With under two months left in the 2013 schedule, the reigning world champions are currently dead last in the NL West. Only the most hardcore of fans realize that August and September will be the biggest test of loyalty since MTV aired 30 episodes of the X Effect. For the Facebook bandwagoners that will reappear next October, 13 games under .500 and 15 games from first place doesn't mean that these last games mean nothing. The last two months of the season serves as an evaluation tool, where potential free-agent veterans can prove being worthy of landing a multi-million dollar contract and young stars will try to make a name for themselves to begin a career in the big leagues.
In the City by the Bay, you will more than likely hear the fair share of baseball talk, whether its at a dive establishment like Chug Pub or during a casual stroll down the Financial District. Don't oust yourself from a fruitful Giant debate or else you'll find yourself conversing about your job, which is probably something that you don't have, considering that you're reading this blog. Here is a quick guide to understanding the last two months of the Giants' season. For the lady bandwagoners: The only thing that turns on a guy more than knowing great deal about sports is....well, nothing really. This will assuredly score you the man of your dreams, like so...
For the male bandwagoners: You need this. Badly. The Giants are the most popular team in the Bay Area --sorry, Oakland fans-- and being completely oblivious about them will be met with a reaction similar to seeing one with leprosy.
With Barry Zito, Tim Lincecum, and Chad Gaudin set to be free agents at the end of this year, the future of Giants' starting pitching is starting to look bleak. Zito will be a long gone memory in 2014, as has fallen out of the rotation with a 5.40 ERA and has not pitched well in two relief appearances. Lincecum (of late) and Gaudin (all season) have been pitching well and will command large contracts in the open market if their August and September performances remain steady. Giants loyalists should hope that these two will not price themselves out of the Giants' pay range, or else we will be seeing a lot more of Mike Kickham and Eric Surkamp. 2) Empty Farm
For those of you hopeful that the Giants have prospects bursting out of their farm system, well, we don't. Each one of our high prospects has been shot down (figuratively...well, not really). San Jose and Fresno have yet to send up a valuable player since Buster Posey. Players such as Gary Brown (OF) , Heath Hembree (RHP), Kyle Crick (RHP), Chris Stratton (RHP), and Joe Panik (SS) have been mentioned being the highest rated prospects within the organization, but considering that they haven't been called up when the Giants have been hit with injuries, do not appear to be major league-ready.
3) No Giancarlo
Sorry ladies, but Giancarlo Stanton will not be a San Francisco Giant anytime soon. The Miami Marlins have been known to conduct a Black Friday sale or two. However, they have always demanded promising prospects in return for their stars. Considering the last point, the Giants may not have enough firepower to even please Jeffrey Loria, the penny-pinching owner of the Marlins.
4) 99 Free Agency Problems But Hov Ain't One
Don't get any crazy ideas that we will get the best player on the market, Robinson Cano. Jay-Z has recently gotten into the agent game and will be looking to make a huge splash with his first big client and will command a contract upwards of $100 million. Jay-Z has the potential to be a Daniel Hardman in a firm ruled by Harvey Specter a.k.a. General Manager Brian Sabean. Sabean likes to get the biggest bang for his buck. Look for him to sign players like Corey Hart, Matt Garza, Phil Hughes, and Shin Soo-Choo.
Giant Questions for 2013 and Beyond by Justin Cheng
Torture in 2010 looked a lot different than its current state. Following a three-game sweep at the hands of the Chicago Cubs, the feel-good memories of the 2012 playoffs and World Series are more than long gone. The world champions do not remotely look close to the team that swept the Detroit Tigers and face three huge questions for this season and beyond. 1) Why are the Giants losing?
In the past three years, the Giants have masked their ineptitude on offense by playing stellar defense. In comparison, the 2013 Giants are 23rd in runs scored in all of baseball, and to boot, have made the most errors of any team in the National League. The Giants have had signature wins in each of their past three seasons and have had enormous amounts of momentum going into the stretch run. Brandon Belt's Bill Buckner impersonation on Friday night was just a summarization of how the Giants have been playing all year; earlier in the year when the Giants were scoring in bunches, the starting pitching did not play up to par, and now when the pitching has seen a glimmer of improvement, errors have absolutely destroyed any hope of putting together a series of wins.
2) What is up with the starting rotation?
The rise and fall of the Giants has been tied to their starting pitching. Aside from Madison Bumgarner and Chad Gaudin, the starting pitching has yet to find its groove and has not had a consistent bullpen to match. Coming off his first season in $127 million contract, staff ace, Matt Cain, has strung some good outings but will have the occasional six-run smashing, including a 0.2 inning performance against the Mets. Coming into this season, the Giants knew what to expect from Lincecum and Zito, but with Cain struggling and Vogelsong out since May, the Giants rotation has yet to fully recover, and they have a record that shows for it. --Opinion-- The Giants' best Triple A arms, Mike Kickham and Eric Surkamp, have been blasted in their starts, and don't look ready to be reliable major league players. The Giants may have to look externally for some pitching help if they are going to salvage this season.
3) Will Hunter Pence and Tim Lincecum be traded?
The Giants are in dire need of starting pitching with Zito, Lincecum, Gaudin, and Vogelsong ($6.5 million team option for 2014) not being under contract for next year. Pence and Lincecum both will become free agents and the end of the season, and their names have been thrown out in trade rumors for the better half of the last month. GM Brian Sabean has denied his willingness to trade either of these players, but these two are the biggest trade chips to potentially re-up for next season.
--Opinion-- Pence is the ultimate optimist and has said that he wants to stay with the club. It is not often that you find guys that can hit 20+ home runs with 100 RBIs, especially for the Giants. The farm system has not produced a good position player since Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval. I say that the Giants take a chance on his impending free-agency, banking that he stays true to his word. For goodness sake, he played on the Astros for four seasons. If anybody can stay with them for more than a week, I am going to bet my house that they are undyingly loyal. Lincecum, on the other hand, may not have the same trade market value, seeing as he has struggled on his command for the past two seasons. However, there should be some teams that will fall in love with his résumé and attempt to convert him into a reliever. The Freak, albeit a very intricate part of the team, has not appeared to be able to live up to the expectations that he set for himself earlier in his career. If the Giants are able to get a big name prospect in return for Lincecum, it may be time to turn the page.
The Bayless Babbles is a sports blog is co-authored by UC Merced/ USC alumnus Justin Cheng and UC San Diego alumnus Brent Lee.
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