FanPost

Giants prepare for off-season changes

Here are some tidbits from an article from the official site.  I know Sabean isn't going to tip his hand, but it's hard to get excited about the off-season after reading it.

Without being critical of departed home run king Barry Bonds, Bochy said Monday that he wants to "change the culture in the clubhouse" by urging the Giants to play more aggressively.

Not sure I quite understand this, but OK.

Sabean said that Rajai Davis will receive a chance to claim center field, with Dave Roberts moving to left, and spoke highly of shortstop Omar Vizquel and third baseman Pedro Feliz -- hinting that both potential free agents on the left side of the infield could be re-signed.

So Rajai, Roberts, and Vizquel won't combine to hit 10 homeruns, but remember speed, pitching and defense wins in our division.  We're set!

Although management demonstrated its desire to field a younger team by announcing on Sept. 21 that Bonds would not be re-signed, Sabean indicated that the Giants still would try to build a contender even while nurturing less-experienced players.

More vets on the way.

Although the Giants ranked next-to-last in the NL in scoring, Sabean echoed Bochy in saying that these collapses could be attributed more to pitching than hitting: "In some ways, we scored enough runs," said Sabean, who noted that he'll try to add at least one proven reliever to the bullpen.

Second to last in runs and getting rid of our best hitter with no viable replacement.  When in doubt, blame bullpen!

Sabean likened the challenge he faces this offseason to the predicament he confronted after the 1996 campaign, which happened to mark the last time the Giants lost more than 90 games (68-94) and finished last in the West. Although few realized it at the time, Sabean turned the Giants into winners largely on the strength of one trade: The deal that sent Matt Williams and Trenidad Hubbard to Cleveland for Jeff Kent, Joe Roa, Julian Tavarez and Jose Vizcaino. Kent formed an outstanding hitting tandem with Bonds for six years, while Tavarez and Vizcaino contributed significantly to the '97 team, which won the division.

What have you done for us lately?? That was 10 years ago.

The Giants have identified about six teams with position-player depth who could be pitching-hungry, although no talks are current.

Maybe the most interesting quote, that is if you have faith in Sabean's trading ability.

There is more, some of Sabean's other quotes are worth reading:

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071001&content_id=2244648&vkey=news_sf&fext=.j sp&c_id=sf

This FanPost is reader-generated, and it does not necessarily reflect the views of McCovey Chronicles. If the author uses filler to achieve the minimum word requirement, a moderator may edit the FanPost for his or her own amusement.

Recent FanPosts