Back Into the Swing of Things

Here’s how I’d describe appendicitis: the worst pain in the history of Earth. It’s somewhere between childbirth, and watching Fred Lewis try to track down a flyball to his left; yes, it’s that painful. The recovery after an open appendectomy is no joke, either. I’m more than two weeks removed from the operation, and this is the first time I can sit at my computer desk for more than 15 minutes. Victory is mine, appendix. So, I apologize for my prolonged absence, but I promise I had a really good excuse.

Now, let’s move on from unnecessary parts of the human digestive system to something that really matters: Giants baseball. The Giants have been making some noise the past few weeks, so let’s get caught up:

- Tim Lincecum is a back-to-back Cy Young winner…old news. The bigger news? His arbitration hearing is coming up, and reports are that Lincecum is only interested in a one year deal. Lincecum is in a position to shatter Ryan Howard’s record $10 million arbitration award, and the Giants have no position to argue if that happens. He may even ask for more than $23 million next season, which would move him ahead of CC Sabathia as the highest paid pitcher in baseball.

The Giants are in a tough spot: Lincecum is arguably the best pitcher in baseball, a guy who’s on a historic path early in his career, and he (seemingly) has no interest in a long term deal. Assuming he gets a huge award in arbitration (say, $15 million), what’s going to happen if he wins a third straight Cy Young and heads to arbitration again? His award then would be astronomical, and what could the Giants do about it? If they even think about trading him, the fan base would revolt. At the same time, the team would probably prefer to not have their payroll flexibility determined by an arbitrator every year. So what’s the answer?

One possible solution: offer him Zito money. Lincecum’s agents may say they’re not interested in a long term deal, but if the Giants have a $130 million-plus offer on the table, they might change their tune. Long term deals for pitchers have a way of backfiring, but Lincecum is a special case. He’s the face of the franchise, and the Giants have to do everything possible to keep him around, like making him the highest paid pitcher in baseball. Just don’t be surprised when the front office uses that as an excuse as to why they couldn’t sign any bats.

- It’s looking more and more likely that some familiar faces won’t be back in the fold next year. Randy Winn has already been told he won’t return, ending his 4 ½ year run with the Giants. Winn had one of his worst years as a pro in ’09, as his average, OBP, and slugging all fell off the cliff from his ’08 totals. He still played excellent defense, though, and remained one of the classiest players in baseball. He’s going to be missed in the clubhouse and in the community, but it’s time for the Giants to give players like Nate Schierholtz and John Bowker legitimate chances (read: letting them play more than 2 games in a row) to take over in the outfield.

It looks more and more like the Giants will be without Brad Penny and Bengie Molina next year, too. Penny’s contract demands are apparently too rich for the Giants’ blood, which is a shame, since he seemed to thrive in San Francisco and fit in nicely with the rest of the team. If he’s not brought back, the Giants are going to be scrambling to fill his spot in the rotation. As for Molina, he seems to have his heart set on a 2-year deal, and the Giants won’t budge from their 1-year offer. The Giants are committed to Buster Posey, and would rather not be locked in for an additional year of Molina in his late 30s. It’ll be tough to see Molina go, considering how valuable his bat has been over the past few years. Replacing his RBI totals will be no easy task.

- Some interesting names have surfaced in the Giants’ efforts to find more offense. Among them:

Nick Johnson: It seems like the Giants have been interested in Johnson for years, and now they finally have the opportunity to sign him outright. He’s a good hitter, a good defensive player, and he usually finds a way to get on base. He’s also one of the most injury-prone players in recent memory, and he’s not the big bat the lineup so desperately needs. Still, he’s an upgrade over Travis Ishikawa, and would be a nice 2-year stopgap until someone like Brett Pill  is ready to take over at 1B. Also, if the Giants sign Johnson, he and Freddy Sanchez would form the most injury-plagued right side of the infield in baseball. Every ground ball would be a potential pulled hamstring, and how much fun would that be? I smell a new drinking game.

Dan Uggla: The Giants apparently inquired about Uggla’s availability with plans of moving him to 3B, shifting Pablo Sandoval to 1B in the process. Uggla’s a nice hitter, and you can pencil him in for a .250/30/85 line every year. He’s not very good defensively, and it remains to be seen whether or not he can make the transition to another position. His power numbers would be a welcome addition to an anemic offense, but he doesn’t seem to fit the classic mold of cleanup hitter (then again, neither did Molina, so…). If the Giants didn’t have to give up too much to get him (say, Jonathan Sanchez and a few other players), he’d be worth the investment. Why? Because it would be really nice to have someone who can hit more than 25 home runs in the lineup. Amongst other reasons.

Yorvit Torrealba: It looks like the Giants want to turn to an old friend to keep the seat warm for Posey. Torrealba, who has a history of getting big hits against the Giants and looking ticked off in the process, isn’t much more than a backup these days, which is what the Giants are apparently looking for in a catcher. If the Giants let Molina walk and bring in Torrealba, they’d better be really sure Posey is ready for everyday work; otherwise, we’re looking at a season of Torrealba and Eli Whiteside taking turns batting 8th every day. Ugh.

Pudge Rodriguez: like Torrealba, Rodriguez is more of a backup than anything these days. Unlike Torrealba, Pudge is a probable Hall-of-Famer who could provide valuable insight to Posey as he becomes an everyday player. He still has some bat left, and could probably be had on the cheap.

Carlos Delgado/Troy Glaus/Gary Sheffield/Jermaine Dye: I’m grouping all of these guys together because they’re all basically the same player these days: aging, broken down, with some power left in their bats. Basically, the same kind of players that Brian Sabean was signing from 2003-2007. Let’s hope the Giants are past that phase.

Miguel Cabrera: I’m mentioning him because the Tigers are reportedly ready to cut costs, and the Giants have been mentioned as one of the teams with the “means” to acquire Cabrera; however, that probably “means” the Giants would have to part with Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, and who knows what else. Cabrera’s one of the top hitters in the game, but he’s eating himself into a fulltime DH role, and giving up a boatload of players for him doesn’t seem like such a smart move. Unless the Tigers are willing to take a package centered around Bowker, Kevin Frandsen, and Jesus Guzman, Cabrera will likely remain a pipe dream.

That’s it for today. Grades for position players will be up by the end of the week, assuming I don’t lose any other organs in the process. Until next time, thanks for reading.

Tags: Barry Zito, Brad Penny, Buster Posey, Freddy Sanchez, Madison Bumgarner, Matt Cain, Off Season, Randy Winn, San Francisco Giants, San Francisco Giants Blog, Tim Lincecum, Trades