After sweeping away the confetti, hosing off the floor and remembering the unforgettable experience that was re-signing Matt Cain, the Giants would be advised to savor it with eyes closed and minds adrift.
That would be one way to avoid looking at their lineup and thinking about the immense challenge of creating offense.
Though securing Cain for at least five more years surely reduced anxieties about the pitching staff and the commitment of the reshuffled ownership group, it also leaves the franchise without some of the financial flexibility required to aggressively pursue power bats the next couple years.
San Francisco’s offense remains among the sickliest around, and it’s going to be virtually impossible to feed it with Cain and Tim Lincecum and Barry Zito accounting for nearly half the payroll.
The Giants have defined their priorities. They are investing mostly in starting pitching. It’s pitching first, pitching second, defense third and everything else filling in the margins.
It’s essentially the 2.0 version of the John Schuerholz/Bobby Cox Atlanta Braves.
Built around an unparalleled core of starting pitchers – Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz – the offense constantly evolved, mostly around such homegrown stars as Ron Gant, David Justice, Chipper Jones, Javy Lopez, Jeff Blauser and Andruw Jones. If they needed to restock the lineup, the Braves generally did so by flipping roster talent.
That was good enough to land a Fred McGriff and a Marquis Grissom. When the Braves turned to free agents, it usually was a stabilizing veteran presence such as Terry Pendleton or Brian Jordan or Andres Galarraga.
Not once did they Braves sign a big-ticket free agent slugger – as the Giants did with Barry Bonds – much less try to build a lineup around one.
Yet Atlanta was the envy of baseball from 1991 through 2005, winning 14 division flags in 15 seasons and making five World Series appearances, with one championship.
The Giants would drink by the gallon from McCovey Cove for such sustained success – if, that is, they could achieve it without spending as the Angels (Albert Pujols, $240 million) and Tigers (Prince Fielder, $214 million) did to add a single hitter.
The pitching-first mindset certainly is a reasonable approach now that baseball has backed away from the era of 70-homer seasons, and it’s entirely rational given the relatively spacious dimensions of AT&T Park.
But it breeds consistent success only if the pitching is reliably good and the farm system prolific at delivering bats capable of providing offensive support.
The Giants internally believe left-hander Madison Bumgarner will be every bit as good as Cain and Lincecum. They have identified their Big Three, and it can be as good as any in the major leagues. Lincecum already owns two Cy Young awards, while Cain and Bumgarner have the look of annual contenders.
The Giants also believe they have an offensive core to build around that’s still being formed – and does not in the foreseeable future include a big-money slugger.
“Just because there’s a big name (free agent) out there doesn’t mean he wants to come to San Francisco,” general manager Brian Sabean said. “Going forward, we have to find our big bats internally. We think we have guys with the potential to fill that role.”
He’s referring to the trio of Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval and Brandon Belt.
The upside is none is older than 25 or in position to command a megadeal. They’re not yet in the category of an Albert or a Prince, a Joey Votto or a Joe Mauer.
The downside is no member in the heart of San Francisco’s fantasy lineup has accomplished enough to be considered an absolute cinch.
Posey, 25, is coming of a devastating leg injury and has to show he can return to the form that excited observers in 2010. Sandoval, 25, has to prove he can maintain his weight well enough to be productive with the bat and the glove. Belt, who turns 24 this month, has yet to prove he’s ready to become an everyday impact bat.
The signing of Cain implies ownership listens to its baseball people and that it is willing to pay for the quality continuity needed to generate a winner. Lincecum is under contract through 2013, Cain through at least 2017 and Bumgarner – who could become arbitration-eligible in 2013 – still is a relatively cost-friendly sign.
That speaks well of the future.
Meanwhile, the Giants enter this season with all kinds of lineup issues. Will Posey be what he was? Will Belt emerge? Will Freddy Sanchez ever play again?
If Melky Cabrera, a stabilizing veteran presence, is the surest thing in the lineup, there are as many reasons to be concerned as there are to be excited.
