[UPDATE: After I wrote this post Bochy said Joaquin Arias isn't badly hurt and will return Thursday. Doesn't change my mind one bit.]
As I write this, Bruce Bochy has posted a lineup with Manny Burriss playing third base and hitting ninth, behind Madison Bumgarner. If it weren't Burriss but someone else who could hit a ball more than 45 feet, I would actually think, hey, how cool.
Also of note: No Joaquin Arias. Let's assume for a moment that Joaquin Arias won't be able to play for a while. I know, the x-rays were negative, but until I see him hit and field without pain, I'm not convinced. He took that 93-MPH fastball in a bad, bad place. If he goes on the DL, no doubt Conor Gillaspie comes back up. But no, wait, I believe he has to stay in the minors for ten days. He was sent down Sunday.
So the Giants are in a pickle. Might Nick Noonan, former first-round draft pick who has risen to Triple-A without a single notable minor-league season, be next up?
I have a better idea. Find a mediocre middle infielder whose team is going nowhere and would like to dump his contract. Take said contract off the team's hands in exchange for a crappy prospect. This isn't as easy as it looks, because the Dodgers currently employ half the world's mediocre middle infielders, and the Giants and Dodgers simply don't make trades with each other.
But I've got someone in mind: This guy. Jamey Carroll. He's in his late 30s, he's off to a slow start (.222 / .319 / .262) he's due $6.75 M through 2013, and he has no power. But with a career OBP of .356 through 2011, he gets on base (Manny Burriss, take note), and he won't embarrass himself at second base if he continues to age gracefully.
I stumped for Carroll this winter as middle-infield insurance in 2012 and potential starting second baseman in 2013, and boy, do I look really smart in hindsight. (That's the only way I ever look smart.)
It's not too late! Would the Twins trade him? I have no idea. Would the Giants trade for him? Let me ask that question a different way: If you ran the Giants and you were willing to absorb Carroll's salary, whom would you be willing to trade for Carroll? Burriss? (Yes, please.) Conor Gillaspie? Nick Noonan? Charlie Culberson? How about this: Nate Schierholtz?
Sure, this would be a desperate move, but we all agree these are desperate times. The odds grow longer each day of Freddy Sanchez ever wearing the black and orange again. And it actually would make sense for 2013, when the current cast of scrubs the Giants are trying at 2B still won't likely be ready for prime time.
With Carroll, the Giants at least would have a guy who could hit second, play second, and even platoon at short once in a while. When Sandoval returns, the lineup could look like this:
Blanco RF
Carroll 2B
Melky LF
Sandoval 3B
Posey C
Pagan CF
Belt 1B
Crawford SS
Assuming the wrist isn't terribly damaged, Arias would float as utility guy, Culberson would go back to AAA, and Burriss would be kept under glass, to be used only as late-game pinch-runner.
# continue reading
As I write this, Bruce Bochy has posted a lineup with Manny Burriss playing third base and hitting ninth, behind Madison Bumgarner. If it weren't Burriss but someone else who could hit a ball more than 45 feet, I would actually think, hey, how cool.
Also of note: No Joaquin Arias. Let's assume for a moment that Joaquin Arias won't be able to play for a while. I know, the x-rays were negative, but until I see him hit and field without pain, I'm not convinced. He took that 93-MPH fastball in a bad, bad place. If he goes on the DL, no doubt Conor Gillaspie comes back up. But no, wait, I believe he has to stay in the minors for ten days. He was sent down Sunday.
So the Giants are in a pickle. Might Nick Noonan, former first-round draft pick who has risen to Triple-A without a single notable minor-league season, be next up?
I have a better idea. Find a mediocre middle infielder whose team is going nowhere and would like to dump his contract. Take said contract off the team's hands in exchange for a crappy prospect. This isn't as easy as it looks, because the Dodgers currently employ half the world's mediocre middle infielders, and the Giants and Dodgers simply don't make trades with each other.
But I've got someone in mind: This guy. Jamey Carroll. He's in his late 30s, he's off to a slow start (.222 / .319 / .262) he's due $6.75 M through 2013, and he has no power. But with a career OBP of .356 through 2011, he gets on base (Manny Burriss, take note), and he won't embarrass himself at second base if he continues to age gracefully.
I stumped for Carroll this winter as middle-infield insurance in 2012 and potential starting second baseman in 2013, and boy, do I look really smart in hindsight. (That's the only way I ever look smart.)
It's not too late! Would the Twins trade him? I have no idea. Would the Giants trade for him? Let me ask that question a different way: If you ran the Giants and you were willing to absorb Carroll's salary, whom would you be willing to trade for Carroll? Burriss? (Yes, please.) Conor Gillaspie? Nick Noonan? Charlie Culberson? How about this: Nate Schierholtz?
Sure, this would be a desperate move, but we all agree these are desperate times. The odds grow longer each day of Freddy Sanchez ever wearing the black and orange again. And it actually would make sense for 2013, when the current cast of scrubs the Giants are trying at 2B still won't likely be ready for prime time.
With Carroll, the Giants at least would have a guy who could hit second, play second, and even platoon at short once in a while. When Sandoval returns, the lineup could look like this:
Blanco RF
Carroll 2B
Melky LF
Sandoval 3B
Posey C
Pagan CF
Belt 1B
Crawford SS
Assuming the wrist isn't terribly damaged, Arias would float as utility guy, Culberson would go back to AAA, and Burriss would be kept under glass, to be used only as late-game pinch-runner.
# continue reading
