This was the Opening Day lineup:
| Batting |
|---|
| Andres Torres CF |
| Freddy Sanchez 2B |
| Aubrey Huff RF |
| Buster Posey C |
| Pat Burrell LF |
| Miguel Tejada SS |
| Brandon Belt 1B |
| Pablo Sandoval 3B |
| Tim Lincecum P |
Every single one of those hitters one-through-eight has incurred some sort of injury this season, with the exception of Aubrey Huff, who has been the Giants' least productive player. Funny how that works.
Today, though, after a 5-3 victory of the Dodgers, things looks really good.
Brandon Belt is finally in the majors, and had no trouble adjusting in his first game back -- as he went two for four with a home run. The Giants acquired Jeff Keppinger, an average offensive middle infielder with fantastic contact rates, in exchange for two relief prospects (not even top-20 prospects in their system, really), and look to have an acceptable middle infield with Brandon Crawford, Mike Fontenot, and Keppinger. Nate Schierholtz has found a groove, and Pablo Sandoval is nearing a 30-game on-base streak (while making excellent defensive plays). Cody Ross has an OBP above .350, and Andres Torres has been the Giants' third-most productive hitter.
With all of this, in addition to that magnificent pitching staff the Giants have....I'd say things are looking good.
And wow, what an outing from Madison Bumgarner. Need I remind that he's just 21 years old? He's doin' some special things on the mound. (h/t McC)
It's a great time to be a Giants fan.
--
Some brief programming notes: I've finally finished my midseason top 25 prospect rankings, which should be posted tomorrow morning. In addition, I've updated some of the pages at the top (specifically About/Tickets), and I've added a Reference page with links to some stat glossaries.
