Giants buyers or sellers? Time to decide is coming
An edited transcript of an interview with Giants general manager Bobby Evans:
Q: What can be done with this squad? I don’t get why they can’t hit. I know injuries have not helped the cause. It seems like everything that could go wrong is going wrong. A: It would be nice to get everyone healthy and see what that does. (Hunter) Pence is not far away, there is still everyday guys who are not producing at their customary levels . ... We have a core that has been there, done it, you have to believe they have more in tank. I think that our starting pitching has turned back to a little better place.
Q: Two months into the season, the last time you were sub-.500 was 2008. You guys are used to at this point of the season being over .500 . ... Does June 1 hold any significance in that guys should be what they are at this point of the season?
A: Guys who have track records are still not what they are supposed to be or what they have been historically, so it is concerning and frustrating; it is going to have to turn to give us a fighting chance. At this point I don’t know if I can say where we are is who we are, but we clearly have deficits and weaknesses that have to be addressed.
Q: We don’t need to spend a ton of time on this (Hunter) Strickland versus (Bryce) Harper thing, but one of the things that has been thrown around that I think you can clarify better than anyone else is Buster Posey’s role in this. Buster is a great teammate, no one is questioning that, but there was discussion that this is a mandate from the organization that Buster shouldn’t get involved in any of that type of activity?
A: There has been no edict; you have a catcher who is extremely thoughtful about how he does his job and is an extremely strong leader in that clubhouse . ... I think that in some ways you saw expression of his disappointment at the circumstances.
Q: Still about a month or so away from being buyers or sellers, we will see where you guys land. Would it be fair to say that even if you were sellers it would be a different type of seller, because you still feel that you have a core that you feel can compete?
A: Yes, we have to evaluate our core, we have to look at our core honestly in the mirror and assess whether they are in a position that they can continue to be part of that core. I think the initial assessment that, yes, our core is built to win and built to win again soon, we need to be mindful of that. It is going to make a trade deadline any year challenging. It will be interesting, but from our standpoint we believe we have a core to work around. We are going to want to make sure to maintain that, and any deals we make ultimately we hope will improve our club both short term and of course long term.