Giants to Bring Back Sabean, Bochy

There was not much doubt that Giants general manager Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy would be back next year, considering the team jumped into contention following three losing seasons, but the San Francisco Chronicle has reported that it is a done deal. An announcement could come sometime next week.

Managing general partner Bill Neukom, who is completing his first year on the job, has been complimentary of the jobs done by both men all season, but he insisted throughout that the Giants would not make any final decisions until after the season.

Sabean, who just completed his 13th season running the Giants, is the second longest-tenured GM in the majors, trailing onlu San Diego's Kevin Towers. He has been criticized for relying too much on old players and overpaying free agents whose careers were declining.

Certainly, some of that was apparent this year, but in the big picture, the Giants showed dramatic improvement from last year. They were on their way to their 86th victory on Thursday afternoon. They won 72 games last year, and 71 the year before. This is their first winning season without Barry Bonds.

Sabean had left little doubt that Bochy was his man, so if Sabean was going to be back, it was likely he'd bring back Bochy.

Now, though, the job gets difficult for both of them. Simply contending won't be enough in 2010. In order to take the next step, the Giants are going to have to maintain their pitching while doing something about an offense that was one of the worst in the majors. The Giants have some money, but the free-agent market isn't that appealing this winter. After Matt Holliday and Jason Bay, it's an uninspiring group.