Counterpoint: Typical fan impatience. The Giants need to figure out if any of their young players can play, but they'll need to move some of the old guys first. The team's probably exposing all of the veterans to waivers. If guys like Durham, Feliz, or Klesko get hot, maybe a team will want them on the roster.
Point: No one's going to take Durham with another year on his contract even if he goes 40 for his next 41. He's done, he's not a part of the future, he needs to sit.
Counterpoint: Maybe the Giants will kick in a couple of million to move him. The point is that you can't showcase these players from the bench.
Point: And they won't let you showcase a bobbing-for-apples-coughed-on-by-a-guy-with-tuberculosis booth at the county fair. So why would you try?
Counterpoint: What? That doesn't make....
Point: No one wants these players. Klesko, maybe. Kline, sure. Everyone else? Forget it.
Counterpoint: That's what folks were saying about Matt Morris, too.
Point: That was a fluke. I have no problem with keeping Klesko and Kline on the field, but every game without Fred Lewis is an abomination. Every game without Kevin Frandsen is an abomination. Nate Schierholtz should be up and playing five days a week.
Counterpoint: Kevin Frandsen is a prospect like Kim Batiste was a prospect. Do you want to find out if he can play? Here's a quick and accurate test: If Kevin Frandsen is using a wood bat while he's hitting, that's nature's way of telling you that he can't hit.
Point: Hey, he's a career .300 hitter in the minors, and he leaves more scrappiness behind in his used Kleenex than most players have in their entire bodies.
Counterpoint: The problem with your strategy is that the only interesting players in the Giants system are outfielders, and the Giants' outfield is comprised of the franchise cash cow and two huge contracts. You aren't going to have a chance to move the contracts without playing the players. If Randy Winn finishes the season over .300, maybe another team will take the contract for the last two years. If Dave Roberts ends the season on a hot streak, maybe Boston will trade for him, encase him in carbonite, and display him at the entrance to Fenway.
Point: Winn and Roberts are boring.
Counterpoint: They'll be boring for several more years if they aren't traded, and benchies making close to $10M per season are impossible to trade.
Point: Why does this team have 15 different centerfielders?
Counterpoint: I don't know. The same kind of thing happens to me when I go to Costco. All of a sudden, I'm like, "Hey, what in the world do I need with 48 boxes of Pop-Tarts?" Then I laugh at myself and move on. It's kind of like that, except instead of toaster pastries, they're human beings who are paid millions of dollars to play a specific role on a sports team. I can totally relate. Po-tay-to, po-tah-to.