This makes sense and the price is pretty good for the Giants. Huff is taking a cut from 8 mil last year and should be worth more than double the 3 mil.

Only trouble is the Giants had a first baseman in Ryan Garko who has similar numbers to Huff and probably could have been signed for less and is four years younger and bats right so he could match up with Ishikawa.

Aubrey Huff lifetime:
.282 .340 .472 .812
Ryan Garko lifetime:
.279 .351 .441 .792
But that is nitpicking I suppose.

But Huff is more useful because he plays more positions. He has even played 243 games in the outfield.

The Giants had a better-hitting, better-fielding lefty first baseman last year. Makes one wonder whose Cheerios Travis Ishikawa peed in.

I like it! Too much downside to other FA options.

Huff Career: .282 .340 .472 .812; -4.0 UZR at 1B
Huff 2007: .280 .337 .442 .778
Huff 2008: .304 .360 .552 .912
Huff 2009: .241 .310 .384 .694
Huff 2010: Age 33 (turns 34 on Dec. 29). Given his age, both his offense and defense are not likely to return to career numbers. His career defense at 1B is about the same as that of Garko, so expect the defense at 1B to be worse than when Garko played there last year.

Ishikawa Career: .265 .330 .402 .732; +8.4 UZR at 1B
Ishikawa 2009: .261 .329 .387 .715
Ishikawa 2010: Age 26 (turns 27 on Sept. 24)

A typical move for Sabean--sign another declining veteran who will block a younger player who already puts up similar numbers (when offense and defense are both considered) and who still might develop.

I guess this move is a gamble that we get the 2008 version of Huff, in which case Sabean will look like a genius. If we get the 2009 version of Huff, Sabean will look like a fool. However, as Walter pointed out above, why not just keep Garko who has put up better numbers more consistently, is RH, and would probably have cost a bit less?

Unless we magically get the 2008 version of Huff I would rather have Ishikawa as the starting 1B. However, Ishikawa is probably now officially toast.

Another player with a bit of positional flexibility. We are going to see so many double switches next year our heads will be spinning, but Bochy will love every minute of it.

Sorry, the anonymous above was me.

At first glimpse it looks a lot like Sabean is up to his old tricks of signing past their prime vets that end up blocking developing young players. Take a closer look and the one thing that sticks out for me that is different from previous years is that he isn't overpaying or signing them long term. They aren't even blocking young players really when you think about it unless you are still convinced that Ishikaka deserves a shot which he doesn't.

So what was the biggest complaint last year, that this team would have made the playoffs with a league average offense right? Well, guys like DeRosa and Huff are the definition of league average! The best part is the commitments are short and the money is fair so I can't really find too much else to complain about here.

As for all of you Ishikaka lovers and those that think the Bowkers and Freddy Lewis's of the world are going to miraculously figure things out this year I have news for you. It is time to turn the page and start looking at the next crop of young players and let Frandsen, Bowker, Ishi, Lewis, Burriss, and any of the other long shots go and move on. This is a good thing, we have tried to build from within with late round offensive draft picks and it would be more of the same if we kept our hopes up that they would eventually become major league contributors.

This way, we move on to the next wave of young players like Neal, Kieshnick, Noonan, Gillespie, Crawford, and all the other prospects that could be ready to contribute in 2011-2012. This year we have enough flexibility to either compete with a league average offense or if it doesn't work, we have some trade pieces for the deadline and can start fresh with a new GM and direction next year.

Man, is this going to be the slowest lineup in MLB? The boys are going to have to hit homeruns to get some of these guys around the bases.

On the semi plus side though..Uribe and Huff are cheap enough to be good trade chips at the deadline if the season goes bad.

Of course, they might be traded for youngsters that Sabes will bury behind more aging vets next season but I digress.

Well, did I not say LaRoche was not going to be signed?

I had even stated last week that the Giants probably had maybe $3 mill to spend and that looks dead on. I thought it would likely be Podsednik instead. Podsednik went cheap, I am a litle surprised at that price that Sabes did not pursue that a little more, but it is obvious they had about $3 mill to spend and that was it.

I was in on Huff before last year's trade deadline as a good option that could play first and maybe a little outfield, but moist importantly, he could at least argue he is a cleanup hitter.

Let's hope they dont screw up Pablo and force him to hit cleanup. Stick Huff there against any righty starter. If a lefty, play Uribe at 3 Panda at 1B. I still rather have Panda in the 3-hole, but DuDRosa or Uribe should hit cleanup...

A curious signing, but it is 'the Giants Way' How this encompasses strong fundamentals and a desire to win is very confusing. Huff ,like all Sabean's signings has shown some ability in the past, but last fall for Detroit he showed less than Garko. Addendum: two years removed from consistent field play is going to be a little 'wanky'.

Regarding all of these older prospects like Bowker, all it takes is to look back and remember names like Todd Linden and Lance Neikro and don't forget Damon Minor as well to see that there are cases where players light it up in AAA and then can't figure it out when they get to the show. Bowker is the latest example of this.

Last year quite a few young players had opportunities to play albeit less then we would have liked with some like Nate but overall they did give the young guys a chance last year. The offense was horrible and none of the young guys stepped up to prove they could change that so it does make sense that this year we go with some veterans and next year there will still be money available to sign a big bat if needed.

When criticizing the moves and non moves this offseason I think it is extremely important that all other alternatives are considered. Playing the young guys is one alternative but not a good one. Going after Matt Holiday would have been another but 130 million is a lot of money to committ to one player when we have already made that mistake several times in the past. Instead, we have some short term low risk solutions that may get us to the playoffs or at least give us a chance to compete and 2011 we should be in a better place. None of these signings have jeopordized 2011 and beyond and it is hard to say they haven't improved on the horrible offense they had last year.

For what we spent on DuDRosa and Huff, we could have had Chone Figgins and he would have had a huge impact on our lineup...that is why Sabean sucks, he cannot think outside the box...

That would be enough for Holliday in a one year contract, theoretically, and we all know that Matt Holliday is scrambling to go to SF for a one year contract.

Here's the biggest thing about the Huff signing: ONE year, $3 mil. If he can come close to his 08 numbers, it's a great signing, If he's done, they have other options at 1B and he's not a long term financial drain. By Sabean standards, this signing is probably a "B" at worst.

And Garko's gone, just like Molina, Pierzynski and Nathan, so please no more with the "they coulda had Garko." Sometimes you just have to shuffle the deck and acknowledge that you can't win with a pair of deuces (i.e., last year's offensive players), even if someone else can.

$22 million could get you a Jayson Werth $10 mill/yr and Crawford at $12 mill next off-season...

Not many moves out there that will please everyone but so far at the very least we have to keep in mind that the moves Sabes has made are short term commitments that aren't going to jeopordize the future. If we were to sign someone like Holliday or even Chone, it would be around 130 million and 40 million committed to one player.

There were many holes to fill and I like the idea of upgrading the offense with some low risk options and at the same time basically making the decision to move on from the current wave of youth. Next year there should be enough money and a clearer picture of what will need to be done and hopefully because of the low risk and cheap moves we have made so far, we will have the payroll flexibility to make a big splash next year.

I am glad we didn't sign Holliday simply because of what it would have meant going forward, it would have handcuffed the team financially and put all of our eggs into one basket and he would be around for the next 7 years which may not be a good thing 2-3 years down the road. Also, in 2-3 years I fully expect to see the Neals and Kieschniks up and ready to contribute and they don't need someone like Holliday blocking them especially when we already have Rowand for 3 more years.

And I would keep an eye on how Jose Reyes plays this year..if he is back to form and healthy, Reyes could fit the leadoff role and SS nicely in 2011...what could have been...

1) Crawford - CF
2) Bond - 2B
3) Panda - 3B
4) Werth - LF
5) Schierholtz - RF
6) Posey - C
7) Ishikawa - 1B (or a cheap veteran could work)
8) Crawford - SS

or:

1) Reyes - SS
2) Bond - 2B
3) Panda - 3B
4) Werth - LF
5) Schierholtz - RF
6) Posey - C
7) Ishikawa/cheap vet - 1B
8) Velez/Rowand - CF

But now, we will likely just have $10 million to spend next year and have the budget to add just one hitter, but Werth would be the most interesting...

James Bond plays 2B? I thought for sure he was a pitcher...

The Giants major problem, what is killing them right now, is that they have given big dollars to average players like Zito, Rowand and Winn, or below average players like Renteria. LaRoche is a guy that could easily be in that category. Below average defense, strikes out a lot, and his left-handed power will largely be negated by AT&T Park. Now you could say the same thing about Huff, but he wasn't asking for a 3 yar, $30 million contract.

Patience can be a virtue. Do you think if we'd stood pat at the deadline last season, that Dan Uggla could be had for Tim Alderson, Barnes and Kevin Frandsen? I do.

I think Andrew Baggarly made the comment, and I think I agree with it, that Neukom probably gave Sabean a directive that he didn't want to see any Renteria situations in 2010, meaning multi-year contracts for underperforming players. I honestly don't think that Sabean has the green light to do any long term deals, and based on his recent track record, I have no problem with that. The bigger question is, based on the recent track record, why is Sabean still the GM.

This is maddening. I was hoping to see if our young players would come around and develop. At least until the allstar game. Bowker, Schirholtx, Ishikawa, a little Velez, a little Torres, (a little speed), but now we have aging veterans to block the triple AAA pacific coast player of the year. Full Rookie years should not be at age 28. Lefty bat he needed? How about, Schierholtx, Bowker, Ishi, Sandoval (switch, Lewis, and switch Velez better lefty and Torres better righty. I hope Huff has a nice year for the giants. but I would rather see our young guys with potential power, and excellent fielding get a shot. Even Pill could project out ok. And Pill like Ishi, can field. We know Bowker can put the ball into McCovey Cove. Guzman and Garko before Garko was let go, were right handed hitters who also had fielding deficiency, but could hit. I guess we can trade frandsen, lewis, bowker, velez, and torres, for somebody decent. If Huff has a great year, awesome, but otherwise, I see this as a totally unnecessary move.

I wonder if the G's will get a catcher.

What if The Mets sign Yorvit, and Bengie is left out in the cold, do you all think he'd be willing to come back at, say $4mil/year?

I would love to see Yorvit back in a giant uni. He will sign as soon as the Molina deal is done...looks like that should happen by thursday.
From everything we've heard so far seems like we have at least another 5mil to spend and Yorvit will take abot half that which leaves us trying to find a fifth starter for 2-3mil...dunno if thats enough to get him but if we could get Park for that that would push Bum to the pen where he belongs for this year...making a spot start here or there and filling in for anyone who goes down.
that would provide more flexibility than signing a reliever.
Heres a lineup i think makes sense (except Rowand at leadoff)
1. Rowand CF
2. Sanchez 2B
3. Panda 3B
4. Huff 1B
5. DeRosa LF
6. Schierholtz RF
7. Torrealba/Posey C
8. Renteria SS

The more I think about Huff the more I like the signing he provides some versatiliy and could hardly fail to come up with at least bengies production.
We are much better served going into this season with Huff, Derosa and Sanchez instead af Lewis Winn and Molina