SF Giants come crashing down to earth on a wave of mediocrity against Pirates

Well, it can't get much worse. Right? The SF Giants are in freefall right now. They just lost a series to the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates and have the worst record in baseball since acquiring Rafael Devers. They have come crashing down to earth on a wave of mediocrity.

As California faces tsunami warnings this morning, the Giants may find themselves underwater for the first time all season if they drop the final game of this series against Pittsburgh. Their loss last night brought then to .500 for the first time since March.

SF Giants come crashing down on a wave of mediocrity

It is a shame that the season has taken a ghastly turn like this for the Giants. They were so much fun to watch earlier in the season, winning close games in weird ways and seeming to replicate the formula that led to three World Series titles in the 2010's.

Yet, since the Devers trade it just has not been the same. When president of baseball operations Buster Posey pulled off that blockbuster, fans were thrilled because it showed the team was truly serious about competing and being a playoff team.

While Devers has not been completely as advertised since he was acquired, he is far from the only reason the team has struggled. He could not single-handedly save a lineup that has been weak all year and the pitching staff, a strength in the first half, has not been up to snuff for most of the second half.

One cannot help but wonder if the Devers trade upset the clubhouse chemistry somehow. Not in that Devers is some sort of clubhouse cancer or a bad teammate, but prior to the trade the Giants seemed like a rag-tag group of rebels who were, against all odds, hanging with the Evil Empire down south in the Los Angeles Dodgers.

This team bonded in spring training over the fact that not much was expected of them. They wanted to go out and prove everyone wrong who believed they did not stand a chance in a stacked NL West.

After the trade, expectations were recalibrated for this team. While making the playoffs was seen as overachieving prior to the season, it became expected once the team got Devers. Maybe players tightened up a little after that and began to play with fear rather than playing freely. Who knows?

Much of the blame will go towards manager Bob Melvin. While he is a respected manager with tons of experience, one cannot help but feel the team's recent lack of energy may in some way be due to him. He has a tough job, but ultimately how this team performs is a reflection of him, fair or not.

A change is unlikely, though. Posey extended Melvin through next season and he still has the backing of key leaders on the team. Yet, if the Giants completely flame out the rest of the year then Posey may have no other choice than to start fresh.

A dose of positivity may be in order. Despite their recent play, the Giants are still in the running for a NL Wild Card spot. Just one week of good baseball could make things feel a lot different.

Yet, the front office cannot be thinking this is a team that warrants taking huge risks at the trade deadline. If the team had come into the deadline on a hot streak, then there would have been a strong case to make for the team to be aggressive in trade talks. Yet, they have laid an egg since their last big trade so it is fair to wonder if doubling down is the best strategy.

The Giants are lost right now. There is time, but they need to find their way in a hurry otherwise this season will feel much like the previous three seasons of mediocrity under Farhan Zaidi that got him fired.

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