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 CNN/SI Preview: San Francisco Giants
Posted: Friday March 19, 1999 06:20 PM
By James Quintong, CNN/SI Player to Watch: Jeff Kent, 2BJeff Kent moved around the league early in his career, playing for the Blue Jays, Mets and Indians before settling with San Francisco in the Matt Williams deal. While he seemed to have some potential, no one would have expected him to be mentioned in the same sentence as Rogers Hornsby. Kent had 128 RBIs in 1998, the best total by a second baseman other than Hornsby. He's also driven in 249 runs over the past two years -- Hornsby is the only second baseman with a better total (278 in 1921-22). Even more amazing is that he missed a month with a knee injury. Somehow, he's done this with very little fanfare despite putting up bigger numbers than other star second basemen like Joe Morgan and Ryne Sandberg. With perennial All-Star Barry Bonds grabbing all the attention from fans and opposing teams, Kent can sneak up to put up the big numbers. Bonds also draws an insane number of walks, setting up plenty of prime RBI opportunities. Bonds is the marquee player, but Kent's performance could mean another playoff run in San Francisco 1998 Recap (89-74, 2nd place NL West)The Giants were one of baseball's streakiest teams last season. They won 11 in a row in late May-early June to take over first place. Kent injured his knee at the end of the streak, missing a month of action. With him gone, the Giants dropped completely out of contention in the West. However, the Giants made a surprising wild-card surge in September. The Giants won six in a row at the end of the season and had a chance to win the wild card on the last day of the season but fell in dramatic fashion to the Rockies. They ended up tied with the Cubs for the wild-card and fell in a one-game playoff to end the season. San Francisco, thanks to Kent and Bonds, finished second in the league with 845 runs. However, it was their starting pitching that doomed them, with a 4.73 ERA, fourth-worst in the NL. On the other hand, their bullpen had the best ERA in baseball at 3.16. 1999 OutlookThe Giants decided not to tinker too much with the team during the winter. However, they decided not to keep catcher Brian Johnson, who was clutch in September. They enter camp with journeymen Brent Mayne and Scott Servais behind the plate, not necessarily striking fear in opposing pitchers. Their offense will focus on Bonds and Kent yet again, but the Giants need help elsewhere if they wish to compete. J.T. Snow, now batting solely from the left side, has some power but has struggled hitting for average. Bill Mueller and Rich Aurilia have some promise hitting for a decent average but can't be expected to have much power. Marvin Benard and Ellis Burks are serviceable outfielders who need to use their speed to help energize the rest of the lineup.
The Giants pitching is decent, although no one will confuse them for the Dodgers or the Braves. Lefties Kirk Rueter and Shawn Estes are both very good, but they need to put up decent years at the same time. Opening day starter Mark Gardner is the workhorse who gets little respect. He'll put in his innings and win about 12-15 games with little flair. They'll be joined by Russ Ortiz, who had flashes of brilliance in a late-season call-up. Their strength is in the pen where Robb Nen can be counted upon for 35-40 saves. Plus, they possess one of the strongest setup corps in baseball with Julian Tavarez, Rich Rodriguez and John Johnstone. In a division that saw plenty of overhaul, the Giants' relative inactivity could be deadly. San Francisco is still looking for a dependable ace as well as a bit more pop in the lineup. While it was almost enough for a wild-card berth last year, they could be put away early by the surging Diamondbacks and Dodgers if they don't watch themselves, although Dusty Baker will make sure it won't happen.
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