SF Giants - Offseason

By Kalen Patrick

The San Francisco Giants won their 2nd championship in 3 years, this may have been the most unlikely championship in recent years in any sport. Think about everything that happened, Tim Lincecum (the Giants ace) had a terrible year, Brian Wilson (All-Star closer) done for the season, Melky Cabrera was hitting out of his mind and got busted for PED's and suspended for most of the 2nd half of the season. All of that and I haven't even mentioned that the Giants were down 0-2 in the NLDS Series to the Reds, down 1-3 against the Cardinals in the NLCS. That is hardly the recipe for a Championship, but then again a lot of things went very right for the Giants too.

The Giants approach this offseason has been to hang on to the guys who got the team this years championship, re-signing Angel Pagan and Marco Scutaro were key for the Giants as both are expected to bat 1 and 2 in the Giants order and key reliever Jeremy Affeldt. The Giants proved all year long that they can use (and win) with a Closer by committee and make it work. Hence, the Giants not reaching to sign Brian Wilson to big money.

GIANTS WANT AND EXPECT BETTER ON-FIELD PRODUCTION FROM HUNTER PENCE

Quite honestly I really can't fault the Giants or critique their approach too much. The Giants are not the Dodgers or Yankees where they can have endless money, so we have to keep that in mind. I think the Giants are banking on improvement's from many of their own players, as opposed to going out and signing a bunch of over priced players. Guys like Hunter Pence really stand out to me as one of those guys, while Hunter was definitely a key locker room presence, I feel he is due to play a much bigger role in terms of his production on the field this season. The Giants got a Hunter Pence who in 59 games hit .219 Average, .287 OBP and didn't hit for much power either. Expect a big turn around season for Pence and the Giants are certainly hoping for it.

Another key guy the Giants are banking on is World Series MVP Pablo Sandoval. The biggest question mark surrounding Pablo is his weight, Giants skipper Bruce Bochy has publicly announced the importance of this even after the World Series Victory. A healthy and fit Pablo Sandoval can be one of the most lethal hitters in baseball and a key cog for the Giants in continued success going forward. Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford are two other guys the Giants definitely want to see improve at the plate. I don't expect either to become world class hitters but I know the Giants are thinking they can take the next step and contribute to more success.

I really think the Giants are making the best decision in "keeping quiet" in free agency, keep the team together and develop and progress to be even more formidable. When was the last time the Yankees won the World Series? What happened to the Dodgers when they took on $250+ million in contracts when they traded with the Boston Red Sox? Money and big contracts don't mean wins and championships. With the recent success of the Giants, I think we all know we are in good hands and can expect to be competitive.

Over and Out.

San Francisco Giants Race to the Playoffs

By Kalen Patrick

We are entering the final stretch run leading up to the 2012 Playoffs and just as expected there is a close race between the rival San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers. As of today, the Giants hold a major advantage, as they own a 5 game lead over the Dodgers with each team having 20 games left to play. I'm a big Giants fan and the last thing I would ever want to do is jinx my team but I find it very hard to imagine a scenario where the Giants don't win the division. Lets take a look at some of the reasons why.

If the Giants play .500 ball and go 10-10,the Dodgers would have to go 16-4 over their final 21 games in order to just draw even. Now don't get me wrong, crazier things have happened (just ask the New York Mets), but the Dodgers (even with all of their additions) have showed me almost nothing to prove they can play at the level they will need to. Adrian Gonzalez really hasn't been the force in the lineup that the Dodgers had expected, Matt Kemp is battling injuries, Eithier, Victorino and Ellis have not been difference makers. The Dodgers Ace Clayton Kershaw is an absolute beast, but after him, they have to send out pitchers who have been overachieving all season (Capuano and Harang) along with Josh Beckett and Joe Blanton. Just looking at the roster, I don't see a team that can go 16-4 when you factor in the teams the Dodgers will be facing.

THE GIANTS - DODGERS RIVALRY IS ALIVE AND WELL IN 2012

The Dodgers remaining schedule is significantly more difficult than the Giants. The Dodgers have a 4 game series vs the St. Louis Cardinals, then go on the road to take on the Washington Nationals and Cincinnati Reds, who own the NL's best and 2nd best records respectively. The rest of the Dodgers games are within the NL West. In comparison, the rest of the Giants schedule is against NL West opponents.

The Giants are going to need some major improvements from certain players if they want to not only wrap up the NL West but make some noise in the playoffs too. The Starting Pitching must improve significantly, Vogelsong has been getting shelled lately, Zito is someone you can't count on for a strong performance, Lincecum has rebounded to have a very steady 2nd half of the season. Most importantly both Bumgarner and Cain have to be better, even in tonight's game for example, Bumgarner's line was 4.1 Innings with 5 ER allowed. Not good enough. Secretly the Giants offense has been carrying the load due to the struggling pitching staff.

BUSTER POSEY IS MAKING A STRONG CASE FOR NL MVP

On offense, surprisingly its been Pablo Sandoval and Hunter Pence who have been struggling. Sandoval's season average has plummeted to .276, while Pence is hitting a measly .260. Pence, as of late, has at least shown some power but Sandoval has been a disaster since coming back from injury in Mid-August. He has only 2 extra base hits, no HR's (last HR on July 8th) Batting around .230, Slugging .275, On Base % around .295 in that time. These are garbage numbers for your supposed number 3 hitter. Can't consistently win when your 3 and 5 hitters are not performing up to expectations.

On a positive note, Posey has been playing at an MVP caliber, Pagan and Scutaro are making Brian Sabean look really good, Joaquin Arias and Brandon Crawford get timely hits and last but not least Belt has been very good, in his last 10 games he has 2 HR and 12 RBI, all season has been seeing the ball well with his ability to draw walks leading to a .361 OBP.

If I had to bet, I would put my money on the Giants making the Post Season, I could see them winning the 1st round of the playoffs, but I just can't see the Giants winning the NLCS on top of that. Giants would most likely have to beat the Reds and then the Nationals to get to the World Series and unfortunately I don't see that happening, but then again, once you get in to the playoffs, ANYTHING can happen. That's it.

Over and Out.

The Giants CAN Win Without Melky

By Kalen Patrick

Over the last few days there has been a lot of pessimism and "the season is over!" talk among Giants fans. Heck I was probably one of them when I first heard the news about the Melky Suspension. Now that it has sunk in and we are moving on from it, I still look at this Giants team and I still see a team that can Win and make the playoffs. Before I get in to the lineup, lets talk about the pitching.

The pitching is absolutely playoff caliber, even with the struggles of Tim Lincecum and the usual struggles for Barry Zito.Cain, Bumgarner and Vogelsong have been so good that it limits the damage the other 2 starters are doing. I know I have been saying this all season but if Timmy can pitch the rest of the season at a 3.5-4 ERA for the rest of his starts I will take that. Zito is Zito and if we get a Win when he takes the mound that is a huge positive. Lets not forget the bullpen cause those guys have been doing their jobs for the most part. Led by Romo, Affeldt, Casilla, Mijares and Lopez, it is very solid. Again definitely playoff caliber. Now lets get done to brass tax and talk about the lineup without the MelkMan.

The main guys replacing Melky are gonna be Gregor Blanco and Justin Christian. I have more faith in Blanco considering his amazing defense, and he isn't terrible at the plate either. Christian is still a big question mark in the majors. One of the most underrated trades of the season so far has been the trade the Giants pulled off to get Marco Scutaro. In the 20 games he has played with the Giants his line reads .330 BA .360 OBP 2 HR's and 18 RBI. Now that is production right there. Another great trade that gets forgotten is the one for Angel Pagan too, he has been very solid leading off for the Giants with a .283 BA .333 OBP and considering he usually leads off he solid production with 46 RBI and comes with some power hitting 7 HR's. The way I see the Giants lineup going forward you will have Pagan leading off with Scutaro batting 2nd.

POSEY, BELT AND SANDOVAL - ALL 3 WILL BE KEY FOR THE GIANTS

Then you have the big boys of the lineup. I imagine Bochy will go regularly with Sandoval hitting 3rd, then Posey and then Pence. Both Panda and Posey just gotta keep doing what they are doing and that will be fine with me, I absolutely expect Hunter Pence to get hot soon. He had the big HR to essentially win the game against the Rockies a week ago, but realistically he needs to be better, he needs to be much better with regards to his Power and Average. Hitting only 1 HR in 16 games, batting .211 and his OBP at .250 is unacceptable. I think he can and will improve upon this by leaps and bounds, and the Giants need it in the worst way.

Brandon Belt is a guy who has come on lately, he has an impressive OBP of .361 which isn't bad considering his mid-season struggles. Belt should get better as the season rolls on, Arias, Crawford are OK options at the end of the order. Ultimately the point I'm trying to make is that knowing the Giants pitching being as good as it is and with the lineup having some nice options the Giants CAN win without Melky.

Over and Out.

San Francisco Giants Update

By Kalen Patrick

The Giants are back at it, and for the most part it is all good news, however, there were some early scares surrounding the team. Early on both Tim Lincecum and Ryan Vogelsong reported back pain, that seems to have been more about knocking the rust off as opposed to anything serious. Brian Wilson right now is still a concern and the status on his elbow still seems up in the air. It does appear that he will be more than ready to go when the season starts.

Looking at the hitting side of things, the big concerns were how Buster Posey was gonna look and what kind of shape Pablo Sandoval was would come in at. Again, both appear to be in tip top shape and ready to go. I do agree with Bruce Bochy's approach about Buster Posey avoiding plate collisions if at all possible, probably not worth the risk especially when you consider the serious lack of depth behind Posey at Catcher.

GIANTS WILL BE RELYING HEAVILY ON PABLO AND POSEY FOR OFFENSE

In other notes it appears that Bochy has a good idea of his outfield. Bochy wants Melky Cabrera to play LF, Angel Pagan in Center and for now Nate Schierholtz in RF. This now leaves Question Marks about Brandon Belt and Aubrey Huff, and who will play 1st base. If I know Bochy he will go with the guy who is hot at the time. As the season rolls on and if Huff isn't doing well, I would expect Belt to get a lot of the AB's and Huff to be more of a pinch hitter.

WHATS NEXT: A more in depth preview of the season will be coming shortly and a full report on what to expect from the San Francisco 49ers this offseason. Also keep an eye out for posts on all the other goings on in the world of Sports.

San Francisco Giants - Pathetic

By Kalen Patrick

The San Francisco Giants won their first title in San Francisco not even 1 year ago after 52 years of suffering. You know who suffered too for those 50+ years? The fans. This team ended the suffering when Brian Wilson struck out Nelson Cruz and I have never seen a fan base so happy. Now fast forward to last night (August 30th 2011), the team has been struggling for a month and the fans were booing the team off the field.

A part of me is wondering if the fans are justified in booing the team that still are the defending world champs. However, when a team is struggling mightily against the likes of the Houston Astros and Cubs, that just spells bad news. The Giants often struggle to score more than 2 runs, and while the Giants lineup is far from lethal, they do have some capable hitters.

When you look at Jeff Keppinger, Carlos Beltran, Pablo Sandoval, Brandon Belt and Aubrey Huff, all of these guys can hit. And what is funny is they actually are hitting pretty well, Keppinger and Sandoval are hovering at or over .300, Beltran has been hitting over .300 with the Giants, and Belt and Huff both have pop and Belt has been hitting extremely well of late. The problem with the Giants is hitting with RISP (Runners In Scoring Position).

JEFF KEPPINGER HAS BEEN AN EXCELLENT ADDITION, EXPECT HIM TO STICK AROUND

As easy as it is to put all the blame on the hitting, the pitching has been pretty inconsistent too, even with the additions of Beltran and Keppinger, they don't even replace the loss of Posey and Freddy Sanchez. The strength of this team is the pitching and always will be. The losses of Brian Wilson and Sergio Romo certainly don't help, and Vogelsong has come right back down to Earth. To be honest, sometimes it just isn't a teams year, similarly to last year everything going right for the Giants, everything has gone wrong this year.

The future is still very bright for the Giants, young pitching staff, capable hitters, next year the 1st 4 hitters in the lineup should be Keppinger, Sanchez, Sandoval, Posey and possibly they bring back Beltran or sign another bat and with having an improved Brandon Belt. 2010 was the year of the Giants, it may be as simple to say that 2011 is not.

GOOD MEMORIES, SF GIANTS 2010 WORLD CHAMPS

San Francisco Giants Updates

By Kalen Patrick

Things are pretty good for the Giants right about now. 16 games above .500, 3 games ahead in the division, pitching is as good as ever (well Zito stinks as usual) oh and the Giants just added Carlos Beltran. Beltran will immediately become the leader in HR's and RBI's and is 3rd in Average (behind Pablo Sandoval and Jeff Keppinger). Here is the Giants offensive philosophy: timely hitting, score just enough to win, not flashy, just get the job done.

The Giants are a Major League leading 28-13 in 1 run games. The Giants know how to win these games, they are used to it. Now runs should become a little easier to come by with the addition of Beltran. Lets forget about what the Giants gave up to get him, Wheeler may become a legit starter, or we may never hear from him again (Alderson ring a bell?). The Giants now have a pretty solid middle of the order in their lineup. The leadoff position mostly manned by Andres Torres is still shaky, but he really is due by now to get somewhat hot. After that you have, 2 guys hitting around .300 with Keppinger and Sandoval. Now you add in a guy like Beltran, who hits for average and power, well suddenly the Giants lineup isn't so much of a walk in the park.

CARLOS BELTRAN IS A BAT THE GIANTS NEEDED

Furthermore, adding Beltran essentially pushes every one else down a spot in the lineup and thus taking pressure off of, well, everyone. I think we can expect to see the best of Beltran and here's why. He is in a contract year, he is now going to be putting his talents on display in a pennant race and hopefully in the playoffs, not only this but rather than playing for a mediocre at best Mets team, he is now on a World Series Contending team. Plus beside for not having any HR's in AT&T, he has excellent numbers there and is gonna be a double machine.

Why I love the trade even more is that, unless you are the Red Sox, Yankees or Phillies who almost have limitless money to spend, the window for winning a World Series is always going to be relatively small. The Giants have all the pitching you need to win a World Series and then some. Honestly, I would expect the Giants to try and acquire a catcher too. Whiteside and Stewart just isn't going to get it done. The whole trade has been summed up perfectly by Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News:

"It's the kind of move -- if it's done at the right moment, for the right player -- that fans should embrace, if chasing greatness is the goal here. And it should be. It's a bit of an epochal shift for the Giants: They're no middle-muddle franchise anymore, just happy to win the N.L. West. They're in control of the West, and they're trying to become a mega-team, a multi-title team; and they're willing to risk large piles of chips to try to do it. I think the Beltran Bet is a strong move -- one of the strongest and boldest the Giants have made in a while. To win big, you have to risk big, too"

FIRST THINGS FIRST, THE GIANTS WILL LOOK TO REPEAT AS NL WEST CHAMPS

There are just under 60 games left and the Giants have basically just added a guy who will be the best offensive player to a team that desperately needed it. I like the Giants chances, especially if Jonathan Sanchez can get back on track and take Zito's spot in the starting rotation. Fun times ahead folks. 

Can the Giants Survive?

By Kalen
Just when things start to look like they will be getting better with the imminent return of Pablo Sandoval, the Giants most consistent hitter Freddy Sanchez goes down with a dislocated shoulder and the prognosis does not look good. The Giants are now missing their 2 most reliable hitters at very key positions, Posey at Catcher and Sanchez at 2B. It is very hard to find much depth at these positions as opposed to finding a new OF or 1B which is what makes these injuries even worse. Do I think the Giants can still make the playoffs? Yes, I think they CAN make the playoffs, and when you get in to the playoffs, anything can happen. Especially when you have pitching like the Giants do (ranking 4th in the Majors in ERA and that with Lincecum struggling his last few times out).

The Giants however do have a lot of work to do, Sandoval is coming back tomorrow and I project the starting lineup to look like:
Andres Torres CF
Emmanuel Burriss 2B
Pablo Sandoval 3B
Aubrey Huff 1B
Cody Ross LF
Nate Schierholtz RF
Brandon Crawford SS
Eli Whiteside C
Pitcher

Now that lineup is not gonna put much fear into any Pitcher, I do think it is scrappy enough to pull out some wins, the Giants will have solid guys off the bench with Rowand, Burrell, Fontenot, Gillaspie, Belt. I expect a nice rotation of players as Bochy looks to fine tune the lineup and see what works best. I do however think the Giants should make 2 moves to help solidify this hitting.

BRINGING BENGIE BACK WOULD BE A SMART MOVE

First of all, I cannot believe the Giants haven't already been aggressive in getting Bengie Molina to come back. Molina knows the pitching staff very well, especially Lincecum, Cain, Sanchez and Wilson, he has proven to be an every day catcher, and he can hit some, much better than Whiteside. Molina just 2 years ago ended a season with 20HR's 80RBI and a .265 AVG. Now what's the harm in giving Bengie some money this year and improve the hitting as a critical position and have excellent experience behind the plate being the every day starter. Bengie is not playing right now and I'm sure is in no where near playing condition. But if the Giants get him going now, by the All-Star break he should be good to go full time. I think standing pat so far has been a mistake, and the Giants should not settle for Whiteside and Stewart. When you can improve the productivity from your catchers spot without giving up any prospects then you do it.



The Second move the Giants will need to make is a trade, in or around the All-Star break. I don't expect or think the Giants will make a big splash in the trade market, but I do think they will do something. When you have pitching like the Giants with most in the prime of their careers, you have to take every chance you get to make the playoffs and see what happens. The Giants will have to look at teams that have poor records (Astros, A's etc.) or teams looking to dump contracts and money (Mets) and see what's on offer. Hunter Pence of the Houston Astros would be a very nice addition, but it would most likely require some high valued prospects, he is however playing extremely well and only making $6.9 million and is up for Arbitration the next 2 years. It's extremely difficult to project who will be traded. I do expect the Giants to make a solid addition, most likely at a corner OF spot or else 2B.

Would trading for a guy like Hunter Pence be a wise move for the Giants, given the probable asking price?

With Bengie Molina and another addition would definitely improve the lineup and could be enough to get this team in to the playoffs again. A projected lineup with Molina would look like:

Torres CF
Burriss 2B
Sandoval 3B
Huff 1B
Ross LF
Schierholtz RF
Molina C
Crawford/Tejada SS
Pitcher

I would love to hear your guys' opinion on who the Giants should look to possibly make a trade for, and let me know what you think of bringing back Bengie. Again, when you have a pitching staff like the Giants who are in the prime of their career, you have to make sure you make every season count. Can't just look to next year, the window to compete for a World Series can be very short. I hope the Giants are in win now mode without making a dumb panic trade. I guess in Sabean I trust (something I couldn't have said a year ago).

MLB Weekly Power Rankings

Here again is another issue in my weekly MLB Power Rankings. This weeks version will be shorter than previous weeks but will certainly get the job done. In my rankings I take overall record and how well the team has played recently in compiling my Power Rankings. Here goes, starting with the top 5:

Top 5
1 (1) - St. Louis Cardinals (37-26) - What can I say about the Cards, Pujols is back to being Pujols, Matt Holliday coming back from injury soon, pitching has been great. Not much else to say except I'm glad my Giants don't play them again and they are right now, the best team in Baseball.

Gonzalez and Crawford have been red hot for Boston

2 (NR*) - Boston Red Sox (35-26) - Red Sox have won 5 in a row, have beaten the Yanks in New York in back to back games, Carl Crawford has come to his usual form and Adrian Gonzalez has been better than advertised. Also they have the best pitcher in the AL with Josh Beckett.


3 (NR) - Detroit Tigers (33-28)- The hottest team in the Majors. 8-2 over their previous 10 games and have their sights firmly set on taking over the Indians who have come way back down to Earth. This team can hit, and the pitching has improved significantly.

4 (NR) - Texas Rangers (35-28) - They have been getting great pitching recently out of Alexi Ogando, CJ Wilson and Colby Lewis. They have a legit closer in Feliz, and we all know how well this team hits. 7-3 in their last 10. The Rangers are gonna open up a gap at the top of the AL West.

5 (NR) - San Francisco Giants (35-27) - The Giants have been without star catcher Buster Posey for 2 weeks. Giants lost 3 of their first 4 games after the injury, since then they (we) have won 7 of 10 and are eagerly awaiting Pablo Sandovals return to send Tejada to the bench.

Bottom 5
26 (30) Minnesota Twins (23-38) - The Twins have gone 6-2 since last weeks rankings, they are playing better for sure. Hopefully they can get Morneau going and Mauer back soon. Their overall record is what keeps them in the bottom 5. They may not be here next week.


27 (28) Houston Astros (24-38) - They are showing some signs of life, a red hot Cardinals team with Pujols hitting like crazy is tough for any team to stop. Will they trade Hunter Pence in July?


28 (27) Kansas City Royals (26-36) - 3-7 in their last 10 games, a pathetic 6-16 road record. Imagine where they would be without all those walk off wins.


29 (29) Chicago Cubs (24-36) - They have gone 1-5 since last weeks rankings, pitchers can't pitch, problems all over the clubhouse and have such an overrated and overpaid lineup.


30 (NR) Oakland Athletics (27-36) - They have lost 9 in a row, they can't hit and have injuries all over their good pitching staff. Yikes.

         Oakland A's have found Wins hard to come by the last 2 weeks

That concludes this weeks rankings. Be sure to check out the blog daily, give feedback, and tell me what you think of my rankings and where you might make changes. Power Rankings will be back next week. Until then, enjoy the other posts I will be making.

SPREAD THE WORD

* NR = Not Ranked Top 5 or Bottom 5 last week

Whats to Come

So this week I will be updating my blog some more. Some of the things to look forward too include: my latest MLB Power Rankings, my thoughts on the NFL Lockout and updates on the 49ers. Also the impact for the San Francisco Giants getting Pablo Sandoval back and the great play of rookie Brandon Crawford. I also plan to give my thoughts on both the NBA and NHL finals. With my predictions on who is going to win each series and they are both tied 2-2 after 4 games played. Gonna be a fun week. Be sure to check in regularly, leave comments, vote on the polls and spread the word!

San Francisco Giants - Show Me the Money

The San Francisco Giants are quite a mystery, they have in recent years given out god awful contracts. Yet in 2010 they were able to win the World Series, and this with their 2 highest paid players essentially being on the bench or non-factors in the playoffs (Barry Zito and Aaron Rowand). However, it doesn't stop there, in 2011 not much has changed, they are still paying outrageous money to Zito and Rowand, and lets not forget Mark DeRosa who has been one big injury with the Giants. Furthermore, so far in 2011, Miguel Tejada and Aubrey Huff have been underwhelming to say the least, and this year they are earning a combined $16.5 million, with a stat line of .210 AVG 1 HR and 16 RBI for Tejada and .219 AVG 5 HR and 24 RBI for Huff. Just awful production for what these guys are being paid*

Now lets take a look at the team as a whole. The Giants are 8th in the Majors in payroll, thus we know that the owners are willing to spend quite a large amount of money and they are. Unfortunately as I have pointed out, the majority of the money is going to the wrong people. It is almost mind blowing how the Giants could win a World Series, with so much money basically being flushed down the toilet. Lets take a look at the 5 worst contracts currently with the Giants. Barry Zito, Aaron Rowand, Mark DeRosa, Miguel Tejada and Huff. We have already taken a look at the numbers in the Tejada and Huff contracts. Let's now combine all 5 of these players contracts. The money those 5 players are making is, get ready for this, a whopping $54.6 MILLION. For this incredible number the Giants are getting: "6th" starter on the team (Zito), 5th Outfielder (Rowand), walking injury (DeRosa), backup caliber SS (Tejada) and a way under performing 1B (Huff).

      Barry Zito has been one of, if not the biggest Free Agent Bust in recent history

I am no expert when it comes to Major League contracts, I don't fully understand exactly how the arbitration works, or all the increments of how a contract is formed but I will do my best with where I think that money should go once it's off the books. Let's take a look at the guys who absolutely have to be re-signed long term by the Giants: Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval and Brian Wilson. Now I don't wanna get in to too much detail as I could probably write an entire book as to where the money should go. So lets focus on the previously mentioned players the Giants must re-sign (in my opinion). For the sake of simplicity, lets assume that the contracts will be given out when they are needed and they can be structured to be front loaded or back loaded. I will just give the average salary the player will earn each year. Basically what I will be doing is, using the $54.6 million in bad soon to be finished contracts to re-signing the stars on the team. Here goes.

Tim Lincecum - This year earning $14 million, I think Timmy gets a contract approximately the same as Roy Halladay or Cliff Lee. Maybe a 6 year $123.6 Million contract, average salary = $20.6 million. So an increase of 14 to 20. So we take $6.6 million off the total. Now we have $48 million of the total left.

Matt Cain - This year Cain earns $7.33 million, next year he gets $15.33 million. I think Cain will get a contract along the lines of 6 years $92 million, therefore an average of $15.33 million and an $8 million increase over this years contract. So now the total is $40 million left.

Brian Wilson - Fan favorite Brian Wilson makes $6.5 million this year, the top closer in the game Mariano Rivera makes $15 million/year, I don't think Wilson will quite get that. I think Wilson will get something like a 6 year $69 million contract. Making an average of $11.5 million/year and therefore an increase of $5 million leaving $35 million left on the total.

            The Giants future will be in good hands by keeping this trio intact 

Buster Posey & Pablo Sandoval - Both of these guys are making around $500,000 this year and are currently hurt, Posey for the year and Sandoval is scheduled back in the next 2 weeks. Both are major faces of the franchise, and are destined to be part of the heart of the order for a long time. Posey and Sandoval are to the Giants, what Mauer and Morneau are to the Twins, except the Giants players are younger and have just as much if not more potential. I think you basically throw the rest of the $35 million at these guys. Again to compare to the Twins, Mauer is making $23 million/year and Morneau $15 million/year, I think the Giants can get Posey locked up at an average of $20 million/year and Sandoval if he can prove to stay in shape and hit well, could get up to an average of $15 million/year. Both of these guys will hit .300+ AVG, 20+ HR and 90+ RBI for the next decade. 

We can argue about the numbers, we can argue about the years, I was just giving examples of what the Giants could give these guys. The main point I wanted to show here was that the Giants can and should use the huge sum of money they currently have invested in minimal impact players, to lock up all their stars. Not only are these players extremely talented, but they are all so charismatic, AT&T gets sold out regularly to see these guys play, they are in essence, Giants in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

*Wrote that prior to the game today, where Aubrey shut my mouth by hitting 3 HR's with 6 RBI