Giants Don't Need a Left Handed Bat

Brian Sabean recently told reporters that signing a left handed bad was high on his list of priorities.  Speculation has led many to believe that Johnny Damon and Adam LaRoche are his main targets.  However, the Giants really do not need a left handed hitter.  They need players that can hit left and right handed pitchers so that pitching changes are more difficult for opposing managers in key situations.  Left handed hitters simply do not hit for power at AT&T Park.  In fact, the only left handed hitter to hit 20 or more HRs in the history of the Giants new stadium is Barry Bonds.  (Note: Ray Durham hit 26 HRs for the Giants in 2006 but 9 of them were right handed.)  It would be foolish for the Giants to pay a premium for the power Damon or LaRoche's offer because it simply won't materialize at AT&T.

Johnny Damon would bring some star power to the Giants after having played in the NY and Boston spotlights, but not much else at the plate.  Sure, his OBP would be an improvement but that's not worth the reported 2 year $20M contract he is seeking.  His power numbers would plummet at AT&T because 100% of his 24HRs were to right field and 17 of them were at New Yankee Stadium, which has the most forgiving right field fence in the big leagues.  Conversely,  AT&T might be the toughest stadium on left handed pull hitters.  A 36 year old with limited power and .270 and .282 batting average over the past 2 seasons just isn't worth $10M per year no matter how much leadership and intangibles he brings to the table.

Adam LaRoche is younger and played very well (.325, 12HR, 40RBI) in the 2nd half of the season for the Braves last year but he also is a left handed and, as a .274 lifetime hitter over 6 seasons, there isn't much evidence to suggest that his performance with the Braves is anything more than getting hot for a couple months.  LaRoche's power isn't exclusively to right like Damon but 17 of his 25 HRs did go to that field.  If LaRoche hit .274 with 17-23 HRs next year would that be worth the $8.5M per year that Sabean offered him?  Actually, it sounds a lot like Aaron Rowand.

The one positive that Damon and LaRoche do offer is doubles, which are equally likely to translate at AT&T as any other park, although both hitters would likely hit behind Panda and therefor have zero protection.

Left handed hitters will always see a significant dip in the HR numbers playing at AT&T.  This means that the Giants will never get market value when they sign left handed power bats.  Moreover, the agents of the lefties know their clients lower their market value by playing at AT&T so they rightfully demand a premium.

What the Giants need is a lineup that doesn't afford opposing teams the ability to bring in a left handed or right handed pitcher to kill scoring opportunities by facing several hitters that just don't see the ball well from one type of pitcher of the other.  That's not the same as getting a left handed bad and its certainly not a justification to intentionally pay above market rates for below market production.