Contemplating The Post-Bonds Era in San Francisco

It has been 16 years since the San Francisco Giants broke camp without their mercurial and churlish left fielder who had come to virtually define their club—for better or worse.

This off-season it all came to a rather sad end as the team cut ties with a man that, for all his foibles, had become an icon in a city that loved him, and a symbol nearly everywhere else for the game’s moral downfall. While ending the dysfunctional relationship was the right thing to do, the Giants and, perhaps more importantly, their fans will have to contend with the notion that they will be one of the weakest hitting teams in baseball and are in the wrong division to be bailed out by stellar starting pitching.

The fans have been crying for GM Brian Sabean and skipper Bruce Bochy to untether their young players to see what they can do. The problem is: There may not be much there.

The most promising—second baseman Kevin Frandsen—is at best another Mark DeRosa, and at worst, well, a minor leaguer.

There is also strapping outfielder-turned-first baseman Daniel Ortmeier who, in 157 at bats, hit a respectable .287 and notched six home runs.  But his OBP was a miserable .317, and he struck out 41 times while drawing only seven walks. I fear he may turn out to be another Pedro Feliz: a hitter with moderate power coupled with maddening impatience.

My favorite of the prospects, outfielder Fred Lewis, seems to have fallen out of favor with the Giants brass in lieu of other outfielders Rajai Davis—a guy who looks like he should hit 30 home runs, but won’t—and Nate Schierholtz, who has similar numbers to Ortmeier, without all the strike outs. It is doubtful the Giants will keep all three spare outfielders, and I fear Lewis will be the odd man out.

While obviously hungry, the prospects simply do not inspire much optimism. The regulars are little better. Shortstop Omar Vizquel, nearly 41 years old and still an artist with the leather, was the poorest hitting regular player in the National League last year and will open the season on the disabled list.

Catcher Bengie Molina, who seemed to always come through in the clutch, is still a lower-tier hitter—the thought of him hitting clean up sends a shiver down the spine. Ray Durham, coming off a spectacular 2006 season in which he was the best-hitting second baseman west of Chase Utley, was consistently dreadful last year.

Randy Winn, the dependable, if unspectacular, right fielder, is still a likely 6th or 7th hitter on a play off team. For the Giants he will likely bat 3rd.

The probable starter in left, Dave Roberts, is an exquisite base thief—31 steals in 36 tries—who last year was miscast in center and spent the season perpetually injured.

That leaves the lone off-season acquisition of note, center fielder Aaron Rowand.  He had arguably his best year in a bandbox stadium, hitting in a lineup where the National League MVP, Jimmy Rollins, was the 3rd best hitter on the team.

I do not expect Aaron Rowand to hit 27 home runs—he hit only 12 as a Chicago South-Sider in 2005. He is however one in a long line of impatient hitters unearthed by the Giants, who do not like taking walks but swung and missed a lot. Rowand’s career numbers—161 walks to 505 strikeouts—is a poor auger indeed. But as the well-worn lament goes: pitching and defense win championships.

The pitching is of course solid, and perhaps even has the makings of being special. The two young fire-ballers—Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum—may show some unevenness, flashing brilliance at times, but also suffering occasional mental lapses.

Barry Zito, the nominal ace, will have to prove he is not a head case. The fourth starter, Noah Lowry, probably had his best season last year when he stole all Matt Cain’s luck. Cain was 7-16 with 3.65 ERA; Lowry went 14-8 with a 3.92 ERA.

And then there will be the usual “battle for the 5th starter’s job” that goes on in every camp from the wind-swept deserts of Arizona to the muggy little towns of Florida. It will most likely be Kevin Correia, who looked good in eight starts last year.

No, the Giants won’t be hanging any pennants up at the end of the season, but still there is something historic happening that should not be missed—the Giants are rebuilding. For all the greatness—and shamefulness—Bonds brought to the Giants over the years, he has recently been a terribly heavy millstone around Brian Sabean’s neck.

Giants fans have excoriated the GM for his strategy of surrounding Bonds with lesser, aging free agent talent and making head-scratching trades that seem to back fire. The worst, of course, was the trade that sent Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano, and Boof Bonser to the Twins for the supremely irritating catcher A.J. Pierzynski, who bolted after one grueling season. This off-season, Sabean restrained the urge to trade Lincecum straight up for Toronto right fielder Alex Rios. Time will tell if Sabean goofed again or not.

Thankfully for some, the Giants will not be three yards and a cloud of Barry this season. Purists will delight in the youthful hustle of these new Giants, but the wine-sipping rabble may grow tired of 2-1 games with nary a splash hit and stay home.

If the Giants hope to have any success this year, their biggest star will have to be Bruce Bochy, who has to delicately mesh grizzled veterans with youthful players who are long on heart, a bit short on talent, and out for the old timers’ jobs. It’s a sensitive ballet and Bochy will have to be not only a skilled tactician but also an expert button pusher to massage something like 80 wins out of this team. If they can do that, and turn two of their four prospects into real big-leaguers, Giants fans should consider 2008 a success.