I grew up in the SF Bay Area and had the honor of meeting Willie McCovey on my 8th birthday. Needless to say, spending countless weekend afternoons at Candlestick Park, and then meeting Stretch, had a lasting impact. Now on the downhill side of 40 (barely!) I live in Southern California and find myself surrounded by Dodgers fans (ouch). It's been tough to be a Giants fan for the past few years, but the recent emergence of young players like Pablo & Nate, and the plethora of talent on the horizon gives me LOTS of Hope. I look forward to the 2010-13 timeframe when we will see Posey, Alderson, Bumgarner, Villalona, Sosa & Co. join the likes of Lincecum, Cain, Sanchez, & Lewis. I truly believe -- bias aside -- that the Giants will be The Team to Beat in the NL West within two seasons. Go GIANTS!

(Side note: I'm not new to John's site & I have purchased his book for the past 5 years straight...before the transistion to the new site/ format, I was known here as "Will Play Roto for Food" and I was a sporadic poster/ commenter. I have continued to visit but hadn't been able to log on with my old ID. Finally created a new profile because I wanted to be able to comment on Winter Ball action... Cheers & Play Ball!)