The Factor

Juan Uribe began the season last year as a utility player with not a very bright future. But when Renteria went down with an injury and, on top of that, played atrocious last year, Uribe came in the clutch batting .289 with sixteen homeruns and 55 RBI's in 122 games. This was production coming from the bottom of the lineup. He provided the extra push that kept the Giants in the race up until the end of the season. In an offense that proved to be almost non-existent, he was the torch that kept the team going. It wasn't enough to pull them through last year, but his role hasn't changed this year. I was excited when they re-signed him this offseason because I think he is going to be the X factor yet again this year. That became even more apparent when I learned that Freddy Sanchez had a secret surgery in December and is questionable for Opening Day. It is likely that Uribe will fill that spot to start the season. He will be filling in all the spots because this infield is already thin to begin with. If either Huff or Renteria go down to injury he will have to step in at third or short as well. After him there really isn't anybody else who can adequately fill a hole. Frandsen, Velez, and Burris are all very very questionable in the lineup and mediocre in the field. Out of the three Velez has the biggest upside, showing some flashes of brilliance on the diamond and even batted .300 for awhile last year. For right now though the Giants are relying on Uribe and I have faith that he will come through and be the factor that keeps the Giants rolling this season.

Lots of Money and A Surprise Move

As the days go by the Giants continue to go through the process of offseason business and it is officially arbitration time. The Giants agreed to one year deals with Jonathan Sanchez and Jeremy Affeldt. The costly one is going to be Lincecum. He is asking for thirteen million for the upcoming season. Now he has won the Cy Young twice in the past two years. It seems like an insane amount of money and I know that that is what all the other premiere pitchers are getting but I don't see why an athlete should be making that much money. They are performers and nothing else. They aren't improving the world in any way except for entertainment and they are fabulous entertainment. But they aren't worth thirteen million a year. So if I were Lincecum I would just be happy that I am able to do what I love best for a living. It seems a little obnoxious having to take this matter to court. Players should be happy with what they get. I am not ragging on Lincecum and I hope everything works out because it is amazing to watch him play.



In other news the Giants shocked the nation by resigning Bengie Molina when it looked like they were parting ways after they couldn't agree to a multi-year contract. This move gives me mixed feelings. Molina was the second best producer on a terrible offensive team and we definitely need that again this year because our offense is a huge huge question mark. But the down side is that he is getting up there in years and in terrible shape. If he can produce for one more year than it will work out perfectly because next year Buster Posey will be ready. So that means that Molina is another added question mark to the bunches of others. Lets hope they turn into answers and the Giants dominate the West.



Merkin Valdez is traded to the Blue Jays for cash money!

Offseason of Question Marks

Can somebody tell me why the Giants don't go out and make the big move? It seems like the last time they did that was when the got Barry Bonds from the Pittsburgh Pirates. It's not like they don't have the money. They have paid big bucks to the likes of Barry Zito, Edgar Renteria, and Aaron Rowand. And yet, they aren't interested in the top names like Mark Texiera, Jason Bay, and Matt Holiday.

The Giants need hitting badly but they only have themselves to blame. After the Bond's era they wanted to change the look of their team by getting younger and to a certain extent they did that. They have gotten gems like Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, Madison Bumgarner, and Pablo Sandoval from their farm system. The only problem with that list is the Sandoval is the only hitter. The other youngsters from the system are players like Nate Shierholtz, Fred Lewis, Emmanuel Burris, and Eugenio Velez. They have all shown flashes of brilliance in their appearances at the highest level but in the long run they haven't helped the club much. So if things aren't producing in the minors then you turn to the free agent market. San Francisco did this but instead of getting the top guns they get the late thirties, past there prime players that want to start.

It's not any different this year as the Giants pick up Mark DeRosa and Aubrey Huff. It's not that these players are bad and they definitely deserve to play a lot this year for any team. But when a team as desperate for hitting as the Giants are looks at the free agent market its not at names like Huff or DeRosa but Bay and Holliday. They need someone for the middle of the lineup and although Huff has been there for most of his career he is not at the age to be doing it now.

After all that negativity, another question is brought up. How are the Giants going to do this year? The answer is playoffs. The Giants posted a 88-74 season last year and came within a couple games of making the final month. That was basically on pitching alone. The Giants won at least two thirds of the their games by scoring 4 runs or fewer and when the did score more than four they won almost all of them. The pitching is not going to get any worse either. In fact it might get even better. Sanchez is bound to have a better year than last year after struggling through the first half of the season before his near perfect game. The Giants are also highly considering putting Bumgarner in the five spot and he has the ability to become a top of the rotation type pitcher in the near future. The question mark is hitting. If Aaron Rowand can turn around the way he has been playing since he joined the Giants and Renteria plays at a higher level then the Giants have a chance of going very far. If DeRosa and Huff don't have sub par years like last year and refer back to their hitting ways then the city by the bay will be one of the places selling playoff tickets this October. But if all these guys play like most middle aged, past their prime players then we can expect another year of wishing what we could have done. That leads us to the final quesion. Which San Francisco Giants team will we see?

Positives and Negatives

Positives:

Tim Lincecum was named Pitcher of the Year by MLB.com. This doesn't come as much of a surprise after his winning of the Cy Young, but it is a nice addition to his growing list of accomplishments. He is gearing up for another great year but has not recieved the support needed to insure the Giants of a satisfactory season.

Negatives: 

Still nothing has happened since the move for Edgar Renteria. The Giants have half way improved there team, meaning the bullpen, but they haven't really improved there lineup at all. They really need another hitter if they want to contend at all next year.

At this point there really isn't much to say. We will have to wait and see what happens before I am able to talk anymore.

A Worthless Week

This was a disappointing week in the Giants organization. It wasn't so much that they weren't able to get C.C. Sabathia as that they said they would be fine if they weren't able to get another bat to add to their lineup. Bruce Bochy said that he and managment were okay with playing Pablo Sandoval and Travis Ishikawa on the corners at the start of the season. 

I am fine with Sandoval starting but Ishikawa is not a proven enough player, in my eyes, to be the opening day first baseman. He only has three homeruns in his 45 game career and that shows that he doesn't have much pop. A first baseman is known to hit balls out of the park. He is an above average fielder, but right now, hitting is what the Giants need. Ishikawa is not the answer. I know that the Giants are wanting to go young and I really want that to happen as well, but I don't see a future for Travis with the Giants. 

I think they need to acquire a third baseman. Sandoval will make a fine first baseman and the market looks bleak in that area anyway. Adam Dunn was the best option and he is getting old and we don't really need all the strike outs and poor fielding anyway. At third, we did lose the option of getting Casey Blake, but we can still get Joe Crede or Jorge Cantu. These guys would add some more power to the club and Crede is a solid defender as well. 

I think if the Giants want to have an even ok infield next year, there going to have to make another move before the season starts. It is unfortunate that the Giants are fine with what they have now. This just shows they don't have any real urge to win soon. One more is all it takes.

Two Moves In Two Days

This past week was a busy time for Brian Sabean. He made two aquisitions; one a pitcher and one a shortstop. Bob Howry and Edgar Renteria respectively. Both these moves were to fill holes that were needed to be filled. Sabean wants to go into the winter meetings without having to make too many moves. It is a lot harder to make moves when you have so many to make then when you only have to focus on one guy. Now he can focus on getting the big name pitcher or big name hitter in Las Vegas.

Neither of these guys particularly gets me excited, although Renteria does a little more because of all his hardware and his ability to hit in the N.L. Bob Howry is a pretty solid pitcher who has posted a 3.68ERA over his career, but he is coming off his worst season where posted a 5.35ERA. I haven't really liked either of the pitchers Sabean has gotten so far. He said he wants to make his bullpen more reliable but both of the pitchers he has acquired have been ok at best. Both pitchers have never really been big name guys and the both have had some bad seasons in the league. Right now I have more faith in the yoing guys then Affeldt and Howry. 

Edgar Renteria is coming off a poor season with the Tigers. Analysts have said he is looking past his prime. Two reason why I don't think he is are that he was in the American league last year and he is a way better National League hitter, and he was playing for a team that was terrible last year. Because the team was so bad, nobody really played at a high level. He has been to the All-Star game multiple years and has won a Golden Glove. And, if you think about it any upgrade hitting wise at the shortstop position would be an upgrade. Renteria certainly is that and more. He is a .290 lifetime hitter and hits 25-30 homeruns a year. 

In a way these moves may turn out better than people think at first look. This gives Sabean time to acquire a Sabathia or Randy Johnson instead of filling up his smaller holes. Jut think of our rotation if this happened.

1. Tim Lincecum

2. C.C. Sabathia

3. Matt Cain

4. Barry Zito

5. Noah Lowry

or

1. Tim Lincecum

2. Matt Cain

3. Randy Johnson

4. Barry Zito 

5. Noah Lowry

Those would be two unstoppable rotations. He also can make a trade to get his first/third baseman. Getting rid of Jonathon Sanchez could get him someone like Casey Blake, Joe Crede or Adam Dunn. I am looking forward to what gets done this week at the Winter Meetings. If any of things that I mentioned happen, then I think that Giants fans have a reason to hope for good things this coming season.

Giants Offseason, So Far

The Giants look to be on the attack mode early. They have already signed Jeremy Affeldt to a two year, 8 million dollar contract. They also have been reported to be in the hunt for many other free agents, including C.C. Sabathia, Mark Texiera, Orlando Hudson, and especially Rafael Furcal. Furcal has narrowed the teams he wants to go to, down to four and the Giants are one of the four.

Now, I don't completely understand the move for Affeldt. I know the Giants want to bolster there bullpen but I don't really see any improvement with this move. The Giants were tied for 14th in ERA with a 4.45. They just picked up a guy who has a career 4.55 ERA. I don't say any bolstering going on there. He also has a losing record. If they really wanted to improve there bullpen then they shouldn't have signed this guy. All we can hope for now is that he rights his ship and has a great season. 

Furcal is a lot better fit. He would fill a hole and add some pop to the lineup. For his size he has a lot of power. He also has one of the strongest arms at short in the league. Since Ivan Ochoa is no longer with the team we didn't have a youngster to fill the spot. Furcal would also give us a true leadoff man. A thing we've been looking for for over three years. Let's just hope he doesn't pick the team across the bay. 

I hope that the Giants aren't finished after these two moves because we are still in need of a third/first basemen (Pablo Sandoval will fill the other spot). We also need some more bullpen bolstering and another big bat. Maybe we could sneak a trade in there for another player. Say a pitcher for a batter. 

Talk to you next week.

The Spring Training schedule for 2009 is out and here is the link.