The San Francisco Giants are one of the most remarkable stories of the past 6 years in baseball. In 2010, the Giants won their first world series since moving to San Francisco from New York in 1958 and first championship since 1954. They followed that campaign up with two additional championships in 2012 and 2014. Indeed, only the Red Sox have experienced this type of success during the first 15 years on the 21st century.
Generally speaking, the Giants have benefited from continually having good pitching and more specifically, very good starters. Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Madison Bumgarner have been the three main cogs in that wheel over the last 6 years. While Lincecum has been relegated to the bullpen at this point in his career, Bumgarner has slid into that ace role splendidly, leading the Giants to another World Series title last year. The man who sometimes gets forgotten is Cain, who has not played a huge role in recent years. Injuries and generally poor performance has accelerated his apparent decline. However, the Giants could definitely use his right arm this season if they want a chance to repeat as champions.
Seemingly like all the Giants good starters in the past several years, Cain was in the rotation at a obscenely early age and while he pitched well (5th in Rookie of the Year voting in 2006), he wasn’t lighting the world on fire either. He was a little wild and gave up homers frequently, but as he got older he got better. During the 2010 playoffs, he started three games during the Giants championship run and did not allow an earned run in 21.1 innings pitched. From 2009-2012, Cain posted a 55-35 record with a 2.93 ERA, 1.096 WHIP, and averaged 220 innings.
In 2013, his production started to slip and in September he suffered a slight setback with a bruised forearm. Last year though, he could not stay healthy having three stints on the DL, culminating in an elbow surgery that sidelined him for the entirety of the Giants third World Series run in six years.
Initially it was believed Cain would be ready to go for the 2015 season, however news has surfaced that he will indeed miss his first scheduled start on Wednesday due to what the Giants are calling “strained flexor tendon in his throwing arm.” How long this will make the 30-year old unavailable is unknown at this point, but he was placed on the 15-day DL.
The Giants rotation still has familiar names, however guys like Jake Peavy, Ryan Vogelsong, and Tim Hudson are in their upper 30s and Peavy already is going to miss his first start this season. Lincecum is an adventure at this point in his career. Obviously Bumgarner is one of the top pitchers in the league and it clearly the ace of the staff. But with a staff that old, injuries are going to play a part. The Giants made a big push to acquire John Lester in the offseason but were outbid by the Cubs. Therefore, Cain being healthy would be a huge boost to the Giants assuming he pitches well.
Offensively, the Giants lost Pablo Sandoval to the Red Sox who was a major part of the team, especially during the playoffs. Left fielder Mike Morse also split to Miami through free agency and took his 16 homers and 61 RBI with him. Now the Giants have Casey McGehee (acquired in trade with Marlins) at third and the light-hitting Nori Aoki who was on the pennant-winning Royals in 2014. While McGehee has the ability to replace some of Sandoval’s numbers, he is definitely a step down.
There are still plenty of weapons on the Giants roster, but they aren’t going to be an offensive powerhouse either. Furthermore, in an competitive division like the National League West, pitching is going to be vital for a team’s success. Cain isn’t a Cy Young candidate anymore, but he can be a solid 2 or 3 starter. The Dodgers improved their team in the offseason, it’s tough to say the same about the Giants. One thing is for sure, no one other than Giants fans will be shedding any tears if the Giants have another odd-year down season and miss the postseason.
