Integrity; Unimportant to some, Hugely important to me

[klaiggeb]

I said in my "Epiphany" post that this is likely what Zaidi's plan is; wait until the season is underway, build up player value and then make deals.

On the surface what Zaidi has done appears to make sense.

Key word; appears.

Here are a few of my problems with him and what he's done:

1-Zaidi continues to tell fans we're going to be competitive this season.

We aren't and won't be.

That's deception #1

2-Though I like signing Drew, IMHO it's a smoke screen to delude fans, as I have previously said.

A guy coming off one bad year does not concern me especially if he had arm problems that were NOT TJ related.

Thus, we have deception #2, that we can and will compete this season, tricking naive fans into buying tickets.

3-What's with all the rule 5 and other 'stretch' signings? If the rebuild really is under way, why sign a pitcher who throws with both hands who is 32 years old?

That's not building for the future.

In my eyes that's a thinly designed gimmick-signing to get fans into the park.

And that is deception #3.



I know GMs can't come out and say what the plan is. I get that.

I'm old, not brain dead or stupid.

But if actions speak louder than words, what are Zaidi's actions (and words), saying?

To me they say that Zaidi is, at heart, a dishonest man because he's purposely misleading the fans.

That, to me, shows a decided lack of integrity.

And I do not deal well with people who think integrity is an STD one gets off a dirty toilet seat.

[rog]

1-Zaidi continues to tell fans we're going to be competitive this season.

We aren't and won't be.

That's deception #1


Rog -- It's going to be REALLY hard for the Giants to be competitive. Here is part of an MLB Trade Rumors chat that asks if signing Bryce Harper would make the Giants competitive:

Q: With a little luck, rebounding, and health, couldn't the Giants contend this season with Bryce?

A: Say it's a 76 win team. Harper adds five wins to the ledger so you're at 81. Pomeranz and Samardzija could beat their projections and get you three more wins to get to 84. Grab Marwin in a Boras package deal, add two more wins, you're at 86. The Giants would firmly be in Wild Card territory in that scenario.

I do not think they hired Zaidi to do that.


So it is quite possible that even signing Bryce Harper wouldn't put the Giants in the playoffs unless other players exceed expectations, even if the Giants added Marwin Gonzalez in the package.

Here are some things that Farhan has said:

“We definitely want to be competitive but we also recognize we’re going to have to be open to creative ideas, and, basically, be open to anything and everything.”

"We spent this offseason having to be realistic with where we are and being willing to listen on anything."

He said that in general, the Giants’ offseason maneuverings have been made more difficult by their lack of prospect depth and financial flexibility. “The reality is our organizational stock in both those areas is not particularly high right now. It just casts a different light on the opportunities that we have out there.”

“We’re going to do what we can within the constraints we have to put a competitive ballclub out there in 2019."


Others say:

He’s been praised at every juncture of his career and lauded for his ability to blend competing interests.

Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said Friday he expects the team to make a roster move via free agency or a trade "in the next three or four days." The Giants signed Derek Holland three days later.


As I read those things, it sounds to me like Farhan is saying that the Giants face great obstacles, but that they are working hard to put a competitive team on the field. Is that rather different from telling the fans that the Giants are going to be competitive this year?

Is Farhan truly saying what we're repeating that he is saying, or are we simply misinterpreting based on our own biases and desperate hopes?

We're frustrated, so are we twisting his words in order to give us an easier scapegoat? It's Farhan's responsibility; he has an extremely tough challenge; it will likely take him longer than we'd like to make significant positive changes; and in the end, his job rests on his ability to make those positive changes.

But we seem to be rushing to judgment, and twisting his words in order to make it easier for us to do so.

Read more: sfgiantsmessageboard.proboards.com/thread/5037/integrity-unimportant-hugely-important-me#ixzz5dxh8xoDS

[rog]

Though I like signing Drew, IMHO it's a smoke screen to delude fans, as I have previously said.


Rog -- Farhan is spending all of $1.5 million on a pitcher (with incentives that could take him to $5 million IIRC), and he thinks he's going to delude Giants fans with such a huge signing? Seriously?





Read more: sfgiantsmessageboard.proboards.com/thread/5037/integrity-unimportant-hugely-important-me?page=1#ixzz5dxo7lNQ4

[rog]

I do not deal well with people who think integrity is an STD one gets off a dirty toilet seat.


Rog -- We haven't seen each other in a long time, but it seems to me that you're hanging around with the wrong type of people. I don't know anyone like that myself, and I don't believe you do either.

I wish you and I had the chance to meet Farhan and could talk with him for an hour -- and that he could open up to us about what he his facing, how he is approaching the problems, and when and what he's hoping the results will be. I think we woiuld come away highly impressed with his baseball knowledge, all the way down to the concept of team play.

Read more: sfgiantsmessageboard.proboards.com/thread/5037/integrity-unimportant-hugely-important-me?page=1#ixzz5dxob8kqF

[klaiggeb]

It's not a case of 'hanging around' with the wrong people, Rog, it's that as one goes through their day one can't help but run into them.

In January we were gone on a 12 day cruise to the Caribbean and just having conversations with people gives you an idea of where they stand on the subject of integrity.

Then you listen to people on dry land talk about what they would do in this or that type of a situation and that tells you a lot.

When I was still teaching I had to speak with tons of parents and mostly what I heard made me sick to my stomach!


Integrity?

Sorry, there isn't much of it left out there.

[rog]

No question integrity is in scarce supply. We see examples on the news every day.

But there are a lot of good people out there too. We see them in church, of course, but also in just about every walk of life.

Unless I can do something to help them, I just put the people lacking integrity out of my mind.

In the case of Farhan, I look closely at what he has said, re-examine it, and realize that he has told us what he's working hard to to, not what he's promised to do.

Regarding the signing of Drew Pomeranz, the Giants signed him for $1.5 million, and one of the things Farhan cited was that Pomeranz has bullpen experience (a 3.00 ERA there in fact). Farhan emphasized that the Giants weren't certain Jeff Samardzija would start the season and that the Giants didn't want to over-extend the innings of your starters Dereck Rodriguez and Andrew Suarez, and that he expected Pomeranz to be in the rotation.

But I must have missed the part where Farhan tried to pull the wool over anyone's eyes. He spoke both of Pomeranz's versatility and Drew's need to get his career back on track. If I were pulling the wool over someone's eyes, I would have used much thicker wool.