Could this be the year the Giants step into the play-off picture?
Must Be A Padre Fan...
With Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Barry Zito, and Jonathan Sanchez all back for another year, it is pretty simple to project how they will fare in the upcoming season. Super prospect Madison Baumgarner may pin down the 5th starter spot, and that could spell trouble for teams in the NL West. Scouting reports suggested a mid 90s fastball, but Bumgarner consistently threw between 88-92 during his short stint with the big club. This could be attributed to a 20 year old running out of steam late season, but if he comes out of the gate throwing his mid 90′s fastball, with an above average curve and deceptive delivery, he could be a legitimate 5th starter. Behind ace Tim Lincecum (second straight Cy Young) and emerging ace Matt Cain, the ’09 Giants knocked on the door of the playoffs but ultimately succumbed to a mostly moribund offense (3rd to last in NL runs). With GM Brian Sabean signing more aging bats this offseason, it is considered by some unlikely that the Giants offense improves enough to get them over the hump. But free agents Mark Derosa, Bengie Molina, Aubrey Huff and re-up Juan Uribe will add some pop to a line-up thirsting for more power. Up the middle – Edgar Renteria, coming off a sub par year but a .288 career hitter, and Freddie Lewis (.293 last year) should both add solid bats to the Giants lineup.
The post Barry Bonds Giants will continue a steady three year climb and could possibly wrench the division away from the Dodgers, a team with troubled ownership and more than a few question marks. The tea leaves show Pablo ‘Kung Fu Panda’ Sandoval and Matt Cain/Tim Lincecum as possibly serious contenders for NL MVP and Cy Young respectively, while Derosa pounds out his 25 HRs, showing late career power and other young Giants work to impress.
Prediction: It all spells 90 wins and a run at the NL West title.
hmmmm. The Giants are now good?
Maybe. They do have the pitching, and if you have that, you have a chance.
The players the Dodgers have on the field are as good, or better, than any team in the West. The bench is iffy, and the starting rotation could be really good, or… not. The organization itself looks shaky, with less scouting going on and seemingly less money being put into the minor league system. I know thing aren’t always as they seem, but, is this ownership going to hold together?
I think they will win the West, but I also think the West will be better top to bottom.
I agree with Badger. This division is tough! Really tough. The DBacks have great pitching depth, Colorado is just as good as last year, and the Giants are stacked with talent especially pitching. If they get any run production they are scary good.
The scariest thought I have is we can either finish 1st or 3rd this year and still have our core players put up incredible numbers. This division is that tough. Don’t be suprised if the winner of the division has less than 95 wins. Heck maybe less than 90, it will be a dog fight!
The 5th spot in the rotation is killing I would like to see the Dodgers sign a lefty maybe Washburn or Takahshi Washburn just might have a lil gas left in the tank not much but a little.
J
Nice article
I would take Washburn in heartbeat. I think he would do well pitching at Dodger Stadium. He pitched 176 innings of 1.19 WHIP in the AL last year. That could translate to over 180 innings of 1.0 WHIP in the NL. Great for the 5 spot. But he would cost money the Dodgers don’t have.
Oh wait, payroll is not being affected. Bidness as uzhul. I nearly forgot.
Dodgers have money, loads of it ; )They just prefer spreading it around on bench players because that’s what wins games, the bench. Why take that 5mil and buy something exciting—Ned loves to sign GAMERS ; )
I don’t think so. The giants have not really improved their offense, their defense is worse, and they were very lucky last year.
I am more concerned with the Rockies, who should build upon last year’s success and with Jeff Francis returning from injury.
Also, if Webb comes back strong for the Dbacks, they could be serious trouble.
That’s a good point about the defense Table. I don’t think they are great but defense begins with pitching and the Giants have loads of that. Even their pen is solid with Romo, Medders and Affeldt setting up and Wilson closing.
I still think they will be a very good team. And if Baumgarner wins the 5 spot, look out.
And of course I agree with you about the Dbacks. They are going to win a lot more games this year than they did last as was mentioned in the post about them. I was hoping to do a piece about the Rockies down the road.