They weren’t supposed to win this year. This isn’t according to the plan. Wait, fellas, wait until the yet undetermined year in the future when winning is acceptable.
Since June 21, the day Alex Dickerson’s contract was purchased from Triple A Sacramento, the Giants have gone on a tear. That late June evening in Arizona was the beginning of a three-week span where San Francisco has been red hot. They have gone 16-7 in that stretch and 6-1 since the All-Star break.
Dickerson smashed a grand slam in his first game as a Giant, part of nine RBIs in his first two games with the club. He was the bolt of energy San Francisco’s lineup needed. Or, as Bruce Bochy would say, “a real shot in the arm.”
Since Dickerson’s call-up, the previously anemic Giants offense has found new life. They just completed a four-game sweep at Coors Field in Denver where they outscored the Rockies 40 to 15. I checked my notes four times over before typing that line. It’s correct.
The G-Men have a strong core of veteran players who haven’t taken to the idea that this is a lost season to be thrown into the abyss. Pablo Sandoval has been a pinch-hit extraordinaire providing excellent power off the bench and Stephen Vogt seemingly never has a bad at-bat. He had four knocks in the Colorado series, all of which were homers or doubles.
Match that with a group of younger players who have something to prove, and this Giants season has taken a turn from, I want to wear a paper bag on my head, to Am I really voluntarily checking the standings on consecutive days? Mike Yastrzemski was let go after six seasons in Baltimore’s farm system and has joined the Giants as a 28-year-old rookie. He has played solid outfield defense and has a nice approach at the plate that plays to all sides of the field in the era of shift defenses.
As the trade deadline draws closer, it appears the Giants are doing everything in their power to force General Manager Farhan Zaidi and the front office to relent from dealing some of their biggest pieces — namely left-handed ace and folk hero Madison Bumgarner.
An ESPN report said that despite the Giants’ hot streak, they will still be sellers at the deadline. Zaidi then went on KNBR and said, “Not every trade that’s made leading up to the trade deadline is a pure buy-or-sell deal. Sometimes it’s a need-for-need deal. That might be the direction that we go.”
This has some members of the media speculating that he may deal some back-end relievers while maintaining a roster capable of competing down the stretch. Grant Brisbee of The Athletic wrote, “The argument for keeping the bullpen intact is that even an ill-fated postseason run is worth more to devoted fans than a couple of prospects… Turning a newly interesting team back into a hot mess would be a great way to water a seedling of resentment.”
The 2019 Giants, who we thought they were, might soon return and all of this speculation and excitement would be for nothing. But for now, the Giants’ steam rolling back into the playoff mix has turned this so-called rebuild season into something possibly much more exhilarating. Or, as Brisbee said best, “I’m high on Alex Dickerson fumes too, and I’m an ordained minister in the Church of Cody Ross, which preaches from a bible that has ‘any team in the postseason is a dangerous team’ on the first page.”
-By Ty Bianucci
