I was thinking last night about who the Giants have added this offseason, and who they have lost, and to the surprise of many, the team that's supposed to be one of the top-5 earning teams in baseball has lost more than they've added this winter in terms of players.
They haven't signed a single significant free agent, and it's now to the point where there aren't even any more left. For some odd reason, they are hell-bent on staying away from Carlos Beltran even though they clearly saw what he could do for that lineup when he got healthy in September, and that was without Buster. They've lost Jonathan Sanchez, Andres Torres, Cody Ross(?), Beltran and they've
basically replaced them with Angel Pagan and Melky Cabrera. I'd say the Giants are losing the value end of that swap over. It's not surprising they've been so quiet, as Sabean's been distracted by a new infant son (who wouldn't be), but he's a professional and has been there before. They have failed so far to add any insurance whatsoever for their ailing second basemen who "hopes to be ready by opening day", or their "barely can hit ML pitching" starting shortstop. Anytime a player "hopes" he'll be ready, that's not a good sign. A confident player says "I'll be ready" opening day, even if there is the slightest doubt. Even if he did show up in late April or May again, it's almost a given he'd go down again at some point, he's just that type of player. You love him when he's healthy and playing, but he's getting older now and those trips to the DL are starting to pile up. A insurance policy like Wilson Betemit would be a nice target. Unless they upgrade their infield, there could be nights at AT&T that feature an infield from 3rd-2nd of Mike Fontenot-Brandon Crawford-Manny Burris when Pablo get's a night off or plays first base.
Now, that being said, I still think there is very little doubt they don't do something to at least attempt to help out the outfield and infield offense/depth. I was getting a strong Ryan Ludwick-vibe for much of December after Willingham and Cuddyer signed, and the Giants declared out on Beltran, but apparently Cody Ross has lowered his demands. I think Cody truly
wants to be a Giant, and with the options that are out there, or lack thereof I should say, it may not be a bad idea. Rather have Ross over Ludwick any day. Cody's done huge things for this franchise and really never got healthy in '11. When he did, his finish in September down the stretch was big. He just seems to come up big when needed. Problem here though, is that the Giants publicly said they would not be re-signing Ross when they said the same about Beltran, but that's because Sabean and Ross couldn't get on the same page, whether it was playing time or money or years. Don't know what it would take for Cody to come back on a one-year deal, but if it were at $6M or under, I'd do it in a second. His 2 full seasons in Florida, his averages were .268/23/85! You put that in right field last year and the Giants win the West. He's got the potential to play above-average baseball when he's right (and he's had the winter to heal), he's a good defender at all three positions and he wants to be here. Wow, didn't realize I was starting to sound like Ross' agent pitching him to some team, but fact is, their are limited FA options and in the outfield, besides Carlos, Ross is Boss!
I found it interesting that even the national media has caught wind of the Giants inactivity and their fans disagreement with it with this piece from Yahoo! Sports! The 2010 World Series will forever be in our memories and will always be cherished, but like they said in the article, "The honeymoon is over!" Beautiful way of putting it. If the Giants start 2012 in a rough way, they're going to start losing some of those 2010 band-wagoners, and that would be a lot of dough down the toilet. If no other reason, they should pay Carlos Beltran to come back and help fill seats and keep selling out.
They haven't signed a single significant free agent, and it's now to the point where there aren't even any more left. For some odd reason, they are hell-bent on staying away from Carlos Beltran even though they clearly saw what he could do for that lineup when he got healthy in September, and that was without Buster. They've lost Jonathan Sanchez, Andres Torres, Cody Ross(?), Beltran and they've
basically replaced them with Angel Pagan and Melky Cabrera. I'd say the Giants are losing the value end of that swap over. It's not surprising they've been so quiet, as Sabean's been distracted by a new infant son (who wouldn't be), but he's a professional and has been there before. They have failed so far to add any insurance whatsoever for their ailing second basemen who "hopes to be ready by opening day", or their "barely can hit ML pitching" starting shortstop. Anytime a player "hopes" he'll be ready, that's not a good sign. A confident player says "I'll be ready" opening day, even if there is the slightest doubt. Even if he did show up in late April or May again, it's almost a given he'd go down again at some point, he's just that type of player. You love him when he's healthy and playing, but he's getting older now and those trips to the DL are starting to pile up. A insurance policy like Wilson Betemit would be a nice target. Unless they upgrade their infield, there could be nights at AT&T that feature an infield from 3rd-2nd of Mike Fontenot-Brandon Crawford-Manny Burris when Pablo get's a night off or plays first base.Now, that being said, I still think there is very little doubt they don't do something to at least attempt to help out the outfield and infield offense/depth. I was getting a strong Ryan Ludwick-vibe for much of December after Willingham and Cuddyer signed, and the Giants declared out on Beltran, but apparently Cody Ross has lowered his demands. I think Cody truly
wants to be a Giant, and with the options that are out there, or lack thereof I should say, it may not be a bad idea. Rather have Ross over Ludwick any day. Cody's done huge things for this franchise and really never got healthy in '11. When he did, his finish in September down the stretch was big. He just seems to come up big when needed. Problem here though, is that the Giants publicly said they would not be re-signing Ross when they said the same about Beltran, but that's because Sabean and Ross couldn't get on the same page, whether it was playing time or money or years. Don't know what it would take for Cody to come back on a one-year deal, but if it were at $6M or under, I'd do it in a second. His 2 full seasons in Florida, his averages were .268/23/85! You put that in right field last year and the Giants win the West. He's got the potential to play above-average baseball when he's right (and he's had the winter to heal), he's a good defender at all three positions and he wants to be here. Wow, didn't realize I was starting to sound like Ross' agent pitching him to some team, but fact is, their are limited FA options and in the outfield, besides Carlos, Ross is Boss!I found it interesting that even the national media has caught wind of the Giants inactivity and their fans disagreement with it with this piece from Yahoo! Sports! The 2010 World Series will forever be in our memories and will always be cherished, but like they said in the article, "The honeymoon is over!" Beautiful way of putting it. If the Giants start 2012 in a rough way, they're going to start losing some of those 2010 band-wagoners, and that would be a lot of dough down the toilet. If no other reason, they should pay Carlos Beltran to come back and help fill seats and keep selling out.
Comments
Like the author says theres nobody left else out there unless they trade. Pagan and Cabrera aren't power guys, not in Pac Bell park. Sack up Giants and sign Beltran, or better yet, The Prince.
I;m curious who plays in those leagues. Mostly minor leaguers or do some good players play there. I know Pablo played a couple years ago and BUster too. So I guess that's a good sign that he hit better there.
I think the Giants should go after that Japanese shortstop, I remember him from the 2k9 WBC, he did a crazy slide into 2nd to break up a double play, and plays the game hard.