San Francisco Giants Off Season Report

I am having a hard time trying to figure out the real goal of the San Francisco Giants. I have no faith in their front office. Do they think they get a away with team that is strictly a pitching team? They prove last year that pitching is not the save all they thought it would be.

I have a sinking feeling this year will be the same as last. I believe the Giants made the right decision parting ways with Bob Howry, Bengie Molina, Rich Aurilia, and Randy Winn. All of them were disappointing, in my eye.

I know what you are going say. You are going to defend him, saying that he was their best offensive threat, second to Pablo Sandoval. Granted, he did produce ok numbers, but he will not fit on this team.

He is too slow for the team on the base path with no impressive numbers to justify his worth. He was an elite catcher at one time, but now he is a defensive catcher. I am not sure if he is going to play again.

Molina would have been a great mentor to Buster Posey, but do you think Molina would stay on knowing Posey was going to take over by July? No way!

So, Brian Sabean has a decision to make, get another catcher to help Posey, or do nothing and let one of the minor league-rs help the youngster improve his skills? They have quite a few like Steve Holm and Eli Whiteside. Personally, I would have liked them to have signed Jason Kendall to teach the young man. I could go on forever, but enough of talking about catchers.

I am just shaking my head at what will be a broken infield. One of the worst moves Sabean is ever going to make, and he has made many, is letting Juan Uribe go. More on him in a moment.

Who is going to play first base? Travis Ishikawa or John Bowker? Tough decision, but Ishikawa has shown more consistency than Bowker. Mind you, this is still a position that needs improvement. For you people screaming Sandavol at the screen, just wait. I’ll get to him in a moment.

Now, I get the signing of Freddy Sanchez, but there is a minor problem. He is unreliable, in that no one knows how long he can stay healthy. Remember, he has a bad knee which has plagued his last two or three years. If he goes down, do you really feel secure playing Eugenio Velez playing there every day? I don’t. Emmanuel Burris is returning from a broken foot. Matt Downs, did we see enough of him to pass any sort of judgement upon him? Look, any name I throw out is not going to thrill anyone.

Moving on to shortstop. Edgar Renteria. He is an over paid bench warmer. Sure, he has his moments, but not enough to really be out there every day. Like F. Sanchez, he is prone to injuries. I would rather have Velez playing shortstop, than Renteria.

Here is where I must hand my ‘What were you thinking?’ award to Sabean. By far, Juan Uribe was the glue that held your infield together. He is the best player to either play third base on a daily basis, or relieve Renteria or Sanchez. You deserve to wear a dunce cap, sir!

Talking about third base, I talk about Sandoval. Pablo Sandoval. The Giant’s could have move Sandavol to first and had Uribe play third. I would welcome it, but man, can he play a mean third base! Sandavol is a natural! With Uribe, the Giants have offense worthy of notice.

The outfield is pretty much set. Nate Scheirholtz in right, Aaron Rowand and Andres Torres platooning in center, and Eugenio Velez in left.  Freddie Lewis is not an every day player and Bowker has not shown that he can handle hitting in the big league.

Phew, now down to pitching. You pretty much know that four of the five spots are taken in the starting rotation by Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Barry Zito, and Jonathon Sanchez. The fifth is hard to tell, but I am assuming that it’s Madison Bumgarner’s position to lose. That is assuming the Giants don’t go out and sign a free agent.

The bullpen is another big concern of mine. Jeremy Affeldt, Brandon Medders and Sergio Romo appear to be the strongest of the bunch. Joe Martinez and Merkin Valdez struggled at times. Then you have Brian Wilson, who proved that he can be the main closer.

I think this team is going no where. Are they better than last year? Eh, it’s too hard to tell. I find it hard to believe that they have. They don’t have much depth on either side of the ball. There are a lot of questions on a team that is still lots of pitching and no hitting, except for Pablo Sandoval.

I fear that your San Francisco Giants, are in fact worse of than last. I realize as I read over my article, that there are gaping holes in this team. There is no tested five starter and one of the bullpen strongest pitchers, Justin Miller, is a minor league free agent.

People, I don’t see a stellar pitching staff like last year! I don’t want to say this but unless Sabean pulls a stud rabbit out of his magic hat, we, the fans, are going to be in for a very, very, very...

long year.