Q.  So what happened to that [83 bat + 102 pitch] SF team the next year, 2009?

A.  They turned it into an [82 bat + 121 pitch] team.

You could look it up.  All in the world the Giants did, in 2009, was find three league-average SP performances to put behind the Stars, Lincecum and Cain.

They found two journeyman relievers, Howry and Affeldt, and Brian Wilson arrived on the scene (like Lueke, Cortes, League or whoever).

That's how easy it is to turn things around, when you've got the couple-three monster starters to finagle around.

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Q.  And then what happened to the 2009 [82 bat + 121 pitch] team?

A.  They turned it into a [95 bat + 121 pitch] team.

Buster Posey came up and raked.

Huff and Burrell had up years, to everybody's surprise.

And the Giants found some 90 bats to plug in.

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Q.  Like Spec says, hardly magic.

A.  Exactly.  With Posey anchoring the lineup, and Lincecum and Cain in the rotation ... there are 100 GM's in baseball (present and retired) who had a good shot at lining up the support team that the Giants had this year.

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Q.  Buster Posey isn't a Star, is he?  He makes the minimum?

A.  Within the context of ML-ready players, he's a Star. This is the point of Spec's article -- the Golden Boys driving the pennant.

There is a Stars & Scrubs orientation involved, in selecting Justin Smoak or Jesus Montero as your return on Cliff Lee, as opposed to selecting two (2) Grade A- players.

S&S is an all-your-eggs-in-one-basket thing.

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Q.  Way to go, Capt. Jack.

A.  If Jack Zduriencik had committed no other act of wisdom ---- > the fact that he focused on Smoak/Montero, vs. all the alternatives, would be enough to earn him my undying love.

The M's have two (2) Buster Poseys coming next year, kiddies.  Send the flowers to Z.

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Q.  Do Baumgartner, Sanchez and Wilson count as critical ingredients?

A.  I don't think so, no.  Maybe Baumgartner.

Brian Wilson can throw the stuffing out of the ball, but hey, he's a closer.  The Mariners have one of those.  Most teams do.

I don't think you need a #1 draft pick, or $40M, or whatever, to come up with that.  ... still, don't get me wrong ... a lights-out closer is a big part of a champion's psyche.

Chemistry matters here.  Had the Giants used Aardsma as closer, the story might have been different.  But you know what we mean.

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Q.  Sanchez wasn't a critical piece?

A.  Here (and Huff and Burrell) was where LUCK became a critical piece of the puzzle.

Sanchez' peripherals and ERA's the last three years:

• 2008 - 9k, 4bb, 1hr ... 5.01 ERA
• 2009 - 9k, 4bb, 1hr ... 4.24 ERA
• 2010 - 9k, 4bb, 1hr ... 3.07 ERA

There's nothing wrong with getting up years from two or three veterans.  And there's nothing wrong with planning on that.  All GM's hope for that.

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Q.  C'mon.  That's hardly being intelligent about it.

A.  Half you guys are rotisserie champions.  You don't go into the year hoping for three up years from your vets?

You ever win a tough league without getting that luck?  No, you didn't.

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Part 3

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