The baseballers at Blogs by Fans, my parent network, are in the middle of a roundtable dissection of the just-concluded winter meetings. Part one, with Depressed Fan asking Kingman about the Mets, is here.
Part two: Kingman asks me about the Giants. Let's get to it.
Q: With the added bullpen help and Edgar Renteria at short, are the Giants good enough to contend in the N.L. West this season?
ELM: Probably not. Renteria will be an offensive upgrade at short, where the Giants were 29th or 30th in O in 2008. A few others might improve, and certain rookies might surprise with a full year of solid performance, but as currently assembled the team has too much to make up on offense. It would need a spectacular run of pitching and defense to contend. Barry Zito would need a miraculous turn-around. Aaron Rowand would need a career year. You get the picture. But add one more big bat and one more solid starting pitcher, and throw a lot of breaks the Giants' way, and things could get interesting because the division might be the weakest in baseball.
Q: Do they have enough depth in their rotation, and/or in the minors, to be able to trade either Cain or Sanchez for a bat?
Not really, but they should trade Sanchez if the right deal comes up. One of the best non-moves of the Winter Meetings was Brian Sabean holding on to Sanchez. There were rumors about Hank Blalock, Edwin Encarnacion, and Jorge Cantu, but they all have serious flaws. Sanchez does, too, of course, but this is the winter to be patient.
Losing Sanchez would open two rotation holes (I'm not counting Noah Lowry as an option until he throws without problems in spring training), so a trade would definitely stretch them thin. They would have to roll the dice with a free agent pickup, maybe a minor-league sleeper coming on strong, and hope their top three starters don't get hurt. But if Sanchez (and prospects, probably) could bring back a young impact corner-infield bat, it's something the Giants should at least consider.
They should not trade Matt Cain unless they get a similar package that the A's got for Danny Haren.
Q: What was your gut reaction when it seemed like the Giants were in the hunt for CC Sabathia earlier this week? Was it a) Oh no, not another Zito; b) Wow, we're going to have the best rotation in the league; or c) I never bought into the rumors.
ELM: A little bit of a) and b) and a lot of c). I didn't quite understand Sabean's rant about the media getting fans unfairly excited. It never seemed to me that the Giants were in it. Maybe it's because I don't listen to talk radio. To me, it was obvious the Yankees were going to make an offer CC couldn't refuse.
Q: There are still quite a few impact bats available through free agency. Which one intrigues you the most? Which one (besides Barry Bonds) do you wish on your worst enemy?
ELM: You got something against Barry Bonds, pal? If an AL team were smart they'd sign him to DH -- bargain of the century. As for other bats, I'm not very interested in any of them. Manny is going to be too expensive. Dismiss the park factors and Adam Dunn would be my first choice on a short-term contract, but only if he played first base. Problem is, his numbers at Mays Field are ugly. Offense-wise, Pat Burrell with an incentive-heavy contract to keep a fire under his ass would be better, as right-handed power isn't blunted as much by the park. But I don't want him anywhere near a glove.
