Kuzul

With the NFL playoffs in full swing and conference showdowns this weekend bringing the four remaining teams closer to the ultimate prize, it’s easy to see why football is on the mind of the sporting world. With the college football season finally at its end, fans of the sport are eagerly turning towards the pro circuit and how could they not?

Jets at Steelers? Intense matchup.
Packers at Bears? Great rivalry.

Last weekend’s games were really exciting as well. All right, well maybe not the Seahawks game, but my point is clear enough.

Even with these (mostly) great games, I still somehow find myself contemplating the upcoming Major League Baseball season and the chances of a repeat for the 2010 champs, my hometown San Francisco Giants. Maybe I’m focused on baseball because spring training tickets just went on sale or maybe it’s simply because the astonishing fact that the Giants won the World Series continues to amaze me, but San Francisco baseball remains at the pinnacle of my sports brain.

While those explanations are certainly true to an extent, I believe the true reasoning behind my great interest in the best of the west is my apprehension in regards to the team’s credibility. Most fans following a World Series victory by their team would not have to worry about it because, after all, the best way to silence critics is to go out and win it all, right? Right? Well, apparently not for this team.

Even with the title, and a convincing one at that, the Giants still don’t seem to get the recognition one might expect. It seems that every few days I’m reading a new article about how the Giants will likely finish an uncompetitive third in a supposedly revamped NL West or how one of the best starting pitching staffs in baseball will falter in 2011. It seems that to everyone outside of the Bay Area, the Giants are destined to return to their post–Barry Bonds form. It seems to me that one is not enough for 2010’s most surprising team. Still, written or spoken words of grandeur are easy to use and it remains uncertain how and if Bruce Bochy can really engineer a repeat performance.

Remember that the Giants were incredibly fortunate all year in that their pitching staff stayed fairly healthy, especially the starters. That luck can simply not be expected again and some members of bullpen core like Dan Runzler and Chris Ray may have to step in. You can also never expect to have the highest ERA of all your starting pitchers to be 4.15, courtesy of Barry Zito. Although with a full season of Bumgarner and the rest of the staff, I’d say they have a pretty good shot. However, this pitching staff is still young and I believe it is only going to improve.

On the offensive side of the ball, the 2010 Giants simply managed. The hitters were hot and clutch in the playoffs (a deadly combination) but only Aubrey Huff was consistent during the regular season and Juan Uribe provided some pop. With Uribe gone and Huff far from a lock to go .290/26/86 again, the bats need to improve and improve with the pieces that are already there. A full year of Buster Posey at the plate will help and Miguel Tejada should be an improvement at shortstop. The variable will be minor league prodigy Brandon Belt, a big, lefty first baseman who I had the pleasure of watching at Single-A in San Jose before he tore through the farm system. If Belt’s .352/23/112 numbers in the minor leagues are a sign of things to come, the Giants will be as ready as any other team to win it all in 2011.

I’m clearly ready for baseball season but, for now, I guess I’ll just have to wait for Spring and hope that football will tide me over until I can finally smell garlic fries and freshly mown grass at the ballpark.

Plaut Out.

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Fans have dubbed most of the Giants’ 2010 season and postseason as torture, but after the team’s impressive World Series victory against the Texas Rangers, the Giants’ faithful at the High Five Pizza Co. restaurant and sports bar felt euphoric.

The Giants won the seven-game World Series in just five games, courtesy of a Game 5 seventh-inning three-run home run from the series’ MVP Edgar Renteria, and brought home the first championship in their San Francisco history.

Cathleen Belknap, a manager at High Five, was among those who were thrilled about the Giants’ World Series title. She said that although she was a southern California native, she began following the Giants when the playoff games were on the televisions at work, and when everyone came into the restaurant to watch them.

“I feel very good about it because it will bring revenue to the city, and it’s long overdue so it is nice for the fans,” Belknap said.

Like Belknap, bartender Mark Mitchell recently began following the Giants during the frenzy when the playoffs began. As a fan of San Francisco itself, he felt the Giants’ World Series victory was one of the best things to happen to the city.

“I really liked what it did to the city of San Francisco,” Mitchell said. “It was similar to what happened when the Saints won the Super Bowl.”

Mitchell was also drawn to the team by the personality and charm of some of the players, including Buster Posey, his favorite.

“I saw Buster Posey in an interview, and I was impressed with the way he conducted himself,” Mitchell said. “If I see him, I would like to buy him a beer.”

Some were so excited about the Giants’ World Series title that they celebrated in surprising ways. Kealaa Kai, a concrete foreman for the city of San Jose and regular patron at High Five, told of his experience at another San Jose sports bar.

“I went to a bar in downtown San Jose, and after the Giants won, the owner bought a round of drinks for all his customers in the bar at the time,” Kai said.

Others were just relieved that the Giants won at least one title in their lifetime, and they are confident many more are on the way.

“I’m so happy they did it while I’m young,” said Katerina Nowack, a cashier and cook at the restaurant. “I am excited that everyone on the team is so young, and there’s a good chance it (a Giants World Series title) might happen again.”

Even fans of opposing teams, including the Giants’ arch-rival Los Angeles Dodgers, could not help but feel happy for Giants fans. Greg Scaglione, another High Five bartender, has been a Dodger fan since birth, but showed an understanding of what the World Series victory meant to Giants fans.

“I’ve known a lot of people who were Giants fans, and it’s really good for them,” Scaglione said.

In years past, every last game of the season for San Francisco has ended in defeat, but this year, it was the San Francisco Giants who had the last victorious word in Major League Baseball.

This article is also featured on Talking Giants Baseball.

Who is the best baseball broadcaster today? Click here to vote.



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With the signing of Miguel Tejada to a one-year deal (salary and bonus equaling $7M) the first question that comes to mind is: Why? 

Don’t get me wrong, I am all for signing Tejada, but why let Juan Uribe leave after winning a World Series with your team for the same exact amount of money?

Whether or not one will have a better year than the other is debatable and it seems like the biggest sticking point, for the second year in a row with Uribe, is the amount of years.

Tejada now has a one-year deal and Uribe has a three-year deal, although for the one common year between the two contracts (2011), they are making the same exact money.  So why let a company man walk over two years?

Furthermore, Tejada is 36 years old right now and 37 when this contract will be up.  Uribe is 31 right now and will be two years younger than Tejada is now when his contract expires.

So again, for similar quality players, the question remains. Why let Uribe walk for Tejada?

With rumors of Jason Bartlett’s availability, that is still an option worth looking at and that’s what I thought Giants GM Brian Sabean was up to. 

Listening to Juan Uribe talk about the courting process of the LA Dodgers, however, makes one realize it was more the proactive approach the Dodgers took that got the deal done with Uribe, who, for the second straight year, was left out to market over length of contract by the San Francisco Giants.

The rival Dodgers showed interest in Uribe from day one and made him feel “very proud,” and “very emotional,” he said when describing the courtship of the Dodgers.  Stephen Covey would be proud of the proactive approach the Dodgers are taking in this offseason and it is yielding results.

The Dodgers reportedly tried to lure away Aubrey Huff in the same manner and Huff accepted the Giants matching offer.  This strategy went the opposite way with Uribe, who is all smiles in his new uniform.

So now what’s done is done and the Giants made the right reactionary move in signing Tejada. 

Still, with Tejada’s age and limited range, are they signing Tejada to play shortstop or third base?  Putting a shortstop at third base worked in the playoffs beautifully. With Tejada’s lack of range at short, he still possesses veteran hands and would be a brick wall at the hot corner. 

This brings us back to Jason Bartlett, who at 31 years old is in the prime of his career at shortstop and is available for trade from the Tampa Bay Rays, who are looking to deal with a team with a deep bullpen.

Bringing in Bartlett is now an option again and he will also bring much-needed speed and defense to a notorious pitchers’ park, not to mention a WAG that will surely make one of the lists on BleacherReport.com. 

Is Bartlett even necessary, though, if Panda works out and returns to his form of two years ago and Mark DeRosa comes back and plays healthy this year?  If Bartlett plays short, Tejada plays third, then where do you put these other guys?

One can imagine a defensive alignment in this case looking like this.

C—Buster Posey

1B—Pablo Sandoval

2B—Freddy Sanchez

SS—Michael Bartlett

3B—Miguel Tejada

LF—Mark DeRosa

CF—Andres Torres

RF—Aubrey Huff

Then what happens if the Giants re-sign Cody Ross?  Most likely Mark DeRosa goes to the bench as a utility player and Cody goes to left field. 

What if Pat Burrell re-signs?  He becomes our pinch hitter.

But, of course, if Sandoval spends the year in Triple-A, then there is room for everybody.

Based on the reality of the situation, signing Miguel Tejada was a swift, decisive and correct move for the World Champions that didn’t cost them anything in a trade.

Trading for Bartlett using their bullpen depth would give the Giants long term security at shortstop, which is now needed, considering the moves made by the Dodgers getting Uribe and the Colorado Rockies signing Troy Tulowitski to a 10-year extension.

These two moves answer a lot of questions and give the Giants the same kind of veteran depth that they enjoyed in their championship run.

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After winning their first World Series since moving to San Francisco, the Giants took their first step in the offseason by giving their first baseman Aubrey Huff a two-year, $22 million extension. The deal also includes a $10 million club option for 2013. This is a great deal for the 33-year-old first baseman. 

After his 32 home run season with the Baltimore Orioles in 2008, Huff struggled a bit due to some injuries. Despite his struggles, Huff was picked up by the Giants and had bounce-back year.

The big first baseman hit .290 with 26 home runs and 86 runs batted in. Huff definitely earned this deal after the season he had, and also his World Series performance. Huff had five hits in five games including a big two-run home run in Game 4.

This is a big move for the World Series champions because they need some power in the lineup and that is exactly what Aubrey Huff brings. The chemistry on the Giants roster is great and it is important for them to keep these guys together, and signing Huff was the start of it.

Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy will definitely be happy to have Huff for two more years because he gives the Giants a better chance at repeating.

With the pitching staff on the Giants, anything is possible for them. Starters Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain were outstanding in the playoffs and all they needed was a little help from the offense, and Aubrey Huff was apart of that help.

This is a great deal for Huff and the Giants as they look forward to next season so they can defend their title.

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At the beginning of the 2010 season, there were very few people in this world who could have predicted that the Giants would beat the Rangers in the World Series.

But it happened.

Now we have the opportunity to look back with the most glorious of hindsight and laugh at all the predictions we made.

There’s no more what-ifs to think about, and no regrets on any decisions, because every trigger Brian Sabean pulled, every double-switch Bruce Bochy made, and every sign that Buster Posey threw down brought us to where we are right now. 

World Series Champions.

Anyways, it’s time to look back on all the ridiculous ideas I had rattling around my head on March 1, 2010.

And there were some crazy ones.

Again, for those not familiar with the term, SWOT stands for Strengths,Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

Let’s take a gander.

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The dust has settled, the champagne has gone the way of our livers and free agency has started. Yeah, that quickly. We now look to how the Giants are going to retool as the defending World Series Champions.

That’s still pretty cool to say.

The team’s strength is obvious: pitching. But that isn’t to say there are not tweaks to be made.

For instance, the likes of Javier Lopez, Ramon Ramirez, Chris Ray and Santiago Casilla are arbitration eligible. Guillermo Mota is a free agent. Whom do you bring back?

The obvious one is Javier Lopez after his great months of September and October. After that, it’s all up in the air.

Mota was used sparingly down the stretch and in October. Ramon Ramirez was inconsistent at best in the postseason. Chris Ray was hurt for the stretch run and—when healthy—was not used much.

Santiago Casilla is a key to the bullpen. Throwing 95-98 MPH puts him on another level, and with him it’s all about locating his pitches. If he can continue to improve his control, he could be the set-up man for Brian Wilson.

The next part of the equation is the starting staff. Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Barry Zito and Madison Bumgarner are all under contract. Jonathan Sanchez is arbitration eligible.

This is an easy call: bring Sanchez back.

The more difficult situation is Zito’s contract. His contract is not something other teams have an interest in picking up—at least not the entire thing. There is a possibility in convincing a team to split the remainder of his contract, but options are limited.

Although, having Zito as a fifth starter (if it wasn’t for the contract) makes the rotation look really good.

Giants GM Brian Sabean has said he would like to keep all the arbitration eligible players on the roster.

The Giants are keying in on one aspect of the team: offense.

San Francisco was a much better team this year than in 2009. They ranked in the middle of the pack in home runs, RBIs and batting average this season.

The free agents are Aubrey Huff, Pat Burrell and Juan Uribe. Mike Fontenot, Andres Torres and Cody Ross are arbitration eligible.

The no-brainers are Torres, Ross, Huff and Uribe. It’s a matter of how much and how long for Huff and Uribe. Huff has made it a point to say he wants to be in San Francisco, which is obviously a good sign.

Where do the Giants go from here with the offense? It’s easier to say when you think about what you already have. Catcher, second base, centerfield and right field are taken care of. Assuming Uribe and Huff re-sign, that takes care of shortstop/third base and first base/left field.

Keep in mind, Pablo Sandoval will be in the mix, as well as Mark DeRosa.

There is speculation the Giants may not need to go through free agency to fill one of these spots. First baseman Brandon Belt was at AA-Richmond and A-San Jose this season and absolutely lit them up.

He hit .364 between the two minor league affiliates, with 19 home runs, 102 RBIs and an OPS of 1.088. Many in the Giants organization feel he is close to ready.

If so, this fills the first base position, leaving shortstop and third base. There are not a lot of big name free agents, so the big, sexy move may not come this offseason. They will have to rely on the production of Pablo Sandoval, Mark DeRosa or another small free agent pick up. Jorge Cantu, perhaps?

The most productive move this offseason could be dumping the Aaron Rowand contract. Because it is a smaller contract, the Giants may be able to unload it if they bite the bullet and pay half of the $12 million he is owed annually.

There is also another young infielder lighting up the Arizona Fall League wearing Giants colors. Charlie Culberson is batting .424, which ranks second in the AFL. Culberson also batted .290 with 16 home runs, 75 RBIs and 25 steals for A-San Jose.

The Giants minor league system may soon provide all the offense this pitching needs.

San Francisco proved the old formula to winning baseball still works: pitching and defense. They sprinkled in some offense and it worked. The cast of characters should be back and for a full season this time.

Maturation and patience has worked for the Giants. Let it continue.

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It makes me a little uneasy to not be penciling in Derrek Lee at first base for the Cubs next season.

Since I was 14 years old, I’ve only known him manning first. Lee was ever the defensive specialist, and I grew jaded in simply expecting him to make every play, every single difficult pick.

Lee got it all done with ease, and I would mention his Gold Gloves if I felt the award had any merit (which it doesn’t). Yet his defensive prowess is actually very deserved.

That’s not all with the big man. To top things off, he had two MVP-quality offensive seasons, with multiple above-average years interspersed.

Outside of missing the majority of 2006 due to injury, and a lackluster final season with his team, he was a symbol of of how baseball should be played. He was the headliner on this team, through and through.

With his departure, the next North Side first baseman will have some large cleats to fill. Owner Tom Ricketts has implied that this team won’t be spending much cash this off-season, but there are a multitude of cheap first basemen the team could take a flier on.

It goes worth noting that Adrian Gonzalez will be a free agent next off-season. This fact, paired with the multiple other expensive contracts coming off their books makes the Cubs the early front-runners to sign San Diego’s super-star first baseman. This all makes a one-year deal on someone much more prevalent.

So let’s see which Free Agents would fit the Chicago Cubs in this mind-set and pocketbook…

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It is still unbelievable. Leading up to the parade on Wednesday I was not entirely sure I was not dreaming.

Did the San Francisco Giants, my San Francisco Giants, really win the World Series? Did they just exorcise all the demons from playoffs past?

They did and did it in dominating fashion.

No more are the Giants in the same conversation with the Indians and Cubs. No more are the Giants a team that can never seal the deal. All the blunders and torture that have occurred throughout the storied history of the San Francisco Giants have been alleviated.

The 2002 World Series? Forgiven. Winning 103 games in 1993 only to be left out of the playoffs? Never happened.

The 1989 Series? Forgotten.

This team has brought more unequivocal joy to the San Francisco Bay Area; the only word for it has to be ecstasy. In no way is this article to rub dirt in any Texas wounds. It is to express the unbridled joy felt by a fanbase that has waited 52 years for this.

No more are people asking for Bruce Bochy’s enormous head. No more are Brian Sabean’s moves crazy and stupid. They are geniuses and we did not even realize. Baseball people who know what they are doing?

Never.

We now know how the Red Sox fans felt. We now know what long-suffering White Sox fans went through.

The past 10 World Series have taken the proverbial monkey off the backs of many baseball cities. The Diamondbacks, Angels, Marlins, Red Sox twice, White Sox, Cardinals, Phillies, Yankees and Giants have all been champion in the past decade.

Let’s take a deeper look at this.

The Angels and Diamondbacks had never won a championship. The White Sox and Red Sox waited for more than 80 years for another.

The Phillies had not won a championship since 1980. Cardinals? Not since 1982.

San Francisco had never won a baseball championship. The Giants franchise had not won since 1954.

And they won it the way every baseball person knows is the formula: pitching and defense. They embraced the “team” mentality. Every player pulling for each other, doing what is best for the team.

Think about how long it had been for Aubrey Huff and Freddy Sanchez. They both had never been in the playoffs. Neither had played for a winning team before joining the Giants.

It meant so much to Huff that he dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners over in Game 5. Huff had not laid down a sacrifice bunt ever in his 10-year Major League career but he did it in the World Series.

The Giants players checked their egos at the door and did what they had to do.

Aaron Rowand could have made a big deal about his playing time. He didn’t. Barry Zito could have complained about being left off the playoff roster but didn’t.

Every person played their part and now they celebrate together as world champions.

The Giants are World Series Champions. Maybe now it can set in.

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MLB Rumors: The most burning question of the offseason is…?

Well there are plenty. And they affect plenty of teams in both leagues, and at just about every position.

There’s a lot of uncertainty heading into the next MLB season, and the “Final Four” of the 2010 season—San Francisco, Texas, Philadelphia and the New York Yankees—are the most at risk.

Inside we rank the top 10 questions heading into the 2011 season.

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Congratulations to the 2010 World Series Champion San Francisco Giants, who beat the Texas Rangers four games to one to win the title.

Any World Series Championship team has to consist of talent players who like to play the game of baseball together, and this Giants team was exactly that. The Giants played with a lot of heart.

The Giants won on pitching, just as they did all season long, but they would not be where they are without the veteran hitters.

Aage and experience should not be brushed aside as too many fans and media do in baseball. Appreciate infielders like Audrey Huff (34), World Series MVP Edgar Renteria (35), Freddy Sanchez (33), Pat Burrell (34) and relief pitchers like Javier Lopez (33).

My hope for 2011 is that the Yankees can get back to being World Champions again, with all the great veterans in pinstripes. Maybe watching the Giants take what was still theirs up until a few hours ago will get the Yankees to start to believe in themselves again.

The Giants never stopped believing, just like the 2009 Yankees wouldn’t give up until they were on top.

New York’s championship crown has been passed to the new kings on the West Coast. The Yankees reign feels like forever ago again, But hopefully the fans and players will get back again in 2011.

But for tonight, it’s all about the city of San Francisco, and their mighty Giants. You have earned the right to be proud, because you are the best in the World.

The most sincere congratulations, from me, a Yankees fan.

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