Giants Trim The Beard

With negotiations on a new deal at a stand still, the Giants are set to allow former all star closer Brian Wilson become a free agent. Coming off a second Tommy John surgery, and not expected to pitch until June at the earliest, Brian Wilson and the Giants are at an impasse in negotiations. The deadline to get something done is today and it would be a miracle if that happens.

After the emergence of Sergio Romo as the teams closer for much of the second half and the entire postseason, Wilson would probably not return to the closer role if he does pitch for the Giants again. Unfortunately the beloved bearded wonder lost his job to injury. Depth and perseverance got the Giants through the loss of the icon. However, let's not take for granted the impact that his presence had on Romo this past season.

While many fans feel Romo is ready to step into the role full time after another spectacular season, I have my reservations. He certainly is great but he is far from a conventional closer and I am concerned about how well he would do the job for a full season. If you think that I am the only one, remember that Santiago Casilla was the original replacement when Wilson went under the knife this time. Obviously, Bochy was not ready to give the reigns to Romo.

Don't get me wrong, once he got the ball he ran with it and did a spectacular job as the man. Romo was 14 out of 15 in save chances in the regular season and perfect in the postseason, while allowing just one run in the playoffs. I am certainly not the first to doubt Romo and he is a man who thrives on his doubters as much as his supporters. As fun loving as Romo seems, he competes hard and it is apparent that he is adamant about proving his doubters wrong. You can never question his heart or competitiveness.

If, or more likely when, Wilson becomes a free agent, I am hopeful that the two sides will continue to talk. A deal can still get done, it just opens up to competition from other clubs. Wilson is an icon in San Francisco and it would be a shame to see his time here end this way. Clearly, he wants to stay and that is a good thing. The issue is not really a dollar figure as much as it is about respect for what he has done for this team and in the community. While the world saw how great and entertaining he was in 2010, we all enjoyed him long before that. He is a staple on this club and I am really hoping that this all gets worked out soon.

Holliday Cries About Getting Hit

In a recent interview, Matt Holliday was quoted saying that he "wasn't thrilled about getting hit" in game 7 of the NLCS. It is quite funny to hear that, I am pretty sure that I don't care Matt but I will send you some tissue if your feelings are really hurt. He also said that "if he wanted to hit me, I wish he would've done it on the first pitch of the next game." Yeah because retribution is all about when you want to receive it.

Look dude, you gotta man up! A few years back, Holliday got off of twitter for nearly a year because fans were making fun of him for working out to Creed. Clearly, this dude is very sensitive. I was quite upset when he slid into Scutaro during game two of the NLCS and I said some unfavorable things. I would like to take this chance to apologize..............On second thought, man up and stop being a bitch Holliday. You took it upon yourself to try to take a guy out. Then, when the time was right, you wore one for it. That is baseball! In the interview, you referred to the take out slide as "just playing hard." Well, Matt Cain was just playin hard too. Grow a set and man up if you don't like it!

MVPosey Time!

This is the moment that I have been waiting for since around mid August. Today, the Buster Posey era has become national. Not only is the best offensive catcher in the game of baseball but he is one of the best hitters in the game as well. This season he cemented his legacy as one of the best Giants of all time and the face of a new era of Giants baseball. Let the Buster Posey era begin!

The Loria Problem

With many baseball fans, executives, players, etc. upset about the Marlins/Blue Jays trade, Jeffrey Loria is really coming under fire. People are calling for him to be kicked out of baseball. After he threatened to move the Marlins out of Miami if the tax payers didn't help pay for a new stadium, promising to increase payroll if they complied, this action is seen as reprehensible by most. Loria held the city hostage, teased the fan base last winter, and is now ripping the big league club apart. There will probably be more moves and I am guessing that Giancarlo Stanton will be the lone recognizable name on the Marlins roster come opening day.

While the uproar and attention goes to Loria, once again, the real problem with the game is being ignored. Bud Selig has embarrassed and stained the game of baseball beyond words. From the labor wars to the  steroid era to the embarrassing acts of owners Selig is the man in charge and he is responsible for all of it. Removing Loria, a close friend of Selig's, won't fix this problem. The only solution, for the good of the game, would be for Selig to step down or be removed. Unfortunately, I am now convinced that he will be in office until he or the game dies.

For those who don't know, Loria is not the first friend of Selig's to embarrass the game. You don't have to go back far to find the last either. Frank McCourt, another friend, was a stain on the Dodgers franchise for five years before an ugly, public divorce finally got forced him to sell the team. Selig did a lot to get McCourt the Dodgers after his failed attempt to by the Red Sox. McCourt was just another stain on the game brought to you by Bud Selig.

Major League Baseball has a revenue sharing program that gives each team upwards of 120 million dollars annually. The rules of this agreement state that owners are required to reinvest most of this money into the baseball team. Selig continues to allow owners, like Loria to dance around those requirements and pocket money that is supposed to go into building up the game of baseball. As long as Selig is around, this will remain a problem. Loria has done this before, with the Expos and Marlins, and he will do it again. What is the purpose of getting rid of him if you are just going to allow another one of Selig's friends take over?

Affeldt Deal Finalized

With the completion of his physical, the Giants will finalize a 3 year 18 million dollar contract to retain the services of one of the best left handed setup men in the game, Jeremy Affeldt. Although six million a year may seem like a bit much, you can't under-estimate how valuable Affeldt is for the Giants. He has been one of the best in the game for the past 5-6 seasons and has never suffered any significant arm issues. Some have second guessed signing him until he is 36 but I expect his arm to hold up fine and I think that is well in line with what the market commands.

The Giants should also finalize a new contract for Marco Scutaro this week and when that is complete it will only leave Angel Pagan as the final unsigned critical component to this past season's title run. With the depth of the free agent outfield class, and Pagan's insistence on testing the market, I expect for this one to go unresolved for quite some time. The Giants have touched base with Nick Swisher but I strongly doubt they would bring him in without signing another outfielder as well. As for Hamilton, the Phillies have gotten a lot of attention as the team for him but I find that hard to believe unless they were to move Cliff Lee's contract.