San Francisco Giants Starting Pitching Preview

By Kalen Patrick

The biggest strength of the Giants through the 2 recent World Series Championships has been the pitching, will this trend continue as the Giants look to defend the title this season? Ultimately I think the Giants will get another very strong season from the pitching staff.

THE CORE OF THE GIANTS STARTERS (RYAN VOGELSONG, MATT CAIN AND MADISON BUMGARNER)

Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner are pitchers #1 and 2 at the top of the rotation. Matt Cain is the ace of the staff and Mr. Consistent (consistently very good), while Bumgarner provides similar stability for the Giants. Bumgarner did have some control issues leading up to the playoffs last season, but judging by his amazing performance against the Tigers in the World Series, these were fixable problems for him. He is a confident, heavy throwing pitcher, who is developing and refining his pitches. He will have another very good season. The 3rd pitcher of the rotation in my opinion is Ryan Vogelsong. Wow what a story he has been. The Giants will look for another strong year from Vogelsong, and I see no reason as to why this wouldn't happen.

WHICH TIM LINCECUM WILL SHOW UP IN 2013?

The 2 big question marks on the remaining projected starters are Tim Lincecum and Barry Zito. Zito overall had a pretty solid 2012 regular season, some surprisingly good starts, the expected rough patches that left your face in your palm and then the average Zito type games (5-6 innings with 2-5 runs allowed). Something happened to Zito in last years playoffs and he had the biggest game of his career against the Cardinals winning in St. Louis. While Zito will never really earn the money he has made, I expect another solid outing this season. Probably finish 13-13 with an ERA around 4 or maybe a little higher. As good as he was in the playoffs and World Series, this is Barry Zito after all and over the course of a season he will have quite a few terrible outings I'm sure.

Tim Lincecum, well he may just be the biggest question mark in the Majors. 2 time Cy Young winner, who last year had the worst ERA for a starting pitcher (who met the innings pitched to qualify). The 2 biggest issues with Timmy were his fastball and his confidence. His fastball has lost 4-5 MPH since his Cy Young years (95/96 to 91/92). Timmy was able to use his higher velocity fastball to set up hitters with his deadly off-speed pitches. With his decreasing velocity, this clearly effected Lincecum's confidence as he battled control issues all year and he couldn't strike people out nearly as efficiently as before. Not only this, but he was very hittable which led to his inflated ERA. While I do expect a bounce back year from Timmy, he will not regain Cy Young form, maybe become a 3.4-3.8 ERA type pitcher, middle of the pack. I am making a prediction right now that this will be Timmy's LAST SEASON as a Giant, you heard it here first!

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Over and Out

San Francisco Giants Race to the Playoffs

By Kalen Patrick

We are entering the final stretch run leading up to the 2012 Playoffs and just as expected there is a close race between the rival San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers. As of today, the Giants hold a major advantage, as they own a 5 game lead over the Dodgers with each team having 20 games left to play. I'm a big Giants fan and the last thing I would ever want to do is jinx my team but I find it very hard to imagine a scenario where the Giants don't win the division. Lets take a look at some of the reasons why.

If the Giants play .500 ball and go 10-10,the Dodgers would have to go 16-4 over their final 21 games in order to just draw even. Now don't get me wrong, crazier things have happened (just ask the New York Mets), but the Dodgers (even with all of their additions) have showed me almost nothing to prove they can play at the level they will need to. Adrian Gonzalez really hasn't been the force in the lineup that the Dodgers had expected, Matt Kemp is battling injuries, Eithier, Victorino and Ellis have not been difference makers. The Dodgers Ace Clayton Kershaw is an absolute beast, but after him, they have to send out pitchers who have been overachieving all season (Capuano and Harang) along with Josh Beckett and Joe Blanton. Just looking at the roster, I don't see a team that can go 16-4 when you factor in the teams the Dodgers will be facing.

THE GIANTS - DODGERS RIVALRY IS ALIVE AND WELL IN 2012

The Dodgers remaining schedule is significantly more difficult than the Giants. The Dodgers have a 4 game series vs the St. Louis Cardinals, then go on the road to take on the Washington Nationals and Cincinnati Reds, who own the NL's best and 2nd best records respectively. The rest of the Dodgers games are within the NL West. In comparison, the rest of the Giants schedule is against NL West opponents.

The Giants are going to need some major improvements from certain players if they want to not only wrap up the NL West but make some noise in the playoffs too. The Starting Pitching must improve significantly, Vogelsong has been getting shelled lately, Zito is someone you can't count on for a strong performance, Lincecum has rebounded to have a very steady 2nd half of the season. Most importantly both Bumgarner and Cain have to be better, even in tonight's game for example, Bumgarner's line was 4.1 Innings with 5 ER allowed. Not good enough. Secretly the Giants offense has been carrying the load due to the struggling pitching staff.

BUSTER POSEY IS MAKING A STRONG CASE FOR NL MVP

On offense, surprisingly its been Pablo Sandoval and Hunter Pence who have been struggling. Sandoval's season average has plummeted to .276, while Pence is hitting a measly .260. Pence, as of late, has at least shown some power but Sandoval has been a disaster since coming back from injury in Mid-August. He has only 2 extra base hits, no HR's (last HR on July 8th) Batting around .230, Slugging .275, On Base % around .295 in that time. These are garbage numbers for your supposed number 3 hitter. Can't consistently win when your 3 and 5 hitters are not performing up to expectations.

On a positive note, Posey has been playing at an MVP caliber, Pagan and Scutaro are making Brian Sabean look really good, Joaquin Arias and Brandon Crawford get timely hits and last but not least Belt has been very good, in his last 10 games he has 2 HR and 12 RBI, all season has been seeing the ball well with his ability to draw walks leading to a .361 OBP.

If I had to bet, I would put my money on the Giants making the Post Season, I could see them winning the 1st round of the playoffs, but I just can't see the Giants winning the NLCS on top of that. Giants would most likely have to beat the Reds and then the Nationals to get to the World Series and unfortunately I don't see that happening, but then again, once you get in to the playoffs, ANYTHING can happen. That's it.

Over and Out.

The Mystery that is Barry Zito

By Kalen Patrick

Barry Zito may be the most overpaid player in Baseball, no, Professional Sports, he may always be remembered for this and on numerous MLB Network and ESPN shows for Baseball/Sports worst contracts, he may be a lot of these negative things, but one thing he definitely is, is pitching excellently. Coming off the 60-Day DL Zito was expected to just fill innings while Jonathan Sanchez gets healthy and back in the groove of things, but now, Zito is making a serious legit case to keep him in the starting 5 rotation.

In his last 3 starts Zito has put up the very impressive stat line of: 21 IP, 3 ER's, 11 K's to only 4 BB.

Looking at that in his 3 starts he has averaged going 7 Innings and giving up 1 Earned Run in each appearance. Of course we have seen this before from Zito, even in a Giants uniform, but there seems to be something very different this time around. Before he was trying to thro w 5 different pitches and just trying to do too much to justify his contract. Zito now has stuck to his 3 pitches which he has got down, his Fastball, Changeup and of course that lethal Curve Ball. Zito's curve may be one of the best in the Majors when he's got command of it.

BARRY ZITO SEEMS MORE CONFIDENT AND DETERMINED THAN EVER BEFORE

Not only this but the biggest change I have seen is that he just seems focused and confident. He isn't doing too much and can focus on what he does right and now has the confidence on the mound. Of course there will be games that Zito will get beat up on, but if he can give the Giants a bunch more games like he has done so far since coming off the DL, that would be huge.

The Giants are stuck with Zito, so if Zito can contribute that makes either Jonathan Sanchez or Ryan Vogelsong expendable, especially with a guy like Zach Wheeler in the minors who will be up in another year or two. Sanchez could be the trade bait in order for the Giants to get themselves another bat. A good Zito gives the Giants so much pitching and flexibility. And that is always a good thing.

Barry Zito - Outstanding

By Kalen Patrick

First things first, Barry Zito will NEVER EVER live up to the contract, so just throw that thought away. But today's performance (6/28/11 vs Chicago Cubs) was awesome. The guy has all the pressure in the world on him, and every pitch is basically scrutinized. After 2 months on the DL he comes out and pitches 7 innings, giving up 2 ER and only walking 2. Basically did everything he was asked and more. Now if Zito can start putting out consistent quality starts, it will give the Giants a lot of flexibility moving forward this year.

BARRY ZITO VS CHICAGO CUBS AT WRIGLEY FIELD 6/28/11

If Zito can rediscover himself, Vogelsong can keep pitching well, then that makes erratic Jonathan Sanchez expendable. You put Sanchez and a decent prospect out there and you may get some teams willing to part with a good bat. I'm definitely not saying up and do that right now, lets see Zito pitch some more, lets see if Vogelsong can stay consistent. The Giants are a team that is built for the playoffs, as 2010 showed, when you have pitching like they have, you can beat ANY team in a 5/7 game series.

Giants are a season high 12 games above .500 and it begs the question; How good would this team be with Buster Posey? Back to Zito, props for a great game tonight and looking forward to seeing him hopefully continue along this path.

Trade Idea - Giants Edition

By Kalen
Just been mulling over some ideas for what the Giants could do in terms of what trades they could look to make.

Trade Idea #1 - San Francisco Giants trade SP Barry Zito to the Chicago Cubs for OF Alfonso Soriano, Giants also pay 7 million of Barry Zito's contract in 2012 and 2013.

HOW WOULD SORIANO LOOK PLAYING LEFT FIELD IN AT&T PARK FOR THE GIANTS?

The Reasoning - The Cubs wanna cut payroll as they are not a contending team. They save 7 million over the next 2 years, plus their pitching is extremely weak and could use another SP like Zito. The Giants don't need Zito as they have 5 capable starters, they are a contender and could use a bat like Soriano's. You put Soriano on the Giants team right now and he is instantly right there with Sandoval as the best hitter. Then lets take a look at the Giants 2012 lineup:
Torres CF
Sanchez 2B
Sandoval 3B
Posey C
Huff/Belt 1B
Soriano LF
Schierholtz/Ross RF
Crawford/Burriss SS
Pitchers Spot

Not exactly a muderer's row, but nothing to laugh at either. The Giants with their pitching staff in their prime, need to capitalize and be in win now mode. The Giants should also have the money to spend especially when guys like Rowand, Tejada and DeRosa come off the books. They are top 3 in attendance, with playoff and World Series success have made huge sums of money. I'm not saying Soriano is the difference between winning and losing, but it helps to solve a major weakness, and would essentially come at a price of approximately 3 years 21 million (Same as Juan Uribe got from the Dodgers).

Other players who would cost a lot more in terms of trade chips could be: Hunter Pence, Hanley Ramirez, Jose Reyes. While all these guys would help, I just don't imagine the Giants making this drastic a trade.

Kalen from the Sports Cave.