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Bochy was upbeat which one might expect while boasting that he now has seven starting pitchers to choose from and elaborated to some degree how is lineup will have to manufacture runs this year. He expects Aoki to lead off once in a while and he only wishes that Barry Bonds could play left field instead of coach.
Bochy referred to almost all his pitchers in his comments that can be translated into the following questions.
Will Bumgarner after over 270 innings of pitching last year be his same dominating force? For the Giants season he's gotta to be! The length of the baseball season especially for those teams making the playoffs can be very harmful to pitchers. Before former commissioner Bud Selig added an extra wild card game it was Giant pitchers Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum who lobbied against such an extension because they knew first hand the toll it takes on a pitchers arm. Isn't it ironic that both of their careers could be in jeopardy at relativity young age. They were unsuccessful in preventing the expansion of the playoff system but they might have been the reason that kept the extra playoff to one game instead of a three game series. Bud never passed up an opportunity to make another buck. That's why he was so loved by the owners.
Matt Cain is reportedly feeling fine after a couple surgeries and has been throwing for over a month with this fast ball touching around 50 miles at present. He is determined to be ready for the season. So many athletes come back too early from injuries to the determent of their team. Lets hope Matt waits until he is ready even if he misses a couple of starts at the beginning of the season.
Tim Hudson is weeks behind and will definitely not be ready for the start of the season. Surgery on the same right ankle two years in a row cannot be encouraging. Was it over use of his pitching arm or just being close to 40 years of age the reason Hudson became so ineffective at the end of last season? Any help from Hudson this year will come in the latter part of the season and should be considered a bonus by the Giants.
Jake Peavy will most likely start the season as the Giants #2 starter. He provided the team a tremendous spark in the stretch drive for a playoff spot last year. He was not effective in the post season play or with the Red Sox the first half of last year. Which Peavy will the Giants get?
Tim Lincecum was rarely used in the last two months of 2014 season. They couldn't trust him. The Giants are counting on Tim to be #4 starter primarily because they are paying him $17 million. Are the Giants dreaming? Tim did not attend the fan fest so we are not aware of what he did his winter. Last year he worked very hard in the off season which helped him have a fairly good first half of the season and for about a three week period looked again like one of the best pitchers in game.
Ryan Vogelsong is back again because the Giants needed a starting pitcher. He will give the Giants everything he's got for six innings. No surprises.
The Giants would love to keep Yusmiro Petit has their long man and spot starter. Do they have that luxury this year?
The Giants have a veteran and very solid relief corp. Can they keep the staff from being over worked? Looks like a real challenge this year. Young talent is waiting and ready to come from Sacramento when needed.
The Giants can have an effective starting staff if:
- Bumgarner continues to be a predominant starting pitcher
- Cain returns to be a reliable #2 starter
- A rookie pitcher from the farm system wows them this spring and makes the starting staff.
The fourth and fifth starter would come from Petit, Vogelsong, Peavy , Lincecum or possibly Hudson
Bochy explained scoring runs this year would be a challenge. Losing the Panda and Morse would be a devastating blow to any lineup. They not only provided the needed punch but were continual threats and protected other batters in the lineup so they might get better pitches to hit.
According to Bochy the normal lineup is fairly well set. Panic is a classic #2 batter while Belt, Posey and Pence will rotate in the order but will almost always bat 3, 4 and 5. The new third baseman Casey McGehee will bat 6th and Crawford will be in his normal #8 spot.
Bochy mentioned that he had talked to Pagan, who did not attend the fan fest, and that he was feeling fine after his back surgery. The Giant brass is not stupid and they know back surgeries can be very serious. Tiger Woods also coming off back surgery, has felt great until he swings his driver a couple of times and has had to withdraw from his last two tournaments on the first day. The Giants did not sign Aoki to replace Morse they signed him as a lead off batter. His record both with the Brewers and Royals seems to indicate that he is very effective in that position. Travis Ishikawa, Gregor Blanco and Juan Perez can be just as productive as Aoki in the #7 hole. Andew Susac who came up last year and did a great job is the favorite over Sanchez to take the #2 catching spot. Old reliable Joaquin Arias will fill one of the reserve infield spots. Ehire Adrianza will get another shot at making the squad. He was a big disappointment last season after showing lots of promise when he was called up September 2013. The Giants may want Matt Duffy to play everyday so he could start the season in Sacramento instead of sitting on the bench in San Francisco.
The Death of Dean Smith - It was many decades ago when college basketball on television was a rarity and North Carolina was playing in Madison Square Garden in New York. The Tar Heels were either tied or trailing by a point when their opponents missed a shot with less then 30 seconds to play. Most coaches then and more so today would call a time out to set up a play while also giving the defense time to do the same. But not Dean Smith. His team knew exactly what to do when they got the rebound executing a quick fast break that won the game with an easy basket. Now that's a coach. College basketball today needs more coaches like Dean Smith.
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