5 Biggest Takeaways from the 1st Month of the San Francisco Giants' Season
The 2015 season is roughly a month old and we have already seen several highs and lows. Such is the ebb and flow of a long season and one of Giants manager Bruce Bochy's strengths is that he knows not to get too high or too low, early on. The 162-game season is a marathon, not a sprint.
The Giants started out very slowly and the gloom-and-doom predictions were everywhere. Granted, the team was not playing well, but they were not as bad as their 4-10 record indicated. The Giants had one stretch where they lost eight consecutive games.
Similarly, the Giants just completed a stretch where they won five games in a row, including three straight shutouts. Just as the Giants were not as bad as they looked during their bad stretch, they are not as dominant as they looked during this recent win streak. They are somewhere in between both extremes.
What we have seen, however, are some important trends that appear to be critical to the success or demise of this team. Let's take a closer look at five of the biggest takeaways of the first month of the season.
All stats courtesy of MLB.com.
No. 5: Chris Heston Is a Serviceable Starter, Not a Savior
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Chris Heston has done a very credible job since being called up to San Francisco. However, Major League hitters will make adjustments to him and he must, in turn, adjust back.
After three very good starts, two of Heston's last three outings have not gone well. The league now has game tape on him and adjustments are being made. That is the nature of baseball, with constant adjustments being made. It is now up to Heston to counter what opposing hitters are looking for.
In six starts, Heston is 2-3, with an ERA of 3.38 and a WHIP of 1.39. He has thrown 37.1 innings, allowed 42 hits and 10 walks, while striking out 29. Opposing batters are hitting .282 off of him.
Heston does not have overpowering stuff and typically pitches to contact. He has a good sinker that can induce double plays, but sometimes, those ground balls find holes.
Heston is not a savior but has done a good job filling in while Cain and Peavy try to get healthy. More than likely, Heston will be a back-end of the rotation pitcher and there is nothing wrong with that.
Expecting Heston to be a .500 pitcher or slightly better is very realistic. Essentially, that is about the best the Giants should be expecting of him this year. Nevertheless, he has given the Giants some very valuable innings and is to be commended for that.
No. 4: Nori Aoki Has Fit in Very Well in San Francisco
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Nori Aoki was signed as a free agent this past winter. He was brought in to replace Michael Morse, who departed to Miami in the free-agent market.
Aoki brings a completely different set of skills to the Giants. Unlike Morse, Aoki has minimal power and is not noted for RBI production. However, Aoki does a good job getting on base and he brings speed to the Giants lineup.
Aoki is off to a fine start in San Francisco and has done everything the Giants could have asked for, and more. Hitting at the top of the Giants batting order, Aoki was hitting above .300 for much of the year. His average has dropped to .280, but his OBP of .356 and OPS of .720 are still very good. Aoki also has eight steals.
Defensively, there were some questions about Aoki, but he has been very solid in left field. Where Morse was a defensive liability, Aoki has been an asset.
Although he still often uses an interpreter, Aoki seems to be well-liked by his teammates and is fitting in nicely with his new team.
No. 3: The Giants Bullpen Is a Vital Asset for Manager Bruce Bochy
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One of the greatest assets the Giants have had over the past several years is an excellent bullpen. There are four relievers, Sergio Romo, Santiago Casilla, Jeremy Affeldt and Javier Lopez, who have pitched on all three world championship teams.
Currently, in the 2015 season, this group is augmented by Yusmeiro Petit, George Kontos and Jean Machi.
The bullpen has once again been doing an outstanding job. Cumulatively, these seven pitchers have thrown 83 innings, allowed 68 hits and 27 walks, while striking out 62. Their combined ERA is 2.82 and their WHIP is 1.145.
San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy is extremely adept at utilizing his bullpen, keeping his pitchers fresh and putting them in matchup situations where they have the best chance to be successful. Bochy is ably assisted by pitching coach Dave Righetti and bullpen coach Mark Gardner.
The success of the Giants bullpen has been a cornerstone of their three World Series titles. Now, in 2015, the relief corps once again looks strong.
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No. 2: Casey McGehee Is Pressing
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General manager Brian Sabean brought in Casey McGehee with the idea that he could adequately replace Pablo Sandoval. Coming back to his northern California roots, McGehee was excited to be home and playing for the reigning world champions.
When the trade for McGehee occurred back in December, John Shea reported on sfgate.com just how excited McGee was to be coming to the Giants.
Unfortunately, McGehee has gotten off to a terrible start. He seems to be pressing and trying way too hard. In 73 at-bats, McGehee is hitting only .178m with an OBP of .231 and OPS of .491. McGehee has already grounded into nine double plays, the second highest in the National League, behind Andrelton Simmons' 10.
In 2014, McGehee had 76 RBI, compared to Sandoval's 73. However, in 2015, he has only three.
McGehee has also taken his offensive woes out to the field. His range is not that good to begin with and he already has five errors, to lead the team.
The Giants definitely need McGehee to relax and start producing. Manager Bruce Bochy has begun to use Matt Duffy at third base, but will not completely abandon McGehee.
Although McGehee's playing time may be down a bit, he will still have ample opportunity to turn his season around. However, the time is now for McGehee to start producing, as patience is wearing thin.
No. 1: The Giants' Formula for Success Remains the Same
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The San Francisco Giants won three world championships over the past five years. During this run of unprecedented success, the Giants have built a strong foundation based on good pitching, solid defense and timely hitting.
The formula for success for the 2015 team will be exactly the same. It all starts with good pitching and if the Giants are to be successful, their starting pitching must improve.
Madison Bumgarner is one of the best pitchers in baseball and the ace of the staff. However, with both Matt Cain & Jake Peavy battling injuries, the onus falls directly on the shoulders of Tim Hudson, Ryan Vogelsong, Chris Heston and Tim Lincecum.
Heston and Lincecum have been decent, but both Hudson and Vogeslong have been very inconsistent. They have combined to allow 14 home runs between them in only 76.1 innings of work.
Hudson will be 40 years of age in June and Vogelsong 38 in July. The margin of error for these two is very thin as neither has the velocity to overpower opposing hitters. One must question whether at their advanced ages, Hudson and Vogelsong still have what it takes to have consistent success.
When the pitching is strong, the Giants can be a very good team, however, they do not generate enough offense to consistently out slug their opponents.
With a team lacking in power, good pitching is essential for the success of this team.
In each of their championship runs, timely hitting was prevalent. That has not been the case with any regularity this year, however. The Giants rank 29th in scoring average, with only 3.1 runs-per-game. In addition, they rank 28th in all of baseball, averaging 7.59 runners left-on-base per game.
The return of Hunter Pence could help the offense, but the Giants as a team must start getting a few more clutch hits.
Defensively, the Giants have been fairly solid except for McGehee and an occasional lapse by first baseman Brandon Belt.
With the lack of explosive scoring potential, the Giants must rely on their traditional model of success. Good pitching, timely hitting and solid defense must all be prevalent for the Giants to win consistently.
Team offensive stats courtesy of teamrankings.com.
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