"In modern baseball, the stability of the Giants' roster from 2010 to 2011 was unique. Juan Uribe left for Los Angeles and Edgar Renteria for Cincinnati. Aside from that, the bulk of the World Series championship team returned.

This winter will be different. Though key players such as Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, Brian Wilson, Aubrey Huff, Freddy Sanchez, Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval are locked in, because they already have 2012 contracts or are not eligible to leave via free agency, some familiar and popular faces from the title team might not be back."