Sandoval, DeRosa Looking to Rebound in '11

The Giants haven't been overly active this offseason and appear to feel pretty confident with the guys they currently have on the roster. Two of those guys, Pablo Sandoval and Mark DeRosa, will have some pretty big expectations after both failed to make the impact they wanted to in 2010.

Each player had a different issue, but both of them had one thing in common, they didn't do nearly as much for the Giants during their World Series run than they would have hoped. Sandoval was healthy all year, so he was actually on the active roster, something DeRosa hasn't been part of since June. However, Pablo was basically obsolete in the latter part of the year, and especially in the playoffs, where he lost time to Mike Fontenot, Edgar Renteria and Juan Uribe. It was a big surprise too, after the year Sandoval had in 2009, but his conditioning finally caught up with him and it effected his whole game, even the mental part of it. Now, this offseason, Sandoval has been a man on a mission. I don't think this guy ever wants to be relegated to bench duty during important playoff games again, and I hope he's realizing what kind of force he can be if he can get himself into the best possible shape. I had been hearing all kinds of reports throughout the winter of Sandoval's intense offseason regimen in Arizona, but I kept telling myself, I have to see it to believe it. After all, Sandoval supposedly shed upwards to 20 pounds last winter as well, before gaining it all back before opening day. This time though, again, Sandoval looks like a more focused and determined individual, and the pictures that he posted on his twitter recently are proof.

DeRosa, on the other hand, has been rehabilitating from his wrist surgery during the season and trying to get back into baseball shape after about 9 months off. He was taking some BP with the team during the world series, and has since picked up all baseball activities. It's key for him to be on the field when the Giants start the cactus league too because they could be without Freddy Sanchez for a while. As of right now, DeRosa's supposedly around 100% health wise, and should arrive in Scottsdale next month able to take full part in all workouts. Plenty of fans still wanted Sabean and the Giants to go out and get more offense this winter, but if DeRosa is healthy, and Sandoval gets back on track, two things the 2010 Championship team never really got, then this offense will be just fine. Not to mention, they have Brandon Belt just itching for his opportunity, and apparently Bochy and Sabean will not hold this kid back. They're saying right now that if Belt earns a spot during the Spring, then he'll have a spot on the opening day, 25-man roster. Now, the Giants will not carry Belt as a bench player, and I don't even think they'd carry him as a part-timer. Wherever he ends up, he'll need to be playing everyday, but it's only a matter of time before we could be seeing a Belt-Posey-Sandoval middle-of-the-order in San Fran.

Spring Training Invitees: The Giants also announced 22 non-roster Spring Training invitees this weekend. Nobody too surprising is on that last, but a lot of the organizations better prospects will be put on display. Some of the big name youngsters who will join Brandon Belt in the big league camp are: C-1B'men Tommy Joseph and Hector Sanchez; Outfielder Gary Brown; Infielders Brandon Crawford, Charlie Culberson, Nick Noonan and former Stanford closer Jason Stoffel.