San Francisco Giants

In 2007, Bruce Bochy became the Giants' manager.  In that season, the team won 71 games and finished last in their division.  In each season since then, the Giants have improved their win-loss record while finishing higher in the division. 

Four years ago the Giants were a mess.  They were old, they were brittle, and they were overshadowed by Barry Bonds’ tainted journey to a record nobody outside of the bay really wanted to see broken.

It’s a known fact for all SF Giant fans: Pitching is not a weak link.

But previous to last year's World Series plight, it was undermined by a possible lack of hitting.

Oh, how we were wrong.

The Giants put together some moves that were at the time thought of as inadequate. As we look back, such moves have proved to be of the World Series MVP quality.

What moves could possibly benefit the Gigantes? I know it’s a story often told, but let’s discuss some trade talk that could benefit the Giants' offensive potential.

The Phillies have been a hot topic during the offseason of 2010-11. Jayson Werth is out, Cliff Lee is in and people are talking about perhaps witnessing the best pitching rotations in baseball history.

Let's not jump the gun, but on the same note, it may be tougher for the Giants to repeat as the NL West becomes more competitive.

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Nearly two months ago, the San Francisco Giants took care of some unfinished business, their first world championship in San Francisco. 

Now, with spring training just two months away, the Giants have little time to prepare for next season's campaign. They brought back most of their 2010 championship team, including their pitching staff, and added Miguel Tejada to replace Juan Uribe, but is it enough?

As a die-hard San Francisco Giants fan at heart, let me be the first to assure you the team should not and almost certainly will not ultimately sign Adrian Beltre.

Though the slick-fielding third baseman is the best free agent left on the market by far, the fact that Beltre employs Scott Boras to do his negotiating means he will go for tippity-top dollar. It also means this is precisely the position Scotty wanted his client in i.e. the biggest and brightest name left in neon lights because it adds a heavy dose of leverage to the proceedings.

We all know about the saga of the fifth wheel: the unnecessary adjunct that comes along for the ride without contributing much, if anything.  When talking about the San Francisco Giants, two prominent and obvious fifth wheels come immediately to mind—Barry Zito and Aaron Rowand.

This week on the McCovey Chronicles, a debate roared whether Gary Monseigneur Brown would be spectacular in the majors.

While his draft position may not be Posey like, he can become Rondell White and span fourteen major league seasons.

Think of Brandon Belt; he was a fifth round pick, but came in second in the minors in batting in 2010.

It took 52 years, but the San Francisco Giants are World Series Champions.  I can now cross that first and foremost item off my sports fan bucket list.

The San Francisco Giants have given their fans numerous heartbreaks, too many to list in this article, but now, all is forgiven.  I have put together a fun piece to showcase the true Giant "hot dogs" who donned the orange and black. 

In 2010, the San Francisco Giants won the World Series with a top-of-the-line rotation featuring four great starting pitchers, including two-time Cy Young-winner "big time Timmy Jim" Lincecum and his 231 strikeouts.

Each member of the Giants fab four have an ERA in the threes with Lincecum and Sanchez recording over 200 strikeouts.

Madison Bumgarner has emerged as the Cole Hamels of their staff with a 3.00 ERA in 18 starts.

So far this off-season, the headlines have revolved around big name targets. As the Giants have showed us, it may not be entirely about the big shots in relation to bringing home the rings.

Cody Ross was responsible for countless game-saving hits, and Edgar Renteria led the World Series charge. Both players were picked up with no intention of season altering implications.

Who will be 2011's Cody Ross?

Let us take a look at 10 free agents who could be next in line to follow suit.