Manny Watch

Usually I complain that there isn’t any news during the winter vacation season (Christmas and New Years), but one of two things have happened – either baseball executives aren’t taking any breaks, or the rumor mill refused to die down when news is traditionally slow.

Anyone who reads this blog (AKA The person I asked to check it out today) will know I post the blogs I’m following on the right, and they are showing the Giants to be interested in both Manny Ramirez and Joe Crede.

Wow. This really isn’t the offseason most expected.

I am also torn. The Giants veterans were the boring ones to watch last year. While these moves almost certainly make them the favorites to win the west, it also doesn’t leave a lot of open spots for young players to develop.

Lets look at the pros on cons:

Signing Manny/Crede Pros: This gives the team of the most feared hitters in the game, and makes the entire line up better by giving the team a legitimate #3 hitter and moving other hitters down in the line-up. It improves the team defensively as well, since Crede is a good glove at third, and Manny can probably do as well as Fred Lewis in left. The downside of hindering the youth movement is offset if management has already determined young players like Nate Schierholtz or Lewis are no more than part time players, with no reinforcements at AAA. So why not splurge for short term splurge contention, while mixing in young players over the next few years when our biggest contracts run out.

Cons: This looks a lot like a couple years ago – Have the big bat in the middle of the line-up, fill it in with good veteran hitters who play good defense, and fill the stadium with people who want to see Manny hit a homerun. This seems to be a departure from last year’s youth movement and you have to wonder if investing in Manny will lead to contention, or another Bonds-esque headache.

Also, a big offseason haul does not make teams instant contenders. While these pieces seem to fit, there is no guarantee the team will gel. It’s just as likely the Diamondbacks have THEIR young players finally put it together and become the team everyone thought they were going to be last year, When Justin Upton was tearing the cover off the ball and they looked like they were going to walk to 100 wins and a Brandon Webb Cy Young.

Verdict? I figure people should just lay back and see how things play out. This could make the 2009 Giants a title contender, or it could blow up in their faces. Or maybe GM Brian Sabean decided he wasn’t going to sit on his hands and let the Dodgers keep Manny without making sure the price tag is steep enough.

Here is what Ray Ratto had to say about it in today’s Chron…

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/03/SPR2153B2A.DTL&feed=rss.giants