The Cleveland Plain Dealer's Paul Hoynes believes the Giants and Twins "are the two teams that would probably have interest in Andy Marte."

Marte, a 25 year-old third baseman, was designated for assignment on Thursday. The Indians now have nine days to either trade, release or outright him. As Hoynes notes, both the Giants and Twins are seeking a third baseman and Marte, "young and inexpensive, would fit nicely into their payrolls."

The Giants or Twins could claim him on waivers, take a look at him in camp, and release him at the end of spring training because he's out of options, adds Hoynes.

This makes too much sense for the Giants. A couple of options of course are sending a seasoned vet, a grizzled warrior, a gamer....whatever you want to call Dave Roberts these days. MLB Trade Rumors had a blogger throwing out a trade of Marte for "Bocock and Viagra" which would also work but I'm a Bocock guy so I say trade an outfielder. Anyone except of course Winn and Lewis. Logic says Rowand is off that list but hey, it's my fantasy right? Salaries aside it'd be nice to unload some of the pricier contracts for Marte but lets stick to this dimension and leave the alternate universe for now.

Waiting for Marte to clear waivers means bidding against the Twins who hopefully are waiting for the Giants to sign him in order to land Crede for themselves. I say take 'em. There are so many questions for this years edition of Giants baseball why not add one more to the mix. Makes the odds of having a feel good story SOMEWHERE all that more possible. Do Martes high strike outs scare me? Maybe a normal Giants fan my friend. Not me.

Here we stand at the end of the Steriod/Juiced Ball Era, what harkens ahead is an era of renewed domination by pitchers. ALL teams will struggle to score runs. The Giants moving toward "small ball" will actually put them ahead of schedule. The Magic 8 Ball says so. Do I know what I'm talking about? Hell no. Am I pulling all of this out of an orifice? Uh, yea. Isn't it obvious?

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Giants rumors and musings

How bout some non-A Roid news for this fine saturday? Seriously, does ESPN even know there are other MLB teams other than the Red Sox and Yankees? It amazes me how easy the press are going on the Orange One while all but crucifying Barry Lamar, who by the way got a big break when the judge threw out some more evidence in his case. We all know he took steroids, hell, I HAVE proof in the picture above of his trainer rubbin on the clear! Okay, it might not be the clear but it is a chance to show a funny A-Roid pic and what better reason than that? Yea Barry took roids, but we also know he wasn't the only one. That prosecutor, Novitzky or whatever is taking it TOO personal. That is not going to end well. In other news:

This taken from Pro Sports Daily regarding Joe Crede:

"The Giants could learn today the fate of their bid to sign free-agent third baseman Joe Crede, and it does not look promising.

The Chicago Tribune reported late Friday night that Crede had agreed to terms with the Minnesota Twins.

Giant sources said they were not engaged in last-minute negotiations with Crede's agent, Scott Boras. Instead, they have made a one-year offer that combines guaranteed money and incentives and have told Boras they will not go beyond that.

The Giants were pessimistic because Boras indicated Crede had a more substantial offer.

Crede, 30, is coming off two back surgeries but looked healthy in workouts attended by Giants special assistant Ron Schueler. Although health is a concern, Crede could help set the Giants' infield. Regardless of how he well he hits - he had 17 homers in 335 at-bats last season for the White Sox - he is solid defensively and his acquisition would shift Pablo Sandoval back to first base, a more familiar position.

If Crede indeed chose Minnesota, the Giants will continue to look at Sandoval at third while Travis Ishikawa and John Bowker compete at first base. At the same time, they will examine the trade market. General manager Brian Sabean surely will get a call from Cleveland about third baseman Andy Marte, whom the Indians designated for assignment Thursday.

Marte, 25, once was a top power-hitting prospect but has not hit in the majors.

A new four hitter? Manager Bruce Bochy acknowledged the staff has discussed flopping cleanup hitter Bengie Molina with projected No. 5 hitter Fred Lewis if Lewis proves he can hit with power and produce runs.

Molina has been the Giants' RBI leader in each of his two seasons. But if he hits fourth, he would hinder Lewis on the basepaths. If they switch spots, the problem is solved.

"We've talked about that," Bochy said. "Freddie's a guy who could hit anywhere from the one-to-five holes, including the four hole. I really think he's going to have a better year than last year.""

My gut tells me this was a good thing. I don't care what the reports say, a back injury is VERY hard to comeback from. Trust me. As one who has undergone back surgery, I think I'd rather have a colonoscopy performed by Hannibal Lecter, which, by the way is actually what the rehab feels like. So my analogy is not accurate. Anyhoo, anyone who was stupid enough to actually think Crede ever intended to sign with Los Gigantes is seriously underestimating the depth of evil in Boras' soul, or lack of. A case of what the Giants seemed to be doing to the Dodgers regarding Manny....drive up the price. Only the Giants may not realize they were helping Boras on that front also. By all that is holy in my mind, Boras needs to get Jerry McGuired and find it in his heart to stop screwing the Giants. On a side note, Bochy's idea of putting Molina after Lewis makes TOO much sense. Lewis will be able to hit and will surprise a few with his pop. Kevin Mitchell he's not but he's gonna be a clutch hitter....MARK MY WORDS. In fact, I'll even print that prediction and pin it to my pegboard next to my McCain 08. The Giants won't need Lewis to be the home run leader to be contending. After all, the sun for some reason is having a lack of sun spots but you don't see IT not giving out heat still right? Having Lincecum as the ace will keep our boys in games were they can win with just 2 runs or even one. Then with Cain, arguably an ace in his own right, going against number two's on other teams, the Giants will be able to add a little more to that 3.17 run production they gave him last year (he pitched 3.51 runs scored). Then theres the G Unit who is now that cagey vet who can still reach back when needed going against other number threes. RANDY JOHNSON AS A 3. And the Giants have stated they will let Jonathan Sanchez and Noah Lowry compete for number 5 and either way, they will be better than a majority of other teams number 5 starters. Brian Sabean is GENIUS for NOT doing anything! Of course I left off the number 4 starter......no need to suck the air out of my "Giants are Contenders" balloon just yet. The name Zito speaks for itself so I won't go down there. In any case, the Giants have a serious chance to win in 4 out of 5 of their games. From some reports by the way, Barry Zito has been actually working out with Brian Wilson this offseason so maybe he can start earning.....well, maybe he can make the Giants look NOT completely like the Minnesota Vikings after trading away the kitchen sink for Herschel Walker. So keep up the good work Sabes. Just sit there QUIETLY and watch the madness around you. Sit there calmly knowing that this offseason you've shored up the bully, picked up another quality starter and not traded away the Giants future for another retread. While the Giants may not look like Murderers Row on paper, after it's all said and done, they may be calling them Hit and Run Alley.

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Giants sign Aurilia

The Giants appear to have re-signed Rich Aurilia and brought him back into the fold. Good move for the Giants. Aurilia was signed to a minor league contract with incentives and he apparently turned down offers from other teams like the Blue Jays, Cubs, Astros and the Phillies. Richie may have his eyes on finishing his career in the Orange and Black. Again, good for the Giants. Signing Aurilia adds depth to the bench along with Juan Uribe, Kevin Frandsen, Pablo Sandoval etc. Of course they all may not make the cut but at 37, Aurilia will need rest and the games he and Uribe fill in or start will mean less of a dropoff in production for Los Gigantes. The Giants pursuit of Joe Crede may have come to a halt with this signing but hey, the more the merrier!

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Giants offer to Crede...

This from MLB.Com:

"Joe Crede, an All-Star with the Chicago White Sox last season, reportedly is mulling an offer from the San Francisco Giants.

The CBS television affiliate in San Francisco reported on Saturday that Crede had received the offer, but did not go into contract details. Club officials could not be reached for comment, but there was no mention of an offer when general manager Brian Sabean talked to reporters during the Giants' KNBR/Giants FanFest at AT&T Park.

The GM did say the organization has made veteran infielder Rich Aurilia an offer of a Minor League contract.

Crede, selected in the fifth round of the 1996 First-Year Player Draft by the White Sox, has spent his entire career with the South Siders. He helped the White Sox capture the 2005 World Series championship and has battled through back injuries while compiling a .257 career batting average with 125 home runs and 422 RBIs. "




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Bonds tested positive......

......BIG FREAKIN' DEAL!!!! This is NOT news! According to Sports Illustrated, the Glossy Lipped one himself, A-Roid ALSO tested positive. The article goes on to say that 104 major leaguers tested positive. So why is the gub'ment so focused on Bonds? Because he was the surliest? Because of his obliterating of the most sacred of records? It has become personal to those prosecuting this case and when the smoke has cleared, will MLB be drug free? Will sending possibly the greatest player of this generation to the can be enough of a deterrent to stop the next generation's super star? All the while Bud Selig sits idly by giving the illusion that all is fine. All is not fine. This investigation puts the nail in the last legitimacy that MLB had to it's claim as America's Pastime. Instead, we endure story after story of athletes and their alleged abuse of steriods. Something EVERYONE already knew. Not even the folks at WWE get as much ink in the press regarding 'roids. All under Mr. Selig's watch. Putting Bonds in the clink and possibly the Rocket next will cement the NFL's place in America's living room as the new favorite pasttime. So while Selig does all he can to protect the owners and management, who undoubtedly knew that at least some players, the Canseco's of MLB, were on the Juice, a greater more destructive fate now dooms MLB as the also ran in fans hearts. A distant second to the NFL. The only thing keeping it from sliding down to third of course is the NBA and it's braintrust rolling out such innovations as the All Star dunk contest and the just added, All Star Horse Game. MLB will be the loser should Bonds go down. It already has to be honest. The only thing that this investigation does, is remind us of how Selig and the other owners enabled the players and sold their souls all for the quick buck, the Renaissance of sorts, following the damage done by the lockout of the 80's. Yes, those nights watching Sosa and McGuire and later Bonds set records thought to be untouchable were magical. They brought back memories of dog days of yore. "Legitimate" records such as Maris' 61, Ruth and Aarons mammoth home runs and Lou Gehrig's Iron Man career were brought back to the national stage. Now the curtain has been pulled back and there stands the man pulling the strings. Thats right. The highest paid man in MLB. Bud Selig.

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