San Francisco Giants: 5 Reasons Why the Giants Won't Make the Playoffs

The San Francisco Giants made a marvelous run to the World Series in 2010.

The team is looking to repeat, but appears in turmoil at the moment. 

The Giants currently sit 2.5 games back in the NL West, chasing the Arizona 
Diamondbacks.

Sure, to date the team's record is comparable to that of the team from a year ago.

The only difference is that last year's team was just beginning its meteoric rise to prominence.

This year's team appears to be falling apart.

While there is plenty of baseball left, the magic appears to be running thin in San Francisco.

Here are the top five reasons the San Francisco Giants won't make the playoffs.  

5. 10 of the Last 13 Games of the Season Are on the Road

The San Francisco Giants play the entire month of September against the NL West. 

While the Giants and the Arizona Diamondbacks are the only teams in the NL West with winning records, the Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres will try to spoil the party.

The Giants have been successful in their own division, posting an NL West best 28-17 record. They also have a 32-33 record on the road.

The Giants play 10 of their final 13 games on the road, though. These 10 road games come in an 11-day stretch, traveling through Colorado, Los Angeles and finally Arizona.

In comparison to the Giants, the NL West-leading Diamondbacks play their last nine games at home.  

The three-game series in Arizona the final week of the season will be some of the most intense baseball the MLB has seen all season long.

Undoubtedly, the road trip will be the toughest stretch of the Giants' season.

In the end, these games will be punishing to the team and thwart their chances for a repeat.   

4. The Team Continues to Struggle at the Plate

The San Francisco Giants are only averaging 3.4 runs/game this season.

Besides the Seattle Mariners, the Giants are the worst in MLB. 

This is nothing new to Giants fans, as the team is too familiar with grinding out one-run games.

In fact, in the month of August, the Giants have only scored more than three runs in five games; their record in those games is 4-1. 

The Giants have become too dependent on stellar pitching.

"No team in MLB history has ever made the playoffs when finishing last in their league in runs scored,"  Bob Costas recently said.

This will hurt them in the end.  

The lack of offense will impede the chances of the Giants making the playoffs.

3. The Bullpen Is Getting Tired

The Giants' pitching staff is one of the best in the league, but their bullpen will experience strife down the stretch.

Due to the Giants' poverty at the plate, the bullpen has had to be nearly perfect for seemingly the last calender year.

The bullpen will tire and show weakness for the Giants the rest of the season. 

2. Injuries

The Giants are just plain beat-up right now, as the injury bug has been relentless.

The Giants have already lost catcher Buster Posey and second baseman Freddy Sanchez for the season.

To make matters worse, they have five guys on the DL at the moment (Beltran, Burrell, Romo, Torres and Zito).

On top of that, Keppinger, Rowand, Jonathon Sanchez and Wilson are banged-up and listed as day-to-day.

For the record, that's two starting and two relief pitchers that are currently nagged with injuries. Most notably, All-Star closer Brian Wilson.

It is difficult for any team to overcome this amount of injuries, even the defending World Series champions.

1. Starting Pitching Won't Repeat Successful 2010 Stretch Run

Don't get me wrong, the starting pitching for the Giants is outstanding.

These guys are good, but they won't be as great as they were in September of last year.

Last September the Giants starting pitching went 14-7. The five starters: Madison Bumgarner (4), Matt Cain (9), Tim Lincecum (9), Jonathon Sanchez (4) and Barry Zito (12) only allowed 38 earned runs all month.

Those numbers are remarkable.

The team's overall record was 18-8 in that month with a minuscule ERA of 1.78.

It was this majestic performance from the pitching staff that propelled the Giants to a World Series win.

These improbable numbers won't be repeated in 2011 as the dream will die for San Francisco.

Expect to see a strong Giants team in 2012.