Melky Cabrera Suspended 50 Games

Well that was some pretty shocking news to hear. So many ramifications to deal with.

When can he come back?

With 46 games remaining this will put Melky Cabrera out for the remainder of the season. Andrew Baggarly of CSN Bay Area has confirmed that he can play in the playoffs should the Giants make it but will have to sit out the first five games.

The Giants would have to go without an empty roster spot in the event that they would want him to be able play which would be a hard thing to justify. Maybe without the need for an extra pitcher they could justify that, at this point it is still a very open question.

How does this effect the Giants chances to make the playoffs?

Cabrera was the second most valuable player on the Giants and taking him out of the lineup is a huge blow to the offense that was just starting to come together. ZiPS projects him to be worth nearly a full win over the Giants remaining games. His replacement is likely Gregor Blanco or maybe Brett Pill, neither of them should be expected to come close to replacing what was lost.

With the Giants tied with the Dodgers for first place, this makes the NL West even more wide open. The one saving grace is that the Giants have a slightly easier schedule down the stretch. Regardless this really hurts the Giants playoff chances.

How much did he just cost him self in free agency?

This one is something that doesn't have a lot of comparable situations to look at. Dave Cameron did look a little bit at this and guessed that he might take a 1 year deal to try to reestablish his value. He went from looking at a deal in excess of $50 million to not knowing who will be willing to give him a shot. Who knows what will happen but it will be interesting to see.

This is the biggest PED case to happen to a guy looking to sign a big contract in his prime years.

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Brandon Belt Gets Hot

After a pretty dismal July, Brandon Belt has put together a very nice start to August. In August only Buster Posey and Chase Headley have better wRC+ in the NL than Belt's 219 (before tonight's game).

Tonight he had to his hot month with three hits and three RBI. Even this undersells what he did tonight with two homers missed by mere feet. His adventures on the base paths were something I am sure he would rather forget but he sure did hit the ball well tonight.

The biggest difference this month has been his contact rate. It's a small sample but it sure is encouraging to see Belt with a strike out rate in the single digits for the month. Especially after striking out in nearly 40 percent of his plate appearances last month.

Belt is not likely to be a guy who avoids strikeouts, he still struck out quite a bit in the minors too, but if his able to keep the k's in check he should be able to be a very good hitter.

I haven't seen or read about him making any major adjustments that he has made between now and last month so maybe it just random fluctuation (it probably is) but sure is an encouraging sign. Another fun but meaningless stats is that in even numbered months Belt has hit like an All-Star while odd months have seen him hit like a replacement level player, luckily the playoffs fall in one of those even months so he could always be a hero if the pattern holds.

It is nice to see Belt start to put everything together. The ride has been bumpier than Belt supporters would have liked but it is games like this that make me happy the Giants didn't completely give up on him last month.

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Buster Posey is Amazing

This won't be a long post but I just wanted to mention that Buster Posey is an amazing human being and that I admire what he has done this season.

So far he has posted a .328/ .394/ .542 line, with 18 home runs.

Right now he has about the same number of plate appearances (actually 34 less) that he had in his amazing rookie year and he has eclipsed his numbers in every single way. Simply amazing.

To top it all off he is coming back from a horrific ankle injury that would have sapped the ability of lesser men. I know that when I had my own horrific leg injury it took me several years before I was anywhere near where I was previously and it just makes me admire what he has done this season even more.

Buster Posey is among the best hitters in baseball and he plays for our team. This is a very good thing.

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Nate Schierholtz's parting thoughts on Bruce Bochy

Nate Schierholtz had already voiced that he wasn't happy with the way that the Giants had treated him earlier this season and now that he is in Philadelphia he has a few more thoughts to share on his time with the Giants.

He said this to Matt Gelb of the The Philadelphia Inquirer:

"I just felt like I had a short leash. It was series by series, if I didn’t perform for three games, that was my chance. It got frustrating at times. We didn't see eye to eye." 

I don't think that you can really say that he is wrong, he was given the starting job and then at the first sign of struggle he was pulled. All the while veterans were given long leashes where they had months and months before their playing time was effected.

Here is more from CSN Philly:

“It got to the point [in San Francisco] where I didn’t see myself having an everyday role. I felt like I needed a chance to earn more playing time, maybe get 100 at-bats in a row, but it wasn’t going to happen.”

I know that the fans appreciated him and I can still remember the times back in 2009 when Randy Winn was a shell of his former self yet still got the bulk of the playing time. It was like what happened with Brandon Belt and Aubrey Huff last season.

I sure hope this isn't Brandon Belt in a few years.

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Hunter Pence Reactions

I have already had a chance to go over my thoughts on the Hunter Pence trade but I think it would be fun to take a look at what everyone else has said about the trade in the blogosphere. Plus it will give us an easy way to look back and see who was right and who was wrong about the deal.

Around the Foghorn:

• San Francisco Giants Acquire Hunter Pence In Trade With Philadelphia Phillies

Baseball Prospectus ($):

• Giants Counter Dodgers, Acquire Pence

Bay Area Ball:

• Questions and Answers

Bay Area Sports Guy:

• Giants make a splash, A’s seem content to tread water
• Dennis O’Donnell was right – Giants trade for Hunter Pence
• Hunter Pence trade improves offense, creates defensive concerns

Bay City Ball:

• Giants trade for Praying Mantis
• On Hunter Pence’s power

El Lefty Malo:

• Brian Sabean Makes All The Right Moves

Fangraphs:

• Giants Upgrade Their Outfield With Hunter Pence
• Philly Receives Respectable Return for Hunter Pence

Giants Nirvana:

• Giants Acquire Hunter Pence

Golden Gate Giants:

• Giants Land Hunter Pence

Keith Law ($):

• Breaking down the Victorino and Pence trades

McCovey Chronicles:

• Hunter Pence Trade: The Knee-Jerk Analysis

The Giants Baseball Blog:

• Giants Deal for Pence, Can't Land Reliever

The Giants Cove:

• Giants Deal From Strength, Make a Big Move at the Trade Deadline

The Lunatic Fringe:

• Being Pensive About The Pence Trade

Let me know if I missed anyone.

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