State of the Union

Every year, the players change, but the story remains the same. From one deflating series loss, to winning 7 of 10, they do nothing but tease us well into late September. That's why I almost didn't believe what happenned in 2002. For once, it seemed the streak was finally due to end. Then game six came...

October 26th, 2006. Our old friend Dusty Baker took Russ Ortiz out of the game after surrendering 2 of the 4 hits he allowed that game to bring in Felix Rodriguez. Had Rodriguez been pitching well to the point? Absolutely. Did it make sense for Baker to pull Ortiz however? Absolutely not. We all know what happenned next...

With the tease of an even better team the following season, the Giants had the misfortune of playing one of the most streaky teams in baseball history, losing to underdog Florida in the Division playoffs. This series would also provide a flurry of questionable calls, this time by Felipe Alou. While most ask why he did not replace J.T. Snow in the 9th in Game 4, others seem to forget that he never even asked Jason Schmidt, his ace pitcher, whether he could pitch on short rest to keep their playoff hopes alive. Dumbfounded, Schmidt was very vocal about his confusion when pitching coach Dave Righetti served as messenger in communications between the two. Who would have thought the price of being "old school" would be a playoff series loss.


So now we sit once again at the end of another losing season with a situation we have not had in years. A chance to completely revamp the clubhouse. Starting with Bonds' ridiculous 20 million, we can add Schmidt's 10.5 mil, Alou's 7.4 mil, Finley's 7 mil (which might as well be Edgardo Alfonzo's), and Durham's 7 mil (which was finally worth it--during a contract year which is also not surprising) leaving almost 52 million dollars of open salary. Granted we will still be paying Bonds 5 million per season until 2008, there is still plenty of salary that Sabean can now play with. With almost no players signed beyond the next two seasons, this makes a situation we have never seen before...

Brian Sabean, welcome to your hot seat.

We saw what Riccardi did, we saw what Minaya did, now it is time to see if our now longtime GM has the forsight and the talent to pull together a team that can rival that of Billy Beane's team accross the Bay. With one of the top ten highest salaries in major league baseball, this is his moment to see if he can put together not just a team that can win now, but in the future. Isn't that a though--a dynasty. It is safe to say we haven't had anything close to it since the Clark-Williams era.

Mr. Soriano, Mr. Lee, please expect us shortly.

I can't remember the last time the offseason has been this anticipated and if you're a die hard Giants fan, I have one message for you; be excited.

Here's hoping for a new story, now and in the future.