Kuzul

Some might say it’s baseball blasphemy for a die-hard San Francisco Giants fanatic to give opinions about our hated enemies to the south, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In fact, I know quite a few who will say that.

But bear with me for a second.

The blood rivalry—that is unfortunately a literal term when it comes to this particular pairing—between the Gents and Bums is an example of major-league contempt in its purest form.

Granted, the saying goes familiarity breeds contempt, but you could argue the converse is just as true.

That is, contempt breeds familiarity.

Add the fact that the unbalanced schedule in Major League Baseball tosses these two in a cage 18 or 19 times a year, and I’d wager that both fan bases have a pretty good handle on the other side.

The trick, of course, is removing the obvious bias from the assessment.

That’s difficult, but not impossible.

Especially in the case of the topic at hand—the whispers from baseball’s offseason that los Doyers are considering several of their young studs as bargaining chips to bring in fresh, equally talented faces.

Rumor has it that LA is floating such names as James Loney, Matt Kemp and Jonathan Broxton on the open-market waters to see what the franchise might get in return.

It’s also true (as you can see in the links) that Ned Colletti and company have said they will NOT move those same names at any point during the winter.

What’s the bottom line?

Well, you don’t hear anything about Andre Ethier, Clayton Kershaw or Chad Billingsley on the trade winds these days.

By comparison, I’d say that means the Bums are at least considering the use of Loney, Kemp and/or Broxton as bait.

Consideration is fine; pulling the actual trigger on a deal would be monumentally stupid.

(So let’s hope it happens…)

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I think we can all agree on one, simple thing: The National League is infinitely superior to its American League counterpart.

The Senior Circuit is real baseball as compared to the Junior Circuit’s designated hitter-tainted novelty act.

As for those of you who don’t want to see the pitcher hit like he was intended to when the beautiful game was created, who want to see some geriatric version of a once-proud slugger grip-it-and-rip-it until his joints are held together by pine tar and little else, who have given yourselves over to the AL hucksters who invented the DH freak show to sell tickets, who complain when a millionaire professional athlete can’t circle the bases without hurting himself…well…

I forgot my point, but I think “zip it” is close enough.

However, even an NL man like myself can admit that the AL has its advantages. Okay, it has one advantage—the Junior Circuit is obviously and demonstrably a stronger offensive league.

Common sense belies any argument to the contrary.

So you can see where I’m heading.

If you’re gonna make a list of 15 players who would struggle if they moved from the NL to the AL, a less ambitious man than I might be tempted to grab 15 pitchers and be done with it. Alas, that won’t do for this die-hard fan of the diamond.

Nope, I went all out for the readers and found a few position players who wouldn’t make the transition so smoothly, either.

Oh yeah, and Jonathan Sanchez is on the list.

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The 2010 World Series Champion San Francisco Giants are the class of Major League Baseball until enough games are played in 2011 to argue otherwise. That is the reality created by winning the Fall Classic—everyone else is a paper tiger while San Francisco is the real McCoy.

Everyone else must speak in conditionals; the Giants get to use the present tense while wearing a winner’s smile. 

Of course, don’t try to convince Philadelphia, Boston or New York of this fact.

The Phillies and Red Sox will tell you the grin is irrelevant since ’10 is in the books and their respective offseasons push both clubs ahead of the Bay Area’s favorite sons. Meanwhile, there is always shrill insistence coming from the New York Yankees on the subject, but their tortured logic will have to lean heavily on perennial arrogance—the Bronx Bombers weren’t the best in 2010 and have had one of the more underwhelming pinstriped winters in recent memory.

Thankfully, I can ignore that fracas and turn to a much more settled point—SF is definitely the class of the NL West.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been busy in the offseason, but it’s been much ado about nothing to date. Their most substantial additions have been paying through the nose to take Juan Uribe from the Gents and signing dynamite set-up man, Matt Guerrier.

Neither maneuver seems that profound nor does all the Dodger activity taken as a whole.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have shown a similar flurry of transactions and they’ve brought in a more impressive stable of players—Melvin Mora, Xavier Nady, JJ Putz and Geoff Blum so far. But the Snakes had far more ground to make up on the division than the Bums. The imminent (or official) departures of Adam LaRoche and Brandon Webb further mitigate the net impact of the newbies.

The Colorado Rockies’ big splash was bringing Ty Wigginton aboard and re-signing Jorge De La Rosa.

[Crickets chirping…]

And then there are those poor, poor San Diego Padres.

The Friars lost one of the best players in the Show to Beantown (first baseman Adrian Gonzalez) and got prospects in return.

In other words, San Francisco’s closest competition from last season was basically eviscerated and that void largely remains.

The Rox could be close if everything breaks right and the Giants hit some speed bumps, but even Colorado could use another plus-arm in the rotation. The Bums, D-Backs and Fathers all need more help than that, but almost all of these also-rans could tilt the scales with one big trade.

With that in mind, here are six trades that would tilt the balance of power in the National League West (in no particular order).

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As a die-hard San Francisco Giants fan at heart, let me be the first to assure you the team should not and almost certainly will not ultimately sign Adrian Beltre.

Though the slick-fielding third baseman is the best free agent left on the market by far, the fact that Beltre employs Scott Boras to do his negotiating means he will go for tippity-top dollar. It also means this is precisely the position Scotty wanted his client in i.e. the biggest and brightest name left in neon lights because it adds a heavy dose of leverage to the proceedings.

In other words, we can already see the grind for max money starting.

Furthermore, while the former Los Angeles Dodger star authored the greatest season of his career (2004) in the NL West, he’s written far more underwhelming ones in the same or similarly hostile confines for a hitter (see: entire career with the Seattle Mariners).

Then there’s the matter of the former Boston Red Sox’ age—he’ll be 32 within about a week of Opening Day in 2011. That’s not ancient by any means, but it ain’t young either and it’s on the wrong side of a major-leaguer’s prime.

When you fit all those pieces together, you get a very clear picture of a very inefficient allocation of resources. With Barry Zito (another high-profile Boras client, which is no coincidence) and Aaron Rowand already consuming more than they produce, bringing more contractual fat aboard makes absolutely zero sense.

Nevertheless, if you remove the franchise-killing agent from the portrait, a possible deal becomes a whole lot more intriguing.

Because there are definitely 10 reasons the San Francisco Giants could use Adrian Beltre…

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That man is smiling because Adrian Beltre is currently the “hottest” item left on the Major League Baseball winter stove now that Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford, Jayson Werth, Victor Martinez and Adam Dunn have found greener pastures.

Or more luxurious estates with more elegantly manicured lawns amidst a community with higher gates.

You say potato, I say potato…

The point is that the prize of the offseason is now a 31-year-old third baseman who’s proven to be underwhelming unless surrounded by an elite supporting cast, working in a hitter’s yard and/or playing for a new contract.

Oh, and he’s represented by Scott Boras.

What you just heard was the sound of 30 major-league teams shuffling through the deck for more efficient options or a more pleasant negotiating partner (which shouldn’t be hard unless this human Porta-John is the only name in their contacts).

And the first ones to pass were likely out near the Left Coast.

Based on the free-agent doings in the National League West, you can bet the Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies never even saw Beltre’s tires. Forget about kicking them.

The former Dodger seems priced out of each club’s budget and superfluous based on existing options at the hot corner.

So no, Adrian Beltre almost certainly won’t be in the division next year.

But there are other players who could help and Spring Training is still months away so the dealing’s not done. With that in mind, here are 15 players (really 12) who might be competing in the NL West come 2011:

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Your 2010 World Champion San Francisco Giants are officially back on the clock.

It’s a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately world and with free agents signing all over the place, the impatient among the Black and Orange faithful want to know how the franchise is reloading. Adam Dunn, Jayson Werth, Victor Martinez, Derek Jeter, Lance Berkman and Rod Barajas are just a few of the bigger names who are off the big board.

Aubrey Huff and Miguel Tejada are also spoken for, but by the hometown voice so they’ll be dealt with in due course. Inquiring minds want to know what’s next.

Truth be told, there shouldn’t be much more offseason action by the Bay.

The San Francisco budget is already swollen for 2011. It’s unclear how much general manager Brian Sabean is posturing and how much of the $120 million talk is reality,  but the message is the same in either case—don’t expect a high-priced acquisition.

But before you groan about the needlessly niggardly front office, consider what is happening across Major League Baseball’s free agency landscape.

The Washington Nationals just signed Werth…the 31-year-old Jayson Werth…for seven years and $126 million dollars!?!?!

That’s one of the most insane contracts I’ve ever seen, right up there with Barry Zito’s of the exact same length. Not a good omen and it begs the question (at maximum decibel), why the hell do teams so willingly pay Scott Boras’ price?

Can you name a single one of his deals that’s been even a good idea for the club in retrospect? Forget about a great one.

Back to the point

V-Mart (32 before New Year’s Day) went for five years, $50 million to the Detroit Tigers. Dunn got $56 million for four years from the Chicago White Sox. Jeter’s albatross in New York is a special case; we all knew it was coming, but what about Hiroki Kiruda getting $12 million for one year in Los Angeles Dodger blue?

Shoot, even Aubrey’s price tag of $22 million over two years is a little staggering, though easily embraced considering he was underpaid in 2010. That and the shiny new Commissioner’s Trophy which now resides in The City.

Additionally, look at the names that have signed and are still available. They’re not necessarily game-changers aside from Carl Crawford who is being wooed by just about everyone, including the bottomless pockets in pinstripes.

In other words, I’d prepare for a calm winter from the Giants and that’s a good thing.

Having said that, there are still some tweaks to be made as dreams of repeating are indulged, so let’s take a look at the realistic best- and worst-case scenarios for each facet of the team.

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Let’s get something clear right off the bat—I’m not advocating that the San Francisco Giants trade Matt Cain in the 2010-11 MLB offseason. I’m not even suggesting they should consider doing so.

The Kid has been the Giants’ most consistent pitcher for years, and he’s been one of the best starting pitchers in baseball for the same duration. Though Tim Lincecum is unquestionably the staff ace and justifiably dominates the limelight, his right-handed stablemate is only a nose behind him.

What Cainer lacks in pure filth when compared to the Freak, he compensates for almost completely with mental impregnability.

Despite the sizable public perception gap, the actual difference in team import between the two aces is much narrower. Should anyone still doubt this fact, he or she need only reference the Gents’ 2010 World Championship campaign.

The squad probably doesn’t even make the playoffs without its longest-tenured member thanks to Lincecum’s struggles in May (4.95 ERA, 1.54 WHIP) and August (7.82 ERA, 1.82 WHIP). While the Franchise was wallowing in the misery of decreased velocity and lost command, Cain was at his best—he posted a 1.81 ERA and 0.92 WHIP in May, then followed it up with a 3.00 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in August.

Remember, Los Gigantes needed a win in Game 162 to survive the regular season and San Diego Padres by a razor-thin, two-game edge in the National League West. So the margin for error was equally slim.

Oh, and speaking of the postseason, not even Tim Lincecum was better.

In fact, neither Christy Mathewson nor Carl Hubbell—nor any pitcher in the time-worn history of the Show—can look down upon Big Game Cain’s performance in October (OK, maybe Big Six can). That’s because the youngster from Alabama was virtually perfect—2-0, 21.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, seven BB, 13 K and only one extra-base hit (the miracle double to Ian Kinsler in Game 2 of the Fall Classic).

Nope, San Francisco has a handful of untouchables as far as trade chips go, and Matt Cain is most certainly one of those.

But therein lies the fun.

Just imagine what the franchise could demand in return for such a priceless commodity—this is a 26-year-old with successful postseason experience under his belt and off his back. Furthermore, he’s shown consistent improvement from each of his five full seasons to the next.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the hypothetical bounty Matt Cain could fetch.

And note, the acquisition of Miguel Tejada changes none of what follows.

At $6.5 million for one year, I’m intrigued by the Miggy signing. But he’d still take a reserve role to the guys on this list. On with it.

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The 2010 World Series Champion San Francisco Giants.

Such a nice ring to it, wouldn’t you agree?

The Major League Baseball title drought is over in The City, and the champagne showers that quenched the thirst have passed—but the euphoria is still thick. So thick, in fact, that the reality of the Commissioner’s Trophy hasn’t set in for many who joined the roller-coaster bandwagon in time to ride out a few of its many valleys.

As for yours truly, I strapped in sometime during the 1988 season.

In time for 1989…and 1992…and 1993…and 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2003.

So the pea-soup fog around my neighborhood in Pacific Heights isn’t just the literal variety this winter. It’s still difficult for me to wrap my head around the concept of the Giants—our Giants—starting the 2011 season as the defending champs.

And I missed quite a bit of the tortuous fun that unfolded before my family arrived in the Bay Area, so there must be Orange and Black diehards even more blissfully at a loss than I.

One thing I do know, however, is that there is no rest for the weary.

Which means there can’t be any for the winners, either. So let’s take a look at how San Francisco can attack the market heading into the offseason.

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Although some of the more committed fans won’t acknowledge it, the 2010 American League Cy Young Award is a two-horse race between CC Sabathia and Felix Hernandez.

The New York Yankees’ and Seattle Mariners’ aces opened up a considerable window between themselves and the rest of the field as the season wore through its 162-game slate. Though the ratios and most of the stats tell a muddled story—with chapters of decent length devoted to Cliff Lee, Jered Weaver, Francisco Liriano, David Price, Justin Verlander, Clay Buchholz, Trevor Cahill and Jon Lester— there is one key number that separates Carsten Charles and King Felix.

That would be the number in the innings-pitched category.

The Stallions Were Also Work Horses

Hernandez led the American League with 249.2 innings pitched while Sabathia came in second with 237.2. Those two were head-and-shoulders above the other elite starters in the Junior Circuit, who wallowed between 224 and 200 (give or take a few outs).

That’s not a huge lead, but considering how similar the totality of the other circumstances are, the difference becomes hugely significant.

Compare the two front-runners’ numbers, complete with ranking in the AL, along with a couple of the second tier of contenders:

Hernandez: 249.2 IP (1st), 2.27 ERA (1st), 1.06 WHIP (2nd), .212 BAA (1st), .585 OPSA (1st), 3.31 K/BB (7th), 3.04 FIP (4th), 3.26 xFIP (3rd), 6.2 WAR (3rd)

Sabathia: 237.2 IP (2nd), 3.18 ERA (T-6th), 1.19 WHIP (T-2nd), .239 BAA (12th), .656 OPSA (11th), 2.66 K/BB (14th), 3.54 FIP (10th), 3.78 xFIP (10th), 5.1 WAR (8th)

Weaver: 224.1 IP (T-3rd), 3.01 ERA (5th), 1.07 WHIP (3rd), .228 BAA (7th),  .622 OPSA (T-5th), 4.31 K/BB (2nd), 3.06 FIP (5th), 3.51 xFIP (5th), 5.9 WAR (5th)

Lee: 212.1 (10th), 3.18 ERA (T-6th), 1.00 WHIP (1st), .246 BAA (T-16th), .618 OPSA (3rd), 10.28 K/BB (1st), 2.58 FIP (1st), 3.23 xFIP (2nd), 7.1 WAR (1st)

Clearly both men were amongst the best in hurlers in baseball, regardless of which assortment of metrics you choose. Neither case is unassailable, but take one of the other studs and you can poke holes in their arguments as well.

Weaver was excellent across the board, but he was also behind Felix across the board (except for strikeout-to-walk ratio).

Lee, on the other hand, was statistically phenomenal, but he was a hired gun who switched allegiances midseason. Additionally, his innings-pitched total, earned run average and batting average against are considerable vulnerabilities.

The same exercise can be repeated for all the top dawgs.

The Rub

Of course, the obvious two elephants in the room are the record and the degree of difficulty.

CC blows King Felix away in both regards…on the surface.

That’s only half true—the keystone of the Bronx Bombers’ rotation obliterated his counterpart in Seattle as far as wins and losses were concerned. The big fella boasted a record of 21-7 while Hernandez went 13-12, but that’s more a function of the two teams involved.

New York finished with its customarily gaudy body of work, 95-67 to be exact.

Meanwhile, the Mariners limped to the second-worst record in Major League Baseball at 61-101. Only the tragically inept Pittsburgh Pirates were worse. Combine that with the current state of baseball—in which even the best and most durable starters average seven innings or less per start—and the win-loss record ceases to have much relevance.

But degree of difficulty isn’t quite what it seems.

Context Is Everything, But It’s Not Enough

Let’s deal with an unpopular truth—performing in New York City, especially in pinstripes, is more difficult for 99 percent of human beings, with nutters like David Wells being the possible exceptions.

ESPN riled everyone up against the axis of sporting on the East Coast, so that many deny that obvious truth. But it is the truth and demonstrably so: Javier Vazquez and Randy Johnson aren’t the only individuals who have wilted to some degree (or completely) under the unreasonable bright lights of the Big Apple.

Consequently, Sabathia’s otherwise rickety numbers get a rather large bump, as they do for tossing his days away in the AL East—unquestionably the hardest division in baseball. Even though he didn’t have to throw against the Yankees’ juggernaut. CC still faced the unpleasant task of staring down barrels aimed by the Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays.

And he had to do a lot of that work in the New Yankee Stadium, not the most flattering place for pitchers.

So the Vallejo native’s season must be viewed through that jagged lens and only then can it be seen as potentially Felix Hernandez’ equal.

The Anti-Rub

Potentially.

But not actually.

Take arguably the top six 2010 AL offenses—the Yanks, Red Sox, Rays, Jays, Texas Rangers and Minnesota Twins. Here’s how each Cy Young candidate fared against the biggest boppers:

Hernandez

BOS—7.1 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 9 K

MIN—15 IP, 4 ER, 12 H, 2 BB, 13 K

NYY—26 IP, 1 ER, 16 H, 8 BB, 31 K

TB—DID NOT FACE 

TEX—40 IP, 19 ER, 39 H, 12 BB, 31 K

TOR—8 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 4 BB, 5 K

TOTAL—96.1 IP, 26 ER, 73 H, 27 BB, 89 K

Sabathia

BOS—25 IP, 11 ER, 20 H, 8 BB, 17 K

MIN—DID NOT FACE 

NYY—DID NOT FACE 

TAM—34.2 IP, 13 ER, 29 H, 14 BB, 29 K

TEX—6 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 9 K

TOR—8.1 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 8 K

TOTAL—74 IP, 26 ER, 55 H, 24 BB, 63 K

When the curtain gets pulled back, you can see it was Felix Hernandez who actually saw more of the premiere offenses in baseball. What’s more, he outperformed CC Sabathia against those offenses.

Conclusion

When you look at the landscape of professional pitching this season, it’s clear that the second “Year of the Pitcher” extended to both leagues.

The Junior Circuit, like the National League, had aces come out of the woodwork and twirl unhittable frame after unhittable frame. There were at least 10 extraordinary seasons, but there is only one AL Cy Young Award, and it’s reserved for the absolute best.

Tim Lincecum and Zack Greinke showed in 2009 that wins and losses are on the brink of obsolescence, but they weren’t up against a rep from the Evil Empire with his black-robed media cabal in tow. So it remains to be seen whether the glint of 21 wins in New York City will be enough to distract the voters.

Hopefully not.

Because, in 2010, the best was Felix Hernandez.

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Roy Halladay effectively killed whatever drama might have been attached to the announcement of the 2010 National League Cy Young Award winner.

It’s no secret that the Philadelphia Phillies’ ace ran away with the thing once Josh Johnson got shelved while Ubaldo Jimenez and Adam Wainwright blinked in the second half of the season.

The Florida Marlin didn’t miss too many games and neither the Colorado Rockie, nor the better of the two St. Louis Cardinal untouchables struggled badly or for very long, but Halladay simply gave the other horses no margin for error:

33 GS, 250.2 IP, 21-10, 2.44 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 7.9 K/9, 7.30 K/BB, .245/.271/.373

Further sweetening the pot were Doc’s league-leading nine complete games, league-leading four shutouts, the perfect game and the no-hitter in his playoff debut (though that one didn’t happen in time for the voting).

How’s that for your first year with a new club?

The second “Year of the Pitcher” gave us brilliance from those mentioned along with Tim Hudson, Roy Oswalt and Mat Latos, but none was as blinding as Roy Halladay.

However, as good as the burly right-hander’s campaign was, it still wasn’t quite dandy enough to crack this petrified nut. Without further ado, here are the top 15 NL Cy Youngs in the history of the award.

Enjoy.

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