(Photo by Morry Gash-Pool/Getty Images)
Tim Lincecum is on his way to leading the San Francisco Giants to their first playoff appearance since 2003. But unlike those Giant teams from the earlier part of the decade, this team is built on youth and pitching.
The 2002 team lost the World Series in seven games to the Angles. That team was led by slugger Barry Bonds and a cast of strong veterans including JT Snow, Kenny Lofton, Jeff Kent, and David Bell. It was not led by pitching, as evidenced with Livan Hernandez getting the start in game seven.
The Giants made the playoffs the next two seasons on power hitting and veteran plug ins at many positions. The team aged quickly and San Francisco was set to go into full fledged rebuilding mode. Only this team the club would be built on pitching and youth.
Enter Tim Lincecum who came out of nowhere to capture the 2008 National League Cy Young award. Nicknamed the freak because of his quirky deliver and unbelievable stuff, he has been just as good in ’09.
He anchors the Giants starting rotation along with Matt Cain. The two are second and third in all of baseball in ERA, with Tim sporting a 2.27 ERA and Matt close behind with a 2.38 ERA.
The pair are also tied for second in wins in the National League, as both sit at 10-2. Lincecum finds himself first in Major League Baseball in strikeouts with 159 and second in the NL in with a 1.4 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched).
But it’s not just Lincecum and Cain holding together the Giants pitching staff. San Francisco has the best team ERA in the majors at 3.51 and the starters alone hold at 3.62 ERA, also best in baseball.
The Giants have the most shutouts in MLB with 13, are tied for the league lead with Kansas City in complete games at 8, and have the most strikeouts in baseball with 696.
It keeps going: the Giants have the third best team WHIP in the National League, second best batting average against at .239 just behind division leader Los Angeles, and the third fewest home runs allowed with just 72.
Those outstanding team stats can be linked to a solid rotation including 300 game winner Randy Johnson, who sits at 8-6 on the year and has the 39th best ERA in the National League (not bad for your third starter) and Barry Zito, who hasn’t been horrible this season, with a 5-9 record and 5.01 ERA. The veterans mix in well with young aces Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain.
The bullpen is solid with a delightful blend of youth and veterans. The veterans include lefty Jeremy Affeldt who has 19 holds on the season and sports a tiny 1.27 ERA and Bob Howry with a solid 3.38 ERA.
The youngsters in the pen are righties Sergio Romo (2.63 ERA) and Brandon Medders (2.65 ERA). The closer is fourth year pro Brian Wilson who is tied for first in the NL with 23 saves and has 45 strikeouts in 39 1/3 innings.
The combination of young and old continues on offense as the Giants sport the fifth best batting average in the National League at .262.
The Giants are led by third basemen Pablo Sandoval who leads the team in batting average (.333), home runs (15), RBIs (55), and doubles (24). Sandoval is in just his second full year and has quickly become the leader on offense.
The veterans have stepped up at the plate as well. Juan Uribe is hitting .301 with 16 doubles, Randy Winn is hitting .275 with 35 RBIs, 23 doubles, and 4 triples, and Aaron Rowand’s average sits at .288 with 40 RBIs and 23 doubles.
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