Glaring Differences between AĆ¢ā¬ā¢sand Giants Managers and ManagementĆĀ ĆĀ 5-11
To Billy Beane, the manager may not make a difference ĆĀ ĆĀ but ĆĀ donĆ¢ā¬ā¢t tell that to suffering AĆ¢ā¬ā¢s fans, who after nearly four years have hadĆĀ more than ĆĀ enough of ĆĀ Bob Geren.ĆĀ Now, previous Beane managers Macha and Howe ĆĀ are looking good, by comparison; at least they were winners.
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Why would a manager continue NOT to play his best hitter, Ryan Sweeney (.364 as of 5-11) on a regular basis, at least while heĆ¢ā¬ā¢s hot?.
Instead ,ĆĀ Geren continues to run outĆ âā¬ĖMendoza lineĆ¢ā¬ā¢ ĆĀ hitters like Ellis, DeJesus and Barton Ć¢ā¬ā and even worse, Geren is batting Barton second!. ĆĀ ĆĀ ĆĀ ĆĀ ĆĀ ĆĀ ĆĀ ĆĀ ĆĀ A smart manager like GiantsĆ¢ā¬ā¢ Bochy will play the hot hitters.ĆĀ Geren just runs out the same players, hoping one day theyĆ¢ā¬ā¢ll hit. GM Beane has his favorites and will resign an Ellis for 6ĆĀ mill, saying we need his defense.ĆĀ ĆĀ And, ĆĀ donĆ¢ā¬ā¢t blame the low averages totally on the AĆ¢ā¬ā¢s ĆĀ hitters, themselves.
IĆ¢ā¬ā¢ll bet just a manager change would bump up playersĆ¢ā¬ā¢ averages.ĆĀ These guys are not .200 hitters but, among other things, Geren doesnĆ¢ā¬ā¢t inspire.. He isĆĀ bland, deer-in-the-headlights kind of guy.ĆĀ ĆĀ ĆĀ ĆĀ ĆĀ ĆĀ Perhaps they donĆ¢ā¬ā¢t have a lot of other choices Ć¢ā¬ā and Geren isnĆ¢ā¬ā¢t doing anything to inspire these hitters, As weĆ¢ā¬ā¢ve seen with Apier , Holliday and so many others, when we trade guys away away they suddenly get better!

AĆ¢ā¬ā¢s now have a lineup of yes men. As a caller to the great Rick TittleĆĀ just said , the AĆ¢ā¬ā¢s have assembled a team of Ć¢ā¬ĖyesĆ¢ā¬ā¢ players.ĆĀ Gone are the Milton Bradleys. These guys wonĆ¢ā¬ā¢t complain.ĆĀ While hot hitting Sweeney sits, he doesnĆ¢ā¬ā¢t complain. Maybe the AĆ¢ā¬ā¢s need someone to speak upĆĀ and sayĆ¢ā¬Ā¦
WhereĆ¢ā¬ā¢s the bunting? WhereĆ¢ā¬ā¢s the clutch hitting? Where are the little extra s ? The AĆ¢ā¬ā¢sĆĀ pitching staff currently has a better ERA than the Giants and hitters are comparable but under-performing for above reasons. So, the AĆ¢ā¬ā¢s again are playing .500 ballĆĀ to the undoubted frustration of pitchers Ć¢ā¬ā and hitters, even if they wonĆ¢ā¬ā¢t say it publicly.ĆĀ The Giants are getting those walk-off games with late inning ĆĀ strategy. Get a walk, put pressure on the pitcher. Steal a base, Sacrifice. Score a run and win the game, like last night 5-10 against Arizona, one of several walk off wins for the Gianits this past week.ĆĀ ĆĀ (By the way, if the Diamondbacks were paying attention they could have reversed the winning run if they noticed one of the Giants Ć¢ā¬Ėhigh-fivingĆ¢ā¬ā¢ĆĀ Darren FordĆĀ a few feet before he crossed the plate to score the winning run. Credit Rick Tittle forĆĀ paying attention to that).
So, Geren continues into his fourth year, without a winning record Ć¢ā¬ā the first manager under Beane to have a losing record Ć¢ā¬ā and ĆĀ FOUR yearsĆ¢ā¬Ā¦
GEREN ONLY NON-WINNING MANAGER UNDER BEANE – AND FOUR YEARS RUNNING – TIME FOR CHANGE
YOU WATCH Ć¢ā¬ā When Beane finally gets rid of his buddy, Geren, one day Ć¢ā¬ā it will have to happen unless BeaneĆĀ leaves first -ĆĀ the playersĆ¢ā¬ā¢ averages and overall play WILL IMPROVE significantly. ItĆ¢ā¬ā¢s hard to play for a minor league manager, a guy you donĆ¢ā¬ā¢t respect.
While we like GiantĆ¢ā¬ā¢s Bochy, the GiantsĆĀ are winning against weak teams.ĆĀ As mentioned, Arizona with another poor manager, Kirk Gibson, and the teams on the recent road trip, New York and Pittsburg.
As for Colorado, they really chokedĆĀ In their two series against the Gaints and will certainly be gunning for them next timeĆ¢ā¬Ā¦ĆĀ ĆĀ ĆĀ And, yes, the Giants are still playing onĆ¢ā¬Ā¦ dare I say itĆ¢ā¬Ā¦ yes, STEROIDS. Not all the players but the Giants continue to Ć¢ā¬Ėwin at any cost.Ć¢ā¬ā¢ Even after Barry Bonds, GM Brain Sabean continues to go for the Roids players .ĆĀ After noting in previous blogs how convicted steroid user, Jose Guillen , brought inĆĀ last September , was enough to make the difference in the Giants going to the playoffs; thenĆĀ with the addition of alleged users like Ross,ĆĀ also brought in late in the year, Renteria, Uribe now we were reminded that Mota was a convicted user with the Mets , before the Giants acquired himĆĀ a couple years back.
This is not to say thatĆĀ all these guys-and probably others-ĆĀ are not still users, but once a user almost always a user, we say.ĆĀ ĆĀ ItĆ¢ā¬ā¢s likely another new Giant, Tejada , may have cleaned up his act Ć¢ā¬ā and it showsĆ¢ā¬Ā¦ The Giants probabl y wish he was still on the juice. ĆĀ Look how Manny Ramirez ĆĀ fooled everyone for years ĆĀ – and got away with it once- only to finally quit baseball in frustration after he was caught a second time.

IsntĆ¢ā¬ā¢ it inter esting how the Giants suddenly went from a .500 team through the first half of last year toĆĀ the world series after the acquisition of Ross and Guillen.ĆĀ More than a coincidence I say.ĆĀ ĆĀ Spread the goods around , just like Bonds ĆĀ (Benitez, etc)ĆĀ did back in Ć¢ā¬ā¢03 the previous time they went to the playoffs.IĆĀ know I have no scientific proof what was actually going on with the Giants behind the scenes. IĆĀ justĆĀ see the many steroid connections with the Giants Ć¢ā¬ā for more than with any other team -ĆĀ and it has gone on for many years.ĆĀ I suspected Bonds in the beginning while others were still ignoring his quickly-expanding physique. And now, weĆ¢ā¬ā¢re starting to see injuries in guys like Ross, who was one of the suddenĆĀ superstars of last September and the playoffs, and even Brain Wilson Ć¢ā¬ā who really knows?
I knowĆĀ most people today Ć âā¬ā especially Giants fans Ć¢ā¬ā could care less whether their playersĆĀ use steroids.ĆĀ ĆĀ ( And I know, you could say the AĆ¢ā¬ā¢s started it all back in the 80s with McGuire and Conseco Ć¢ā¬ā and , as a former AĆ¢ā¬ā¢s fan, I lost all respect for the AĆ¢ā¬ā¢s of those years, including manager Tony LaRussa, who had to turn a blind eye.
Today, I am neither a Giants fan ĆĀ nor an AĆ¢ā¬ā¢s fan, for the different reasons.ĆĀ For the Giants, itsĆ¢ā¬ā¢ yearsĆĀ of lousy trades, making excuses, and STEROIDS. Now , add the announcersĆĀ to the mix. The times I have listened to GiantsĆ¢ā¬ā¢ĆĀ games have been like audio saccharin. Perhaps John MillerĆ¢ā¬ā¢s best days are bhind him, as I canĆ¢ā¬ā¢t understand how he mad e the broadcasters Hall of Fame being such a homer.ĆĀ Similarly, the new guy, is just as bad. I can just turn on the radio and tell instandly whoĆ¢ā¬ā¢s winning Ć¢ā¬āWITHOUT THE SCORE Ć¢ā¬ā by the tone of their voices.ĆĀ ThereĆ¢ā¬ā¢s a definite down tone to their voices when theyĆ¢ā¬ā¢re losing Ć¢ā¬ā and , often, itĆ¢ā¬ā¢sĆĀ umpireĆ¢ā¬ā¢s fault.ĆĀ The ball-strike calls usually seem to go against the Giants when theyĆ¢ā¬ā¢re losing., according to Miller andĆ âā¬Ėflem.Ć¢ā¬ā¢ĆĀ ĆĀ AndĆĀ ,ĆĀ I get really tired of MillerĆ¢ā¬ā¢s over-use of the word Ć¢ā¬Ėindeed.Ć¢ā¬ā¢ INDEED!ĆĀ Maybe there was good reason to drop Miller and Morgan from the Game of the Week broadcasts this year.ĆĀ Miller may be a nice guy Ć¢ā¬ā and he doesĆĀ a great VinScully impression Ć¢ā¬ā but it seems like he made have changed his style, becoming more of a Ć¢ā¬ĖhomerĆ¢ā¬ā¢ when he joined the Giants broadcasters.ĆĀ ĆĀ WouldnĆ¢ā¬ā¢t be surprised ifĆĀ Baer and company told him to give it a little more Ć¢ā¬ĖhomeĆ¢ā¬ā¢.ĆĀ And then thereĆ¢ā¬ā¢sĆ âā¬ĖKrookĆ¢ā¬ā¢ , whoĆ¢ā¬ā¢s the worst of all. He may know his baseball but itĆ¢ā¬ā¢s Excuse City when it comes to the Giants. Only his buddy, Kuiper, seems to truly give a more unbiased approach to the game of all the broadcasters.Ć âā¬ĖThis is John Miller , your (pregnant pause) G-g-g-iants b-b-b-b-roadcaster.!
Whereas the ĆĀ Golden State Warriors didnĆ¢ā¬ā¢t give Keith Smart a chance, firing him after one year, the AĆ¢ā¬ā¢s are way over due! How long will the misery go on. What a shame to see an above average team wallowingĆĀ in mediocrity, due largely to the manager. Oh, and by the way, Billy, swallow your pride and play Sweeney more. So what if you the guys you traded for, DeJesus and LaRoche arenĆ¢ā¬ā¢t as good hitters and you can get Milton Bradley back now Ć¢ā¬ā heĆ¢ā¬ā¢s on waivers – ĆĀ but we know you wonĆ¢ā¬ā¢t having given awayĆĀ Apier to get Bradley the first time.
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Geren only non-winning manager, Geren Can’t win