A roundtable discussion of the state of the NL West and how each team will fare in the coming year.
The Andrew McCutchen extension might help heal those still smarting over the post-Bonds era in Pittsburgh.
Pinpointing the positions with the worst projections on this season’s likely contending clubs.
What kind of production do teams receive from players tabbed to replace superstars?
The Giants have a lot of misplaced faith in the depth of their starting rotation.
Given their overturned offense, will the 2012 Giants be able to improve their won-loss record from 2011?
Even the least entertaining game of last season contained 15 interesting moments.
The future of the Giants’ farm system will largely depend upon the team’s most recent draft.
The PCL is famous for its pinball scores but there are other, better reasons to pay attention to it this year.
I grew up going to Mariners games, but while visiting family in San Francisco, I always enjoyed seeing a good team play outdoor baseball in Candlestick. I loved the Giants teams from 1985-1993. They played in the sun, they were young and good, and people came out to see them, all of which made for a dramatic difference in the amount of fun I had. While I still follow the team, I’ve never been as big a fan since 1993. Because after the 1993 season, when the Giants were the best team ever to not make the post-season, Will Clark wanted to stay in San Francisco, and it didn’t happen.
“I think this is the biggest single move to win–to win–that this organization has made. No one (involved with the Rays) has lost the passion to win. We lost the momentum, and Lou starts that momentum, and we need that momentum.” –Chuck LaMar, Devil Rays general manager, on the hiring of manager Lou Piniella
“I could imagine it in my dreams, but I never thought I’d do it until now. It helped take the tension down a little bit for us, but games aren’t won in the first or second inning. They’re won in the ninth inning.” –Barry Bonds, Giants outfielder, on homering in his first World Series at-bat
This series is almost remarkable in its absence of “hooks.” Sure, you’ve got the “Pastaman’s Progeny” angle, as two putative Sons of Lasorda duke it out from the dugouts. As regional incest goes, the Bay Area versus the Angeleno megalopolis doesn’t really rise to Boston-New York, and certainly ranks as much more on the level than the low-water mark of the 2000 World Series.
To better serve our readers and enhance shareholder value, we’ve compiled a list of who you should be cheering for, and why.
With the Twins in the ALCS and these two teams in the NLCS, there are some eerie similarities between today and 1987.
Unstoppable force, immovable object, best hitter of all time versus…well, if not exactly the best, one of the game’s best rotations.
San Francisco Giants