Giants think they'll be in the hunt

Apparently the San Francisco Giants expect to be in the hunt in a very tough NL West division. The same division they finished 19 games behind in 2007.

Newcomer Aaron Rowand, "Nobody in here expects to be at the bottom of the barrel in the NL West. We expect to be in the hunt. That's the outlook we're going into the season with. That's why we're here working as hard as we are. It's going to take a group effort, a collective effort."

Veteran outfielder Dave Roberts, "If you look at the numbers, we were in virtually every game last year. If we get the pitching that we're capable of getting, we're going to be in every game like we were last year."

No offense to Dave Roberts and Aaron Rowand, but they fail to realize that there are 4 other teams that are much better than the Giants. The Giants had the starters to get it done, just ask Matt Cain, but their bullpen was awful and won't be much better this year.

The team might be more relaxed than years past, especially due to the fact that there's no Barry Bonds in the locker room for the media hords to surround.

"Obviously, nothing against Barry as a person or a player, but it's a lot more relaxed now," Roberts said. "I think that anyone with his status, in all walks of life, they command that kind of respect and people are more uneasy. I thought he was a great teammate and he's a very good friend of mine, but it seems like now people can be themselves more so."

The Giants still have one Barry that should concern them. That being left-hander Barry Zito. Zito has gone from being the ace of the staff, to probably a #3 at best behind Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum. Can he be effective for the Giants in 2008, more so than he was last season?

I wonder about Aaron Rowand myself. There's no question this guy outhustles anyone in the major leagues, noone works harder than Rowand, but will he really make that much of a difference for the Giants. His numbers were put up in a bandbox in Philadelphia, now he has to try and duplicate those efforts in some of the biggest pitcher's parks in baseball. I have a hard time believing that he can do that.

The Giants will be in the hunt alright....in 2010 maybe.

Rowand guarantees title hunt with Giants

Aaron Rowand may have let his excitement of being with a new team scramble his brain. According to Chris Haft of MLB.com, Rowand has guaranteed that the Giants will contend for the NL West title.

Now, I'm not a Giants fan, nor a Giants hater, but Rowand may be biting off a little more than he can chew. To guarantee anything at this point is both ludicrious and dumb.

Things the Giants do have going for them...their pitching staff is young and talented. Their front 4 boasts Tim Lincecum, Barry Zito, Noah Lowry and Matt Cain, a fearsome foursome to be sure, but where is their offense going to come from? Rowand can not carry an offense, most people say he's a ballpark created hitter. Moving from a very hitter friendly ballpark in Philadelphia to one of the best pitchers parks in baseball isn't going to do him any favors.

Last season, the Giants ranked 27th in Team Batting Average (.254), 29th in Runs (683), 25th in HR's (131), 28th in OBP (.322) and dead last in Slugging Percentage (.387).

There's no doubt the Giants have pitching, but with their only addition being Aaron Rowand, I just don't see how the Giants are going to compete for anything but last place.

Giants after Yankees' Matsui?

With a lot of teams looking for an outfielder during the Winter Meetings the past 3 days, it looks like the Giants could have their eye on a big one....Yankees' outfielder Hideki Matsui. According to ESPN's Jayson Stark, the Giants did call the Yankees and could be offering Tim Lincecum, Noah Lowry or Matt Cain.

Blue Jays close to a deal with Lo Duca

According to Robert MacLeod of globesports.com, the Blue Jays are close to a 1-year deal for free agent catcher Paul Lo Duca. The deal is reportedly in the $3M - $4M range plus bonuses.

In the same article, the Jays are waiting for an answer from the Giants on an Alex Rios for Tim Lincecum deal the Jays proposed earlier in the day.