Here’s the ironic thing: It’s precisely because Farhan Zaidi is *so good* at the low-budget thing, that he is exactly the guy to go all *Godzilla budget* and go get Juan Soto.
And yes, I just invented the phrase “Godzilla budget”, which may or may not make sense, but tries to wrap its arms around the cost in terms of talent traded away and dollars spent to lock down Juan Soto in San Francisco. Like, if the cost was a monster, it would be Godzilla.
We won’t even go into the fact that I may or may not have used “ironic” correctly, as I was just saying to my good friend Alanis Morrissette.
Bring me Juan Soto!
What we’ve learned about Farhan and his crew is that they will find you a player when you least expect it — as I was just saying to my good friends Mike Yastrzemski and Luis Gonzalez. One thing Giants fans don’t have to worry about in the Farhan Era is running out of pieces. Farhan will find you a piece. He’ll find you a Thairo Estrada. He’ll find you a Darin Ruf.
What we’ve also learned in the Yaz-Gonzalez-Estrada-Ruf Era is that — while these guys are cool and we dig ‘em and the Giants are somehow 48-43 entering the second half — we’re all DYING for a big add. A big slugger. A star. An ‘A’ lister. A DiCaprio. A Cruise. A Steph Curry, if you will.
There is no question Juan Soto is that dude. AND HE’S TWENTY THREE YEARS OLD.
So let’s put it this way: It may cost you four prospects and a big leaguer, and it may cost you taking on Patrick Corbin’s salary, but Farhan is the guy to do it because he will complement Soto with the fully functioning pieces and scrappers he seems to find over his morning cereal daily.
Now, you might say: If Juan Soto is here and surrounded by Farhan Finds, he may be walked 300 times.
To which I say: Let’s cross that Bay Bridge when we come to it.
The one thing missing in the Farhan Era is the sizzle that brings fans to the yard. Hate to say it, but the numbers don’t lie. The Giants, coming off 107 wins and right back in the NL wild card hunt, are 13th in MLB in attendance per game. Since Oracle Park opened, the closest they’ve been to that low-water mark was the low-water year of 2008, when they were 11th. Even Brian Bocock outdrew Gabe’s Babes.
Even last year, when they won a franchise record 107, the Giants were 12th in MLB in attendance. Chicks may dig the long ball, but they may not dig platoons as much.
Juan Soto would not be platooned.
If Farhan were to channel Maximus from “Gladiator” and ask: “Are you not entertained?” Most fans, unfortunately, would answer: “Not really, man.”
If money is a concern, it shouldn’t be, as I was just saying to my Provident Credit Union loan officer when I needed to buy a couple of beers at the yard. Not only do the Giants have the budget to afford Soto, the team told us that developing Lot A into a mini-city with housing and retail was necessary to create the revenue to compete with the Dodgers.
Well. I mean . . . they’re building the darn thing, right? The revenue should be there . . . right?
Am I missing something?
The time is now. Farhan has proven he can win games. But he needs a next-level superstar to create a whole new generation of fans.
If you have to trade big prospects, trade big prospects. As the great Eddie DeBartolo said: “You gotta bring a**, to get a**.” The man was a poet, and a five-time Super Bowl champ.
Fortune favors the bold. The money is there.
Bring me Juan Soto!
We’ll deal with the walks later.