If you're a true Dodger Blue fan in Los Angeles or elsewhere, Monday morning can't have been a pleasant one. At least as long as Major League Baseball was on your mind.
Sure, you've got the bristling young talents of Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Clayton Kershaw, and James Loney to go with still-coming Chad Billingsley (I'm not sold on Jonathan Broxton). Russell Martin ain't too shabby behind the dish either.
Of course, you also have an owner in Frank McCourt who seems loathe to part with a penny to better the franchise unless it's for maximum return.
Meanwhile, his increasingly bitter divorce is threatening to implode Chavez Ravine as McCourt's personal spending habits become part of a more public record.
For instance, I'm sure the faithful are stoked by Frankie's jaunt to El Caribe with a price tag "between $70,000 and $80,000." Or how about the couple's seven homes worth a cool $65 million?
Yet an extra arm for the 2009 playoff run was a touch too pricey. Or how about a real fifth starter for 2010? ESPN currently lists the immortal Ramon Ortiz as los Doyers' No. 5—that can't possibly be true, nor can it be a good omen for the upcoming campaign.
You know the Bums have trouble when Giant fans adore their owner.
As the cherry on the top of this unappetizing sundae, their blood rival to the North has been locking down plus arms left and right.
The spree kicked off with reports that setup man extraordinaire Jeremy Affeldt got extended through 2011 with an option for 2012—although that one would appear to be unannounced by the Gents and, as such, unofficial to date.
Then it was Brian Wilson's turn. One of the National League's best closers got a new deal to replace the agreement inked in the looming shadow of arbitration. Los Gigantes now control Wilson through 2012, and he can move into a fancier neighborhood.
However, the real whammy came over the weekend when ace-in-another-staff Matt Cain got tethered to the franchise right next to the tattooed fireman with crazy hair.
The Kid will get the same $4.25 million for 2010, $8 million in 2011 ($7 mil in base salary plus a $1 million signing bonus), and a hefty bump to $15 million in the final year of the contract. With Cainer in place alongside his running mates in the rotation, it now looks like this:
1. Tim Lincecum
The Freak has two full seasons and two Senior Circuit Cy Young Awards. His reign will get a stiff challenge from the Philadelphia Phillies' new ace, Roy Halladay, but anyone dismissing Lincecum should close his/her eyes when he pitches.
San Francisco's ace is under contract through 2011 and can't become a free agent until the 2013 season ends.
2. Matt Cain
The longest-tenured Giant just saw his stretch get a little longer, through 2012. It's easy to forget for the casual observer since he's often overshadowed by the Franchise's more heralded story, but Cainer is actually the younger (albeit by a matter of months), yet more experienced pitcher.
The first-time All-Star in 2009 has been steadily improving and pitched to a sub-4.00 ERA for three consecutive years, finishing with a 2.89 mark last season.
Furthermore, the youngster received the hallowed Willie Mac Award in 2009, proving he's as exceptional off the diamond as on it.
3. Jonathan Sanchez
The 27-year-old southpaw has the most margin for improvement of these three studs, but everyone got a glimpse of his ceiling when he tossed his no-hitter last year. If he ever gets a total harness on his sneaky fastball and developing change-up, look out.
Like Lincecum, he's arbitration-bound until after the 2013 slate.
4. Barry Zito
Like it or not, Baked Zito will be around for the duration of that monstrosity orchestrated by Scott Boras (2013 at a minimum). Such news still carries a gloomy tint to it by the Bay, but it's not really so bad. The looping lefty cobbled together a damn good year in 2009 despite some ugly numbers; call it the Pre-2009 Matt Cain Syndrome—that is, no support eventually scars the whole affair.
While it wasn't probably the plan to pay a No. 4 about $20 million per, that's becoming the reality, and Zito is a hell of a lot better than most No. 4s across baseball, so things could be worse.
Toss in Wilson's flamethrower through 2012 and you've got a five-man staff nucleus for the next three years, guaranteed.
Yet the good vibe doesn't stop there—the Orange and Black loyalists know the future of the Giants is already on the make.
Wunderkind Madison Bumgarner's meteoric rise has been stalled a tad by the jump to the Show, but he's a tender 20 years of age, so I doubt anyone in San Francisco is losing sleep over the left-hander's temporary plateau.
Granted, the emergence of right-hander Kevin Pucetas in spring training might be the next best solution to Bumgarner-induced insomnia this side of Ambien. The 25-year-old has been shredding the 2010 exhibition—that's not conclusive, but it's sufficient reason to get excited.
Against this canvas, it seems like there isn't any room for 24-year-old Henry Sosa. Except he'd be the prize of many organizations' farm rotations.
Nobody knows how each individual hose will mature, especially in the modern game of professional baseball.
Consequently, the San Francisco Giants have taken a considerable risk devoting so much capital to one of the more tenuous elements of contention.
Nevertheless, a three-year window and the caliber of arms involved make it a well-calculated gamble.
Sprinkle in the cavernous effects of AT&T Park and the gone-never-to-return specter of Barry Lamar Bonds, and the gamble looks a lot like smart baseball thinking.
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