*****Official SF Giants 2006 Season Thread*******

[BWebb]

I might as well start this thing, although I don't think there are that many Giants fan on the board here. As always, I'm excited about the season and probably too optomistic, but what the hell thats what baseball is about. I'll start with my thoughts on the team this year (I am nowhere near the expert as most here, but I'll give it a try).

SP:
The rotation looks to be coming into the season as the best in quite awhile. The rotation will be anchored by Schmidt, who looks like he is ready for a big year. He worked real hard this offseason coming into a contract year (surprise, surprise) and has been awesome this spring. I'd say he has an outside chance at the Cy Young this year if he can stay healthy. That Giants add Matt Morris, who is probably in reality a 3/4 on a Championship caliber team, but will play the role of #2 here. He's good for around 200 innings a year, which is something the Giants were dying for last year. The Giants won't have to depend too much on him if these next two can step up. He is followed up by Noah Lowry and Matt Cain in the 3-4 spots. A lot has been posted about Cain here on the forum and I am hoping for big things, but his last two outing have been tough in Spring. I still think he will be good and could be in contention as ROY if he lives up to his potential. I think Lowry is someone flying somewhat under the radar, but he needs to start the season the way he finished last year. He has worked on using his curveball more to complement his excellent change-up and adequate fastball. The #5 spots looks to have been won by former Rockie Jamey Wright. He's been good this spring and he's not pitching in Colorado anymore, so who knows.

RP:
The bullpen is set-up to be pretty solid this year, except for the fact that Benitez has been getting lit up this spring (ERA 25+!) and having knee inflammation. This is not good and probably the biggest concern the Giants have not relating to Bonds. Other than that, they have a good lefty-righty balance with S. Kline, J. Fassero, Worrell, Taschner, and Munter. The Giants have the guys to get the ball to Benitez, he just has to do his job.

Infield:
This is where the Giants biggest question marks, in terms of unknown product, by far. For the first time ever, Feliz and Niekro will be full-time starters. I am not a big fan of Feliz and probably never will be. I do have some hopes for Niekro, who had a solid rookie year but never did beat out Snow for the everyday job. He has some pop and is solid in the field, so I don't think he is probably not much of a downgrade to Snow if at all. Up the middle, they are solid but old. Vizquel had another excellent year last year and doesn't seem to be slowing down too much. However, when players reach his age you just wait for the breakdown to happen. Durham is probably the most frustrating Giant. He had a solid year at the plate last year, and even though he played in 142 games, it seems he is always banged up. Plus, he is not very good in the field. If he can stay healthy, he's already been held out of a few spring games for minor problems, he is productive. Catching duties will be primarily handled by Matheny with T. Greene winning the back-up job in spring. Matheny is still awesome defensively, but neither of these guys will provide much offense, if any.

OF
We all know about Bonds, so I'm not really going to comment on him. Healthy=good, not healthy=bad. Winn was a man on fire after he was acquired last year, but there is no way he keeps up the pace. He's average in the field and at the plate. Alou will play right, but he is also extremely old. The guy can still swing the stick, but he is really at a stage where he should be DHing. This group can be productive when healthy, but they are going to cause a lot of problems for the pitching staff with the lack of ground they cover. I'm really worried about this.

Bench:
This is the best bench the Giants have had in a very long time. Steve Finley will play a lot as the 4th OF and has looked very good this spring. He was hampered by injuries last year and looks to be healthy. Of course, he is 40+ years old, so who knows how long that lasts. Mark Sweeney will also see lots of playing time and I wouldn't be surprised if he is starting and 1st becomes a righty/lefty platoon if Niekro struggles early. The bench will be rounded out by Vizcaino and Ellison.

Summary:
The Giants have the talent to win the weak NL West, however there are a ton of question marks. Age and health being the most obvious, with defense also being a concern. I think they have enough pop to score runs, however the bottom of the line-up could be a disaster if Feliz, Niekro and Matheny don't produce. Anyway, that was long and I doubt anyone will read it all. But, as always, Go Giants!

[Shafer.]

You still have time to delete this post.

[BWebb]

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You still have time to delete this post.

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Is this because you hate the Giants or think what I said is BS?

[SossMan]

[Nate tha\\\' Great]

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RP:
The bullpen is set-up to be pretty solid this year, except for the fact that Benitez has been getting lit up this spring (ERA 25+!) and having knee inflammation. This is not good and probably the biggest concern the Giants have not relating to Bonds. Other than that, they have a good lefty-righty balance with S. Kline, J. Fassero, Worrell, Taschner, and Munter. The Giants have the guys to get the ball to Benitez, he just has to do his job.

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Bullpen is a big issue this year. Benitez is done. I agree that the depth is pretty reasonable, but without a sub 3.00 ERA guy to pitch the highest leverage innings, the Giants are losing ground.

[offTopic]

BWebb:

The thought of relying on Benitez makes me nauseous. They're going to have to come up with another solution at closer.

Everything else is contingent on health. I wish I could be as optimistic as you. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[Chris Daddy Cool]

GO GIANTS!

[rwperu34]

Benitz is throwing about 84MPH right now. That is bad. The one thing in the Giants favor is that relievers are probably the easiest commodity to find on the trade market.

The key to this Giants team rests in one spot, and one spot only. If Bonds stays healthy, they win 90 games. If he doesn't....

I saw quite a bit of Niekro this spring and he looks to have BIG TIME raw power. The question is, is he skillfull enough to turn that power into production?

The weak NL West is a myth. The division was weak last year because its top two teams were devastated by injury. Both the Dodgers and Giants were 90 win teams last year, and if healthy, will be this year.

[BWebb]

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Benitz is throwing about 84MPH right now. That is bad. The one thing in the Giants favor is that relievers are probably the easiest commodity to find on the trade market.

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Last outing the reports had him in the low-90s, so I don't think that is the problem. It is usually easier to find a closer during the year, but I would hate for it to be at the cost of Fransden, Linden or Valdez.


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The weak NL West is a myth. The division was weak last year because its top two teams were devastated by injury. Both the Dodgers and Giants were 90 win teams last year, and if healthy, will be this year.

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No, the division is very weak. The only reason ANY team will win 90 games this year will be because they play Colorado and Arizona so many times.

[BWebb]

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RP:
The bullpen is set-up to be pretty solid this year, except for the fact that Benitez has been getting lit up this spring (ERA 25+!) and having knee inflammation. This is not good and probably the biggest concern the Giants have not relating to Bonds. Other than that, they have a good lefty-righty balance with S. Kline, J. Fassero, Worrell, Taschner, and Munter. The Giants have the guys to get the ball to Benitez, he just has to do his job.

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Bullpen is a big issue this year. Benitez is done. I agree that the depth is pretty reasonable, but without a sub 3.00 ERA guy to pitch the highest leverage innings, the Giants are losing ground.

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Definitely. I wouldn't be surprised if Acardo (sp?) is closing sometime during the year. He has the stuff but control and experience are lacking. Valdez is at least a year away.