Buster Posey, a resurgent Pablo Sandoval, Aubrey Huff coming off a season in which he'd hit .290/.385/.506, Pat Burrell with the ability to post a high walk rate and knock out a good amount of home runs, and Andres Torres, Freddy Sanchez, Cody Ross...hey, that's not a bad lineup.
Heck, it could even be average. Could you imagine that? An average lineup matched with this elite pitching staff. It seemed the Giants would have another successful season -- if not a repeat.
But all has not gone according to plan.
This happened to Posey, our star catcher:
I know it's tough to watch.
But that's not all that happened.
Pablo Sandoval suffered a broken hamate bone. Aubrey Huff is hitting like Neifi Perez. Pat Burrell has somehow been rendered to a bench role.
And suddenly, that solid supporting cast of Torres/Ross/Sanchez seems to have become the core of this offense. We're seeing Emmanuel Burriss, Aaron Rowand, and now Eli Whiteside starting games on a regular basis because even our other backup guys -- Mike Fontenot and Mark DeRosa -- have sustained injuries.
This was today's lineup:
Anibal Sanchez tossed a five-hit shutout against those guys, and I'm not the least bit surprised. I could sit here and complain about how Brandon Belt should have at least had an AB in this game but I just don't feel like it.
It's incredible how rapidly a team can change. Look at the starting lineup from 2010's Opening Day. John Bowker, Bengie Molina, Aaron Rowand, and Mark DeRosa were all penciled in. Somehow, that team transformed into the lineup of champions, one that could, at the very least, provide some support for an elite pitching staff.
This year, the opposite seems to have happened. It's gone from a decent offense, to whatever you want to call this.
Suddenly, I just don't care about this season. I care that Brandon Belt makes a smooth transition to the majors. That Pablo Sandoval and Buster Posey are the same when they return. And that nobody else gets hurt.
The Giants, by all means, still have a legitimate shot at the playoffs. But they've run into some huge setbacks. And I imagine this team will be quite frustrating to watch in the forthcoming weeks.
Anyway, on a positive note, I've officially joined the "Ryan Vogelsong for permanent fifth starter" party. I'm convinced. He's better than Barry Zito, and he's earned his spot.
This presents yet another conundrum for the Giants -- what to do with Zito when he returns. I don't know the answer, and we'll just have to wait and see how that turns out.
For now, let's just enjoy that we have five really good starters, and Brandon Belt is back in the majors.
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