(this is written as an article because i copied

and pasted from my blog))

If you claim to associate yourself with the Giants you would know rumors were flying around today that we had signed Edgar Renteria to a two year eighteen million dollar contract. At first I was infuriated why was Sabean signing a rapidly declining 32 year old shortstop? The other increasingly baffling part was that Sabean was signing Renteria a week away from the arbitration deadline, why would Sabean sign a Type A free agent before the team can even offer the particular player arbitration ( this would ensure the Tigers our 2nd round draft pick due to the fact that we have the number six overall pick  in order to have your first round draft pick protected you must have a record among the fifteen worst in baseball if you sign a type a free agent before their previous team can offer them arbitration or sign the type a free agent after the team has offered them arbitration.)? After thinking for a good chunk of time I came to the conclusion that the value a team would get in return from signing Renteria compared to Furcal would be astronomical.  First of all the latest rumored "high bidder" for Furcal is thought to be the Braves whom are rumored to be offering a 4 year deal worth 52 million. The Giants so called offer stands at 2 years 18 million but he would also probably accept a 3 year 21 million dollar deal.  Furcal's contract comes out to around 13 million on average over 5 years whereas Renteria comes out to only 7 million over 3 years, a whole lot less risky considering the fact furcal only played in 36 games last year.  Over his career Furcal has averaged 11 r 66 rbi's and a .286 average which is not shabby at all. as well as .353 obp and .412 slg resulting in a line of .286/.353/.412 but, with stellar defense. Renteria on the contrary has averaged 11 hr 72 rbi's a .290 average and an obp of .347 and a slg% of .405  which = a line of .290/.347/.405. Oddly how remarkable similar the two players are huh?  Both players have their fair share of questions marks though, Furcal is comming of an injury plauged season and his defense has regressed a bit. Renteria is comming off a season where he hit a very low (for him) .270 and only drove in 55 runs but also made 9 less plays than the average ss according to the fielding bible. At the same time I found it remarkable how similar last years stats were for Renteria compared to his previous only trip to the AL with the Red Sox in 2005 Renteria hit .276 with 8 hr and 77 rbi's before being shipped back to the National league where he hit .296 with 14 hr and 76 rbi's. You have to remember prior to going to the Tigers he hit .332 12 hr and 57 rbi's. And last year he hit   .270 10 and 56. Again I don't expect the guy to hit .332 next season but I definetly think .290 12 and 65 is well in reach, which would be great offensive output from the ss position for us, only the orioles has worse production from the ss position last year. I think much of his regression last year could simply be attributed to playing in the American league similarly to what happened to him in 2005.  Over the last five years Renteria has 54 home runs compared to Furcal's 53. Renteria has average 64.2 Rbi's over the last five seasons compared to Furcal's 48.3 (albeit he only played 36 games last year but that's still a difference of about 8 rbi's per year had he been healthy) And lastly Renteria has averaged a .291.6 average the last five years while Furcal has hit, .284.4. As you can see not only is Furcal the much more expensive riskier option, but he has also not been as consistent or performed as well as my new friend Edgar Renteria. At the same time I truly do believe the Giants have a deal in place for Renteria but don't want to announce it out of fear of the Tigers offering Renteria arbitration to claim the Giants 2nd round pick I expect the deal to be announced sometime soon after December 2. I commend Sabean and the organization if this is the case for making a great decision they very well could be gaining the greater offensive player for half the price. Thank you