Friday, December 5, 2008

Busy week

It has been a busy week, a busy one indeed. In the span of 2 days, the Giants have shored up to of their needs, at least lets hope they needed them.



First, they announced the signing of RHP Bobby Howry. Howry, originally was drafted by the Giants and traded in the infamous white flag trade, has had a good career between the 2 Chicago clubs. The past year has seen a significant decline in his performance, but it could have been attributed to his possible overuse by Lou Pinnella. Pinnella may not have overused him based on his past years but the fact that he tired throughout the season is more indicative of less work needed. If the Giants can cut his games down to around 60-65 from 72-77 he average the last few seasons, Howry possibly could get that effectiveness back. His fastball is also down a few MPH and considering he is a fastball pitcher, that may be more indicative of a future with a lesser role. On the upside, Howry still gets a lot of K's and more importantly, he has incredible control, something the Giants have not had in the pen. Howry also has closed in the past so he can be a fallback plan if wilson is overworked. Bottom line is at 1/2.5, Howry is a very good signing. Even if he is the same as last year, he'll be better overall versus having Tyler Walker. If they had gone for more years, it wouldn't look so good. Giants: Good Sign



Second, the Giants signed SS Edgar Renteria to a 2/18.5 contract. So much for the youth movement? Maybe, we'll have to reserve judgement till after the winter meetings this week. Renteria has been a very good player over his career but is now 33 and showed some signs of decline last year. He did not perform like the Tigers had wanted but Giants fans have to hope some of it was related to his never being able to perform in the AL. Actually, his career stats show he has always been a good NL hitter. Just 2 seasons ago, he hit .342 for the Braves. The Giants need to hope he can regain some of his form to not only justify his contract, but help this tea. As a defensive SS, he has always been very good with 4 gold gloves, but has also lost a step. I can see a move to 2B in a few years, but not necessarily over the life of this contract. The good, Renteria can provide some stability to an otherwise, current, Giants infield, it allows Burriss to slide over to second, where he is better suited at the moment, and let Frandsen battle with Burriss. For Burriss's development at SS, this hampers it significantly unless he is sent to AAA this season. What I don't like is the dollar value. The giants are paying about 1.5 million over the top value on him. Essentially, they are paying him for his 2006/2007 seasons and probably had to commit more money to get a deal done before Rafeal Furcal sets the market price. Unfortunately, the Giants have overpaid again, continuing a trend that has haunted Brian Sabeans tenure. Lets hope he is more right this time. As a side note, the deal does have a team option for 1/9 with a 500K buyout or vested buyout if he gets traded. Giants: OK sign

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