Brian Sabean made a couple of small, but necessary moves before the July 31st trade deadline, adding some bullpen help in Javier Lopez and Ramon Rodriguez, but they saved their big move for August. The Giants obtained
Jose Guillen from the Royals for some cash and a player to be named later, bringing Guillen's .255 average, 16 homers and 62 RBI to the Giants lineup likely in time for Saturday's game 2 of the ever so crucial 3-game set with the first place Padres this weekend. Surprisingly, Guillen cost the Giants less than both of those relievers did, and he has the chance to pay huge dividends down the stretch. I talked a lot about Guillen in our last post when it became clear that the Giants had a good shot at getting him, so I won't repeat all the same info again. He was told after the trade that the Giants plan on starting him at least 4 times per week, and if he takes off like Pat Burrell has recently, he'll probably become the everday right fielder. Guillen is very pleased with the deal, and who could blame him. He's going from a last place situation where he was beginning to lose time to younger players in a rebuilding effort, only to arrive on contending team in a great city with a solid cast of teammates.Although he's played most of his career in the AL, Jose Guillen is no stranger to the NL, playing here most recently in '05 and '06 with Washington. So his transition should be relatively smooth. Speaking of transition, he also wasn't the only guy the Giants traded for this week. Brian Sabean also went out and grabbed Mike Fontenot from the Cubbies after getting news that Edgar
Renteria would once again hit the DL. Fontenot brings plenty of versatility to the Giants bench, having played extensively at all infield positions besides first base, and doing so with good defense. He also will provide some occasional punch for a little guy and can be a very streaky hitter. He also brings some value as a pinch hitter, as he's got 7 pinch hits for the Cubs this year, including a homer and 8 RBI. The Giants did call up Emmanuel Burris as well when Renteria went down, and Burriss had a multi-hit game right out the gate, but he's likely destined for Fresno again on Saturday once Guillen is put on the 25-man roster. And after they add Guillen to the roster, they're going to be content with their roster and will have have one of the deeper clubs they've had here in a long while. I think on most nights, we're going to get Huff at first, Burrell in left and Guillen in right and the rest of the bunch in their regular spots. This leaves the Giants with their most potent lineup since the days of Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent.Right off the bat, the new look Giants will get a huge test and they failed part 1 Friday night. Game 1 of the highly anticipated Giants/Padres series unfortunately went to the Padres. The Giants got to Clayton Richard early for 2 quick runs in the first 2 innings, but the Pads chipped away and came back to edge them out, 3-2. The Giants sure could have used Jose Guillen tonight against the left Richard, as the Giants just couldnt' get anything going after the first two innings. It's only mid-August, so this series isn't going to make or break either of these teams. The Giants needed a sweep to take sole possession of first in the west, but hopefully they can at least salvage the last 2 and they'd still end up gaining a game on the Pads. Madison Bumgarner gets Mat Latos on Saturday, then Tim Lincecum and Wade LeBlanc wind things up Sunday afternoon, so we're in line for some pretty good pitching match-ups. At least the Giants will have the new look for those games. Here's how I'd like to see Bochy put together the lineup for the next few games:
Torres CF
Sanchez 2B
Posey C
Huff 1B
Burrell LF
Guillen RF
Sandoval 3B
Uribe SS
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