San Francisco Giants: An Autopsy of the 2013 MLB Season

The 2013 San Francisco Giants are not dead yet.  Given their two-month-plus fall from grace in the National League Western Division however, the Giants may as well be.

What happened? 

In 2012, San Francisco backed up its 2010 World Series championship with another, coming from behind against both the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals in the Division Series and League Championship Series, respectively. 

Then the Giants went on to sweep the heavily-favored Detroit Tigers in the World Series.  Most of that championship-caliber talent was carried over into 2013, and yet this season has been a disaster. 

Were the 2012 Giants that good, or are we seeing what this team is truly like as the Giants currently sit at the bottom of their division?

Perhaps both elements are true. 

2012 appeared to be an improbable year.  San Francisco enjoyed a 94-68 record, finishing first in the NL West.  The regular season was highlighted by the spectacular year of catcher Buster Posey, who hit .336 and drove in 103 runs—the first Giant to have over 100 runs batted in since Barry Bonds during the 2004 season.

While that team was hindered by the loss of All-Star left fielder Melky Cabrera to a 50-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball's performance-enhancing drug policy, the Giants were able to make notable acquisitions to supplement the team, which included second baseman Marco Scutaro and right fielder Hunter Pence.

Bolstered by a league MVP-caliber season from Posey, the Giants utilized a peerless starting rotation combined with a solid bullpen to ride their way into the postseason.  There, they defeated the Reds after a 0-2 deficit and then went on to beat the Cardinals after falling behind in the league championship three games to one.

Combine that with a remarkable sweep of the Tigers in the World Series, and the 2012 Giants were a storybook team.

If the Giants were that spectacular in 2012, why did they fall apart the following year? 

San Francisco retained nearly its entire roster from the previous year, and the lineup remained unchanged from what it was entering the playoffs.  The starting rotation was also the same and the bullpen was almost identical.  To the most casual fan, it looked as if the Giants were in excellent position to repeat as champions.

At the start of 2013, it appeared that was the Giants' trajectory.  On May 12, San Francisco was 23-15 and sitting comfortably atop the division.  Then the Giants went on a six-game road trip to Toronto and Colorado and subsequently lost five of six games. 

The wheels appeared to be falling off. 

San Francisco finished May with a 14-13 record.  The month of June was worse as the Giants went 10-17.  Giants fans, so used to the "June Swoon" of years past, hoped that July would bring better fortunes.  Those hopes were thwarted, however, as San Francisco went 8-17 that month, scoring a mere 78 runs during the span. 

San Francisco's struggles were composed of a number of elements. 

Starting pitcher Ryan Vogelsong, who had been so integral to the Giants' 2012 success, started off the season 2-4 over nine starts, posting a 7.19 ERA and 1.727 WHIP before succumbing to an injury that placed him on the 60-day disabled list.

With the exception of Madison Bumgarner, who is putting together a stellar 2013 season, the rest of San Francisco's pitching staff also has been subpar. 

Matt Cain, Barry Zito and Tim Lincecum have all experienced their fair share of struggles.  Even though Bumgarner's 2013 ERA remains below 3.00, the remainder of the starting rotation's ERA is well above 4.00. 

While Chad Gaudin has been a nice replacement in Volgelsong's stead, there is no doubt that the 2013 rotation is a shadow of its former self.

The bullpen, while consistent at times, also suffered attrition and difficulties.  There was the loss of reliever Santiago Casilla to a knee injury as well as some other various struggles.

Then there was the offense—or lack thereof.

While the Giants were by no means expected to be a "powerhouse" offensive club, they were able to produce enough in 2012.  The offense went stagnant in 2013, and the aforementioned road trip is when it started.  In July, when the Giants went 8-17, San Francisco's offense hit a mere .238.

Since the middle of May, the Giants' offense has been struggling, especially with runners in scoring position.  As a result, San Francisco's offense has been virtually nonexistent. 

Where does the blame fall? 

The loss of Angel Pagan in May to a hamstring injury—notably around the start of the Giants' struggles—was a near-fatal blow.  Pagan, who had been the team's legitimate leadoff hitter, is not expected to return until September.  By that time, it will be too late for San Francisco.

Pagan's loss would meant a lack of production from the leadoff role.  San Francisco has experimented with a platoon leadoff combination, consisting of outfielders Gregor Blanco and 2010 Giants hero Andres Torres. 

Neither has been effective.

Yet San Francisco Chronicle writer Henry Schulman feels that Pagan's loss, and the subsequent absence of a leadoff hitter, are not solely to blame for San Francisco's offensive woes.  In a June 28 article from SFGate.com, he wrote:

"

This no longer is about injuries.  Yes, the Giants miss Pagan.  Still, the Giants should be able to score more than they have during a true June swoon.  The same cast—with Pagan—averaged a healthy 4.5 runs a game in April and May; in June, 3.4.  Pagan’s absence hurts, but not 1.1 runs a game worth.

"

If not injuries, and disregarding the lack of production from the leadoff spot, where should the Giants put the blame?

Posey and Scutaro can probably be left off that list.  Both are currently batting above .300—.310 and .306, respectively—and are the two realistic offensive threats the Giants have.  Third baseman Pablo Sandoval should be on that list of threats, but he has been a bust one season removed from his historic 2013 World Series performance.

CSN Bay Area insider Andrew Baggarly was critical of Sandoval and considered him one of the biggest disappointments of the 2013 Giants in an article written on July 2.

Sandoval's .267 batting average and .392 slugging percentage appear to back up Baggarly's claim.

Where does the rest of the blame fall? 

Certainly some can be directed toward first baseman Brandon Belt and shortstop Brandon Crawford, both of whom are still developing to a certain extent.  Yet both have postseason experience and should be giving the team a little bit more than their combined .268 batting average. 

Both have epitomized the term "streaky," to put things mildly.

Pence is hitting better in 2013 than he was during his 2012 Giants tenure, but it is doubtful he is giving the same speeches that made him famous with San Francisco fans last season considering how the Giants are this year.

What is the reality of all this?

Simply stated, the 2013 Giants' season was a team-wide failure. This year's Giants have suffered from a number of problems.  They've had subpar pitching, inadequate defense and a widespread lack of offense.

Those three elements sound like a recipe for a last-place finish.  San Francisco is not there quite yet, but the season is certainly on life support, and remaining in the division's cellar only adds credence to the claim.  It is only a matter of time until the Giants' management decides to concede.

Fortunately, San Francisco's general manager Brian Sabean did not try to salvage what is becoming a lost year.  The Giants were quiet at the trading deadline, not trading away young prospects for a short-term rental but also not sending off contract-year players in return for future goods. 

Sabean elaborated on this decision in an interview with San Jose Mercury News columnist Tim Kawakami.  Sabean said:

"

We've been miserable in scoring runs obviously; we've been miserable on the road.  So there's no possible way you can get as much help as you actually need from the outside world. It's just not going to happen.  We pretty much know who's available and what it's going to take.  At this point, its not in best interests of our organization to move forward with anything from the outside. 

"

It sounds like Sabean has conceded San Francisco's 2013 campaign as well.

Taking into account all of these factors, there remains the lingering question: Why did a championship team fall upon such hard times?

One plausible answer is that San Francisco entered 2013 a tired bunch, having played a greater number of games than any other team in the National League. 

This point is argued by Golden Gate Sports writer Maggie Pilloton, who describes it further by writing:

"

The San Francisco Giants are tired.  They aren’t just physically tired; they’re also mentally tired.  After playing a total of 178 games last season, the Giants had a shortened offseason and less time to recover, both mentally and physically, before this season.  It just seems as if the long 2012 season is starting to catch up with them in terms of mental mistakes, fatigue, and injuries. 

"

Yet if this argument is true, the Detroit Tigers, whom the Giants met in last year's World Series, should be suffering a similar fate.  However, the Tigers currently sit at 65-45 atop the American League Central Division.  Clearly the elongated 2012 season did not affect them in the same manner it affected the Giants.

Perhaps the reason behind San Francisco's lost 2013 campaign is more complex.

It is worth arguing that the Giants overachieved in 2012.  Last year, the Giants found ways to win.  This year, in comparison, San Francisco is finding ways to lose. 

Sure, there are athletes who are not living up to their expectations.  Cain will probably like to forget his 4.57 ERA thus far into 2013, and Lincecum will also hope to return to the effectiveness he enjoyed a few years ago.  Clearly, some of the Giants are underachieving this year.

The reality probably lies somewhere in between vast overachievement and underachievement.  This current Giants roster is probably not as good as fans were led to believe by the 2012 season.  Yet it is hard to fathom that the roster could be as bad as it is now. 

Schulman summarizes this situation perfectly by writing, "And so it goes for a team sputtering through one of the worst World Series title defenses since the championship was created 110 years ago."

Few statements can better describe San Francisco's 2013 campaign, in which very few things have gone well and a lot of things have gone badly. 

In the end, Giants fans shall have to endure the final woes of a season that will best be forgotten.

All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise indicated.

 

Peter Panacy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report, covering Bay Area sports.  Follow him @PeterMcShots on Twitter.