Kuzul

Major League Baseball’s Spring Training is already underway and that means it’s officially time for the World Champion San Francisco Giants to put away the champagne (or Bud Lite), confetti and late-night talk show laurels.

The thong can stay, though (Aubrey’s, not the Machine’s).

Down in Arizona, the first PFP drills have been run so you know two things.

First, someone has already embarrassed himself.

Most pitchers aren’t Tim Lincecum-type athletes anyway, so asking them to field their position is a dicey proposition. Then you toss in set-up men and specialty relievers? Look out, here comes the circus. Although in truth, the Gents have a pretty athletic stable from top to bottom so maybe it’s a muted show.

Second, and more importantly, our long nightmare is over and BASEBALL is right around the corner.

With all due respect, the NFL is slowly becoming a 20-week episode of Hard Knocks so part of me is rooting for a work stoppage simply for the peace and quiet. At least the League’s tug-o’-war over the fan’s last dollar is easy to process and tune out.

Forget both sides in that nonsense—we all know it will end with each pampered posse getting richer while the fans foot the bill so who really cares? Let the greedy S.O.B.’s shoot themselves in the feet until they realize it hurts.

Like baseball did.

As for the NBA, well, it’s heading into the stretch run and teams are starting to play hard every night so I’ve got no beef with the Association at the moment. Nevertheless, all the coasting up to this point still leaves a sour note in the air.

C’mon, I can’t get 82 games at full throttle for $4 mil a year?

Consequently, it’s the pearl to the rescue.

Before that can happen, however, the exhibition season must play out and each team must answer a few lingering questions. In the Giants’ neck of the woods, there’s only one major unknown and it looms over left field.

And it’s a pretty big one; as in, who will play there?

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As defending World Series champions, the San Francisco Giants had a relatively quiet offseason. 

General Manager Brian Sabean felt little need to shake up an intriguing roster filled with castoffs, journeyman and young talents starting to reach their potential. 

Sabean let World Series MVP Edgar Renteria leave for a one-year, $3 million deal with the defending NL Central champion Cincinnati Reds.

At this point in his career Renteria is little more than an average fielder and below average hitter who will have trouble staying on the field due to various ailments. The Reds plan to use him as a backup to both incumbent shortstop Paul Janish and All-Star second baseman Brandon Phillips.

Juan Uribe also skipped town, striking a three-year, $21 million deal with the rival Los Angeles Dodgers. The free swinger hit a career high 24 homers in 2010, but he was still barely a league average bat, generating a .749 OPS. 

Uribe gains most of his value from his versatility however. In 2010, he started 103 games at shortstop, 26 games at third base and 24 games at second base and is an above average fielder at all three positions.

To replace this middle infield production the Giants will turn to Miguel Tejada, whom they signed to a one-year, $6.5 million agreement. The shortstop will return to the Bay area for the first time since leaving the Oakland Athletics following the 2003 season.

But at the age of 37, the Giants shouldn’t expect too much from Tejada. Although he is a liability as a defender, the Giants will see if they can get his bat going one last time. For all intents and purposes, Tejada is this year’s reclamation project (see: Burrell, Pat and Huff, Aubrey).

The Giants made no major moves this offseason, but going stagnant isn’t usually a good thing when trying to repeat as a champion. The rest of the league, particularly the teams in your division, adapts to beat you.

The Rockies and Dodgers are already talented enough to overtake the Giants, and the Diamondbacks and Padres are rebuilding more quickly than even they had expected. The 2011 NL West race should be an exciting one. 

What follows are 10 moves the San Francisco Giants can make to shake up their roster, overtake their division rivals and put themselves in the hunt for the NL pennant once again.  

Data Courtesy Of

www.fangraphs.com

www.baseball-reference.com

mlbcontracts.blogspot.com (Cot’s Baseball Contracts)

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Brandon Belt has received a lot of buzz, and rightly so. The 6’5″ left-handed slugger has batted for a .352 average in 136 minor league games.

In his debut in spring training yesterday, Belt drove in four RBI on two doubles and one single.

But what about Aubrey Huff and the solid job he did for the team last year? Huff is still the guy, but with each appearance by the young stud, Huff might be counting his reps.

Brandon Belt certainly looks promising, but there’s no need to rush the situation. The time will come for Belt to be a rising star, but for now and in the short term, Aubrey Huff is still the right fit at first base heading into the 2011 season.

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Serious injuries are never good things for baseball players, but the extent to which health problems affect someone’s career depends a lot on the situation.

For example, a young player who still has time to recover before he enters his prime is likely to bounce back, and a guy in the middle of a long-term contract doesn’t have to worry about finding a new job right away.

But for talented stars entering free agency or to a lesser extent, their arbitration years, getting seriously hurt could end up costing them several million dollars. And for older players whose ability to maintain their current levels of performance, a bad injury could mean a forced retirement.

In this slideshow are the 10 MLB players who would have the most to lose if they were struck by serious injuries.

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Baseball season is finally here!

With the first spring training games played this past weekend, fans got to see the first look at what their 2011 team will look like. From getting to see their team’s big-time prospects to the veterans, everyone is starting to make their predictions on everything from how a particular player will perform in 2011 to the which team will in the World Series this season. 

Although not all teams played this past weekend, most did, and thus, we can start to get an idea of who we should keep an eye on this spring.

With that, based on this weekend and the talk about them this winter, let’s take a look at some of the players you should be keeping an eye on as spring training progresses. 

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The Giants are good to go, right?

I happen to believe that’s the case, and so do most Giants fans. When it comes to a repeat, there’s certainly not much evidence as to why they wouldn’t at least have a viable chance.

The question is how set up will SF be in the future with the sluggers they have, and the ones being raised up through the farm system.

Buzz has circled some of the players I will mention, and it’s important to keep in mind that while it’s unlikely the Giants will make any monumental moves heading into the offseason or before the trade deadline, there is always room for improvement.

That being said, let’s look at reasons going forward as to why the Giants need to get a premiere slugger in place, something they haven’t seen since the likes of Barry Bonds.

If none of this sinks in, then take a look at the videos and be sure to laugh.

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Defense may not be the most entertaining part of a baseball game, but it is certainly important.

We tend to only recognize when players make outstanding defensive plays, and fans will always criticize players for making defensive mistakes.

The following slides will show you who is truly the best defensive team in baseball based on a number of factors.

The methodology is as follows: Teams were ranked from No. 1 to 30 based on statistics from the 2010 season. The lower the better.

The categories considered were UZR, stolen bases allowed, Total Zone (TZ) and Gold Gloves. One point was deducted for each Gold Glove winner and two were deducted for each Fielding Bible winner.

This difference is because the Fielding Bible award is based on more quantitative information.

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No pitcher in the history of baseball has won two Cy Young awards in his first two full major league seasons.  Tim Lincecum is a truly special pitcher and athlete.

This gifted pitcher leads, arguably, the best pitching staff in baseball and has a World Series championship on his resume.

The real question now is: How long can he continue to pitch at such a high level?

I will review several pro’s and con’s pertaining to the outlook for Tim Lincecum’s continued success.

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Back in 2006, all the buzz was about how Barry Zito signed the largest contract in the MLB for a pitcher. In 2011 that contract is still the talk of the baseball world, but for all the wrong reasons.

By signing the seven year contract, Zito immediately became the richest pitcher in baseball history. His contract was worth $126 million and included another option year in 2014.

Just over half way through his contract, the Giants I’m sure have been trying to find some kind of way to move Zito and the $60+ million left on it.

The tricky thing in this whole story is how Zito has grossly underperformed and has not lived up to the contract and the expectations that come with signing such a large one.

Zito has shown signs of breaking through. He went 8-4 with an 3.51 ERA through about half the season. After that, you know the story. He failed to reach 10 wins for the first time in his career and he didn’t even reach the 7th inning once in his final ten appearances.

Given the emergence of Madison Bumgarner and the rest of the young Giants staff, Zito could very well be used as trade bait. He could be used not necessarily to get players in return, but instead be used as a mere salary dump.

Here are 10 realistic trade scenarios where Zito can be traded to.

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The San Francisco Giants struck out in developing major league talent for most of the 2000s, but that trend has turned around recently.

Born and bred within the Giants organization, Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Buster Posey are emerging as perennial superstars in the major leagues. They have demonstrated leadership and poise during baseball’s biggest stage, the World Series.

Many formidable predecessors donned the orange and black on day one of their professional careers. Will “The Thrill” Clark was one of them, along with many others.

Posey has lived up to the hype so far, but who else in Giants history has preceded Posey? Here are the last 10 Giants’ prospects who lived up to the hype.

This article was featured on the blog Talking Giants Baseball.

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Questions? Comments? Feedback? E-mail my blog mailbag at vc4re@yahoo.com. Your question may be posted on my blog, along with answers.

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