And, lo, on the first day of the Winter Meetings, the Giants didn't really do anything. This has been your Winter Meetings roundup.
There was a State of the Sabean address, though. Andrew Baggarly tallied up a lot of the particulars here and gave us some prospect porn here regarding the pitchers other teams are asking for.
When I asked one scout for a comp (for Ty Blach), he said Tom Glavine. When I ran that past another scout from an AL club who had seen Blach, he didn’t burst out laughing. In fact, he threw in a comp to Jimmy Key.
Mmmmf.
Tweets on the beat suggest that:
- The Giants were interested in Norichika Aoki, but the Brewers went with Will Smith and the Royals, instead. (Baggs)
- They're talking with the Yankees about Brett Gardner, but the Yankees are being selfish and uncool. (Baggs)
- The Giants like Gregor Blanco more than Ichiro in the first danged place because they have computers and televisions in the office. (Shea)
- The Giants are considering Mike Morse and Corey Hart, but they aren't prepared for a bidding war. (Shea)
The larger theme is that Sabean is claiming there's no pressure to get a left fielder, and that he's fine with Juan Perez and Blanco sharing time in left. This is because he isn't an idiot. If he said, "Boy, I wake up thinking about left field, and I go to sleep thinking about left field. If I don't get a left fielder, the boys back home will be real sore, I'll tell you what, they'll be real sore. So I need something. Anyone have any leads?", that might -- just might -- weaken the Giants' bargaining position.
I still think they'll sign either Morse or Hart, but that's just a gut feeling. And if that's the case, there's no reason to acknowledge anything other than basic interest, with a fear that prices are going to be too steep. I wouldn't read too much into the Morse/Hart comments.
For your super-special bonus rumor of the day, we have the Giants randomly scouting a Cuban shortstop prospect, Aledmys Diaz. They're one of 10 teams listed, so don't read too much into it, but one of these days they're actually going to surprise the shorts off us by signing one of these international guys. Wait for it.
Waaaaait for it.
Waaaaaaaaaait for it ...