Since 2009, The San Francisco Giants have boasted the best starting
rotation in Major League Baseball. Since that time, The Giants have
either finished first or second in baseball for team earned run average.
I said it in 2009 that if The Giants got into the playoffs, they had
the pitching staff to carry them. The Giants won 88 games in 2009, but
they finished third in The National League West behind The Los Angeles
Dodgers and Colorado Rockies who both made the postseason. The Giants
would win 92 games in 2010 which was enough to win The NL West to
qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2003. The Giants rode
the arms of starting pitchers Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Madison
Bumgarner, and Johnathan Sanchez to the franchise’s first World Series
Championship since 1954 when Willie Mays roamed center field at The Polo
Grounds.
In spite of Lincecum only having three victories this season and
All-Star closer Brian Wilson being put on the disabled list for the
entire season after Tommy John surgery, The Giants have passed The
Dodgers for first place in their division. The Giants have been relying
heavily on Bumgarner, Cain, and Ryan Vogelsong who took Sanchez’s spot
in the rotation once the lefty was traded in the offseason to The Kansas
City Royals for outfielder Melky Cabrera. Bumgarner leads The Giants
with 10 wins which is a far cry from last year when he couldn’t buy a
victory as he started the year with a record of 0-6 before finishing
13-13. Cain has been his usual self as far as pitching, the only
difference is that The Giants are scoring more runs for Cain when he is
on the mound. Cain didn’t need the offense’s help on June 13 when he
threw the first perfect game in Giants history in a 14 strikeout effort
against The Houston Astros. Cain, Vogelsong, and Bumgarner have combined
for 35 of The Giants 49 quality starts which is fifth in The NL.
The pitcher that gets lost in the shuffle is Barry Zito. Zito was a hot
commodity after the 2006 season when he signed a lucrative 7-year, $126
million free-agent contract with The Giants after spending his entire
career with The Oakland Athletics. Zito has struggled mightily since
moving across The Golden Gate Bridge, which was highlighted by him
leading The Major Leagues in losses in 2008 with 17. Zito has never come
close to being the pitcher that won The American League Cy Young Award
in 2002 with The Athletics, but he has been serviceable this season with
9 quality starts and an earned run average under 4.00 for the first
time since he became a member of The Giants.
For Giants general manager Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy, they
would love to see Lincecum return to the form that has made him a
two-time NL Cy Young Award winner. Lincecum hadn’t won a start since
April 28 when he defeated The San Diego Padres before he threw seven
scoreless innings last week against The Dodgers. Lincecum has equated
his troubles to a blister on his throwing hand and his velocity is down
on his pitches. If last week’s outing was any indication that Lincecum
is getting his grove back for the second half of the season, then this
would be the equivalent of a trade as The Giants have missed his
electric fastball all season.
Although The Giants are 10th in The NL in runs scored, they are once
again poised for another postseason run due to their dominant pitching.
The San Francisco 49ers of The National Football League once had “The
Million Dollar Backfield” consisting of Y.A.Tittle, Joe Perry, John
Henry Johnson, and Hugh McElhenny. Now in the same city, The Giants have
“The Golden Arms by The Golden Gate”.
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