COHN: Giant questions

<p>This is not to say the Giants have problems.</p><p>As we prepare for pitchers and catchers to report to spring training in Arizona next Saturday — thank goodness — we say the Giants may not have problems, but they sure have questions. They have more questions than a team that won the World Series two seasons ago should have. And they have to give positive answers to most of these questions to make it to the postseason. Here goes:</p><h3>Can Buster Posey be Buster Posey again?</h3> <p>Many pundits (don't you love the word “pundit”?) pontificate that the Posey storyline is the main narrative of the upcoming season's Giants team. You will get no disagreement in this column. Posey got his left ankle busted up pretty badly last year. You know that, unless you were living on Mars at the time. He's allegedly all better now. We'll see. Can he run? Can he hit? Can he squat behind home plate game after game after game?</p><p>Posey played 45 games in 2011 before his season-ending injury. He was good but he wasn't the Super Buster of his rookie season. When his season got prematurely interrupted, he was batting .284 with 4 home runs and 21 RBIs. That is good but it's not the stuff superstars are made of. The Giants need Buster to be Super Buster to make a splash in the National League.</p><h3>Can Brian Wilson be Brian Wilson?</h3> <p>Wilson has been a lights-out closer and he's a distinct character, and that's a plus. But last season he was placed on the 15-day DL twice, the second time for an inflamed right elbow. It never is good when a heat-throwing closer gets a serious pain in his elbow. It makes you wonder if it's a chronic condition and if he can throw the fastball like he used to. Wilson must prove he can deliver. If he can't, the Giants no longer will have a question. They will have an issue.</p><h3>Do the Giants really have a first baseman?</h3> <p>The Giants are supposed to have a first baseman. That would be Aubrey Huff. After the World Series season, they signed him to a two-year deal at about $11 million per season. He responded by — I want to use a technical term here — he responded by “stinking out the joint.” Is that technical enough for you?</p><p>He seemed out of shape and out of sorts, and it is a shame when a team rewards a player and the player gets complacent and then stinks out the joint. Speaking of Huff, one former major leaguer said, “He never adjusted to the inside breaking ball all season. A major-league player should be able to do that.”</p><p>If Huff still can't earn his money, the Giants have two options at first base. They can use Brandon Belt, but it's pretty clear the Giants are not wild about him. Or they could use Brett Pill. To which we say — who in the world is Brett Pill?</p><p>And that leaves us with the basic question: Do the Giants really have a first baseman?</p><h3>Do the Giants really have a second baseman?</h3> <p>Freddy Sanchez is a superior second baseman — when he actually plays. It's just that he hurts his shoulder a lot and then he can't play. He appeared in just 60 games last season. He appeared in 25 in 2009. It never is good when a baseball player can't play baseball.</p><p>Can Sanchez stay healthy in 2012? Who knows? Is Emmanuel Burriss a suitable replacement? No.</p><h3>Do the Giants really have a shortstop?</h3> <p>It is said Brandon Crawford has improved his hitting. He needs to. He batted .204 his rookie season, and .204 is inexcusable. In case Crawford can't hit, the Giants obtained Ryan Theriot, who batted .271 last season with one homer and 47 RBIs. Theriot is what you call adequate, which is neither here nor there. The Giants have serious questions at shortstop.</p><h3>How good is Ryan Vogelsong?</h3> <p>At the start of last season, he was very good. He was like a character in a baseball novel (“The Natural”?) who came out of obscurity and knocked the league on its ear. Toward the end of the season, he lost his magic, at least a little bit. At one point, he lost five games in a row — hardly the stuff of legend. So, which Vogelsong will show up this season, Fantasy Ryan or Regular Ryan? We long to know.</p><p>How good are Melky Cabrera and Angel Pagan?</p><p>We assume they are very good and bring speed to the pokey Giants' lineup. But no one knows how good they are, or how they will react to cavernous AT&T Park. Their worth clearly is to be determined.</p><h3>Do the Giants have a batter who can carry the club?</h3> <p>This is a big one. Every team needs at least one carrier. Albert Pujols is a carrier. Who is the Giants' carrier? You might say Posey, but that's more hope than certainty (see above). Pablo Sandoval could be the guy, if he stays away from the carbs. He is the most potent hitter on the team.</p><p>Will anyone join him in the power department? Will the Giants score runs for their superior starting pitchers? Will happiness reign in San Francisco?</p><p>Questions. Questions.</p><p>For more on the world of sports in general and the Bay Area in particular, go to the Cohn Zohn at cohn.blogs.pressdemocrat.com. You can reach Staff Columnist Lowell Cohn at lowell.cohn@pressdemocrat.com.</p>