MLB Special: San Francisco Giants looking for a spark in 2012
During the 2011 Major League Baseball regular season, the San Francisco Giants started their campaign as the 2010 World Series Champions. However, as luck would have it, they struggled throughout the season and eventually were unable to even make it to the post-season.
Many critics feel that the Giants got to a bad start, with the serious injuries to Buster Posey from a home-plate collision. Posey was out for the entire season and the Giants just never recovered from this loss. Although the Giants have some highly experienced players and top pitchers in the League, the team seemed to be out of sorts throughout the regular season. Players like Aubrey Huff had very lack-lustre performance during the 2011 regular season.
Players like Tim Lincecum still managed to have a decent season, but it was the entire team performance which lacked any spark on the field. The Giants just looked sluggish from the start of the season. San Francisco won 86 games in 2011 and lost 76. Although on the surface this does not look that bad, but for the fans it is all about getting into the post-season.
The Giants did have their fair share of injuries during the early part of the 2011 regular season. Players like Pablo Sandoval, Buster Posey, Barry Zito and Freddy Sanchez were out early in the season. Although some players managed to return, the overall team lacked the drive to dominate on the field. Many experts feel that although the team was a little sluggish in the beginning of the season, after the All-Star break, the Giants just did not have the offensive prowess to get things done.
Another interesting fact was that the Giants really did not make any drastic changes to the team after their 2010 World Series win. No big names were signed and the team looked pretty much the same at the start of the 2011 season. Their off-season was low-key and the organisation did not make any serious moves towards improving their line-up for a decent title defence.
It is easy to point fingers when a team is struggling, as one can list many factors that contributed towards the Giants dismal performance in the latter half of 2011. For a team like the Giants not to make it to the post-season after winning the World Series in the previous season is usually a good reason for alarm.
San Francisco will be looking to rely heavily on their high quality pitching rotation in the upcoming 2012 season. Also, injured players like Buster Posey are set to return this year and will definitely add some spark to the offence. Whether or not the Giants have the depth in their line-up can be argued, however, with a decent mix of younger players with more experienced ones can make a huge difference for the team.
As Spring Training is right around the corner, the critics will be watching the Giants closely. Their off-season has been relatively quiet and any adjustments made in the team will be highlighted during the exhibition games in Spring Training. For the Giants it is not a question of rebuilding, but rather re-energising their players for an improved performance on the field. The Giants played like a team when they won the World Series in 2010 and if they are to have any type of success in the 2012 regular season, they will be looking to repeat their combined efforts. If the Giants play like a team, they can be quite devastating on any given day. The fans are just hoping that the team somehow gets the spark that they need to dominate the upcoming 2012 regular season.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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