My Future Father-In-Law Is Going to be Ticked

the n.l west is now the best divison in the n.l so i dont want people not giving the dodgers credit when they win the west

I honestly did not see this coming. The Giants? Man, I had him pegged for a Met, I thought he'd drop his demands. Craziness.

wow...this is GREAT for baseball. At least it's great for the Dodger's giants rivalry. It will be interesting to see how Zito fare's in the NL...

Zito's numbers should improve in the NL, since, if nothing else, he doesn't have to face lineups with DH's. But, you're right, BK, the Giants are pretty much the same as last year--AARP filled and now have 2 really overpaid stars and little else.

Actually, I kind of like that Zito is in SF. Again, all of the eastern-biased media was sooooooo certain that he was dying to pitch in New York. Guess not.

Now the Yankees will sign Clemens and drive the people of Boston even crazier.

Yawn. Zito to Giants is a perfect example of putting lipstick on a pig.

The Giants everyday roster stinks, although the pitching corps is promising. However, their farm system is in shambles and they really look like a team that is years away from seriously competing for a World Series. By the time Zito's contract is up, the Giants window of opportunity may finally begin to open up once again -- maybe.

The best thing about this signing for the Dodgers is that it keeps Zito away from a Mets team that will challenge the Dodgers for the NL pennant this year.

Len

In case you guys missed it, and in the spirit of cooperative bilateral relations between Dodger and Giant fans everywhere, I thought I would forward this post from the one and only Giants Fan, who posted this today on an older thread from two weeks ago:

"Good morning Dodger Dogs: Please got to mlb.com and look at the hot stove report 12/28/2006, which coincidently is highlighted in blue, and click on "Zito to Giants". And of course remember who told you to "watch the ticker" first. See you in October, in our rearview mirror. Happy New Years.
Your beloved GIANTS fan."

As you can see, he has already put down his deposit on Giants playoff tickets for 2007.

I'm still trying to figure out how Zito minus Schmidt plus SF Giant Wins in 2006 = Giants 2007 Playoff berth...

Then again, if the NL wild card team in 2007 manages to qualify with 75 wins I guess there would be a grain of truth to that after all!

Len

This is a quote from Eric Byrnes, who has obviously been hitting the pipe:

"People have got to be thinking about the Giants as the favorites now," Byrnes said. "They had a chance to separate themselves from everyone else in baseball with their moves this offseason and they did. Now that they have the two Barrys, this absolutely puts them over the top. Everyone in the NL West will be shooting at these guys."

Could he possibly be serious?

I don't see how this deal makes any sense for the SF Giants. I guess it's a decent PR move so people will continue to show up after Bonds goes away after next season, but locking up a pitcher for the next 8 years at 18 mil a year just doesn't seem like such a smart move. I thought baseball owners learned their lessons after K.B. and Hampton.

Zito is a great pitcher and I have no doubt that he will have success pitching in the NL, but he does walk a few batters and isn't much of a strikeout pitcher. If the Giants were planning on this to be their 'signature' move of the offseason, they probably should have spent some more effort getting younger and solidifying their defense.

Oh well, I'll be looking forward to some Schmidt/Zito matchups next year.

Roberts & Aurilla are downgrades for the giants compaired to Alou & Hillenbrand. Barry Zito will be the next Mike Hampton. And could anyone tell me who will be the giants 5th starter next season? Anyone? Anyone???

In a related note, it has been reported that the giants will be bringing a former player out of retirement to be their shutdown, left-handed specialist in the bullpen:

http://www.thestar.com/images/thestar/img/031125_dravecky_dave_250.jpg

Zito, Lowry, Cain, Morris, Sanchez, Hennessey plus the 3 young AAA studs ready to go. No holes in the line up, solid defense, best pitching staff in the division and most likely the NL. We have so much depth at pitching there will be a trade shortly that will all but wrap up the division. I'm so tickled, I think I will gift rap Armando Benetez and ship him to you free!!!! I will even pay the freight. And then next year, with Barry's salary gone look out. The Giants might even outspend you guys. Yes Len, I have my tickets on order. Your beloved Giants fan.

Len, you'll have to forgive those poor Giants fans. They've been living in denial and delusion for so long, they think subtracting Schmidt and adding Zito means things will be different in Balco Park. ;)

BK:

ummmmm...just a fast question, you say "future FIL" well, does HE know this yet? Better yet, does SHE know yet? If not do either of them read the blog?

hehehehe....just curious if you ax-id-ently outted yer'self... ;)

mak:

"...I don't see how this deal makes any sense for the SF Giants..."

That is the beauty of it all. Here the giants seem on one hand to be clueless and then go and somehow land the last name-brand FA pitcher in a thin market for a deal that makes the Dodgers deal with Kevin Brown look like chicken feed.

It's deja-vu all over again, except that it's up the street in 'frisco.

So basically the giants have almost $40M tied up in two players this season, right? Well, ok around $36M give or take a bit...somehow I suspect this will not end well for them in either the long or short term.

Dodgers getting 36 year old oft injured right handed Schmidt as an ace.....Priceless. Giants getting 28 year old never missed a start cy young winner Zito to replace Schmidt.....Even BETTER. With a rotation of Cain, Zito, Lowry, Morris and Sanchez the Giants will be in every game they play.

...shows how much Dogger fans pay attention...

The Giants are CERTAINLY a team to be reckoned with in the NL West... SF needs to add some bats, but the starting pitching is as good as there is in the division... "lipstick on a pig"??? you've obviously never seen Matt Cain pitch...

let's see...

Led all NL rookies with 13 wins and 179 strikeouts ...also led in innings (190.2), while tying for 1st in starts (31)...finished 3rd among all NL pitchers with .222 avg. against, while ranking 9th in strikeouts (179). ...or maybe you missed his complete-game, 1-hitter against the A's...

Zito, Cain, Lowry, Morris, Sanchez, Hennesey... yeah.... I think we'll be okay. ...and I think it's a bit early for Dodger fans to be putting up plastic tarps in the locker room.

Go Giants!

phat2zday -- You gotta remember that Byrnes and Zito are best buds (and longtime minor league and major league roomies from their days with the A's), so of course he's going to say that.

As for everyone else drooling over the Giants now, it's just the latest case of post-big-signing euphoria that we see all winter long. You saw the same comments after the Dodgers signed Schmidt, after the Cubbies signed Soriano and Lilly, and after the Sox got Matsuzaka. Unfortunately, Zito's probably the last big signing we'll see this offseason -- unless you count Jeff (Gah!) Weaver -- so we might not see another case of it this year.

But that doesn't matter, since it will all be forgotten next season once everything gets settled on the field -- where the unexpected is always known to happen.

Giants offense is pathetic.....and other than Zito and Cain, the pitching staff is full of scrubs. I say we win 2 out of 3 everytime we play the Gigantes. Dodgers are playing for the championship while the Gyros are playing for .500.

Eric B,

That post-big-signing euphoria that you reference, did that take place in Boston when The Princess signed?

Oops. Guess the deal hasn't been completed quite yet.

Grumpy-

No, he's aware, as is she. Everyone's on board (haha).

BK

i like how the giant fans have to come on a dodgers blog and talk about their third place team. I wouldnt even waste my breath on a giants anything

Zito may improve them by 5 games or so. Not enough to catch the Dodgers or Padres. Also, Barroid will not do as well as he did last year so they will give some back there. Padres are far more dangerous. Its nice that the Geriatrics fans can have a euphoric, delusion filled winter.
They will need it in July when they are fighting with the D-backs for 3rd place, again. HAHAHA

thats great if the giants can keep it close in the first 5-7 innings, but thier offense isnt gonna get them pullin away from anyone, and they will break down in the late innings with their terrible releif, emphasis on the closer. and the only times it will be close is wen zito and cain are on the mound. ive never heard of hennesey or sanchez...could someone enlighten me?

Cosmonaut, by focusing on the Giants' pitching staff you are indeed looking at the front-end of the pig -- the part with the lipstick, that is. Meanwhile, a quick look at the Giants' offense and, in particular, everyday players reveals the ugly back side of the pig.

Let's see...

10th in NL runs scored
13th in hits
14th in walks
1st in strikeouts (that's the offense, not the pitching staff)

I don't think Barry Zito is going to do anything to improve those numbers. I guess you Giants fans really truly think the signing of Aurillia, Roberts and Molina will.

Either that or you guys are praying you win most of your games by scores of 1-0 and 2-1.

Lets remember that at 76 wins, only 4 teams had fewer wins in the NL than the Giants. The Dodgers won 88 games last season and they clearly improved themselves, so lets assume they will get at least 92 wins next season. That means the Giants need to improve by 16 wins just to win the West. I fail to see how signing Roberts, Aurillia, Molina and Zito -- while losing Schmidt, Alou and whoever else equals an improvement of 16 wins.

Len

I would have been worried had the Dodgers signed Zito to that contract...all those years, all that salary tied up? Brown, Dreifort, Perez... all those reasons given why we couldn't afford to improve in the past. I've read that Zito is an ironman, never misses a turn. I believe that... I mean, Kevin Brown had a great track record, too. The Giants have bought themselves as many championships as Texas did with the ARod investment. Now if they can add Chan Ho...

Dodgerdog --
That's because The Princess isn't considered a "big" FA to anybody except Epstein and Boras. Oh, and maybe his mom and dad. Maybe.

Dodger Dogs; I told you 5 weeks ago we would sign Zito, and Voila!(does this Giants fan have inside info?) Now, with all of our young pitchers on the roster and in AAA that the other teams covet, Sabean will trade for one more big bat and a closer and though shall commence fighting the Pads for the wild card. As I said last month, watch the ticker. It's comin soon!! Sit back and enjoy the ride.

BK'

hhehehehe...cool, just checking cuz well, ya never know...I think it's best when at least one of them is aware of the details...sad to know it's a giants family but hey you have DECADES to convert them all... :D

Eric B:

Funny you should mention her royal hindazz...since she does not have a contract yet maybe the giants could use someone with her "...unique limp wristed throwing style..."???

You mean Zito doesn't fix that pathetic lineup?
Damn! HAHA

Hey Giants fans,

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6317368

HAHAHA

Jim,

Thanks for the link. Unfortunately that analysis was based on facts and cogent reasoning -- something I have failed to see so far from the Giant fans who are getting their jollies exposing themselves on the Dodger blog (go figure).

Hmm, sorry. That didn't quite seem to come out the way I intended, but you get my drift. :-)

Len

The best part of the Dodger's signing Schmidt was that it took away the Giant's ace and caused them to hit the panic button, in a huge way! What are they thinking giving a guy like Zito a 7 year contract? As a Dodger Fan, I'm thrilled. Zito will plug the huge hole left by Schmidt, but he won't make them any better than they were last year, and he'll be a burden on their payroll for the next 7 years. Life is good right now for Dodger Fans. We are legitimate contenders with plenty of young talent. The grass at Dodger stadium couldn't get any greener . . .

Hey Jim; How many teams has Dayn Perry coached, played on, managed etc that ever won anything. By his looks< I;d guess one. The debate team his freshman year of H.S. Did the yanks, with that powerfull, powerfull line up win it last year? The year before, or the one before that? Let's see, wasn't it the Cards, White sox, marlins, Angels, Bo Sox etc. The ones who grinded out every game with gutty, hard nosed players with a strong desire to win. One more bat and a closer and we are there. Can't wait for April when all the wannabies who have no expierience and history
rant and rave and write how this is this way and that is going to happen. That's why they are writers, sports writes who write fiction. Go to ESPN, Yahoo sports, MLB.com, Fox Sports, etc. Pull the last five years of their predictions and give me their correct percentage. Or just listen for the truth, from your beloved Giants fan. Watch the ticker.

Trade Question:

Who do the Mets have that the Dodgers could use?

The Mets need a #1. The Dodgers of course have Penny would he be the "Wright" fit for the Mets? In the "Wight" package of course?

Truth hurts Giants fans.

Giants Fan,
I gotta admit, you're amusing. But I disagree with you about only the Sportswriters believing that the Giants will not be very good this year. Most non-Giant fans feel this way. I personally think the Giants will contend IF they get a BULLPEN and CLOSER. The old guys are all quality OLD GUYS so they will play competitive baseball, but without a solid pitching corp, you can only do so much. I do like your ex-Angel Bengie Molina pickup and ex-Dodger Dave Roberts. I also think Aurilla (Dodger Killer) is good as insurance, specially if you are worried about the Dodgers. Again, however, you guys still are lacking in PITCHING. ZITO is a solid pitcher but he is NOT a #1. He will struggle this year, partially because I don't think he is a great pitcher and secondly because the pressure of that contract is going to wear on him.

Hey Rob, the pitching was a mess last year. I think Zito and Cain(who can only be helped by Zito), will be #1 and #2with 15-16 wins each. I look for Matt Morris to come back with 13-16 W's(I just found out last night he pitched the whole second half last year with a busted rib)!Lowry was dominent with his curve but had a strained oblique (sp) most of the year. Look for breakout years for Hennesy and really watch Jonathan Sanchez. He is gonna be a real-real good pitcher.
Once we find a way to dump Benetiz (take him, PLEASE) we have David Cortez pitching in the Mexican league as a closer(15 saves so far this winter). Middle men Kline, Vinnie Chulk,Kevin Correia, (with Sanchez or Hennessey as long man) and Worrell coming back healthy as the set up
man. We still have 3 or 4 AAA guys about ready to come up or and most likely traded for the one more bat we need in right or first base. It looks like we are going to get Russ Ortiz back also and if Righetti can get him back to 75% of what he was and with the D/Backs paying his salary, he should find a nitch. He is healthy, so definately worth the risk. A bench of Klesko, Ritchie A., Sweeney, our young second baseman who is just about ready to take over from Durham and a solid back-up catcher who preformed very solidly last year in a emergency role and I'm thinking good things. 110 win team? No. But 90-95 w's? I think so and that should be enought to win the west and then-how far can a hot, scrappy team go in the playoffs. We have seen it the last 5 years. Deep, solid pitching, pretty good "D", more speed, a bunch of professional hitters manufacturing runs and not waiting for Barry and a 3 run shot to the cove, and a solid bench to rest Barry, Omar, Durham when they need it. Barring Bonds going to jail and more than 2 or 3 extended stays on the DL for the regulars--it's gonna be a fun year. I'll be there at SBC my share of times when you guys are in town, usually section 230 with a Hinny in my grasp and a smile on my face. And remeber to watch the ticker! One or two more solids guys are coming. Your beloved Giants fan.

GiantsFan,
Like I said before, I respect your loyalty to your team and like the fact that you are so informed about them. It gives you credibility. BUT, by your own admission, there are a lot of IF'S. 1.) You have to dump Benitez?! How you gonna do that? Nobody wants him. I don't even think the BoSox will take him. 2.) A lot of the pitchers you named aren't proven yet. They have potential but as of today, it's all speculation and not proven. 3.) You admit that SF Giants need another BAT. 4.) Russ Ortiz would be good IF Righetti can get him at 75% of what he used to be... that's a big IF. Have you seen the guy pitch lately? He is terrible. 5.) Barry staying out of Jail??? HUGE IF!! with the Federal government violating all sort of privacy laws to obtain personal information on steroid use, Barry is again going to be scrutinized. Although even if the test comes out that he was positive, they CAN'T get him on perjury b/c he said he did not KNOWINGLY take roids. Showing positive doesn't mean you KNEW... so again the stupid Federal Government is wasting our tax money in attempts to prosecute a guy they can't get.

Happy New Year Rob;
Yes, there are some iff's, but of course that's why they play the game. I think you will see the pitching staff come together very nicely. Yes, we are counting on some potential coming to fruition for it to be a good year, but there is so much young depth there we only need half of them to get it this year. Another guy to watch is Lipsicon(sp), this kid is gonna be lights out! Ortiz is not done yet and would be a project, but if it works he will be a good middle man. Benetiz is done, even if we eat his contract. If the kid Cortez does not pan out at closer, there WILL be a trade. Barry is Barry, like it or not. As you know, money works wonders with our justice system with sports stars (can you say, Kobe, OJ, that jerk of a Linebacker for the Ravens .....need I go on)! He still is not signed and it's my opinion if he keeps dickin around, they might tell him to pound it and then we make another trade, maybe Jones from the Cubs. We finally have some postion players about ready and definately trade able, so don,t worry, Sabien will put a very good team on the field. Don't worry, you won't be forced to not watch the Dogs/ Gigante games because we can't stay on the same field with you!!!! :) common April---I can't wait.