One year of Omar better than 4 years of Eckstein. Absolutely. In fact, this is really the main reason why I'm not so upset about this move. It will prevent Sabean from making the bonehead move of going after Eckstein. No, if he resigns Feliz.............very different story. It will be time to form the lynch mob.

One minute of Omar is better than any amount of time of Eckstein.

5.5 mil is tooooooo much for a bandaid. I'm happy to have him back but get real.

I'm with bigO. Great guy, great glove. But come on. The giants can't find a all field, no hit shortstop that's only 20-30 percent worse a fielder than omar for under $1mm? Gimmie a break. Use the money for the bullpen, dammit. It's the only way Cain and linsecum don't lose 30 games between then while posting a cumulative 3.35 era.

I like the move, but I just hope this doesnt stop us from going after another SS in a trade. Vizquel should be coming off the bench.

Now that we have some $, we shouldnt trade prospects for mediocre 3Bs and SS. I would hate to see Feliz back, but I don't want to give up any young guys. So if we need to fill that hole might as well sign weak ass Feliz for 5 mil.

We're gonna suck anyway, lets think 2009.

Too much money, but definitely better than 4 years of Eckstein. Why would Sabean give Omar a raise? Is there that much competition for his services?

Why does he gat a raise? Because Sabean is an idiot. Just like in the Bonds "negotiation" last year, he bid against himself and paid him way more than he had to when no one else was interested.

Boof - you seem to be going with the "lesser of two evils" philosophy, basically stating that a year of Vizquel is better than Eckstein. While I tend to agree with that, I still am against this because the lesser of two evils is still evil.

Vizquel is turning 41, he posted the lowest OPS of his career since he was a Mariner, and he gets a raise???!? Sabean is a retard if this goes through.

To me, the best option for SS is through trade. The 2nd option is giving it to Frandsen (who doesn't belong there), and the 3rd option is giving it to a scrub like Ochoa. Other than that, there were no other options.

I just don't get how throwing away $5.5M on a man with virtually ZERO production is phesable, yet A-Rod is a reach.

Unbelievable. What a punch in the stomach. How f**king unoriginal. In November we ran out of alternative ideas?

Really?

This has truly ruined my day.

As I said on another blog, I just think it would have been better to take the $5.1 mil difference betweeen Omar and Ochoa, play Ochoa and spend the money elsewhere, a RP if no 1b or 3b are available. Even a tandem of Ochoa/Figueroa will provide the same defense that Omar, who's now lost a step, at least going behind 2nd, will provide in '08. And most likely the same, if not better offense. In other words, Ochoa/Figueroa are so nearly identical to Omar, keep the extra $5 mil. - there must be uses for that money.

I don't mind the signing. To be honest, it is of little copnsequence. 2008 is a lost season and it isn't like he is blocking anyone ready to make the jump to the big club.

Had it been a multi-year deal I'd be ready to join the lynch mob.

This is a classic Magowan/Sabean signing. No more Bonds, so they need a veteran for marketing. Omar has been that type of player for us for the last 3 years.

BawLa,

I understand what you're saying, and I don't necessarily disagree with it, but you have to consider the parties involved here. This is idiot-boy Sabean we are dealing with here. If he didn't bring back Vizquel, he would've most assuredly have panicked and signed Eckstein to a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract.

I agree that Vizquel is not the best alternative. A GM with just a modicum of imagination would have thought of one of the other alternatives, like trading for an up and coming SS and using the money elsewhere, but we have to deal with Magowan's idiot boy. At least he didn't sign Feliz to play SS.

My turn to weigh in. I would have preferred a stunning creative trade for a blue chip SS prospect like Chin Lin Hu or Yunel Escobar, but I understand that the Giants only have so many trade chips and must use them wisely. Trading Lowry et al for a potentially light hitting shortstop isn't the best use of Sabean's time.

Is it a marketing move? Yeah, probably. People love Omar. I love Omar. you love Omar. Meatball loves Omar. Big deal. It's one year. He's not blocking anyone's development. Give me a little more Omar Fu before I die.

But, as Grant noted on the McChronic, if this move is combined with a one-year deal for Feliz, then ARRGGGGGHHHHH.

I am somewhat less then thrilled with this deal now that I know there is a vesting option. Omar can do 140 games standing on his head.

I don't mind signing him as a stopgap... but to give him a RAISE at 41 when he had a crap year offensively? This one is my nail in Sabean's coffin.

He doesn't deserve a raise. Sign him if we must but geeeez.

"Trading Lowry et al for a potentially light hitting shortstop isn't the best use of Sabean's time."

Never thought I'd say this but they should trade Timmy now and get some bats. Keep Lowry.

It is, to my mind, only understandable as a marketing move.
Ochoa: 296/337/420. Figueroa: 302/349/397. Unfortunately, they both mashed LH pitching (Ochoa 377, Figueroa 370) and were about 100 points worse against RH pitching. Still, the liklihood is either/or could equal, if not surpass, the sub 250 numbers Omar is likely to put up in '08.

i can see no rational argument for this team signing omar for potentially 10 mm for two years. if they were a playoff team intent on keeping a good thing going for one more year, maybe. but this does nothing to make them competitive. again, what about the bullpen, which is populated by gascans?

plus his offense went into the toilet last year for the first time. from a risk/reward assesment standpoint, if you're sabean don't you have to think that declining offense is not a very good trend sign at 41 years old? and maybe you shouldn't throw potentially $10mm away on what may amount to a charming Jose Uribe?