If I were rookie Giants owner Bill Neukom, I definitely would like what the Brian Sabean-Bruce Bochy tandem did with the Giants this season.

But I wouldn’t love what they did. Far short of love, which should be withheld for great leaps of genius and actual playoff berths.
If I were Neukom, I’d want Bochy and Sabean back after their contracts expire at season’s end, because of the Giants’ improved quality of play and the true, buoyant chemistry of the clubhouse.
But I would look at some of their failings — the prolonged devotion to stumbling veterans, the awful offense, the screwy trades, the previous failed seasons — and I’d offer only short-term deals.
I would want them back, but only on my terms.
Of course, I am not Neukom. Thank goodness. (I could never do the bow ties.)
The actual Neukom was at AT&T Park on Tuesday afternoon before the Giants played Arizona, sporting black and orange Nikes, which is as much like me as he probably ever wants to get.
Not shockingly, the owner declined to opine on his Bochy and Sabean decision. Does he consider them a package deal — both retained or both replaced?
“It’s too early to comment on that,” Neukom said. “The wheels are turning. We’ll do what we think is best for the franchise.”
Will that decision come soon after the Oct. 4 season finale?
“As soon as practical,” Neukom said.
I didn’t tell Neukom then, but I’m saying it now: If I were him, I most assuredly wouldn’t give Bochy and Sabean a double blank check.
And if Sabean and Bochy didn’t like the terms, I would be happy to move on to my next general manager and manager duo.
By the way, Sabean and Bochy are smartly positioning themselves as a team, as reported by Andrew Baggarly in Tuesday’s Mercury News.
Which makes things both easier (one decision — yea or nay on the duo) and tougher (what if you like one of them more than the other?).
For me, the package deal makes the decision simple: I admire enough of what Bochy has done as manager over the past three seasons and what Sabean has done as GM over the past 13 to say they deserve to be retained.
In particular, Bochy has nursed Barry Zito into some version of semi-reliability (OK, that’s nearly Nobel-worthy), has kept the Giants’ thoroughbred pitchers healthy and comfortable, has found the player in Eugenio Velez and has nurtured a strong and entertaining team spirit.
But is Bochy the ideal long-term manager for a youth movement? Bochy seemed to embrace the concept in fits and starts this season, and his fail-safe was always to keep playing Randy Winn and Aaron Rowand as much as possible.
If I were Neukom, I would want to see how Bochy handles Buster Posey over a full season (this September not so good) and how he builds on the momentum of this season.
This year was a prime performance for Sabean: Pablo Sandoval established, pitching staff stocked beautifully, Posey and Madison Bumgarner highlighting a farm system that registered the best overall record in baseball.
But how many times can Sabean be forgiven for spending unwisely on veteran position players? And can he be counted on to build a strong offensive lineup to support this once-in-a-generation pitching staff?
Most recently, Sabean sacrificed Tim Alderson and Scott Barnes for a total of 10 playoff-race extra base hits out of Freddy Sanchez and Ryan Garko.
That’s in addition to Rowand for $60 million, Edgar Renteria for $18.5 million, Randy Winn for $23 million and many others in distant years. (I’m marking Zito’s $126 million as a Peter Magowan enterprise.)
If I were Neukom, I would want to see how Sabean reformulates the offense and how he does it on a strictly supervised budget.
I would be appreciative of what both men did this season. I would be pleased with the meaningful improvements and engaging baseball.
But I would be careful. I would offer them two-year deals, and I would be ready to dispatch them after one.
Because it’s good to be a relevant team again, but you fall in love only when you’re sure everything is rolling right.