Giantsblog

Well, it’s put up or shut up time for Barry Bonds.  He now faces both perjury and obstruction of justice charges and now he gets a chance to defend himself in a court of law.  I’m a huge Bonds fan and while I’m probably viewed as an apologist for him, I just don’t think it was fair to convict him befor he was convicted.  Now, if Bonds comes out of this free of all the charges, we who defended him will be vindicated.  If he’s found guilty, we’ll have to look long and hard at how we look at the slugger going forward.

This also very well could end Bonds’ career so while it wasn’t by choice, it looks like he’ll retire a Giant.  It also makes the whole spat over the Giants not wanting to bring him back look moot because it wasn’t going to happen anyway.  Regardless, I wish Barry Bonds the best of luck in his defense because I’m holding out that he’s been telling the truth.  It might be naive, but it’s the right thing to do.

The Giants inked Omar Vizquel for another year and the slick fielding shortstop will make $5.3 million in 2008.  There’s a club option for 2009 that could put the final price tag of the deal at $10.2 over two years.

On the one hand, you’d think they’d be able to find someone better then the 40 year old Vizquel.  He had a tough time at the plate and his .621 OPS was the worst in the National League out of players who qualified for the batting title.  Still, he led the National League in Revised Zone Rating he just didn’t make many plays outside of his zone.  So you get a shortstop who, while past his prime, still makes the plays that he’s supposed to.  He’d just be a lot more valuable even if he was just a league average hitter.

In the meantime, I guess it’s better then giving away the farm for a guy like Miguel Tejada.  And while $5 milion isn’t chump change, it’s kind of the going rate for a mid-tier player.  The question is, can Vizquel get back to mid-tier.

Chris Kline at Baseball America recently got a scout’s view on Giants Rule 5 find Eugenio Velez.  With a solid season at Double-A and a good Arizona Fall League so far this season, the scout throws out the name Jose Reyes without a full fledged comparison.  He’s a switch hitter and he’s played second base and he’s also got some time in the outfield.