"The Giants are done building their 2012 roster. That was the easy part.

Now comes their toughest task: Reaching long-term contracts with Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, the two load-bearing pillars in their Neoclassic rotation.

There was never an illusion of ease with Lincecum, a specially accomplished ace who is expected to set salary records in each of his final two arbitration years.

But Cain has every reason to play hardball, too.

This newspaper has learned that when the Giants extended Cain's contract back in the spring of 2010, the original agreement called for a $16 million salary in 2013. The club yanked the final year off the table at the last instant, spooked by loose bodies that showed up in a scan of Cain's right elbow.

"We weren't sure why," said Rick Landrum, Cain's senior representative. "His medicals hadn't changed from what they had been.""