Mike currently manages premium seating for the New Jersey Nets of the NBA. Prior to that, he was with the Lakewood BlueClaws- the Single A Affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. He has a BA in Journalism from the University of Georgia and Master's in Sports Business from New York University.

Previous Columns: Free Agency Explained Those Little Giants The Road Trip Lesson Complete list

Looking at the ESPN.com MLB power rankings this past week, I was shocked to see the San Francisco Giants on the verge of cracking the top 5 this late into the season. Was Kevin Mitchell back catching fly balls with his non-gloved hand or was Will "the Thrill" Clark using that velvety smooth swing to rope line drives into the corner? Or were Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent fighting each other for MVP's or just plain fighting each other again and I somehow missed it? In reality, the San Francisco Giants haven't had a winning season since 2004 and have been hamstrung from making moves recently by Barry Zito's 7 year, $126 Million albatross of a contract signed before the 2007 season. Zito has suffered (as have Giants fans during his outings) in black and orange going 25-37 with an ERA in the mid to high 4's, which has been a monumental disappointment, after having seven consecutive winning seasons across the bay in Oakland. Despite Zito's struggles, the Giants are having a great first half and as of July 1st, they are leading the NL Wildcard race by a game over Colorado and St. Louis.

Even if you're playing fantasy baseball and your everyday lineup includes names like Travis Ishikawa, Nate Schierholtz, and Juan Uribe, you are most likely going to be the league's doormat. So how is this Giants team winning with these less-than-household names in the actual Major Leagues? They've managed to combine a couple of well placed veterans with a few fresh faced prospects. The results have been surprising to say the least. Most impressive, is that if you examine their payroll closely, one will notice that the guys making the least amount of money are the most productive players on the team. Rookie Pablo Sandoval leads the team in hits with a .338 batting average yet makes just $401,750. Reigning Cy Young award winner Tim Lincecum is a legitimate ace and is on the books for just $650,000 while 2008 All-Star closer Brian Wilson makes just $480,000 and is second in the National League with 21 saves. Matt Cain has turned into a dominant starter (9-2 2.57 ERA) while making just $2.9M. His emergence has given the Giants the best tandem of starters the NL West has seen since Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson pitched the Diamondbacks to a World Series title in 2001. Speaking of the Big Unit, he's already won 8 games (4 more than Zito) for the Giants this season while making just $8M ($10.5M less than Zito).

San Francisco's $82M payroll ranks 14th in the league yet their 42 wins are more than the Cardinals, White Sox, Braves, Mariners, Astros, Phillies, Cubs, and Mets- all of whom have spent more money than the Giants in 2009. Brian Sabean is the architect of this team and has had the reigns of the Giants since 1997. Despite orchestrating the Barry Zito signing as well as once trading Francisco Liriano and Joe Nathan to the Twins for A.J. Pierzynski, Sabean has a solid track record from drafting pitchers Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Noah Lowry- major cogs in the Giants' turnaround.

So, what does this particular Giants team's success mean in the long run? It means building successful teams by breaking the bank to sign veterans like the Yankees, Angels, Cubs and Mets traditionally do will be the exception rather than the rule. Teams like the Marlins, Rays, Twins and now the Rangers, Rockies, Brewers, and these San Francisco Giants are now the blueprint of how to build a successful, cost-efficient major league franchise. The lesson for teams like the Pittsburgh Pirates should be to invest money in the scouts, the upper management of the organization as well as prospects like Andrew McCutcheon in the draft rather than dropping $7M per season on both Jack Wilson and Adam LaRoche. If you're the Royals, invest in keeping Zack Greinke and Joakim Soria instead of spending $11M and $12M respectively on Jose Guillen and Gil Meche. If one of these teams was to lure Sabean or one of his disciples to run one of these clubs, would the long suffering, hopeless mindset of these fans could be altered quickly? Who knows? However, since the Pirates haven't had a winning season in 15 years, I think having a shot at the Wild Card even into the All-Star Break could be a good for what ails them. Can the Giants maintain their first half success? They might fade or they might not, but even the prospect of post-season baseball in July has rejuvenated a city hungry for baseball success and has altered the way a winning team should be built.

Talk this over on the lovemyteam.com message board >>

Write to Mike Robbins If you'd like a response to your email, please be sure to include your email address or other contact information