This & That

[love_that_reefer]

Ray Durham's agent, Ed Setlik, said talks with the Gaints are "not hot" but amicable, and further dialogue is expected at next week's GM meetings.
It seems unlikely that the Giants will spend to keep Durham when they have so many needs and second base is probably the easiest to fill. Still, as well as Durham played last season, they at least have to see if he can be held on to at a reasonable rate.

I would have to say give Frandsen the chance and spend the necessary money elsewhere.

[love_that_reefer]

Eliezer Alfonzo beat Miguel Cabrera in the finals of a home run derby Monday in Venezuela.
Among those eliminated in the second round were Bobby Abreu, Diamondbacks prospect Carlos Gonzalez and Eduardo Perez. Cabrera won the event a year ago, but he could hit just one homer in the finals this time.

How in the hell does this happen?

[love_that_reefer]

Todd Linden is hitting .365 with four homers in 52 at-bats in the Puerto Rican League.
The Giants are getting Dave Roberts to play center, pushing Randy Winn to right, and it looks like they intend to acquire another veteran to play left, which would make Linden a fourth outfielder at best for the club. At 26, Linden is as ready as he's ever going to be for an enhanced role. Still, there is a good chance he'd fall short of being a quality regular.

I would rather try and trade Winn and keep Linden at this point. Younger and more importantly cheaper. If not, try and trade Linden as part of a package for something useful.

[FmrFresnan]

Roberts will be a good pickup for the Giants. He still has good speed for his age and very good plate presence. I'm shocked that the Padres didn't make some sort of effort to keep him, not like he didn't produce for them last season.

[padrefanforever]

When are you officially changing your team name to the San Francisco Padres? Will the ballpark get another name change too....maybe the "Murph" would be appropriate ??

[love_that_reefer]

The Giants still have interest in signing free agent David Wells even after adding Barry Zito.
The Padres and Diamondbacks are also suitors for Wells, though both are focusing on Randy Johnson at the moment. If Johnson goes to Arizona as expected, the Diamondbacks will probably be out of the mix for the other 43-year-old. The Boston Globe also mentions the Phillies and Mets as possible suitors, but it is assumed that Wells would prefer to remain on the West Coast.

It's probably going to come down to Hennessey and Sanchez fighting for the #5 spot. If we sign Wells, we will definitely be the oldest team of all-time which will be a record that will be hard to beat.

[GiantsFanatic]

Man **** Wells, seriously that guy hasn't done shit lately. LOL I could imagine Bonds and Wells fighting in the dugout!

[FmrFresnan]

I still call the old stadium "The Murph", I've never called it Qualcomm. I saw an article calling the Giants "San Diego North", I thought that was pretty clever. Bruce Bochy, Dave Roberts, Mark Sweeney, Ryan Klesko...David Wells? Apparently the Padres are making a run at Randy Johnson before they make an offer to David Wells, though I can't see San Diego taking on $16m of RJ's contract plus offering him a 2-year extension.

[love_that_reefer]

Wells is only asking for $3 mil guarenteed so the Pads should go after that rather than a $16 mil guy who wants an extension.

[love_that_reefer]

While Armando Benitez has told Giants teammates that he wants a change of scenery, a deal is unlikely to happen prior to spring training.
If the Giants are going to end up paying most of his salary anyway, they might as well wait and see if he can build up some trade value with a decent showing this spring. The Marlins are the only team that's displayed much interest in taking a chance on him this winter. They reportedly would have been willing to give up Yusmeiro Petit had the Giants paid all but $1 million-$2 million of what Benitez was owed. However, talks stalled last month.

I am all for waiting til ST to make a move so that we can see which one of our young guys can close games out.

[love_that_reefer]

The Giants still technically don't have any of the free agents they've added and kept this winter officially signed after changing the standard language in their contracts.
In their attempts to protect themselves in regard to Barry Bonds' legal troubles, it appears they've annoyed some of the other players they've signed. "I've signed a few deals for Richie with the Giants," Rich Aurilia's agent, Barry Axelrod, said. "And I've never seen anything like this. This is a vast departure. We sent them back a response with what we're willing to accept." This probably has something to do with the Giants wanting to not have to pay any of their players who happen to go to jail while under contract. Still, nothing is likely to come of it.

Kind of disturbing but the Giants have every right to try and protect themselves. Deals need to get done soon though.

[love_that_reefer]

Benitez almost ready

He said he's thrown two bullpen sessions of 65 pitches each and claims to be at 95 percent of his health and ability. He said his weight, which topped off at 270 last season, is down to somewhere between 250 and 260. But he pats his ample stomach and says he knows he needs to lose another 10 pounds.

Looks like we are stuck with him at closer again unless Wilson has a spectacular spring. Marlins are still looking at him but its lies on Wilson's shoulders if Benitez gets traded.

[love_that_reefer]

Giants GM Brian Sabean told reporters Wednesday that he expects the still unsigned Barry Bonds to report to camp on time.
Sabean gave no indication that he had talked to Bonds about the situation, and agent Jeff Borris was unwilling to answer questions on the subject. Unfortuantely, this isn't over yet.

Even though some see the 2006 first-round pick as a long-term reliever, the Giants plan to keep Tim Lincecum in the rotation to begin this year.
He could start as high as Triple-A. Lincecum will probably make his major league debut at some point during the season, perhaps as a reliever initially. He might even be a candidate to close before the end of the year. However, he'd likely be more helpful as a starter for the long-term.

Bonds usually shows up a couple of days before players have to so I don't see him missing any this year even though he is not signed.

Lincecum should remain a starter and start at AAA. His strikeout numbers are filthy and he is our top prospect. I don't know why they see him as MLB reliever.

[love_that_reefer]

Barry Zito has reworked his delivery after adding 10 pounds of muscle in his legs and core during the offseason.
Zito has a longer stride with his new delivery, and the Giants don't seem pleased about the changes he's made. "That'll wear him down. He's going to over-stride," pitching coach Dave Righetti said. "It's going to be tough on him. He's a good athlete and he got himself in shape for it. Maybe it's all tied in together and he felt he had to do something. To me, it'll be about making his pitches. If he loses the curveball, which he could because he'll be throwing from a different angle now -- we'll see how sore his groin is tomorrow." Righetti ranks among the game's better pitching coaches, but Zito qualifies as one of the game's smartest hurlers. It will be interesting to see how this works out.

Barry Bonds officially signed his one-year, $15.8 million contract on Thursday and is scheduled to report to Giants camp on Monday.
Bonds signed the original deal last month, then initially refused to sign a revised agreement after the commissioner's office turned down the previous contract. Bonds was never unhappy about the revised agreement, but he didn't like that the Giants leaked news about the provision that allowed them to terminate the deal if Bonds was indicted. The clause is still believed to be in the latest contract.

Oh great!! We give Zito the biggest contract in history for a pitcher andnow he wants to change his delivery that has helped him win a Cy Young award and kept him healthy for his entire career. Pitchers have to make adjustments but only we it's broken.

As for Bonds, we knew he would come around and that he would show up for ST. According to trainers and Zito, Bonds is in great shape and baseball ready.

[browntown653]

Oh great!! We give Zito the biggest contract in history for a pitcher andnow he wants to change his delivery that has helped him win a Cy Young award and kept him healthy for his entire career.