Jul 10 2008
Giants To Do List
After pitiful offensive showings in the last few games for the Giants, its time to realize that despite the weak division that they play in, this is not a playoff contender. Here are eight things the team needs to do with the All Star Break and Trading Deadline Looming.
1. Phase out Omar Vizquel. Emmanuel Burriss is hitting .298, only has 11 strikeouts in 104 at bats, and plays a solid SS. Vizquel is at .156, a worse batting average than Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain. Two of the Giants pitchers.
2. Trade Ray Durham. The veteran 2B is hitting .289 and could bring at least one hitting prospect in return for a contender looking to replace an injured infielder. While he has played well, he is not a part of the team’s future and GM Brian Sabean needs to get what he can for him.
3. Trade Randy Winn. This one isn’t an obvious move, as Winn has been one of the Giants’ most consistent players. He is hitting for a high average and also stealing bases, and should bring at least two midlevel hitting prospects in return. The Giants have Lewis in LF and Rowand in CF for the next few years, and its time to see what would happen if the Giants:
4. Call up Nate Shierholtz, hitting .293 with 12 hr in AAA, he is the Giants top hitting prospect in the minor leagues as far as AAA players, and has shown that he is done with the level.
5. Give Alex Hinshaw the 8th inning. He has been dominant thusfar, putting together a 2.66 era in 20.1 ip. He has a powerful fastball from the left side, and inspires more confidence then the current setup man:
6. Tyler Walker, who needs to be a middle reliever at best. He has struggled big time in the setup role, and has drawn the fans’ ire. In order to rediscover the type of ability he showed early in the year, he needs to be used in the 6th and 7th innings of games.
7. Get Buster Posey signed. The Giants are going to need him sooner than later, as we have seen with Bengie Molina’s recent struggles. He may not have more than this season and next season left with the team, and getting Posey into the system this year would mean a great deal to his development. Sabean wasted $126 million on Zito, so an extra $1 million or so shouldn’t be too much to get the #1 pick signed.
8. Move Madison Bumgarner to High A San Jose. He is 8-2 with a 1.77 era in the hitter friendly SAL. Move him up and get him on the fasttrack to possibly help the team in late 2009 or contend for a starting spot in 2010.
