I thought I read (I'm not an "insider") that Keith Law said that Cabrera could be a headcase and his off field antics could be questionable. Also thought he said Beltre was available. Rolen is interesting but there's no way we would pick up the entire tab.

Only way I would take on Rolen is if they take on Durham, which I guess is appropriate since he's the Durham of 3B, plus they would have to throw in a hunk of change for 2009 and 2010, maybe $4M each year, then his salary would be $8M for us. I think that is fair, given the number of games he will probably miss, and the possibility that 2007 was his first decline year of the downsloping 30's for baseball players.

Only way we get Cabrera is if we trade either Cain or Lincecum, and I wouldn't do that unless we have Cabrera signed to a long-term contract as a condition of the trade.

Even then, I probably wouldn't do it. I think Lincecum is that good in tandem with Cain in our rotation. We lose a lot of competitive value by breaking up the two of them. Sure, we have some good pitching prospects coming up, but they won't be moving into the rotation anytime soon, and would leave the 2008 rotation as Cain, Zito, Lowry, Sanchez, Correia. Not too scary.

Lincecum is a player you base your future on, not trade away unless there is some hidden injury that you know will happen, so you get rid of him now.

I would be OK with Frandsen at 3B as I want to use 2008 as a "figure out what we got" season and not a "compete all out to win" season.

Lincecum is a big part of the core of our pitching staff for years to come, there is nothing to be gained by trading him unless the other team overpays and give us near-Lincecum plus a great bat.

"Lincecum is a player you base your future on" . . . You should mean "a Lincecum type player." I don't think we should be BANKING on this guy soooOOOooo much.

I really wish that I didn't have to see the words "Frandsen" and "3B" in the same sentence anymore. For what really should be the last time that this should have to be pointed out: FRANDSEN SHOULD PLAY 2B. PERIOD. EXCLMATION POINT.

Frandsen needs to be at 2B to see if he is the answer. Playing him anywhere else retards the decision making process. I don't give a damn how much Durham is being paid. Either sit him down or eat the contract. End of story.

I agree with Boof on this one. Leave Frandsen over at 2B and pursue a legit 3B. I don't want to see Pedro Feliz in a Giants uni ever again. His hacking at crap in the dirt days are done.

Cabrera would be nice, but yes, it's going to cost us to get him.

I don't see the point in bringing in Rolen - too in jury prone, too much age. We already have that - Aurilia, with McClaine to back up if Richie goes on the DL. I do think it is imperative to trade Durham, but, if it came down to rolen or Sexson, would much rather see us get Sexson. I am not at all opposed to parading our minor leaguers thru 1b - Niekro, Ort, Ishi, McClain, etc, etc
I agree with Boof, Frandsen must play 2b all year so we can see if we have that position covered for '09.
I hate to pay a premium price for 3b on a guy, who while very young, has a weight problem and issues about dedication and attitude. That screams discount to me, not anchor to the teams future.

I decided to take a look at AAA 3b men. I looked at about 80-85% of the teams, omitting the NL west, on the theory they likely wouldn't trade with us. It is a real eye opener. There is nothing out there (that assumes Longoira is not available as he will likely replace Cabrera).
The Giants have 31 y.o FA Justin Leone (269/383/498/880) and T De La Rosa, 30 y.o., (288/337/434/770). As I recall, neither player was brought up in Sept. so that tells you a lot.
The only team that really seems to have AAA 3bs is the LAA. Not only do they have Figgins and M Izturus, the have (who I believe to be the heir apparent) Brandon Wood 23 y.o, 835 AAA OPS (and 33 MLB ABs) and they have 25 y.o. Matthew Brown (867 OPS - + 5 MLB ABs). I would think one of these guys will be traded (if they get ARod), but they won't need the other, probably Brown. He seems, on the surface, to have more upside as well as recent performance, than virtually any other AAA prospect who may also be available.
After a quick look at some stats, Crede, looks like a reasonable, stop gap solution. He actually is slightly better defensively, than Feliz as well as slightly better offensively. Encarnacion has no defense, so I don't think Sabean would be interested. Some of the other names, bandied around, Loretta, for example, are so much worse than Feliz I can't see them being brought in even as stop gaps. One name that may make some sense is Glaus. OK defense and top 10 (or so) offense at the position BUT he only played 130 games last year, so there is big risk.
It is amazing how little is out there. Makes you really appreciate the coup that SD scored when they got Kouzmanoff so cheaply.

I also think Glaus would be an interesting pickup (we do need some power somewhere, even if we are rebuilding), but the Jays are going all in next year and will most likely not trade him. I think it would be smart to trade for a AAA prospect with power potential.

Though my logic may come off as convoluted, I wouldn't trade Lincecum or Cain for a bat, even if it's Cabrera, unless it means acquiring 2 other high level bats. One power threat in the lineup is going to do little for the team, and the effect of removing either Cain or Lincecum the rotation will likely offset that power gain anyways.

This team needs a unit that will be stronger than most, if not all, teams that they face. For the Giants, the staring pitching is already close to that, and they don't need to acquire any players to improve it. It will just take time-- Cain, Correia, and Lincecum should only improve.

Mets sign A-Rod and we trade for David Wright. What would you give up for him?

All the talk is that David Wright has agreed to change positions if the Mets decide to sign A-Rod. The Mets do have a hole at 2B.

Leone = minor league free agent