The Giants GM Brian Sabbean has been sending out the following letter to season ticket holders. There is reason for optimism finally (if not for this season).
From: “Brian Sabean” <tixoffice@sfgiants.com > Subject: From the Desk of Brian Sabean Date: Thu, 1 Sep 2005 09:06:44 -0700
Dear Chris,
First and foremost, I share with you the disappointments we’ve all felt this season. From the fans, to the front office and those on the field, we have not even come close to the expectations we all had entering Spring Training. Sitting in fourth place on September 1 is not something we’re accustomed to over the last eight years and is not acceptable.
There’s no question that the team has clearly missed the presence of Barry Bonds and his seven MVPs in the middle of our lineup. Unfortunately, Armando Benitez’ injury put our bullpen in flux for a good portion of the first half of the campaign. While you can never control injuries, I can’t tell you how disappointed I was with the performance of our starting pitching at the beginning of the year.
Ironically, due to the lack of a club running away with our division, we still have a chance. I can assure you that this team will battle until the final day of the season. As we make our final push, I want to outline for you some reasons for optimism as we head into September and the 2006 season: * We’re trying to compete in our division now, while also preparing our young players for the future. We improved our team from within by using the young talent from our farm system. The average age of our Opening Day roster was almost 32 years old, while the club as it is constituted today now averages out to 29 years old.
* We have a chance to climb back into the race in the National League West in September when we play 19 of our final 30 games against teams ahead of us in the division standings. This is largely due to the much improved starting pitching and a solidified bullpen over the last month or so.
* Our pitching staff now has seven homegrown players, with the likes of Matt Cain, Noah Lowry, Brad Hennessey, Kevin Correia, Jeremy Accardo, Scott Munter and Jack Taschner. The young arms have played major roles in the team posting the second-best ERA in the National League during the month of August (3.25).
* The rotation has rounded into form in the second half of the season, posting the fourth-best ERA in the National League following the All-Star Break (3.70).
* Noah Lowry has come into his own after his early season struggles and paced the majors in both wins (5) and ERA (0.69) during August. He’s also been one of the top pitchers in the National League following the All-Star Break, going 6-2 with a 1.41 ERA.
* Jason Schmidt has returned to his form of the last few seasons over his last 14 starts, tallying an 8-3 record with a 3.04 ERA. He’s a veteran who we’re looking to build our rotation around with our young players and some veterans we might add over the winter.
* Our free agent acquisitions have played major roles on this year’s team. * Moises Alou is arguably our biggest offensive force this season, ranking second on the team in both home runs and RBI despite two different stints on the Disabled List. He also became just the second player ever to make the All-Star team with five different teams, when he represented the Giants at the Mid-Summer Classic in Detroit.
* Omar Vizquel, who arguably could have made this year’s All-Star team, has made a very strong case to win his 10th Gold Glove Award at shortstop. While possessing the top fielding percentage among the game’s shortstops this year, he also ranks second on the team in runs scored and is the first Giant to steal 20 bases since 2000.
* Mike Matheny has continued his exceptional defense behind the plate, while helping our pitching staff improve immensely in the second half. He’s also produced extremely well at the plate, on pace to eclipse his career best for RBI while ranking among the NL’s top catchers in both home runs and RBI.
* While Armando Benitez missed a majority of the season, he’s earned everyone’s respect by beating the odds and the timetable on returning to the mound following his torn hamstring. He’s converted each of his five save opportunities since coming off the Disabled List two weeks ago.
* Randy Winn has been a welcome addition to the top of the lineup and has brought stability to our outfield defense since we acquired him from Seattle. Since his acquisition, he’s led the team in runs scored while also becoming the 21st player in franchise history to hit for the cycle.
* After much anticipation, we were all able to see a glimpse of our future when Matt Cain made his Major League debut Monday night. While he did not emerge victorious, in my estimation he served notice that he will contend for a spot in our starting rotation for the foreseeable future.
* After struggling during the early part of the year, our bullpen has been transformed over the course of the season to one of the biggest strengths on our team. The return of Benitez to a core group of Tyler Walker, Scott Eyre and LaTroy Hawkins, along with the additions of rookies Scott Munter, Jeremy Accardo and Jack Taschner, gives us a solid group of power arms to help win and save ballgames both in September and potentially next year.
* LaTroy Hawkins has become the eighth-inning stalwart we envisioned when we acquired him from the Cubs since he came off the Disabled List at the beginning of July. In 27 outings since his activation from the DL, he has posted a 1.90 ERA and limited opponents to an impressive .211 average.
* While I’ve spoken about the young arms which we’ve brought up over the course of the season, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the contributions of some of our other rookies this season. The trio of Jason Ellison, Todd Linden and Lance Niekro have played integral roles throughout the season, with each of the three providing valuable offensive contributions at different points throughout the season.
While this year has been a challenging season in the win-loss column, I want you to know that I share your frustration. However, I think that we have taken steps to address our shortcomings and I look forward to seeing how our mixture of youth and our experienced players pull together over the season’s final month to make things interesting in September. We are fully committed to making this team younger, healthier and more talented overall now and into the future.
As always, I want to thank you for bearing with us during some admittedly rough spots this season. While I’ve heard from many of you about your disappointments this season, I look at that as a sign that our fans are passionate about our team. I respect that and it drives my staff and me to continue to fix our club and get it back to the level that we’ve all been accustomed to over the last eight years.
Respectfully,
Brian R. Sabean Senior Vice President and General Manager San Francisco Giants
