NL West preview: long summer for Giants
Let me start off by saying this. I hate Barry Bonds. I don’t hate him because he’s a winner. I don’t hate him because I like Oakland more than the Giants. I don’t hate him for any other reason except this. I think the guy took drugs. Even to this day I refuse to recognize him as the home run king. That title belongs to Hank Aaron, and will belong to Hank Aaron until someone who is drug-free dethrones him. Also, I thought it was really funny when he tried to hold Willie Mays hand when he walked onto the field at the All-Star Game last year. The Say Hey Kid wouldn’t let him. Take that Bonds. However, I’m not really interested in talking about Bonds. I’m interested in talking about San Francisco. Drugs or no drugs, the man has not been resigned with the Giants, and drugs or no drugs, that affects San Francisco. So, who did the Giants sign to make up for it,and how will the Giants cope?
First of all, it should be noted that as good as Bonds is (steroids does not provide you with knowledge of baseball)….The Giants finished dead last in their division last year. The NL West has some tough teams, but if you took their end of the season win loss record (71-91) at put them in any other division it still only bumps them up to second-to-last. Keep in mind, this was with Bonds. Since the thing Bonds did the most was hit, let’s talk about hitting. Most of the guys on the club last year are not spectacular hitters. You have Randy Winn, and a few others, but for the most part…not so good. However, the Giants wished to improve their chances and had that opportunity when Aaron Rowand opted not to return to the White Sox, and signed with the Giants for $60 Mil for five years. Rowand got a little boastful claiming the Giants could win the division this year. Anything is possible, but that means they’ll have to beat Arizona, Colorado and Los Angeles (who, at first glance, all have a better shot…I haven’t looked at San Diego yet).
At least Rowand recognizes that there is hard work ahead. He arrived six days early to the Giants Spring Training camp. He did it to meet his new teammates, but I think he also realized he’s got a lot to do in order for the club to catch up with his mouth. There are at least 20 other potential batters in the Giants clubhouse as I write this. There is also a lot of time since we’re at the start of Spring Training, but let’s try and keep this short and sweet and move onto the rotation. We’ll say that there might be talent hidden elsewhere in the depth chart.The mound seems to have as much, if not more, problems than the batting. Let’s not be pessimistic for a start though. They have Timothy Lincecum. Lincecum is real young, and only pitched 12 games last season. However, of those 12 contests he walked away a winner 7 times. He ended the season with a 4.00 ERA, and a grand total of 150 strikeouts. You won’t find a lot of pitchers who can make that boast about their rookie season. The Giants also have Noah Lowry. Lowry has fewer strikeouts than Lincecum, but he also has a better ERA and win loss record. His other advantage is he’s a bit more seasoned. I’ll actually be very anxious to see what both of these guys can do next year. However, this is where the good news ends. The rest of the starting pitchers for the Giants are beyond unimpressive. Pat Misch finished last year with an 0-4 record which leaves me little left to say except this. Why the hell is this guy still a starter?
The bullpen is in a little better shape. In my opinion, a lot of the strength of the bullpen comes from who your closer is. Giants closer, Brian Wilson (not to be confused with Beach Boy songwriter), isn’t half bad. He isn’t half good either. His ERA (2.28) is real good, but he doesn’t have a lot of strikeouts or saves to his name. He’s a toss up for me. I just can’t decide what to make of him. The bullpen seems to have better pitchers that could pull it off, but then again…I’m just looking at records from last year. I’m going to go ahead and assume the Giants front office knows more about their players than I do. However, it still leaves me confused.
Strange things happen in baseball, but if I had to make a call on the Giants this season (which is what I’m doing), I would place them right where they were last season. At the bottom of their division. And the fact that Bonds is off the table makes it seem like they’ll have to fight harder if they want to live up to Rowand’s boast. So what does San Francisco have to look forward to this summer? I hear the new Batman movie is gonna be pretty awesome.
- Mile High Mouth