What a turnaround

Sporting News, The, June 23, 1997 by Joan Ryan

After trading popular third baseman Matt Williams last winter, the San Francisco public made its unhappiness known. With the Giants now leading their division, things don't look so bad anymore

Giants general manager Brian Sabean hadn't eaten yet. It was after 6 p.m., with a game set to start in an hour. "Arrgghh," he growls sinking into the couch in his office. "One of those Mondays. One meeting after the next " The room is devoid of all personal touches, even though he has inhabited the office since last September. There is not a single picture on the wall. "Haven't had time yet," he says.

Sabean has been a little busy since last November, when--in his first move as general manager--he traded popular All-Star third baseman Matt Williams to the Indians for infielders Jeff Kent and Jose Vizcaino and pitchers Julian Tavarez and Joe Roa plus $1 million. The trade elicited such vulgar phone mail that Sabean stopped listening. His secretary screened all calls and mail. The radio-heads trashed him. The columnists vilified him. Letters to the editor cast him as an idiot. Kids razzed his year-old son on the playground. Even some other general managers whispered that Sabean had been taken for a ride by Cleveland, that he had given up too much for a handful of journeymen.

When each baseball preview section arrived at his door this spring, Sabean would scan the National League West and find the Giants at the bottom, fourth of four teams.

The critics have quieted a bit since then.

The lowly, no-name Giants are in first place.

Sabean feels a bit like Jack watching his worthless beans sprout into the clouds.

"We're doing what we set out to do " Sabean says. "Only we're doing it earlier than we expected."

To hear Sabean tell it, he never doubted the intelligence of the deal. The Giants had finished last the previous two seasons. Sabean knew he needed to make changes but he had to work within a budget. He couldn't afford to sign new players unless he dropped one of the two big salaries on the team: Williams or left fielder Barry Bonds. Williams was probably more popular, but Bonds was healthier, which was important. Whoever stayed on the team would be signed to a long-term contract. Bonds was a better investment.

As much as Sabean and the Giants loved Williams, a good guy on and off the field, he couldn't be the setup man for closer Rod Beck. He couldn't tee the leadoff batter. He couldn't be the double-play combination. He couldn't play center field and first base. There were too many holes to fill to keep a big-salaried player such as Williams.

"We were tired of losing," Sabean says. "People didn't seem to understand that. The only reason we were doing this was to get better."

With Bonds as his anchor, Sabean set out to shore up just about every other position. He didn't get superstars, but he landed solid players who wouldn't be easy outs in the lineup and who had the maturity to jell quickly as a team. Alter the Cleveland blockbuster, Sabean signed first baseman J.T. Snow and third baseman Mark Lewis. The $1 million from the Williams deal helped him afford center fielder Darryl Hamilton, the Giants' first true leadoff man since Brett Butler left seven years ago.

"This is a situation," Giants owner Peter Magowan says, "where the sum might be better than the individual parts. Hey, we still might end up in last place. But I do think we've proven to the rest of the league that they have to take us seriously."

The Giants seem to be hanging on to first place with bubblegum and rubberbands. After going 17-7 in April, they were 14-14 m May. Bonds, their one star, is having a down year, batting below .260 with fewer than 35 RBIs through last Wednesday. The team batting average hovers below .250, third lowest in the league through last Wednesday. The Giants have hit half the home runs that Colorado has. Their pitching is average. Fielding, too. Certainly, they haven't enjoyed a homefield advantage: They have the lowest average attendance of any National League team.

"We know we can still play better," manager Dusty Baker says. "We know our offense is better than this. And that bodes well for the second half of the season."

What Baker especially likes about this group is its resiliency.

Most winning teams have a certain untangible quality to them, whether it's called character or chemistry or was question whatever. So far, the Giants are that kind of team. They win close games. They recover quickly from draining losses. They mount comebacks late in games. They win on get-away days.

Because nearly everyone is new, this is a team that hasn't been beaten down by the two previous Giants seasons. They don't expect to lose, as last year's team seemed to do.

"It's a matter of belief," Baker says. "It's a matter of being mentally tough as a unit. And these guys have something to prove. These are guys looking for a home. They're tired of moving their families."

Besides the power of Jeff Kent, who leads the team in home runs and RBIs, key acquisitions have been setup men Doug Henry and Rich Rodriguez. They've allowed the Giants to utilize closer Rod Beck more judiciously and effectively. "That's probably the No.1 surprise, how well those guys have done for us," Baker says.