Life as a fan bracing for a long season

The phrase, “you never know” is often uttered in life and sports even

though sometimes you know. 

Spring is associated with the weather getting warmer. Granted, you have

phrases like, “April showers bring May flowers” but spring is a season

that evokes everything from hope to happiness because it represents an

escape from wintery weather. 

That feeling is also linked to baseball season, specifically if you are a fan

of a Major League Baseball team. If you are a San Francisco Giants fan,

however, the 2020 season does not figure to be one for the archives. 

To give you context,the franchise moved from New York to San Francisco

in 1958. Between that season and 2009, the Giants had decades of struggles

mixed with together with division winners and postseason participants.

There was also the heartache of losing the World Series in 1962 (New York

Yankees) and 2002 (Anaheim Angels) in seven games. With the 1989 World

Series against the cross Bay neighbor Oakland Athletics, there was no

heartache in the 4-0 sweep because the Giants were badly overmatched. 

Then came 2010-2016, which was considered the Golden Age of Giants

baseball, at least in San Francisco. The franchise won three World Series

titles in five years from 2010-2014. Since 2017, the Giants have gone

214-272. The reasons are vast and include but are not limited to an aging

roster that had players with atrocious contracts the team could not escape

along with a depleted farm system. 

The organization has since undergone vast structural changes with Farhan

Zaidi entering the equation as president of baseball operations. Previously,

the faces of the front office were Brian Sabean (vice president of baseball

operations) and Bobby Evans (general manager). Field manager Bruce

Bochy has since retired and Gabe Kapler is currently in that position. 

The 2020 Giants are largely viewed as a team comprised of a) Past stars

from glory years with declining skills accompanied with bad “thank you”

contracts or b) Stop gap solutions that the franchise hopes can hold the line

while the farm system gets adequately rebuilt. 

Though he stepped into a difficult situation to rebuild, Zaidi has been a

lightning rod in part because of his analytics driven background, which

some love but others loathe. The hiring of Gabe Kapler as the field manager

has been polarizing because a) His underwhelming 161-163 record for two

years as the Philadelphia Phillies manager and b) In 2015 as director of

player development for the Los Angeles Dodgers, a 17-year-old accused

a Dodger minor league player initially of videotaping a fight in which two

women whom she had met through Facebook hit her while with her in a

hotel room of a player. The accuser emailed her complaint to Kapler, who

sought direction from Dodgers’ lawyers and human resources personnel

and then replied quickly with a phone call, apologized, and offered to help

in any way she needed. Though no charges were filed, it remains unwanted

baggage Kapler brings. 

Some managers fail in their first job but apply what they learn and succeed

in their subsequent stints. Bobby Cox, Terry Francona and Joe Torre come

to mind. The problem is that Kapler is not stepping into a 90-win roster. At

best, it is a 70-win roster. The Giants went 77-85 in 2019 but even that

record is misleading because of a torrid 19-4 stretch in July. The 2020 Giants

will be minus left handed ace Madison Bumgarner, who signed with the

Arizona Diamondbacks. Yet, the franchise brings back Pablo Sandoval and

Hunter Pence, two veterans they let go to get younger. Hmmmm. 

Most Las Vegas sports books have the Giants over/under win total at 71

with the under being the common investment.  Though I question some of

the new regime’s moves, I’m open to being proven wrong. I essentially

view last season as Year Zero because it involved taking inventory and

replenishing the farm system. This season will be more of the same, which

means expectations should be low. 

I’m not going to make any grandiose judgments on what happens this year

but if the team loses 100 games, which is quite possible, then all bets are off

at that juncture. In 2021, however, the trajectory arrow needs to be pointed

upward. I’m not asking for a World Series title. Heck, I’m not even asking

to make the playoffs but I’m asking for meaningful games in August and
September. 

In the meantime, I’m thrilled baseball season is upon us but have a feeling

of resignation about the 2020 season as a Giants fan. If you told any Giants

fan, “You will win three World Series in five years but a few years later, you

are going to be wretched.” Any Giants fan alive would have said, “Where

do I sign?” There are also a large segment of fans that nodded in agreement

that this franchise needs to be rebuilt. However, what happens when the team

is on pace to win 65 games? That conversation goes by the wayside. 

Translation, we like the potential benefits of rebuilding but we don’t like

the headaches that come with it. The Giants are like that house in a good
neighborhood but became a rental that got trashed. You have a house with a

million dollar curb appeal (Los Angeles Dodgers). Then you have a couple

of nice tracked homes (Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies). Then

you have a home that has graduated to move in condition (San Diego Padres).

The Giants, meanwhile have construction crews in front of their house with
wheelbarrows and stacks of two-by-fours in the front yard.