One point you should probably make as well but perhaps haven't because it has been oft-discussed here in another context is that the Giants have done far better drafting and developing pitchers than position players.

And most of all I'm hoping that somehow Brian magically became a better drafter of players the past two years and that the trend will continue, along with improved development.  There are signs this could indeed be the case.

One thing that has naturally helped Brian in this regard has been having better drafting position.  Fortunately/unfortunately that is likely to continue for another two or three years IMO.  I'm hoping Brian hits a grand slam with the #5 overall pick in 2008.

You are correct that the Giants weren't likely to spend the big bucks on Porcello and still spend significant money on each of the other picks.  Heck, you're probably right that the Giants weren't going to spend the big bucks on Porcello regardless of what else they did.

But my point is that should Rick go on to become a big star, the $7 million the Tigers guaranteed him could wind up being only one or two percent of what Rick makes during his entire career.  I would much rather the Giants have spent the extra $5 million or so on Porcello than have signed Dave Roberts for over three times that amount.

And, yes, I realize that really isn't a fair comparison, since the money had already been spent on Davey.

But my point is that while the Giants appear to be getting back on track, they are so far behind right now with upper-level prospects that they should be focusing even more heavily on drafting and developing prospects.

Your point, by the way, that having BOTH Mad Bum and Timmy Two rather than Porcello is likely a good thing.  It is certainly a reduction of risk (although Porcello's mechanics appear to me to greatly diminish his injury risk).

It's easy for me to talk about how the Giants should be spending their money, since it doesn't come out of MY pocket (except very indirectly).

But why did Brian spend money on Neifi Perez when it was obvious the guy could hit only in Coors Field, on Jose Vizcaino when it was obvious the guy could no longer get on base and on Dave Roberts when the Giants already had a center fielder in Randy Winn and two more possibilities on the way in Freddie Lewis and Clay Timpner?

And with the obvious problem this off-season being where to spend all the available money productively, why wasn't more budgeted to take full advantage of the Giants' great draft situation this past June?

It is as if the Giants are guilty of being overly reactive when they should instead be becoming highly proactive.

It is as if the Giants were mesmerized by the brilliance that was Barry Bonds and were oblivious to how their foundation was crumbling and the fixtures were falling down around Barry.

Oh, and were they so enamored with the name Barry that they had to overspend on Zito?  It was obvious when they signed Barry that he wasn't likely to be more than their #3 starter for very long.

Don't the Giants see ANYTHING?  I know they have more knowledge on this stuff than we do, but it is almost as if we as a group here could make better decisions than they seem to be making.

Again, the signings of the past two years have been impressive (based on the little we know about them).  Hopefully this is a clear indication that the Giants have turned the corner, that it's no longer business as usual.

But, really, how could they have allowed the house to crumble this badly without experiencing an earthquake?