Well the Giants got just about the worst news they could have received on Friday afternoon, as the dark cloud of bad luck that has haunted this team since the second half of 2016 looks to continue, at least to start the 2018 season.
As most of you reading this already know by now, the Giants lost their ace for the foreseeable future in sadly, what was his tune-up start for his would be opening day assignment in LA. Granted, the news could have been worse and it could have been a season-ender, at this point it almost feels like one, and the season hasn't even started yet. We all saw how tough it was on the team last year when they lost their horse for 3 months in the middle of the season and things eventually spiraled out of control into the worst Giants' season in years. This one hurts even more though because of all the expectations that surrounded the club and the offensive makeover they went through in the offseason to provide the club with more depth in their lineup. It could all be for nothing if the team cannot find a way to survive without Bumgarner until most likely late-May or early June, and that's best case scenario. Being that the injury is to his pitching hand, it's any one's guess as to how it will effect the left-hander once he is able to start throwing again and exactly how long it will take him to get back into the form he was in prior to the injury.
Besides it being the start of a new year with a new revamped ball club, the news is especially hard because of the way Bumgarner has looked this spring. This guy came to camp with a chip on his shoulder after a disastrous 2017 season, by his standards. After missing half the year, he returned only to wind up going 4-9 with his second worst ERA of his career, albeit only at 3.32. Needless to say, the left-hander cranked up has offseason workout regimen, reporting to camp in top shape and it reflected in the way he was throwing.
Now with this injury, coupled with Jeff Samardzija's injury and Johnny Cueto not showing off his best stuff in just a few spring outings, the Giants starting rotation has gone from their foundation to a bigger question mark than their bullpen. I would expect Johnny Cueto to take the ball on March 29th in LA, but if that is indeed the case then he'd have to get in some work somewhere on Saturday as he's pitched only 9 1/3 innings in the Cactus League and, again, they haven't been all that pretty. Being that Jeff Samardzija is also slated to miss at least the season's first few weeks, he won't be in the mix either, so it would then likely fall on either Chris Stratton or Derek Holland. Stratton has been a bright spot since last September, but he's a far cry from a healthy, determined Madison Bumgarner. Holland has thrown pretty well this spring, but is coming off a season in which he posted a 6+ ERA and who knows what kind of pitcher you'll get when he starts facing nothing but big league bats and the games start mattering. The Samardzija and Bumgarner injuries now assure that Derek Holland will begin the 2018 season in the Giants rotation though, where exactly in that rotation is yet to be determined, but it wouldn't surprise me if he's their guy for game two if not the opener.
This is going to be a true test for the Giants. We're going to see just how for real this club is right out of the gate. If they can somehow manage to stay at .500 or slightly above it in the absence of their ace, then they'll be in pretty good shape when he returns, all things considered. However, if they stumble out of the gate and fall down in the standings then this very well could be an omen for the 2018 season. As the old saying goes, you cannot win a division in the first month or two of a season, but you sure can lose one. It's gonna take some people stepping up, unlike they were able to do last season, as well as a little bit of luck in order to avoid the latter.
As most of you reading this already know by now, the Giants lost their ace for the foreseeable future in sadly, what was his tune-up start for his would be opening day assignment in LA. Granted, the news could have been worse and it could have been a season-ender, at this point it almost feels like one, and the season hasn't even started yet. We all saw how tough it was on the team last year when they lost their horse for 3 months in the middle of the season and things eventually spiraled out of control into the worst Giants' season in years. This one hurts even more though because of all the expectations that surrounded the club and the offensive makeover they went through in the offseason to provide the club with more depth in their lineup. It could all be for nothing if the team cannot find a way to survive without Bumgarner until most likely late-May or early June, and that's best case scenario. Being that the injury is to his pitching hand, it's any one's guess as to how it will effect the left-hander once he is able to start throwing again and exactly how long it will take him to get back into the form he was in prior to the injury.Besides it being the start of a new year with a new revamped ball club, the news is especially hard because of the way Bumgarner has looked this spring. This guy came to camp with a chip on his shoulder after a disastrous 2017 season, by his standards. After missing half the year, he returned only to wind up going 4-9 with his second worst ERA of his career, albeit only at 3.32. Needless to say, the left-hander cranked up has offseason workout regimen, reporting to camp in top shape and it reflected in the way he was throwing.
Now with this injury, coupled with Jeff Samardzija's injury and Johnny Cueto not showing off his best stuff in just a few spring outings, the Giants starting rotation has gone from their foundation to a bigger question mark than their bullpen. I would expect Johnny Cueto to take the ball on March 29th in LA, but if that is indeed the case then he'd have to get in some work somewhere on Saturday as he's pitched only 9 1/3 innings in the Cactus League and, again, they haven't been all that pretty. Being that Jeff Samardzija is also slated to miss at least the season's first few weeks, he won't be in the mix either, so it would then likely fall on either Chris Stratton or Derek Holland. Stratton has been a bright spot since last September, but he's a far cry from a healthy, determined Madison Bumgarner. Holland has thrown pretty well this spring, but is coming off a season in which he posted a 6+ ERA and who knows what kind of pitcher you'll get when he starts facing nothing but big league bats and the games start mattering. The Samardzija and Bumgarner injuries now assure that Derek Holland will begin the 2018 season in the Giants rotation though, where exactly in that rotation is yet to be determined, but it wouldn't surprise me if he's their guy for game two if not the opener.This is going to be a true test for the Giants. We're going to see just how for real this club is right out of the gate. If they can somehow manage to stay at .500 or slightly above it in the absence of their ace, then they'll be in pretty good shape when he returns, all things considered. However, if they stumble out of the gate and fall down in the standings then this very well could be an omen for the 2018 season. As the old saying goes, you cannot win a division in the first month or two of a season, but you sure can lose one. It's gonna take some people stepping up, unlike they were able to do last season, as well as a little bit of luck in order to avoid the latter.
Comments
Just my 2 cents,
JBill
I think they're going to try and go with a 4-man rotation for the first couple of weeks because of the off days, and that would give Tyler Beede and Andrew Suarez each a couple of starts in Sacramento and they can judge then who will come up when they need a 5th guy. As of now, we're probably looking Cueto in the opener (if he's ready), then followed by Holland, Stratton and Blach. It's possible they swap Blach and Holland but I'm pretty sure Boch will want to go RH-LH-RH-LH in terms of the rotation if he has the opportunity.
It's going to be a tough stretch to say the least though, at the start of the season, with optimism and expectations all at a high, it definitely makes this a tough pill to swallow, but it is what it is and if they're indeed a team built for October then they will find a way to navigate through this thing.