Injuries Keep Roster Moves in Limbo

The Rowand Question came up at the end of Spring Training. How do we keep all the outfielders on the roster? Wouldn't it be nice if something magically happened that made it so the Giants would have to keep all of them?

Right. That.

And then the season started, and Cody Ross shed the walking boot, and is itching to get back on the field. This again is creating a roster crunch. But Aaron Rowand has been hot! And Nate Schierholtz and Pat Burrell have been playing real well too. And Andres Torres is 

Oh. 

So the roster limbo that Aaron Rowand and Nate Schierholtz are in continues. Technically, I guess you could add Burrell to that bubble, but he's hitting bombs and only bombs. Here's how they're stacking up so far:

Rowand: .389/.389/.611, 1 HR/2 RBI

Schierholtz: .267/.267/.400, 0 HR/0 RBI

Burrell: .160/.267/.520, 3 HR, 3 RBI

So no one really stands out as being easy to send down. Ross is due to be activated on April 24. Torres is out until at least after the next series with the Dodgers, and probably longer. 

That means the Giants will have to be content with what they've got right now. They'll manage with Rowand/Schierholtz/Burrell, and Hugg will still be in the outfield, but probably sticking more to left field with Schierholtz getting more playing time. Mark DeRosa is also capable of playing out there, so they're not exactly in jeopardy of having less outfielders than they need. 

But with Torres and Ross out, the Giants are without two of their most important offensive catalysts of last year. Freddy Sanchez is still that top of the lineup presence, and Buster Posey is still Buster Posey, and Pablo Sandoval is still looking pretty damn nice. 

However, with Huff playing a lot of outfield, he's honestly going to be more tired, which will end up translating to his performance at the plate (in my opinion). And depending on Panda's streakiness, and the fact the Brandon Belt is only a rookie, Belt and Sandoval cannot carry this team.

The Giants need to be at full strength. Everyone was talking about how this team is improved on paper, but until that lineup gets from "on paper" to "on the field," wins won't just fall into their lap. I believe the hype, but the Huff/Rowand/Schierholtz lineup is a lot different from the Huff/Torres/Ross lineup that I expect to see later in the year. That lineup will be hard to get out.

Until then, I'm happy that Rowand and Schierholtz get to play. This decision is hard as it is already, so being able to put it off gives us more time to think about it. 

It's like that homework that you know you have to do but you have no free time to do so you stay on Facebook and make sure that your grandma can't see pictures of you drinking Captain Morgan out of a shoe. Or like that girlfriend you mean to break up with but you're both to busy to meet up at that coffee shop where she can't make a scene because there are lots of witnesses so you put it off. 

Yeah, pretty much the same. Hurry up and wait.