The Offseason: It Begins

Ugh, the offseason sucks, doesn’t it? No games to look forward to, no Aaron Rowand at bats to make you shake your head in disgust, no wondering what Brian Wilson’s hair is going to look like… yep, it sucks. But the Giants are going their best to make things interesting over the winter, and a few noteworthy stories have popped up over the last week. Let’s get caught up:

Sanchez, back when his knee wasn't held together with invisible tape.

- Freddy Sanchez is back in the fold for another few injury-plagued years…uh, I mean, “batting-championship years.” Do you remember who Freddy Sanchez is? If you don’t, you shouldn’t feel bad, since it seems like he played in, oh, 10 games or so before before he blew out his knee cutting off a throw from Aaron Rowand. Oh, and the Giants knew his knee was injured when they traded for him back in July. Quite the impressive Giants career so far.

Sanchez signed a 2-year, $12 million extension, replacing the 1-year, $8 million option the team held on him. He’s expected to be a key cog in the top of the lineup, likely batting 2nd to help set the table for hitters like Pablo Sandoval and…um, well, Sandoval’s a good hitter, right? Anyway, the Giants are putting a lot of stock in Sanchez and his faulty knee, since their internal options to take over at 2B should something happen to him (Emmanuel Burris, Kevin Frandsen and Matt Downs) don’t exactly have sparkling Major League track records. Plus, if the Giants lose Juan Uribe to free agency this winter, they won’t have much of a middle infield insurance policy anymore. It’s not a stretch to say Sanchez is going to be one of the most important players on this team next year, and it’s imperative that he stays healthy and stays in the lineup.

The Giants (and Brian Sabean) need Sanchez to stay healthy for another reason: to justify trading Tim Alderson. It’s not so much that they traded Alderson, since the system has enough pitching depth to cover his loss. It’s more about justifying what kind of player they received for him in return. Sanchez is far from being the big bat the lineup (still) desperately needs. He’s a nice piece in a good lineup, but the Giants need two or three more hitters before their lineup can be considered “good.” More importantly, the Giants knew they were getting damaged goods and still made the trade. If his knee does falter again next year, the Giants have no one to blame but themselves.

- Speaking of a big bat, there continues to be talk that the Giants might make a run at Jason Bay. Considering the Giants’ recent track record with free agents, it’s probably a case where Sabean will “kick the tires” with Bay’s agent, offer him a contract, and then watch as Bay uses it as leverage to get a bigger deal from the Red Sox. But, let’s allow ourselves to dream for a little bit, k?

Bay would obviously be an upgrade over any other outfielder currently on the roster. He’s not the true cleanup hitter the Giants have lacked for years, but he’s a legitimate power bat and would be excellent protection batting behind Pablo Sandoval. He’s had success at AT&T Park, too: granted, it’s a small sample size (12 games, 44 AB’s), but Bay has hit .318 with 2 HR’s with a .927 OPS in San Francisco. He’s one of two true impact bats on the market this year (Matt Holliday is the other, but the chances of the Giants meeting his asking price are slim), and with a lineup that has only one of those types of bats, it makes sense for the Giants to make a serious offer to Bay.

There are downsides, though: Bay is 31, and will likely command a 5-year contract wherever he goes. Do the Giants want to commit that many years to an outfielder after the Aaron Rowand contract debacle? Bay is a much, much better hitter than Rowand, but will the Giants only get a few good years out of him if they sign him to a long-term deal?

Sign him!

Short answer: who cares? Sign him. Immediately. If the Giants had a hitter like Bay in the lineup last year, they’d have likely been a playoff team. That should be the only criteria the Giants need when deciding whether or not Bay is worthy of pursuing. Signing him would send a message to the fans that the team is serious about contending next year, and it’d also let the team’s young pitchers know that the Giants won’t waste another year of their careers by giving them no run support. Signing Bay makes so much sense, it almost has to happen…which, of course, means Sabean will probably sign Xavier Nady and Carlos Delgado. Sigh.

- The Giants have hired Hensley Meulens as their hitting coach, replacing Carney Lansford; it remains to be seen whether the Giants will also replace Lansford’s mustache. Meulens has had success with some of the Giants’ young hitters in Triple A (like John Bowker and Jesus Guzman), and is widely credited with turning Eugenio Velez into a legitimate Major Leaguer. It appears that Meulens has the ability to relate to some of the team’s younger hitters, something that Lansford seemed to lack at times. It’ll be interesting to see if Meulens can do anything with the hitters the Giants have at the big league level… and hey, maybe he can teach the team how to bunt! That’d be super.

- So Tim Lincecum was busted for pot possession the other day…huh. There’s not a whole lot to say about it, other than you hope he learned his lesson and won’t be so stupid going forward. The one thing that bothers me, though: he was pulled over for going 74 in a 60mph zone. You get pulled over for going 14 mph over the speed limit on the freeway? Really? Times have changed.

Also, it wouldn’t surprise me if Lincecum wasn’t the only Giant pitcher who has dabbled with that particular drug… I won’t mention names, but have at it in the comments section.

Coming up this week: final grades for position players. Plus, a look at some of the decisions facing the Giants over the winter. Do they bring back Bengie Molina? Is Brad Penny worth a multi-year extension? Will Aaron Rowand ever use an adult-sized bat? So many questions to ponder. Until next time, thanks for reading.

Tags: Freddy Sanchez, Free Agents, Jason Bay, Off Season, San Francisco Giants, Tim Lincecum