FanHouse Rich Aurilia

SAN FRANCISCO -- Rich Aurilia and Dave Roberts turned their first passion (baseball) into a career, and now they're trying to do it again with their newest passion.

Aurilia, a veteran Giants infielder, and Roberts, a recently-retired outfielder, are soon going to be bottling the first vintage of their own wine.

No, Aurilia and Roberts aren't stepping on the grapes themselves, but neither are they simply slapping their name on someone else's company.

Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through every major player on each team. Fantasy FanHouse is here to help with a quick once-over.

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Team desperately needing a bat in the middle of the order. It's too bad money is so tight right now, because the Giants could certainly use a certain eccentric slugger in the middle of their order. They still aren't altogether out of the running for Manny Ramirez, but I believe he's staying put in Los Angeles. Too bad they wasted all that money on Barry Zito and Aaron Rowand.

July 31 is rapidly approaching. Buy or Sell lets each team know where they stand.

It's very odd that a) the Giants are not completely out of their division race and b) that somehow, they are reasonably stocked with prospects. Just imagine what would have happened if Brian Sabean really knew what he was doing.

However, as we have seen from the trade of Ray Durham to the Milwaukee Brewers, the Giants are, heading into the final 11 days before the trade deadline, most certainly sellers. They stand eight games back of their division, and it's not likely that even the most stout of second halves from their youngsters or tepid of performances by the Dbacks and Dodgers will let them sneak into the playoffs.

In terms of assets and receivables, the Giants have a pretty decent situation. They have no true veteran superstar to deal (unless they're willing to pay 75% of Barry Zito's contract and his "star" status is certainly debatable). In addition, they need young offensive help, but they need it everywhere, so it's not like they need to be picky.

Rich Aurilia, Dave Roberts, Randy Winn and even Omar Vizquel represent tradeable veteran talent with three or less years on their contract. They aren't premiere guys by any means, and the two years after this season that will saddle the receiving team might negate their trade value.

Sweet, sweet irony. The team that is overperforming at 11-15 does not believe that the team that made it to the playoffs and subsequently added Dan Haren to the rotation is real. That's right, the San Francisco Giants do not believe that the Arizona Diamondbacks start to the 2008 season is legit. Witness superstar Ty Walker:

'There's still, what, 137 games left? It's definitely too early ... In my opinion, they'll come back down to earth a bit ... They're a good team, don't get me wrong ... But I think they can't keep up that pace, especially when most of their games have been intradivision."

But it's not just the talent. Veteran Rich Aurilia got in on the action too, although he was decidedly more conservative in his assessment that the Diamondbacks would likely run into some trouble in the future.

'At this point in the season, anything can still happen ... At the same time, if they keep playing the way they're playing, of course they can run away with it and that's not good for anyone in this division. But anything can happen to any team. Injuries, slumps, losing streaks -- anything can dictate what the rest of the season can hold.'

Now, in fairness, it would appear that the Giants players were asked about the D-backs running away with the division. And it's only April. So, kind of a silly question (even if it is true). But let's be honest here -- the Giants are probably more miffed that no one is noticing their hot start (it's all relative) and instead is focusing on the superb play of the Baby Snakes. But there's no need to be bitter guys. Just take a lead from Barry Zito and be chill, brah.

The Giants needed to get rid of Barry Bonds.

It probably would have been the best thing for the health of the Giants franchise to get rid of Barry Bonds a few seasons earlier, but you can't expect the Giants to turn away millions in revenue connected to Bonds' chase for Hank Aaron's record. In the efforts to win in the present while Bonds was still an active part of the club, the Giants brought in a lot of older help in the forms of guys like Omar Vizquel, Ryan Klesko, Dave Roberts, Mike Matheny, Moises Alou, Steve Finley, Jeff Fassero, Benito Santiago and Andres Galarraga. Over the years, signings like those were probably in lieu of better, younger signings because the money that Bonds was making ate up a large percentage of their payroll.

The problem was that Bonds would frequently be pulled after the seventh inning for pinch runners to save his health. So you have $15 million dedicated to a guy who isn't going to be around past seven innings to potentially win ballgames, forcing the Giants to depend on some overvalued talent to carry the team the rest of the way.

Well, not only does $15 million come off the books with Bonds, but they also lose the salaries of Vizquel ($5.1 million), Pedro Feliz ($5 million), Klesko ($1.75 million) and Matheny. Nobody should be surprised if the Giants also get rid of guys like Rich Aurilia (.245) and Ray Durham (.215) who combined are making $10.5 million. And perhaps, as correctly noted by a comment here (thank you for the correction), the Giants could find a way to trade Roberts, who was signed to a three year $18 million deal before the season began. That would be a shade over $40 million to spend to make an old roster younger and energetic, and perhaps get some younger legs with some range to support guys like Barry Zito, Matt Cain, and Tim Lincecum. This is probably the first opportunity since 1993 for the Giants to remake their roster in a significant way, instead of putting band-aids on problems just to give Bonds some patchwork support.

Or, they could go get Alex Rodriguez, because you know that if he opts out of his contract, that speculation is going to start. A-Rod did say how much he loved San Francisco, didn't he? If the Giants want to keep their ballpark full, that would be the way to go. And that $40 million just might be enough to get him (he is, after all, a Scott Boras client). But to me, the smart money is to fortify their roster with fresh prospects and bullpen help to surround their starting rotation. The key for the Giants is to not let the bottom fall out for a few more seasons just because Bonds is leaving. If they're smart, it doesn't have to be that way.

Previously on FanHouse:
Barry Bonds is Leaving San Francisco
Alex Rodriguez Loves San Francisco

On Deck is The Fanhouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups

Arizona Diamondbacks (34-24) vs. San Francisco Giants (27-29)-9:40PM Est.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have won nine of their last ten games, are ten games over .500, and still sit in third place in the tough NL West. The Giants are on the other end of the NL West spectrum, as they've struggled as of late. Today the Giants won't catch a break as they have to face a resurgent Randy Johnson. The Big Unit has won his last three starts, and looks to earn his first four-game win streak since 2005. No word as of yet whether or not Barry Bonds will be in the lineup to face him, but I'm not sure Randy Johnson is the guy you want to face when you're only hitting .183 (11-for-60) in your last 22 games.

New York Mets (35-20) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (28-29)-7:10PM Est.

The Mets should get their centerfielder back tonight, as Carlos Beltran hopes to return to the lineup for the first time since colliding with Rich Aurilia on Thursday. He'll be an added boost to a lineup that was held to only six hits in their loss on Sunday. Tom Glavine and Jamie Moyer will once again take their rivalry from the shuffleboard court to the pitchers mound as they face off for the second time this season. When they last met, the two set the record for the combined age of a game's two starters at 85 years and 163 days. Unfortunately that record fell last week when Moyer and Randy Johnson combined for 88 years and 90 days.

Oakland Athletics (29-27) vs. Boston Red Sox (37-19)-10:05PM Est.

The Red Sox are currently mired in their worst slump of the season. They've lost two games in a row!! Okay, so it's more the fact they've lost four of their last five. The Red Sox lost to the A's in extra innings last night after having to fly from Boston to Oakland in the middle of the night. Will a full night's sleep be the magic potion? Daisuke Matsuzaka will take the mound for the Sawx with the chance of leaving yet another team unimpressed.

Armando Benitez may have taken the brunt of the blame for the Giants 5-4 extra-innings loss to the Mets last week, which eventually led to his banishment to Miami. But manager Bruce Bochy acknowledged that there was more than just Armando Benitez to blame for that loss. In fact, there are several players to blame for the Giants losses according to Bochy -- not for what they did on the field, but because of their failure to make it onto the field.

"You can't afford to go into a series against a team like the Mets and be two or three guys short," Bochy said. "Sometimes you can't do anything about it. Maybe on the preventative side or the maintenance side of treatment, we've got to eventually turn up the volume on how we do that."
...
"We've got a great medical staff here. (The players) have got to take responsibility for their health. You're paid on performance, and the best way to perform at your best is obviously by being healthy."

GM Brian Sabean echoed Bochy's thoughts:

Asked about a potential trade for a bat, an agitated Sabean said, "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."

Dave Roberts has been on the DL since May 10th, while the likes of Ray Durham, Rich Aurilia, and Ryan Klesko have all nursed injuries recently. But honestly Brian Sabean and Bruce Bochy, did you really think you would get through an entire season without many injuries when your lineup is full of players who were born before the Truman Administration?

Previously at FanHouse:
Armando Benitez Officially Traded, Giants Fans Celebrate

Photo Credit: Getty Images

No question about it. The baseball gods have breathed life into the Giants' souls, resurrecting a team once left for dead. After starting the season 1-6 and struggling to score runs, San Francisco has rapidly turned things around, thanks to an assault on NL pitching by the slugging Barry Bonds, clutch hitting by Rich Aurilia, excellent starting pitching, and a reliable bullpen. They've rallied to win seven games in a row, their best streak since June of 2004. Today, they will go for their first sweep in Dodger Stadium since 2002. Scary thing is Aurilia says they haven't even played their best ball yet:

"With streaks and slumps, you go into them slow and you come out of them slow," Aurilia said. "But we've come out of it quickly because everyone has picked it up and played better. It doesn't happen often, and we're fortunate the way it's come around.

"But do we think we're at a pinnacle? No, we think we can play a lot better."

Yikes! I guess the question is, are the Giants legit? Well, Matt Cain is a stud, Barry Zito is very good, Russ Ortiz has been a pleasant and reliable surprise, and Noah Lowry and Matt Morris have both been solid. Armando Benitez has locked up games (and remained healthy), and they've really won most of their games through strong pitching. My guess is they might struggle once again to score runs after teams start walking Bonds, but the pitching should be there all year. And this is all without Tim Lincecum who's banging on the Major League door.

Previously at FanHouse:
Barry Bonds Bashes Another Home Run
Rich Aurilia Is Officially Hot
Dodgers Own the Giants Whose Season Is Over

OK, so he might not be at A-Rod status of hotness, nor David Wright either, but Rich Aurilia is doing pretty well in his own right. Check this out: Aurilia is enjoying a 12-game hitting streak, during which he's batted .388. In the last five games he has nine hits and six RBI, but most of all, he's been clutch. On Thursday he delivered a two out two-run tiebreaking double in the sixth inning which helped spark the Giants 6-2 win. On Wednesday, Aurilia delivered the game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the 12th to give the Giants a 6-5 extra-innings win over the Cardinals. In his second stint with the Giants, Aurilia is concerned with more than just himself:

"It's a good feeling. It's nice to be able to come back home and contribute like this ... Now, if we can just get on a roll and win a few more in a row and get back to .500, that'd be great."

The Giants have rallied from a 1-6 start to win five of their last seven games, thanks in large part to Aurilia. It's a positive sign for Giants fans who starting getting seriously concerned early in the year, writing the team off.

Previously at FanHouse:
We May As Well Just Hand A-Rod the AL MVP Trophy
Dodgers Own the Giants Whose Season Is Over