San Francisco Giants

Two of the better moves made by the Giants this offseason were also two of the quietest ones. 

By bringing back Pat the Bat and resigning Mike Fontenot, Brian Sabean is keeping fans happy, the team competitive and the chemistry in place.

Pitchers and catchers report in about two months, but that does not silence the baseball talk.

The winter meetings have come and gone, but it seems the Giants prefer to stand pat. They have publicly stated they aren't going after any of the top free agents, and why should they? The team of misfits they put together last year achieved baseball immortality, so why should the team be assembled any differently?

Fans have dubbed most of the Giants’ 2010 season and postseason as torture, but after the team’s impressive World Series victory against the Texas Rangers, the Giants’ faithful at the High Five Pizza Co. restaurant and sports bar felt euphoric.

On Monday night, Cliff Lee shocked the baseball world when he signed a five-year, $132 million dollar contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.  Interest in Lee’s 2011 destination began as soon as he threw his final pitch to the Giants in the World Series, and all signs pointed to New York. 

When the Phillies announced Monday that Lee would become a member of their already elite pitching staff, baseball fans around the country wasted no time in dubbing this fearsome four the best staff in baseball—and possibly, of all time.

There has been grumbling in some quarters regarding the lack of trades or free agent signings by the Giants in this offseason—but people are missing the point.  And we're not talking about "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," because despite winning it all, the Giants can certainly stand to improve in anything and everything that doesn't relate to pitching up and down their lineup.

Edgar Renteria told ESPNdeportes.com that the Giants one-year, $1-million contract offer is insulting. To that I say if an employer wants to insult me with a million dollar salary, bring it on. 

Now, in truth, that is not a fair comparison as I am not a professional athlete. And, to be fair, Renteria is probably worth more than that, especially when you consider a backup catcher like Henry Blanco just signed for the same amount. 

Cliff Lee has signed with the Philadelphia Phillies one year after they traded him to the Seattle Mariners. The Phillies are the favorite to win the National League and World Series, right?

Wrong.

After the 2009 World Series, the Phillies set their sights on fixing their holes and begin prepared for the 2010 World Series. Philadelphia fell short, dropping the NLCS in six games to the San Francisco Giants, despite adding Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt.

Your 2010 World Champion San Francisco Giants are officially back on the clock.

It's a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately world and with free agents signing all over the place, the impatient among the Black and Orange faithful want to know how the franchise is reloading. Adam Dunn, Jayson Werth, Victor Martinez, Derek Jeter, Lance Berkman and Rod Barajas are just a few of the bigger names who are off the big board.

A season of torturous happiness and excitement was capped off when Aubrey Huff Zoolandered his famed rally thong in front of thousands of overjoyed Giants fans on the steps of City Hall.

As the realization set in, and the splurging on championship gear began for fans, the organization was quickly back to work. At hand was a task completely foreign to San Francisco -- how to defend a championship. 

Only one day into baseball's winter meetings, there have already been many major deals. Adrian Gonzalez is now a member of the Boston Red Sox, Mark Reynolds is on the Orioles and Shaun Marcum is a Milwaukee Brewer, among others.

As the winter meetings continue to heat up, many of the marquee free agents remain unsigned, namely Cliff Lee and Carl Crawford, so free agency is going to continue to make its mark this offseason. Teams will keep dealing to either get the piece they need for a title or to continue their rebuilding process.