FanPost

Its Always Fun to Pretend You're A GM...Here's My Shot


I've been calmly watching the Giants' season shift from "top WS contender" to "choke team of the year" to "We're still leading the division?!?!" With every shift in this season my views on what the team should do have changed. Well, I've finally decided that no matter what else happens this year...the Giants will be competing for at least the division title the entire season. So then the question is raised...how do we fine tune the team to make that run and possibly get to another Series?

I've seen a few different options floating around. Some suggest blowing up the prospect list and going after Price and Zobrist. While I love the idea of getting Price. By the time his current contract is up, at the end of the 2015 season, we'll be free of Hudson, Lincecum and Vogelsong's contracts. While I can see bringing back Timmy in 2016 (he seems to be turning the corner from a Thrower into a Pitcher, finally), I don't see us bringing back Hudson and Vogelsong. That might free up just enough money to re-sign Price long term.

The problem with that is that we have Panda, Belt and Crawford all needing new contracts in the next 1-3 years. I'm not sure we're really capable of holding down three $23m+ pitchers and keeping those guys...if we want to keep them.

The last problem with that trade is that we really don't have a place for Zobrist. Yes, he can play many positions. But the problem with the Giants' lineup right now, I believe, is the lack of a productive and true leadoff hitter. Pence is producing. but we really need his production in the middle of the order, not at the top. No matter how good he is at lead off.

I've also seen some suggest we sit pat. We wait and hope that Pagan and Cain come back soon...as well as Belt...and that Scutaro returns to some semblance of his 2012 form. That'd be nice...but I'm not so sure about all four of those things happening. So standing pat is not the best option either.

At this point, to both win the division and make a run at another World Series, I think we need the following:

1) a more pure lead off hitter and defensive CF. Pagan could return. But I'm becoming less and less certain of that. None of his replacements in CF have been consistent enough to rely upon. And nobody in Fresno seems ready to step in and step up. My choice would be to get Ben Revere. Philly is selling. He would not cost us all that much. And he, frankly, would be the perfect replacement for Pagan. He upsets pitchers when he gets on. He hits wells and fields well. He would allow the rest of line up to move back to where they are best suited.

2) a middle of the rotation starter. I feel a bit more optimistic that Cain will return this year than I am about Pagan. Of course, reality could be just the opposite. But even if Cain doesn't return as quickly as I think he will, we really don't need a top of the rotation pitcher to replace him at this point. The cost to do so is far too prohibitive. But if we could add a Jake Peavy type starter to this rotation, I would feel so much better. If Cain returns we have Cain, Bum, Hudson, Timmy, and Peavy...w/Vogelsong as long reliever. And Cain doesn't return, we're still fairly good at SP.

3) Bullpen arm. The decline of Romo this year makes it feel like our bullpen is weak. And it is true that his decline does make us weaker. But I am not sure that it makes us weak. The real weakness of the bullpen has been that they've been a bit overworked through our June Swoon. Which is why I think it would be good to add another arm to the bullpen. The best option would likely be to pick someone experienced up in a trade. But if we make those other two trades I mentioned, I doubt we could really pull off a third trade...though its not impossible. A seemingly more realistic option would be to drag a reliever from the minors up to handle some action.

It'll be fun to see what Sabean does. But either way, its good to have yet one more year of competing for a division title.

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