A major step in the Giants' reorganization will happen today if, as expected, Major League Baseball owners approve chief executive officer Larry Baer as the team's "control person," who gets one of 30 votes in that very powerful room.

Baer answered questions from baseball's ownership committee in Milwaukee on Wednesday. His confirmation requires at least 23 affirmative votes, which he is expected to receive.

"It would be trite to say it's a dream come true," Baer said by phone after the committee meeting. "For a kid who was riding the bus with his dad to Candlestick and living on every pitch on the radio, I can't wait to jump in and see the next many years of Giants baseball as glorious years, with more world championships."

Though the nameplate on the office door will change when Baer officially replaces Bill Neukom at year's end, the organizational philosophy will remain steady.

The Giants hope to develop talent, rather than throw gobs of cash at big-name free agents, while preserving the core of the team that won the 2010 World Series.

That might not satisfy fans who long to see the Giants pursue one of the big bats on the market. However, Baer believes the best route to another title is spending significant money to retain the pitching staff. The $9.5 million given to relievers Jeremy Affeldt and Javier Lopez for 2012 was a symbolic first step.

Payroll in 2o12 will be $130 million, up marginally from the $124 million final total for 2011 but substantially more than the $97 million paid to the 2010 title team.

While some franchises reportedly are proffering $200 million offers for Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder, or $100 million for next-tier players such as Jose Reyes, the Giants hope a healthy Buster Posey and Freddy Sanchez, plus new outfielder Melky Cabrera, can extend a lineup that hit sufficiently to win a World Series. Now, they are seeking depth that they lacked last season.

The Giants pursued Willie Bloomquist, because he can play short and outfield, before he re-signed with Arizona for two years at $3.8 million. Reports tie the Giants to oft-injured center fielder Grady Sizemore, who could have a big upside if healthy.

"We'll consider anybody," Baer said, "but we're very mindful of focusing on folks that we're going to want to keep, people like Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval and Brian Wilson. These are all people who are going to be discussed."

The Giants have not signed any player for more than two years since 2008, but Baer said that was "not an ordained structure or rule," and he expects the team to offer longer deals to Lincecum and Cain.

Both are priorities this winter, Lincecum because he could fetch gargantuan numbers in arbitration, Cain because he can walk as a free agent after next season.

Baer said season-tickets prices will rise an average of 5-6 percent, though he acknowledged that a handful of customers will see double-digit increases because the team determined that those tickets were undervalued. He said single-game ticket prices will be "pretty much in line with last year," though they will fluctuate with dynamic pricing.