The San Francisco Giants were greeted in spring training camp Monday by a World Series Champions banner hanging in their Scottsdale locker room.
That should be the last piece of celebrating the team does.
Yes, there will be pomp and circumstance again when the Giants play March 31 at Los Angeles in their nationally televised opener. But between now and then, they have a lot of questions to answer, including these 10:
1.Will the Giants repeat as World Series champions?
A. The oddsmakers don’t think so. For instance, Bodog.com has the Giants at 14-1 to win the Series while the Philadelphia Phillies are 13-4, the New York Yankees are 13-2 and the Boston Red Sox at 5-1. I’m going to say they’ll make the playoffs again, but the Phillies’ pitching is now just as good which will keep the Giants from repeating.
2. Why are the Giants not favored?
A. Because they have a great pitching staff and a suspect offense. They had the 15th best team batting average (.257) and the 19th best on-base percentage (.321) in the majors last season — and they still lack a power hitter. Conversely, their pitching staff was the best in the majors with a 3.36 earned-run average and 57 saves. Pitching isn’t sexy, but it wins games as the Giants found out last year. They need a better offense this time around because they can’t rely as much on good pitching — and luck.
3. Will the starters be as dominant as last season?
A. More so this season. The starters (Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Barry Zito, Jonathan Sanchez and Madison Bumgarner) are a year wiser. They lived through an August where Bumgarner had a 5.29 ERA, Zito 7.76 and Lincecum 7.82. If they found a way through that month and still won the division and the World Series, then they can make it through anything.
4. Will the bullpen be as dominant as well?
A. That may be the weak link in the pitching chain. The Giants didn’t do much to shore up their middle relief during the offseason and they appear to be leaning too much on Brian Wilson, who has thrown 230 innings the last four seasons combined. Before teams see him, there’s a bullpen that features Jeremy Affeldt and Sergio Romo. That pen had 65 holds, which ranked 21st in baseball. If the Giants’ pitching struggles, a quick fix would be a trade for more help in the 7th and 8th innings. The signing of Jeff Suppan will be band-aid in long relief.
5. What is the biggest question facing the offense?
A. The starting outfield is the biggest lineup quandary in camp. Basically, the Giants have six outfielders who could be starters. We’re thinking it’s going to be Pat Burrell in left, Andres Torres in center and Cody Ross in right. That leaves Nate Schierholtz, Aaron Rowand and Mark DeRosa on the bench. Schierholtz still has an upside, Rowand is turning out to be a free-agent bust and DeRosa, if he recovers from wrist surgery, will be a super sub all around the diamond.
6. Will rookie first baseman Brandon Belt make the opening day roster?
A. You’re going to hear the same sermon about Belt that was played for Buster Posey last year. “Patience” will be preached often by General Manager Brian Sabean and Manager Bruce Bochy. That said, expect Belt to hit the snot out of Triple-A pitching and earn a trip to the majors before Memorial Day. Belt hit .352 with 23 homers and 112 RBIs in the minors last year and then tore up the Arizona Fall League. If he keeps up that pace, he will force the Giants to make a spot for him, just like Posey did before starting the hitting pace that earned him the National League Rookie of the Year Award.
7. How long will the Giants wait for third baseman Pablo Sandoval to regain his hitting form?
A. About as long as it takes for Belt to get ready for major-league pitching. Sandoval said he has lost weight and worked with Barry Bonds to regain his form after his batting average dropped from .330 in 2009 to .268 in 2010. That’s great, and it may even make people forget about Bonds’ legal troubles (not really). But if Sandoval is not hitting close to .300 by mid-May, then Aubrey Huff would play more in the outfield and DeRosa could be filling the gap at third base, opening a spot for Belt at first. Huff should be an option at third base, too, considering he has played 360 of his 1,105 career games at that position.
8. Can the Giants win it again without a true power hitter?
A. No. And that’s why when Belt is called up at midseason, it will be like trading for a power hitter. You can’t count on the current lineup to provide much pop, despite finding clutch homers during last season’s playoffs. Beyond Huff’s 26 home runs last season, only Burrell and Posey were close at 18 homers apiece. Even newly acquired Miguel Tejada – known as a power hitter earlier in his career – only had 15 homers last season.
9. After Belt, who is the next prospect to watch this spring?
A. Outfielders Gary Brown and Jarrett Parker could make some noise. But the next big prospect to watch is right-handed pitcher Zack Wheeler, who was the No. 1 pick in 2009. He will be ready to contend for the major-league roster next spring, just in time to take Zito’s spot in the rotation.
10. What was the biggest off-season move that helped the Giants?
A. It was nothing the Giants did. It was the Padres’ trading of their best hitter, first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, to the Red Sox. There’s nothing like having the team that went toe-to-toe with the Giants throw up the white flag. Oh, and it doesn’t hurt that the Dodgers’ divorce trial continues to hold their payroll hostage. When it’s over, will someone please tell me who got Tommy Lasorda in the settlement?
Copyright 2011/Bill Bradley
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It’s so painful reading material from someone who has absolutely no clue about the Giants
This analysis is so thoroughly flawed it is hard to know where to begin with the criticism. I know we are in the era of the blog and anyone and everyone can voice their opinion, but this is a joke. Examples include: using a hold stat as a barometer of a pitching staff, using last year’s full season numbers to describe an offense that had multiple changes, and failing to mention the team had the most home runs in September in all of baseball last season. I am bummed I gave this pathetic excuse for a sports blog a page view.