eelgrass, don't expect Matheny to ever come back. He might, but it is extremely doubtful. My son had to have Tommy John surgery in September, and his sugreon is the same guy who's the Giants team orthopedic surgeon. Last time we were down in SF for a follow-up visit, we were talking about the Giants, and he told us that he's pretty sure that Matheny will call it a career. That's too bad, as he's one of the best defensive catchers to come along in many years. According to the doc, he's an even better person, class act in every sense of the word. My son, who's a catcher, considered Matheny as his favorite catcher to watch due to his defense.
The Giants are an interesting work in progress. Aurilia moving over to first base pretty much full time will be interesting. Thankfully, he was a good shortstop with additional experience at 3rd, so the transition shouldn't be that tough for him. Klesko will be a big question mark, but if he's healthy and hits well, their lineup just got some important protection behind Bonds. IF, and it is a big IF, Durham stays healthy and puts up another solid year, look out. Molina will be an upgrade behind the dish, though Alfonzo did well last year when he stepped in. His shortcoming is that his defense isn't up to par for the big league level. This club has an interesting mix of young and older players, more so than last year for sure. Expect Feliz to have a more consistent year than last year, he's capable of putting up better numbers than he did after the break. Barring injuries, Barry will be Barry and that's plenty good enough. Their starting pitching should be their strong point, as Morris and Lowry are coming off years when they both pitched with injuries that hindered them significantly last season. If they don't suffer any injuries to their starting rotation, look out.
Yeah, the D'backs will be good too this year. Carlos Quinton, Stephen Drew, Chad Tracy and Conor Jackson; as well as a several other young players with high ceilings like Scott Hairston give them a nice lineup. Pitching will be their challenge, even though Brandon Webb won the Cy Young and throws the sinker from hell. They don't have enough pitching depth to go far unless some guys step up bigtime and no injuries. THAT is a club with bullpen needs, more than the Giants.
