Author Archives: Thomas Todd

All-Star giveaway: Win a copy of San Francisco Giants World Series Champions Collector’s Set

Ok, Lunatic Fringe. You want World Series DVDs. Trust me, Danny and I love popping in the 2010 disks, switching the audio to Kruk & Kuip and reliving the best October either of us can remember.

You want to see Pablo Sandoval hit three home runs against one of the best pitchers in the game and a guy who sounds like a joke in a Bugs Bunny cartoon. If you’re a baseball fanatic as well and you know almost all the names of the teams’ mascots, you may be surprised how much does the philly phanatic make.

And it’s all right here.

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SF Giants transactions: Kensuke Tanaka makes major-league debut, w/GIF

A team grasping at straws, the Giants made two moves before Tuesday’s game against the Mets.

First, they placed Hector Sanchez on the disabled list with an injury I care less about than Phish cares about brevity. Mike Kickham gets his third trip to the big-league roster to replace the Giants’ third catcher. But the bizarre move was the call-up of Kensuke Tanaka, the Japanese import that lost a backup infield role when his bat and glove failed him in Spring Training.

The move was so bizarre it almost worked. Upon being recalled, Tanaka was immediately written into the lineup as the starting left fielder and No. 2 hitter. Who he was vexed the more casual fan, while the Lunatic Fringe was curious why a guy who has played nine games in American outfields was ready for a corner spot in AT&T.

Then there was The Catch. No, Dwight Clark or T.O. didn’t show up. But this happened:

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Jeff Francoeur Giants: Veteran outfielder signed and sent to Triple-A

The Giants have signed outfielder Jeff Francoeur to a minor-league contract, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. Following his release Sunday from Kansas City after struggling for most of the last two seasons, “Frenchy” will join Triple-A Fresno and await promotion.

Francouer is just 29 but has already had a turbulent major-league career, with the Royals as the fourth team that has given up on the right-handed hitter. Since signing a 3-year, $16 million deal in KC, Francoeur produced only the first season. As the everyday right fielder, he hit 20 home runs and posted a .285 batting average. In the season-and-a-half since, Francoeur has failed to match that home run total and his batting average has slipped to the Mendoza Line.

The outfielder’s arm is the stuff of legend, but his defensive metrics have been wildly inconsistent when they haven’t been just plain bad. The Giants have been a mess in left field all season, but Frenchy’s career numbers don’t indicate that he will be a significant upgrade over Andres Torres. But the Giants are toying with fringe prospect Cole Gillespie at the moment, which makes the Francoeur signing an inevitability rather than an option.

Caveat emptor. FanGraphs’ Wendy Thurm pointed out on Twitter today that Francoeur has played just 12 innings in the outfield in the majors.

Aside from all of that, the minor-league deal will not burden the Giants, as Kansas City is picking up nearly all of the $6.75 he is owed for the 2013 season. Brian Sabean has won two titles and become the longest-tenured general manager by squeezing rocks and finding out they were gold nuggets.

Stay gold, Frenchy.