The Giants Baseball Blog

Well, we started our season review off last week here , with the things that went right with the 2011 San Francisco Giants. Today, we break down what kept them out of October and from defending their Championship this Fall. First off, as you can probably guess, this one doesn't take a rocket scientist, because even those not close to this organization, knew exactly what the 2011 Giants problem was and you can sum it up in 2 words: No offens e! However, it goes a little deeper than just that. This team was last in the league in offense because of a few reasons. No, you can't blame it all on Aubrey Huff or Andres Torres, and although it's an easy scapegoat, you can't blame it all on the injuries to Buster Posey or Freddy Sanchez either. They lost Sanchez, but Jeff Keppinger came in and did a fine job in his place. Maybe not quite up to Sanchez's standards defensively, but a strong contact hitter who certainly didn't hurt the team. The one injury that did really h...

Last year, we all know, the Texas Rangers were no match for the potent San Francisco Giants pitching staff, but this time around, they face a starting rotation that isn't nearly as imposing. I just wanted to get a quick World Series preview/prediction out of the way with the series starting tonight, not that I have any outstanding interest in it. I do think the Rangers are the better team and should win, but I also would have never picked St. Louis to make it out of round one with their pitching, so they have been surprising people all month long. It should be a high-scoring se ries and the Rangers have more ammo. Even with Albert Pujols destined in what could be his final year in the Red and White, I see Texas winning in 6. They were there last year and have looked good all postseason long and I just don't see the Cards knocking them off. I think the Brewers would have certainly been a better matchup because of their strong pitching, but if you like offense, you should be i...

In the first part of our 3 part end of season wrap, we'll talk about some of the main things that went right with the Giants in part one, the things that didn't go so well in part 2, and what needs to be done in order to get back where they were in 2010 in part 3. Obviously, as we've been harping all year, and since the season ended, the starting pitching, and really the pitching staff as a whole, was brilliant. There's really nothing more Bochy and Sabean could have asked out of guys like Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner and Ryan Vogelsong. In the bullpen, the same guys who were nails in the playoffs last fall, picked up right were they left off as Jeremy Affeldt, Javier Lopez, Santiago Cassilla, Ramon Ramirez and Sergio Romo were the main passages from the starters to closer Brian Wilson, who battled some physical problems late which cost him nearly a month of play, but still notched 36 saves and sported a solid 3.11 era. None of the Giants starters won over...

After the the trades Sabean made this July, sending away Zach Wheeler, Thomas Neal and others, the Giants farm system was sure to take a hit. They're really banking on 2011's class to help re-invigorate a dying system. There just weren't a whole lot of players who stuck out in the Giants system this season, and those who did, found their way up to the big league roster. Obviously, there are still a few elite guys like Gary Brown, Francisco Peguero and Joe Panik to help re-shape this farm system, but their pitching, which has been their strength for the better part of the last 1/2 decade, is no longer as deep as it normally is. It's like the team's philosophy has changed and all the sudden they have a plethora of power hitting prospects who have huge holes in their swings. Now Brown (.336/14/80/54) should start 2012 as the teams top ranked prospect, but 2011 top pick Joe Panik (.341/6/54, 69 games) will be right on his heels. Then I'd expect Francisco Peguero to ...

I know I didn't dedicate a whole boat load of time to breaking down, inch-by-inch the positives and negatives of the 2011 San Francisco Giants, cause to me it came down to 3 simple things. The loss of Posey and then the complete fall of offensively by Aubrey Huff and Andres Torres, and the complete lack of a #5 starter all year long. The Giants pitching was there all year, sure guys like Bumgarner and Vogey hit some bumps in the road, but I know that Dave Righetti will tell you he's more than happy with the way his staff threw as a whole (minus the 5th spot in the rotation), from their ace Tim Lincecum, all the way down to closer Brian Wilson, these guys were nails yet again. However, Barry Zito and Jonathan Sanchez delivered less than stellar outings in the final months of the season, as the Giants lost everyone of their starts down the stretch, and many weren't even close. To me, that sums up the Giants 2011 in a few short sentences. They had enough to win the division ev...

Well, anytime you follow up a World Series Championship season with a full on tanking in the 2 nd half of the season like the Giants did, blame was bound to surface and fingers were going to be pointed. On the forefront of the Giants end of season headlines, is a lot of panic surrounding the teams future, especially offensively. The Giants were so bad this season at the plate, that it's prompted some fans in the area to call for extreme measures in order to upgrade the offense, some even suggested dealing away the team's franchise starter, Tim Lincecum . Now, I highly doubt the Giants are entertaining the idea of dealing Lincecum away for offensive help, but it's been widely speculated that he's hesitant on taking a long-term deal with this team because of the offensive uncertainty. Some people are fearing that Lincecum will bolt for greener pastures, and a better lineup, once he's a free agent, so their thinking is why not turn him into a great hitter while his ...