Who Else's Fifth Starter Has A Cy?

Ring in Boxing Day by celebrating the arrival of Randy Johnson to your San Francisco Giants. The Big Ugly (can I still call him that?) gets $8 million for one year.

The lanky lefty will ensure the Giants rotation is 60% Cy Young winners.

Maybe we can melt a couple down and fashion a Silver Slugger or two.

Fool's Gold Crappy Substitute For Real Kind

As those weirdos across the pond say, Happy Christmas. Accept this early bounty of gifts, in the form of links, from your friends at OBnB. While the Yanks ponder offering a long-term deal to Danny Almonte, us fans of mere mortal (okay, incompetent) franchises are left to review lists of mythical prospects that we may or may not ever actually see on the television.

Okay, so I'm a little bit bitter about the Mark Texeira deal. (So is this guy, and he actually matters.)

The good news is that there are a couple of nice recently published breakdowns of the Giants minor league system.

Alex Eisenberg at Baseball-Intellect has a Giants top 15 prospect list, found here and here, that includes fantastic videos of the team's top prospects.

Meanwhile, the great John Sickels at Minor League Ball released his top 20 Giants prospects list this morning, complete with the snarkiness of SportsNation commenters.

And speaking of SportsNation, the fans continue to rank the prospects at McCovey Chronicles. They're all the way down to 22, but it looks like those crazed McCoven are going to keep voting until they get to J.R. Phillips.

Go ahead and enjoy those. I think I'm going to go start a Manny Ramirez rumor.

(By the way, Giants propagandist Chris Haft posits that the logjam the Teixeira signing creates in the Yanks lineup may bear some dredges in a trade possibility.)

FU Fine Reaction to WBC (and Jeff Passan)

In a column today, Yahoo's Jeff Passan opines that American players simply don't have as much national pride and that is why talented player after talented player is turning down Team USA manager Davey Johnson's desperate recruiting pleas.

Among those expected to decline an invitation is our own Tim Lincecum, otherwise known, quite literally, as The Franchise.

It would seem that Passan's assertion that Lincecum, Cole Hamels, Josh Beckett and other WBC party poopers are just un-American is a bit simplistic. I mean, those guys all seem decent enough, right? Guys who gave it all for championships and are pretty much beyond reproach in the effort department. They don't have a Bondsian, Cobb-esque stigma that would make it seem like they're all about themselves, others be damned.

Well, Jeff has an interesting perspective. Here's another perspective, which I'd like to dub "The Right One." If you were one of the 18 to 24 solid major league pitchers in 2005 and you pitched for your respective country during the '06 WBC, well, chances are you weren't as good in 2006. And, perhaps most importantly, many didn't recover at all.

In a completely unscientific sample, I present...

"Good Pitchers Who Were Not So Good After the 2006 WBC" (Catchy, huh?)

Jake Peavy: Which one of these seasons is not like the other? Peavy remains the poster boy for post-WBC traumatic suck syndrome. His meteoric rise into this generation's Kevin Brown (no knock on your personality, Jake) was severely curtailed by his workload for Team USA in 2006.

Although he pitched over 200 innings in 2006, his ERA shot up from 2.88 in '05 to 4.09 that year, and he pitched with shoulder discomfort the entire season. Peavy's sublime talent and overall build won the war of attrition, eventually, and he came back in 2007 to win the Cy Young. Some, however, weren't as lucky...

Chad Cordero: Cordero was coming off a stellar season as a full-time closer for the Nationals, posting a 1.82 ERA and racking up 47 saves. His 2006 saw that ERA shoot up into the 3s and his decline continued into 2007, when he battled injuries. Cordero tore a labrum in early 2008 after struggling with his velocity, and is currently a a free agent.

Bartolo Colón: Here's a good example of a patriotic foreigner who gave it all for his country. The 2005 Cy Young winner (seriously, look), Colón has been completely awful since his stint for the Dominican Republic. He's compiled a 5.50 ERA in just 194.6 innings combined over the last three seasons after throwing for 200 in seven of the eight seasons prior.

After pitching on an incentive-laden deal with the Red Sox, Colón is hoping to land another Missouri contract for 2009.

Freddy García: García had been prone to lapses in consistency, but overall, was a horse of a pitcher, amassing 200 innings pitched in five of his first six seasons through 2005, to go along with a 3.93 ERA in that timeframe, including a 3.87 in '05 with the White Sox. After? 4.79 in the 289.3 innings he's managed to pitch over the last three campaigns with three different teams while struggling with shoulder injuries.

The 33 year-old García is currently seeking work.

Dontrelle Willis: Permanent WBCitis doesn't just afflict 30 somethings negatively. Coming off a brilliant 2005 in which he finished second in Cy balloting, the 24 year-old Willis manned up for the Jeff Passans of the world and participated in the WBC. The herky-jerky lefty has never been the same.

The Bay Area native is working to get his career back on track with the Tigers after spending a bulk of the season in the minors...

A couple of pitchers from the WBC came back fine, namely Carlos Zambrano and Johan Santana. But the list is no longer than those who regressed considerably from 2005, many (Estaban Loaiza, J.C. Romero, Huston Street) of whom I didn't list above.

As for the notion of mandatory pitch limits in the WBC, I'll leave you this comparison: 65 pitches in Scottsdale against the A's split-squad team in close quarters with the trainers and coaches that know you well is slightly different than the same number of heaves in a high-pressure competition. I'd hope the body of evidence above proves that.

So, sorry, Jeff, Davey Johnson can't have Timmy. And, while I'm at it, he can't have Matt Cain.

None of them, however, are unpatriotic. They're smart.

P.S. We'll gladly donate Randy Winn again.

Where Are They Now? (Hint: It Rhymes with Fatlanta)

Remember Lance Niekro, the Travis Ishikawa of a few years back? The kid with the famous surname bucked the family business and got into hitting. The first base prospect that never really developed but got a big league shot anyway because, hey, we can't sign a 63 year-old Andres Galarraga to another contract, right?

Anyway, after a brief retirement, he's back. As a knuckleballer.

Niekro, who as recently as 2006 was vying to become the Giants' everyday first baseman, is exiting a brief retirement from baseball and will attempt a comeback at age 30 as a right-handed knuckleball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves.

The Braves have signed Niekro to a minor-league contract and will bring him to spring training to see if he can extend the legacy of his late father, Joe, and his uncle Phil and make his living floating baseballs to major-league hitters.

As for all players trying to make a mid-career position switch, I'll be rooting hard for the guy. The fact that he's a former Giant and a knuckleballer makes it way cooler.

Dirty Is Filthy; Giants In On Wiggin...ton

With fantasy season around the corner, fake GMs are emerging from various fake winter meetings in the far recesses of basements everywhere to find a whole new round of 2009 statistical projections. Among the most discussed of these projections are those of our very own Jonathan Sanchez. Bill James, the Godfather of Sabermetrics himself, pegs Sanchez as a 3.90 ERA / 1.40 WHIP pitcher next year. And while James's prognostications tend to be the most optimistic, all the systems peg Sanchez as a particularly unlucky pitcher in 2008 and who stands to improve as chance factors such as BABIP (batted average of balls in play) normalize and as the 26 year-old improves with experience.

Last month, FanGraphs put together an even wonkier breakdown of Sanchez's 2008 season for the die-hard statheads. Among the highlights:

On the bright side, Sanchez struck out almost a batter per inning over 158 innings – not an easy feat. Despite not throwing terribly hard (his fastball averaged 91 MPH), he showed a remarkable ability to induce swings-and-misses – in fact, batters swung and missed at 10.9% of his Sanchez’s pitches, the 9th highest total in baseball. Pitchers who induced higher rates of swings-and-misses were a who’s who of major league baseball’s best pitchers: CC Sabathia, Scott Kazmir, Ryan Dempster, Johan Santana, Cole Hamels, Edinson Volquez, and John Danks. That’s some elite company.

It seems that other GMs are certainly on to something as they continue to try to bamboozle and hoodwink Sabes into giving the kid up. Last season may turn out to be, on the surface level, the worst Dirty ever has.

Wigginton Update: The tireless Tom Dierkes has the Giants in on the bidding for Ty Wigginton's services, according to a number of sources. It seems that Sabean was kicking some said tires on Wigginton via trade ahead of last week's non-tender deadline, as well.

Extreme Utility Player Makeover

As I mentioned a couple days back, last night's non-tender deadline bore some potentially intriguing fruit, including a very attractive option in Ty Pennington, er, or Ty Wigginton, rather.

The 'Stros attribute the move solely to the financial crunch, and, given that there's no reason not to believe them, this pickup would be a step up from your run of the mill reclamation project.

Did I mention that Wigginton plays third, second, first and even outfield in a pinch? Did I also mention that he can hit for power? And he's even from the right (left) coast, so in the first time he explores free agency as a player of stature, there's presumably an interest to come out West.

Please Santa Sabes, don't sign Rich Aurilia, God bless him. Tell ole' Billy Boy to pony up a few mill more and get this guy. Two years. It's a good thing.

Other non-tender names that would intrigue me: Takashi Saito, Chris Burke, and Daniel Cabrera. Find the full list of non-tenders here.

Unit and Giants May Be Ugly Enough For One Another

Randy Johnson is zeroing in on the Giants as his preferred landing spot, according to John Shea.

Randy Johnson is being wooed by both Bay Area teams. He seems to prefer the Giants.

"Randy's really interested," one of his agents, Barry Meister, said Thursday, the final day of the winter meetings. "We made a check list of everything that's important, and San Francisco checks off on every box. They're in the National League. They'll be competitive. They train in Arizona.

"San Francisco has a lot of appeal."

Brian Sabean seems to be biting, saying he'd consider a one year deal.

With Noah Lowry a massive question mark and the back-end of the rotation being in less than stellar shape, a one-year deal may not be a bad idea.

Plus, it gives the marketing department, long since upset with the lack of milestones to celebrate with the departure of Barry Bonds, something to look forward to. Best of luck on the "It's 300 Wins, Who Cares If Most Of Them Came With Teams You Hate?" mini-season ticket package.

Rule 5 Draft Highlights: In Your Face, Boredom!

Bay City Ball has a good rundown of the just completed Rule 5 Draft.

Players Acquired: RHP Luis Perdomo (MLB Phase, drafted from Cardinals), LHP Matt Yourkin (AAA Phase, drafted from Marlins)

Players Lost: OF Ben Copeland (MLB Phase, drafted by Athletics), C Elio Sarmiento (AAA Phase, drafted by Rangers), 2B Kyle Haines (AAA Phase, drafted by Phillies).

A bit of a bummer about Copeland, who I liked as a fourth outfielder type, until I realized we already had twenty of them.

In a mild surprise, the Giants retained the rights to Jesus Guzman, a third baseman the Giants signed away from the A's last month. Though a bit old for the league at 24, Guzman absolutely mashed AA pitching and figured to be a low-risk, high-reward signing. Having him around for spring training and beyond is obviously a plus.

Random Rumor-Mongering

With the CC Sabathia non-sweepstakes behind us (leaving Brian Sabean more petulent and whiny than usual), the Giants offseason seems to have taken a turn for the boring.

Sabean has reaffirmed that the Giants will not go after Mark Teixeira, inferring he's not a player worthy of the franchise money he will assuredly get, though you could have fooled me. And Bruce Bochy has gone so far as to pencil in his 2009 lineup publicly, which ELM broke down nicely (pun intended).

Realizing the possibility of management returning to the mean (read: ineptitude) and not addressing the notion of Bengie Molina hitting cleanup, or that Rich Aurilia inexplicably remains on the radar, there absolutely has to be a third way. There are no less than four different ways to address the power vacuum where the team can stay competitive in the short-term while not hurting the long-term at all.

Dollars aside, Edgar Renteria's short-term deal is a good model: there isn't likely to be anyone ready at short for at least two years, and even though Renteria's defense is in decline, he's light years above anyone else the Giants trotted out there last year.

Sign Pat Burrell to a two-year deal that includes a first baseman's glove
Burrell is among the plethora of middle-tier free agents feeling the economic crunch. A Bellarmine product, there's been much talk he'd love to play for his de facto hometown team. Judging by his career stats at Pac Bell, I could see why.

He's a butcher at first? Maybe. He played first in the Phillies' farm system after playing third in the collegiate ranks only to shift to left to accommodate the indomitable Rico Brogna. He really hasn't played much at first since as the Phils have trotted out Travis Lee, Jim Thome and Ryan Howard for stretches during Burrell's tenure.

For two years, I'd give him a shot to be coached up by J.T. Snow. He's only 31, so the guy isn't on the downslope just yet.

And for those of you that think that he'd be "blocking" Travis Ishikawa or John Bowker, I commend your post-J.R. Philips/Desi Wilson/Damon Minor/Lance Niekro/Dan Ortmeier belief that a marginal Giants first base prospect could actually, you know, work out...

Sign or trade a bucket of baseballs for Ty Wigginton
Wigginton is arbitration-eligible and has been mentioned as a candidate to non-tendered ahead of tomorrow's deadline. The Astros simply can't afford him given their current financial situation, and should they even tender him, it shouldn't take much to get him as long as the Giants pay his salary.

Wigginton is a rich man's Rich Aurilia. He can play three infield positions and plays an adequate third. He hits for power. And the only reason his team doesn't want him is financial. Once again, he blocks no one and gives you insurance in a very fluid infield. Wigginton also allows you the ability to trade Molina if the right offer comes along and have Pablo Sandoval slide behind the dish.

Beyond the Boxscore even had Wigginton as one of the top ten third basemen of 2008. I like...

Offer Henry Sosa or Kevin Pucetas for Adrian Beltre
Beltre is good. He plays a good third. He hits well. He hits like .440 well at Pac Bell.

And given yesterday's trade, I'm not convinced that the new guy in Seattle's at all an improvement over the old guy. He certainly, at the very least, isn't interested in winning in the next two years.

As for the fact that Beltre's in a contract year? You retain roster flexibility and cost certainty. If the guy goes off, maybe he's apt to re-sign. He's certainly shown an affinity for the West Coast. You only got him for one of your mid-level prospects at a position where you're stacked...

Offer Pucetas AND Sosa for Dan Uggla
Not Jorge Cantu. Not Jeremy Hermida. Don't trade Sanchez. But this is an attractive package of decent pitching talent to a team with it's own cost certainty woes. You don't give up your top level prospects, and you bring in a proven power guy at a position of need. And you control him for a few years yet...

There are some moves that I wouldn't advocate, particularly signing Adam Dunn, who has hit hideously at Pac Bell and has a way that seems to sour teams and fans on him alike.

There's a legitimate case to be made for doing nothing, although I certainly won't. But you, my friends, can. Isn't the Internet terrific?

Comment! What you got, Armchair GM?

UPDATED: Sabathia To Yanks Close?

(UPDATE (7:30AM): The deal looks done. Seven years at $160M(!) Glad the big fella was able to leverage one concrete offer and a number of non-offers into a contract nearly as bloated as him. But seriously folks, I'm glad it's the Yanks who are going to go seven on a guy who threw 1.6 million pitches last season and makes Mark Mangino look positively svelte.)

The increasingly dubious chorus of unnamed sources say a deal between CC Sabathia and the Yanks is close following Brian Cashman's pilgrimage to San Francisco.

Unsure what to think what with the crappy game of telephone that transpired at the Bellagio this week, so take it for what it's worth. Whatever happens, we will look back at this as one of the biggest lose-lose personnel decisions the Giants have faced. Why, oh why, couldn't Sabathia have been a free agent in 2006?

UPDATED: Supreme Confidence ≠ Supreme Competence

(UPDATE (1:39PM): The Intrepid One says that Sabathia may well have declined the Yanks' $140 million offer, and that the Giants have met with him. Baggs also says that one exec says the Brewers may now be the frontrunner.)

Via the most excellent MLB Trade Rumors, word around the Bellagio is that the Giants are "supremely confident" that they will sign CC Sabathia, according to Inside the Dodgers.

(I'll leave it to you all to run with that title.)

That's an extremely stray rumor that Tom Tony Jackson concedes is based on hearsay, but the notion that the Giants are interested would seem to be corroborated by Ken Rosenthal's report that management plans to meet with CC in the Bay on Saturday.

Between Sabathia continuing to drag his negotiations out and the Giants non-denials, it looks like the smoke here is legit.

Which begs the question, if Bill Neukom is in a mood to make a 1992 Peter Magowan-esque free agent splash, wouldn't Mark Teixeira make a whole lot more sense?

Cajun Boy Fans Rejoice At Thought of Encarnacion

On the heels of a Jonathan Sanchez for Jorge Cantu rumor that left many quite disturbed, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that the Giants have engaged in some tire kicking in regards to Edwin Encarnacion.

Encarnacion's glove at third is suspect, and although his power numbers spiked last year, his average did tumble from his 2007 level. Still, the 25 year old is already a proven commodity at a position of big need, and, unlike Cantu, his plate discipline seems to be improving markedly.

Comment! So is Dirty for Encarnacion a more palatable deal? Does anyone prefer Cantu to Edwin?

Renteria Signs

The Giants have inked Edgar Renteria to a two-year, $18.5 million deal with a $10.5 million club option for 2010.

If the strategy is that he's a placeholder until the Noonans, Frannys, Poseys, and Mannys develop, then so be it.  Let's just cross our fingers that he isn't keeping SS warm for Sabean's inevitable scramble to sign a 36 year old Derek Jeter to a five-year deal  in 2010.

Having already signed two free agents, Old Sabes was at the height of his myopic rhetoric during the announcement:

"He is a complete player on both sides of the ball, a clutch performer and a winner," Giants general manager Brian Sabean said in a statement Thursday announcing the deal. "He has the hardware to show it with the awards he has garnered and a World Series ring. We look forward to seeing him in a Giants uniform." 

It's a bit of a stretch to call him a complete player at this stage in his career, but here's to hoping that he can benefit both from a return to the National League and from leaving a team with as toxic a mentality as the 2008 Tigers.

Howry Signs

One year at $2.75M with appearance bonuses that can increase the total. There doesn't appear to be a vesting option for a second year. Find a full breakdown here.

Further Proof That We're All Banging Our Heads Against the Wall

Yahoo Sports's Tim Brown reports that the Giants are closing in on Edgar Renteria. Big whoop. The Giants requested his measurements as soon as the Tigers declined arbitration.

But there is some far juicier news within his piece:

Needing offense and an overhaul of the left side of their infield, the San Francisco Giants believe they are closing in on signing shortstop Edgar Renteria and have discussed a trade that would send left-handed starter Jonathan Sanchez to the Florida Marlins in exchange for third baseman Jorge Cantu.

Sanchez, 26, was promising but ever inconsistent in 29 starts in 2008 for the Giants, whose offseason strategy is to part with some young pitching to upgrade one of the worst offenses in baseball. Released by the Reds last December, Cantu, also 26, turned his career around with 29 home runs, 41 doubles and 95 RBI for the surprising Marlins last season.

Heading into the offseason, I would have much preferred to make a move for Dan Uggla, especially considering that a throng of Giants fans nearly stormed Willie Mays Plaza last offseason pretty much demanding the Giants sign Cantu.

Instead, as we all know, Kevin Frandsen's Achilles snapped and we were stuck with the unnamed loser of the Marlins third base competition.

That being said, Cantu is young, plays a position of need, albeit somewhat poorly, and had a had a solid power output in a pitcher's park. He's a hacker, but he's also heading into his prime, and has hit for power throughout his young career.

Comment! So do you trade Dirty for him?

Howry Reaches Age of Giants Consent

In 1994, the Giants selected Bobby Howry in the fifth round of the amateur draft. The big lug was a hard-thrower, and he ascended through the system at a nice pace, projecting as a solid late-game reliever.

Of course, at the age of 25, Howry's precociousness shook Brian Sabean to the core. Howry's advanced learning curve threatened to undermine Sabean's entire personnel management philosophy (in short: baseball players as fine wines). Offended by Howry's inexcusable prodigious talent, Sabean came up with a solution: stash the kid somewhere else until he actually possessed the veteran savvy so necessary to achieve success in the big leagues, somewhere no Giants fan would ever see him.

Hence, The White Flag Trade.

But a short decade later, it seems Sabean has deemed Howry adequately ripened, at least according to team propagandist Chris Haft. Coming off a 2008 season that it evokes such Giant names as Walker, Bautista or perhaps, dare I say it, Poole, it's easy to see why Sabean likes this guy.

All kidding aside, for a one to two year moderately priced contract, this is the kind of low-risk, medium-reward deal I'd like to see the team make. Howry's a year removed from a solid season at Wrigley, and, in the topsy-turvy world of relievers, there's a good shot he returns to that form going from a hitter's park to a pitcher's park. Plus, due to the Cubs decision to not offer arbitration to Howry, he comes sans compensatory pick.

Most importantly, keeping with a theme that I like, the guy exhibits a rarity in the Giants bullpen of recent history: control.

Between Howry and Jeremy Affeldt, you'll have a couple proven vets to step into a bullpen mentorship vacuum to help out the kids with potential in Sergio Romo, Billy Sadler and Alex Hinshaw. Granted, if Sabean gives Howry a deal that comes close to his last contract, and my reaction may rival this.

Cyber Monday Deal on Edgar Renteria!

The Tigers decline to offer arbitration to Edgar Renteria, paving the way for Edgar to join the Giants without losing a second-rounder.

As long as it's a two year deal, and upon further reflection, I'm perfectly fine with the move. Although many fans are clamoring to see a youth movement, there is little else in the middle infield cupboard besides Manny Burriss, who, in spite of a nice rookie campaign, has a long ways to go as a major league hitter. Kevin Frandsen is coming off a big injury and isn't necessarily a guy you hand a starting position to, and Eugenio Velez is best-suited in a utility role, preferably one that doesn't require him to play defense.

And, even with Renteria on board, one will have to play second.

Two years of Renteria provides a bridge to the Nick Noonans and Charlie Culbersons of the world. Or perhaps even Buster Posey the shortstop, though I wouldn't hold my breath on that one.

And, even if Renteria succumbs to old age or a catastrophic injury, the length of the deal won't cripple the organization by any means. (Unlike some people.)