Giants in April

In the Bay Area, the San Francisco Giants are the alpha team of a two team market. They are celebrating 50 years in San Francisco this year in their third ball park and are also in what is euphemistically called a rebuilding process. This means not much is expected of them. Their most recent history has been dominated by one Barry Bonds, now the owner of the record for most home runs hit in the majors. Enthusiasm for this once hallowed record is dampened by four interrelated facts:

1. It was a sloppy kill. Bonds was anticipated to break the record in 2005, but because of injuries and aging he didn't do so until 2007. The 2006 and 2007 seasons were painful to watch. Bonds was a shadow of his former self and the quest for the record took precedence over everything, including and notably winning.

2. Bonds was the leading poster boy for that media extravaganza commonly referred to as "The Steroid Scandal." This diversion provided entertainment for millions and well paying jobs for thousands and featured the management of the game getting suddenly all concerned and moral over the use of some drugs that may or not have been illegal at the time they were used and seem to enhance body strength, stamina, and eyesight.

3. The home run as part of the game was cheapened by various management decisions. Among these were building parks with dimensions more conducive to home runs, constructing a livlier ball, and reducing the strike zone to the size of a small laptop.

4. Bonds is a jerk.

The Giants parted company with Barry Bonds during the past off season and found themselves left with a team with little talent, few young prospects, a number of overpaid over-the-hill veterans, and a reputation that scared away nearly all attractive free agents. They spent a hugely inordinate amount of money on one pitcher who has not performed well at all and let one of their few serviceable everyday players leave for not much money.

After a miserable spring training record it went without saying that expectations were low at the start of April. The Giants looked terrible.

But now at the end of April it would seem that there is some hope. Not much, they have perhaps the least talent of any team, but some. More to the point they are an intriguing team to watch having swapped the home run for an aggressive brand of "small ball" that relies a lot on speed and situational hitting. Their pitching is outstanding in places and pretty good overall.

The Upside:

1. They have some fine looking starting pitchers, Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Jonathan Sanchez.
2. The bullpen has some strong hard throwers.
3. The outfield is, well, reasonable. The one quality free agent they were able to lure, Aaron Rowand, looks solid in center. Randy Winn is a solid everyday player in right. And, to be brutally frank about it, anybody would be an improvement over Bonds in left.
4. Bengie Molina is a solid defensive catcher and shows signs of being a real clutch hitter. Sadly, the Giants hit him cleanup, but then he's probably the best they've got.
5. A few of the young guys show promise. Notably among these is Fred Lewis who looks very much like a keeper in left field and batting leadoff. Eugenio Velez and Dan Ortmeier also show definite promise.
6. They have a lot of speed and use it to advantage at times.
7. They seem well motivated. I attribute a lot of that to the absence of Bonds.
8. Some of the over-the-hill vets, notably Ray Durham and Rich Aurilia, relieved of trying to start every day, have become useful utility players.

The Downside:

1. They don't have enough talent. Period. There's no way they can compete or even reach 500 with the talent they've got.
2. The infield is a disgrace. Second and short are currently manned by raw rookies who are trying to compete far above their current abilities defensively. You have to admire their effort and spirit, but they're out of their depth. First and third are manned by a revolving door of mediocrities.
3. Their putative ace starter, one Barry Zito, has been completely ineffective.
4. They can't seem to play good defense, certainly not consistently.
5. They make a lot of through bad decisions of their base runners or through their inattention.
6. The bullpen will not last the season at the rate it's currently being used.
7. No depth whatsoever.

Prognosis:

The Giants are fortunate to play in a weak division in a weak league. There are only a few good teams in the National League and only one, Arizona, in the National League West. Watching the Rockies one marvels that they actually made the World Series (and wonders what that tells us about the league). San Diego looks not much better than the Giants and they do not play with any enthusiasm. The Dodgers are adrift in a sea of ennui and mediocrity. So the Giants fit in rather nicely.

Right now they're fun to watch and when Lincecum, Vain, or Sanchez are pitching, they're downright dangerous.