The 2007 Giants Baseball Preview
The 2007 San Francisco Giants Will Struggle to Compete.
The 2007 MLB Preview is not too promising for the San Francisco Giants. Despite giving a $140 million contract to Barry Zito, the team still won't compete in the West.
2006 Season Record: 76-85 (3rd in NL West)
Significant Additions
Barry Zito signed an 8-year, $140 million free agent contract.
Ryan Klesko signed 1-year free agent contract.
Rich Aurilia signed 2-year free agent contract.
Dave Roberts signed a 3-year free deal.
Significant Departures
Moises Alou signed a free agent deal with the New York Mets.
Shea Hillenbrand signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Angels.
Jason Schmidt signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
2007 San Francisco Giants Team Strengths
The only real strength on this team is their starting rotation. The addition of Barry Zito (102-63 career record) and his big curveball will help a group that finished 7th in the National League in starters’ ERA.
Matt Cain (13-12, 4.15 ERA) is still 22 years old and should only improve. Noah Lowry, while not having impressive statistics last season (7-10, 4.74 ERA) is also young and has the stuff to win 12-14 games. Matt Morris is clearly no longer the pitcher he once was (4.98 ERA in 207.7 IP last year), but he will give the Giants innings. The fifth place in the rotation is a question mark with Jonathan Sanchez and Brad Hennessey battling fighting it out.
2007 San Francisco Giants Team Weaknesses
Last season, the Giants’ bullpen finished 15th out of 16 National League teams in relief pitching ERA. Unless he gets traded to the Marlins or Mariners, Armando Benitez will be the team’s closer. Setting him up will be Kevin Correia and Steve Kline, among others. Correia, Kline, and Benitez all logged ERAs under 3.70 in 2006. But the rest of the bullpen was a disaster, posting a composite ERA of well over 5.00. The 2007 MLB Preview for the rest of the relief squad isn’t very promising, either. Unless the team makes some significant trades, this will be a huge weakness for the Giants this season.
The 2007 San Francisco Giants Offense is Up in The Air
Even at 42 years old (43 by season’s end), Barry Bonds will deliver a minimum of 30 home runs and 90 RBI, and will walk an average of once a game. Any player whose career numbers compare favorably to Babe Ruth will command that respect.
The rest of the offense isn’t as formidable. Ryan Klesko may prove to be a good acquisition if he can log substantially more than the four at bats he had in 2006. With a short porch in right field (307 feet), Klesko has the ability to hit 25 home runs and collect 80 RBI, but only if he stays healthy and plays in at least 135 games.
Dave Roberts can steal bases but he is not the all-around hitter he used to be. Second Baseman Ray Durham is coming off the best season of his career (.293, 26 HR and 93 RBI), and the Giants are obviously praying for a repeat performance. Free agent Rich Aurilia is coming off the second-most productive season in his career (.300, 23, 70) and will help a little bit, but he won’t make a significant difference.
The 2007 Baseball Giants Keys to Success
In order for this team to seriously compete in the National League West, they will need the two Barrys to repeat their performances from the 2002 season (when Zito won 23 games and Bonds went for a .370 average, 46 homers and 110 RBI). Neither of those things is a very strong possibility.
Prediction: 76-86 (4th in NL West).
Check out the 2007 baseball previews for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, and the New York Mets.
