Trading Timmy: Dont Do It!

Articles are being written and people are talking about how the Giants should trade Tim Lincecum for major league ready players and prospects, which would in turn free up some cash to sign a Prince Fielder or an Albert Pujols. This is a very, very, very bad idea.

Linceum with his World Series ring- the World Series ring that was not possible without him. Will there be more rings for the Giants with or without Lincecum?

The Giants franchise is currently built on pitching- both the starting staff and the bullpen. Without either of them, there is no way that the Giants would have won their first World Series in San Francisco or even stayed in contention as long as they did this past 2011 season. Lincecum is the head of the staff, and even though the Giants other starteres are just as capable as Lincecum, all of them are needed for the chance to reach another World Series title in the near future. Yes, the Giants offense struggled tremendously this past season and could use an upgrade, but look how long they stayed in contention. They only played four meaningless games all season. Only four games where they weren't still in the running for the division title. And take a look at the Giants offense from the 2010 World Champions. It was basically just the same people from 2011, except they hit a little better than in 2011. Also remember that the 2010 team didn't have Buster Posey for a whole season or a Pablo Sandoval in the form that we saw in 2011. The 2012 Giants will have (knock on wood) Buster Posey for the whole season and a Pablo Sandoval that is much different from the Panda of 2010. Look how far they went without that in 2010 and 2011, and think of how they could do in 2012 with both of those players. If they keep the pitching staff intact, they only need to upgrade the offense slightly by signing a lesser-value free agent. Trading away Lincecum so that you can sign an expensive free agent that may or may not produce in the vast grounds of AT&T Park is not necassary. The Giants have the tools to win within their budget and their current players. But it all starts with that pitching staff, and by trading one of them, their chances to win another World Series may take a serious blow.