San Francisco Giants

The agent for Barry Bonds —seen here in his current uniform and looking over his shoulder at the wreckage left in his wake—conceded today the playing days of the steroid-tainted slugger are over.

It would appear the fact every team has rebuffed the attempts of Jeff Borris to land Bonds on a Major League roster for the last two years has finally served to open his eyes and allow for reading the message not written, but chiseled, into the wall.

Baseball has no appetite for Barry Lamar Bonds.

From 2008-2009, the San Francisco Giants had their starting catcher Bengie Molina hit cleanup. Now despite being the most lackluster everyday cleanup hitter in the entire league, Molina was San Francisco's most productive offensive threat during that time frame.

However, with the emergence of Pablo Sandoval and a lineup featuring veterans like Freddy Sanchez, Edgar Renteria, Aaron Rowand, and hopefully another year of Juan Uribe; Buster Posey would not be forced into a situation where the spotlight is entirely on him.

If you follow the San Francisco Giants, you're probably hoping that budding super-star Pablo Sandoval won't be the only threat in the Giants lineup next season.

However, if you're Giants GM Brian Sabean, you are currently shedding no ray of light on that happening. Actually, he is doing the exact opposite.

The arbitration deadline has come and gone and now is the time for the rumors to start to fly even more than they were before.

For some teams, adding a veteran pitcher to the rotation or bullpen is priority No. 1. For others, adding some offense to go with a quality pitching staff will take up most of the front office's time.

The San Francisco Giants have only one thing to upgrade—it's terrible offense. General manager Brian Sabean will be searching the market, minus Jason Bay and Matt Holliday, for the "second- tier" bats his is trying to find.

Intimidation can be utilized in any sport and when it comes to baseball, there is no player that brings the intimidation factor better than starting pitcher Brad Penny.

At 6' 4" and 230 pounds, "The Bull", as fans like to call him, is the guy who, when you pass him walking down the street, you'd expect him to be able to chuck a baseball 98 MPH.

His size and personality are fit for an NFL tight-end. (In fact, I would be surprised if he isn't already friends with colorful Jeremy Shockey of the New Orleans Saints.)

For the last couple years since the departure of Barry Bonds, the San Francisco Giants have been pressured and prodded in the direction of a power-hitting corner infielder. Many names have been heard on the rumor mill, including Joe Crede, Paul Konerko, Austin Kearns, Nick Johnson, and Prince Fielder.

And the 2009 Cy Young Award goes to...Tim Lincecum.

For the second year in a row Tim "The Freak" Lincecum, took home the hardware, earning the Cy Young Award for the National League, given to the finest pitcher in the league.

But was Lincecum truly deserving of the award in 2009?

In '08 he seemed the most dominant pitcher far and away and rightfully so he was voted the award winner. This year, Cardinal pitchers Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright had good arguments in favor of, well, themselves. 

Also featured on Rotoprofessor.com !

What does a player do after he finishes his first full season in the major leagues with the fifth highest batting average, finish sixth in the NL in slugging, and seventh in the NL in OPS? Oh yeah, and you constitute your team’s offense and only fantasy-worthy hitter in the lineup.

"Really?"

These were the first words out of my mouth when I read the voting results for the National League MVP.

Somebody thinks that Jeremy Affeldt is the tenth best player in the National League. This is what I knew:

November 19th marked an important turning point in not only Tim Lincecum's baseball career, but his life as well. The 25 year old ace of the San Francisco Giants won his second NL Cy Young in as many years, becoming the first pitcher in Major League Baseball history to win back to back Cy Youngs in his first two major league seasons.