Rich Aurilia is going to make this team, go ahead, ask why?

March 30, 12:14 PMSan Francisco Giants ExaminerTheo Fightmaster

Previous Next

3 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the San Francisco Giants Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

 Aurilia is more than a Giants' keepsake. Dan Vournas, AP

After a brutal 2007 and a slow start last year Rich Aurilia proved to be the super veteran the Giants expected when they resigned him.

We’ll, for the sake of time, excuse the point that the 2008 Giants didn’t really need a veteran utility player such as him.  

Nonetheless he played a significant role on last year’s team, and now finds himself looking like a pretty safe bet to make the 25 man roster again this year.  But, with Aurilia heading toward his 15th major league season, it’s a fair to question to ask, should he be?  

Manager Bruce Bochy has said that he expects Aurilia to get some starts at first spelling Travis Ishikawa. And if Bochy is saying that at this point in the spring it’s pretty much a done deal.

There is an argument to be made that Aurilia will be more than a memento on this year’s team.  Sure, Aurilia reminds us of brighter days at Pac Bell Park when the Giants were in contention every year, and 90 wins was the over under mark set by Vegas odds makers. But, while Aurilia will provide sage veteran experience and guile to a nice compliment of young players this season he is capable of more than that.

Richy, as he’s known around these parts, is still a solid infielder.  He can play first about as well as Ishikawa and is likely a better defensive third baseman than Sandoval at this point.  Not to mention the former National League All-Star short-stop could man either middle infield position in case of an emergency.

Aurilia also hit .283 last year, which was third best on the team, among those with more than 200 at bats. He was tied for third in homers with 10, and placed in the top five of every other significant offensive category.  The obvious caveat is that we’re discussing the ’08 Giants here.

What the move comes down to is whether or not '09 will be a detailed forensic analysis of the players in the system, and an effort to best shuffle the deck for 2010, or do the Giants push all their chips to the center and do all they can to compete now?

It took management most of last year before they finally unveiled the youth movement in August, and frankly there is still progress to be made on that front. But, after the white flag was waved last season, and the curious case of Jose Castillo had finally ended (that ordeal lasted about as long as the movie), the Giants discovered their cupboard wasn’t so bare.

This spring has also shed further light on the likes of Jesus Guzman, and Andres Torres, who have both played their way into a fight for the twenty fifth locker.  It has also validated the new commitment to the draft with the performances of Buster Posey and Matt Downs. We've also seen an improved Eugenio Velez, who's fighting for his own spot.

There are reasons that Guzman, Velez and Torres aren’t shoe-ins for this team. Guzman has a ton of power, but really doesn’t have a position. Torres, despite his torrid spring batting and gold glove like defense in center, has only a .210 average in 257 big league at bats and isn’t exactly a spring chicken at the age of 30. Velez on the other hand brings a spark of excitement to the team, though you have no idea what he'll do next; good or bad.

With the glut of outfielders, an inexperienced infield, and in spite of a line up that strikes fear into the same number of pitchers as the number of movies Nicolas Cage has turned down, Aurilia makes sense.

Not only does he give the Giants the best chance of challenging in the NL West this season, he’s probably the most complete player, and can help the team in more ways than anyone else in consideration. I understand that the frustration about offense, in particular, power, and leaving a guy like Guzman in Fresno, on the surface, seems like a waste; but with Aurilia the Giants know what they’ll be getting, and until they are sure the stamp on his game is marked "expired" he will be where he’s been most of his career, with the Giants.