Cody Ross is basically Aaron Rowand, three years younger. Similar power numbers, similar K/BB ratios, similar defensive numbers, s…wait, don’t go! I didn’t mean to depress you – this is actually a good thing. Aaron Rowand, three years younger and not making $12M for the next half-century, is a good player for a team to have. With the salary Ross gets through arbitration, he isn’t exactly going to be a bargain, but he’s a decent player.
Actually, he’s only a decent player this year. The two previous seasons, he was much better. The difference between decent and pretty good: power. All power. If he’s hitting 20 or 25 home runs while playing good outfield defense, he’s pretty good. If he’s hitting 10 home runs, he’s decent. Hey, just like Aaron Rowand! Boy, they really are s…
Wait, please, don’t go. I like the Ross move. I’m not trying to make you angry. Ross makes a million times more sense for this team than does Jose Guillen. And with Andres Torres around for a couple more years, I’m pretty excited about Torres and Ross roaming around the Mays Field outfield. I wish I knew where Ross’s power went – he’s suddenly hitting way more ground balls this season – but if it could come back soon, that’d be swell, just swell.
On August 24th, 2008, the Giants played the Padres. They won. I’m not sure how. Here are the players who appeared in that game:
Lineup:Randy Winn
Ivan Ochoa
Fred Lewis
Bengie Molina
Aaron Rowand
Pablo Sandoval
Travis Ishikawa
Emmanuel Burriss
Kevin CorreiaReserves:
Eugenio Velez
Rich Aurilia
Omar Vizquel
That was two years ago. You look at that lineup, and…just, wow.
Where do you start? After five minutes of half-hearted rosterbation with a team like that, your brain melts, and you quit to watch arena football. Seven hundred and thirty days ago, there we were.
With the emergence of Andres Torres and Buster Posey, suddenly things aren’t as daunting. Those are two lineup spots you don’t have to worry about in the offseason. Maybe we re-sign Aubrey Huff, maybe Pat Burrell comes back on the cheap, maybe you shuffle this guy in, maybe you shuffle that guy out. It’s feasible. It doesn’t take a Charlie Kaufman script to create a world with a decent Giants lineup.
A free Cody Ross helps. If the Giants want to focus on shoring up the shortstop position in the offseason, they don’t have to worry so much about filling the outfield first because, hey, free Cody Ross. I think there’s a chance that the Giants can back into an okay offense next season.
Also, this is an experiment to see if I can jinx an entire season. Check back after 2011 to see if the Giants have won a World Series yet. If not, you can blame it allllllll on this post.
So welcome, Cody. Hit some dingerz. Make some catches. Spend some of the owners’ money. Drive down Lombard Street. Good to have you.