Series two in this twelve game homestand. There's no Barry Bonds show with this edition of the Giants, but we do get to spend some time with Lou Seal. You can't complain about that.
: Welcome back to FishStripes, Lou.
: Thanks for having me, Grover.
: You guys sure roughed up my man Dontrelle out in San Francisco last month. Can't you give the local boy some home cooking?
: Hey, we may not have Bonds and Schmidt may be having a down year, but we've still got playoff hopes. We've got to take advantage of an opportunity to knock a guy like Willis around when we can. Those chances don't come around very often.
: Speaking of the playoff push, I was a little confused about the Giants moves at the trade deadline, or lack of moves really. There seemed to be a lot of demand for Jason Schmidt - especially since so many teams think that they're still in the hunt. But the Giants only went after Randy Winn.
: Yes, it was a bit of a curious move. Winn is a nice player, but he doesn't do much to help the Giants get younger - which is definitely a problem. This is an old club. Even with the prospects they have in the minors right now, there are plenty of holes to fill in the medium to long term. Randy Winn is probably not the solution there.
But that said, it's hard to argue with Brian Sabean's track record. A lot of credit typically goes to Roger Craig (going way back), Dusty Baker, Felipe Alou - as well as players like Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent - as it should. But in reality, much of the Giants success should be credited to Sabean, who has consistently built a team that's in position to compete year in and year out. It may not look like that this year, but if Barry was healthy and able to play - even for a small fraction of the year, the Giants would be right in this race.
: Speaking of Barry, I know we won't see him in this series, but will we see him at all this year?
: I really don't think so. I know that some of the medical people are disputing Barry's recent statements, but it's sure hard for me to imagine a player coming back when that player thinks that he's out for the full year. As much as recovering from an injury is purely physical, it's also a very mental issue as well. In order for Barry to return (especially to be anything near the player we all remember him to be), his head and his heart have to be into the comeback completely. And hearing Barry speak about it, it sounds like he's gearing himself up for the 2006 campaign.
: Thanks for your time, Lou.