And what do we know?
We know that the Giants are ahead of the pace they were at last year when after 81 games they were 41-40. They sit at 46-35 after tonight's 2-1 disaster in Chicago (they should have won but at least Timmy was spared going under .500 again). The Giants were in 4th place at this time last year. They needed a scalding hot July and a Padres collapse to win the division on the last day. This year they have racked up injuries, lost their best offensive player(s), yet somehow sit in first place by 2.5 games.
It's unexplainable. The team doesn't have Posey or Freddy Sanchez. Huff has been a no show with the bat pretty much all year. Torres is looking like the journeyman outfielder he had been his whole career. Bochy refuses to let Pat Burrell start. And our catchers and shortstops arguably are less threatening than our pitchers with the bat.
So how is this team in first place?
Well, obviously the pitching (and in particular the bullpen) has been lights out. But we can't expect them to maintain this pace. At some point, the offense needs to pick up the slack. And Sabean is going to have to work the phones to get some legit reinforcements (he'll have to do more than get lucky on some misfits this season, there are too many holes and injuries).
So what next? What do the remaining 81 games have in store for the Giants? What do they need to do to legitimately defend their World Title?
1) The team needs to get healthy. The Giants and Sabean have about a month to evaluate the club when their line-up is at full strength with the pieces that are coming back THIS season. That means Fontenot and Belt specifically. Sabean needs to see if Belt can pick up any slack in the offense. If not, a trade for a corner outfielder is likely. If Belt can provide some offense, look for Sabean to upgrade at shortstop or second base. Fontenot is a great utility guy but he's not an every day guy. He's proven that year after year.
2) The Giants need to avoid a major pitching injury. They've been cruelly savaged by injuries this year but have been lucky to not have it hit their bread and butter: the pitching. Wilson spent a week on the DL to open the season, Casilla was out for awhile, and Zito of course just came back. Neither Casilla nor Zito were really missed. However, if Lincecum, Cain, Bumgarner, or Wilson were to go down for a stint, it would no doubt finally be the straw that'd break the camels back. The Giants have zero pitching depth in the minors. Which leads me to...
3) Jonathan Sanchez needs to figure it out. Zito had a very encouraging first start back. He'll have some other nice starts like that. And he'll have those starts where he causes Giants fans to curse the gods. The Giants hitting is so bad that they genuinely need 5 amazing starters to consistently limit opponents to 3 runs or less. Vogelsong has been a godsend. What Giant fan ever thought they'd say that? He's what Ainsworth was supposed to be, only way older! I have my doubts that Vogelsong can keep it up all year. And I don't much think Zito will all of a sudden return to Cy Young form. The Giants NEED Jonathan Sanchez to be the above average starter he was last year. When Jon Jon is right, he's as dominant as the righty aces. He just can't be expected to go deeper than 6 innings. And with our pen, we don't need him to. But he needs to get back to the gradual improvement path he was on. The Giants need him to come back from the DL like Jonny 2010.
4) Sabean needs to get a bat and maybe two. If Belt doesn't contribute at all and Burrell continues to waste away on the bench, Sabean needs to get a couple of legit hitters. My pipe dream is Hunter Pence and JJ Hardy but that would likely empty the farm system. I don't know who'll be available in a few weeks but Sabean HAS to get this crew some help. Who knows how long the Giants will have this run of amazing pitching and the Giants are due a significant pitching injury. They need to cash out while they can, push all the chips in, and gamble for multiple titles while the iron is hot. The Giants can still win the division with the team they have now but they can't seriously expect to knock off the Phillies, Brewers, Braves, or Cardinals if they don't upgrade the offense.
With 81 games down and 81 games left to go, I can't say I'm unhappy with where the Giants are. The Posey injury is really depressing and the Giants are definitely feeling the absence of Freddy Sanchez with the Bill Hall/Manny Burriss combo at second. But they're in first. But they need help. And we know the Rockies are going to go on a tear at some point in the 2nd half. They must DEFEND and reinforcements are needed.
We know that the Giants are ahead of the pace they were at last year when after 81 games they were 41-40. They sit at 46-35 after tonight's 2-1 disaster in Chicago (they should have won but at least Timmy was spared going under .500 again). The Giants were in 4th place at this time last year. They needed a scalding hot July and a Padres collapse to win the division on the last day. This year they have racked up injuries, lost their best offensive player(s), yet somehow sit in first place by 2.5 games.
It's unexplainable. The team doesn't have Posey or Freddy Sanchez. Huff has been a no show with the bat pretty much all year. Torres is looking like the journeyman outfielder he had been his whole career. Bochy refuses to let Pat Burrell start. And our catchers and shortstops arguably are less threatening than our pitchers with the bat.
So how is this team in first place?
Well, obviously the pitching (and in particular the bullpen) has been lights out. But we can't expect them to maintain this pace. At some point, the offense needs to pick up the slack. And Sabean is going to have to work the phones to get some legit reinforcements (he'll have to do more than get lucky on some misfits this season, there are too many holes and injuries).
So what next? What do the remaining 81 games have in store for the Giants? What do they need to do to legitimately defend their World Title?
1) The team needs to get healthy. The Giants and Sabean have about a month to evaluate the club when their line-up is at full strength with the pieces that are coming back THIS season. That means Fontenot and Belt specifically. Sabean needs to see if Belt can pick up any slack in the offense. If not, a trade for a corner outfielder is likely. If Belt can provide some offense, look for Sabean to upgrade at shortstop or second base. Fontenot is a great utility guy but he's not an every day guy. He's proven that year after year.
2) The Giants need to avoid a major pitching injury. They've been cruelly savaged by injuries this year but have been lucky to not have it hit their bread and butter: the pitching. Wilson spent a week on the DL to open the season, Casilla was out for awhile, and Zito of course just came back. Neither Casilla nor Zito were really missed. However, if Lincecum, Cain, Bumgarner, or Wilson were to go down for a stint, it would no doubt finally be the straw that'd break the camels back. The Giants have zero pitching depth in the minors. Which leads me to...
3) Jonathan Sanchez needs to figure it out. Zito had a very encouraging first start back. He'll have some other nice starts like that. And he'll have those starts where he causes Giants fans to curse the gods. The Giants hitting is so bad that they genuinely need 5 amazing starters to consistently limit opponents to 3 runs or less. Vogelsong has been a godsend. What Giant fan ever thought they'd say that? He's what Ainsworth was supposed to be, only way older! I have my doubts that Vogelsong can keep it up all year. And I don't much think Zito will all of a sudden return to Cy Young form. The Giants NEED Jonathan Sanchez to be the above average starter he was last year. When Jon Jon is right, he's as dominant as the righty aces. He just can't be expected to go deeper than 6 innings. And with our pen, we don't need him to. But he needs to get back to the gradual improvement path he was on. The Giants need him to come back from the DL like Jonny 2010.
4) Sabean needs to get a bat and maybe two. If Belt doesn't contribute at all and Burrell continues to waste away on the bench, Sabean needs to get a couple of legit hitters. My pipe dream is Hunter Pence and JJ Hardy but that would likely empty the farm system. I don't know who'll be available in a few weeks but Sabean HAS to get this crew some help. Who knows how long the Giants will have this run of amazing pitching and the Giants are due a significant pitching injury. They need to cash out while they can, push all the chips in, and gamble for multiple titles while the iron is hot. The Giants can still win the division with the team they have now but they can't seriously expect to knock off the Phillies, Brewers, Braves, or Cardinals if they don't upgrade the offense.
With 81 games down and 81 games left to go, I can't say I'm unhappy with where the Giants are. The Posey injury is really depressing and the Giants are definitely feeling the absence of Freddy Sanchez with the Bill Hall/Manny Burriss combo at second. But they're in first. But they need help. And we know the Rockies are going to go on a tear at some point in the 2nd half. They must DEFEND and reinforcements are needed.
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