Gary Peterson: Giants are shopping at winter meetings, but considering their options, maybe "wait fo

Someone once asked Rogers Hornsby what he did all winter when there was no Baseball. "I'll tell you what I do," he said. "I stare out the window and wait for spring." The Giants aren't staring out the window this week at the Baseball winter meetings. There is real talk about real people, enough to generate real rumors. As for generating real hope that the Great Rally Famine of 2009 won't spill over into 2010, well, let's put it this way: They sure could use a fellow like Hornsby big right-handed bat in a home park that favors right-handed bats; .358 career hitter; two-time home run champ; good speed; keen eye; mighty fine second sacker. Of course, he'd be 113 years old if he were still alive. Then again, when the one of the alternatives is Dan Uggla ... and apparently it is. Uggla, the Florida Marlins second baseman, is on the trading block. Reports suggest the Giants are kicking his tires. He's a right-handed hitter with pop (home run totals for the past three seasons: 31, 32, 31). He's also a below-average defensive second baseman (you may recall his three-error hat trick in the 2008 All-Star Game), and reports (love those reports!) indicate he would be disinclined to switch to third base. So this helps the Giants how? For starters, they'd have to give someone up to get him. Then they'd have to ask incumbent second baseman Freddy Sanchez (for whom they traded pitching prospect Tim Alderson last July) to move to third base, where he hasn't played since 2006. Then they would have to move Pablo Sandoval from third base, where he improved dramatically last season, to first. There is no guarantee that such a series of events would generate enough offense to offset the potential defensive issues that would result. And this, we might add, is the rumor with the biggest upside. Not to be too tough on Uggla. Or Giants general manager Brian Sabean. In fact, it would be a good thing if we all took a cleansing breath and came to the understanding that there is no quick, painless fix to the Giants' profound offensive shortcomings. In fact, they could be even more profound in 2010. Bengie Molina, the team's catcher and cleanup hitter, will not be back. There's a good chance infielder Juan Uribe may be gone as well. That would subtract 36 home runs from the total of 122 that ranked the Giants 15th among 16 National League teams last season. What that leaves isn't necessarily suitable for framing. Let's play with the lineup as it might look if the season started tomorrow, and see what we've got: 1. Eugenio Velez/Andres Torres 2. Edgar Renteria 3. Sanchez 4. Sandoval 5. Rogers Hornsby ... er, Fred Lewis, if he's still around 6. Travis Ishikawa 7. Aaron Rowand 8. The new Bengie Yes, you're entitled to hold your nose, blink to keep your eyes from watering and declare such a lineup unacceptable. That's the easy part. The hard part is coming up with a solution that works in the real world the world in which the Giants aren't about to tack $20 million onto their payroll to accommodate Matt Holliday or Jason Bay, or foolishly trade one of their top four starting pitchers. Nick Johnson would be an improvement at first base. But if the rumors are correct, the Giants might have to outbid Seattle for his services. Then they'd have to hope he stays healthy. Another free agent, Adrian Beltre, is a good third baseman with pop. He'd be worth moving Sandoval to first. But uh-oh, he's a Scott Boras client. Miguel Tejada is a free-agent shortstop who could project to third, but you want to proceed with caution here at least until you know how old he is this year. Pudge Rodriguez and Johnny Damon were swirling in the great rumor ether, but Rodriguez has signed with Washington and Sabean says Damon is a no-go for the Giants . Just as well, in both cases. Marlon Byrd, Mike Cameron, Mark DeRosa, Jermaine Dye, Hideki Matsui and Xavier Nady are out there, but all come with caveats and most would cause as many problems as they'd solve. Which brings us to the gritty reality in which rushing Buster Posey becomes an option. That's not much to hang your hat on. Then again, neither is wishing on a star for a Barry Bonds-sized Band-Aid. Contact Gary Peterson at gpeterson@bayareanewsgroup.com