Time's up, Big Boy

This just in - the Giants' roster just got much lighter.

Of course it's not news to you, as Benitez was traded on Friday, but I didn't get wind of it until yesterday, as I was in the state of 10,000 lakes (which may be a bit underestimated, as I feel like I saw at least that many on the 3-hour stretch from the airport to my destination). To summarize, it was a good time had for the most part, excepting the realization once I arrived that I was now in the hometown of Nathan, Liriano, and Bonser. Yick.

The night before I left I had the joy of reading about Armando's balk-fest in New York, and it reiterated my 3-year lament of the Giants to avoid Blownitez at all costs. Since J.T.'s playoff go-ahead HR off Benitez in a Mets uniform years back, the guy was cemented as a choke-job (in my mind at least), and I couldn't believe they actually signed the guy for the kind of money they did 3 years ago. He has one season where he notches up a lot of saves with the Marlins, and suddenly Sabean forgets the past and thinks this headcase is worth $15+ million. Throw in the way they handled the end of Nen's career and that they'd currently have an even more effective closer for much less money (and a much more likeable guy) in Jeremy Accardo, the whole closer situation has been handled pretty miserably since they made it to the World Series. Do I care that Messenger has been largely ineffective for three years? It crossed my mind for about 2 seconds before I realized I'd never have to see Armando waddle out to the mound in a Giants uniform ever again.

There are two problems, though, that came through in the wake of Benitez's trade:

1) Who's going to close now? Perusing through the pitching roster, based on stuff alone Correia's probably your pick, but as far as effectiveness goes, Hennessey is your more likely candidate. 7 runs given up all year, a 3.5 K/BB ratio, and a 2.82 ERA is definitely going to make yourself the most effective Giants reliever. The lack of walks is what would comfort me as a replacement for Benitez. He doesn't have nasty stuff and is equally unintimidating, but as long as you can "Do your job", that's all that matters, right Armando? Another candidate would be Russ Ortiz, as he was very successful as a closer in college, and the fact that barring an injury, there really is no rotation spot for him.

2) Brian Sabean. Widely considered a mastermind GM after his acquisition of Kent, he has had very little success in his trading/signing of players in the past few years. Putting that aside for a moment, though, his attitude is what concerns me. Is he really dedicated to making this team better, or is he just trying to cover his tracks? Commenting on the Benitez situation, he said,

"He's been hounded by the media, the fans and some teammates," Giants general manager Brian Sabean said. "To think he's the root of our problems the last couple of years is ridiculous.
"The one thing I know is he's strong enough to be a whipping boy. I don't revel in his demise. It's time for everybody to do a gut check."

When asked about trading for a bat, he responded,

"Ask the guys who can't answer the bell every day. Once we find out who is ready to play every day, then we'll have a better answer about what we have internally. ... We need guys on the field, and as usual, we're not getting it. So ask them when you get (to Philadelphia)."

It seems to me like rather than admit he blew it by signing an overweight, headcase closer that never came through in the clutch for way too much money, he goes Armando on us and tries to blame his position players - not just for their lack of hitting and spotty defense as Armando did, but he goes as far as saying that their unhealthiness has been their fault. Let's just forget for a second that it's usually not someone's own fault for being injured, and let me state what every Giants fan with half a brain has been thinking the past few years...BRIAN, THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU SIGN PEOPLE OVER 30 YEARS OLD TO EACH POSITION ON THE FIELD AND THROW AWAY DRAFT PICKS LIKE OLD FRUIT! NOT EVERYONE ON THE TEAM IS GOING TO BE IN THE LINEUP EVERY NIGHT! WHEN YOU ARE OLD, YOU ARE MUCH MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO INJURY! MAYBE IF YOU SIGN SOMEONE YOUNG FOR A CHANGE, THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO HANDLE THE WEAR AND TEAR OF A 162-GAME SEASON!!!

Sorry about the tirade, but Sabean's frustration should lie in nothing but his self-caused mess of a team. He will have paid Benitez over $418,000 for each of his 45 saves in a Giants uniform. Just think about that for a while, Sabean. Once you can answer to that, you can start telling us how he wasn't a problem.

EDIT: Forgive me for living under a rock for the past week and not being able to find certain articles/news feeds. Apparently Hennessy has been named the new closer. It's not likely that Bochy went Michael J. Fox on us and took my advice, but anything's possible.