"Giants fans who are daydreaming about Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder manning first base at AT&T Park next season need to dial back their expectations, judging from the message that general manager Brian Sabean telegraphed Thursday.

Priority One for the Giants, after a season in which they scored a paltry 570 runs, is not throwing money at one of the premier hitters on the free-agent market, but devising a financial plan for keeping one of the game's best pitching staffs intact.

Only then, Sabean said, can he look at the remaining dollars and see what they can buy on the market.

"Once you build that model of what you're going to spend, and specifically with our pitching staff, then you decide what the outside world can bring," said Sabean, who has no illusions about the amount of dough he must set aside to keep Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, Madison Bumgarner, Ryan Vogelsong and others in San Francisco uniforms for years to come.

"Our pitching is going to get expensive," Sabean said. "That's the punch line, and we have to take care of that first.""