Giants Not Kidding When They Said They Were Out On Beltran

Carlos Beltran just signed a 2-year deal with the Cardinals worth $26 million. A contract so extremely reasonable it makes me want to do unreasonable things. Like light myself on fire. Signing Carlos Beltran for two years at market value is EXACTLY what the Giants needed to do this offseason. A Posey-Beltran-Sandoval middle of the order not only would have made other teams envious, but it might have even covered up some mild (read: unacceptable) shortcomings (read: Brandon Crawford) elsewhere in the the lineup.

I don't know how many times or how many different ways I can say this: the window to win the World Series is open NOW. It is open now, and it is being held up on the shoulders of Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum. And they are tired, guys. They need a little help. If they don't get it, who could blame them for going elsewhere? You know what might help? A switch-hitting power bat who had a .385 OBP last year. Wait...didn't they have a guy like that last year? Yes, you may recall they gave up the organization's top prospect for him. Good investment, guys.

Letting Beltran go represents a lot of bad signs for the Giants front office. It shows a lack of creativity, which could also be seen in the Jeremy Affedt signing as well as the Brandon Belt situation, which will be a mess for the second year in a row. It shows a lack of foresight in that the Aubrey Huff contract two offseasons ago effectively maxed out the payroll for this year. Speaking of a lack of foresight, the Giants are relying heavily on a healthy and productive Freddy Sanchez. Let me say that again. The Giants are relying on Freddy Sanchez.

This is all just another way to say the most disturbing thing that the lack of Beltranity represents: complacency. McCovey Chronicles said it best -- the new ownership would rather earn than win. They're going to rape and pillage that World Series title for all its worth, all while using that very team to justify the current roster. They need to be reminded that while it was the pitching that carried them, the trophy would not have come to San Francisco without career years from Huff, Juan Uribe, and Andres Torres. It's not the sign of a healthy team when you need career years from unlikely spots to win a title. But they sit back and try to pacify the fanbase on the grounds that Sanchez will be healthy and Posey will be back. And it's not like there's no merit at all to that stance of standing pat. There are plenty of reasons that the Giants will be better next year. Maybe Sanchez will stay healthy. Huff will be better or they'll put someone out there who is. Just by the law of averages, chances are they'll hit much better with runners in scoring position. And Posey will be back. But to strive to be average-at-best like they are doing is not what the fans want.