Giants fishing in a lake of Dodger blue

Joe Beimel of the Los Angeles Dodgers (mlb.com)

Reports surfaced that the San Francisco Giants are actively pursuing a number of players that donned Dodger blue last season. Lefty reliever Joe Beimel, shortstop Raphael Furcal, and third baseman Casey Blake are among the names that have been tossed around.

It’s pertinent that the Giants address their needs in the bullpen. In 2008, it was already established that the offense was a weak point and it was disheartening seeing the bullpen damage many of the starting rotation’s work. How good would the addition of the 31-year-old Beimel be?

Beimel has a career ERA of 4.31, with 2008 being his best year of his career.  Last season he made 71 appearances with the LA Dodgers, giving up only 11 runs. Those numbers are tempting, seeing that they are better than any numbers that our own lefty relievers have posted.

Many people will remember Beimel as the guy who cut his finger on a beer bottle two nights before the 2006 NLDS, causing him to be left of the postseason roster. That bad decision caused a lot of animosity in the locker room—enough to make Beimel call a meeting in order to apologize.
Fast forward to 2008 and Beimel was sure not the make the same mistake.

"I definitely have a little chance at redemption after what happened in '06," said the 31-year-old Beimel. "Joe [Torre] has talked about how players like him play so many years and never make the postseason. I made it and it could have been my one and only chance, but now I get another chance to play in the postseason. It definitely is cool and something I'm not taking for granted."

Positive attitude, good numbers from last season, left-handed—will Beimel help fill the void in our bullpen?