Tagged: Giants
3 reasons why: San Francisco Giants will win the World Series
As the 2016 season approaches, I will be taking a look at the 10 teams with the best odds of winning the World Series and examining three reasons why each team may ultimately hoist the trophy. Today’s team:
Giants (+750 odds to win World Series): 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016? Simple math dictates the Giants will win the World Series this year. But in case it’s not that easy (and of course it won’t be), here’s some additional reasons why the Giants may be making another deep October run:
History of bouncing back: The 2015 Giants won just 84 games and finished eight games out in the National League West, but history suggests that may be a reason for optimism. Of course the Giants and their fans – as well as every other fanbase – would prefer their team never have a down year, but that’s obviously not the case. However, when the Giants have had a down year recently, they’ve done a good job of making sure it’s just one year and nothing more. San Francisco won 86 games in 2011, then won 94 games and a World Series in 2012. In 2013, the team won just 76 games, but in 2014 a World Series parade followed an 88 win campaign.
Revamped rotation: Madison Bumgarner, who went 18-9 with a 2.93 ERA a season ago, is still the ace of the staff, but his supporting cast is vastly improved with free agent acquisitions Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto. The additions of Cueto (4.76 ERA in second half) and Samardzija (his 4.96 ERA was the highest in his career since he became a full-time starter) certainly come with question marks, but if the two are able to get back on track – making half of their starts in AT&T Park will help – then it’s hard to discount the Giants’ rotation.
Postseason experience: Once you get into the playoffs, anything can happen. Perhaps there’s no team that better exemplifies this than the Giants. The 2014 Giants won it all after sneaking into the playoffs as a Wild Card. The 2012 club trailed 2-0 in the NLDS and 3-1 in the NLCS. While that’s probably not the best way to navigate the postseason waters, the Giants have shown anything can happen in October. If the 2016 club is able to get into the playoffs – either by winning the NL West or as a Wild Card – they’ve already proven they’re capable of getting hot at just the right time.
Cubs still favorite, D-backs make huge jump in 2016 World Series odds
A trio of teams – the Cubs, Red Sox and D-backs – have garnered the bulk of the offseason headlines thus far.
Yes, plenty of teams have made moves to put themselves in a better position going forward, but the three teams mentioned above have made the biggest, most significant moves and the betting lines reflect that.
On November 2, the day after the World Series concluded, Bovada, an online casino and sportsbook, posted odds for the 2016 World Series. The Cubs (11/1) were the odds-on favorite while the Red Sox (20/1) were in the middle of the pack and the D-backs (50/1) seemed like a long shot.
Fast forward through the Winter Meetings, into the middle of December, and plenty of things have changed.
The Cubs are still the favorites, but the odds are now 8/1 after the club strengthened the rotation and signed John Lackey, in addition to bolstering an already potent lineup with the additions of Ben Zobrist and Jason Heyward.
Boston got a head start on the off-season wheeling and dealing when it traded four prospects to San Diego in exchange for Craig Kimbrel. The Kimbrel trade was a big move that strengthened a ‘pen that finished the season with a 4.24 ERA, 26th in all of baseball. However, it turns out it was just a precursor as Dave Dombrowski still had some tricks up his sleeve.
The Red Sox made another big splash when they inked David Price to a monster contract and as a result, their World Series odds jumped from 20/1 to 9/1.
But perhaps the biggest off-season shocker took place just before the Winter Meetings when Arizona landed Zack Greinke. Not only did the Greinke signing give a tremendous boost to Arizona’s starting rotation, but it also subtraced an ace from the Dodgers’ staff and kept the Giants, a division rival and the other finalist in the Greinke sweepstakes, from acquiring the superstar.
Of course, once the D-backs added Greinke it was a clear sign that the team was in “win now” mode, so Dave Stewart and Tony La Russa went out and made another bold move, trading for Shelby Miller.
The D-backs finished second in the National League in runs scored a season ago and added two quality arms to the rotation which is why the odds went all the way from 50/1 to 20/1.
Although the Giants missed on Greinke, the club added Jeff Samardzija and saw odds swing from 20/1 to 8/1.
While all those changes were significant and interesting, there is still plenty of offseason left, which means time for more deals (what happens if the Cubs get another pitcher?).
AFL Scottsdale at Salt River 10.26.15
Notable Performance:
— Clint Frazier had another good showing offensively. The Indians No. 2 prospect went 3-for-5 and continues to hit the ball hard as all three of his hits were line drives. However he also struck out in his last two at-bats.
Overall Frazier put together a real nice game as he scored three runs and stole a pair of bases. Read more about his afternoon on mlbpipeline.com.
Best Play(s):
— Boston’s middle infield prospects were impressive. Shortstop Tzu-Wei Lin showed some nice range and arm strength in the first as he fielded a ball deep in the hole and threw across the diamond for the out. Two batters later, second baseman Carlos Asuaje – the club’s No. 23 prospect, fielded a ball in the hole and made a quick throw to second for the force out, showing quick feet in the process. Asuaje isn’t projected to be an elite defender, but had a nice showing Monday.
Best At-Bat:
— Adam Brett Walker II hit a monster three-run homer in the top of the ninth. I’ve heard a lot about the Twins’ prospects power, but had yet to witness it in person. Although there are still questions and doubts about his skills defensively, his power is real.
Worth Mentioning:
— Red Sox No. 11 Sam Travis also had a three-hit day and looked good offensively.
— D-backs prospect Yoan Lopez struggled once again. The young right-hander showed good flashes in his first two starts, but didn’t look nearly as good Monday. Lopez tossed 3 2/3 innings, gave up seven hits, walked one and hit a pair of batters. He also surrendered five runs – four earned. Lopez has struggled with command often in his career and that was the case once again as he left several balls up in the zone.
— Giants prospect Adalberto Mejia had a good outing through four innings, but when he came out for the fifth everything changed. The left-hander may have run out of gas as he gave up a leadoff single and then walked a pair of batters before he was lifted. All in all Mejia threw four-plus innings, gave up four hits and a trio of runs.
AFL Mesa at Scottsdale 10.20.15
Notable Performances:
— Lefthander Adalberto Mejia, the Giants No. 12 prospect, had an up and down start. Right out of the gate Mejia struck out the side in the first inning and looked like he had great stuff.
But then he walked the bases loaded – his only three walks of the evening — and gave up a run in the second.
Overall, there was more good than bad in Mejia’s start as he finished five innings and allowed one run on one hit. He also struck out seven.
Best Plays:
— Jeimer Candelario, the Cubs 20th ranked prospect, is really making a name for himself so far in the Arizona Fall League. The third baseman was named co-player of the week after going 8-for-10 through the first three games, then made a nice play defensively Tuesday night.
Candelario fielded a hot shot behind the bag at third and after an initial bobble, made a strong throw across the diamond for the out. Really impressive arm strength.
— Marlins prospect J.T. Riddle made the play of the night with a diving stop up the middle. The shortstop made a nice stop on a hard-hit ground ball and turned what looked to be a hit into a 6-4-3 double play.
Riddle then homered in the next half inning. Read more about his night on MLBpipeline.com.
Best At-Bat:
— Indians No. 2 prospect Clint Frazier hit a massive opposite-field three-run homer in the third inning. Frazier is off to a great start in the AFL and has hit really well over the first two weeks.
— Candelario didn’t want to be outdone so in the sixth inning he hit a homer of his own. The Chicago farmhand hit a massive two-run shot to out to right that would have been gone in any ballpark.
Worth Mentioning:
— Pierce Johnson, the Cubs No. 7 prospect, had mixed results in his outing, similar to his first AFL start. The right-hander threw four innings and allowed three runs – the Frazier homer – on three hits. In the first inning it appeared Johnson was having trouble picking up the signs from the catcher so that may have been a cause for some of the struggles, but either way his stuff wasn’t crisp.
In the bullpen, Johnson said he didn’t have a good feel for his off-speed pitches and it looked like that carried over into the game.
10 Things I’m Watching In 2015: Madison Bumgarner And The SF Giants
As we count down to Spring Training, here’s the second installment of my ’10 Things I’m Watching In 2015′ series. Today’s focus is on the defending World Champion San Francisco Giants and their ace Madison Bumgarner.
Look at a team that has won three World Series in the past five seasons and you wouldn’t expect to find a lot of holes. Any team on that sort of run would seem like a near guarantee to at least reach the playoffs.
However, that’s not the way the Giants have operated over the past five seasons.
Yes, the Giants have three rings and the word ‘dynasty’ can be associated with them, but they’ve been a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde case. After winning the World Series in 2010, San Francisco won 86 games in 2011. Then after another championship in 2012, the Giants won just 76 games in 2013.
So, what will happen in 2015?
Certainly the Giants would like to stay away from that recent trend (although if it guarantees another ring in 2016, then who cares about 2015) but in order to do so they’ll need to replace Pablo Sandoval and Michael Morse.
Nori Aoki and Casey McGehee are solid signings, but the player I’m most interested in watching in 2015 is Madison Bumgarner.
The left-hander has been solid for the Giants with four straight seasons of 30 or more starts and an ERA below 3.40, but this season will be different.
After Bumgarner lit up the national stage and posted a 1.03 ERA in 52 2/3 postseason innings in 2014, Bumgarner has become much more of a household name than he was previously.
While his play under the bright October lights would indicate Bumgarner is the type of player that won’t be fazed by his newfound fame, it could be interesting to see what type of encore he puts on.
Recap of previous entries:
Boor on Baseball 