We should sign Barry, consider Aubrey Huff for 3B, and look into Gil Meche or Tony Armas Jr.  Maybe explore the trade market once FA dries up to see if anyone wants our damaged goods (like Winn, Benitez, et al).

Just why would Barry want to sign with the Giants.  We are a team looking straight at 100 loses with or without Barry.  Why would Barry want to finish his career like this?  

Mark my words, Barry will be an Oakland A where he can continue to play infront of BayArea Fans and where he has a real chance and playoff sucess.

I would not be suprised if Ray didn't join Barry in Oakland.  They could rotation between DH and LF and the A's could pay for both with the Zito, Thomas, and Payton money.

Optimism Point #1:  As more and more of these guys sign, Barry is more likely to be back, and he is better than all of these crap FAs.  Plus, he is only a one-year contract.

Optimism Point #2:  There are still creative things to be done that can make this team competitive (and look: the 83 win St Louis Cardinals were WS Champion).

Optimism Point #3:  Inflation or no, these FA contracts aren't worth it.  This is about avoiding bad signings.  Overpaying for someone who is very good is one thing, while overpaying (or even paying in the first place) for Juan Pierre and Gary Matthews Jr is another.  Giving Zito big dollars for 7 years may get you 5 or 6 good years.  Giving Sarge Lite or Punchless Pierre 4 or 5 years at any dollars might not get you one above-average performance.  These contracts have Edgardo Alfonzo written all over them.

Optimism Point #4:  The pitching will be good.  You can always compete with pitching.  Pay for some bullpen insurance, and use it as trade fodder to shore up other holes when the time comes.

It has been noted already in this thread, but it seems Giant management is waiting until Dec. 1 to do most of there business.

I'd prefer that Linden and Frandson just be given opening day spots, or at least in position to win or lose a staring role in spring training. And, WTF, just sign Bonds. I don't know who the hell they expect to hit behind him but at least the Giants can get butts in the seats.

Bottom line for '07: Let's see some young talent develop and watch Barry stagger past Aaron, because here just isn't enough available talent to build a playoff caliber team.

An earlier post on another thread quoted Sabean as saying:
"I don't like to spend a lot of time on the draft. It's a crapshoot anyways, so in a way it's a waste of time."  If he did actually say this, it was a stupid remark, and the reason that the Giants have one of the weakest farm systems in Baseball for position players.  Hopefully, he has learned the error of his ways.

To begin with, THIS IS A WEAK FREE-AGENT MARKET.
There will be many "Type B" Free Agents, i.e. TROT NIXON, RICH AURILIA, PRESTON WILSON, JOSE GUILLEN, GREG ZAUN, TED LILLY, GIL MECHE and several others who will perform better than many "Type A" Free Agents

The GIANTS have a UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY this year to build up their farm system quickly.  Here's a brief primer on FREE AGENCY 101:

Teams that lose a Type A free agent are compensated with two draft picks. Teams that lose a Type B free agent get one pick in return.
It's interesting because it's an exploitable area.  If you're a low-budget team looking to build your organization through the draft and player development, losing the right guys (overvalued, Type A free agents) can pay dividends.  Similarly, signing the right low-level (Type-B/No-Comp) undervalued FAs, (you lose one pick for signing a Type B, is certainly low-risk, and might be high-return if you're lucky.

Keep in mind, nearly all these comped picks are within the first two rounds, (with the exception of the FIRST 15 PICKS being protected).  That's before solid-looking prospects like Jonathan Papelbon, Elijah Dukes, or Ricky Nolasco are getting picked...they are slots where you're essentially getting instant top-20 prospects within your organization.

The GIANTS FREE AGENTS are as follows:

BONDS Type A
DURHAM Type A
ALOU Type A
SCHMIDT Type A
FELIZ Type B
HILLENBRAND Type B
STANTON Type B
STEVE FINLEY N/C
TODD GREENE N/C
STEVE KLINE N/C
JAMEY WRIGHT N/C

For a small investment, the GIANTS could field the following team in 2007:

FRANDSEN 2B
VIZQUEL SS
BONDS LF
AURILIA 3B (better offensively & defensively than FELIZ)
NIXON 1B   (better offensively & defensively than NIEKRO/HILLENBRAND)
LINDON RF
ZAUN/ALFONSO C
WINN CF

Granted, this is may not be a great team, but NO WORSE than last year.
Let's not forget that we're playing in the worst division in Baseball, where playing .500 ball actually gives you a shot at winning.

We would LOSE 4 PICKS for AURILIA, NIXON & ZAUN,
and GAIN 9 PICKS FOR ALOU, DURHAM, SCHMIDT, FELIZ, HILLENBRAND, STANTON for A NET GAIN OF 5 PICKS IN THE FIRST TWO ROUNDS OF THE DRAFT.

By taking this approach, we would SAVE MONEY, still have all of our good young pitching and an additional 5 HIGH DRAFT PICKS, all of which could be used for trades and/or THE BETTER FREE AGENT GROUP NEXT YEAR.

IT'S TIME TO BUILD FOR THE FUTURE, not get caught up in spending ridiculous amounts of money for mediocre, over-prices players.