A Calculated Risk: Sabean and Giants Walk The Walk

"To succeed in life, you need two things: ignorance and confidence." -Mark Twain

In a matter of a few days, the San Francisco Giants front office sent a few obligatory texts to a crew of those awaiting answers to questions.

The first text went to the team, and more specifically, the offense. It was short and sweet and straight to the point: "Here u go guyz! this guy can hit home runs. This other dude iz a 3 time all * that can hit really well."

The second was to manager Bruce Bochy. It read as follows: "OK brucey, here are two guys that can hit, so no mo xcuses."

And finally, the third went straight to those Giants fans foaming at the mouth for bats to compliment the arm arsenal: "We got a frmer all *, battin champ who plays all out, all the time and a stanford kid that hits lefties. so quitcherbitchin!"

It was that easy. In a matter of a few days, the Giants, baseball's most-surprising first-half team that just returned back to China Basin, fresh off a 3-7 road trip, got the help it needed.

Ryan Garko and Freddy Sanchez.

Not too shabby, Brian. The same dude that wheels-and-deals with the best of them, pulled it off again. San Francisco needed hits and they got it in Sanchez (forget not that Sanchez and his defensive prowess is another untouched upgrade). They needed power and went after Garko and got him for a Single-A kid no one really had heard of until now.

But, leave it to Giants fans, they found another way to toss their two cents in the fire.

Most are ridiculing Sabean for these two moves. They say Scott Barnes and Tim Alderson are a bad trade for Garko and Sanchez.

Sure, Barnes and Alderson could become Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain in a few years. But, they won't. That's a sure-fire guarantee.

The problem with success is this: expectations grow so high, Charles Dickens himself would have to pop a few Xanax to ease his nerves—especially for a team like the Giants, who are prematurely in contention thanks to an electric pitching staff and a Panda, with full knowledge in the arts of Kung Fu.

So, yes, those texts are phony. They're bogus. But, it's what everyone knows and thinks.

The offense is receiving a boost and becoming more versatile and adding pressure to guys that have underachieved. It's what happens when you dip your bat in success.

Tim Alderson is a guy that will probably win games, sure. But, what many Giants fans have probably never thought of is this. Have we even seen this kid?

He's no Bumgarner that got Manny out 1-2-3. He's like the grapevine star that no-one sees or knows, but knows is there, waiting in the wings.

Or, he was. Now he has to deal with the Pirates organization, which is more of a crime in of itself.

The Giants took a risk, yeah. But hey, it's baseball. It's the trade deadline and it's kind of scary to imagine how good San Francisco could be had they had a offense that didn't need a shot of insulin before every first pitch.

Sabean saw that and addressed it. What else was he supposed to do?

Keep Alderson around and assume he'll be the next Lincecum or Cain?

Remember David Aardsma? Even Merkin Valdez was dubbed as the future at one time.

Prospects are exactly that—prospects. Sanchez, a 31-year-old grinder who is a three-time All-Star and former N.L. batting champion is a welcome addition to any team.

Period.

He's a former batting champion, meaning the dude gets hits—lots of them. What else do Giants fans want? There is no messiah coming in form of a 1993 version of Barry Bonds.

There are those unrealistic fans that viewed Matt Holliday as the answer. Eh, wrong. There's also a band of jokesters out there expecting the Giants to make a run at Roy Halladay. Sure guys, whatever helps you sleep better at night, I'm all for it.

But this is the now. This is the Giants team that everyone has envisioned seeing since Bonds launched his last dinger into McCovey Cove and Bochy-ball engulfed AT&T Park.

Sabean added two potentially important pieces for the stretch run by dealing some potential, but at the end of the day, if you want to wait and see if Alderson is good enough to be a No. 4 or 5 starter behind the likes of Seabiscuit, Cain, Bumgarner or even Zito or Sanchez, by all means, do so.

This is baseball. When you have a chance to add a former batting champion eager to finally be part of a team that's eclipsed the .500 mark—you add him, no questions asked. Hell, even Garko is back by the bay, obviously determined to prove something.

For as much ridicule as Brian Sabean has received over the years, this is one midseason that he had to do for his team to continue on the track of success.

Leave it up to Albert Einstein, one of the foremost minds in the history of the world to break it down with ease and simplicity.

"If A equals success, then the formula is A equals X, plus Y and Z, with X being work, Y play and Z keeping your mouth shut."

It's potentially dumbfounding, but Sabean and the Giants have figured out the price of success and all the formulas to go along with the art of winning ballgames and more importantly, scoring runs.

A=X+Y+Z. It makes sense, doesn't it?

"Z" translates into quitcherbitchin, doubters.