Cognactive roster

Lefty is revisiting the Hennessey contingenssy, making astute points about why we shouldn't panic if he were to be the fifth starter. I concurred, I disagreed, I laughed, I cried...I'm a conflicted man on the fifth starter issue. My paint-by-numbers logic:

1. I don't mind Hennessey entering the season in the rotation. He acquitted himself quite well in the majors for a player who had missed a lot of minor league development time due to health issues. He isn't a great prospect - you'd find a lot of dissenters if you even described him as a good prospect - but the advantage of having a slightly below-average starter in their pre-arbitration years is an underrated blessing. The Giants wouldn't expect him to dominate the league, but would be ecstatic if he could ape what Ryan Jensen was able to give the Giants in 2002. That's a realistic hope.
2. Having Kevin Correia as the only iodine tablet in the nuclear plant is unacceptable. The Giants will not finish the season with the same five starters they begin the season with. It'd be more realistic to expect each member of the outfield to win a Gold Glove. Another acquisition would go a long way to helping the depth of the club.
3. Any pitcher willing to complete for a rotation spot with Hennessey probably isn't good at all. Any pitcher with a sliver of talent would likely not sign with the Giants unless handed the starting role.
4. Tough noogies, Brad. Tighten up that slider, and we'll see you soon.

Teams are camping out for pitchers like Ryan Franklin and Sidney Ponson as if they're Xboxes, and that's very discouraging. There's hardly anything still on the market that would improve on Hennessey, but improving the team isn't the goal at this point. Improving the depth chart is the goal. If players like Franklin are getting millions, the Giants are probably going to need to plug their nose and dive into a pile of something. It should have never come down to that, but that line of thinking is irrelevant now.

I smell Al Leiter in the air. I really do.