The San Francisco Giants begin the 2015 season with three strikes against them.
They have absolutely no momentum on the eve of Opening Day, having floundered at the plate almost the entire spring, resulting in far and away the worst record in the Cactus League.
They have two veteran pitchers in their starting rotation coming off surgeries, a third who began 2014 with one win in his first 23 starts, and a fourth who basically hasn’t gotten anybody out in three years.
And they have a recent history of struggling the year after winning a championship.
It’s no wonder nobody is picking the defending champs to win their division this year, and only a few have been bold enough even to predict a backdoor entry into the playoffs as a wild-card team.
But the Giants — even with the terrible spring and with star right fielder Hunter Pence (broken arm) out to open the year — do have some things going for them, some of which proved to be enough to carry them through the postseason a year ago despite not having been assured a playoff berth until the final weekend of the regular season.
Manager Bruce Bochy brings his magic touch back to the top step of the dugout. Nobody is quite sure how he does it, but having taken three similarly flawed rosters to championships in the past five seasons, Bochy has risen to the elite level of major league managers and the surest thing among today’s crop to retire straight into the Hall of Fame.
Bochy has many strengths, but first and foremost is his ability to deploy his bullpen. The Giants ranked No. 1 in baseball in relievers’ batting average against (.217) last season, No. 3 in wins (32) and No. 5 in ERA (3.01). They return the core four — right-handers Santiago Casilla and Sergio Romo, and lefties Jeremy Affeldt and Javier Lopez — and a pair of starters-turned-long-relievers (righties Yusmeiro Petit and Ryan Vogelsong), who are positioned to bail out struggling starters and turn over a competitive game to the talented finishers. The bullpen is so deep, flame-throwing righty Hunter Strickland was sent to Triple-A to start the season.
Left-hander Madison Bumgarner is to the field what Bochy is to the dugout: Dominant. He was a one-man wrecking crew in the 2014 postseason, and has 25-win potential this year. Bumgarner is so good, the Giants probably could potentially be an under-.500 team in his non-starts and still make the playoffs.
With two sluggers (third baseman Pablo Sandoval and left fielder Michael Morse) gone, and an age-challenged starting staff one year older, the Giants appear worse both in hitting and in pitching this season. The spring surely demonstrated that. But that’s only part of the game. The Giants should be significantly improved defensively, after having seen Gold Glove candidate first baseman Brandon Belt miss 103 games last season and having played rotating left fielders and second basemen. Newcomer Nori Aoki solidifies left field defensively, and second baseman Joe Panik (had a hand in 53 double plays in 66 starts) returns to complete a solid infield that now features more-than-capable Casey McGehee at third base in place of Sandoval.
The Giants have been criticized for replacing Sandoval and Morse on the cheap, opting for Aoki and McGehee. At the same time, they have not spent any of the savings on upgrading the pitching staff. So where has the money gone? Actually, it’s right where the club wants it — in the pocket of general manager Brian Sabean, who no doubt will have the green light to spend big on this year’s prized rentals at the trade deadline in hopes of kick-starting a fast finish.
After all, a team that went 26-41 in the heart of the summer in 2014 knows better than most that you don’t win or lose pennants in March.
Thank goodness, because if much of what transpired in the spring carries over to the summer, there will be no fall ball for the Giants this season.