In the past week, I've been fortunate enough to write about teams making smart decisions. The Reds, Mariners, and Marlins all made good moves in the last week, and I was able to praise them.
However, the Tigers did something stupid, but the Giants might have one-upped them. They signed Bengie Molina last evening a 1-year $4.5 million deal, bringing the hefty catcher back into the fold for 2010.
I'm not going to even hesitate here. Get ready, lots of attacks lay ahead. You ready? Okay.
This is a remarkably stupid signing. Molina simply does nothing well.
His OBPs the last 3 seasons are .298, .322, and .285, or as I like to call them, "Total Crap." There is simply no way for a player to produce OBPs that low and still be decent. It can't happen.
Well, I suppose if the batter could field like Ozzie Smith and run the bases like Rickey Henderson he could be alright. If, also, the batter hit for power like Stan Musial, well, that player could be good.
But Molina's a terrible defender, the slowest base runner in the sport and has never produced a slugging percentage over .470. He sucks.
It's not getting better, either. Molina's already 34, will be 35 in July. He's in full on decline now, which means his OBPs could fall even further. If they do, even Jeff Francoeur will be impressed.
Offensive production can be defined in three ways: reaching base, hitting for power and base-running. Molina is abysmal in two of the areas and okay in one. That's not a major league player, especially when you consider his perpetually overrated defense and his foot speed, which is roughly on par with a wingless, footless bird.
But, hey, GM Brian Sabean had an extra $4.5 million lying around, burning a hole in his pocket. We all know how that feels. You see a car with no engine, blown out tires and a bad paint job at the dealership and it's so hard to say no. We've all made this mistake, right?
(I hope not.)
It actually gets worse, Giant fans. This move effectively blocks Buster Posey, the Giants 2008 1st round draft choice, despite him being ready (and certainly deserving of a chance). Posey hit a decidedly un-Molina like .327/.421/.538 in the minors last season, but the Giants apparently were not impressed with his Arizona Fall League numbers.
Dissenters might point out that Posey was likely exhausted after playing his first full year in a pro league. They might point out that Posey went all Mike Piazza in the minors and didn't need to prove anything.
But, well, if you can spend $4.5 million on a player who hardily could be more worthless, well, you gotta do it.
The Giants made a colossal blunder bringing back Molina. Despite his aforementioned worthlessness and his price tag, the real problem is his blocking of Posey, who is ready for a shot at the big league level. The Giants offense is awful, and Posey has a real chance of mashing. Too bad we won't find out until 2011.
Adam likes being mean to bad teams. Be mean to Adam at adamdadkins@gmail.com.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
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48 comments:
You are 100% correct. Resigning Molina blocks Buster Posey. Which is why the Giants did it. One more year of service time before he becomes elligible for arbitration.
I am a life long Giants fan and Sabean and Bochy have been terrible at evaluating new talent. Sabean keeps signing old players and keeps the rookies on the bench, back to AAA or released because they signed an old vet. And Bochy is worse because he will only play old players even if the younger player is cheaper and doing better - see Randy Winn playing instead of Nate Schierholtz. The sad fact is that Giants have lost many great prospects because Sabean does not give them a chance unless he is foreced to - see Tim Lincecum and Pablo Sandoval. They were called up as short term fill-ins but did so well they had to play them. But how many great rookies took longer than 1-3 months to show their worth. Most rookies on the Giants get a 100ABs or less and are told they are not ready or are a bust. Then we trade them and they become Franchise players on other teams. Sabean and Bochy are ruining the talented farm system - 3 of 4 Giant minor league teams won their division and the championship...yet no one is ready to play unless they are over 30, injured and called a vet...even if they are terrible.
You're an idiot. Molina was good behind the dish as well as the 2nd best hitter on the Giants last season. Pushing him down the lineup and not batting clean up can only help the team. This article is completely useless. Watch some Giants games from last year and you'll see what I mean.
Posey is ready? Are you sure. Have you seen his Winter Ball numbers. They are horrid. Personally I think that is why they decided to sign Molina for 1 year giving Posey another year of seasoning.
Posey is NOT ready. He'll benefit greatly from a full year at AAA, and perhaps be ready for a late-season call up.
And Molina is actually still a very good defender. Not sure where you got that. He's a great ball blocker, knows the staff very well, and calls good games.
Gotta disagree with you here. The Giants pitchers love throwing to Molina and if Posey isn't ready, why force it? Molina was a better option than the available free agent backstops and the Giants got him on their terms, which is one year with no strings attached.
If Posey is tearing it up in Fresno, then the Giants can bring him up and deal Molina and get assets. Good move by Sabean.
I agree with the last 2 posts...signing Bengie for 1 year is the best the Giants could have possibly done. If you watched Buster Posey last year; you can tell he is not ready for the big leagues. He is not able to call games very well and his at bats last year were terrible to watch. Bengie will not be hitting clean up this year and will be hitting around 6-7; which is perfect for what he is. If Posey is ready for the big leagues; then we trade Bengie by midseason and receive compensation. For you to say that it was a horrible signing, proves that you don't watch the Giants.
Are you serious. It is obvious you don't follow the Giants. Why would you throw Posey to the wolfs with the pitching staff they have. Why mess with sucess? It's a one year deal. Get it? Now Molina can hit out of the six hole. 20 home runs works there, plus he can drive in runs from there idiot. After the season is over and Molina does what he has done for the Giants for the last four years you and everyone else will forget that you even wrote this crappy blog. Who the hell are you anyway? I never even heard of you.
yeah you are a idiot. bengie is not going to hurt the giants at all in 2010, if anything i was hoping this would happen. posey is just still too young and i dont think he would of had an impact on the giants this year like bengie is going to. bengie knows our pitchers and posey is still getting used to the position. posey staying one more year in the minors is only going to help him, and besides we gotta take some pressure off of the kid. if you ever played baseball this article would have neve r been written. good move by the giants
You are mentally challenged Adkins. This article is complete crap. Molina...who does NOTHING well managed to drive in 80 runs and hit 20 HRs last year. Is 35 old for a catcher?...sure, hence the 1 year deal rather than the 3 year deal he was seeking or the 2 year deal the Mets had on the table for more $/year. Posey is ready? He has played in a TOTAL of 125 professional games. There is no possible way he is ready to call pitches after 125 games...offense has never been the question. You're a moron
This is a great move by the Giants. That he basically fell into their laps changes that lineup completely, especially now that they can put him lower in the lineup, where he should of been all along.
A couple stats to show how LITTLE he does suck. Last year he was 2nd in among NL catchers in HR, RBI and extra basehits to McCann, with fewer strikeouts and GIDP that him AND Martin, Soto and Ianetta. FIRST in the NL in Sac Flys the last two years.
Plus the Giants staff loves throwing to him and Posey is not ready, by any estimation.
Do your research, douche.
HAHAHHAHAAHAHHAAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAAHHA
YOU FAIL TO ACKNOWLEDGE MOLINA'S PRESENCE BEHIND THE PLATE WITH LINCECUM AND THE OTHERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHH
MLB trade rumors posted your blog for an absolutely unknown reason. You have never watched the Giants and clearly do not know baseball. Molina has caught the past two cy young award winners and helped developed an extremely young staff. By no means is he a favorite player of mine. He's slow and old but unless we have a little luck we aren't making the world series. Buster posey is our future and there's no reason to rush. The kid is exhausted and not ready.
I'm actually more disappointed in myself that i took the time to respond to some no name blog. Do your research. Just cause the internet gives the ability for free speech, don't abuse it.
To the Anonymous who is defending Molina... nice way to argue your case. Start out by calling the author an idiot, way to increase your own credibility...And then there's your own ability to disect the Giants.
Bengie Molina wasn't even the second best hitter on the Giants last year. Pablo Sandoval & Juan Uribe were both clearly better and far and away more valuable. In fact, Aaron Rowand was better too, scary as that may sound. The only way Molina was 2nd best offensively is if you only look at HR's. But you couldn't possibly be naive enough to think that is what offense in baseball consists of.
Molina hit the ENTIRE year in the most productive spot in a lineup, yet he was 6th in doubles, had a lone fluke triple (he has 5 career triples in 12 seasons so don't coun't in one until 2012), 5th in Runs, 13th in walks (did you know there are only 8 posistion players, therfor atleast 5 bench players had more walks than him)14th in OBP, and barely 4th in Slugging.
Then there is the FACT that the Giants offense wasone of the worst in all of baseball. Molina was a decent hitter on a bad offense.
How can you possibly think spending $4.5 million on a guy who's production is easily reproducable in other ways, when the team is on a tight budget...can possibly be a wise decision.
Don't get me started on his defense. The fact that Sabean says the staff likes him and he calls a good game is crap in itself.
It's Ok for you to disagree with the author. Molina may be your favorite player and you are as emotional as he is. Maybe you're eleven and I'm being too harsh. But don't start an arguement off with "your an idiot". Noone will listen to you.
Bengie's OBP is just terrible. They Giants should have spent his money on shoring up the back end of the rotation, and maybe signing a veteran backup catcher.
LOL!!!!
I've never seen a more obvious example of the "anonymous" above being the writer.
What an IDIOT.
I'll add to the majority here, you obviously don't keep up with the Giants. Scouts in general have been saying that Posey looks wiped out (look at the amount of baseball he's been playing since he's been drafted) and is currently have issues at the plate. Behind the plate he's fine, he's an intelligent fellow but to be able to gain additional experience will be needed to catch a staff headed by the top-heavy Giants staff. He is most definately not ready in my opinion and would rather see a nice #6 hitter in the line-up. I think rather, you should be questioning their move to sign Huff and putting him in the four spot.
If he's back to his 2008 year, then no problem. But if we see a Huff that's from 2009 ... we've got issues.
You're an idiot. Nothing else to say...
If the author here has actually seen Posey play in the upper minors, he might feel differently about Molina "blocking" his progress.
I watched Posey play at AAA regularly and he regularly looked overmatched by average pitching. He had a brief look at the bigs and was severely overmatched there as well.
Molina may be going down hill and has terrible stats, but there is not a stat for clutch play.
He was the MOST clutch guy on the roster last year, the year before, and the year before that.
He did not get hits when people weren't on base but he almost ALWAYS hit the sac fly or RBI single/double/HR that the team needed.
Signing Molina for ONE year at a decent price is 10X better than getting someone like Rod Barajas or Yorvit back and you supposed Giants fans need to realize that.
In addition to being our second-best hitter last year, Bengie-- or as we faithful call him, "Big Money"-- is also a perennial fan favorite. He's also won our coveted Willie Mac award, exemplifying spirit and leadership-- twice. We know he runs like he's got a piano strapped to his back. And truly we don't really care. Bengie always gets some head-shaking laughs when he's chugging around the bases like a steamroller stuck in first gear. Behind the plate he's above average to well above average and you can bet the bottom dollar of that $4.5 million contract he's got that our pitching staff breathed a collective sigh of relief when he was re-signed. Then there's the 20 homers and 80-some ribbies he gave us. Remember, too that for such a "terrible" player, he was our cleanup hitter the last couple of years. This might say more about the Giants overall offense than it does about Bengie, but he'll still bat 5th or 6th for us and is a valuable part of our team. Posey will be great-- just not yet. I want to see him up at McCovey Cove as much as the next guy but I am genuinely excited about having Big Money back for his swan song in the orange and black. Sorry, Adkins, you may have a point on paper, but it's pretty obvious to me that you're not a regular in-person observer of the Giants and our lovable Bengie.
Ha! All you folks calling the author an idiot are obviously all...IDIOTS.
Second best hitter on the team? LOL
MOST "clutch"? LOL
Presence behind the plate? LOL
Posey not ready by by any estimations? LOL
Thanks for the laughs.
BTW: I am a life long Giants fan that watched close to every single one of their games last year...
You are an idiot. do you watch baseball? Moron.
"Ha! All you folks calling the author an idiot are obviously all...IDIOTS...."
TONE IS ALONE.
Alrite heres the deal
first off all bengie is a good signing the fact is posey is not ready for the big leagues yet look at his numbers while he was up in the big leagues. The giants think that they need another year for full development. furthermore with the signings of huff and derosa the giants can now contend with a much improved offense which was the main reason that they did not make the playoffs. The pitching staff was also well managed by this man who is an intricate part of the time. he does have defensive skills and I will agree that he is a liability on the basepaths but we have to give and take , besides he is the best catcher in the market and loves San Francisco. We should be excited to have Bengie maybe not as our cleanup hitter but batting in the 5 or 6 hole this would give us a more potent offense. Furthermore if you look at the market right now there arent many other hitters that we could sign that can bring the same production to the table.
Adam, you obviously don't follow the Giants during the regular season. It is apparent that you are a statistical NERD who goes solely off of numbers and hype. Here are the facts:
1. Posey is not ready. As much as I would love to say he is, he just is not. He hit .220 during winter ball and did nothing to prove he was ready when he was up with the club at the end of the year (He was supremely embarrassed at the plate on numerous occasions by pitchers with superior talent and experience). Having him spend a half to full season as the backup will serve good for him in the long run and allow Molina to have a backup with fresh legs and the opportunity to teach him right. Oh, and he has only been out of college for 7 months... Not every one is Timmy Franchise.
2. Molina will now be batting in an appropriate spot in the lineup. Instead of 4th, it is either 6th or 7th (if Bochy would bench that bum Renteria and bat Uribe 6th). This gives him the opportunity to not clog up the base pads in the middle of the order and really try to use his power due to his spot in front of the pitcher. 20 Home runs in the bottom of the line up is never a bad thing. However, if things go wrong and he is batting 4th in June then you know something is wrong with the team...
3. We got him for 1 year. He isn't going to get much better over his career, but he did just come off of a 20 home run year. He was asking for 3 years from every other team, got offered 2 by NY and passed. So not only do the Giants get an excellent bat at the catcher position, which was a need until they resigned him, they get one that knows the pitching staff and is a fan favorite. All the while, they are letting Posey get a full season to learn and will hand the thrown to him after this season is over.
I'm not trying to say they are going to win the World Series by resigning Molina. But the team is THEORETICALLY better offensively this season than they were last season.
it's a great signing, i don't think that the people disagreeing with this signing actually watch the games. I think they only look at stats. And for the people who said Bengie is not the most clutch player, you don't know what your talking about. And for the guy who calls himself TONE, maybe you did watch every game last year. But let me asked you this, how ol are you? i bet you are around the age of 115 or 16 so you haven't seen enough baseball to be a valuable critic.
is this a joke? first of all Posey IS NOT READY to be an everyday catcher. HIs bat maybe, MAYBE, ready but don't forget the kid didn't start catching until he got to college and didn't start calling his own games until last season. As a Giants fan I'm not willing to hand over the strength of our team to a kid who doesn't know how to handle a major league staff. You fail to mention why Big Money is called Big Money they guy is clutch and when the game is on the line there is no other guy on the Giants roster that I'd rather have at the plate. You are correct, he doesn't walk and he's the slowest guy in the big leagues. So why would the slowest guy in baseball take walks? I understand batting average home runs and rbis aren't the only way to judge a ball player but if you average out those numbers over the last 3 years, I'm on my phone and don't have a computer to look up the actual numbers, but he's averaging somethin like .275 avg 18 bombs and 85 rbis. I dont care who you are if your catcher is giving you that kind of offensive production you have to be happy. Not to mention they only got him for 1 year and cheaper then what the Mets offered and cheaper then if we offered arbitration and he accepted.. I couldn't disagree with your post any more, respectively of course. - Tyler F
WRONG!
Bengie gives the Giants one of the best #7 or #8 hitters in the NL. By adding Huff & DeRosa and resigning Uribe (sit Renteria) then Bengie becomes the 4th or 5th best hitter on the team.
Timmy likes Bengie. Keep Timmy happy!
Also, if you want to slam a move then slam the Freddy Sanchez resigning. Freddy is mediocre AND he's injured again...during the OFF SEASON!
Molina was awful last year, and pouted down the stretch because Posey was called up. His defense was terrible last year, as he continues to live off the reputation of his brothers and a golden glove from 2002.
He hit into more double plays than BB last year (14 vs. 13) That's pathetic. He saw the FEWEST pitches per at bat of any player in baseball last year, and swung at more pitches out of the strike zone than any player. He made more outs per at bat than any player in baseball other than Yancy Betancourt and Willy Tavarez.
And for Posey not being able to handle the pitching staff...that's bullshit. he threw out 42% of baserunners versus only 22.7% for Molina (25 of 110 attempts). Calling a game could easily be done by Bochy, as he has done in the past and so many other managers do.
The bottom line is Sabean doesn't trust young catchers...he over values that "veteran" catcher. Matheney, Benito, AJ Piershitski, etc.... Hell, he only trusts old players. Look at the offseason free agents he signed: Huff- 33yr, DeRosa- 34, Molina - 35. He is completely predictable, and still can't understand why the offense has sucked since Barry retired.
Out of all the deals to get mad about you pick this one? One year and 4.5 mil? Not to mention keeping Posey in the minors for 2 months (could be wrong on time) gives the Giants an extra year before he reaches arbitration. If he does turn out to be as good as we hope, that's a nice savings. Dude, compared to how bad Sabean has fucked up (See Renteria) it is mind boggling how this deal offends you, you just want to be angry, huh?
Okay. You're right, Chris. The people talking about "clutchiness", RBI's, and game calling are the ones that can really call themselves valuable baseball critics (please note heavy sarcasm).
You think I'm 15-16 years old? Or is that just the easiest way for you to attempt to discredit others opinions? A good point is a good point no matter what age you are. In fact, I've met toddlers that have more to contribute intellectually than some adults I know.
This signing isn't the end of the world by any means, but it sure wasn't the best use of funds for a team that was pretty much at their projected payroll already.
What you are definitely missing here is that Bengie Molina has been behind the plate the last two seasons for this one guy named Tom, or is it Tim? oh yeah- Tim Lincecum, who in case you are not aware is the two time reigning Cy-Young award winner.
Not to say that Lincecum could not do this without Molina, but he almost certainly would not do this with Buster Posey at this point. Posey is learning to call games in the minors and has not come close to perfecting it let alone being competent at it.
So how do you argue that a one year contract is "blocking" a player who isnt ready for the big leagues as it is??? Come on man think about what you are saying.
The other point is that just because Posey is starting the year in the minors does not mean that is where he will stay. If he shows that he has overcome these obstacles then he will be with the Giants quickly. Then the Giants have an ideal situation where they can platoon Bengie and Posey keeping them both fresh without having a huge drop-off like there is when Eli Whiteside is in there.
Bengie is not a great player, that is agreed. But to say he is not a good player or even not a professional quality player is just incorrect. As so many others have correctly stated, Bengie will be in his proper spot in the line-up this year and in an ideal position to drive in runs.
And who is to say that if Bengie has a decent few months we won't be able to trade him to a team starved for a decent catcher??
Bottom line is that Bengie knows our pitching staff, which is obviously the strength of this team, better than they know themselves. So by bringing him back Sabean has avoided the risk of having a drop-off in pitching due to the lack of game-calling abilities in a young and unproven, but talented, Buster Posey.
Second best hitter on the team? LOL
Sadly enough last year? Yes
Presence behind the plate? LOL
2 Cy Young winning pitch calling seasons
BTW: I am a life long Giants fan that watched close to every single one of their games last year...
...Oh shit he means the Yomiuri Giants
Lincecum. He is about to get an enormous, and well deserved, salary in his first arbitration year. He is getting that money because the Giants couldn't wait 10 days for him. The Giants need a catcher, but the 4.5 million Molina gets will be less than Posey's first arbitration salary. Th1s 4.5 million saves them money in the end. This is assuming that Posey is even ready to be the starting catcher, which is debatable at best. Maybe they Giants should have waited for a cheaper option, but they do tend to like to know what they have going forward.
Get ready, lots of attacks lay ahead. You ready? Okay.
You're a dumb stupid idiot. All the points above on why this is a solid move apply. Here's three more:
1. You're dumb
2. You're stupid
3. You're and itty ot.
Molina does not bode well as a clean up hitter. This is obvious. Well now that he will bat in the 6 or 7 hole his production will be considered above average. He does clog up the base path granted, but he makes that up with veteran leadership, his ability to call games and his arm behind the plate. He IS a good defender and DOES give you an advantage behind the plate. YOU are a MORON!
Posey may not be ready right now, but I'm sure he will get his chance this year. It would be a perfect situation for him to do what Eli Whiteside did last year and play every few games. He'll learn the pitchers, get a feel for hitting int he bigs, and get used to the grind of being pro. I was afraid of what the Giants were going to look like without any major league catchers...
Molina won the Willie Mac Award 2 of the past 3 years. Also he was the 2nd best offensive catcher in the NL by most measures. He also caught the best pitching staff in the NL (that is a measure of his defensive abilities). And Posey only has 17 lifetime big league ABs (and is therefore not ready for the starting job). The Giants signed the best free agent catcher available.
Adam Adkins you are a fucking retard. why the hell do you right about baseball when you know apsolutly nothing other then fucking OBP give me a god damn break. Bengie Molina is an excelnt signing for the Giants and here is why.
1.You have a pitching staff that is in the top 3 in all of baseball and you bring back the catcher that they are most familar with...that right there saves weeks of work in spring training that can now be spent working on their fundamentals rather then teaching and working with posey.
2. You honestly were comfortable going into the season with the goal of reaching the playoffs with a rookie catcher a rookie for your fifth starter and a right fielder that is finally getting his first full season on the grass? you got to be a dumb ass fuck to think they would be playing in october with that.
3. Molina doesn't have to bat clean-up he can bat in the 6 or 7 hole. if you knew a god damn thing about baseball you would know that batting lower in that line-up will greatly increase his prodution and take a ton of pressure off his shoulders witch will lead to more walks, less focus on driving in runs and increase his OBPs.
im done with you for now your a fucking joke even your teaser is a joke "a sports blog with flavor" give me a fucking break the only flavor on here is shit
C'mon guys you're being a little harsh on Adam.
He could've chosen to write about giving Lyon a 3/15mil deal to close, even though Lyon really isn't a closer and 5mil/yr for a reliever is still such a bargain.
Or giving 5 mil a year to a guy like Brett Myers who just gets worse every year.
Let's not forget Adkins thought the Giants were dumb to not trade Lincecum for Rios.
He thinks outside the box folks
You are the biggest freakin retard in the world. Bengie Molina's defense is bad? I think you should watch the games every once in a while and actually learn something. Posey is not ready, he is fatigued, and excuse me for thinking that the major leagues is completely different than the minors. How maany people have you seen do great at the minors and suck in the majors. He's not ready and needs more time!!!
Molina has been the catcher for the Cy Young Winner the last two years. Molina had 20 and 80 last year, hit close to .300 with runners in scoring position, and had similar numbers 2 years ago. that means his offensive numbers are getting better, not declining. OBP has only even been looked at the last 5 years, and suddenly that is the most important stat. He is fantastic on defense, calls a great game, and is great in the locker room. If only you had some intelligence.
First off, for all you Molina supporters talking about how clutch he is: .260 avg RISP, .189 avg RISP with 2 outs. If you're going to be clutch, it would help if you stepped up and actually hit better than your overall average in those situations. When you combine that with the abysmal OBP and the complete lack of speed, you have an abysmal hitter.
Secondly, the bigger issue is game calling. Many people have talked about how great he was with Lincecum. Fine. I would probably give more credit to Lincecum for that, but you can give Molina some credit too. The bigger concern is the rest of the rotation. With or without Molina, the Giants will still have a terrible offense. DeRosa and Huff will do nothing. That being said, it is all the more important for the entire pitching staff to do well, not just Lincecum. Zito and Sanchez are at their worst when Molina catches, but somehow do pretty well when Whiteside catches. ( There is no way Sanchez gets his no-hitter with Molina catching) If you look at the stats, the Giants allowed 4.14 runs per nine innings when Molina caught last year and 3.35 when Whiteside caught. (In case, you're wondering, Posey clocked in at 3.76 at a very small sample size) This was in spite of the fact that Molina caught almost all of Lincecum and Cain's starts.
So I ask, is Molina's craptastic 20 HRs, worth the low OBP, terrible clutch hitting, lack of speed, and lack of agility behind the place worth it? If you think so, I hope you guys enjoy watching his 35 year old rolls of fat choking the life out of the organization along with all the other vets trying to hang on to their careers, even if it only is for one year.
Your obviously some turd burger who only looks at stats and doesn't see the guy play everyday. Molina maybe slow and he may have a low oBP, but he was a great clutch hitter, and he did have power. 20 HRS and 80 RBIs on a team that struggled for offense. Also I don't know what you mean about being a terrible defender. I can't remember the last time I saw a passed ball and people rarely were able to steal off him. You obviously don't know anything about our farm as well. Buster posey is not ready pal. He was showing fatigue in the Arizona Fall League so he would of still been a back up even if they hadn't signed molina because they were going to sign another catcher eventually. You must get off on blogging because you have no life and therefore you have to project negativity.
If giants fans love watching a fat guy swing at slop and not work a count, then this is a great signing.
80 RBIs from the 4 spot... I'm sorry, but even Rowand would be able to put up similar numbers.
Seriously, do you guys turn a blind eye to the things that Molina is terrible at? To say that the statistics evaluating his defensive and offensive production are worthless because the few times you witness his "clutchness" is pure ignorance.
The offense will obviously be a problem, but why take away from the team's biggest strength in its pitching. Lincecum has said that he would not the pitcher he is without him. Why on earth would you want an inexperienced backstop catching their relatively young staff. Consider the likely 5th start is Bumgartner who has only one start and that makes for a terrible situation. Posey is only going to get better with more time in AAA, while the Giants will still contend with Molina.
Posey was, and I can say definitively as a witness to this lackluster spectacle for half the season, absolute garbage in the AFL. He's not ready. Look at the sub-par pitching he faced in the AFL. One could argue that isn't any better or worse he'd see in the PCL, and definitely not what he'd see in the NL West. He DH'd half the time anyhow during Scorpions home games! The kid isn't overrated by any means, he just isn't ready. And you can't defy the numbers of the Giants pitching staff and put all the credit on these young kids. Eli Whiteside caught a no-hitter, but it was a fluke against a cellar team in a slump (which sounds redundant). Sanchez never connected with Whiteside the same during the entire season. Molina consistently hits gaps and gives our actual baserunners opportunities to burn up the paths. The only hitters to consistently go triples alley were Ishikawa, Bengie and Panda. I think Schierholtz could find that gap but didn't play enough and I think Freddie, when healthy, has one of the best oppo approaches in the division. Molina will bolster our pitching, and knock in more guys than any other catcher, or for that matter, 6th place hitter we can find with the amount of bad judgments Sabean has made to limit the pocket.
Enough with the stats, if you don't watch giants games you don't know what you're talking about. Stats don't tell the whole story. In fact I would venture to say there are very few catchers in the league who are better offensively. Granted he is slow as molasses, it's not easy to put up good numbers when you are one of two offensive threats on a team, especially when you are a free swinger. He was batting clean up with nothing to clean up other than Sandoval. Im surprised he managed to hit 80 rbi with guys like renteria, rowand, lewis, and winn in front of him for most of the season.
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