It's a pretty huge trade. Nothing of the ARod circus or the Bonds to Giants circus, but it'll go down as huge, especially if the Marlins win the World Series in 2010, or 2011 because of their absolutely LOADED minor league system.

Just below Asshat Pierzinski for Liriano, Nathan & Bonser.

Sorry.....couldn't resist.

Although getting Inge wouldn't be all that exiting, he's better than Feliz. He's considered one of the top three deffensive 3rd basemane in the AL and, unlike Feliz, he can consistantly give you an OPS above .700. Also, if you are missing Feliz too much, Inge will also swing at a lot of slop low and away.

Last year Inge was horrible at the plate. And his career OBP is .304, a marginal improvement over Feliz. He'll be just as expensive, too. No thanks.

Oops -- I hit Post too fast. Rather than pay multimillions for Inge (or Rolen, or Glaus, or Feliz), I'd start the year with Frandsen at 3B and Durham at 2B and see how it plays out.

Dang, beaten to the punch! I was basically going to say what you said, ELM, particularly Frandsen and OBP (perhaps Felipe has finally taught him the word?).

The difference between D-Train and Lincecum is that D-Train truly does have a hurky jerky pitching motion whereas Lincecum's is merely different. Different is not necessarily bad, especially today with pitcher's arms falling off at greater rates, seemingly, than in the past. Also, I like the fact that Lincecum does not feel enough pain to need to use ice. I think his arm should be fine at least until our inexpensive control is over, at which point we can re-assess and decide whether to resign him like the Astros did with their "no ice" man, Oswalt, or trade him off for a half dozen hot prospects.

I would like to get Inge if the price is cheap enough. Most don't remember, but he came up as a C and their signing of I-Rod pushed him to 3B. That would open up the possibility of actively trading Molina, who should net us more in prospects than given up for Inge.

Then, he could start at C, perhaps not full-time immediately, but eventually with that goal, sharing with Alfonzo or Rodriguez, plus play some games at 3B as well, should Molina be traded.

Or he could be our backup catcher to Molina, since we have Frandsen who can play 3B if Inge is catching, freeing a spot on the bench for another prospect (though sending Alfonzo and Rodriguez to minors). Lots of flex there.

What do you think of Joe Crede? I know there's an injury issue, but what if the price is not that bad since they want to start Fields and thus dump Crede salary and his bad back.

Alright.. I've posted a couple fantasy trades, but I can't help it, its fun and I had another one pop in my head after the big Tigers Marlins trade..

Linnccumm
Sanchez
Hennessey
Lewis/or a Vet with Cash

for

Rios
Lind

or

Jay Bruce
Encarnocion
Another Player

???

What you think?

I am still proposing Mike Lamb - subject to his being able to field adequately.

Great trade for the Tigers. It makes sense for them as they have a good team and can WIN RIGHT NOW. This wouldn't work for us as we still wouldn't win in '08 with these additions. We need to be the team that can WIN in 2010 or 2011. By WIN, I don't mean a winning percentage but in the thick of the playoff race with a chance at the WS.

Will you please get off Mike Lamb? He is just a defensively challenged Feliz who make better contact. It is this type of thinking that got the Giants where tehy are today.

The Lincecum-Rios trade is now being mentioned on the ESPN blog.

I'm really starting to get worried. The Giants are "indecisive" about the trade-- as time goes on and they keep missing on offensive players, Sabean (with pressure from Magowan and Baer?) will start to get antsy to just get something done. With interest in Lowry low, Sabean will just justify trading Lincecum by thinking that, with 2 first round pitchers last year and a high draft pick this year, he'll be replaced in a couple years.

Personally, I'd rather be the one to stockpile arms, not the BlueJays. Wait until mid-2009, when you actually know what you have offensively with the Lewis', Frandsens, and Schierholtz's of the world, and your pitching is developed. At that point, if Bumgarner and Alderson are tearing up AA/AAA, then you'll know you have extra chips to acquire offensive players.

IF this was a deal for a transcendent bat, that'd be one thing. But even with singing Andruw, a heart of the order of Rios-Jones-Molina is NOT going to get it done in the west... not in 08, not in 09, and not in '10. Meanwhile, you're pitching will be worse than the Padres and conceivably the Dodgers.

The Giants are stuck. Sabean has made so many bad moves in the last few years among the Nathan/Liriano and Accardo deals, passing on Vlad, signing Edgardo, Zito, Benitez, Durham and Roberts that the Giants have no choice but to let next year play out. You have to be in a position of strength to fleece people and Sabean hasn’t been there for a long, long time. It’s utterly amazing that Sabean kept his job--I still feel that Magowan was behind the Zito signing, it’s the only explanation.

Andruw Jones needs protection in a lineup. He would be a DISASTER in the Giants lineup as currently constructed. He swings at the breaking ball in the dirt almost as often as Feliz does. Some guys just never learn to pick up that pitch.

"Wait until mid-2009, when you actually know what you have offensively with the Lewis', Frandsens, and Schierholtz's of the world, and your pitching is developed."

It could just as easily go the other way too. Those players you mentioned don't develop and the pitching breaks down. I like the trade and feel Lincecum has to go.

BigO-- yeah, it could. I think it's more likely that the hitting doesn't pan out than Cain or Lincecum suffering serious injury, especially the latter given his flexibility.

But since you want to play devil's advocate, it's possible that Rios never improves and you trade a perennial All-Star starter for what amounts to a Raul Ibanez type.

Be aware that if they trade for Rios, he will NOT have any protection. The Giants aren't going to bid on Jones, and there are no other big bats to acquire. Further, people argue that since Rios hit leadoff half of the year, if he hit 4th he'd make a quantum leap statistically. That doesn't bear out when you look at his stats though, because comparing his #s when he bats 1st or 3rd yields an insignificant difference. He also does the majority of his damage, from a HR standpoint, with no runners on.

The largest leap in a professional athlete's career often occurs between his first and second year. We have yet to see how Lincecum will improve. I think the improvement will be substantial. Rios is what he is, which is better than what the Giants have now, but that's not saying much. I just don't think Sabean gets it. His moves the last few years has lead to the offensive anemia that pervades the lineup today. Too bad. Look towards a contender in 2010, stop feeling non-existant pressure to acquire an above average bat just for the sake of it, and save money to draft some real talent in lower rounds by paying above slot.

Boof, why don't you like Mike Lamb? As a part time player he has a good on base, improving pop and should continue to get better if he is given a starting job. Besides a lack of huge power, I don't really see anything wrong with him.

I guess I gauranteed to much when I said Inge would produce an OPS over .700 every year. He produced a .698 just last season. But, he is about .020 points higher for the last 4 seasons and is 2 years younger than Feliz. ELM is right though, the improvement would be marginal.

I just have this bias, being a Tiger and Giants fan. I always liked Inge and want to see him remain in one of "my families" and It's not likely the Tigers will keep him now.