Follow the link above to read a recap of the San Francisco Giants World Series clinching victory last night over the Texas Rangers.
SportsReaction
“Congratulations” is my initial reaction here. Accords go out to the entire San Francisco Giants organization; from the players, to the front office employees, and everybody else on their payroll.
It’s amazing to think that a team whose record was 41-40 at one point during the season could make the playoffs, let alone win a World Series.
This version of the San Francisco Giants fought their way through the season with an average offense, and superb pitching. The team OPS+ (park-adjusted OPS compared to league average) of 95 was only one point above the National League average of 94, but their ERA+ (park-adjusted ERA compared to league average) of 121 was 20 points better than the National League average, and nine points better than their nearest competitor (Colorado – 112)!
This is very impressive when you consider that the Giant’s average pitcher age in 2010 was only 27.9 years old! This was tied for the third youngest staff in the National League behind only the younger staffs of the San Diego Padres and the Florida Marlins. This pitching staff will be a burden for other teams for the next few years at the least.
But, this doesn’t preclude me saying that the Giants will be a post-season regular for the foreseeable future because their offense is an entirely different beast altogether. While their pitching staff has a lot of homegrown talent in their primes; their offense is much older when compared to their peers (29.4 average age, 4th oldest in NL), and as discussed earlier, is only "middle-of-the-pack" now.
While they do have a young stud in Buster Posey, every other player in their starting eight aside from Pablo Sandoval—who can’t be trusted because he swings at every pitch he sees—is thirty years or older. When you consider this it becomes obvious that it will be a challenge for this offense to even be league average again. After all, it did take completely unforeseen years form Aubrey Huff and Pat Burrell to even get them to the average marker.
While a great pitching staff can take the Giants far, in the near future it most likely won’t get them to the post-season unless some young players from their farm system (they do have the third best farm system in baseball according the Baseball America) step up and improve the Giants offense.
What a great season!
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