TEAM PREVIEW - 2010 San Francisco Giants

San Francisco Giants
Mgr. Bruce Bochy #15
2009 record, 88-74
Third Place, NL West

Perhaps the big league’s biggest surprise, freed from the constraints of the Barry Bonds albatross that hung from the Giant’s neck, a loosey-goosey bunch of overachievers improved by 16 games and managed to contend until the season’s final weeks, finishing seven games back of the division leading Dodgers.

In just his third major league season pitcher Tim Lincecum, 25, captured his second straight Cy Young award joining an elite class of back to back winners that includes only Sandy Koufax, Greg Maddux and 2009 Giants teammate Randy Johnson. Lincecum also led the league in strikeouts for the second straight year with a whopping 261 in 225 innings (3rd in the NL) and finished second in the league with a 2.48 ERA. His 15 wins were the fewest ever for a Cy Young award winner but means little in baseball’s new era where 20 wins is a rarefied feat and new statistical measures such a s WHIP (walks-plus-hits per inning) and FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) are regarded more significantly.

At the time of this writing Lincecum was eligible for salary arbitration and seeking a record $13 million, the Giants had countered with an $8 million offer. Either way Lincecum stands to receive the highest salary for a third year major leaguer.

Lincecum was followed in the rotation by Matt Cain (14-8, 2.89) who also exceeded 200 innings pitched (217) for the third straight season. Barry Zito’s 10-13, 4.03, was not as bad as it looks and an improvement over the first two seasons of his seven-year contract. Zito was much better in the season’s second half (5-4, 2.83) than he was in the first (5-9, 5.01). Future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson signed on in pursuit of his 300th win needing five to get there and nailed it down against the Washington Nationals on June 4th. The Big Unit finished at 8-with a 4.88 ERA and promptly announced his retirement at the end of the season. In his second full season with the club, Jonathan Sanchez was 8-12 with a 4.24 ERA including a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres on July 10th the only one thrown in the National League last year.

Closer Brian Wilson (5-6, 2.74) was third in the NL with 38 saves. Jeremy Affeldt (2-2, 1.73, 55K, 62 IP) and Brandon Medders (4-1, 3.01, 58 K, 61 IP) excelled in middle relief. The Giants 3.55 ERA was second best in the National League.

Only the miserable Mets (95) hit less than the Giants 122 home runs. Twenty-two-year-old third baseman Pablo “Kung Fu Panda” Sandoval, earned a starting spot in the spring hitting .457 with 18 RBI in 27 Cactus League games. Although he had slightly more than the maximum number of 130 at-bats in his previous season to retain rookie status, Sandoval followed his stellar spring with an outstanding regular season hitting 25 home runs with 90 RBI and a second best in the National League .330 batting average. Catcher Bengie Molina hit 20 home runs with 80 RBI in 132 games and was re-signed by the Giants to $4.5 million one-year deal. The Giants are hoping newly acquired Aubry Huff will add some sorely needed pop to the first base position. The team is still a little thin in the outfield where center fielder Aaron Rowand’s 15 dingers were the most among a group that included Fred Lewis (4 HR, 20 RBI in 122 games) Randy Winn (2 HR, 51 RBI, in 149 games and has since departed as a free-agent) Nate Schierholtz (5 HR, 29 RBI, 116 games) and Andres Torres (6 HR 23 RBI, 75 games).

The pitching is there but the Giants will need more offensive production to contend with the Rockies and Dodgers in the West.

Arrivals: 1B Aubrey Huff, 3B Mark DeRosa
Departures: LHP Randy Johnson (retired), RHP Brad Penny