Giants Week 16 Review

In July, I started believing in the San Francisco Giants. I mean, they had a shot to go to the playoffs, and they still may, but the last two weeks have showed me how fragile the team truly is.

Since July 27, injuries have badly hurt the team. To their credit, the Giants have done okay, but I fear that it’s not good enough.

On that day, Nate Schierholtz was placed on the 15 day Disabled List with a strained left hip. One of the better outfielders the Giants have, his defense and offense have been greatly missed. He is a far cry better than Freddie Lewis will ever be and has a better swing than Andres Torres.  As for Eugenio Velez, being an every day replacement is a big stretch, seeing that he is an utility player.

July 31 was a more troublesome day, because Torres was placed on the 15 day DL after suffering a strained left hamstring. Remember, center fielder Aaron Rowand was hurt and was not playing many games the week+ before.

Juan Uribe is hampered by a bum hamstring, forcing Edgar Renteria to play through his own injury.

I am still pondering whether acquiring second baseman Freddy Sanchez was a good idea. He does potentially improve the offense, but I am concerned about his knee.

To a hitter, an injury to the leg can disrupt the mechanics of his swing. As a fielder, the body adjusts to compensate that may do more harm than good. Let me explain.

As a second baseman fields a standard ground ball, he sets himself to throw to first. In order to throw a ball well enough to get the runner, the player uses his legs and hips to generate ‘oomph’. If he is not able to shift his weight from one leg to the other, the ‘oomph’ comes from the upper body. This puts a great deal of stress on the shoulder or arm. The shoulder is not made create power, only channel it.

Question. Who is going to be his back up? Velez? Offensively, he can hold his own. It’s his defense that’s keeping him from being the everyday second baseman.

Continuing on, since Randy Johnson’s injury, the pitching staff has been shaky. They need another solid starter to hold the rotation together. I am hoping that Joe Martinez can.

The bullpen is still unpredictable, except for Jeremy Affeldt and Jason Miller. The rest are ticking time bombs whenever they are on the mound. Even if the bullpen gives up only one run, that may spell doom for that game!

The Giants acquired first baseman Ryan Garko, only to platoon him with Travis Ishikawa. That doesn’t play well in my head. Platoons are sketchy because the possibility of the players getting in a rhythm is highly unlikely.

Given these concerns, I am losing faith in them. Their chances are diminishing quickly and I don’t know if they can survive the last months of the season.