Prince Albert Speaks

Pujols is now urging the Cardinals to sign Manny Ramirez NOW! Albert has been quoted by saying "I speak with Manny every three days and he tells me, `Man, no one wants to sign me,' Pujols said Thursday during a news conference. "I'm not an agent or general manager, but I can't understand how Manny has not signed." Pujols did pass along Manny's phone number to LaRussa. I guess LaRussa might give him a ring or two but nothing has been reported regarding any comments from the Cardinals front office or LaRussa. I would love to have Man-Ram here.
Manny would also be perfect protection hitting behind Pujols. Albert also adds "Maybe St. Louis doesn't have the money to sign him, but he could give them a discount because St. Louis is a great city that supports its players," Pujols said.

My Take:
Sounds like a pipe dream for us to sign Free Agent Manny Ramirez does'nt it?
Well Bill DeWitt has said several times in interviews that if the opprotunity is right to add a impact player he will increase payroll. So there is money there to spend! DeWitt also knows that attendance last year went down. If the Cards can add another marquee style player like Manny I am sure the fans will try and make to the stadium this year. Manny also improves the team with Glaus gone until at least May or June? On another down side it has been reported that our so call GM "Mo" had made comments about this situation earlier today. "The answer is no," Mozeliak said, when asked by the Los Angeles Times if the Cardinals had interest in signing Ramirez. According to Manny's agent Scott Boras, there are more than one team that is intrested in Manny Ramirez. Come on' "Mo" do it for the fans!

I am now talking to all of the St.Louis Cardinal Fans out there. We must unite and tell this organization what the fans want, and we want Manny!

Giants Sign Juan Uribe

No, it's not earth-shattering news, in fact it's a move that doesn't really make much sense or significantly impact the team, but there is finally some movement on the Giants front to talk about. The Giants broke their month-long stretch of inactivity by signing infielder Juan Uribe to a minor league deal, according to SI.com. The Giants had been linked to Uribe earlier in the off-season as a possible fall-back option at shortstop, but after the signing of Edgar Renteria, it appeared the Uribe interest would go out the window. However, the Giants have been scouring the free-agent market for another utility player and apparently have settled on Uribe as an option. Now, Uribe isn't getting a major league deal, which means he's going to have to show up in Scottsdale and earn himself a roster spot. The 29 year-old brings the versatility to play 2nd and 3rd base in addition to shortstop. He's not a gold-glove caliber defender, but he's very serviceable at all three spots. He also would bring some power potential to the bench if he makes the squad. Uribe averaged 20 home runs a season from '04-'07, but his career OPS of .713 and some off-field issues are the reasons why he's having to settle for a minor league deal.

I'm not really too concerned with this signing for the simple fact it is a minor league deal and having a guy like Uribe in Fresno as insurance isn't a bad thing at all. Now that would change if Uribe ends up taking at-bats away from the younger infielders like Kevin Frandsen, Emmanuel Burris, Eugenio Velez or Travis Ishikawa, the players that need to be getting the looks. Also, the Uribe signing could mean the Giants won't bring back the popular Rich Aurilia, but there is still a possibility that they'll add another third or first basemen (Joe Crede worked out in AZ yesterday) who they would plan on having start.

The fear I have is that Uribe was signed in mind of having him battle for a starting job rather than an insurance policy, a lot like Jose Castillo was last spring before he ended up at third everyday. Burris, Frandsen and Velez should be battling it out for at-bats at second base and unless Uribe's spring blows the others away, he should stay behind those guys on the depth chart. Any playing time, or roster spot that Uribe receives must be earned. Sure, he has the power potential to lead the infield in home runs, but that doesn't help a whole lot if he's hitting .225 and getting on base at less then a %30 rate. If the plan is indeed to stash Uribe down in Fresno until needed then I have no qualms with this move and can actually see the logic in it. The Giants don't have many infielders outside of the guys who are going to be on the roster that are major league ready and could come up and take the place of an infielder if someone goes down.

Rumor Note: I'm not sure how seriously to take this one, but according to Ken Rosenthal, the Giants have shown interest in Bobby Abeu as a potential fall-back to Manny Ramirez. It's a little unclear why the Giants would have interest in Abreu as they are already set in the outfield and Abreu is on the backside of his career. Ramirez is a game changer and could potentially make the Giants legit contenders in the National League. Abreu is a complimentary player at this point in his career. Now Abreu isn't chopped liver by any means, and I do think his style of hitting would translate well at AT&T Park (he's not a pull happy power hitter). He's almost a sure thing to knock in 100 runs a year and steal around 20 bags while carrying a respectable average and hitting for some power. Not to mention, he could probably be had at bargain price as he'll apparently settle for a 1 year deal. Still though, he doesn't make a ton of sense for this team unless they have something up their sleeve. The only explanation I can come up with is that the Giants may have a plan with one of their current outfielders (Fred Lewis, Randy Winn?) as they could possibly package an outfielder and a pitcher for a young corner infielder, then replace the traded outfielder with Abreu. I highly doubt this rumor has any merit to it, but it's worthy of keeping an eye on.

Ball Park Village

I just love the renovations. Looks great does'nt it?

A Look At The Invitees

Rather than beat the Manny Ramirez rumors to death and continue to speculate as to who else the Giants will add between now and the time pitchers and catchers report to spring training, which is now just 3 weeks away, I was going to take a closer look at a few of the roster hopefuls. The Giants are bringing 16 non-roster players to camp and a few of them actually have a legit shot at making the team. I'm not going to go through every single one of the 16, but I have composed a list of the top-5 most likely invitees to make the opening day roster with a little blurb on what they could bring to the team if they make it. Keep in mind that Buster Posey and Connor Gillaspie are among the group of 16 going to Scottsdale, but in all reality, they don't really have a chance at making the squad out of spring, so I have not included them in the list.

3B Jesus Guzman: The 24 year-old has gotten a lot of attention from this blog over the winter as he is a pretty sound hitting prospect who is still in his younger 20's. Combined between Double-A Midland and the VWL in 2008, the kid hit .349 with 30 home runs and 155 RBI in 161 total games. Those are some ridiculous numbers, regardless of the level he was playing at. He has tremendous momentum heading into the spring and should have just as good a shot at making the team as the likes of Travis Ishikawa. He's still going to have to tear the cover off of the ball in the spring to win the everyday job, but he could end up being to the Giants what Jorge Cantu was to the Marlins last season and is certainly a guy who will have eyes on him this March. At the very least, he'll start in Fresno and be one of the fist call-ups of 2009, as soon as someone gets dinged up or starts slumping.

RHP Kevin Pucetas: Any chances of him becoming the fifth starter in '09 went out the window with the signing of Randy Johnson, but the '08 Cal League Pitcher of the Year winner could get a strong look as a long-reliever/spot starter this spring. The 24 year-old is 32-7 in 3 minor league seasons and has accomplished all he can in lower part of the system. Still hasn't pitched above A ball, but the Giants feel he has the composure and control to make the jump to the minors as early as this season. I expect him to start the year in AA Connecticut or AAA Fresno, but an injury to a starter or possibly a reliever, could put Pucetas on the 25-man roster out of the gate.

1B Josh Phelps: The Giants inked the journeyman first basemen early on in the off-season as soon as he became available, which tells me they like something about him. Phelps looked like a rising star after hitting .309 with 15 hr's and 58 RBI in only 257 at-bats as a rookie in '02, but has never been given a full-time job, at the big league level, since then. He has the ability to hit 20+ home runs in a season if given the proper number of at-bats and has put together some really good seasons at AAA over the last couple of years. He is a dark-horse candidate to start at first base this season if Ishikawa struggles and Sandoval manages fine at third. Phelps has been around for a while, but hes only 30, so it's not like he's washed up. Even in his short stints, he's put together some impressive numbers. In 77 at-bats with Pittsburgh in 2007, he hit 5 home runs with an amazing 19 RBI. He, like Guzman, could really end up being a steal for the Giants if he makes the team out of spring training and ends up contributing anything to the team. If he outplays Travis Ishikawa, he's probably go himself a roster spot.

RHP Justin Miller: The 30 year-old Miller has actually pitched pretty well over the last 2 seasons with the Marlins. The journeymen reliever went 5-0 with a 3.65 era and 74 strikeouts compared to only 24 walks in 61 innings pitched. He also posted a 4.22 era in 47 innings pitched last season. Miller looks like a little more effective version of Tyler Walker and if the Giants had the same bunch down there as last year, Miller would likely get a look as a set-up man to Brian Wilson. If he throws well this spring, his track record could place him in the Giants bullpen. The only sure things as far as the Giants bullpen is considered are Wilson, Segio Romo, Bob Howry, Jack Taschner, Jeremy Affeldt and most likely Alex Hinshaw, (Merkin Valdez is expected to start on the DL) so there are still a few spots up for grabs.

RHP Brandon Medders: The veteran reliever has pitched his whole career with Arizona and at one point when he was first brought up, people thought he was going to be the set-up man there for years to come. His first two seasons were solid as he posted era's of 1.78 and 3.64 from '05-'06, but over the last 2 seasons he has struggled and been bounced between AAA and the majors. At 28 years old though, he's still relatively young for a reliever and has the arm to improve. I think he'll start the year in Fresno, but could be among the first relievers called upon when needed.

Busch Stadium III

This picture was taken at the Grand Re-Opening of the Brand New Stadium

Baseball Heaven

This picture was taken during the Home Opener of 2008. The sky was mesmerizing and the air was brisk. That night I was taken back when I was a young kid sitting in the bleacher seats with my Dad. I recall such players such as Lou Brock stealing base after base. Kenny Reitz the human zamboni sucking up every ball the came his way and Ted Simmons who I considered my hero. I wanted to be just like Ted Simmons, a hard nose gritty-intense catcher that became a Cardinal Icon. I recall my Dad dropping his peanuts as we watched Reggie Smith crank another Home Run out of the stadium. I have so many wonderful memories of Cardinal Baseball. Now I am sharing it with my son Gabriel. As seen here Gabe is eating Cracker Jack. This was the same ritual I did with my Dad. The tradition continues. This is my heaven.

Jesus Guzman Wins VWL MVP

Ever since the Giants swooped up Jesus Guzman on a minor league deal at the beginning of the off-season, he's really been getting some attention. The 24 year-old third-basemen set records in the Venezuela Winter League this year and was just named the MVP of the 2008 VWL. This couldn't have come at a better time for Guzman who's employer is looking to find a long-term solution at third base. There are thoughts that Pablo Sandoval is best suited for third base and that's where he'll be come opening day, but the Giants have shown interest in guys like Joe Crede and Ty Wigginton which tells me they may have ideas for Sandoval at first. Guzman, however, is the dark horse in the situation and could make this all a non-issue if he shows up to camp and starts tearing the cover off of the ball like he did all winter long, and like he's done over his past 2 minor league campaigns. The youngster has really come into his own over the last couple of years and appears to have done all he can do in the minor leagues. Although the Giants will be taking a look at Joe Crede who will be in Arizona next week to go through a series of workouts for various teams, I'm doubting the Giants will end up with him, which in all likelihood would lead to them using an in-house candidate. Right now I'd say the competition for at-bats and possibly a roster spot is going to fall between Travis Ishikawa and Guzman. If Guzman is swinging a better bat, he'll be seeing time at third with Sandoval at first. If he doesn't make the team or struggles out of the gate, the Giants will likely roll with Sandy at the hot-corner and an Ishikawa/Travis Phelps combo at first.

Two big-named former Giants were in the news over this week as one has a new home and one has decided to stay at home. Former Giants' second basemen, all-star and MVP, Jeff Kent, announced his retirement on Thursday at Dodger Stadium in LA. Kent was loved when he was here and was arguably the most prolific hitting second basemen in baseball during his tenure in San Francisco. Kent was extremely clutch and never failed to post a 100 RBI season in his six years here. Sure, he was easily hated after he moved on and bad-mouthed the Giants ball-park, their uniforms and kind of took a shot at this city of San Francisco in general, but you can't say that you didn't root for him when he was wearing the orange and black. Kent admitted during his farewell speech that his best years ultimately came in San Francisco and that Dusty Baker had more of an impact on him than any other manager/coach. He also payed respect to Barry Bonds and J.T. Snow as guys who helped him become the player he was. I do think Jeff Kent is more than worthy for hall-of-fame consideration and when he does get enshrined, look for him to be wearing an SF hat on the plaque.

The other former Giant/future-hall-of-famer that was in the news was Omar Vizquel. The veteran shortstop signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers and will get a shot to win their starting job after they moved Michael Young to third base. Vizquel is another guy who had a nice run here, although his final 2 years didn't go terrifically. I really hope we get to see the magician play shortstop in this yard one more time before he hangs them up. He may not have the bat to carry an everyday job anymore, but your still going to have a tough time finding an infielder with the range and fluidity of Omar, even at age 42.