Kuzul

As February dawns here in 2011, that can only mean one thing for baseball fans, here comes spring training. And with the breath of fresh air and the feeling that only a beginning can supply comes a time when all the questions are going to be tackled. For three months us Giants fans have been basking in the glow of a World Series victory, the first for the city. And now, the Giants must begin their first title defense in the history of San Francisco.

For a team that did relatively little in the offseason (besides locking players up), this spring training will still be phenomenally interesting, mostly due to the tumultuous nature of last season. Now, we know that spring training can be nothing more than a small exercise, and that none of our questions may be answered. Heck, just look at the lineup changes that went on during the season in 2010. However, it is still an incredibly important time of year, a time to review last year, but mostly preview the coming year and address the questions heading in.

In that case, let’s count down the 10 biggest questions facing the World Series Champion San Francisco Giants (feels good don’t it!) as the head into spring training.

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It’s the same old song and dance. Pablo Sandoval is trying to improve his habits at both plates, whether it’s dinner-time, or during the season.

Reports have reached the consensus that Pablo has shed over 20 pounds as of Christmas, and with spring training quickly approaching, one can only wonder how long he can keep his goals in sight.

Some Giants fans have written off the panda as nothing more then a marketing ploy to sell the hats, but if you take a look at his red-hot 2009 batting average which sat at .330, the idea of willing to work with him becomes much more feasible.

Let’s take a look at some ways that Pablo, in true form, can help the Giants make a miracle into a repeat.

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Word out today is that 2010 World Series MVP Edgar Renteria is to sign with the Cincinnati Reds for one-year, $3M deal.

This comes month removed from the Giants‘ offer of one-year $1M, which he called, “a lack of respect.” He added, “To play for a million dollars, I’d rather stay with my private business and share more time with my family. Thank God I’m well off financially and my money is well invested.”

Then why does it matter whether you sign for $1M or $3M?

It’s obvious that it was the money. Coming back to a winning team like the Giants to go back to the playoff and perhaps make it back to the 2011 World Series clearly wasn’t one of his top priorities. Heck, to his credit, the man has two World Series rings to show for it. Two more than a lot of all-star caliber players out there.

Edgar could care less whether he plays for a contending team or not.

This is why I have mad respect for players like J.T. Snow, who shows loyalty to a team and took a huge pay-cut to come back with the Giants.

Granted, Edgar only played with the Giants for two years and perhaps there is no loyalty or love there. But it says a lot about a person who shows gratitude to a team who signed a aging and a declining player.

In addition, Edgar only played 72 games receiving a $9M paycheck in 2010. $2M difference—now was that really a lack of respect, Edgar?

Regardless, Edgar is gone; so is Juan Uribe, who was a vital part of the Giants offense and the postseason run.

Now, what does this mean to the Giants in 2011?

Losing Edgar doesn’t mean much at all to the Giants than losing Uribe. Really, the Giants were looking to sign Edgar as a backup shortstop. There are other decent players available that can warm the bench and give high-fives, namely Orlando Cabrera and Ramon Santiago.

Defensively, the Giants have Miguel Tejada to fill the shortstop spot. Playing 156 games for the Orioles and the Padres respectively, is more reliable at the spot than Edgar was.

Offensively, the numbers Uribe put up is more than what Miggy’s done. But don’t let the numbers fool you.

There is a huge difference in his stats between the two teams he played for last year. Playing with the Padres, Miggy flourished, matching his stats with the Orioles in half the at-bats playing for the Padres. Perhaps playing for the contending team, NL West leader had him playing harder. For what he was hungry for and wanted to reach, the World Series ring.

I have no doubt Miggy will be playing with the same intensity this year for the Giants.

So you ask, what does Pablo Sandoval got to do with this?

There is a whole lot riding on Pablo and his off-season approach for the success of the Giants’ 2011 season. Without Uribe’s versatility and the bat to cover third base, Pablo needs to man that corner.

From his breakout year in 2009, last year was dismal at best. With so much expectations for him to continue his success from 2009 to 2010, fans were disappointed to say the least.

Most people pointed fingers at the obvious; From personal matters like divorce and San Bruno gas explosion where his place went up in flames to his weight issue. There is a lot to say about a player’s performance which rides on their physical ability but also a lot rides on a player’s mental stability—mental issues which includes his personal matters, I think it’s something he had to get over. Because of it, his weight became an issue, in my humble opinion. 

It is reported that he is staying in Arizona, near the Giants trainers (of his own will) to work on his weight issue and train. There are reports out there of Pablo losing 10 to 15 pounds. The man is 5’11” reportedly weighing in at 245 pounds, but I am not so sure on that number. In 2010, Pablo came into spring training weighing in at a whopping 262 pounds. Which is said to be 15 pounds less than his playing weight during his breakout offensive year of 2009.

This reassures me that his weight has nothing to do with his bad offensive production last season; it’s more his mental issue, having to deal with personal ordeals.

If you’ve watched Pablo play defense last year or even during his postseason appearance, it’s obvious that his weight is a huge issue in playing third-base. Numerous times, he threw over Aubrey Huff’s head at first-base because of getting to the ball late and having to rush his throws.

His massive body running towards short grounders made you feel uncomfortable, like watching a horrible car accident about to happen. Heavy footed, you’d think it was Bengie Molina playing at third.

With Mark De Rosa healthy to come back this season, he can help Pablo man third-base. But if the Giants can get the lightweight, nimble Pablo Sandoval and the offense that was 2009, the Giants would have pretty potent fire power up and down their lineup, along with pretty solid defense.

Maybe even a hopeful phenom Brandon Belt would make some noise at the spring training this March, the Giants would be very solid.

With two months left ’til we hear “play ball” ring out in Arizona, the Giants and their fans have a lot to look forward to. Perhaps “less” to look forward to in Pablo.

Either way, it will be an interesting 2011 for the Giants.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

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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It took 52 years, but the San Francisco Giants are World Series Champions.  I can now cross that first and foremost item off my sports fan bucket list.

The San Francisco Giants have given their fans numerous heartbreaks, too many to list in this article, but now, all is forgiven.  I have put together a fun piece to showcase the true Giant “hot dogs” who donned the orange and black. 

This article is designed to allow us to reminisce about some of the most fun, stylish and charismatic players we have had the enjoyment of watching in San Francisco over the years.  These are not always the best players, in fact, many are not.  They are, however, some of our fan favorites because of the way they played the game.

Our list is a tribute to those individuals that played the game with a certain flair that made them fun to watch.  These are the true “hot dogs” of the San Francisco Giants.  Enjoy our list for what it’s worth, 100% fun, just like the players mentioned, who played this wonderful game and entertained us all.

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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.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

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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Pablo Sandoval is on the verge of eating his way out of baseball, and the San Francisco Giants and their Panda marketing blitz are as much to blame as Sandoval’s apparent inability to push back from the dinner table.    

Regardless of whoever first came up with the “Kung Fu Panda” nickname, there is no doubt that the San Francisco Giants and their marketing machine seized upon it almost immediately to pump money into the team.  The Giants worked feverishly on converting an image of a happy-go-portly Sandoval into massive dollars in the form of ticket sales and fuzzy panda hats (available in two colors) at the ballpark. 

There were MLB-licensed panda shirts and signs, and a gigantic advertisement poster of Sandoval with the tag line “There’s Panda Inside” slapped on the side of AT&T Park.  When he hit a homer, they cued not only the requisite hype-music, but also a giant “Panda-monium” which flashed in multi-colors on the scoreboard.  

They were essentially making fun of the fat guy in the room who didn’t mind being made fun of.  

It would be easy to jump all over Sandoval as exclusively responsible for his predicament, because most of us make tough diet decisions all the time, and without a spot in a Major League lineup hanging in the balance.  We give up the extra piece of cake, begrudgingly go salad versus fries, drink almost undrinkable diet soda and avoid the dessert bacchanal at the Mandalay Bay’s buffet extravaganza.  

Most of us make these so-called healthy choices for our own well-being and vanity.  Moreover, we often cast judgment on those who don’t make these same healthy decisions as we do, because deep down, we’d probably all love to be saddling up to the all-you-can-eat chicken wing pile versus going the rabbit food route.  Misery loves company.  

We remove the imagery of the overweight and unhealthy from the chronicles of our popular culture, and then add “Guess the Celebrity Fatty” pictures to the covers of our supermarket checkout rags.  We put ridiculously skinny and attractive news reporters in fat suits, and then watch as hidden cameras expose the cold public scorn and blatant discrimination our reporter-come-actress faces as she tries to get a job or an apartment.  

We eat our carrot sticks, we hit the gym, we judge and we shake our heads…and we’re doing it right now to Pablo Sandoval.  More important to the professional livelihood and future of Sandoval, so are the Giants.  Problem is, they started it.  

As widely reported, San Francisco Giants GM Brian Sabean has thrown down an ultimatum to Sandoval—commit to a smaller waistline this offseason or have fun in the minor leagues.  Team dinners at Morton’s steakhouse next summer in Chicago while in town to play the Cubs…or ones at a Bennigan’s in Fresno with the Grizzlies AAA club.  

Your choice, buddy…but not that simple.  

Turns out, Sandoval might not be as good as the Giants initially thought or perhaps not mentally strong enough to withstand the amount of pressure the Giants and their “Panda” marketing blitz threw on his back.  Arguably, it would be a lot of pressure for anyone to withstand, much less a young player with one good year under his belt.     

It is hard to imagine now, in the wake of a World Series championship and Brian Wilson and “The Machine” appearing on Jay Leno, but “The Panda” and Tim Lincecum were about all the Giants had to market a year ago.    

Now, the very obese theme of this extensive, MLB endorsed, check-out-our-jolly-panda-bodied-player campaign is being flogged by the Giants as evidence of Sandoval’s apathy.  No longer used to endear and market to the fan base, Sandoval’s roomy frame is now being criticized and used to threaten his career.  

Apparently, the panda t-shirts and hats aren’t selling like they did when he hit .330.  

In the end, if Pablo Sandoval doesn’t shape up this offseason and squanders his once-in-10-lifetimes opportunity in the Majors, it will be mostly on his shoulders. 

That said, simply ignoring the role the Giants have played in this situation is just being intellectually ignorant.  It casts the blame all upon Sandoval, while ignoring the fact that his overweight body might be the physical response to a man not being able to live up to lofty expectations.  It omits the San Francisco Giants’ involvement in the creation of the entire “Panda” phenomenon, the money they made off this image, and the subsequent pressures on Pablo Sandoval to live up to this impossible marketing cartoon.  

The Giants may indeed be shaking their head in disgust come next year at an out-of-shape Pablo Sandoval, but will bear a large responsibility if that outcome comes to pass.   

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Ramon Ramirez allowed a hit and a walk to open the frame, but the hard-throwing righty finally gets the first out of the ninth on a pop to right.

Jeremy Affeldt comes in, tosses a 55-foot fastball to the backstop on pitch No. 1, then walks Josh Hamilton to load the bases.

In comes dynamic Giants closer Brian Wilson. No word on whether or not “The Machine” is watching.

Vlad Guerrero greets Wilson with a liner to right, caught by Nate Schierholtz, that scores Julio Borbon on a sac fly.

The Giants bullpen had tossed 10 straight innings of scoreless ball this postseason before that Rangers run.

Nelson Cruz then rips a ball into the gap in right-center, scoring two more Rangers, making the score 11-7 with two outs.

Finally, Wilson and his jet-black beard retire Ian Kinsler on a fly to short right to end the game.

The Giants claim Game 1 11-7 and take a 1-0 World Series lead. Cliff Lee gets the first postseason loss of his career.

Take a look at the previous updates or Bleacher Report’s live blog of Game 1 for more specific info on how it all happened.

Following a single to right by Edgar Renteria—and a horrible error by the geriatric Vlad Guerrero that allows Renteria to coast into third—the Giants get their sixth double of the night and their seventh extra-base hit courtesy of Travis Ishikawa, and they up their lead to 9-4.

Two batters later, Freddy Sanchez rips his fourth hit of the night down the right line, scoring Ishikawa, as Guerrero misplays another ball near the Texas bullpen for his second error of the inning. Giants lead 10-4.

Pinch-hitter Nate Schierholtz then greets new Rangers pitcher Michael Kirkman with another bonk up the middle to score a sliding Sanchez. 11-4, G-Men.

We head to the ninth with the home side well in control… of the game, at least. They’re clearly not in control of their facial hair.