Thursday, December 23, 2004

The San Francisco Giants, or Geriatrics?

Well, I think it's safe to say that Brian Sabean likes old guys.

He has a few on his team already. By Opening Day in April, 2005, the following Giants will have the following ages following their names: Barry Bonds (40), Marquis Grissom (37 until April 17th), and J.T. Snow (37). It doesn't seem like that was quite enough, because over the offseason Sabean has added Moises Alou (38), Omar Vizquel (37 unitl April 24th), and Mike Matheny (the "kid" at 34). If nothing else, the Giants GM has upgraded in age over last year's team. Consider this: the Giants starting outfield next season will average about 39 years old, their infield, including 3rd baseman Edgardo Alfonzo (31), and 2nd baseman Ray Durham (33), will average about 35 years of age. Of course, Matheny will start most games behind the dish, so...

This leaves us with S.F. fielding a team that will, in effect, be about 36 years old. Is this really good for the Giants? Don't get me wrong -- I'm all for veteran presence and experience players, but the lack of youth is really astounding when you look at it. Do these acquisitions make the Giants better in 2005, or do they set them up for some potential heartache?

I don't know quite yet, so I'll use the best tools available to get an idea: stats! Next time, we'll compare the new players (I use the term "new" loosely) with the players they replaced.

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