2016 WORLD SERIES OR BUST: The 2015 San Francisco Giants

The work they did together in the winter was intense and occasionally combative, so much so that Lincecum said that his dad occasionally “had to take a smoke break.”

v nice thread name man

Thanks. I figure it's easier to obsess over even-year nonsense than to quantitatively assess the team this year.

who did they lose aside from panda? anybody? bc if not it's mostly the same team and can prob get almost as far

btw this reminds me that @LOLKNBR blocked me during the world series

(by "almost" i mean win totals, if they made the playoffs i wouldnt expect anything past a wildcard spot)

Other player departures include Marclol Scutarlol (DFA'ed! Which I somehow missed) and Michael Morse.

they lost morse, acquired aoki and mcgee.
3rd base coach/awesome dude tim flannery retired.

cain is back

hopefully we'll get a full season of belt, pagan, and panic.

but yeah the rest of the division is looking stronger. padres-wise i'm praying for a 2012 marlins/2013 jays style epic collapse

But beyond the sudden lack of power, the big concern is going to be the front end of the rotation: Does Bum still have an arm left, how's Cain coming off of multiple surgeries, Hudson's surgery and lol old, Peavy kinda lol old, the ongoing Lincecum-grasping-at-straws saga, etc.

yeah starting rotation is most worrying. they're gonna burn that bullpen out if they even make it to the playoffs

aw marco, i remember you, you were aight on the chicken and beer 2011 red sox

surprised they didnt put hudson in the pen and start petit

Bochy has the occasional Veteran's Manager streak that crops up, like his insistence on starting Vogelsong last year (who's pretty much guaranteed to be a long man in the bullpen this year though). Plus he sez he likes using Petit as a secret weapon, and IIRC he was hit or miss (pun!) as a starter last year -- only 12 starts, though.

The Giants have resigned Romo also, bullpen still awesome in general.

It will be interesting to see if Tim Lincecum is able to find a way to be effective. I think the big thing for him to have that second wave would be learning how to change speeds well and work counts with batters. I think the goal is to be a 200+ inning eater type starter, just pitch smart and keep your club in games. I'd think Bronson Arroyo is a recent starter with a funky delivery that was pretty much by being able to change speeds and pitch with guile that had that kind of success. Orel Hershiser also had kind of a funky delivery and was able to reinvent himself as a junkballer. I'd think the funky delivery is kind of a positive for Lincecum in developing that type of pitching style.

I don't think anyone has started a 2015 Oaktown thread, I'm also curious to see what will become of Barry Zito's walk-on in Oakland. I figure if he pitches in spring training he'll make the club since they have had so much turnover.

Apparently Zito is going back to his Oakland delivery. Not a good sign that he keeps changing up his technique.

Bochy's back after the angioplasty. He's not supposed to do anything strenuous, good thing he's just a baseball manager.

Also I just realized that we really missed out on Zito going to the NYYs, where people could've talked about Zeets and Jeets.

hit by pitch on Pence's forearm not looking good, most likely a fracture.

D:

It's all on Belt for power now.

Confirmed, 6/8 weeks out.

shit. he was one of the three giants I liked.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B_bbpJAWQAAUpA8.png

aww

at least you have jay mariotti

http://www.mercurynews.com/giants/ci_27743954/giants-angel-pagan-gets-injection-back-stiffness

Damn, this is starting to sound serious.

how the Giants use metrics on defense

http://espn.go.com/blog/spring-training/post/_/id/2692/talk-to-me-the-giants-use-metrics-on-d

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CBr6n5cUEAAxxEQ.jpg

Posey has started more opening days as a world champ than otherwise.

oh ffs

http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2015/4/6/8357343/matt-cain-injury-giants-mri-elbow-forearm

Just got swept at home. Everything going according to plan so far!

you'll have the NL west right where you want it in 12 months

just don't tell madbum about the plan, he might be like kobe and not understand tanking

He barfed his last start (3IP, 5ER), so I think he's on board.

idk man he appears to be taking this too personally to be tanking https://twitter.com/mlbgifs/status/588904897371774976

the real question is will he start cursing out trumbo from the mound the way he does every time puig does like anything

yeah odd year etc.

taken from Brisbee: at the moment, we have no Pence, no Belt.

Well the one good surprise has been Chris Heston!

ok can mr. "i'm a millionaire who rides tractors & works with my hands & shit in commercials" red-assed tradition-humping madison fuckin bumgarner maybe like...never talk
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/wp/2015/04/27/madison-bumgarner-takes-a-big-swing-at-max-scherzer-over-comments-about-dh-rule/

What if he gets hurt washing his truck?

i mean he wouldnt be so snippy then maybe...eh he prob would

god, i hate baseball so much sometimes

god, i love it so much tho

how many pitchers get hurt batting per year?

http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--VI8qbcNf--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/1230212400113151522.gif

"you're not that fucking good, man"

lol DIS SHIT DONT STOP

glad the giants have their very own online hardman

who is the object of Madbum's correction?

alex guerrero, who had a completely routine pop flyout, did not do any of the stuff that usually gets his unwritten-rule-loving ass hot under the tractor

<3 madbum i don't care

i mean he fills the "asshole but he's our asshole" role that almost every team needs, not to mention pretty good at the whole pitching thing

oh God:

http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2015/4/29/8514889/madison-bumgarner-alex-guerrero

Deadspin helpfully points out through their lip-reading expertise that Bumgarner said, "You're not that fucking good, man. You're not that fucking good," apparently taking offense to Guerrero pirouetting as if he just missed a 450-foot homer.

One of my self-appointed specialties is grading unwritten rules. This falls under that jurisdiction. What we have here is a Dodgers player acting like he should have crushed a pitch that wasn't exactly down the middle, but one that he did just miss. We have some truths, here...

I totally understand where Bum is coming from (although I get why some people don't care for it.) Basically this rookie who hasn't earned anything yet, is trying to act like Bumgarner just got away with a pitch that he should be hitting into the bullpen. I guess I am old school but rookies shouldn't be doing that.

nope still not coming back but wanted to fix what happened.

Yeah, not really believing in Vogelsong this season.

xp the article is so much more measured! i think it's more of an "ahhhh, shit" move that guerrero made but w/e to each his/her own

Keep getting them out and chuckle quietly to yourself. There are so many bat flips in this world, so many actual slights. You don't need to look for perceived slights. It's a long season. Your blood pressure, Madison. Think about your blood pressure.

bat flips aren't slights AT ALL but i think that's brisbee being silly to make a point. the last graph is prob the best way to look at it.

Bumgarner doesn't suffer fools lightly. Another way to say that is that he is a Grade-A redass, probably the red-assiest player we've seen since Jeff Kent. It makes me roll my eyes. It makes me smile.

tbh MadBum is kinda embarrassing.

fuck him and the horse he rode in on

fuck, four nothing and now tied.

i know step away from the computer

more strangness

that ball would have been foul

could not cash in

what a play

drama

on MLB Network

huge win

the Giants needed this, not must win yet but getting close.

haha b ok

weird how i'm kinda bummed out now

only fully available to "insiders" but a big part of his case is pitch framing

http://espn.go.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/13534494/why-buster-posey-national-league-mvp-mlb

https://cdn2.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/hBr_Fwh1g2NLPNO9pBPn52DZ2nI=/1600x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/4011378/605509.0.jpg

hey, Clark Kent (but he not wearing his glasses)

anyways i hope At Bat doesn't block me tonight for the Giants vs. Dodgers game. being an DirecTv customer they block out most Dodger games, even on-line.

i love this game.

6 innings left Bee

i know, might die by then

so i died

it was Peavy's pitch so it happens.

fucking three runs on two home runs

on a brighter note, it does sound like there are a lot of Giants fans there tonight.

Source: #RedSox finalizing a trade. Presumably De Aza. Not confirmed.

COULD BE A GIANT

this game is so big for the Giants and Bochy blew it by leaving Peavy in too long. i thought at first the pitch was OK but Peavy was on fums and Bochy should have made a move.

so depressed but we got a fifth outfielder i guess...

this game is going to kill me.

Marlon Byrd has been huge in his what 10 games since he has been here.

i should just turn this game off

nite

PREPARE FOR THE ALEJANDRO DE AZA ERA

Duffy with a starred play

this was a dumb challenge

Boch thrown out twice in two games

Lincecum done for the season, I have no idea what is going to happen of him

glue factory

or maybe just someplace where he can smoke doobs and scarf peanuts in peace

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPnbxn58Oxo

wow that is legit incredible

I'm guessing the first baseman clipped the ball enough to change its path, and that's why Panik overshot it?

rip

Heck of a play.

one of the strangest games of the year.

RIP

congrats to whoever will be the new champion.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/giants-reliever-jeremy-affeldt-retiring-season-173029098--mlb.html

did y'all troo believerz read his (purportedly) self-penned SI bitchfest about mean people in philly and Playing The Right Way

i like Jeremy Affeldt take on things. i think he is right and that is not because i'm a Giants fan but interesting to hear from a 14-year major leaguer.

though i hate the phrase "taking food off my table." it is shut the fuck up, admit that you just bought less toys. you had no problem eating, hate that so much.

http://www.stack.com/2015/10/29/exclusive-aubrey-huff-mounts-an-mlb-comeback-after-battling-depression-injuries-and-3-years-away-from-the-game/?utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=referral

I feel like Huff said some offensive shit on the radio recently that made me hate him but I can't remember