You can feel the twinge in your wrist. The air smells different. You start making ordered lists of random names, eight deep.
July’s a comin’. And the rosterbation will be fierce.
The Giants could use a couple of hitters, a starting pitcher, and a reliever. There will be two ideologies:
Stand pat
There isn’t a lot of good news coming out of the minors right now. Buster Posey is the only top-ten prospect meeting expectations, unless you’re unconcerned about Madison Bumgarner’s strikeout rate. Aside from Posey, the Giants would be selling low on any of their top prospects. If the right player comes along, and the asking price is an Eric Surkamp or Daryl Maday, sure, make a move. But that’s not likely.
The Giants will need guaranteed improvements on Jeremy Affeldt and Dan Runzler, Joe Martinez and Todd Wellemeyer, and whomever they bounce from the lineup. A low-level prospect will just bring a question mark right back. The high-level prospects are high-level only by default. Stay on the rebuilding track.
Posey stays, but everyone else...
This is the year to go nuts. The Giants can’t count on free agent hitters agreeing to come to San Francisco. They can’t count on Thomas Neal to anchor the middle of the lineup while Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, and Jonathan Sanchez are under contract and pitching well. This is the year that Aubrey Huff is hitting like Eddie Murray. This is the year that Andres Torres is hitting like Kenny Lofton. This is the year with four starters pitching better than most team’s #1. The stars haven’t aligned, exactly, but they aren’t getting any alignier.
Bumgarner and Neal for Oswalt and Pence? Sure. Bumgarner and seventeen other prospects for Prince Fielder? Of course. There is a romance in rebuilding, but this is the only year we can count on anything other than a wretched offense to go with our strong starting pitching.
It’s about a month too early to really get fired up about his, but to be honest, I see the logic of the latter argument. It’s reckless and impatient, and the Giants shouldn’t think about adding a hitter if they’re just going to keep Bengie Molina in the lineup, but this might be the season to go out and trade the future for this year’s Sidney Ponson.
The counterargument is, of course, Sidney Ponson.
The counter to the counterargument is Kurt Ainsworth.
The unfortunate name brought up by all of this is Jose Cruz, Jr.
Now I’m not sure where I am. It’s cold here. Vote in the poll, and profess your allegiance to the philosophy of your choice.