Band of Misfits: Assembling the 2010 World Champion San Francisco Giants

For the first time in my life, a team I have rooted for has won the championship. The New York Rangers won when I was three years old so I don’t remember it, and just when the San Francisco Giants were three innings away from glory in 2002, they would find a way to blow it and cause me to wait even longer. To be honest, I did not think this day would ever come. If the Giants could not win with McCovey and Cepeda; Clark, Williams, and Mitchell; Bonds, Kent, Aurilia, Schmidt, and Nen; how on earth could they possibly win with this team of misfits?

As John Kruk said on ESPN following the win, perhaps the fact they were a group of low-caliber guys, and not stars, played into their win. They did not have a solid cleanup hitter, or a number-three hitter, or any real threat of offense whatsoever. But what they did have was pitching, and as the experts always say, pitching wins championships. That moniker echoed in my mind for the last few years as Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum came into their own. But the Giants had no offense and I figured these pitchers would wind up wasting their careers in San Francisco, always pitching great, but never accomplishing anything meaningful.

But the fact is, the Giants found a way to win this season, all while acquiring many nicknames and slogans. The team of “misfits” is what is being marketed right now, but manager Bruce Bochy initially started that theme when he called his hitters the “Dirty Dozen”. Fans also bestowed on the team their mantra for this season: “San Francisco Giants baseball. Torture.”

Well, if this is torture, it never felt so great, and I can say now that it was worth it. The Giants have waited 56 years for this World Series title, and the first since they moved from New York to the city by the bay. We will now take a look at these misfits, and they how they came to win the championship.

Andres Torres (16-58; 1 HR, 3 RBI; .276)

The player who would come to be a reliable leadoff hitter played over a thousand games in the minor leagues before getting a decent shot. He was up and down in the majors, playing some with the Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers. Before he came to the Giants last season, he had 99 games of Major League experience in more than ten years of professional baseball. Last year he got some time with the Giants and was nothing spectacular, but this year, he cranked 16 homeruns, stole a team leading 26 bases, and was near the top of the league in doubles with 43. He won the Willie Mac award at the end of the year, as a reward for his hard work, but that would pale in comparison to this World Series. In the five games he bat .318 with one homerun and three RBI’s; this after struggling mightily in the NLDS.

Pat Burrell (6-14; 1 HR, 4 RBI; .143 AVG)

 

Less than thirty games into this season, the Major League career of Pat “The Bat” Burrell was teetering on the brink of non-existence. After struggling last season with the Tampa Bay Rays and being unable to correct his play and adapt to the American League this year, he was designated for assignment. The Giants, who desperately needed some punch in the lineup, took a chance and claimed Burrell, and the risk paid off. Burrell would hit 18 homeruns and drive in 55, but more importantly, he served as a mentor to the young players and was an excellent presence in the locker room. Though he struggled mightily in the playoffs this year, the Giants would not have gotten where they were without him as he was instrumental in this championship.

Cody Ross (15-51; 5 HR, 10 RBI; .294)

No player more epitomizes this Giants team than Cody Ross. After struggling on the Florida Marlins this season, he was waived in late August, destined to be picked up by a team who needed to add depth to the bench. Not even truly wanting him for what he brought to the table, the Giants grabbed Ross solely because the San Diego Padres were rumored to be interested in him. With the Giants chasing their division rival, they could not take a chance and put in a claim for him. He hit only three homeruns in 33 games with San Francisco, proving to be solid, but not a standout player. But that would all change in the playoffs: Ross would hit three homeruns in the NLCS alone, including one each in the NLDS and World Series. When they needed a clutch hit, there he was. Ross won the NLCS MVP against the Phillies and proved to be one of the Giants most valuable hitters down the stretch.

Aubrey Huff (15-56; 1 HR, 8 RBI; .268)

The Giants desperately needed a first baseman this season when they courted Nick Johnson and Adam Laroche for the job. Both of them turned down offers and the only player left who was capable of playing that position was Aubrey Huff. Forced to take a pay cut, which resulted in a  bargain-contract of $3 million, the Giants signed huff and made him their number three hitter. They also made him work on his defense, and early on, he played both first base and outfield. Well, Huff would prove to be the most intelligent signing in Brian Sabean’s career, as he hit 26 homeruns and drove in 86. Huff had also never made the playoffs before this year, and with the help of a certain “good luck thong”, he was able to put up decent playoff numbers and help the Giants win this championship.

Edgar Renteria (10-35; 2 HR, 6 RBI; .286)

When Edgar Renteria finished his first season with the Giants, he was anything but loved by the fan-base. The one time clutch player and outstanding shortstop was nothing but a washed up shadow of his former self. That all looked to change early on this season, when he started the year hot. But three trips to the DL would quiet any chance of a breakout year, and force him to play in only 72 games. After sitting out the entire NLDS, Bochy inserted him into the lineup against the Phillies, where he would stay for the remainder of the playoffs. Renteria, who had the game-winning hit in the 1997 World Series that gave Florida the victory would come up clutch again and again for the Giants. He hit two homeruns in the World Series (after hitting three all season) including the game-winning homerun in Game Five, that gave the Giants a 3-2 victory. His World Series batting average would be .412, and the man with the short-swing would win the series MVP award. The only question is whether or not the 34-year-old will retire. If he chooses to do so, how many players came into the league with a championship clinching hit, and ended it in the same way?

The Giants also got key contributions from Freddy Sanchez, who won the batting title in 2005 with the Pittsburgh Pirates before experiencing a fall from grace that saw him traded to San Francisco for Tim Alderson last season. Buster Posey continued to look like a veteran, and perhaps he will win the NL Rookie of the Year Award. Not only was his hitting spectacular, but his defense and handling of the pitching staff was as well. Juan Uribe, who was awful during the playoffs, only had two hits in the World Series: one of which was a three-run homer, and the other was an RBI single. He also hit the series clinching homerun against Philadelphia, and a game-winning sacrifice fly two games before that.

Pablo Sandoval brought in his regular season struggles to the playoffs, and Barry Zito became the highest paid cheerleader in history by not being placed on the roster, but all will be forgiven now. Tim Lincecum’s performance was also spectacular. In this post-season alone he defeated Derek Lowe, Roy Halladay, and Cliff Lee (twice). Matt Cain’s performance will also go overlooked as he did not allow a run in the 21.1 innings he pitched this post-season. But perhaps the quiet hero was Madison Bumgarner, who won the clinching game in the NLDS, pitched two ultra-important relief innings in the clinching game in the NLCS, and finally, won game four in the World Series. He would finish this post-season with a 2-0 record and a 2.18 ERA.

Finally, this season could not have ended this way without the bullpen. Brian Wilson and his magnificent beard were key in shutting down their opponents. He ended the NLCS with a strikeout of Ryan Howard and the World Series with a strikeout of Nelson Cruz. Lefty specialist Javier Lopez also proved to be invaluable, as he handled the batters he faced with ease.

Overall, I never in a million years thought that the Giants would win it this season. I cannot express how happy I am at this, but not just for myself, but for my dad, who has waited more than fifty-six years for this championship. And also, for the many greats who never won in San Francisco, you can finally smile. The ghosts of 1962, 1989 and 2002 are dead and buried!

Playoff Baseball Returns to San Francisco For First Time Since ’03

The last time the San Francisco Giants were in the playoffs, they were trailing the Florida Marlins in the NLDS by a total of two games to one. Trailing by a run in the top of the ninth inning with two outs and their season on the line, a single to shallow left field prompted the Giants to wave J.T Snow home, who was on second base. Not noted for his running ability, Snow chugged along as fast as he could, but the ball beat him to home plate, and he went barreling into Marlins catcher Ivan Rodriguez who held onto the ball and ended the Giants season. Jason Schmidt was penciled in to pitch Game Five in San Francisco, had they made it.

The Giants were in every game of that series. After Schmidt pitched a complete game shutout in Game One for the win, the Giants lost Game Two 9-5, and the next two games by only one run, with scores of 4-3 and 7-6. But nevertheless, the Giants were out of the playoffs, where they would remain for the next seven seasons.

The team the Giants will field tonight as they make their return to meaningful October baseball will be much different. There will be no Barry Bonds, or Marquis Grissom, or Rich Aurilia. Instead there will be Aubrey Huff, Pat Burrell, and Buster Posey– two of which were playing for different teams in 2003 and one of which was not even a thought. The Giants rotation is stronger this time around, however. Aside from not having the brawny and intimidating Jason Schmidt, this team makes up for it with the smaller Tim Lincecum. Matt Cain and Jonathon Sanchez are also superior to Kirk Rueter and Jerome Williams. The Giants also go from Tim Worrell, who replaced the injured Robb Nen that season as the team’s closer, to All-Star Brian Wilson.

But not only are the namesakes different, but the way the teams are built differ drastically. The 2003 team was very experienced, and borderline ancient when you look at who was the driving force behind it. A 36-year-old Grissom led the team in batting, a 39-year-old Bonds with homeruns, 42-year-old Andres Galarraga was the team’s hot bat off the bench, and 38-year-old Benito Santiago was doing the catching.

This time around, the Giants can send a 23-year-old Buster Posey to the backstop, a 24-year-old Pablo Sandoval to be the infield anchor at third base, and the “old men” on the team be 34-year-olds Aubrey Huff and Pat Burrell.

Though this Giants team does not have the playoff experience that the 2003 team had, or the 2002 team that made it to the World Series, they have the energy to compete and learn along the way. Many of the Giants leaders, such as the entire starting rotation, except for Barry Zito, and offensive catalysts Aubrey Huff and Freddy Sanchez have never even been to the playoffs. But the Giants have Pat Burrell to handle the locker room in that department, something he has been doing all season, especially the last few weeks.

It was like a Godsend when San Francisco claimed the fast-falling Burrell off of waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays. After struggling all of last season, and getting off to a poor start this season, he was waived and many thought his baseball career would be over; a career that saw him have four 30 HR seasons, and eight seasons with 20 or more HRs. He has done everything the Giants have asked of him, including hitting 18 HRs, but also to be a mentor in the locker room. Barry Zito has also served as the same with the team’s incredibly young pitching staff, though his numbers are not what the team would like them to be.

The Giants will now face the Atlanta Braves in the 2010 NLDS, a team that is young and exciting to watch such as themselves. I will not make any predictions, because the ones I make never come true anyway. All I am looking for is some good October baseball and some games that will make waiting the last seven years for worth it.

I apologize for not being able to cover the Giants on here as often as I should, but my hands have been tied with the Rangers. Hopefully the Giants will give me something good to write about in the next few weeks, and maybe even longer!

San Francisco Giants: Offense Struggles, GIDP at an Alarming Rate

Pat Burrell has been a pleasant surprise since arriving in San Francisco.

The San Francisco Giants are currently leading the National League wildcard by 1.5 games. They are leading the majors in strikeouts and saves, while being number two in ERA. For the month of July, they were near the top of the league in runs scored. But they are also front-runners in a not too positive stat, grounded-into-double-plays, which they lead the NL in, with 110.

It is no secret that the only reason why the Giants have not soared away with the NL West already is because of poor hitting. This same hitting that was on an other-worldly tear last month has returned right back to where it was all season long; a step above non-existence.

Game after game, the Giants pitching keeps them in it, only to have the team come up short and ruin efforts by the starting pitcher. In the last three games alone, they have ruined quality starts by Tim Lincecum and Barry Zito (a game they won in extra-innings) and a decent showing by Matt Cain. This has been the pattern for two seasons now, one that could have been corrected with the addition of a bat this trade deadline, but the Giants chose to add more pitching instead.

As pleasantly surprised as the Giants have to be with Aubrey Huff, Andres Torres, Pat Burrell and Buster Posey, they have to be disappointed in Pablo Sandoval, who has been nothing short of dreadful so far.

This time last year, he was near the top of the league in batting average, but now he hits a mere .263 with only six homeruns and 44 RBI’s. He has also hit into 20 double-plays, which is tied for the NL lead with the Nationals’ Ivan Rodriguez.

It’s hard to fathom the fall this guy has seen since just last season. Perhaps the Giants toyed with him in the off-season, because they tend to do that with players. Maybe they tried to make him more patient at the plate, and although that is what we want our players to strive for, it just does not worth with some, and maybe threw his hitting-eye off.

The Giants have also seen 16 GIDP from Juan Uribe and 10 from Aaron Rowand, who is in the third of a five-year bust-contract with the Giants.

Patience at the plate was this team’s downfall last season, and it is shaping up to be this season as well. The pitching coach, Carney Lunsford, was not brought back because of that express reason, and it seems the Giants are not better at it this year than last. They just refuse to take pitches. Their strikeouts rates are surprisingly not near the top of the league, but how many times does this team blow it by swinging at a bad pitch and popping up or grounding out with runners in scoring position? Way too much.

Pat Burrell, who has only been with the Giants for 48 games, shows he may be the only person with an eye for the strike zone. With 23 walks, he has more than Aaron Rowand has in 82 games.

With their pitching, the Giants are going to stay contenders for the wildcard and make a run for the NL West, but they must find a way to improve the offense or it will all go to waste. They need to be more patient at the plate, and be smarter with runners in scoring position. The veterans will need to lead the way, which includes Freddy Sanchez upping his game, and Edgar Renteria getting back to where he was before the injury. This is the Giants one real chance at making post-season play, and if the offense continues at this rate, they will not get a chance to taste October baseball.

MLB Hottest Players: Edition #2

We will be closing in on the thirty game mark in the 2010 Major League Baseball season, and we still have players continuing to surprise, and star players that are struggling. This weekly list does not take the top five best statistical players, because it would virtually be the same people every week. This list focuses on some stars, but also on the underdogs who are having a good week.

Robinson Cano

The New York Yankees’ homegrown second baseman has been nothing but a stud so far this season. He is currently ranked number one overall in offense, according to Yahoo, and owns a league best .387 batting average while hitting in a loaded lineup. He has also shown great power, hitting nine homeruns and his defense has been superb as well, committing only one error so far this season.”It’s a ribbee…for Robbie!”

Paul Konerko

After struggling the last two seasons, Konerko looks to be back on the right track this season as his twelve homeruns leads the majors. Fantasy owners are still not sold though, because the numbers on him show him only be owned by 79% of managers, a number that was in the 90′s two seasons ago. Konerko has also been good in the field, with his one error, and if he keeps up this pace, he could very well have a forty homerun season. And don’t forget, “You can put it on the boooooooooooard! Yes!”

Kelly Johnson

Here is another hidden gem making his way onto the list, a player Yahoo ranked 889. He currently finds himself sitting in eighteenth, but offensively is the third best second baseman behind on Robinson Cano and Chase Utley. He deserves a mention because he does not play in a stacked lineup like the other two. He is currently tied for second in the league with nine homeruns, and has eighteen RBI’s with a .310 batting average. [Keep with trend and insert Braves announcer call here.]

Barry Zito

The last edition featured Tim Lincecum, but this time another Giant will get a chance. Could it be that Barry is back? The one time ace and Cy Young winner who has had three miserable seasons in San Francisco has finally found his game. He is currently 4-0 in five starts, and the one start the team lost, Zito gave up only one run. The plague with his tenure with the Giants has been run support, but they have been much better at it this season. His ERA is now an incredible 1.53. He started the season at less than 10% owned by fantasy managers, and he now sits at 83%. Don’t let us down, Barry!

Ubaldo Jimenez

Fellow NL West counterpart gets the nod as the other hot pitcher in the majors right now. Two weeks ago he tossed the first no-hitter in Rockies history, and he still has not looked back. He currently has a 5-0 record with a league best 0.79 ERA. He has become the ace that the Rockies have sorely lacked throughout their franchise history. Only question is, will the thin Colorado air allow him to stay this successful?

Also of note: Tim Lincecum and Roy Halladay have shown no signs of slowing down. It’s fun to do a comparison of the two, but even more fun to combine their numbers. The pair has a 9-1 record with an ERA of 1.37 and 82 strikeouts in 84 innings. Just give them a share of the Cy Young already.

And what’s up with Javier Vazquez? The ace of the Braves last season is struggling mightily with the New York Yankees, having a 1-3 record with a bloated ERA of 9.78. Fans are quick to overreact, saying that he cannot pitch in New York, even if he was 14-10 with them in his first stint. It could be nerves, it could be a hidden injury; no one really knows. But one thing is for sure, it cannot get any worse. This could be a good time to buy low on him in fantasy leagues, if dealing with an impatient owner. His ERA won’t stay at ten all season.

Also featured on Phillies Phever.

Giants Top Astros on Opening Day

It was not easy in the end, but the Giants could breathe a sigh of relief as they did not let their 5-0 lead in the ninth inning slip away completely.

Tim Lincecum cruised for the first seven innings, allowing only four hits and striking out seven. He did not walk one batter in the entire start, and even contributed offensively with two perfect sacrifice bunts.

The Giants offense got on top in the third inning, with a three run outburst to give them the lead that they would not relinquish for the rest of the evening. Bengie Molina and John Bowker would each hit RBI singles and Juan Uribe hit a sacrifice fly.

They would strike again in the seventh inning, when Edgar Renteria doubled to deep center field driving in a run. That would be his second of two hits in the game, and the Giants will need him to come through in the clutch this season like he did tonight.

In the eighth inning, Mark DeRosa would welcome himself to the Giants with a solo homerun to right field, to put the Giants up 5-0.

After Lincecum left after the seventh, Sergio Romo would come in, and after a little bit of trouble, retire the side. But in the ninth inning, things started to go awry with Brandon Medders on the mound.

He would only retire one batter, and allowed three hits and two runs. He was replaced by closer Brian Wilson, who retired the final two batters to get the save and seal the opening day victory for the Giants.

Molina, Uribe, and Renteria each had two hits for the Giants, while Sandoval, Huff, and Bowker each added singles.

The Giants gave a good, collective effort tonight, but a noticeable problem in this game was something that plagued them all of last season; patience at the plate. It’s only one game, but the Giants must practice patience, because they swung at a lot of bad pitches, and very early in counts. The only player who should be excluded from this rule is Pablo Sandoval, who, as Joe Morgan noted during the broadcast, needs to be left alone because it works for him.

The Giants will battle the Astros at 8PM EST tomorrow night, as Barry Zito will face Wandy Rodriguez.

Fantasy Baseball: Are Deep Leagues for Better or Worse?

I just got finished drafting in an eighteen team league, which to my knowledge, is the largest amount of teams Yahoo allows. This will be the forth year I am apart of this league, whose commissioner runs a sports cards stand in the local hobby shop. The same regulars appear year after year, so there is a sense of camaraderie amongst the managers.

It was actually this commissioner, who I modeled my Closers Schmosers mentality after, because he was the first to begin the elimination movement. With such a massive league, and only so many good closers to go around, it made sense. Now all that needs to be done is the elimination of catchers, because when you look at it, how many good hitting catchers are there?

That is the one negative to really deep leagues. There is Joe Mauer, Victor Martinez, Brian McCann, and now Matt Wieters, apparently. But after that, there is no one left but lower tier hitters. Sure, Russel Martin, Mike Napoli, and Bengie Molina are worth a mention, but after these six guys, the quality severely drops off.

People argue that fantasy sports are just supposed to be there for fun, and I agree, to a certain extent. I look at it one way: if you have an all-star at every position, and you are facing a team with all-stars of equal caliber at every position, how much fun can it be?

When you have ten teams or less in a league, that is what it becomes. Twelve teams, and each manager still has a good lineup. More than that? Now it’s becoming realistic!

Fantasy managers want to be able to open the draft window and make their selections without much thinking. But where is the fun in that?

Take my draft tonight, for example. Eighteen teams. By the time the fourth round rolled around, all the stars were gone. Not having to worry about closers made it easier, but then there were those poor managers on auto-pick who will end up being stacked with meaningless relief pitchers.

But as for thinking, man did this draft drive me nuts. You make one selection, and then you gear up for you next one. But more than likely, since there are more than twenty picks, due to snaking, before you go again, just scrap all plans you have, and wait to start thinking again when there are only four or five teams left ahead of you.

I love to play in small leagues every once and a while, where I don’t have to think, but deep down, I just love large leagues. It adds a true sense of realism because teams are like actual teams. A star here, a star there; role players everywhere else.

With the thirteenth pick in this years draft, I thought I would be able to grab Lincecum, but there I go thinking again. Had to scrap those plans when the team in front of me chose him. I settled for Prince Fielder. Below is my team:

Batters: C-Bengie Molina, 1B-Prince Fielder, 2B-Brian Roberts, 3B/1B-Pablo Sandoval, OF-Michael Bourn, Jason Heyward, Brad Hawpe, UTIL- Mark Teahen (1B/3B/OF), BN- Skip Schumaker (2B/OF), and Randy Winn (OF)

Pitchers (No relief stats, so no relievers): Dan Haren, Jered Weaver, Ryan Dempster, Phil Hughes, Jonathon Sanchez, Barry Zito, Tim Wakefield, Todd Wellemeyer

As you can see, I’m a Giants fan. Sandoval will come in handy because of his duality in the infield. As for pitching, Sanchez should have the best year of his young career, this season. Barry Zito, with all his struggles, never gets injured and will be out there every five days getting me innings, and hopefully, wins, this season. Todd Wellemeyer has been pitching out of his mind this spring, so I grabbed him with my final pick.

But just take a look at my entire roster. It’s not bad, but it’s not beautiful either. But I look around at all the other teams and everyone is average. It’s like fantasy baseball parity at it’s finest.

Deep leagues are not for everyone, but if you want to feel intensity and realism, give a league with fourteen or more teams a chance, or go all the way to the bring (of insanity) with an eighteen team league. Feel what it is like to actually have to think and build a team, when the superstars run out pretty early.

San Francisco Giants: “Catch” Me if You Can

So far this spring training, the San Francisco Giants have used six catchers. Two of them, Johnny Monell and Jackson Williams did not have a shot at making the major leagues. Bengie Molina will be the number one catcher, but the question is who will be his backup? Buster Posey, Eli Whiteside, and Steve Holm have all been given a look so far, and each has had a taste in the major leagues at some point, with the Giants, over the last few seasons.

Below, we will examine each one of these four catchers and at the end, hopefully reach a decision on who the two should be.

Bengie Molina

For the last three seasons, Molina has proven to be one of the main catalysts in the Giants offense. In his first season with the team, he set a career high in RBI’s with 81. In his second season, he topped that with 95. And in his third season, he set a career high for homeruns with 20.

He has done everything asked of him, which includes playing stellar defense and working the Giants ultra-young pitching staff. It was for that reason, that I wanted him to re-sign in San Francisco this off-season, amidst talks he was looking to go elsewhere.

So in my opinion, Molina should get the majority of playing time this season and towards the end of the season, they could call up Buster Posey, who can learn from Molina. Being a free agent at the end of this season, he could then go on to another team, while passing the torch to the Giants top prospect catcher.

Buster Posey

Late last season, the Giants gave their phenom top prospect a look at the major league level. He would only go 2 for 17, but in the 40 innings he caught, he had a perfect fielding percentage. For a rookie catcher, this is almost just as important, as his offensive skill can be tapped into, but defense, sometimes, is never learned.

This spring, Posey is making a strong case that he should remain in the majors at the start of the season. He is batting .389 along with 1 homerun and 8 RBI’s, and if performance so far was an indication on whether or not he deserves to make it, then he would. But unfortunately, the situation is more complex.

The Giants, recognizing that Posey may be ready, have begun to experiment with him at first base. To me, this is the worst thing they can do. Remember when John Bowker first got called up two seasons ago? He was playing right field and hitting homeruns left and right. Then the Giants tried to get versatility out of him and make him a first baseman as well. It may be just complete coincidence, but his average and power production went down significantly from there, and has playing for Fresno within two months.

Giants fans want to see him in the majors now, but they must remain patient. You can never be too careful in being patient with young players, and putting him at first base just to get him at-bats is the wrong thing to do. Posey is a catcher, and should remain one, even if it means having to wait until next season to see him.

Eli Whiteside and Steve Holm

Whiteside was the epitome of being a backup catcher, when he played for the Giants last season. Nothing fancy, nothing glaring; just a simple role as the backup catcher. He played solid defense when he came in late in games in relief of Molina, and bat .228 while hitting 2 homeruns and driving in 13, in what was in first season in the majors in four years.

That job belonged to Steve Holm the season before last, and although he hit for a better average that Whiteside, he has not gotten much of a look this spring, leading me to believe he is out of the realm of possibility for getting that backup catching job.

Final Thoughts

Bengie Molina will start the season as the Giants’ number one catcher. He should get the majority of the playing time, and should catch the games where Lincecum, Cain, and possibly, Pucetas pitch. His experience will continue to further their development.

My choice for the backup will go to Eli Whiteside. He worked very well with Jonathon Sanchez last season, including his no-hit performance, and could also relieve Molina on days that Zito pitches, because the veteran does not need a mentor like the other three.

As I said earlier, Posey should remain in the minors where he can continue to develop his skills, so that next season, he can replace Molina as the starting catcher for the Giants. Should Molina get injured, though, I would not be surprised to see him called up right then and thrust into the role immediately.

Who Will Get the Giants Fifth Spot in the Rotation?

The San Francisco Giants have built up a formidable starting rotation over the last two seasons. One could make the argument that it is top three in the majors, if not the best one completely. Tim Lincecum has won the Cy Young award in back to back seasons, Matt Cain is coming off a 14 win year in which his ERA dropped to 2.89, Barry Zito made a strong recovery late last season in which he upped his strikeout totals and lowered his walks and ERA from the previous two seasons.

Meanwhile, Jonathon Sanchez has a ton of potential, with a fastball in the mid-90′s and a deadly slider, and he even found himself throwing a no-hitter last season. But with all that, who will nail down that last spot in the rotation? Do the Giants go with another kid, or do they give it to a veteran?

If this year’s spring training stats were to be the deciding factor, then the job would clearly go to Kevin Pucetas, who is awaiting his major league debut. He is currently 1-0 and has not allowed a run in the seven innings he’s tossed so far. At 26 years old, and a 42-13 minor league record, he may be mature to handle the jump to the big leagues.

Top pitching prospect Madison Bumgarner is also being looked at for the job. At only 21 years old, he was given a brief look last season when he was called up in September. He threw one start, which he went 5.1 innings allowing 5 hits and 2 runs, but not factoring in the decision. He would go on to pitch 10 innings, striking out 10 and having an ERA of 1.80. He is probably the best of the available pitchers, but the Giants should, and will most likely hold him a couple of months to see how he does in the minors. If the number five pitcher is struggling and Bumgarner is doing well, he could get called up.

The final option for the spot goes to veteran Todd Wellemeyer, who was signed to a contract by the Giants this winter. The former relief pitcher turned starter has a major league record of 29-29, with an ERA 4.74 in 195 games pitched. He has also fared well this spring, having a 1-0 record and an ERA of 2.00. Because he is a veteran, he would be my choice to get the job. As I said earlier, if he falters, he can be moved to long relief where he had success in Kansas City and St. Louis.

It will be a tough decision, but the problem the Giants have is something that teams dream about; too many good, young pitchers, and not enough spots to put them.

Giants Need Veteran Bats to Step Up to Achieve Success

Since the departure of Barry Bonds two seasons ago, the San Francisco Giants have undergone a youth movement. From the completely revamped and most feared starting rotation in the major leagues, to the likes of Pablo Sandoval and  Eugenio Velez in the infield. The Giants will be expecting big numbers from Sandoval, dubbed the “Kung-Fu Panda” by teammate Barry Zito, a nickname that has since stuck. They will also need contributions from Velez, who has been up and down for the last three seasons as well as outfielder Fred Lewis.

Players like John Bowker and Buster Posey are no shoe-ins to make the team right out of spring training, but they too will need to be relied on to bring offense to a team who was the worst ranked run support in the entire National League last season, and not much better the year before. But with all the fresh, promising new faces in the lineup, the veterans will still have to lead the way if the team wants to make a run at the division title, and go anywhere in the playoffs.

Aaron Rowand, who saw time at lead off during the middle of last season will begin there on opening day. He does not have the blazing speed that one would like at the top of the order, but his contact ability and power may be more appealing than anyone else in the Giants’ lineup at that spot. Aubrey Huff was acquired in the off-season and they will desperately need power out of him. Huff has 15 HRs and drove in 85 RBIs but has hit 20 or more homeruns six times in his career.

Utility man Mark DeRosa will also be needed. He is likely to reach 20 homeruns because he is a right-handed batter and in order to be a successful power hitter in AT & T Park, you need to bad from the right side (save for a certain #25). He can play 1B, 2B, 3B and outfield, but he will most likely be starting in left field come opening day, with Rowand at center and Schierholtz in right.

Bengie Molina, who I feared would not sign with the Giants, ended up inking a one year deal with the team and he will bring leadership as well as offense. He has had career numbers since coming to San Francisco and has driven in no less than 80 RBIs in each of his three seasons here. But what will be more important is his ability to work the young pitching staff, which may be even younger if Kevin Pucetas and Madison Bumgarner make the team.

There really is not much to expect from Edgar Renteria, the Giants veteran shortstop. He hit well at the end of the year but that was not enough to erase a disastrous campaign in 2009. I would expect he gets the chance to start at short, but with how Juan Uribe ended last season, do not be surprised if he is even given a chance at all. The Giants need power this season and if Uribe can match what he did last year, then the team will be in for a treat.

Over the next few weeks I will be giving my stat predictions for hitters and pitchers on the Giants. The rebuild is slowly but surely getting there, and I think we are in for an exciting season in 2010.