San Francisco Giants pro scouting director Zack Minasian was one the first hires made by Farhan Zaidi, the former president of baseball operations. He is now the GM. (Photo: Kerry Crowley)
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Buster Posey and the Giants hired a general manager! Zack Minasian (his brother is also the GM of the Angles, btw) has spent six years with the Giants and prior to that, was with the Brewers organization for 15 years. He grew up in the Rangers’ clubhouse, as his dad was a clubhouse attendant. In his teens, Zack realized that he wasn’t going to make it as baseball player and set his sights on the front office. Well, he’s arrived. Randy Winn was also named VP of player development. We’ll see if positions come up for JT Snow and Rich Aurilia. Patrick Bailey and Matt Chapman won Gold Gloves. It’s Bailey’s first, Chapman’s fifth, and it’s the first time the Giants have had two or more Gold Glove winners since Crawford, Panik, and Posey in 2016. Notice how we didn’t mention the Dodgers? Wait, what?
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Look. Many Giants and fans of other franchises did not want to see Dodgers and Yankees. Chad certainly doesn’t. He’s rooting for a cancelation of the World Series. But, even though Eric and Willie would never want the Dodgers to win, they are intrigued by the superstar spectacle that this is. It’s a far cry from last year’s small market, wild card World Series between Arizona and Texas. In their 12th meeting in the World Series (5 ahead of the Yankees and Giants), and their first Fall Classic together since 1981, the Yankees and Dodgers square off in a Fox wet dream. Between the US and Japan viewership, this could be the most watched World Series in a decade or more. The boys make their picks, lament about Bay Area sports in general, and wrap it up with a little Giants’ news (3 Gold Glove finalists!). We’ll be back to review the World Series and get into the hot stove season with Buster Posey commanding the ship.
Buster Posey appears at the Giants’ press conference that introduced him as the Giants’ new President of Baseball Operations on October 1, 2024.
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The “Fire Farhan” brigade got their wish, but his replacement was a bit of a surprise. Buster Posey was named President of Baseball Operations of the San Francisco Giants. It’s not often that a franchise icon gets a chance to run their team, but if anyone can succeed, it’s Buster Posey. He was introduced Tuesday at Oracle Park and he promised to please the fans and players and get back to what San Francisco Giants’ baseball is all about. This man appears to care deeply about this team, and is somewhat putting his reputation on the line. A few call this move desperate, but it seems that most Giants fans are 100% behind this move. I mean, could it be worse than Farhan? One playoff appearance and one winning record in 6 years suggests not. Farhan’s time ran out. Maybe he was given too much rope as it is. Chad and Eric talk about this monumental decision in Giants history and the potential good and bad ramifications it could have on the franchise (we think mostly good!).
The San Francisco Giants have named former catcher Buster Posey their new President of Baseball Operations and fired Farhan Zaidi. Photo by Getty Images.
Wow, what an announcement this morning.
Farhan Zaidi’s reign as President of Baseball Operations is over after six years. One of the most beloved Giants in recent memory replaces him…Buster freakin’ Posey.
Chairman Greg Johnson made the announcement this (Monday) morning:
“As we look ahead, I’m excited to share that Buster Posey will now take on a greater role as the new President of Baseball Operations,” Johnson said in a statement. “We are looking for someone who can define, direct and lead this franchise’s baseball philosophy and we feel that Buster is the perfect fit. Buster has the demeanor, intelligence and drive to do this job, and we are confident that he and Bob Melvin will work together to bring back winning baseball to San Francisco.”
“We appreciate Farhan’s commitment to the organization and his passion for making an impact in our community during his six years with the Giants,” Johnson said. “Ultimately, the results have not been what we had hoped, and while that responsibility is shared by all of us, we have decided that a change is necessary.”
Some say it reeks of desperation, some think it’s a great move. I’ll have to think about it a bit more, and the three of us will bring our thoughts to the podcast airwaves soon, but my first impression is a big thumbs up. But, because Posey is so beloved, it also opens him up to the ire of Giants fans if he doesn’t produce. Yes, he’ll have a one or two year grace period, but if results aren’t apparent, he will and should draw the appropriate criticism. Some of us would not like to see one of our heroes fall from grace, but it’s not unprecedented in professional sports. Many stars have taken their shot at management with little to no success (Alan Trammel, Isiah Thomas, Brett Hull, Kevin McHale, Bart Starr, Ken Harrelson…and look at Derek Jeter with the Marlins), while others have done average to pretty damn good (John Lynch, Danny Ainge, Magic Johnson (eh), John Elway, Jerry West to name a few).
I would hate to see Buster’s legacy tarnished. So, this has to work, right?
As far as Zaidi is concerned, I was a staunch proponent of his hiring, and was still defending him after the 2022 season. My tune changed after the 2023 season, and I was rooting for an ingrown toenail ahead of his continuation in the role next year. Although he achieved success with Oakland and the Dodgers, the Giants only made the playoffs once. If you take away that (now known as an outlier) season of a franchise-record 107 wins, the Giants were under .500 in the other five seasons at 346-362. They never had a winning record in those five seasons, only breaking even at 81-81 in 2022.
Six seasons was plenty of rope. Plenty.
Most likely, Buster Posey will bring a more traditional style of management and scouting back to the Giants. I don’t think he’ll eschew analytics, but I don’t think you’ll find the revolving door that is the Giants roster needing as much grease.
Zaidi is not dumb. His past shows his methods have succeeded before, but maybe he knew his fate while the Giants were in Arizona near the end of the season, when he said the following:
“There’s been a meeting of the minds over time,” he said. “I’ve made adjustments and we’re at a point now where I think we’re very much in sync about the vision of the team. We want a younger team, we want a more athletic team, we want some consistency in the rotation and lineup. … There are good teams we face that are doing some of the things that may not be some of our favorites. There has to be a balance of everything.”
“I think in a way, we have to connect the two,” Zaidi said. “The last couple of offseasons, we’ve been very active in free agency. And while maybe that’s created some excitement, I do think it’s blocked some opportunities for these guys to get over the hump. Over the last five years, this hasn’t been a typical rebuild. We’ve tried to compete every year.
“It’s not going to be a teardown with three top-five draft picks and going from there. It’s taken longer. But between the players we have, we’re kind of on the other side of that where we have a different nucleus now. We have the ability to put a young team out there and be more targeted in free agency rather than feeling like we have to sign five, six players.”
He seemed to adopt a more traditional offseason by signing big free agents, including Matt Chapman, who ended up being 7th in WAR in baseball, the Giants’ Willie Mac award winner, and proclaimed several times that playoffs will happen next year. After a bumpy start, Blake Snell proved to be worth his contract, but ultimately if he opts out, his contribution means nothing without the postseason. However, there were too many misses, too many mediocre, mid-level signings, too many trades with the Mariners, and a farm system ranked last by Bleacher Report (but most sites rank them in the lower third or so…still not good).
The Farhan Zaidi experiment failed and failed miserably. It was time to move on, but is Buster the right guy? That answer will come with time and time alone.
Carlos Rodon appears pumped about the contract he’s going to cash in this offseason…probably. Rodon was voted by our hosts as the Giants’ best pitcher for 2022. Will he return in 2023? (probably not, if we’re being honest)
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It’s time to bust out the scalpel and open up the body of the Giants’ 2022 season to determine what went wrong with the team that won a franchise-record 107 games just a season ago. Eric, Willie, and Chad put their gloves on and dig deep into the mediocrity of their offense, the sub-average bullpen, and bad defense that was countered by their excellent starting pitching. They also put out their Christmas shopping list for Zaidi, take a look at how their pre-season predictions went, and forecast the 2022 MLB Playoffs. It’s a full one! Enjoy!
Buster Posey most likely used a lot of his successful investment into Body Armor to buy a portion of the Giants to become their first co-owner that was a player.
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Giants went 6-1 this week, making a .500 season possible if they go 6-3 the rest of the way. Buster Posey owns the Giants (partially)! Aaron Judge is going to be very expensive, no matter if he hits 60 or 63. Albert Pujols crosses 700 homers. The Giants’ pen is hot, and is it ok to wear your name on the back of a jersey?
Cardinals legend Albert Pujols took the mound for the 9th inning against the Giants. He gave up 4 runs, but we all had a blast. (photo USA Today)
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The Giants went 4-2 this week, but ended a 6-game winning streak. Eric and Chad talk review the week that was in San Francisco Giants’ baseball, including the trade of fan-favorite Mauricio Dubon. We had an entertaining blow-out on Sunday night baseball with Albert Pujols taking the bump along with Luis Gonzalez, and the Giants and Mariners keep making trades, including the same guy back and forth! Oh, and Eric is sporting a glorious mustache for May. Be sure to check it out below.
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Giants outfielder, Mike Yastrzemski celebrates with Joc Pederson after depositing a home run into McCovey Cove against the Cardinals on Mother’s Day (photo USA Today)
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Chad and Willie review the last week in Giants’ baseball. We talk about the highs and lows, Buster Posey Day, and an umpire doing weird things with Madison Bumgarner.
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Giants starting pitcher Alex Wood did not fare well against the Washington Nationals on Friday night, but he hopes to get back on the horse against his former Dodgers on Wednesday. (photo AP)
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We recorded episode #250 and reviewed the week in Giants’ baseball. Not the greatest week, going 2-3, but there were many challenges to overcome from COVID and injuries, Farhan is making deals everywhere, a career minor-leaguer finally got his chance in the show, and the rosters have contracted. Eric has a mini-rant about fair weather Giants fans at the end, so don’t miss it!
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Here is your 2022 San Francisco Giants Opening Day roster:
The roster is expanded to 28, from 26 for the month of April to help out with the double headers and lack of off days due to the season starting late from the lockout. Personally, not too many surprises, as it’s very similar to the 2021 opening day roster and what they had at the end of last season, aside from subbing Bart for Posey, adding Rodon and Pederson and a few others. Hey, the Giants are apparently 107-win underdogs this year. Let’s see how they do. They open tomorrow, Friday, April 8 at 1:35pm PDT at home against the Miami Marlins. Chad should be at Oracle on Monday when they battle the Padres, be sure to follow all the action at TortureCast on twitter.
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