That’s about the same as my lineup would be, except for Castillo. I’d go with Velez. Yeah, he sucks. But so do Durham and Castillo. There’s some marginal chance that Velez will learn to play, and thus have a role in the team’s future; Durham and Castillo, however, have no role in the future, so I’m not bothered with them. Let them come off the bench. I’d give Ortmeier some time at first base, too.

I’d probably also send Burriss down to Fresno – better to get him playing time there than to have him sitting on the bench here – and bring up….hmm. Leone, I guess. Let him have a shot at third along with Aurilia. That doesn’t thrill me, but man, we really don’t have a lot of talent at the AAA level, do we? Beyond Schierholtz, at least. And speaking of which, in my world, by the trade deadline Winn’s been dealt and Schierholtz is playing every day in right field.

Cut Aurilia.
Send Burriss, Bowker, Castillo, and Hinshaw to Fresno.
Trade for Dan Johnson and make him the everyday first baseman.
Trade for Jayson Nix and make him the everyday second baseman.
Call up Justin Leone and make him the everyday third baseman.
Call up Ivan Ochoa to be the backup infielder.
Call up Scott McClain to be a pinch hitter and emergency infielder.
Make Durham a pinch hitter and Velez a pinch runner.
Play Ortmeier every time a lefty is on the mound.
Put Misch in the pen and go to a four-man rotation.

This is a great topic.

I would begin by doing what I have been proposing for the past year—trade the veterans. Matt Morris and Mark Sweeney have of course been traded, although Matt would surely have brought more had he been traded earlier. Noah Lowry and Brad Hennessey probably aren’t tradable, although each would seemingly have brought a nice return a year ago.

I would consider Tim Lincecum virtually untradable, but I would listen to offers for anyone else—particularly anyone over 30. Dave Roberts probably isn’t tradable, but I would be willing to pay much of his salary if someone wanted to use him as a fourth outfielder or even a platoon guy. Randy Winn should have value, and one would think Bengie Molina would, as well.

The Giants laughed off trading Omar Vizquel to the BoSox, but I would have been more chuckling as I sent Omar out the door with the greatest of respect and the hope that he could add a World Series championship to his many accomplishments. Maybe he’s already won one, but another would be nice.

John Bowker has surprised me with how well he is doing, but I would send Manny Burriss back to the minors for much-needed seasoning. I think Eugenio Velez is out of options, so I would probably keep him up. I would give Ivan Ochoa a shot as the utility infielder, although it would have been far easier to do so at the beginning of the season rather than using up roster spots and options for Brian Bocock and Burriss.

As soon as I traded the older San Ramon Valley High graduate Winn, I would replace him with the younger SRVHS grad Nate Schierholtz.

Since it really doesn’t matter how many games the Giants win this year (even though the clearly delusional Brian Sabean said earlier this week that the Giants could still contend, casting further doubt on management, which gave him a new contract last July), I would give the young guys every shot to prove themselves.

Most of them will fail, but at least the Giants won’t over-rely on them for the future. I would continue to give a shot to Billy Sadler and Alex Hinshaw, either or both of whom could become key relievers now and in the future.

I would have Steve Holm become the designated catcher for Tim Lincecum, even if the Giants are unable to trade Bengie. I think Holm calls a better game for Tim than Bengie does, although Bengie has finally begun to figure Tim out and respect his off-speed pitches.

If Bowker levels out, I would play Dan Ortmeier at first base to see how he handles right-handed pitching battting right-handed. I suspect Bowker could use more seasoning, although he certainly hasn’t shown it thus far. I considered Dan to be only a platoon player, and while that is still probably the case, let’s see how he does hitting right-handers right-handed. Who knows? He certainly can hit lefties a little.

I would have Manny Burriss take batting practice batting right-handed against righty pitching. Batting left-handed takes better advantage of his speed, but he looks to me like a much better right-handed hitter. In the minors where he likely belongs, he would face plenty of right-handed pitching. Let him go back and forth between batting righty and batting lefty to see which works out better against the right-handed pitching.

I would be cautiously aggressive with the prospects the Giants have signed the past two years. Those guys - along with Lincecum and Cain - are the future. Speaking of Cain, I expect him to pitch well for a while now. If he could bring a big package in return - or one great hitter - I wouldn’t consider him untouchable.

I would hope Barely Zito continues his regrouping to the point where the Giants could trade him to the Yankees.

Oh, and I would get rid of Brian Sabean and replace him with a more progressive GM. Same with Bruce Bochy at the end of his contract.

Oh, and I would sign Tim Lincecum long-term, although that ship may already have sailed at bargain rates. And I would hire Chris Lincecum as a roving pitching coach, particularly utilizing him in the fall league where he could really WORK with guys.

And I would push the kids big-time in the Giants’ advertising. Maybe use examples such as Willie Mays going 1-for-his-first 25 before going on to a Hall of Fame career. Use Willie McCovey, who was sent back to the minors after winning the Rookie of the Year Award. Show that Jack Clark was drafted as a pitcher before becoming a third baseman and then an outfielder. Show the early struggles of Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry. Show that Juan Marichal fell back a little before coming on to be a key pitcher in 1962 and later a Hall of Famer.

Show that the Giants have more Hall of Famers than any other team in baseball.

are not fair… this is the MANAGER we are replacing not the GM.

Has anyone noticed that Ray Durham is now our 3rd best hitter (not counting 22 PAs from Omar)? He’s just a smidge above the average 2B. Of course, I would trade him immediately for prospects – but assuming a lack of offers, I don’t see how you can justify benching him over Velez.

Aurillia is toast and should be benched, and probably DFAd. Winn is a puzzle because I think his trade value is negligible (not having a good year, 2009, limited no-trade clause). I guess just play him until you get an offer. I think Shierholtz is his equal right now, but not his better.

I would actually hold on to Vizquel and Molina, and hope someone gets stupid and makes a dumb offer for them. I would be actively shopping them if they were actually blocking anyone. In any case they should be gone by the deadline.