Giants April Review
By Davis Rich, Staff Writer
After being in the wild card race for the majority of 2009, the San Francisco Giants are in the hunt for a title in a weak NL West. They added utility player Mark DeRosa and first baseman Aubrey Huff. They really need to improve their hitting in order to contend for a title. Pablo Sandoval needs to hit 30 homers to help the Giants.
Projected Batting Order (According to ESPN)
- Aaron Rowand CF
- Freddy Sanchez 2B
- Pablo Sandoval 3B
- Aubrey Huff 1B
- Mark DeRosa LF
- Bengie Molina C
- Edgar Renteria SS
- Nate Schierholtz RF
But in April, Sanchez injured his elbow, Vincente Padilla hit Rowand in the face, and Juan Uribe, a key sub, hurt his elbow and is currently day-to-day. Huff, John Bowker, and Eugenio Velez are slumping. So the order from the Phillies-Giants game on April 26, 2010 looked like this.
- Andres Torres CF
- Edgar Renteria SS
- Pablo Sandoval 3B
- Aubrey Huff 1B
- Mark DeRosa 2B
- Nate Schierholtz RF
- John Bowker LF
- Eli Whiteside C (is Jonathan Sanchez’s personal catcher, would have been Bengie Molina)
The brightest side has been the pitching. The top four pitchers, (Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Barry Zito, and Jonathan Sanchez) have ERAs of 1.49, 1.70, 2.48, and 2.84. Through May 6, 2010, the Giants staff has struck out 221 batters. Tim Lincecum leads the league with 56 strikeouts and Barry Zito is 5-0. Pitching is what will carry the Giants, but the hitting needs to get better.
