Giants Seem Committed to Scoring Even Fewer Runs in 2010

Wasn’t it fun watching the 2009 Giants offense? There are so many great memories that come flooding back: watching Aaron Rowand flail at breaking balls using a bat made for tee-ball; watching Fred Lewis take third called strike after third called strike, then watching him complain that he wasn’t playing every day; remembering how Travis Ishikawa and Ryan Garko made you long for the days of Todd Benzinger; watching Randy Winn age ten years overnight; remembering how a team of Major League hitters had no idea how to bunt; or watching Kevin Frandsen go approximately 0-for-200 and then reading about him complaining when the Giants traded for a second baseman. Ah, memories.

You’d think that after a year where the Giants had one of their worst lineups in recent history yet still managed to contend until the last weeks of September, the top priority of the front office would be to upgrade the offense and give their elite pitching staff some run support. You’d think the Giants would be in on the top free agent hitters available in an effort to push through a window of contention that opened a few seasons earlier than expected. You’d think they’d be willing to raise their payroll somewhat significantly in order to bring the missing pieces to AT&T Park. You’d think all of those things, and you’d be completely wrong. These are the Giants we’re talking about.

Instead, the Giants seem content to let Bengie Molina, their top RBI man over the past three years (and arguably, the best offensive catcher they’ve ever had in San Francisco), walk away while getting nothing in return. The Giants haven’t given any indication that they know how they’re going to replace Molina’s 20 home runs and 80 RBIS, but in fairness to them, it’s probably because they have absolutely no idea. Meanwhile, Brian Sabean suggested Buster Posey isn’t ready for an everyday role, which means the Giants are going to have to sign or trade for a catcher who isn’t half the offensive threat Molina is (names like Yorvit Torrealba, Ryan Doumit, and Jason Kendall have surfaced) to keep the seat warm for Posey. Only problem is, most of the catchers out there want 2-year deals, and Sabean has been adamant about only wanting a 1-year deal for any catcher he signs. So the Giants may be stuck with a prospect that isn’t ready for the Bigs (Posey) and Eli Whiteside. That doesn’t help the offense.

Jason Bay seems like a pipe dream now, even though he’d make way too much sense in left field this season and beyond. The Giants are using the excuse of not wanting to give up their 1st round pick in ’10 to sign a Type-A free agent like Bay, which is hilarious coming from a team that once signed Michael Tucker just so they could send their 1st rounder to Kansas City and avoid paying a big signing bonus to a draft pick. There are questions about Bay’s defense, but it’s not like the Giants haven’t had experience with a big-hitting left fielder with limited defensive range. Those are just smokescreens; if the Giants don’t make a legitimate effort to sign Bay, it’s about money, and the Giants’ desire to not spend a lot of it. Bay could hit 3rd or 5th, provide instant protection for Pablo Sandoval, and immediately make the Giants’ offense respectable. The Giants would have to overpay to get him, but so what? They didn’t mind overpaying for an outfielder who can’t hit (Rowand), but they’d suddenly have a problem doing the same thing for one who can? I guess so, since Sabean seems willing to go into next season with an Eugenio Velez/Andres Torres platoon in left. That just boggles the mind.

(It should be noted that reports say the Giants are “monitoring” Bay’s situation with other teams, which I imagine means Sabean is holding a drinking glass to Theo Epstein’s door trying to hear what the Red Sox are offering him).

The names that are most often linked to the Giants so far this winter don’t exactly jump off the page, either. Players like Nick Johnson, Adrian Beltre, Orlando Hudson, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Mark DeRosa, and Jermaine Dye are all nice players, but they’re not lineup difference makers, which is what the Giants currently lack. They’re all good pieces to fit in to already productive lineups, but none are players to build a lineup around. If Beltre is batting behind Sandoval next year, Sandoval might walk 200 times. Same goes for Kouzmanoff. Johnson is fragile and has hit a combined 13 home runs since 2006. DeRosa’s a good player, but isn’t enough of a threat with the bat to fill and RBI spot in the lineup. If the Giants sign Hudson, they’d move Freddy Sanchez to third and form possibly the weakest 2B-SS-3B combo in Giants’ history. Dye hit .179 over the second half of 2009 and looked done. None of those options sound all that promising. Dan Uggla, a hitter with more pop in his bat than anyone in the Giants’ lineup not named Pablo, is apparently not being given serious consideration because of his salary (which should clock in around $7 million) and concerns about his defense. “We’re concerned about his defense!” says the team that plays Edgar Renteria every day and kept trotting out Fred Lewis. Sorry, I just choked.

The Giants could rectify all of this by signing Bay and bringing back Molina, but neither of those things is all that likely to happen (especially Molina). I thought it’d be inconceivable for the Giants to head into 2010 with a worse offense than they had in 2009, but they’ve given every indication that’s the road they’re headed down. It’s incredibly frustrating to watch Sabean practically throw money at guys like Rowand and Renteria, but shy away from a hitter like Bay because of monetary concerns. The Giants shouldn’t be a team that only chases second-tier free agents, yet that’s the identity they’ve embraced. It’s beyond maddening.

And this is only Day 2 of the Winter Meetings. Ugh.

- In other great news (if by “great” you mean “horrible”), Brad Penny has signed with the Cardinals. He gets a 1-year deal worth around $7 million, which can be worth as much as $9 million if he reaches certain incentives. The Giants can’t be blamed too much for this one, since most reports indicate they made a similar offer to Penny and he chose St. Louis instead.

Losing Penny leaves a big hole in the rotation, and unless the Giants sign another starter (they’ve been linked to Brett Myers, for some ungodly reason), they’re looking at a battle between Madison Bumgarner, Joe Martinez, and Kevin Pucetas for the 5th spot. Penny’s presence will be missed in the clubhouse too, since he brought an attitude and a swagger to the team that it hadn’t had in a long time. Plus, he’s totally insane, which made for some awesome moments on the mound, like the time he screamed at the Padres’ bench for absolutely no reason and looked like he wanted to kill Adrian Gonzalez. Good times, man, good times. That’s going to be hard to replace.

- That’s it for today. I’ll have another update up as soon as the Giants do something of relevance, which probably means giving Nick Johnson $10 million per for a few years. Until next time, thanks for reading.

Tags: Aaron Rowand, Bengie Molina, Brad Penny, Brian Sabean, Buster Posey, Edgar Renteria, Eli Whiteside, Fred Lewis, Freddy Sanchez, Free Agents, Giants, Jason Bay, Joe Martinez, Madison Bumgarner, Off Season, Pablo Sandoval, Rumors, San Francisco Giants, San Francisco Giants Blog, Trades