Giants Sign Renteria, People React

Yesterday, the Giants signed Edgar Renteria to a two-year deal worth $18.5MM. As expected, everyone's got an opinion.

The New York Post's Hardball blog says, "I cannot find another executive in the industry who thought Renteria deserved a contract for more than one year to re-prove himself at a fraction of the $9.25 million he will now earn annually."

ESPN's Keith Law says it was, "a wise decision."

Dave Cameron at Fan Graphs says, "For San Francisco, this isn’t a bad deal - they get a guy who should rebound and re-establish some value without any long term risk, and they fill a hole with an average player while waiting for the kids to develop."

Ray Ratto says there will be pressure on Sabean - but we could have guessed that.

Giants After Sabathia, Maybe Lowe

Regarding C.C. Sabathia, MLB Trade Rumors reports that, "the Giants are considering making an offer to C.C. Sabathia. It'd be more than $100MM but far less than $140MM. I imagine the Giants are trying to determine how much money Sabathia would leave on the table to come to San Francisco."

I've been hoping for the Giants to sign Derek Lowe, and it is believed the team is one of the pitcher's many suitors. While Lowe will still command a high price, he comes cheaper than Sabathia and would be a solid addition to an already strong staff.

Jayson Stark weighed the pros and cons of signing Sabathia yesterday:

Imagine a rotation of CC, Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Barry Zito and Jonathan Sanchez. Looks like potentially the best rotation in baseball, assuming Zito can just rebound to mediocrity and Sanchez more closely resembles the Sanchez of the first half (8-5, 3.97 ERA) than the second half (1-7, 7.47).

Of course, assembling a rotation like that would create its own set of problems. For one, it wouldn't address the offensive issues of a team that got outscored by every team in baseball except the Padres. Then again, CC did have the same OPS this year (.627) as Austin Kearns. So maybe it would.

But it also would create the opportunity for the Giants to soften on their refusal to deal Cain, then explore whether trading him could land a middle-of-the-order bat. And our guess is: It could.

Even more complicated, though, are the payroll reverberations of adding a $22 million-a-year pitcher to a team already weighed down with five more years and $101.5 million worth of obligations to Zito.

Renteria Announcement Coming Shortly

The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

The Giants have been the most aggressive team in a slow free-agent market and should make more news as soon as today by announcing a two-year contract with shortstop Edgar Renteria. A deal appears to be done after Renteria underwent a Giants physical Wednesday.

Tim Lincecum is a Beatles Fan

In case you didn't know - we are about as obsessed with music as we are with the Giants. We are always curious what sounds our favorite Giants are digging. As the San Francisco Chronicle reported back in March, Tim Lincecum has a taste for older sounds, especially the Beatles. His favorite Beatles songs are "Revolution," "Strawberry Fields Forever," and "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds." Like his pitching motion, Lincecum was introduced to the Beatles through his father. Tim's father Chris also adds, "I always pushed for Timmy and his older brother Sean to sing."

Video - "Strawberry Fields Forever," the Beatles


Another interesting Tim Lincecum musical connection - earlier this year, we reported on the striking resemblence between Lincecum and Arctic Monkey/Last Shadow Puppet Alex Turner.

Lincecum Talks Sabathia, Contract

Tim Lincecum was in Novato, CA earlier this week to put in some work as the new cover boy for MLB 2K9. While he was there, he chopped it up on a number of topics, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.

On C.C. Sabathia: "He's from around here, isn't he? I mean, our staff is good without him, but it would definitely not hurt to have him in our rotation. That guy's an animal. He knows what he's doing. He finishes games. He's a competitor. He's a workhorse. If that did happen, I could firsthand learn from him. It's always nice to get other people's perspective on different stuff."

On the Prospects of a Long-Term Contract: "We're trying to keep our options open and not commit to anything or do anything too drastic. If it ends up working out, I mean, you don't want to be closed off to anything now."

On Matt Cain: "He's a big part of our team, and a lot of (teammates) would say that. He doesn't have a lot to show for what he's done, but that will come in time. When you're as good as he is, things will turn around. He knows it."

Jorge Cantu?

MLB Trade Rumors reports that the Giants have an interest in Jorge Cantu:

12:58 PM: According to Yahoo's Tim Brown, the Giants "believe they are closing in on signing shortstop Edgar Renteria." Brown also says the Giants have discussed trading Jonathan Sanchez to the Marlins for Jorge Cantu. That'd be a steal for the Marlins, who plucked Cantu off the scrap heap in January for a half-million bucks.

Renteria Speculation Continues

Despite last weeks rumors that were denied, the Giants still seem to be looking at Edgar Renteria as their leading candidate for shortstop in 2009 according to ESPN:

A source told ESPN.com that Renteria is looking at a contract in the two-year, $18 million range with San Francisco. WFAN radio in New York reported 10 days ago that Renteria had agreed to a deal with the Giants. But [Renteria's agent Barry] Meister had characterized that initial report as untrue.

Giants Sign Howry

The Giants continue bolstering the bullpen with today's singing of Bob Howry. The move had been rumored after the Cubs opted not to offer Howry arbitration. Howry will make $2.75 million. Howry's ERA in 2008 was an unimpressive 5.35, though lifetime its 3.68 in a career that began in 1998. The Giants also signed reliever Jeremy Affeldt on Nov. 17 - a move that has been widely praised.

Matt Williams on Hall of Fame Ballot

Matt Williams worked the hot corner for the San Francisco Giants from 1987 through 1996. While his bat was a major factor in the strong teams of '89 and '93, it was Williams quiet, appreciative demeanor (almost the antithesis of Barry Bonds) that endeared him to the fans of San Francisco. He lead the NL in RBIs in 1990, and finished the strike-shortened 1994 season on pace to set the single-season home run record. Fans vocally criticized the team's decision to trade Williams for four players prior to the 1997 season. Injuries often kept Williams from amassing the great statistics he seemed destined for. Still, he compiled 378 home runs in his career and holds the distinction of being the only player to homer in three World Series for three different teams. He finally got his ring in 2001 as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Whether or not the Hall of Fame committee will find this sufficient for induction remains to be seen. He gets our vote for sure.