2. It will take him reducing the number of fly balls and line drives he surrenders. ERA is a flawed metric for pitcher analysis.

3. I’m actually well-versed in park factors.

4. Breaking down relievers in save vs non-save situations is a foolhardy exercise that intentionally reduces your sample size. It’s also not borne out by ample enough evidence that there’s any merit to the save vs non-save appearance myth for closers.

5. Bonds’ offensive presence was missed.

First, while Zito clearly had a poor season, he did turn things around in the second half of 2008. In particularly, his velocity returned to levels not seen in years, even in Oakland, and as a result, he started striking out batters at levels he has not done since he won the Cy Young award. This bodes well for him continuing this short stretch of goodness into next season.

Second, you exhibit the blinders that Giants fans and non-Giants observers have with Cain. “Stable member”? A 3.76 ERA is damn good. What does it take to get Cain recognized as a good pitcher? In addition, he’s poised to do well going forward, as a major problem in previous seasons was his inability to keep his ERA low on the road, a problem he fixed in 2008.

Third, it’s widely known that AT&T lowers the HR/FB% for hitters, particularly for left-handed hitters, so it is not surprising that their numbers look worse when that is accounted for.

Fourth, while the bullpen was not good in 2008, it should be noted that Brian Wilson’s main problem in 2008 was pitching in non-save situations, as he pitched well in save situations, and his usage in such situations dwindled as the season progressed. In addition, that is why the Giants signed Affeldt and seeks to sign a RHP reliever as well.

Plus, if you are going to mention Lowry (who I’m not counting on until he’s named to the rotation), then you should also mention Merkin Valdez, who has a better chance of returning than Lowry, and he pitched superbly in 2008 until his injury sidelined him for the season. If he can return to that level of production, then the bullpen should be very good with Wilson, Affeldt, Romo, perhaps Hinshaw and then Valdez. Then add two of Yabu, Taschner, Sadler, Matos, Pichardo, Misch, and maybe another free agent.

Five, not sure about what you mean in the paragraph on outfielders, it seems off – first you imply that Bonds presence in LF was missed, but then you note that the OF improved greatly in terms of plays made. Did you mean that his absence improved the defense? Also, it should be noted that Rowand had a poor Plus/Minus in 2008, so he didn’t provide much offense or defense in 2008. Hopefully that will improve in 2009; I think it will, he had a stellar OPS for the first two months then horribly slumped, suggesting to me that he was playing with an injury that hampered his ability to hit and field. We will see.

Sixth, I would add that the infield appears to be improving in 2009, as Pablo Sandoval had a great debut and Emmanuel Burriss played well late in the season, they could be manning the right side of the infield (or left, depending on who is acquired and who does best in spring training).

Lastly, FYI, Sabean noted that Pucetas would be in the running for the final rotation spot, along with Lowry and I would assume Misch, Martinez, and perhaps Pereira would get looks as well.

Very nice overall, thanks.

Lowry should be coming back to the rotation next year. His incorporation into the rotation should replace Correia or whoever else, and thus provide a boost to next year’s rotation. While Zito doesn’t look like he’s going to improve anytime soon, having a Lincecum, Cain, Sanchez, Lowry, and Zito-as-the-fifth makes for a pretty good rotation. If only they could get hitting…and a bullpen.

I think you should email their GM and put the emphasis on infield defence in bold. And then let all Giants fans pray the Rentawreck rumors stay rumors.