San Francisco Giants: 3 Opening Day Observations from 2-0 Loss

1 of 4

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – AUGUST 10: Buster Posey #28 of the San Francisco Giants hits a two run single against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the third inning at AT&T Park on August 10, 2018 in San Francisco, California. The San Francisco Giants defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 13-10. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images) /

Happy New Year! The 2019 season is now officially upon us, with the Orange and Black taking their talents to Oracle South to begin the campaign.

The Giants have much to prove, with the hefty payroll of a playoff team and former All-Stars all over the diamond. Opening Days in the past have brought excitement, with the 2017 team sporting a shiny (although soon to be very, very broken) new closer in Mark Melancon and the 2018 team attempting to create the best 2013 MLB team. However this opening day had a very different feel, with new President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi adding and later DFA’ing too many players to remember, essentially trying to find the lottery ticket that was waiting to be scratched. Spring Training was hectic, with players being shuttled from different teams to have a cup of coffee in Scottsdale and then jettisoned without really getting a look (Matt Joyce, a player who had a few at bats for the Giants in the Spring, hit a pinch-hit, two run homer for the Braves yesterday…).

Regardless, the Giants played a REAL game yesterday, in which the outcome was so, so predictable. In what was commonplace last season, Eric Lauer, who was a cool 0.8 WAR (FanGraphs) last season, made himself look like Jacob DeGrom against the feckless Giants lineup, which included the Major League debuts for two of the three starting outfielders. The result was a familiar 2-0 loss. After watching the Giants continue to, well, stink, there are a few key takeaways that can be carried through the rest of the season. After all, Opening Day is the best measure of success!

MESA, ARIZONA – MARCH 21: Brandon Belt #9 of the San Francisco Giants hits a two run home run in the first inning of the spring training game against the Chicago Cubs at Sloan Park on March 21, 2019 in Mesa, Arizona. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images) /

The Giants NEED another Hitter

If the lineup did not convince you the Giants are a bad hitting baseball team, check the box score. 5 total hits, all singles, will almost NEVER win you a baseball game. The outfield went 0-9 with a walk.

The top of the order hitters of Steven Duggar and Brandon Belt went 0-8. The Giants have never been a great hitting team since Barry Bonds left, but the past couple seasons have been rough. If the Giants have any aspirations of winning, just for pride’s sake, a real power hitter is necessary. If that player is an outfielder who can play some defense, even better, but they are in no position to be picky.

The lineup used in day one is one where it is very hard to picture one player hitting more than 20 homers, which won’t fly in the 2019 iteration of baseball. Zaidi has been taking flyers on players with a high OBP and high walk rate, but why not pick up a Chris Carter type, who can just be the dinger machine they need.

Walks are great and have been cherished since the Moneyball method, but the Giants have OBP types already in Belt, Buster Posey, and to an extent Joe Panik. Why not get someone who can hit the ball out of the park once in a while? Posey, coming off of five homers and an offseason hip surgery should not be the Giants cleanup hitter, regardless of what his pedigree is. OBP is only as valuable as the hitters behind, and currently the Giants are showing up to a knife fight with a spoon.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – SEPTEMBER 28: Madison Bumgarner #40 of the San Francisco Giants pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning at AT&T Park on September 28, 2018 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images) /

Madison Bumgarner is still Madison Bumgarner

After an entire offseason of rumors regarding his future and pieces written about his decline, Madison Bumgarner saddled up and silenced some of his doubters with his Opening Day performance. Bumgarner pitched 7 strong innings, giving up only six baserunners and striking out 9. He really only made two mistakes the entire game, but both resulted in runs for the Padres.

The velocity was back to where it usually is in the 91-92 range, which is a welcome sign to Giants fans. After a rough spring (which most of the time, means nothing), Bumgarner turned in a quality start, and put the Giants in a great position to win the ballgame. With all the hype surrounding the new-look Padres, MadBum handled Manny Machado perfectly, striking him out twice. Furthermore, Bumgarner looked in command with most of his pitches and most notably, his changeup. He got at least three strikeouts with the changeup and it looked crisp.

Bumgarner’s curveball has recently become his number one strikeout pitch, but if he can further utilize his changeup effectively, that can totally change how hitters approach their at-bats against him. Of course, a Bumgarner resurgence is a double-edged sword, with him being the Giants best trade chip. However, given teams recent activities regarding extensions, the Giants could potentially lock up MadBum long term at a relative discount given his recent history. Would you rather have two no-sure-thing prospects or a 30 to 34-year-old Madison Bumgarner? I think the correct answer is the latter.

SCOTTSDALE, AZ – FEBRUARY 21: Buster Posey #28 of the San Francisco Giants poses during the Giants Photo Day on February 21, 2019 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images) /

2019 will be… interesting

The Opening Day lineup was… weird. Bruce Bochy is retiring at the end of the season and is spending it under a new front office which values things he does not have a lot of experience with. The homegrown core is aging. There has been great controversy in the higher ups of the organization.

The Giants, as it stands now, seems to be a rudderless ship. Teams today seem to be so set on defining themselves into the “win-now” bucket or “rebuilding” bucket. The Giants have done neither, and took a product that was clearly not good enough last year and added… nothing? The bullpen, a relative strength last season, is still quite good and with some luck could be one of the best in baseball. The young pitching staff provides hope, but they aren’t really sports cars as much as they are a Toyota Corolla.3-opening-day-observations-

The outfield is, honestly, pretty gross. Their one trade piece could either be worth a couple of real top prospects or some mid-tier lottery tickets. 3 World Championships is a decade is incredible and would be hard for any team to accomplish. Mind you, the Yankees have not even won a title since 2009, yet have been self-proclaimed the best team in baseball since the 90s (basically, don’t fact check that).

Padres Series Preview. Next

However, on the heels of two horrible offseasons and some of the worst baseball in the Bay, you get this mishmash we call the 2019 Giants. We can enjoy the ride, but it will come with the same strife as the past two seasons. It is up to Farhan Zaidi to try and turn this team around and bring it back to October. Until then, we can enjoy the Dodgers constant choking then instead.

Home / SF Giants News

Schedule