Giants' slow start? Don't worry too much just yet
Venture into the morass of social media or check in with either of the sports radio stations in the Bay Area, including the Giants' flagship KNBR, and one would think the Giants were 50-80 instead of 5-8.
The Giants managed to beat Washington 7-1 on Wednesday to avoid being swept by a team that figures to be one of the National League bottom feeders before taking a day off and playing a pair of three-game series in Tampa Bay and Miami that begins Friday afternoon.
And even though the Giants
broke out of a dreadful stretch of hitting with runners in scoring position by going 6 for 8 against Washington, getting swept by the Dodgers and an early run of uneven play has alarmed some of the fan base who figured Jorge Soler, Matt Chapman and Blake Snell were the answer to their prayers.
There was concern on the airwaves as well as Twitter/X or wherever it is fans choose to access fuel for their skepticism.
Where are the home runs? Is it time to part with Mike Yastrzemski and Austin Slater and go with some new blood? What's with the dearth of stolen bases? Will Patrick Bailey regain his
throwing form behind the plate?
Hey, the NFL Draft is two weeks away, the Warriors won't begin as a play-in team until next week and the Sharks are a lost cause. So the landscape is ripe for some overreaction.
Here are five way-too-early positive observations:
HICKS IS FOR REAL >> When all is said and done, Jordan Hicks, with a 2-0 record and 1.00 ERA in three starts and 18 innings, may wind up having a better year than Snell, the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner the Giants signed just before they wrapped up spring training.
Hicks' stuff is dazzling and has caught the attention of Rob
Friedman, the Twitter/X “Pitching Ninja.” He's only walked three batters His WHIP is 0.833. He's also got great perspective about switching from reliever to starter.
He shrugged off a question Wednesday about whether he should have been a starter sooner. Hicks said if that had happened he wouldn't have been in the majors as soon as he was and he probably wouldn't be on the Giants.
“Maybe I spend another year and a half in the minors,” Hicks said. “My whole life looks different. I wouldn't change how anything has happened.”