This is a redshirt year for the streaky SF Giants
Remember when the Giants won 10 in a row? That did happen, right? It wasn’t just some fever dream we all concocted in a hive-mind state?
Yes, yes, it did happen, and for a few brief weeks, the Giants looked like they could be the cream of the crop in the National League. Since then, they’ve crashed back down to Earth, including a four-game losing streak over the holiday weekend. (A 2-0 win over the Mariners on Wednesday night has stopped the bleeding, but they're out of a playoff spot as of this writing.) Add in Anthony DeSclafani’s comments about “running on fumes,” and it seems like the Giants have hit the wall just before the All-Star break.
It’s easy to panic about this recent stretch, since the roster’s deficiencies are starting to show themselves, and cracks are beginning to form. A wildly inconsistent offense has been the Giants' undoing lately, with the team struggling to score runs. Outside of Logan Webb, who twirled another gem Wednesday night, the rotation lacks consistency, and the team has had to lean on the bullpen far too often. Add in a rash of crippling injuries, and the Giants find themselves inside the eye of a perfect storm of crap.
It’s tempting to wish for the front office to go all-in at the trade deadline and add another bat and starting pitcher in an effort to lock down one of the three wild-card spots. The Giants have proved they can hang with the best teams in the league, so why shouldn’t they go for it?
Well, it’s not that simple. This is a flawed roster — one that’s managed to stay in contention but flawed nonetheless. The Giants are a hitter or two (and a starting pitcher or two) short. Even if they can find one in a tight market, the prospect cost would likely be too high, considering where the Giants stand in their rebuild and in the grand scheme of things in the National League. When the season started, they looked like a .500 team or slightly better, one that would compete for the last wild card if everything broke their way health-wise. It’s almost the halfway point of the season, and that’s exactly the kind of team the Giants look like. They’ll have scorching-hot streaks and freezing-cold streaks; they’ll climb far above .500, and then the universe will course-correct them back to the mean. That’s what teams built like the Giants do.
And you know what? That’s OK. Really! It’s much easier to stomach an inconsistent, up-and-down season when there’s a semblance of a long-term plan in place. The Giants, for all of their flaws, seem to be an organization that knows what it is and where it’s going. They’ve committed to their young players and seem to be sticking with them through their salad days. They have the look of a team that’s a few pieces away from being a true contender, and for the first time in a long time, fans have legitimate hope that those pieces might come from the Giants’ system.
It can be frustrating to watch because they’ve looked like world-beaters at times this year, but Giants fans know, deep down, this team as currently constructed isn’t a true contender. These Giants are capable of getting incredibly hot for a stretch, and if they manage to sneak into the last wild card and go on one of those streaks in October, there’s no telling what might happen. But those odds are slim.
No, this is an inconsistent, imperfect team, one whose shortcomings tend to bite it at the most inopportune times. But it’s also an entertaining team, and that can make all the difference. Last year’s Giants were .500 and deathly boring, with no real sense of direction and seemingly lacking a long-term plan. This team could finish .500, and the vibe would be a complete 180. Future lineup cornerstones are in place, the system is flush with guys having breakout years, and it feels like long-term contending is within reach.
That’s why the highs and lows of this season are much, much more palatable. This recent stretch of games would have sent anyone over the edge last year. This year? Eh, it’s fine. Young teams have growing pains. If the Giants end up contending this year, it’s a bonus. The real prize is next year, and the year after that. What other prospects will make an impact? Will the Giants package a bunch of them and make their own Mookie Betts trade? Is a sustained run of success staring us in the face?
The answer to that last question is much clearer than it was 12 months ago. Try not to let this recent slide get you down, and don't get too high when the Giants inevitably go on another long winning streak. This is a redshirt year, and once you embrace that way of thinking, things get a whole lot easier.
Dave Tobener (@gggiants on Twitter) is a lifelong Giants fan whose family has had season tickets for over 30 years. He’s been lucky enough to never miss a World Series game in The City in his lifetime, still isn’t completely over 2002, and lives and dies with the Giants every year.
Source: SFGATE
