The Giants of the NL...

[thegame]

San Francisco, with it's 4-2 win Sunday night against Jeff Kent and the Astors, are off to a red hot 12-1 start going into tonight. Kent has been replaced by the young Jose Cruz, who has only hit .347 with 5 homers and 10 RBI's to start the season. Barry Bonds is acutally off to a slow start by his standards, hitting only a measly .308 to start off the year. So how are these Giants winning? One answer is great pitching, the staff ERA is below 3.50 for the year so far, Kurt Ainsworth, Damien Moss and Kirk Reuter are all 2-0 with low ERA's, Rueter's is under 1.00. Jason Schmidt is also on his game, only a 2.79 ERA through his first 17.1 innings this season.

The lineup is also producing well, and it's not just Bonds and Cruz. J.T. Snow is hitting .368 and has 14 RBI's to date. Benito Santiago is hitting .351 and has 3 homers already. It seems that the Giants are picking up right where they left off last season. Many slept on these NL Champs after they didn't retain Kent, but perhaps we should have paid more attention to the remaining roster. In a division where most looked to the D-Backs to excel, perhaps the real giants of the west and perhaps the whole NL are in San Francisco.

But remember... still 149 games to go.

Any thoughts?

[mighty peace warrior]

Thats my team, hopefully they will keep chugging along. A couple unproven pitchers in the mix though

[Snarf]

Thats just fantastic, Jose Cruz is hitting .347 and the Blue Jays got Frank Catalanotto to replace him. I feel like banging my head up againts the desk now. :cryin:

[thegame]

^ I didn't expect Cruz to be able to give Barry much protection, but if he can hit even .310 this season and drive in 75 or 80, it should be good enough. At this pace, though, he'll drive in over 100 like Kent had done for so many consecutive seasons.

[thegame]

The Giants are back on a role, now 25-9 on the season. They steamrolled the Marlins in Miami for a 3-0 series win, and dominated my Braves tonight, 9-2. The offense is coming from people other than Bonds, Cruz hit his 8th homer in tonight's game and he's batting .320 on the year, I guess it's no fluke with this guy. The G-Men look very strong, they could be back in the World Series again this October in my view.

[Hurls]

Originally posted by Snarf
Thats just fantastic, Jose Cruz is hitting .347 and the Blue Jays got Frank Catalanotto to replace him. I feel like banging my head up againts the desk now. :cryin:


Whats wrong? Frankie's hitting the tar out of the ball

[MiamiMasterpiece]

Yeah i know, Frank is playing well. The team just has too many holes.

[Hurls]

I like the Jays young players: Phelps, Hinske,Hudson,

[thegame]

Hinski is a man to keep an eye on, in my view.

24 homers and 84 RBI last season as a rookie is a tough act to follow in your second year, but he's already got 19 RBI and should come around with his average in the second half of the season, I think.

[mighty peace warrior]

Hey back on topic fellas. the giants rule!!

[MiamiMasterpiece]

Schmidt is very impressive, i hope he can keep up the good work (Fantasy Purposes)

[Hurls]

I have aurillia in one of mine

[Snarf]

Originally posted by hurls
I like the Jays young players: Phelps, Hinske,Hudson,

Don't forget about Wells, he is hitting very well, and one of the best defensive outfielders in the game.

I got the Hinske Blue Jays jersey last year and wear it proudly.

[MiamiMasterpiece]

You gotta love Vernon Wells, my favorite player on the BlueJays.

[Hurls]

Shannon stewart too, but his arm stinks, and now this Werth kid

[thegame]

The Giants really have caught a break so far this season, in my view. After checking out the rest of the division, especially the Dodgers and Rockies are real dissapointments so far, and the D-Backs can't score any runs or pitch well without a healthy Unit or Schill, and the Padres are bottom feeders at best. This division, which looked to be perhaps the strongest in the NL coming into the season, has really become a one team race, the Giants should have no trouble winning the NL West by more than a few games, I think.

[MiamiMasterpiece]

Even though they have had some luck, they still have tons of talent on that team that could have lead them to victory against anyone.