| Douglas Benton. 29th November, 2006 - 7:06 pm
 Gary Matthews Jr. decided Disneyland was better than the Golden Gate Bridge when he signed with the Los Angeles Angels.
Later that week, Carlos Lee came to the realization that Jeff Kent was right in that “It’s better being a cowboy than a surfer,” when he took his talents to the Houston Astros.
An aging team, a weak minor league system and a high price of living won’t make San Francisco a desirable location anytime soon either, which would mean a long rebuilding process for the Giants. The one area they have a chance at building upon is the pitching staff and they will have to, because hitting will take a hit the next few years.
The loss of Moises Alou and the dwindling chance of a Barry Bonds return means that this team will lean on their pitching more in 2006.
Already locked and signed in their rotation are Matt Morris, Noah Lowry, and Matt Cain. Morris should rebound from a suspect year to have a very solid year in his second season with the Giants. Morris is a workhorse, logging over 200 innings last year, but too many base runners were his Achilles’ heel in 2006.
Lowry also should continue his development as one of the most underrated left-handers in the major leagues. He has a career record of 26-23, with his major problem being able to turn in consistent efforts every start.
The key piece though is clearly Matt Cain, who has the ability to win the Cy Young, which could happen in 2007. It has been a long time since the Giants have developed a pitching prospect like Cain and since he is only 22, he will have to take on the role of ace for the next decade at least.
Cain made it a habit in the second half of the year of flirting with no-hitters deep into ballgames and racking up impressive strikeout numbers. He posted seven or more strikeouts in 12 of his 31 starts while finishing the year with 179.
If you expect your rotation to carry a team though, it needs more than three arms and the minor league system is devoid of major league-ready talent. Last year’s 2005 top 10 prospect on Baseball America listed right-handers Merkin Valdez and Craig Whitaker, and left-hander Jonathan Sanchez. Sanchez made it to the big club last year, but showed he’s not ready for a rotation spot, and neither of the other two show any promise of playing in San Francisco soon.
This is why it is imperative for the Giants to re-sign Jason Schmidt, at any cost. He can help Cain learn the role of being an ace and team with him to produce one of the best one-two punches in baseball. He will also give the Giants four good arms to go with into the regular season, which prevents a team from going on a prolonged losing streak that can derail a season.
With the free agent market out of control, Schmidt will likely command a four-year deal for $13 million-$15 million per year, which would mean that they would have to grossly overpay for the latter years of his contract, but the stability he provides in the first years would be worth it.
The Giants have many areas they need help on, but even an addition of Manny Ramirez won’t keep the Giants from missing the playoffs under first-year manager Bruce Bochy, but a good pitching staff will. |
