Another Stimulating Letter from Brian Sabean to the Season Ticket Holders...

Does this letter instill confidence that the Giant's will be competing for a playoff spot in 2009?

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September 30, 2008


Dear Eric,


As the 2008 season ended Sunday, I thought back to the end of Spring Training when our team was so unsettled and many people forecasted dire results for the Giants. We have to admit that we are all pleasantly surprised at how well our club came together over the final two months of the season. We can proudly tell you that the Giants organization is now in a much stronger position to return to our winning ways than we were six short months ago.

We entered the 2008 season with three main goals and I think that by staying the course throughout the year, we have been able to make great strides towards returning the Giants to winning seasons and a post season berth in the near future. Our goals remain:

• To develop more young players from within our organization.


• To change the team's culture in the clubhouse and on the field.


• To improve our level of talent on the field. (Especially in the bullpen and adding power to the lineup in 2009).

Several young players stepped to the forefront this season and have a real chance at becoming frontline players for the Giants in 2009 and beyond. Tim Lincecum and Brian Wilson are two players that we were learning about last season and they took quantum leaps this year, with both earning All-Star honors and one being the frontrunner for the Cy Young Award. Pablo Sandoval, Emmanuel Burriss, Travis Ishikawa, Fred Lewis, and Nate Schierholtz have all positioned themselves to be in our starting lineup in 2009.

On the mound, Jonathan Sanchez, Sergio Romo and Alex Hinshaw each made great strides in their development and figure prominently in our plans. We also look forward to strong performances by Barry Zito and Matt Cain, as well as the return of Noah Lowry and Merkin Valdez to bolster our staff next season.

Following the trade deadline, Bruce Bochy and I made a concerted effort to play the younger players for the majority of the final two months of the season. We were rewarded for that decision as we were able to see how these young men could handle the daily rigors of the Major League schedule and the majority of them responded extremely well. So well, in fact, that the Giants posted a 28-27 record from August 1 on, which was seventh best in the National League and second best in the NL West.

Bruce and his staff are to be commended for their efforts in installing a new work ethic and clubhouse atmosphere with this team. With 16 players making their Major League debuts, and on average those players playing only 88 games at the double- or triple-A level, the coaching staff was doing an extraordinary amount of teaching at the big league level. In all my years of professional baseball, this is the hardest working group of professionals I have seen. For example, they were the only team to take infield on a regular basis. They have willingly put so much time on the field for early and extra work to improve the level of play for themselves and the team.

Whether our players are working on the fundamentals of hitting, base running or fielding, we want the game to become second nature to them so that they can play an aggressive style of baseball. I have noticed that this year's team has much improved team speed over our recent clubs, which has helped us not only to put pressure on opposing defenses, but also enabled us to expand our defensive range.

For the Giants to be competitive in 2009, and to supplement our strong starting rotation, we will need to acquire some veteran arms for the bullpen and to add some sorely missed power to our lineup. We will address these areas of need either through free agency, trade or our minor league system. Perhaps Sandoval (23 home runs in the minors and majors) Ishikawa (27 home runs in the minors and majors) and Schierholtz (19 home runs in the minors and majors) will add some much needed pop to our lineup next year, but we are still looking to improve.

As for free agency, the Giants will be very selective this winter. We are only interested in players who fit into our long-term plans, while owning a strong work ethic. Aaron Rowand and Bengie Molina are two of our most recent free agent acquisitions who embody the type of players we are looking to add to our club. With the young core of this club under the Giants' contractual control through at least 2011 (Lincecum, Cain, Sanchez, Wilson, Romo, Hinshaw, Sandoval, Burriss, Ishikawa, Lewis and Schierholtz), we will have a very discerning eye for help from outside the organization.

We will thoroughly explore any and all trade scenarios that would improve our lineup. Ultimately, we will be reluctant to trade away "the future."

After seeing many young players make a rapid ascent through our farm system to the big leagues this season, some of our most recent draft picks could be playing for San Francisco in the very near future. Our top two picks in 2007, Madison Bumgarner (15-3, 1.46 ERA) and Tim Alderson (13-4, 2.79 ERA), had tremendous minor league seasons and are definitely on the fast track. This year, our four top draft picks were college players – including Buster Posey, winner of the Golden Spikes Award, given to the best college player in the nation. (Tim Lincecum won this award in 2006). Given their experience and success at the collegiate level, they all have the potential to move through the ranks very quickly.

While I know that parts of the 2008 season were very trying, I want to personally thank you for staying the course. Hopefully, we can expect winning baseball and October baseball returning to AT&T Park in the very near future.


Respectfully,


Brian R. Sabean
Senior Vice President and General Manager

Warriors are Still Underdogs in the Western Conference

Chad Ford of ESPN included the Warriors on his list of "losers" in his August 4th off season recap (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=Offseason-080804).

This analysis proves two things. One, the Warriors are again going to be a huge underdog in the Western conference. And two, the national media continues to fail in showing the Warriors the respect they deserve after upsetting Dallas in the 2006 season playoffs and winning 48 games in the 2007 season. While the loss of Baron Davis came 1 year earlier than anyone expected, it's really tough (and inaccurate) to label the Warriors as one of the summers biggest losers in the NBA.

Yes, we may have overpaid Corey Maggette but he's an good NBA scorer, averaging over 20 points a game 3 of the past 5 seasons. We can shoot from the outside and cause match up problems with his size if he plays anywhere aside from small forward. He seems to be a great for Don Nelson's creativity and will likely be used all over the court. Bottom line, he doesn't replace Baron Davis as a leader, he doesn't have the same defensive toughness and he can't match Baron's intensity but he will replace the points and he's a big upgrade from Mickael Pietrus who saw time at both forward positions last year in Nelson's system.

Chad Ford seemed to have completely dismissed the acquisitions of Ronny Turiaf and Marcus Williams. Anyone who followed the team closely last year knows that our biggest weaknesses were our toughness in the paint and our depth. Adding these two players should go a long way toward addressing those concerns.

And lastly, we have added two rookies that look like they have a chance to be productive players in the NBA. Anthony Randolph, wowed the fans in the Vegas summer league by showing the ball handling skills of a point guard trapped inside his 6'10 frame, taking his man off the dribble time and time again. Richard Hendrix also showed some great potential, pulling down nearly 10 rebounds per game in 17 minutes a night.

As a fan, I'm happy to see the Warriors play the role of underdog again and hope they continue to play with the chip on their shoulders that carried them to the playoffs in 2006.

Baron Is Gone and The Warriors Are To Blame

I really can't fault the Warriors for not resigning Baron Davis to a 5 year deal but I will blame them for the upcoming mess and potential set back season that we are about to endure. Don't get me wrong, I'm not exactly trilled with Baron right now either. Bottom line, he lied to the fans and he's never enjoy another trip to the Bay Area. Plus, I just dropped him as a Facebook fan so I'm sure he's feeling the heat already.

The Warriors on the other hand, should have know better than to trust a player who says they are happy with the size/length of their contract. Over the last two off-seasons and last two drafts the Warriors have completely ignored both guard positions and it's about to come back to haunt them. With Baron's health problems and player option for the 2008 season, it's the Warriors fault for not finding a suitable replacement last year. If a young point guard was being groomed as a 07'/08' back up and replacement we wouldn't be in this situation. Alternatively, if we had a solid 2 guard on the team, Monta could have spent last season as our sixth man, back up PG, and Baron Davis heir apparent. Instead, the Warriors traded Jason Richardson for a PF project, didn't replace him through free agency or the subsequent draft and then spent the following draft trying to fill the void in the paint (again) completely ignoring PG and SG.

As mad as I am at Baron, the Warriors front office could have avoided this situation all together with better planning.

Tim Linecicum is Great, Even When He is Not Great

Tim Lincecum's line vs the Tigers yesterday was far from spectacular....

7 innings, 4 Earned Runs, 6 Hits, 3 Walks, and 3 Strike Outs

It wasn't a terrible performance for Lincecum but it also wasn't what we've come to expect out of the young ace after the numbers he's put up so far this season. Despite the average line, it was still hugely entertaining to watch the guy pitch, more entertain than another pitcher in recent Giant's history (Sorry Matt Cain, Jason Schmidt, Rob Nenn, Billy Swift, John Burkett, Rick Reuschel, Caveman, ect). Tim Lincecum is far and away the best pitcher to wear a Giant's uniform since Vida Blue. It dawned on my yesterday while sitting in the stands and deciding when to head over to the consession stand for a hot dog and a beer.... Usually fans get up and take a break when the opposing team is batting so they don't miss any action but with Lincecum on the mound last night, I waited for the Giant's to come to the plate before I stood up. I can't remember another time when I was more excited to watch the opposing team bat but that's just how exciting Lincecum is.

Giant's Front Office is Living in a World of their Own

These two quotes really summed up the beginning to the Giant's season. 

"I think the young players can give us some energy."
-From Peter McGowan after the opening day starting lineup was announced which included Ray Durham (age 36), Dave Roberts (36), Randy Winn (33), Rich Aurilia (36) and Bengie Molina (33)

"You don't realize how much blind optimism there is in the world until you watch a San Francisco Giants pregame show"
-From Tim Keown, ESPN (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=keown/080401)

I can only wonder how long it will take for the Giant's management to give the young kids a chance.  I hope they don't wait until we are 20 games back.  I think I speak for most Giant's fan when I say that our chances of making the playoffs this year is very slim.  Even if the front office truly believes that Durham, Roberts, Winn, and Aurilia give them a better chance to win games, it really doesn't matter because this isn't a playoff team with the existing lineup.  The youth movement has it's risks but at least their is a potential upside.  Why continue to play veteran that absolutely will not be a part of the team one or two years from now?  You will have to ask Sabean, McGowan, Bochy and team as it only seems to make sense to them. 

Giant Disappointment Seen from Miles Ahead

Can any rational Giants fan say that they expected to see more out of this line up? Sorry Sabean, but I wasn't buying it from the start.

This is one of the worse offensive lineups in the history of baseball. We have played 18 innings of baseball and have 0 extra base hits.

D Roberts LF - A decent 4th outfielder but makes $5mil a year and has less potential than Fred Lewis or Rajai Davis.

R Aurilia 1B - Not a major league calliber hitter

R Winn RF - Wouldn't mind having Winn as a 7th hitter in the line up but he is simply the worst 3 hitter in MLB

B Molina C - See Randy Winn

R Durham 2B - A .218 batting average in 2007, a $7mil salary in 2008, and 0% chance that he'll be on the team in 2009. Why is he starting of Velez?

A Rowand CF - Best hitter on the team is hitting in the 6th spot. Who's idea is that?

J Castillo 3B - Goes from Marlin's trash to Giant's starter in two weeks. Huh? 1 hit and 6 runners left on base in the first 2 games. I doubt we have anyone in the minor leagues who could do that.

B Bocock SS - Only young kid in the line up. And only reason why he was given a shot was due to Omar's injury.

After the terrible offensive performance in the 1st game Bruce Bochy indicated that we should all get comfortable watching the same group of tired veterans on the field with this quote here... "If I change the lineup now, it may send a sense of panic with them, we want a little continuity. [Monday's] lineup was the first time we had that lineup. To start changing quite a bit now would be a little early, I think."

I thought "small ball" was about manufacturing runs, doing the little things required to win a game, like moving the running over going from 1st to 3rd on a base hit, scoring the runner from 3rd with less than 2 outs? After two games I have come to the realization that "small ball" as it relates to the Giant's is just a term their marketing team came up with to mask the fact that the starting lineup is filled with a bunch of people who can't hit.

A Must Read ESPN Magazine Article on Stephen Jackson

For those of you that don't know Stephen Jackson, please read this article and spread the word.... He's the man! Also check out the video at the top of this link, right above the article.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3243802

A CLEAN LOOK

People have lots of ideas about Stephen Jackson. Almost none of them are quite right.

by Ric Bucher


Stephen Jesse Jackson has been marked by three life-changing altercations. Most people know of two of them—or think they do—and, as a result, have tagged him Exhibit A in the case for the NBA as a safe harbor for stone-cold thugs. There was the nationally televised brawl three seasons ago in Auburn Hills, when Jackson followed Ron Artest into the stands and fought with fans, earning him a 30-game suspension and the NBA an everlasting scar. Two years later, Jackson was in the news again, charged with criminal recklessness for firing a gun outside a strip club. But those events look different in the light of the third, which occurred long before either. It's the one in which he didn't take part, and the only one in which he wishes he had.

The housing project in Port Arthur, Texas, now quaintly named Gulf Breeze, was known simply as Longs 15 years ago. Donald Buckner Jr. took the younger half-brother he called Stevie a lot of places but Longs was not one of them. Stevie understood, well aware of what drugs and poverty could drive folks to do; no one grows up in a town surrounded by six prisons and misses that lesson. Stevie was a 14-year-old burgeoning basketball star when Donald hooked up with a new girlfriend living in Longs. Only she had an ex who hadn't conceded that their relationship was over. Donald visited her one night and the ex called him out to settle it Port Arthur style. "In my neighborhood, no one minded catching a fair one," says Jackson, "and my brother didn't back down from anyone." So they fought, with Donald getting the best of it until the ex's brother and a cousin jumped Donald from behind, attacking him with a bottle and lead pipe. By the time Stevie heard about the fight, Donald was lying comatose in an ICU, 17 staples in his head. Stevie was bedside when a single tear slid down Donald's face as he exhaled for the final time. "You can't tell me seeing his brother die that way hasn't had an effect," says Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh. "To me, it's why he is always coming to the help of his teammates."

And before you write this off as one more athlete apologia, consider this: Security tapes outside that Indianapolis strip club show a group of men, one with a hand in his back pocket and another under his shirt, approaching Pacers guard Jamaal Tinsley and threatening to "spray his car," Walsh says. (The two groups had exchanged words inside.) When a scuffle broke out, Jackson retrieved his licensed 9mm from his car and fired it in the air to scatter the combatants. The men ran for their car and Jackson walked to his. Thinking the confrontation over, he barely had time to jump as the attackers' gray Chrysler plowed into him. Jackson flipped over the windshield, landed on the trunk and fell to the ground before, as he recalls, he choked on his blood and passed out.

That part of the story didn't garner much attention. Walsh knew the details, but he also knew they wouldn't matter to fed-up Pacers fans. First the brawl, now this? So he built a package around Jackson and got back a quartet of choirboys from Golden State. "Jack got booed every time he stepped on the court," Walsh says. "I didn't want to trade him; I had to."

Jackson was raised a devout Baptist—his grandfather rebuilt a church where he worked as a deacon—and he believes in a God who keeps a running score. As he sees it, all that went wrong in Indiana was a test. That the chaos landed him in Oakland—a city that feels like a bigger Port Arthur—on a team with a personality as fiery as his and with a coach who respects him enough to make him a captain, is proof he passed that one. "God spared me because I wasn't there for any drama," he says. "He knows what could have happened, and didn't."

"I'VE TOLD HIM HE'S HIS OWN WORST ENEMY," SAYS PACERS CEO DONNIE WALSH. "HOW HE LOOKS ISN'T WHO HE IS."
As Al Davis can attest, Oakland has a soft spot for outlaws. Jackson's new franchise was filled with men seeking redemption: Baron Davis, who had battled two head coaches in New Orleans; Don Nelson, who had ruined the Warriors in a previous stay as GM/coach; even Chris Cohan, whose purchase of Golden State had coincided with a 12-season
playoff drought, the longest in team history.

Their collective frustration evaporated last spring amid a sea of yellow shirts inscribed "We Believe." Davis and Nelson got the props after the Warriors toppled the Mavericks, the regular season's juggernaut. But it was Jackson who put all 6'8" and 218 pounds of himself under Dirk Nowitzki's chin, mad-dogging the league MVP into a playoff career-low 38% shooting, while scoring 33 in the series clincher.

Over the summer, Jackson did his time for the gun charge—100 hours of community service. He picked up roadside trash, assembled carnival fences, counseled inmates and reflected on the tricky gap he'd shot to get to the NBA. After wasting a scholarship to Arizona in 1996 when he couldn't score high enough on his entrance exams in five tries, he was stranded in Phoenix until then-Suns GM Bryan Colangelo saw him playing pickup and decided to make him a second-rounder. But the Suns released him at the end of camp, and what followed were two broken feet—one while playing for Australia's Sydney Kings, the other trying out for the Bulls—and stints in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. By Jackson's estimate, he was cut by 15 teams before sticking with the Nets in 2000.

So don't tell the man he doesn't belong in the league—"A lot of people think I'm just an athletic thug"—or that he's bound to flip out again. As Jackson (who received a seven-game suspension for the gun charge) sat on his couch in early November, watching the Warriors lose their first rematch with Dallas, he heard his former Pacers teammate, TNT analyst Reggie Miller, say, "I'll give him a clean slate until something happens." Jackson leaned toward the TV and barked: "Nothing's going to happen! You gonna be waiting a long time!"

Judy Jackson worked graveyard at a refinery so she could spend days shepherding Donnie, Stephen and sister Bianca to school and church. But Donald Sr., according to Stephen, didn't let fatherhood get in the way of running in the streets. Jackson inherited both parents' inclinations, a fact hidden by a demeanor more street-lovin' than God-fearing. The hunched shoulders and tattooed arms, the splay-footed shuffle and a smile that borders on a sneer—not to mention the languid launch of a three in an opponent's grill and the high-risk, high-dribble crossover—radiate a get-off-me-chump 'tude. Of course, fans take one look and think, Well, no wonder. "I've told him he's his own worst enemy," Walsh says. "How he looks isn't who he is." Walsh's advice has had little effect, although Jackson no longer keeps a red bandanna in his locker as a shout-out to his Blood-haunted hood.

Fans also don't see the respect Jackson has from every coach and teammate he's had. "Love him," Tim Duncan says of the man he considers one of his all-time favorite teammates. "He's had his issues, but he's got the right thing in mind." No matter how many minutes he played when he was with the Spurs, Jackson would kick chairs and sling towels whenever coach Gregg Popovich pulled him from a game. Still, says Popovich, "I know his heart. He's a sweet man."

The Warriors, who have seen both sides of the man, have done their best to cultivate his accessibility. When the Oakland Public Library passed on having Jackson as a guest reader in a kids' program, the team suggested that this told kids there are no second chances. Jackson ended up being such a hit when he read that his picture will grace the library's annual report. More recently, a request to photograph the new tattoo on his torso, two hands holding a gun framed by a church window, was stiff-armed by his squad. The artwork symbolizes his hope of never having to use a firearm again.

Back in Port Arthur, he's a one-man economic development program. His music label, Secret Society Entertainment, signed a handful of local rappers. His school, the Stephen Jackson Academy, is "An Education Your Child Needs with the Care He Deserves," as the banner over the door of the three-story building states. Running K-6, it will reopen next fall after a year hiatus, and ground will soon be broken for a gym. All of it has been funded by Jackson. "Stephen is finally maturing," his mother says. "What I have a problem with is, if you learn from your mistakes, shouldn't that count for something?"

It's not that easy. The two faces of Stephen Jackson are so distinct he has names for each. Stack Jack, a nickname his rappers hung on him as the man with stacks of cash, is the hyperanimated side, forever riding to the rescue, on the street or in the game. Stephen is the relaxed, charitable jokester. "The guy everybody loves," he says. Almost everybody. On Halloween, Jackson's high-rise pad was busy with friends and team officials. While waiting for the first group of trick-or-treaters, he tried to get a kiss from Sofia, the 14-month-old daughter of a front office member. Stephen leaned forward, lips pursed. Sofia pulled back, turning her head as if she'd been presented with a forkful of liver.

Goodbye, Stephen. Hello, Stack Jack. Triggered by the snub, he donned a mask, a crazed clown with snaggled teeth and a bulbous nose, and stuck the terrifying mug in little Sofia's face. Sofia, without hesitation, kissed the clown. "Let me see this again," Jackson said. When he took off the mask, Sofia turned away, squinching her nose; when he put it back on, he got another smooch. "Ain't that a … I've got to put on a mask to get a kiss," Jackson said, his lips twisting as if Stephen and Stack Jack were wrestling in his mouth.

It's a battle not likely to end soon. While it might cost him the affection of most, Jackson says keeping Stack Jack around is vital. "He's the better basketball player."