The exodus of northward bound Padres to San Francisco continues as Ryan Klesko is now officially a Giant. Once again Boch’s influence is riding high as former players just can’t seem to get enough of Bruce. I want to see Bochy use this influence for evil and lure Jake Peavy, Adrian Gonzalez, and Cla Meredith to the Giants instead of Dave Roberts and Ryan Klesko. In a perfect world the former scenario would have already happened and in 2007 the Giants would have gone 162-0 behind dual 30 game winners Matt Cain and Jake Peavy! But, reality sets in and as you roll over to the warm body next to you in bed, you notice its not the hot chick you picked up at the bar last night, but instead a snoring Ryan Klesko. The goatee is unmistakable and he kind of smells like fried bacon. This is the burden you’re going to have to bear. And you might want to cut down on your drinking.
This is the point where I try and paint a positive picture of acquiring Klesko and I don’t think its that bad of a deal. He provides depth at a very weak position on the Giants, first base, and could prove to be a nice bat coming off the bench. Klesko doesn’t have the same power that he once possessed but he still has a good batting eye which helps him put up solid OBPs. If he is healthy he should be able to put up decent stats in line with his career. And, oh yeah, its only a 1 year contract. This offseason is making me feel that the phrase “So what, it’s just a 1 year deal!” should be tattooed across all of our collective foreheads. When Sabean goes out and signs an aging veteran to a 1 year contract we can just look at each other, totally silent, nod, and point at our foreheads for each other to understand.
Some are turned off by Klesko’s nature to be somewhat bitchy. He often criticized the dimensions of Petco for his power decline and made no effort to hide his extreme disdain for the park. I’ve even heard many a Giants fan question his attitude but I think he might bring a little fire to the team, which even if he sucks, will be entertaining. Klesko’s interaction with Bonds will easily be worth the price of admission. Also, to naysayers, Klesko hit .750 last year. Tedd Williams eat your heart out! So just give the man a little respect.
