[Mick]

Deadline is always interesting. Both for what the expectations are at the time of the moves and what actually happens. In thinking about past deadlines, here are some of the most impactful from a Giants perspective.

1. 1993. Braves acquire McGriff from Pads for who cares what. I don’t know if I can remember any other deadline hitter going nuts the way McGriff did in 93. Braves don’t beat the Giants that year without that deal. Still ticks me off. 

2.  1987. Mitchell Dravecky and Lefferts for Mark Grant, Mark Davis and Keith Comstock.  Best July deal in Giants history. Al Rosen has never got the credit he deserves.  He and Roger are a big reason franchise is still in SF. 

2. 1997. “White Flag” trade. Giants get Wilson Alvarez, Danny Darwin, and Roberto Hernandez from the White Sox. Three established, major-league pitchers. White Sox were still somewhat in the race. Hence the “white flag” moniker. But it actually turned out to be a pretty good deal for both teams. The trio helped the Giants get to the playoffs. And the White Sox picked up Keith Fowkes and Bobby Howry Both of whom has solid careers, especially Fowkes. Thing is, even that return comes with an asterisk. Because the key from the White Sox perspective was an infielder by the name of Mike Caruso. He was the top prospect in that deal. Never made it. 
5. 2012. The Dodgers makes a “blockbuster”  deal. Picking up, Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett and Carl Crawford. Pundits go nuts, all but handing the NL Crown to the Dodgers. Meanwhile, Giants trade Charlie Culbertson for Marco Scutaro. Drawing a collective yawn. And, of course, Scutaro ends up being the true blockbuster. They had already picked up Pence for Schierholtz. And Hunter had a good run with the Giants. But he did almost nothing in 2012, besides his inspirational leader ship. Although that turned out to be big. Still, he didn’t produce at a level anywhere near what the Giants were hoping and expecting that year. 

6. Beltran for Wheeler. Sometimes you win ( Jason Schmidt) sometimes you lose. A trade that in hindsight has been heavily criticized, but made perfect sense at the time. Giants were loaded with young pitching, led the division, and couldn’t hit a lick. Beltran was a borderline Hall of Fame player, switch hitter, and established run producer. He gets hurt, the Giants tank, and the rest is history.  T
So, after the deadline trades are made, and the pundits do their analysis, we will see what actually happens on the field. It’s often quite different than predicted. But it’s one heck of an interesting time of the year for baseball. And for the Giants.

One of the all time great steals. McGriff traded for three guys, one never made the majors, one played for a year, the other played for a few years -- badly.

Davis became a two time all star after having four horrendous years with the Giants (25-45). Grant and Comstock never did much. Dravecky was a former all star, Lefferts did much better for the Giants than the Padres, and Mitchell hit 143 home runs in three full and two partial seasons with the Giants. League MVP and two-time all star.

Fouke became an all star, led the league in saves once. Caruso was third in rookie of the year voting, batted .306, then .230 the next year, then career was over.

Always liked Pence. Former All-Star, Giants got him when he was just 29, and he had four good years with the Giants, but didn't do much in 2012...other than rally the troops for six consecutive must-win games. He had a tough time hitting with the Giants, worst BA, OBP and OPS of his four major league teams. Gets let go, then becomes an All Star in his only year with the Rangers.

The Beltran trade could have turned out much better than it did. Beltran hit .323/.369/.551/.920 for the Giants, the best OPS of his seven major league teams. He played five more years and was an all star in three of them, including 2012 and 2013. Would have been good to have him around.

[Mick]

Deadline is always interesting. Both for what the expectations are at the time of the moves and what actually happens. In thinking about past deadlines, here are some of the most impactful from a Giants perspective.

1. 1993. Braves acquire McGriff from Pads for who cares what. I don’t know if I can remember any other deadline hitter going nuts the way McGriff did in 93. Braves don’t beat the Giants that year without that deal. Still ticks me off. 

2.  1987. Mitchell Dravecky and Lefferts for Mark Grant, Mark Davis and Keith Comstock.  Best July deal in Giants history. Al Rosen has never got the credit he deserves.  He and Roger are a big reason franchise is still in SF. 

2. 1997. “White Flag” trade. Giants get Wilson Alvarez, Danny Darwin, and Roberto Hernandez from the White Sox. Three established, major-league pitchers. White Sox were still somewhat in the race. Hence the “white flag” moniker. But it actually turned out to be a pretty good deal for both teams. The trio helped the Giants get to the playoffs. And the White Sox picked up Keith Fowkes and Bobby Howry Both of whom has solid careers, especially Fowkes. Thing is, even that return comes with an asterisk. Because the key from the White Sox perspective was an infielder by the name of Mike Caruso. He was the top prospect in that deal. Never made it. 
5. 2012. The Dodgers makes a “blockbuster”  deal. Picking up, Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett and Carl Crawford. Pundits go nuts, all but handing the NL Crown to the Dodgers. Meanwhile, Giants trade Charlie Culbertson for Marco Scutaro. Drawing a collective yawn. And, of course, Scutaro ends up being the true blockbuster. They had already picked up Pence for Schierholtz. And Hunter had a good run with the Giants. But he did almost nothing in 2012, besides his inspirational leader ship. Although that turned out to be big. Still, he didn’t produce at a level anywhere near what the Giants were hoping and expecting that year. 

6. Beltran for Wheeler. Sometimes you win ( Jason Schmidt) sometimes you lose. A trade that in hindsight has been heavily criticized, but made perfect sense at the time. Giants were loaded with young pitching, led the division, and couldn’t hit a lick. Beltran was a borderline Hall of Fame player, switch hitter, and established run producer. He gets hurt, the Giants tank, and the rest is history.  T
So, after the deadline trades are made, and the pundits do their analysis, we will see what actually happens on the field. It’s often quite different than predicted. But it’s one heck of an interesting time of the year for baseball. And for the Giants.

One of the all time great steals. McGriff traded for three guys, one never made the majors, one played for a year, the other played for a few years -- badly.

Davis became a two time all star after having four horrendous years with the Giants (25-45). Grant and Comstock never did much. Dravecky was a former all star, Lefferts did much better for the Giants than the Padres, and Mitchell hit 143 home runs in three full and two partial seasons with the Giants. League MVP and two-time all star.

Fouke became an all star, led the league in saves once. Caruso was third in rookie of the year voting, batted .306, then .230 the next year, then career was over.

Always liked Pence. Former All-Star, Giants got him when he was just 29, and he had four good years with the Giants, but didn't do much in 2012...other than rally the troops for six consecutive must-win games. He had a tough time hitting with the Giants, worst BA, OBP and OPS of his four major league teams. Gets let go, then becomes an All Star in his only year with the Rangers.

The Beltran trade could have turned out much better than it did. Beltran hit .323/.369/.551/.920 for the Giants, the best OPS of his seven major league teams. He played five more years and was an all star in three of them, including 2012 and 2013. Would have been good to have him around.