First Half Hits and Misses

At the break it's almost a given that every self-declared expert will give his report card on the season to date. Well, far be it from me to break with tradition.

The Giants have done some things right, and they've had some colossal misfires. What follows is my brief snapshot of both.

HITS
Aubrey Huff. I was 100 percent against this signing, but Huff has proven to be a bargain. I'm not convinced I want him back, but that's not due to performance. A younger player might yield a better long-term return, but there's no question that Huff's bat is a big reason the Giants are in the race at all.

Buster Posey. The Giants have a dismal record under Brian Sabean when it comes to drafting and developing position players. Posey, however, looks to be a keeper. As the 2008 Golden Spikes Award winner he came in with solid credentials. My greatest fear is that the Giants will screw this up with the endless position changes. The kid is a catcher. Let him catch.

Andres Torres. Is it possible that this career minor leaguer just neded a chance to play? It's too early and the sample size too small to declare him the solution in center field, but until/unless the bloom comes off the rose, he's proven to the be best option the Giants have at the position, which brings us to....

MISSES
Aaron Rowand. This misfire is now in it's third year, and the Giants seem to have no problem throwing good money after bad. Anyone think that $12 million a year couldn't have been better spent on a real bat? Rowand has been relegated to a very pricey part-time player, and that fat contract is probably the only reason he sees any playing time at all.

Edgar Renteria. See above at 2ys/$18m.

Jaun Uribe. I'm gonna catch some flak over this because he's a better option at shortstop than Rent-a-wreck. But the bottom line is that as soon as people started talking about how good he was performing, his stats took a bigger dive than the stock market during the Bush Administration. Plus, I still can't get over the Giants re-signing him -- thoeretically as a utility man -- for a three-fold raise.

Mark Derosa: Biggest wasted signing since Rennie Stennett. 'Nuff said.

Bengie Molina: What was that all about? The top prospect is a catcher but you ground him for two months behind the slowest man ever to play organized baseball, and a lazy one at that? Boog Powell beats this guy in a foot race...today.

Four games out and a long way to go. Let's hope for more hits than misses in the second half.