San Francisco Chronicle/SFGate
Year Two of the post-Barry Bonds era begins for the Giants today when pitchers and catchers report to Scottsdale Stadium. Given events of the past week, Giants players must be thrilled that the steroids epicenter is nowhere near this little spot of desert.
This spring, like last, will focus instead on the Giants' continuing quest to make the Bonds hangover go away and construct something special and successful from within.
Last season was a foundation year that generated a little optimism but only 640 runs. The Giants allowed 759 and endured a fourth straight losing season, at 72-90. The organization wants more, the fans want more and certainly the players want more.
"We finished off the season playing pretty well as a team," center fielder Aaron Rowand said. "We're going to try to take that momentum into spring training and build on that for the season."
Easier said than done.
The Giants might have fixed the bullpen by adding Jeremy Affeldt and Bobby Howry, solidified the rotation by adding Randy Johnson and purchased some experience in shortstop Edgar Renteria, but by no means will they be a set team when they take the field for the first time Sunday.
Everyone in the organization loves Pablo Sandoval, but even general manager Brian Sabean sounded cautious about the 22-year-old's ability to handle third base. First base is a big question mark with Travis Ishikawa, John Bowker and nonroster invitee Josh Phelps all hoping to wrest the job.
Second base is another wide-open scramble featuring Kevin Frandsen, Emmanuel Burriss, Eugenio Velez - all unproven - and invitee Juan Uribe. Even the outfield, which seems established by comparison, poses questions about Fred Lewis' ability to be a run-producer and Rowand's ability to overcome the heebie-jeebies about playing at China Basin.
For what it is worth, Baseball Prospectus plugged all these players into a computer and determined the Giants will finish 79-83 while scoring 63 more runs than last year (sounds about right) while allowing 41 fewer (sounds a bit pessimistic).
Of course, the main problem with such projections, aside from the fact that computers cannot hit a slider or run well in the gaps, is nobody really knows how the Opening Day lineup will look. Aside from all the internal competitions that must be decided, Sabean will continue to pursue more offense. He does not stick his cell phone into a drawer once pitchers and catchers report.
Remember, the Giants signed catcher Benito Santiago on St. Patrick's Day in 2001, and he was a boon. In 2003, lingering rotation and bullpen issues gained clarity on March 24 when the Giants shipped Livan Hernandez to Montreal for Jim Brower.
Manny Ramirez and Joe Crede aside, there is even more reason to believe a spring deal could materialize this season because of the economy. Surely some owners will examine depressed ticket sales and order their GMs to ship out quality players to trim payroll at any cost.
Sabean said he will be ready.
"We're evaluating the teams right now that might be distressed going into this, what those players look like, the free agents to be or arbitration-eligible players to be, how much money it is and what positions (they play)," Sabean said. "Early on, we'll have a list. There'll be a hit list we'll be able to form. But we won't be the only team doing that. Any team with flexibility will be able to do that."
One key question should gain clarity early in spring training. That is Noah Lowry's health. If he is throwing full bullpen sessions off a mound like the rest of the pitchers this weekend, he could be ready for a full-blown competition with Jonathan Sanchez for the fifth spot in the order. Lowry has been throwing in Arizona for weeks. Starting this weekend, he gets to show the rest of the team where he is.
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