Should San Francisco Bring Back Marco Scutaro?

In order to win a World championship in any sport, the whole has to be greater than the sum of its parts. To put it simply, the team comes first, individual second. Whatever you can do to help the team, you do because there is no other reason you want to perform well than for your teammates. 

Marco Scutaro embodies the unselfishness most desire in their second baseman. He lays it all out there. He gives the team every ounce of effort he has remaining in his body and it showed once the Giants acquired him at the trade deadline in late July. 

In 61 games with the Giants, Scutaro bat .362, drove in 44 runs, hit 16 doubles and scored 40 runs of his own. A consumate professional athlete who only desires one thing: wins. He plays hard and focused every at bat whether he is at the plate or manning second base. He is as good defensively as he is offensively and that alone makes this decision for the Giants even harder. 

At age 37, Scutaro does not have much more upside - and even though he is fresh off the NLCS MVP award (where he hit .500 for the series) and a superb supporting role alongside Pablo Sandoval in the World Series, the Giants may not want to take the risk that he either gets hurt or tanks because of wear and tear over his long career. 

After the 2010 World Series championship, the Giants re-signed Freddie Sanchez, Aubrey Huff and Cody Ross -- all postseason heros for the Giants, all under-performers after receiving their payday.  GM Brian Sabean will do his due diligence this time around before wasting his owners money again. 

Scutaro could be a good bargain signing if he is willing to take an incentive-laden 1-2 year deal, but the Giants will be hard-pressed to offer him more than that. As tough as it would be to see a postseason hero go, it probably is the correct business move.