Indianapolis Updates

Andrew Baggarly has reported some interesting tidbits on the Giants' front.  First of all, the Giants are effectively out of running for Dan Uggla.  Due to Uggla's nearing free agency and his weak glove, the Giants essentially lost interest in the Marlins's infielder.  Bengie Molina is certain not to return.  Brian Sabean spoke of Moline: "That ship has sailed."  Baggarly also reports it is possible that Uribe will revisit the Giants' offer (whatever that means).

Some good news though: Baggs has reported that the Giants are interested in Orlando Hudson.  If the Giants sign Hudson, they will move Freddy Sanchez to 3B.  That would be a wonderful pickup.  Hudson is a great player who fits nicely with the Giants' needs.  Hudson has a career .340 wOBA, which would contribute nicely to the Giants meager offense.  In all seriousness, we should have signed Hudson instead of Renteria last year.  That was a huge blunder on Sabean's behalf.

The Giants are still interested in Mark DeRosa, however. 

One interested piece of information reported by Baggs is that the Giants could possibly make a run for Jason Bay.  If we are only going to sign one bat, then Jason Bay would be a great option, obviously.

The San Jose Mercury News has reported that the Giants will probably only sign one bat this off-season.  The article offers no reason for this, and gives no sources.  I am not sure how much I trust this piece of information, but it is certainly disheartened if true.  I had hoped the Giants would sign one bat in the infield and one bat in the outfield.  I had dreamed of Nick Johnson/Andy LaRoche and Xavier Nady.  I really think the Giants need to sign two bats to make us a little more solid up the 3, 4, and 5 spots.

It looks like the Giants' interest in Jermaine Dye and Johnny Damon has waned (good).

Wow.  Some of this news is good, some of it is bad.  Clearly, the Giants need more than one bat, short of returning players really stepping up to the plate.  Edgar Renteria was  a terrible disappointment for the Giants last year, however he was playing through an injury.  I expect Renteria will be better than he was in '09, but I don't think the Giants can count on him being a strong hitter.  He has declined in recent years.  Hopefully, he will have some sort of bounce back year.

Aaron Rowand hit .218 in the second half of the season. That is unacceptable.  Clearly and utterly unacceptable.  Rowand needs to get his bat back.  We are paying him a ridiculous amount of money.

It looks like Andres Torres, Eugenio Velez, and even Emmanuel Burris will be seeing significant playing time next year.  It is utterly absurd that Velez is being given a starting sport, seemingly, even before spring training.  Velez, despite his hot streak last season, cannot hit.  He hit last season with a .301 wOBA.  That is terrible.  If the Giants expect the start Eugenio Velez and still make the playoffs they are dreaming.  This is exactly why I wanted the Giants to sign two bats: one in the outfield and one in the infield.  If that were done, we could start Rowand in CF, Nady in RF, and Lewis in LF.  Or, we could start Rowand in CD, Nady in LF, and Schierholtz/Torres in RF. 

While Fred Lewis is bad on defense, he has decent hitting abilities.  He can get on base right at the league average (which for the 2009 Giants is stellar).  He should certainly be higher on the Giants list than Eugenio Velez . . . it is absurd.  Utterly absurd, that Eugenio Velez might be starting next season.

Can anyone tell how frustrated I am?

The best piece of news from this is the fact that Pudge Rodriguez was signed by the Washington Nationals for a two year deal.  Why is this good?  Because it screwed up the catcher market.  Remember in one of my previous posts when I talked about how the Giants would need to find a catcher who would be willing to take a one year deal?  Well, the market for that catcher no longer exists.  With the nationals setting a precedent like that, no other catcher will be willing to accept anything less than a two-year deal.  Thus, Sabean has admitted it might be time to go back and revisit whether or not starting Buster Posey is an option.

Mr. Sabean: 

If you are only signing one bat, you had better start Buster Posey, since he will be the only other player on our team, other than Pablo and Freddy Sanchez, who can hit.  Make it happen Sabes.