Oh, right. Optimism Week. Uh, young player who I'm looking forward to watching....Brian Wilson. That there guy throws some nice pitches and stuff.
With that out of the way, allow me to indulge myself. One of my biggest jobs here is to stimulate discussion. My knock-knock jokes really don't build a sense of community. Good discussion starters certainly do, however. That written, I'm going to knowingly kill any chance of discussion today, as I'm going to push for a trade that I've pushed for in the past. It's a boring trade, and the upgrade, if any, would be minor.
A conversation like this happened at some point this winter, I'm pretty sure:
Bochy: So, what happens if Vizquel gets injured? He's 40, you know.Sabean puts a huge handful of peanuts in his mouth.
Sabean: Amafmff a grrffffrandsenfffefa.
Bochy: Wait, what? Did you just say Frandsen?
Sabean: Afffmmgffvelezefff
Bochy: Wait, Velez? That guy can barely play second!
Sabean: How did you hear both of those names? Dammit. I need more peanuts.
A backup plan to Vizquel never existed. And now that Vizquel is out with knee surgery, it's kind of a joke that the Giants don't have a single ML-ready shortstop behind him. Frandsen is not a shortstop. Rich Aurilia is no longer a shortstop. Velez is even less of a shortstop. Ivan Ochoa is a career .246/.330/.307 hitter in the minor leagues, so any improvements made on Frandsen's or Aurilia's defense would be negated by Ochoa's offense.
The correct answer is Ben Zobrist.
Zobrist is a pre-arbitration shortstop who is blocked by a shortstop at the major league level, Jason Bartlett. Zobrist is not in the future plans of the Devil Rays, who have Reid Brignac as their long-term solution.
Ben Zobrist has never had an on-base percentage below .400 at any minor league level.
Ben Zobrist has a decent defensive reputation.
Ben Zobrist does charity work for causes you care about. Look it up.
Ben Zobrist fills a need for the Giants. His team doesn't have a plan for him in the short- or long-term. That team could use some inexpensive bullpen help. They could use a ML-ready starting pitcher to avoid rushing their 1,783 starting pitching prospects.
Ben Zobrist might not be a long-term solution, but the Giants would have a couple of years to figure that out before he's pressed by any of the shortstops in the low minors.
There has to be a fit.
Ben Zobrist is a switch-hitter.
Ben Zobrist can take out all of the raisins out of already-baked oatmeal-raisin cookies if you don't like raisins. If you prefer, he can put in more raisins.
Ben Zobrist.
Ben Zobrist.
Get on it, Sabes.
Comment starter: Ben Zobrist.