Bruce Jenkins: Kapler needs to win quickly, but how?
In the days of Kirk Rueter, J.T. Snow and a place called Candlestick, a wonderful thing happened to the Giants. It was the summer of 1997, and they were tearing up a script that appeared to have been carved in granite.
The 1996 season had been a disaster: 94 losses, last place in the National League West, 23 games out. Perhaps a bit of revival could be forecast, but nothing like what took place: 90 wins, the division title, a spot in the postseason and widespread acclaim for firstyear general manager Brian Sabean.
It was one of those anythingcanhappen seasons, a bit like manager Bruce Bochy’s San Diego Padres reaching the 1998 World Series after a lastplace finish the year before, or a 97loss Arizona team surging to 100 wins the very next season (1999). Such radical turnarounds have been fairly common in the big leagues since the early ’90s.
Switch now to the Giants and new manager Gabe Kapler. Not since the days of Billy Martin, the untamed genius so prone to selfdestruction, has a manager been so enshrouded in doubt before a season even begins.
Martin tended to calm the turbulence by winning, instantly. It’s amazing what a little success can do for one’s reputation. But I ask you: How can that possibly happen for Kapler in 2020?
If you watched the World Series, you were reminded of the Giants’ suspect band of veterans, and how their young players hardly measure up to the elite. Within San Francisco’s own division, the Dodgers have a stunning edge in talent with a thirst for more, looking into Gerrit Cole, Stephen Strasburg, Anthony Rendon, Josh Donaldson and other big guns on the freeagent market.
We have witnessed the tireless work of president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, who crouched into a pile of damp twigs last season and started a fire. But things are different now. Kapler needs to win over a skeptical fan base, like right now, and that can only happen with a vibrant, contending team. With trade options limited and free agents likely to turn elsewhere, how can that possibly happen?
It means a lot more discomfort for Kapler. It means the first wave of serious pressure on Zaidi. They can handle it. We learned that in Wednesday’s press conference, when the two men spoke with such unwavering selfassurance, they diffused what loomed as a suffocatingly sour mood. But that was only the beginning.
How desperately the two of them could use a 162 start to the upcoming season, a searing midsummer hot streak, a bit of relevance in September. And how unlikely that seems.
All Gabe, all the time
Everyone’s being asked for an opinion on Kapler. Here’s mine: As The Chronicle staff learned of the three managerial finalists and did some homework in advance of the announcement, I didn’t even consider Kapler, figuring it was some kind of joke. I was looking mostly into Joe Espa
da, with his solid track record and a Puerto Rican heritage so wellsuited to today’s baseball climate. Kapler struck me as an appalling hire, just from the risk factor, and some people won’t ever let go of that. I’m not among them. I’ve tossed aside all the tools of judgment. I believe in second chances and a fresh start, especially for someone as bright and engaging as Kapler. Maybe he’ll be exposed as a phony, a narcissist, a poor strategist, whatever, but let’s just see how he fares, as a manager and as a person. Don’t spoil the romance of spring training with thoughts of divorce . ... Just for the record, there are Hall of Fame managers who bombed horribly in the early going.
Bobby Cox’s first two seasons were sixthplace finishes with the Braves (197879), and he managed eight years before reaching the postseason. Joe
Torre broke in with the Mets (197781), finishing sixth in each of his first three seasons and compiling a 286420 overall record. Before landing with the Yankees in 1949, Casey
Stengel managed nine seasons in the National League (Brooklyn and Boston, 193443) and never finished higher than fifth. Terry Francona, who might get to Cooperstown one day, spent his first four managerial seasons with the Phillies from 19972000 and went absolutely nowhere (285363) . ... On Wednesday morning, KNBR interviewed exGiants reliever
Javier Lopez, who played with Kapler in Boston, and
Kevin Frandsen, part of the Phillies’ radio broadcasting crew, each praising Kapler’s knack for communication. “I like the hire,” said Frandsen. “I think he’ll be able to command the room. If the Dodgers had chosen him instead of Dave
Roberts (reportedly, that almost happened before the 2016 season), he would have won all of those regularseason games. He’s just a really smart individual. I think he’ll be able to connect with the guys here.” The specter of Tim Flannery looms over every Giants thirdbase coach, Flannery having combined preparation, instincts and a bit of showmanship into a magnificent package. Ron Wotus isn’t much for show, but he did an exceptional job last season, and Kapler is lucky to have him on board . ... Asked about being drafted in the 57th round by the Tigers in 1995, Kapler said he didn’t even know he’d been selected, but fully understood because “I didn’t have much talent.” Not so. Playing for the Tigers’ DoubleA Jacksonville club in 1998, he was voted Minor League Player of the Year (.322 with 28 homers and 146 RBIs). He hit .302 with a clubrecord 28game hitting streak for the 2000 Texas Rangers and .301 for the ’08 Brewers, finishing at .268 lifetime over 2,983 atbats . ... Perhaps most interesting, though, is that Kapler was on the field when the Boston Red Sox broke their 86year “Curse of the Bambino.” It was Game 4 of their World Series sweep of the Cardinals in 2004, and Kapler had pinchrun for Trot Nixon in the top of the eighth. Now he was in right field, perched there when Edgar Renteria grounded out to pitcher Keith Foulke to end it. Kapler played 136 games for Boston that year, starting 73 in the outfield, mostly in right . ... Final thought on Zaidi: We know beyond question that he can be bold. Outrageously so. At what point will he orchestrate the transition from Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford into the future?