Comfort Home League: Parallel Giants

[Sparrow]

10/25/2009

Today was a very busy day for my new boss George Felix Jr. He started by firing my predecessor, Paul Serna.* Serna was an infielder for the A's from 1982-1989. He didn't have much success only getting over 150 AB's once. Felix Jr. expected a winning record in 2009, and clearly ended the season furious. To that end he fired the manager, Orlando Merced as well. Merced didn't get much of a shot, he came and left in 2009 leading the team to a record of 76 wins to 86 losses, finishing third in the NL West. Somehow he found a way to be a worse manager than he was a player.

Before hiring me, he decided to take the liberty of playing GM for the better part of the day. He let bench coach Mike Laga walk. He resigned hitting coach Mike Munoz to a 1 year $460,000 deal. This was a bit odd in that Munoz was a pitcher during his playing days. Well, he never actually got into a game, but he practiced as a pitcher.

Next, Felix Jr. signed Nate McLouth and Saul Rivera to 1 year extensions, avoiding arbitration. McLouth signed for $11,230,000 and Rivera got $1,420,000.

He made some roster moves, you know, this guy up, this guy down, this guy on the 40 man. I suppose this was necessary seeing that MLB had a major overhaul adding minor leagues and the secondary roster, but it seems like I could have had some input.

Lastly, he made arbitration offers to all 9 arbitration eligible players. He was very clear that I was not to increase, decrease, or withdraw any of these offers. This would be an easier pill to swallow if that didn't leave the team with $1.5M for extensions, and a player named Joe Mauer about to hit free agency. I haven't had the chance to look too closely yet, but I just can't see how Mauer doesn't end up filing.

Other important notes of the day. Jason Giambi retired as did Jason Johnson. Giambi came to the Giants in 2004, with stops in Philadelphia and Boston, before returning and retiring as a Giant. Johnson was a Giant only in 2009, and I don't think any fans will be too sad to see him retire. In 149 innings, he had a 6.64 ERA. This seems like a case of addition by subtraction.

At first glance, this team appears to be quite a project with 9 players entering free agency. But Hafner, Wilkerson, Bonderman, and Shields are a nice group of players to have.

Looks like it's time to take the fine toothed comb to the roster, take some inventory, and see what I can and need to do.

Oh, before I hit submit, Steve Kealey called and retired from pitching coach. Looks like their are lots of holes in the staff to fill.

*I was really pleased when the Giants fired their GM. I was going to take them over anyway, but it's nice that there was actually a job opening, instead of having to force my way in.

[Sparrow]

10/25/2009

First, I set out to fill the gaps in the coaching staff. The Giants need a Manager, Bench Coach, and a Pitching Coach. The budget is a mess, and it looks as though any money that goes to staff will come out of the scouting budget. That's fine. The scouts are overrated, I plan on relying on the stats more anyway.

For the Field Manager my attention immediately went to Ed Olwine. He was a terrible player but he is a legend the way he handles rookies, veterans, and players. That's important. We're trying to create a community where players want to play. He's also a legendary hitting instructor, outstanding at teaching fielding, and good with pitching.

In interviewing him, he likes to play prospects, and believes in a team built around defensive.

He told me it would take $770,000 over 4 years to bring him to the Bay. I decided to offer him the contract, the 51 year old seems worth it.

Next up was figuring out the bench coach. The best choices were well out of our price range. I ended up offering Ben Hayes a contract. Great at teaching pitching, and great with the players. Nothing to offer as far as pitching or fielding, and his game strategies aren't ideal, but the price was right. He wanted 5 years, I offered 3 at his asking price of $340,000.

And for the last personnel decision, the pitching coach. Hayes would have been great, but he's been offered bigger fruit. Otherwise, John Flinn is as good as they come. I offered $320,000 over three years. This is one less year and $70K less than he wanted. We'll see.

Guess it's time to tackle the roster.

[Sparrow]

10/25/2009

Starting Pitching

There are three solid starters on the roster for 2010.

Jeremy Bonderman- 2010: $9.7M 2011: $9.8M 2012: $10.3M 2013: $10.8M 2014: $11.3M
This was an extension signed last July. That's a lot of committed money, and long term deals for pitchers make me nervous. To date, he has been great, and he can anchor our rotation.

James Shields- Going into arbitration, offered $5.19M. A very nice 27 year old. Will make a fine #2.

Paul Maholm- Going into arbitration, offered $2.92M. Building off a career year. More of a back end starter, but should be fine.

Chris Smith, Adam Loewen, Jason Vargas, and Sean West are the front runners for the #5 spot. Lowen was terrible last year and would be a great non-tender candidate if he hadn't already been offered arbitration. The rest are unkowns. This has me nervous.

Relief Pitchers

The bullpen looks like a potential strength of the team. Hopefully this area won't require much attention, but relievers seem to fluctuate year to year so we'll see.

Gary Majewski was the closer for most of the year, but Darren O'Day took over late in the year. Mike Gonzalez appears headed to free agency but is easily replaced by Eric O'Flaherty, Billy Wagner, and Damaso Marte. Saul Rivera and Jason Frasor are also in the picture for bullpen spots.

Catchers

This is a big, big need.

Joe Mauer- On his way out. All Star 5 of his 6 seasons, and now going to get paid. I'm not sure how to string together the money to keep him.

Robert Fick- Will be 36 by opening day. His personality is his only strength at this point.

First Base

Travis Hafner- 2010: $12.5M 2011: $12.5M Former rookie of the year and former most valuable hitter. His numbers seem to be on the decline but he can still mash.

Infield

Has the potential to fall apart due to free agency, although wasn't very good to begin with. Before the virtual day ends, I will have to seriously look into trying to keep some of these guys.

The free agents: Mark DeRosa, Chone Figgins, and Ronnie Belliard. Limited value as all players had an OBP less than .300. Figgins can steal some bases, DeRosa has some pop.

The rest: Junior Spivey and Anderson Hernandez. Spivey at least has a SLG above .400, but strikes out too much.

Outfield

Of the 5 outfielders on the roster, 3 are eligible for free agency. Nice talent in the outfield.

The free agents: Rocco Baldelli, Andruw Jones, and Rondell White. White is a non-issue, but Baldelli and Jones will be tough losses if I can't extend them.

The rest: Brad Wilkerson and Nate McLouth. Wilkerson is a bargain at $3M. At $11.23M, McLouth better have a good year.

Overview

This team will be very susceptible to injuries to a starting pitcher, and will be weak in the back end of the rotation. The infield is shaping up to be a disaster, including, catcher. The outfield and bullpen look like strengths of the team. It's a long off-season, but I'm not encouraged at the teams prospects for 2010.

[Sparrow]

10/25/2009

What I suspect as my last act of the virtual night, I tackled extensions.

First, Robert Fick is apparently filing for free agency. He is not willing to negotiate so as of now the Giants are looking like they will be without a catcher.

Also unwilling to negotiate: Mike Gonzalez, Mark DeRosa, Rocco Baldelli, and Rondell White.

Joe Mauer, Ron Belliard, Andruw Jones, and Chone Figgins were willing to entertain an offer. Mauer is too expensive so I settled on Jones.

Jones wanted 3 years at $1.65M a year. The owner has me very financially handcuffed and the best I could do is a 1 year deal with a $500K bonus if he gets 500 AB's. If he does get 500 AB's, at $1.5M this should be a fine contract. More likely, he'll think I'm low balling him and leave but it's all I can do.

[Sparrow]

10/26/2009

For an owner who has the reputation of being fiscally controlling, he sure is odd with money. First, all those arbitration offers were actually 1 year contract extension offers to avoid arbitration. Second, my brilliant owner counted the estimated money if they signed the extension, and the arbitration estimate against money for extensions! Imagine my surprise when a couple of these guys signed (more on who in a second) and all of a sudden we committed more money to salary and the payroll went down! Mauer just might stay by the bay.

Lots of news from today

Gary Majewski (RHP) signed a 1-year extension for $4.62M. I was a bit appalled by the size of this contract. He had a fantastic 2008, but 2009 was pretty mediocre, and I didn't want that salary on the roster (more on that later).

Adam Loewen (LHP) signed a 1-year extension for $740K. He is terrible and should have been non-tendered, but I can handle $740K.

James Shields (RHP) signed a 1-year extension for $6.13M. Solid pitcher, happy to have him on the team.

Eric O'Flaherty (LHP) signed a 1-year extension for $2.69M. Solid reliever, should be worth it.

Ed Olwine (offered a managerial contract) sent a note informing me that he prefers the Giants offer at the moment. Wait and see.

A trade already?!

Disgusted by the Majewski contract I immediately looked to fix the situation. After a few phone calls, I got in touch with Ron Burrell of the Reds. He was interested in Majewski and very interested in Julio Chavez, a 24 year old minor league CF. My scout told me Chavez was fast, with good D, but couldn't hit. I don't know if I trust my scout yet, but I trusted him here.

So Majewski and Chavez were packaged for Rusty Ryal (26, 2B) and Landon Powell (27, C). Both only have one year of service time, and had very nice debut seasons. Powell has some pop, and would be a nice fit if I can't sign Mauer (which is suddenly seeming possible). And if I do sign Mauer, Powell will be a great backup.

Ryal will hit some doubles, get a couple over the wall, and can play a serviceable defense, which is necessary with all the infielders we are losing to free agency.

Talk radio was clear that the fans were a little disappointed to see Majewski go, and a poll showed a slight decrease in fans interest. I think we'll be able to quickly turn that around however. Personally, I think this is a great trade, cuts costs and addresses a couple of positions. Chavez is the key. If Burrell (the Reds GM) is right about him, and he becomes a star well....let's not think about that.

More Mauer!

Felix Jr. (owner) decides after the Majewski trade that we have over $21M for extensions. This is much different than $1.5M or so he told me yesterday. First thing I do when I hear this is call up The agent for Mauer.

"Hello"

"Hi, Giants new GM here. What were your extension demands again?"

"You probably should write these down in the future. 5 years, $14.22M a year."

"Done, can't wait to see him behind the dish at AT&T. Bye now."

"Um, he still needs to approve it...bye?"

Please sign it Mr. Mauer, please oh please. I sent him some Ghirardelli chocolates and a signed painting of the Golden Gate Bridge.

A meddling owner

I was just about to retire for the evening when Felix Jr. gave me a call. "We signed Figgins $1.4M for 1 year. All the players that didn't accept my extension, withdrew the offer. You're in control now. Oh, and I promoted, demoted, and rearranged some guys. But, um, you're in control. Good night."

Sheesh.

I got out of bed and offered Maholm a $2.5M 1 year contract extension, Marte a $2M 1 year contract extension.

That leaves Anderson Hernandez, Jerry Gil, and Alexis Gomez heading for arbitration. I'll sit on this one, all are non-tender candidates. Have to see how the roster shapes up over the next few weeks.

[Sparrow]

10/27/2009

Paul Maholm got back to me. He said we're close but $2.5M isn't enough. He asked me to increase it slightly. I wish I knew what slightly was. He coutered with $2.99M which doesn't feel like slightly. I'l come back with $2.75M and if he still says no, and is is still willing to negotiate I'll give him what he wants.

Otherwise no further words. Nothing from Mauer (please please please!). Nothing from any of the coaching staff (which I'd like decisions one way or another so I can move on).

I haven't been active with trades. I want to see when players file for free agency what the landscape looks like. Plus I want to see where we stand with Mauer.

So an idle day seems like a good time to look at where the Giants place in franchise history.

The Giants played their first season in 1872, so they are one of the older franchises in the MLB founded in 1871. They have made the playoffs 15 teams, winning the World Series 6. Both of these numbers are right around the middle mark amongst franchises.

The most titles is held by our rivals, the Dodgers, with 14.

5 teams have never won a title. 4 of these teams are relatively new franchises, but the Baltimore Orioles have been in the league since its inception and have never won a title! I can only imagine the fans reaction when they finally win.

The Giants have a .492 winning percentage which is 8th worst among all franchises.

And that's all, here's to hoping we have something to report tomorrow.

[Sparrow]

10/28/2009

Okay not all of them but Maholm was quick to respond with a request for more. That my offer wasn't good enough...again. As promised in my previous post, if he asked for more again, I'd give it to him. He didn't come down at all so I offered $2.99M.

Ben Hayes, hopefully our future bench coach said he wanted more money. When I asked him how much more he said he was fine with the annual salary but wanted 5 instead of 3 years. I think he's worth it so I upped the offer.

Otherwise slow day at the office.

10/29/2009

Mauer got back to me saying he wants more money. Actually he wants only $10K more a year! A little petty but he also wanted 4 years instead of 5. I increased the annual salary by the requested $10K and made the 5th year a player option. He is only 26 so 5 years doesn't feel like too much. Hopefully this will work.

John Flinn, pitching coach, also wanted more money. A lot more. I can't justify giving him more than our bench coach so I upped the offer to 4 years $340K. He wanted 4 years at $390K. I'm not sure how this one will turn out.

[Sparrow]

10/30/2009

Pitching Coach John Flinn signed the contract. Welcome aboard John.

Paul Maholm signed his 1-year extension. Very nice, no arbitration here.

Ben Hayes, Bench Coach, says he prefers my offer. So one of the three personnel vacancies are filled and the other 2 both have great candidates favoring the offer.

No word from Mauer.

And the other contract offer was to Marte. He was quoted as saying "Good luck finding another reliever." My response was not, you're under team control dude, see you in arbitration. Though it should have been. He had one great year. We're flushed with lefty relievers. I'm going to leave my offer on the table and wait it out. If we go to arbitration fine, but I don't want to pay $2.79M for a position we have a surplus at. I'd rather put that money to a right handed reliever. That said I do want him on the team and he will not be non-tendered.

10/31/2009

Nothing from anybody. Started reading "The Summer Game."

11/1/2009

Welcome aboard Ben Hayes, our newest Pitching Coach.

Mauer is being really obnoxious. He says he wants the same money but no he wants the 5th year guaranteed. It was a player option! What does it matter?! I'm starting to think he's gone Diva. Oh well, meet the demands. 5th year guaranteed. Let's see what he counters with next.

11/2/2009

Slept all day.

11/3/2009

Personnel done. Welcome aboard Ed Olwine, our new Manager.

At some point I'm going to want to try to get some right handed relievers in on minor league contracts, but that point is yet to happen.

11/4/2009

Mauer says no thank you and that he wants more money but counters with the offer I just submitted. Maddening. I increased the offer to an even $14.5M. More than he is asking for. Come on Mauer, be reasonable here.

[Sparrow]

11/5/2009

Gold Gloves were announced yesterday. Two Giants received gold gloves.

Mark DeRosa won one at 3B, though he is unlikely to be a Giant next year, as he repeatedly tells me he is looking to test free agency and will not listen to an extension.

Landon Powell, the newest Giant won the award though he did all of his catching as a Red. Hopefully we now have a gold glove back up catcher. Good defense with some pop...the perfect back up catcher...if Mauer signs.

11/7/2009

At Catcher, #7, Joooooooeeeeeeee Mauuuuueeeeerrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!

We should be hearing that a lot at AT&T park over the next 5 years. He. Has. Signed.

The fans are ecstatic. I spent the whole day hearing my praise on talk radio. Fan interest has truly spiked.

11/9/2009

My predecessor, Paul Serna, has just signed a 4-year deal with an annual salary of $530,000 as general manager with the Angels. I wish him the best.

Speaking of the owner, Felix Jr., I just noticed that my offer to Andruw Jones was withdrawn. I assume he did this 10/26 when he had the night of meddling. I shot him a new offer of 2 years, $1.5M a year with the same $500K bonus if he reaches 500 AB's. This is much less than he is asking for but it's still worth a shot.

11/12/2009

Jones was not happy and wants a lot more. I'll leave the contract on the table but I'm pretty sure he's going to walk.

[Sparrow]

11/14/2009

I had to decide on what to do with Damaso Marte, Anderson Hernandez, Jerry Gil, and Alexis Gomez. Arbitration is tomorrow. Having no minor league depth, I offered all of them a contract.

Marte- $2.74M. This is his current salary. I'm starting to think I should have just met his demands instead of quibbling over a few hundred thousand dollars. We'll see.

Hernandez- I'm offering him $648K which is a pay cut.

Gill- $400K which is a 20K raise.

Gomez- $620K which is the same as last year. We'll see how this goes. I'm new to it afterall but I have a bad feeling gong into it.

11/16/2009

The arbitration decisions are in.

Marte wins but only asked for $60K more than I offered.

Hernadez wins getting over $200K than I offered.

Gomez loses getting $180 less than he wanted.

Gil won getting $400K more than I offered.

These all worked out fine, except for Gil who is overpaid, furious and not very good. Whatever, it'll all work out.

Free agents file in 2 days, then I will really be able to look at this team and start to tackle some of the remaining holes.

[Sparrow]

11/18/2009

Mike Gonzalez, a type A free agent, rejected arbitration and is a free agent. All the other possible free agents filed as well, none were offered arbitration.

I only have $5.6M for free agents so there will be some bargain shopping.

Team needs:

SP: Need 1 or 2 starters badly.

RP: Need a right hander out of the pen. This can come internally. Also could add 2 right handed relievers and trade away a lefty. Some flexibility here.

C: Very much set.

1B: Set.

2B: Ryal has the edge and I like him.

SS: Figgins has the edge and this is a little scary.

3B: A big hole. Anderson Hernandez can play some infield, so can Junior Spivey, though when I talk to my scouts, Spivey is rated at a (-) for all positions. They say it's like he completely forgot how to play baseball. Definite trade candidate.

LF: Right now it's Wilkerson.

CF: McLouth but I like him more in right.

RF: Gomez, but I like him more in AAA. No backup OF'ers.

So, I need a starting pitcher, right handed reliever, third baseman, one OFer, and bench players.

My best trade chips are Spivey and a lefty out of the bullpen. There are some great pieces on this team, but equally big holes.

[CRTsports.com]

Good luck with this dynasty!!

[Sparrow]

Originally Posted by CRTsports.com

Good luck with this dynasty!!

Thanks. I have been doing a historical replay for a long time, so it's nice be playing the game as a GM.

Having built the history from scratch is making this pretty fun as well. For example I'm completely strapped for cash and about to make an offer to Alex Rodriguez who "possesses average power." He has 262 in his career, a far cry from 599.

[Sparrow]

11/18/2009

I thought about waiting and seeing if some of the asking prices come down to get some undervalued players but it feels too risky so I've decided to submit some offers today.

First I looked to address 3B.

I went for Alex Rodriguez. He plays strong defensive, is average offensively, and is affordable. At this point anything better than below average is great. He wanted 1 year $870K. I gave him this plus a second year, a team option for $1.2M.

Next I looked to bring back Rocco Baldelli and his average offense and great CF play. He only wanted $690K, so I gave him that for the first year and a second year team option for $1M.

Then I went for right handed reliever Blaine Neal. My scout hates him but he is coming off of a career year. I'm not expecting him to replicate it but at least be serviceable. He wanted 1 year $660K and I obliged.

Finally I set out for starting pitching.

This was tough. I really don't want to spend too much money as we're strapped and I'm worried about really handcuffing the teams future but I also want to win. Jaret Wright was the best pitcher out there that I could afford, and I'm not sure I could really afford him. He wanted 3 years at $2.34M I offered 3, the first 2 at $2M and the third a mutual option of $3M. I can't really predict if he'll accept this offer or not.

And lastly, I went after the young Ian Kennedy, with no pitching experience. He wanted 2 years $660K, I gave him 1 guaranteed and a mutual option at $1M.

If all these players except, I'll consider this a success, but will struggle to get the backup OFers and IFers I need with the 743 thousand I have remaining for free agents. I guess I'll worry about that at a different time.

[CRTsports.com]

Originally Posted by Sparrow

Thanks. I have been doing a historical replay for a long time, so it's nice be playing the game as a GM.

Having built the history from scratch is making this pretty fun as well. For example I'm completely strapped for cash and about to make an offer to Alex Rodriguez who "possesses average power." He has 262 in his career, a far cry from 599.

Its always fun to see how real players turn out. I started my league in 2004 with a real roster set but then added fictional players every year. In mine, Mark Prior is beast at 31 years old and is signed for another seven years for the Cubs.

[Sparrow]

11/23/2009

SP Ian Kennedy and RHP Blaine Neal have both informed me that they like my offer.

No other news.

11/25/2009

Baldelli didn't like the option year. He wanted just the one year $690K. I'm offering 1 year $700K to hopefully avoid a situation like I had with Mauer.

11/27/2009

Alex Rodriguez had the same problem as Baldelli. I reduced it to 1 year and upped the cash by $30K.

11/28/2009

Ian Kennedy has signed with the team. Apparently I have his wife to thank for talking him into signing the deal. He has been put on the 40-man roster and sent to AAA. I expect him to compete for a starting job in the Spring.

11/29/2009

Rodriguez and Wright both tell me they like my offer but still want to hear what other teams have to offer. Guess I'll keep waiting.

12/1/2009

Welcome December with a new SP, Jaret Wright. He will immediately slip into the #4 starter. He has been placed on the active roster.

Other news today, saw Todd Helton on the waiver wire. The 4 time Most Valuable Hitter, 9 time All-Star is owed a ton of money over the next 3 years, and his performance has really dropped. Tough situation for the Royals.

12/2/2009

Baldelli sent me a very cryptic message but I think he is saying that he favors my offer. We'll see. I was hoping to have all these guys signed by the time the winter meetings started. Less than a week to have that happen.

12/3/2009

Neal, welcome to the Giants and the active roster.

12/7/2009

Baldelli is on board, and on the active roster. Now just Rodriguez left.

[Sparrow]

12/8/2009

Put in a claim for right hander Amrus Modupe off waivers. The South African is currently in the A's organization. He throws hard, has 2 above average pitches and is on a minor league contract.

12/11/2009

The Padres Cesar Hernandez has offered a trade.

Bobby Kielty and prospect Fred Edmonds for Paul Maholm and $570,000. I was so excited when I received a trade proposal until I saw it was this garbage. I rejected it without further discussion.

In other news, Modupe has been claimed by the Tigers.

12/12/2009

And that wraps up the Winter Meetings. I did not try and make trades. I'm not sure why, I guess I just want to see what Rodriguez decides first.

[Sparrow]

12/14/2009

Rodriguez has signed. That pretty much finished up free agency for me. I'll keep my eye out for bargains, but now I'll try to improve through the waiver wire if possible, and explore trades.

Still waiting for Mike Gonzalez to sign to see what the draft pick compensation looks like.

On that note. Mark Robertson, a right handed reliever with a nice sinker has been placed on waivers by the Astros. I put in a claim.

12/15/2009

Damon Berryhill of the Red Sox just sent a crazy trade proposal.

He offered Matt Holliday, 2009's MVH, for Joe Mauer, Saul Rivera, and a couple pitching prospects. Holliday would fill the gap in the outfield and Landon Powell can take over catching but there is simply no way I can trade away Mauer. The fans would never let me live it down. I had to reject this one.

12/16/2009

I set out to find a new home for Junior Spivey. Only 1 GM was interested, Randy Moffitt of the Cardinals. He had a SP, Robinson Tejeda, who for some reason he was desperate to get rid of.

So I offered Spivey for Tejeda, a utility infielder Cliff Pennington, and a very fast, young outfielder Julio Borbon. None of these 3 players appear to be great, but they all are capable of playing multiple positions and provide some of the bench depth I need. Borbon and Pennington will go on the active roster. Tejeda will go to the minors. And to make room Jason Vargas will have to be sent to the minors.

Anyway, I'm thrilled about this deal and so is the owner. He's taking me out to dinner.

12/17/2009

Mark Robertson has successfully been claimed off waivers and sent to AAA.

12/31/2009

Quiet rest of the month. Tomorrow is tryouts for the upstart Comfort Home League. I hope the tryouts get some coverage, I'm looking forward to seeing how many people show up and if it'll be a success. I hope it succeeds, you can never have too much baseball.

[Sparrow]

1/31/2010

Mike Gonzalez has signed with the Padres. Compensation doesn't work quite like I thought but at this point, I'm not interested in figuring it out. Tough to see him stay in division, but it's nice to be sure we get the draft picks.

In compensation we received the #6 pick in the supplemental round and the #9 pick in round 2.

I have not put much effort into improving the team at this point. I'll continue to monitor the waiver wire, but I'd be happy starting the season with this roster.

[Sparrow]

2/22/2010

Put out a couple offers today. $850K to Ryan Ludwick who can provide some pop off the bench, and some OF depth.

Another to Dallas McPherson, a decent infielder who has some power, and has shown he can hit for average in the past. He was offered $660K.

2/26/2010

Ryan Ludwick signs. Ludwick gets placed on the active roster. Borbon goes down to Fresno.

2/27/2010

McPherson signs and is placed on the active roster. Anderson Hernandez gets sent to Fresno to make room.