San Francisco Giants: 5 Things a Giants Fan in Miami Learned

I’m jealous of most San Francisco Giants fans. Most Giants fans live reasonably close to AT&T Park and therefore enjoy the privilege of watching their team live on at least a semi-regular basis (providing they can get tickets).

As a student in New York City in South Florida for the summer, I do not have that luxury. This past weekend, however, I was treated to each game against the Florida Marlins and three All-Star pitchers giving All-Star performances.

There were some basic things that I gleaned from the experience. Apparently, the Marlins have cheerleaders (the Mermaids), all of whom would look more in place at a venue like “C.R. Fanny’s” or “Spanky’s.”

Miami is also hot and muggy but not dramatically worse than most cities in the Northeast. Jack McKeon is actually Snow White’s long lost eighth dwarf. Logan Morrison is apparently an individual of questionable character.

But this article isn’t about that. This article is about five things that I learned about the Giants while watching these three games. Most of this is just a rehash of truths that we Giants fans have come to embrace, but it deserves mentioning nonetheless. 

Giants Starting Pitching Is Legendary

In three games, Giants pitching gave up a total of four runs. Of those four runs, the bullpen gave up exactly zero. That said, the real triumph of the series was its starting pitching.

Ryan Vogelsong looked every bit the All-Star in his dominant 7.2 innings of work. Tim Lincecum looked like a two-time Cy Young award winner with his seven innings and 10 strkeouts. Matt Cain looked like the Matt Cain of old, taking a hard luck loss despite throwing extremely well but more on that later.

To say that pitching is the strength of the Giants is an understatement.

The pitching—especially starting pitching—is the pulse of the Giants. Should the pitching falter, the Giants will fall out of this race faster than an obese paraplegic running the Boston Marathon.

Despite the heat and high humidity of Miami in August, though, all three starting pitchers looked fit and ready for the stretch. Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Ryan Vogelsong could match up against Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels and actually fare very well. 

Sergio Romo and Brian Wilson Are Necessary

If you watched Santiago’s Casilla hilarious “at-bat” in the ninth inning of Sunday’s game and did not know that Brian Wilson was suffering from back spasms and Sergio Romo had ailments of his own, then you might have thought the Giants had been down eight runs.

Instead, San Francisco was actually nursing a three-run lead going into the bottom of the ninth.

The Giants bullpen is exceptional. Javier Lopez, Jeremy Affeldt, Ramon Ramirez, Santiago Casilla, and Guillermo Mota are all exemplary teammates and ballplayers who have given their heart to this organization.

That said, the Marlins brought the tying run to the plate in the form of Mike Stanton in the ninth inning before the third pitcher of the inning, Ramon Ramirez, induced a ground ball to end the game.

All of the aforementioned pitchers are valuable, but none of them have real “closer” ability. Sergio Romo is a capable substitution for Brian Wilson. But should both pitchers suddenly become injured or unavailable, the Giants’ record in one-run games will likely plummet. 

Brandon Belt Is Here to Stay

Etch it in stone. After his two-home run performance, which I noticed has produced no less than three articles (all with identical photographs) on Bleacher Report, Brandon Belt has solidified a spot on the San Francisco Giants’ roster.

With limp-wristed Carlos Beltran likely to end up on the disabled list, Belt will be the sole offensive hope of the Giants.

But let’s be realistic. One great game does not a great player make. Brandon Belt probably will not have another multi-home run game this year. What matters, though, is if he contributes offensively.

Should he become any kind of catalyst for the offense, it would be impossible to start the other revolving platoon of outfielders in his stead.

Let’s also understand that the five-run “outburst” that the Giants enjoyed yesterday—yes, five runs is an “outburst” for this team—came almost entirely off a pitcher with an ERA in the mid 5.00s for the year.

All that being said, Brandon Belt can help this team and will continue to contribute. 

Disabled List Is for Bruised Egos, Fractured Talent

Barry Zito is out for a “good long while” with a sprained ankle. Maybe during his time off, he will come to his senses and hang up his cleats or join a spot on the Giants bench coaching staff.

He seems like a good clubhouse personality, he just can’t play baseball.

But his prior “strained foot” and Pat Burrell’s “strained foot” and Andres Torres’ “strained ADHD” and Carlos Beltran’s “strained wrist” and Jonathan Sanchez’ “strained brain” are all indicative not of injury but of a failure to perform. Buster Posey’s injury was obviously very serious, as was Freddy Sanchez’s.

I don’t think it’s any coincidence that every underachieving player seems to go down with injuries that Lou Gehrig probably played through on a daily basis.

He had a debilitating disease that ended up bearing his name. Pat Burrell has a strained foot. Give me a break. 

The Giants Need a Future Plan

If you watched Matt Cain Friday night, you saw his career. Cain went six strong innings, giving up only two runs and took the loss. That translates to an ERA of 3.00, a number that—for a starting pitcher— should enable 200 to 250 wins at least over a long career.

Matt Cain will be lucky to finish his career at .500 if he remains with the Giants.

I don’t know Matt Cain, and odds are neither do you. Neither of us can know whether or not this really bothers him. We do know that he is a good teammate and would never openly admit to being frustrated by basically needing to pitch a shutout every time out in order to win.

Matt Cain has one more year with the Giants. The front office may decide to trade him by the deadline next season if they don’t feel that they can re-sign him. So where are the Giants headed?

They need to either lock up Tim Lincecum and Cain to long term deals or discard one of them for a real offensive threat. But neither should not be given away for anything less than true premiere talent.

No more Carlos Beltrans. No more A.J. Pierzynskis. Nothing less than a Ryan Braun or a Robinson Cano. Neither will be available, though, so the Giants should commit to locking up these pitchers to long-term deals and get rid of virtually every position player on the roster.

If San Francisco’s 2012 Opening Day lineup features more than three or four returning veterans, I will be sorely disappointed.