When the Boston Red Sox signed free agent outfielder Carl Crawford to a seven year $142 million contract at the Baseball Winter meetings in Florida this week, it capped a series of off-season moves that could trigger a historic year of offense for the Red Sox. The additions of Crawford and former Padres slugger Adrian Gonzalez are the final pieces of what should be a phenomenal offensive machine that, if all the parts remain healthy, is set to savage American League pitching throughout the 2011 MLB season.

When I think of devastating modern era line-ups, I always recall the 1982 Milwaukee Brewers, who were 3 RBIs short of having five 100+ RBI hitters in their everyday batting order; 1st baseman Cecil Cooper had 121 RBI, shortstop Robin Yount knocked in 114 runners, center fielder Gorman Thomas drove in 112 RBI, and left fielder Ben Oglivie finished with 102 RBI. Catcher Ted Simmons came close, knocking in 97 runners of his own.

That 1982 Brewers team scored 891 total runs, but they pale in comparison to a couple of recent Yankee teams, and the powerhouse Yankees of the late 1920s and early 1930s.

The 2007 Yankees scored 968 runs, and featured 3 hitters with 100+ RBI (Alex Rodriguez 156, Hideki Matsui 103, and Bobby Abreu 101; plus Robinson Cano had 97 RBI and Jorge Posada finished with 90). The year prior New York scored 930 runs, but take a look at these spectacular run crunching Yankee teams from the infamous murderer's row and beyond:

1927 - 975 runs (Lou Gehrig had 174 RBI).
1930 - 1,062 runs
1931 - 1,067 runs
1932 - 1,002 runs
1933 - 927 runs
1936 - 1,065 runs (with five 100+ RBI hitters: Lou Gehrig 152; Joe DiMaggio 125; Tony Lazzeri 109; Bill Dickey 107; George Selkirk 107) 
1937 - 979 runs
1938 - 966 runs
1939 - 967 runs

While the 2011 Boston Red Sox offense could score a boatload of runs and still not touch those 1930s Yankee juggernauts, they have the ability to challenge them. The top three run producing teams in 2010 were New York at 859, Boston at 818, and Tampa at 802. The Red Sox had a number of key hitters injured or out of the line-up for long periods of time last season and still couldn't be stopped at the plate.

To score runs at that level, three elements have to be present in a team's everyday batting order: 1) run scorers--outstanding extra base hitters who also hit for average; 2) run producers--outstanding hitters who hit with power; and 3) high on base percentages from every hitter in the line-up. In 2010, the Sox finished second among all MLB teams with 591 extra base hits, they were tied in 5th place with 587 walks, 2nd place with a .339 OBP, and 2nd in baseball with 211 home runs.

To compare, home runs were a key component of the San Francisco Giants' and Texas Rangers' attacks, and both teams hit 162 homers in 2010.

Here's what Boston's everyday line-up will be featuring in 2011:

Adrian Gonzalez (1B) had three 100+ RBI seasons, and one 99 RBI season with San Diego in one of the worst hitters' parks in baseball. Carl Crawford (LF) scored 100+ runs three times, and also produced 96 and 93 run seasons. David Oritz (DH) produced six 100+ RBI seasons, and one 99 RBI season; Ortiz knocked in 101 runs in 2010. Kevin Youkilis (3B) and J. D. Drew (RF) have both put up 100+ RBI years, and Dustin Pedroia (2B) was the American League's Most Valuable Player in 2008; he scored 118 runs and 115 runs in consecutive seasons, and had 213 hits in 2008. In the last three years, shortstop Marco Scutaro scored 76, 100, and 92 runs respectively, with an average of 70 RBI a year during the same period. 

Will the Boston Red Sox score over 900 runs in 2011, or perhaps make a run at 1,000 runs scored? As of this week, all the pieces are in place for a wild and historic 2011 season from the newly rearmed powerhouse of the American League East.

The weather outside may be frightful, but the fire inside the San Francisco Giants organization remains delightful. The unspeakable high of dismantling three of the best teams in baseball-- the Atlanta Braves, the Philadelphia Phillies and the Texas Rangers-- en route to capturing the 2010 World Series surrounds this team like a warm glow as they go about fine tuning the roster in preparation for the 2011 campaign.

It must be extremely enjoyable for General Manager Brian Sabean at the MLB Winter Meetings this week in Lake Buena Vista, Florida; to know that the toys you really want are already wrapped and under the Christmas tree, and it's now all about tidying up loose ends and doing some tweaking.

Not to say there aren't several major bits of unfinished business yet to be done: Andres Torres, Cody Ross, and several key relievers need to be packaged up. And Sabean is a determined disciple of the church of starting-pitching-depth-can-never-be-deep-enough. So expect a Major League-capable starter or two to be deposited in Triple A Fresno just in case. 

Other than that, Sabean and Manager Bruce Bochy can enjoy sitting in the hotel's plush leather chairs, sipping single malt scotch and Shafer Hillside Select Cab, watching from a distance as frantic GMs from other teams scramble to see who gets Carl Pavano, George Sherrill, and Jay Gibbons. Or Jack Cust.

"My god," Bochy might casually remark to Sabean, "look at those poor bastards running around the lobby...".

On another front, it is disappointing the organization feels it needs to go outside for a back-up shortstop behind the newly signed, but somewhat elderly, Miguel Tejada. The Giants have a number of great looking prospects in the mix, but there are issues.

Soon to be twenty-six year-old Emmanuel Burriss, recovered from two foot fractures, is hitting poorly in the 2010 Dominican Winter League, posting a .244 average as of a week ago. Burriss is probably the best defensive option the team has a short, but great range and a slick glove is not enough at the big league level; if a back-up shortstop has to replace Tejada for any reason, the Giants also expect an offensive contribution.

Brandon Crawford, who will turn 24 in 2011, is one of two up and coming shortstops currently playing in the Giants' minor league system. Crawford batted .241 in 79 games at Double A Richmond with a .712 OPS. The lefty hitting Crawford was a star at UCLA and by all accounts his glove and arm are at the big league level now. So far, his hitting is not.

The other top shortstop prospect in the minors is twenty-one year old switch-hitter Ehire Adrianza, who scored 70 runs in 124 games for the Single A San Jose Giants in 2010. Adrianza batted .256, had a 69% stolen base success rate (33-15), and has tremendous range and a strong arm. I expect the Giants feel Adrianza is still a couple of years away, but I think he could emerge as an October surprise in 2011.

Who will the team sign to back up Tejada? Several names have been out there a while: Orlando Cabrera, 36, played in 123 games and batted .263 for Cincinnati in 2010; thirty-one year old Ramon Santiago got into 112 games for Detroit and also hit .263; and World Series MVP Edgar Renteria is apparently still somewhere in the mix.

In a perfect world, Brandon Crawford would step in and be mentored by Miguel Tejada for a year before taking over the position in 2012, but now that appears unlikely. And while it may be inaccurate to describe the Giants current world as "perfect", it's still a damn pleasant place to be.     

The San Francisco Giants continued a longstanding tradition of reserving the shortstop position in their infield for men of a certain age by signing 36 year old Miguel Tejada to a one year contract at $6.5 million. Tejada, who knocked in 150 RBI in 2004 for the Baltimore Orioles, now becomes the starting shortstop for the Giants as they prepare to defend their World Championship title in 2011.

Tejada split 2010 between two teams, playing 97 games for the Baltimore Orioles and 59 games for the San Diego Padres. Overall, he hit .269 in 2010, with 171 hits, 26 doubles, 15 home runs, 71 runs scored, and 71 RBI. Tejada had a .312 OBP and a .692 OPS; he played third base and some DH for Baltimore and shortstop for the Padres.

San Francisco has made a point of providing an early bird special spot on the left side of their infield for older shortstops the past eight years:

2003 - Rich Aurilia, 32;
2004 - Deivi Cruz, 32;
2005-2008 - Omar Vizquel, 41;
2009-2010 - Edgar Renteria, 34.

2011 will see San Francisco once again trading range and speed at shortstop for veteran experience and a proven bat. The Giants paid Edgar Renteria over $9 million a year the past two years, so Tejada's contract puts the Giants' budget $3 million to the better as they deal with signing a slew of arbitration-eligible players.

Essentially, San Francisco has exchanged Juan Uribe and Edgar Renteria for Miguel Tejada. The tasks remaining to get done are critical:

1. Who will play third base? There is little doubt the Giants have decided at this point not to depend on Pablo Sandoval's ability to walk quickly past the buffet line. But if Sandoval can tame the beast, get in shape and somehow discover the joys of non-fat yogurt smoothies, his presence will be welcome on the 2011 Giants. Otherwise, a healthy Mark DeRosa is being paid $6 million next year and needs to finally join this team and contribute.

Offensive production, range and fielding at third base would be greatly improved with Mark DeRosa holding down the hot corner.

2. Do the Giants get a new left fielder or a new first baseman? Either way, Aubrey Huff is the other starter at one position or another.

3. For golly gosh sakes, get Cody Ross, Javier Lopez, Santiago Casilla, and Andres Torres signed and assigned permanent lockers as soon as humanly possible.

As the New York Yankees and their free agent shortstop Derek Jeter arm wrestle over Jeter's next contract, no one in baseball seriously thinks there is a chance that Jeter will shed his pin stripes and grab the next flight out of JFK. After 16 years as a Yankee, seven trips to the World Series, 11 All Star appearances, and confirmed reservations as a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame after he retires, Derek Jeter is as iconic to the Bronx Bombers as all those other monuments planted beyond the center field wall in Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees have apparently put a three year $45 million offer on the table for Jeter's agent Casey Close. But it seems that particular table needs to get a little larger to hold the amount of cash Close believes his client is worth. And what is Jeter's recent worth, as established by the same Yankee front office that is currently playing cat to his mouse?

Derek Jeter just completed a 10 year $189 million contract to patrol the left side of New York's infield, including a $21 million paycheck in 2010. That would be why the Yankees' offer of $15 million a year (for three years) might seem insulting to the Jeter camp. (To put it into better perspective, if I were to be given a $6 million pay cut I would first have to immediately go to hundreds of job interviews, be quickly hired to several dozen full time jobs, then take massive salary cuts from all of them. Even then, I would owe an additional $5.2 million.)

Then out of nowhere, in the middle of these delicate negotiations, the Wall Street Journal's Brian Costa reported that San Francisco Giants General Manager Brian Sabean had "contacted" Casey Close about Jeter. It is well-known in the baseball world that San Francisco is in need of a shortstop, and that was true even before the Giants' beloved free agent infielder Juan Uribe jumped ship and put his DNA on the dotted line to become a Los Angeles Dodger. What, the Taliban didn't have an opening in their infield so Uribe resorted to this?

The Giants contacting Jeter is extremely interesting, and not because there is any chance they might actually sign the wayward Jeter. San Francisco couldn't begin to pay half the $45 million offer Derek Jeter and Casey Close blew their noses on and carefully inserted into the nearest shredder. No, the Giants were not shopping; Brian Sabean was giving a professional nod to his early baseball roots and to a player he originally helped scout and sign.

Sabean made his bones with the Yankee organization in the 1980s and early 1990s, first as scouting director, then as vice president of player development. He was instrumental in drafting a high school player from Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1992 named Derek Jeter. It was the find of a lifetime, and solidified his resume as an up an coming general manager. But before the Yankees gave him that opportunity the Giants grabbed Sabean in 1993; he became Giants GM in 1996.

Sabean's call to Casey Close? The last thing most GMs want is for the sports media to get any inside information about who is calling whom about what, especially the hyper-secretive Sabean. So when the media found out about the call to Casey Close, it was certainly no accident. It has all the earmarks of a professional gesture to Derek Jeter, to show the aging shortstop he is not forgotten as he struggles with the most difficult contract negotiations of his career. A rare show of support from a GM on one team to a player on another, recalling and honoring a time when they were both just starting out on a very tough road.

As first reported by Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports, the San Francisco Giants have signed Aubrey Huff to a two year deal worth $22 million. The team also has a club option in 2013.

Huff drove the Giants offensively in 2010, batting .290 with 26 home runs and a .385 on base percentage. He led the team with 83 walks and 288 total bases. The deal solidifies the right side of the Giants infield, with second baseman Freddie Sanchez finishing the second year of a two year deal in 2011.

Signing Huff to a multi-year deal is a solid move for the Giants on a number of fronts. Huff is slated to play first base, but if the Giants happen to swing a deal for a first baseman, Huff can move to left field where he played in 46 games in 2010. Another, more remote, possibility is the emergence of budding first baseman Brandon Belt, who batted .352 at three Minor League levels for the Giants last season. Belt will have a chance to show the team how close he is to playing in the big leagues at Spring Training this March.

Looking to 2012 and beyond, Huff could be invaluable as a hitter off the bench and his abilities on the field at first and in the outfield make him the type of mutli-threat player Juan Uribe has been for the Giants the past several years. And while you won't find this on the ESPN stats page, Huff also brings leadership and humor to the clubhouse, two invaluable ingredients that helped the San Francisco Giants become World Champions.

San Francisco Giants rookie catcher Buster Posey has won the 2010 National League Rookie of the Year Award from Major League Baseball. Posey becomes the first San Francisco Giant player to win the Rookie of the Year since pitcher John "The Count" Montefusco took the award in 1975.

Besides catching what is perhaps the best pitching staff in baseball, Posey put up some serious numbers in only 108 big league games with the Giants this year: .305 avg., 67 RBI, 23 doubles, 2 triples, and 18 home runs. He helped lead the Giants to their first San Francisco World Series title, and the first franchise Series win in 56 years. 

Posey was followed in the Rookie of the Year voting by Phillies outfielder Jason Heyward (.277/72 RBI), St. Louis starter Jaime Garcia (13-8, 2.70 ERA), Florida Marlins first baseman Gaby Sanchez (.273/85 RBI), and Pittsburgh Pirate second baseman Neil Walker (.296/66 RBI).

Fireballing closer Neftali Perez (42 saves) of the Texas Rangers won the 2010 American League Rookie of the Year Award.
  
Buster Posey was called up from Triple A Fresno by the Giants front office on May 29, 2010, after hitting .349, with a .442 on-base percentage and a .995 OPS with the minor league team. Many observers were stunned when Posey was not part of the Giants team following Spring Training 2010, when he batted .315 with a .351 OBP. The Giants selected Posey in the first round (5th pick overall) of the 2008 amateur draft. no comments

Major League Baseball has inspired so much of American culture that at some point it became one of the essential foundations of the culture. All other professional sports together have not come close to inspiring the sheer volume of literature, analysis and historical examination that baseball has-- from it's inception in 18th century America to this morning's online sports news sites.

In the words of Howard Bryant, a senior writer for ESPN, "baseball looks forward and backward better than any other sport." In an absolutely brilliant piece published on November 12, 2010 at ESPN.com, Bryant takes a hard look forward to what Major League Baseball will likely become after the San Francisco Giants' unexpected and amazing 2010 World Series championship.

In that insightful essay, Howard Bryant writes, "the 2010 season will be remembered wistfully as historic, for the game quite likely will never be the same."

It is a story as old as the game itself-- team owners and commissioners focused not on the glory of the game, not on baseball's colorful history, and certainly not on the intensely personal relationship fans have with the game, but on revenue. On money, or more specifically on making more money.

From 1902 until an independent legal arbitrator struck it down in 1975, the reserve clause was baseball's driving financial machine. Players were forced to remain employed with their teams until ownership either traded them or released them. Since the players couldn't market their services to other teams, salaries were kept low and superstar players were essentially kept hostage by their owners for years.

Since 1975, although player salaries have soared, another revenue-generating monster has made the reserve clause look like spare change: television. While network and cable contracts are not the only revenue stream for each of baseball's 30 teams, it has become the dominent source of money for team owners over the past thirty years.

In 1973, George Steinbrenner bought the New York Yankees for $10 million. In April 2010, Forbes Magazine put the New York franchise's worth at $1.6 billion. In 1976, San Francisco businessman Bob Lurie led a group that bought the Giants from Horace Stoneham for $8 million. In 1993, a Peter Magowan-led group purchased the Giants for $100 million. In April 2009, Forbes estimated the San Francisco franchise was valued at $471 million (including AT&T Park). That's a 371% increase in value in just 16 years.

And TV's contributions to baseball's piggy bank? In 2009, Fox Sports paid Major League Baseball $2.5 billion as part of a five year contract broadcast a variety of games, including the World Series each year. If evenly divided, that's $8 million per team each year, or $40 million. Individual teams also have local broadcast contracts for television and for radio. Forbes put the Yankees' local TV and radio licensing income alone at $30 million a year; New York's overall yearly revenue was estimated to be $302 million! And while the Pittsburgh Pirates will certainly see smaller income streams, they also have them.

What does all this have to do with the San Francisco Giants winning the 2010 World Series? Television income is ultimately based on ratings; higher ratings mean more money can be charged for advertising, and more profits can be made for the television networks and for baseball. The Giants-Rangers Series tied the all time lowest broadcast ratings ever, because the sports media is an East Coast citadel that only promotes East Coast teams and (at times) the Chicago Cubs and the LA Dodgers. Period.

Which, as Howard Bryant succinctly points out, means unless the Yankees or Boston make the World Series, the ratings are pretty much guaranteed to drop.

The Baseball Commissioner's solution? Add more teams to the playoffs, which is simply another way to ensure the high spending Red Sox and Yankees will both likely make the post season every year. And the deeper those teams go into the playoffs, the more money baseball makes-- an easy decision that has nothing to do with what's best for Major League Baseball.

For some MLB fans, the importance of a Major League bullpen sometimes gets lost in the excitement of more sexy discussions: the top five hitters available in the free agent market, constructing the best possible line-up, trying to predict the final 2011 standings, whether or not to switch from the $12.00 imported beer to the $9.00 domestic in the 5th inning.

Somewhere way down on the list of fascinating baseball conversations is the one about having an effective relief corps. 

If thinking about relief pitching makes you nod off, let me give you Dyer's First Rule of Major League Baseball: the biggest obstacle between a baseball team and its ability to get wins is the quality of its bullpen. (Dyer's Second Rule of Major League Baseball involves the number of double mojitos and deep fried habaneros one should consume after an exciting Giants win. But I digress.)

Nothing better demonstrates the importance of a big league bullpen than what happened to the San Francisco Giants in 2009 and 2010.

In 2009, the Giants were in the process of finishing 3rd or worse in the NL West for the fifth year in a row (OK, in 2006 they finished in 2nd place but that was because two teams tied for 1st place). The Gigantes scored a paltry 657 runs in 2009-- 26th best out of 30 MLB teams. But, amazingly, they finished the year with a 88-74 record. How could this be?

Turns out Giant relievers posted the second best bullpen ERA in all of baseball in 2009-- 3.49 (the Dodgers' bullpen had a 3.14 ERA). Lefty Jeremy Affeldt recorded a 1.73 ERA and appeared in 74 games. The performance of the 2009 bullpen was the biggest difference maker in salvaging a potentially dismal season.

In 2010, Giant relievers again posted the second best bullpen ERA in the Majors-- 2.99 (second to the Padres' 2.81). Flash back to July 2010, when several injuries and poor performances threatened to sink the bullpen. Giants General Manager Brian Sabean made the resurrection of the bullpen his prime objective, picking up key relief pitchers Ramon Ramirez from Boston and Javier Lopez from the Pirates. That, in addition to the emergence of Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner, is what turned the 2010 season around.

So what will the Giants front office be looking at to reconstruct their 2011 bullpen? Of the seven relievers the Giants took to the 2010 playoffs, only two are signed through next year, Brian Wilson and Jeremy Affeldt.

The Bullpen
Brian Wilson-- signed in January 2010 to a 1 year $4.437 million contract to avoid arbitration. Two months later, signed a two year extension 2011-12 for $15 million. At 28, Wilson is already among the elite closers in the game and hasn't even entered his prime years as a ballplayer. Sometime after the end of the 2011 season (one year from now), the front office should be mulling another contract extension in the four year range.

A fascinating comparison here is how the Yankees handled closer Mariano Rivera's contracts over the years. For the first six years of his Yankee career, Rivera signed a series of one year contracts, 1995-2000. At age 31 in 2001, Rivera signed a 4 year deal; in 2005 the 35 year old Rivera signed a 2 year contract; in 2008, at 38, Rivera signed a 3 year deal for $45 million (or $15 million a year).

In 2010, 40 year old Mariano Rivera had a tremendous season: 33 saves, 1.80 ERA, .83 WHIP. Rivera's current contract ended this month. Brian Wilson, who had 48 saves and a 1.81 ERA, will be 30 years old when his current Giants contract ends.

Sergio Romo-- signed a 1 year contract for $416,500 in March 2010. His 2010 numbers were excellent: 2.18 ERA, 70 strikeouts, and 46 hits in 62 innings pitched. The 6 home runs were a bit high, but that's the nature of his breaking ball, off-speed pitching style. Led the team with 22 holds. Should be time for a raise and a multi-year deal.

Ramon Ramirez-- only had time to pitch 27 innings during the regular season but put up a nasty 0.67 ERA and .89 WHIP. Had a tough post season at 0-1, 4 innings pitched, 6 earned runs. His 2010 $1.15 million Boston contract will not be the preferred starting point for Giants GM Brian Sabean.

Javier Lopez-- his tremendous success as a lefty specialist is illustrated by Lopez's regular season numbers: 77 games, 57.2 innings pitched-- or about 2/3 of an inning per appearance, and a great 2.34 ERA. But it was in the post season that Lopez became a lefty legend: 5.2 innings pitched, 1 hit allowed, 6 strikeouts, a 1.59 ERA, and a 1-0 record.

Came to the Giants with a 1 year $775,000 contract from Pittsburgh, via the Red Sox and Colorado. Absolute gold for San Francisco's bullpen, and at 33 Lopez should be a shut-down machine against the the National League's elite left-handed hitters for the next five years.

Jeremy Affeldt-- in the middle of a 2 year $9.5 million deal, with a club option in 2012. Injuries made 2010 forgettable, with a 4.14 ERA and 24 walks in 50 innings. Look for a solid bounce back year in 2011.

Santiago Casilla-- another one year contract at $420,000. The good news for the Giants is that 2011 will be Casilla's second arbitration year and he will not become a free agent until 2013. Provided serious heat from the bullpen all year and posted a 1.93 ERA in four 2010 post season games. Will likely get another single year deal.

Guillermo Mota-- the big dog contract-wise with a $750,000 2010 deal. Hardly used in the post season (2.1 innings) and a so-so 2010: 1.31 WHIP, 4.33 ERA. What Mota brings to the party is the ability to jump into games gone bad and horse out three innings. If someone goes missing from last season's bullpen, it will be Mota.

Chris Ray-- coming over from Texas in the Bengie Molina deal, Ray brought a $975,000 contract. Good sinkerball specialist who can induce doubleplays when needed, but if Ray remains on the staff his role will likely dictate a pay cut.

Dan Runzler-- making the MLB minimum and under the Giants' control for a long time; not arbitration-eligible until 2013, no potential free agency until 2016. Runzler has the potential to be a dominant pitcher in the National League-- either as a closer or starter (depending on which way the team goes with him). One way or another, Runzler will be a major factor in this team's future, possibly as a valuable trade chip.

Giants' management has all the puzzle pieces here to create a powerhouse 2011 bullpen and continue the high performance standards set by the 2009 and 2010 San Francisco bullpens.

On paper, the 2010-11 hot stove season looks warm and inviting to the San Francisco Giants front office. The starting rotation that dominated the 2010 playoffs looks to be locked up for several years, the closer is signed through 2012, and it appears the majority of the team's outstanding bullpen will be re-signed. Key position spots already locked in for 2011 include catcher and second base.

What else was recently on paper? Well, the Atlanta Braves were favored to take the 2010 National League Division playoffs, the Phillies were locks to rampage their way through the National League Championship Series, and the Texas Rangers' fearsome offensive (combined with the greatest pitcher in the history of human sports) was picked to totally dominate the World Series.

Other things that can be found on paper include the droppings in your parrot cage and several items related to personal hygiene. So let's tip-toe away from all the paper and take a realistic three part look at the challenges facing the Giants ownership and front office in preparing for the 2011 season. That would involve: 1) starting pitching, 2) the bullpen, and 3) position players.

Starting pitching
Tim Lincecum-- a two year contract for $23 million, 2010-11. Starting in Spring Training next year, the pressure will build big time for the Giants to re-sign Lincecum to a longer multi-year deal. If they do not, he will be the biggest free agent in the 2011 post-season market.

Matt Cain-- a three year deal for $27.25 million, 2010-12. As a result of his incredible playoff performance Cain entered the top tier of National League pitchers: 3 starts, 2-0, 13 hits in 21.1 innings, 7 walks, 13 strike-outs, 0 earned runs/1 unearned run, a .94 WHIP. Cain's recent performance, and his delivery and body type, make him a prime candidate to have his contract extended before the 2012 season.

Jonathan Sanchez-- signed to a one year $2.1 million contract for 2010, arbitration-eligible. Look for the Giants to avoid even the hint of an arbitration hearing with Sanchez; he will sign a multi-year contract in the $4-5 million range as soon as the team can get it done.

Barry Zito-- 3 years left on a 7 year, $126 million contract. Hard to believe Zito would want to stay with the Giants after being left off the 2010 post season rosters, but all parties know San Francisco would have to prepare, bake, and consume the majority of Zito's remaining contract to move him. While the team could do a lot worse in a #5 starter (see Wellemeyer, Todd), it remains to be seen if it becomes a team chemistry issue. I personally hope Barry Zito stays and continues to contribute to this team.

Madison Bumgarner-- made the MLB minimum of $400,000 after being called up from Triple A Fresno in June. Received a $2 million signing bonus after being drafted by the Giants in 2007. This is a magic moment for the Giants front office; Bumgarner should be signed to a two year deal in the $2+ million range to start the long term lock-up process. The lefty starter is good enough to have the potential to be the #1 or #2 starter on a large number of MLB teams.

Other options-- Zack Wheeler, the #1 pick in the 2009 draft, had injury problems at Single A Augusta, going 3-3 with a 3.99 ERA in 58.2 innings. Doing much better at Augusta this year was Jorge Bucardo: 9-4, 2.21 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 95 strike-outs in 114 innings pitched. At AA Richmond, Clayton Tanner went 9-9 with a 3.68 ERA, and David Mixon was 11-7 with 112 SOs in 156.2 innings and a 1.19 WHIP. At Triple A Fresno, Henry Sosa did some starting and relieving, going 7-8, 4.07 ERA, and Eric Hacker was 16-8 with a 4.51 ERA.

So the minor leagues do not look like they will produce a viable starter in the next year or two. The Giants have discussed converting lefty reliever Dan Runzler (3-0, 3.02 ERA, 37 strike-outs in 32.2 innings) to a starting role, but this could just be positioning prior to contract talks with Jonathan Sanchez.

The San Francisco Giants' starting pitching looks dazzling, and once Sanchez is locked up this staff should be play-off bound in 2011.

It was an event at which the Governor of California made reference to an S&M acquaintance of Giants' closer Brian Wilson, and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom offered a quote from Grateful Dead icon Jerry Garcia to best describe the 2010 World Series champion Giants.

This amidst a surreal combination of the wildest Mardi Gras and a dozen New Years Eves rolled into one uninhibited celebration to honor the 2010 San Francico Giants winning the World Series.    

On Wednesday the city of San Francisco hosted a victory parade for it's beloved Giants which quickly became the biggest public event in the city's 160 year history. City officials and Giant executives estimated the crowd at well over one million people, as the World Series champs followed a 1 1/2 mile parade route first traveled in 1958 when the Giants moved to San Francisco from New York City.

Hundreds of thousands of people converged in the early morning hours along Montgomery Street and Market Street to claim a spot along the parade route, while over a half million more fans crowded into Civil Center plaza to await the arrival of the team and watch the official ceremony. It was a distinctly family affair-- the massive crowds made up of everyday fans from throughout Northern California, but an amazingly large number of parents and kids of all ages with a rare chance to experience a truly historic moment.

Apparently there was a regional epidemic of sore throats and runnny noses which forced thousands of Bay Area school children to miss classes Wednesday. But they didn't miss this.

The parade consisted of cable cars on wheels, vintage cars, and floats pulled by everything from electric cars to a UPS truck. Giant greats Willie Mays, Orlando Cepeda, and Willie McCovey joined the Series champions, coaches, Giants radio and TV broadcasters and front office executives as the parade slowly moved up Market Street to City Hall. Also marching in the parade were the team's employees: ticket takers, security people, front office staff, and seat attendants. The Giants' sassy mascot, Lou Seal, cavorted along the route.

The City Hall ceremony was an opportunity for fans to see their 2010 team one more time before the post-season party ended. The world champions were introduced one by one and took a seat on the huge stage in front of City Hall facing hundreds of thousands of energized fans who cheered and chanted at the top of their lungs.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger congratulated the team and the city, then looked over at Brian Wilson, sporting his trademark mohawk haircut and dark-dyed beard. During a televised media interview at Wilson's apartment conducted before the Series, a scantily clad, leather-hooded individual appeared briefly in the background, who Wilson later mysteriously identified as "The Machine". Governor Schwarzenegger ended his remarks by saying, "I thought I was the only machine as the Terminator, but now you also have a machine on your team..." "...so congratulations also to The Machine...".

Mayor Gavin Newsom succinctly summed up the uniqueness of this championship team by paraphrasing Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia. "They are not the best at what they do, they are the only ones who do what they do."

Giants first baseman Aubrey Huff alternatively waved, and wore, his trademark red thong throughout the parade. At the podium during the ceremonies Huff dramatically pulled the thong out from inside the front of his jeans and triumphantly waved it to the crowd. Wilson addressed the rally by saying, "I'm kinda having a mini-heart attack, I don't really know the cause... ...maybe the electricity in the crowd, or maybe the smell of Prop 19", in reference to California's failed marijuana ballot referendum.

In a wave of good feelings a host of Giant players addressed the rally, Tim Lincecum, Buster Posey, Juan Uribe and others expressing their love for their teammates and appreciation for the fans amid cheers and applause. Giants Manager Bruce Bochy summed up the selfless attitude that defined the achievements of this San Francisco Giants team: "They wanted to win it for you as bad as they wanted to win it for themselves."