San Francisco Giants: The Keys To a Successful Off-Season

After Bill Nuekom took over for Peter Magowan as the Giants managing general partner at the conclusion of the 2008 season, the new-look front office has claimed one thing and one thing only: Money will not be an issue when it comes to signing free-agent players.

Well, if that's the case, why don't we just sign CC, Texiera, Manny, and K-Rod. I think then the Giants would have a pretty beastly team, don't you?

However, as baseball fans, we all know this just isn't possible.  At some point, a team (not-named the Yankees) runs out of money to sign players to their organization.

Even if it were possible to sign all four of the aforementioned players, how would that work in the club-house?  You thought Barry Bonds was a nuisance to the Giants? Imagine what would happen if those superstars started to lose, the team would probably self-destruct.  

The point being, is you can't buy a championship. 

Just look at the Yankees, the biggest free-agent signing in their history was the signing of Alex Rodriguez. They still haven't won a championship since his arrival, and remind me if I'm wrong, but they missed the playoffs in 2008.

Now on to my beloved San Francisco Giants and what they need for a successful off-season. 

Sign CC Sabathia:

Free Agent hitters like Mark Texiera and Manny Ramirez for example, aren't exactly lining up to play 81 games at AT&T park.

Since it opened in 2000, AT&T Park has been the home of the Giants for nine seasons, and has always been known as a pitcher's park.  The saying "pitching + defense, wins championships" could most readily be applied to such a ballpark as AT&T. 

Well then, with Barry Bonds gone, the Giants have no reason not to live-out this saying.  And a great start would be to sign CC Sabathia.

Sabathia split the 2008 season with the Indians and Brewers, compiling a 17-10 record, with a 2.70 ERA and 251 strikeouts in 253 innings. 

In 2007 with Cleveland, Sabathia won the AL Cy Young Award. After being traded mid-season to the Brewers this past year, Sabathia finished the season with an 11-2 record, 1.65 ERA, 128 strikeouts in 132 and two thirds innings.

A player of this caliber would be a huge boost to a Giants team who, let's face it, don't have a great lineup. And adding a single free-agent hitter to the lineup isn't going to change much, and isn't a bright idea considering the Giants have hitters coming up through their system. 

However, adding one pitcher to the rotation would change a lot for the Giants. For one, it would boost their overall pitching staff, which even though it was considered the team's strength, finished in the bottom half of of the Majors in ERA, ranking 17 out of 30 teams with a 4.38 ERA.

Some fans think that signing CC would be risky because he might become the next Zito. However, let me assure you why that won't happen.  Barry Zito's ERA and strikeout numbers were on the decline for three full seasons prior to signing with the Giants.  Sabathia on the other hand has had his best two seasons in the past two years.

And a one-two punch of Sabathia and Lincecum? How sweet would that be? And Sabathia has expressed interest in the Giants because they are close to Vallejo where he grew up, and because he can hit with the Giants, something he wouldn't be able to do with New York. So therefore, hopefully the Giants offer Sabathia between 110-120 million to sway him to take the home-town discount and sign with San Francisco.

Don't Sign Edgar Renteria nor Rafael Furcal:

Neither one of these players would be worth the amount of money they are going to require. 

Renteria will be 34 in 2009 and is coming of his worst statistical season since 2005 and dropped .62 points of his average from 2007-2008. His signing would not go along with the Giants commitment to a youth movement and would hinder playing time away from the likes of Emmanuel Burris, Pablo Sandoval, Kevin Frandsen, Travis Ishikawa and John Bowker.

Not only do I not like Furcal because he was a Dodger, but I also don't like him because of his injury problems. 

In three years with LA, Furcal played in only 67 percent of his teams games and last year played in only 38. His signing would most likely be the only hitter the Giants acquire in free-agency. He is now 31 years old and even if he stays healthy, he isn't going to make a difference with the Giants. He isn't good enough to change the Giants by himself.

Besides within the next couple of years the Giants will have a surplus of infielders with the likes of Conor Gilleapie and Angel Villalona leading the way coming up through the system.

Trade Randy Winn:

Ever since the Giants acquired Randy Winn from the Mariners back in 2005, he has been one of my favorite players. You can most definitely call him a "fan-favorite" here in San Francisco.

But Winn will be 35 next season, and although he has hit over .300 the last two years with San Francisco, he needs to play for a contender looking for that final veteran piece of the puzzle. The Giants have committed to going young, and are now out of options with right-fielder Nate Schierholtz, who needs to see regular playing time in 2009. 

That being said, since Randy Winn has continued to be a solid player both at the plate and in the outfield the last few seasons, the Giants should be able to get some value in return.  My preference would be another veteran reliever to add to the bullpen, to go along with Jeremy Affeldt who was the Giants' first free-agent signing this off-season.

If the Giants follow these keys:

I think they will be ready to both

A) Compete in 2009 and

B) Compete in 2010-2020. 

They will have the pitching for next year, and even if Cain or Lincecum become too expensive when their contracts end, the Giants have prospects Tim Alderson and Madison Bumgardner coming up through the system. 

But with that talent coming up through the system, both at the plate and on the mound, I'm willing to bet Lincecum won't sell out for the money and will want to stay a San Francisco Giant.

If the Giants sign CC, I can see the one-two punch of Sabathia and Lincecum pitching for the giants for the at-least the next five seasons.

And with hitters like Posey, Villalona and Gillespie coming up through the system during those 5+ seasons, I see this team potentially becoming really, really good.

Of course, it all starts with signing CC Sabathia.

That's why I think he should be the Giants' number one priority this off-season.