What is left to be said about the Giants 2010 after endless analysis of their surprising World Series run? Perhaps that it was not that surprising after all. "Pitching wins championships" is the manta and while the postseason was the national coming out party for their young rotation this was hardly a surprise to the San Fran faithful. In 2010 the Giant's pitching staff led the league in ERA and strikeouts, which also shouldn't have been a surprise as they year previous they finished first in K's and second in ERA.
However, several big questions remain for the Giants and the 2011 season. Primarily, how will their young rotation rebound after all the extra innings last year? Lincecum, Cain, Sanchez and Bumgarner all easily exceeded their previous highs in innings pitched and there has to be extreme concern about the 21 year old Bumgarner surpassing his prior limit by 70+ innings. That being said, with the exception of Sanchez's final two starts in the postseason, the entire staff pitched better in the postseason than during the regular season which leads one to hope that the Giants pitchers weren't being overworked.
On the offensive side of the ball the Giants are hoping that the lightning they caught in a bottle last year keeps on striking. Aubrey Hoff, as well as castoffs Cody Ross and Pat Burrell, are back and hoping to replicate their performances from last year (For Burrell we are referring to regular season performance as he spent most of the offseason doing his best to air condition opposing team ballparks). Additionally, the Giants are looking forward to a full year from ROY Posey, hoping for a bounce back year from skinny Panda, and waiting to see if Brandon Belt can reach the big leagues after rocketing through all 4 levels of the minors last year.
Prediction: 1st in NL West. Despite the worries of fatigue for the young pitching staff this team still has far more depth than any other team in their division.
Surprise Player: Mark DeRosa.
After two stellar campaigns in 08 and 09 DeRosa came to the Giants promising positional versatility and a solid bat. However, wrist injuries derailed his 2010 season, limiting him to only 26 games, and now it appears he has lost a grasp on any starting position for 2011. Yet DeRosa's two best positions, LF and 3B, are two of the Giants biggest question marks as both Sandoval and Burrell struggled mightily at times last year. Whether or not he can rediscover his previous form and take a starting position, or simply be a useful utility player, a healthy DeRosa provides the Giants with much depth and takes some of the pressure off of GM Brian Sabean to try and find waiver wire gold again.
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