Though every GM tries to improve the state of their team each off-season, whether by stockpiling young talent, or paying for free-agent studs, few can do enough in one off-season to bring a team from being a non-contender to a team with realistic Championship aspirations. In 2005, the San Francisco Giants finished third in their division winning only 75 games. GM Brian Sabean, has done as good a job as any GM this winter in picking the right pieces to get his team back over the top the NL West. Many exterior activities are working for him: the poor over-all talent in the division, and the return from injury of the greatest player in the last 25 years–Barry Bonds. That withstanding, Sabean has done a terrific job in improving his team for 2006. With the return of Bonds to play LF and bat in the middle of a line-up that scored the second fewest runs in the NL, the Giants will have in effect added the best free-agent available. Even if injuries hamper his playing time, and they likely will, Bonds should still get on base over .430 and hit his share of home-runs when he’s active. Barry Bonds will not solve all of the team’s problems however, and the GM has not stood still. Instead Sabean has focused his attention on the other side of the ball, his pitching staff.
The loss of Armando Benitez, to a hamstring pull last season, had repercussions throughout the bull-pen as Tyler Walker, Latroy Hawkins, and Scott Eyre were unable to successfully complete games last season in shared time in the closer’s role. Eyre, perhaps the most skilled of the three, left as a free-agent. To replace Eyre, Sabean traded Hawkins for Steve Kline, who has been for the last decade one of the most reliable lefty set-up men in the game. The move was strong on two fronts as he was able to get rid of Hawkins, whose stuff seems to still blind scouts of his terrible make-up and practical usability. After converting just 6 of his 15 save chances in 2005, it remains a mystery why teams still look at him as a potential closer, as the Orioles certainly will. Sabean also reacquired Tim Worrell who was on the Giants 2002 title run. In Arizona, Worrell saw time as a closer and should add more stability and flexibility to this bull pen, which should be a plus rather than a detriment in 2006.
Of perhaps even greater importance was the acquisition of Matt Morris, a professional pitcher who unlike A.J. Burnett, has 40 more career wins than losses. Morris’s ability has declined in recent years, but past health problems are behind him and he should be a capable number two starter behind ace Jason Schmidt. He is reunited with catcher Matt Matheny who has a reputation for being a pitcher’s catcher and should help Morris rebound from his sub-par second half last season. Noah Lowry, a young lefty, finished 2005 strong going 8-3 in his final 11 games, and should continue his excellence in 2006. If Brian Hennessey and Matt Cain, two highly regarded pitching prospects who saw limited time in 2005, and should battle for the final rotation spot, continue to build on their experience and live up to their promise, the Giants should have a solid, if not terrific rotation.
With little fan-fare the San Francisco Giants have had a remarkable off-season. Though other teams may have made more headlines with flashy free-agent deals, the Giants, with a few key moves, and the development of their own position players (Lance Neikro, Pedro Feliz), have perhaps improved the most. At the very least they should win their division and perhaps get back to the 90 win standard they are accustomed to. Many other teams have dramatically improved during this offseason, but none will likely see the type of improvement that the Giants should next year.
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5 replies on “Most-Improved Team: SF Giants”
not so sure the Giants may be better next year, but i don’t know if Sabean, who i’m generally a fan of, deserves too much credit yet.
besides the return of Bonds and Benitez and the potential improvement of Niekro, Feliz, Lowry and Cain, you point to the addition of Kline, Worrell and Morris. assuming Morris is healthy, he’s a solid addition, but Kline is a middle-aged reliever coming off a 4.28 ERA and 1.46 WHIP, and Worrell is a 38 (!) year old reliever who finished strong with Arizona last year but still finished with a 4.07 ERA and 1.46 WHIP. adding 1.46 WHIPs to your bullpen isn’t usually recommended, and there isn’t much upside to either of these relievers at this stage in their careers.
what about losing JT Snow? yes, he’s not the biggest slugger at 1B, but Niekro hit .206 against RHP last year, and Mark Sweeney is nothing but a pinch hitter. what about continued aging from Durham, Alou, Vizquel, Matheny and even Bonds? despite Feliz’s potential, he still had a horrendous OBP of .295. it seems like Sabean still needs to fill some big holes at the corners, and a solid backup to Alou and Bonds would be welcome, too.
luckily, there’s still plenty of time to improve the team, so we’ll see if Sabean really does step up this offseason…
one grammar mistake “Though every GM tries to improve the state of their team each off-season”
It should be “his team” instead of “their team.”
Nice article….
comment Brad not Brian Hennessey. The Giants have potentially improved this winter. There are way too many ifs and maybes to qualify as the most improved team in the NL. Look at the New York Mets. Even the Los Angeles Dodgers have improved iimmensly by getting rid of Milton Bradley and gaining Bill Mueller and Rafael Furcal. Anyway, I’m not saying the Giants haven’t improved because they have, but Bonds and Alou are questionable health-wise, Feliz is extremely overrated, Kline and Worrell are old, Benitez’s health is a question mark, Durham and Niekro’s productions is very questionable, Randy Winn hasn’t played an entire season in SF yet so don’t get too excited over his 2nd half last year, Hennessey and Cain are still young and the bullpen is still shaky, and they’ve still got Edgardo Alfonzo at third base. Right now the only locks on the team I see are Noah Lowry, Matt Morris, Omar Vizquel, and Mike Matheny (because Schmidt has recent injury history too). I think the Giants are way too questionable to make a playoff berth, but in the NL West, you never know. An 80 win season may put them in!
In regards to the poll… Did you realize you put the Marlins on there as a choice? Just wondering because they are pretty much…done.
Points taken Sorry about Brad / Brian..I guess my main point is that it is rare that a team as bad as the Giants were in 2005 are legitimate title contenders the next. Partly this is because the NL West is so bad. But partly I beleive it has to do with good management, especially in not getting rid of players and blowing up the team. They could have traded Schmidt, Vizquel, or Feliz last year, but realized that 2006 would look a lot better. They added the bullpen pieces they needed, (Kline in moving back to the familiar NL should have a solid season) and should have the best rotation in the Division. If everything falls right, this team could win 90 plus games. This would require a return to old form from Jason Schmidt and Bonds which I don’t think is too unrealistic of an expectation. I expect them to win more than 80. I don’t even like the SF Giants, but find this situation interesting. Like when David Robinson got hurt for that one season and the Spurs ended up drafting Tim Duncan and winning a title the following year.