Omar Vizquel Poised to Save the Bay

Let's face it. The Giants are becoming one of those "We Haven't Won the Series Since..." franchises and we Americans have a soft spot for that. The entire nation went goo-goo for the Red Sox, and now attention is faced toward the Cubs. But thanks to the Giants' vision for greatness, Felipe Alou can depend on Omar Vizquel for just that.

Since that dreaded Saturday in late September when Steve Finley of the Los Angeles Dodgers sent the San Francisco Giants into the postseason doldrums, the Bay Area has been in a virtual sports coma. The sporting scene here is in an unusual heap of pain. The Giants and Oakland A's both took dives when it mattered most, diminishing solid seasons into disappointing downfalls.

No need to mention the Game 6 heartbreak in the 2002 World Series versus Anaheim, when the Giants heard the faint sound of bubbly champagne, only to be denied. (San Francisco is still emotionally bruised from that debacle.) No need to elaborate on the XFL-caliber football being played by the Raiders and 49ers in the Bay. The Warriors are their usual lousy selves, dwelling the cellar early and often, again. The only team with any serious success of late is the Sharks, but nobody wants to play in the NHL.

The Bay Area's gloom can suffice as soon as springtime arrives. The Giants are the fortunados of the baseball world during this offseason.

When young Cody Ransom biffed a game-ending double play versus the Dodgers on the last meaningful game for either team in 2004, it became obvious that the Giants weren't worthy of the postseason strictly on Barry Bonds' free bases and Jason Schmidt's dominance. As soon as free agent signings began this winter, San Francisco Giants general manager Brian Sabean went to work immediately, nabbing veteran shortstop guru Omar Vizquel.

It's no coincidence that the Giants picked up one of the all-time greats that so few have recognized over the years as being one of the best, if not the best, at the shortstop position since Ozzie Smith. (Note: for the remainder of this article, Vizquel will now be addressed as Omar. There is no better Omar in baseball history, with Omar Cedeno being his only real competition.)

Omar has always fallen under the bridge of popularity and marketability, beneath the one-time trio of young shortstops who dominated the balloting of the All-Star Games: Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, and Nomar Garciaparra. There is no doubt that these stars mentioned are great. They are. The managers of the American League in the past 15 years who have coached all-star squads have made a habit of including Omar in the lineup because of his superb playing ability defensively and offensively.

His career fielding percentage at shortstop is .983. (His lowest percentage was his rookie season in Seattle: .971.) In 1999, Omar committed 3 errors and turned 99 double plays in 156 games. In the recent past, Omar has never been the talk during all-star festivities, but he has left lasting impressions on anyone who has watched the late innings of some of the mid-summer classics. In 1998 at Coors Field, Omar put together his own unassisted double play in the ninth to defeat the National League.

Remember the 1999 All-Star Game at Fenway Park with the cheesy scene of Garciaparra and Jeter embracing during a fourth inning switch, only to be outdone by Omar's two routine ground balls chopped up the middle -- except he fielded them by gunning down the runner-bare handed?

"He's the best defensive shortstop ever," noted then-Indians manager Mike Hargrove before the 1998 All-Star Game.

This past season, Omar batted .291 primarily in the number two spot for the Indians, who won the American League pennant in both 1995 and 1999 during his tenure with Cleveland. Not to mention, Omar tied the Major League record for most hits in a nine-inning game by hitting safely six times in seven at bats.

It is common to speculate the move because of the aging roster, most notably 40-year-old Barry Bonds. It is common to see Bonds do his usual routine of un-strapping his batting gear and literally walking to first, or not even making it to first on infield ground-outs. Omar is the polar opposite, whose on-field demeanor is that of Bambi, and his clutch hitting mixed with fellow sluggers Manny Ramirez, Albert Belle, Sandy Alomar, Jr., and Jim Thome helped make the Tribe one of the most potent batting lineups of recent history.

At 37-years-old, Omar is a man-boy heralded as an everyday player. He can still steal bases, bunt in National League situations, and is a poised to win a World Series.

Get your tickets to SBC Park, for the Giants have made the best acquisition for the dollar. This supreme change at shortstop and addition of a lifetime .275 batting average to the number two spot in a lineup that includes the best hitter in baseball will catapult the Giants into baseball's playoffs come next September.