When Henry Schulman let it be known that “top Royals talent evaluator is in the house” this evening, an obvious question popped into mind. No, not “why am I still at work?” OK, maybe that thought did enter into the equation. But as I headed toward the elevator, the question switched to, “who are the Giants showcasing?”
We all know which Royals the Giants would be interested in: David DeJesus and Jose Guillen. And Kyle Farnsworth if Sabean’s still feeling uneasy about the bullpen (which he probably would even if he was Cincinnati’s GM in 1990). But who would the Royals’ top talent scout (I need to stop saying “talent,” because I’m starting to feel like I’m writing about “America’s Next Top Model” or Menudo) be watching on the Giants tonight? Tim Lincecum? Uh, right. Aaron Rowand? I guess this is the Royals … nahhhhh.
Then I saw Nate Schierholtz was in the lineup, and I figured he had to be the one. Schierholtz has never been a Sabean favorite anyway, being that he isn’t old enough to have truly enjoyed the genius of shows like “Hooperman” and “Sledge Hammer.”
Haha, I thought! How smart, I know exactly what the Giants are doing! It’s all about veteran love and stuff — so predictable, a monkey could crack these codes! Then, I looked at the stats and saw Schierholtz was 3-for-3 lifetime against Tim Wakefield, and R.A. Dickey throws a ton of knuckleballs. Some code.
So let’s assume that Schulman didn’t see some real estate broker from Atherton in that lower box seat, and the guy he saw actually does work for the Royals. He pretty much has to be scouting Mets, doesn’t he? The Mets are 48-40, one game ahead of the Giants in the Wild Card standings 48-41, TIED with the Giants in the Wild Card standings, if you’re worried about such things this early. The Mets are ALWAYS in buy mode when they’re above .500, and I’m sure they wouldn’t mind another outfielder who could hit.
Maybe, but their starting outfielders tonight were Angel Pagan, Carlos Beltran and Jason Bay. Pagan’s having a good year. Beltran and Bay combined make more than Rowand and Zito combined. So who are the Giants showcasing? Anybody?
They can’t trade any starting pitchers. Who’s available if a member of the rotation gets hurt? Todd Wellemeyer? Dontrelle Willis? Kevin Pucetas? Joe Martinez? Matt Yourkin? Relief pitchers? None to spare. Not much offensively the Royals would be interested in besides Buster Posey (only the No. 31 trading chip in the entire game right now) or Pablo Sandoval, and the Giants wouldn’t dare give up on the Panda for a minor outfield upgrade that may or may not even end up being an upgrade?
Think about this when the Giants are supposedly in the running for guys like Prince Fielder. For all the Posey and Bumgarner greatness we’ve experienced lately, there’s not much behind that. The prospect list from the Minors has been worse over the last decade, but unless the Giants are giving up Zach Wheeler they aren’t getting much. This is the Giants squad that needs to start winning a lot more than they lose the rest of the way, and they don’t stand to change much between now and August 1 or much thereafter. Nobody to trade, and I’m still not sure if this is a good or bad thing.
Postgame Notes
— I never thought I’d see a CG shutout from Tim Lincecum with only 5 strikeouts, but there it was today. Probably won’t be the last, either. He’s Greg Maddux, not Pedro Martinez.
— Pablo Sandoval rapped a nice double off the right field wall. He was very excited. When we see him hit a homer from the right side of the plate we’ll know he’s back.
— I’d like to be the first to congratulate Ray Ratto on his new job playing the San Francisco Giants mascot, Lou Seal.
— If I were a Buster Posey heckler, I’d chant “SERVICE TIME!!!!” repeatedly.
