Across the Seams

That Magowan Letter

See below. I just love how it points out that the Giants are now younger than last year, 30.7 to 32.7, like it is part of some grand youth movement. When you field one of the oldest teams in baseball history, it's pretty hard not to get younger just by accident. As for healthier, I guess not having Alou and Schmidt around will reduce the injury rate. And ironmen like Ray Durham and Ryan Klesko should play a factor.

From the Desk of Peter Magowan

Dear Marty,

This evening, we will announce that Barry Bonds, the 14-year Giants veteran and seven-time National League Most Valuable Player, signed a one-year contract with the Giants.

As you’ve probably heard, the process of negotiating this contract was complex, lengthy and highly unconventional. This decision was not taken lightly and we spent significant time evaluating all of the elements and circumstances surrounding the negotiations before we made a final determination to move forward.

Of particular concern were the allegations against Barry in the New York Daily News on January 12th. We consider any action by one player to unfairly damage the reputation of another player to be a serious matter. Based on the information that we have at hand in this matter and in discussions with both players, all of the facts have not been accurately portrayed. After evaluating the situation and its potential impact on clubhouse chemistry, we came to the conclusion that the Giants’ players will be able to function as a team committed to supporting each other and dedicated to doing everything they can to succeed on the playing field.

Additionally, we felt that with these assurances, signing Barry to a one-year contract helped us pursue a long-term strategy toward getting the club back on track. With his presence in our lineup and only a one-year contractual commitment, we were able to avoid the temptation to trade away some of our valuable young pitching talent and were able to free up long-range funds to acquire a front line pitcher. These decisions enabled us to sign Barry Zito, retain our promising and highly sought-after young pitchers and fill our need for a power hitter in the middle of our lineup. We believe that this combination of moves provides the Giants with a better chance of winning in 2007 and in the years ahead.

You may also be interested to know that even with the signing of the 42-year-old Bonds, the average age of the 2007 Giants will be 30.7 years versus 32.7 in 2006. So we have gotten younger and presumably healthier as we stated we would try to do when the 2006 season ended.

I understand that this has been a particularly controversial and difficult decision and that there are strong opinions on both sides of the issue. I received letters, emails, phone calls and had many conversations with many of our season ticket holders during our Fanfest. I truly appreciate your passion for the Giants as we work through these complex issues. At the end of the day, I believe we have put together an exciting team for the coming season.

Like you, I am pleased that we have been able to complete this process so that we can all turn our attention to the day when pitchers and catchers report to Arizona on February 14. Thank you again for your commitment to the Giants and I look forward to seeing you at Spring Training or when we open our All-Star Season at AT&T Park.


Sincerely,


Peter A. Magowan
President and Managing General Partner
San Francisco Giants

It's Gotta Be the Glove

Russ Ortiz. Right. If the GM was anyone other than Brian Sabean, I might be surprised. I am not. Ortiz is a "proven major leaguer" after all, and he turns 33 this season.

Aaaaaaand he's bad.

Schulman in the Chronicle says "the Diamondbacks cut him while still on the hook for about $22 million, the largest contract a baseball team ever has eaten."

So it was worth millions -- millions! -- to another team to tell Ortiz to get lost, and the Giants are willing to pay him to play for them. OK, so he's cheap, which is probably factor No. 1 in signing him, but I'm willing to gamble that there are at least -- oh -- 50 living pitchers better than Ortiz who can be signed for the minimum.

Maybe a subtle change in Ortiz has Sabean intrigued ...

However, Ortiz said a breakthrough came when he was shipped to the Orioles' bullpen last summer and pitching coach Leo Mazzone -- who had worked with Ortiz in Atlanta -- noticed a flaw in the way Ortiz pulled the ball from his glove. Once Ortiz fixed it, he said, "It's amazing how that changed everything."

Yeah, I'll bet it was amazing. Schulman's report didn't bother to check out how amazing the change was or note when it happened.

Adam Kilgore, Aug. 6 Washington Post:

Ortiz and Mazzone discovered a flaw in Ortiz's motion while watching slow-motion film of the pitcher. Mazzone noticed that Ortiz was not pausing ever so slightly between bringing the ball out of his glove and starting his throwing motion, something he likes to do. The hiccup is something only someone like Mazzone -- someone with a keen eye who is familiar with Ortiz -- would have caught, Ortiz said.

Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo was so desperate for starting pitching that he gave Ortiz a start, based on the discovery of this "hiccup." Hey, it was discovered by Mazzone, it must be good!

Russ Ortiz, Aug. 7 vs. Toronto: 3 IP, 9 hits, 3 walks, 6 ER.

(Jeremy Accardo pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings for the Blue Jays this game, by the way, with 95/96 mph sinkers.)

That was the last game the Orioles, who went 70-92, let Ortiz start.

Summary:
Pre-glove thing 10 starts, 40 IP, 58 H, 31, 41 ER, 9.23 ERA
Post-glove thing 1 start, 23 IP, 28 H, 9 BB, 16 ER, 6.26 ERA

So Ortiz went from sucking really bad, to sucking just a little less. Was it the glove? Ha. More likely it was tucking him in the bullpen, where his exposure could be controlled. And yet Ortiz supposedly will be competing for the fifth spot in the Giants rotation. Right.