With the 2008 San Francisco Giants' season coming to an end this past weekend, it made sense to look back at what was and give out some awards to those who did well and a few who didn’t really do so hot.
Yeah, the team had one of the worst offenses around and finished 20 games under .500, but there were some things to smile about.
Tim Lincecum is a lot of people’s, including Bleacher Report's, choice to win the National League Cy Young. Emmanuel Burriss and Pablo Sandoval have locked up starting jobs for the 2009 season, and Fred Lewis finally got consistent playing time and showed what he could do.
MVP – Bengie Molina
He had never hit cleanup consistently in his career, and he proved he could do it with ease. Molina drove in 95 runs, 25 more than Aaron Rowand. His 95 RBI accounted for 15 percent of the Giants’ runs this season.
More importantly, he did a great job handling a young starting staff and is also a class person, winning the WillieMac Award two-straight years.
Best Rookie – Pablo Sandoval
He may swing at a pitch three feet above his head, but the kid can flat rake. San Francisco Chronicle's Giants beat writer Henry Schulman threw out this stat a few weeks back: “Sandoval is on pace to walk 18 times over 500 at-bats, which is terrible, but at the same time, his strikeout pace is 45, which is fantastic.”
He hit .345 with three home runs and 24 RBI in 41 games this season, after his Aug. 14 debut. He can pick it clean at third or first and is more-than capable behind the plate. With Buster Posey on the fast-track next season, Sandoval will more than likely find himself somewhere other than at catcher when Posey hits the bigs.
Best Single-Game Performance – Tim Lincecum, Sept. 13 vs. San Diego
It seemed as though Lincecum could have won this with about 75 percent of his starts, but his performance against the Padres in the middle of September put him at the top of many people’s Cy Young list (if he wasn’t already). "The Franchise" threw 138 pitches and struck out 12, en route to his first complete-game shutout.
Mr. Consistent - Randy Winn
After June 1, Winn's average never dipped below .274, finishing the year hitting .310, with 10 HR and 64 RBI. He led the Giants with 25 SB and runs with 84. His intelligent outfield play and accurate arm made covering right field at AT&T not a problem.
Biggest Letdown – Aaron Rowand
For five years and $60 million, you thought that there would a lot more than .271, 13 HR, and 70 RBI. Yeah, he’s great in the clubhouse, but that doesn’t explain his horrendous second half of the season. His average fell 20 points, and he drove in exactly one run during the final month of the season.
10 comments Last one added 9 months ago — Leave a Comment
Evan Aczon 9 months ago
Great read, great categories. I have to put Randy Winn in there somewhere though. Talk about consistency and leadership. He led the team in games, at-bats, runs, hits, doubles, total bases, walks, steals, OBP, and average (excluding Sandoval and Nate Schierholtz's short seasons). This is all after there were tons of writers saying that he was the ONLY person the Giants would be able to trade for anything valuable. He hit everywhere in the lineup, played all three outfield positions, and is just, like I've said before, a class act. I'd put him at MVP. Molina is a close second, but his average peaked around June and dipped down to the .270s for most of July and August.
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Danny Penza 9 months ago
You made such a strong case for him, I threw in a new category. He certainly was Mr. Consistent for the Giants and although Schierholtz deserves the chance to play, it's not like he is being blocked by a over the hill player.
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Evan Aczon 9 months ago
thanks for the support! haha. glad i could contribute a new category. I've been a Randy Winn fan since he played for Tampa Bay (they came to Pac Bell and I saw them play way back in the day) and I just really like what he's brought to the team the past couple years. He's been consistent ever since that midseason trade, and a run like that just isn't seen very often.
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Danny Penza 9 months ago
Like the category says, he is Mr. Consistency. The Winn for Foppert and Torrealba trade worked out pretty well looking back on it. Even though I think Yorvit got the shaft when he was in San Fran.
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jonathonu esquire 9 months ago
I think Lincecum is definitely team MVP. He should be the unanimous choice for CY YOUNG as well, in my opinion. How about "BIGGEST LETDOWN" - Brian Sabean is still the GM. The genius that traded away Liriano, Nathan and Bonser for AJ Piershitski. What happened in the end?? They ended up giving AJ away for free! Smart move Sabean! Instead of signing Vlad Guerrero for a steal of a deal, he decides that the Giants can't do without the services of Brower, Eyre, Herges, Hermanson, Tomko, Pierzynski, Feliz, Snow, Hammonds, Mohr and Tucker. All of which are not on the team anymore and at best are simply roster fillers. Then, two years later he wastes 20 million a year on Zito ...Gee, thanks Sabe way to build a winner, you are such a genius... Right now we would be a totally different team with the power of Vlad. Lincecum sure could have used the extra run support. Imagine what could have been...Liriano,Lincecum, Cain, Nathan and Vlad!! Now that would have been excitement. Thanks Sabean, you suck dead turkey testicles! I hate you!
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Danny Penza 9 months ago
Alright. Understandable. But you lost me when you started dropping "we" in your comment. And in all honesty, Vlad would be barely able to play the outfield at this point in his career because his knees are all but gone. It would basically be Bonds 2.0 but about 10 years younger. And Lincecum got plenty of run support this year, it was the bullpen that didn't support him, so there's another thing you need to look into before you go ranting.
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Dave Nemetz 9 months ago
Great season re-cap, great categories. Cain certainly is Mr. Bad Luck, but if the Giants don't trade him he's my choice to bounce back with a big year next year. The bad luck streak can only last for so long, and with some of the rookies (and hopefully a smart offseason pickup or two) providing more offense, he should be able to pitch with more confidence and pick up more wins.
Also, love the "Mad Bum" moniker for Bumgarner. If you didn't think of that, cheers to whoever did...
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jonathonu esquire 9 months ago
You're right about the run support for Tim. Tyler Walker "relieving" him is a problem. I admit, I let my frustration get the best of me without really thinking . You're on point with that. Signing Vlad would have been a better use of money than say signing Zito and what they did with AJ. At that time in 2004 he was still good for a 5 year contract. He would have added a lot to the team. True, Vlad's knees are shot thanks to the old school "turf" in Montreal. At least, so far, he is playing out his 5 year deal without any major hiccups. I would rather have a Bonds 2.0 than Fred Lewis. Winn could play center and Vlad in right. That would have been sweet! I've been a lifelong giants fan. My uncle is Masanori Murakami, so I was fortunate enough to be able to meet guys like Mays and Cepeda who were his good friends. That's where the "we" comes from. I feel close to the team. I have held season tickets for the last 15 years. I think that's enough to warrant a "we", no?
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Danny Penza 9 months ago
Dave,
I have to thank Baseball America for the "Mad Bum" name. I'm not that creative yet.
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Danny Penza 9 months ago
And Jonathon,
Comparing the Vlad and Zito signing is like comparing the Red Sox to the Pirates. There's just no match. And I'm sorry for jumping on you for saying "we." Obviously I had no idea about your connections to the Giants. I'm just sick of people dropping it like they are in the front office and make the final call on trades.
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