Results tagged ‘ John Bowker ’
Rich Aurilia, A Great Fifth Infielder
As a die hard Giants fan for years and years Rich Aurilia has always been one of my favorites. I assumed last season he would be picked up at the trade deadline by a contender and bid him farewell here on MLBlog. Then, when he wasn’t traded I assumed we would lose him in the off-season to someone in need of infield help.
Little has been whispered of Richie this off-season and now the Giants have will decided whether he is someone they want to look at bring back. While a third baseman was high on the Giants to-do list this off-season they have yet to find an option they find intriguing. Meanwhile Jesus Guzman is making his case that he is not far off from coming up and manning the hot corner for the Giants, Kevin Frandsen is coming back from injury and hitting the ball hard, and Pablo Sandoval can move over to third if a first baseman proves himself worthy of a starting spot Spring Training.
So the real question is do we sign Rich Aurilia again? Hitting almost .300 after the All Star break last year Richie is best as a corner infielder, but he can play all four infield positions and hit anywhere throughout the lineup. Last year Rich made a lot of sense for a team that had little options around the infield. Now however, the Giants have two player at each position on the depth chart.
Sandoval is slated to start at one of the corner infielders positions, depending on who occupies the other. Travis Ishikawa is an option at first, but may be a year off still. John Bowker manned the position for a few months last year, but still has a lot of work to do at the plate.
At Third, Jesus Guzman and Kevin Frandsen will have a great battle in spring pending the Giants signing a free agent.
Renteria will start at short with Burriss backing him up, and Burriss will compete with Velez and Frandsen at second.
So what was my point to the depth chart walk through? Aurilia will be a great backup for team missing depth across the infield? But the Giants aren’t that team! For the first time in years the Giants have some depth and I imagine finalizing the roster will be tough enough without Rich Aurilia.
I imagine the Giants will pass on Rich in free agency, but my hope is he will be picked up by someone who can use him. He is a GREAT option as a fifth infielder.
The ’09 Outfield
While it may have been a long 2008 season, it had many upsides. Brian Wilson established himself as a legitimate closer in this league, Lincecum has every team in the league talking, and the Giants finally have some young talent to boast about.
Next years starting outfield has only one guarantee so far and that is Aaron Rowand. He making to much money to be traded (not to mention his value is down after a bad year) and the organization loves his on-field leadership and club house presence. So Rowand will start in center and hopefully have a better year offensively.
Left field will most likely be occupied by Fred Lewis assuming his off-season foot surgery is successful. If he recovers in time for for the beginning of the 2009 season he could be the brightest spot of the lineup. Lewis hit .282 in a year where he dealt with foot trouble Homering 9 times, tripling 11, doubling 25, and finished second only to Randy Winn in BB’s. His 40 RBI’s were a small total for a man with so many extra base hits but he hit lead off most the year and the giants eighth place hitters (Bocock and Visquel) were dreadful leaving little for the Fred to drive in.
Before his injury Lewis started hitting in the three hole, a spot Giants hitting coach (Carney Lansford) thinks Lewis will one day make his spot in the Giants order. He swiped 20 bags this year and that kind of speed is something the Giants want to have on base in front of slow moving Bengie Molina.
So next is right field, and while Randy Winn turned in another outstanding year (.300 avg, 25 SB, 10 HR, 38 2B, and 59 BB) he may be the odd man out this off season. The Giants will try to move Winn via a trade this off season, which sound crazy being that he has been the best offensive player two years running for the Giants. However, the outfield in Fresno can no longer hold Nate Schierholtz, and John Bowker and Eugenio Velez are ready to play in the majors also.
Schierholtz has been the pride of the Fresno Grizzlies for the past few years and made the most of his September call up by hitting .320 with ten extra base hits in 75 at bats. He is out of options and will make the opening day roster, whether it is as the third or fourth outfielder will be determined later.
Velez is another young player the Giants love, but he probably won’t be taking a starting outfield job soon, however, he is refining his skills at second and his stroke should give Kevin Frandsen some competition in spring.
While the Giants may not have the whole 2009 picture figured out yet, the outfield is ready to go. The question is, will it be with or without Randy Winn.
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