We're "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay" today, as the 23rd report card in our series will be issued to the San Francisco Giants. Let's see how things shook out for them in '09.
San Francisco Giants:
Record: 88-74 (Third place in the NL West, seven games behind Los Angeles).
Batting Leaders:
Batting Average: Pablo Sandoval (.330)
Home Runs: Pablo Sandoval (25)
RBIs: Pablo Sandoval (90)
On-base Percentage: Pablo Sandoval (.387)
Pitching Leaders:
Wins: Tim Lincecum (15)
ERA: Tim Lincecum (2.48). Bullpen- Jeremy Affeldt (1.73).
Strikeouts: Tim Lincecum (261)
Innings Pitched: Tim Lincecum (225.1)
WHIP: Tim Lincecum (1.05)
Saves: Brian Wilson (38)
Highlight of the Season: Tie between Jonathan Sanchez's no-hitter versus San Diego on July 10, and Randy Johnson's 300th career victory in Washington on June 4.
Lowlight of the Season: Losing four out of their last six games against the Dodgers in September, which cost them a shot at the division title.
The Lowdown:
The Giants, much like yesterday's Texas Rangers, made a big turnaround in 2009 themselves, as they improved from a paltry 72 wins in '08 to 88 this year. This was largely based off of the strength of their pitching staff, which was arguably the best in baseball this season. They received another Cy Young performance out of young starter and staff ace Tim Lincecum, as well as great performances out of Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, Barry Zito, and to a lesser extent, Randy Johnson, who was 45 for most of the year. They definitely needed their pitching to come through, as their lineup was one of the most anemic ones in MLB this season.
Offense:
Perhaps the only bright spot in the Giants' lineup this past season was third baseman Pablo Sandoval. The 23-year-old switch-hitter- who is known affectionately as "Kung Fu Panda"- put together a spectacular breakout season in his second year in the bigs, as he hit .330, with 25 home runs and 90 RBIs. He also got on base at a solid clip of .387, and hit 44 doubles, as well. He was clearly the person who carried this lineup, as no other regular hit over .270 on the season. In fact, only him and catcher Bengie Molina hit at least 20 home runs this season, as Molina checked in at 20 on the spot.
The Giants would finish 26th in runs scored (657), 29th in home runs (122), 25th in batting average (.257) and dead last (30th) in on-base percentage (.309). Even though this team had a great year, their lineup certainly wasn't the biggest reason for their success.
Final Grade: F
Pitching:
Their pitching however, was the complete opposite of their hitting in 2009. The Giants put together arguably the best pitching staff in baseball, one that was led by the eventual back-to-back Cy Young Award winner, Tim Lincecum. Even though his win total was relatively low for a Cy Young Award winner (15), the wins do not tell the complete story with him, as he got virtually no run support from their weak lineup. All 15 wins of his were well-earned. He also recorded a 2.48 ERA on the season, which was the second-lowest in the NL and the third-lowest in MLB, to go along with a National League-leading 261 strikeouts. His minuscule 1.05 WHIP was also the fourth-best in the bigs. Despite having such a young arm, manager Bruce Bochy was not afraid to let him go deep into games, as evidenced with his 225.1 innings pitched, which was 10th in MLB. You can't really blame Bochy for working him hard though; Lincecum is one of the best pitchers in baseball, and he showed everyone why once again this year.
Backing him up was a solid trio of Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez and Barry Zito. Cain put together the best year of his career to date, as he went 14-8, with a 2.89 ERA in 217.2 innings. Sanchez, despite the somewhat poor 8-12 record, fashioned a solid 177 strikeouts in 163.1 innings, to go along with twirling the Giants' first no-hitter in over 30 years on July 10 against San Diego. He was nearly perfect that evening, as the only thing that got between him and perfection was an error by Juan Uribe at third base in the eighth inning of that game.
Rounding out the great performances of the Giants' staff was former Cy Young Award winner Barry Zito. He was able to rebound from a truly horrendous 2008, as he went 10-13 this year with a 4.03 ERA, a great contrast from a 10-17 season in 2008, with a 5.15 ERA. His improved 2009 season was likely a result of him being dropped in the rotation, which enabled him to face more inferior starters. Still, the improved season from him has to have the Giants feeling more confident about him entering 2010.
Their bullpen also put together some great performances, even if they didn't have to pitch nearly as many innings as some of their rivals. The quartet of Jeremy Affeldt, Bob Howry, Brandon Medders and closer Brian Wilson all put together sparkling ERAs of 1.73, 3.39, 3.01 and 2.74, respectively. All four also appeared in over 60 games, with Affeldt leading the way with 74 appearances. Plus, despite a high total of seven blown saves, Wilson still proved to be pretty dominant closing out games, as evidenced in his 83 strikeouts in 72.1 innings.
Overall, the Giants finished second in ERA (3.55), first in complete games (11), first in shutouts (18), tied for the least amount of runs given up (611), had more strikeouts than anyone (1302), and opponents hit only .236 off of them, the second-lowest in MLB. In my opinion, this was the best pitching staff in baseball last year, especially when you take into account that nobody was getting any run support on this staff.
Final Grade: A+
Wild Card: Youth
While the Giants have been chastised in years past for fielding older teams, they have a great young nucleus in Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez and Pablo Sandoval. Having these four on your team has to give any Giants fan hope for the future.
Final Grade: A+
Overall:
Considering how bad their lineup was last year, it was quite remarkable that this team managed to stay in contention for all of that time. That just makes their pitching staff look all the more better, since they were the ones that kept the team in the race until the end. If their pitching continues their dominance of National League hitters next year, they should still be right there in the thick of contention.
Final Grade: B
Check back soon for the report card on the St. Louis Cardinals!
No comments:
Post a Comment