Ok well, I haven't posted here in a really long time (been 2 years as a matter of fact...).  Wait now that I look back, they were not the greatest posts in the world (Matt Cain for Chris Davis, sign Troy Glaus).  Now two years older and wiser (In baseball knowledge at least... hopefully), I'm gonna take another shot.

At this point in the offseason, the Giants front office has basically said (and shown through their actions) that they won't spend any money this offseason except for relievers and mediocre replacements, I'm going to look at how this offseason could still end up being a great one. 

Let's start by talking about the money.  First off, naturally it's always easier to talk about spending someone else's money.  I just wish we could get a peek into the Giant's checkbook and see just how much profit they're making each year.  As everyone on this site has been wondering, even though we had tons of "sellouts" (I put this in quotes because as Baggs noted some of the official sellouts actually don't qualify as such) the management is not raising payroll at all (or maybe a small amount).  However, the Giants absolutely need to cash in on this golden window to possibly win more championships.  Our pitching is absolutely devastating in spots 1-4 and we have a strong bullpen.  Investing a bit in this offense could turn us into a serious contender.  Alas, a $120 mil payroll is nothing to scoff at.  Here's what I would do in Sabean's place this offseason:

1.  Absolutely convince the management to pay for Beltran

We NEED him.  Ok so we don't really need him, but he turn our offense from below average to average because he theoretically replaces Schierholtz in our lineup to make it look like this:

Cabrera (CF), Sanchez (2B), Beltran (RF), Posey (C), Sandoval (3B), Huff (1B), Belt (LF), Crawford (SS)

This is of course given that Bochy plays Belt in left consistently (very unlikely).  Also I would actually place Posey in the number 2 and move Sanchez down to like 7.  I think it's more important to get our best hitters (Posey and Sandoval who would also move up) the most at bats over the full season that have a traditional order with a prototypical number 2 hitter.  Plus Posey has a high OBP (granted he shows the patience we all know he has) so he does have some attributes of a number 2 hitter (more so than Sanchez actually).  Also, if I were Bochy I would give Huff 2 months to prove he's back or sit his ass on the bench and play Belt at first, Torres in center (given we keep him), and Cabrera in left.

Ok so as for signing Beltran it looks like we might have some stiff competition from the Red Sox and the Marlins among others.  Here's my tentative ceiling for the offer and I'm definitely interested in what you guys think:

3 years, $36 million

I think that's a legit figure for him despite his injury history.  He is simply the best hitter available who is relatively affordable (vs. Pujols, Fielder, Reyes) who doesn't kill you in the field.  We have to take advantage of our amazing pitching by at least putting up an average offensive attack behind it.  (Also, though this is less important, I think the Giants owe it to us because we gave up 6 years of Wheeler for Beltran.)

Given we get him signed, I have absolutely no problem with putting Crawford at SS.  But I would however prefer that the Giants let him get a full season at AAA to really work on his hitting.  The major leagues is not a good place to be adjusting and I think it's better to find an equivalent SS on the market (Barmes, Furcal?) and let him develop but if the money commitment to them takes us too high on payroll, just use Crawford.  This priority is way below signing Beltran.

2.  Sign Cain to an extension

It is about time.  The management has basically said that they're not investing in the FA market as much because they want to keep this pitching together.  Well time to put their money where their mouth is and give Cain his money. Ok so next year Cain is making $15 million.  Some comparables I can think of:

-CJ Wilson- here's a guy I think is a bit comparable to Cain and it will be interesting to see how much he gets on the open market.

-Beckett is currently making 15mil a year on the extension he signed with the Red Sox

-Lackey got a 5 year/85 mil ($17 mil average)  contract on the open market a couple years ago

-Burnett got 5/82

-Verlander signed an extension and got $20 mil per season for his FA years

-Cliff Lee got $24 mil average over 5 years.

(Obviously I didn't get into the nitty gritty details- when during their arbitration they signed, their injury histories, their exact stats) (I'm more interested in just getting  feel for average value for pitcher who are known to been about as good as Cain)

So I'm going to put Cain at about $18.5 mil average.  Here's my offer to Cain:

13: $17 mil, 14-17: $18.5

Total: 5 year, $91 million

3.  Sign Lincecum to an extension

I say knock it out now and avoid arbitration.  Waiting through both arbitration years could help us see how well he holds up, make sure he keeps up his performance and how he ages (allow for injuries).  The negatives to waiting: we could get a slight discount by signing him to an extension now, save a bit in the arbitration years, if we sign him when he becomes a FA we would be committing to him till a later age (for example is we sign him now to a 6 extension we will have him through his age 33 season vs. if we sign him to a 6 year deal when he hits FA where we'd have him through his age 35 season).  I don't believe that Lincecum and his agent really prefer to go year by year and they would definitely listen to what the Giants offer.  CC Sabathia got about $23 mil per season.  Lee got $24 mil albeit for less seasons.  I'm going to peg Lincecum at $22 mil per season, here's my offer:

12: $17 mil, 13: $20 mil 14-17: $22 mil

Total: 6 year, $125 mil

-If I were the Giants I might try to present a 5 year, $103 (shave off 2017 commitment- maybe make it a team option with a buyout) first and see if he accepts.  I think both of these deals are fair and am eager to see what you guys think about them.

4.  Now I'm going to put up a laundry list of other things I would like done:

-Keep Torres please.  A roughly 4.5 million salary really isn't that bad for a great defender who has a good chance to rebound.

-Keep Fontenot and get rid of Keppinger.  Fontenot played SS decently last year so I say keep him over Keppinger.

-Keep one of Ramirez and Casilla.  Tough call here.

-Radical Idea that Sabean would never even contemplate:  Trade Brian Wilson and keep both Ramirez and Casilla and put Romo in as closer.  The only thing holding this back is the strong reliever market but Papelbon just got 4 years, 50 mil so maybe some teams will be looking for cheaper closer with less long term commitment.  I would probably just deal him for some B+ prospects.  Closers just aren't worth tying up payroll for (Giants seem to believe otherwise)... especially ones that cause as much stress as Wilson.  However one big negative among others is that Wilson seems to be paying for himself due to the popularity of his beard.

So here's my 2012 roster (without Wilson trade):

Pitchers: Lincecum, Cain, Bumgarner, Vogelsong, Zito, Wilson, Romo, Ramirez/Casilla, Lopez, Affeldt, Mota (Oh yeah resign this guy), ? (maybe Joaquin, Runzler, Edlefsen)

Postition players: Posey, Whiteside, Huff, Sanchez, Crawford, Sandoval, Fontenot, another utility man (Burriss, Gillaspie, Pill?), Beltran, Belt, Cabrera, Schierholtz, Torres

Ok so I put this off as long as I could: alternatives to Beltran.  Ok so if somebody goes crazy and offers Beltran like 4/60, I have some weak backup plans:

-"Stand pat."  The cheapest option and the one the Giants front office will probably take.  However, in this case, I want to keep both Ramirez and Casilla.  I also want a SS signed like Barmes and want Crawford put in AAA. 

[Also I want to make this point also:  I, under no circumstances, want the Giants to get Rollins unless we ink him to a deal under 3/30 because I simply don't like where his offensive numbers are going.  He's not a good hitter.  I think Rollins will be overpaid and I want no part of that.]

-Trade Gary Brown for a good hitter and go all in.  NOT one of my favorite options, but one that must be considered.  I say keep him untouchable however and look forward to a young core of: Posey, Sandoval, Belt, Brown in the future.

-Sign Reyes.  I'm actually not a huge fan of this even if the Giants can afford it.  I think he's too injury prone to commit 5+ years to.  I'd rather just have Beltran for a shorter time period.

-Go get Oswalt on a 1 year deal and let him rebuild his value.  Baggs had this great idea.  If Oswalt is down, there's no reason not to (I'd probably give him like 8-9 mil on a 1 year pact).  He'd be a huge upgrade over Zito/Surkamp.

Thoughts?

This post is not only going to try to make a case for John Wall, but is also going to give my thoughts on the K-Mart trade and about the 2010 free agency period.  I hope you find my thoughts and perspectives interesting.

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Well my plan is pretty basic.  Acquire a first baseman.  Sign a catcher.  Sign a fifth starter.  Sign a reliever.  Pray...

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Well I think we all agree that the Giants are going to have to do something this year to maintain pace in the race for the playoffs in the NL West.  I'm going to lay out a few options that we have for first base next year on the FA market.  Unfortunately Sabean had to be an idiot and dealt Barnes and Alderson for two pieces that had no impact whatso ever at the end of last year.  Those pieces would have been much better used this offseason to acquire a middle of the order guy (Uggla, Cantu, etc.).  So I have three guys on the FA market who I think would be able to help the 2010 Giants compete.

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Well it was a very fun and exiting year for us Giants fans.  Although it has become tough now to accept defeat, I think we should accept it and start thinking of next year.  An important position that's going to need an upgrade in my opinion is second base.  I've heard talk that the Giants won't want to look bad for the Sanchez trade, but also are not willing to pick up Freddy's option of $8 million.  Talk of a two year deal for about $10 million has ensued and it wouldn't be a bad idea.  However, I think the Giants shouldn't just have tunel vision and be completely bent on signing Sanchez.  The market for second baseman is very strong this year and the Giants should accept their horrible midseason trade and make the best choice for the future of our second base position.  Since we don't really have any prospect options, I'm going to look at the second base market with an eye not only for 2010 but for a couple more years.

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I know this is a bit off topic with all the Deadline talk but I think it's something that needs to be discussed.  Why haven't the Giants promoted Neal to AA?  I will provide reasons and analysis to support this below...

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 Get this Quote From Hoopsworld:  (link http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=12865 )

"Rubio And The Kings?: It seems the Kings might end up with their man after all, word is the Kings are working on a deal with Memphis to land Ricky Rubio at #2, league sources say a lot is still up in the air and a deal is far from done, but should the two teams make a deal it is not going to include Jason Thompson as some have speculated. Any deal between the Kings and Grizzlies might include future draft picks but unlikely will include a roster player of subtsance. League sources contend that Memphis really does not have a lot of leverage in this situation as Rubio will not play for the Grizzlies. The Kings are willing to deal for Rubio and unless Oklahoma City gets in the mix, moving down to #4 still fits Memphis' game plan. The Kings are preparing a contingent plan that could include grabbing Jordan Hill at #4, which would be a solid "win-now" move if the Grizzlies hold out for more compensation. League sources say if the Grizzlies move down to #4, Tyreke Evans would be their man on draft night, which makes sense, considering Evans can play both point guard and shooting guard, backing up OJ Mayo and Mike Conley and would be immensely popular with the Memphis fan base. "

Ok so to dissect this we have some key words and phrases here: "word is" "league sources" "contingent plan".  I don't know how reliable these "sources" are, but it seems like this post seemed pretty logical until the point where it got to the Kings selecting Jordan Hill as a "contingent plan."  I am quite confident that the Kings will not chose Hill and instead wil opt for Holiday or Evans.  However I really hope this is true and it could be because Petrie is interested in Rubio on account of two trips to go watch him.  His skills of passing and anticipation and foul drawing are very near and dear to Petrie.  Another key part of this is that it says that Jason Thompson and no "player of substance" will be included in this deal which is really good because I'm not giving up Thompson to go up two spots and neither is Petrie (I think).  They are saying though the deal might include future draft picks though that doesn't seem very Petrie-esk.  Anyway keeping this all in mind I'll propose a couple deals and you all can discuss this post and my deal\s (too much or too little)

Deal 1:

Sacramento gives: #4 pick, Kenny Thomas, #23 pick and $3 million

Memphis gives: #2 pick, Marko Jaric

Deal 2:

Sacramento gives: #4 pick, Kenny Thomas, Donte Greene, and next year first round draft pick (top ten protected next year and top five protected in 2011) (THIS IS ONLY ONE FUTURE PICK!)

Memphis gives: #2 pick, Marko Jaric

Discuss!

     First of all I'd like to thank Brian Sabean for a very good offseason.  Three awesome signing and one solid signing (Renteria) amke for a very good signing.  All these contracts will not effect 2010 when we plan to finally start making our runs at the championship.  These moves will make us solid and semi-competitive for the present to keep the fans entertained and keep the young players' moral up as well as maybe have them learn a few things and get better. I have the last piece to the puzzle in my post below.  Happy Hollidays!

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         Well its hard being a Sacramento Kings fan these days.  With all the mounting losses and staggering injuries, it's tough to compete in this league.  However, there is hope in the form of the 2009 NBA draft.  Kings are currently in position to recieve teh fourth pick and they have an 11.9% chance of getting the first overall pick.  This is one of the highest pick they'll ever get and tell you the truth I want the Kings to keep losing so they can keep their pick postion.  Here why:

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Over the last few weeks I've heard a lot of talk about guys like Uggla, Fielder, Hardy, and even guys like Konerko and Derek lee.  Most of these rumors mention trading away Sanchez or Cain.  Some even say we would need to give up Alderson or Bumgarner which is the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my days. 

Ladies and Gentlemen we are rebuilding.  REBUILDING.  We need to add young power so that it will blossom in two to three years when this team is finally contending for a world series.  I've constantly been looking around and sniffing other teams minor leagues and I've finally found my man:   Chris Davis.

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I have a feeling that the Giants have actually put on their thinking caps and shut down Pablo Sandoval to protect the almighty rookie status so he can get Rookie Of the Year next year.  The guy must also be exhausted, he's destroyed three levels of competition: HighA, San Jose then Double A, Connecticut Defenders, and then the MLB with our beloved SF Giants.  Pablo has had 128 Plate apperances at this level and to qualify for Rookie status, you need to have less than 130.  Personally i think this is a great idea in many respects.

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