The Good:
For starters, Randy Johnson. The guy is 45, but he can still pitch. After missing most of 2007 with back surgery, Johnson came back to pitch 184 strong innings. He still has one of the highest strikeout rates among starting pitchers, and his control is still good. The Giants have four of the best strikeout pitchers in the league in their rotation. That's the best way to minimize the possibility of a porous infield defense.
The Bad:
Nothing comes to mind. There will always be a few folks who think that if the Giants didn't spend $8M on Randy Johnson, they'd be able to put the entire Dominican Republic on retainer, but I doubt this money isn't taking anything away from the developmental budget. Everything about this move makes sense. The Giants needed a fifth starter, but they didn't want to commit long-term to another pitcher with four rotation spots set in stone and two top pitching prospects on the way.
The Ugly:
Do I have to? Yeah, I suppose I do.
I mean, we are going to have to watch this guy for a while.
Fantastic, low-risk move. If Johnson's back goes wonky, the Giants will go with whatever in-house fifth starter they were thinking about in the first place. Kevin Pucetas? Joe Martinez? Other, Other? There's less pressure on that bunch, and they can prove their worthiness in Fresno before a trial of fire. And by "fire," I mean "slow groundballs finding their way between third base and short."
Right now, there's a spaceship entering the orbit of Fxcxxx 9. On the ship, a goateed man is held in suspended animation, thinking about how to sign Joe McEwing to fill Travis Denker's roster spot. In the meantime, we'll enjoy Pod Person Sabean and his sensible offseason moves.