If start thinking about the Giants during the Spring, I thought they definitely had the tools in place to win the division. They had good starting pitching, a good closer, and some reason for optimism with their hitting (signing Huff & De Rosa and we still had Panda).
Then came the first couple months of the season and you watched this see saw ride of the Giants going up and down and never being really consistent as a group. De Rosa ended getting hurt and being out for the season, Molina was still slow and not hitting as well, Sanchez wasn't back from injury, their #5 starter was a bust and Pablo was in a slump. I also couldn't believe how hot the Padres started! There was some reason for optimism because Barry Zito actually looked good. (that obviously changed quickly)
Then a lot of good things started to happen in June and July - they bring up Posey (trading Molina), brought up Bumgarner, signed Pat Burrell, Sanchez was back from injury and the Giants pitching was doing real good. They had a lot of low key deals in July, but I thought paid the biggest dividends - trading for Ramirez and Lopez (who I think is very close to the MVP of the playoffs).
August was obviously rough, I think the starters were like 0-8 to 10 or something like that and Timmy couldn't find his groove. They were 6.5 behind the Padres and I started thinking, oh man, no playoffs again!!! The Giants get desperate and sign Jose Guillen, trade for Fontenot, and claim Cody Ross from waivers. The latter two I barely knew and the former has been described as a "cancer" in multiple club houses.
Then around Aug 20+ and on, the Giants were just on. They clicked in every aspect minus Zito's starts because he blew big time after the All Star break. I couldn't believe it had to come down to the last day of the year especially after all they had to only win 1 out of 3 against the Padres with Zito (automatic loss), Cain (guaranteed win), and Sanchez (coin flip). It ended up being that Sanchez was the hero that day and the Giants were on to the playoffs.
I knew they would probably beat Atlanta, but when they got to Philly, I thought for sure that is where the Giants run would end. They had to face Roy Halladay, arguably the best pitcher in baseball, Roy Oswalt who is a #1 on any other staff, and Cole Hamels who arguably could be #1 on a lot of staffs as well + he won the World Series MVP. Just as the Giants had done a majority of the year, they just kept surprising me. The hitters showed zero fear against these great pitchers and the Giants rotation showed no fear against the Phillies mashers (Howard, Utley, Werth). And btw - after that series I definitely knew who Cody Ross was. But admittedly, if I was voting, I actually would've given the MVP to Javier Lopez. That guy single handedly dominated the lefties on the Phillies team and was always Mr. Reliable. To be honest, I get worried about the bullpen minus Lopez and Wilson.
Luckily for the Giants, they got a match up against the Rangers. I really thought in my head, this was the best match up they could get and really thought it was a 50/50 match, potentially giving the Rangers a little bit more because they had Cliff Lee and the probable AL MVP - Josh Hamilton. Once again, the Giants acted as if they had been to the playoffs every year and showed no fear. I was listening to Murph & Mac in the morning and they kept talking about "particles" being in the air and that's when I really started to believe there was something special going on. I couldn't explain and I am not always the biggest proponent of fate / destiny, but there was some higher power going on in baseball for the Giants. This series wasn't even close to be as tense as I was during the Phillies series and I think it's because I actually believed that the Giants could win (though I would never admit that outloud because I am superstitious).
When the Giants won, it was hard to think of a happier moment (though my wedding probably tops the list with the Giants winning being a close 2nd). And this adds to the fact the lowest low of my life was when they lost to the Angels in game 6, 2002 (close seconds were some bad break ups or my parent's divorce). When Wilson got that last strikeout and he did his signature point to the sky, I screamed louder then I've ever screamed before. Once again, one of the few times in sports where I could possibly have had tears.
I was really proud of the team because of so many story lines:
- Huff never going to the playoffs in 9 seasons and I think Sanchez was like 6 seasons - but they off and win the World Series.
- Renteria getting the game winning hit in 2 different World Series. This is especially crazy considering he was pretty much a non-factor all year and was forced into the lineup because Panda is too fat to play D.
- Posey and Bumgarner are two rookies who played huge roles for the Giants this year. Alot of the Giants change in mentality and rise to stardom was due to Posey's call up in March.
- All of their midseason pick ups were huge. Burrell helped a ton during the year (stunk in the playoffs), solid utility man (Fontenot), Ross (you've heard how big his HR's were), Lopez (my MVP), Ramirez (solid righty of out the pen) and then you had some season contributions, but didn't play in the playoffs (Ray & Guillen).
- How much respect the Giants rotation gets and all of them homegrown.
- Tim Lincecum already having 2 Cy Youngs and now a World Series ring - he's got a tremendous start to getting to the Hall of Fame.
- Brian Wilson is a comedian - he's got great presence and now the world gets to know him as well.
- Giants 1st World Series win in SF and first in like 54 years -just incredible to watch history like that. Especially when you think that they had teams with Mays, McCovey, Cepeda, Bonds, Clark, Mitchell, Williams, Kent, etc. The Giants may not have been as talented as previous Giants teams, but this was one of the few times I could see that cliche of the team playing together as a team.
- They win a World Series with their highest paid player sitting out, their 2nd highest is a bench/role player, and their star from last year is sitting on the bench.
So looking forward at next year, the team has some big decisions to make....
Who to resign?
- Definitely Huff and I say a maybe on Uribe. I think the Giants could use a more consistent bat then Uribe's free swinging, but he has some utility and you gotta love his clutch power.
Who to let walk?
- Burrell - with DeRosa coming back next year and potentially putting Huff in Left (assuming Panda can only play 1B), I think Burrell is the odd man out. He provided some pop for the Giants, but he's just not consistent enough. The Giants need to have someone who can hit consistently and not always trying to swing for the fences (i.e. Uribe). Also his glove and speed are terrible.
- Renteria - I love the guy for what he did and I will never bad mouth his previous contract again, but I think unless you want him as a back up, I'd rather see someone like Burriss get a shot at being a role player.
- Guillen - Besides not playing in the playoffs, now he's under that Balco scrutiny. We had enough of that with Bonds and we don't need that for a liability in the OF.
- Mota - I can go either way, but I don't think the Giants will be rough with or without him. It is nice having a veteran in that young bullpen though. I actually rather the Giants re-sign/offer arbitration to Chris Ray.
Who to offer Arbitration?
- Casilla - solid arm in the bullpen, though can get a little wild.
- Lopez - one of the best lefty specialists that I've ever seen.
- Ramirez - coin toss like Mota. He was solid, so I wouldn't mind seeing him back, but wouldn't be crushed if he left.
- Ray - same boat as Ramirez & Mota. Keeping 1 or 2 out of the 3 would be good enough.
- Ross - I think the Giants need to keep him. He's solid in the OF and brings a good presence to the plate. Not that he's got a ton of it, but he's adds more speed / athleticism to the Giants.
- Sanchez (Jonathan) - they'll bring him back, but I kind of wish they would trade him for a bat. He's so hit & miss and even though he found more consistency this year, he still worries me ever game he goes out on the mound.
- Torres - this is a must - he's a plus defender, has speed and power at your lead off spot. He just needs to work on his patience and he'll be awesome.
Ideal Free Agent signing:
- Carl Crawford (OF) - he's got speed & power and can hit for average. He'd be an awesome OF compliment to Torres and Ross. You can then have Mark DeRosa be super utility and a safety net in case Sandoval is still too fat to play third.
That's enough for my super Giants blog, but I hadn't felt the need to blog in a while until now. I already can't wait for 2011!!!
