Bruce Magowan’s article makes great reading but leaves one with a reinforced feeling that figuring out why the Giants are where they are in the standings and where they are going to end up this year is a peculiarly difficult task.

Ed responds to Bruce’s article with questions of his own. Could it be that the Giants are a veteran team playing excellent baseball right now with all 25 men on the roster contributing? Will it last all summer?
Click “Read more” and Ed gives you his analysis.

Thanks,
Marty LurieA short time ago the Giants were 17 and 4 and the Yankees were 18 and 4. This morning the Giants were 23 and 9 and the Yankees were 24 and 9. Each had the best record in their respective leagues, the Giants were 8 losing games in front of LA and 11 losing games in front of Arizona. The Yankees probably are the best team in the majors over a 162 game season. (Leave the playoff season to one side; that’s a different story) Yet the Giants and the Yankees have virtually identical records in their respective leagues. and I have yet to see anyone with a knowledgable reputation compare the Giants favorably with the Yankees. As Bruce says, how do they do it? His opinion is that the team is playing great ball and that clearly is correct. Otherwise they wouldn’t be where they are. The explanation is that they are a better team than last year’s. That, also, may be true. After all, one can’t argue with their record to this point. However, while they may be a better team than last year’s, what is it that allows them to spread eagle the division with, by far, the best record in the league. For that matter, parenthetically. how did they ever make it so far last year? Their weaknesses appear apparent. They don’t hit with men in scoring position more often than one would expect with their record. They have two outfielders who are pitiful hitters and no help coming off the bench. Snow is slowly approaching his traditional .245 average. They lost their closer. Today they fielded a team which had Feliz playing third, Perez playing shortstop, Torrealba catching,and Rivera in center. That doesn’t look like a good triple A lineup. They won,however, 3 to 2, and played well. Alou gave half the club a day off in anticipation of Atlanta tomorrow and it all worked out. Maybe the baseball gods simply look kindly on them for reasons we cannot perceive. Or perhaps it is because Durham and Cruz are fine players who add a winning dimension, Nathan is everything Bruce says he is, the pitching, even without Nen and Ortiz, is stronger than last year, Worrell will turn out to be a more consistent and reliable closer than Nen (to this stage of the season he is) and Bonds, by his mere presence in the lineup, spooks the other teams to such an extent that they are willing to concede the base to him. Bonds is not expected to ever play back to his two previous years. But he frequently upsets the other team’s rhythm to such an extent that runs are generated. More often than not, when they put Barry on base because they fear that he is going to destroy them with one swing of his bat, they are taking steps that, over the years, have been shown to be non-productive and come back to haunt them. It is difficult to exagerate Bonds value to the club. It goes far beyond the simple averages he achieves in all hitting departments. When he is no longer around, and it is to be hoped that will not happen for another 5 or 10 years, one will begin to appreciate just how great a player he was. The question is asked, do they have the look of a champion? I would have to answer yes altho I am not sure that I know why. This weekend might be enlightening when they go up against Atlanta. Foppert starts one game. Ainsworth had a great game today, giving the team 7 very strong innings. Perhaps we are seeing the making of a great pitching staff. Schmidt may be as good a pitcher as there is today in the Nat’l League. It is a very young staff. And, it should be kept in mind, the opposition in the division is not frightening. LA and Arizona may never catch them. Colorado is Colorado and eventually reality will set in. In any event, being a Giants fan these days is a great deal of fun!