Brett Tomko pitched a 3-1 complete game victory over Arizona in the meaningless season finale, halting the Giants? losing streak at 5, and upping his record to a still miserable 8-15. Where was this effort against San Diego five days ago when it mattered? Inquiring little minds want to know. They made us think there was a chance, even though we knew there really wasn?t one. Those Padre people were just suspect enough, just rickety enough to find a way to blow it. But in the end they didn?t, or couldn?t, and forevermore will have to suffer the scores of stinging remarks about stealing the division with a sorry record. The season is over for the orange and black, but the speculation is only beginning. Baseball returns in the blink of an eye it seems, and there?s a mountain of work to be done. For those teams battling on through October, the speculation will wait. For the Giants, the sooner they get started, the better for all of us. As always, each question answered appears to bring on another. Or ten. And Brian Sabean is the lucky bloke who gets to sort ?em all out. Well, that?s how he chose to earn his living, right? For us, the slovenly fans, the job is much easier and infinitely more fun. We get to heavily criticize anytime the urge hits, and find creative ways to spend millions of somebody else?s money. Zowee! So let?s get started. The temptation to overrate the starting pitching staff for next year is there again, as it was last year, to which Sabean recently admitted. Will he make that mistake again? Let?s sincerely hope not. Matt Cain has the face of the real deal and should be able to look forward to dining consistently on a better post-game spread. But a half dozen career big-league quality starts do not automatically make for a reliable starter. The proof may still be found simmering in the pudding. Noah Lowry has demonstrated he can pitch in the Majors, and become that guy who is counted on by everybody. Double-digit wins can be expected again next season. Leave him alone for now ? there are more serious worries. What in the world is going on with Jason Schmidt? And where did his fastball go? Is he hurt more seriously than has been reported? No one ever explains why a routinely 97 mph seed has suddenly become 92, with a very occasional and barely memorable 94 or 95. Something seems to be quacking here, as the smell of a widgeon permeates the air. Brad Hennessey has looked terrific at times, understandably unsteady at others. More seasoning may not help him much, but he could wind up toiling in the 5th slot, unless they bring back Kirk Rueter. Think about that for a minute or less. Tomko will be gone, as well he should be. No further discussion required. So that leaves some tinkering to be done. Kevin Correia has exhibited a live arm, but someone desperately needs to remove his blindfold and point him towards home plate. A solid free-agent acquisition is a must, and since we can spend millions of the owner?s money, hey, let?s shoot for the moon. The bullpen is an interesting mix, to say the least. Armando Benitez probably needs an entire season to illustrate how many saves he can blow. Ditto for Latroy Hawkins. Scott Eyre will undoubtedly head for immensely greener pastures, but that may be a good thing since he could follow the lead of other Felipe burnouts such as Todd Worrell, Matt Herges, and Jason Christianson. There?s a guy with a license plate that proudly proclaims ?I BBQ U?, and the frame identifies him as an X-Ray technician. It?s not hard to imagine Felipe driving around with a similar decree, and a smile on his face. There?s also a load of young and interesting pitching talent, all with the same characteristics: Incredible potential, but not enough history. Let any of them go and you run a high risk of explaining how another Joe Nathan got away. People like Jeremy Accardo, Jack Taschner, Matt Kinney, Tyler Walker, Scott Munter? the list goes on. Jeff Fassero is about 83 years old, so he won?t be missed next spring. Get started on your golden years, Jeff. But whoa, Felipe likes him, so that means he?ll probably reappear to take up a prime slot yet again. Randy Winn turned out to be a pleasant surprise, but talk of moving him to the 3-spot seems exceedingly premature. He claims not to be a power guy, and his career history certainly backs him up. Let?s not get hasty, here. Isn?t it a bit soon to be filling out next season?s lineup card? Watching Mike Matheny and particularly Omar Vizquel play defense was pure delight. Both should have some quality miles left, barring any injuries. The same cannot be said for Edgardo Alfonzo and J.T. Snow, however. Two homers from your third baseman, and four from your first baseman is about as pathetic as it gets. Embarrassing. Gives the opponents a jolly good laugh, which is commendable, but it is high time for serious upgrades. Young players that may contribute include Lance Niekro, Todd Linden, and Dan Ortmeier. Niekro in particular was having a very fine little season until he struggled a tad, then found himself buried on the bench behind that power behemoth Snow. Hopefully, he hasn?t been ruined forever. But how much further along would he be had he continued to play and learn. Some things we?ll never know. Of course the biggest question mark surrounds Bonds. What will his health be like next year and how many games will he play. It is painfully obvious just how important his presence is to this team. Life after Barry apparently isn?t going to be pretty. So the Giants gave us hope for a miracle finish, when everybody and his big brother, wicked sister and rich uncle knew there was little chance. Even took the Padres lead down to three games, making them squirm like pained jellyfish. What a story this would be. In the end though, they staggered to the finish line like a bunch of drunken sailors on shore leave -- the same way they staggered through most of the season. Let?s hope we don?t see anything like this again for a long, long time. It?s not healthy. Lest we never forget, they won only 75 games and still finished ahead of the Dodgers ? loyally applying a tiny dash of saving grace to an otherwise repugnant 2005 campaign.