[teejers1]

I'm going to really enjoy the gigantic plate of crow some of y'all are gonna be feasting on in a couple years as a result of doubting Farhan Zaidi.  According to McCovey Chronicles - which nobody has any reason to doubt - when Zaidi took over the Giants a year ago, they had 5 players in their system rated 45+.  They now have 10 such players.

The Cozart move to get Wilson is brilliant. The Giants have the ability to take on "bad" short-term contracts from teams wanting to immediately clear payroll and will do it for top prospects. It is super smart to do this. They got the Angels' #4 prospect for basically cash. Now, would you rather have the Angels' #4 prospect and maybe Nicholas Castellanos, or 31 year old Kevin Pillar?  I'm not saying they couldn't have all, just that this is yet another reason not tendering an offer to Pillar made sense.  If he takes $5 million, maybe they bring him back, but under no circumstances is he worth $10M.

Now apply this judgment to all aspects of the organization's baseball operation.  The Giants are building a sustainable model to acquire and develop talent they haven't really had in my entire lifetime, that combined with their cash printing machine, will make them a consistent contender.

I generally agree that Farhan is smart, has a plan, and is implementing it.

My only quibble with your post is the part about the "cash printing machine."  When you're not good; and you're not good with a lot of players no one has heard of; you will suffer at the gate and all that entails (concessions, parking, etc.).  So I think there is some balancing that Farhan must keep in mind to keep butts in seats and spending at AT&T.  I mean, look already at the Ws in the spanking new (and by all reports brilliant) Chase Center.  Lots and lots of empties . . . in the lower bowl!

Still, I'd bet that in 3 years the Giants will be sustainably more competitive than we've seen the last few seasons.  Whether they will be good enough to make the playoffs and even win a WS is a crapshoot.  Farhan never did that with the Dodgers . . . who are a cash printing machine.

[teejers1]

I'm going to really enjoy the gigantic plate of crow some of y'all are gonna be feasting on in a couple years as a result of doubting Farhan Zaidi.  According to McCovey Chronicles - which nobody has any reason to doubt - when Zaidi took over the Giants a year ago, they had 5 players in their system rated 45+.  They now have 10 such players.

The Cozart move to get Wilson is brilliant. The Giants have the ability to take on "bad" short-term contracts from teams wanting to immediately clear payroll and will do it for top prospects. It is super smart to do this. They got the Angels' #4 prospect for basically cash. Now, would you rather have the Angels' #4 prospect and maybe Nicholas Castellanos, or 31 year old Kevin Pillar?  I'm not saying they couldn't have all, just that this is yet another reason not tendering an offer to Pillar made sense.  If he takes $5 million, maybe they bring him back, but under no circumstances is he worth $10M.

Now apply this judgment to all aspects of the organization's baseball operation.  The Giants are building a sustainable model to acquire and develop talent they haven't really had in my entire lifetime, that combined with their cash printing machine, will make them a consistent contender.

I generally agree that Farhan is smart, has a plan, and is implementing it.

My only quibble with your post is the part about the "cash printing machine."  When you're not good; and you're not good with a lot of players no one has heard of; you will suffer at the gate and all that entails (concessions, parking, etc.).  So I think there is some balancing that Farhan must keep in mind to keep butts in seats and spending at AT&T.  I mean, look already at the Ws in the spanking new (and by all reports brilliant) Chase Center.  Lots and lots of empties . . . in the lower bowl!

Still, I'd bet that in 3 years the Giants will be sustainably more competitive than we've seen the last few seasons.  Whether they will be good enough to make the playoffs and even win a WS is a crapshoot.  Farhan never did that with the Dodgers . . . who are a cash printing machine.