Quick notes on this busy day:
* The Merc's Baggarly crunches numbers on his blog and shows that Conor Gillaspie will earn a pro-rated major-league salary for his September callup -- about $66,000, on top of his nearly $1 million signing bonus. It adds fuel to the theory that Gillaspie's call-up was more about a negotiating promise than talent evaluation, especially since Bruce Bochy doesn't seem inclined to play Gillaspie, as Baggs reports: "Gillaspie is available to pinch-hit, but Bochy said he doesn’t plan to give him a start anytime soon."
* The addition of Gillaspie to the 40-man roster sparked an argument in the comments about the roster rules, but here's the bottom line: it gives the Giants less flexibility and puts a player on the roster who doesn't need to be there just yet. The good news is plenty of spots will open this winter: Vizquel and Matt Palmer are gone; McClain, too, and perhaps Aurilia; one of the two scrub catchers; and perhaps several of the following pitchers: Hennessey, Misch, Walker, Espineli, Correia and Taschner. Both Correia and Hennessey are due arbitration hearings this winter. I can't imagine both in Giants uniforms next spring. That's at least six, counting conservatively. One could also argue for the removal of Bocock and project either Winn or Roberts being traded. Does anyone know how many 40-man spots a team typically turns over in the winter?
* Joe Crede is getting epidural injections for his bad back, according to BP's Will Carroll. If he wasn't the biggest caveat emptor on the upcoming free agent market, he is now.
* Jeff Kent will almost certainly retire at the end of the year. And he''ll almost certainly be a Hall of Famer in five years. Question of the day: Should he go into the Hall with a Giants hat? No matter how much you hate him, is there any other choice?
