Sometime around Memorial Day, the baseball races shake out to reveal the pretenders and contenders.
In about two weeks we’ll know if the Cleveland Indians are real or if the St. Louis Cardinals have the horses. We’ll have a better idea if the Boston Red Sox and the Minnesota Twins are going to get over their respective funks.
But over in Bay Area, the defending World Series San Francisco Giants are a first place team that is not acting like a first place team. They are quite simply an enigma.
With their three-game sweep Thursday of the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Giants took over sole possession of first place in the National League West. That’s a very transparent lead, though.
Yes, the Giants still have one of the majors’ best pitching staffs. Their 3.18 ERA ranks fourth in baseball entering Thursday’s game. Their pitchers allow league-leading .218 batting average. They have allowed 126 runs, tied for third best in the majors.
But these pitchers need help – and fast. They Giants have scored 128 runs. That baseball’s second worst run production behind the Padres 127 runs and the Twins’ 113 runs.
All of that offense that lifted them in September and October last season has been non-existent. The Giants have only two starters hitting over .300, but one (Pablo Sandoval) is out for another month with a hand injury and the other (Cody Ross) is just coming off the disabled list.
Making matters worse, they have a power-hitting first baseman in Aubrey Huff who is hitting .211 with four homers and 18 RBIs, a rookie of the year in Buster Posey who has hit a sophomore slump (.244 with four homers and 19 RBIs) and an over-the-hill shortstop in Miguel Tejada, who used to be known for his power but has a .287 slugging percentage. It doesn’t help that one of last season’s key acquisitions, Pat Burrell, is hitting .234 with 31 strikeouts.
It all adds up to a team batting average of .236, which ranks 23rd in the majors, and a .364 slugging percentage, which ranks 24th. No matter how good a pitching staff is, it can’t make up for a offense that struggles an entire season. At some point the pitching will take a few weeks off like it did last August.
You can hope the Giants’ hitters will wake up, like they did last season. But 2010′s title season was sparked by Posey’s call-up, Burrell’s bat and Ross’ clutch hitting. This season it may not be so easy to plug in the parts to jumpstart the offense. After all, phenom Branden Belt struggled in his first shot at the majors.
The answer may be addition by subtraction. When Sandoval returns, it should become clearer if Tejada can still cut it in the majors. If Tejada can’t than he should be gone. If Burrell’s strikeout pace continues to climb, then he should be shown the door as well, considering no one wants a pinch-hitter who is prone to strikeouts. And, no matter what, then bring Belt back to the majors because he rediscovered his confidence in Fresno, hitting .400 in 18 games.
Those rumors about trading for Jose Reyes? Don’t hold your breath. He would be a great addition, but not if costs the Giants any starting pitcher other than Barry Zito.
Whatever method they take, the Giants need to rediscover their offense if they want to have any hope of repeating as division champions, let alone World Series champs. They have scored more than three runs only five times since April 20.
Through a long season, baseball seems to balance out the competition. Despite great pitching, such an anemic lineup is not going to keep them in first place for long.
Giants hold on to sweep D-backs [ESPN]
