SF Giants stubbornly refuse to change things up even with lethargic offense

With how poorly the season has started for the SF Giants, one would think maybe they’d try to shake things up. Maybe manager Tony Vitello would use one of his guys on the bench to try to get things going or move the lineup around a bit. Yet, the Giants are instead choosing to largely trot out the same starting nine players every day.

For the team’s first game of the series against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night, the lineup looks largely the same: 

SF Giants rolling with same lineup despite slow start

Those are the same guys who have managed to score just 26 runs over the first 10 games of the season. That’s tied for the worst mark in MLB thus far. While they’ve shown signs of life and have at times looked like a competent group of MLB hitters, scoring seven runs against the New York Mets on Thursday for example, they’ve been far too inconsistent.

No one player is to blame, even though it is easy to single some out for their poor performance thus far. There just seems to be a collective malaise amongst the group which is something we saw last year with the team as well at times.

The lineup was designed to have everyday players, though. Part of what president of baseball operations Buster Posey was tasked with doing when he took over was creating a more consistent everyday lineup that didn’t have to rely on platoons or matchups as much. He did that, but the results make one look back wistfully to the days of Gabe Kapler pinch hitting like crazy in the late innings.

Manager Tony Vitello’s hands are tied to a certain extent because he did not construct the roster. Yet, it would not be at all out of bounds for him to give Jung Hoo Lee a day off in favor of Jared Oliva. It could be justified as letting Lee clear his head after a rough start to the season even if it would probably disappoint the Hoo-Lee-Gans who came out to see him at Oracle Park.

Christian Koss does not have an at-bat all season and while the Giants have Luis Arraez as their everyday second baseman, it may not be a bad idea to get Koss, with his short swing and penchant for putting the ball in play, into the lineup somehow. Maybe make him the DH for a day over Jerar Encarnacion. Ryan Theriot was the team’s DH when they won the 2012 World Series so it can work with a contact-first second baseman. 

Of course, many fans have been clamoring for backup catcher Daniel Susac to get another start after his stellar first MLB start the other day. It’s hard to argue with since Patrick Bailey hasn’t been hitting well and his defense has not been as strong as it usually is to start the season. 

For now, the Giants are going to keep running it back with largely the same nine guys. At some point though, Vitello and Co. are going to have to make some sort of change just to try and get something started for this lethargic offense.