An Unenviable Dilemma

Giants’ great Barry Bonds on Hall of Fame ballot with Roger Clemens

By Katy Williams

The Baseball Hall of Fame released their ballot this week, and for the voters of the Baseball Writer’s Association, this is going to be one of the most difficult ballots yet. This year’s ballot marks the first time that Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens will be up for consideration

(Getty Images)

The ballot has featured players suspected of steroid use before, with Mark McGwire being the most well known example. However, none of the players on the ballot up until this point have been as successful on the field, and investigated and hated off the field, as Bonds and Clemens.

Clemens won a record seven Cy Young awards during his pitching career, and Bonds holds the record for career home runs at 762, along with winning a record seven MVP awards. Both have faced legal trouble for supposedly lying about using steroids during their playing career, but neither was criminally convicted and both maintain their innocence.

Its impossible to speculate exactly what the writers will do, but overall there seem to be three different approaches. A large group of writers does not want to taint the Hall of Fame with any players linked to steroids during their career. Another group believes that it is impossible to know who exactly was using and wasn’t, so if they were not caught during their career there really is nothing you can do. A third group of fence sitters doesn’t think they should get in on the first ballot, but maybe time will be kind and they will be able to get in after a few tries.

If past results are any indication, both of them are going to have a tough battle ahead. McGwire has been on the ballot six times, and has never gotten more than 25% of the vote. In the past two years, his total has dipped to under 20%.  A player needs to receive 75% of the vote to be admitted. There was speculation that he may be forgiven over time, because he did admit to using steroids and apologize, but so far the writers have been unforgiving.

The results of the voting will be announced in January. Until then, we can only speculate on what exactly the writers will do.

NL West: Will A New Manager Make a Difference in Colorado?

By Katy Williams

This week the Colorado Rockies named a new manager to replace Jim Tracy, who resigned last month. Their choice? Walt Weiss, who could most recently be seen in the dugout of Regis Jesuit High School.

(Getty Images/Brian Bahr)

He has been involved with the Rockies organization before, playing shortstop for the team for three years and serving as special assistant to the general manager for six before leaving the pros to spend more time with his family.

Hiring a manager with relatively little experience is not unheard of. Just last season, the Cardinals hired former player and special advisor Mike Matheny to manage the club, and he coached them to the NLCS.

The difference? The Cardinals were the reigning world champions when Matheny was given the team. The Rockies, who finished last in the NL West in 2012, are anything but.

For the Rockies, the choice of Walt Weiss is just another desperate experiment in the hopes that something may finally cause a breakthrough and make them at least somewhat competitive in a division that features the world-champion Giants and high-spending Dodgers.

No one in baseball fully realized the extent of the Rockies desperation until the end of last season, when assistant general manager Bill Geivett was given an office in the clubhouse and involved himself in setting the roster and evaluating players. The baseball establishment saw this as an unprecedented move, as did Jim Tracy, which was largely why he resigned with one year still left on his contract.

The front office has also started tinkering with game decisions, coming up with ideas and proposals that can only be considered unusual at best, and laughable at worst. Take, for example, their pitching rotation experiment. Last summer, the team decided to only use four starters, and limit them to 75 pitches, causing a heavy reliance on the bullpen. At one point, the idea of having every single pitcher start, essentially creating a 14-man rotation, was floated, but thankfully shot down and never tried.

Even their search for a new manager provides many more questions than answers. First of all, they interviewed Jason Giambi, who is still an active player, as a serious candidate for the job. Then, after they narrowed down the field of candidates, they were left with Weiss and Matt Williams, who has been the Diamondback’s third base coach for the past two years. And they picked the high school coach.

It is true that the Rockies organization needs a facelift, and needs to see some serious changes, if they hope to win. But if Jim Tracy, who was the 2009 manager of the year, was not able to accomplish anything, I don’t see why they think a high school coach will be able to.

If the Rockies want to be taken seriously by baseball again, they need to get the front office out of the clubhouse. Because they will never be able to find an effective manager with that kind of interference.

Fluke or Dynasty?

By Katy Williams

(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

For baseball fans, especially those in San Francisco, the image of the Giants hoisting the World Series trophy earlier this week is still fresh in our minds.

This Giants team was nothing short of remarkable. They were down to the Reds 0-2 and came back. They proved themselves again when they were down to the Cardinals 3-1. And then, through a remarkable turn of events that could not have been predicted, the Giants swept the mighty Detroit Tigers right out of the World Series.

The Tigers were led by their bats all season, complete with a lineup featuring Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder. The Giants meanwhile hit fewer homeruns in the regular season than any other team, and their best hitter, Melky Cabrera, was suspended for the second half of the season.  On paper, this series shouldn’t have even been a contest. Or was it?

For San Francisco residents, the black and orange victory parade earlier this week wasn’t anything that they hadn’t seen before. Just two years ago, the team marched down these same streets, hoisting the same trophy for their loyal fan base.

A good, but not great, team can win one World Series through a combination of luck, timing and good fortune. But they can’t win two in a three-year span. This feat pushes a team almost to dynasty status, and dynasties don’t happen on accident.

So could this Giants team be a dynasty? They certainly have the pitching to back up that claim. Hardly anyone can argue against the combination of Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, and Ryan Vogelsong. And if Tim Lincecum is able to restore even some of his old two-time Cy Young self next season, this team will continue to be lights-out on the mound.

The Giants also have a manager and team leader capable of taking them through the season with the focus on winning at the right time, like they did this season. With Bruce Bochy at the helm and Buster Posey behind the plate, the Giants are more than capable of overcoming adversity and making smart decisions in tough spots.

Are the Giants a dynasty? Not just yet. But don’t sleep on them next season.

From Comeback Kids to Favorites

The San Francisco Giants are one game away from winning a world champhionship

By Katy Williams

The Giants will win the World Series….But only if they lose a few games first

(AP Photo/Mark Terrill)

Once again, the Giants are the comeback kids. The improbable team that never seems to quit came back last week against the Cardinals, winning three straight games. This is the second time in the playoffs they have come back and won three straight games to clinch a series.

Now, the only thing separating the Giants from winning their second World Series in three seasons is a Detroit Tigers team thought was thought to be loaded with triple crown winner Miguel Cabrera and reigning Cy Young award winner and MVP Justin Verlander. And so far, they don’t seem to be putting up much of a fight.

After the Tigers swept the Yankees, they had a lot of time off while waiting for the Giants to finish off the Cardinals in seven games. In the first two games of the series, the rust has definitely shown, especially on offense. The Tigers have only scored three runs, and their bats aren’t showing any sign of heating up any time soon.

At this point, the only thing that could really separate the Giants from victory is themselves. When their bats are connecting, they can put a lot of runs on the board. And when their pitching is in the zone, they can easily keep runners off the bases.

If the first three games are any indication, the Giants are more than capable of doing both of these things in this series. After Barry Zito, Madison Bumgarner and Ryan Volgelsong completely mesmorized the Tigers’ lineup, the Giants are now up 3-0, and their ace Matt Cain has yet to take the mound. At this rate, the World Series won’t even return to San Francisco for the last two games.

But if the Giants were to drop a few games in Detroit? They have proven that the comeback is their specialty. This team does not have a panic button, they are even keeled and focused no matter the game situation, which is the single most important factor that will push them through to winning the World Series.

Will the Giants be the Cardinals Next Victim?

Cardinals take Game 3 of the NLCS and are one game away from the World Series

(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

By Katy Williams

The Cardinals were the last team to clinch a playoff spot in the National League this season. It was down to the wire, but they got it done. If the last two years are any indication, that’s exactly the way the Cardinals like it.

The reigning World Series champions are well on their way to making a deep run into the postseason once again this season, and the Giants are just the latest team to be standing in their path. If the first half of the series is any indication, the Giants are about to learn a lesson many teams before them have: in October, you can’t beat the Cardinals.

On paper, it makes no sense. How are the Cardinals, a team with slightly above average pitching, able to find victories series after series, postseason after postseason? Especially, since defense is usually the key to making deep postseason runs.  But in 2012, the story has been the Cardinals’ offense which goes against the conventional wisdom in playoff baseball.

All season, the Giants have not been led by their bats, but by their two pitching aces, Matt Cain and Madison Bumgartner. When the Giants lost strong hitter Melky Cabrera, their pitching became even more important. With the exception of Buster Posey and at times Pablo Sandoval, the Giants bats have been quiet.

But what proved to be a winning formula for the regular season has been fruitless against the Cardinals. In Game One at home Bumgartner was handed a loss, and three days later Cain was handed a loss in St. Louis in Game Three. The formula that worked so well for the Giants in the regular season has been betraying them now.

The Giants do have hope though. With Carlos Beltran going down at the beginning of Wednesday night’s game, one of the Cardinal’s loudest bats is now silent. However, the Cardinals did still win Game 3, erupting on offense for eight runs.

What does this mean for the Giants? The Cardinals may have lost one of their best hitters, but the rest of the lineup has proven they can produce. If the Giants want to move on to the World Series, they are going to have to start scoring runs. Because if there is anything the Cardinals have taught us, it is that offense does in fact win games.