Six Pack: 2010 San Francisco Giants Outlook

I pleased to have the Six Pack of Questions answered by sports blogger Garrett Gonzales discussing the 2010 San Francisco Giants.  Gonzales writes on various subjects ranging from the Giants, the 49ers, and even the world of in ring combat.  Hope this gives you some insight on a team looking to contend in the NL West.

1) How much trust is in the Giants rotation after Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain?

Some Giants fans will always have faith in Barry Zito, and let's face it, he wasn't terrible last year. He was actually quite adequate. Others also think this is going to be the breakout year for Jonathan Sanchez. But I'm not so sure. It very might well be, "Lincy and Cain, then pray for rain." I think the fifth spot in the rotation is key. If the pitching jewel of the Giants' farm system Madison Bumgarner can pitch in 2010 at a big league level, it's going to be so huge for the team. As for me, I think they go Pedro Martinez hunting after the All-Star break if they start struggling. As you can tell, I don't have much trust.

2) Aubrey Huff and Mark DeRosa have been added to Bruce Bochy's lineup.  How big of an impact can they have on this team?

I think they'll have decent sized impacts if they both stay healthy. Huff is going to lose several home runs in the spacious outfield at AT&T Park, but he'll hit his 20 home runs and get his 80 RBI. Is that enough for your number four hitter? Probably not. DeRosa is a bit of a wild card both because of his age and his recent wrist problems. Again, if he stays healthy, he should be comparable in home runs with a higher average and less RBI than Huff. But they'll never get a creative nickname like "The Bash Brothers", "The Pacific Sock Exchange", or "Muderer's Row".

3) Will Buster Posey make it to the Giants this year in some capacity?

I think a great plan for Posey would be to send him to Triple A for half the season, more so to work on his defensive skills and game calling than anything else. Offensively, I think he can be productive right now. But there's a reason why many of the Giants' pitchers breathed a sigh of relief when Bengie Molina re-signed in the off-season. He's the guy they want to throw to. But if Posey can work hard and be ready to come to the big club later in the summer, I think there would be a great opportunity for him to play in some big games (if they're still in the race), or to be the everyday catcher (if they're not).

4) What can we expect out of Pablo Sandoval in 2010?

I think you can expect an as good or slightly better version of Pablo/Panda in 2010. He started to wear the baseball equivalent of Kareem Abdul Jabbar goggles and now looks like a heftier and darker version of Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn (credit goes to my man jlevin for that one). If his vision is improved from last year, that should improve his production. Why he chose specs rather than Lasik eye surgery, I'm not quite sure. I think he hits over .300 with 30 HRs and near 100 RBI.

5) Beings FTS also gives the feel of being at a corner sports bar... is there a San Francisco local beer that the Giants fan base enjoys that the rest of the nation should know about?

I'm not a beer drinker myself, but I do know that a very popular beer out here is Anchor Steam. I think you can find it in other areas outside of the Bay Area and there's a pretty cool San Francisco history about the Anchor Brewing Company that you can read about if you wish. 

6) Can the Giants contend against the NL West defending Dodgers in 2010?

I'm not quite sure if it's the Dodgers that they'll have to beat this year. I expect the Dodgers to be really solid with all that young hitting and you always have to pay attention to Manny Ramirez, but I'm not sure that they're better than the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies scare me. In order for the Giants to content for the Western Division title, their pitching is going to have to overachieve like it did last year. Their hitting should at least be slightly better, but they will still have to win with pitching. Let's hope I'm wrong about "Lincy and Cain, then pray for rain." But I'll still be there rooting rain or shine.

I would like t o thank Garrett Gonzales once again for taking the time to give the FTS fanbase a little bit of insight into the 2010 San Francisco Giants. Make sure you check out his blog, his combat http://www.fightgameblog.comwebsite, and Sonic Clash in whic


h he is the news editor.