Jul 21 2008
Giants Trade Durham, More Moves to Come as Lincecum Struggles in Return
Giants second baseman Ray Durham was traded yesterday, to the visiting Milwaukee Brewers for outfielder Darren Ford, considered by some the fastest player in the minor leagues, and minor league lefthander Steve Hammond. Hammond is the older, more advanced player in the deal, with a 7-8 record and a 4.09 era in 19 starts at the AA and AAA levels this year. Ford is a 23 year old in high A ball hitting only .230 with 88 strikeouts in 343 at bats. He also has 48 stolen bases but has been caught 11 times. A raw talent to be sure, but he fits in with Eugenio Velez and Emmanuel Burriss as possibilities to bring the element of speed to the team in the coming years.
Taking in the game yesterday one got the feeling that the team was playing out the string already. Even with ace Tim Lincecum on the mound the offense was unable to get anything going against Brewers SP Manny Parra. The defense too seemed lackadaisical with three errors that drove up Lincecum’s pitch count. While the score didn’t reflect the lifeless effort, the loss nonetheless showed that the team is just about done for the season. Falling a season high 18 games below .500 should make it clear to the fanbase and management that it is time to light up the fire sale. Players who are likely to be moved include reliever Jack Taschner, OF Randy Winn, 1B/3B Rich Aurilia, OF Dave Roberts, and potentially catcher Bengie Molina. Moving Molina to a team like Boston who can’t be happy with Jason Varitek’s production, would be a genius stroke if GM Brian Sabean was able to secure an advanced hitting prospect. While Molina has been solid this season, he doesn’t figure to be a part of any Giants resurgence in the coming seasons.
