Wow I really thought they would at least try to low ball him into a $5 million/1 year contract.

Barry was one of the best, if not the bestest. I still think 500 steals/500 HRs is the most amazing accomplishment. And those clutch hits from 2000-2004. It won't be the same ballgame without him, which is probably best for all involved...I hope he doesn't embarass himself in Seattle or Chicago.

The 2-weeks-left announcement is not strange at all...if you are wired into the butts-in-the-seats mentality. This will keep fans coming for the last farewell. Like the guy said, it's a business!

A big mistake, no question. Bonds is still a really good hitter - somewhere in the top 5-15 in the NL. He would sign with the Giants for one year, and given that no other team really wants him, they've got a lot of leverage.

Who wouldn't want to sign a top 10 hitter with basically zero long-term risk?

Plus Giants fans love him. Ultimately, it might not cost them more than 2-3 wins...But this isn't a team that can afford to be 2-3 wins worse...

My opinion is that it sucks but I don't think we were going to contend in 2008 with Bonds anyways. The team has way too many offensive black holes and this season should have taught us that Bonds alone can't carry us anymore.

I'll be OK with this move as long as someone like a Fred Lewis or Schierholtz can take the open spot that Bonds is creating and rack up some at-bats.

Even though the loss of Bonds hurts the team, if they can let a guy like the aforementioned Schierlotz or Lewis get a year of development time in the MLB, I think thats time better spent than bringing back Bonds for another go.

My fear is that after watching the press conference, Sabean or MacGowan are going to pick up somebody on the FA market to play OF. A Andruw Jones or Torri Hunter would be a mistake. Not only will they not produce at the same level that Bonds has but they will cost more. If 2008 is truly a rebuilding year, avoid the FA market. There isn't anything of good value on it anyways.

I just got a little nervous when Sabean said they, paraphrasing here, could look at the FA market to find players and that they had money to spend.

Quote from Sabean is that getting "one name player" is not necessarily going to soften the blow of losing Barry.

So pursuit of Jones, Hunter, A-Rod is not assured. But I basically agree, it would be stupid of the Giants to pursue OF free agents, basically, I think there is only one player worth pursuing, A-Rod, else just go with young guys and see what happens.

Say, has ELM figured out how much budget we have freed for 2008? I estimated about $30M since losing Bonds, Morris, Feliz, Vizquel, Matheny, Klesko but raises to Zito, Winn, young players, plus Giants stated in press conference that they will reach $90-95M again (wrong move if so unless they somehow get A-Rod).

>Say, has ELM figured out how much budget we have freed for 2008?

I count the Giants on the hook for $67 M, not including the young players under their control. The $67 M includes $10.8 M Bonds -- $5 M deferred from his post-2001 contract and $5.8 M deferred from 2007. It also includes money owed to Vizquel, Benitez and Matheny. Six veterans are making more than $3 M next year: Winn (8), Durham (7.5), Roberts (6.5), Molina (6) and Aurilia (4.5).

get ready - I can see them signing Feliz again. They have soooOOooo many holes that'll they'll probably go for a 1B and maybe an OF and a middle IF and some RP. They WILL NOT get A-ROD as it would take too much $$$ and they'd still have holes all over the place.

It will be very interesting to watch who might be interested in Barry (or not) over the off season.

Thanks ELM, don't know if I mentioned before but the deferred money has to be funded annually on a amortized basis into dedicated account from the date it is owed to the date it is paid - I assume the players association put that in to protect players from bankrupted teams that then renege on that deferred payment using the courts, particularly in light of the D-backs precarious financial status due to their overspending. So at most, the Giant would have to pay $6.8M for Bonds, plus prorated amounts for the other deferments.

At a max $95M payroll, that's approximately $30M+ that the Giants have to spend in 2008. Just enough for an A-Rod under the tree for X-mas. :^D

I can see the Giants easily improving if they get A-Rod - he produces as much as Bonds on a rate basis but plays many more games, plus plays better defense at a more critical position (3B or SS), and steals more bases. And the Giants as is, is probably about a .500 team right now with the personnel we appear to have going into 2008.

But, I know, I'll believe it when A-Rod signs on the dotted line. Still, isn't pipe dreams wonderful? Except for the dent it leaves in your skull, that is...

Two questions:

1) How would the Giants ever get A-Rod? They'd have to outbid both the Red Sox and the Yankees, and it would be the first time in a really long time that they landed a top free agent.

2) The Giants are a .500 team? They're better than their record this year, but take away Bonds and they really are a 72-90 team. There's some improvement to be expected from the pitching staff in 2008, but the hitters will keep declining, and i have zero confidence that Sabes trades for or signs a young hitter of any value.

Even with Bonds, the Giants haven't been a .500 team for a few years now. There is no reason to think that they are going to be a .500 team without him and plugginf in the type of youngsters that we have.

This doesn't really qualify as "getting ugly," but John Shea may be the first of many Giants beat writers ready to spill some things they've been holding back for awhile.

Why can't they rebuild - and keep Bonds? What's wrong with eight younguns and Grandpappy Bonds? Why is it assumed that IF you have Bonds, THEN you need to surround him with veteran savvy?

> Giants a .500 team

Look at their record since Barry broke the HR record. It's above .500, and he hasn't been doing too much to contribute. That's also with the bullpen losing a TON of games. Shoring up the bullpen to hold these narrow leads should be the #1 priority. With a faster outfield and better overall defense, the team can play .500 ball without offensive help.

> Giants and A-Rod

Very possible. After trading morris, the Giants have ~75M in payroll in 2008. That counts ~11M deferred money to Bonds, 5M of which may have already been paid. If they can give a team 6M over 2 years to take Winn, that would free up 5M more of payroll this year and next. They could then sign A-Rod for 5/139M with splits of 25-27-27-30-30. That would leave another 10M to spend on the bullpen and resign Vizquel (3M).

> The Giants haven't signed any marquee FAs in a "really long time"?

Like it or not, Zito qualifies, and that wasn't even a year ago.

>> What could we be left with as a lineup? Trade Lowry for Carlos Pena, and:

1. Rajai Davis, CF
2. Nate Schierholtz, RF
3. Fred Lewis, LF
4. A-Rod, 3B
5. Carlos Pena, 1B
6. Bengie Molina, C
7. Kevin Frandsen, 2B
8. Omar Vizquel, SS

Starters:

1. Matt Cain
2. Barry Zito
3. Tim Lincecum
4. Pat Misch
5. Kevin Correia

Bullpen:

Randy Messenger
Billy Sadler
*FA
*FA
Brad Hennessey
Tyler Walker
Brian Wilson

>They could then sign A-Rod for 5/139M with splits of 25-27-27-30-30.

A-Rod's current contract will pay him a minimum of 27-32-37. He has escalators which guarantee him the higher of an extra $5M or $1M more than the highest paid player in the game for 2009 and 2010. 5 years for $139 million isn't even close to what it's going to take to get him, not enough $$$ and not enough years. I guess you could offer him an ownership stake, though. That would sweeten the pot.

Great, let's get rid of the least likeable star in the game and sign the second least likeable star. No thanks. I don't think the Giants can be successful with a single player taking up a third of their payroll. And the the specter of the Red Sox and Yankees will allow Boras to squeeze tons of money from anyone who even thinks about entering a negotiation. Grant has it right, they need to throw the youngsters against the wall and hope a few stick, trade as many of the veterans as they can over the course of next season, and revisit the free agent market after the '08 season.