Playing Pepper 2009: San Francisco Giants

As the players start getting themselves ready for another season, I thought it'd be a good idea to do the same. I contacted a blogger for each major league team and posted them five questions. This is the result. You can find the tentative schedule of teams here and today's main post is right here.

For our final installment of Playing Pepper, we take a look at the National League team out by the bay. Another year removed from the shadow left by the larger-than-life presence of Barry Bonds, the Giants look to try to compete in an NL West that was weaker last year than expected.

When you are talking Giants, you have to go to one of the most respected bloggers in the fan base. El Lefty Malo is the most-trafficked baseball only blog here at Blogs By Fans and Lefty took a little time to talk about the Giant kids and a former Cardinal shortstop.

C70: Has a youth movement started for the Giants and, if so, how much are the youngsters expected to contribute this year?

ELM: The youth movement actually started a couple years ago on the pitching side. Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, Jonathan Sanchez are all 26 or under. Noah Lowry, out all year in 2008, is 28.

The team has also tried out a lot of youngsters in the bullpen. So far, Brian Wilson, Sergio Romo and perhaps Alex Hinshaw are the most promising (all are 26-27 yrs old).

Last year was the first serious youth-oriented season on offense. Pablo Sandoval, who was promoted from High-A to AA to the majors within a few months, has the most upside.

He would probably be starting catcher if Molina didn't have one more year on his contract. Emmanuel Burriss showed some skills at short, though a lot of people think he'll end up at 2B. He's got good on-base skills but no power.

Nate Schierholtz isn't a blue chip prospect, but he deserves his shot this year; he'll probably be the fourth OF unless someone is traded.

C70: What are fans expecting out of Edgar Renteria?

ELM: Some think he's toast, some think he could bounce back. Offensively, he's an upgrade at short no matter how bad he is. Last year's shortstops were a dismal bunch with the bat. The Giants also mainly have fly-ball pitchers, so if Renteria's lost a few steps in the field, it's not quite as bad for the team D.

C70: What are the thoughts about the Giant rotation, especially with the addition of Randy Johnson?

ELM: Killer. Sanchez could have a breakout year. If Unit stays healthy, and Zito throws like he did in the second half last year (perhaps wishful thinking), it could be the best in the NL.

C70: Is there a player on the Giants that may make a national name for himself in 2009?

ELM: Keep an eye on Sandoval. Also keep an eye on Brian Wilson, the closer. He was an All Star last year but should be more dominant. With a couple adjustments, and a slightly better off-speed pitch, he could be elite.

C70: What has to happen for the Giants to win the division?

ELM: Lots of health for the pitchers. If a couple big starters go down, forget it.

The team definitely needs one more big bat for the lineup, though with Crede signing with Minnesota and Manny Ramirez probably headed back to L.A., it could come down to an unexpected trade.

Without another bat, they'll hope that their pitching and defense can put them on the right side of a lot of low-scoring games.

GM Brian Sabean said recently he might wait until the season starts and teams get crunched by the economy. There will be fire sales. Another key: Aaron Rowand needs to bounce back. He wasn't very good last year, either on offense or defense.

I appreciate Lefty taking the time to answer my questions.  It'll be interesting to see the Giants really start to stake a claim to an identity this year.

Thanks to all the bloggers that participated in this series.  It was a lot of fun on my end and I hope it was on yours as well.  If you have thoughts on the series, if you'd like to see it return or if you have some ideas for tweaking, please let me know in the comments.

Photo: Getty Images