Giants aging like fine leather
Veterans have led team to best record in majors
Modern-day baseball analytics have not been particularly kind to thirtysomething players, particularly those in their mid-30s.
Many really good players who reached free agency in that age range will be happy – actually, quite unhappy – to tell you about some of the negative feedback they were given when lessthan-expected contract offers came their way.
Well, the San Francisco Giants are here to tell you that you can be both older and productive. Quite productive, in fact.
The veteran-laden Giants pulled off a remarkable, comeback victory Thursday afternoon in Arizona to boost their record to 69-40, best in the major leagues. Down, 4-0, in the ninth, they rallied for four runs, then won, 5-4, in 10 innings to go four games ahead of the defending World Series-champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the competitive NL West and 71⁄2 games in front of the San Diego Padres, who have added top talent at a furious pace since last year.
Next up for the Giants: a weekend series in Milwaukee against the Brewers, the runaway leaders in the NL Central.
“The Giants are a very good team,” manager Craig Counsell said Wednesday after a 4-2 home victory over Pittsburgh pushed his team back to 21 games over .500 (65-44), the best mark in franchise history at this stage of the season.
“I’ve looked at them just briefly so far, but they look like a very complete team.
“No weaknesses, no kind of holes or places you can expose. The full roster is very productive. Those are tough teams to beat because nothing really slips away from them. So, we know it’s a big challenge. We’ve got them a bunch over the last two months (including four games in San Francisco), so it’ll be a big challenge for us.”
The Giants are getting big years out of several veterans considered to be on the downside of their careers, either because of previous injuries or offensive slippage. Shortstop Brandon Crawford, 34, whose production slipped markedly in 2019, is batting .289 with a .895 OPS, 18 home runs and 61 runs batted in.
Catcher Buster Posey, 34, who battled physical issues in recent years, is hitting .326 with a .961 OPS, 13 homers and 35 RBI. Third baseman Evan Longoria (.895 OPS in 50 games) was having a strong year before going on the 60-day IL with a shoulder sprain but – adding yet another veteran to the mix – the Giants traded with the Cubs for Kris Bryant, who homered in his first game.
Second baseman Donovan Solano, 33, leftfielder Alex Dickerson, 31, and rightfielder Mike Yastrzemski, 30, all are having productive years to boost an unexpectedly potent offense that led the majors with 164 home runs entering Thursday.
And the Giants are expecting an even bigger boost with the return this week of a pair of veterans, infielder Tommy La Stella and first baseman Brandon Belt, from the injured list.
“Those are really good players,” Counsell said of the Giants’ veteran core. “They’ve been good players for a long time. They’ve had maybe some down years but those players you’re talking about have a pretty impressive pedigree. Some pretty impressive accomplishments, so I don’t think you can count those guys out ever.
“They’ve achieved some pretty special things and that’s always respected.”
Complementing that better-than-expected offense has been one of the best pitching staffs in the major leagues. Their team ERA of 3.36 entering Thursday was third in the majors, behind only the Dodgers (3.20) and Brewers (3.33).
The Giants have gotten solid work from thirty-something starters Kevin Gausman (10-5, 2.31), Anthony DeSclafani (10-5, 3.28), Alex Wood (9-3, 3.83) and ageless Johnny Cueto (7-6, 3.83), as well as young righty Logan Webb (5-3, 3.33 in 15 games).
DeSclafani currently is on the IL with right shoulder fatigue and the Brewers will miss Gausman and Wood, who pitched Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
San Francisco’s bullpen has been equally effective, also ranking third in the majors with a combined 3.34 ERA. Veteran left-hander Jake McGee, 34, has been the primary closer, converting 23 saves with a 2.23 ERA over 46 appearances, and is backed up at the end of games by Tyler Rogers (1.98 ERA, 11 saves in 50 games).
The relief corps has great depth with the likes of Jose Alvarez (2.68 ERA in 39 games), Jarlin Garcia (2.70 ERA in 35 games) and the well-traveled Dominic Leone (1.42 ERA in 26 games).
Add it all together and this is an experienced group of players performing at near-peak levels. Some were considered a bit over the hill but right now they are sitting atop the major-league mountain.
In other words, the COVID-thinned Brewers are going to have their hands full this weekend.