Monday, November 15, 2004

 

Omar, Barry, Hot Stove!

First off, this just in...Barry Bonds, Seven-Time National League MVP. Congratulations to Barry Bonds, and best wishes for an eighth award in 2005.

I didn't post about the Omar Vizquel signing last night because my immediate reaction was unprintable. My wife told me we'd signed "Omar," and I wanted to say "you mean Nomar, right?" But she explained it was Omar Vizquel, and my heart sank.

"How many years?" I asked her.

"Three years."

"Nooo! He's already a million years old! Well, maybe they're not paying that much...?"

"$12.25 million."

"NOOOOO! If that's $4 million for 2005, that's a big chunk of their budget right there! He's not that great a hitter! NOOOOOO!"

Anyway, I resisted the urge to post that rant, and decided to wait to see how the money was distributed. I did some digging, and like a chickenshit, I waited for the other bloggers to weigh in before I made up my mind.

I've decided I like this deal. First, the Giants are paying only $2.5 million for 2005. That's not bad at all. Second, Visquel is, or should be, a much better defender than Deivi Cruz. Third, while Cruz and Vizquel's hitting numbers look similar from last season, Cruz was having a banner year. Visquel was about average.

Fourth, we don't really care about the length of the contract. The Giants live from year to year the way a college student lives from paycheck to paycheck. All that matters is the next season, really. We're going to be paying Visquel millions to play shortstop when he's 40? Eh, that's 2007. We'll burn that bridge when we come to it. In 2005, Vizquel should be a significant improvement over the Perez/Cruz combo.

There are still some things to worry about in this deal. The Giants once again sacrificed their first-round pick next year in order to sign Vizquel quickly. Also, they signed him so fast, you have to wonder if any other shortstops were given serious consideration. It looks from here like Vizquel was the Giants' #1 priority, and they went after him with laser-like focus. This is not necessarily a bad thing, except that there are quite a few free agent shortstops available.

All in all, I will give this signing my stamp of approval. I am sure this will allow Brian Sabean to sleep better tonight, because he really worries about what we say. Really.

Jefferson 11:14 AM

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