The San Francisco Giants: 30 Games Of Offense

The Giants are 30 games into the 2009 season, which was supposed by many to be a rebuilding year.

The team's rotation was solid, but the absence of a big bat and the abundance of youth gave a feel that this probably wasn't the Giants' year. Surprising to some, the Giants are off to a pretty good start, beginning the night 4.5 games behind the first-place Dodgers in the National League West.

Using tonight's lineup, I'll go through one by one and show how each player has stacked up to offensive expectations heading into the year.

1. Emmanuel Burriss, 2B

Emmanuel Burriss did not make this team because of his offense. Phew. That's out of the way.

Emmanuel Burriss made the team for three reasons:

He can run. His nine stolen bases ranks second in the NL behind Houston's Michael Bourn, and when he gets on, he's going to run.

He can field. Burriss only has two errors this year, and is just getting more and more used to playing on the right side of second base.

He's a professional. Burriss exudes confidence. Not cockiness, not that whole "I'm better than you" complex, but a calm, cool, collected confidence.

He was batting .182 at the end of April, mired in the eighth spot and doing nothing to get out of it. There were people clamoring for Kevin Frandsen, but Burriss was given one more chance, and has since raised his average almost 100 points to .274 in 11 days.

Give this kid a chance. He's a class act, and he won't let you down. Homegrown Giants talent at its best.

2. Edgar Renteria, SS

First, this is the best picture I could get off of Google's Image cache. Lame.

Second, Renteria was lauded by many as the "worst off-season money spent." The Giants begged to differ, and I wholeheartedly agreed with them.

Renteria brings in a veteran presence, and while he was overpriced, he's not a total bust. He's been hovering right around .260 all year, which is respectable, and certainly better than anyone predicted.

His defense is solid, and he's showing patience at the plate that could, and should rub off on his much younger teammates.

He's got two homers and 13 RBI so far, so let's hope that picks up a little bit. Once he gets used to AT&T he'll start stringing some hits together.

3. Pablo Sandoval, 3B

Big Panda, Little Money, whatever you want to call this guy, he's getting it done.

After a miserable start to the season (on April 18th he was batting .195) he turned it around, getting up to .322 on May 4 before coming back to Earth a little bit.

He's been hitting the ball hard, and is really hitting everything that opposing pitchers throw at him. Give this kid an ounce of patience and he'll be dangerous for years to come.

On the defensive side, if I told you that a converted catcher that weighed 245 pounds would be in the running for a Gold Glove at third base, you wouldn't believe me. After watching Pablo play third in Colorado, I'm more than convinced. He hasn't made an error yet, and is extremely quick on his feet for a big man.

Behind the plate, there have been numerous references to his acute pitch-calling ability (see Barry Zito). He's no slouch, and, like Burriss, is a monster that the Giants are proud to say they raised from birth.

4. Bengie Molina, C

Big Money. His nickname says it all. He's been driving in runs like a guy who's been hitting cleanup his whole life.

He's a solid clubhouse presence and he's handling the pitching staff like a champ.

But Bengie's got to get more patient at the plate, drawing one walk so far this year. Hopefully Renteria can give him some advice. But, if he's not walking because he's driving in 150 RBIs, go for it. Don't change a thing.

P.S. can you believe that Sandoval outweighs Molina by 20 lbs?

5. Randy Winn, RF

Winn was struggling this year. And then he got back into things with a 4-6 night in Los Angeles, driving in the winning runs in the top of the 13th on Sunday.

We talked a little bit earlier about how Winn is very selective when he steals bases, and its showing. He's 4-4 this year, and hasn't been caught stealing since August 11th of 2008.

I think he's finding his swing too, so once again, expect a season average around .290 with 15 homers.
He's playing fantastic right-field, and I think I've seen more highlights with him sliding on the ground than anyone else this year.

Winn is always underestimated and under-appreciated as a player, but I think the Giants will be the first to tell you how invaluable this guy is to the team. So far this year, he's bounced around the lineup but is producing at every spot, driving in 12 while another big day today raised his average to .261.

6. Aaron Rowand, CF

Rowand started out the year on a tear, but has cooled off significantly. He's been hitting balls hard since Spring Training, and they'll start to fall eventually.

It seems that he's getting back into the swing of things as of late, and looking a lot more comfortable hitting at AT&T, where he struggled a lot last year. Dropping him down in the order has also taken some of the pressure off of him, which is helping him relax.

On the field, Rowand is showing why he's got a Gold Glove sitting at home. Case and point, this past road trip, with a couple sliding catches in Colorado and two clutch web-gems in the game on Sunday against the Dodgers.

Much like Barry Zito, who we'll get to later, now that the first year of his deal is over, the pressure is off and he can settle into doing his job, playing hard-nosed baseball.

7. Fred Lewis, LF

Lewis is the biggest hole for the Giants right now. He showed last year that he has the pop and the swing for the big leagues.

At the beginning of this year, it was still there, and Lewis was batting .390 on April 21. Now that swing is gone. He's not squaring anything up, and frankly just isn't having good at-bats. He hasn't exactly had a solid spot in the order, but maybe putting him farther down will have the effect that it did on a couple other guys in the lineup this year, like Rowand, Burriss, Renteria, and Sandoval.

On the field, he's not very confident. You can see it when he gets his break on the ball, and when he misses the ball, he nearly deflates. He's not the same player as last year. Hopefully he can turn it around.

Get it done, Freddy, and show people why you're in the Bigs.

8. Travis Ishikawa, 1B

Ishikawa had a great swing at the end of Spring Training, but his stats are very much like that of Emmanuel Burriss's were at the end of April—horrid.

Going into tonight's game against the Nationals, he was batting a paltry .188. But a very solid 3-4 effort tonight was encouraging. His swing has too many holes, that weren't there in the Spring. Hopefully that means that he has the ability to fix it, and if tonight was any indicator, maybe he'll go on a run to mirror Burriss.

Travis has been a defensive whiz as well, and is one of the best throwing first-basemen I've seen. He's not afraid to go to second, and Burriss isn't afraid to take the throw. He also makes his fair share of picks out of the dirt and is playing a solid field game, which will keep him in the lineup and at least provide him with a chance to improve his bat.

9. Starting Pitching

Nothing exciting out of the starting pitching on offense so far. Matt Cain will hit a homerun this year—I hope. Randy Johnson picked up a hit tonight, but watching him hit is still like watching a vulture swing a stick. Sorry Randy, but that's just what I think.

I was watching the extra-inning game on Sunday, when Brian Wilson had to run the bases, and tonight when Osiris Matos had a base-hit and an RBI, and the Giants don't really have any pitchers that they can throw out to pinch-hit late in the game like they used to.

They've used Noah Lowry in right field a couple times, Livan Hernandez to pinch-hit, and used to use Shawn Estes to pinch-run, but no one on the staff has that kind of skill set. Zito can make contact, Lincecum's a good bunter, and Matt Cain can put some old country lumber on it. But the Giants now boast TWO 1.000 hitters in the bullpen in Matos and Jeremy Affeldt.

10. Bench

Nate Schierholtz, OF—Schierholtz got some playing time when Winn went down with an injury, and is playing a lot off the bench lately. He needs more consistent at-bats, and he's proving himself in the field. I'd prefer him coming in to sub instead of Eugenio Velez.

Eugenio Velez, OF—As I've said numerous times, I'm just not a fan. He strikes out when he pinch hits, he's not an outfielder, and I haven't seen the power that he supposedly has had since birth. I can't wait until Andres Torres gets back. Hopefully they can find a place for Velez, but until he gets more consistent at the plate, Bochy has got to stop using him to pinch-hit.

Rich Aurilia, IF—He's not performing at the plate, but he's still got the skills and the mindset to contribute to this team. His strong top hand will help him get line drives, and he still has his rightfield-first mentality.

Juan Uribe, IF—A good pickup by the Giants, he's contributing here and there and still has the skills to start if someone gets injured or if someone else slumps really bad.

Steve Holm, C—I like him. He's a true backup catcher, and it takes a lot of pressure off of Pablo Sandoval, allowing him to focus on other things, like playing third base. Not an automatic out, which is also good to have on the bench.

Wrapping It Up

This team won't lead the league in scoring. In fact, they're dead last. They do, however, lead the league in infield hits. They're playing small ball extremely well right now, and when you have good D and great pitching, that's what wins games.

The Giants are three games over .500 for the first time in a long time, and their ability to get the little things done is greatly helping that. This offense will get better. If they keep giving Matt Cain run support, they'll win games. Don't look for any home-run derby candidates though.