• Our friends over at Splashing Pumpkins were lucky (not in the sense that they were undeserving!) enough to attend Giants Media Day this week, and capture a candid video interview with Madison Bumgarner.  Among the topics discussed in this must-watch interview: the Verducci effect, the Giants’ new Showtime series, and his hitting prowess.

• At the beginning of the week, MiLB.com sat down for an interview with San Francisco Giants’ prospect – a fan favorite here at the Sombrero – Brandon Belt.  After just one year in the Minor Leagues, Belt was recently named the #26 prospect in baseball by MLB.com.  Considering how careful the Giants were with their development of Buster Posey, I really don’t know what to think of GM Brian Sabean’s claim that Belt could break camp with the parent club.

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Yesterday I took a look at Jose Bautista and whether his 2010 season was a fluke. Now, let’s move over to the NL and take a look at a guy that many are hoping regains his 2009 form, and forgets about his pathetic 2010 campaign (especially myself considering that I drafted him last year).  He set a career low in batting average.  He nearly tied his career high in strikeouts.  He hit 50% fewer HR’s than he did in 2009.  He is incredibly likable.  He has an awesome nickname.  He is the Kung-Fu Panda.  He is Pablo Sandoval.  So let’s take a look at things and ask, which year was the fluke, 2009 or 2010?

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• Splashing Pumpkins takes a look back at some of the more notable home runs hit by the San Francisco Giants in 2010 thanks to information provided by Hit Tracker.  With sluggers like Pat Burrell, Aubrey Huff, and Pablo Sandoval, you will never guess who owns the year’s biggest bomb…

• These days I feel like most of us have forgotten how good Grady Sizemore was from 2005-2008.  Over those four seasons, Sizemore appeared in three All-Star games while playing in 639 of 748 possible games for the Cleveland Indians.  But after several injuries – the most recent being a microfracture in his knee – Sizemore has only played in 139 games over the last two seasons.  Now in the last year of his contract, Craig Calcaterra speculates whether the Indians will pick up his $8 million option for 2012.

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• In a stunning eight-player deal, the Tampa Bay Rays traded Matt Garza, Fernando Martinez, and Zach Rosscup to the Chicago Cubs, and received a slew of prospects in return- Chris Archer, Brandon Guyer, Robinson Chirinos, Sam Fuld, and Hak-Ju Lee.  Although the players that the Cubs parted with are just prospects – all but Fuld are yet to reach the Major Leagues – I sincerely believe that they surrendered too much for Garza.  And after reading Dave Cameron’s analysis of Garza over at FanGraphs, I’ve only become more convinced this was the case.

• Although they are not nearly as despicable as the staff of the Chicago Tribune – don’t get me started on Phil Rogers – the Chicago Sun Times sports writers are still pretty inept.  On the morning following the announcement of the Garza trade, the Sun Times published a photo of Joaquin Benoit on the cover of the sports section instead of the newly acquired Garza.  A slip up of this magnitude speaks volumes about the crack-squad of writers and editors that they willingly employ.

• This week we learned that the St. Louis Cardinals and their prized slugger, Albert Pujols, resumed talks regarding an extension before the 2011 season.  But even when the Cardinals lock up the all-mighty Pujols, will it be enough? I-70 Baseball explores the trades made by the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs, and offers some insight as to how the 2011 Cardinals team will compare.

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• There’s no better holiday present than the Chicago White Sox new ticket package, “The Ozzie Plan.” Better yet, there’s no better way to promote it than with a commercial featuring the man himself.

• I was happy to hear that the Reds’ decided to extend Jay Bruce’s contract, which of course means that Mevs was beside himself with excitement.  Be sure to read his sincere thoughts on the Bruce’s new contract and the impact it will have on the organization.

• Speaking of extensions, the folks at Splashing Pumpkins analyze the risks of locking up the Rookie of the Year, Buster Posey, with a contract extension.  Although the idea is beyond tempting, it might be potentially detrimental to the development of the entire organization.

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