The San Francisco Giants' 2008 highlight was the development of their future pitching star, Tim Lincecum, to his rise to Cy Young Award winner.
Tim Lincecum's 2008 performance was one of the greatest single-year performances by anyone who has worn a Giants uniform, including Bonds' now tainted home run record.
Some would argue Lincecum's 2008 accomplishment is more validating to the Giants' organization than Barry's 73 home runs.
Regardless, Tim Lincecum put the Giants on his back and, more importantly, on the map during an otherwise disappointing season.
Now, during the 2009 season, the Giants again have a pitcher making waves across the MLB pitching leader boards and no, it is not the Franchise. Freaky, isn't it?
If I were to tell a random baseball fan, preferably someone on the East Coast, that the San Francisco Giants have a pitcher tied for second in wins (8-1) and in the top 10 in earned run average (ERA) with a 2.55 ERA, would they think of any other pitcher not named Lincecum?
Highly unlikely.
However, it is not the Freak (Lincecum) leading the Giants in wins and ERA to date. It's the guy that people forget is younger than Lincecum and has been in the Majors longer.
The Giants' best pitcher to date has been Matt Cain.
The same Matt Cain who has lost 30 games over the past two seasons and walked a career high 91 batters in 2008.
Yes, that Matt Cain.
Cain has been dialing it up at AT&T Park in 2009, displaying an elusive fast ball and debilitating slider and curveball. Furthermore, it has been his development and improvement from last season that has assisted him in compensating for the Giants' lack of scoring prowess.
The question that remains is: Will Cain be able to sustain this new found success through the remainder of the 2009 season?
If he does, then there is no reason why he can't put himself in contention for the 2009 NL Cy Young Award.
Right now, he leads other potential NL candidates like the Mets' Johan Santana (8-3, ERA 2.39), the rival Dodgers' Chad Billingsley (8-3, ERA 2.73), and fellow Giant Tim Lincecum (5-1, ERA 2.96) in the wins and loses category. In addition, Cain is fourth in the NL in ERA.
Bottom line, pitching in San Francisco is on the up. With future stars like Madison Bumgarner and Timothy Alderson just waiting for a crack at the Majors, the future is bright for the Giants organization and it's fans—if they can solve their scoring issues.
At the end of the season and as we look back on the Giants, the highlight of the 2009 may not be just Randy Johnson's historic 300 wins, but could be the race for a consecutive Cy Young for San Francisco between two Giants, Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain.
Now wouldn't that get the juices flowing across the Bay Area?
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