Yes everyone – the rebuilding Giants signed Randy Johnson to a one year deal, reportedly worth 8 million with another 5 million in possible incentives.
I took the liberty of pulling picture of the Unit (from SI.com – I have to give them credit, right?) with a little fun with photoshop.
Anywho – I hope people don’t take this the wrong way but - good for them!
I have been as big a proponent of rebuilding as anyone, but like with Edgar Renteria, while the Giants may have slightly overpaid for two veterans who won’t bring much help to the team long term, it just makes the ‘09 Giants THAT(I’m holding my pointer finger and thumb sorta close together) watchable.
Plus, may I present to you the NL West – does anyone want to win it?
The Diamondbacks couldn’t pull it off WITH Adam Dunn, Randy and Orlando Hudson. Now that all three are gone, what is making anyone think they will finally jump to the head of the pack?
The Dodgers, have had a so-so offseason. They were fortunate they held onto Rafeal Furcal and Casey Blake, but Jeff Kent has pretty much retired, Brad Penny and Derek Lowe are gone, and there is no guarantee Manny is coming back. That being said, the one thing going for the Dodgers is it seems nobody except the Dodgers really WANT him.
The Rockies would worry me – until they traded Matt Holliday to the A’s! You can usually bet Billy Beane doesn’t like a player, he doesn’t have a great shot at sticking around once Beane has dumped him (with apologies to Marco Scutaro and Carlos Pena).
The Padres? San Diego must be thrilled to build a new ballpark only for the team owner to slash payroll over his divorce. They are pretty much penciled in for last place.
Well, since last year, the Giants have 1. Added a run producer to the lineup (Renteria), 2. Strengthened the bullpen (Bobby Howry, Jeremy Affeldt), and 3. Added a fifth starter (Johnson) who brings a veteran presence to a young pitching staff (does anyone really think they don’t listen to Zito with a grain of salt these days?).
All of this done without committing to a contract longer than two years, allowing plenty of flexibility for any young players who make a Pablo Sandoval-esque rise to the majors. Which is another thing fans can look forward to – Fred Lewis and Emmanuel Burriss, among other youngsters, improving on their rookie seasons, (not to mention the offense getting a boost with a full year of Sandoval).
Plus, if we do have the unfortunate problem of having a younger player come up to compete with the vet, we will only benefit – either from each player pushing the other for playing time or being free to deal the veteran for a team trying to make a push and acquire more young talent.
I will admit – this is NOT the offseason I thought the Giants would have – I had dreams of Furcal and CC Sabathia dancing in my head. But after watching Sabean maneuver through this very recession heavy offseason, I think his moves have been very calculated, shrewd, and will benefit the team in the short term, with an opportunity to benefit the team in the long run if we turn any of these players into trade deadline bait.
Now, if the Giants could just pry Nick Swisher away from the Yankees – the West could be won! Poor Swish – he just doesn’t belong on team banning facial hair. But if there was a line in Vegas, I would bet a paycheck he’ll be rocking a crazy mustache by the end of the season…
UPDATE: Great quote via Andrew Baggerly's blog, Extra Baggs: "That's a pretty stout staff," - Matt Cain
UPDATE: Kieth Law agrees with me - I always feel a little bit smarter when he does
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