MLB
Three Reasons to be Excited about the 2019 Giants
Ladies and gentlemen, we have made it. Another dark offseason is behind us and Opening Day is finally here. For the Giants, the offseason was a unique one. Hiring Farhan Zaidi away from the Dodgers to be President of baseball ops; coming up short yet again on a big name free agent in the Bryce Harper sweepstakes; and Giants owner Larry Baer having an altercation with his wife leading to his suspension through July 1.
Overall, the feeling among Giants fans appears to be a negative one. With minimal moves done in the offseason combined with drama in the front office, a lot of people have very low expectations for the 2019 squad. Some are even predicting a 100 loss season. And while it’s really easy to be negative about the past few seasons and the position the team is in now, that article is not as fun to read or write.
It’s Opening Day! It’s a new year! This is a time to be happy and optimistic.
For now, at least, everyone is even. No one is in first (except the Mariners), and no one is dead last (except the A’s). Everyone is in the playoff hunt, no one is eliminated from playoff contention yet. So, instead of questioning the outfield, or the lack of an explosive bat, let’s look at all the positive things to look forward to for the Giants in 2019.
Stars at Full Health
Understandably, a lot of people forget the Giants were above .500 at the trade deadline last season. The crashing down didn’t happen until after the August 31 waiver deadline, which resulted in the Giants trading McCutcheon to the Yankees. The team was 68-68 and dealing with major injuries including Tommy John surgery for Jonny Cueto, a serious hip injury that would require surgery for Buster Posey, Brandon Belt having an appendix flare up (it really was that kind of season in 2018), and many other key players.
Now here in 2019, those players appear to be at full health again, with the exception of Cueto who is expected back by 2020. Posey says he feels good after a successful operation and appears to be getting his power back. When Belt is healthy he is a valuable player to the Giants with the threat of 20+ home runs always available. The new starting CF Steven Dugger appears to have recovered from his shoulder injury nicely. Samardzija and Melancon both struggled with injuries and their performance last year and look to bounce back. And of course, any time you get Madison Bumgarner healthy your team is going to be better for it. When the Giants’ key players are healthy, the team most of the time performs better than they get projected to be.
Farhan Zaidi’s First Season
It may not look like it to most, but Farhan Zaidi had a pretty good offseason. He didn’t overspend on Harper, added some decent depth pieces, and set the Giants up for the soft rebuild everyone has been waiting for. Now the really exciting part can begin: seeing what he does with the roster during the season. There will be a lot of questions answered by the July 31 trade deadline. Mainly, if we see star bullpen man Will Smith and franchise player Madison Bumgarner get dealt for prospects.
The 25 man roster appears to be set and it excludes players fans have become familiar with, including Mac Williamson, Alan Hanson, and Ty Blach. How he handles AAA call-ups and how many times he will use that Sacramento to San Francisco shuttle will be something to watch. Zaidi was hyped up pretty well coming into this role, and now we can see what he plans to do with this interesting roster he has created for 2019.
Bruce Bochy’s Final Season
It’s going to be weird to look in the dugout in 2020 and not see the largest hat in baseball at the top of the steps. But here we are, the final season for a legendary manager is upon us. When Bochy first started managing the Giants in 2007, the team had not seen the playoffs since 2003 and were progressively getting worse. Since Bochy took over, the Giants have had seven seasons with winning records, four playoff appearances, and three World Series Titles.
He has become a manager that many try and imitate but few can. His ability to nearly always play the right bullpen matchup, know his team, and incredible brain for baseball is rare. The future Hall of Famer will be missed. But for now, fans of the Giants, and of baseball, have one more season to watch the genius take what he has been given and run with it. And who knows, maybe he’ll get another Dodger manager to pull his pitcher on a technicality.
An Interesting year for the 2019 Giants
Overall, there is a lot to be excited about for the 2019 season. And if you’re not excited, you have to admit you’re at least curious. I think this team and management is capable of surprising people. I’m not saying they’re going to go on a magical 2010 type playoff run, surprising everyone on their way to another World Series. I also believe they will definitely not hit 100 losses. But I think they can win 70-75 games. So with these tempered expectations, I am excited baseball is back. I am excited the Giants are back. And I can’t wait to see what this intriguing era of Giants baseball brings in 2019.
Written by Carter Scott
Photo Credit to Tony via Flickr
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