San Francisco Bay Area

I am very intrigued by new Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Edwin Jackson , who arrived from Detroit in a massive three-way trade this off-season (the New York Yankees—the third team—received Curtis Granderson ).

In my last article, I looked at the Mariners bullpen candidates.

Continuing my tour of the AL West bullpens, here's a look at the following nine A's bullpen possibilities:

Andrew Bailey
Joey Devine
Brad Ziegler
Brad Kilby
Jerry Blevins
Jon Meloan
Michael Wuertz
Bobby Cassevah
Craig Breslow

Let's have a look!

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The San Francisco Giants found an unlikely enforcer willing to play the role of the old-school tough guy on Thursday.

Remember Prince Fielder's September 2009 walkoff home run that beat the Giants? How Fielder and his teammates enjoyed a choreographed celebration as Fielder crossed the plate?

The Giants, particularly Zito, remember well.

Just what the offensively challenged San Francisco Giants need, one of their starters not being ready for Opening Day.

Just two nights into his tenure as the host of KNBR 680 AM's Sports Phone 680, the evening show that airs at 7 p.m., former big leaguer F.P. Santangelo is proving to be an upgrade over the overly opinionated, sometimes under-informed Damon Bruce.

Brian Sabean and the San Francisco Giants' front office deserve a hearty round of applause heading into 2010 Spring Training.

Their winter of discontent following a disappointing finish to the 2009 Major League Baseball season could've been Ugly with a capital "U."

Considering how the anemic offense submarined an otherwise exceptional campaign from the starting staff and bullpen, the easy thing would've been to start the ol' printing presses and shell out max dinero for one of the best bats on the market.

But "easy" is all too infrequently synonymous with "smart."

Enough already with whining that the Giants are opening the 2010 season with kid position players.

Well, at least, separate the actual kid prospects from the the fan favorites we suspect have had time to and failed to prove they belong in the big leagues.

First, let's frame the discussion. The average age of big leaguers in 2009 ranged from 26.2 to 28.9 years.  The Giants' roster averaged 26.3 years of age and, well, fans recall what the youthful club did with the bat, right?

When you think of someone with bad vision you tend not to think of baseball players who hit .330 with 25 home runs. 

Pablo Sandoval may have not had terrible vision, the Panda is getting some brand new Oakleys to help him "see" the ball better. 

I know what you're thinking. 

A guy who hit .330 is getting glasses so he can see the ball better? Cue the Tim The Toolman Taylor soundbite please. 

Apparently Sandoval has been wearing his new specs when he was playing in the Venezuelan league this past off season and the numbers speak for themselves. 

Eric Surkamp and Aaron King .

Not exactly pitching prospects that jump at you like Madison Bumgarner or Zach Wheeler.

The popular sentiment of Giants fans these days seems to be this: bench Aaron Rowand and replace him with Andres Torres , who is better suited to hit leadoff than Rowand, the Giants' current candidate.