It's just Manny being offered another contract by the Dodgers

This season it would be tough to pay Zito, Rowand, Renteria, Johnson, Winn, Roberts and Howry, but the last four come off the books at the end of the 2009 season, greatly easing the pain thereafter.

I will say this though. Teams are properly worried about their ability to sell tickets at full price during what could be a long economic recovery. But of the first six above — each of whom is making from pretty good money to unbelievable coin — the only signings I liked at the time were Rowand and Johnson, and I was happy about Rowand partially in the context of signing him instead of Andruw Jones.

My point is that if simple laymen such as you and I can see that most of the Giants’ signings were mistakes, why couldn’t they themselves see it? Methinks they weren’t paying NEARLY enough attention to their resident sabermetician.

On the positive side, some VERY good draft and Dominican signings the past three years. AND the Giants finally opened their draft pocket books when they drafted Buster Posey knowing he would cost them far more than they had ever before paid. As it turned out, Buster signed for the highest pure bonus of any player ever drafted by ANY team.

I wish they had adopted that strategy the previous draft and taken Rick Porcello, who was still available at #22 overall. Of course they did quite well with Tim Alderson in that spot, but just think if he had still been available at #29 overall and the Giants had signed all THREE!

Also that summer the Giants missed out what would seem to have been a great opportunity to sign up Tim Lincecum long-term, much as the Rays did a year later with Evan Longoria. Now, even before Tim is eligible for free agency, the Giants will almost certainly have spent more to pay Tim PRIOR to his being eligible for free agency than $71.5 million the Rays have guaranteed Longoria, even while wrapping Evan up for as many as nine seasons.

If they exercise their option to keep Evan through 2016, they will pay him $44.5 million, or slightly less than $5 million for each of his nine seasons. Lest you think something akin to this couldn’t have been worked out with Tim, don’t forget that Evan was drafted #4 overall in 2006, or six spots ahead of Tim.

By not showing the financial faith in Tim they should have shown early, the Giants will almost certainly cost themselves tens of millions of dollars and perhaps over $100 million.

It is time for the Giants to start becoming financially prudent. Did it make more sense to take a $128 million risk on Barry Zito after the 2006 season or a risk of perhaps as little as a seventh of that amount on Tim six months later?

Of COURSE the Giants were afraid of making another mistake as it was already appearing they might be making with Barry. But as with the ill-advised signing of Dave Roberts, the Zito money was already dead money. The key is to put one’s mistakes behind him, learn from them and then go on wiser even if poorer.

During the winter after the 2006 season, wasn’t it patently obvious that Lincecum was a FAR better risk than Zito? Zito was a guy who was clearly on the way down. Lincecum was a guy who seemed to have every chance to be on the way up and quite possible SHARPLY so.

Let’s put it this way: During that winter when the Giants signed Zito, I decried that signing while predicting Lincecum would become the best pitcher in SF Giants history. I’m sure there were others here who felt the same.

Were we geniuses to feel that way? No, we were merely looking wisely and objectively at the evidence before us. Clearly the Giants have even more evidence than we have, and should have more experienced and wiser heads to make their decisions involving tens of millions and sometimes over $100 million.

Why could we see clearly what they clearly could not? If they had, they would have saved millions upon millions.

Next time perhaps they’ll ask us here at The McCovey Chronicles. Yes, and umpires will be praised for their good calls and Barry Bonds will be praised for treating his body as a temple.