. The young catcher is a line-drive hitting machine with a great knack for taking what the pitcher gives him and driving the ball to all fields. He showed plenty of competence behind the plate as well, and looks plenty good enough to stick at the position. He was finally called up for good on May 29, 2010 and has been producing ever since. Despite the limited at-bats Posey managed 18 home runs and 67 RBI all while hitting a robust .305 as a rookie. Those numbers were good enough for the 2010 National League Rookie of the Year award.

Posey's biggest impact, however, came in the post-season where he helped the Giants capture their first World Series since they were the New York Giants in 1954. In the World Series he hit .300 with a home run and two RBI.

The sample size may be small, but it isn't hard to see why people expect Posey to play this way for the next decade or so. He's a very quiet, modest guy and seems to be very driven. He doesn't quite have the notoriety or star power to be much higher on this list, but that could change in another year's time.
(Kanye - I didn't make this video...don't sue me.)
At just 23 years of age it seems like baseball and the Giants in particular are in good hands as they try to move baseball into the next era.

3 Giants, 1 Rangers

This San Fransisco Giants team may have been a better story than the 04 Sox, but no one will know because the Giants play out west and no Eastern teams were in the World Series.

This team was a bunch of outcasts that no one knew, no one cared about, and no one gave a chance to, but now they can call themselves World Series Champions. Led by none other than Red Sox throw out Edgar Renteria and a 5 foot pitcher the Giants not only dominated the World Series, but beat a heavily favored Texas Rangers team.

Tim Lincecum outdueled Cliff Lee in a matchup that was scoreless until Edgar Renteria hit a stunning three-run homer with two outs in the seventh inning. This wouldn't be the first time that Edgar has hit a big shot on a big stage. His 11th-inning single ended Game 7 of the 1997 World Series and lifted Florida over Cleveland. He did have the last out against the Sox in 04, but the Cardinals didn't have a chance to begin with.

Everyone underestimated the Giants pitching staff and you can start with Matt Cain three postseason starts, a 0.00 ERA. Throw in Lincecum, the two-time Cy Young winner. Add Madison Bumgarner, the 21-year-old rookie who helped blank Texas in Game 4. Unbelievable run.

See Red Sox, that's how you win with pitching and defense.

Box Score

MLB Recaps: Choking Phillies?

6 Giants, 5 Phillies

The Giants are a bunch of cast offs that have done nothing but give their former teams a big Fuck You. Cody Ross was the hero in the first couple games, now in game 4 Juan Uribe is the one to put the dagger in the Phillies hearts.

Juan Uribe, who was questionable with a sore left wrist, hit a sacrifice fly off reliever Roy Oswalt with one out in the ninth inning Wednesday night, making the final score 6-5 and creating a gap in the series at 3-1.

Boosted by yet another big hit from late-season pickup Cody Ross, four hits and two RBIs from rookie Buster Posey (he's unbelievable) and a timely double from struggling Pablo Sandoval, the Giants pushed the two-time defending NL champion Phillies to the brink of elimination.

...

Oh yea the Yankees won, series at 3-2 and heading back to Texas.

MLB Recaps: Panic In New York Part Deux

10 Rangers, 3 Yankees

This series should be over by now to be honest, if not for a huge blunder by Ron Washington in game 1, there wouldn't need to be a game 5. The Rangers have to have a lot of pressure off of them knowing if they lose the next 2, they have the fail safe option in Cliff Lee for game 7.

Bengie Molina hit a go-ahead, three-run homer off A.J. Burnett in the sixth inning, Josh Hamilton added a pair of solo drives to give him four in four games and the Rangers battered the Yankees 10-3 Tuesday night for a 3-1 ALCS lead.

Burnett was the big question coming into the game and did alright until the 6th. He went 6 innings, let up 5 and struck out 4. He just hasn't had it this year. But for the Rangers and Bob's sake, Derek Holland bailed out Tommy Hunter and pitch 3.2 innings and only allowed 1 hit.

Game 5 will be CC vs CJ Wilson.

3 Giants, 0 Phillies
Matt Cain pitched a hell of a game as he went 7 innings, let up 2 hits and struck out 5.

Cody Ross is amazing and the Phillies worst nightmare.

MLB Playoff Recaps

3 Giants, 2 Braves (Giants win series 3-1)

I'm glad Bobby Cox the wife beater didn't advance to the next round. He deflects questions, he makes excuses and is/ was the most overrated coach in the MLB for some time. In fact his last game as a manager he decided to leave Derrick Lowe high and dry as he was pitching no hit ball until the seventh when he ran into some trouble. The Giants showed some class as they tipped their caps to the retiring manager. Now we can all look forward to the Phillies/ Giants pitching duel starting with Roy Halladay vs Tim Lincecum.

So far all my predictions are on pace.

The Yankees beat up the Twins in the second sweep in 2 years.

And the Rays/ Rangers go to game 5 with David Price vs Cliff Lee.

MLB Playoff Recaps: Tim Lincecum Is Alright At Baseball

1 San Fransisco, 0 Atlanta Braves

Tim Lincecum pitched a two-hitter and struck out 14 in a dominating postseason debut, and the Giants scored their only run after a questionable umpiring call to beat the Atlanta Braves 1-0 in Game 1 of their NL division series Thursday night.

Cody Ross singled in the only run Lincecum needed in the fourth after Buster Posey was called safe by umpire Paul Emmel on a steal of second. Which was a questionable call at best.

6 Texas, 0 Rays
Big Game James was anything but on Thursday as he let up 4 runs in 4 innings pitched as the Rangers coasted for the 2nd win in this series. CJ Wilson pitched a heck of a game for the Rangers going 6.2 letting up 2 hits, 0 runs and striking out 7. The Rays are not going to be able to recover and if Matt Garza has one of those inconsistent games, they will be in huge trouble.

5 Yankees, 2 Twins
The Yankees won again. Carl Pavano lost.

Brad Penny Is Also Super In The NL

Penny threw five-hit ball over eight shutout innings in his first start with the Giants, leading the NL wild-card contenders to a 4-0 win over the Phillies. Which is confirmation that the NL (including the Phillies BMack, are a minor league team) If Brad Penny even had one game like this for the Red Sox I could have called this coincidental, however he didn't, and sucked the whole time. For some reason I don't have as much of a bitter taste in my mouth when it comes to Penny as I do for John Smoltz, but it does suck to have two former Sox pitchers kill it in the NL.

Top 25 under 25: #19 Matt Cain

Born October 21st, 1984

Matt Cain came out of the whom a 6'3 235lbs pitcher ready to throw gas. Cain has pitched in the starting rotation for the San Fransisco Giants since 2006 and is currently having his breakout season. Cain has a carer record of 42-47 with a 3.49 era in 128 starts. But do not let that sub-500% record fool you considering the Giants have been a bottom of the division team since Bonds left (un-official...but somewhat true). Thus far in 2009, Cain is 12-4 in 24 starts with a 2.49 era, 4 complete games and 126 strikeouts over 164IP.

Cain has been projected to be a solid strikeout and striking throwing pitcher for many years. In 164IP this season, Cain has only allowed 56 walks. With other pitchers in the rotation such as Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum, Randy Johnson (DL), Noah Lowry (DL), Barry Zito and Johnathan Sanchez, the Giants make a decent pitching staff but it's certainly Lincecum and Cain that keep the Giants in the playoff hunt. Look for a healthy Lowry possibly next season and hopefully a Madison Bumgardner showing to back up the Lincecum and Cain phenoms.

Web Gems Of The Week

I think Tim Lincecum's was the best...

Why Not?

Why not watch Lincecum deal the Cardinals?

Here is a look at his stats over his last 4 starts...

Record: 3-1
ERA: 1.03
K-BB: 37-3
Opp BA: .197
CG: 3

crazy.

Jermaine Dye To Giants?

"Jermaine Dye had no interest in discussing a report in the San Jose Mercury News that he is on the radar of Giants general manager Brian Sabean. Though he's not chatting about it, Dye had better get used to the questions. He has a no-trade clause covering six teams, but the Giants aren't one of them. Dye did talk about White Sox GM Ken Williams position as of last week that Chicago was a buyer and not a seller. "We're still in it," Dye told the Chicago Sun-Times (ESPN)."

The White Sox have a bunch of aging sluggers, so when they fall out of the race I think you are going to see them try to move some of them. Dye is old (35), but he is still a very good player, and very underrated. The Giants could use some hitting and this guy would be a great pickup. There is no word on what the White Sox would get in return, but I do think there is something to this rumor...

Dueling Couches MLB Previews: San Fransisco Giants

Key Additions:
Edgar Renteria

Key Losses:
Omar Vizquel

Projected Lineup
RF: Randy Winn
SS: Edgar Renteria
3B: Pablo Sandoval
C: Bengie Molina
LF: Fred Lewis
CF: Aaron Rowand
1B: Travis Ishikawa
2B: Emmanuel Burriss

Looking at the Giants line-up from a far, you have to think this offense sucks. No team should rely on Bengie Molina to be their clean-up hitter. However, the top of the line-up could surprise people. Edgar Renteria is much better in the National League, and Randy Winn is a great lead off man. Pablo Sandoval is being rumored as one of this years sleepers, but we will see what the kid can do for a full year. In triple A he hit .345 but we will see if that can carry over to the big leagues.

Projected Pitchers
SP: Tim Lincecum
SP: Randy Johnson
SP: Matt Cain
SP: Barry Zito
SP: Jonathan Sanchez
SU: Bob Howry
CL: Brian Wilson

I absolutely love this pitching staff. This would be one of the reasons why you may see the Giants sneak into the play-offs in a terrible NL West. Lincecum is ridiculously young, and just won the Cy Young award, and Matt Cain is always a threat to having a break out season and who knows what they are going to get from Randy Johnson, but I guarentee it will be at least 12 wins. Not only does San Fransisco have a great rotation (I think best in the NL), they also have a very consistent bullpen.

Minor Watch:
Buster Posey: He is a stud catcher and people already have him pegged as the next Matt Weiters and he is no doubt going to be an end of the year call up.

The Next guy is Madison Bumgarner is a consensus top 20 prospect who posted a 1.46 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and an impeccable 164:21 K:BB ratio in 141.2 innings. Still, as bright as his future is, the kid is just 19 years old and is still probably two years away from contributing in the MLB.

Projection: The Giants will make the play-offs this year. Their pitching is stacked and will carry this team. With Dodgers only getting worse, and having zero pitching this is the Giants year. It is feasible that everyone not named Barry Zito can pull off 15 wins.

Record 86-76.

Randy Johnson To Giants

"The five-time Cy Young Award winner has 295 victories after going 11-10 with a 3.91 ERA in 30 starts last season." ESPN

So, what good for him. It's a one year contract so its not a bad deal. I look at this like a win win situation. If he is wins 15 games then you look like a genius, if not, he's gone next year. Now lets see the Sox get Sheets or Smoltz.

Renteria To Giants

"The agent for shortstop Edgar Renteria said Wednesday that he's making significant progress toward a deal that would bring the five-time All-Star to the San Francisco Giants (ESPN)."

The deal is rumored to be 2 years about $18 million. It's a great move for both teams if they can get this done. Renteria is always a much better player in the NL, and the Giants could definitely use an infielder like Renteria. I hate Edgar, but as long he is out of the AL, and off my radar, we won't have problems.

-BMack