Let's Play: Sabean Is An Idiot

Q: How do the following players relate to the San Francisco Giants?

• Huston Street (2005 AL Rookie of the Year)
  
• Dustin Pedroia (2007 AL Rookie of the Year)
  
• Kurt Suzuki (.289 BA in April)
  
• Hunter Pence (3rd 2007 NL Rookie of the Year)

A: Well, they were all still available with the Giants 29th pick in the 2004 baseball draft. At least until Giants general manager Brian Sabean purposefully relinquished the pick to the Kansas City Royals by signing free agent outfielder Michael Tucker mere hours before the arbitration deadline. The rules at the time were such that had Sabean waited for the deadline to pass, he could have signed Tucker to the same contract and not yielded the compensatory pick to KC. Tucker spent less than two seasons with the Giants as a platoon outufielder, batting .251 with 18 home runs and 95 RBI. The Giants failed to make the playoffs both years. It should be noted, the above players were no longer available by the time the Giants finally made their first selection of the draft in the second round (pick #70).

Now naturally, it's unlikely Sabean would have drafted any of these players anyway. He gave away the pick to begin with because he had so little confidence in his own ability to draft that paying a first round signing bonus represented untenable financial risk. To be fair, the Royals themselves used the pick on a player that seems to have fizzled in the minor leagues.

That notwithstanding, we're playing "Sabean Is An Idiot" here, and it looks like it's beginning to be nationally understood what a fun game it is (especially if you're not a Giants fan).