Who Is The Biggest Disappointment in Baseball This Year...

[Villain]

Pitching, pitching, pitching, pitching depth, moar pitching, pitching, pitching

Meh.

They have done well with home grown pitchers. Every team been trying to do that since they invented baseball. I don't see that as some kinda model that they have been the pioneers of.

and batters that put the ball in play

Okay, now you're on to something. The Giants certainly have the perception to be a high-contact, low power lineup. The last five seasons of numbers don't really seem to back that up though, or maybe I'm looking at the wrong stats:

Major League Team Stats » 2015 » Batters » Dashboard | FanGraphs Baseball

That's every team, by season, since 2010.

Nothing abnormally high in terms of BABIP or AVG. K% isn't spectacularly low for any one season either. If the Giants are doing some brilliant thing that everyone else is copying, then there should be something that sticks out from the pack.

2013 SFG were the highest line drive percentage of any team in baseball since 2010. That team finished in 4th place, 16 games back from 1st.

2010 SFG was practically tied for the highest FB% of any team, any season. None of their other seasons have a high FB% like that team did.

None of the seasons are spectacular in hard-hit balls. 2012 was one of the highest in medium-hit balls but no other season was (World Series winners that year). 2011 was the highest of any team in soft contact (finished in 2nd, 8 games back).

If we're talking blueprints (as in, things that can be copied) then we're talking about something that is quantifiable. I don't get it.

 

[Villain]

Here, a leaderboard of just the Giants and their last few teams so they can be compared to each other:

San Francisco Giants Team Stats » 2015 » Batters » Batted Ball Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball

I'm not seeing common threads between the teams.

 

[Cyder]

Gotta go with the Nats. They're in by far the worst division in the sport. The Marlins, Phillies & Braves are the 3 worst teams in the sport record wise. The picked up Sherzer and Harper is having an MVP type season and they're still barely above .500. Matt Williams is the worst manager I've ever seen and last night illustrated it once again

 

[Clayton]

Meh.

They have done well with home grown pitchers. Every team been trying to do that since they invented baseball. I don't see that as some kinda model that they have been the pioneers of..

On the flip side, I also don't think there is anything special that the Giants are doing that is sustainable on a championship level. Thats the key point I'm trying to make. I do think they'll be in the mix more often than not.

I also think there has been a bit of an arms race lately with the exception of some moves towards batting with what the Padres did after their abysmal hitting year.

I also think that with the playoffs, you've seen the Giants, Cardinals and Royals see a lot of success by simply swinging at everything they see and certainly first strike pitches so the pitcher don't get ahead in the count. I'm not sure the regular season numbers back that up but the post season has a lot of first pitch swings. Or maybe thats just a Cardinals thing.

 

[The Q]

the giants are the ultimate proof that playoffs are a total crapshoot.

 

[Villain]

On the flip side, I also don't think there is anything special that the Giants are doing that is sustainable on a championship level. Thats the key point I'm trying to make.

Yeah, I agree wholeheartedly. I hate to say it because it surely sounds hollow coming from a rival fan, but I honestly see all three of their recent championships as being lucky. Nothing about either of those squads was exceptional.

They literally just got hot at the right time. Verlander went from being the best pitcher in MLB to a massive implosion. Cueto got hurt after like 2 pitches. The Royals somehow made it to the World Series on defense and relief pitching.

Three championships and three examples of "you can't predict ball" and they just so happen to be the same team in a very short time span so people assume there's a magic formula behind it.

That's why the old-timey sportswriters eat it up. The only thing that you can point to is "heart" and "chemistry."

I do think they'll be in the mix more often than not..

Yeah, when you've had a pipeline of successful starters that went from Lincecum to Cain to Bumgarner... Who's next? Seems like they have a guy that blows everyone away, fizzles out, and is then replaced like a hydra with another top starter. As long as they can keep that going they'll always at least have a chance.