Giants Preseason Review
The biggest question clearly was our bullpen. And after an entire spring training we still do not have an answer. However, Benitez is looking good. Despite the fact he lost a few mph on his fastball, he has fully resurrected his slider and he is looking healthy. Impressive statline, just want to see it consistently.
Benitez: 9.1 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 12 K
Rest of bullpen: Taschner, Sanchez, Chulk, Kline, Hennessey, Correia.
None of them did very well in spring. The minors are holding Lincecum, Wilson, Atchison, Giese, Misch, Sadler, Matos, Cortes and Anderson. I look for about 2 or 3 exchanges to be made throughout the season. There is a lot of potential brewing down in the AAA's so the pressure is on the guys currently on the team.
As for the starting rotation there was a sweet surprise. Many scouts said that Russ Ortiz has regained his form and the Giants gave him a chance to prove just that. And he took advantave posting a better ERA(3.00) than Zito(3.13). Pitching in the cool, comfy confines of AT&T will only help all of our starters. Cain and Lowry are still works in progress while Morris did not look good at all. I don't care how YOU look at it, I expect us to have one of the best starting rotations in all of baseball.
Now on to the starting lineup. This year should be fun and I fully expect the guys to take the load off of our pitchers.
Projected starting day lineup:
Roberts
Vizquel
Bonds
Durham
Aurilia
Feliz
Molina
Winn
Roberts is a true leadoff hitter. Vizquel and Dave already have good chemistry and I look for them to lead the team. Along with Barry of course. Barry hit a homer in less than 7 AB's in spring. He is looking healthy and full of vigor. Boch wants to bat him 3rd which I hope changes, because Aurilia had his best career year batting 3rd in front of Bonds. "Sugar Ray" Durham is looking good batting 5th. Feliz, believe it or not, is actually walking more often and is taking pitches to the opposite field. If he steps up in the clutch we could move Ray to 3rd and have Pedro bat 5th. Molina is a veteran and Winn will be a great swich-hitter that will be better on the basepads for our pitcher at-bats.
A look at the Bench: Linden and Niekro showed that they wanted to stay in spring and they earned it. Linden will provide much needed depth for our older outfield and Niekro will give us more infield flexibility being that we have Aurilia. I look for Klesko to have a big year. He will get some great opportunities to produce off the bench and he looks healthy which is great for us. Only Frandsen batted below .300 in spring -- Linden(.353), Niekro(.362), Klesko(.357), Alfonzo(.314). We are looking solid offensively.
What to look for in '07-'08:
Benitez -- will he stay our closer?
Bullpen -- can they pull it together?
Bonds -- how many more home runs than Hank will he have?
Ortiz -- will he stay true to his newfound self?
Morris -- will he rebound?
Cain -- will he continue to be the our very own phenom?
Lowry -- consistency?
Bench/Starters -- will they stay healthy?
All in all it should be an exciting year.
