I have read that Pablo’s throwing (which I guess wouldn’t matter at first base, although his bat will likely be a bit light there) is best behind the plate. In fact, I think he has thrown out a fairly high percentage of opposing base stealers. The one recent game Iooked, he nailed two out of four. (Man, they must really like to run in the Cal League!)

So I’m seeing Pablo as a guy who might get in 60 or so games behind the plate, with Posey perhaps catching 100 and playing another 40 or so at other positions. I guess it will depend on how they develop, with Buster presumably being close to a sure thing while Pablo has a lower ceiling and a lower probability of reaching that ceiling.

I guess it will be GREAT if the Giants actually have to guys who can catch for them. They haven’t had that since they traded Yorvit Torrealba. Pablo’s being a switch hitter is an added benefit, since precious few catchers bat from the left side. And Pablo’s OPS is nearly twice as high from the left side this season, meaning he could play a lot of games against right-handed pitchers.

By the way, the Giants had an outstanding opportunity to put a very effective and complementary platoon behind the plate after Benito Santiago left. Switch-hitting Gregg Zaun - a good-hit, no-field catcher - would have made an outstanding platoon partner for good-field, questionable-hit Torrealba. Instead Brian Sabean decided to trade for A.J. Pierzynski, seemingly placing FAR too much emphasis on Joe Nathan’s poor post-season in 2003 and ignoring that for most of the regular season, he was as lights-out as he would become as the Twins’ closer.

Over the years the Giants could have had players such as Zaun, Randy Winn after the 2001 season, right as he was to become a 2002 All-Star, Russell Branyan as a cheap platoon partner for overworked Pedro Feliz in 2006—and Placido Polanco and Carlos Guillen, both of whom the Tigers picked up for peanuts.

That sounds a lot like 20/20 hindsight now, but all five of those moves were recommended on one Giants board (not the McCovey Chronicles or your own fine site).

Brian Sabean seems to be redeeming himself with his prospect acquisitions of the past two years and two weeks, but at the major-league level instead of the guys above he picked up players such as Shinjo, Neifi Perez, Pierzynski, Edgardo Alfonzo and ultimately Omar Vizquel.

It wasn’t that Brian didn’t have the right idea in picking up veterans to surround Barry Bonds. He merely made some poor choices in whom he picked up.

Some will say that building around Barry superceded Brian’s rebuilding a Giants farm system that had needed to be rebuilt for nearly two decades before the work began in 2006. But isn’t that somewhat like saying you can’t walk and chew gum at the same time?

but there have been a couple diaries on it at Mccoveychronicles
http://www.norwichbulletin.com/sports/x194405749/Joe-Perez-Defenders-affiliation-has-been-a-Giant-pain
http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2008/5/27/540196/joe-perez-wants-the-giants
http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2008/5/27/540205/joe-perez-s-article-on-gia

Sounds like a divorce is imminent.

Check out the home/road splits again. It’s not about being good or bad, it’s the magnitude of the effect. Look at the pitchers, not the hitters. The pitchers face the whole rest of the Eastern League, hitters good, bad and indifferent, both at home and on the road.

Et voila: http://www.minorleaguesplits.com/cgi-bin/tm.cgi?tm=ConEL&rs=s&bp=p
OPS against is 130 points higher on the road. Dodd is a stadium that turns the entire Eastern League from decent hitters (766 OPS against Defenders pitching on the road) into punchless hackers (638 OPS against at Dodd).

I don’t think it’s necessarily bad to have a pitcher’s park like that in your system, but to pretend it ain’t what it is smacks of self-delusion.