San Francisco Giants

2012 was an abysmal year for San Francisco Giants' starting pitcher Tim Lincecum.

The former Giants' first-round draft selection in 2006 exploded onto the scene in his first full season with San Francisco in 2008 and became a national sensation nearly overnight.

There's a lot of speculation that San Francisco Giants' star catcher Buster Posey will eventually move out from behind the plate and become a full-time first baseman.

After Posey suffered a catastrophic injury in a brutal collision with Scott Cousins at the plate in 2011, his career seemed to be in jeopardy. No one, including Posey, had any idea how much he was going to be able to play last year after his lengthy rehab.

When Andres Torres signed with the San Francisco Giants, the Giants set up their left field platoon of Gregor Blanco and Torres, both speedy and talented outfielders.

However, after just two weeks of spring training, some of those thoughts have significantly changed. And that's because of another left-field hopeful that has broken onto the scene.

Because so much went right for the San Francisco Giants in 2012, they really can't be expected to do it all over again. And, honestly, it wouldn't be a disaster if they didn't repeat as World Series champions.

Hey, don't look at me, Giants fans. I'm just summarizing what Matt Cain is thinking.

Spring training stats don't mean much, but that doesn't mean they aren't exciting to look at.

In spring training, established players are often working on things and rounding into shape rather than going full bore. Early in the spring, the starters are usually only playing a handful of innings before giving way to minor league players and guys fighting for backup jobs. Thus, there's a lot of noise in spring training numbers, and that's before considering the small sample sizes involved.

Two-and-a-half seasons into his professional career, Madison Bumgarner is already established as one of the game's premiere pitchers. He'll slot in behind ace Matt Cain and in front of two-time Cy Young award winner Tim Lincecum in the San Francisco Giants' rotation to open this season.

A huge factor in the success of the San Francisco Giants over the last four seasons has been their ability to turn minor league free agents in to key contributors.

Heading into the 2011 trading deadline, the San Francisco Giants were 60-44 and clinging to a three game lead over the surprising Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL West.

Baseball games aren't played on paper or inside those newer, fancier computer projection systems that are in vogue today. However, with another month and a half to go until opening day, projections are all fans have to go on right now.

Liar liar, pants on fire. 

Melky Cabrera lied. He cheated. He disgraced himself and the game of baseball. 

Yes, he had statistics worthy of the National League MVP award last season. His .346 batting average was the highest of his career, and his 11 home runs and 60 RBI were impressive. He also had a career-high .516 slugging percentage. He was a big reason why the San Francisco Giants were playing well.