San Francisco Giants

I am very intrigued by new Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Edwin Jackson , who arrived from Detroit in a massive three-way trade this off-season (the New York Yankees—the third team—received Curtis Granderson ).

Dear San Francisco Giants Management,

Don't make the Buster Posey situation more complicated than it needs to be. History shows that a big—time player can emerge as a star without spending all his time playing one position until he finally earns a big league starting job.

The San Francisco Giants found an unlikely enforcer willing to play the role of the old-school tough guy on Thursday.

Remember Prince Fielder's September 2009 walkoff home run that beat the Giants? How Fielder and his teammates enjoyed a choreographed celebration as Fielder crossed the plate?

The Giants, particularly Zito, remember well.

While it is hard for us to disseminate reports that are speculative, it is still very noteworthy to keep abreast of them—considering just how much is going on right now in MLB.

Take, for instance, the report from The San Jose Mercury News .

Just what the offensively challenged San Francisco Giants need, one of their starters not being ready for Opening Day.

A source in the Tampa Bay Rays organization says that outfielder Jermaine Dye is backing off his demand for a contract that promises he’ll get a starting job. The Rays are the only team making that promise, so Dye’s agent Bob Bry is reportedly looking elsewhere and might have contacted the San Francisco Giants.

Dye, 36—yeas old, hit  .302 with 20 home runs for the White Sox in the first half of 2009. When he became the topic of trade talks every single day, he fell to .179 with just seven homers in the second half.

Just two nights into his tenure as the host of KNBR 680 AM's Sports Phone 680, the evening show that airs at 7 p.m., former big leaguer F.P. Santangelo is proving to be an upgrade over the overly opinionated, sometimes under-informed Damon Bruce.

Brian Sabean and the San Francisco Giants' front office deserve a hearty round of applause heading into 2010 Spring Training.

Their winter of discontent following a disappointing finish to the 2009 Major League Baseball season could've been Ugly with a capital "U."

Considering how the anemic offense submarined an otherwise exceptional campaign from the starting staff and bullpen, the easy thing would've been to start the ol' printing presses and shell out max dinero for one of the best bats on the market.

But "easy" is all too infrequently synonymous with "smart."

Enough already with whining that the Giants are opening the 2010 season with kid position players.

Well, at least, separate the actual kid prospects from the the fan favorites we suspect have had time to and failed to prove they belong in the big leagues.

First, let's frame the discussion. The average age of big leaguers in 2009 ranged from 26.2 to 28.9 years.  The Giants' roster averaged 26.3 years of age and, well, fans recall what the youthful club did with the bat, right?

For the Giants, their 2009 season was a fantastic surprise, with huge performances from their pitching staff and surprising ones on the offensive side. It brought San Francisco into competitive September baseball for the first time since 2003, and heralded a new era of pitching dominance when Tim Lincecum won his second Cy Young Award in two years.

Looking now to the ever-approaching 2010 regular season, the SWOT outlook is good, and most look to the Giants to be in the running for the National League West title.