The Road Ahead: San Francisco Giants

The road ahead will be anything but easy, as the Giants and their fans were forced to swallow a tough pill in the form of a season ending suspension for the All-Star Game MVP Melky Cabrera during the 6-4 series finale loss against the red hot Washington Nationals.  The Giants, however, did  show signs of life despite the tough blow.  How fans and the front office will respond to the Melky situation is something that only time will tell, as it certainly will affect the teams playoff hopes.

Fortunately for San Francisco, this team is built nothing like it was the season before, save for the amazing pitching staff, and at a point where most fans are assuredly down in the dumps, now is not the time to write this team off, rather it’s time to show support, as they will stay focused on the task at hand.

Buster Posey had this to say about the rest of the season:  "I think we have to try to approach the rest of the year with a little bit of a chip on our shoulder, and give everything we've got for the last 44 games." 

Even without Cabrera, the team has substantially upgraded since last season.  For a good portion of 2011, we were forced to trudge out a lineup with it’s heart consisting of names like Aubrey Huff, Aaron Rowand (thanks for the memories guys) Miguel Tejada, Orlando Cabrera, and Chris Stewart, of course meaning no Posey.  Though the club hasn’t transformed into an offense heavy team like the Rangers, it’s looking much more alive and ready to pick up what Melky has left behind, with upgrades like Ryan Theriot, Angel Pagan, Hector Sanchez, and the two Brandons. 

Gregor Blanco will have to really pick it up if the team is going to get any type of production from the now vacant spot in left field, because a platoon of he and Christian is not what this team needs.

Mid-season acquisitions Marco Scutaro and Hunter Pence are now looking all the better, and with Pablo Sandoval having returned from his second DL stint, a healthy and locked in Buster Posey makes everything seem not so bleak, suffice it to say last year was the exact opposite when the All-Star catcher went down for the season.

"Obviously it's a huge blow, but it would be to any team, and I think we have guys who can come in and do well,” says Brandon Crawford.  "We didn't have Pablo for a number of weeks, and we've still been in first place for a lot of the season," he went on to say, and couldn’t have emphasized the fact better. 

Crawford is, as he says, one of those guys who needs to come in and do well, though he is quietly  hitting .322 over his last 10 games, and has 3 multi-hit games over that period.  The other Brandon, coincidentally, is also hitting very well as of late, hitting .533 in his last 8 games and collecting 16 hits in his last 10 starts.

Though the pitching staff still has the luxury of not carrying the whole team on their collective backs, the newest set of circumstances greatly increases the rest of the baseball world’s focus of them.  Tim Lincecum is a major factor, and his second half resurgence is now a top priority to stay a step ahead of the arch-rival Dodgers down in L.A.

The point is, this Giants team still has a pretty potent lineup, and one guy, however selfish he is,  doesn’t make or break a team.  All teams deal with injuries, bad attitudes, and poor performances at some point, it’s part of the game.  How a clubhouse collectively responds to the heat and controversy is what measures it’s character, and boy does this club have character.  

On Friday night, Matt Cain (11-5 with a 2.99 ERA) will lead the Giants against a still sinking Padres club who are on a 3 game losing-streak, and with L.A losing at the hands of the Pirates in Thursdays series finale (standing only half a game ahead of the G-Men), now is the time to strike.  Cain is undefeated when receiving 2 or more runs per game this season.

Posted in: buster posey,Matt Cain,melky cabrera,MLB All-Star game,San Diego Padres,San Francisco Giants,Tim Lincecum