A conversation with Brian Sabean

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. ? Brian Sabean came bounding up the stairs from the field to his second-floor office at Scottsdale Stadium.

?Let?s do it,? he said.

?It? referred to our interview, something I?d wanted since arriving in Arizona. Now I had a half-hour to ask my questions and allow Sabean to explain, Sabean a man with something to prove if readers of my column and blog are representative of Giants fans. Before we get started, here is one observation. Last year Sabean appeared worried and careworn ? as things turned out, he had reason to be. This time he seemed optimistic and energized.

OK, here goes and this column will be much more Q&A than usual.

I?m letting Sabean speak and you can draw your conclusions.

Cohn: Will your team be improved from last season?

Sabean: ?We have much more depth than we expected. We?re strongly considering carrying 11 pitchers, a rarity. (Most teams carry 12.) We need a pitcher to step forward and pitch a lot of innings. Will we have three catchers? Steve Holm would be the third.

?If we go with two, we would have coverage with Pablo Sandoval (the starting third baseman). Second base? We?d like to find a way to keep both of them (Kevin Frandsen and Emmanuel Burriss).

?(Eugenio) Velez and (Andres) Torres have had nice camps. (Jesus) Guzman has a nice bat. We?re searching for a place to keep him.

?It would be first base. And (Juan) Uribe and Richie Aurilia are vying for spots. Both can do multiple things.

Cohn: So, you have a better team than 2008?

Sabean: ?Look at last year?s opening-day lineup. It was kind of patchwork.?

Quick interruption. Reviewing last year?s opening-day lineup: Roberts, LF; Aurilia, 1B; Winn, RF; Molina, C; Durham, 2B; Rowand, CF; Castillo, 3B; Bocock, SS; Zito, P. All in all, a pretty stinko opening-day offering.

Here is my projected starting lineup for 2009, and I?m pretty sure of it, although my batting order may be slightly off and second base is yet to be determined: Winn, RF; Renteria, SS; Sandoval, 3B; Molina, C; Lewis, LF; Ishikawa, 1B; Rowand, CF; Burris, 2B, Lincecum, P.

Back to Sabean:

?Last year we didn?t get our roster settled until the last six weeks. There?s no comparison between opening-day lineups last year and this year. The difference is drastic and dramatic, including the pitching staff. We have Jonathan Sanchez as a fifth starter. Last year we didn?t have a fifth starter.

?We signed (Randy) Johnson. (Brian) Wilson is the closer. In relief we have (Bob) Howry and (Jeremy) Affeldt. We had the hardest time getting from the starter to the closer.?

Quick interruption: It?s interesting how Sabean almost always refers to players by last name only.

Back to Sabean:

?We have a much better chance for a set lineup. (Travis) Ishikawa might need days off against lefties. It?s much more turnkey now.?

Cohn: I don?t know what you mean by turnkey.

Sabean: ?We know how and when guys come in the game. It?s easier and less schizophrenic, if that?s the right word, day-to-day. It was a challenge for Boch (manager Bruce Bochy) and the staff to determine how to compete.?

Cohn: Readers tell me you don?t have enough power hitters. Do you have enough power in your batting order?

Sabean: ?Selfishly, no. But we?ll score more runs, yes. We had a problem in the offseason. To get any legitimate power hitter we had to give up one of our pitchers. We needed to upgrade third and/or first base. But there were more outfielders available.

?If we added an outfielder, we had to trade an outfielder. We would be taking on payroll in a depressed market. We wanted to stay close to the vest with the youth movement. We hope Sandoval and Ishikawa will hit home runs and Freddie Lewis, too.

?It?s a fair question about our power but people don?t know these players. Now we have more options at shortstop. That has been a black hole to get offense. We didn?t get any last year until Burriss played shortstop. I could show you my notes and phone bills, the amount of conversations I?ve had. There were less opportunities than people think. Did we do our due diligence? Yes.?

Cohn: This season will you be rebuilding or contending?

Sabean: ?Both. I hope we play well enough to add to the team at the trading deadline. We are better equipped to compete and our division isn?t the strongest. Each team had attrition. The Dodgers lost some pitching. Each year it?s more than a one-team race. I think we can win and develop at the same time. The pitching staff gives us a chance to compete every game. Last year was a bear, a day-to-day search to plug the holes we had.?

Cohn: What are you looking for from Barry Zito?

Sabean: ?Our hope is that with (Tim) Lincecum and adding Johnson and having Sanchez as a fifth starter, Zito can be one of the guys and not think of himself as the No.1 or the No.2 starter.

?As that pitching staff developed in Oakland, he was one of the guys. In fairness to Zito and (Matt) Cain, the runs scored for them were horrific the last two years. Everybody is optimistic Zito will have a better start. He doesn?t traditionally have a strong first half. That?s got to change. In his offseason conditioning, he and Wilson worked together. He feels better about his arm strength vs. the last two years.?

Cohn: What?s going to happen with Noah Lowry?

Sabean: ?He?s been a black hole. He hasn?t thrown for two weeks. He won?t rehab until we leave here. He?ll stay back in the minor-league complex. There?s no timetable. I won?t be surprised if he starts on the 60-day DL. We don?t know what to expect. Every time he cranks it up, something comes into play.?

Cohn: Is Aaron Rowand the player you expected him to be?

Sabean: ?We?re not sure yet. We didn?t have the same situation as in Philadelphia. There was a lot of depth there. He was like Zito. He came over with a lot of expectations and he had a great start but the second half was tough. He?s got to be more consistent. We will give him more days off. Last year he played a lot, including when he was struggling.?

OK, that?s it for Sabean. You?ll admit he was open and honest, which shows greater confidence than a year ago. Sure, he?s vulnerable to second guessing. Why did he have a bad lineup last year? Why wasn?t it settled until the end? Why did he overrate Rowand and Zito?

He understands these questions. But the team is improved in a weak division, and if the Giants don?t win the NL West, they will compete. And that is a welcome change.

For more on the world of sports in general and the Bay Area in particular go to the Cohn Zohn at blog.pressdemocrat.com/cohn.

You can reach Staff Columnist Lowell Cohn at 521-5486 or lowell.cohn@pressdemocrat.com.