Note: This post was planned before the Giants took two of three from the Braves. Hooray for series wins! The following grumbling has nothing to do with the last series.
There are 118 players in baseball with more home runs than the Giants' team leader.
The Giants are on pace to hit 90 home runs as a team, which would make them the first team to finish under 100 home runs since the Marlins were an expansion team.
The Giants haven't had a home run from a shortstop this season, and that probably won't change. That probably isn't a record, but it must be an extreme rarity in modern baseball to have an entire position go oh-fer-the-season.
It took 113 games for the Giants to have a hitter with 10 home runs.
If the Giants really, really wanted to focus on power over the offseason, they could look at the following free agents:
Joe Crede
Adam Dunn
Carlos Delgado
Troy Glaus (if he opts out)
Manny Ramirez
C.C. Sabathia
Mark Teixeira
To which of those players do you give a three-year deal? Dunn, maybe. Glaus, maybe. Teixeira, for sure. It's a trick question, though, as all of those players (with the exception of Delgado) will probably get at least four-year deals. Even if you can forget that minor detail, all of these players have serious warts. The offensive contributions by Burrell, Dunn, and Ramirez are diminished by their awful defense. Delgado's awful first half was more likely a warning sign than a fluke, and Mays Field would eat him alive. Crede isn't barely acceptable out of Comiskey, and Glaus isn't a good bet for anything over 300 at-bats. Teixiera will get a Zitonian contract, which wouldn't be a huge deal for the Giants if they didn't already have Zito.
My plan: Give up on any hope for power in 2009. If Dunn, Burrell, or Glaus want to sign for less money than we're all thinking they will, that'd be something to consider. Otherwise, just focus on finding good players.
My prediction: The Giants sign Crede to a four-year deal, pronounce "clean-up hitter found!", and start pushing a "we're a win-now contender because of the pitching"-mindset on us.
Remember when there were a handful of people who thought that this "right way" of playing baseball (situational hitting, stolen bases, bunting, etc...) would be more fun to watch? I hope they're watching every inning and getting just the biggest kick out of all this.