Felipe Crespo

- Will he get a starting opportunity?

The same was asked of Zuleta a while back, which I failed to answer in a timely fassion. So, let me cover both here.

My answer for both would be that it will be very difficult to get a spot at any position on the Giants. Position by position:

left field

This is probably the most open position on the Giants' roster. Shimizu is the usual choice, but Nioka has been practicing in left to allow Motoki and perhaps even Fukui to play short.

right field

This is Takahashi's spot. I can't believe that his poor pre-season outing will continue long as he's one of the most tallented players on the team.

first base

The Giants have more first basemen than they know what to do with. Kiyohara is the main first baseman, with Etoh moving over from third when Kiyo is injured - also opening up a spot for Motoki.

second base

Nishi is the main second baseman. Motoki is the usual sub at second should Nishi be unable to play.

third base

Third is Etoh's spot. Should Etoh not be able to play due to injury or filling in at first for a hurt Kiyohara, Motoki fills in.

The only way I see either Crespo or or Zuleta getting any playing time at all is if at least one of the veteran regulars gets hurt or falls into a deep slump.

- Do you think he will play better in Japan?

I'll pass with predicting how foreign players will do. If either gets a chance to play, it all depends on their attitude (covered in another thread asking about playing in Japan).

Julio Zuleta will not be going to Japan. There are several reasons. Zuleta hurt his hamstring this offseason and that harmed his chances of making it to the Giants. The Giants signed Crespo for $700,000 on a one year contract. Zuleta would have signed a $2.8 million contract for two years. The Giants save money and there is less of a chance for injury with Crespo.

Crespo was signed as a bench player pure and simple. He will see a lot of playing time against lefthanders since Takayuki Shimizu doesn't hit lefthanders apparently. The only thing about them signing Crespo is
they may not really need him. Kenji Fukui has been an
effective utility guy this spring and is cheaper
than Crespo.

As Michael-san said, it is true that they are thinking
of Nioka for left, but the problem with that is that
Shimizu will hit for a higher average and has actual
experience playing there. Nioka has more power potential (career high 16 homers) than Motoki as a shortstop and is better defensively, but Motoki was more durable and hit better when he played than Nioka did last season.

Unless they suspect that Fukui is a flash in the pan (entirely possible), I don't see how they need Crespo.
If they are looking for pop off the bench, Crespo doesn't provide that. So in the main, the Crespo deal is a big "huh?" to me.

Everyone who posted here was right about Crespo. He was signed to be a bench player and nothing else. However, he's been having a hard time just trying to get any kind of playing time.

According to one of the weekly tabloids, Crespo recently took out his frustation over his lack of playing time on Hara-kantoku's office and his locker. He apparently went ballistic and let it be known that he felt he was lied to when he first signed with the Giants. As Yogi Berra would say, "It's deja vu all over again." Mariano Duncan did the same exact thing back in '98.

I have very little sympathy for these guys. They should've done their research and they should've known that the Giants lineup is set from top to bottom. Unless you're say, Sammy Sosa or someone like that, it's going to be tough to crack the Giants lineup.

According to the tabloid, Hara reportedly said this after Crespo's little temper tantrum, "Put up some results if you're going to bitch." In Crespo's defense, it's hard to put up numbers when your derriere is glued to the bench.

I think that felipe crespo is the man hands down, he should get a starting position on the team because he is that good of a player. Felipe did great things for the phillies off of the bench.

Crespo has no chance to be a starter. Pretty much everyone is producing for Yomiuri (which is why they are nine games ahead as I write this) except Etoh, but then you have Motoki and Saito, both of whom have done a pretty good job, to plug in when Etoh or Nishi or Kiyohara has to be sat down. And he was told that he
was going to be a bench player, so nobody lied to him.
He's like a Jose Offerman or Wilton Guerrero, who won't face up to the fact that they aren't good enough to be front line players.