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?