SF Giants -- Spring's Promises
Mays, McCovey, Bobby Bonds, Speier, Perry, and Marichal, those are names that are burned into my memory from childhood. When I caught on to baseball as a kid, Willie Mays was at the end of a Hall of Fame career, his pursuit of the home run crown stunted by playing in Candlestick Park. Speier came on the scene in the 1970s, after Mays, Perry, and Marichal were gone. McCovey was there, left, and came back. There were good years and bad ones.
Later on, I watched as Will Clark and Robbie Thompson joined Chili Davis to make a run at the World Series; and then in 1989, watched as Clark and Thompson led them to the ill-fated quake series against the McGuire/Canseco led A's. Then again in the 90s with Bonds the Younger, and then again in the early 2000's, again led by Barry and Kent! Yes, this has been a storied history, but for the past 4 years it has not been good.
So, as they say, "Hope springs eternal" and my Giants are at bat. This is a very different team from the Bonds led teams from earlier in the decade. This isn't a veteran heavy, power laden team. No, this is built on speed and pitching -- Benjie Molina won't remind you of Barry or Jeff in the clean up spot. But with current Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Jonathan Sanchez complemented by two old pro former Cy Young winners in Randy "The Big Unit" Johnson, and Barry Zito. The pitching is pretty good!
As for the rest of the line up -- I'm hopeful that Pablo Sandoval, Emmanuel Burriss, and Travis Ishikawa are ready for breakout seasons -- maybe like those 1986 Giants that went from worst to near first in just a year. Oh, and hopefully Randy Winn, Aaron Rowand, Molina, and Edgar Rentaria, along with 2nd year man Fred Lewis, have top notch years as well.
So, here's to a new year and a return to respectability!
Go Giants!!!
Later on, I watched as Will Clark and Robbie Thompson joined Chili Davis to make a run at the World Series; and then in 1989, watched as Clark and Thompson led them to the ill-fated quake series against the McGuire/Canseco led A's. Then again in the 90s with Bonds the Younger, and then again in the early 2000's, again led by Barry and Kent! Yes, this has been a storied history, but for the past 4 years it has not been good.
So, as they say, "Hope springs eternal" and my Giants are at bat. This is a very different team from the Bonds led teams from earlier in the decade. This isn't a veteran heavy, power laden team. No, this is built on speed and pitching -- Benjie Molina won't remind you of Barry or Jeff in the clean up spot. But with current Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Jonathan Sanchez complemented by two old pro former Cy Young winners in Randy "The Big Unit" Johnson, and Barry Zito. The pitching is pretty good!
As for the rest of the line up -- I'm hopeful that Pablo Sandoval, Emmanuel Burriss, and Travis Ishikawa are ready for breakout seasons -- maybe like those 1986 Giants that went from worst to near first in just a year. Oh, and hopefully Randy Winn, Aaron Rowand, Molina, and Edgar Rentaria, along with 2nd year man Fred Lewis, have top notch years as well.
So, here's to a new year and a return to respectability!
Go Giants!!!
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