Another Giant miscue

The San Francisco Giants have a weakness. OK, yes, they have multiple weaknesses. But for now let's talk about their soft spot for underachieving veteran hitters with overinflated salaries. It boggles the mind to see Bay Area fans and media getting excited about new Giant Mark DeRosa, who no doubt is primed to join a long list of acquisitions (either via trade or free agency) over the past 20 years in which the Giants essentially got stiffed.

Six million a year for .260, 25 HR, 75 RBI -- and that's if he has a good year -- is a waste. Travis Ishikawa could give you that for $500,000.

The following list says it all (I may have missed one or two, but no matter, they're all basically the same player):

Edgardo Alfonzo, Kevin Bass, Todd Benzinger, Gary Carter, Darnell Coles, Jose Cruz Jr., Eric Davis, Ray Durham, Steve Finley, Andres Galarraga, Ryan Garko, Marquis Grissom, Mel Hall, Tommy Herr, Glenallen Hill, Shea Hillenbrand, Ryan Klesko,, A.J. Pierzynski, Dave Roberts, Edgar Renteria, Aaron Rowand, Deion Sanders, Reggie Sanders, Benito Santiago, Cory Snyder, Darryl Strawberry, Mark Sweeney, John Vander Wal, Randy Winn.

In fairness to Brian Sabean and his front-office cohorts, the Giants recorded perhaps the single greatest acquisition in baseball history in the early 1990s (I don't really need to say who it is, do I?), and a handful of aging veterans actually did pan out during the same 20-year span the above list covers. Moises Alou, Ellis Burks, Kenny Lofton, Willie McGee, J.T. Snow and Omar Vizquel come to mind. Those guys delivered what was expected of them.

Still, the duds outweigh the gems by tons. And while the ink is still drying on the Freddy Sanchez deal, signing DeRosa does not show a shift in the pattern.

All-Decade Team: Outfielders and Pitchers

OUTFIELDERS:

• LF Barry Bonds. He was finished after the 2007 season, but in a three-year span (2001-03), Bonds did a decade's (or more) worth of damage. The most impressive aspect of Bonds' domination during those seasons was not the number or frequency of home runs, but how he managed to hit all those dingers as opposing pitchers and managers were letting him see so few strikes. Honorable mentions: Manny Ramirez, Johnny Damon, Carlos Lee.


• CF Torii Hunter. Yes, Carlos Beltran had better numbers, but Hunter was hands-down the best defender at the position for most of the decade. Plus, he exuded what we'll call, for lack of a better term, the "Jeter Effect," especially during his years in Minnesota. Honorable mentions: Beltran, Andruw Jones.


• RF Ichiro Suzuki. If not for some amazing years from one Vladimir Guerrero, this would have been no contest. As it is, Ichiro, by far the toughest out in baseball since he entered the majors in 2001, wins pretty handily. Honorable mentions: Guerrero, Bobby Abreu.

PITCHERS:

• RHP Roy Halladay. The numbers game easily goes to Halladay, and he compiled those stats with a mostly mediocre Toronto offense behind him and a so-so bullpen to pick him up. Honorable mentions: John Smoltz, Tim Hudson.


• LHP Randy Johnson. It's hard to argue against the Unit's three straight Cy Youngs to start the decade, but when it comes to consistency and reliability, CC Sabathia comes in a close second. Honorable mentions: Sabathia, Johan Santana.


• Closer Mariano Rivera. The closer role seems to be changing with each season, but the one constant has been Rivera. Honorable mention: Trevor Hoffman.

All-Decade Team: Infield

Every baseball hack in the free world is chiming in on this, so I figured what the hell ... today the infield, tomorrow the outfield and pitchers.

INFIELD

• C Jorge Posada. With due respect to Minnesota's Joe Mauer, he played only a bit longer than half the '00s. So, Posada is my pick -- for above average offensive production, being the mark of consistency, winning two titles and handling a revolving-door staff of high-priced pitchers. Not to mention doing all those things with such a storied franchise as the New York Yankees. Honorable mentions: Jason Varitek, Mauer.
• 1B Albert Pujols. A no-brainer if there ever was one. In fact, anyone who doesn't pick the Cardinals' slugger as the Player of the Decade better have a pretty convincing argument. Honorable mentions: Ryan Howard, Mark Teixeira.
• 2B Chase Utley. My inclination here was to split the pick between Jeff Kent for the first half of the decade and Utley for the second half. With a gun to my head, I'll take Utley for winning the title on '08 and doing everything in his power to win the thing in '09. Honorable mentions: Kent, Luis Castillo, Placido Polanco.
• 3B Alex Rodriguez. Criticism abounds with the highest-paid person in any profession. One thing you cannnot dispute is A-Rod's production. And let's give him a little credit for learning a new position in the name of winning. Honorable mentions: Miguel Cabrera, Chipper Jones.
• SS Derek Jeter. Another pick that would be tough to challenge. Great all-around player, true leader, consummate professional, hardly a flaw in his game or in his character. Jeter is the the type of player every owner, GM and manager dreams of starting a franchise with. Honorable mentions: Miguel Tejada, Jimmy Rollins, Omar Vizquel.

Bring Around the Posey

The Giants are being way too cautious with first-round draft pick Buster Posey. I'm hearing a lot of talk about how GM Brian Sabean and other Giants brass see Posey starting the year in the minors.

Why?

This kid is ready, and with Bengie Molina on the free-agent block, now is as good a time as any to see what the bonus baby can do as an every day, major-league starter behind the plate.

Obviously, Posey isn't ready to catch 162 games in 2010 (or even 140 for that matter). But that's where manager Bruce Bochy, a former catcher, and veteran receiver Eli Whiteside come in. Set up a schedule, pace him along, but don't coddle him.

Posey will be 23 on Opening Day. Make him the starter and make him the regular catcher. Let the kid build some confidence and develop a rapport with the club's fine young pitching staff. And let him fail, too, so he can learn from his mistakes. But don't say he's not ready.

'Lackey' and 'ace' in the same sentence? Seriously?

Well, I'm at a loss. John Lackey must have one hell of a publicist. The media is playing him up to be an ace (huh?); they're calling him one of the top right-handers in the AL over the past eight seasons; they're even pushing this guy as a No. 1 starter ahead of Josh Beckett and Jon Lester.

I'm still waiting for the punch line.

Here's what he's done to earn the five-year, $82.5 million contract Boston reportedly offered him:

• Finished 11-8 with a 3.83 ERA last season.
• Won 15 or more games in a season once (19-9 in 2007)
• Never posted a single-season ERA below 3.00 (3.01 in 2007)
• Never pitched more than three complete games in a season and has 14 career CGs in 233 starts
• Postseason numbers are mediocre at best (3-4, 4.12 ERA in 14 games)

Not to say Lackey isn't a decent pick-up -- he's a good, solid No. 3 or No. 4 guy. And maybe, under the pressure of that lofty contract, he'll surprise us with a career year. You certainly can't dispute his competitve fire.

But an ace? No. Worth $17 million a year? Not even close. Gives the Red Sox one of the most formidable rotations in the league, as one MLB writer put it? Definitely not.

Sorry, Red Sox Nation, you got swindled. Should have spent that money on that one guy ... eh, Jason somethin'... eh, oh yeah, Bay ... your All-Star left-fielder ... your best player last season. Remember him?

Whew! Good luck competing with those pesky Bombers next year. If you're placing you're bid for a title on the shoulders of John Lackey, you're going to need it.

Pick Six

Some of the 2009 Major League Baseball postseason awards should be no-brainers while others require some thought and analysis. Since I'm just some schmuck off the street, I'll make my picks off the cuff:

• AL Cy Young Award: Zack Greinke, Royals. Winning 16 games for Kansas City and posting a 2.16 ERA in the American League both are near impossibilities these days. Those accomplishments alone put him above the rest.
• NL Cy Young: Chris Carpenter, Cardinals. Of the top three contenders -- the Cards' Adam Wainwright and the Giants' Tim Lincecum being the other two -- Carpenter's ratio of baserunners-to-innings pitched was the lowest (156 hits, 38 walks in 192.2 IP). Two bonuses: the ERA title and fewer than five losses have to count for something.
• AL Manager of the Year: Ron Gardenhire, Twins. Mike Scioscia's Angels did what was expected, as did Joe Girardi's Yankees. Gardenhire had much less to work with (in terms of payroll/talent) and still managed to compete with the big boys.
• NL Manager of the Year: Jim Tracy, Rockies. Tracy took over a team that was headed for the NL West cellar and guided them to the playoffs.
• AL MVP: Derek Jeter, Yankees. Teammate Mark Teixeira had better overall numbers, and Minnesota's Joe Mauer had an incredible season, but Jeter was the epitome of an offensive catalyst for the World Series champs. It's safe to say that without him, the Yankees don't win the title, and that's the purest definition of an MVP.
• NL MVP: Albert Pujols, Cardinals. From strictly a numbers standpoint, Pujols is a runaway. And no other NL player stands out in Jeter-esque fashion.

World Series Champion New York Yankees

No, the New York Yankees did not answer the critics, as some media members are saying. They only confirmed -- for the first time in nine years, by the way -- what the critics have been saying about them all along:

• Yes, they overpaid most of their players.
• Yes, they aggressively went after coveted free agents during the offseason.
• Yes, they built a brand new stadium for an ungodly amount of money.

So, what did the Yankees do differently from 80 percent of the other clubs in the major leagues?

Nothing, except they did all those things a little better while finding a winning formula on the field. They did what they had to do to win a title. Nobody in their right mind can criticize them for that.

Congratulations, Bombers.