Skepticism of spring has been replaced with some hope

The best word to describe the zeitgeist surrounding the 2020 Giants five months ago was “skepticism.”

People were skeptical about new manager Gabe Kapler, given his struggle to win over his two seasons in Philadelphia, skeptical that a change in coaching and philosophy suddenly would revive older, fading players who seemed like an ill fit for today’s power game, skeptical that after three straight losing seasons the club was ready take a giant leap forward.

After a spring and summer of upheaval in the world of sport, and for that matter the world, skepticism has given way to some indifference, but also curiosity about how the Giants will fare in an odd, 60game season that will turn one of America’s most languorous sports into a sprint.

Angst over Kapler and the Giants’ longterm direction have faded — the nation has bigger worries — and been replaced with people wondering if even a team like the Giants can get on a roll and reach the playoffs.

You don’t hear the term “rebuilding” anywhere in Major League Baseball these days.

“I think there’s a renewed energy amongst a lot of teams that realize it may just take a good month to have an opportunity to play in the playoffs,” third baseman Evan Longoria said.

Kapler put it this way: “I think all of the teams are looking at the opening of the season as, you immediately land in playoff shape, because we’re going to be at the end of (a normal) season on equal footing, from a wins and losses perspective, with the other clubs.

“In every sense of the word it is certainly a sprint and different than anything we’ve ever seen. We just want to be as good as we can possibly be under the circumstances.”

Judging strengths and weaknesses has become a fool’s errand because of the daily threat that players will opt out of the season or be forced into quarantine by a positive test. It’s not theoretical. It’s happened.

The Giants understand that intimately with catcher Buster Posey, whose absence, though 100% reasonable, leaves them without their most important defensive player and a potential threat at the plate, had his offseason swing adjustments and a year further removed from hip surgery allowed him to hit.

Every team must play this unfortunate game of COVID19 bingo, but assuming the coronavirus will treat teams relatively the same, the Giants carry the same issues into the 60game season they had when looking at 162.

They lost pitchers Madison Bumgarner and Will Smith to free agency. They still have no established outfield and precious little backend bullpen experience after trading Sam Dyson, Drew Pomeranz and Mark Melancon last July 31 to benefit the future.

President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi signed free agents Kevin Gausman and Drew Smyly to add depth to a rotation, not knowing at the time that the omnipresent threat of a positive coronavirus test might make starting depth more important than dominance at the front end.

A full season of Johnny Cueto and a repeat performance from Jeff Samardzija could leave the Giants’ rotation strong enough to keep the team competitive.

Otherwise, Kapler will have to become a mean mixer and matcher to fold newcomers such as Wilmer Flores, Yolmer Sanchez, Darin Ruf and Billy Hamilton into a core that includes Longoria, Brandon Crawford, Brandon Belt, Pablo Sandoval, Mike Yastrzemski, Hunter Pence and now Mauricio Dubon.

The hopedfor result, as always in San Francisco, is to generate just enough runs to support a pitching staff that usually serves as the Giants’ engine for success.

“I think we have a lot of pieces that can put us in position to win a lot of games,” Longoria said. “We’re built to mix and match.”

Which means fans will not see consistent lineups. In 2020, slumps are slumps.

“You get your schedule crammed down to 60 games instead of having the benefit of being able to go through a cold streak or a rough patch and still be able to work out of it,” Crawford said.

That’s true for the team and individuals.

The universal designated hitter adds a wrinkle that could benefit a squad that has Sandoval, Pence, Alex Dickerson and others who are older or have an injury history and might stay stronger by getting half of each game off. They have potential DHs who can hit. This is not your Tsuyoshi Shinjo Giants. Urgency is paramount when each game is worth 2.7 in dog years. Moreover, the Giants play the Dodgers seven times in the first 17 games. The “shotgun start,” as former Giants GM Brian Sabean loved to call the National League West in April, requires a major shift in thinking.

Especially for an older team, as Samardzija noted in a comment spiced with a leftover disdain for the league’s negotiating posture ahead of camp.

“I’d rather have 82 games, 90 games, which we were definitely able to do and had a window to do,” he said. “But if it’s 60 it’s 60. You adapt and adjust. Instead of coming out and not being too worried about how you get out of the gate, as a veteran player, and understanding you can get stronger as the season goes on, that will have to change.”

Henry Schulman covers the Giants for The San Francisco Chronicle. Email: hschulman@ sfchronicle.com Twitter: @hankschulman

Jessica Christian / The Chronicle Giants players run drills during a summer session. The season was going to be challenging for manager Gabe Kapler even before the pandemic shortened it to 60 games.