What Is Wrong With The Giants?

Keys for the Giants in July, Second Half of Season 

Phew! That was a close one. June Gloom is finally over. No, I am not talking about the weather, but about the San Francisco Giants. The month of June, thankfully, has ended for San Francisco’s baseball team. During its June Gloom, the Giants won 10 games, while losing 17. In that stretch, the San Francisco Giants went from second place in the National League West Division with a 29-27 record to fourth place and a 39-42 record. To make matters worse, the Giants ended the last 10 games of June with 2 wins and 8 losses. And yes, in those ten games, there included a three game sweep handed to them by their hated rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

However, thankfully, it is July. And with a new month, brings new hope, and no more June Gloom. As of July 1st, the San Francisco Giants have reached the midway part of their 2013 campaign. Their mediocre record, hovering around the .500 mark, shows signs of optimism (and for some, pessimism) for the Giants as they begin the second half of the Major League Baseball season. With 81 games to go, what do the Giants need to do to buck their recent slide toward the bottom of the N.L. West?

In order to reverse their slide, the Giants must improve some facets of their game. The Giants must improve their defense (shore up those errors), get healthy (Arias, Gaudin, and Casilla will be back soon), improve their starting pitching (need others beside Cain, Bumgarner to step up), and lastly improve their road record (at the moment its 12 games under .500). If the Giants are able to make these improvements, they can rise to the top of the N.L West Division.

Defense:

The 2013 San Francisco Giants defense has been porous at best. Although the defense has shown flashes of brilliance thanks to the gloves of Brandon Crawford and Gregor Blanco, and others (definitely not Andres Torres), the Giants currently have the third most errors in the National League with 58 errors. Worse, the Giants have the third lowest fielding percentage in the National League with .981. True, these measures are not entirely statistically accurate, but they portray a troubling defense and a concern for the Giants. If the Giants can shore up their defense and continue to be dazzled by Crawford and Blanco’s play, they can ascend to the top of the N.L West.

Defeating the Injury Bug:  

As of July 1st, the Giants have pitchers Santiago Casilla, Ryan Vogelsong, and Chad Gaudin placed on the disabled list. In addition, Center Fielder Angel Pagan is on the 60 day disabled list On top of that, the Giants have had Third Baseman Pablo Sandoval, Second Baseman Marco Scuatro, and Pitcher Jeremy Affeldt spend time on the disabled list earlier this season. The Giants need these players to return on time, regain their baseball form quickly, and become a cohesive unit like the ones in 2010 and 2012 to compete for a playoff spot.

The Starters:

Pitching, pitching, and more pitching. This was a major ingredient of the World Series winning Giants formula. In the Giants 2010 World Series Championship season, their starting pitchers had an earned run average of 3.45, second in the National League. Even in the Giants 2012 World Series run, the starting pitchers accumulated a 3.73 ERA, the fifth best in the National League. However, this narrative has taken a turn for the worse in 2013. The Giants’ starting pitching staff, as of July 1st, ranked third to last in the National League with a 4.47 ERA. This one run drop in ERA from 2010 to 2013 has far-reaching negative consequences. The Giants must improve their starting pitching to position themselves higher in the N.L West Division.

Road Record:  

To be in the playoffs, the Giants need at least a .500 road record. The Giants have consistently won at home over the past few years. If they exchange a win for a loss on the road for the rest of the season, the Giants can win the necessary amount of games to secure a spot in October. However, the Giants when they are away from San Francisco are 15-28. If the Giants can reverse this and win road series throughout the second half of the season, they can still nab a wild card spot or a division title.

With these improvements, the Giants will be positioned for future success in the 2013 season. However, they must improve sooner rather later. With June Gloom weather gone, and July weather upon us, the Giants may follow the weather trend, get hot, and battle their way to the 2013 Major League Baseball Playoffs.