Angel Pagan for Andres Torres and Ramon Ramirez

Another trade has happened with the Giants, and it looks to be the last major acquisition of the off-season.  Angel Pagan, the centerfielder and leadoff man for the New York Mets is coming to San Francisco, along with a player to be named later and some amount of cash, in exchange for journeyman and fan-favorite Andres Torres and Ramon Ramirez, a solid bullpen arm.  The Giants didn't see much value in Torres after having a downright terrible 2011 season after a breakout 2010 year.  And Ramon Ramirez was an expendable bullpen arm in already dominant bullpen with other righties such as Santiago Casilla and Sergio Romo, both who have ridiculous numbers.  The more innings they can pitch, the better the bullpen will be.

Now let's take a look at our new toy, Angel Pagan.

2011 Stats: .262 BA, .322 OBP, 7 HR, 32 SB, 56 RBI

Now, as you can see, these numbers don't jump off the page at you.  Angel Pagan had a down season in 2011 after having a very nice 2010 campaign (.290 BA, .340 OBP, 11 HR, 37 SB, 69 RBI).  But, Angel Pagan does give us a leadoff guy that we were desperately in need for.  Pagan has very good speed, with 69 stolen bases over the last two years, and throughout his career has hit for a decent batting average.  Having a guy with speed at the top of the lineup that could actually hit was something that the Giants were missing last year.  They cycled through many different players, Cody Ross, Andres Torres, and Aaron Rowand to name a few.  But the fact of the matter is that there wasn't one guy that you could say was the definitive leadoff guy.  And now, the Giants have that guy.  I'll agree as much as anyone else that this was a steep price to pay for someone of Pagan's cailber especially in a market that is in desperate need of solid relievers like Ramirez.  But, perhaps the Giants management saw something in Pagan that they saw in the like of the other great diamonds in the rough they've found over the past few years... i.e. Ryan Vogelsong, Aubrey Huff, Pat Burrell, Cody Ross.

If I was manager, and what I think the best lineup to put out there right now would be:

1. Angel Pagan CF

2. Freddy Sanchez 2B

3. Buster Posey C

4. Pablo Sandoval 3B

5. Melky Cabrera LF

6. Nate Schierholtz RF

7. Aubrey Huff 1B

8. Brandon Crawford SS

Doesn't look too pretty, but it's what Giants fans are going to be stuck with.  Brian Sabean, the general manager has made it quite clear that they are not going after any free agents i.e. no Beltran, no Cody Ross.  The last thing they are going to do is tender a contract to either Keppinger or Fontenot, which is not a huge move by any stretch of the imagination.  I would have LOVED to see Beltran back in a Giants uniform again, but that ship has sailed with these two trades.   If anything, this just gets me more excited for the baseball season coming up in the spring.  The most fascinating thing to watch will be whether these risky moves (Melky Cabrera and Angel Pagan) will pay off or not.  It's like watching a poker hand being revealed.  The question is, do we have pocket aces, or mismatched number cards?

Melky Cabrera for Jonathan Sanchez

The first major off-season trade has happened... and it involved the Giants.  Melky Cabrera for Jonathan Sanchez and Ryan Verdugo, a Double-A pitcher.  As a Giants fan, I'm very wary of any moves by the Giants during the offseason.  GM Brian Sabean has been at the head of some suspect trades and acquisitions in that past and his name is notorious in the Giants community.  Both these players are high risk, high reward players.  Sanchez can be very very good, but also very bad... in 2010, he went 13-9 with a 3.07 ERA.  However, in 2011, an injury plagued emotional struggle, he posted a 4.26 ERA, going 4-7.  Bottom line is that he a wild pitcher, one that gets strikeouts and has swing-and-miss stuff, but he also gives an obscene amount of walks.  Even in his best season, he had a league leading 96 walks, and was on pace to beat that in 2011.

Melky Cabrera's value, on the other hand, is at an all time high.  The long time Yankee and current Royal had the best season of his career, posting a .305 average with 18 HRs and 87 RBIs, along with a nice complement of 20 SBs.  The worries of Melky are his low OBP at .339 and his high strikeout total at 94.  Cabrera, 27, has a middle of the road career average at .275 and the Giants are hoping that Cabrera goes along with the 2011 numbers instead of the numbers earlier in his career.  I've been checking Twitter ever so often to see people's reactions to the trade and the consensus seems to be that the Giants sold low and bought high.  Obviously, with this mindset, the risk is astronomical.  In 2010, the Giants could have traded Jonathan Sanchez for the world, and obviously this year is different.  This shows that Giants have given up hope on Jonathan Sanchez and assume that he will never return to his former prowess.

Now, rather than comparing the two players, I'll look to future and explain what effect this has on the Giants team as  a whole.  It looks to be that Cabrera will play centerfield, a spot that is open for the Giants.  His defense is supposedly subpar, which could mean that Andres Torres could remain on the Giants as a defensive replacement.  Andres Torres, though, will not get quite the contract extension he is hoping for because Cabrera will mostly likely be his replacement.  This trade also shows that Coco Crisp will not be a target for them this winter.  As for the spots that are left, shortstop and left field are still problem areas for the Giants.  Their two current solutions for those problems could be Brandon Crawford for shortstop and Brandon Belt for left.  Neither are developed, and neither have suitable offense.

My recommendations for what the Giants should do is go after Carlos Beltran and Jimmy Rollins like none other.  These are two seasoned veterans that could GREATLY improve the Giants offense and make them a serious World Series contender.  A great plan B for left field could be Michael Cuddyer, an outfielder with power for the Twins.  Unfortunately, the player that I thought was the most underrated player of free agency this year, Jamey Carrol, a veteran shortstop, has been snatched up by the Twins for 2 years and 7.5M.  If the Giants get any of these options during the Winter, I will be very satisfied and confident with our lineup this coming year.  Getting Carlos Beltran and Jimmy Rollins, though, which will cost about 25M for the pair of them would make their offense one of the best in the National League. The bottom line is that you need to spend money to win in this league, I mean look at the Yankees, Cardinals, and Phillies.  If that means the owners take a paycut, then so be it.

Getting Melky Cabrera was a step in the right direction, but the question is whether they can follow it up with some moves that solidify the lineup even more.

Starting Rotation Evaluations

So, this week's blog is an evaluation of the Giants pitchers, and similarly to the post about the position players I will be giving each pitcher a grade compared to the expectation of them.  Since the pitching staff is so good, assume that my opinion is that we should keep them all unless I specifically name pitchers that should not be kept. I will cover most of the starting rotation as well as the bullpen next week.  So, without further ado, let's get started:

Tim Lincecum
13-14, 2.74 ERA, 217 innings

Tim Linecum had a good year, not one of his best but that's understandable seeing how much stress he was under when he was pitching.  Lincecum is simply the Giants' best pitcher and one of the best if not the best pitcher in the National League.  He can absolutely shut down an offensive juggernaut, like the Rangers in the World Series last season.  The story of Lincecum's year is the lack of run support.  Normally, you would assume that a 13-14 pitcher would have an ERA above 4.00 and less than 200 innings.  However, when you see a pitcher that has  a very good 2.74 ERA and over 200 innings still is 13-14, you can assume that the offense has not held up their end of the bargain.  Lincecum has shown that last year's regular season was an aberration, and now the Giants expect many good years in the future for good 'ol Timmy Jim.
Grade: A-


Matt Cain
12-11, 2.88 ERA, 221.2 innings

Matt Cain, although only a shade under 27 years old, is unbelievably the longest tenured Giant.  And the Giants hope to keep it that way.  Matt Cain is horse of the starting staff and is almost always consistently good.  Although this cannot be shown in statistics persay, it can be seen by watching Matt Cain's starts over the course of a season.  In contrast to Timmy, who is either lights out or hittable, Cain always seems to be steady and be the same guy every time he gets out on the mound.  This is the kind of pitcher the Giants need to get wins because if any pitcher gives up more than 4 runs, the game is pretty much over.  Matt Cain is the guy that can always keep the game in reach.
Grade: A

Madison Bumgardener
13-13, 3.21 ERA, 204.2 innings
Bumgardener is simply a big strong country 21-year old kid, another horse for the Giants.  He strutted his stuff especially towards the tail end of the season when he was not affected by the wear and tear of the season.  Last year, he did not pitch that many innings and his durability could have been rightfully questioned.  This year, he proved his doubters wrong and the last thing the Giants are worrying about is Madison Bumgardener.  He does have some blowups, like the 8 run first inning against the Minnesota Twins, but with maturation, that should sort itself out.  Bumgardener will be an especially potent play-off pitcher because of his power arm and the fact that he will not be worn down by the toil of the season.  Another great product of the Giants great farm pitching system.
Grade: A

Ryan Vogelsong
13-7, 2.71 ERA, 179.2 innings
Ah, Ryan Vogelsong, the Giant feel good story of the year.  The 33 year-old journeyman, who has been with 5 teams in his career and was originally drafted by the Giants was hindered by a shoulder injury in the early part of his career.  In the minors, he reworking his mechanics until he relied on his location instead of his power.  After being called up from the minors after Barry Zito went down with a foot injury, Ryan Vogelsong performed magnificently and was arguably the Giants best pitcher at certain periods of time.  The one question about Ryan Vogelsong is his durability, it was obvious that he was struggling with fatigue towards the end of the season.  Hopefully, last season will have built up his arm strength and endurance for the next season.  It would be a even better story to follow up last season with a similar one.
Grade: A+

I will now pretty much give a basic summary of the pitchers that "filled in" at certain times in the fifth spot in the rotation:

Jonathan Sanchez: 4-7, 4.26 ERA, 101.1 innings
Brian Sabean, the general manager has expressed that he wants Sanchez to fill the fifth spot in the rotation this coming season.  Seeing that there were really no spots for him last season, Sanchez was confined to the bench of Triple-A Fresno for the season.  This perhaps, could be demoralizing for the young man.  But, all the Giants fans are hoping him to return to the dominant pitcher that everyone knows he can be.  Jonathan Sanchez is an incredible swing-and-miss pitcher and if he can limit his walks, which usually lead the league, he can become one of the best pitchers in the Giants rotation.
Grade: C-

Barry Zito

3-4, 5.87 ERA, 53.2 innings
Simply put, Barry Zito had an awful season and it must have been humiliating to be paid about 20M a year and get throw in the bullpen as a blow-out long reliever.  But still, it was warranted and it looks as though he will fill that same role this coming year.  From what I have seen, he has done an admirable job in the long relief role and could fill that spot for the Giants so the Giants won't have to spend money on resigning a pitcher or signing a free agent.  What Zito needs to realize is that his prime is gone and it's his job to help the team in anyway possible.
Grade: D-

Eric Surkamp

2-2, 5.74 ERA, 26.2 innings
Towards the end of the year, the Giants needed a fifth starter, so they decided to go with  a young Southern kid that was absolutely tearing up Double-A Richmond.  The first few starts, he was dominant mixing it up perfectly with a big swooping curveball and an accurate fastball.  However, in his last few starts, he had to be pulled early are teams put up big numbers on him.  Obviously, as seen by his first few starts, he has talent.  However, as much talent as he has, it is unrefined and Brian Sabean has said that Surkamp needs more seasoning in the minors and looks to factor more into the future than anything else.
Grade: D

So that wraps up the starting pitchers.  Evidently, the Giants have a fantastic starting rotation, having the second best ERA in baseball.  The Giants have a incredible 1-4 lineup that consists of Lincecum, Bumgardener, Cain, and Vogelsong that can go toe to toe with any 1-4 pitchers in the MLB.  The one question mark is the fifth spot, but that assuredly be filled with a serviceable pitcher.  Assuming that Brian Sabean is able to keep the pitching rotation intact as far as the contracts go, the main concern, once again, will be the offense rather than the pitching.

Free Agent Class 2012: Shortstops

The Giants are in obviously in the market for shortstops, the experiment they conducted at shortstop last year was a miserable failure.  First was Miguel Tejada (.239 with 4 HRs and 26 RBIs in 322 ABs), whom they released part way through the season, second was trading for Orlando Cabrera (.241 with 1 HR and 13 RBIs in 126 ABs), and finally they finished the season with Brandon Crawford, a rookie who has many defensive skills but lacks offense, due mostly impart to his short amount of time in the minors.  GM Brian Sabean has expressed that Brandon Crawford still has a lot to work on in the minors, so it's pretty evident that they will acquire a shortstop over the offseason.  The question however, is if they go for a big time free agent shortstop or just be content to patch up the spot with a one-year deal like they have been doing for the past half a decade.

Here are all the 2012 free agent shortstops:
Clint Barmes (33)
Yuniesky Betancourt (30) - $6MM club option with a $2MM buyout
Orlando Cabrera (37)
Jamey Carroll (37)
Ronny Cedeno (29) - $3MM club option with a $200K buyout
Craig Counsell (41)
Rafael Furcal (34) - $12MM club option with a $1.3MM buyout
Alex Gonzalez (34)
Jerry Hairston Jr. (36)
Cesar Izturis (32)
John McDonald (37)
Nick Punto (34)
Edgar Renteria (35)
Jose Reyes (29)
Jimmy Rollins (33)
Ramon Santiago (32)
Marco Scutaro (36) - $6MM club option/$3MM player option with a $1.5MM buyout
Jack Wilson (34)

If you anything about these names, they are not pretty, the free agent class for shortstops is slim and ought to be somewhat expensive due to the need for good hitting shortstops.  I however, will narrow it down to the best options for the Giants as well as disregarding players whose club options the team will surely pick up, i.e. Marco Scutaro.

(Batting Average/On-base Percentage/Slugging Percentage)

Jamey Carrol (37)
.290/.359 /.347 with 0 HRs and 17 RBIs.
Jamey Carrol is not the name that jumps off the page and makes people want to come to games, he has little to no power, hitting 12 HRs in his 9 big league seasons, he is not an RBI guy, and he is definitely not in the prime of his career. But he does one thing well, he gets on base, his on-base percentage is higher than all the Giants players that aren't named Carlos Beltran.  Also, Carrol is the kind of guy that doesn't tail off as much at the end of his career. The power hitters are the hitters that tend to lose their power quickly.  However, these on-base contact hitters, aren't affected by age as much.  Another positive to Carrol is the fact that you could get him for very cheap, probably around 2M.  This especially resonates after watching the movie Moneyball, in which Billy Beane was able to succeed with little money due to getting underrated players for cheap.  Since Jamey Carrol does not have big RBI or HRs other GMs may look over him and you can get him for very little money.

Jimmy Rollins (33)
 .268/.338/.399 with 16 HRs and 63 RBIs
Jimmy Rollins, an Alameda, CA native is also a very nice option, although he will command a much greater amount due to his track record.  By getting Rollins, they would fill three gaping holes in their lineup, 1. the shortstop and 2. the leadoff hitter 3. speed (he has 30 SBs this year).  Getting one player to fulfill three different needs is a very cost effective way of improving the team.   Jimmy Rollins is almost all positives, he has postseason experience, he is good with the glove, winning 3 Gold Gloves in his career, and also he knows the Phillies well since he has spent every year of his 11-year career with them.  The Phillies are a juggernaut postseason rival and they make perennial playoff appearances, this year posting a 102 win record.  Any advantage that Rollins could give them in forms of advice would be welcomed.  Jimmy Rollins is a winner, amazingly, he has made the playoffs every year of his career and that winning attitude will be a needed antidote for the disappointment that the 2011 brought.

Jose Reyes (29)
 .337/.384/.493 with 7 HRs and 44 RBIs.
Jose Reyes the best shortstop on the market.  Period.  He has two huge positives, he hits for average, as seen by the astronomically high .337 average, he has speed, 39 SBs this year and one year, having an insane 78 SBs, and he is in his prime.  Since he's not a power hitter, the spaciousness of AT&T park will work to his advantage rather than his detriment.  But these positives are also accompanied by two large negatives for the Giants, money and injuries.  Jose Reyes is going to get paid a lot, which is the understatement of the century.  My guess is that he will get around 20M a year for many years even though he has a track record of numerous injuries.  The Giants simply do not have enough money as it is, their payroll for 2011 almost reached 120M.  And likely, even if the Giants do not make ANY improvements to the offense, the payroll will be higher than last year due to paying the pitchers to stick around in San Francisco.  Brian Sabean has said that they won't be going after any huge big agents like Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols, and Jose Reyes definitely fits in that category.  I don't like beating a dead horse, but just imagine that Sabean hadn't signed Zito and Rowand to those massive contracts.  The Giants would have ample money to go after one, if not two of those free agents.   Appalling, it really is.

So, what I think the Giants should do is just court Jose Reyes to test the water and see what other teams offers are, and if they see that they have a shot at bringing him by the bay, then they should jump on that.  However, as Sabean should have learned by now, jumping out of your shoes to pay huge bucks to a player doesn't always pay off.  Meanwhile, they should be trailing Jimmy Rollins like a mad dog and hope that the Phillies don't resign him because he is the perfect fit for this Giants team.  He is a leadoff shortstop that won't come over for too too much, 8-9 million is probably the price range for him.  Finally, if the Phillies end up re-signing Rollins, which they probably will, the third choice would be Jamey Caroll, who isn't great in any sense of the word, but one of the best deals on the weak shortstop market.  The biggest advice, however for the Giants and Brian Sabean is to be smart, Giants fans are tired of seeing the Giants year after year replace mediocre old shortstop with mediocre old shortstop.  It's time too stop looking how good players were in the past and hope that they repeat that, and time to start looking how their performing now.  Please, Giants, don't give us another Edgar Renteria, Orlando Cabrera, or Miguel Tejada.  This team deserves better.

Player Evaluations

The season for the San Francisco Giants is now officially over as far as the playoffs go, the last series of the season is against the Colorado Rockies and the final games are meant more to maintain their dignity after a crushing series in Arizona against the Diamondbacks.  But now that the season is over, it's time for player evaluations and making the hard decisions of who to keep and who to dump.  This is the time where the GM is up all night, looking for ways to improve their team.  Here is an evaluation of the players that have played the biggest role for the Giants, as well as their contract position and what I think they should do with them.


Eli Whiteside (Catcher)
.204/.272/.320 with 4 HRs and 17 RBIs in 209 ABs
The slash line pretty much says it all, he is and will continue to be a backup catcher and when put into the spotlight of a starting catcher, he could not handle the workload.  Chris Stewart looks to be taking over Whiteside's job at catcher, having a very comparable offense and a much better at gunning out potential base stealers.
Verdict: Expendable (free agent)
Grade: C-


Aubrey Huff (1B)
.244/.304/.369 with 12 HRs and 59 RBIs in 520 ABs
There's no sugar-coating this one, Aubrey Huff had an awful season and did not come up to nearly the production one would be expecting from the first base position.  However, Huff has been know to have a pattern of one good season-one bad season and could have a bounce-back year next year.  But still, he looks to be losing his job to 27-year old prospect Brett Pill who has been performing admirably.
Verdict: Give him and a chance and if fails to produce bench him (10M for 2012)
Grade: F


Jeff Keppinger (2B)
.255/.286/.335 with 2 HR and 14 RBIs in 212 ABs
Jeff Keppinger, acquired near the trade deadline, has done a respectable job filling in for Freddy Sanchez and keeping the Giants afloat at the shortstop position as well as plugging in the gaping hole that was left at the 2-spot.
Verdict: Give him arbitration and assign his as a backup to Freddy Sanchez if anything was to happen to him or if Freddy can't make quite a quick recovery as he would like to.
Grade: B-


Brandon Crawford (SS)
.197/.279/.275 with 3 HRs and 20 RBIs in 193 ABs

Brandon Crawford, a midseason callup, is finishing the season as the starting shortstop and he is in there for one reason and one reason alone, defense.  Defensively, he is fantastic, absolutely capable of winning a Gold Glove someday.  But unfortunately, hitting hasn't come as easily to him, and he hits with little to no power.  
Verdict: Try to sign another SS during the offseason and develop Crawford behind him.
Grade: C-


Pablo Sandoval (3B)
.314/.357/.553 with 23 HRs and 70 RBIs in 423 ABs


 Ah, Pablo Sandoval, if there is any hope to be found within the Giants offense, it is present right here.  He has regained his incredible 2009 form and looks as if he's here to stay.  Sure, he's gained back much of the weight that he lost during the offense, but the quickness and strength seem to have remained and so as long as he keeps hitting, nobody's going to say a word.  He's due for arbitration and be sure that the Giants are going to give him a pretty penny.
Verdict: No-brainer, pay whatever you need to pay him in arbitration.
Grade: A+


Cody Ross (LF)

 .240/.325/.405 with 14 HRs and 52 RBIs in 405 ABs
Cody Ross, postseason hero and NLCS MVP, had an abysmal injury prone season.  It's really sad to see him perform this badly because obviously he is a really good person and a crowd favorite.  It's not rare to hear the crowd chanting "CODY CODY" at home games, heck, even at some away games.  But, it's hard to see the Giants resigning the 32 year-old free agent unless it's at least below 3 million.
Verdict: Resign him if you can get him for cheap, but other wise absolutely not.
Grade: D-


Andres Torres (OF)
.221/.312/.330 with 4 HRs and 19 RBIs in 348 ABs
It seems to be a reoccurring theme for the Giants, another player that had an awful season.  Andres Torres had a breakout season last year at the age of 33 and it looks like he was a flash in the pan as much as it hurts to say that.  Torres was the sparkplug leadoff guy with speed last season and this year he has been the exact opposite.  
Verdict: Time to cut ties with Torres.
Grade: D


Nate Schierholtz (OF)
.278/.326/.430 with 9 HRs and 41 RBIs in 335 ABs
Nate was one of the only Giants that had a season that was better than their career average, in fact it was somewhat of a breakout season.  Bochy has said that Nate Schierholtz has a starting spot in the outfield as of now, and it is well deserved after at first having a hard time getting at bats and then suffering from a major foot injury.  
Verdict: Keep him. Start him. Enjoy.
Grade: B+


Carlos Beltran (OF)
.323/.369/.551 with 7 HRs and 18 RBIs in 179 ABs.
The Giants traded their number one pitching prospect Zach Wheeler for Carlos Beltran, expecting him to do exactly what he ended up doing.  Unfortunately, the rest of the offense collapsed at it ended up being a two-man show between Sandoval and Beltran so they slipped out of the playoffs.  The bottom line is that Beltran can hit, both for power and average.  Although old, he's still a top-of-the-line free agent and a two-year contract would be good enough to milk him for what he has left in the tank at his age of 34.  
Verdict: There are going to be a lot of teams hunting for him, but the Giants should give him a reasonable offer and sure hope that he likes San Francisco.
Grade: A


Judging on these player evaluations, the Giants have a lot of holes to fill, including shortstop, centerfield, and either right or left field.  The vast majority of the Giants have had bad to terrible seasons and hopefully next year they will come out rejuvenated and at least get back to their career averages.  If the Giants are going to get to the playoffs next year, it will have to be on the back of the pitchers and the players that they have on the team right now because their payroll flexibility is not where they want it to be because they are tied up in huge contracts with players that are not helping the team at all or not even on the team.

Hope for Next Year

As many fans of the Giants nation well know, the Giants are all but out of the playoff race against the Arizona Diamondbacks.  Currently, the Diamondbacks hold  a 6.5 game lead on the Giants, and are also currently beating the Colorado Rockies.  This is an extreme disappointment, because they will not have a chance to defend their World Series title.  With 19 games remaining, the chances of the Giants making a comeback are slim to none, ESPN calculating that the Giants chances of winning the division are less than 2%.  So San Francisco Giants fans, instead of looking forward to the playoffs, they are forced into looking for good signs for next season.  And boy oh boy, the future looks bright for the Giants.  First and foremost, Freddy Sanchez, their star second baseman, and there superstar catcher Buster Posey are coming back from season-ending injuries that absolutely crippled the Giants, both offensively and defensively.  And of course, no one can forget about their pitching staff that is second in ERA and first in opponent's batting average.  Their starting five consists of 3 All-Stars: Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Ryan Vogelsong, as well as future All-Star Madison Bumgardener and impressive pitching prospect Eric Surkamp.  Not to mention, they have 2 viable starters that are on the disabled list right now, Jonathon Sanchez and Barry Zito.  Backed by a stellar bullpen with Brian Wilson, the All-Star closer on the back end, this is easily one of the best if not the best pitching staff in baseball.  Now for the offense is a different story, placing dead last in the National League for runs scored.  Even though Pablo Sandoval has returned to his normal form, hitting .296 with 18 big flies, the offense besides him and mid-season trade acquisition Carlos Beltran is feeble.  Aubrey Huff and Cody Ross, after being heroes last season, have struggled mightily, combining for 24 homeruns and neither one hitting above .250.  To put that in perspective, Aubrey Huff by himself hit 27 homeruns by himself last year.  But, the return of Buster Posey, who hit for .305 and 18 homers in his rookie season, and Freddy Sanchez, who was hitting .289 before his season-ending shoulder injury, should help things.  Also, a shining ray of hope for the Giants is Brett Pill, who was absolutely tearing up the Giants Triple-A affiliate, hitting .312 with 25 homers and 107 RBIs.  A week ago, he was called up to the major league and he has started the last two games.  Now here's the amazing thing, the second pitch he saw in the big leagues he vaulted over the left field wall at Petco Park in San Diego.  The next game, he ripped a high fastball over the left field fence as well.  It is evident that Pill has a gorgeous swing, and the balance he has through the swing is exceptional.  It's obvious that he's here to stay, his appearance is reminiscent of Buster Posey's emergence during May of last year.  However, even with all these upsides, the Giants have many holes to fill, including shortstop and a lead-off man.  The Giants have sold out every game this season and therefore they should have enough money to pay any potential free agents to come over to San Francisco during the off-season.  Just for food for thought, here is what I think the lineup should be if they acquired nobody the off-season.

1. Freddy Sanchez 2B

2. Jeff Keppinger SS

3. Pablo Sandoval 3B

4. Buster Posey C

5. Brett Pill 1B

6. Aubrey Huff RF

7. Brandon Belt LF

8. Nate Schierholtz CF

Doesn't look that bad, does it?

It's young, it's energetic, and most importantly, it'll score runs. And keep in mind, that's if they spend NO money over the off-season.  The lineup will most certainly be better than this, and this lineup is very serviceable.  So Giants fans, don't lose hope just because this season was not what we expected it to be.  2012, assuredly, will be full of magic.