With the release of Dave Roberts (coupled with the team not signing Manny Ramirez in the off-season), the log jam in the outfield has been cleared up a bit.  However, aside from some spells of Eugenio Velez on the lawn, there are still four potential starters for three spots. 

In left field roams Fred Lewis.  I love this guy.  His bunion concerns seem to be cleared up and he’ll should be close to 100% for the season.  Also, it looks like he’ll be batting 3, which can only serve to help his numbers.  Leading off for the majority of last season stifled him a bit (though the 21 steals, 11 triples, and 81 runs scored were very nice).  While he’s a ravenous first pitch hitter, leading off requires taking pitches.   However, let’s not forget that the Pirates used to hit the Giants previous left fielder in the leadoff spot in 1986 and he did quite well when dropped down in the order.  Just sayin’.  Hitting 3 should help Lewis in 2009.

In center is the $12 million dollar man, Aaron Rowand.  2008 wasn’t exactly a great season for Rowand.  He got off to a fast start and then tailed off appreciably as the summer wore on.  Also, his defense wasn’t as incredible as the Giants were counting on.  If I sound like I’m not a huge fan hey, $12 million SHOULD buy .300, 25, 120.  The Giants didn’t get an wonderful return on investment last season.  I can’t claim that 2009 will be better, but it couldn’t hurt.

Right field is the the territory of Randy Winn.  He’s hit .300 each of the last two seasons and is a solid player and team leader.  In 2008, he helped with speed, too (25 steals with only twice being caught and 84 runs scored).   So far this spring, he’s been leading off consistently (and performing poorly in doing so).  If he can get his game together, he’ll be a good, if not spectacular, contributer in 2009.  If not, then perhaps it’s time for a changing of the guard.

Said change would be found in Nate Schierholtz.  This guy has murdered pitching wherever he’s wielded a bat (minor leagues, major leagues, and olympics).  He’s recorded back to back .300 seasons in limited major league action and is probably ready to be the starter in right.  However, right now he’ll have to bide his time.  As the fourth outfielder, he’ll get his share of at bats and a good chance to prove his worth.  He missed some time in the spring training with a tweaked back.  Hopefully, that’s behind him and exciting things are to come from Schierholtz.  Even as the fourth outfielder, he’s still incredibly more lethal than either Dave Roberts or Rajai Davis.  Something to look forward to. 

It’s also important to note that non-roster invitee veteran Andres Torres is making a push for a spot on the major league club.  He’s been playing well and leads the Cactus League in runs scored, thus far.  However, his age (31) might work against him.  Also, as a runner, the spot he’s gunning for might well be the one that appears to belong to Velez, who has proven himself to be a more adept hitter.  However, the Giant management seems to have a warm spot for veterans.  As a result, he might get to bring his cleats to AT&T park when the team opens the season.  If that happens, look for either Velez or Burriss to get a ticket to Fresno.  However, Torres will still have to prove himself, regardless.  It’s not his job to lose (or at least, shouldn’t be).   

In a move echoing their commitment to a youth movement, the San Francisco Giants released veteran outfielder Dave Roberts, parting ways with a player whose tenure with the team could be described as underwhelming, at best.  Since signing a three year, $18 million contract with the Giants prior to the 2007 season, Roberts has spent substantial time on the disabled list and has never been the table setter originally envisioned by the Giant brass.   His release signals a vote of confidence for Nate Schierholtz and suggests that the Giants are serious about giving the talented young player a serious look as their number four outfielder in 2009.   The Giants are still obligated to pay Roberts contract for 2009, however. 

In other moves, relief pitchers Keiichi Yabu and Kelvin Pichardo were both optioned to AAA Fresno.  Yabu played a significant role in the Giants bullpen in 2008, appearing in 60 games. 

So, the rumor wire has been burning up again about a meal that Manny Ramirez and his agent Scott Boras might or might not have shared with members of the Giants front office.  There are several things we might or might not know about this dinner.  Here are several (though not nearly all).  They might or might not have been discussing a contract.  Boras might or might not have been in town to show Man-Ram that there are people who will overpay for an aging slugger (or at least that have in the past).   They might or might not have gone with the bisque.  However, the meeting also might or might not have happened. 

Where I’m going is that this dinner and its tangibility aren’t at issue here.  In my opinion, there are one of two things that Manny’s going to do this offseason.  1) he’s going to sign with the Giants 2) he won’t.  Beyond that is not important.  There are reasons to sign him.  There are reasons not to.

The reasons to sign Manny Ramirez are rather obvious to anybody who knows his name.  No doubt, it’s agreed upon that he’s among the elite sluggers in the game today.  His entire presence in the lineup will sway how the opposition pitches to a team (not unlike Barry Bonds, once upon a time).  He carries a heavy piece of lumber that can send baseballs into orbit and is an RBI machine.  He puts butts in the seats and probably would deliver a divisional crown to the Bay in 2009.  When he came to LA at the trade deadline last season, they were 54-54 and in second place in the West.  He proceeded to hit .396 with 17 long balls and 53 RBI in 53 games and the Dodgers went on to win the division.  It’s not a reach to give him a lion’s share of the credit for this pennant. 

Now that we have discussed what everybody knows, let’s look at why the Orange and Black might be better suited to look the other way. 

First of all, the outfield isn’t a problem for the Giants.  They already have a log jam with Winn, Rowand, and Lewis starting and Schierholtz biding his time on the bench.  With Manny Ramirez on the team, go ahead and move everybody down one notch. The electric Fred Lewis takes the bench, along with his healthy foot.  Be prepared to see him leave once his contract is up.  Better hope that one won’t turn into the next Giant regret (though I feel it just might).  Schierholtz, with his sweet swing, +.300 MLB average, and no options would probably be shipped out via trade.  I wonder what we’d get for him?  Again, do we really want to see what he does when another team is willing to give him at bats.  What about the veteran Dave Roberts?  I couldn’t see that much changing for him as his contract and speed would probably keep him around for a year.  On defense, Manny Ramirez patrol left field with the grace of a battleship.  Couple this with a less than stellar track record of mental concentration and you get Barry Bonds circa 2007 with a bad case of ADD.  Better hope that Aaron gets some amazing jumps on fly balls in left center.  Also, Manny will probably get +$25 million per.   Rumor has it that Boras is looking for 3-4 years on a deal.   That’s potentially $100 million tied up for four years.  Couple that with the enormous contracts for Rowand and Zito that are also going to be sucking money from the team for the next four seasons.  Want to guess how many quality Giants will say their fair-the-wells to the team in that time?   Lincecum?  Cain?  Sanchez?  These guys are going to need money if the Giants want them to stick around.  Also, Ramirez isn’t exactly young.  At 36, a long term deal will carry him to the doorstep of forty, if not across the threshhold.  Are we to believe that he can still sustain this level of play at that age?  If not, the Giants front office will be mortgaging the future again. 

Again, the Giants will either sign Manny or not.  I just hope that the sayers for the Giants think long and hard before asking him if he wants to stick around for some baked alaska for dessert. 

Tim Lincecum led the San Francisco Giants to a 6-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night. The Giants “ace” tossed 8 1/3 innings and only allowed two runs to score. Lincecum is now 16-3 on the season and should be getting a lot of mention about the Cy Young award if you ask me.

The two runs that the Diamondbacks scored in the game came on a fielders choice and then Alex Hinshaw made an error. Atleast the Giants didn’t let things snowball in the final inning and limited the damage to only those two runs.

The Giants offense was awesome right from the beginning as they chased Diamondbacks starting pitcher Yusmeiro Petit out of the game after only 2 2/3 innings. The Giants were able to score five runs off of Petit in the third inning and they never looked back. Bengie Molina had the big hit in the third when he connected on a three run home run. Dave Roberts walked in the inning to force in another run. The inning actually got started with a rbi single from Pablo Sandoval who now has 14 rbi’s on the season.

The sixth and final run for the Giants came in the seventh inning when Rich Aurilia singled in Molina.

Great win for the Giants and they hope to make it two in a row of the Diamondbacks on Tuesday night. Giants Blog

The ninth inning was a drama filled one last night as the Florida Marlins scored three runs to tie the game and then the Giants scored the winning run on a Bengie Molina sac fly in the bottom of the ninth inning. It would have been a terrible way to end the game had the Marlins came all the way back after struggling most of the game at the plate against the Giants pitchers.

Molina however was there to save the day with his rbi sac fly to center that scored Dave Roberts for the winning run. Molina also had a rbi single in the seventh inning for the Giants as he finished with two rbi. Randy Winn hit a solo home run to finish with one rbi. Rich Aurilia, Emmanuel Burriss, and Fred Lewis all finished with one rbi as well.

Giants starting pitcher Matt Cain pitched 7 2/3 innings and gave up five hits and two runs. Both runs came from a home run ball that he gave up to Jeremy Hermida in the fourth inning. Brian Wilson blew the save in the ninth inning when he gave up a three run home run but then got the win as the Giants scored in the bottom of the inning.

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Barry Zito and the San Francisco Giants finished up a four game series with the Atlanta Braves on Monday afternoon with a 5-0 victory. The Giants took three out of four games against the Braves in the series to improve their record to 53-71 on the season.

Zito who pitched seven innings won for just the third time since the all star break and is now 7-15 on the year. Zito gave up five hits while walking two and striking out three Braves hitters. Keiichi Yabu and Sergio Romo each pitched an inning of relief to combine with Zito on the shutout.

The Giants got on the scoreboard right away as they pushed across three runs in the first inning. Rich Aurilia and Pablo Sandoval both had rbi singles while Aaron Rowand had a rbi sac fly. The Giants were then held scoreless until the sixth inning when Rowand hit a solo home run. The team got another run in the seventh inning when Dave Roberts walked with the bases loaded.

The Giants will now start up a series on Tuesday night with the Florida Marlins.

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Matt Cain was marvelous on Thursday afternoon as he limited the Washington Nationals to only four hit and zero runs.  The win by Cain was his sixth of the season and he is now 6-8.  What made the win that much more special was the Giants took all three games against the Nationals.  The Giants are now sitting at 43-58 on the season.

The one run that the Giants got came in the bottom of the 8th inning when Dave Roberts singled and pitch runner Eugenio Velez scored.  The offense was lucky to get that one run against Tim Redding who was matching Cain all game long.  Luckily for the offense, Cain didn’t allow a run and the Giants were able to get the victory.

The Giants will now welcome in the Arizona Diamondbacks for a weekend series.  The D-backs just got done beating the Chicago Cubs in two out of three games so they are playing some good baseball this week.

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