In Monday’s Quick-Hits, I discuss the two players that cost the Rockies their ace, Randy Moss’s decision to retire, yet another perplexing decision by Giants general manager Brian Sabean, and Braylon Edwards’ shrinking market.

- If Rockie fans are upset with the Ubaldo Jimenez trade, they might as well direct their anger at the club’s flubbed selections in the 2006 and 2007 MLB drafts. Colorado selected Greg Reynolds with the second overall pick in the ’06 and Casey Weathers with the eighth overall pick in ’07. Neither right-hander has developed and while there’s plenty of hope for LHP Tyler Matzek, he’s not projected to help the big league club until 2013. That’s why when GM Dan O’Dowd received an offer from the Indians of Alex White and Joe Gardner in exchange for Jimenez, the deal was too good to pass up. The Rockies aren’t rebuilding their farm system: they’re restocking. Granted, Jimenez may right the ship while White and Gardner fail in Colorado, which would obviously make O’Dowd look like a fool. But at the end of the day, this is a deal O’Dowd felt he had to make after blowing the first rounds in ’06 and ’07. He’s essentially trying to make up for past mistakes.

- I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: Randy Moss is now the posterchild for what not to do when you’re seeking a new contract in the NFL. Early last season, Moss whined about how the Patriots hadn’t discussed giving him a new contract. When New England told him to be patient, he pouted even more and became a distraction. Worst of all, he stopped playing hard, which is always a fast ticket out of New England with Bill Belichick running things. So he winds up in Minnesota, where he’s a distraction there, too. Finally he lands in Tennessee, where the coaching staff apparently realized that he was done as an NFL-caliber receiver. And now? Instead of continuing his career as a role player, he has decided to retire. Moss has been one hell of a player. He ranks eighth in career receptions, fifth in receiving yards and second only to Jerry Rice in touchdowns. But there will be a debate about whether or not he’s voted into the Hall of Fame after he quit on the Raiders and got himself traded out of New England and Minnesota. It’s amazing what kind of numbers Moss could have put up if had possessed Rice’s attitude.

- SF Giants GM Brian Sabean has some explaining to do after the Phillies and Braves landed younger outfielders under team control (Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn, respectively) without giving up their top prospects, while he traded for a 34-year-old free agent-to-be and had to give up his best farm arm. Oh, and Orlando Cabrera for Thomas Neal? Does Sabean have to overpay for every veteran talent that he wants? It’s like if he walks into an electronic store, sees a TV he likes and then asks the salesman if he could purchase said TV for triple the cost. Meanwhile, competing general managers walk into the same store and purchase newer models with comparable features for three-fourths of the price. I just don’t get Sabean’s philosophy when it comes to trades but then again, he has a World Series ring and I don’t so maybe I should shut my mouth. (Of course, when he overpays to keep Beltran this winter, I’ll be sure to open it again.)

- It took a while, but teams are finally starting to stay away with Braylon Edwards. At 6’3” and 214 pounds, he certainly looks the part of a No. 1 receiver. But his inconsistent hands coupled with the fact that football isn’t real high on his priorities list makes teams stay away. He’s on the verge of signing a one-year deal with the Cardinals because the receiver market is essentially dried up. Considering he’s only 28 and once caught 80 passes for 1,289 yards and scored 16 touchdowns in one season, he shouldn’t be accepting one-year deals. But teams aren’t stupid and know he’s a huge risk.

Who can blame Giants general manager Brian Sabean for being a little sensitive these days when it comes to the topic of Buster Posey? A little over a week ago he lost his star catcher for the season when Scott Cousins blew him up during a collision at the plate. From the GM down to the fans, many folks are a little touchy right now in ‘Frisco.

But Sabean seems hell bent on making the situation worse. His club is coming off a successful road trip – one that saw the Giants take three of four from the first-place Cardinals – and yet all anyone can talk about today are the comments Sabean made on KNBR radio.

On Thursday, Sabean said that he didn’t blame Posey for not wanting to hear from Cousins following the play. Then he got personal.

“I don’t blame the kid,” Sabean said of Posey on his weekly KNBR radio program. “Why not be hard-nosed? If I never hear from Cousins again, or he doesn’t play another day in the big leagues, I think we’ll all be happy.”

Ouch. At first, you almost can’t blame Sabean for protecting his young player. But suggesting that “we’ll all be happy” if Cousins doesn’t play another day in the big leagues is a bit much. When asked if he was being harsh with his comments, Sabean didn’t back down.

“No,” Sabean said. “He chose to be a hero, in my mind. If that’s his flash of fame, that’s as good as it’s going to get, pal. We’ll have a long memory. We talked to (former Giants catcher) Mike Matheny about how this game works. You can’t be that out-and-out overly aggressive. There’s no love lost and there shouldn’t be.”

Cousins’ agent Matt Sosnick was quick to respond to Sabean’s criticism of his client.

“What Cousins did was not malicious,” Sosnick said. “A statement that anyone makes implying that he did something on purpose to be hurtful or malicious to Posey is untrue. Those people are misinformed. You can’t determine on a replay if there was a sliding lane for him to get into. It’s impossible.”

Something that always happens in situations like these is that fans choose sides. There are many people who believe Posey was trying to block the plate and therefore was fair game. Furthermore, it wasn’t Cousins’ hit that caused the injury, but Posey’s improper footing. (There are also many people who feel as though this wouldn’t be a story if it didn’t involve Buster Posey and they’re probably right. But it did involve Buster Posey, so discussing whether or not it’s a story is a waste of time.)

On the other side, people note how Cousins had a lane to slide into and didn’t have to take Posey out like a linebacker hunting down a receiver going across the middle. They say Posey wasn’t blocking the plate and therefore the play could have easily been avoided.

But here’s the thing that some seem to be missing: The play was totally legal. If Sabean or anyone wants to be mad at the situation, know where to direct your anger. Be mad at the rule, not at Cousins for deciding to take the catcher out. You think Cousins is the only player in baseball who would have decided in a split second that he was going to use force to try and jar the ball loose? Like he’s some evil monster that emerges from the baseball underworld to take out young catchers once every couple of years? Come on.

Cousins didn’t break any rules. And after people have gone ‘round and ‘round on the topic, everything still boils down to that fact. Was the end result unfortunate? Unequivocally yes. Was the play avoidable? Probably. Did Cousins intentionally set out to hurt Posey? No. Did it still happen? Yes, and as tough as it may be, the best thing the Giants can do is move on. Sabean is only making the situation worse with his comments. Do you think the Marlins’ ears didn’t perk up after reading what the GM said? Sabean just made his own players fair game with this “us vs. them” mentality and it was completely unnecessary. The Giants don’t need any negative attention right now, nor do they need their focus to be off baseball. Some players may laud Sabean for his comments, but at the end of the day they’re still going to have to put Posey’s injury in the rear view mirror. Constantly bringing it up only throws more salt in the wounds and it’s sad that Sabean has turned the attention off his club and onto himself. That’s never a wise move for a general manager.

I hate that Buster Posey is out for the year. No offense to Eli Whiteside but as a lifelong Giants fan, I’m disappointed every day when I check the lineup and Posey’s name isn’t listed. Sorry for the cliche, but it is what it is. On that dreadful night, had the Giants not staged a great comeback in the ninth, Posey would still be playing. Had Guillermo Mota not allowed any runners in the 12th, Posey would still be playing. Had Cousins decided not to test Nate Schierholtz’s arm, Posey would still be playing. Had Schierholtz’s throw been on the fly, Posey would still be playing.

Or maybe the same exact thing would have happened the next night and Posey still would have missed the rest of the season. Who’s to say? It was a freak play and injuries happen in sports. Declaring war on Scott Cousins isn’t going to erase that.

In the eyes of the Giants and their fans, the Marlins can’t get on a plane to vacate San Francisco fast enough.

Before Florida came to town on Tuesday, the Giants were riding a five-game winning streak. Sure, luck was a big reason they swept the A’s last weekend but their pitching was also dominant and they had enough clutch hitting to take all three games. It was the same recipe that allowed them to bring the first World Series championship to San Francisco last year.

But two losses and one massive injury insult later and the Giants are wishing the Marlins were left off their schedule this year. After Florida dumped them 5-1 on Tuesday, the Giants rallied from five runs down in the bottom of the ninth on Wednesday to tie the game 6-6 and force extra innings. Too bad they didn’t just take the 6-1 loss in the ninth.

In the 12th, Marlins outfielder Scott Cousins was tagging from third base and, knowing that there would be a close play at the plate with Nate Schierholtz throwing from right field, slammed into Giants catcher Buster Posey. The 2010 Rookie of the Year couldn’t hang onto the ball and worse yet, his left ankle/foot got caught underneath his body in gruesome fashion. As he lie on the dirt withering in pain, it was all the Giants and their faithful could do but to wince right along with him.

Posey will undergo an MRI on Thursday in order to determine the severity of the injury, but a trip to the disabled list seems inevitable. If he’s out for an extended period of time, you can’t help but to feel for the young man who carries himself well beyond his 24 years of age. Without their young catcher, there would have been no championship in San Francisco last year and that’s a fact. That’s how much he has meant to the club since being called up in June last year.

But now is the time for the defending champs to spring into action. Until the ninth inning on Wednesday night, the Giants’ bats have been in a deep slumber. Losing Pablo Sandoval to wrist surgery at the end of April was bad enough, but now with Posey out their already feeble offense just got worse. Eli Whiteside is a suitable backup catcher, but he’s not an everyday player and the Giants don’t have many options in minors.

So maybe GM Brian Sabean will get a familiar voice on the line in the upcoming days.

It’s not like San Francisco fans were sadden by the news of Bengie Molina being traded to the Rangers last year and Posey being called up. But Molina was a good Giant and he obviously knows this staff. Granted, he may have burned some bridges with Sabean last year with his outspokenness towards the way he was treated before he was traded. (He had to find out he was dealt to Texas via his teammates and the internet.) But assuming Posey is out for an extended period of time, the Giants need a catcher and Molina wants to play.

The Red Sox contacted Molina last week wanting to gauge his interest in coming to Boston. They never signed him because they apparently wanted him to spend a few weeks in the minors to shake off the rust, but Molina wanted to play in the big leagues right away. Even though the Giants have no idea what kind of shape he’s in (uh, baseball shape, that is), they don’t have the luxury of starting him in the minors so it’s seemingly a good fit.

The wildcard in this situation is Pablo Sandoval, who started his career as a catcher before moving to corner infield. He’ll be out for at least another two weeks as he rehabs from wrist surgery, but the Giants could try to get by with Whiteside and a minor league fill-in until then, and then give the Panda a try. The problem with starting Sandoval at catcher is that it would mean more of Miguel Tejada at third base, which is an even uglier sight than Posey withering on the ground in pain.

Either way, unless Posey’s injury is far less worse than anticipated, the Giants have a serious issue on their hands. After going largely injury-free last year, it appears as though the law of averages is catching up to the defending champs. And what a bitch that law of averages is right now.

Update: Amy Gutierrez of CSNBayArea.com is reporting that Posey was diagnosed with a broken leg and torn ligaments. While the team hasn’t confirmed anything yet, Posey is likely out for the year. It’s a massive blow to the Giants’ season and you feel for a bright young star like Posey.

Jose Guillen can’t play defense, can’t get on base and he can’t hit for average.

So naturally Giants’ GM Brian Sabean had to have him.

On Friday, the Giants acquired the 34-year-old former Royal, who is well known for having a poor clubhouse reputation. That’s something the close-nit Giants don’t need right now heading into a huge weekend series with the first place Padres (the team the Giants are trailing by 2.5 games in the NL West).

Clearly hypnotized by his 16 homers this season, Sabean felt the need to add the outfielder despite the fact that Guillen is more useless than a chair with only two legs. Plus, his acquisition means that Aaron Rowand, Travis Ishikawa (assuming Aubrey Huff moves back to first base) and Nate Schierholtz will receive less playing time than they already are, which is befuddling when you consider that Guillen isn’t a better option than any of them.

If I punch myself in the side of the head enough times and squint hard enough, I might see the need for Guillen as a pinch hitter. But there’s no way that the Giants actually believe this schmuck is a starter. Do you know how much ground there is to cover in right field at AT&T Park? Guillen would be an absolute train wreck and for what? A couple of home runs down the stretch? I thought that’s what Pat Burrell was for? Didn’t Sabean already acquire Pat Burrell already? I’m confused.

The worst part is, Sabean traded away two capable outfielders earlier this season in Fred Lewis and John Bower – two homegrown players that were better defensively than Guillen and who came with zero baggage. How does trading Lewis and Bowker and trading for Guillen make any sense? Tell me what the difference is between those players, or how Guillen makes the Giants better than Lewis and Bowker? And what happens to Schierholtz? The kid entered spring training as the favorite to start in right field and after a poor couple of weeks at the plate, he became Lewis’d, Bowker’d and Kevin Frandsen’d in the blink of an eye. If I were a Giants’ farm player, I’d want to be dealt immediately because Sabean will eventually block my position with a crusty old vet. It’s only a matter of time.

Sabean doesn’t have the slightest clue what it takes to build an offense. For every Burrell, Huff and Juan Uribe, there’s a Rowand, Edgar Renteria and Mark DeRosa (who clearly wasn’t healthy when Sabean decided to hand him a two-year deal this past offseason). For every Bengie Molina trade, there’s a Guillen, Ryan Garko and Freddy Sanchez deal right around the corner.

I’ve never see a man make so many stupid decisions and yet retain his job for 14 years. If Brian Sabean were the President of the United States, half the nation would be underwater right now.

There’s no way Brian Sabean will overpay for Corey Hart.

Brian Sabean won’t overpay to get Corey Hart, will he?

Oh God, Brian Sabean is going to overpay for Corey Hart, isn’t he?

If the Giants’ GM has taught us anything over the years, it’s that he’ll sell his wife, kids and soul just to get the player he covets. See Edgardo Alfonzo, whom he overpaid for in 2003 despite the third baseman’s well documented back troubles. See A.J. Pierzynski, whom he inexplicably acquired from the Twins in exchange for Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano and Boof Bonser because the Giants needed a catcher. See Barry Zito, whom he gave a $126 million contract to after outbidding himself.

For as great of a job as Sabean has done building one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, he’s done an equally horrendous job developing position players (Buster Posey being the exception, of course). Because he wasted years signing past-their-prime veterans instead of building through the draft, Sabean has had to overpay when it comes to free agents and trades. So when I read that the Giants are interested in Corey Hart, my palms and forehead get sweaty and the room starts spinning.

Hart is a fine player and he’s having a stellar year. His career OPS of .810 is far and away better than any current Giants’ hitter outside of Aubrey Huff and he’s heading to the All-Star Game next week.

But what’s to say that Hart isn’t the next Aaron Rowand? You remember Rowand, don’t you? The guy that Sabean drooled over after he hit .309 with 27 dingers in his final season with Philadelphia? Well that guy is now a platoon player in the Giants’ outfield because AT&T Park swallowed him whole. He, just like Hart, played in a wiffle ball park before arriving in San Francisco and now, three years and $60 million later, he’s struggling to hit .270.

If I’m Doug Melvin, I’d trade Hart in a second. The Brewers probably won’t have enough to pay both Hart and Prince Fielder next year and Hart’s value has never been higher. Milwaukee needs pitching and fortunately for them, the Giants have a surplus in that area.

Even more fortunate for Melvin and the Brewers is Sabean’s penchant for overpaying. Melvin might be able to squeeze Jonathan Sanchez and a prospect or two out of Sabean for a player in Hart that doesn’t have a long-term future in Milwaukee anyway. He’d be foolish not to fleece the Giants.

So here we are. The Giants are currently wrapping up a four-game series in Milwaukee as I type and there’s no doubt Sabean’s heart is racing like a school girl on her first date at the thought of acquiring Hart. In the right package, it certainly wouldn’t be a bad thing for San Fran to acquire a good hitter. But if Sabean follows through with his overwhelming desire to be had in every trade he’s ever been a part of, then Hart’s name will probably be mentioned along with Alfonzo, Pierzynski, Zito and Rowand’s the next time I want to bitch about Sabean (which will likely be in about an hour).

If you’re a Giants fan and you’re eating while reading this, stop immediately. For those general baseball fans checking this post out, you might find this extremely interesting and damn near hilarious.

ESPN’s Buster Olney conducted a poll recently where he asked “a dozen general managers” about making trades with other GMs. Below are the five poll questions.

1. Who is the easiest GM for you to make a trade with?
2. Who is the toughest GM for you to make a trade with?
3. Who is the most open, as you go through the process of making a trade?
4. Who is the biggest poker player, as you go through the process of making a trade?
5. Of the other 29 general managers, who would you hire to be your GM?

As Olney points out, the results were fascinating – or nauseating for Giants fans.

The point of the exercise was not to rip anybody; rather, it was merely to get some sense of the style of various general managers. Without a doubt, however, the GM who got hammered in a way I never expected was the Giants’ Brian Sabean, for one simple reason — rival executives say they cannot get him on the phone. They cannot get him to return messages. In a couple of cases, some GMs say they don’t even bother calling Sabean, they just go straight to assistant Bobby Evans.

The feeling of the other GMs is that beyond the issue of simple etiquette — “It’s just flat-out disrespectful to not return a call,” said one GM — Sabean isn’t putting himself in position to hear trade ideas that could benefit the Giants. “What happens if somebody calls to offer Brock for Broglio?” said one GM. “That’s what I get nervous about — what if the other team is shopping a really good player and he gets traded without me getting involved? That’s why I return all calls.”

In 14 years (dear Lord, has it been that long?), a general manager is going to have some ups and downs. It’s not realistic for a GM to have never been burned by a signing or a trade. But Sabean’s resume reads more like a horror script than someone who has kept his job longer than any other current GM in Major League Baseball.

You want bad trades? Try Jeremy Accardo for Shea Hillenbrand and Vinnie Chulk, or Russ Ortiz (in his prime) for Damian Moss and Merkin Valdez, or of course, the mother of all bad trades: Joe Nathan, Fransisco Liriano and Boof Bonser for one miserable year of A.J. Pierzynski (and cash!).

You want bad signings? Pick one: Edgardo Alfonzo (one of my personal favorites because even though he was in decline due to a nagging back injury, Sabean absolutely had to have him), Armando Benitez, Neifi Perez, Matt Morris and of course, the mother of all bad signings: Barry Zito, whom Sabean actually bid against himself to overpay.

There were also many, many, many unnecessary signings (ahem, Rich Aurilia in his second SF stint, Dave Roberts, Ryan Klesko, etc.) as well, but I don’t have the time or energy to go through all the times Sabean sacrificed a youth movement so he could ink another crusty old veteran to a ridiculous multi-year contract. And then, when some of those veterans broke down during the year and gave way to inevitable injuries, the Giants were forced to bring up players that weren’t ready for big league action. (Also of note: Sabean was the same man that once surrendered a first round pick so that he could sign Michael Tucker.)

Granted, there were good deals, too. Jeff Kent, Robb Nen, Ellis Burks, Jason Schmidt, Livan Hernandez, David Bell and Kenny Lofton were all well-executed trades by Sabean. But look at those names – the trade for Lofton was the last time he made a deal that helped the Giants win and that was all the way back in 2002. (The Randy Winn trade in ’05 worked out, but it didn’t help the Giants in the standings.)

And now Olney’s report. Sabean doesn’t return calls sometimes when other GMs inquire about trades? I pray the GM who said that either a) is venomous by nature and kicks babies in his spare time or b) is exaggerating. Because if it’s true that Sabean doesn’t do his due diligence when it comes to making deals, then I don’t know what other motivation Giants ownership needs to make a change.

Some will point out that Sabean has built the club’s outstanding pitching staff and that’s true. Fine, the Giants can throw him a, “Thanks for all the pitching!” party when he leaves. But the fact of the matter is that the G-Men have been irrelevant for a very long time and what good is having a tremendous pitching staff if the GM can’t build even an average offense to go with it?

It’s time for San Fran to find a more competent general manager. Someone with a better overall philosophy and who will actually be committed to building through the farm system.

Giants fans had been waiting since the end of spring training for their team to recall top prospect Buster Posey from Triple-A Fresno. The club teased fans by announcing that Posey had a shot to make the big league club in the spring, then pulled the chair out from under them at the last second while sending him back to the minors. (And laughing the entire time.)

“Ha, ha! Posey isn’t going to make the team, idiots. Now go watch Eugenio Velez play everyday…and lead off.”

But then on May 29, the impossible happened: the Giants actually called Posey up from the minors. Better yet, he delivered.

He went 3-for-4 with three RBI in a win over the Diamondbacks on Saturday night and then chipped in three more hits (including a pair of doubles) and an RBI in the Giants’ win over Arizona on Sunday. His two extra base hits allowed San Fran to stay in a game they probably would have otherwise lost. He provided a spark to their offense that has been missing all season.

But while Posey’s 6-for-9 start is thrilling for Bay area fans who desperately deserve to see some offense, there’s no guarantee that the Giants won’t send him back down to the minors once Edgar Renteria and Mark DeRosa return from the DL. After all, Posey is a catcher and Bengie Molina is currently occupying that position. Aubrey Huff, the club’s normal first baseman, is playing left field so that Posey can play first and once DeRosa returns, he can go back to the outfield and push Huff back to the infield. Renteria would then give the Giants’ a surplus of infielders and if Posey isn’t going to play, it makes no sense to store him on the bench.

It’s ironic that a team that couldn’t score runs (the Giants once again rank among the league’s worst in runs scored) before Posey was called up would actually find a way to get rid of one their best hitters, but if there’s a will there’s a way when it comes to GM Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy. Sabean has been saying for weeks that Posey wasn’t ready to come up and if the 23-year-old starts struggling, there’s no doubt that he’ll have an itchy trigger finger in terms of sending him back down. There’s nothing Sabean enjoys more than torturing fans.

Of course, if Posey keeps hitting then there’s nothing Sabean or Bochy can do but play him. The Giants are trying to make the playoffs for the first time since dinosaurs roamed the earth and they know that they can compete with an average offense because of how good their pitching staff is. He’s not going to hit .667 all season, but if Posey can make himself indispensable then the Giants will be forced to make room for him when guys like Renteria and DeRosa come back. They’ll simply have no choice.