Originally posted by Leathaface:
Only problem with signing Holiday is the whole contract issue...if we could somehow sign him for longer I'd be more on board.
This isn't just a issue with Holliday but anyone appoaching free agency. Especially a right handed hitter considering playing at ATT.
Basically all players earn their contracts through the numbers they produce and if they play their homegames here they will skew their numbers down in relation with others as they play toward their next contract.
No hitter other than Bonds and those who hit in front and behind him has ever had their best numbers season in this park, other than Molina who had never hit in the heart of an order.(for obvious reasons)
Add to that the fickle nature of Bay Area sports fans and the little adulation they accord players in SF and you have a lot of negatives you have to overcome to get ego driven stars to come here.
Especially if they are from less cosmopolitan and diverse areas of the US, or from abroad.
The Giants may have to shift their stratagy to acquiring players already under two year deals and let them get acclimated to the baseball situation here before breaking the bank on signings of players who ultimately won't be happy here.
This seems to have worked well with Affeldt and may work well if they attempt to resign Justin Miller.
They seem to have the quirky personalities which thrive in this area as did Eric Byrnes while with the A's.
Zito was an attempt at the same thing but the dollars to talent ratio wasn't there and his style of pitching was always more suited to the AL.
