...and Brohawn will Answer!

After stray rumors of a Thursday Tim Lincecum sighting, I broke down and bought a month of MLB.tv. It's getting cancelled on April 1st because of the ridiculous blackout rules, but it will be worth the $15.00 for the rest of spring.

No Lincecum, though, as he'll pitch this afternoon. Instead, I was treated to Pat Misch, Dan Giese, and Chris Begg, all young players with slightly less hype than Lincecum. As they pitched, though, a rogue thought came into my head: These guys all have a shot to pitch for the Giants this season. It's almost impossible to recall a Giants bullpen as wide open as this one. Some of the obvious candidates:

Maybe Wilson strains his shoulder, Chulk sprains an ankle, and Munter gives up 14 earned in four innings. Maybe Benitez gets traded, Matt Morris gets hurt, Sanchez replaces Morris, and Billy Sadler never comes north with the team because of a poor spring. You can mix and match the ailments and ineffectiveness however you'd like, but it doesn't take much to get to the emergency cavalry.

Any bullpen is going to look different if there are three or more injuries or performance issues. Like, duh. But the Giants are unique in that almost of the arms in position to be in the bullpen are mostly unproven. If Robb Nen, Felix Rodriguez, or Tim Worrell had a rocky April, the panic would be muted. But how many of the above pitchers could expect to still be with the club if they are terrible for a month?

It's an interesting group to start the season, and more than a couple of the younger pitchers should stick. It doesn't seem too likely that pitchers like Dan Giese or David Cortes would get a shot, but the odds were against Aaron Fultz, Chad Zerbe, Jeremy Accardo, Brian Cooper, Brandon Puffer, Matt Kinney, Tyler Walker, Leo Estrella, Brian Powell, and Manny Aybar to make any appearances in the majors. Every year, every team pulls some random reliever or three out of their backside. This year, the Giants might have to keep pulling and pulling and pulling. It could get messy.

Comment starter: Which of the pitchers not listed in the "obvious candidates" section do you think will make a surprise appearance? Justin Hedrick? Pat Misch? Osiris Matos? Put me down for a helping of Dan Giese, if only because his breaking ball probably impressed everybody who saw it last night.