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mrschroeder08 partyvancaptain pee_callus25 Tags 2010 Preview 5 Million Dollar Black Hole AAAA Aaron Heilman Aaron Miles Alfonso Soriano Andres Blanco Angel Guzman Aramis Ramirez Arizona Diamondbacks Atlanta Braves B.J. 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There is some guarded optimism that this team can continue the climb it began last season. Do I agree with this optimism? San Francisco Giants 2009 Record: 88-74 (3rd, NL West) Key Additions: Mark DeRosa (OF/INF), Aubrey Huff (1B), Todd Wellemeyer (SP), Guillermo Mota (RP), Santiago Casilla (RP) Key Losses: Brad Penny (SP), Randy Winn (OF), Ryan Garko (1B), Rich Aurilia (INF), Randy Johnson (SP), Bob Howry (RP), Justin Miller (RP) Summary: Pitching, pitching and more pitching. That is the name of the game here as Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain make a very formidable one-two punch. You add in Jonathan Sanchez, who could have a good year and you have a pitching juggernaut. The problem? The Giants lineup consists of Pablo Sandoval and a bunch of bats that are either average, aging or unproven. Attempts to improve the lineup included signing Aubrey Huff and former Cubs' Jesus Mark DeRosa. I think that is still far from enough against some of the young, tough lineups out West. Buster Posey could help out a lot there if he can make it up from AAA. That is debatable, but the kid could be really good in a year or so. Cubs Connection: You think I am going to talk about Mark DeRosa here, right? Wrong! Tim Lincecum was drafted by the Cubs once! Yep, in 2003. Of course he decided not to sign and went to college. He was also later drafted by Cleveland and decided not to sign. San Francisco was the lucky team to finally sign him. You cannot get angry at the Cubs because come on? They would have had to overpay for a small kid with a funky delivery. Who could have guessed it would work? BIBGLBOOPSARG(tm) CF Aaron Rowand 2B Freddy Sanchez 3B Pablo Sandoval 1B Aubrey Huff LF Mark DeRosa C Bengie Molina SS Edgar Renteria RF Nate Schierholtz P Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Barry Zito, Jonathan Sanchez, Todd Wellemeyer Closer: Brian Wilson Predicted Finish: Fourth place in the NL West. I started out high on this team. Then I started cooling. As we approach opening day, I am cold on them. Why? Tim Lincecum's velocity has been dropping, and if that is the case, so could his effectiveness. Zito is a shell of his former self. The lineup is still bad. I am actually (just as of recently) thinking Arizona can beat them out. The Giants really need to find out how to get this lineup going again. And no, Barry Bonds will not be walking through that door. Posted in: 2010 Preview, San Francisco Giants Been a bit since I've posted. Since we have a quick two-gamer against San Francisco, and I live in that area, I figure I'll give you a bit of knowledge as to what I know/heard about them. San Francisco is definitely a sleeper-type team. They have really good pitching. The man going tonight (and currently having trouble) is Jonathan Sanchez. He is a bit of a Sean Marshall type. Pretty serviceable lefty. Tomorrow's starter, Tim Lincecum, is in a couple words, a freak. The dude is about my size, but can really throw heat. He won the Cy Young last year, and deservedly so. You have to wonder how he gets that much power without killing his arm. Some out here wonder, too, but people have said it is the use of his hips and lower body that take the pressure off his arm. He uses his lower body as good as any pitcher in the game. Time will tell if that is enough to not destroy his arm. Offensively, San Francisco is a work in progress. They have a pretty veteran outfield, with nothing to fear too much. Aaron Rowand is coming off a down year after (you guessed it) a contract year. Randy Winn is decent, and Fred Lewis is one of those guys who could be a good leadoff man if he took more walks. The infield is still finding their way. Emmanuel Burriss beat out another youngster, Kevin Frandsen, for the second base job, and has yet to find his stroke. Travis Ishikawa is also trying to find his stroke. A man to look out for is Pablo Sandoval (nicknamed Panda by some). He is a very aggressive hitter, but people are talking up this man's hitting stroke. He had good numbers at the end of last season. He appears to be a switch-hitting Randall Simon. He won't walk much (4 walks so far, 3 intentional) but he can be dangerous. Benji Molina is their best hitter, but may be slower than Brad Miller speed-wise. Meanwhile the Cubs have found a new power source: Ryan friggin' Theriot. Let me set the scene for you. More home runs than Soto and Bradley combined. As many home runs as Lee and Ramirez. For a couple innings there, he was outslugging Mr. Lee. It is nice to see Ryan showing some power. Seriously though, Derrek Lee has me wondering what is going on with him. He hit two home runs, including one grand slam, against his old team, the Florida Marlins. The thing about those home runs, though, is that neither one were cheap. One overshot the bleachers. So what is the deal with Derrek Lee? Since July '08, he has shown mostly warning track power, and now all of a sudden he has shown that he has a lot more than just that. Maybe some nagging injuries are clearing up. Maybe he has heard Dan's pleas. But more than anything, it looks like he hit the ball where it was pitched. He finally pulled a ball that he should pull, and he went to center with a ball he should have hit to center. It is clear the dude still has power. If he can stay on this path, and Milton Bradley can get to form, the Cubs have a video game lineup. One can only hope. Finally, Carlos Zambrano. The Cubs have finally been informed of the magical DL so many of these kids are using these days. Unfortunately, Carlos has to be the one to go. The Cubs lose thier most durable pitcher, and maybe their best pinch hitter, all in one swipe. I can't fault him for doing what he did. Look, he's an athlete. He should be able to run out a bunt ground ball, especially one that well placed, without injury. Bottom line, the team shouldn't need to rely on him to do something like that. The slumps of Soto, Bradley, Lee and Miles forced us to rely on some offense from our scary pitcher man. We are paying the price now, but he will be back shortly. And maybe by then, our video game lineup will live up to its billing and live will be peaches again. Because, let's face it, the Cardinals are *not* that good. They will realize it, and it will be on the Cubs to get straight and reclaim what they should have. As I post this, Sandoval hits a double. Told you to watch out for him. Posted in: San Francisco Giants, Ryan Theriot, Derrek Lee, Carlos Zambrano | ||