Keeping Aubrey Huff in 2011 would help Giants

SAN FRANCISCO — Soon after Wednesday's downtown parade has ended, the San Francisco Giants will have to address their most immediate offseason priorities. Here are three key questions for the World Series champions to ponder:

•What to do about the offense? The pitching staff, which led the majors in ERA and held the Texas Rangers to a .190 batting average in the World Series, could return intact. Long reliever Guillermo Mota is the only potential free agent, and he'd like to return.

The question is who will provide the run support. The team's top two home run hitters and RBI men, first baseman Aubrey Huff and infielder Juan Uribe, are free agents. The same goes for left fielder Pat Burrell, who gave the lineup a huge midseason boost. It's reasonable to expect they will want raises.

Team President Larry Baer said he expects the payroll to grow only marginally from last season, when the Giants ranked ninth in the majors at $98.6 million on opening day.

"We want to win, but if we win we're not going to blow things up crazy," Baer said before Monday's clinching victory. "And if we lose, we're not going to blow things up crazy either."

Cody Ross, MVP of the National League Championship Series, is eligible for arbitration after making $4.45 million last season. The Giants have fellow outfielder Aaron Rowand under contract for $12 million next year, so they'll have to decide whether to tender contracts to Ross and Burrell.

The Giants ranked ninth in the NL in runs last season. They will have catcher Buster Posey for a full year in 2011 but need more.



(usatoday.com)