Not a lot of experts picked the Giants to make the playoffs, or finish with a losing record. In hindsight, no one actually realized how bad this team was heading into the 2008 season. Offensively, this team was challenged and couldn’t score consistently with a prominent bat in their lineup. One area that was sure to get all the accolades was the pitching. For some parts it did, in the way of Tim Lincecum, who ended up winning the National League Cy Young Award with an 18-5 record and a 2.62 ERA. He did all that in just his second season in the Major’s. Lincecum will once again head up the starting rotation as the number one guy.
Of course Lincecum was the only bright spot on the Giants roster, and the only conceivable reason for a fan to come out and watch the Giants play. With his stats alone, he single handedly kept the Giants out of the bottom in most team pitching stats.
After Lincecum, the Giants thought they found the number two pitcher that would follow him. Giants’ management did, and they were so excited about having him on the team, that they offered him a seven year contract worth 117 million dollars. It turned out that left hander Barry Zito took the whole 2008 season off, and was on vacation on the shores of the sunny San Francisco beaches. When Zito was signed, he was supposed to be the number one pitcher, and let Lincecum ease into a star pitcher. Things changed quickly as Lincecum sped up his career with an outstanding season, and Zito didn’t exactly provide the dynamic duo punch the Giants were looking for. Instead he posted a record of 10-17, and had an ERA of 5.15.
Even Giants management misjudged Zito, who has hardly had any success by his standards when he won the American League Cy Young Award with the Oakland Athletics in 2002. In 2007, which was his final year of his contract in Oakland, you’d think he would pitch lights out for a long term contract. Even then he only posted eleven wins and thirteen losses, with an ERA of 4.53. What was Giants management thinking when they offered Zito the contract they did?
To shore up the starting five, Giants management this time didn’t make a mistake in signing crafty left hander, former NL Cy Young Award winner, and World Series Champion Randy Johnson. This 45 year old can still pitch, and probably better than Barry Zito. Johnson still has one of the nastiest slider’s in the game, and can still throw it at a high velocity.
If Zito can get his head on straight, the Giants will have a good enough starting rotation to improve the overall team record from last season.
As mentioned above, the Giants will be offensively challenged. They are full of young players on their roster and will be hungry to make a name for themselves and get playing time. Which is a plus, and that could possibly make them better hitters. Reality check, more than three quarters of the San Francisco roster is full of rookies, sophomores and third years players, with the majority having yet to play a full year in the Bigs. With that, don’t expect the Giants to crank out homeruns on the regular.
Besides all those players still trying to find their way, the Giants do have some veteran bats in the lineup that can hit. Behind the plate, and a defensive rock is Bengie Molina, but don’t expect him to track down wild pitches that get thrown behind him. His speed is a killer, because Molina is a solid hitter and can get on base, but driving him in is a problem, he is so damn slow. At the plate Molina always puts up respectable numbers and just came off a 16 homerun and 95 RBI season.
The only veteran player in the infield is Edgar Renteria, who will be the everyday starting short stop. His power numbers sure have dipped the last four years, but defensively he gets the job done, and the Giants will need that, especially in one of the most demanding positions in baseball.
In the outfield, the Giants have two veterans, one better than their infield. Aaron Rowand and Randy Winn will occupy centre and right field. Of the two players, Rowand is more of the power hitter, and can at least hit twenty homeruns and 90 RBI. With those types of numbers, Rowand will most likely bat out of the three or four hole.
As for Randy Winn, he has spent the last four years of his career in San Francisco and is on the cusp of calling it a career. At the same time, he is no slouch when it comes to batting. He can easily hit twelve homeruns, and at least sixty RBI. The Giants at this point aren’t worried about his numbers more than they are about his presence and what he will bring to the clubhouse. He is one of the leaders on this team and will have to guide the younger players in all aspects of the game.
Beyond that, at least four starting positions on the Giants roster will be played by sophomores or third year players. Again, those who will start, probably haven’t played at least two hundred games in their careers. The only player out of the youngsters who has played more than two hundred games is Fred Lewis. He barely reached that mark with 204 games played, and will most likely be the opening day left fielder, as he played 133 games game there last season.
POSITIVE --> GOOD PITCHING STAFF WITH TIM LINCECUM AND RANDY JOHNSON.
NEGATIVE --> A TEAM FULL OF YOUNG PLAYERS ISN’T NECESSARILY A BAD THING, BUT THE TEAM WILL STRUGGLE DUE TO EXPERIENCE.
X-FACTOR --> BARRY ZITO NEEDS TO STRAIGHTEN OUT HIS GAME BECAUSE HE IS ANOTHER LEFT HANDER IN THE ROTATION. IF HE PITCHES WELL ENOUGH TO EARN 15 VICTORIES, THEN HE AND OTHER LEFTY RANDY JOHNSON WILL GO BACK TO BACK IN THE ROTATION, WHICH WILL ONLY IMPROVE THE GIANTS AS A WHOLE.
SLEEPER PICK --> IT HAS TO BE ONE OF THE YOUNGSTERS, SO FRED LEWIS. HE PLAYED 133 GAMES LAST YEAR AND PUT UP DECENT NUMBERS.
PREDICTION --> NO PLAYOFFS FOR THE GIANTS THIS YEAR AND WILL AT LEAST FINISH VERY CLOSE TO, OR JUST ABOVE FIVE HUNDRED.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
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