The San Francisco treat and bachelor staple Rice-A-Roni has engaged in deceptive practices. “20% More” is a lie! What does this have to do with the Giants? Read on!
Scientifically proven baby!
Infield
Well the Giants infield at least resembles that of a major league team. Hell, Edgar Renteria has even played in some meaningful games.
Travis Ishikawa reminds me a little bit like Dave “Professional Pinch Hitter” Hansen: he’ll get some starting time early in his career but his best use is as a bench player. His stats are a pretty slim right now in terms of sample size, but he has hit well with runners in scoring position. I’m guessing he gets platooned with Rich Aurelia or at least benched against hard throwing lefties. 1B: Below average.
At second look for the Giants to go with Emmanuel Burris, at least if they’re smart. Burris is the epitome of the high .270’s hitter with no real pop, but he does walk at a decent rate and doesn’t K a lot. At best he’s Orlando Hudson in Toronto. 2B: Below Average.
At short, we get the Giants big acquisition of the offseason, the veteran Edgar Renteria. Renteria has made a career out of being slightly below average for three years or so and then posting above average numbers for a season (2003 St. Louis, 2007 Atlanta) to keep his value up. While he is an upgrade over Omar Vizquel, that’s not saying much, and Renteria has the advantage of playing a position that isn’t exactly stacked. SS: Average.
Third base would be the lone potential bright spot on the infield with converted catcher Pablo Sandoval manning the hot corner. Yes he did hit .345 in limited action last year with the club, and I hear good things about his abilities, but I don’t think he’s particularly seasoned and he did show some signs of regression as the season concluded. The Giants should be happy if he hits .280 with around 15 homers, and adjusts well to the corner. 3B: Average.
Outfield
Left field is manned by Fred Lewis, a decent yet not remarkable player. He will likely hit leadoff for the Giants and his near .350 OBP and decent speed will fit quite nicely there despite his free swinging ways. Lewis is 28, so look for this to be about the cap of his performance. LF: Below Average.
In center the Giants have the overrated Aaron Rowand. I honestly believe that had Rowand not broken his nose on that catch against the Mets, there’s no way he gets the deal he got, and as much as I despise Andruw Jones, at least we did not sign Rowand to a five year deal, 60 million dollar deal. Rowand strikes out to much and is allergic to walks. He will never hit for power in San Francisco like he did in Philly. Look for Rowand to look more like the offensive equivalent of Barry Zito. CF: Below Average.
Randy Winn rounds out the Giants outfield. Winn is a slightly above average player who would work well as a complimentary player (that is to say playing outfield with two superstars). Unfortunately for Winn, that’s not the case in San Francisco this year, and at 34 he’s topped off. Still he’s decent. RF: Average.
Catcher
Bengie Molina ironically had a high OPS than Russell Martin last year despite the fact he is a far inferior player at this point in his career. Molina is rapidly approaching the point where catchers just fall apart, so I think last year was his swan song. Remember that the Giants can always spell Molina with Sandoval or moved Sandoval behind the plate on a permanent basis if they find a corner guy. C: Below average….and declining quickly.
Rotation
Now here is where it gets good for the Giants. As much as I wish Tim Lincecum will fall apart due to injury or fatigue, I just don’t see it happening, and the Cy Young Award winner will be good again this year. The problem is if Lincecum does regress slightly (likely I think) to say 3.15 ERA or so, well then he goes from winning 18 games to maybe 12. I’m not a fan of how the Giants have used Lincecum so far (well as a Dodger fan I applaud their reckless use of their ace) and I think his star might fade sometime in the future, although not the immediate future.
Following Lincecum is Matt Cain. ’88 Dodgers Cresting A Hill is not impressed by you Matt Cain. You’re numbers are regressing: strikeouts are going down, hits and walks are going up, you’ve logged a lot of innings for a 24 year old, and you’re lifetime 0-6 vs. the Dodgers. In a way you’re the Gotham mob and Lincecum is the Joker….you looked a lot more intimidating ‘til a real criminal mastermind showed up. Look for Cain to post something around 4.20 ERA and be used as trade bait the whole season long.
Randy Johnson. The Big Unit is crazy enough to care about winning as many games as possible rather than simply reaching 300 wins. Injuries are going to be a concern, but Johnson figures to be at least an average to below average pitcher. Look for him to pile up a ton of K’s against the D-Backs and win his 300th.
Barry Zito is a little too easy to bash these days. (As a buddy of mine put it: 2002: Cy Young and Alyssa Milano, 2008: 5+ ERA and Paris Hilton, 2011: Released and Amy Winehouse?) I think a little bit of improvement from Zito can be expected but I recently heard one Giant official refer to him as something akin to an ace which I’m sure he is for some Bay Area coach pitch team.
Jonathan Sanchez actually pitched quite well until the second half (or perhaps reality) set in. There’s some upside here, but not tremendous.
Rotation: Very Good……although not as good as some people think.
"I just wasn't made for these times.....or the closer role"
Bullpen: There are some bright spots here like Yabu, but overall this group is pretty average at best. I’m definitely not sold on Brian Wilson as closer, although Pet Sounds is a pretty brilliant album. Bullpen: Average at best.
Bench: I would evaluate the Giants bench but unbelievably I do have better things to do, and since this and the lineup is so interchangeable. Bench: Below average.
Scenarios are from a Dodger perspective.
BEST CASE SCENARIO: Lincecum regresses significantly, Johnson pitches like he did with the Yankees, Molina hits the wall, and the Giants lose 100+ games. Nancy Pelosi stimulus money leads San Francisco to engage in a city wide project to level off SF instead of living on an 85 degree tilt like they do now. The jury convicts Bonds despite poor prosecution from the get go.
'88 Dodgers Cresting A Hill drives a manual transmission, so that's money well spent.
WORST CASE SCENARIO: Everyone pitches well, the offense coughs up some more runs than expected, the Giants deal for a real bat and look to finish around .500. Manny Ramirez is bitten by a shark while swimming back fro Alcatraz. Bonds is elected mayor.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN: Like the above Rice-A-Roni, the Giants may look 20% better but are essentially the same team. Look for them to win 72-77 and enjoy Manny hitting some splash hits!
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